Chapter 24: Mad Ravings

Chapter 24: Mad Ravings

Countless Demonesses of varying sizes brought destruction like the collapse of all things, causing the entire main peak of the Hornacis mountain range to develop in the direction of a gigantic stone sphere.

This made the dilapidated outer walls of the ancient palace collapse rapidly, exposing Klein, together with his avatar and marionette in the center of the hall, to the astral world.

Just as the black, python-like tentacles were about to surge into the palace, a crimson moon rose within this apocalyptic scene.

Around the hall bathed in moonlight, clusters of wheat, flowers, mushrooms, and trees instantly grew. They tangled with one another, stacking layer upon layer, sealing Antigonus’s palace within.

At this moment, the hall where Klein stood seemed like a ruin buried for thousands of years in history and forest, completely swallowed by nature.

The black, python-like tentacles with eyeballs at their tips were blocked outside by the madly growing plants.

They lifted themselves and repeatedly struck the natural “barrier,” causing layer after layer to petrify and crack, or collapse outright.

Yet whether it was wheat, flowers, mushrooms, or trees, their rebirth came extremely quickly—no sooner had they returned to Mother Earth’s embrace than they grew anew.

Thus, those natural barriers were born layer upon layer, then destroyed layer upon layer; destroyed layer upon layer, then reborn layer upon layer. The two sides entered a certain state of deadlock.

The Earth Mother, who controlled the Moon pathway’s Uniqueness, blocked the Primordial Demoness Cheek.

At that moment, a ray of “light” invisible to the overwhelming majority of Beyonders fell straight down from above, striking the nature barrier rooted in plants.

The light had no physical form. It seemed to be composed of vast and complex streams of information. In an illusory state, it pierced through the gaps between the plants like a torrent, rushing straight toward Klein, who was about to take the translucent mask.

The Hidden Sage!

At that very moment, hazy light surged up from the void, displaying one projected scroll after another around Klein.

Some recorded humanity’s helplessness and misery when facing extraordinary species. Some, in epic strokes, recreated scenes of humans using themselves as experimental subjects, attempting to fuse with Beyonder materials to gain power and save their race. Some described the countless strange and unique customs brought by the Black Emperor. Some carried all kinds of inventions, books, and viewpoints. Others were like replicas of the present world, composed of massive machines belching steam, ever-taller buildings, and clothing more convenient for movement.

These contents made the seemingly thin scrolls give off an extremely heavy feeling, because what they carried was civilization—the enlightenment and development of human society through different stages.

Back then, the God of Craftsmanship had not digested the Sequence 1 potion, Civilization Enlightener, particularly well before advancing to Sequence 0 for various reasons. He had maintained reason and clarity, but this also forced Him to devote more of His spirit to resisting the tendency toward losing control and madness. Among the seven orthodox gods, His state was somewhat worse than the others.

The reason the Church of Steam had been the weakest orthodox Church was not only that it had the shortest history and least accumulation, but also because the corresponding true god’s state had not been especially good.

It was only when Roselle, as a “Son of Steam” and a member of the Church, initiated the Industrial Revolution and brought all kinds of ideological currents that the God of Craftsmanship seized the opportunity to change His title to the God of Steam and Machinery, share in the progress of civilization’s enlightenment, and digest the corresponding potion.

As a true god of a neighboring pathway, after the Hidden Sage chose to become Klein’s enemy, He ultimately stood on the side of the other orthodox gods.

The information torrent, complex to a terrifying degree, crashed into those illusory scrolls and swiftly expanded, attempting to burst the “cage” apart.

Yet thousands upon tens of thousands of years of civilization were so weighty and vast. The history left behind by generation after generation of humans, numbering in the hundreds of millions, was so boundless and magnificent that it was more than enough to contain the Hidden Sage’s torrent of information.

As the Hidden Sage tried to break through the God of Steam and Machinery’s restrictions, within Antigonus’s hall, sealed layer upon layer by plants, Klein’s slippery, strange tentacles reached the translucent mask representing The Fool Uniqueness and brought it toward his face.

The moment the mask covered Klein’s face, figure after figure appeared around him.

Some were men dressed as postmen. Some were completely ordinary birds. Some were organisms so tiny they could not be seen by the naked eye. Their number reached into the hundreds, even thousands.

The hall, which had originally contained only corpses suspended in midair, suddenly became crowded.

What these figures had in common was that they either wore a monocle ground from crystal over their right eye, or had a ring-shaped mark of different colors in that same position.

Amon!

Mr. Error Amon’s avatars!

No one knew whether They had used the invasion of the Primordial Demoness or the Hidden Sage to open a back door, exploit a loophole, and quietly arrive near Their target.

After glancing at Klein, who had just put on the translucent mask and begun accommodating The Fool Uniqueness, these Amons simultaneously revealed “smiles,” opened Their “mouths,” and spat out words no normal person could understand.

