2435 1366 - 1373

Chapter 1366 Set Up

Retracting his gaze, Klein cast his gaze at the Beyonder characteristic that Pauli Derlau's body had produced.

It was formed from thin mist, seemingly an unreal, grayish-white brain from a dream.

He believed that the Garden of Eden was the safest place, so he placed his true body here. All activities in the outside world are just his many different identities? Who would've known that Hermes, who was supposed to be a defensive barrier, had abandoned this place. If a real angel were guarding the Garden of Eden and had fully utilized the uniqueness of this mind city, I wouldn't be able to so easily "Deceive" the rules and successfully infiltrate it… As Klein thought to himself, he randomly made a wish to accelerate the Beyonder characteristic's formation and condensation.

Pa! He snapped his fingers and fulfilled his wish.

Following that, he picked up the Dreamweaver Beyonder characteristic and something that could be used as the supplementary material. He took off the Pride mask on his face and left the Garden of Eden.

As he left, the remaining parts of the city collapsed and merged into the boundless sea of collective subconscious.

From that point onward, the legend of the Garden of Eden would emerge in many dreams, eventually drawn out by some artists, or fabricated into widespread stories.

And all of the stories would come to a consensus—the Garden of Eden was eventually destroyed.

Returning to the Hall family manor's veranda, Klein looked at Miss Justice, who had already composed herself, and handed over the Dreamweaver Beyonder characteristics, the corresponding ingredients, and the potion formula he had seen from the second Blasphemy Slate.

Before Audrey could say anything, he said in a deep voice, "You can go back on your word before officially advancing."

Audrey received Mr. World's gift and nodded silently, indicating that she would seriously consider it.

Wearing the exquisite straw hat, she watched Gehrman Sparrow turn around and walk to the edge of the veranda, disappearing step by step.

…

After removing his traces and concealing the clues, Klein cleverly used "Grafting" and the uniqueness of Sefirah Castle to return to Backlund, appearing in front of Judgment Xio, who was on holiday.

The MI9 colonel, who was munching on an apple, immediately put down the food in her hands. As she wiped her mouth with a tissue, she stood up.

"W-what's the matter?"

She cautiously didn't address him as Mr. World, nor did she call him Gehrman Sparrow.

Klein nodded slightly and said, "Mr. Fool got me to ask you if you wish to obtain the potion formula, Beyonder characteristic, and supplementary ingredients for Sequence 4 Imperative Mage?"

Xio frowned slightly, not feeling any joy. She asked solemnly, "Then, what's the price?"

Klein nodded approvingly.

"The apocalypse is coming. Many changes are beginning to happen, and Mr. Fool has prophesied some matters.

"When the time comes, it's very likely that 'He' will enter a period of slumber again. And as 'His' Blessed, 'His' left-hand man, I'm unable to escape the same fate. The price you need to pay is that when such a situation really appears, follow the revelation left behind by Mr. Fool, doing something that might be dangerous or simple. It might be an attempt that will take a long while, or just a short moment, so as to awaken Mr. Fool."

As a King of Angels Seer, the owner of Sefirah Castle, Klein had long been able to make certain levels of prophecies. Recently, he had seen some blurry visions and inspiration. Therefore, without any solid plan, he consciously started putting in place various arrangements.

Right now, I'm a real charlatan… he lampooned himself in thought.

Before Xio could speak, he added, "You can choose to decline. You are not the only person chosen."

Xio believed that Mr. World wouldn't use sarcasm when it came to such matters. She didn't immediately answer as she seriously considered the matter.

Without the pending apocalypse, she felt that she would've rejected the offer. Although a demigod was powerful and terrifying, being able to rule a battlefield and control the fates of others, and was a creature that truly possessed godhood, becoming a Sequence 4 wasn't a matter that was urgent for her.

As a Sequence 5 Disciplinary Paladin, she was able to ensure that she completed most of the missions as a colonel of MI9, with her own capabilities. With her salary and additional income, she could maintain a very decent life for her family.

Even if she were to encounter danger, she could obtain sufficient aid from the official factions. Furthermore, she could make preparations by getting Leymano's Travels in advance, and ask her friend, Fors, to protect her in secret.

In addition, she had investigated the cause of her father's death and fulfilled her wish to restore his honor.

Therefore, no matter what, she didn't have to pay the huge price to become a Sequence 4 Beyonder. Besides, it wasn't impossible for her to get an opportunity from MI9.

Of course, Xio had no idea how much longer until this would happen in the future.

Be it Mr. Fool's warning, or the various prophecies I deliberately gathered using my job, it clearly or vaguely points out that the apocalypse is coming… There are only sixteen years left… Xio subconsciously turned her body to look at the second floor.

Under my present living conditions, Mom will definitely be able to live for another sixteen years. At that time, she wouldn't be too old. Furthermore, Mr. Moon has provided all kinds of medicine to maintain her health… Sixteen years later, Rio will be a young man in his prime, at the peak of his career… Fors might already become a Sequence 3 Beyonder, and in order to deal with the apocalypse and seek hope, she would be busy running around, but I wouldn't be of much help… Xio slowly retracted her gaze as she fell silent.

Then, she looked at The World Gehrman Sparrow and nodded solemnly.

"Okay."

"You can set up a ritual at any time and make a wish to Mr. Fool. 'He' will fulfill your wish." Klein didn't waste any time and gave a simple explanation.

His Imperative Mage Beyonder characteristic and potion formula were all obtained from the New Moon City's sacrifice. Of course, he had also bestowed his believers with the Sealed Artifact, General of the Pupil-less Eye, in exchange.

After Xio made her decision, she stopped worrying about the matter and said, "Wendel apparently went to Utopia, but strangely, he returned that very night and didn't go to court to testify.

"That makes him puzzled and worried."

"Tell him that there's no need to worry about this matter anymore. All the people of Utopia were buried in a natural disaster." With that said, Klein turned and walked into the spirit world.

…

In the outskirts of Backlund East Borough, in a cemetery.

Klein silently looked at the niches filled with urns of ashes and didn't look away for a long time.

After a while, he slowly walked under a tree's shade. He took out the historical projection of the adventurer's harmonica and blew it.

With four blonde, red-eyed heads and dressed in a dark and complicated long dress, Reinette Tinekerr immediately walked out of the void.

Without waiting for Miss Messenger to speak, Klein asked, "The various Churches are preparing to besiege the Rose School of Thought and plan on joining forces with you.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

He had learned of the matter from Leonard and Emlyn.

Reinette Tinekerr's four blonde, red-eyed heads said, "There's…" "Nothing…" "For…" "Now…"

"Talk…" "After…" "Locking on…" "Target…"

That is to say that, with the interference in divination, and prophecies, and the protection from Outer Deities like the Mother Tree of Desire, Primordial Moon, as well as Kings of Angels like the Chained God, the Rose School of Thought demigods aren't that easy to find. They need a certain amount of time to employ various strategies? That's right. Even Arrodes wouldn't dare spy on them under such circumstances. Perhaps I can summon its Historical Void projection… Klein thought for a moment and said, "If there are items directly related to them, using them as a medium I can lock onto the corresponding target."

When the time came, he could use Sefirah Castle's power to penetrate the shield.

"Alright!" Reinette Tinekerr's four beautiful heads bobbed up and down at the same time.

With nothing left to discuss, he planned on letting Miss Messenger return.

He had originally intended to jokingly ask, "Do I need to pay for the summoning this time?" His spiritual perception suddenly stirred as he fell silent.

A few seconds later, he took out a gold coin from Sefirah Castle.

This was one of the five gold coins that had been tainted by Sefirah Castle's aura.

"The payment this time." Klein handed over the gold coin with a smile.

"No need…" "This time…" After Reinette Tinekerr's two blonde, red-eyed heads said that, the remaining two didn't say anything.

"She" had powerful spiritual perception capabilities, and appeared as though "She" had sensed something.

In the next second, one of the two blonde, red-eyed heads that didn't open its mouth rose up and bit the gold coin at Klein's fingertip.

"Alright," Klein retracted his hand and said with a smile.

Then, he casually asked, "Is Miss Sharron and Maric still in Backlund?"

"Yes…" Miss Messenger informed Klein about "Her" student's address.

…

In a house, Maric sat at a long table and skillfully played cards with his zombies.

Suddenly, Sherlock Moriarty appeared on an empty chair. He put down his hat and took the covered cards from a zombie without any hesitation.

Maric looked up at him. His lips moved, but he didn't open them in the end.

He let the zombie in charge of croupier duties continue to hand out the cards.

Just like that, Klein joined them. He played a few rounds, winning and losing at times.

In the corner, Sharron, who was wearing a black regal dress and a small and delicate bonnet, appeared at some point in time. She held her face with one hand and quietly watched the game.

After playing for about two hours, Klein stood up and formally bowed to Miss Sharron and Maric.

Then, he chuckled, put on his hat, walked towards the door, and disappeared.

…

Deep in the spirit world, Klein, who had finished a course of three treatments, appeared outside Calderón City.

Chapter 1367 Distributary

As he didn't know what state Amon was in right now, Klein didn't dare delay. After his mental problems were resolved, he immediately came to Calderón City and prepared to obtain the river water of the River of Eternal Darkness.

And because it involved a sefirah, he could only vaguely see some visions when using divination or making a prophecy. He couldn't accurately make a judgment.

