Chapter 4: I’ll Give You a Chance

Chapter 4: I’ll Give You a Chance

The road condensed from twilight looked incapable of supporting anything, but when Amon and Klein landed upon it, they did not continue falling. It was like walking on solid earth.

This time, Amon did not steal distance. He “brought” Klein step by step toward the magnificent projection of the Giant King’s Court, occasionally looking left and right, admiring the breathtaking scenery.

Strolling above a sea of clouds, stepping upon a long bridge of twilight, gazing at a mythic palace in the distance—this should have been something that made one feel delighted and relaxed. Yet Klein felt as though he were walking step by step into an abyss. The more he struggled, the deeper he sank.

Once he entered the Forsaken Land of the Gods, many of the things he relied on would no longer work.

Before long, Amon and Klein arrived at the projection of the Giant King’s Court and stood before the tallest building.

One side of this building was a pointed tower, the other a round tower, and its main door exceeded ten meters in height. Dominated by grayish blue, it was covered in mutually symmetrical symbols, marks, and patterns. This was the Giant King’s residence, the place where Dark Angel Sasrir slept.

Klein glanced at the pitch-black hole to the left of the crack in the door. He could roughly determine that the door in the dream did not need a key to open. Otherwise, the True Creator’s believers from before would not have been able to pass through at all. At that time, the correct key had still been in Vice Admiral Iceberg’s collection room.

“Next, as long as we push this door open, we can enter the Forsaken Land of the Gods. But in that case, we will certainly be noticed.” Amon smiled and walked diagonally a few steps to the edge of the door. “We won’t open it. We’ll go through directly.”

As He spoke, this Angel of Time lifted His hand and adjusted His monocle.

At the corner of the grayish-blue door, an illusory blue door without substance appeared.

“Opening a Door from the Apprentice pathway. A very low-level ability, but just right here.” Amon lowered His hand and introduced it with satisfaction.

He immediately took two steps and passed through that illusory door.

Mm, there are no useless Beyonder powers, only useless Beyonders… Pushing the door open directly will make us be watched… Watched by whom? The True Creator? His sanctuary, His divine kingdom, should be somewhere in the Forsaken Land of the Gods… If I can draw Him here and make Him clash with Amon, perhaps I’ll find a chance to escape… Unable to control his body, Klein closely followed Amon and stepped into that slightly blurry, deep-blue door.

No sooner had he passed through than he felt the world spin. Even his spirituality seemed to be torn.

When the abnormality vanished and his state recovered, Klein discovered that he was standing on a beach illuminated by twilight.

The gravel and stones here were all black. Dark-blue waves surged from afar, beating layer upon layer against the shore, yet producing none of the tide sounds they should have had.

They were silent, like a grand illusion show.

This sea is illusory… Entering puts us here. Leaving probably won’t be the same… According to the principle of equivalence, to leave, one must open the Giant King’s residence where Dark Angel Sasrir sleeps? Klein came to a realization as his head involuntarily turned to look in another direction. There stood a mountain bathed in twilight. Upon it, countless palaces, towers, and layers of towering city walls stood frozen.

This was the Giant King’s Court from myths and legends.

Even if the City of Silver finds the path to the sea, it won’t mean much… Out of the corner of his eye, Klein noticed that Amon had changed appearance.

He now wore a black classical robe and a matching pointed soft hat, changing from a gentleman of the present age into an ancient mage from the Fourth Epoch, or even the Third Epoch.

Klein’s heart stirred. He continued looking toward the nearby Giant King’s Court and said in a seemingly casual tone, “Inside the Giant King’s palace sleeps Dark Angel Sasrir.”

Amon stood side by side with him, gazing in the same direction, His expression unchanged as He replied, “I know.

“I’ve entered the Giant King’s Court and even visited the tombs of Aumir’s parents.”

As expected… One of Klein’s guesses was finally confirmed.

After weighing his words, he said, “You were searching for the answer to something?”

“You can guess,” Amon replied with a laugh, still looking toward the Giant King’s Court.

If I had any idea, I wouldn’t be asking you… After several seconds of thought, Klein said, “Certain secrets from the First Epoch?”

“That counts, I suppose.” Amon answered without much concern.

…Klein hesitated, then changed the topic. “Are you not curious about Dark Angel Sasrir’s state?”

“I am.” Amon did not shift His gaze. With a smile, He said, “But compared to me, plenty of fellows are far more interested—my paranoid brother, The Hanged Man, the Dragon of Betrayal, as well as Evernight, Storm, and Pure White. I want to see who among them loses patience first. Heh. If I could steal everything inside at the critical moment, their expressions would certainly be very interesting.”

