BXBX NOVEL Chapter 492: The Whispering Hall
Everyone in the meeting room understood what had just happened. The soul had self-destructed the moment it was asked about the dimensional coordinates. Either a connection to the main body remained, or a failsafe mechanism had been embedded within the soul.
Daniel was silent for a moment, considering how to proceed. "Ladies and gentlemen," he began, "lock down all information about this and do not let it leak outside, especially to mages who are not part of our faction. I don't want to wake up one day and find a gate to another dimension open somewhere in the world, with an army of mages or monsters invading us." Daniel instructed in a solemn voice.
"Yes, my lord," Albert, Cao Cao, and all of Daniel's subordinates agreed, while his beloved nodded, acknowledging the importance of this matter.
"Mr. Albert, Envy, Greed, please come with me. I have something to show you," Daniel said.
"Yes, my lord," Albert replied, following Daniel out of the meeting room alongside Envy and Greed.
— Old Colonial District —
At the Old Colonial District, the sinkhole had been stabilized and reinforced with Atlantean steel and various magical materials, making it as strong as bedrock and suitable as a foundation for future building projects.
At the bottom of the sinkhole, 100 meters below ground level, the area had been cleared of all debris and obstacles. Daniel, Envy, and Greed stood on a large rock that formed most of the terrain at the sinkhole's deepest base.
"Why are you bringing us here?" Greed asked, both curious and confused. To be honest, if Albert weren't present, she might have suspected Daniel had brought them here for some kinky roleplay.
Envy, looking at Greed's face, knew exactly what she was thinking. She had considered the same possibility, and if not for Albert's presence, she would have already teased Daniel about it.
"Please wait a moment," Daniel replied, walking in front of them with his back turned. He raised his hand and closed his eyes, sinking into his mindscape.
The trio waited silently as Daniel concentrated.
Within his mindscape, he chose a card he had prepared to actualize here. This was one of the cards he needed the points from the store to bring into the real world.
It was a location card, or rather, an iconic location card. Unlike unique sentient being cards like Cao Cao or Albert, this one needed to be actualized at the specific place he wanted it to appear in the world.
Within his mindscape, Daniel witnessed a wonder unlike any other. While conversion cards transformed real-world locations into mana sources for his spells, this one brought a living, breathing piece of land into reality, complete with its structures and ecosystem as described in the card's lore.
In his mind, he saw a grand old British manor, its imposing granite facade rising from a mist-wreathed landscape. Gargoyles perched on its turrets, their grotesque faces seeming to watch the surroundings with silent malevolence. Ivy, a ghostly gray instead of green, clung to the walls, partially obscuring stained-glass windows that hinted at secrets within.
The surrounding gardens were meticulously manicured, yet the gray grass and skeletal trees lent them an eerie, otherworldly atmosphere. The air itself felt charged with a palpable energy, as if the very stones of the manor held centuries of untold stories and whispered promises of forbidden knowledge.
To be honest, Daniel didn't know why it manifested this way in the real world, but he remembered designing the card with gray colors for a cool aesthetic that matched the Whispering Hall's theme, where 80% of its employees were ghosts.
According to the lore, the Whispering Hall acquired information from these ghosts, who would wander in to sell their knowledge about news and various info around the world to the whispering hall. This is the main bulk of information that the Whispering Hall gets to make them hold a majority share of the information market.
With enough contribution points, they could gain a chance at life, either by receiving a homunculus body or a donor's body.
Even after earning enough points, ghosts could continue working for the Whispering Hall. This meant that when they were resurrected, they would also receive material wealth equivalent to their accumulated points, ensuring a comfortable or even luxurious life after death.
Now, in Daniel's mind's eye, he saw hundreds of ghosts flying around the Whispering Hall, their presence indicating they would also manifest alongside it.
Daniel pushed these thoughts aside and concentrated. He chose a suitable spot for the Whispering Hall to materialize and activated the card.
Outside, the trio immediately sensed a powerful surge of mana converging on Daniel, like a tsunami tide visible to the naked eye. The power stirred the wind and disrupted the natural order outside the sinkhole.
Seeing her beloved concentrating, Envy quickly took charge and contacted employees outside to maintain order and prevent chaos as storm clouds gathered above, drawn by the massive mana disturbance.
Fortunately, the mana light shone only within the depths of the sinkhole. Otherwise, ordinary people might have witnessed it, causing another headache in explaining and denying the existence of magic.
At that moment, blue and dark magical energies converged in front of Daniel, materializing into the silhouette of a manor – a vast and imposing structure that perfectly filled the sinkhole's depths. The energies swirled, etching intricate details into existence.
First came the foundations, a network of stone arches and pillars seeming to reach into the earth's core. Then, granite walls rose, their grandeur and craftsmanship evoking the air of old British nobility.
Towers and turrets soared upwards, their peaks lost in shadow. Stained-glass windows bloomed, depicting biblical scenes of angels visiting humans. The strange and unknown energy infused every stone, brick, and timber with otherworldly power, creating grand halls, ornate libraries, and hidden chambers.
The manor stood complete, displaying its past glory for all to see. The gray grass and trees surrounding it swayed, as if bowing before their new master. While many ghostly figures walked out of the manor in their noble British butler and maid form, bowing toward Daniel.
"Greeting master, Please give us your instructions. We the denizens of the Whispering Hall will fulfill any task you gave us." The Butler said with his gentlemanly but heavily British accent.
Envy and Albert, witnessing this spectacle, were both shocked and awestruck. Especially Albert, who had owned the Whispering Hall during his lifetime in the Renaissance Era. Envy was stunned, recognizing this Whispering Hall as the very one she had destroyed.
She had burned it to the ground, then… just to make sure that no one can use it. She blasted it with a spell that generated temperatures rivaling the sun's surface, ensuring that every brick and piece of this cursed hall would be unusable in any shape or form.
Yet, Envy could feel that this wasn't a mere reconstruction. It was a completely new Whispering Hall, but not entirely new. She sensed the same age, the same wear and tear of time, as if the original hall had somehow been preserved and transported to this world. Envy could only stare at Daniel in disbelief, as this was something she never thought possible.
As for Albert, the former owner, he too felt a connection to this Whispering Hall, yet it wasn't quite the same. It was as if this hall had been plucked from a parallel dimension where it remained untouched and manifested here. This explained why he didn't recognize any of the ghostly employees that are bowing to his lord right now.
"Ah... hello then. Did you see that gentleman over there?" Daniel gestured towards Albert, who stood behind him.
"We see him clearly, sir," the ghostly butler replied in a refined British accent.
"Do you remember him?" Daniel asked.
"If 'knowing' means having known him before arriving here, then no, sir, I do not know him," the butler explained with a noble demeanor. "But if 'knowing' refers to the knowledge bestowed upon us the moment we manifested here, then yes, we know him."
The answer was clear to Envy and Albert. This Whispering Hall was the same one they had destroyed, but it had come from a different reality where it hadn't been destroyed.
However, Albert, feeling a connection to the place, believed this was part of the spell Daniel had used. He suspected his lord had a spell to alter reality and manifest this Whispering Hall here while maintaining his connection to it. But magic could not create souls, so his lord must have recruited souls from elsewhere to work here.