Aaron coughed dryly. After all, he had been a bit underhanded in that matter, but at the time, circumstances had forced his hand. Only "Groselle's Travels" could have persuaded Adam to block the Mother Tree of Desire's descent.
Not dwelling on the issue, Aaron looked at Hermes' virtual personality and deliberated before speaking, "Are you preparing to make a move on that Mind Dragon?"
Although he asked this question aloud, Aaron was wondering whether it was Hermes' own idea or Adam's guidance.
After advancing to an Angel, his Spirit Body had become highly integrated with the Nation of Disorder. Even when in the Sea of Collective Subconscious, Adam, who had not truly achieved the Visionary Sequence, could not easily pry into his thoughts. That would be almost equivalent to directly facing the pollution of a non-adjacent Pathway's Sefirah.
Without directly answering the question, Hermes raised his right hand and outlined shimmering patterns in the air with his index finger.
These faint lights were like something from the deepest dream, forming an invisible barrier that cut off connection with the surrounding Sea of Collective Subconscious.
Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly, but he did not try to stop him.
The layered whispers from deep within the illusory ocean receded. Hermes smiled gently, and light gathered on the Mind Island beneath his feet, outlining an ancient study.
Books with various covers were neatly arranged on the bookshelves. Even with Aaron's current knowledge, there were some characters he couldn't recognize. This unique style made him inexplicably think of that Iceberg Vice Admiral's captain's cabin.
Seeing Aaron's slight surprise, Hermes sat in the high-backed chair at the center of the study, pointing to a stone chair of equal height opposite him, and said gently, "Please sit."
Aaron casually pulled a book from the shelf. Looking at the strange symbols outlined on the hard cover, he could only discern that it seemed related to Dragonese, but he couldn't understand it.
"A branch of Dragonese, or some lost language from ancient times?"
Suppressing the doubts in his heart, Aaron took the book and sat opposite Hermes. A wide, thick stone table appeared in due course, separating the two.
With clear eyes, Hermes observed Aaron, who was casually flipping through the book. His tone became ethereal, as if he had fallen into a memory: "I became an Angel at the end of the Second Epoch, what is now called the 'Dual Era.' At that time, humans were merely vassals and slaves to other races."
"My tribe, under the rule of the Dragon race, was more like food than vassals."
Aaron couldn't hide his surprise and looked up. He had thought this human pioneer had only advanced to an Angel after the Creator reclaimed the authority of the Ancient Gods and observed the first Blasphemy Slate.
After all, in that chaotic and dark era, for the lowest class of humans, let alone becoming an Angel, even a Demigod was probably a luxury.
Sensing Aaron's confusion, Hermes smiled and gently tapped the table with his finger. The ancient language on the book, which had been difficult to recognize, was instantly replaced by Ancient Hermes. He casually explained, "These are all my early jottings, containing some strange but effective spells I created myself. They are also my last memories of that era."
Without the language barrier, Aaron instantly read all the content in the book. Reviewing those spells, which were highly characteristic of a "Mysticism Magister," he suddenly looked up and asked, somewhat uncertainly, "Your initial Pathway was 'Reader'?"
Hermes easily understood the somewhat convoluted question. With a calm expression, he nodded and leaned back in his chair, speaking calmly, "Not all Dragons are bloodthirsty and view humans as food."
"At least compared to the Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt, and the Nightmare Dragon, Alzuhod, the 'Dragon of Wisdom' worshipped by my tribe preferred to make his vassals more valuable."
"It was also under his guidance that I was able to successfully advance to Sequence 3 'Cognizer.' As for his identity, you should already know."
Fortunately, there was the Nation of Disorder's shielding, otherwise Aaron's internal exclamations would have echoed throughout the entire Mind Island. He truly hadn't expected Hermes to have such a connection with that two-faced Dragon of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.
After the shock, some of his inner doubts were resolved, and thoughts surfaced one after another:
"I had wondered before, a pure Spectator Pathway's authority is more reflected in the mind domain. Even if one observed the patterns on the first Blasphemy Slate and drew inspiration from other languages, it would be difficult to create a groundbreaking Ancient Hermes."
"However, the 'Reader' Pathway represents the 'omniscience' part of 'omniscience and omnipotence.' Hermes, possessing the authority of two adjacent Pathways, could indeed create a language that directly triggers Beyonder powers."
"After all, creating Ancient Hermes can, to a certain extent, be equated with creating a widely applicable mysticism. Well, one can't rule out the possibility that that two-faced Dragon secretly helped."
"The anchors required after an adjacent Pathway advances to an Angel will only be more numerous. In the Dual Era, where beliefs were divided among the Ancient Gods and subordinate deities, what could be more suitable for Hermes at that time than creating a mystical language that would spread far and wide?"
"As long as Ancient Hermes is still in use, he will not lack anchors to maintain his stability."
Looking at Hermes, who sat quietly opposite him, giving him enough time to think, Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly. He suspected that Hermes, who was not lacking anchors at the time, created the predecessor of the Psychology Alchemists, a secret organization, under Herabergen's instruction.
And after the Cataclysm, the Ancient Sun God, who revived in Adam with the Visionary as one of his foundations, sensed Herabergen's covetousness and decisively acted, directly marginalizing Hermes within the Psychology Alchemists, yet maintaining a tacit understanding with Herabergen, allowing Hermes to join the Twilight Secret Order.
Some questions were answered, but more questions kept emerging. Aaron couldn't quite understand this ancient Angel's true stance, nor whose will it was to deal with that Mind Dragon, Ariehogg, in East Chester County.
Although he couldn't read Aaron's inner thoughts, the clearest and most direct emotional colors were unaffected. Hermes waited quietly for a moment, and only after Aaron's emotional colors stabilized did he continue, "The Dual Era were filled with incessant warfare. Even some subordinate deities fell. The characteristics of my advancement to an Angel came from a subordinate deity of the Dragon of Imagination who fell, the 'Dragon of Insight,' Ariehogg."
Ariehogg!
Aaron couldn't help but be stunned. He pondered for a long time before carefully speaking, "Do you know what that Mind Dragon hidden in East Chester County calls himself?"
Hermes' expression was calm, and his tone was without the slightest ripple as he replied, "Ariehogg..."
Seeing that Hermes had no intention of adding anything further, Aaron frowned slightly and fell into silence.