This way of thinking… Stirring up something so enormous purely to cause trouble, purely to gain a little pleasure? Klein frowned slightly, discovering that Amon’s worldview, values, and perspective on life were utterly different from those of human beings.

This is a born mythical creature… completely different from humans… Eh, why can I frown on my own… No sooner had Klein gained that realization than he noticed that something seemed to have vanished from within him.

By instinct, he turned his head and looked toward Amon, the Blasphemer standing beside him.

Amon now held a translucent Worm of Time with twelve ringlike segments in His hand. Smiling, He looked into Klein’s eyes with some anticipation and said, “Since we have already arrived in the Forsaken Land of the Gods and no longer need to worry about outside interference, I’ll give you a chance.

“Before we reach the true destination, I will no longer parasitize you. You can try every method you can think of to escape, and I will do everything I can to stop you.

“Good luck. Don’t disappoint me.”

…For a moment, Klein did not dare believe what Amon had said. He suspected Amon was deceiving him.

But thinking back on Amon’s behavior all along, he also felt that this was indeed something Amon would do.

“All right.” As thoughts flashed rapidly through his mind, Klein inhaled and answered solemnly beneath the orange-red twilight.

…

Backlund, at Parliament.

Because King George III had suddenly exploded, none of the nobles or members of Parliament had been allowed to return home. Instead, they had been gathered here and placed under layer upon layer of protection by the three Churches and the military.

Audrey, dressed in a pure black gown, stood behind the railing on the second floor, quietly looking down.

The matter had happened far too suddenly and without warning. Although she had received a certain reminder from The World Gehrman Sparrow, she still felt a sense of unreality and illusion.

It was as if she had detached from reality and was watching a theatrical performance.

Her father, brother, and the other nobles and members of Parliament gathered in groups of two or three inside different small rooms. From time to time, one of them would walk out, carrying the smell of smoke and dressed like a gentleman, hurrying toward another discussion circle.

The madams and young ladies were seated inside the lounges. Most of them had yet to come back to themselves. Their eyes were dull, their bodies trembling slightly.

Parliament staff and middle- to low-ranking military officers hurried back and forth between inside and outside, delivering intelligence sent back from different places.

A guard in a red coat and white trousers entered from outside and handed a stack of papers to the officer responsible for the hall. The officer glanced at it, immediately summoned an assistant, and pointed toward the small room where Earl Hall and the others were. The assistant asked nothing. He took the documents and jogged toward the destination.

All this happened in an extremely quiet environment. Only the sound of footsteps and faint whispers echoed, like a realistic giant oil painting whose magnificent decor, dark colors, dim lighting, and the expressions on everyone’s faces combined to create an atmosphere of extreme oppression.

Audrey pursed her lips slightly. After watching for a while, her mood remained low. She relied on Placate to preserve her calm.

“Why did Mr. World oppose the king…

“The king’s death will inevitably bring deep-seated hatred…

“Regardless of what Sequence the king actually possessed, because he never displayed it openly, this does not affect the kingdom’s overall strength. But for such an event to happen, it proves one thing: the three Churches, the royal family, and the military have split apart. The internal strife is extremely severe…

“Loen’s situation will become very dangerous next. Our enemies will definitely not let this opportunity pass…” As Audrey’s thoughts rose and fell, she saw a man in a black wool coat rush into the Parliament building.

He lowered his voice and began communicating with the officer responsible for the hall.

As an experienced Spectator, one who could observe subtle facial expressions and body movements, lip-reading was unquestionably one of Audrey’s strengths. As she gazed from above, she interpreted the corresponding content:

“Intis is using border disputes in the Hornacis mountain range as a pretext to gather large numbers of troops there.”

Audrey lightly bit her lip. Once again, that familiar feeling of detachment appeared, as if she were watching the content of a novel unfold scene by scene in the real world.

…

The sky seemed to have become even grayer and heavier. Inside the Moretti family home, no one spoke for a very long time.

Benson stood behind the bay window with a grave expression, looking at the pedestrians hurrying outside, no one knew what he was thinking.

Melissa sat on the sofa beside the coffee table, head lowered, looking at the simple machines she had built, as though she had turned into a statue.

“Whew. The situation has become even more chaotic.” Benson exhaled, touched his hairline, turned back, and forced a smile. “No matter what, Backlund is certainly safer than most places.”

Melissa did not raise her head. Her voice carried a faintly distant quality as she said, “Klein found a good job. Our lives were gradually improving. Then an accident took him away…

“We left Tingen. You obtained the government employee position you longed for. I entered university and began walking the right path. Then war broke out…

“We had finally adapted to this environment and were praying for the war to end sooner. Then the king was blown up…”

At this point, Melissa slowly raised her head. With eyes full of confusion, she looked at her brother and said, “Benson, is even a life just a little better than before so difficult to obtain and preserve?”