Chapter 80: The Special Nature of the Visionary

Chapter 80: The Special Nature of the Visionary

Mysteries… The last time Klein had heard that form of address was from the True Creator’s descending consciousness. The time before that had been from the ancient sun god in history, the Creator of the City of Silver.

And in a certain sense, those two could be equated:

The True Creator was the “evil spirit” of the ancient sun god after reclaiming Sasrir’s personality.

However, unlike before, hearing that title did not leave Klein shocked, shaken, or with aching teeth.

The feeling he had now was like seeing a rock that had hung in the air for a very long time finally drop to the ground.

Of course, he was not that calm. A certain measure of surprise, astonishment, and disbelief was unavoidable. It was merely that Ariehogg’s statement, “Adam is not necessarily Adam,” had led him to guess many possibilities and given him corresponding psychological preparation.

We meet again, Mysteries… Adam equals the ancient sun god? Or is He the ancient sun god’s resurrection arrangement? He knows this, yet still wants to resurrect His father, so Medici called Him “paranoid”? One thought after another flashed through Klein’s mind, giving him a completely new understanding of a certain previous matter:

No wonder Adam never preached His own doctrine and only spread the remnants left behind by the ancient sun god!

At first, Klein had thought that this was because the Visionary was special enough to use the Uniqueness to create a group of seemingly real believers as anchors, without needing to collect additional faith. Now, it seemed that this was perhaps only one part of the reason.

After two seconds of silence, he looked at Adam’s pale eyes, which seemed to contain not the slightest impurity, and asked,

“Are you the ancient sun god?”

Adam maintained the genial smile of a priest and spoke in an enlightening tone.

“Don’t you think that among the eight Kings of Angels, I was the most special one?”

“After seeing the contents of the second Blasphemy Slate regarding the Old Ones, you should be able to clearly recognize this.”

Indeed… Klein nodded, indicating that he could tell.

“Among the five Kings of Angels related to Omniscience and Omnipotence, you were the only one with a Uniqueness.”

According to the mysticism knowledge Klein currently grasped, when the Creator of the City of Silver was still alive, the states of the eight Kings of Angels had been as follows:

Dark Angel Sasrir had digested two Sequence 1 characteristics of the Hanged Man pathway and controlled the first Blasphemy Slate. He could partially mobilize the power of the Chaos Sea and was therefore the Deputy of Heaven, the Left Hand of God, the King of Angels among Kings of Angels;

Pure White Angel Aucuses had accommodated two Sequence 1 characteristics of the Sun pathway;

Wind Angel Leodero, Wisdom Angel Herabergen, and Angel of Fate Ouroboros likewise each possessed two Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics of Their own pathways;

Angel of Time Amon and Red Angel Medici each had the Uniqueness of Their own pathway plus one corresponding Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic;

Angel of Imagination Adam had the Spectator pathway’s Uniqueness plus one or two Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics.

At first glance, there was no problem. But upon deeper consideration, it was rather strange.

Angel of Time Amon and Red Angel Medici did not belong to the five pathways of Omniscience and Omnipotence. There was no issue with the ancient sun god giving Them Uniquenesses through different methods. But Adam was different. Visionary belonged to one of the five Omniscience-and-Omnipotence pathways. The corresponding Uniqueness was one of the cornerstones for the ancient sun god to become an Old One. In other words, this was roughly equivalent to one of the three Sequence 1 characteristics that composed a Sequence 0. How could it have been casually separated?

One must remember that even Sasrir, as the Deputy of Heaven and the Left Hand of God, had not obtained the Hanged Man pathway’s Uniqueness—let alone Wind Angel Leodero, Wisdom Angel Herabergen, and Pure White Angel Aucuses.

At first, Klein had thought that the ancient sun god had noticed the Primordial awakening, so he deliberately used the method of having a child to separate one of the five major Uniquenesses, voluntarily lowering his own status to resist that corrosion and contamination.

That should also have been the thoughts of the other deities and Kings of Angels in that era.

Only after hearing Ariehogg say, “Adam is not necessarily Adam,” did Klein feel that this matter might hide a deeper secret, leading him to make many guesses.

After seeing part of the final few lines of the second Blasphemy Slate, he felt even more that it was strange, because Uniquenesses were one of the cornerstones forming an Old One. If a sefirot was the foundation, then the corresponding Uniquenesses were different load-bearing pillars. Losing any one of them would cause a major problem. If the ancient sun god had wanted to actively lower His status, a better choice would have been to split off a Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic, which would have been comparatively safer.

