Just as rlin said, a few minutes later Lorenzo found himself inside a cage of steel.
It was more of a heavily guarded interrogation room than a cage, with an electrified iron fence between Lorenzo and rlin. From the scent of blood lingering in the air, it was clear this was no pleasant place.
The two remained in a strange silence until Arthur arrived, reuniting the three of them. However, this ti Lorenzo was bound to an iron bed, and as the chanism was pulled, the entire bed slowly folded so Lorenzo could sit up.
"So why are you so nervous, rlin?"
Lorenzo asked slowly, feeling sowhat annoyed by the series of events.
"You'll know soon enough, Mr. Hols."
rlin nodded to Arthur as a signal, and both sat across from Lorenzo, looking as if honesty would be t with leniency, resistance with severity.
"Well then..."
"Mr. Hols, can you describe your experience inside the Armor of Original Sin? Specifically and in detail."
rlin asked bluntly, seemingly knowing sothing, directly addressing the issue's core.
"The experience in the armor? I went in and fell unconscious."
Lorenzo didn't elaborate much; this involved Watson, the mysterious Pseudo Holy Grail, and no one knew if the Purification chanism would use him as a guinea pig after learning this.
"Please recall carefully, you are currently the only case, having fallen unconscious without losing control, this is a highly unusual case."
rlin said again.
"..."
Lorenzo remained silent.
He was absolutely wary of Watson, who was akin to a Pseudo Holy Grail, sothing utterly untrustworthy.
Lorenzo was still hesitating whether to divulge the crucial intelligence of the "Gap," finding it particularly tricky for the first ti.
"Then let's change the topic."
Seeing Lorenzo maintain his silence, rlin surprisingly didn't press further, instead questioning Lorenzo from another angle.
"Are you familiar with Alchemy?"
"Alchemy?"
Lorenzo couldn't quite understand why this guy brought it up. If anything in this world was the most profound art, it would surely be alchemy.
A power beyond mortal reach, it's said to connect with gods and demons.
Seeing Lorenzo's hesitation, rlin continued.
"Alchemy... It can be seen as the precursor to modern chemistry. In its birth era, human productivity wasn't nearly as strong as it is now. Even casting an iron sword was an incredibly difficult task, so alchemy originally could be considered a tallurgy technique."
rlin said with a touch of mystery.
"Understand a material, decompose a material, and then reforge it... Transforming base tals into precious tals, ascending from the mundane to the superior."
"This technology evolved over ti, forming the foundation of mysticism. Many strange and bizarre things are more or less related to it."
rlin shifted the topic and asked.
"Do you know why alchemy gradually disappeared from the world?"
"Disappeared?"
It was as if sothing clicked in Lorenzo's mind. Although there had been signs, everything now beca clear—the once-dominant mysterious art was silently fading away.
"Yes, the Purification chanism is also undergoing modernization. Technologies related to alchemy are slowly being replaced by new technology. Though not as efficient as alchemy, in today's industrial production, they are enough to support the operation of the entire Purification chanism."
rlin said slowly, as the last alchemist of Old Dunling, he seed particularly calm, with a look of indifference.
"Do you understand how alchemy continued?"
The alchemist continued to explain.
"Modern scholars love to share knowledge, unite and build institutions. But alchemists are the opposite; each alchemist pursues the pinnacle of alchemy, that deepest essence, the Philosopher's Stone, or the Universal dicine, these are all intangible tonyms for what they truly seek—a 'spiritual ascension.'"
"But in the world built by alchemy, it's a balanced scale. There must be enough cost to achieve the other extre behind the scale, that spiritual ascension, and it adheres to the conservation of energy."
"aning it's limited..."
Lorenzo replied instinctively.
"That's right, only a very few alchemists can reach that ultimate, which is why each alchemist is in a competitive relationship."
rlin confird Lorenzo's answer.
"It's forbidden knowledge, much like the corruption by demons. It amplifies your inner greed, your desperate desire, driving you mad! You'd sacrifice everything to pursue them!"
"Every alchemist is a foe to one another!"
His words grew more fervent and angry. Lorenzo watched rlin's hollow gaze and suddenly felt an indescribable fear—a fear of that uncanny mystery, a fear of the abhorrently empty void in rlin's eyes, as if he was rely a shell.
"Calm down, rlin."
Arthur tily reminded from the side.
rlin paused for a mont, seemingly not realizing his own loss of composure. After swallowing, his voice regained composure.
"I'm sorry, I haven't discussed these matters for a long ti. It's a bit unsettling. Alchemy is like that; it harbors imnse power, but it can also awaken primal greed in humans—a greed for knowledge, an unyielding greed for possession."
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