After surveying the area, Klein raised his hand to summon the Historical Void projection from a few minutes ago, allowing his true body to return to Sefirah Castle.

His consciousness then shifted to the projection, making it corporeal.

Following that, Klein grabbed at the void again and pulled out the Staff of the Stars's historical projection.

To be honest, after being able to use most of the Beyonder powers below Sequence 0 of the Apprentice pathway through Sefirah Castle, Klein no longer needed a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact like the Staff of the Stars. He could basically replicate whatever mystical effects it had without the negative effects.

However, he always felt that an angel still had to possess a close-combat weapon because it was possible to fall into a region that nullified Beyonder powers at some point in time.

In the mysterious world, this was definitely something that could happen. Be it the law restrictions from the Arbiter pathway, or the Beyonder effects of a particular Outer Deity, it was possible to achieve similar effects.

Under such circumstances, if he picked up a hard staff that came with passive effects and directly smashed it in the enemy's head, it would prove to be rather effective.

As a King of Angels of the Seer pathway, making preparations in all aspects was an instinct!

After weighing the Staff of the Stars and pressing down on his top hat, Klein took out the golden bird-shaped accessory from Sefirah Castle and placed it in his left breast pocket.

Then, he took a step and entered Calderón City, the divine kingdom of ancient Death—Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace.

The first thing that entered his vision was a huge bottomless pit. All sorts of strange buildings circled the deep pit and extended downwards in circles, forming a grand city that was beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

Some of the buildings were standalone houses that stood atop pale-white stone pillars, while others were huge rectangular coffins. There were no windows, and the doors were on the roofs. Some of them were just tombs with gravestones at the entrance, while others were constructed from all kinds of bones, making them seem rather messy…

The closer to the bottom of the pit, the more intact the buildings were. The closer they got to the top, the more they collapsed, filled with the decay and ruin of time.

With just a glance, Klein made a faint grayish-white fog appear around him. He directly used Sefirah Castle's status to resist the laws of Calderón City which turned all living beings into the dead.

To him, becoming a dead person wasn't a negative effect, but he didn't like that cold and indifferent feeling.

The grayish-white tide that rose previously has receded… Klein, who was wearing a top hat and trench coat while carrying the staff, nodded in thought. With one step, he stepped deep into Calderón City, which could be seen with the naked eye.

This time, he used the Marauder pathway's Beyonder powers to steal the distance of his perception so as to avoid being entangled with the various dangerous monsters that were active in this mysterious city.

This wasn't something he was afraid of. The ones who should be afraid were the monsters. If it wasn't for the fact that he didn't wish to waste time, he wouldn't have minded taking the opportunity to gather a batch of marionettes to make up for the losses caused by the destruction of Utopia.

Apart from this reason, Klein was still cautious about something else.

Calderón City was a city of the dead. It was very likely that in the deepest depths of the city flowed the River of Eternal Darkness. And in essence, marionettes were already dead, so once they approached anywhere close to the bottom, there was a possibility of a mutation.

Venturing deeper one step at a time, Klein realized that he had thought too much.

None of the monsters hidden in this strange city dared to appear. The aura of Sefirah Castle allowed their instinctual desire to live to overcome their inclinations of madness and their habits of hunting.

The deeper he went, the quieter his surroundings became. The strange buildings remained intact, but they seemed to be dead for years. Even their auras were cold, gloomy, and decadent.

It's the same as looking at a black-and-white film. If I didn't hear my breathing and heartbeat, I would've suspected that I was deaf… Klein coughed lightly and used his grumbling to resist the silence of death.

His intuition told him that once he got used to this environment, his body and mind would become still and silent. Then, he would truly die in the full meaning of the word.

The closer he got to the ground, the stronger this feeling became.

As he kept stealing the distance, Klein proceeded forward for a long time before finally seeing the bottom of the pit.

No, this wasn't the true base of the pit. It was just a huge, black palace that stood in the way.

The palace was propped up by columns. There were all kinds of bones and different corpse pieces embedded in them. Some parts of the palace were even covered in blood. They belonged to different races.

Klein stared at it for a few seconds. Without any hesitation, he carried the Staff of the Stars and entered the palace through the open door.

On both sides of the hall were different types of coffins in different colors. They sat there silently, as if they had already been weathered by death.

As Klein entered, there was a sudden noise coming from inside the coffins. It sounded like a rusted joint opening.

The grayish-white fog around Klein thickened again as all the coffins suddenly quietened down.

Ignoring them, Klein walked to the depths of the hall. There was a grayish-white stone staircase descending with a huge stone monument erected at the entrance.

At the top of the stone monument stood a long and slender statue that resembled a giant bird made of bronze. Its wings had all kinds of pale-white symbols.

Under the bronze bird-shaped statue, the surface of the stone monument was written in text that originated from the Language of the Dead. Their shapes were all different, looking like simplified birds or coiled snakes that looked different. They formed a few indistinct words:

"Even deities cannot escape;

"Imprisonment even in death."

Is this a warning to all living beings who come to Calderón City to not go down the stairs? It directly leads to the River of Eternal Darkness? Klein's thoughts raced as he carefully read the words on the stone monument.

From his point of view, this meant that, even if a Sequence 0 true deity were to approach the River of Eternal Darkness, they would be trapped there and unable to escape. And even if they were to die, they would still be imprisoned by this abstract river, this sefirah. Although they wouldn't dissipate, they wouldn't be able to escape.

From the looks of it, it's just like the Chaos Sea. Without any sefirot protection, merely approaching the River of Eternal Darkness will result in a terrifying mutation… Klein retracted his gaze and tidied up the golden bird-shaped accessory attached to his breast pocket. He walked past the bronze statue's stone monument and walked down the grayish-white staircase.

He didn't steal the distance again, to prevent himself from slamming headfirst into danger.

In the dark, silent, and cold environment, the golden bird-shaped accessory in front of Klein's chest released a pale-white glow, illuminating a small area. It was like a tiny lifeboat struggling in the waves of death.

After descending for an unknown period of time, the aura of Sefirah Castle around him expanded out of reflex and became extremely thick, like a grayish-white cocoon.

At the same time, Klein turned his head slightly and heard a faint, illusory whooshing sound.

This seemed to indicate that a dark river was slowly flowing deep underground not far from him.

In the next second, Klein looked down at his feet.

At some point in time, there was a dark stream of incorporeal water surging out from somewhere.

Even light couldn't exist on its surface.

This is different from what I saw last time… Klein frowned slightly.

Back when he came to Calderón City to hunt the Spirit World Plunderer, he had caused a certain change, causing large amounts of grayish-white illusory tidal water to surge up the bottom of the pit.

The colors that he saw the two times were completely different.

Just as Klein's thoughts raced, at the bottom of the stone staircase, where the dark tide surged over, a thin grayish-white fog spread up. Together with the illusory liquid, it expanded into a grayish-white liquid that was more mist-like.

When the water reached Klein's feet, it silently shrank back as though it was constantly ebbing up and down at a particular frequency.

This faint gray fog is a little familiar… Klein's expression turned solemn.

After pausing for a few seconds, he continued down.

This time, the rising illusory tide drowned him, causing his body to turn light, causing his emotions to quickly turn cold and his thoughts to gradually weaken.

If not for the protection of Sefirah Castle's aura around him, Klein suspected that he would passively fuse with the tide without being able to resist.

Following that, the grayish-white cocoon rose and bobbed up and down in the water before slowly reaching the end of the staircase.

At the end was a void. Amidst the emptiness flowed a straight, wide, illusory, colorless, dark river.

This river was so blurry that it was difficult to see it clearly. This was because its surroundings were covered with a swath of grayish-white like a thin layer of fog.

"Indeed…" Klein couldn't help but mutter when he saw this.

He was no stranger to this kind of fog. He had seen it behind the door in Bansy's ruins before. He had seen it at the easternmost end of the Forsaken Land of the Gods before, as well as beneath Sefirah Castle!

And unlike other places, there was a portion of the water from the River of Eternal Darkness that penetrated the grayish-white fog and fused to some extent with the latter, changing colors between dark-black and pale-white.

The river water here kept swirling up before falling down, like a stream that was running through the illusory darkness.

On both sides of the distributary stood huge and pale-white stone pillars. They seemed to be supporting something, preventing whatever it was from collapsing.

At this moment, between the stone pillars, and on the banks of the distributary, countless blurry, translucent figures were pacing back and forth, slowly but unceasingly.

Among them, the most eye-catching one was a seemingly lost figure that would occasionally enter into the depths of the distributary before turning around. Yet, it didn't seem like it could leave the river.

It was huge, similar to the stone pillars around it. It had a heavy black robe draped over it, and from its side profile, it looked very old.

Suddenly, it turned its head and looked at Klein.

Its face had obvious Southern Continent characteristics, but it had already rotted while white feathers stained with pale yellow oil grew out.

Klein knew "Him," and "He" was Mr. Azik's father, the Death of the Fourth Epoch:

Emperor of the Underworld Salinger.

Chapter 1368 Death Imprin

Death Salinger, who was pacing around the River of Eternal Darkness, looked at Klein, who was enveloped in the grayish-white cocoon.

"His" eyes that had pale-white flames that were about to be extinguished instantly reflected the golden bird-shaped accessory on Klein's chest.

