As a Beyonder who joined the Intis Public Security Bureau as a member of the Secret Order, it wasn't the first time that Antoine encountered something like that.
In the past, whenever he advanced, he would hear "Hornacis... Flegrea... Hornacis... Flegrea..." He nearly lost control of himself several times.
Unlike before, the content of the whispers seemed to have changed.
After the ravings died down, everything in front of him returned to normal. Antoine frowned and muttered to himself, My mental state has been very stable recently, and I haven't consumed the potion or attempted to advance. Why would I hear the whispers of a secret existence?
This doesn't seem to be the same as before...
What does Orville mean? I lack enough information. I can't understand it at all...
Dylan, Dylan, yes, the brass of the Order have mentioned that our mysterious and terrifying leader once hid an ancient castle called Dylan...
Tsk, once I recall that existence, I can't help but shiver. Although "He" has returned to normal in the past two years, the terrifying legends and physical destruction that "He" left behind is enough to give people a lifetime of nightmares...
Antoine calmed himself down and suppressed his puzzlement. He continued to assign missions to his subordinates.
...
In front of a tombstone, Klein, who had just put down the white flowers, turned his head slightly, as though he was listening to something.
Although he didn't hear anything, as a King of Angels who wielded control over a portion of his pathway's authority, he could acutely sense that something was amiss. Some secret information was being transmitted to specific targets.
Zaratul isn't completely dead yet? Klein retracted his gaze and muttered to himself.
Back then, he had relied on his level, status, and authority to forcefully stop Zaratul's resurrection. He didn't sense anything abnormal, but after studying himself, he realized something problematic.
The Beyonder characteristic he had absorbed from Zaratul was one that contained an entire set of Sequence 9 to 1 Beyonder characteristics.
That also meant that this only included a single Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic.
And Snake of Fate Will Auceptin had mentioned that Zaratul and the ancestor of the Antigonus family had both taken an additional Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic in "Them."
Therefore, the reality of the situation was that there was no doubt that there was an additional Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic on Zaratul which had vanished. As for whether there were any additional Beyonder characteristics like Scholar of Yore and Bizarro Sorcerer, Klein had no way of guessing due to his lack of understanding of Zaratul.
Based on this situation, Klein had long suspected that Zaratul wasn't completely dead.
Of course, if the other party wanted to revive, it wouldn't be that simple. This was because using too simple a method would result in a lack of concealment. It would definitely be discovered by the higher Sequence Beyonders of the same pathway, and thus, an effective prevention method would be set up.
When Zaratul was able to separate a Sequence 2 Beyonder characteristic from "Himself," "He" was undoubtedly a Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries. There weren't many enemies that could restrain "Him"—ones that had to be dealt with using the most cautious of attitudes.
Therefore, Klein believed that "He" had used the portion of the Beyonder characteristics that "He" had dissociated from himself to seize an opportunity. However, it wasn't to directly use it to revive. Instead, it was a way to make plenty of preparations. "He" needed an opportunity or some mediums to make the preparations play out.
From the looks of it, "He" hid that portion of the Beyonder characteristic that contained the Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic in a particular manner and concealed it carefully. Otherwise, when I advanced to Attendant of Mysteries, I should've been able to use Sefirah Castle to directly see it...
Yes, the next step should be to use some concealed method to guide or entice a specific target to revive "Him." Heh, "He" hasn't accommodated a Uniqueness, so "He" can't "broadcast on all channels." Besides, "He" has to be sure that the advanced me or Amon doesn't hear the corresponding content and spoil "His" plans. Therefore, the number of targets "He" can entice is rather limited... All members of the Secret Order, or a portion of the members? Klein, who was genuflecting, nodded in thought.
He exhaled and grumbled without hiding anything.
Why are High-Sequence Beyonders of the Seer pathway so difficult to kill?
There were all sorts of preparations and trump cards.
This made him truly understand why the Goddess didn't directly kill the ancestor of the Antigonus family.
For The Half-Fool, death might mean a new lease of life!
However, an intricate and complicated setup often means that the ability to take risks is inferior. Who knows if Zaratul's resurrection plan will benefit some lucky Secret Order member. The possibility of this happening might even be higher than "Him" returning from the fog of history. Also, there's a chance of being interfered, influenced, or exploited by the Outer Deities... Klein sneered inwardly as he slowly stood up.
He temporarily didn't have any thoughts of finding the Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic. This was because, under the immense pressure brought by Error Amon, he had no choice but to seize the opportunity to strengthen his humanity and stabilize his mental state. He had to head to Calderón City in the spirit world to retrieve the river water of the River of Eternal Darkness, so as to accommodate The Fool's Uniqueness. He had no time to waste on non-urgent matters.
By the time he successfully advanced and restored a new balance for the situation he was in, he didn't mind heading to Intis and dealing with the members of the Secret Order in search of the hidden treasure vault that Zaratul had hidden. This would completely put the angel who had lived since the Fourth Epoch to eternal rest.
He reined in his thoughts and lowered his head to look at the tombstone in front of him. Klein slowly retreated, inserted his hand into his pocket, and turned to the side to enter the spirit world.
In recent times, he was like a tourist in mysticism. Occasionally, he would return to where he used to be, and occasionally, under the guidance of fate, he would casually travel around the spirit world, heading to different realities to witness different scenes.
As a result, his self-awareness and self-consciousness gradually recovered and solidified. He was now able to use his anchors to suppress the awakening will of the Celestial Worthy to a certain extent.
This made his mind a lot more stable than when he met the Evernight Goddess.
In the spirit world—the saturated layers that resembled an abstract oil painting—Klein wandered aimlessly as he walked a few steps in a direction that wasn't in the usual meaning of the word direction.
Following the guidance of fate and spirituality, he left this place and returned to the real world.
The first thing that appeared before him was a small square and a cathedral belonging to the Evernight Goddess.
At this moment, many people were entering the cathedral, looking delighted.
I'm back in Backlund? Klein looked up at the sun that penetrated the thin clouds and followed the crowd to the cathedral's door.
The moment he passed the entrance, his gaze suddenly froze.
He saw Benson.
Benson Moretti.
The black-haired, brown-eyed man's face looked somewhat similar to Klein's. However, the slightly older-looking man had his hair combed neatly backward, revealing his broad forehead.
He stood beside the altar, wearing a well-ironed suit, looking a little nervous.
Klein stared for two seconds before quickly looking away.
Following that, he swept his gaze across the front pew and saw Melissa in a white, conservative dress.
Compared to before, the young lady's face no longer had that adolescent look on it. There was more meat to her face, making her no longer look so skinny.
She kept chatting with the people around her, skillfully handling all kinds of matters and socializing.
She still dresses in such an old-fashioned manner. Thankfully, she didn't wear black... The corners of Klein's lips curled up as he mumbled. He walked to a corner of the cathedral and found a seat to sit down.
About ten minutes later, Melissa finished her work and sat in her seat.
The joyous music started to play as it gradually turned solemn.
A lady wearing a clean, white wedding gown held her father's arm in one hand and held her mother's arm with her other. She walked down the aisle towards the altar.
Benson, who was standing near the altar, gulped a mouthful of saliva and couldn't help but smile.
This was his wedding.
Klein, who was in the corner, saw this scene and leaned back a little. He lowered his head slightly and muttered, "He smiles like a curly-haired baboon..."
After the bride was brought to the front of the altar by her parents, she bowed to Benson before facing the Sacred Emblem and the priest.
Benson bowed and turned around.
After the bride's parents sat down, the priest said, "Dear friends and family, we are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of this couple in marriage under the auspices of the benevolent Goddess.
"Praise the Lady." All the guests present raised their right hands as long as they were believers of the Evernight Goddess before drawing four points in a clockwise fashion, drawing out a star.
This included Klein.
When everyone settled down, the priest turned his head and said to the bride, "Do you, Lucy Brook, take Benson Moretti to be your lawfully wedded husband, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?"
The lady named Lucy looked at the Evernight Goddess's Sacred Emblem and nodded solemnly.
"I do."
Benson's smile reappeared.
The priest turned to look at him and said, "Do you, Benson Moretti, take Lucy Brook to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love and cherish, through joy and sorrow, sickness and health, and whatever challenges you may face, for as long as you both shall live?"
Benson immediately nodded and said, "I do!"
Upon seeing this and hearing him, Melissa's vision turned blurry. Her heart winced along with joy.
After going through all sorts of ups and downs, their family was finally welcoming a new member.
Suddenly, she turned her head subconsciously to the corner and saw an empty seat. There was no one there.
Melissa immediately pursed her lips and shook her head slightly.
After scanning the area for several seconds, she slowly retracted her gaze and looked back at the altar.
It wasn't until the priest announced that Benson and Lucy were man and wife did Melissa smile again.
...
In the Hall family manor in East Chester County, Klein walked out of the void.
He had stabilized his mind, and could now seek treatment from his psychiatrist. At the same time, he needed to solve a problem.
-x-X-x-
On the veranda covered by the autumn sun, Audrey wore a refreshing vacation straw hat and sat on a lawn chair as she leisurely flipped through a fashion magazine.
There were exquisite pastries and a cup of black tea made from tea leaves from her family's manor on the round table beside her.
Suddenly, she looked up to the edge of the veranda and saw Gehrman Sparrow walking over in a black trench coat and silk top hat.
Audrey turned her head and glanced at her maid, Annie, and realized that she, like the servants around her, ignored the stranger who had appeared out of nowhere.
