Chapter 242: The Overlooked Question

Of course, when Lynn said these words, it was not only to gain sympathy but also to serve as a warning.

Lynn knew that Amanises' wariness wouldn't be completely dispelled by just one act of pity. Thus, his words were both a warning and a means to mislead the Evernight Goddess.

Unlike Roselle, who had encountered his true form by accident and was in a desperate situation waiting for Lynn to rescue him, Amanises neither understood Lynn nor knew what kind of existence stood behind him. Additionally, Amanises was not in a desperate situation.

Therefore, Lynn didn't choose to treat Amanises the same way he treated Roselle. He did not reveal the harmlessness of his true form in normal circumstances or his plans if he were to inevitably lose himself.

Lynn knew that even if he said this, Amanises would most likely not believe him. Even if she did, it might not necessarily be a good thing for him.

The original story had already taught Lynn not to believe in the mercy of gods.

So, Lynn's choice was simple. He used his power to intimidate Amanises first and then expressed his goodwill with the bargaining chip of "saving Her family," thus taking the first step towards cooperation. By revealing part of the truth, Lynn aimed to soften Amanises' attitude while also giving a warning and a hint.

Since Lynn would lose himself upon gaining power, the critical question arose: who could grant Lynn such overwhelming power, and why would he lose himself because of it? Why would he even prefer to abandon this power and choose to become an ordinary Sequence 0 to save himself?

From Lynn's perspective, he knew that he was merely seeking independence. His true form had no interest in replacing him and was even happy to see him gain independence.

However, from Amanises' perspective, given the world's background with situations like "the Original Creator has awakened in me," "the Mysteries has awakened in me," and "the God Almighty has awakened in me," Lynn's state was reminiscent of Klein at the end of the original story, who gained power to save others but lost himself in the process.

Amanises, as an experienced Sequence 0, could certainly guess this situation, even without knowing the original story.

Although this still couldn't fully explain Lynn's situation, many things in this world were inherently inexplicable. At least, for Amanises, the most plausible explanation was that:

Lynn might be the vessel for the resurrection of a Great Old One, A pillar, or even more absurd existence, and thus had inherited part of their power, such as some special Characteristics beyond the twenty-two pathways. This was not unimaginable since the world didn't originally only have twenty-two pathways; the Outer Gods were the best proof of that.

The more Lynn used this power, the more the consciousness of that existence within him would awaken. Just like how the ancient god's will within ordinary Beyonders awakened more as they ascended, when Lynn fully inherited that power, it would mean he had been replaced and lost himself.

'But Lynn Sotos was clearly not someone who would wait to die. Becoming a Paragon was his effort to break free...' Amanises' mind worked quickly, then she recalled something and added in her heart.

No, it wasn't just that. In the Second Epoch, Lynn was clearly on the Mystery Pryer pathway, but now he had become a Knowledge Magister on the Savant pathway. This was obviously more than just a jump to an adjacent pathway. Perhaps Lynn's true goal was to become a dual-Sequence true god and then contain the Knowledge Moor, as a result becoming a Great Old one.

Only a Great Old one could barely resist the awakening consciousness within themselves... Although the process was mistaken, Amanises had accurately guessed Lynn's goal.

Although Lynn had no intention of hiding this.

However, a question soon arose in Amanises' mind. She looked at Lynn and asked, "Why the Mystery Pryer and the Savant?"

These two pathways did not correspond to the most powerful existences, at least not comparable to the Lord of Mysteries or the God Almighty. Given Lynn's Characteristics, Amanises didn't think it would be harder for him to become the Mysteries or the Almighty compared to becoming the Demon of Knowledge.

"Hmm..." Hearing Amanises' question, Lynn blinked. He could see what Amanises was thinking and knew his act of pity and warning had worked, but Amanises' question genuinely puzzled him.

Why had he never considered becoming the Lord of Mysteries or the God Almighty? Why not become a pillar? Was it because his alias had started on the Mystery Pryer pathway?

'No!' Lynn denied this in his heart. It wasn't that he couldn't adopt other aliases, and forcibly jumping to a non-adjacent pathway might drive others half-mad, but for Lynn, it wasn't necessarily so.

Even if he did go half-mad, Lynn could find a way to heal himself and quietly expel the non-adjacent Characteristics. This wasn't impossible—like the ancient goddess Lilith, who had once been in a state of mixed Characteristics madness but eventually managed to expel the extra Characteristics and now was a normal Sequence 0.

Adam initially had the Blood Emperor Tudor forcibly jump pathways, surely not to lead him to a dead end. Even if Adam considered Tudor a tool, the sane Tudor wouldn't have chosen a dead end. He chose to jump pathways because, as a Sequence 0, he could slowly expel other Characteristics and return to normal.

So was it because of Sasrir and Klein's existence?

Lynn thought about it and also denied this. If it were now, he would indeed consider them and not compete, but earlier, before his relationship with them improved, Lynn had also never thought of becoming the Lord of Mysteries or the God Almighty.

They were different from what Mother Goddess of Depravity represented as a Piller. Regardless of her nature as a pitfall, needing to confront her to become the complete Great Old One, and what she represented made Lynn dismiss the idea.

He wasn't interested in becoming a woman, and the price of confronting the Mother Goddess of Depravity was too high.

For his True Form, the Mother Goddess of Depravity was no big deal, but for Lynn, even if he could borrow his True Self's power to deal with her, the cost would be too great, leading him to rationally give up.

'So why have I never considered becoming the Lord of Mysteries or the God Almighty, as if I instinctively ruled out these choices from the beginning?' Lynn frowned his brows tightly, as if trying to explore the reason for this avoidance.

(End of Chapter)

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