Chapter 83: “Door”

Chapter 83: “Door”

After Bernadette’s prayer received no response, she took the Wishing Lamp and walked to the window of the captain’s cabin, gazing out at the deep-blue sea.

She did not grow anxious. She did not try to use her power of “prophecy.” She simply waited, patient and composed, for events to develop.

Several minutes later, a layer of grayish-white fog suddenly appeared before her eyes.

Immediately afterward, the fog was dyed gold, as if coated with a thick layer of syrup.

Bernadette lowered her head at once and looked at the Wishing Lamp in her hand. She saw the wick at the mouth of the lamp ignite on its own.

Above the gray fog, within the ancient palace, beside The Fool’s seat, the “prayer point of light,” swollen to the size of a human head, was instantly occupied by a twisted and blurry pale-gold figure.

The figure’s gaze pierced through the prayer point of light, pierced through the grayish-white fog, and fell upon the vortex of worms that was attempting to destroy everything around it.

His voice rang through Sefirah Castle, majestic and vast:

“You actually lost control?”

The Lamp Genie’s tone carried obvious mockery, and He paid no mind to whether the mad Worms of Spirit could understand Him.

At that moment, above the already-collapsed Fool’s chair, a strange door of light made from countless spheres of radiance emerged.

It flickered in and out of existence, scattering brilliance as it outlined a complex symbol in midair.

That symbol had originally existed behind The Fool’s seat, formed from half of a Pupil-less Eye and half of a Twisted Line.

As the symbol took shape, the strange light grew paler and paler, until it finally merged completely into this space.

The next second, Klein’s voice sounded from within the symbol representing The Fool.

“Genie, I would like to make a deal with you.”

The blurry, distorted, pale-gold figure immediately laughed aloud.

“Haha. I told you that you would agree eventually.”

After laughing for a few seconds, the Lamp Genie calmed down and said, “Just now, I was wondering how someone who could become the new owner of Sefirah Castle could possibly lose control so easily.”

“This is a contingency I prepared for the worst-case scenario.” The voice coming from The Fool’s symbol showed not the slightest trace of panic.

The Lamp Genie chuckled twice.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll raise the price at the last moment?”

Klein’s voice replied at a measured pace, “To me, this is only one of my preparations. But to you, it may be the only opportunity you will have for many years.”

The Lamp Genie’s pale-gold figure swayed as if blown by a gust of wind. His magnificent voice then resounded.

“My conditions are the same as last time. As long as you can undo the seal and release me, I will take the portion that belongs to me and return to the cosmos. Everything else will be left to you, and I will grant you three wishes.

“Of course, judging from the present situation, you seem to require an advance on the payment.”

Klein’s voice once again emerged from The Fool’s symbol.

“The promise I offer is this: before the end of the current epoch’s year 1368, I will send this Wishing Lamp into the cosmos. As for how you free yourself afterward, that is your own affair. My request is far simpler. I need only two wishes.

“This is the deal I am proposing. Whether you agree is up to you.”

The year 1368 was the year the Original Barrier would vanish. It was also the year prophets of this world universally acknowledged as the apocalypse.

The blurry and distorted pale-gold figure fell silent for several seconds before saying, “If the seal is not undone, the wishes I can fulfill are extremely limited. Once they exceed a certain level, they will be realized in a highly distorted fashion.”

From within the glowing symbol of The Fool, Klein’s voice calmly replied, “The two wishes I require can be fulfilled by you as you are now.”

The Lamp Genie fell silent once more and did not speak for a long time.

…

Bayam, within that primeval forest.

Verdu Abraham, whose head was burning hot due to both internal and external factors, did not waste any time. Following the instructions of the God of War, he altered the altar and engraved upon it the correct symbolic signs, magical marks, and strange patterns.

He had originally been somewhat worried that the three demigod-level monsters would suddenly awaken, but even after the ritual preparations were complete, the sacrifices remained unconscious, incapable of putting up the slightest resistance.

After placing the writhing lump of flesh, the deformed astral bird, and the white crow with black eye-rings in their proper positions, Verdu looked toward the single candle on the altar and raised his hand to light it.

Then he took a few steps back and solemnly chanted in Jotun:

“Great Door of all Doors;

“Guide of the endless cosmos;

“Key to all mysterious worlds.

“I beseech You to respond. I beseech You to descend into this world…”

Before he finished speaking, three muffled bangs sounded in succession from within the altar.

The three demigod-level monsters corresponding to Bizarro Sorcerer, Secrets Sorcerer, and Parasite seemed to have been seized by an invisible hand. After only a slight struggle, they burst apart and turned into clumps of flesh and blood flickering with motes of different-colored light.

The flesh and blood appeared to possess life of its own. Guided by some indescribable power, it gathered in midair and outlined one evil, filthy symbol after another.

Countless symbols combined, slowly forming a door of flesh that still seemed to be writhing—a door more than five meters tall.

The door stood upon the altar. Its interior was pitch-black, leading no one knew where.

The candle representing Mr. Door suddenly flared up, illuminating the entire Door of Flesh and the darkness beyond.