At the same time, Audrey noticed that the surroundings seemed to darken a little.
She stood up, lifting the corners of her skirt as she curtsied.
During this process, she had originally planned on seriously discussing the matter between the Psychology Alchemists and Mr. Wrath, but on second thought, she smiled again and said in that infectious and brisk tone, "Mr. World, are you here to seek psychological counseling, or to deal with Mr. Wrath's problem?"
If it was just the former, Audrey believed that The World Gehrman Sparrow would let her meet him above the gray fog. That would be more convenient and faster. Therefore, this angel was definitely here under Mr. Fool's instructions to complete a mission in the real world.
At the same time, she acutely sensed that Mr. World's emotions were rather mixed. He was satisfied and happy, yet depressed and sad.
As Gehrman Sparrow's main doctor, this situation wasn't rare. It often meant that he needed a certain degree of counseling or comfort.
"Both." Klein pulled a chair over and sat by the round table.
"Do you want black tea or coffee?" Although Audrey hadn't taken the initiative to investigate Mr. World, she had met Dwayne Dantès many times before. They had attended meetings, banquets, and dances together, and under the keen observation of a Spectator, many details weren't secrets.
For example, Audrey knew that when Dwayne Dantès was Gehrman Sparrow, he preferred food that was sweet with a little sourness. He liked to drink coffee with sugar without milk; for black tea, he loved having lemon slices; out of all the pastries, his first choice was the cream pastries. He loved foie gras, roasted chicken skin, and loved rib-eye steaks more than beef tenderloin. His love for Desi pie far exceeded bread.
In addition, Audrey was undoubtedly certain that the other party was a spice enthusiast. He had high expectations of condiments, and his preferences in this aspect were inclined towards that of Desi County.
Due to these details, Audrey believed that it would be very rude to not invite Mr. World to enjoy the pastries on the table. And the beverage of choice to match these snacks was undoubtedly either black tea or coffee.
"Black tea," Klein answered after some thought.
Miss Justice's relaxed and amiable attitude made him feel much more at ease. He felt that this state would be more beneficial for the subsequent "Placating."
Since that was the case, it would definitely be better for him to enjoy the pastries while receiving psychological treatment.
"Give me another cup of black tea and add a lemon slice," Audrey said to her maid, Annie.
Annie wasn't surprised by the instructions, finding everything reasonable. She turned around and walked to the veranda's entrance, giving instructions to the servants standing there.
Audrey wasn't in a rush to begin the psychological treatment process, nor did she ask Mr. World why he was in a complicated mood. She smiled as she carefully introduced the local products of the manor. She made a comparison with Dwayne Dantès's Maygur Manor and naturally informed him of the present situation regarding his butler and servants.
Some stayed in the manor and continued their previous work. With Maygur Manor's production, it was perfectly fine sustaining them. There was even some surplus that could be converted to funds to repair the houses and be donated to charity organizations. Audrey only sent an accountant, an assistant butler, and a staff member from the foundation to do a check on them. Some felt that, without a true employer, they couldn't play their role to their fullest potential. They felt ashamed of the salary they received and chose to resign and look for work. Some of them developed an interest in charity work and found a new calling to life and joined one of the foundations under Audrey's name...
Klein listened silently, occasionally raising a question, as though he was chatting with a friend.
When the tea was served, he took a sip and nodded in satisfaction.
After watching him eat a piece of cream cake, Audrey's green eyes darted around as she said with a smile, "Food doesn't seem to be necessary for an angel, right?"
"Yes, it's just a hobby," Klein answered simply before adding, "It can be used to maintain one's humanity."
Maintain one's humanity... Audrey ruminated over the sentence. "This is to resist the godhood within you? Your mental problems come under such a category?"
She gently guided the topic to his psychological treatment.
Klein nodded slightly and said, "That's right.
"You should've experienced it. Every Beyonder who has obtained godhood will definitely experience it in some way. The difference is in the quantity."
Audrey seriously recalled and said, "I occasionally dream of a ball of light that illuminated the entire world. Occasionally, I would hear an indescribable sound, and I would see a blurry, strange, illusory ocean that seemed to contain many conflicting thoughts. I'm certain that it was an illusion, but it was also so real.
"Well, I occasionally dream of a huge cross. I heard someone praying softly but I couldn't tell the specifics no matter how I tried."
The second is likely from the sefirah, Chaos Sea, and the indirect corruption from within. The third is Visionary Adam beginning to exert influence on the Beyonders of the same pathway... The first one is the Primordial One awakening in the ancient sun god's body, the ancient God Almighty? Klein thought for a moment before saying in a deep voice, "The original Creator created all living things and also split into various Beyonder characteristics. This is the source of being extraordinary.
"Therefore, every one of us has godhood in our bodies. They have the original Creator's will. The more Beyonder characteristics gathered, the more 'He' will awaken and replace us."
He used the most common and most ambiguous method to explain the root of the problem in a way that wouldn't lead to corruption.
This had been discussed to a certain extent at the Tarot Club, so Audrey didn't find it difficult to understand. She said thoughtfully, "That's why one needs to use one's humanity to resist godhood. At the same time, anchors are needed?"
"Yes, the light you dream of, the indescribable sounds you hear, and the illusory ocean that you see are all a type of corruption. And the gigantic cross and prayer sounds should be a result of the influence that Visionary Adam has on the Beyonders of the same pathway," Klein explained the two different situations.
Audrey subconsciously sat up straight and looked around. She appeared a little afraid.
Gehrman Sparrow actually said the name of the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!
"Don't worry. 'He' can't hear me with me by your side," Klein explained.
Audrey retracted her gaze and didn't hide her surprise and astonishment.
"You've already advanced to Sequence 1?"
Isn't that too fast... "He" had only become a Sequence 2 angel slightly more than half a year ago!
Klein answered frankly, "More like a King of Angels."
"..." Audrey was silent for a few seconds. She pursed her lips and said with a "vexed" smile, "I nearly had a psychological problem just now."
Klein chuckled as well.
"To me, becoming a King of Angels isn't necessarily a good thing.
"Yes, High-Sequence Beyonders of the Spectator pathway have to pay particular attention to their mental state. To other pathways, the enhancement of godhood and the worsening corruption is rather obvious. But this isn't the case for a Spectator. You have to constantly inspect and check yourself. Any tiny changes to one's personality and their understanding of things should be traced back to the source. It must be confirmed that there are no problems and that the difference can be considered a normal change. Otherwise, you'll unknowingly become another person who can coldly kill those who you originally wanted to protect.
"It's not easy for Beyonders of the Spectator pathway to go crazy, but it's also the easiest for them to go crazy."
Audrey replied in shock, "I understand."
She continued the topic and began asking, "Your mental state is unstable, and you have a psychological problem. Is it because you became a King of Angels in such a short period of time that it exceeded your expectations?"
"Yes." Klein drank a mouthful of black tea and said, "The will that doesn't belong to me within me has mostly awakened. I can only barely suppress it and maintain some basic level of mental stability."
As Audrey listened to Gehrman Sparrow's description, she used her Beyonder powers to observe and analyze him.
After the other party finished speaking, she revealed a comforting smile and said, "I roughly understand your current situation. The initial treatment plan is divided into two steps: I'll first enter your mind world and awaken the memories related to your humanity. Oh, it doesn't include the kind that will make you so miserable that you wish to give up. Then, when your godhood reacts, I'll use Placate, Hypnotism, and other Beyonder powers to reduce the corruption and the negative effects it brings, so as to help you better suppress it."
Klein was silent for a moment before saying, "Okay."
He decided to use his unique trait of maintaining lucidity in the dream and the mind world, and first gather up the memories related to The Fool before "Grafting" them to the Worms of Spirit above the gray fog.
At that moment, Audrey got her maid, Annie, to bring over a white silk scarf.
Then, she used the thin scarf to cover her eyes and ears.
Klein watched this scene in puzzlement as he waited for Miss Justice to explain.
After tying the scarf, Audrey smiled and said, "This is a hypnotism that allows me to seal my Spirit Body's perception.
"This way, even if I were to enter your mind world, I wouldn't be able to hear or see those awakened memories. Of course, I'll keep my spiritual intuition; otherwise, I wouldn't be able to find your island of consciousness, and I wouldn't be able to sense the changes in your godhood.
"I could've just hypnotized you, but you're already a King of Angels. I'm worried that I'll be affected by your consciousness, so I'm using this symbolic ritual to achieve the state of being hypnotized and strengthen the effects."
She calmly explained, calming Klein's mood without him realizing it.
He nodded gently and said, "Alright, let's begin."
-x-X-x-
After opening the "door" to the Body of Heart and Mind, Klein carefully extracted the memories related to The Fool. He gathered them together and "Grafted" them above the gray fog.
Following that, he saw the blonde-haired Audrey, who had a light white silk scarf covering her eyes, appear on the ancient stone steps. Step by step, she landed onto his mind island via the sea of collective subconscious.
After some hesitation, Klein no longer allowed his consciousness to stay high in the sky. He gave up the corresponding control and allowed them to return and fuse together.
If he didn't do that, he would maintain absolute rationality in the subsequent treatment, making him unable to be moved by all kinds of memories and lose the possibility of strengthening his humanity.
This meant that Audrey's treatment was destined to fail right from the start.
After arriving at the mind island that resembled a dream world using her spiritual intuition, Audrey stopped and spread her arms slightly.
