Chapter 35: Book of Truth, Inner and Outer Worlds

“Ha… It should be coming up soon, right?”

While dodging those absurd and bizarre entities that flit about the island—things that are nearly impossible to describe in words—Nitira cautiously made her way through the desolate and silent wasteland of the abandoned island, guided by something she couldn’t quite grasp, and she was now not far from her destination.

Hiding behind a giant rock at the remnants of a wall by the roadside, doing her best to conceal herself from being spotted by whatever lurked nearby, the Merman Girl carefully opened the thick book she had held close to her chest the whole time.

This book is called “Truth”—the “Book of Truth.”

It did not belong to Nitira; rather, it inexplicably appeared beside her after she woke up on this bizarre island, becoming one of the few sources of support in this unfamiliar environment.

Although it looked thicker than a brick, the inside of the book was completely blank, with no words written on the cover at all, including the title “Book of Truth.”

At first, Nitira didn’t understand what it was, but the moment her fingers touched its cover, a sudden clarity surged from within her, allowing the princess to instantly grasp its name and purpose.

This is a divine object, a true extension of a powerful artifact.

Its true essence was not as simple as what Nitira observed; it exists in some manner far harder to describe, somewhere deep in the ocean, while the book before her was merely a spliced-off part of it.

Just as its name suggests, the “Book of Truth” records nearly all truths of the world—whether knowledge, techniques, unknown facts, or long-lost magic. As long as one seeks answers, they can obtain them from it.

Of course… it does not come without a price.

However, based on the information the Book of Truth provided, it seemed Nitira was somewhat special—she possessed some unique bloodline allowing her to seek help from the Book of Truth unconditionally to a certain degree.

For this reason, the princess learned about her situation here, the answers she had been seeking, and the truth that could drive the Emerald Sea Region and countless beings across the East Sea into madness and fear… yet was known to very few.

Naturally, even if she felt shock and dread, Nitira did not fully believe the information revealed in this book. She hadn’t entirely given up hope; she intended to visit a specific place on this island to confirm the truth herself.

Even if it would bring danger.

“Hu…”

Gently stroking her smooth, flat, white abdomen, the princess took a few deep breaths to calm down from her heavy running and stirring emotions, looking down at the book in her hands.

“I’ve arrived at the location as you instructed. This route indeed helps me avoid those… enemies, so what should I do next?”

She murmured to the thick book laid open before her, and while it sounded like mere self-talk, the next moment brought an astonishing reply.

Within the completely blank pages of the book, a panoramic map of the island began to appear, marking her current position with a red line like intelligent navigation and showing several routes she could take to reach her desired destination.

Having used it before, the Mingjiao girl naturally understood this was the Book of Truth planning out several paths for her to safely reach the next location while avoiding enemies.

The book possessed no self-awareness; it simply offered usable methods or information based on the user’s intention. Which path to choose and how to act ultimately depended on the latter.

“…”

Staring at the several routes on the map for a long time, the princess took a moment of silence, closed the book again, lowered her body, and suddenly leaped away like a sly rabbit!

Then, taking advantage of a gap in the patrol of some creatures, she quickly dashed out from behind the rock, running into another previously selected hiding spot.

This movement was swift and decisive, perfectly utilizing the visual blind spots throughout the process—it was nearly impeccable, as if she had rehearsed it countless times before.

Of course, it couldn’t have been done just by following a map and a few lines; what allowed her to do this was that Nitira had traversed this area countless times, almost memorizing the structure of the region.

Because this place, this island… was the home she had lived in her entire life.

The “Kingdom of the East Sea Pearl.”

Although it was unbelievable, even absurd, that was precisely the way it was. Not only the “Kingdom,” but even the six outer islands comprising the entire East Sea Pearl and that circular inland sea looked almost exactly as the princess remembered.

Nitira had confirmed this terrifying truth when she first learned of it from the “Book of Truth” by personally visiting the edge of the island.

To put it more accurately, she was never transported to some distant, unfamiliar island by mysterious powers—the place where Nitira regained consciousness was simply her own bedroom in the kingdom, the very spot where she had sat and read, with not a single location changed.

It was merely that the surrounding environment had shifted dramatically due to changes back and forth, and the princess was too tense to recognize it immediately.

In other words, she had just been napping at her desk, and upon waking up, the surroundings had flipped upside down, making the situation feel alien.

It was like… entering the “Inner World.”

Calmly waiting for the patrol guards to pass, backing up into the intervals, Nitira instinctively looked around while hiding behind a low wall.

This was indeed the Merman Tribe Kingdom. The low wall she was hiding behind, which had decayed badly due to suspected long-term sea water soaking, still faintly bore the marks of exquisite craftsmanship.

Including this, many nearby shattered columns, seaweed-hung room remnants, and overall unchanged architectural structures were all completely consistent with the princess’s memories.

Even those lingering here, the “ghosts” that roamed day in and day out, were actually all…

Thinking of this, the Merman girl suddenly leapt forward again, darting across the corridor’s center, narrowly brushing through the gaps in the guards’ line of sight to reach the other side.

Soon… she would arrive.

“Father…”

…

“You mean King Willipol is in the Ghost Sea? What does that mean?”

“Of course, it’s literally what it says, Miss Vilyric.”

On the coast of Eze Island, close to the Ghost Sea, everyone who had finished their discussions, including Priestess and three others, Queen Anies, Miss Silisa, Alec, and the select hundred elite Mermen, as well as Pirate King Rashid Bachiri, gathered here, preparing to act.

For this rescue mission, the East Sea Pearl had brought out all its elite forces. Each of these Merman warriors possessed at least level 30, meaning top-tier strength, and even Her Majesty the Queen was personally entering the fray, leaving only Princess Valda to guard the Kingdom.

From Rashid’s words, Vilyric and the others learned some secrets so shocking they were incredible, gaining a more profound understanding of the artifact he referred to as the “Book of Truth” and the historical causes and effects of this sea region.

And now, the reinforcements were about to enter the so-called deadly sea region from which none could escape, to rescue the captured Merman Princess, where a completely unexpected formidable enemy… was surely lying in wait for them.

The former Merman King—Willipol Mingjiao.

   

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