In addition, since Rhine Carendia's arrangements for this "resurrection" were discovered by so many later versions of "me," they must inevitably have been damaged…
If nothing else, the fact that the experiment eleven years ago required the condition of being conducted here in order to be "reproduced" already shows that something had been tampered with.
And the "person" who tampered with it was most likely guided by the Seal of Calamity.
After all, in the "reincarnation" system established by the God of Luck, one of its core components is the "restart" of the Wheel of Fortune. Even though it also incorporated many "factors" such as the Unknown and the soul stones from the Box of the Great Old Ones, whether it is Oliver, Rhine, Vicente, Alvin, or Danitz, Evans, Giuseppe, and me, in essence we are all reincarnations of the same person.
In other words, we cannot exist at the same time!
Therefore, for the later "me," the resurrection plans of the predecessors must definitely be sabotaged as much as possible.
And for the Seal of Calamity, which is dominated by the Unknown, all the other "Liu Bo" are probably opponents—although It focuses more on the God of Luck, that doesn't mean It ignored the other selves.
Hmm, the only question is whether the sabotage by later generations was within Rhine's plan… If it was, he probably still has an unrevealed trump card.
If not, then his resurrection plan probably no longer exists…
I'm more inclined toward the latter… If Rhine still had a chance to resurrect and "assimilate" me to seize dominance, Lilith and the Goddess might still continue to support me, but Vera and Yaloran would definitely not treat me so kindly…
Overall, Rhine indeed hasn't completely "died," but it's impossible for him to seize "dominance" after resurrection, because his arrangements were sabotaged by his later selves.
Thinking this, Ebner sighed softly, deeply feeling that Rhine's life before death had probably been relatively comfortable, so the level of his schemes wasn't particularly brilliant… This point was also reflected in Vicente.
In comparison, the several incarnations of himself in the Fifth Epoch were far more "scheming"… Starting from Alvin, they were practically all crafty schemers, even tampering with their own memories to prevent later selves from discovering their plans through the "imprints"…
On the one hand, Rhine and Vicente probably came from such good backgrounds that they didn't encounter too much danger when they were weak.
On the other hand, starting from Alvin, "I" finally realized that I had transmigrated into the novel Lord of the Mysteries… Because he understood the world's background settings and general plot, he basically had the equivalent of a "full map cheat," so his schemes naturally appeared more impressive.
Of course, Alvin also received guidance from the Goddess in this regard.
Letting his thoughts drift for a while, Ebner finally came back to his senses when the mimic dead spirit shaped like "Vicente Miranda" spoke again in a deep voice:
"I assume you've already guessed that after discovering Rhine's purpose, the first thing I wanted to do was sabotage it…
"But unfortunately, the 'contamination' on that body of the Source of Corruption was truly too terrifying—so terrifying that I couldn't even approach it!
"So I could only sprinkle a bit more water from the River of Eternal Darkness onto it from afar…
"Since I couldn't stop it, I could at least delay the time for 'resurrection,' letting Rhine 'sleep' a little longer, until I become stronger or a later 'me' comes to deal with it."
That… is quite creative! Ebner secretly praised before listening to the other party continue:
"Alright, the information I can tell you is only this much… Remember, it's not because I'm being kind, but because if Rhine actually succeeds, none of us will get to play anymore.
"Finally, aside from the room before the ritual chamber, the entire dream castle has already been cleaned out by me. There are no dangers left, so you can explore with confidence… Oh right, please don't make things difficult for 'Chan You.' As Rhine's creation, although it is hostile toward all intruders, it won't casually harm anyone. At most it will drive outsiders out of the dream."
"Chan You"? Ebner thought for a few seconds before realizing that this must be the name of that Dream Tapir, since the chieftain of the Dream Tapir clan in a certain famous game also had that name.
Tsk. From the fact that it's called "Chan You" instead of "Mengli," you can infer certain preferences of Rhine and Vicente…
Their memories from before transmigration probably stopped around their university years… Strange—was the "me" in high school and university really that kind of person?!
While Ebner was silently complaining, the dead spirit had clearly finished its "playback" and returned once again to its original standby state.
After observing it carefully for a while, Ebner discovered that it was slowly accumulating power. Perhaps when the next "Liu Bo" came here again, Vicente's message could be heard once more.
"Of course, that's assuming I'm dead…" Ebner muttered silently.
He no longer paid attention to the dead spirit. Instead, he turned and opened the door, allowing the two ladies waiting in the corridor—"Greed" and "Sloth"—to enter.
"What just happened?" Closfia asked while glancing around, yet she seemed completely unaware of the dead spirit standing in the center of the room.
Clearly, this "recording-and-playback device" must have been tainted by the Unknown's contamination. It existed in a special state where only "Liu Bo" could see it—just like the messages from the Seal of Calamity that Roselle could only see shortly before becoming a god.
"An angel who once explored this castle left me some warnings," Ebner said after thinking for a moment, choosing to reveal only the parts that "Sloth" and "Greed" could know.
For example, regarding the dangerous ritual chamber on the top floor, Ebner only said that even angels didn't dare approach it, while everything else was left unmentioned.
"You're planning to go check the ritual chamber alone?" Closfia detected his intention from his tone and frowned. "Wouldn't that be too dangerous?"
She knew Ebner possessed many methods and that his combat strength was not inferior to an angel, but he was still not truly a Sequence 2.
Moreover, even angels were wary of that ritual chamber.
"Don't worry. When it comes to dealing with 'contamination,' I still have my own methods," Ebner replied with a smile. Then he said to the two ladies, "Aside from the room where the Blood Moon Queen is sleeping and the ritual chamber on the top floor, there shouldn't be any other dangers here… You can explore these floors freely. I'll go and return shortly."
Seeing how confident Ebner appeared, "Sloth" and "Greed" stopped persuading him. After reminding him to be careful, they watched as he followed the Dream Tapir toward the higher floor.
Very soon, the man and the tapir arrived before a pair of solid wooden double doors carved with intricate patterns.
Feeling the faint aura of "terror" emanating from the door, Ebner patted Chan You's head, signaling it to retreat farther away.
Next, Ebner did not rashly open the door. Instead, he clasped his hands together and began his preparations.
Although he had long resolved to bravely face the arrangements left behind by his former selves, "bravely facing" danger did not mean ignoring it. Rather, it meant recognizing danger and overcoming it.
And his preparation for the "danger" inside the ritual chamber was very simple.
That was to pray to Mr. Fool and seek the protection of Sefirah Castle.
When it came to dealing with contamination from Sefirot, the gray fog was still extremely useful.
(End of Chapter)