She recalled her parents' love for her, the excitement she felt when she first became a Beyonder, and the joy she felt after helping others to change her emotions and emit corresponding fluctuations.
This was a method of awakening Gehrman Sparrow's memories related to his humanity. It was a Beyonder manifestation of the effects of "empathy."
Scenes that were worth cherishing, or those hiding deep within, flashed across Audrey's mind one after another. Beneath her feet, from the surface of the island that represented Klein's mind, firefly-like light points seeped out of the "soil" and floated up.
Every point of light presented a different scene:
"A kid taking a stride forward with his short legs, receiving an ice-cream;
"A student secretly reading novels and comics under the cover of a textbook."
"A teenager sitting in front of his computer and playing games with full focus. Hearing the sound of a key suddenly being inserted into a keyhole, he jumped up and performed a force shutdown on his computer. Rushing back to his room, happy that his actions weren't discovered, he had a bounce in his step. Going to the living room, he asked his mother for pocket money, before appearing beside his father to casually ask questions about his studies;
"A young adult and his companions pushing a bashful friend to the corridor, right up to the person he had a crush on. Then, turning around, he laughed loudly;
"A young adult with some hint of adolescence to him stealing a glance downstairs, watching a figure leave, but unable to open his mouth no matter what;
"An employee with a slightly protruding belly waving his hand impatiently when he returned home for the holidays. After telling his parents not to serve him food or set up blind dates for him, he sees his parents' white hair and loses himself in thought when he calmed down;
"A scholarly-looking man and his brother and sister moving out. When they saw the dirt and dust on each other's faces, they laughed;
"..."
Klein sat at the round table at the veranda, one hand holding his top hat and the other hanging in midair, as though he wanted to cover his face.
Two transparent drops of water slowly slid past the two sides of his nose bridge and dripped into the void.
Klein closed his eyes, his expression soft and pained.
In his mind island, Audrey seemed to have transformed into a whirlpool of emotions as she pulled together similar memories.
After the entire island was covered in firefly-like points of light, a faint gray fog emerged.
In the fog, there was a door of light that was dyed bluish-black. It was formed from illusory and brilliant spherical light.
The main body of each spherical light was composed of transparent, ringed, or starlight-like worms and insects. They embraced each other and intertwined like mythical creatures.
The door of light looked a little odd at first glance, but if one looked closely, they would discover that its surroundings were dark. It was as though it was wearing a hooded black robe.
Thus, on a whole, it looked like an unknown mysterious person hiding under a robe.
In the next second, a slippery, illusory tentacle appeared under the deep black robe of the mysterious person.
At that moment, although Audrey's consciousness couldn't see or hear anything, her spiritual intuition gave her a strong sense of danger. She had a feeling that a sea consisting of corruption was about to drown her.
No, this isn't an illusion! She believed that if things continued to develop like this, she would get infected with a severe mental illness, or even lose control and go crazy on the spot!
Audrey was just about to "Placate" herself with all her might, weakening the corruption ahead of her when the firefly-like light dots floating above the island rapidly gathered. They illuminated the grayish-white fog, diluting the darkness around the strange door of light, making the tentacles covered in mysterious patterns shrink back.
This was also the reason why Klein could receive psychological treatment only after barely suppressing the awakening Celestial Worthy's consciousness.
This made Audrey sense the weakening of the danger, and she quickly did a Psychoanalysis. Then, she immediately "Placated" the corruption, performing a true act of hypnosis.
After repeating it over and over again, Audrey took an unknown amount of time before she finally managed to obtain the initial results she expected.
She then left Gehrman Sparrow's mind island and returned to her body.
This treatment was very difficult, so she didn't use a "Virtual Persona" and directly used her Body of Heart and Mind.
After sensing the end of the treatment, Klein raised his hand to wipe his face, allowing The Fool's memories "Grafted" above the gray fog to return to his true body.
A few seconds later, Audrey removed the white silk scarf wrapped around her eyes and nose, snapping herself out of her self-hypnosis.
She looked at Mr. World opposite her and muttered to herself poignantly, "Is this the mental problem brought by godhood?"
How terrifying...
Klein nodded slightly and said, "Yes, every angel has one. The only difference is whether it's serious or very serious."
"Saints have it too. Even Low- and Mid-Sequence Beyonders who aren't demigods will have it
too." Audrey added with Gehrman Sparrow's former explanation.
"To a Low- or Mid-Sequence Beyonder, the remnant mental imprint of the former owner of the characteristic is relatively more dangerous." Klein picked up the gold-lined cup and took a sip. "This is the cruel law of the mysterious world. This is because our Beyonder powers come from external objects, from the Beyonder characteristics."
Audrey nodded before shaking her head gently. As she contemplated, she said, "I don't think it's that pessimistic, just like the source of every human life comes from something else: air, bread, meat, water, etc.
"When we absorb them, we will also absorb their negative effects, accumulating all kinds of problems that eventually make us fall sick. However, this doesn't mean that we have to completely resist them and treat them as external objects. Once they're absorbed, there will always be some part of it that belongs to us.
"I didn't express it well, but I believe you should understand what I mean."
Klein was taken aback for a moment before replying thoughtfully, "A Beyonders acquisition of a Beyonder characteristic is like humans having food?
"Then, one should have peace of mind and not have too many repulsive thoughts; it's about resisting it, but also working alongside it; and suppressing it, but also fusing together with it?"
"Roughly like that." After Audrey said that, she laughed self-deprecatingly. "However, this also seems to imply a negative message: humans will eventually die, but Beyonders..."
She didn't finish her sentence, unwilling to agitate the patient opposite her.
She switched topics and said, "Pay a visit another two times this week. I'll be able to stabilize you under normal conditions. Yes, normal conditions.
"Also, you can reminisce about things when you're free, or go somewhere you yearn to go."
Klein nodded and said, "What do you have in mind about Wrath's suggestion?"
The smile on Audrey's face slowly disappeared as her expression gradually turned serious.
"Do you have any suggestions?"
Klein put down his teacup and calmly said, "Strictly speaking, the danger you bring is divided into two categories: One is when you actively or passively involve yourself in certain matters, attracting powerful enemies to your side, implicating your family, relatives, friends, and the innocent. The other is that your very existence allows some factions to target the people you value the most, doing so to threaten you.
"For the latter, unless you're dead, there's no way for you to ever avoid them. Of course, most of these things are a result of the former.
"If you give up on all your current identities in the mysticism world, and only be Mr. Fool's believer and Miss Audrey Hall from now on, no longer taking the initiative to participate in matters related to Beyonder or other matters with unpredictable elements, you can avoid most of the risks of the former and drastically reduce the latter.
"Under such circumstances, with the Evernight Goddess favoring the Hall family, and Mr. Fool's protection provided to you is enough to deal with the rare instances of dangers, ensuring your family's safety.
"That's why there's no need to split off another identity."
Audrey fell silent for a while. She bit her lower lip indiscernibly and asked, "What if I do want to split off an identity?"
"As long as you let that identity believe in Mr. Fool, it's not much different from what I said just now. The only difference is that, from this point forth, you'll have to stay away from your family and friends and live with another identity." Klein's voice sank slightly as he said in a serious tone, "Also, are you really fine with Hermes splitting off an identity for you?"
Audrey's emotions were disrupted by this question. Her eyes flickered as she said, "However, splitting identities should be a Beyonder powers of a Sequence 3 Dreamweaver."
She definitely wouldn't be able to accomplish it by herself.
The corners of Klein's mouth curled up as he suddenly asked, "You're able to use that Pride mask to enter the Garden of Eden directly?"
As Audrey couldn't take the initiative to mention the Psychology Alchemists, he very directly pointed it out.
Audrey nodded gently, surprised, puzzled, and guessed something.
"I'm unable to pay the equivalent price, and..."
Without waiting for her to finish, Klein said with a cold expression,
"On the one hand, Adam has drifted from Mr. Fool and nearly killed me. On the other hand, with the apocalypse approaching, Mr. Fool has prophesied something: when the time comes, 'He' might fall asleep again. As 'His' Blessed, I won't be able to escape a similar fate. The payment you need to pay is that, when such an anomaly happens, perform certain dangerous things according to Mr. Fool's instructions and try hard to awaken 'Him.'"
Without giving Miss Justice a chance to digest this sentence, Klein extended his right hand and grabbed a few times at the void ahead of him, pulling out a grayish-white, cold persona mask.
Using his status and Audrey's trust in him, he forcefully summoned the projection of the Pride mask from the Historical Void.
"It's connected to my mind, so no one else can use it." Audrey subconsciously pointed out the problem when she saw this.
"Give me a strand of hair," Klein said calmly.
Audrey didn't think too much about it. She plucked out a strand of blonde hair and handed it to Gehrman Sparrow.
Klein took the strand of hair and wrapped it in the eye holes in the persona mask.
Then, he held his silk hat in one hand and the grayish-white mask in the other as he slowly stood up.
During this process, he mobilized Sefirah Castle and "Deceived" the rules.
Pa!
Klein wore the Pride mask without facing any resistance. Immediately, he saw human-clothed animals walking upright.
He had entered the Garden of Eden directly.
Looking at the black cathedral in the middle of the city, Klein curled his lips and took out the Staff of the Stars and wore the silk top hat over his head.
-x-X-x-
The moment they sensed the intrusion of a stranger, the animals wearing cloaks or exquisite long skirts stirred as they looked at Klein with the desire to attack.
