Chapter 34: A Way

Chapter 34: A Way

Behind the endless curtain of shadows, in darkness where a faint shimmer of water swayed.

A young man with black hair, black eyes, a broad forehead, and a thin face abruptly sat up, as though he had experienced a nightmare.

Wearing a classical black robe, He stretched out His right hand, attempting to draw a monocle ground from crystal out of the “void” and place it over His right eye.

But this time, He retrieved nothing.

His right hand paused in midair for two seconds before He withdrew it and pinched His right eye socket.

At that moment, a gentle, calm voice devoid of much emotion sounded beside His ear.

“To him, there are things more important than life.

“To you, apart from yourself, almost nothing is worth caring about too deeply.

“When matters develop to the point where life must be wagered, it means you have lost.”

The corner of Amon’s mouth twitched upward, as though He wished to smile and answer with a few words. But in the end, He said nothing.

That voice continued:

“As a born mythical creature, your lack of sufficiently normal anchors is also a problem.

“It lets you know what courage and sacrifice are, but makes it very difficult for you to understand them.”

Amon’s expression changed slightly. He stood from that darkness where faint water-light swayed.

He glanced at the human-skin glove that had been tossed aside yet seemed quite satisfied. Then He withdrew His gaze, the corners of His lips rising.

“This seems very interesting.

“Next, I intend to leave here and enter the starry sky. That place is far more exciting than reality, far more stimulating. Perhaps I will come to understand the two words you mentioned just now because of it.”

“That is very dangerous. Once you enter the starry sky, until you succeed, you will be unable to provide any further help. But at the very least, you can avoid Him,” that gentle, calm, emotionless voice replied.

Amon said nothing more. He raised His hand, pinched His right eye socket, and vanished into the endless curtain of shadows.

…

Above the gray fog, inside the ancient palace.

As Amon was completely destroyed by the power of the supernova eruption, Klein could not help but let out a breath of relief.

If he had a choice, he naturally did not want to sacrifice himself and allow the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings to revive. He would rather personally protect this world and search once more for the meaning of life.

Of course, if there were no choice, he would not hesitate to let the Celestial Worthy awaken. Klein was certain he could do this, and Amon knew it as well. That was why He had not forced the issue and had only tried to leave.

In the end, that battle had become a contest of courage. Whoever truly did not fear complete death would occupy the absolute advantage.

Evidently, Amon did not possess the resolve to sacrifice Himself for this matter.

After that breath of relief, Klein’s face beneath the cold, eerie mask suddenly twisted.

Beneath the semi-transparent dark cloak on his body, the slippery, evil tentacles extending from him either slapped the ground or rose high into the air, completely beyond his control.

He could feel it. The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings within him was awakening faster, and it seemed unstoppable.

Even if Klein directly died together with this will and then relied on a Miracle Invoker’s ability to revive, he would not be able to escape it, because the Lord of the Mysteries likewise controlled the authority of miracles.

At that moment, Klein remembered the words spoken by the Dark Angel Sasrir, that is, by the ancient Sun God:

“The Primordial One has awakened within me…”

The next second, where Amon’s body had shattered, streaks of light were pulled by an invisible gravity and flew straight toward Klein.

Some were Worms of Time with twelve segments. Some were insects forged from brilliant starlight. Some were merely large numbers of points of light…

Klein wanted to stop these Beyonder characteristics from fusing with him, but the increasingly powerful will of the Celestial Worthy inside him interfered, preventing him from succeeding.

His body suddenly swelled into a balloon, then abruptly flattened into a paper figurine, repeating the cycle again and again.

The mask on his face grew brighter and eerier. The slippery, evil tentacles extending from beneath his cloak became more numerous and increasingly uncontrollable.

One Worm of Time Beyonder characteristic, one Key of Stars Beyonder characteristic, one… Klein’s spirit felt as if it were being torn apart and devoured bite by bite by an invisible monster, producing intense pain.

In the end, a pair of eyes seemingly formed from pure starlight and containing layer upon layer of illusory doors, along with a monocle ground from crystal, reassembled and flew toward Klein’s face—toward the eye sockets of that mask.

Almost at the same time, that strange door of light faintly tinged blue-black appeared on Klein’s body once more.

Sefirah Castle!

At that instant, an extremely intense tendency toward convergence appeared between Klein, Sefirah Castle, the Door Uniqueness, and the Error Uniqueness.

Once they fused into one, the Lord of the Mysteries would fully awaken, completing His revival.

Klein abruptly raised his hand and covered half his face.

His entire body bent downward, as though struggling against another self.

Relying on the cognitive positioning and image interference brought by his believers’ anchors, Klein finally delayed the revival of the Lord of the Mysteries’ will slightly, weakening the force of convergence by a small amount.

That pair of starlight eyes and the crystal monocle stopped before Klein’s face, floating only a few centimeters away like planets orbiting a sun.

