A long, pained whinny, mixed with unease and fear, came from the blazing, scorching "Sun."
But as the extremely complex and mysterious three-dimensional symbol formed by the pale mask descended, the uneasy and fearful whinny quickly became hoarse and dry, like a life gradually approaching Death Announcer.
Both the "Sun" and the "Black Hole" inevitably weakened, cracking into fissures and growing tiny, pale fluffs.
These fluffs instantly grew into white feathers, their surfaces seemingly soaked with pale yellow oil. They turned to ash under the golden, scorching light and were torn apart and swallowed by the terrifying gravity of the "Black Hole."
The blazing, scorching "Sun" began to fade little by little. Its temperature started to drop, and the light it cast grew dim.
Bernadette looked at the "Sun" gradually approaching the Death Announcer, her eyes devoid of warmth as she said, "This seal is only temporary. You should have a way to recover the Beyonder Characteristic from this carriage, right?"
"Of course." Leyton nodded slightly.
He reached his right hand into the inner side of his brown woolen overcoat and pulled out a normal-sized playing card. The front of the card showed Roselle, dressed in rags, with snow-white hair and a beard.
He bent his right index finger and tapped the card face twice.
Whoosh!
The sound of illusory things shattering echoed in his ears. The card in Leyton's hand burst forth with a hazy glimmer that was neither bright nor brilliant.
Although this light was not brilliant or dazzling, even the intense sunlight around it could not obscure it.
The hazy glimmer moved freely over Leyton's body. His body constantly distorted, emitting wisps of black mist that seemed substantial, and growing eyes. His spirit was passively elevated infinitely, and abstract knowledge transformed into substantial power within him.
For a moment, Leyton even had the illusion that he was already the Hermit. He felt omnipotent, the essence of all knowledge, the master of all knowledge.
Feelings of madness, chaos, and coldness spread from him. The balance between humanity and divinity began to waver, as if it could be overwhelmed by instinctual madness at any moment.
Hoo~ Hoo~
Gasping for breath, when he finally found a balance between rationality and madness and refocused his attention on himself, he realized that he had lost his human form, leaving only a humanoid shape.
The sage's robe was now draped over him. Beneath the thick hood, there was no longer a normal face, only a dark black mass that devoured everything and was full of madness. Within the deep black was a luminous sphere enveloped in pure light, like a cold, indifferent eye.
Around this "eye," faint starlight orbited, stained with different colors and carrying a hint of warmth, just like his rationality, which could collapse at any moment under the invasion of madness and chaos.
Under the black robe, his exposed hands and feet were dark and withered, without any luster or vitality, not at all like a living person.
The sage's robe seemed unable to bear the overly powerful force and status, tearing into ragged strips and turning into wisps of solidified dark black mist.
On the dark black robe, in the surrounding floating wisps of black mist, and even on his dark black, withered limbs, cold, indifferent eyes grew.
These eyes were stained with madness, flaunting undisguised malice. While giving a feeling of extreme sanctity and wisdom, they also appeared quite indifferent and devoid of warmth.
Bernadette looked at Leyton in this state with a solemn expression. She felt a powerful oppressive force from him, and a faint, irresistible urge to approach him and merge with him.
Hermit! No, not entirely. He only had the Hermit's status and aura, but not the corresponding authority and power.
Bernadette took a deep breath, then averted her gaze. As beings of the same pathway, she could feel the madness emanating from him silently eroding her. Although it wasn't severe, her mental state wasn't very good after becoming an angel, so she avoided such mental influence if possible.
Feeling his precarious rationality, Leyton took a step forward without hesitation. His body instantly appeared near the "Sun" that was gradually approaching Death Announcer.
He extended his dark black, withered hand forward, and instantly, complex and illusory symbols condensed around him. These symbols quickly merged into the "Sun" before him, turning into colorless glimmers that moved within the "Sun," disintegrating it from within.
They seemed to belong to this "Sun" from the beginning, not encountering any rejection. The "Sun's" light became even dimmer, even beginning to shatter.
Leyton extended his left hand forward, ignoring space and distance, and directly held the "Black Hole" that devoured everything.
With a slight squeeze of his palm, the "Black Hole" instantly disintegrated, turning into a pure stream of information that he held in his hand, condensing into a long spear with little color.
Then he made a throwing motion, and the spear left his hand, accurately piercing into the "Sun" before him.
Roar!
A shrill and desperate sound came out. The "Sun" completely lost its shape, turning into two scarred golden steeds stained with rust, dragging a decayed, broken golden carriage behind them.
The two no longer magnificent horses showed human-like fear in their eyes. They didn't even look in Leyton's direction, gathering light on their bodies, turning into a pure, incandescent, pure sunlight that rushed out of the area covered by Death Announcer, heading in the opposite direction from Leyton.
They were like true light, extremely fast, reaching the boundary of this painted world in an instant.
That pure, incandescent, pure sunlight rapidly expanded, becoming an incandescent, scorching, exaggerated, and terrifying sun.
