Bologue quietly lay on the ritual platform, liquefied ether enveloping various alchemy materials, covering his body and continuously seeping into him, thus nourishing his soul to further strengthen it.

Aimou softly asked, "Is he okay?"

Bologue had maintained this state for several minutes now, it looked like the ritual was proceeding smoothly, but even in its smoothness, Aimou was still filled with worry.

"Still... okay, I guess."

Belli wasn't entirely sure, in her view, Bologue wasn't like Palmer, who was clearly entangled with misfortune and blessings, but sometimes he also always encounters some bizarre occurrences.

Thinking of this, Belli realized a problem; Bologue himself is extremely special, surviving as the undead from the Fall of the Holy City, about all things past, Bologue himself does not know the truth.

Bologue Lazarus himself is a mystery.

Belli realized she might be too familiar with Bologue, the everyday routine of many days made her overlook these things.

Aimou looked at Bologue with concern; since the time axis disorder event, Aimou's affection for Bologue had been increasing day by day...

In a sense, Aimou experienced rebirth three times, the first was naming herself, the second was when Bologue helped her break free from the prison of her mind, and the third was when Teda's sacrifice bought Aimou's rebirth.

In Aimou's short life, Bologue counted as one of her most important people; after the time axis disorder event, even though Bologue acted as usual, rarely mentioning the various incidents from the disorder event, but Aimou always harbors a sense of guilt for Bologue in her heart.

Bologue didn't care about Aimou's actions; he treated it as a child's tantrum, but Aimou couldn't accept it this way; she felt she had done something wrong.

With all these factors, Aimou was particularly attentive and concerned about Bologue; as for Bologue's response...

"Bologue, want to have a drink?"

"No, I don't really like drinking."

"Bologue, want to go out shopping?"

"No, the uniform from the Field Operations Department is sufficient."

"Bologue... um... really thank you for all you've done for me..."

"It's okay, protecting colleagues and maintaining the Order Bureau's property is also part of an expert's duty."

After a few conversations, Aimou was somewhat stunned; she couldn't understand Bologue... very few people can understand him; sometimes Bologue is astutely able to see through her thoughts, sometimes he's so oblivious it makes people grit their teeth.

Over time, Aimou also let it go, returning to the present, Aimou looked with concern at Bologue on the ritual platform, as the ritual progressed, her inner unease was gradually magnifying.

Belli's expression also gradually became solemn; she glanced at the time; logically, by this point, it should have ended.

On the ritual platform, Bologue had already absorbed the liquefied ether, the alchemy materials as a medium had fused into his body, making his soul stronger, and Bologue should be awakening now.

"Something's not right."

Belli walked to the front of the ritual platform, directly ignoring various protocol rules, raising her hand to pry open Bologue's eyelids, a strong light pierced down, to which Bologue made no response.

Looking towards Balder in the shadows, Balder pressed the instrument switch, the electrode patch reading various data, Bologue's metrics all stable.

Everything was normal yet he couldn't wake up.

"Lost... you brat wouldn't have encountered it again!" Belli grew nervous, "Comparing with this, you are the less fortunate one!"

Palmer's ascension ceremony hadn't encountered such a thing!

A Condenser who encounters 'lost', the flesh remains intact, the soul perfectly confined within the flesh, but the will never awakens again.

Belli didn't know how to handle this situation, to be accurate, no one knew what to do; the probability of encountering 'lost' was too low, this seemed more like a rumor existing within ascension ceremonies, Belli was witnessing it for the first time.

Behind thickened observation windows, elders watched the ceremony below, whispering quietly.

"Seems like Bologue encountered 'lost', should we use some special means, Teacher?"

The old Morgan showed a mischievous smile, leaning into the white-robed elder and suggested.

The white-robed elder did not respond immediately, just deeply stared at Bologue, then he began recounting, "During the ascension as a Seeker of Glory, I also experienced 'lost'. "

Morgan gathered up his smile; he knew of that secret rumor, seriously asked, "What did you see?"

The dazzling storm flashed in the white-robed elder's mind; he didn't answer Morgan, continuing his narrative.

"We know enough about the material world, but regarding that higher-than-material world, more elusive and mysterious tier, we still know nothing."

Morgan tentatively asked, "Are you referring to... the Ethereal Realm?"

Ethereal Realm.

For most Alchemists, this is an entirely unfamiliar term; this is normal, since Alchemists hypothesized that higher tier and named it 'Ethereal Realm', this knowledge has only been circulated within the Scholars' Hall, never leaked out.

"Yes, the Ethereal Realm," the white-robed elder said, "Since then, I started researching all of this."

"Based on the hypothesis of the Ethereal Realm, I proposed more assumptions," he said, "If Secret Source truly exists, then why have we pursued it for a thousand years yet have never touched upon it?"

Morgan continued his words, in a very low voice answering, "Because Secret Source does not exist within the material world but resides in a higher tier, the one we hypothesized the Ethereal Realm."

As the teacher's most outstanding student, Morgan knew this part of knowledge, had to know when the white-robed elder conducted the hypothesis of the Ethereal Realm, Morgan was his assistant.

If the Ethereal Realm is exclusive knowledge within the Scholars' Hall, then Morgan's understanding of it is second only to the white-robed elder.

