Chapter 403: Veiled Truths
To gaze beyond the veil of your own imagination is to risk the shattering of your very power. For in the blinding light of truth, what was once limitless may become finite, and what was once divine may crumble to dust. The strength of the mystic depends not on what is true but on what we dare to imagine as truth. Even in the face of the truth, never stop believing in the impossible. - Kael Mystshroud, the first ancestor and author of the Veiled Truths scrolls.
Since she was young, Elysia had been taught this mantra by her family, which was reinforced by the heavenly whispers. Mystic Qi was a higher form of illusion Qi that allowed her to manifest things into reality so long as she believed them to be true, and it was made easier if those witnessing the phenomenon also thought it to be possible.
As the fame of the All-Seeing Eye spread, her capability to wield Mystic Qi in his name would increase. However, unlike other traditional forms of Qi, if her or others' faith in the All-Seeing Eye were to diminish, so would her power.
She was rewarded for being deluded about his grandeur and turning a blind eye to the signs that he may be less than what she and everyone thought.
But she couldn't help it. Her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and she had dared to peer past the veil and bore witness to what she never should have—her god's true form.
He was not a godly, untouchable being high in the sky, eternally gazing down on the entire realm. No, he was far more mundane than that. He had a physical form, the body of a tree. He had bark that could be damaged, sap that could be drained, and leaves that could wither and fall.
"My god, I have finally gazed upon your true form." She confessed to the cosmic affinity tree, acting as a proxy for her 'god' despite him being only a mountain range away. As the words left her mouth, she felt power vacate her soul, and her legs gave out.
Collapsing to her knees, the world went white, and the floating island lurched backward. The cosmic shield protecting the island rippled as a myriad of colors surged over it from the many attacks aimed at Vincent Nightrose. Yet, despite the color and noise, Elysia's world suddenly seemed dark and quiet.
Oh god. Elysia's lip trembled as she realized what she had done. In the blinding light of truth, what was once limitless may become finite, and what was once divine may crumble to dust. It's happened to me.