Edward sat down before the dressing mirror and nodded. "All right, you may begin your questions."
The mirror shimmered faintly with a dim glow.
"Great Being, do you still have any other questions for me?"
Edward raised an eyebrow.
"What was the reason behind Lilith's death and resurrection?"
"I am sorry, great being," the mirror answered, "that question is beyond the scope of my abilities."
"What about the wooden door in the City of Calamity, the one from more than three weeks ago?'
"Apologies, that too is beyond me…"
"What about the uniqueness within my body?"
"Apologies…"
Edward's tone turned dry. "You're really useless, huh? You can't answer a damn thing I ask."
Arrodes replied meekly, "You are right, great being."
Edward leaned back, expression unreadable. "Fine. Next question—and I expect an honest answer."
"I shall do my best, great being."
Edward's voice was calm, yet carried a weight that pressed down on the air. "As the master of the Sefirah Castle—the future Lord of the Spirit World—why are you afraid of me?"
"...I…am not afraid," Arrodes stammered. "I hold only respect, admiration, and reverence toward you…"
"According to your own rules," Edward said coolly, "you shouldn't be able to lie, right?"
"…"
The mirror's surface flickered repeatedly, as if caught between thought and internal struggle. After a long silence, distorted words slowly appeared upon the glass:
"You…are a usurper…You have, through unknown means…usurped a position that should never have belonged to you…Your very being…is filled with horror and distortion…"
The answer genuinely took Edward by surprise.
"Explain in detail."
"That is…all I can perceive, great being. According to the principle of equivalence—it is now my turn to ask a question."
The mirror's writing gradually stabilised again.
"You must be eager to know where you can obtain the Planeswalker Beyonder characteristic, am I right?"
Edward frowned. He suspected Arrodes was merely trying to steer the topic away, yet he still nodded.
"Yes. But as far as I know, the remaining Planeswalker characteristics are in the hands of the Abraham family and Mr. Door. Can you locate the Abrahams for me?"
"Apologies, I cannot determine the current location of the Abraham family. However, aside from them and Mr. Door, there is another holder of a Planeswalker Beyonder characteristic."
Edward's gaze sharpened. "Stop keeping me in suspense—who is it?"
"The Church of the Evernight Goddess."
Edward was momentarily stunned. "What did you just say?"
"Would you like to know why the Church of the Evernight Goddess possesses a Planeswalker characteristic?"
"...Yes."
"Because during the Second Epoch, the ancestor of the Phoenix race, Gegrace, once briefly accommodated the uniqueness of 'Door,' and mastered the corresponding Sequence. After her death, that uniqueness ultimately fell into Mr. Door's hands in the Fourth Epoch. The Planeswalker characteristic, however, was lost together with the uniqueness of Death, eventually obtained by the Underworld Emperor. When the Emperor perished…the Planeswalker characteristic was seized by the Church of the Evernight Goddess. To this day, it has been kept beneath the Cathedral of Serenity."
Hearing this, Edward finally understood.
So, back then, the Goddess of the Evernight Goddess was already scheming against Death…
Perhaps the timing had been wrong, or her power insufficient. In the end, she had only managed to grab a few "coins" that burst forth when the Underworld Emperor fell.
The moment that thought formed, the potion of the Deconstruction Scholar within him began showing faint signs of digestion—an indirect confirmation of his speculation.
In the future, I'll end up working under the Goddess for self-preservation, Edward mused wryly. But ever since coming to the past, I've done my best to avoid crossing paths with Her—precisely because this cunning old schemer might suddenly strike without warning.
And now, to learn that the key to advancing to Planeswalker lay in Her hands…
Wasn't that a complete disaster?
Edward pondered in silence for a while before asking, "What do you think I should do to obtain that characteristic?"
"My suggestion," Arrodes replied carefully, "is that you approach the Church of the Evenight Goddess yourself—and acquire the characteristic through an exchange."
"...And what, exactly, do I have that's worth trading?"
Arrodes fell silent. He neither answered nor posed another question.
Edward sighed softly.
To play the role of a Wanderer meant venturing into the Astral Realm.
To become a Planeswalker, he would have to negotiate with the Evernight Goddess Herself.
It seemed that if he wished to ascend to Sequence 2…some things were simply unavoidable.
To hell with fear, he thought. Bring it on.
Anyway, I can always resurrect through other people's memories.
Edward comforted himself with that thought, giving his heart a mental jab of adrenaline.
Yet, the next instant, a far less pleasant possibility struck him: if any god ever figured out the "principle" behind his resurrection and decided to clean up the evidence—either by collecting his corpse or by erasing everyone who remembered him—then his so-called "revival" would become "spring without a source,", unable to take effect ever again.
Granted, he mused, killing the Russian Priest and Amon wouldn't exactly be easy…but I definitely don't want to revive through either of their memories! Who knew what kind of twisted thing he would become if that ever happened?
He exhaled and changed the topic. "If I wish to obtain the Miracle Invoker's Beyonder characteristic, what would you suggest?"
The dressing mirror flickered faintly before Arrodes replied,
"If you can enter the Forsaken Land of the Gods, I recommend starting with that Dark Demonic Wolf. If you cannot, then you can only begin with Zaratul."
After a pause, the mirror added,
"Great being, would you like to know Zaratul's current location?"
