Chapter 111: No One Is Exempt

Chapter 111: No One Is Exempt

After a while, Klein finally asked, “‘Primordial’ refers to the one who created this world and transformed into all things?”

Frankly speaking, Klein had instinctively wanted to ask if this meant the Primordial Demoness, but after a moment’s thought, he rejected that possibility. First, the Primordial Demoness did not possess a status that could make the Ancient Sun God—the Creator worshiped by the City of Silver—fear “Her” to such an extent. Not even the Evernight Goddess could do that. Second, after the Dark Angel fell into slumber, the Primordial Demoness was only born in the Fourth Epoch under the influence of the second Blasphemy Slate. Sasrir was unlikely to know of “Her,” and even if “His” power of omniscience allowed “Him” to learn about “Her,” “He” would not have specifically mentioned a Sequence 0 who had not taken part in the history of the Third Epoch.

Behind the increasingly dense and chilling shadows, every brass-colored eye flickered at once.

“The universe.”

What does that mean? Hearing that ethereal voice, Klein was momentarily puzzled. He felt that the Dark Angel Sasrir had not answered his question at all.

But very quickly, he roughly understood the meaning.

What the “Primordial” had created was not this world, but the entire universe!

So “Primordial” refers to that very first Creator? Klein turned slightly and swept his gaze over the three City of Silver demigods—Colin Iliad, Derrick, and Lovia. He found that most of their faces held confusion and bewilderment. Their brows were faintly furrowed, and they were clearly pondering the conversation that had just unfolded.

In the history of the City of Silver, the Ancient Sun God, the Creator, was equated with the original Creator. He was the supreme being who had created the world, slumbered for many years, and awakened to reclaim the authorities of the ancient gods.

Of course, in a certain sense, that was not wrong. It was only that the way the original Creator had “awakened” was rather different from what the residents of the City of Silver imagined.

The universe… Klein thought for a moment, then asked, “Was it because you controlled the Chaos Sea that the Primordial awakened within you?”

Then what would happen in the future to him, who had preliminary control over Sefirah Castle?

The brass-colored eyes watched Klein for several seconds before saying, “Not merely because of that. The higher the Sequence, the closer one is to the Primordial…”

So in every pathway, could a King of Angels or Sequence 0 have the original Creator awaken within them? Klein’s spirit tensed, and his heart sank.

Immediately after that, he connected this to another matter.

The higher the Sequence, the easier it was to be corrupted by the things underground!

Combining that with the fact that the Chaos Sea lay underground, could one conclude that the higher the Sequence, the more easily one was influenced by the Chaos Sea, causing the original Creator to awaken within one’s body? As for the Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt—what was sealed inside Groselle’s Travels, sealed within the City of Miracles, Liveseyd, might not have been the subterranean corruption itself, but a sliver of awakened primordial will? Of course, that was itself the strongest and most terrifying corruption… And the root of all this was perhaps that all, or at least the vast majority, of Beyonder characteristics, originated from that original Creator, being part of “His” body? Possibility after possibility, conjecture after conjecture, flashed through Klein’s mind.

At last, he remembered the warning Captain Dunn Smith had given him before he stepped onto the path of the Beyonder.

We are guardians, but also a bunch of miserable wretches constantly fighting against danger and madness.

At that instant, Klein gained a profound understanding of those words from another angle.

Phew… He silently exhaled, then sighed inwardly.

“Beyonder characteristics are both gifts and curses…”

Gathering his thoughts, he put on a smile and asked, “Will simply understanding these things bring corruption?”

“No.” The brass-colored eyes looked toward Colin Iliad and the others. “It only means that the chance of the Primordial awakening within you has become higher.”

Klein was horrified. On one hand, he was glad that the City of Silver’s Chief and Little Sun did not know much about such matters and had not made the relevant connections. A single sentence—“the higher the Sequence, the closer one is to the Primordial”—could not bring much corruption on its own. On the other hand, he deeply pitied himself. He had mastered far too much mysticism knowledge, and now all of it had suddenly connected. Once he left the Giant King’s Court, this divine kingdom of an ancient god, perhaps some terrible change would occur within him.

Moreover, this did not look like a problem that could be solved by sealing memories. After all, Beyonder characteristics had already fused with his body and spirit.

Should I consider something like the Dragon of Imagination’s method? Actually, there’s no need to worry too much. Amon and “His” brother must both know these things, and They’re still fine… As long as I don’t get close to the Chaos Sea, I’m only a Sequence 3. There’s no need to concern myself with this yet, even if I advance to Sequence 2… Klein thought it through and gave up on asking deeper questions. Lifting the corners of his mouth, he turned the topic back to the mystery of the Ancient Sun God’s fall.

“So, with your own tacit approval, you cooperated with the Evernight Goddess and founded Rose Redemption, preparing to assassinate yourself. Through resurrection, you planned to free yourself from the Primordial and truly control the Chaos Sea and the corresponding five Beyonder pathways?”

Upon that chilling, eerie curtain of shadow, the brass-colored eyes seemed to gain a trace of human emotion.

“Yes.

