Aegon straightened up when they reached the information section, where dozens of shelves filled with ancient scrolls and pages were kept in their original condition.

He didn't try to look into things this time or pry into them. He even made sure his special eyes were deactivated, as he didn't want to look into some forbidden knowledge by mistake.

'Is this why Amon sent her with me?'

It was a good decision because with his nature, he would have surely given in to his curiosity and searched through the stuff. Even knowing there was forbidden knowledge, he might have still given in.

Still, he glanced around carefully, making sure he didn't read anything. That was when he saw a set of stone slabs near the wall, which made him confused as they looked no different from normal stones.

"Don't look at them," Liliana's warning instantly made him shift his gaze. "They may seem ordinary, but they hold secrets nobody is supposed to know."

"So the Academy keeps everyone away not just to protect the Treasury, but also the world from the stuff here," Aegon concluded. "Do the demons have something similar too?"

"Most likely yes. After all, they have a history as long as ours," Liliana nodded and stopped before a shelf.

Taking out a curled-up scroll, she gave it to Aegon and said, "Try reading it. It's ancient Astrus."

Aegon opened the scroll carefully, feeling its rough edges scrape his fingers, which once again reminded him that he was mundane now.

He had no problem reading the scroll, as the [Universal Language] worked even with Ancient Astrus. What he read inside impressed him.

"It's a stupid theory," he said. "You need to establish the territory rather than mix with it."

She tilted her head slightly and said, "I was hoping you'd explain it to me. I never understood it clearly."

"Huh?"

"I'm not a Soul Cultivator," Liliana said. "Anything related to the soul interested me a lot, but I never managed to make time to explore it."

Realisation dawned on Aegon. Liliana had also come to learn from him, just as he wanted to learn from her. She didn't treat him as her son or student, but as a fellow creator who shared the same interests as her. She hoped they could share their knowledge with each other.

It certainly amused him and made him like her even more. He found her cute. After all, everyone either treated him like a child or put him on a pedestal. Very few ever saw him as an equal, so this feeling was a novelty.

He chuckled softly and closed the scroll. Then he explained it to her.

"Just like the Body Pathway depends entirely on the body and the Mage Pathway depends on the mana core, the Soul Pathway depends on the Sea of Consciousness. Do you know how it looks?"

She replied calmly, "My acquaintances explained it as another realm which is no different from ours."

"They're not entirely wrong," he nodded. "It basically looks like a world filled with a giant ocean, and there are islands here and there. How much area we control there tells us our Soul Rank."

Her mouth opened wide in surprise as her eyes blazed with curiosity.

'She never learned about it?'

He found it hilarious, but still kept his composure and continued his explanation.

"We theorise that it is the world's consciousness, and as its residents, our consciousness also stems from it. What we see isn't our own Sea of Consciousness, but our position in the World's Sea of Consciousness."

"Interesting! The world isn't intelligent, but it has consciousness," Liliana rubbed her chin thoughtfully and said. "Doesn't that mean the islands might represent us, and the other islands are representations of others in the Main Consciousness?"

"Woah! You really are a genius," Aegon exclaimed. "Yes, it's exactly like that. It's the reason why a battle between two Soul Cultivators isn't destructive at all."

"It takes place in a completely different plane of existence," Liliana muttered. "Really interesting. This changes so many things that I was working on in the past. Can you explain how the soul gets stronger and why this theory is stupid?"

"I was getting to it," Aegon placed the scroll back on the shelf and said. "You probably guessed it already though. Our soul stems from the Main Consciousness. In fact, our soul is basically the region we occupy and control in that consciousness, so if you want to grow stronger, you just need to expand and stabilise that region."

"Ah! But the theory says you need to mix with the rest of the Sea of Consciousness," Liliana gasped. "That's so stupid. It means giving up your 'self'."

"Exactly! The Main Consciousness is vast, so we need to resist it swallowing us, but this theory says we should let it swallow us," Aegon scoffed.

"It's a stupid theory, but understandable," Liliana smiled and said. "This was made during the Dark Ages, when we were trying to recover after the terrible Divine War. All knowledge was lost, so they did their best. Your current knowledge came after these theories failed, and those failures helped others understand where they should look and what they should avoid."

Aegon listened attentively before nodding in understanding. The current accomplishments were built upon countless failures, and things that seemed common in the modern world were concepts people in the past didn't understand at all.

"I've noticed something," he said. "You have a habit of explaining things as if you're giving lectures."

Liliana paused and turned towards him. "I guess I picked up that habit because people don't usually understand me. I try to use simple words and long explanations. Ah! I'm doing it again."

She facepalmed and said, "I'll try not to do that."

Aegon chuckled. "It's fine. I actually like it. It shows how serious you are about all of this."

Liliana gazed into his eyes for a moment before smiling. "I'm happy to hear that. Only a few people ever appreciated my interests, so it means a lot to me."

"I can understand," Aegon smiled back. "Shall we continue our research? I still need to find solutions to my problems too."

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