Adam, wearing a simple white robe and bearing a thick golden beard, walked step by step to Klein’s side. Turning, He gazed at the Blasphemy Slate and said,

“The Visionary has one very special trait.”

“A normal Sequence 0 is formed from a Uniqueness plus three Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics. If any one is missing, one cannot be considered a true god, only a King of Angels. But after the Visionary becomes Sequence 0, He can split off two Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics and replace them with corresponding characteristics He has imagined.”

“Things imagined by Him are sufficiently real. Within the framework of a Uniqueness plus one Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic, they can perfectly take effect, allowing the Visionary’s status and strength to remain unchanged.”

“The two real Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics that have been split off can combine with a certain identity of His, or with a living being He has imagined, allowing Them to become Authors who can move freely. When necessary, through a certain method or certain mediums, They can transform into the main body.”

“And for the Omniscient and Omnipotent, He can ‘create’ a Uniqueness that exists between reality and illusion to maintain His own state, as long as it does not exceed the necessary limit.”

So that is the relationship between the Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt, and His child, the Dragon of Nightmare, Alzuhod? I once thought the Seer and Marauder pathways were the most bizarre, but now it seems they cannot compare to Spectator… Sigh. Beware of the Spectator… Klein completely resolved a major doubt in his heart. He also understood why the Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt, had arranged for the quill 0-08 to meet Groselle’s Travels.

Once they met, the quill 0-08, which originated from the Dragon of Nightmare, Alzuhod, would “awaken” and become the Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt, with lowered status. Then that resurrected ancient god would use His own negative persona, sealed behind the bronze door, to indirectly mobilize the power of the Chaos Sea and instantly reach the level of the strongest King of Angels beneath true gods.

With such a foundation, He would then have the chance to compete with Adam for the position of Visionary and be completely resurrected.

Compared with that, the Black Emperor’s resurrection really is simple, neat, and straightforward… Klein nodded slightly.

“The relationship between the Dragon of Imagination and the Dragon of Nightmare?”

Adam sat down beside Klein.

“Yes.”

“However, the Dragon of Imagination Himself had been corroded, and He also possessed characteristics of other pathways. His condition was not very good, so He could only split off one Author. Otherwise, He would directly lose control.”

Klein ignored Adam at his side and also looked toward the second Blasphemy Slate.

“How is this different from a Marauder avatar?”

“If Amon can become Error, He can likewise create at least two Sequence 1 avatars.”

Adam leaned forward slightly and gave a simple explanation.

“An avatar and a main body are still a whole, merely located in different places.”

Meaning that the imagined Sequence 1 and the main body are completely divided and can be regarded as another person, only awakened through some method or through certain mediums? Klein asked thoughtfully,

“Did you awaken when you became the Visionary?”

“No.” Adam looked forward and answered gently. “When I perished, and when True was born.”

Klein was rather astonished.

“No existence suspected anything?”

If the gods had known that the ancient sun god had already “revived” in Adam, the history of the Fourth Epoch would probably have become the encirclement and extermination of the Solomon Empire, the Twilight Hermit Order, and the Amon family.

“Other than True, who certainly knew, perhaps only Evernight suspected to some extent.” Adam’s voice was neither hurried nor slow. “I disguised myself as a paranoid, a paranoid who wanted His father to awaken within His body. For a King of Angels of the Visionary pathway, this was not difficult.”

“Then Medici…” Klein suddenly felt a little sympathy for the Red Angel.

Thinking of this, he lowered his head and looked at the bloodstained wooden cross stake lodged in his own chest, feeling that he deserved even more sympathy.

Adam said calmly,

“It was a necessary sacrifice.”

“Why else do you think He was able to survive so many years as an evil spirit without being discovered?”

Klein was silent for two seconds, then asked instead,

“Do you plan to have me wait here like this?”

“You may also choose to leave the Cathedral of Corpses, but Zaratul is waiting outside the door. In your current state, you can only become His marionette.” Adam spoke without emotional fluctuation.

Klein fell silent and once again began interpreting the remaining contents of the second Blasphemy Slate.

…

In the Fog Sea, the Dawn silently sailed across the undulating blue waves.

Bernadette suddenly opened her eyes and sat up.

She frowned slightly, then picked up an item placed beside her.

The item was entirely golden. Its surface was engraved with indescribably mysterious symbols, making it look like a miniature kettle.

This was Sealed Artifact 0-05, the Wishing Magic Lamp.

Holding the magic lamp, Bernadette lowered her head slightly and recited a honorific name:

“The Fool that does not belong to this era;”

“The Mysterious Ruler above the gray fog;”

“The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck…”