Those words intertwined, forming terrifying, mad ravings:

“You overlooked the Primordial Demoness…”

“To Her, Medici, who has only recovered to Sequence 1, poses no threat at all…”

“What She most hopes for now is that a Lord of the Mysteries will be born immediately, opening the seal of the Western Continent and giving Her the opportunity to find the City of Calamity…”

“Clearly, compared to you, I am the better choice. You are far too weak…”

“Heh heh. Are you still waiting for the Mother Tree of Desire or the Mother Goddess of Depravity to provide help?”

“Useless. I placed the first Blasphemy Slate in the Fog Sea, at the entrance to the Abyss, not far from that primitive island.”

“Together with the strengthened seal brought by the authority related to Door, and the control over the world barrier held by half a Lord of the Astral World, no Outer Deity can infiltrate power into reality in a short time…”

“And without the influence of Outer Deities, the Dark Side of the Universe and the Chained God currently have no wish to interfere in the divine battle. They would rather seize this chance to attempt to break free from Their restraints.”

“They also hope that a Lord of the Mysteries will be born as soon as possible, to help Them escape Their predicament… If drawing Them in would not simultaneously trigger the Outer Deity corruption within Their bodies, I could make a promise right now, reach an agreement with Them, and have Them deal with you together…”

Amon had deliberately filled His ravings with truthful information, using this to force Klein to endure two kinds of influence at the same time. One was the spiritual contamination brought by the ravings themselves; the other was the distraction caused by their content.

In any case, for Him, this did not waste any time. On one hand, He had enough avatars. Each Worm of Time only needed to speak one word for many sentences to be formed. On the other, He had forcibly kneaded the information together, so that a single word could represent a great deal.

At that instant, the ravings of the Amons echoed wildly in Klein’s mind like blade after blade, piercing his spirit and tearing at his mind.

If this had been any ordinary time, Klein could have relied on his own status to forcibly suppress ravings at most at the level of Sequence 1, suffering no real influence. But at this very moment, he was accommodating The Fool Uniqueness. His spiritual balance was subtle and fragile.

In such a scene, a single straw might be enough to collapse an entire house, let alone Amon’s avatars.

Moreover, as Klein’s spirit stung and his self-recognition descended into chaos, Antigonus’s mental imprint and the will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings, both sunk in eternal slumber within his body, showed signs of awakening.

—Eternal slumber, in a sense, was an ultimate form of sealing. The Amons who had accommodated the Door Uniqueness were unquestionably capable of weakening or even nullifying seals!

In addition, the translucent mask Klein had just put over his face—The Fool Uniqueness—contained an even stronger will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. It, too, was gradually breaking free of eternal slumber’s influence and resonating to a certain degree with the same kind within Klein.

Almost without using any Beyonder powers, merely by creating some ravings, the Amons made Klein lose balance and brought him to the edge of losing control.

And all of this seemed irreversible, unless there was still water from the River of Eternal Darkness to keep Antigonus’s mental imprint and the even stronger will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings in eternal slumber.

But at this moment, even if there were still water from the River of Eternal Darkness, the Evernight Goddess would not be able to spare any attention, because She was fully suppressing the dual-pathway true god Amon.

From this perspective, the Amons had in fact deliberately “sacrificed” the true body, using it to hold back the Evernight Goddess and create an opportunity for the avatars to destroy Klein’s ritual.

It was a slight gamble, but the result appeared quite good.

Just then, a point of light lit up inside Klein’s pocket.

That light was pale gold, like viscous syrup. In an instant, it enveloped the surrounding area.

Illuminated by this light were not only Klein and his avatar, but also the book made from thin sheets of brass that had suddenly been thrown over by the distant marionette.

“0-02,” the Trunsoest Brass Book!

This Sealed Artifact stretched itself open in midair. While bathing in the pale-gold light, a rule abruptly appeared upon its blank page—a rule completely different from the clauses that had been repeating before:

“Speech is forbidden here!”

The “mouths” of Amon’s avatars continued opening and closing, yet they could no longer make a sound.

In the next instant, another clause appeared beneath the first rule:

“Mutual attacks are forbidden here!”

With a slap, the Trunsoest Brass Book fell to the ground, spreading open beside Klein’s feet.

Under the illumination of the Wishing Lamp, it had unexpectedly broken free of its previous cycle in a preliminary sense and formulated rules favorable to Klein.

The Amons merely glanced at it before each choosing a different response.

Some of Them simultaneously adjusted Their monocles, joined together, then raised Their right hands and gently clenched them, using the corresponding authority to strengthen the seal.

On the Trunsoest Brass Book, before those new clauses, a line of text gradually formed:

“The following rules are invalid…”

The rest of the Amons locked onto Klein, who was on the edge of losing control.

Being unable to attack did not mean being unable to steal, nor unable to bestow gifts!