Eternal Night

Chapter 827 The Eternal Ringing of Hell

Holy crap!

Wu Pifu was inwardly astonished, but outwardly remained calm; inwardly, he was astonished...

Okay, he's getting numb.

He had only been tentatively asking for the opinions of these extraordinary individuals in this world, and he didn't have high expectations.

After all, the current situation is really too unpredictable.

The bells of hell ring, the Nen space, dreams, immortal aging, the line between reality and illusion blurs, and before, he was clearly slaying monsters, yet now he's being killed by a Nen user...

In short, all these completely unrelated clues combined to present Wu Pifu with a tangled mess that he simply couldn't understand.

However, to everyone's surprise, after he showed them what he had taken out of his dream, these Nen users actually started to think seriously and began to connect these clues with various hypotheses and wild ideas.

"...The first thing we need to abandon is our common sense."

This was the first thing Jin said.

"This is the Dark Continent, not the human world we are familiar with. Moreover, after coming here and seeing so many things, objects, and people, I believe your worldviews have been shattered countless times, haven't they?"

"So admit it, the truth of this world is not a lie we humans have fabricated! There are swords in this world that can cut through everything, there are thought spaces that can contain everything! At the same time, there are higher beings that transcend the limits of our human imagination! Admit it all!"

Wu Pifu listened from the side, and the more he listened, the more dissatisfied he became, but at this point he did not intend to refute it.

At least... they didn't directly point their fingers at him and call him inhuman, did they?

Kim continued, "So, let's set aside common sense and the fallacies of human logic, and enter into the reality of this world."

Qiduo seemed a little impatient. She interrupted Jin's desire to continue and asked directly, "So, how exactly do we solve this puzzle? Just talking big isn't enough..."

"Simple."

Jin said, "I'll deny it; you can all freely speculate!"

"what?"

Except for a few people who seemed to be deep in thought, most people around them uttered a single syllable.

Kim repeated, “I will refute all the assumptions you have put forward until the assumption cannot be refuted.”

Qi Duo opened her mouth to scold, "You..."

But after saying only a few words, she also showed a thoughtful expression.

Peter Young exclaimed from the side, "It's a very good method. We are limited by our own values ​​and perspectives because we were raised and educated in this way. Those who did not do this have already died at the hands of other Nen users, so this is essentially our instinct... What Nen can do, what Nen cannot do, what is common sense, what is not—all of these things that make up our world have become obstacles for us on this Dark Continent."

At this moment, a Nen user still asked, "If we're going to be open-minded, then why is he denying us?"

“Because of Nen overload.” At this moment, Paris added with a smile, “It is obvious that the Hellbell Bell disaster was born from the Nen overload of some civilization. However, we know nothing about Nen overload. But no matter what kind of Nen overload it is, its prototype must be Nen, and it is achieved by Nen users. Its premise must be in line with logic and the principles of Nen. In other words, Jin’s meaning is very simple: let us simulate the beginning of Hellbell Bell. Just as you told us, the beginning of the Beastmaster was an underground shelter of a civilization that encountered a great crisis, and its prototype was just like a cryogenic hibernation pod.”

At this moment, Kurapika also understood something. He nodded and said, "Since the initial human-breeding beast was a cryogenic hibernation pod, then what was the original purpose of the Hell Bell? If we want to break through our current predicament with clues, we must find the original intention of the Hell Bell. So, what Jin means is... be careful with assumptions? Be bold in seeking verification?"

“Correct, so let’s begin.” Kim nodded.

The Nen users looked at each other, and then one of them said, "I think the Nen space of Hellbell may involve multiple rules. We can't do it, but that doesn't mean Nen Overload can't do it, or that the humans of the Dark Continent can't do it. They clearly possess Nen abilities that surpass ours. Its design from the beginning had the characteristics of being extremely large in scope and having multiple rules."

Jin immediately asked, "So, which rules are they?"

The Nen user hesitated for a moment before saying, "Based on the information we have so far, there is at least one rule that the physical body is immortal. Within the Nen space, even after leaving the Nen space, no matter what the physical body looks like or takes on, it will remain immortal. Secondly, there is time acceleration, at least in certain areas."

Jin nodded in agreement again. Before the Nen user could even show a hint of joy, Jin asked, "Under what circumstances would you exhaust all your resources and mobilize powerful Nen users to create a super-large Nen space that has both the rule of physical immortality and the rule of time acceleration?" The Nen user fell silent. He couldn't think of any situation that would require the use of such a Nen space.

Because if it's against an enemy, a time acceleration would be incredibly overpowered, causing the user to die of old age immediately. But then they created an immortality rule—is this meant to torture the enemy? Logically, this doesn't make sense.

"What if it's not for the enemy, and not for fighting?"

At this moment, the girl who was in charge of logistics in Peter Young's team suddenly spoke up.

Everyone looked at her. The girl seemed a little shy, but being able to join Peter Young's team meant she must be a seasoned Nen user. She said, "Nen doesn't necessarily have to be used for fighting. For example, Ging, didn't you and a group of people create a game using Nen? The rules within a Nen space include both immortality and acceleration; it seems more like a space for recuperation."