At that instant, Klein, who was wearing the Pride mask, felt as though he was an enemy of the entire city.
He wasn't unfamiliar with the situation in the Garden of Eden. He knew that the upright animals dressed as humans were in different aspects of Bestial Desires. They were more like conceptual and abstract entities instead of being physical.
In other words, they didn't have Spirit Body Threads, so they wouldn't suffer any physical harm. Otherwise, Klein could've hoisted these animals up, allowing them to sway with the wind.
In the next second, with the bear whose suit was about to rip apart taking the lead, the animals in the Garden of Eden either bared their fangs or let out low growls as they surged towards Klein from all directions.
Once bitten or hugged by them, one would be corrupted by the corresponding Bestial Desire. One could only rely on their willpower or the various Beyonder powers of the Spectator pathway to resist them.
Faced with such a situation, Klein, who was wearing a half top hat, tapped the Staff of the Stars. Without panicking in the slightest, he raised his left hand, spread his fingers, and suddenly closed them.
The Garden of Eden, formed from gothic-style architecture, was suddenly covered in a layer of gloom, as if a giant curtain had draped over it.
"Realm of the Mysteries," the embryonic form of a divine kingdom!
Klein sealed off the Garden of Eden to prevent the powerhouses inside from escaping.
Following that, he walked forward one step at a time, like a gentleman taking an after-meal stroll.
The animals who mimicked humans by wearing human clothes rushed to his side when they naturally changed directions and embraced each other.
The python with its flicking tongue devoured a canine creature filled with the desire to mate; the strange person with a colorful spider as a face bound a huge, red-eyed rat up with a web; a violent werewolf bit the languid cat; the brown bear walking upright gave the fox with shiny fur a bear hug...
These animals that represented Bestial Desire fused together as they canceled each other out in pairs.
Klein, who had grasped the authority of "Grafting," slowly walked through them, as though he was inspecting the concepts of humanity and Bestial Desires.
Just like that, he walked to the eighty-meter-tall cathedral and stopped.
Then, he lifted his head and looked at the skulls embedded in the black pillar for two seconds.
Klein's expression didn't change at all. He raised his left hand to press down his hat and walked up the stairs into the cathedral.
He immediately saw a grand and spacious hall, with a huge cross and a grayish-white dragon statue wrapped around the cross.
In front of the cross was a small long table with five seats on both sides of the long table.
At this moment, at the end of the long table, there was a man in a black wheelchair. His face was abnormally pale, and his pale yellow eyebrows were long. His hair was neatly combed, and there were some wrinkles on his forehead.
This was the leader of the Psychology Alchemists, Pauli Derlau.
At the same time, he was also the famous hermit Eric Drake, and the King of the Black Throne Barros Hopkins.
Of course, whether he was the main body or one of his various identities, no one knew.
Seeing Gehrman Sparrow, who was wearing a silk top hat and a black trench coat, walk over slowly and in an extremely oppressive manner, Pauli Derlau clasped the armrest of the wheelchair with both hands.
When the other party entered the Garden of Eden, he didn't hesitate to leave this mind city, but he failed to do so.
The eyes beneath the Pride mask that seemed to move towards his forehead seemed to be mocking him.
Phew... Pauli Derlau quickly "Placated" his emotions before his eyes lit up with a pure, illusory light.
This light formed a pair of holy wings in front of him. Under the layers of wings, there was a pious person of light genuflecting in prayer.
This was an angel.
At the same time, an elder with white hair and ordinary looks appeared to the left of Pauli Derlau. To his right, a priest with a pale blond beard covering his face stood up.
Ancient angel, Hermes! Visionary Adam!
Klein didn't stop walking forward as he muttered to himself, "I wish for all illusions to disappear."
Just as he said that, he raised his left hand and snapped his fingers.
The Angel of Light, Hermes, and Visionary Adam, instantly dissipated and vanished, leaving behind a single Pauli Derlau sitting in the black wheelchair.
He had just used the Beyonder powers of a Dreamweaver to weave a few almost realistic images. Once the enemy believed that they were real, they would become real. Although the damage they caused didn't have any physical manifestations, it would make the target die for unknown reasons.
Pauli Derlau has made countless targets die from fright in such nightmares.
Unfortunately, he had encountered Klein—a King of Angels who could maintain his lucidity in dreams and also possessed true vision. He used the "Wishes" power of a Miracle Invoker to easily crack the illusion.
Seeing this, Pauli Derlau's eyelids twitched. Without any hesitation, he pushed himself up from the black wheelchair.
During this process, his body rapidly expanded as he transformed into a huge grayish-white dragon.
Dragon Transformation!
An incomplete Mythical Creature form!
Compared to a Sequence 4 Manipulator, the incomplete Mythical Creature form that Pauli Derlau exhibited was even larger. Furthermore, there was a certain change to his head, making it closer to a lizard and not a human. It had golden vertical pupils and scales that were intertwined with mysterious patterns, making it cold and warped.
As the incomplete Mythical Creature form appeared, all kinds of thoughts, consciousness, desires, and wills swept out like a storm, attacking Klein's mind island in half-illusory and half-realistic ways.
This was a combination of "Mind Deprivation" and "Mental Plague," allowing every creature that was affected to experience corruption and go crazy on the spot.
To an angel, such attacks were the most sinister. This was because all of "Them" had certain problems with "Their" mental states. "They" could lose control at any moment due to the tilting of the scales!
Klein, who was wearing the grayish-white Pride mask and half top hat, didn't stop walking forward. He didn't attempt to avoid the plague storm at the mental level. He remained firm and stoic as he walked step by step towards Pauli Derlau.
In the next second, transparent insects appeared on the back of his hand. His clothes expanded as though countless indescribable monsters were crawling underneath.
Suddenly, Klein lost control and turned into a huge whirlpool formed by transparent maggots.
The vortex extended out slippery tentacles with strange patterns. In the middle, there was a door of light that was dyed bluish-black.
Upon seeing this scene, even in his incomplete Mythical Creature form, Pauli Derlau, found it difficult to stop his thoughts from coming to a halt as he stood rooted to the ground.
The massive grayish-white dragon seemed to have become a puppet; its head was filled with mush and its joints were all rusted.
He had stared straight at a great existence that he shouldn't look at!
Above the gray fog, Klein, who was sitting at The Fool's seat, immediately dispersed the out-of-control historical projection.
After entering the Garden of Eden and pulling out the Staff of the Stars, he had switched places with the Historical Void projection that the Worms of Spirit inside Sefirah Castle had summoned, and directly returned to his ancient palace.
He clearly knew that Visionary Adam had gone to the Forsaken Land of the Gods and was attempting to fuse with the True Creator, making it impossible for "Him" to descend with "His" true body any time in the short foreseeable future. At most, "He" would send out one of "His" other identities, but it would be useless against a king of Kings of Angels. However, Klein still felt that he should be cautious, lest he fall into Adam's or Amon's trap.
Following that, he summoned himself from the fog of history. He wore the Pride mask and held the Staff of the Stars in his hand as he projected himself back into the cathedral of the Garden of Eden.
Seeing that Pauli Derlau had lost most of his rationality and was unable to control his body, Klein didn't directly control his Spirit Body Threads to turn the mind dragon into his marionette. He maintained his pace as he slowly approached the target.
In Pauli Derlau's eyes, Gehrman Sparrow was like death incarnate. He approached him slowly with his own rhythm, but there was no chance of escape.
At that moment, the grayish-white dragon statue on the huge cross behind him moved.
Almost simultaneously, Klein raised his left hand and pulled downwards.
The shadow curtain that enveloped the Garden of Eden instantly contracted, enveloping the huge cross, the grayish-white dragon statue, and Pauli Derlau within.
In the next second, Klein raised the "curtain."
The incomplete Mythical Creature that Pauli Derlau had transformed into combined with the gigantic cross as though it was a knotted giant tree.
And the grayish-white dragon statue connected the entirety of the Garden of Eden, turning the city outside the cathedral into an abnormally illusory sea that contained all colors.
This wasn't the Chaos Sea, rather the "loaning" of its strength. It had been "Tampered" by Klein and "Reassembled."
At that moment, Gehrman Sparrow, who had been walking slowly forward, arrived beside the knotted giant tree. He raised his right hand, and under the vacant yet slightly fearful gaze of Pauli Derlau, he lashed out with the Staff of the Stars.
This cane that was embedded with many gems hit the target heavily, separating it into two.
Between the sounds of parts falling to the ground, Pauli Derlau's body that had been combined with the huge cross fell to the ground.
The leader of the Psychology Alchemists died before he could even say his last words.
While waiting for Pauli Derlau's Beyonder characteristic to appear, Klein looked around and chuckled inwardly.
As expected, Hermes's true goal was to use the faction backing Miss Justice to destroy the Garden of Eden and use it to escape from Adam.
The mind dragon, Ariehogg's words made "Him" steel his resolve...
However, "He" should've still left a few Sealed Artifacts for me. There's no need to abscond with everything... Could it be that the rabbit should be wearing a Greed mask instead of Wrath?
The Psychology Alchemists might appear again in the future, but the one controlling it in the shadows is no longer the Twilight Hermit Order, but Hermes "Himself."
-x-X-x-
Retracting his gaze, Klein cast his gaze at the Beyonder characteristic that Pauli Derlau's body had produced.
It was formed from thin mist, seemingly an unreal, grayish-white brain from a dream.