In the next second, a deep roar came from "His" rotting mouth, reverberating above the river, causing the entirety of Calderón City to visibly shake.

The distributary that occasionally rose up or plunged down, sometimes dark and sometimes pale-white, reached the end of the stone staircase with the rising of tides, surging towards Klein.

During this process, the illusory tide fused with the grayish-white fog, creating a similar color.

The grayish-white torrent slammed into Klein's body repeatedly, but it failed to destroy the cocoon around him.

Death Salinger's rotting body took steps to the edge of the distributary, but "He" couldn't escape no matter what. All "He" could do was stand there and roar wildly.

Klein's gaze swept past "Him" as he looked at the blurry figures loitering around the banks.

One of them had already been swept to the center of the distributary by the surging tide. They couldn't help but sink to the bottom of the river, melting like ice.

The remaining ones didn't show any fear as they maintained their blank and lost state, moving back and forth endlessly.

At a glance, Klein saw many familiar figures.

They were the same person—Azik Eggers with "His" bronze skin and soft facial features.

This Death Consul seemed to have dissociated into multiple selves. "They" constantly paced between the pale-white stone pillars on both sides of the River of Eternal Darkness.

This… As Klein's heart stirred, his right leg suddenly turned cold.

He subconsciously lowered his head and saw a pale-white hand.

The palm penetrated the grayish-white cocoon and grabbed his calf.

And the owner of the palm floated in the surging torrent was like a water ghost as it attempted to pull Klein into the depths of the water.

Its attack could actually ignore the aura of Sefirah Castle!

Sensing Klein's gaze, the pale-white palm's owner raised his head to reveal his face.

He had black hair and brown eyes. His facial features were ordinary and he had a scholarly air.

Klein Moretti!

The "water ghost" was Klein Moretti!

In the next second, Klein's left leg, right shoulder, and left arm were grabbed by different pale-white hands.

This made him feel cold all over as his Spirit Body seemed to freeze. He couldn't even use all his Beyonder powers. It was impossible to resist.

The three pale-white hands belonged to different blurry figures, while the different blurry figures all had the same face—Klein Moretti's face!

Under the pull of the four "water ghosts," Klein's body gradually separated from the grayish-white cocoon and sank into the torrent.

His body became colder and colder, and his thoughts gradually fell into silence. His vision gradually darkened, and eventually, there were only dark ebbing waves.

Above the gray fog, in the ancient palace, Klein's consciousness returned to his original body.

Then, without any hesitation, he extended his palm and used the power of Sefirah Castle to steal an item from the latter through his connection with the historical projection.

A golden beam of light flashed as Klein held the golden bird-shaped accessory.

At the same time, he stopped maintaining the Historical Void projection.

The "drowning" figure disappeared from the Eternal Night flood.

It can ignore the aura of Sefirah Castle, which means that those four figures truly are "me"… But why would I be trapped in the stream of the River of Eternal Darkness, pacing about endlessly? Four figures, four figures… Klein's expression was solemn as he gently tapped the edge of the long mottled table. He gained some inspiration amidst the tapping.

The words "four," "souls," and "death" corresponded to the reality that he had died four times and had revived four times.

Of course, after becoming an Attendant of Mysteries, the four resurrection opportunities had been reset again.

Every time I die, regardless of whether I successfully revive or not, I will leave an imprint in the River of Eternal Darkness? I died four times, so there are four figures wandering the banks of the River of Eternal Darkness? Klein roughly grasped the crux of it before he sighed inwardly. The River of Eternal Darkness is indeed a sefirah. As expected of the symbol of death, repose, destination, endpoint, and darkness… This is what the Goddess meant when "She" pointed out that I'll encounter a different kind of danger? Hmm, when the historical projection was "drowned," I suffered some mental damage. If my mental state was unstable, I might've suffered some terrible consequences by now.

Based on this deduction, Klein had a brand new understanding of the many Azik figures and the wandering Death Salinger.

"They" were the corresponding imprints of death.

Mr. Azik has indeed died many times in the process of searching for his memories, but he comes back to life every time. According to the present situation, although an Undying doesn't die, it leaves behind a lot of hidden dangers. Once the number of deaths reaches a certain level, their true bodies might be attracted to the River of Eternal Darkness one day, ending up as one of the figures that wander around there for an eternity… Only Salinger's figure is there… This means that, after accommodating the Uniqueness, "His" death imprint also becomes unique. As Klein's thoughts raced through his mind, he became worried about Mr. Azik's state of survival.

And there were two solutions to resolving this problem: One was to make Azik's soul whole and make "Him" stop repeating "His" resurrection process. And second, to help the Evernight Goddess become a Great Old One and gain control of the River of Eternal Darkness.

Heh heh, perhaps this is another binary choice. When the Goddess becomes a Great Old One, there's no need for "Her" to make use of half of Mr. Azik's soul again. Klein reined in his thoughts and focused his attention on his goal.

He had entered the depths of Calderón City, not to resolve the death imprint of Death Salinger, and destroy any chances of "Him" reviving; instead, he was here to retrieve the river water from the River of Eternal Darkness.

Clearly, the illusory tide's water that flows out of the river doesn't work. It's only an aura that flows out, not the river water itself. Also, water that has fused with the grayish-white fog won't do either. It's not pure enough, so it wouldn't be able to accomplish the desired effect. From the looks of it, only when the distributary turns back into its deep and dark state can I get the water. Heh, there's definitely no way to get it from the main river. That grayish-white fog is definitely a solid barrier. Klein quickly formulated a plan based on his analysis.

That was to avoid going close to the River of Eternal Darkness, and not attract the attention of Death Salinger. He would wait for the distributary's water to recede and turn dark before he headed over before allowing his four death imprints to drag his historical projection to the bottom of the river.

During this process, the historical projection would seize the opportunity and use the golden, bird-shaped accessory to scoop the river water. Then, he would return his consciousness back to Sefirah Castle. Using the powers of "Theft," as well as the close connection between the two items, he could take away the golden, bird-shaped accessory.

After considering the finer details to the procedure, Klein returned to Calderón City and summoned his Historical Void projection.

He repeated the previous process and soon returned to the stone tablet next to the giant bronze bird statue. He walked down the grayish-white stone steps, step by step.

The aura of Sefirah Castle around him gradually thickened, turning into a thin "cocoon."

It didn't take long before Klein arrived at the end of the staircase. He saw the River of Eternal Darkness flowing in the void, the pale-white columns on both banks, and the countless blurry figures that lingered at the banks of the distributary.

This time, he wasn't in a hurry to go forward. He left the staircase and waited patiently at the same spot for the distributary's water to recede. The grayish-white colors faded and the water darkened.

Right now! Klein's figure flashed as he "stole" the distance and appeared in Death Salinger's blind spot.

Without any surprise, as his body sank into the River of Eternal Darkness, the pale-white hands immediately penetrated the aura of Sefirah Castle and grabbed his limbs.

His four death imprints appeared around him, eager to drag him to the bottom of the river!

Klein's head submerged under the dark river water, making his body turn cold as his thoughts turned still.

Before he completely lost his senses, transparent and distorted maggots crawled out from Klein's neck. They quickly crawled to the side of the golden, bird-shaped accessory, clustered around it, and lifted it up, preparing to scoop the water of the River of Eternal Darkness.

At that moment, a massive shadow appeared in the swirling illusory river in front of Klein.

It was a giant bird floating in the water, one that was completely submerged by the River of Eternal Darkness's distributary.

The giant bird's surface was covered with white flames, and the feathers formed from mysterious patterns, but most of them had been melted away by the River of Eternal Darkness. The exposed parts were pitch-black and rotten with pale-yellow pus on the surface.

The giant bird's eyes seemed to be made of bronze, and layers of illusory doors were hidden within.

Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace!

The ancient Death who had opened up the Underworld!

In front of Gregrace's eyes, a bronze beam burst out, enveloping the golden, bird-shaped accessory and Klein's historical projection in a bid to drag them over together.

After weighing his current situation, Klein instantly made a decision and gave up the attempt of scooping the river water.

His consciousness immediately returned to Sefirah Castle, and he stole the golden, bird-shaped accessory.

His historical projection dissipated.

There's danger in the water too… The ancient god, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace, has completely sunk into the River of Eternal Darkness… If the Goddess can truly accommodate the Uniqueness of the Death pathway, and if Salinger can't use that opportunity to revive in "His" body, "He" should also sink into the water like Gregrace. And the death imprint of Gregrace will melt further… Klein silently sighed as he modified the plan.

Following that, he summoned the Historical Void projection and returned to the end of the stairs.

After waiting for a while, when Death Salinger turned around and slowly walked towards the bank, Klein suddenly "stole" the distance and appeared in front of "Him."

In the next second, Salinger let out a low growl, rapidly increasing the flow of the distributary.

At the same time, Klein was grabbed by his death imprints, and forcefully dragged to the bottom of the river. He sensed the Phoenix Ancestor, Gregrace.

Like before, Gregrace's bronze eyes lit up.

However, what enveloped this light wasn't Klein and the golden, bird-shaped accessory, but Death Salinger.

Grafting!

Seizing this brief opportunity, the Worms of Spirit crawled out from Klein's historical projection and lifted the golden, bird-shaped accessory.

The bronze eye of the accessory also released a beam of light, scooping up a tiny portion of the river water.

In the next moment, Klein's consciousness returned to Sefirah Castle. He raised his hand and retrieved the accessory.

