area51novel Chapter 287 Poetry is the Words of God
Chapter 287 Poetry is the Words of God
Chapter 289 Poetry is the Words of God
"Mr. Meidan, what is the name of this ancient book on the top shelf?"
Zhu Lan looked up, staring at the particularly conspicuous damaged book on the bookshelf, her attention completely drawn to the object before her.
Any researcher with even a slight understanding of ancient books would immediately recognize the extraordinary nature of this material. It was a thin booklet with a bare spine. Although the two hardwood panels serving as the cover were damaged, they clearly showed signs of waxing. The binding thread, though as old as the cover panels, was resilient and unbroken, seemingly made from Bug-type Pokémon thread using some special method. Because of the bare spine, the pages inside were visible from the outside of the bookshelf. The sides had oxidized and yellowed to almost black, but compared to the ancient books that Cynthia had seen before, each page was unusually thick, suggesting that it had likely undergone interlayering. All of this indicated that the person who bound this booklet must have valued its contents highly. "You mean, that booklet on the shelf with the wooden cover?" Meidan's voice interrupted the Sinnoh Champion's thoughts. "That's a strange collection of poems, apparently found in the attic during the renovation of the mansion."
"Does this mansion also have an attic?" Officer Jenny asked curiously.
"It's the spot below the black spire," A-Ying answered the policewoman on behalf of Mei-Dan.
"The attic space was originally part of the design of this Forest Mansion, and it was originally a bedroom. However, with the current interior design trends, it is difficult to create a comfortable resting space in such a small area. So when we were rebuilding, we simply turned that place into a storage room, and the passageway was changed from a spiral staircase to the only entrance that comes in horizontally from the back of the roof."
"Yes, we usually store the ingredients we need for cooking there," Zina added.
"May I take a look at this book?"
Zhu Lan turned around, her gaze sweeping between Hayden and Mei Dan, unsure whether to make the request to the mansion owner or the investor who acquired the mansion.
"Please feel free to look around, Cynthia Champion of the Sinnoh region."
Mr. Hayden, leaning on his cane, nodded in agreement first, while Professor Medan crossed his arms indifferently and said with a sarcastic laugh, "That's an extremely boring pamphlet, one of the most pale and uninteresting even among the clichés of religious superstitionists. The content is fragmented, lacking in merit, and devoid of any literary flair."
Zhu Lan ignored this. Eagerly approaching the bookshelf, she tiptoed and carefully took down this relic forgotten in the corner of time.
Opening the hard wooden cover, the smell of degraded fibers fills the air. Some book lovers might call it the scent of books or vanilla, but Zhu Lan thinks it's closer to a musty smell with wood chips.
As she had expected, the book contained interlayers—or rather, a special binding to protect the internal documents.
The person who made this book first used a layer of hollowed-out paper to extend the original length and width of the tattered pages, making it a neat rectangle that could be bound into a book. Then, they completely covered it front and back with a completely transparent veil. This not only prevented the bookbinding from damaging the paper, but also greatly reduced the oxidation of the original documents inside.
Amidst the yellow pages, pale pink paper of unknown material is embedded, resembling a piece of amber containing knowledge.
Upon seeing the words on the pink note, Zhu Lan's gray eyes widened suddenly: "In ancient times, two deities coexisted..."
"Firstly, one observes the passage of time,
"Firstly, the land is vast and the sky is wide."
"In order to seek the future after the future,
"To explore the ends of the earth and the heavens."
"The two deities each went their own way."
"Always accompanied by the Great One of the Divine Mysteries."
This is not some unprecedented mythological material; on the contrary, this short, poetic ballad has long been widely circulated in the mythological research community of the Sinnoh region.
Although the author is unknown, this nameless ballad was already widely circulated long before the Pokémon League was established. At least dozens of similar ancient documents can be found in the Waterloo City Museum alone.
This short essay, from the perspective of Sinnoh mythology, concisely and profoundly elucidates the birth and origin of time and space in the eyes of ancient people, and unequivocally predicts the existence of Dialga, Palkia, and Arceus, the legendary creator of the world. It contains extremely important archaeological value for the Sinnoh research community today.
Of course, in the eyes of the museum owner, this short article with its strange handwriting contained only well-known religious content, and was therefore utterly devoid of any originality.
However, as a professional mythologist, Zhu Lan saw great value in it.
The evidence at present is not sufficient. This ancient book, sealed in the attic of the Mori Mansion, may just be a product meticulously crafted by a busybody.
However, however...
Judging from the weathered cover of this ancient book, the tattered wooden cover, the interlayered pages, the yellowing of the spine, the ink stains on the pink paper, and the text on the first page, as well as the concise narration between the lines, Zhu Lan, as a scholar of mythology, was forced to construct another, even more terrifying possibility in her mind at this moment—what if?
This damaged collection of poems before us may well be the original text of all the same mythological ballads.
A dark gray teardrop-shaped pendant swayed gently on the Sinnoh champion's chest, as if hinting at her wavering and shock.
At this moment, the most convincing evidence for Zhu Lan's conjecture is the text used by the author of this note on the first page of the poetry collection.
The rounded, full handwritten characters, arranged in blocks of black lines, form poems of varying lengths. The style of the characters immediately evokes the image of the super-powered Pokémon—Unknown Totem—attached to the murals of the grottoes.
In reality, this is not the script used when humans first created writing, but rather one from approximately two thousand years ago.
The writing system used by humans when they first invented paper and pen. A closer look reveals that this writing system, based on unknown totemistic symbols, underwent numerous changes, simultaneously showing two trends: the simplification of pictographic strokes and their evolution into alphabetic words.
Despite the ancient nature of the script, could the curator of the Meidan Museum truly decipher its meaning? No, if it were merely a matter of identifying ancient script, one could simply consult the comparison tables in publicly available archaeological papers to gain a general understanding of the text's content. In any case, Meidan, this atheist, was not as dismissive of metaphysical existence as he appeared; he also possessed considerable expertise in the field of mythology.
Just as Zhu Lan was about to continue turning the pages to confirm or refute her own conjectures—
"Alright, it's about time now. What's the point of everyone gathering in my cramped master's room?"
The speaker was Professor Medan, who shrugged exaggeratedly.
"Champion Bamboo Orchid, feel free to take this strange collection of poems with you and look at it as you please. I don't think it has much value as an artifact. Besides—"
Mei Dan's eyes, brimming with mockery, rolled like a cunning celestial dog as they turned towards the maid, Zina.
"It's getting late, shouldn't we eat?"