He believed that the Garden of Eden was the safest place, so he placed his true body here. All activities in the outside world are just his many different identities? Who would've known that Hermes, who was supposed to be a defensive barrier, had abandoned this place. If a real angel were guarding the Garden of Eden and had fully utilized the uniqueness of this mind city, I wouldn't be able to so easily "Deceive" the rules and successfully infiltrate it... As Klein thought to himself, he randomly made a wish to accelerate the Beyonder characteristic's formation and condensation.
Pa! He snapped his fingers and fulfilled his wish.
Following that, he picked up the Dreamweaver Beyonder characteristic and something that could be used as the supplementary material. He took off the Pride mask on his face and left the Garden of Eden.
As he left, the remaining parts of the city collapsed and merged into the boundless sea of collective subconscious.
From that point onward, the legend of the Garden of Eden would emerge in many dreams, eventually drawn out by some artists, or fabricated into widespread stories.
And all of the stories would come to a consensus—the Garden of Eden was eventually destroyed.
Returning to the Hall family manor's veranda, Klein looked at Miss Justice, who had already composed herself, and handed over the Dreamweaver Beyonder characteristics, the corresponding ingredients, and the potion formula he had seen from the second Blasphemy Slate.
Before Audrey could say anything, he said in a deep voice, "You can go back on your word before officially advancing."
Audrey received Mr. World's gift and nodded silently, indicating that she would seriously consider it.
Wearing the exquisite straw hat, she watched Gehrman Sparrow turn around and walk to the edge of the veranda, disappearing step by step.
...
After removing his traces and concealing the clues, Klein cleverly used "Grafting" and the uniqueness of Sefirah Castle to return to Backlund, appearing in front of Judgment Xio, who was on holiday.
The MI9 colonel, who was munching on an apple, immediately put down the food in her hands. As she wiped her mouth with a tissue, she stood up.
"W-what's the matter?"
She cautiously didn't address him as Mr. World, nor did she call him Gehrman Sparrow.
Klein nodded slightly and said, "Mr. Fool got me to ask you if you wish to obtain the potion formula, Beyonder characteristic, and supplementary ingredients for Sequence 4 Imperative Mage?"
Xio frowned slightly, not feeling any joy. She asked solemnly, "Then, what's the price?"
Klein nodded approvingly.
"The apocalypse is coming. Many changes are beginning to happen, and Mr. Fool has prophesied some matters.
"When the time comes, it's very likely that 'He' will enter a period of slumber again. And as 'His' Blessed, 'His' left-hand man, I'm unable to escape the same fate. The price you need to pay is that when such a situation really appears, follow the revelation left behind by Mr. Fool, doing something that might be dangerous or simple. It might be an attempt that will take a long while, or just a short moment, so as to awaken Mr. Fool."
As a King of Angels Seer, the owner of Sefirah Castle, Klein had long been able to make certain levels of prophecies. Recently, he had seen some blurry visions and inspiration. Therefore, without any solid plan, he consciously started putting in place various arrangements.
Right now, I'm a real charlatan... he lampooned himself in thought.
Before Xio could speak, he added, "You can choose to decline. You are not the only person chosen."
Xio believed that Mr. World wouldn't use sarcasm when it came to such matters. She didn't immediately answer as she seriously considered the matter.
Without the pending apocalypse, she felt that she would've rejected the offer. Although a demigod was powerful and terrifying, being able to rule a battlefield and control the fates of others, and was a creature that truly possessed godhood, becoming a Sequence 4 wasn't a matter that was urgent for her.
As a Sequence 5 Disciplinary Paladin, she was able to ensure that she completed most of the missions as a colonel of MI9, with her own capabilities. With her salary and additional income, she could maintain a very decent life for her family.
Even if she were to encounter danger, she could obtain sufficient aid from the official factions. Furthermore, she could make preparations by getting Leymano's Travels in advance, and ask her friend, Fors, to protect her in secret.
In addition, she had investigated the cause of her father's death and fulfilled her wish to restore his honor.
Therefore, no matter what, she didn't have to pay the huge price to become a Sequence 4 Beyonder. Besides, it wasn't impossible for her to get an opportunity from MI9.
Of course, Xio had no idea how much longer until this would happen in the future.
Be it Mr. Fool's warning, or the various prophecies I deliberately gathered using my job, it clearly or vaguely points out that the apocalypse is coming... There are only sixteen years left... Xio subconsciously turned her body to look at the second floor.
Under my present living conditions, Mom will definitely be able to live for another sixteen years. At that time, she wouldn't be too old. Furthermore, Mr. Moon has provided all kinds of medicine to maintain her health... Sixteen years later, Rio will be a young man in his prime, at the peak of his career... Fors might already become a Sequence 3 Beyonder, and in order to deal with the apocalypse and seek hope, she would be busy running around, but I wouldn't be of much help... Xio slowly retracted her gaze as she fell silent.
Then, she looked at The World Gehrman Sparrow and nodded solemnly.
"Okay."
"You can set up a ritual at any time and make a wish to Mr. Fool. 'He' will fulfill your wish." Klein didn't waste any time and gave a simple explanation.
His Imperative Mage Beyonder characteristic and potion formula were all obtained from the New Moon City's sacrifice. Of course, he had also bestowed his believers with the Sealed Artifact, General of the Pupil-less Eye, in exchange.
After Xio made her decision, she stopped worrying about the matter and said, "Wendel apparently went to Utopia, but strangely, he returned that very night and didn't go to court to testify.
"That makes him puzzled and worried."
"Tell him that there's no need to worry about this matter anymore. All the people of Utopia were buried in a natural disaster." With that said, Klein turned and walked into the spirit world.
...
In the outskirts of Backlund East Borough, in a cemetery.
Klein silently looked at the niches filled with urns of ashes and didn't look away for a long time.
After a while, he slowly walked under a tree's shade. He took out the historical projection of the adventurer's harmonica and blew it.
With four blonde, red-eyed heads and dressed in a dark and complicated long dress, Reinette Tinekerr immediately walked out of the void.
Without waiting for Miss Messenger to speak, Klein asked, "The various Churches are preparing to besiege the Rose School of Thought and plan on joining forces with you.
"Is there anything I can help you with?"
He had learned of the matter from Leonard and Emlyn.
Reinette Tinekerr's four blonde, red-eyed heads said, "There's..." "Nothing..." "For..." "Now..."
"Talk..." "After..." "Locking on..." "Target..."
That is to say that, with the interference in divination, and prophecies, and the protection from Outer Deities like the Mother Tree of Desire, Primordial Moon, as well as Kings of Angels like the Chained God, the Rose School of Thought demigods aren't that easy to find. They need a certain amount of time to employ various strategies? That's right. Even Arrodes wouldn't dare spy on them under such circumstances. Perhaps I can summon its Historical Void projection... Klein thought for a moment and said, "If there are items directly related to them, using them as a medium I can lock onto the corresponding target."
When the time came, he could use Sefirah Castle's power to penetrate the shield.
"Alright!" Reinette Tinekerr's four beautiful heads bobbed up and down at the same time.
With nothing left to discuss, he planned on letting Miss Messenger return.
He had originally intended to jokingly ask, "Do I need to pay for the summoning this time?" His spiritual perception suddenly stirred as he fell silent.
A few seconds later, he took out a gold coin from Sefirah Castle.
This was one of the five gold coins that had been tainted by Sefirah Castle's aura.
"The payment this time." Klein handed over the gold coin with a smile.
"No need..." "This time..." After Reinette Tinekerr's two blonde, red-eyed heads said that, the remaining two didn't say anything.
"She" had powerful spiritual perception capabilities, and appeared as though "She" had sensed something.
In the next second, one of the two blonde, red-eyed heads that didn't open its mouth rose up and bit the gold coin at Klein's fingertip.
"Alright," Klein retracted his hand and said with a smile.
Then, he casually asked, "Is Miss Sharron and Maric still in Backlund?"
"Yes..." Miss Messenger informed Klein about "Her" student's address.
...
In a house, Maric sat at a long table and skillfully played cards with his zombies.
Suddenly, Sherlock Moriarty appeared on an empty chair. He put down his hat and took the covered cards from a zombie without any hesitation.
Maric looked up at him. His lips moved, but he didn't open them in the end.
He let the zombie in charge of croupier duties continue to hand out the cards.
Just like that, Klein joined them. He played a few rounds, winning and losing at times.
In the corner, Sharron, who was wearing a black regal dress and a small and delicate bonnet, appeared at some point in time. She held her face with one hand and quietly watched the game.
After playing for about two hours, Klein stood up and formally bowed to Miss Sharron and Maric.
Then, he chuckled, put on his hat, walked towards the door, and disappeared.
...
Deep in the spirit world, Klein, who had finished a course of three treatments, appeared outside Calderón City.
-x-X-x-
As he didn't know what state Amon was in right now, Klein didn't dare delay. After his mental problems were resolved, he immediately came to Calderón City and prepared to obtain the river water of the River of Eternal Darkness.
And because it involved a sefirah, he could only vaguely see some visions when using divination or making a prophecy. He couldn't accurately make a judgment.
After surveying the area, Klein raised his hand to summon the Historical Void projection from a few minutes ago, allowing his true body to return to Sefirah Castle.
His consciousness then shifted to the projection, making it corporeal.
Following that, Klein grabbed at the void again and pulled out the Staff of the Stars's historical projection.
