Chapter 439: Dark Demon’s Star Palace Labyrinth (4k)
Diana and Rose could hardly know Metia Professor’s intentions.
Both shook their heads slightly. Diana muttered, “I hope Professor Metia’s final project isn’t too difficult.”
Rose whispered, “It shouldn’t be too hard, after all, astronomy is just an elective…”
“You two shouldn’t get too relaxed,” Dark said with a shake of his head. “Professor Metia isn’t one to go easy on students. And she seemed to have mentioned that this semester’s astronomy exam will also be recorded in the final grades.”
Diana exclaimed in surprise, “Oh? She did mention that?”
Rose’s face fell slightly as she hesitated, “It seems like she did say something about it…”
While the students were discussing intensely, the clock struck seven-thirty PM, and the class bell rang.
Professor Metia arrived right on time.
She still arrived by pumpkin carriage through the open ceiling into the classroom, but the Blood Princess who had been secretly following her to the classroom remained confined.
Metia Barthelemy walked alone to the chapel, pointed her wand at the carriage, and a dozen crystal balls, each as big as a head, floated out of the carriage.
With a wave of her hand, twelve crystal balls flew in front of her.
When the students looked puzzled, Professor Metia smiled and said, “The end of the semester has come quickly. During my time here at Saint Maryann Academy, I’ve enjoyed being with everyone very much.
But including tonight, there are only four more astronomy classes left this semester. I know many don’t want to face it, but it’s unavoidable. Tonight, I’ll assign the final project for this term. I hope you can complete and submit it within a month.”
Since they had already heard about this, the students weren’t surprised.
Professor Metia turned and wrote “Constellations” on the blackboard, saying, “Tonight’s topic is constellations. In previous classes, I briefly discussed them, but didn’t delve deep.
The movements of the sun, moon, and stars influence everything, even human destiny. Constellations have always been closely linked to astrology.”
“We all know that each person has a corresponding constellation from birth, commonly known as the zodiac signs.”
“Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, Pisces.”
“What we usually refer to as someone’s constellation is based on the time of birth, chosen from these twelve zodiac signs.”
“These twelve constellations are the most well-known. But in fact, there are eighty-eight constellations in the universe.”
“In recent years, more and more astrologers have found that the zodiac signs only express surface-level destinies. To truly understand someone’s fate, research must extend beyond these twelve signs, to the eighty-eight constellations.”
“Astrologers define the twelve constellations related to birth as the outer constellations, and the broader eighty-eight constellations as the inner constellations.”
“And our final project for this semester is the eighty-eight inner constellations!”
“You need to find your inner constellation and make a prediction about the holiday period based on it.”
Professor Metia raised her wand and gently touched the row of twelve crystal balls in front of her. These twelve crystal balls suddenly began to split.
After the splitting ended, eighty-eight crystal balls floated in the air.
She raised her hand, and the eighty-eight crystal balls flew upward and scattered, forming a huge star map like stars.
Emma, sitting in the front row, raised her hand.
Professor Metia asked, “Metis, do you have any questions?”
Emma, as usual, stood up and said, “Professor, how do we find our inner constellations?”
Seeing her cooperation, Professor Metia smiled and said, “There are many ways to confirm inner constellations. Each astrologer might have their own method, leading to different results.
I usually prefer creating a star palace labyrinth, guiding people to find their inner constellations through their hearts. This is what we will encounter in this lesson.”
“Star palace labyrinth,” Emma curiously asked, “Is it a hallucination?”
Professor Metia gestured for her to sit down and continued, “Your guess is correct, but it’s closer to a dream. When people enter dreams, their internal and external personalities separate, making them follow their true selves. Dreams guide them to find the constellation most compatible with them.”
“Tonight, we have ninety minutes. I’ll spend thirty minutes explaining some basic knowledge, then give you sixty minutes to find your inner constellation in the star palace labyrinth.”
“I hope this journey will help you discover your inner constellation while foreseeing your fate in the coming months.”
…
Professor Metia’s words were not dramatic, but her simple explanation attracted the students, who couldn’t help but immerse themselves in it.
For the secrets of “inner constellations” and the curiosity about “star palace labyrinths,” they were engrossed.
Dark harbored similar curiosity.
He knew about the eighty-eight constellations, but terms like “outer constellations” and “inner constellations” were clearly unique to this world.
“According to Professor Metia, outer constellations are just superficial, while inner constellations represent true fates.”
“Let me think, I was born on June 6th, so I’m superficially a Gemini, but for inner constellations… Pegasus Meteor Fist? Anything but Cancer!”
Dark poked Eevee’s little nose lightly and said easily, “I wonder what your inner constellation will be?”
Eevee twisted its head, indicating it would listen attentively.
…
Half an hour later, Professor Metia concluded her lecture on basic knowledge. She pointed her wand, and the eighty-eight crystal balls shot towards the classroom walls, spinning rapidly under her control, emitting starry light, forming a complex array diagram.
Looking at the students’ eager faces, Professor Metia smiled and said, “Relax your minds and don’t resist. Next, I will take you into the star palace labyrinth, embarking on a journey.”
Her voice became ethereal, and a special chant emerged from her mouth, accompanied by the surging mana, spreading throughout the classroom.
The centers of the eighty-eight crystal balls gradually lit up with constellation patterns.
