Chapter 5: The Seven Lights

Chapter 5: The Seven Lights

After hearing the Indigo Light Hesu’s answer, Klein’s spirit abruptly tightened. In his mind, celestial bodies appeared one after another: a red moon, a brown star, a crimson star, a blue star, a golden star… For a moment, he felt as if they were all eyes, gazing down at him from on high.

Silently, an elusive connection began to form. The deadly corrosion that was about to descend made every one of Klein’s Spirit Worms uneasy.

As an angel who controlled Sefirah Castle, Klein had many methods to cut off this connection. First, he could use the status and power of a complete mythical creature. Second, he could suppress his anchors and rely on the mental imprint left behind by the Primordial. Third, he could use the aura of Sefirah Castle, which he could now mobilize more deeply.

Without hesitation, he chose the simplest, most convenient method, and the one least likely to leave hidden dangers behind.

A faint layer of grayish-white fog appeared around him, and the projections of the celestial bodies in his mind vanished.

After a brief daze, Klein organized his words and said, “That many Outer Deities?”

The Indigo Light Hesu symbolized the domain of Prayer. He touched the ruby ring on his right hand and nodded.

“Ever since the Original One awakened and then split apart, the most powerful Outer Deities in the universe have all gathered in this tiny star system. Some wish to take back the sefirot and characteristics that were torn from them and drawn here, while others hope to obtain sefirot and high-level characteristics similar to themselves that they can accommodate.”

“The Original One”… The Seven Lights call that earliest Creator “the Original One,” not “the Primordial”… Semantically, there isn’t much difference… Klein considered his words, then asked,

“Sefirot and characteristics that were torn away and drawn here?”

He could understand the rest of what the Indigo Light had said, and he had already possessed similar conjectures in advance. Only this part surprised him.

As the symbol of the Meditation domain, and characterized by love and wisdom, the Blue Light Cuthumi explained in a gentle manner,

“Your Highness, you should not be unfamiliar with the law of convergence of Beyonder characteristics.”

Seeing Klein nod, the elderly man with a “sapphire” tied over his forehead and a thick beard around his mouth continued,

“This is not merely a law of the Sequence pathways. It also applies to sefirot and to the characteristics associated with Outer Deities, especially those who were directly nurtured and created by the Original One, such as the Mother Goddess of Depravity, the Son of Chaos, and the Mother Tree of Desire. As for whether there are other Outer Deities who belong to this category, we are not very certain.

“In short, these three Great Old Ones, who lost parts of their sefirot and characteristics, are the most concerned with and most active in corroding reality. They have been constantly attempting to influence the spirit world and contaminate us.”

Klein nodded lightly, asking in a tone that sought confirmation,

“In other words, among the current twenty-two pathways and nine sefirot, some originally belonged to Outer Deities?”

“Yes.” Saint-Germain, who held an amethyst and symbolized the domain of Ritual Magic, seized the opportunity to answer. “Only when there were twenty-two pathways and nine sefirot did everything reach balance. This may be a mystical connection originating from the Original One.”

Klein thought for a moment and asked, “Which ones, specifically?”

Saint-Germain, whose face was veiled in faint purple light and who appeared rather mysterious, replied, “For example, the Moon and Earth pathways. Both belong to that Mother Goddess of Depravity. She stands at the summit of all Outer Deities. Even after a portion of Her sefirah—that is, the Brood Hive—was divided away, this remains true. She is the ruler of all feminine forces in the universe.”

Saint-Germain had only just said this when the Green Light Serapis chuckled.

“In truth, if one analyzes the twenty-two pathways carefully, one will find that the Moon and Earth pathways are the most incongruous. Heh, the Demoness pathway represents the feminine aspect of the Original One, while the Red Priest pathway represents the Original One’s masculine domain. The two happen to form a kind of malformed symmetry. But the Moon and Earth pathways can likewise turn high-Sequence Beyonders of their pathways into feminine creatures, and there is no pathway symmetrical to them.”

Seeing Klein’s brows move, the Green Light, whose long hair made him look like an artist, added with a smile,

“Sequence 2 of the Earth pathway is Desolate Matriarch. Sequence 1 of the Moon pathway is Beauty Goddess. That is why the Sanguine have only queens, and no male princes.”

Then was the ancient god Lilith originally male or female? Klein muttered inwardly before thoughtfully asking,

“Is the Primordial Moon that Mother Goddess of Depravity?”

“Yes.” The Red Light Al Moria, wearing a diamond crown, nodded solemnly. “She occupies the moon. Through Her own status, and through Her influence over the Brood Hive and the Uniquenesses of the two pathways, She gradually corrodes reality. The Primordial Moon is Her incarnation in this world.”

Here, Al Moria paused and said,

“Her full name is: the Mother Goddess of Depravity, Origin of Evil, The Indestructible, The Filthy Brood Hive.”

Thinking of the moon’s exaggerated reaction when he had first learned the secret of the cosmos, Klein felt a chill rise within him. He hurriedly shifted the topic.

“The Abyss and Prisoner pathways come from the Mother Tree of Desire?”

