Chapter 17: Decision

Chapter 17: Decision

The Evernight Goddess’s dream projection answered with a faint smile in Her voice.

“If it were only to support the birth of a Lord of the Mysteries, then I should be betting on Amon instead. At the very least, His chances of success are much higher than yours.”

Before Klein could ask further, Her voice, light and dreamlike, continued:

“The era buried in the past is a memory we share. It was also the crucial period when our humanity was first born, sprouted, and began to grow. Even now, after I have possessed such a long life, it remains my most beautiful memory.”

“You bear its imprint, so I am more willing to help you.”

Loving the house and its crow… Klein summarized it inwardly with an idiom.

At that moment, he thought of the word Emperor Roselle had once written in his diary:

Home.

As he fell into a silence filled with emotion, the Evernight Goddess’s dream projection changed the topic.

“Once you are ready, you may go to the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range at any time.”

“Of course, the choice is yours. No one will force you, and no one can force you. You may choose to stop at a certain stage, not become a Great Old One, not allow the Lord of the Mysteries to awaken within you. Then, when the apocalypse arrives, you may take the people and things you wish to protect and ‘roam’ to another galaxy, another planet. You could avoid the gaze of the Outer Deities and rebuild a civilization.”

Klein had thought about this question long ago. After a stretch of silence, he said, “I’m not sure if Roselle ever said something like this: you can hide for a while, but not forever.”

He and the Evernight Goddess were speaking in Jotun, and the saying sounded somewhat strange when translated:

Avoidance can only be a temporary strategy. It cannot serve as a long-term guiding principle.

After a pause, Klein continued, “The cosmos may be vast and boundless, but the Outer Deities are clearly far more familiar with it than we are. They are also stronger, directly representing certain symbols of the entire universe. Escaping Their search would be extremely difficult. And even if we succeeded, we would only be safe for a while. The civilization we rebuild would be destroyed again within a thousand years. At that point, we would not even have the chance to become Great Old Ones, and would be forever unable to redeem ourselves.”

This was because, in order to successfully flee when the Outer Deities invaded, they would inevitably have to abandon all sefirot. Otherwise, they would certainly become the focus of Their attention. Forget roaming through the stars; whether they could withstand the initial wave of attacks would itself be uncertain.

The Evernight Goddess’s dream projection said in a soft, unhurried voice, “If you do not take the things directly torn from the Outer Deities, and only bring the Uniquenesses and high-Sequence Beyonder characteristics of the other pathways, the Outer Deities may not care. They may not expend too much effort searching.”

“You also said ‘may not,’” Klein replied calmly. “The Outer Deities should still feel a certain desire for Uniquenesses and high-Sequence Beyonder characteristics of similar domains. Those can help Them approach the level of a Pillar. We cannot place our hopes on Their moods. There is no mercy in Them.”

The Evernight Goddess’s dream projection nodded.

“In this regard, you are more clear-headed than Roselle. Of course, that is also because he learned of the Great Old Ones and the Outer Deities too late.”

Then She said, “You have another choice. Use Pallez’s method: lower your status, and allow Amon to steal Sefirah Castle away. In that way, you can live well as a Sequence 1 archangel, without constantly worrying that the Lord of the Mysteries will awaken within you, and without being so tired.”

In the religious texts of the Church of Evernight, there was a distinction between angels and archangels. Klein had always suspected that the latter referred to Sequence 1. Today, it was finally confirmed.

Of course, this was only the standard of one Church. It could not represent all others.

After listening to the Evernight Goddess’s words, Klein remained silent for a long time before finally asking, “Can Amon be trusted?”

The Evernight Goddess’s dream projection answered frankly, “I cannot give you a definite answer.”

Klein asked again, “If the Lord of the Mysteries awakens within Amon, will He take back all high-Sequence Beyonder characteristics of the Seer, Marauder, and Apprentice pathways?”

“I do not know.” The Evernight Goddess’s dream projection answered in the same tone.

Klein fell silent once more. After a while, he said, “For me personally, I do not crave becoming a Great Old One. However, I cannot betray or fail the existences who have placed their bets on me. More or less, They have all helped me.

“Once Amon becomes the Lord of the Mysteries, He will certainly help the ancient Sun God reclaim the Uniquenesses and Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics held by the Lord of Storms and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, causing Them to fall.

“And Amon is a god who acts without restraint.”

The Evernight Goddess’s dream projection gave a slight nod.

“You have preserved your humanity well.”

After Klein made his decision, the heavy mood he had just been in lifted somewhat. Hearing this, he smiled.

“If my humanity were not preserved well, and divinity had gained the upper hand, I would still make a similar choice, because the instinct of divinity is convergence centered on myself.”