To be honest, after being able to use most of the Beyonder powers below Sequence 0 of the Apprentice pathway through Sefirah Castle, Klein no longer needed a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact like the Staff of the Stars. He could basically replicate whatever mystical effects it had without the negative effects.
However, he always felt that an angel still had to possess a close-combat weapon because it was possible to fall into a region that nullified Beyonder powers at some point in time.
In the mysterious world, this was definitely something that could happen. Be it the law restrictions from the Arbiter pathway, or the Beyonder effects of a particular Outer Deity, it was possible to achieve similar effects.
Under such circumstances, if he picked up a hard staff that came with passive effects and directly smashed it in the enemy's head, it would prove to be rather effective.
As a King of Angels of the Seer pathway, making preparations in all aspects was an instinct!
After weighing the Staff of the Stars and pressing down on his top hat, Klein took out the golden bird-shaped accessory from Sefirah Castle and placed it in his left breast pocket.
Then, he took a step and entered Calderón City, the divine kingdom of ancient Death—Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace.
The first thing that entered his vision was a huge bottomless pit. All sorts of strange buildings circled the deep pit and extended downwards in circles, forming a grand city that was beyond the understanding of ordinary people.
Some of the buildings were standalone houses that stood atop pale-white stone pillars, while others were huge rectangular coffins. There were no windows, and the doors were on the roofs. Some of them were just tombs with gravestones at the entrance, while others were constructed from all kinds of bones, making them seem rather messy...
The closer to the bottom of the pit, the more intact the buildings were. The closer they got to the top, the more they collapsed, filled with the decay and ruin of time.
With just a glance, Klein made a faint grayish-white fog appear around him. He directly used Sefirah Castle's status to resist the laws of Calderón City which turned all living beings into the dead.
To him, becoming a dead person wasn't a negative effect, but he didn't like that cold and indifferent feeling.
The grayish-white tide that rose previously has receded... Klein, who was wearing a top hat and trench coat while carrying the staff, nodded in thought. With one step, he stepped deep into Calderón City, which could be seen with the naked eye.
This time, he used the Marauder pathway's Beyonder powers to steal the distance of his perception so as to avoid being entangled with the various dangerous monsters that were active in this mysterious city.
This wasn't something he was afraid of. The ones who should be afraid were the monsters. If it wasn't for the fact that he didn't wish to waste time, he wouldn't have minded taking the opportunity to gather a batch of marionettes to make up for the losses caused by the destruction of Utopia.
Apart from this reason, Klein was still cautious about something else.
Calderón City was a city of the dead. It was very likely that in the deepest depths of the city flowed the River of Eternal Darkness. And in essence, marionettes were already dead, so once they approached anywhere close to the bottom, there was a possibility of a mutation.
Venturing deeper one step at a time, Klein realized that he had thought too much.
None of the monsters hidden in this strange city dared to appear. The aura of Sefirah Castle allowed their instinctual desire to live to overcome their inclinations of madness and their habits of hunting.
The deeper he went, the quieter his surroundings became. The strange buildings remained intact, but they seemed to be dead for years. Even their auras were cold, gloomy, and decadent.
It's the same as looking at a black-and-white film. If I didn't hear my breathing and heartbeat, I would've suspected that I was deaf... Klein coughed lightly and used his grumbling to resist the silence of death.
His intuition told him that once he got used to this environment, his body and mind would become still and silent. Then, he would truly die in the full meaning of the word.
The closer he got to the ground, the stronger this feeling became.
As he kept stealing the distance, Klein proceeded forward for a long time before finally seeing the bottom of the pit.
No, this wasn't the true base of the pit. It was just a huge, black palace that stood in the way.
The palace was propped up by columns. There were all kinds of bones and different corpse pieces embedded in them. Some parts of the palace were even covered in blood. They belonged to different races.
Klein stared at it for a few seconds. Without any hesitation, he carried the Staff of the Stars and entered the palace through the open door.
On both sides of the hall were different types of coffins in different colors. They sat there silently, as if they had already been weathered by death.
As Klein entered, there was a sudden noise coming from inside the coffins. It sounded like a rusted joint opening.
The grayish-white fog around Klein thickened again as all the coffins suddenly quietened down.
Ignoring them, Klein walked to the depths of the hall. There was a grayish-white stone staircase descending with a huge stone monument erected at the entrance.
At the top of the stone monument stood a long and slender statue that resembled a giant bird made of bronze. Its wings had all kinds of pale-white symbols.
Under the bronze bird-shaped statue, the surface of the stone monument was written in text that originated from the Language of the Dead. Their shapes were all different, looking like simplified birds or coiled snakes that looked different. They formed a few indistinct words:
"Even deities cannot escape;
"Imprisonment even in death."
Is this a warning to all living beings who come to Calderón City to not go down the stairs? It directly leads to the River of Eternal Darkness? Klein's thoughts raced as he carefully read the words on the stone monument.
From his point of view, this meant that, even if a Sequence 0 true deity were to approach the River of Eternal Darkness, they would be trapped there and unable to escape. And even if they were to die, they would still be imprisoned by this abstract river, this sefirah. Although they wouldn't dissipate, they wouldn't be able to escape.
From the looks of it, it's just like the Chaos Sea. Without any sefirot protection, merely approaching the River of Eternal Darkness will result in a terrifying mutation... Klein retracted his gaze and tidied up the golden bird-shaped accessory attached to his breast pocket. He walked past the bronze statue's stone monument and walked down the grayish-white staircase.
He didn't steal the distance again, to prevent himself from slamming headfirst into danger.
In the dark, silent, and cold environment, the golden bird-shaped accessory in front of Klein's chest released a pale-white glow, illuminating a small area. It was like a tiny lifeboat struggling in the waves of death.
After descending for an unknown period of time, the aura of Sefirah Castle around him expanded out of reflex and became extremely thick, like a grayish-white cocoon.
At the same time, Klein turned his head slightly and heard a faint, illusory whooshing sound.
This seemed to indicate that a dark river was slowly flowing deep underground not far from him.
In the next second, Klein looked down at his feet.
At some point in time, there was a dark stream of incorporeal water surging out from somewhere.
Even light couldn't exist on its surface.
This is different from what I saw last time... Klein frowned slightly.
Back when he came to Calderón City to hunt the Spirit World Plunderer, he had caused a certain change, causing large amounts of grayish-white illusory tidal water to surge up the bottom of the pit.
The colors that he saw the two times were completely different.
Just as Klein's thoughts raced, at the bottom of the stone staircase, where the dark tide surged over, a thin grayish-white fog spread up. Together with the illusory liquid, it expanded into a grayish-white liquid that was more mist-like.
When the water reached Klein's feet, it silently shrank back as though it was constantly ebbing up and down at a particular frequency.
This faint gray fog is a little familiar... Klein's expression turned solemn.
After pausing for a few seconds, he continued down.
This time, the rising illusory tide drowned him, causing his body to turn light, causing his emotions to quickly turn cold and his thoughts to gradually weaken.
If not for the protection of Sefirah Castle's aura around him, Klein suspected that he would passively fuse with the tide without being able to resist.
Following that, the grayish-white cocoon rose and bobbed up and down in the water before slowly reaching the end of the staircase.
At the end was a void. Amidst the emptiness flowed a straight, wide, illusory, colorless, dark river.
This river was so blurry that it was difficult to see it clearly. This was because its surroundings were covered with a swath of grayish-white like a thin layer of fog.
"Indeed..." Klein couldn't help but mutter when he saw this.
He was no stranger to this kind of fog. He had seen it behind the door in Bansy's ruins before. He had seen it at the easternmost end of the Forsaken Land of the Gods before, as well as beneath Sefirah Castle!
And unlike other places, there was a portion of the water from the River of Eternal Darkness that penetrated the grayish-white fog and fused to some extent with the latter, changing colors between dark-black and pale-white.
The river water here kept swirling up before falling down, like a stream that was running through the illusory darkness.
On both sides of the distributary stood huge and pale-white stone pillars. They seemed to be supporting something, preventing whatever it was from collapsing.
At this moment, between the stone pillars, and on the banks of the distributary, countless blurry, translucent figures were pacing back and forth, slowly but unceasingly.
Among them, the most eye-catching one was a seemingly lost figure that would occasionally enter into the depths of the distributary before turning around. Yet, it didn't seem like it could leave the river.
It was huge, similar to the stone pillars around it. It had a heavy black robe draped over it, and from its side profile, it looked very old.
Suddenly, it turned its head and looked at Klein.
Its face had obvious Southern Continent characteristics, but it had already rotted while white feathers stained with pale yellow oil grew out.
Klein knew "Him," and "He" was Mr. Azik's father, the Death of the Fourth Epoch:
Emperor of the Underworld Salinger.
-x-X-x-
Death Salinger, who was pacing around the River of Eternal Darkness, looked at Klein, who was enveloped in the grayish-white cocoon.
"His" eyes that had pale-white flames that were about to be extinguished instantly reflected the golden bird-shaped accessory on Klein's chest.
In the next second, a deep roar came from "His" rotting mouth, reverberating above the river, causing the entirety of Calderón City to visibly shake.
The distributary that occasionally rose up or plunged down, sometimes dark and sometimes pale-white, reached the end of the stone staircase with the rising of tides, surging towards Klein.
During this process, the illusory tide fused with the grayish-white fog, creating a similar color.
The grayish-white torrent slammed into Klein's body repeatedly, but it failed to destroy the cocoon around him.
