Chapter 1340 - 531: The Cave and Aleph
Chapter 1340: Chapter 531: The Cave and Aleph
The Green Ring No.2 was as tranquil as a sleeping Giant Beast late at night.
The three Stars had completely set, leaving only the faint glow of the Tree of Life to cast a final warm hue over this Otherworld.
Ron sat alone in his dorm, the Extraordinary Comprehensive Guide spread open before him.
Tonight, he would continue his intriguing "knowledge exchange."
"I want to understand the nature of the Native Gods."
Ron gently stroked the pages, presenting his request to this "absurd Master":
"How were they born? Why do they possess the power to affect reality? And how can one confront them?"
The pages began to flip automatically, eventually settling on a blank page.
Familiar words slowly emerged:
"Knowledge is never free, dear student. What will you offer in exchange for these secrets that may change your fate?"
Ron was well-prepared.
He cleared his throat and began telling an ancient story from a past life:
"In a time of the Exotic Realm’s city-states, there was a philosopher named Plato who once spoke of a parable about a ’cave.’
His voice flowed softly in the quiet room:
"Imagine a group of people who have been bound by Chains in the depths of a cave since birth, only able to face the wall.
Behind them, there is a fire, and between the fire and the prisoners, people walk by holding various objects."
"These prisoners can only see the shadows cast on the cave wall by the objects, and they believe these shadows are the entirety of reality."
"Until one day, one person broke free from the Chains and turned to see the firelight and the real objects.
Eventually, he walked out of the cave and saw the real world under the sunlight."
Ron paused for a moment, then continued:
"But when he returned to the cave, trying to tell others the truth, he was seen as a madman.
For those still bound, the shadows were the only reality."
"Plato wanted to express that what we consider ’reality’ might just be shadows cast by a higher-dimensional truth.
And those who claim to have seen the truth are often viewed as heretics by people trapped in shadows."
Ron looked at the Extraordinary Comprehensive Guide, awaiting a response.
The text on the pages began to flicker gently, as if contemplating something.
"Interesting parable, but it’s not enough."
Words reappeared:
"I need more specific, imaginative concepts.
Doesn’t your world have more... peculiar imaginations?"
Ron smiled; he knew what the Extraordinary Comprehensive Guide wanted.
"Then let me tell you another story.
This comes from a literary figure named Borges."
"In our world, there is a concept about the ’Aleph.’
It’s a small rainbow sphere not even the length of a little finger, but within this sphere, one can see every scene in the universe at once, without distortion or overlap."
"Standing before the Aleph, a person can simultaneously see every corner of the Stars: all oceans, deserts, snowflakes, every person’s current actions, every moment in the past and future."
"But the most crucial part is — this omniscient experience is almost indescribable in language, because our language itself is linear and limited.
Trying to describe the Aleph is like trying to draw an entire three-dimensional world with a single line."
This time, the book’s reaction was vastly different.
The text began to flicker wildly, and the whole book trembled slightly, as if shaken by some intense excitement.
"Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent!"
Golden text flowed like water:
"An infinite point that is finite, a paradox of description beyond description... Such a concept is indeed unheard of in our world!"
"The ’limits of language’ you mention also touch upon a fundamental issue: the eternal chasm between reality and expression."
The pages started flipping quickly, finally revealing a stunning multidimensional image.
"The deal is settled! Furthermore, your two stories provide a perfect framework for understanding the essence of Native Gods."
The voice of the Extraordinary Comprehensive Guide became exceptionally excited:
"The ’cave allegory’ explains the relationship between Native Gods and their followers — the ’miracles’ seen by followers are actually shadows cast by higher-dimensional beings."
"And the ’Aleph’ reveals the source of Native Gods’ power — they are aggregation points of concepts, where all related beliefs, emotions, and expectations converge into concrete reality effects."
The image began to display the complete process of a Native God’s birth:
[Stage One: The Dance of Shadows]
Like prisoners in the cave, primitive intelligent creatures faced incomprehensible natural phenomena.
They could only see the "shadows" — the manifestations of lightning, the results of harvest, the symptoms of disease.
"At this stage, ’gods’ were merely hypotheses to explain the shadows."
The Extraordinary Comprehensive Guide explained:
"Just as prisoners in the cave would name shadows and tell stories, primitive intelligence would create myths for natural phenomena."
[Stage Two: Collective Attention]
As the number of believers increased, a wondrous phenomenon occurred.
When enough people simultaneously "focused" on a conceptual shadow, this collective attention began to create a focal effect in higher-dimensional space.
"It’s like numerous people staring at the same shadow on the cave wall; the power of this collective attention starts to make the shadow appear more ’real.’
Ron saw that in the image, those originally blurry shadows began to become clear, even starting to move actively.