Phew, I'm finally done… Looking at the golden, bird-shaped accessory in his hand, he slowly exhaled.

As the owner of Sefirah Castle, this mission wasn't too difficult. As long as he didn't rashly enter with his main body, he could rely on repeated failures to accumulate experience and figure out the situation.

And if it wasn't for the fact that there were two Deaths in the distributary of the River of Eternal Darkness, one wandering and the other sinking, Klein wouldn't have failed twice.

Chapter 1369 Pomp

After weighing the bird-shaped, golden accessory in his hand, Klein quickly returned to the real world. He casually picked an empty plot of land and set up an altar to hold a sacrificial ritual.

With regards to the other secrets hidden in Calderón City, as well as the loitering figures around the River of Eternal Darkness, he temporarily didn't have any thoughts of starting a deeper exploration of it. This was because he still had more important matters to prepare for. He also had a key question to ask the Evernight Goddess.

Soon, he held the ritual and allowed the candlelight and spirituality materials to fuse together, forming a Door of Sacrifice and Bestowment.

Without any hesitation, Klein placed the bird-shaped, golden accessory into the wind, allowing it to slowly pass through the mysterious door and vanish into the endless darkness.

In the next second, he sharply noticed that he had been dragged into a dream.

In the center of the dreamscape was a gothic palace that seemed to blend with the darkness around it. Its details were exquisite, its color dim, but it was still gorgeous.

Klein passed through bushes of night vanilla and slumber flowers before stepping into the palace.

In the deepest part of the hall, the Evernight Goddess was sitting on an ancient high-back chair. "She" was still wearing the layered black dress that didn't seem complicated.

The sparkling spots on the dress reflected the dome and the walls, and the pillars of the palace created a quiet and dreamy starry sky.

The Evernight Goddess, whose face seemed to be covered in layers of fishnet veils, held the bird-shaped, golden accessory and slowly stood up. "She" walked down the stairs to Klein.

"Her" voice sounded, sounding like a lullaby:

"What do you have to ask?"

Klein politely took off his top hat and bowed slightly.

"I want to know if the grayish-white fog that envelops the River of Eternal Darkness has something to do with that Lord of the Mysteries."

That was also the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.

Although he couldn't see the Evernight Goddess's face clearly, Klein felt like "She" was smiling when he looked straight at "Her."

"Yes. Furthermore, not only is the River of Eternal Darkness enveloped by the grayish-white fog, but the city behind Bansy Harbor, and the entire Western Continent is enveloped by the same grayish-white fog."

Klein hesitated for a moment before saying, "This is a kind of seal?"

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection nodded.

"That's right. Apart from Sefirah Castle and the Chaos Sea, all the other sefirot were sealed in the Western Continent by that mysterious Lord of the Mysteries.

River of Eternal Darkness, Brood Hive, City of Calamity, Tenebrous World, Nation of Disorder, Knowledge Moor, and Key of Light have all been sealed in the Western Continent by the Celestial Worthy? Isn't this too much? What pomp… It's no wonder that the city behind Bansy Harbor's door is like the former Shanghai… This is the City of Calamity affecting that city in the real world, as well as Bansy. Then, to a certain extent, it has caused certain changes? Klein was enlightened and amazed.

Back when he saw the scene behind the door in Bansy, he had suspected that it had something to do with the Western Continent. Furthermore, according to the clue that Bansy was the headquarters of Red Angel Medici's family, he suspected that behind the door was the reflection of the sefirah, the City of Calamity.

After a moment of silence, Klein didn't conceal his feelings. He sighed and said, "The power of that Lord of the Mysteries far exceeds my imagination…

"How could such a Great Old One, who is known as one the pillars of the universe, silently perish?"

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection shook "Her" head.

"It wasn't silent.

"From the clues that were available, 'He' died together with the God Almighty of ancient times.

"That God Almighty's corpse formed the first Blasphemy Slate in the Chaos Sea. And beside it was the Uniqueness of the Marauder pathway."

In other words, in the middle of the First Epoch, the Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty had a battle that was abnormally intense but didn't cause much of a stir. In the end, both perished? This can explain why the ancient sun god had the Uniqueness or a Grazed Uniqueness of the Marauder pathway when "He" walked out of the Chaos Sea. It was ripped off by the ancient God Almighty from the Lord of the Mysteries… Amidst his thoughts, Klein asked in puzzlement, "Why would 'They' want to kill each other? 'They' are both pillars and aren't from similar pathways. There shouldn't be any life-and-death conflicts that cannot be resolved."

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection said gently, "Convergence is an instinct.

"The higher the level, the stronger the instinct.

"That Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty of ancient times were unable to restrain themselves from converging together, becoming the embodiment of the entire Universe, which is also the innate instinct of the original Creator."

The crazier one becomes the stronger they become? And beyond cunning, powerful, terrifying, and filled with wisdom, there's such a side to the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings? Klein thought for a moment and said, "That Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty of ancient times, are, in essence, different sides of the original Creator?"

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection said in a comforting voice, "Using the same existence but different personas as an analogy will be more accurate.

"The original Creator was the maker of the Universe, and also its destroyer. It is both day and also night. It's the light of holiness, and also the decadent abyss. It is an amalgamation of all contradicting concepts and symbolism.

"That's why 'He' naturally has a tendency to be dissociative in a way that cannot be controlled. Once 'He' splits, there will be a strong trend towards convergence.

"In a time more ancient than the era we lived in our past lives, the original sleeping Creator had naturally split into multiple personas. They were also in a state of slumber, but they began to use the authority and Beyonder characteristics they controlled to influence the world, making many preparations for the true dissociation when the original Creator awakened.

"Here, the most powerful and active ones were God Almighty and the Lord of the Mysteries. The latter had another honorific name in the Western Continent.

"In the early-mid stages of the First Epoch, 'They' should've used different methods to grasp the additional sefirot. This made 'Their' inclination to converge more intense, making it impossible for them to control themselves, and began taking actions against each other.

"According to the ancient sun god's research, the pillar of support is the highest level of stability one can achieve. If a Great Old One exceeds this limit, just accommodating an additional sefirah will lead to being controlled by the convergence instinct in an irreversible manner.

"No one knows the exact situation of the battle. Even the Seven Lights of the spirit world do not know. We only know that, from that fateful moment onwards, the two Great Old Ones known as the 'Pillars' vanished completely. As for the other sefirot other than the Chaos Sea and Sefirah Castle, they were sealed by Sefirah Castle's powers in the Western Continent. That was once the territory ruled by the Lord of the Mysteries.

"This setup led to a problem. It was that, before the reappearance of the Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty, and before removal and breaking of the Western Continent's seal, no Sequence 0 in this world could become a Great Old One to resist the Outer Deities.

"As the apocalypse approaches, this problem will force all the true deities to nurture a Lord of the Mysteries or God Almighty. And the former Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty are very likely to awaken in 'Their' bodies."

This… Therefore, the sealing of the other sefirots was done deliberately by the Celestial Worthy, preventing the later Sequence 0 true deities from deliberately avoiding this pathway, killing the chances of the birth of a new Lord of the Mysteries? And as long as a new Lord of the Mysteries is born, "He" has a high chance of being revived and completely awakening… Isn't this too sinister? From a certain point of view, there's no need to be afraid of others knowing this arrangement. The more entities that know of it, the more they will be inclined to quickly support the growth of a Lord of the Mysteries, so as to prevent them from only having a few years towards the end to gain control of their corresponding sefirot… The more Klein thought about it, the more terrifying the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings appeared.

This made him sigh inwardly.

As expected of a pillar that can make the Genie fall into such a predicament to this day…

Klein immediately asked, "Then why didn't you support the growth of a Lord of the Mysteries in the Fourth Epoch?"

He actually knew the answer to this question. As time passed, as the original Creator's different personas, the Celestial Worthy and God Almighty will have "Their" wills constantly weaken. The closer they got to the apocalypse, the weaker the corresponding will became. This made those of the future be able to resist and suppress "Them," and avoid losing "Themselves."

This could be proven by the fact that Adam had waited until recently to advance to Visionary.

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection revealed a smile.

"Back then, Amon and Bethel were unwilling. All of them wished to make all sorts of preparations, hoping to make the attempt when the apocalypse was approaching.

"As for Salinger, 'He' planned to use the River of Eternal Darkness to fuse with the Red Priest's Uniqueness to create a brand new Great Old One path. Then, 'He' went mad. 'He' wasn't able to resist the desire for converging the Twilight and Evernight pathway."

Death was also forced into such circumstances. On the one hand, the apocalypse was only a thousand years or so away, and on the other hand, the River of Eternal Darkness had been sealed by the Celestial Worthy, a pillar. This prevented "Him" from attempting to control it… It's too sinister, too much! Klein couldn't help but inwardly criticize the Celestial Worthy.

At this moment, the Evernight Goddess's dream projection continued, "The seal on the Western Continent is gradually weakening with time. The sefirot will instinctively or consciously use their symbolism to corrode the Uniqueness and High-Sequence Beyonder characteristics that land on them to influence the outside world.

"The first to seep out energy was the River of Eternal Darkness. In the Second Epoch, it formed a distributary through Gregrace. After that, in the Fourth Epoch, traces of more sefirot began to appear on the Northern and Southern Continents and the islands over the Five Seas.

