Chapter 81: Pillars

Chapter 81: Pillars

Above the gray fog, within the ancient palace, beside The Fool’s seat.

A prayer-point of light swelled outward, sending ring after ring of radiance rippling through the air.

It was as if, inside a sealed and lightless room, someone had suddenly drawn open the curtains, letting sunlight pour in and pierce the eyes of the “sleeper.”

The vortex of worms, which had already fallen still, once again turned frenzied. One slippery, bizarre tentacle after another began to wave and lash.

…

Klein’s gaze slid past the section related to the Lord of the Mysteries and began deciphering what followed:

Eternal Darkness, Singularity of All, Space-Time-in-One:

The River of Eternal Darkness, together with the Darkness Uniqueness, the Death—Eternal Sleeper—Uniqueness, the Twilight Giant Uniqueness, one Knight of Misfortune Beyonder characteristic, one Pale Emperor Beyonder characteristic, and one Hand of God Beyonder characteristic.

God of Origin, Mother of All, Brood Hive of Filth:

The Brood Hive, together with the Mother Uniqueness, the Moon Uniqueness, one Naturewalker Beyonder characteristic, and one Goddess of Beauty Beyonder characteristic.

The Anarchy, Shadow of Order:

The Nation of Disorder, together with the Black Emperor Uniqueness, the Justiciar Uniqueness, one Prince of Abolition Beyonder characteristic, and one Hand of Order Beyonder characteristic.

Calamity of Destruction, Origin of Disaster:

The City of Calamity, together with the Demoness—Chaos Demoness, Primordial Demoness—Uniqueness, the Red Priest Uniqueness, one Apocalypse Beyonder characteristic, and one Conqueror Beyonder characteristic.

Father of Devils, Lord of Mutants, Source of Curses:

The Shadow World, together with the Abyss Uniqueness, the Chained Uniqueness, one Filthy Monarch Beyonder characteristic, and one Abomination Beyonder characteristic.

Demon of Knowledge, Arcana of Madness:

The Knowledge Wilderness, together with the Hermit Uniqueness, the Paragon Uniqueness, one Knowledge Emperor Beyonder characteristic, and one Enlightener Beyonder characteristic.

Key of Light, Endless Disorder, Incarnation of Fate:

The Key of Light, together with the Wheel of Fortune Uniqueness and one Giant Serpent Beyonder characteristic.

So these are all the titles of the Great Old Ones corresponding to the nine sefirot… When Klein finished deciphering it, a wave of emotion passed through him.

If he and Emperor Roselle had learned this mysticism knowledge earlier, neither of them would have fallen into their present circumstances.

At certain times, even without using Beyonder powers, knowledge was completely equivalent to strength… The combined titles of the Earth and Moon pathways differ somewhat from Mother Goddess of Depravity. It seems they truly are only a part of Her. In other words, the Outer Deity on the moon is currently left with the titles and authorities of “Mother Goddess of Depravity,” “Origin of Evil,” and “The Indestructible”… By the same logic, the Mother Tree’s complete title should now be “Mother Tree of Desire,” “Heartless God,” and “Perpetual Blatherer”… As for the Son of Chaos, things are much less clear. He seems to have vanished; no one can understand Him in any real depth… Klein gave an almost imperceptible nod.

He then spoke:

“From the looks of it, the Omniscient and Omnipotent is the strongest, the Lord of the Mysteries and Space-Time-in-One occupy the second tier, and the rest are on the third.”

He was judging this by the number of required Beyonder pathways, and he had not included the Outer Deities in that assessment.

Adam looked at the Blasphemy Slate and said in a calm, unhurried tone, “That is not the case.”

“The number of authorities bears a certain relationship to status and level, but it is not everything. The corresponding essence, power, and symbolism are equally important.

“After the original Creator split apart, standing at the apex of all Great Old Ones were the Three Pillars. One was God Almighty, the Omniscient and Omnipotent; one was the Lord of the Mysteries, the King of Space-Time; and one was Mother Goddess of Depravity, the Origin of Evil.”

Upon hearing Adam’s final sentence, Klein could not help but lower his head and glance at his left sleeve, where Arrodes the Magic Mirror was hidden.

No wonder Arrodes said it saw “pillar” and “domination” on me… He was suddenly enlightened, and his belief in Adam the Visionary’s words deepened a little.

At this moment, Adam added at the same measured pace, “At present, the first two Pillars exist only in the form of sefirot. As for Mother Goddess of Depravity, after the Brood Hive and two Beyonder pathways were split away from Her, She is not substantially different from the other Outer Deities. Only the symbolism of a Pillar remains.”

If not for the bloodstained wooden stake still lodged in his chest, Klein would almost have felt that the current atmosphere of conversation was rather pleasant. More than once, in a daze, he had the impression that he and Adam were friends, happily discussing mysticism knowledge while waiting for Adam’s child, Amon, to come home for dinner.

Of course, I’m the “dinner”… I have to say, an Audience’s ability to influence another person’s cognition, experience, and state is truly terrifying… While reminding himself to stay vigilant, Klein asked in puzzlement, “I thought an Outer Deity like Mother Goddess of Depravity, who had two or even three sefirot, was the sort of being that could be called a Pillar.”

Adam lowered His head and glanced at the silver cross pendant hanging before His chest.

“She has only one sefirah.

“Under normal circumstances, sefirot cannot be divided. Only at the time of the original Creator’s split, when embodiments of convergence and separation were produced, could sefirot be torn apart and portions of them drawn to this planet.”