The Yellow Light Venithan, dressed in a lemon-yellow robe, sighed.

“Mm. Her full name is: the Mother Tree of Desire, Father of Devils, The Perpetual Blatherer, Heartless God. That is why, when the Chained God developed problems, She seized the opportunity and completed the corruption relatively easily.”

Mother… Father… What exactly is that fellow’s gender… Mm, for an existence at that level, having no distinction between male and female is normal. Different incarnations and different images… Heh, She even wanted to give me a child. Judging from the Chained God’s state, if I had really been captured, the one giving birth might have been me. Then that child would have inherited Sefirah Castle, allowing the Mother Tree of Desire to indirectly corrode and control this sefirah…

From this angle, perhaps indulging desires is the proper way to “act” for the Prisoner pathway. But that proper way leads straight to an Outer Deity, so Temperance is better after all… Klein frowned slightly and asked a question he had guessed about before and dearly wanted answered.

“Since there are so many Outer Deities, why have They still not invaded our world?”

From the information Klein currently possessed, even just the Mother Goddess of Depravity and the Mother Tree of Desire should be enough to easily deal with the previous seven deities, plus the True Creator, the Primordial Demoness, and similar existences.

The plump Orange Light Hilarion smiled.

“All our suffering comes from the Original One, and all our fortune also comes from the Original One.

“What He left behind was not only spirit, will, imprints, and corruption, but also sefirot, characteristics, and power.

“His residual power formed an invisible barrier beyond the planet, preventing those Outer Deities from invading directly. However, as time passed, because the Original One has never truly resurrected, His will and power have been fading. By the end of the Fourth Epoch, this decline had become very severe, causing cracks to appear in the invisible barrier. The seven deities had no choice but to move Their divine kingdoms into the astral world to repair the gaps.”

No wonder true gods could still walk upon the earth in the Fourth Epoch, yet in the Fifth Epoch, even descents have become rare… Klein suddenly understood. He followed up with another question.

“So, once the Original One’s will and power fade further and the invisible barrier disappears, the apocalypse will arrive?”

The Orange Light Hilarion, who had always been smiling, glanced at the Yellow Light Venithan. His expression suddenly turned solemn.

“Yes.”

When that happens, with the Mother Goddess of Depravity, the Mother Tree of Desire, the Son of Chaos, and so many Outer Deities invading, even if the Goddess becomes a Great Old One, She won’t be able to stop them… If the other Sequence 0 gods join forces and can hold back one or two Outer Deities, that would already count as a miracle… One against nine, perhaps even more… Klein felt his scalp go numb. Once again, he deeply understood what true despair meant.

No wonder it was called the apocalypse!

Because his emotions fluctuated so greatly, he immediately felt the mental imprint of the Original One strengthen, corroding more deeply into the part of him positioned by his anchors.

Klein hurriedly calmed himself, allowing the fragile balance to reappear.

“Is that why the corruption originating from underground naturally fades as long as one doesn’t approach it or oppose it?” Klein asked, recalling certain pieces of mysticism knowledge he had previously learned.

“You are correct, Your Highness,” the Orange Light Hilarion confirmed.

Klein immediately formed another association.

“Does that mean that the closer we get to the apocalypse, the easier advancement becomes, because the Original One’s will is fading and His awakening will become more difficult, or even stop happening?”

The dignified Red Light Al Moria thought for a moment and said,

“That is why the seven deities only recently truly set Their sights on the realm above the Sequences and took concrete action.

“However, while the Original One’s will may fade, His spirit will exist forever and cannot be erased unless the entire universe returns to a singularity. Thus, the Original One may still awaken within corresponding high-level existences. The higher the status, the greater that possibility becomes, and the more severe the corresponding influence and corruption.”

Power beyond mortals and a curse that can never be escaped really do like appearing together… Klein sighed, forcefully pushing down matters that were not yet for someone at his level to consider. He then changed the subject.

“Do you know the potion formula for Attendant of Mysteries?”

The Violet Light Saint-Germain, holding an amethyst, replied, “Knowledge of that level has a corresponding mystical attachment and does not reside in the spirit world. But according to our observations, the ritual for Attendant of Mysteries should be closely connected to the spirit world.”

The Orange Light Hilarion immediately smiled at Klein.

“Your Highness, when the time comes, should you need us, we will offer our full assistance.”

This enthusiasm makes me a little uneasy, just like when I deal with Arrodes the Magic Mirror… Klein nodded lightly, intending to change topics.

After considering for a moment, he asked with a solemn expression, “Do you know The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings?”

He translated the title into Elvish.

The Seven Lights immediately fell silent, looking at one another. For a short while, none of them answered.

Several seconds passed before the Orange Light Hilarion sighed.

“We still cannot determine whether you are Him.

“He was a Great Old One active from the end of the previous civilization until the middle of the First Epoch. He is what we call the Great Ruler Above the Spirit World.

“The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings is His title in the Western Continent. His other titles are: King of Space-Time, Beacon of Destiny, Embodiment of Sefirah Castle, Dominator of the Spirit World, and…”

At this point, the Orange Light paused.

“Lord of the Mysteries.”