"This is an important factor hidden behind many of the anomalies in the Fourth Epoch."

The sefirot had indirectly exacted their influence through the seal in the Fourth Epoch… It's no wonder Adam said that my understanding of the Fourth Epoch's history isn't deep enough… From the looks of it, Bansy Harbor retained the elven customs not because it was an elven settlement, but also because of other factors… Klein thought for a few seconds before smiling.

"I roughly understand.

"Is that why you've been helping me all this while?"

Chapter 1370 Decisive

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection replied with a smile, "If it's just to nurture a Lord of the Mysteries, I should be betting on Amon. At the very least, the chances of 'Him' succeeding is much higher than yours."

Without waiting for Klein to ask any further, "She" continued with a voice as ethereal as a dream:

"The era that was buried in the past is a memory shared between us, and also the critical period in which our humanity was born, sprouted, and nourished. Even if I've had a long life, it still remains my fondest of memories.

"You have its imprint in you, so I'm more willing to help you."

The love for the house extends even to the crows perching on its roof… Klein made a conclusion in the form of an idiom.

At that moment, he recalled the words Emperor Roselle had written in his diary:

Home.

In his wistful silence, the dream projection of the Evernight Goddess switched to saying,

"When you're ready, you can go to the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range anytime.

"Of course, it's your freedom to choose. No one will force you, and no one can force you either. You can choose to stop at a certain stage and not become a Great Old One, nor allow the Lord of the Mysteries to awaken in your body. Then, at the last moment of the apocalypse, you can bring the people and objects you want to protect and 'Wander' to other planets in other solar systems to avoid the attention of the Outer Deities, and create another civilization."

Klein had long thought of this problem. After a moment of silence, he said, "I'm not sure if Roselle had said one thing: You can hide for a moment, but you can't hide forever."

He was speaking in Jotun with the Evernight Goddess, so it was a little odd when translating the proverb.

Escaping was just a temporary strategy. It couldn't be used as a long term plan.

After a pause, Klein continued, "Although the Universe is vast and without an end, the Outer Deities are clearly more familiar with it than we are. They're also stronger, directly representing a certain aspect of the universe. It's very difficult to avoid 'Their' pursuit. Besides, even if we succeed, peace will only last for some time. The recreated civilization will be destroyed in less than a thousand years. When that happens, we won't even have the chance to become Great Old Ones, never capable of any form of self-redemption."

This was because if one wanted to successfully escape during the invasion of the Outer Deities, they had to give up all the sefirot. Otherwise, they would definitely become the focus of "Their" attention. Let alone wandering the cosmos, even withstanding the first wave of attacks was an unknown.

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection spoke slowly,

"Apart from the items ripped from the Outer Deities, only taking away the Uniquenesses and High-Sequence Beyonder characteristics of the other pathways might not necessarily garner the attention of the Outer Deities. 'They' wouldn't spend too much time searching."

"You also said that it's not necessarily the case. The Outer Deities should still have a certain desire for the Uniqueness and High-Sequence Beyonder characteristics of similar pathways. This can help 'Them' approach the level of a pillar," Klein replied calmly. "We can't place our hopes on 'Their' feelings. 'They' aren't benevolent."

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection nodded and said, "In this aspect, you're more aware than Roselle. Of course, it's because he had learned of the Great Old Ones and the Outer Deities a little too late."

"She" continued, "You have another choice: use Pallez's method to personally lower your level and let Amon steal Sefirah Castle. This way, you can live well as a Sequence 1 angel. You don't have to constantly worry that the Lord of the Mysteries will awaken in you. It won't be that exhausting."

In the Church of Evernight's bible, there was the division of angels and archangels. Klein had always guessed that the latter referred to Sequence 1, and today, he had finally obtained confirmation.

Of course, this was only the standard of one Church, not necessarily the rest.

After hearing the Evernight Goddess's words, Klein fell silent for a long time before asking, "Can Amon be trusted?"

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection said frankly, "I can't give you a definite answer."

Klein asked again, "If the Lord of the Mysteries awakens in Amon's body, will 'He' take back all the High-Sequence Beyonder characteristics of the Seer, Marauder, and Apprentice pathways?"

"I don't know," the Evernight Goddess's dream projection replied in the same tone.

Klein fell silent again. After a while, he said, "Personally, I don't wish to become a Great Old One, but I can't let down and betray those existences who have placed their bets on me. 'They' have more or less helped me.

"Once Amon becomes the Lord of the Mysteries, 'He' will definitely help the ancient sun god retrieve the Uniqueness and Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic from the Lord of Storms and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, causing 'Their' deaths.

"Besides, Amon is a reckless god."

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection nodded slightly and said, "Your humanity has been maintained well."

After making up his mind, Klein freed himself from his low spirit state. He smiled and said,

"If I hadn't maintained my humanity, and allowed the godhood to gain an advantage, I would've also made a similar choice. That's because a godhood's instinct is convergence upon oneself."

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection gently chuckled.

"Make your preparations. Meet Antigonus as soon as possible."

Klein nodded and suddenly recalled something. He hurriedly asked, "Has Amon already used Mr. Door's ritual to accommodate the Uniqueness of the Apprentice pathway?"

The Evernight Goddess's dream projection slowly replied, "If it were another existence, then definitely not.

"But if it's Amon, there's a 50% chance.

"'He' likes to take risks and seek thrills."

Klein didn't say another word as he watched the Evernight Goddess's projection vanish before him as the dream gently collapsed.

The altar that he had yet to clear occupied his vision again.

To him, heading to the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range to face the Antigonus family's ancestor didn't require much preparation from him. He would mainly rely on Sefirah Castle to produce an avatar to steal the Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic—the one from Zaratul—that he hadn't digested yet, allowing his main body to be in a unique state that could accommodate the Uniqueness.

As his mental state stabilized, even without Zaratul's remnant mental imprint, Klein could still rely on his humanity, consciousness, and anchors to barely suppress the partial consciousness of the Celestial Worthy.

However, before that, Klein's spiritual intuition told him that he needed to do something.

After looking around, he tidied up the altar and dragged Dwayne Dantès out of the fog of history.

Sitting at the table, Klein spread out a piece of paper and wrote a letter to Mr. Azik.

As it hadn't been a while since he wrote the previous letter, there wasn't much content. He only mentioned the River of Eternal Darkness that was situated underground in Calderón City, as well as the death imprints on both banks of the distributary. He emphasized the numerous Azik Eggers he had seen, and his guesses.

After folding the letter, Klein took out Azik's copper whistle and blew at it.

The skeleton messenger appeared at the size of a normal human. It knelt down on one knee and opened its palm.

After Klein handed the letter to it, he took out a gold coin from Sefirah Castle.

"This is to thank you for all the work you've done.

"If you can't accept it, hand it to your master and let 'Him' decide."

This gold coin was one of the transformed gold coins that had been tainted by the aura of Sefirah Castle.

He had already used one of them to pay Miss Messenger's fee, and he had lost one to Maric when they played cards.

The skeleton messenger was stunned for nearly five seconds, but he didn't dare disobey Klein's words. He clasped the letter and the gold coin with his bony fingers.

It disintegrated and fell to the ground like a waterfall before drilling into the ground.

Following that, Klein took out another gold coin and placed it in his pocket.

At the same time, he made the Worms of Spirit on duty in Sefirah Castle to take a look at a certain crimson star.

…

East Balam, in a cathedral belonging to the Evernight Goddess.

As the first batch of demigods participating in the besieging of the Rose School of Thought, Leonard Mitchell had already used a Sealed Artifact to reach the Southern Continent.

However, he had no progress for the time being. This was because the Rose School of Thought demigods seemed to sense the danger in the air as they simultaneously hid themselves.

This made Leonard have no choice but to wait patiently, ready to answer the call of any dispatches.

While he had nothing to do, he wore his red glove and entered the cathedral's prayer hall. He did his daily prayer in a rather devout manner.

In the dark and serene environment, he seemed to fall asleep.

After an unknown period of time, Leonard opened his eyes and stood up. He walked down the aisle towards the door.

At that moment, he saw a familiar figure. It was Klein Moretti, wearing a top hat and formal suit with black hair and brown eyes.

Leonard's pupils dilated as his brows pricked up. Klein, who was also praying, lowered his hands and stood up. He walked past him and slowly approached the altar.

During this process, neither of them spoke, as if the other party was just a stranger.

After reaching the donation box near the altar, Klein took out a gold coin from his pocket and threw it in with a serious expression.

Then, he changed direction and left the cathedral from another door.

Leonard stood in the middle of the aisle and watched this scene with a puzzled look. He frowned slightly.

At this moment, in his mind, Pallez Zoroast's slightly-aged voice echoed:

"Find a chance to get that gold coin."

…

Backlund, in a particular house.

Will Auceptin held a silver spoon and focused on digging at the pale green ice-cream in front of "Him."

Suddenly, "He" extended "His" left hand to block the side of the food.

On the chair beside "Him," Dwayne Dantès's figure instantly appeared.

"I seem to have missed your birthday twice," Klein said with a smile. "This is a belated present."

As he spoke, he took out a gold coin and pushed it to Will Auceptin.

"This is a lucky gold coin for you."

Will was stunned for two seconds before muttering, "The gift celebrating my birth was a lucky amulet. For a birthday gift, it's a lucky gold coin. You really don't have any creativity."

