Edward slept straight through to midnight.
When he finally woke up, feeling completely refreshed, he took out his pocket watch to check the time—it was already past three in the morning.
He paced slowly to the terrace, leaned over the railing, and gazed into the distance. All of Trier was shrouded in pitch darkness; silence reigned across the entire city.
Settling his mind, he examined the progress of his potion digestion.
The Deconstruction Scholar had shown little change, but Wanderer had finally advanced by a small step.
If he could gain this much digestion from each of the six remaining divine kingdoms, then by the end of this journey, the Wanderer potion should be almost completely digested.
That was, of course, something to be pleased about.
Yet, when he thought about still needing to digest Deconstruction Scholar, about having to obtain the Miracle Invoker's characteristic from Zaratul, and about needing to "negotiate" with the Evernight Goddess for the Planeswalker characteristic—Edward's scalp tingled.
When he used to read Lord of the Mysteries, he had marvelled at how ingeniously Cuttlefish controlled high-end power balance in the world.
Now that he was the one seeking to ascend through those higher Sequences, he could only sigh at how painfully restrictive that design truly was.
At Sequence 4 or even Sequence 3, the problem wasn't too obvious—Beyonder characteristics and creatures of those levels were still relatively plentiful.
But from Sequence 2 onward, their numbers dropped off a cliff, and nearly all were controlled by specific forces.
To skip those powers and still become a Sequence 2 Angel? Practically impossible.
"My fate is mine alone! Whoever stands in my way—dies!!"
An overly dramatic line suddenly surfaced in his mind, clearly the handiwork of his childish side. Edward immediately slapped himself lightly across the face to regain composure.
Then, he flopped down on the nearby sofa and used [Deconstruction] on himself, stripping away those "immature tendencies" as if debugging corrupted data.
He stayed like that until dawn.
The next day, he returned once again to the Earth Mother's divine kingdom.
Though it appeared like a vast garden, it was in truth a sprawling realm—impossible to fully explore in a short time.
This time, he didn't use the method of responding to his own summons.
For several days, Edward roamed freely. The Earth Mother rarely appeared; she would only show up now and then to chat with him, or stroll alongside him through the endless fields of harvest.
It wasn't until he had explored the entire harvest-blessed garden and was preparing to visit other divine realms that the Earth Mother smiled and said, "If one day I no longer have to guard the Astral Realm, I shall venture deep into the stars and see what unknown worlds lie beyond."
Edward replied softly, "That day will come."
She smiled faintly, offering no comment.
———
Over the following two weeks, Edward successively visited the divine kingdoms of the Lord of Storms, Eternal Blazing Sun, God of Combat, God of Knowledge and Wisdom, and finally—the God of Steam.
Just as the Earth Mother had said, none of them rejected the arrival of a Wanderer—especially one who was also the Lord of the Sefirah Castle.
However, both the Storm Lord and the Eternal Blazing Sun never appeared in person.
Edward merely wandered through the outer zones of their respective kingdoms—realms made of roaring thunder and blazing flames—without delving deeper.
Even so, he still witnessed firsthand the terrifying might of these two embodiments of destruction and their governing Authorities.
It completely overturned his earlier misconception from reading the novel.
Back then, he had thought that compared to the rule-based powers wielded by other deities, the dominion over "storms" and "flames" seemed too straightforward—overly physical and limited in divine warfare.
But now he understood.
Those storms and flames were only the outward manifestations of their true Authorities.
Both gods wielded powers that transcended rules themselves.
In a real divine battle, determining who would prevail was far from simple.
As he wandered through the Lord of Storms' kingdom, Edward couldn't help but feel an odd sense of irony.
In the future, he would supposedly call upon this very deity's name—"Leodero!"—again and again in times of peril.
If the Lord of Storms ever saw that, he'd probably strike him down with a thunderbolt on the spot.
And yet now, Edward could stroll casually through His domain without worry.
Truly, fate had a wicked sense of humour.
The third divine realm he visited belonged to the God of Combat—a land that looked desolate yet pulsed faintly with hope.
That contradiction perfectly captured His domain.
Decay was His authority, yet from decay came rebirth—just as twilight heralded night but also promised dawn.
As the eldest son of the Giant King and, in some sense, the last surviving giant (for Groselle had become a wraith), He was an embodiment of solitude.
When Edward saw Him, the deity sat high upon a throne, a longsword thrust into the ground beside Him.
He wore a full suit of armour steeped in the aura of ruin; even His face was hidden behind the helm, His eyes invisible—His entire being enveloped in the dim glow of dusk, radiating both melancholy and power.
Edward merely bowed deeply from afar. There was no need for words.
As for His feud with the Evernight Goddess—there had never been right or wrong in it.
As neighbouring pathways, only one could advance to a Great Old One.
Their battle had always been inevitable.
The victor would claim everything.
After all, no matter who won in the end, they would have to shoulder the duty of resisting the Outer Gods.
The fourth divine realm Edward visited belonged to the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, later mockingly nicknamed "The Two-Faced Dragon". His appearance was that of a hooded old man whose mouth and snow-white beard were the only visible features beneath the cowl.
When Edward first saw Him, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
After all, not long ago, he had "cooperated" with that Russian priest to completely eliminate this deity's former master—the King of Dragons, Ankewelt.
Although the God of Knowledge had once betrayed Ankewelt to side with the Ancient Sun God, He later partook in devouring the Ancient Sun God as well. Edward honestly couldn't tell whose side He was on anymore.