"Yes."
At once, an image surfaced within the mirror: Zaratul, bearded and robed in a black hooded cloak, stood upon the deck of a sailing ship drifting across the open sea. Then the image gradually faded away.
"Where is he?" Edward asked.
"The Berserk Sea," Arrodes answered through floating text. "But I cannot pinpoint the exact coordinates. Zaratul possesses extraordinary anti-divination powers. This is the best I can manage."
Edward sighed. "You really are—"
"You are absolutely right, Great Being! Arrodes is nothing but a useless little piece of trash!" replied the mirror, complete with a pitiful emoji-like face appearing on its surface.
Edward was speechless.
He finally experienced what it truly meant to "punching cotton"—utter futility.
Still, thinking it through—even if he could locate Zaratul, with that man's absurd escape abilities, even if Edward managed to overpower him, holding him down would be nearly impossible. Not to mention: a Sequence 3 challenging a Sequence 2? Even with his unique abilities, victory was far from guaranteed.
Then a thought suddenly struck him.
Wait…if I'm already planning to trade with the Evernight Goddess for the Planeswalker Beyonder characteristic, why not obtain the Miracle Invoker's at the same time?
After all, Half-Fool Antigonus had always been in the Goddess's hands.
But the real question is, he frowned, what could possibly tempt a god into a trade?
The River of Eternal Darkness?
He shook his head. The Evernight Goddess's investment in Klein had always served two purposes: to cultivate a future Lord of Mysteries who could resist the Outer Gods alongside Her—and to gain access to the River of Eternal Darkness.
But that river…had already run dry.
"Arrodes," Edward asked, "do you know why the tributaries of the River of Eternal Darkness deep within the Spirit World have dried up?"
Predictably, the mirror flashed and displayed the words, "Apologies, great being. That is beyond my ability to discern."
Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "You really—ugh, forget it."
"Wuuu~ T T," whimpered the mirror, complete with a crying emoji.
"Try acting cute again, and I'll kill your future master."
"Understood!"
A determined emoji appeared this time.
Edward had not felt this speechless since…well, the last time he spoke to Arrodes.
"Do you have any other questions, great being?" the mirror asked timidly.
"I do," Edward replied. "If I want to fully act out and digest the Wanderer potion, what would you suggest?"
After a brief flicker, new words appeared:
"The methods of acting vary from person to person. I can only tell you that, according to my searches, when Mr. Door acted as a Wanderer, he journeyed across the divine kingdoms of all Seven Gods."
So it really does come down to the Astral Realm…
The inevitable, after all, could never be avoided.
Then Arrodes asked again, "Would you like to know how Mr. Door acted out the role of Planeswalker?"
"Speak."
"In truth, it was quite simple. Upon becoming a Planeswalker, one can transform oneself into the symbolic representation of 'Door,' thereby traversing the Astral Realm to reach different planets and worlds in an instant, appearing in multiple places within short spans of time. This allowed Mr. Door to complete his potion digestion swiftly. The only thing to beware of is the pervasive, terrifying corruption that fills the starry sea."
Edward nodded slightly. "Understood. Thank you."
Immediately, a bowing emoji appeared on the mirror.
"No need to thank me, great being. This is what the humble, pitiful, and weak Arrodes ought to do for you."
"…You're truly shameless."
"Then…do you have any further questions, great being?"
"No. Just keep me updated on Lilith's situation—and tell her that I'm waiting for her outside."
"Understood. Farewell, great being."
A cartoonish hand waving a kerchief appeared before fading away, and the mirror returned to calm.
Edward, however, remained seated before it for several minutes, swiftly organising the intelligence he had just gained. When he was done, he blinked away in a flash of light—appearing in the next room.
Krismona had been leaning by the window, gazing into the distance. Hearing footsteps, she turned around. "You've finished your questions, Mr. Edward?"
"Mm."
She did not press him about Arrodes's earlier strange behaviour—just as she had her own secrets she kept from him. They simply were not familiar enough yet to demand full honesty from one another.
"I'd like to know," Edward asked, "in this period of time—has Lilith had any contact with the Evernight Goddess?"
Krismana shook her head. "Not as far as I know."
But after a moment she added, "However, after Mother's fall, there were centuries during which I'm uncertain what she experienced. It's possible she encountered the Evernight Goddess then."
"And aside from the Evernight Goddess," Edward continued, "what about the other six gods? What is their attitude toward Lilith?"
"I don't know," she replied frankly. "During the time I spent with Mama, she never interacted with the other gods. In truth, the Seven Gods have rarely intervened in the mortal world for thousands of years. The most recent instance was when they joined forces to disrupt the Pale Disaster unleashed by Cheek and the Underworld Emperor, which led to the Underworld Emperor's fall and left Cheek gravely wounded."
Edward fell silent, deep in thought.
Compared to me—who travelled back less than two centuries and has spent the entire time treading carefully in the shadows—Lilith, thousands of years ago, shone like a blazing star. She had read the Blasphemy Slate, mastered firsthand potion formulas, met numerous powerhouses, and nearly ascended to become the Primordial Demoness herself.
She was that high-profile…and yet none of the Seven Gods troubled her. Did they truly fail to notice her anomaly—or simply not care?
If it's the latter…then maybe I've just been scaring myself all this time.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.