As "He" spoke, "He" reached out "His" chubby hand and quickly took the gold coin.

Klein smiled, stood up, and vanished.

Chapter 1371 Who are Allies and Who are Foes

Bayam, inside the Church of the Sea God.

After the Mass, Alger Wilson returned to his room and saw a figure appear by the window.

It was Gehrman Sparrow in a top hat and trench coat.

Without waiting for Alger to speak, Klein took two steps forward and solemnly said, "I have come under Mr. Fool's orders."

He habitually acted as the Attendant of Mysteries.

Alger immediately lowered his head and pressed his right hand to his left chest.

"Praise Mr. Fool."

Klein nodded slightly and took out an item from the junk pile of Sefirah Castle.

Alger's eyes immediately reflected a short scepter made of bones.

The tip of the scepter was embedded with tiny blue gems. A small number of them were dyed black, and a small number was covered in the light of dawn. Around it were countless pure points of light, and the sounds of illusory prayers emitted from it, stacked and holy.

Alger's eyes widened as he couldn't help but reveal a hint of greed.

As a Sequence 4 demigod of the Sailor pathway, he was extremely certain that the white bone scepter before him was the symbol of the Sea God's identity, level, and strength.

As he endured the slight dizziness from the prayers, he cast his gaze at The World Gehrman Sparrow, waiting for the deity's attendant to speak.

Klein raised the Sea God Scepter with one hand and said with a solemn expression, "This is Mr. Fool's gift and a sign of trust, as well as a reward for protecting a large number of believers.

"No matter what happens in the future, you are to keep following Mr. Fool's instructions and do your best to complete the missions 'He' gives."

"…" Alger acutely sensed the hidden meaning.

He suspected that Mr. Fool would encounter something in the future, causing "Him" to suffer injuries or enter a nadir state.

At the thought that he had already left the Church of Storms and had no way out, Alger pressed his right hand to his left chest and replied loudly, "My faith lies only with Mr. Fool!"

Upon seeing this, Klein secretly nodded before repeating what he had said to Miss Justice and Miss Judgment.

This made Alger heave a sigh of relief. After all, knowing what might happen in the future was better than not knowing anything.

Without hesitation, he repeated his words in a serious tone.

Klein handed the Sea God Scepter to him.

"You should get used to this Sealed Artifact and the daily life as a Sea God. Once you finish digesting the Cataclysmic Interrer potion, use it to concoct the potion. The prior acting will reduce the difficulty of advancing."

In fact, Klein could now remove the "Grafting" and transfer the concept of "Sea God" which was directed at him and Sefirah Castle to Alger, allowing him to directly become half a Sea God. It would allow him to better adapt to his identity and better act in advance.

However, considering how he was about to accommodate The Fool's Uniqueness, he needed sufficient anchors to balance the consciousness of the Celestial Worthy's awakening. He couldn't be missing the Sea God's believers. Klein decided to wait until his condition had stabilized before completely transferring everything that was related to Sea God.

Currently, Alger was an attendant more suitable to wield the authority, helping the deity listen and respond to prayer without enjoying the corresponding anchors and identity. The Sea God Scepter's owner was still Klein, as everything still pointed at him. This was the miraculous use of "Grafting."

Alger suppressed his excitement and joy as he answered Gehrman Sparrow sincerely and received the Sea God Scepter.

Then, he deliberated and asked, "What negative effects does this Sealed Artifact have?"

"Mr. Fool has already applied certain seals to it. The negative effects of the Sea God Scepter have been greatly reduced," Klein said simply. "It will only make the wielder more irritable and cause the spirit to be in a certain state of chaos. In addition, it will drain the blood of the surrounding creatures every month. You can fly to the sea or an uninhabited island ahead of time."

That's still manageable… Alger secretly heaved a sigh of relief before asking what Beyonder powers the scepter had.

After Klein briefly described it, he vanished.

…

In the ancient palace above the fog.

After finishing the additional preparations, Klein sat on The Fool's chair and conjured a piece of goatskin and a dark red fountain pen. He began analyzing the possible developments at the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range when he faced the Antigonus family's ancestor.

If everything goes smoothly, and I enter the final stage of accommodating The Fool's Uniqueness, the Goddess will definitely have to remove the Concealment. This is because this is the only way to allow the region to interact with reality, allowing fate to connect, thus achieving the effect of fooling fate.

From Mr. Door's apotheosis ritual, the commotion caused by accommodating a Uniqueness is definitely not trivial. Once it's not concealed, this matter will definitely be detected by the other deities. Furthermore, those who are concerned about this matter must've been watching the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range recently. Once there are any changes there, "They" will immediately know.

In such a situation, there's no doubt that there will be interference, destruction, assistance, and support. It's very important to find out who the foes and allies are. Otherwise, there's no way to make targeted preparations.

The Goddess is definitely on my side. If "She" were an enemy, I would've been concealed countless times. It's impossible for me to grow to this level. To put it simply, "She" had many opportunities to sell me out. Furthermore, "She" could sell it at a very good price previously. Furthermore, to "Her," it wouldn't affect "Her" ability to support who becomes the Lord of the Mysteries. That's why "She" can make a decision based on "Her" preferences. Adam is currently unable to bypass the seal and obtain the River of Eternal Darkness.

The ones who do not wish for Amon to become the Lord of the Mysteries the most are the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of Storms, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. Once someone attempts to destroy my ritual to accommodate The Fool's Uniqueness, "They" would definitely help me and directly provide help.

Apart from these four true deities, the remaining Sequence 0s are:

Visionary Adam and the True Creator are Amon's father. The probability of helping "Him" is definitely higher than "Them" being on the sidelines; Earth Mother has placed a bet on me through Emlyn, but it's not necessarily the case that "She" would definitely help me at the critical moment. To "Her," waiting patiently for the outcome when there are no interests at play is the best choice. The Primordial Demoness's condition is odd. It's possible for "Her" to make any choice. The attitude of the God of Steam and Machinery is ambiguous. It's more likely for "Him" to remain neutral or privately make a deal with Amon and Adam. I don't have any chips to move "Him."

Other than these true deities, there are some uncommon Sequence 0s or the consciousnesses in existence that are nearly at Sequence 0.

The Lord of the Abyss, also known as the Dark Side of the Universe, is suspected to have been invaded by the Mother Tree of Desire. "He" would occasionally respond to the prayers of the Blood Sanctify Sect. It has been a long time since "He" exerted any influence on the real world. Likewise, the Chained God is in a similar situation.

What "They" will do will only depend on the Mother Tree of Desire's thoughts. And to the Outer Deities, delaying the birth of a Lord of the Mysteries should be a consensus. Under such circumstances, stopping me from being able to accommodate The Fool's Uniqueness will only cause me to be at an absolute disadvantage in the competition with Amon, allowing the competition to quickly determine a winner.

The most plausible strategy of the Mother Tree of Desire is tacit consent. "She" might even help me to accommodate The Fool's Uniqueness, preventing the scale between me and Amon from tilting. After that, "She" will repeatedly destroy our inclinations and attempts to converge, delaying the birth of the Lord of the Mysteries to the apocalypse.

The Red Angel evil spirit definitely hasn't recovered to the level where "He" can be involved in such matters. The Hidden Sage is very mysterious, making it difficult to guess "His" thoughts, but "He" should know that I am hostile towards "Him."

At this point in the analysis, Klein made a conclusion:

"Allies: The Evernight Goddess, Lord of Storms, Eternal Blazing Sun, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom:

"Foes: Visionary Adam, True Creator, and Mr. Error Amon.

"Neutral with tendencies to support me: Earth Mother, Dark Side of the Universe, and Chained God.

"Neutral with tendencies to support Amon: Hidden Sage.

"Neutral and ambiguous attitudes: Primordial Demoness, God of Steam and Machinery."

Yes, I'll ignore how far Adam and the True Creator have fused. I'll consider the worst-case scenario. I'll treat "Them" as the ancient sun god and treat them as a dual-pathway Sequence 0 true god… The Goddess has the Uniqueness of the Twilight Giant and Death. Although "She" hasn't accommodated them, "She" has some level of control of them using that bird-shaped, golden accessory as a medium. Even if "She" can't compare to the ancient sun god, she can definitely stall "Him"…

I'll also consider Amon as a dual-pathways Sequence 0 true god. At least two of the Lord of Storms trio have to be diverted to have a chance to fend "Him" off… From the surface, I still hold a certain advantage… Klein looked at the content listed on the piece of paper as he thought silently.

However, this advantage didn't consider the neutral factions.

Klein tapped the edge of the long mottled table and considered the worst situation.

The Primordial Demoness, Hidden Sage, and God of Steam and Machinery might all choose to help Amon based on their own secret dealings or "Their" morality.

This way, even if Earth Mother participated in the battle, Klein's side would be at a disadvantage. The God of Steam and Machinery and the other god from the omnipotent and omniscient pathway would cancel out each other. The Primordial Demoness would hold back the Earth Mother, who had just taken back the Uniqueness of The Moon. The Hidden Sage would face the Universe's Dark Side and the Chained God which were controlled by the Mother Tree of Desire—the powers that the Outer Deities could sneak into the world were extremely limited. This gave the Hidden Sage a likely advantage.