“Not long after I walked out of the Chaos Sea, I sensed the problem. I deliberately split off part of my personality, fused it with the authority of Degeneration and the Beyonder characteristics of the Hanged Man pathway, and created another me. Its purpose was to control the Chaos Sea, isolating it from the main body to prevent corruption and erosion.

“But in the end, the Primordial still awakened within me…”

So the Dark Angel was essentially the Ancient Sun God’s firewall? The Hanged Man pathway refers to the Secrets Suppliant pathway? Back then, the Dark Angel really was terrifyingly powerful. “He” actually partially controlled the Chaos Sea. As expected of the King of Kings of Angels… While Klein sighed inwardly, he also felt a wave of fear. The Ancient Sun God had made so many preparations, yet still failed to stop the original Creator from awakening within Him. Klein did not dare imagine what his own future might look like.

“Therefore, I gathered Leodero, Auceses, Herabergen, Medici, and Ouroboros. Together with the gods and Kings of Angels invited by Amanises, we formed Rose Redemption,” the voice left behind by the Dark Angel Sasrir echoed, illusory and distant.

No wonder it was called Redemption… No wonder Kings of Angels completely loyal to the Ancient Sun God, such as Medici and Ouroboros, were involved… Klein could not help smiling as he asked, “Why didn’t you invite Amon and ‘His’ brother?”

In theory, They should have stood on the Dark Angel’s side.

“Their births were themselves efforts I made to resist the Primordial. I worried that inviting Them would bring about accidents.” The brass-colored eyes turned back toward Klein.

These secrets left the three demigods of the City of Silver somewhat dazed. Even Colin Iliad, the Chief of the six-member council, who had read many ancient records, possessed extensive knowledge, and was rich in experience, showed fluctuations in emotion.

So that’s how it was. I was wondering why the Ancient Sun God would have children for no reason… Klein barely managed to control his virtual personality and stop himself from saying the words aloud.

Before he could ask another question, the remnant spirit of the Dark Angel Sasrir seemed to sink into memory and continued on its own.

“After making all the preparations, I entered this place, sealed the palace, and through slumber returned to my own body. I strengthened my self-awareness and entered a stalemate with the Primordial, creating the opportunity for Amanises and the others…

“In the end, They successfully killed me…

“According to the original plan, I would resurrect in the Giant King’s Court and re-accommodate the corresponding Uniquenesses and Beyonder characteristics through the correct method. But Leodero, Auceses, and Herabergen betrayed me and divided my body among themselves. I could only urgently fuse with the extreme emotions I had before my fall, be reborn within my corpse, and take away the Beyonder characteristics of the Hanged Man pathway and authorities such as Degeneration…”

That’s about what I imagined… The Lord of Storms, the Eternal Blazing Sun, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom did betray Him in the end. No wonder Miss Hermit’s fairy-tale magic was effective… Klein felt everything click into place. The fog that had shrouded the history of the Third Epoch seemed to have cleared by more than half.

Of course, that was only an inner sensation, not the actual fog of history, since he still had no way of making contact with it.

After sighing inwardly, he suddenly thought of a question.

If the Dark Angel Sasrir had already returned to the Ancient Sun God and, together with the main body, transformed into the True Creator, then who was the one currently asleep upon the iron-black throne?

And why had the True Creator forced me to enter the Giant King’s residence and meet “Sasrir”?

As thoughts flashed through his mind, Klein once more cast his gaze toward the iron-black throne, carefully examining the Dark Angel Sasrir’s state.

As the layers of illusory black wings covering most of Sasrir’s body rose and fell gently, a smear of grayish-white was revealed.

It lay on the iron-black throne, hidden beside the Dark Angel’s right hand, giving off an incomparably ancient feeling.

Klein’s eyes sharpened. He focused his attention there and swiftly confirmed that the smear of grayish-white came from a strange stone. The small portion of its surface that was exposed was mottled and weathered, inscribed with a script that Klein had never learned yet could understand at a glance.

The script seemed to be the origin of all present languages, including but not limited to Giant, Hermes, ancient Feysac, and Dutan of the Southern Continent.

Sequence 3: Arcane Scholar… Sequence 2: Knowledge Magister… Sequence 1: Illuminator… Sequence 0: Paragon… The few scraps of content Klein could see flashed through his mind, and a realization abruptly arose in his heart.

The Blasphemy Slate!

The first Blasphemy Slate!

The first Blasphemy Slate born from the Chaos Sea!

And this was very likely the key item that had allowed the Dark Angel to partially control the Chaos Sea!

The moment that thought appeared, Klein suddenly felt the surroundings become eerily quiet.

The brass-colored eyes hidden on the surface of the shadow curtain seemed to have vanished.

Klein’s gaze instinctively lifted, and it collided with a pair of eyes covered in shadow.

The Dark Angel Sasrir, asleep on the iron-black throne, had opened “His” eyes.

With a bang, the body of Lovia, elder of the six-member council, collapsed directly, turning into a vast sheet of shadow.

Behind the shadow, a pair of confused yet pained eyes was faintly revealed.