The white-robed elder lightly nodded, "This perhaps also provides an explanation for where our souls return to."

This was the same question Belli raised to Bologue: After humans die, where exactly do our souls go?

Belli proposed the hypothesis of the Secret Source, but the white-robed elder offered a more specific hypothesis.

"Souls, like the Secret Source, do not exist in our reality's dimension. They are far above us, residing in the Ethereal Realm. When we die, the 'heart' is extinguished, the 'body' decays and dies, and the untethered 'soul' returns to the Ethereal Realm."

Morgan added, "We are like projections of souls in the Ethereal Realm."

The white-robed elder softly said, "It's also possible that the reverse is true."

"Now Bologue has crossed that boundary; he is within the Ethereal Realm, facing the Secret Source, lost..." Morgan glanced at Bologue on the ritual platform, "Meaning, his connection with the Ethereal Realm, with the Secret Source, runs very deep, does it not?"

Morgan posed his own question, "Yet now he is merely a Condenser, not even a Prayer Believer Condenser."

In the series of hypotheses related to the Ethereal Realm, Morgan clearly remembered this part about the Secret Source connection. The Condenser's perception of Ether is equivalent to perceiving the Ethereal Realm, thus detecting the power of the Secret Source.

The Ethereal Realm and the material world run parallel, and Condensers are people who simultaneously inhabit the overlap of two worlds. Yet the vast majority... nearly all Condensers, prefer the material world, struggling to sense the deeper realms of the Ethereal Realm.

Even if there is some overlap, the connection between them is exceedingly thin.

Only through the Ascension Ritual, exploring the depths of the soul, can they, under the influence of the ritual, delve into the Ethereal Realm and touch the Secret Source, which is part of the Ascension Ritual.

When diving into the Ethereal Realm and gazing at the Secret Source, due to varying depths of connection between the Condenser and the Secret Source, some perceive nothing, while others glimpse fragments of scenery.

Such a connection is akin to the "umbilical cord" between Devil and Debtor. Thus, the white-robed elder referred to the connection between the Condenser and the Secret Source as "entanglement."

Much like the material world's projection in the Ethereal Realm, the deeper the Condenser's "entanglement", the more defined their form and complete their self within the Ethereal Realm.

Like Palmer during ascension, driven by the ritual, Palmer's "heart" and "soul" detached from the material world, reached the Ethereal Realm, and perceived the existence of the Secret Source.

However, due to Palmer's lowly tier and shallow "entanglement," Palmer could not form a complete projection in the Ethereal Realm. To him, the ritual process felt like an anesthetic surgery, perceiving nothing but the power of the Secret Source.

Bologue is different; his "entanglement" is exceptionally deep, easily forming a projection within the Ethereal Realm, confronting the storm of the Secret Source.

But therein lies the issue: historically, Condensers with "entanglement" as deep as Bologue's are not unheard of, but in their Low Tier state, they often encounter accidents within the Ethereal Realm, unable to awaken, which is referred to as "lost."

The white-robed elder had also experienced "lost." At that time, he was ascending to be a Seeker of Glory, already possessing great strength, allowing him to break free.

"Just at this First Stage, possessing such deep 'entanglement' as Condensers," Morgan recalled the Field Operations Department report, "he also has an exceptionally deep 'umbilical cord' with the Devil."

"Teacher, are you hiding something from me?"

Morgan's face lost its reverence, looking solemnly at his teacher.

The appearance of Bologue, and the return of the teacher, he didn't think it was a coincidence, more like a meticulously designed conspiracy.

The white-robed elder merely gazed long at the ritual platform, murmuring, "Ethereal Realm, projection, entanglement... all these hypotheses we proposed are unverified fantasies.

If that's the case, we might ascertain the truth of all this through Bologue Lazarus."

"But now he has already fallen into 'lost.' If we don't act, he won't ever awaken."

Morgan controlled his emotions, abandoning his questioning of the teacher; he knew his teacher's nature well, forcing him would yield nothing, and he lacked the strength to interrogate the teacher, considering that he was a Seeker of Glory, even aged, still wielding noble power.

"No... we need do nothing. First, I must ascertain something more vital than proving the 'Ethereal Realm hypothesis'.

The white-robed elder said expressionlessly.

"I need to know whether Bologue Lazarus is a product of Albert's plan. If he is, then he won't be 'lost'... at least not until he achieves Albert's aim."

"If not?"

Morgan and the teacher's biggest difference might be their fervor for the Secret Source. Morgan was a rational person, always facing everything this way.

"If not? Then I will personally rescue him."

The white-robed elder's voice was calm, beyond doubt.

Morgan remained silent; from the teacher's words, he had already sensed the anomaly.

The teacher prioritized discerning whether Bologue is part of Albert's plan over disproving the Ethereal Realm, knowing the Ethereal Realm was the teacher's lifelong work, yet compared, he was more concerned with Albert's plan.

Albert's plan...

Albert.

There was only one Albert within the Order Bureau.

First Director Alberto Alfredo.

Morgan recalled everything related to this name, and his final actions.

Despised, detested, yet admired and pitied.

Alberto Alfredo was a difficult guy to evaluate, whether in life or death.

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