The painted world was truly ignited and burned like paper, finally leaving only a flickering, dim yellow flame, reflected in the eyes of the two horses, which seemed to be cast from gold.
The flame was extinguished by a dark black, withered hand. Everything that had just happened was like a dream, dissipating with the flame.
Before the two horses pulling the dilapidated golden carriage could react, Leyton again extended his right hand forward and squeezed it forcefully.
Pale glimmers appeared on the golden carriage and horses, like cracks. Golden fragments constantly fell off, quickly turning into pure information, which Leyton absorbed into his palm.
Rip! Rip!
Amidst a series of faint sounds, the golden carriage rapidly became fragmented. Its gaze, its movements, seemed to be slowed down countless times, making it difficult to make effective changes.
In a moment, the original golden carriage disappeared, leaving only an illusory light sphere condensed in Leyton's hand.
A hazy glimmer instantly rose from Leyton's body, then quickly receded. Soon, the mad, ferocious eyes around him disappeared. Under the black robe, a normal human body reappeared, though a coldness mixed with madness still lingered in his light blue eyes.
Specks of dazzling starlight scattered around, carrying a sense of peace and tranquility, as well as a power to soothe the heart.
The madness and coldness in Leyton's eyes gradually faded. After calming his mind, he turned his head to look at Bernadette beside him and nodded slightly, saying, "Thank you for your help. Otherwise, my condition would have deteriorated much more severely."
"I didn't do much. This is compensation for when I took the Death Announcer last time."
As she spoke, Bernadette glanced at the hermit card floating quietly in front of Leyton. She reached out her hand, and the Card of Blasphemy automatically flew into her hand.
After calmly examining the hermit card for a while, she threw the Card of Blasphemy back in front of Leyton and said, "Establishing a connection with a being of that level is a very great pressure on your mental state. The soothing just now cannot directly restore your mental state. You need a period of rest and psychological treatment."
Leyton nodded expressionlessly. Before fully recovering his mental state, it was difficult for him to show any expression on his face; coldness, indifference, and madness were his current mental state.
He quietly gazed at the illusory light sphere supported by his right hand. Losing the maintenance of high-level power, it began to recover from its information state.
Specks of brilliant golden light began to appear, growing more numerous and denser, gradually covering the entire light sphere. It became a miniature light cluster the size of a fist, as dazzling as the noon sun, and felt a bit scorching when held.
Looking at the Lightseeker Beyonder Characteristic in his hand, even though his mental state was not very good, Leyton still twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a seemingly emotionless smile.
Specks of brilliance reflected from his eyes, flowing around and outlining strange and complex symbols. These symbols gradually contracted inward, connecting to form a whole, tightly wrapping the miniature light cluster in Leyton's hand, finally forming a sealed metal sphere with intricate patterns.
After temporarily sealing the Lightseeker Beyonder Characteristic in his hand, Leyton finally looked up at the badly damaged painted world.
He had no immediate plans to repair the painted world. He simply waved his hand blandly, and the surrounding space quickly faded and desaturated, eventually turning into an oil painting with rich, mixed colors, returning to Leyton's hand.
One of the goals of coming to the Sea of Ruins has been accomplished, he mused inwardly. Leyton looked down at the sea beneath his feet. He wondered if it was his imagination, but he felt that the surrounding sunlight was not as intense as before.
"Night is coming soon. Let's return to the Future first. I will ask your friend some questions in the dream world."
Bernadette said calmly. As soon as her voice fell, her body transformed into a stream of light, a convergence of countless knowledge, surging towards the Future.
"Forsaken Land of the Gods..."
"...Enter the Forsaken Land of the Gods."
"There are things you need here."
The ravings that had been echoing in his ears suddenly became clear, carrying extremely restrained, intense malice, full of the meaning of Fallen and madness.
Has the True Creator awakened?... Leyton looked up at the golden sky with some hesitation, deep radiance subtly flowing in his eyes, making his vision a bit clearer:
Under the blazing, bright sunlight like noon, a thick curtain of shadow enveloped everything. Behind the curtain of shadow, there seemed to be a deep red eye, watching everything with extremely restrained madness, watching him.
The clear ravings echoing in his ears did not last long; it quickly became chaotic again, sometimes meaningless ravings, sometimes somewhat disordered Russian...
Leyton lowered his gaze expressionlessly, retracting his gaze from the sky. A bit of a shame. If only I understood Russian. Barely understanding a few words is my limit. Otherwise, if the True Creator heard his mother tongue, he might even regain some sanity.
Suppressing the surging thoughts in his mind, he looked at the Future, which had already sailed some distance forward. He sensed the mark he had left on the ship slightly, then gently rubbed his fingers, creating specks of dazzling starlight.
The shimmering azure starlight quickly gathered and formed ahead, creating a large door covered with complex and strange patterns. The inside of the door appeared dim and dark, but the deck of the Future could vaguely be seen beyond.
Stepping on the solidified, dazzling starlight, Leyton moved closer to the newly solidified door ahead.
A faint blue light flashed, and Leyton's figure appeared directly on the Future.