Individual transparent, slimy tentacles blended with pitch-black fluid and gray fog began to contract, attempting to reconsolidate into a physical form.
The exact moment they converged into a mass, a massive longsword enveloped in orange-red light slashed down diagonally, cleaving through the void and hacking into the pile of worms mixed with gray fog and pitch-black fluid. The orange-red twilight light descended briefly, bringing about the end of all things and submerging every single transparent worm.
Every single Worm of Spirit began to decay uncontrollably, and all matter and will began to collapse and perish, inevitably moving toward the end of all things.
Upon the surface of the sarcophagus standing in the darkness, rust continuously emerged, as though it had traversed thousands or tens of thousands of years within a brief few breaths, becoming decayed and mottled. The aura belonging to the Death Domain continuously waned, looking as though it might weather away and vanish at any moment.
Silver-white light pierced through from within, flashing across the darkness in an instant, and Amon's figure reappeared within the palace ruins at the summit of the Hornacis Mountains' main peak.
He cast a glance at the pile of worm corpses that had already died and whose characteristics were returning to history. Without any haste, He shifted His gaze to Roselle and the Evernight Goddess to one side, speaking in a tone that lacked much fluctuation:
"So he had already prepared long ago, relying on a single death to rid himself of his own madness and soothe the Celestial Worthy's consciousness inside his body that was about to become unsuppressible."
"In this aspect, an Attendant of Mysteries truly possesses a huge advantage—requiring merely a single miracle to resurrect once more."
"However, this type of resurrection cannot truly resolve the issue. The Celestial Worthy's consciousness originates from the Beyonder characteristics and will not vanish along with one's own death."
While speaking, He searched nearby for a half-collapsed wall to sit down on, lacking any image of a true god whatsoever, and completely unconcerned with whether the Black Emperor and Evernight Goddess before Him would launch another attack against Him. He had already sensed the gaze cast over from the mind world.
Roselle calmly sized up Amon for a good while, then suddenly laughed:
"That is not something you need to worry about. You have already lost the authority of Door now. It seems the battle between you two just now was rather intense."
"It is a bit of a pity. The best-case scenario we anticipated was to tear away a portion of the authority of Error from your body as well. That way, once his state recovers, he could directly set about promoting to the Lord of the Mysteries."
Amon folded His arms and leaned His body sideways, assuming a highly relaxed manner as He said:
"That indeed would have been the best-case scenario. But unfortunately, things are currently developing toward the worst direction. The consciousness of the former Lord of the Mysteries has already awakened across these three pathways. No matter who it is, as long as they accommodate an authority that exceeds the pathway they reside in, He will inevitably awaken."
While They were exchanging words, the characteristics belonging to Klein had all returned to history, and the Uniqueness of The Fool had likewise followed suit by regularizing and conceptualizing, merging into the fog of history. Amon did not attempt to obstruct it, nor was He capable of obstructing it.
Within the fog of history that normally could not be observed, individual transparent insects combined with the Attendant of Mysteries characteristics returning to history crawled out from the Historical Void, converging of their own accord to form a deep, dark vortex of worms.
Before Roselle and the Evernight Goddess, Amon suddenly stood up. He adjusted the monocle over His right eye and let out a light laugh:
"He has finally begun to resurrect."
While speaking, a slowly flowing, deep shadow devoid of any light materialized behind Him, and a massive figure possessing five heads loomed indistinctly within the shadow.
Under the gaze of the five heads and ten eyes, a deep, dark ocean was projected outward.
Every single drop of fluid within it was like a beam of light and shadow, looking as though it represented a speck of consciousness, a single brand. Even a true god would inevitably suffer a momentary daze, becoming immersed within it.
Amon seized this window of opportunity and reached out His hand to make a hollow gripping motion toward midair. Seizing the instant Sefirah Castle was stirred, He attempted to rely on His experience of having entered Sefirah Castle just now to create an error, allowing Himself to rush into Sefirah Castle ahead of the resurrecting Klein.
That way, He could deny the other party entry into Sefirah Castle, relying on the portion of the Celestial Worthy's consciousness that had awakened inside His body to create an error and become the new master of Sefirah Castle.
As long as He received psychological treatment in a timely manner afterward, He would not lose control due to too much of the Celestial Worthy's consciousness awakening inside His body. This was a completely feasible risk to take.
Amon's attempt failed without any surprise. After his consciousness awoke, Klein did not remain within the fog of history to converge his characteristics, but chose to return above the gray fog first.
This was both to prevent Amon from creating an error and smuggling his way above the gray fog while he was in a poor state, and to avoid being influenced by the Celestial Worthy's consciousness gradually awakening within the converging characteristics, which would cause him to plunge back into his previous half-mad state.
After denying Amon's attempt to enter above the gray fog, Klein projected his gaze toward the fog of history.
That deep, dark vortex of worms had already converged quite a few Worms of Spirit, turning into a puddle of black fluid that blended together with the surrounding fog of history, growing dense translucent buds resembling worms. They interwoven together, forming a translucent dark cloak.