Furthermore, this cancellation was a calculation based on ideal conditions. In reality, under the chaotic situation, Amon, who was in charge of the "Error" authority, could play many tricks. It was possible that "He" would be able to find weaknesses in an instant and bypass the obstacles, causing Klein's ritual to fail and make him lose control on the spot. In addition, some deities who supported Klein on the surface might turn to help Amon due to reasons he wasn't aware of.

As for the Sealed Artifacts that could change the power balance between the deities, Klein didn't know much about them and wasn't able to make an analysis.

Heh, I didn't expect that there would be a day when I fleeced the Mother Tree of Desire. Yes, I have to make some preparations for the worst-case scenario to prevent things from developing in this direction. Klein dispersed the paper and fountain pen in front of him and cast his gaze at a particular prayer light.

His figure vanished from Sefirah Castle and appeared on Bernadette's Dawn.

1372 The Other Use of the Magic Wishing Lamp

Queen Mystic Bernadette seemed to have a sense of foreboding when she saw Gehrman Sparrow's arrival. Without any surprise, she put down the ancient scroll in her hand and cast her gaze at the visitor at the door.

Klein didn't stand on ceremony and said directly, "I wish to borrow the Magic Wishing Lamp for a day."

Bernadette nodded gently and raised "Her" hand to pick up the Magic Wishing Lamp beside "Her."

"Her" invisible servant immediately held the unique lamp and brought it to Klein.

Klein took it and said in a deep voice, "Thank you."

Bernadette didn't make any requests. It was as though she wasn't afraid that she would end up having accumulated an additional wish and dying a strange death.

She believed that Mr. Fool would be able to resolve this problem because the existence had displayed this ability the last time.

In the next second, Klein, who had transformed into Gehrman Sparrow, vanished from the Dawn and returned to Sefirah Castle.

When he placed the Magic Wishing Lamp on the table in front of him, he immediately saw the candlewick light up, emitting a sticky light that formed a distorted, blurry golden figure.

"You haven't fulfilled your promise yet, so I won't fulfill your wishes according to your will again," Genie said with a majestic and dignified voice. "You should know that the current owner of this lamp is Roselle's daughter. The first wish you made was to place 'Her' accumulated wishes that could allow 'Her' to suffer a backlash at the level Above the Sequences on you. And this time, I won't permit you to transfer 'Her' wishes onto yourself."

When Klein had used the Magic Wishing Lamp to escape, he hadn't changed the ownership of this Grade 0 Sealed Artifact. It still belonged to Bernadette, and its wielder was still Queen Mystic.

Therefore, his wish would simultaneously be accumulated on himself and Bernadette.

At that time, his first wish was to transfer the two wishes that Bernadette had previously made under his name. This cleared Bernadette's accumulated wishes, and he was burdened with two wishes.

But at the same time, this first wish was also accumulated. Therefore, after it was fulfilled, Bernadette's count became 1, and Klein's was 3.

Following that, Klein made a second wish. It would undoubtedly be counted towards both Bernadette and him.

Finally, Bernadette's wish count was 2 without exceeding the critical point, while Klein reached 4. Without any surprises, he encountered the backlash from the rules that were at the level of an Outer Deity. He died on the spot in Adam's corpse cathedral and successfully escaped.

Under the premise that Klein made another wish, it would make Bernadette's wish count reach 3, causing her to unavoidably suffer something terrifying.

Of course, he could also mimic the first wish he did previously, transferring Bernadette's wish count onto himself and spending one chance at "revival." However, the Genie had already made it clear that "He" would distort any similar wishes, allowing the wish to be realized in a way that Klein didn't wish to see.

Sigh, it's also because I was in a rush the last time. And Roselle was affected by the Primordial Moon, so the wish we came up with was definitely flawed… At that time, I should've added a description to make the first wish only count under my name. Or perhaps, I should've added another wish between the first and second wish to transfer the ownership of the Magic Wishing Lamp to me. After all, my death would result in the ownership being cleared, and the Magic Wishing Lamp would return to its wielder… As Klein sighed inwardly, he smiled at Genie.

"You should be no stranger to 'Tampering' and 'Reassembly.'

"With your level and current state as this lamp, I can now rely on Sefirah Castle to 'Graft' its ownership from Bernadette onto me. Or perhaps, we can use a different method and directly use 'Theft'?"

Genie's blurry golden figure fell silent. After a few seconds, "He" said, "Although you aren't as cunning as 'Him,' you're just as shameless.

"However, this is of no use. After you accumulate your wishes and die, the ownership of this lamp will still return to Roselle's daughter. And I will distort the rules and place your wish count onto 'Her.'

"Also, I said earlier that before you fulfill your promise, I won't fulfill your wish normally again."

Klein maintained his smile.

"I once heard a story regarding investors.

"When a company is in trouble, the ones who are more willing to provide aid will definitely be the original investors. Although they have already paid a lot, if they don't continue investing, they might not be able to recoup their investment and end up losing all their money.

"Of course, if they could use other means to retrieve their own share, or exchange their investment for greater benefits, it would be another story.

"Which type do you think you are?"

Genie stared at Klein, who was sitting in The Fool's seat, and laughed.

"After you gain a deeper grasp of Sefirah Castle, you also seem to have obtained the eloquence of a Swindler. However, unless you help me remove the seal now, it will be difficult for me to affect matters at the level of Sequence 0. At most, you will encounter a backlash from Above the Sequences laws and die again.

"However, this won't be of any help to what you wish to do now. Death means failure. Furthermore, you should know very well that losing control during your advancement will affect all your avatars. It's not something that can be avoided by cutting off all connections."

Klein smiled and nodded.

"Indeed, I haven't thought of a wish yet. I'm just making preparations."

With that said, he looked at the Magic Wishing Lamp.

"Actually, this lamp has another use that can affect matters at Sequence 0.

"I heard that a true god once attempted to destroy this lamp, but failed in the end. Indeed, how can a lamp that can seal an Outer Deity be so easily damaged? It definitely has the power of the Lord of the Mysteries or Sefirah Castle."

As he spoke, the smile on Klein's face gradually became obvious.

"It's such a waste not to use something as sturdy as this as a shield."

"…" Genie fell silent for a long time.

After such a friendly exchange, Klein and Genie exchanged their views. The fact that both of them were connected by fate had allowed "Them" to come up with a preliminary agreement.

Then, Klein placed the Magic Wishing Lamp into his pocket, prepared to use it at any time.

After completing all of this, he cast his gaze at the fragments of light related to the Hornacis mountain range in the fog of history.

He was almost done with his preparations. Next, he would create another avatar and steal the undigested Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic from himself. Then, he could face the ancestor of the Antigonus family.

And this might very well trigger a divine battle.

To be frank, Klein didn't wish for that to happen. This was because a war of deities would likely have a negative impact on the real world.

Back when the Rose Redemption stopped the resurrection of the Primordial One, in the divine battle to assassinate the ancient sun god, which involved the help of Dark Angel Sasrir, it directly brought about a disaster that affected the entire Eastern Continent. This caused more than 99% of the living creatures there to die, making large swaths of the terrain to resemble the abyss.

The War of the Four Emperors and the Pale Disaster had nearly destroyed the Northern Continent, causing countless people to die and mutate. This caused the mountains to turn into lakes, valleys into peaks, rivers changing paths, the land to collapse, and the ocean to go berserk.

The battle between the Evernight Goddess and the God of Combat happened in the astral world. It happened in the Evernight Goddess's divine kingdom, and it was relatively brief. Therefore, it had the least impact on the real world. However, before that, the world war that exceeded a year had drained the blood and tears of countless people.

If it was possible, Klein was actually willing to give up on Sefirah Castle and live on as a Sequence 1 or even a Sequence 2 angel. The matter would then develop in the most peaceful way.

However, along the way, there were already too many existences who provided him with kindness, help, and faith. At this moment, if Klein were to give up, he would put them into danger. This wasn't being kind, but selfish.

From time immemorial, which successful person didn't bear the fates of many people?

If he gave up, what about the rest?

The members of the Tarot Club, The Fool believers of the City of Silver and Moon City, Azik Eggers, Reinette Tinekerr, Will Auceptin… Various faces quickly flashed across Klein's mind.

Finally, he let out a long sigh.

If Amon could be trusted, it wasn't that Klein couldn't hand over all of this to "Him." However, this God of Deceit had always been reckless. Even "His" believers were all "Himself."

If Klein were to give up just like that—notwithstanding his own safety—the people or demigods he had just thought of might be caught by his enemies or directly end up wearing a monocle on their right eye. Among them, Will Auceptin and The Fool's believers were in the most danger.

Believe in the might of deities, but do not trust "Their" benevolence!

This was Klein's decision. When facing the Evernight Goddess, he had used the Lord of Storms and company as an example. This was telling "Her" that he wouldn't let "Her" down after all the help "She" had given. This was the existence that had bet the most on him. If Klein were to give up, the Evernight Goddess might have to pay a greater price to obtain the River of Eternal Darkness. "She" might even not be able to obtain it forever. This was because after the appearance of the two pillars—Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty—it meant that the threat from the Outer Deities would be reduced to its lowest level. There wouldn't be any need for additional Great Old Ones to appear.

Phew, I'll later use Sefirah Castle to "Graft" the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range to the astral world. This can prevent the war of deities from bringing any harm to the real world to the greatest extent. It can also allow the deities who are guarding the cracking barrier to unleash "Their" full strength. After all, most of my supporters are orthodox deities… Klein's mind raced as he came up with a solution.

