The changes in the Astral World did not affect reality. Only a few Beyonders with higher spiritual intuition who were proficient in divination and prophecy perceived the terrifying danger and unexpected changes hidden within that suddenly piercing sunlight just now.
Mr. Door withdrew His gaze from looking up at the sky and muttered in a low voice:
"Those existences in the cosmos can no longer sit still. I wonder how long the deities of the Astral World can resist."
Bernadette frowned slightly, asking with some confusion:
"Can the deities not completely resist the power permeating into the barrier from those existences in the cosmos either?"
Mr. Door shook His head and said:
"If it were before the Fifth Epoch, they could. But now, cracks have already appeared in the barrier left behind by the Original Creator. This isn't something that can be filled by relying merely on the divine kingdoms of the deities."
"It might work if the True Creator takes action, but He has yet to completely grasp the Chaos Sea. Having helped open the seal last time, His state will inevitably have slid down a bit. Under such circumstances, He possesses obvious flaws. Even across the barrier, it is very difficult to contend with a group of outer deities."
"In order to cope with the reviving will of the Original Creator inside his body, that Fool lowered his own status. Before re-accommodating his authority, it is also very difficult for Him to exert power surpassing Sequence 0."
Bernadette nodded understandingly, subsequently shifting her attention onto the barrier condensed from the gray fog ahead, onto that gap gnawed out by the black dragon.
That black dragon whose wings were draped fully with corpses had disappeared at some unknown point. From within that deep cavern with a diameter of dozens of meters gnawed out by it, the sound of flowing water was faintly transmitted. A layer of thin mist, distinct from the surrounding gray fog, quietly diffused out, carrying an unspeakable connotation of decay and death.
The surrounding ground and even the air were drying up and cracking, running wildly without stopping upon the path leading toward the endpoint.
.....
In the Southern Continent, East Balam, inside a relatively ancient style, inverted pyramid-shaped mausoleum hall, two clumps of pale fire floated quietly.
In the noiseless, dead silence, a sigh and a lament suddenly rang out:
"I feel true death...."
Following this voice, a somewhat transparent figure was outlined within the pale fire.
He sat within the golden coffin in the center of the hall, bearing the appearance of an ordinary Southern Continent person, yet giving off an extremely noble feeling. Lacking the aura of the living, He was like an illusory deity high above countless undead.
He silently gazed toward the eastern direction, looking as though he were peering through the heavy mausoleum toward the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
.....
At the same time, Azik, who was currently staying within the abandoned castle belonging to the first generation of Baron Lam, suddenly turned his head to look toward the eastern direction.
The pale fire inside his eyes leaped, and the aura upon his body rippled out uncontrollably. Fine and dense dark green scales grew upon his skin, with pure white feathers inserted within the gaps between the scales.
"'Evernight,' and death...."
.....
In the Amantha Mountain Range north of Feysac, inside a magnificent palace carved out from within the mountain rocks that resembled a giant's dwelling.
Sitting cross-legged upon the floor paved with gray stone, the former Chief Shepherd of the Church of the God of Combat, Larrion, who was clad in a simple, coarse cloth long robe, had orange-red twilight light continuously erupting from his body, rendering a connotation of decay and withering in the surroundings.
The aura upon his body had already surpassed Sequence 2, yet it was quite chaotic and difficult to conceal madness. It appeared he had directly drunk the Hand of God potion without holding a ritual.
In the next second, Larrion, who had fallen into a certain madness, suddenly sobered up. His gaze peered deeply toward the east, his eyes staring straight at the walls stacked with gray stone, looking as though he were spacing out, yet also looking as though he were watching something intently.
After a good while, He suddenly muttered with some distraction:
"I see the twilight of all things, the true twilight...."
"The great God of Knights, the Sovereign of War, the Protector of Guns and Cannons, the Symbol of Strength and Glory...."
During his low-voiced chanting, His head suddenly split open from the middle, from top to bottom, extending from his forehead down to his chin. Like a vertically oriented eye opening slowly, the orange-red twilight light projected out from within, rendering an expanse of dead silence.
Within that exaggerated vertical eye split from forehead to chin, the twilight light grew dimmer and dimmer, gradually converging and revealing the pitch-blackness underneath, transforming into a setting sun hanging in the darkness, leaking a connotation of dead silence, the endpoint, and the final end.
His body was aging rapidly. The surface of his skin was very quickly fully covered with wrinkles, growing age spots and running with rotted liquid.
In just the blink of an eye, He aged to a degree where it seemed he was about to evaporate from the human world.
Then, he truly transformed completely into rotted liquid, evaporating thoroughly.
.....
Silently and soundlessly, the deep night curtain, accompanied by specks of numerous stars, enveloped the Forsaken Land of the Gods. The air even seemed to be suffused with a scent belonging to night vanilla.
Mr. Door looked at the sky that had suddenly grown dark and heavy, murmuring in a low voice:
"'Evernight' has descended."
While speaking, he reached out his hand attempting to open a "door" within the void. Under the influence of the dead silent, decaying, and ending aura in the surroundings, the process of the formation and opening of the "door" grew slow, and the yet-unformed "door" looked as though it would collapse at any moment.