Beneath the cloak, no physical body existed, yet a terrifying will had begun to awaken, on the verge of coming alive, breaking free from Klein's control, and becoming a brand-new, independent individual.
"As expected, even dying once cannot rid me of the Celestial Worthy's will."
Lamenting in a low voice, Klein reached his hand forward, fully prepared, and dragged an illusory mask with no facial features out from the void, placing it onto his face.
The very first moment his own spiritual will resurrected within history, he relied on the convergence effect to grasp the regularized and conceptualized Uniqueness into his hands, bringing it above the gray fog.
With the support of the Uniqueness, above this expanse of gray fog, the status and strength he could exert infinitely approached The Fool itself. Under this state, he had the confidence to contend with the Celestial Worthy and reclaim the Attendant of Mysteries characteristics while simultaneously countering Amon's interference.
Within the fog of history, from inside the gray fog and pitch-black fluid covered by a translucent dark cloak, individual slimy tentacles extended outward, clawing toward Sefirah Castle above the gray fog!
Simultaneously, above the boundless gray fog, one deep-red star after another became prominent, continuously expanding and rippling outward with rings of ripples, striving to interweave one door after another.
Amon's avatars left across various locations of the world attempted simultaneously to break through Klein's blockade and allow themselves entry into Sefirah Castle.
He seemed to have been prepared long ago for the fact that He would lose the authority of Door, having stolen sufficient Beyonder abilities and authorities ahead of time, allowing Himself to use the desired abilities even after losing the corresponding Uniqueness and characteristics.
Snap~
Klein raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The figure of Gehrman Sparrow subsequently materialized above the gray fog. He took off the half-top silk hat worn on his head and bowed toward Klein, saying:
"Good evening, Mr. Fool."
The exact moment his voice fell, brilliant starlight erupted from within the continuously churning gray fog, transforming into a translucent key of a peculiar design, along with a pair of eyeballs that seemed to be composed of pure starlight and contained layers upon layers of illusory doors, both sinking into Gehrman Sparrow's body.
Receiving the replenishment of the Key of Stars characteristic and the Uniqueness of Door, the aura on Gehrman Sparrow's body rapidly elevated, even poised to surpass Klein himself.
Without needing Klein to say anything further, Gehrman Sparrow, who was a marionette, took a step forward and pushed his hands forward flatly. The rings of ripples drifting across the boundless gray fog and the doors striving to take shape all vanished entirely.
The surging gray fog rapidly calmed down, becoming heavy and solidified, looking like a solid barrier that denied entry to those tentacles extending from history.
Having resolved Amon's interference, only now did Klein possess the energy to resolve the issue of the Celestial Worthy's consciousness that was gradually growing familiar within those converged characteristics.
Beneath the black robe that was almost completely fused as one with the fog of history, the slimy tentacles mixed with black fluid and countless insects were on the verge of growing into a human shape and truly coming alive.
In the next instant, a deep, indescribable darkness suddenly descended, submerging this expanse of the fog of history.
Within the darkness, the sound of chanting poetry drifted out—serene, quiet, and inducing sleep. Even the consciousness gradually awakening within the Beyonder characteristics received containment, no longer mad, looking as though it had plunged into a lengthy slumber.
A solemn and heavy voice of proclamation subsequently echoed within the surrounding fog of history: "The return of the dead is prohibited here!"
The consciousness awakening from within the converged Beyonder characteristics seemed to suffer a heavy blow, turning considerably dejected in an instant.
Devoid of the Celestial Worthy's will interfering, that translucent dark cloak collapsed in an instant, turning into a puddle of deep, dark fluid that lacked a fixed form.
Seeing this, Klein caused the historical projections from before Roselle and the Evernight Goddess accommodated their Uniquenesses—whom he had summoned from the Historical Void alongside him—to vanish, and then utilized the connection between himself and those Beyonder characteristics to draw and gather them above the gray fog.
Under the pull of the convergence effect, one Worm of Spirit after another continuously drilled out from that puddle of deep, dark fluid lacking a fixed form, turning into streams of faint white brilliance that submerged above the gray fog.
The instant these characteristics entered above the gray fog, individual virtual doors composed of pure starlight manifested.
They overlapped with one another, jointly constructing a perfect closed loop, causing the returning characteristics to continuously traverse between door and door, unable to truly return and fuse with Klein.
Under Gehrman Sparrow's manipulation, these layers upon layers of illusory doors continuously compressed, turning into an illusory mark that fused into Klein's body, allowing him to reclaim all characteristics yet not completely fuse with them.
Under this state, his resurrection could be considered a success, yet his corresponding power and state experienced a stagnation, rendering him unable to become a true The Fool.
Seeing this situation, Klein let out a long sigh of relief. He slightly raised his hand, and the palace that was originally destroyed during the struggle between him and Amon reappeared, completely intact, as though it had never been damaged.
Silently and soundlessly, this palace appeared above a vast plain covered in moon flowers and night-fragrant mock-orange—appearing inside the divine kingdom of the Evernight Goddess.