No wonder people called Him "The Two-Faced Dragon"—the Dragon of Double Betrayal.
Yet, this god who held the Authority of [Omniscience] only said one thing to Edward:
"Be wary of Adam."
Perhaps it was malicious provocation.
Perhaps it was a sincere warning.
Leaving the Two-Faced Dragon's realm behind, Edward soon arrived at a land filled with steam, gears, and metallic structures—a world steeped in mechanical aesthetics and steampunk flavour.
This was the kingdom of the God of Steam and Machinery, and here Edward finally met the deity, which the Chinese internet had affectionately—and mistakenly—dubbed for years as "Steam Goddess."[1]
He was a man.
A man with slightly golden facial hair, broad shoulders, and bulging pectorals; thick, muscled arms stretched out from under His robe.
One look was enough to tell—He was definitely more well-endowed than Roselle.
The so-called Steam Goddess was, in truth, Steam Muscles.
At last, all those romanticised fantasies and parodies about the "Steam Goddess" and Roselle were put to rest.
This deity was nothing like the shy, bespectacled science girl everyone had imagined.
Well… maybe the "low emotional intelligence scientist" part wasn't wrong.
Otherwise, He wouldn't have managed to misunderstand Roselle deeper and deeper with every attempt to please him, nor would He have ended up choosing the wrong side in the future—much like someone joining Nazi Germany in 1945.
Had it not been for petroleum turning into the Chaos Sea, their collaboration might have rapidly advanced the world's technological progress.
Unfortunately, reality had no "what ifs."
Of course, the loss of oil didn't mean technological development would stop forever—but the road ahead would be far, far longer.
Over four days, Edward explored the various steampunk sceneries of this realm, but he and the "Steam Muscles" exchanged no more than three sentences.
Thus ended his visit to the God of Steam and Machinery's divine kingdom.
By then, only one of the Seven Gods' realms remained—The Evernight Goddess.
———
"Mr. Sparrow!"
Early in the morning, Bernadette burst into Edward's house, sat herself down at the dining table without hesitation, and began eating breakfast with him.
By now, everyone in the household had grown used to this.
They all knew that the Son of Steam's beloved daughter had basically become their master's little shadow.
(And in their eyes, thanks to False Reality, Edward still appeared as Klein Sparrow—the same unassuming gentleman.)
Lately, Edward had spent most of his time wandering through the Astral Realm and visiting divine kingdoms.
The rest he divided between checking in with Krismona to ask about Lilith's condition—though after the second week, Arrodes had completely lost contact with its true body—or taking Bernadette out for leisurely strolls.
During one such outing, he had even secretly spied on Roselle a few times.
After returning from the edge of the Abyss, Roselle had circled the Rorsted Archipelago from Waypoint Island through Tiana Island, Bansy, and Desi Bay, heading back toward Intis. At this pace, he would be home very soon.
Bernadette set down her knife and fork, her face clouded with worry.
"Mr. Sparrow, do you think Daddy will make it back in time for my birthday?"
Edward smiled confidently.
"He will! With how much your father adores his daughter, there's no way he'd miss your birthday."
"But…what if he doesn't make it back?"
"Then I'll take you to find him."
She pouted, her blue eyes glimmering faintly.
"But every time we go see him, we have to disguise ourselves and spy from afar. How can we celebrate properly like that?"
"Then we'll come clean with him this time," Edward reassured. "Don't worry."
"But won't that expose you?" Bernadette asked seriously. "What about your own mission?"
"My own mission?"
Edward paused. For a moment, he was stunned—then it clicked.
Right. He had approached Roselle originally to find Lilith.
But now that he knew where Lilith was…
"My mission's already complete," he said with a calm smile. "Maybe I'll still need your father's help in other matters, but when that time comes, I'll just tell him directly."
"Oh."
She lifted her juice glass with both hands, took a small sip, and whispered, "Then what about your daughter? You said everything you did was for her."
"My daughter…"
Edward's lips curved gently.
"I've already found her."
"What?!" Bernadette's eyes widened in shock. "Where is she?"
"She'll be back soon. When she does, I'll introduce you two."
Bernadette's face lit up.
"Yay! Then we'll go see the mermaids together!"
———
At the Roselle family villa.
Matilda held a watering can, tending carefully to her flower garden.
Now and then, she would prune away a few extra leaves, her expression serious and focused.
Though the villa had professional gardeners, the flowers were her personal hobby—something she tended to herself for the peace and distraction it brought.
"There," she murmured, straightening up with a satisfied smile. "Perfect."
Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps came up from behind her.
Matilda turned around instinctively—only to be shoved violently, toppling straight into someone's arms.
Her heart leapt in terror.
She screamed and struggled, shouting,
"Let go of me! Help! Somebody help me!"
"Hahaha! You can scream all you want—no one's coming to save you!"
———
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[1] Before Book Two’s release, the “God of Steam and Machinery” was often called the “Steam Goddess” or “Steam Princess” by Chinese fans. In Chinese, “God of XX” doesn’t indicate gender, so the deity’s gender is ambiguous. The god’s association with the negative (陰 yīn) or feminine aspect, the Priestess tarot card, and Venus, a goddess planet, led to speculation that the deity might be female. The nickname “Steam Princess” (蒸汽姬) also comes from a pun, since “machine” (機 jī) sounds the same as “princess” (姬 jī) in Chinese.