This was in an extreme state of imbalance. Klein knew he could not maintain it for long. Perhaps a few minutes—or even a few dozen seconds—later, the convergence would continue unstoppably, bringing changes he could not bear.

“Haha, I suppose this counts as a kind of fusion,” Klein said with an emotionally unstable laugh.

Then he Fooled the Trunsoest Brass Book slightly, making it enter a sealed state and fly back to the pile of miscellaneous objects.

Immediately afterward, Klein left Sefirah Castle and arrived in a single step within the astral world composed of symbols and authorities.

This place seemed similar to the starry sky: dark, deep, vast, and boundless. In truth, however, it possessed many strange qualities. For example, one might clearly see a sun-like star hanging in the distance, emitting normal light and heat. Yet if one found a way to approach it without suffering damage, one would discover that the astral world there resembled a black curtain, with the sun painted directly upon it in oils. Around it gathered piles of concepts and symbols.

Moreover, that sun was not painted very well. It was like a careless doodle made by a child without any artistic foundation—both comical and terrifying.

From another perspective, perhaps this was the manifestation of the chaos and madness of the underlying rules.

The moment Klein entered, he immediately sensed one invisible gaze after another.

Some came from the region protected by the world barrier. Some originated from broader places, carrying obvious malice.

The corners of Klein’s mouth lifted uncontrollably. He suddenly turned his head and looked back beyond the world barrier, raising one slippery, evil tentacle after another.

This caused the pair of eyes forged from starlight and the monocle ground from crystal to turn with him.

In an instant, all gazes from the starry sky withdrew. Only a hand-painted red moon remained hanging there, flickering with light.

“Haha.” Klein laughed aloud, then arrived outside a dark kingdom planted with night vanilla and deep sleep flowers.

At the same time, the Evernight Goddess, wearing a layered gown dotted with starlight, appeared at the edge of Her divine kingdom, Her face covered by a thin, semi-transparent black veil.

She did not magnify Her form, but looked at Klein at eye level. Then She raised Her right hand, revealing a golden bird-shaped ornament.

Within the bronze eyes at the ornament’s head, layer upon layer of illusory doors appeared, letting a colorless drop of liquid, carrying an intense aura of eternal stillness, fly out and land upon Klein’s cold, eerie mask.

The will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings passively entered a state of eternal slumber. Most of Klein’s consciousness did the same, leaving only a trace of wakefulness.

Under such conditions, he made the mask retract and transformed the cloak into a black trench coat.

Then he turned the monocle ground from crystal into a pair of black gloves, and the eyes forged from starlight into a cane inlaid with star fragments.

—This was merely a change of outward appearance. Their essence had not changed. Once those two items separated from Klein, they would return to their original forms. Of course, if Klein stabilized and accommodated them, repeatedly revising the corresponding concepts and symbols, he could make their changed forms permanent.

“This cannot be maintained for too long. It only postpones matters for a time,” the Evernight Goddess reminded him in a gentle voice. “If the water from the River of Eternal Darkness is used repeatedly, the Lord of the Mysteries will awaken even faster, because He will generate unknown changes in response and adjust His own state. Likewise, the special quality from Sefirah Castle and my blessing will gradually be worn away, and you will also enter a state of eternal slumber.”

As though they were not discussing his own fate, Klein smiled and nodded.

“I understand.”

The Evernight Goddess spoke in a tone that seemed to soothe Klein’s mind.

“In this matter, the methods Amon adopted and the actions He took all exceeded my expectations. He truly is the God of Deceit.

“You are not entirely without chance from here on. You can first attempt to thoroughly control Sefirah Castle, then enter eternal slumber together with the Lord of the Mysteries’ will. In the dream, you will both oppose and fuse with Him. I can bestow a certain blessing upon you, but the most important part still depends on you.

“To become a Great Old One, there is no ritual. No ritual can change the awakening of the Primordial One’s will. However, the ancient Sun God believed that the sequence of accommodation could, to a certain extent, improve self-recognition and raise the chance of success.

“To first become a Sequence 0 of one pathway, then control and fuse with the sefirah, and only afterward accommodate the other Uniquenesses—that is the optimal order.

“To become a dual-pathway true god, then control and fuse with the sefirah, then accommodate the remaining Uniqueness—that is an order neither good nor bad.

“To fuse with the sefirah only at the final step is the worst choice.”

Klein smiled.

“That is a good method. As long as I wake, a Lord of the Mysteries will be born.

“It might be Him, or it might be me. Mm. After I completely control Sefirah Castle and enter eternal slumber, I should be able to create a certain weak point in the seal over the Western Continent—a weak point through which one can enter and leave.”

The Evernight Goddess listened to Klein without speaking.

Klein continued with a smile.

“This is my own choice.

“I foresaw long ago that such a day would come. I would ultimately have to face Him.”