Within the darkness were spheres of faint starlight, one after another. Upon close inspection, each seemed like a strange worm curled in upon itself.

Those spheres of light surged upward and actually formed an enormous arm—an arm so large that even passing through the Door of Flesh was difficult.

This arm, which clearly did not belong to any human, pressed itself against the altar and forcefully squeezed outward, causing the entire Door of Flesh, the entire forest, and even the whole island to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.

Verdu watched this scene in delight. Then half his vision suddenly blurred.

Plop!

Something fell from his face and landed in the grass.

Verdu instinctively lowered his head. He saw an eyeball bulging with blood vessels rolling there.

Plop. Plop. Plop. His nose, his ears, his remaining eye, and the muscles across his body fell piece by piece, each oozing a faint radiance of starlight.

Thud!

His body collapsed, the flesh and blood utterly breaking down.

At that moment, the arm finally squeezed through the Door of Flesh and began attempting to pull the rest of itself out.

Rumble!

In the illuminated darkness behind the door, thick bolts of lightning formed a storm and descended, only to be swallowed by a sudden surge of blood-red tides.

At last, a gigantic figure composed purely of “spheres of light” passed through the Door of Flesh.

The next second, those spheres of light began to collapse and stack together, as though undergoing a reorganization that would produce a qualitative change. All around the forest, dark rifts from the void appeared one after another.

Those rifts directly swallowed different sections of the trees, twisting them into bizarre shapes.

At the same time, gales from unknown origins blew out of the rifts, sweeping in every direction. The entire Blue Mountain Island, where Bayam was located, shook as if it were about to sink beneath the sea.

Inside the Waves Cathedral, Alger Wilson, who had been troubled by Verdu’s Teleportation and his resulting inability to monitor him, suddenly heard the sound of door after door opening.

Every single door in this city, in every location and every position, opened by itself at that instant.

“This…” Alger turned his head toward the forest outside the city, which seemed to be the source of the anomaly.

Clang!

The instant the room door was flung open, Derrick Berg, in the New City of Silver, who had already awakened because of the earthquake, frowned.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In Backlund, Trier, Saint-Milon, and other cities, every object that could be called a door opened.

…

Above the gray fog, inside the half-collapsed ancient palace, the mad vortex of worms instinctively attacked the pale-gold figure and The Fool’s symbol, but failed each time.

Nearly a minute passed. The Lamp Genie suddenly let out a low laugh.

“You truly are not Him. Otherwise, I would already have distorted the promise you just made and caused the seal He arranged to undo itself.”

“Only words distorted from the original owner can achieve such an effect? Is that how you recognized last time that I wasn’t the Lord of the Mysteries?” Klein’s voice emerged from The Fool’s symbol.

The Lamp Genie gave a soft laugh.

“When it comes to Him, I have at least ten ways to identify Him.”

Without waiting for Klein’s response, the pale-gold figure smiled and said, “You do not seem able to maintain your present state for much longer. Very well—the deal is struck. After I fulfill your two wishes, you must send the Wishing Lamp into the cosmos before the end of the current epoch’s year 1368.”

The Genie’s voice gradually turned solemn and dignified, as though he were declaring a legal provision.

At that moment, based on this transaction, He seemed to establish a certain rule. There was no need for Him to worry that Klein would go back on his word in the future.

“If you cannot fulfill this promise, then even if you have become the Lord of the Mysteries, you will still fall and split apart because of it,” the Lamp Genie warned. He then asked, “State your two wishes. Remember: do not involve higher-level Beyonder characteristics, and do not exceed the current limits of my power. Otherwise, the wishes will be realized in distorted ways. This is a rule that has already been set; even I, in my current state, cannot violate it.”

From within the symbol of The Fool outlined by radiance, Klein’s calm voice sounded.

“The first wish: count the two wishes Bernadette Gustav previously made under my name. This should be very simple for you.”

The Lamp Genie immediately laughed.

“As expected. You want to use the rule that misfortune befalls one after making a third wish to contend with your current predicament. Not bad. This is based on my own status. I will fulfill it—and let you die in agony.”

Klein’s voice sounded once more.

“The second wish: allow my Utopia to give birth to a corresponding region in the spirit world. This does not involve the advancement of a Sequence, nor is it related to higher-level Beyonder characteristics. You can certainly do it.”

The Lamp Genie’s pale-gold figure swayed slightly and said with a smile, “Your wish shall be granted.”

…

Inside the Cathedral of Bones.

Klein touched the bloodstained wooden cross-stake embedded in his chest, seeming to consider how to remove it.

During this process, he casually asked Adam, “You didn’t try to become a god during the Fourth Epoch because you hadn’t obtained 0-08?”

“That was one factor. More importantly, there were still many hidden dangers at the time that had not been resolved.” Adam gazed gently at the enormous cross before Him.

Klein turned his head and looked at this Visionary.

“For instance, at that time, the will left behind by the Original was still very strong…”

Before he finished speaking, a large amount of fresh, crimson blood suddenly flowed down from the top of Klein’s head.

Yet the corners of his lips curved up slightly.