Death Salinger's rotting body took steps to the edge of the distributary, but "He" couldn't escape no matter what. All "He" could do was stand there and roar wildly.
Klein's gaze swept past "Him" as he looked at the blurry figures loitering around the banks.
One of them had already been swept to the center of the distributary by the surging tide. They couldn't help but sink to the bottom of the river, melting like ice.
The remaining ones didn't show any fear as they maintained their blank and lost state, moving back and forth endlessly.
At a glance, Klein saw many familiar figures.
They were the same person—Azik Eggers with "His" bronze skin and soft facial features.
This Death Consul seemed to have dissociated into multiple selves. "They" constantly paced between the pale-white stone pillars on both sides of the River of Eternal Darkness.
This... As Klein's heart stirred, his right leg suddenly turned cold.
He subconsciously lowered his head and saw a pale-white hand.
The palm penetrated the grayish-white cocoon and grabbed his calf.
And the owner of the palm floated in the surging torrent was like a water ghost as it attempted to pull Klein into the depths of the water.
Its attack could actually ignore the aura of Sefirah Castle!
Sensing Klein's gaze, the pale-white palm's owner raised his head to reveal his face.
He had black hair and brown eyes. His facial features were ordinary and he had a scholarly air.
Klein Moretti!
The "water ghost" was Klein Moretti!
In the next second, Klein's left leg, right shoulder, and left arm were grabbed by different pale-white hands.
This made him feel cold all over as his Spirit Body seemed to freeze. He couldn't even use all his Beyonder powers. It was impossible to resist.
The three pale-white hands belonged to different blurry figures, while the different blurry figures all had the same face—Klein Moretti's face!
Under the pull of the four "water ghosts," Klein's body gradually separated from the grayish-white cocoon and sank into the torrent.
His body became colder and colder, and his thoughts gradually fell into silence. His vision gradually darkened, and eventually, there were only dark ebbing waves.
Above the gray fog, in the ancient palace, Klein's consciousness returned to his original body.
Then, without any hesitation, he extended his palm and used the power of Sefirah Castle to steal an item from the latter through his connection with the historical projection.
A golden beam of light flashed as Klein held the golden bird-shaped accessory.
At the same time, he stopped maintaining the Historical Void projection.
The "drowning" figure disappeared from the Eternal Night flood.
It can ignore the aura of Sefirah Castle, which means that those four figures truly are "me"... But why would I be trapped in the stream of the River of Eternal Darkness, pacing about endlessly? Four figures, four figures... Klein's expression was solemn as he gently tapped the edge of the long mottled table. He gained some inspiration amidst the tapping.
The words "four," "souls," and "death" corresponded to the reality that he had died four times and had revived four times.
Of course, after becoming an Attendant of Mysteries, the four resurrection opportunities had been reset again.
Every time I die, regardless of whether I successfully revive or not, I will leave an imprint in the River of Eternal Darkness? I died four times, so there are four figures wandering the banks of the River of Eternal Darkness? Klein roughly grasped the crux of it before he sighed inwardly. The River of Eternal Darkness is indeed a sefirah. As expected of the symbol of death, repose, destination, endpoint, and darkness... This is what the Goddess meant when "She" pointed out that I'll encounter a different kind of danger? Hmm, when the historical projection was "drowned," I suffered some mental damage. If my mental state was unstable, I might've suffered some terrible consequences by now.
Based on this deduction, Klein had a brand new understanding of the many Azik figures and the wandering Death Salinger.
"They" were the corresponding imprints of death.
Mr. Azik has indeed died many times in the process of searching for his memories, but he comes back to life every time. According to the present situation, although an Undying doesn't die, it leaves behind a lot of hidden dangers. Once the number of deaths reaches a certain level, their true bodies might be attracted to the River of Eternal Darkness one day, ending up as one of the figures that wander around there for an eternity... Only Salinger's figure is there... This means that, after accommodating the Uniqueness, "His" death imprint also becomes unique. As Klein's thoughts raced through his mind, he became worried about Mr. Azik's state of survival.
And there were two solutions to resolving this problem: One was to make Azik's soul whole and make "Him" stop repeating "His" resurrection process. And second, to help the Evernight Goddess become a Great Old One and gain control of the River of Eternal Darkness.
Heh heh, perhaps this is another binary choice. When the Goddess becomes a Great Old One, there's no need for "Her" to make use of half of Mr. Azik's soul again. Klein reined in his thoughts and focused his attention on his goal.
He had entered the depths of Calderón City, not to resolve the death imprint of Death Salinger, and destroy any chances of "Him" reviving; instead, he was here to retrieve the river water from the River of Eternal Darkness.
Clearly, the illusory tide's water that flows out of the river doesn't work. It's only an aura that flows out, not the river water itself. Also, water that has fused with the grayish-white fog won't do either. It's not pure enough, so it wouldn't be able to accomplish the desired effect. From the looks of it, only when the distributary turns back into its deep and dark state can I get the water. Heh, there's definitely no way to get it from the main river. That grayish-white fog is definitely a solid barrier. Klein quickly formulated a plan based on his analysis.
That was to avoid going close to the River of Eternal Darkness, and not attract the attention of Death Salinger. He would wait for the distributary's water to recede and turn dark before he headed over before allowing his four death imprints to drag his historical projection to the bottom of the river.
During this process, the historical projection would seize the opportunity and use the golden, bird-shaped accessory to scoop the river water. Then, he would return his consciousness back to Sefirah Castle. Using the powers of "Theft," as well as the close connection between the two items, he could take away the golden, bird-shaped accessory.
After considering the finer details to the procedure, Klein returned to Calderón City and summoned his Historical Void projection.
He repeated the previous process and soon returned to the stone tablet next to the giant bronze bird statue. He walked down the grayish-white stone steps, step by step.
The aura of Sefirah Castle around him gradually thickened, turning into a thin "cocoon."
It didn't take long before Klein arrived at the end of the staircase. He saw the River of Eternal Darkness flowing in the void, the pale-white columns on both banks, and the countless blurry figures that lingered at the banks of the distributary.
This time, he wasn't in a hurry to go forward. He left the staircase and waited patiently at the same spot for the distributary's water to recede. The grayish-white colors faded and the water darkened.
Right now! Klein's figure flashed as he "stole" the distance and appeared in Death Salinger's blind spot.
Without any surprise, as his body sank into the River of Eternal Darkness, the pale-white hands immediately penetrated the aura of Sefirah Castle and grabbed his limbs.
His four death imprints appeared around him, eager to drag him to the bottom of the river!
Klein's head submerged under the dark river water, making his body turn cold as his thoughts turned still.
Before he completely lost his senses, transparent and distorted maggots crawled out from Klein's neck. They quickly crawled to the side of the golden, bird-shaped accessory, clustered around it, and lifted it up, preparing to scoop the water of the River of Eternal Darkness.
At that moment, a massive shadow appeared in the swirling illusory river in front of Klein.
It was a giant bird floating in the water, one that was completely submerged by the River of Eternal Darkness's distributary.
The giant bird's surface was covered with white flames, and the feathers formed from mysterious patterns, but most of them had been melted away by the River of Eternal Darkness. The exposed parts were pitch-black and rotten with pale-yellow pus on the surface.
The giant bird's eyes seemed to be made of bronze, and layers of illusory doors were hidden within.
Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace!
The ancient Death who had opened up the Underworld!
In front of Gregrace's eyes, a bronze beam burst out, enveloping the golden, bird-shaped accessory and Klein's historical projection in a bid to drag them over together.
After weighing his current situation, Klein instantly made a decision and gave up the attempt of scooping the river water.
His consciousness immediately returned to Sefirah Castle, and he stole the golden, bird-shaped accessory.
His historical projection dissipated.
There's danger in the water too... The ancient god, Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace, has completely sunk into the River of Eternal Darkness... If the Goddess can truly accommodate the Uniqueness of the Death pathway, and if Salinger can't use that opportunity to revive in "His" body, "He" should also sink into the water like Gregrace. And the death imprint of Gregrace will melt further... Klein silently sighed as he modified the plan.
Following that, he summoned the Historical Void projection and returned to the end of the stairs.
After waiting for a while, when Death Salinger turned around and slowly walked towards the bank, Klein suddenly "stole" the distance and appeared in front of "Him."
In the next second, Salinger let out a low growl, rapidly increasing the flow of the distributary.
At the same time, Klein was grabbed by his death imprints, and forcefully dragged to the bottom of the river. He sensed the Phoenix Ancestor, Gregrace.
Like before, Gregrace's bronze eyes lit up.
However, what enveloped this light wasn't Klein and the golden, bird-shaped accessory, but Death Salinger.
Grafting!
Seizing this brief opportunity, the Worms of Spirit crawled out from Klein's historical projection and lifted the golden, bird-shaped accessory.
The bronze eye of the accessory also released a beam of light, scooping up a tiny portion of the river water.
In the next moment, Klein's consciousness returned to Sefirah Castle. He raised his hand and retrieved the accessory.
Phew, I'm finally done... Looking at the golden, bird-shaped accessory in his hand, he slowly exhaled.
As the owner of Sefirah Castle, this mission wasn't too difficult. As long as he didn't rashly enter with his main body, he could rely on repeated failures to accumulate experience and figure out the situation.
And if it wasn't for the fact that there were two Deaths in the distributary of the River of Eternal Darkness, one wandering and the other sinking, Klein wouldn't have failed twice.