Layers upon layers of starlight rippled out behind them, forming an illusory door that continuously decayed and collapsed. A pair of hands with distinct joints extended out from within the starlight, taking Mr. Door and Bernadette away from the original spot.
In a place thousands of miles away from the gray fog barrier, Gehrman Sparrow withdrew both hands, nodding gently toward Mr. Door and Bernadette as he said:
"Some unexpected accidents have occurred; I didn't expect Him to directly bring out the 'River of Eternal Darkness.' "
"Patrol along the seal of the Western Continent. Some Sefirot seem to have been bricked into the wall by Him. Within a short time they cannot come out, but it will also cause instability in the seal, continuously permeating power outward. We need to find these weak points, and then reinforce them anew."
"Releasing too many Sefirot all at once is more than the deities of the Astral World can cope with; instead, it will become an opportunity for the outer deities to destroy the stability of this world."
"When encountering danger, you can simultaneously seek help from those few. At this kind of time, it is not certain who among Them can extract energy to help you."
"No problem." Mr. Door and Bernadette nodded one after the other. These matters belonged to things that were dangerous but had to be done by someone.
Gehrman Sparrow took off the mid-top silk hat worn on his head, pressed it against his chest, and paid his respects to the two of them.
Subsequently, his figure distorted, immediately catching brilliant starlight and becoming extremely illusory, looking as though he transformed into a star door. No longer resembling a physical creature, he was closer to a collective entity of symbols such as "Wandering," "Key," and "Door," disappearing from before their eyes instantly.
This belonged to a conceptualization ability at the Sequence 0 level, an ability capable of being used only by relying on the Uniqueness of the Door under the suppression and support of Sefirah Castle.
Mr. Door withdrew His gaze, turning around to look at that expanse of dead silent, lightless darkness behind Him, lamenting:
"The Sefirot of the Western Continent possess a natural suppression over the deities of the Astral World in terms of status. Currently, only The Fool, the True Creator, and that 'Savant' can contend against them. If one wishes to quickly obtain a portion of a 'Sefirah,' the best way is precisely to request the help of these few."
"On this point, Evernight possesses the greatest advantage. To use the terminology of this era, She is the most outstanding investor I have ever seen."
Bernadette nodded gently, subsequently speaking with some worry again:
"The deities of the Astral World and the True Creator are antagonistic to a certain extent."
Mr. Door shook His head and said:
"He might not offer help, but He won't cause trouble either. This is His pride, and also His breadth of mind."
"After fusing with Adam, He truly becomes the 'Ancient Sun God' again."
.....
In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, upon the main peak of a mountain range bordering the coast, a giant crucifix that was consistently enveloped by a layer of seemingly present yet seemingly absent shadow stood erected at the absolute top of the peak.
This place was the former divine kingdom of the "Ancient Sun God," and currently the sanctuary of the True Creator.
Layers upon layers of starlight rippled out within the night scene and the shadow, rapidly constructing an "Astral World passage."
Streams of "light"—unbrilliant, un-clear, and devoid of any color—slipped out from within this "Astral World passage." This "light" disintegrated into an immense, chaotic torrent of pure knowledge, rapidly reorganizing Leyton's figure.
With his face lacking a vivid and agile expression, and holding a mercury-like illusory key in his hand, he exchanged a glance with that giant crucifix shrouded in a layer of shadow, after which he turned around and walked in front of Ouroboros who was off to the side.
He stood there so quietly as though he were distracted, the silver color inside his eyes carrying a touch of indifference within its gentleness, looking as though he were gazing at destiny, gazing at every single person in the world, with the posture of an onlooker.
It was not until Leyton approached that He turned His gaze as though having perceived something, subsequently being attracted by that mercury-colored illusory key in his hand, staring straight at it without shifting His gaze. That looked like a treasure possessing a fatal attraction for Him.
After gazing for a spell, He restrained the craving continuously turning over inside his heart and the instinct wishing to converge more characteristics and authority, shifting His gaze away.
A touch of surprise flashed within Leyton's eyes, after which he gave a light laugh and said:
"We need a 'Snake of Fate' characteristic. You can make a certain separation between the relatively mad portion and your normal self, and then give that portion of characteristic with problems to me."
"Speaking in terms of your luck, Amon should happen to be right here at this time."
While speaking, the destiny in the surroundings was being pried. This was not just Ouroboros's luck, but also the influence of the "Key of Light" upon destiny.
In less than two seconds, a crow sporting a white eye-ring at the position of its right eye happened to fly toward this side. Upon noticing the situation here, it directly landed underneath that giant crucifix, transforming into Amon's appearance amidst the flapping of its wings.
"It seems someone is discussing me."
While speaking, Amon's gaze lingered slightly upon that mercury-colored, transparent, and illusory key held in Leyton's hand, after which he gave a light laugh:
"What do you plan to use to exchange for the characteristic upon the big snake?"
"The promise of the 'Key of Light,' and further, I will not take action to intervene in this matter."
Leyton answered calmly. Standing opposite him, Ouroboros raised His head to look toward that giant crucifix shrouded in a layer of shadow, tilting His head slightly as though listening to something.
After a moment, He nodded gently and said: "Deal."