The Evernight Goddess’s dream projection laughed softly.

“Go and prepare. See Antigonus as soon as possible.”

Klein nodded. Then he suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, “Has Amon used Mr. Door’s ritual to accommodate the Apprentice pathway’s Uniqueness?”

The Evernight Goddess’s dream projection replied slowly, “If it were any other existence, certainly not.”

“But if it is Amon, there is a fifty percent chance.”

“He is naturally fond of risk and seeks stimulation.”

Klein said nothing further. He watched the Evernight Goddess’s projection disappear and the dream softly collapse.

Before his eyes appeared once more the altar he had not yet had time to clean up.

To him, there were not many preparations required for going to the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range and facing the ancestor of the Antigonus family. The main step was to rely on Sefirah Castle to create an avatar, have it steal away the yet-undigested Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic that had once belonged to Zaratul, and leave his main body in a state where it could accommodate the Uniqueness.

—As his mental state stabilized, even without Zaratul’s residual mental imprint tangled within him, Klein could now rely on his humanity, consciousness, and anchors to barely suppress the portion of the Celestial Worthy’s will that had revived.

However, before that, Klein’s spiritual intuition told him he should still do something.

After looking around, he cleaned up the altar and dragged Dwayne Dantès’s study out from the fog of history.

Sitting at the desk, Klein spread out paper and picked up his pen to write to Mr. Azik.

Because he had only recently finished the previous letter, this one was not long. He roughly mentioned the River of Eternal Darkness beneath Calderón and the death imprints wandering on both sides of its tributary. He focused on the fact that he had seen multiple Azik Eggerses and explained his speculation regarding them.

After folding the paper, Klein took out Azik’s copper whistle, brought it to his lips, and blew.

The skeletal messenger appeared at the size of an ordinary human. It knelt on one knee and opened its palm.

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

“This is my thanks for troubling you for so long.”

“If you cannot accept it on your own initiative, give it to your master and let Him distribute it.”

This gold coin was one of the five coins Klein had that were imbued with Sefirah Castle’s aura and had undergone a certain mutation.

He had already used one to pay Miss Messenger’s postage and had lost another to Maric while playing cards.

The skeletal messenger froze for nearly five seconds before it dared not go against Klein’s words. It closed its finger bones around both the letter and the gold coin.

Then it collapsed, falling like a waterfall of bones to the floor before drilling into the ground.

Immediately afterward, Klein took out another gold coin and placed it in his pocket.

At the same time, he had the Worms of Spirit on duty inside Sefirah Castle look at a certain crimson star.

…

East Balam, inside a church belonging to the Evernight Goddess.

As one of the first demigods participating in the operation to encircle and purge the Rose School of Thought, Leonard Mitchell had already arrived in the Southern Continent using a Sealed Artifact.

However, he had gained nothing for the time being. The demigods of the Rose School of Thought all seemed to have scented danger in the air and had hidden themselves at the same time.

This left Leonard with no choice but to wait patiently, always prepared to accept orders.

Since he had nothing to do for the moment, he entered the church’s grand prayer hall wearing red gloves and began his daily prayers with a sincerity that could be considered decent.

Within the dim and peaceful environment, it was as though he fell asleep.

At some unknown point, Leonard opened his eyes, stood, and walked down the aisle toward the door.

Just then, he saw a familiar figure. It was Klein Moretti, black-haired and brown-eyed, wearing a top hat and formal attire.

Leonard’s pupils widened, and his brows lifted slightly. Klein, who had likewise been praying, lowered his hands, stood, and walked past him step by step toward the altar.

During this process, neither of them spoke, as if the other were no more than a stranger.

After arriving near the donation box by the altar, Klein took a gold coin from his pocket and, with a solemn expression, dropped it in.

Then he changed direction and left the church through another door.

Leonard stood sideways in the main aisle, somewhat puzzled as he watched the scene. His brows furrowed slightly.

At that moment, Pallez Zoroast’s aged voice echoed in his mind:

“Find an opportunity to get that gold coin into your hand.”

…

Backlund, inside a certain house.

Will Auceptin held a small silver spoon, intently digging at the mound of pale-green ice cream before Him.

Suddenly, His left hand stretched out, blocking the side of the food.

On the chair beside Him, the figure of Dwayne Dantès instantly appeared.

“I seem to have missed your birthday twice,” Klein said with a smile. “This is a belated gift.”

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

“This is a lucky coin for you.”

Will froze for two seconds, then muttered, “The birth gift was a lucky charm, and the birthday gift is a lucky coin. You really have no creativity.”

As He spoke, He stretched out His plump little hand and swiftly pulled the coin back.

Klein smiled, stood, and vanished.