“In other words, the present Mother Goddess of Depravity possesses an incomplete sefirah, and the future Great Old One, Mother of All, would likewise not be a complete Great Old One?” Klein pressed.

The corners of Adam’s lips moved slightly, as if He had smiled.

“That was how it was at the beginning, but sefirot have the ability to complete themselves. The present Mother Goddess of Depravity’s sefirah is no longer incomplete, and the Brood Hive can likewise give rise to a Great Old One. The only issue is that Mother Goddess of Depravity can now make only partial use of the Pillar symbolism She possesses, unless She fuses with the Brood Hive again.

“This has also caused a certain mutation in the birth of life and the feminine forces throughout the universe. However, a span of several thousand or tens of thousands of years is extremely brief on an astronomical scale, and the corresponding influence has yet to spread.

“As for what would happen if an Outer Deity obtained a sefirah close to Their own and thereby came to possess two sefirot, I cannot predict it either. Before this, only the original Creator had accommodated more than one sefirah, but whenever He awakens, He inevitably splits apart.”

Klein nodded and asked thoughtfully, “The original Creator accommodated at least nine sefirot. That does not prove possessing two, or even three, sefirot will necessarily be problematic. There should be a critical point.”

“At present, no one can verify this,” Adam said, His hand closing around the silver cross pendant on His chest. “I suspect that certain existences once attempted it. After all, convergence is a powerful instinct. But the results remain unknown.”

“Which existences?” Klein asked, rubbing the bloodstained wooden stake in his chest.

Adam turned His gaze back toward the enormous cross over a hundred meters ahead and said evenly, “The ‘God’ of the early First Epoch, who can also be called the ‘Original.’ And also the Lord of the Mysteries—in other words, the one whose name you often recite…”

As He spoke, Adam turned His head slightly, looked at Klein, and imitated the pronunciation:

“The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.”

…Those two seem to have both perished… It looks like the results of Their attempts were not particularly good? Before Klein could decide what to say, Adam had already turned His head back toward the second Blasphemy Slate.

“One thing I can be certain of is that certain sefirot cannot be accommodated at the same time.

“In this universe, there is also a hidden fourth Pillar. It represents the end of all things, including the Great Old Ones and the universe itself. It corresponds to the River of Eternal Darkness and the City of Calamity.

“To put it simply, if Evernight can become Eternal Darkness, Singularity of All, Space-Time-in-One, then She can go one step further, occupy the Demoness and Red Priest pathways, accommodate the City of Calamity, and become the true Fourth Pillar. But by that point, She would either fall into slumber, passively split apart, or bring about the annihilation and rebirth of the entire universe, including Herself and all of us.”

So such a thing exists as well… At the level Above the Sequences, symbolism may be more important than authorities… Adam—no, the ancient Sun God—possesses a terrifying depth of mysticism knowledge. As expected of someone who was once a quasi–Great Old One… Klein sighed inwardly as he listened.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “In other words, a demigod of the Sleepless pathway can switch to the Demoness pathway?”

“Correct,” Adam said, looking ahead. “But if that happens, they will no longer be able to become a Great Old One unless they find a way to separate out their previous Beyonder characteristics.”

While Klein lifted his gaze and began deciphering the demigod potion formulas for the Audience, Sleepless, Arbiter, and other pathways, he shifted the topic.

“Where do the potion formulas related to the Great Old Ones come from?

“They do not seem to be on the first Blasphemy Slate… Are they hidden within the various Sequence 0 potions?”

Adam’s expression changed slightly, and His face seemed to gain a little more radiance.

“After initially possessing the authorities of omniscience and omnipotence, I began deducing the method and path to becoming a Great Old One. In the end, I found the appropriate formulas and clarified the different symbolisms.

“Unfortunately, at that time, the Original also awakened within me…”

So when you, as the ancient Sun God, fell, you used part of your remains and will to create the second Blasphemy Slate? Klein sighed and said, “From that point onward, there was a glimmer of dawn within the apocalypse.”

It had also ended the era when gods battled chaotically for reasons such as temperament and emotion, opening instead an age of struggle for the sake of becoming Great Old Ones.

Adam maintained that same expression and said nothing.

Klein fell silent. After several seconds, he suddenly asked, “What sort of humanity did you weave into that marionette of mine?”

Adam turned His head once more. His eyes were clear as He said, “He was too tired. He wanted to rest. He wanted freedom, even if only for a few seconds.”

Klein opened his mouth, but for a moment, he did not know how to respond.

“Why do you not call him Gehrman Sparrow, but refer to him instead as ‘that marionette’?” Adam asked gently, as though enlightening a believer.

Klein turned his head and looked at Him, then suddenly smiled.

“I am Gehrman Sparrow. Gehrman Sparrow is part of me. If I were to split the two apart, then even if I escaped your divine kingdom, I would lose control in a way that would be almost impossible to reverse.”

At this point, Klein paused, looked ahead, and asked in a deep voice, “Only divinity remains of you?”

…

Rorsted Archipelago, Bayam, the City of Generosity.

After returning here, Verdu Abraham had researched the matter and learned that the “God of War” was an existence active during the Fourth Epoch, one who might respond to believers.

And so, he had invited a poor man who had volunteered to pay with his life to pray to the God of War, confirming whether there would be any danger.

The cost of all this had been 300 pounds.

Now, he had received his return. Not only had the poor man not died, some of his wishes had even been fulfilled!