-x-X-x-
After weighing the bird-shaped, golden accessory in his hand, Klein quickly returned to the real world. He casually picked an empty plot of land and set up an altar to hold a sacrificial ritual.
With regards to the other secrets hidden in Calderón City, as well as the loitering figures around the River of Eternal Darkness, he temporarily didn't have any thoughts of starting a deeper exploration of it. This was because he still had more important matters to prepare for. He also had a key question to ask the Evernight Goddess.
Soon, he held the ritual and allowed the candlelight and spirituality materials to fuse together, forming a Door of Sacrifice and Bestowment.
Without any hesitation, Klein placed the bird-shaped, golden accessory into the wind, allowing it to slowly pass through the mysterious door and vanish into the endless darkness.
In the next second, he sharply noticed that he had been dragged into a dream.
In the center of the dreamscape was a gothic palace that seemed to blend with the darkness around it. Its details were exquisite, its color dim, but it was still gorgeous.
Klein passed through bushes of night vanilla and slumber flowers before stepping into the palace.
In the deepest part of the hall, the Evernight Goddess was sitting on an ancient high-back chair. "She" was still wearing the layered black dress that didn't seem complicated.
The sparkling spots on the dress reflected the dome and the walls, and the pillars of the palace created a quiet and dreamy starry sky.
The Evernight Goddess, whose face seemed to be covered in layers of fishnet veils, held the bird-shaped, golden accessory and slowly stood up. "She" walked down the stairs to Klein.
"Her" voice sounded, sounding like a lullaby:
"What do you have to ask?"
Klein politely took off his top hat and bowed slightly.
"I want to know if the grayish-white fog that envelops the River of Eternal Darkness has something to do with that Lord of the Mysteries."
That was also the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.
Although he couldn't see the Evernight Goddess's face clearly, Klein felt like "She" was smiling when he looked straight at "Her."
"Yes. Furthermore, not only is the River of Eternal Darkness enveloped by the grayish-white fog, but the city behind Bansy Harbor, and the entire Western Continent is enveloped by the same grayish-white fog."
Klein hesitated for a moment before saying, "This is a kind of seal?"
The Evernight Goddess's dream projection nodded.
"That's right. Apart from Sefirah Castle and the Chaos Sea, all the other sefirot were sealed in the Western Continent by that mysterious Lord of the Mysteries.
River of Eternal Darkness, Brood Hive, City of Calamity, Tenebrous World, Nation of Disorder, Knowledge Moor, and Key of Light have all been sealed in the Western Continent by the Celestial Worthy? Isn't this too much? What pomp... It's no wonder that the city behind Bansy Harbor's door is like the former Shanghai... This is the City of Calamity affecting that city in the real world, as well as Bansy. Then, to a certain extent, it has caused certain changes? Klein was enlightened and amazed.
Back when he saw the scene behind the door in Bansy, he had suspected that it had something to do with the Western Continent. Furthermore, according to the clue that Bansy was the headquarters of Red Angel Medici's family, he suspected that behind the door was the reflection of the sefirah, the City of Calamity.
After a moment of silence, Klein didn't conceal his feelings. He sighed and said, "The power of that Lord of the Mysteries far exceeds my imagination...
"How could such a Great Old One, who is known as one the pillars of the universe, silently perish?"
The Evernight Goddess's dream projection shook "Her" head.
"It wasn't silent.
"From the clues that were available, 'He' died together with the God Almighty of ancient times.
"That God Almighty's corpse formed the first Blasphemy Slate in the Chaos Sea. And beside it was the Uniqueness of the Marauder pathway."
In other words, in the middle of the First Epoch, the Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty had a battle that was abnormally intense but didn't cause much of a stir. In the end, both perished? This can explain why the ancient sun god had the Uniqueness or a Grazed Uniqueness of the Marauder pathway when "He" walked out of the Chaos Sea. It was ripped off by the ancient God Almighty from the Lord of the Mysteries... Amidst his thoughts, Klein asked in puzzlement, "Why would 'They' want to kill each other? 'They' are both pillars and aren't from similar pathways. There shouldn't be any life-and-death conflicts that cannot be resolved."
The Evernight Goddess's dream projection said gently, "Convergence is an instinct.
"The higher the level, the stronger the instinct.
"That Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty of ancient times were unable to restrain themselves from converging together, becoming the embodiment of the entire Universe, which is also the innate instinct of the original Creator."
The crazier one becomes the stronger they become? And beyond cunning, powerful, terrifying, and filled with wisdom, there's such a side to the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings? Klein thought for a moment and said, "That Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty of ancient times, are, in essence, different sides of the original Creator?"
The Evernight Goddess's dream projection said in a comforting voice, "Using the same existence but different personas as an analogy will be more accurate.
"The original Creator was the maker of the Universe, and also its destroyer. It is both day and also night. It's the light of holiness, and also the decadent abyss. It is an amalgamation of all contradicting concepts and symbolism.
"That's why 'He' naturally has a tendency to be dissociative in a way that cannot be controlled. Once 'He' splits, there will be a strong trend towards convergence.
"In a time more ancient than the era we lived in our past lives, the original sleeping Creator had naturally split into multiple personas. They were also in a state of slumber, but they began to use the authority and Beyonder characteristics they controlled to influence the world, making many preparations for the true dissociation when the original Creator awakened.
"Here, the most powerful and active ones were God Almighty and the Lord of the Mysteries. The latter had another honorific name in the Western Continent.
"In the early-mid stages of the First Epoch, 'They' should've used different methods to grasp the additional sefirot. This made 'Their' inclination to converge more intense, making it impossible for them to control themselves, and began taking actions against each other.
"According to the ancient sun god's research, the pillar of support is the highest level of stability one can achieve. If a Great Old One exceeds this limit, just accommodating an additional sefirah will lead to being controlled by the convergence instinct in an irreversible manner.
"No one knows the exact situation of the battle. Even the Seven Lights of the spirit world do not know. We only know that, from that fateful moment onwards, the two Great Old Ones known as the 'Pillars' vanished completely. As for the other sefirot other than the Chaos Sea and Sefirah Castle, they were sealed by Sefirah Castle's powers in the Western Continent. That was once the territory ruled by the Lord of the Mysteries.
"This setup led to a problem. It was that, before the reappearance of the Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty, and before removal and breaking of the Western Continent's seal, no Sequence 0 in this world could become a Great Old One to resist the Outer Deities.
"As the apocalypse approaches, this problem will force all the true deities to nurture a Lord of the Mysteries or God Almighty. And the former Lord of the Mysteries and God Almighty are very likely to awaken in 'Their' bodies."
This... Therefore, the sealing of the other sefirots was done deliberately by the Celestial Worthy, preventing the later Sequence 0 true deities from deliberately avoiding this pathway, killing the chances of the birth of a new Lord of the Mysteries? And as long as a new Lord of the Mysteries is born, "He" has a high chance of being revived and completely awakening... Isn't this too sinister? From a certain point of view, there's no need to be afraid of others knowing this arrangement. The more entities that know of it, the more they will be inclined to quickly support the growth of a Lord of the Mysteries, so as to prevent them from only having a few years towards the end to gain control of their corresponding sefirot... The more Klein thought about it, the more terrifying the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings appeared.
This made him sigh inwardly.
As expected of a pillar that can make the Genie fall into such a predicament to this day...
Klein immediately asked, "Then why didn't you support the growth of a Lord of the Mysteries in the Fourth Epoch?"
He actually knew the answer to this question. As time passed, as the original Creator's different personas, the Celestial Worthy and God Almighty will have "Their" wills constantly weaken. The closer they got to the apocalypse, the weaker the corresponding will became. This made those of the future be able to resist and suppress "Them," and avoid losing "Themselves."
This could be proven by the fact that Adam had waited until recently to advance to Visionary.
The Evernight Goddess's dream projection revealed a smile.
"Back then, Amon and Bethel were unwilling. All of them wished to make all sorts of preparations, hoping to make the attempt when the apocalypse was approaching.
"As for Salinger, 'He' planned to use the River of Eternal Darkness to fuse with the Red Priest's Uniqueness to create a brand new Great Old One path. Then, 'He' went mad. 'He' wasn't able to resist the desire for converging the Twilight and Evernight pathway."
Death was also forced into such circumstances. On the one hand, the apocalypse was only a thousand years or so away, and on the other hand, the River of Eternal Darkness had been sealed by the Celestial Worthy, a pillar. This prevented "Him" from attempting to control it... It's too sinister, too much! Klein couldn't help but inwardly criticize the Celestial Worthy.
At this moment, the Evernight Goddess's dream projection continued, "The seal on the Western Continent is gradually weakening with time. The sefirot will instinctively or consciously use their symbolism to corrode the Uniqueness and High-Sequence Beyonder characteristics that land on them to influence the outside world.
"The first to seep out energy was the River of Eternal Darkness. In the Second Epoch, it formed a distributary through Gregrace. After that, in the Fourth Epoch, traces of more sefirot began to appear on the Northern and Southern Continents and the islands over the Five Seas.
"This is an important factor hidden behind many of the anomalies in the Fourth Epoch."
The sefirot had indirectly exacted their influence through the seal in the Fourth Epoch... It's no wonder Adam said that my understanding of the Fourth Epoch's history isn't deep enough... From the looks of it, Bansy Harbor retained the elven customs not because it was an elven settlement, but also because of other factors... Klein thought for a few seconds before smiling.
"I roughly understand.
"Is that why you've been helping me all this while?"