The Weight of Knowledge
The initial shock of the vision slowly receded, leaving Bai Chun with a profound sense of foreboding. The orb, now a steady beacon of warm light, felt heavier in his hand, not physically, but with the immense weight of the universe's perils. Xiulan sat beside him, her hand still resting on his arm, her expression a mixture of worry and fierce determination.
"A threat?" she repeated, her voice barely above a whisper. "What kind of threat? What did you see?"
Bai Chun exhaled slowly. "It was… a shadow. Not a physical being, but a consuming darkness. It seemed to be at the very edges of existence, but its influence was vast. It was destroying worlds, not with brute force, but by unraveling the very threads of mana that connect everything." He gestured towards the orb. "This 'key' isn't just for unlocking secrets, Xiulan. I think it's meant to protect those secrets, to guard the universe itself."
Xiulan's eyes widened, processing the enormity of his words. "Protect the universe? Bai Chun, that's… that's an impossible task for two students."
"Perhaps not just two," he mused, looking at the orb. The visions, though fleeting, had shown him glimpses of other powerful entities, other guardians, spread across the cosmic network. "But we need to understand what we're up against. And more importantly, how to use this." He held up the orb.
He focused again on the orb, this time not seeking visions, but trying to understand its fundamental nature. He remembered the "Bored System" and its sudden transmigration failure, the absurd amount of time he'd spent in the abyss, and the immeasurable power he'd gained. Could this orb be connected to the system, or was it something entirely separate, yet equally profound?
As he concentrated, a new sensation pulsed from the orb, not a vision, but a direct infusion of raw information. It wasn't in words, but concepts, images, and feelings. He understood, instinctively, that the orb was a repository of cosmic energy and awareness, a tool for creation and destruction, but primarily for balance. The voice they had heard in the catacombs was not just a recording, but a fragment of the orb's ancient sentience, a guardian consciousness embedded within.
"It's telling me about itself," Bai Chun murmured, his brow furrowed in concentration. "It's… a Cosmic Seed. Not a key in the traditional sense, but something that can cultivate or destroy. And it needs to be awakened fully."
"Awakened?" Xiulan asked, leaning closer. "How?"
"It requires specific… attunements," Bai Chun explained, the words forming in his mind as if whispered by the orb itself. "It draws power from profound magical sources, and from places where the fabric of reality is thin or deeply imbued with ancient energies. The catacombs were one such place. The school… it might have others."
A sudden thought struck him. The instructor with the fiery red hair, the "Fostering Grounds for Greats," the talk of rare magic users manipulating time and space. Could the school itself be a massive hub of such energies, a place designed to nurture those capable of wielding such cosmic power? And was his unusual magical core, as Xiulan had mentioned, the reason he was drawn to the orb, or perhaps why the orb chose him?
"We need to go back to the library," Bai Chun decided, standing up abruptly. "The books on ancient history, on forgotten magic. There must be more about these Cosmic Seeds, or about the great threats they were meant to counter."
Xiulan nodded, her earlier fear replaced by a resolute expression. "Then let's go. We're in this together, Bai Chun. Whatever this 'Cosmic Seed' is, and whatever threat it faces, we'll face it too."
The weight in Bai Chun's hand was still there, but now it felt less like a burden and more like a purpose. The journey was indeed only just beginning, and the secrets of the universe were far more dangerous, and far more awe-inspiring, than he could have ever imagined. He was no longer just a transmigrated individual seeking answers; he was now intricately woven into the destiny of countless worlds.