"Why do we need to recuperate and rebuild?" Jin asked ambiguously.

The girl waved her arm and said, "It could be an enemy, it could be a disaster. This is the Dark Continent, there are too many dangers here. If this was originally a civilization, what if that civilization also encountered an invincible enemy like the Human-Beast? The enemy surrounded them, they were confined to this area, without food or necessities, and many people were injured. The enemy attacked them from time to time like a cat playing with mice, bringing them despair. In this situation, how important would a Nen Space be, one that prevents the wounded from dying and can accelerate recovery and production?"

Everyone pondered silently. Jin snapped his fingers and said, "Then why 'dream'? All the clues point to dreams, but what do dreams represent?"

The girl was speechless, and she looked to Peter Young for help.

Peter Young remained silent, lost in thought. No one spoke; everyone was focused on the logical point that had stumped them, and occasionally someone would glance at Wu Pifu.

Wu Pifu remained expressionless, resolutely refusing to participate in their discussion, acting as if he were completely detached.

At this moment, Peter Young suddenly asked Wu Pifu, "Sir, may I ask you something?"

Wu Pifu said expressionlessly, "Ask away, and I'll consider whether to answer."

Peter Young asked, "Are we... still dreaming?"

Wu Pifu immediately shook his head and said, "No, we are not dreaming now, we are awake."

Peter Young nodded, then looked up and pondered for a moment before asking, "If there were a dream that was a very realistic simulation of reality, would you, like us, be unable to distinguish the boundary between reality and dreams?"

"No," Wu Pifu said firmly.

Peter Young nodded again, then said to King, "My speculation will continue from where I left off... This civilization, or a group of people, or humanoid intelligent beings, encountered a crisis. Whether they fled here or were besieged here, in short, they were doomed. In order to change this outcome, they used all the Nen users to create this Nen space. Based on the two characteristics of immortality and acceleration, they attempted to recuperate in it, whether for a short time outside or a long time inside. In short, they created this Nen space."

Jin nodded and asked, "And then?"

"Then we all know that the more rigorous and difficult the Nen rules are, the more stringent the constraints must be. This is actually the oath and constraint. Suppose that they are stronger than us, but they cannot manifest a blade that can absolutely cut through everything. In order to create this Nen space, they must have extremely strict constraints. I think that constraint is... the dream."

"Dream?"

Many people murmured and repeated the word, but Peter Young ignored them and continued, "That's right, it's a dream. This space of thought is based on the collective dream of this civilization, or this group of people. Only by dreaming can time be completely different from the outside world. We can have a dream that lasts a lifetime, but only a night or even a few minutes have passed in the outside world. Other constraints are unclear, but the constraints of dreams are definitely the most important part of the space of thought. The foundation of the entire space of thought is built on the collective dream. It's just that they use this method to transform the falsehood and reality of dreams. This is what I mean when I say that they are stronger than us, but they still can't manifest a blade that can absolutely cut through everything."

Jin didn't deny it, but asked again, "Then what about damage transfer? How would you add the clues about damage transfer to it?"

Peter Young said in a sinister tone, "It's very simple... Nen overload! When they created this Nen space, and then opened it for rest and recuperation in a super-accelerated way, but people can't completely distinguish between reality and dreams. We can't tell whether we entered a real Nen space or a dream Nen space. But the Master can do that, so we know that the Nen space we entered is a dream in the Master's eyes, a collective dream!"

"Then, the space of thought went berserk due to the overload of thought. They could not distinguish between reality and dreams, nor could they distinguish whether they had left the space of thought. However, time was still accelerating, and faster and faster. But they could not die of old age. Their bodies began to undergo the changes caused by the vast expanse of time. Various physical changes occurred, such as the reorganization, flattening, and fluidization of the body. But no matter what, they could not die, because this space of thought was designed this way. They confused reality with illusion, and at the same time confused life with death. They dreamed of eternity and would live in this space of thought forever!"

"We've always found the sound of the Hell Bell terrifying. It sounds beautiful, but we can't listen to it closely because it's the sound of a dream. Dreams are naturally beautiful, but it's also the sound of hell. In this dream, all those who are lost within it live eternally, no matter what they become. Even in the scene Kura enters, they create a giant blast furnace and throw themselves and their loved ones into it to burn, yet they still don't die. Even ashes, they are eternally immortal. They groan, they wail, they peer out through the barrier between reality and dreams, hoping someone can deliver them. Those sounds combined become the Hell Bell!"

"Just like the ancient legends of some cultures in the human world, in hell, people do not die again, but they are tormented eternally until the end of time!"

"Therefore, the thoughts we see when the bells of hell ring are a mixture of the thoughts of the living and the thoughts of the dead. At the same time, the Nithrime we see is the essence they frantically try to escape from the dream, frantically squeezing their flesh, life, thoughts, souls, everything into reality, gathering from the crack between dream and reality..."

"What we hear is actually their eternal cries of pain!"

(End of this chapter)