He then snapped his fingers and used Sefirah Castle to create an avatar to stand beside him.

Chapter 1373 Facing

The avatar Klein created was a blueprint of his present state, and not Dwayne Dantès, Sherlock Moriarty, or Merlin Hermes, so as to avoid any obstacles in his self-awareness.

After experiencing the mutation brought by Adam, he became more careful in such aspects.

Glancing at his avatar, Klein's thoughts made his face turn blank.

The avatar extended its right hand and stirred Sefirah Castle's strength to grab at the main body.

Again and again, it failed more than ten times. Finally, it managed to extract bits of dark light from the main body.

Finally… Klein sighed and extinguished the thought of trying to execute this attempt during the actual battle.

Despite not resisting at all, with his body and mind at ease, his avatar had still spent so much time failing while using Sefirah Castle's level and strength. It was easy to imagine its value in actual combat.

As more and more Beyonder characteristics left his body, Klein felt relaxed. He felt like he had finally abandoned a heavy burden after a long walk.

Of course, there was a certain fluctuation in his mental state. After losing the lingering mental imprint from Zaratul, the awakening of the Celestial Worthy's consciousness began to invade his mind.

This was within Klein's expectations; therefore, he wasn't flustered at all. With his self-awareness that had long stabilized, his tenacious willpower, and his ample anchors, he gradually resisted the corruption of the Celestial Worthy's will and found a new balance.

At the same time, when the Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic that Klein hadn't fully digested entered his avatar's body, its blank face suddenly twisted, growing out dark, lusterless eyes, and an indistinct white long beard.

At this moment, it greatly resembled Zaratul.

However, it was unable to withstand the madness brought about by the Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic. Its body rapidly developed towards collapse as transparent, distorted maggots crawled out and slippery and sinister tentacles extended out.

It lost control on the spot.

Klein didn't stay idle. Without any hesitation, he moved his finger, making the avatar turn into his marionette.

This terminated the process of losing control.

At this point, he had already made all preparations. His main body had completely digested the potion, allowing him to be in a state to accommodate The Fool's Uniqueness. He also had a Sequence 1 marionette.

Following that, Klein leaned back into his chair and replayed what he was about to do in his mind to see if there were any fatal flaws.

This is the most I can do for the battle of the deities. I can only do my best afterwards… Hmm, am I being too optimistic about the first stage because of the Goddess's help and the supplementary River of Eternal Darkness's water? That's why I'm not worried that the Antigonus family's ancestor won't cause any accidents? After a round of scrutiny, Klein felt that he was still not cautious enough. There was a little arrogance and carelessness in the matter.

After some thought, he created another avatar which still had a blank face.

After completing this, Klein stood up, took out Creeping Hunger from the fog of history, and wore it on his left hand.

This was a preparation for any possible small-scale battles. Under such a scene, "Blink" was faster and more convenient than "Grafting."

After adjusting his collar, Klein slowly surveyed the area and made his gaze fall on the strange door of light that was stained with bluish-black. It landed on the humans who were hanging there, wrapped in transparent "cocoons."

As he scanned each and every one of them, his gaze landed on the three shattered transparent "cocoons."

In the next second, Klein's figure vanished and appeared in the grayish-white fog of history. He walked to the time before the First Epoch, and he arrived at the stacked metropolis of old.

He stood at the top of a dilapidated skyscraper that barely stood erect. He looked down at the pile of wreckage, the public transportation vehicles that had turned into metal pancakes, and numerous overlapping sedans.

Amidst the silence, he swept his gaze across the remaining buildings. It seemed to pass through the barriers of history, allowing him to see the electric lamps lit up inside them.

The light from the lamps spread out gently, illuminating the glass and skyscrapers, streets, and every corner of metropolis ruins.

After staring at it for a long time, Klein retracted his gaze and took a step back to the real world.

Right on the heels of that, he directly teleported to the summit of the Hornacis mountain range. He "saw" that ancient palace that was shrouded in fog, dilapidated, and overgrown with weeds.

His marionette and avatar appeared in front of him, like two guards.

Facing the ancient palace, Klein pressed his top hat, raised his right hand, and snapped his fingers.

The peak of the Hornacis mountain range instantly turned dark. Illusory stars appeared around them.

Klein had "Grafted" this place to the astral world.

Without any hesitation, he led his marionette and avatar to the main door of the ancient palace.

The marionette that looked almost identical to him was one step ahead. It bent down, stretched out its hands, and slowly pushed the heavy stone door open.

The door slowly creaked open, revealing the scene inside.

And it was different from the last time Klein sent the Trunsoest Brass Book over. It was dark inside, making it impossible for anyone to see the numerous corpses hanging above the hall, nor could he see the cluster of transparent maggots that were sitting on the huge stone chair.

Without needing to guess, Klein made use of the intuition of a Seer at the King of Angels level to confirm that this was the change caused by the Evernight Goddess using the River of Eternal Darkness's water to allow the ancestor of the Antigonus family to enter a state of eternal slumber.

After the marionette and avatar entered, he slowly walked through the door and entered the palace.

The darkness swayed and changed.

Numerous buildings appeared in the surroundings as figures walked along the streets. Their voices spread out, causing the surroundings to become lively and noisy.

The people ignored Klein and his marionette and avatar as they headed for their destinations while chatting with each other.

They and the buildings were dark in color, almost close to black-and-white. They were like old photos that came from deep within history that had suddenly come to life.

This made Klein think of black-and-white holographic projections, the scenes in the Historical Void, and those in real dreams.

He strolled through this town and walked along the elevating streets.

And the higher they went, the more magnificent the buildings became. The massive stone pillar supported an exaggerated dome.

The people living in this "black-and-white photo" were generally tall. They seemed to be learning, working, and resting.

The scenes here changed continuously, showing the birth of a baby, the growth of a child, the ignorance of youth, the worries of an adult, the pressure of a middle-aged man, and the sorrow of aging.

Of course, they were all interlinked with each other. Only a portion would become the main theme at times.

As Klein ventured deeper, he saw the residents of the towns die.

Their loved ones weren't overly sad. They carried the dead back home, placed them on the bed with a pillow as if the corpses were still alive.

When Klein was about to leave the town's borders, the dead got up from bed, left their family, and walked out of their homes, heading towards the highest point of the street.

There was also a city there. It seemed to be the City of the Dead, the eventual refuge of life, a kingdom of eternal repose.

This was very close to where normal people lived. The latter was distributed by the mountainside to the peak, while the former was on the peak.

Others might be surprised by such a state, but Klein instantly understood what this scenery meant.

This was because he directly saw Spirit Body Threads on the deceased.

The moment they were about to die, their Spirit Body Threads floated towards the peak, controlled by an unknown existence.

That also meant that they had become marionettes.

Therefore, the deceased could leave their own families and head to the peak after dying for some time.

And this was completely in line with the details mentioned in the "Research of the Hornacis Main Peak's Relics."

The Nation of the Evernight belonged to the Mother of the Sky from the Evernight pathway, but at the peak, there was a town used by the Antigonus family's ancestor.

Therefore, the residents of the Nation of the Evernight were respectful and afraid of Evernight. They believed in the Mother of the Sky. At the same time, they believed that death was not the end. They believed that their dead loved ones would bless them from Evernight.

Indeed, death wasn't the end. The City of Dead was just beside them—at the peak. They could reach it just by walking, and the dead would continue living their lives as marionettes.

In the eyes of ordinary people, this was undoubtedly the same as still being alive.

The nation of the living and the City of Dead were like two ends of a road. The distance between life and death was so close that they were like neighbors.

This also explained why the Nation of the Evernight didn't have tombs, as the deceased didn't need to be buried. They turned into marionettes and headed for the peak.

This should be the Nation of the Evernight from back then… Klein nodded slightly and proceeded towards the peak in the dark environment.

What entered his eyes was indeed a seemingly normal town, but everyone here was a marionette.

After passing through the marionettes who dressed and looked different, Klein entered the magnificent palace that seemed to honor a deity.

Deep in the palace, on the huge stone chair, a figure propped its elbow on the armrest, its head leaning back against the chair.

"His" face was rather young, but "His" long hair was half-white. Half of it was concealed, the other revealed; "His" appearance was that of a man, and "His" eyes were darker than Zaratul's, and they contained an indescribable sense of the vicissitudes of life. "His" facial features were pretty good, but "His" cheeks had a thick, black tuft of fur that resembled a wolf fur. "He" gave off a feeling of both old-age and youthfulness, rationality and madness.

This was the ancestor of the Antigonus family. This time, "He" didn't appear in the form of a Mythical Creature, and instead sat on a huge stone chair in "His" original appearance.

At that moment, "His" eyes were tightly shut as though "He" was in a deep sleep. And inside the hall, there were corpses wearing simple or luxurious clothes hanging from the ceiling.

They were like inverted forests that swayed gently in the wind.

After entering a state of eternal slumber, the ancestor of the Antigonus family finally managed to temporarily free himself from the state of losing control and madness, and returned to how he was before? Klein stood in the middle of the hall, looking at his target as he sighed.

The scene he saw of the Nation of the Evernight and the City of Dead earlier was the dream belonging to Antigonus—a dream that lasted for more than a thousand years.