From the center of the array diagram, nebula-like light spread outward.
The entire star map rotated, transforming into a vast expanse of deep space.
The young magi in the classroom felt their minds gradually emptying, their eyes slowly closing.
Eevee looked back at its owner, who had closed his eyes, and mimicked him by lying on the table, closing its eyes.
Starlight sprinkled down from the sky, enveloping it.
A mysterious power fluctuation followed.
Everyone’s consciousness except Professor Metia’s was drawn into a world akin to a dream.
…
Dark felt his mind being cleansed, becoming light and airy. Opening his eyes again, he found himself in another place.
“This is the star palace labyrinth?”
He regained his senses and noticed that he was in a world filled with mirrors.
The entire world seemed to be shattered into countless pieces, reflecting colorful light from the broken mirrors.
Red, green, yellow…
Countless colors intertwined, strikingly entering his brain.
It took Dark about half a minute to adjust to the fragmented world and the myriad colors.
Then he looked down at himself and discovered that in this world, he had become a fluffy entity!
“No way?”
This shocking fact didn’t scare Dark; he couldn’t help but feel a dark line appear on his forehead as he carefully examined his hands and feet.
Though still standing upright, his hands and feet had become extremely short. The palm hid a tender pad, making him want to rub it against his cheek.
“Am I a cat or a dog?”
Trying a few steps, he found his limbs uncoordinated, walking clumsily and uncontrollably.
He quickly accepted this transformation and found a mirror that reflected his image, finally seeing his full appearance.
In the mirror, the boy had transformed into a small golden-haired cat.
It blinked at the mirror, and its emerald-green cat eyes glowed.
…
“Did I really turn into a cat?”
Professor Metia, seated at the desk, couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh when she saw the cute kitten displayed on the desktop.
The normal star palace labyrinth doesn’t involve transforming into small animals, but if it were ordinary, how boring would it be?
Watching the young magi, who usually acted like little adults, turn into adorable small animals running around in the labyrinth was endlessly amusing.
Professor Metia’s gaze shifted, and the projection on the desk switched to other people.
Diana had turned into a white-furred bear cub, Rose into a pink rabbit, Emma into a water otter with prominent teeth, Robert into a long-haired puppy, and Wit into a round-headed deer…
Each young magus struggled with their tiny legs, their wobbly, comical, and adorable movements.
“Wait!”
Suddenly, her brow furrowed as she noticed an anomaly.
A three-year-old brown-haired cutie was struggling forward inside the labyrinth.
…
Little Eevee looked at itself in the mirror, repeatedly examining its chubby little hand before finally accepting the fact that it had turned into a human.
While everyone else transformed into small animals, the only animal in the star palace labyrinth turned into a human.
It blinked its eyes, trying to adapt to walking upright, then looked bewildered in this surreal world, searching for a path.
The journey in the star palace labyrinth lasted only sixty minutes.
If they failed to find their inner constellation within this time, they would have to rely solely on imagination for the final major project.
Of course, doing so wouldn’t result in high scores.
However, astronomy is essentially an elective course, so there’s no concept of failing. They wouldn’t have to worry about mandatory makeup classes next year, though their grades might be lower and look worse on paper.
If it were Eevee, however, there would be no worries.
Yet, its desire to achieve high scores wasn’t any less than that of any student.
As the only golem that could attend classes with Dark, though it didn’t speak openly, it took pride in this.
Every Wednesday night’s astronomy class was its most anticipated time.
Although learning was challenging, it put in serious effort.
Anyone who puts in extra effort naturally wants to receive equivalent rewards and praise from those they care about.
Eevee thought exactly this way.
Moreover, it hoped to demonstrate its achievements, allowing Dark to continue taking astronomy in the second year!
After searching for five or six minutes in the star palace labyrinth, Eevee suddenly stopped in front of a mirror. A sense deep within drew it to this mirror, and it couldn’t resist touching it, only to be suddenly sucked in.
…
The world changed.
Dark Demon observed for a long time before extending his hand into one of the mirrors.
His hand passed through the mirror without resistance, immediately understanding that each mirror was a gateway to another place.
He didn’t hesitate much, shaking his fluffy body as he stepped into the mirror before him.
Once through the mirror, the scenery before his eyes completely changed.
A world with fewer fragmented mirrors and colors appeared compared to when he first entered.
Turning around, Dark noticed that the mirror he had just passed through had vanished.
He wasn’t alarmed. After circling twice, he chose another mirror and stepped into it.
Repeating this process several times, he finally realized that the number of fragmented areas in the world was decreasing, and the colorful blocks were gradually fading. However, the world became increasingly monotonous, with fewer paths ahead until only one straight path remained leading to the endpoint.
Without hesitation, he walked down this path without branches, following its winding direction.
He didn’t know how long he had walked.
Walls quietly rose on both sides of the passage, then turned transparent, eventually becoming smooth mirrors.
Turning his head, he saw countless reflections of himself in the mirror.
Suddenly, a hint of fear arose in his heart.
Dark abruptly turned his head back, focusing only on what lay ahead.
He couldn’t be sure if his classmates’ journeys were the same as his, but that moment of looking directly into the mirror had indeed made him feel an overwhelming terror, as if countless parallel worlds were advancing simultaneously.
—Only those who glimpse fate can truly perceive its horror.
