This hobby is pretty good.
It's the perfect chance to try bribing Sharon; once I establish a link, maybe I can peek at her real emotions.
Right now she's like a puppet, sometimes a microexpression slips out, but most of the time it's hard to read her exact emotional changes.
Hastur made up his mind quickly and smiled: "Of course. With Miss Sharon supervising, I might not even need three days to write an interesting story."
Sharon only nodded, showing no particular joy about the matter.
"Now, Miss Sharon, you should tell me about your adventures outside, right?"
Although Maric had already told him once, Hastur still wanted to hear Sharon's version of the adventure.
It wasn't until after eleven that Sharon finished telling her adventure story and stepped away from the mirror.
Before leaving, she made a point of mentioning that Bernadette would soon leave Backlund, so he wouldn't have to keep deliberately avoiding her anymore.
After seeing Sharon off, Hastur checked the time, went back to his bedroom, lay on the bed, and entered the Hall of Stars.
A lot had happened recently; it was time to talk with the Mother Tree of Desire and the Supernova Dominator.
As for the Son of Chaos… once Bernadette successfully advanced to Sequence 2, it would probably be even harder for it to come out and cause trouble.
Hall of Stars.
The Order Chains behind Hastur flew out and landed on three stars, summoning the Mother Tree of Desire, the Supernova Dominator, and the Son of Chaos.
When the three outer gods arrived in the Hall of Stars and took their seats, Hastur first looked at the Son of Chaos.
Today the Son of Chaos clearly lacked its former swagger; it was unusually taciturn, probably worried about its situation.
The Mother Tree of Desire remained inscrutable, and the Supernova Dominator glanced at the Son of Chaos with a faint look but said nothing.
Without the Son of Chaos to speak first and lighten the mood, the Hall of Stars fell into a brief silence, which Hastur broke.
"That was a brilliant collaboration."
The Son of Chaos's eyes shifted; it snorted softly and remained silent.
The cooperation between the Mother Tree of Desire and the Supernova Dominator had undoubtedly been a huge success, and it, instead of taking advantage of the opportunity to escape the Wishing Lamp's seal, had become more tightly bound because Bernadette advanced to Sequence 2; it couldn't even manifest a phantom anymore.
It had truly become Bernadette's prisoner.
The Supernova Dominator glanced at the Son of Chaos and affected a bland tone: "It was merely a small experiment."
The Mother Tree of Desire didn't miss the chance to put the Son of Chaos down: "The Abomination Suah ventured into Backlund and drew down the Storm's divine punishment, suffering heavy damage , and you seem to be trapped inside the Wishing Lamp?"
The Son of Chaos's face went completely dark; it spoke harshly: "Hmph, isn't it because your foolish son failed? He had a chance to seize the Wishing Lamp, but he was discovered by the Storm, drawing down the Storm's divine punishment."
This time the Mother Tree of Desire acted magnanimous and didn't argue with the Son of Chaos; it only said calmly, "Abomination Suah has been gravely wounded and can't act for the time being. Our cooperation ends here."
"…" The Son of Chaos felt a swell of grievance but had nothing to say.
It and the Mother Tree of Desire had teamed up against Bernadette several times yet could do nothing to her; instead, their actions gave her the chance to advance to Sequence 2.
With the powerful artifacts in her hand, escaping from Suah's grasp was no longer as difficult as before.
Now the Rose School of Thought was being jointly targeted by the Seven Churches and was already in a precarious situation.
Ending the cooperation was a reasonable decision.
"In a few years, perhaps I can help you take back the Wishing Lamp." The Supernova Dominator spoke, every word dripping with mockery toward the Son of Chaos.
The Son of Chaos shot back without weakness: "Hmph, I'm just afraid you won't last that long."
"I'm still confident about that."
"Heh, blind arrogance will only bring you failure."
"Like you?"
"..." The Son of Chaos wanted to curse loudly, but the situation was against it.
The Mother Tree of Desire obviously sided with the Supernova Dominator, and the Sovereign of the Stars remained neutral, only the Son of Chaos was fighting alone.
Hastur quietly watched the scene unfold; he'd already formed an impression that the Son of Chaos, had been extremely unpopular in the starry sky.
The Supernova Dominator was plainly goading the Son of Chaos on purpose; otherwise, given its temperament, it wouldn't be so animated.
"Don't celebrate so soon. The High-Dimensional Overseer has also cast a glance from the starry sky, watching your every move."
The Son of Chaos changed the subject deliberately by bringing up the High-Dimensional Overseer, clearly trying to muddy the water.
The Mother Tree of Desire said calmly, "It's only spying. Ignore it."
Hastur willed the Hall of Stars' power and made visible on the hall's stars the star where the High-Dimensional Overseer resided.
The Mother Tree of Desire, the Supernova Dominator, and the Son of Chaos all turned their gazes to inspect it.
"Tsk, it's only dropped a thread of a dimensional line; it's being cautious." That was the Son of Chaos's voice, sounding like a comrade in misfortune. "Compared to us, it's easier for it to invest its power into the barrier."
"Dispersed power is not enough to pose a threat." The Supernova Dominator gave a calm evaluation, unconcerned that the High-Dimensional Overseer had already placed itself within the primal barrier.
Hearing these words, Hastur gained a deeper understanding of the Overseer's state.
"This will be perfect to help us distract the Seven Churches."
The Mother Tree of Desire had an idea.
It had always lived in the starry sky and never considered the so-called Seven Gods true rivals, but its followers couldn't be so carefree: if the seven cooperated, the permissive faction of the Rose School of Thought influenced by it could be wiped out in one misstep.
"To cooperate with it, you'll have to tell it something interesting." The Son of Chaos said as it glanced deliberately at Hastur.
Its meaning was clear: if the Mother Tree of Desire really struck a deal with the High-Dimensional Overseer, it would most likely do so by selling out the existence of the Sovereign of the Stars in exchange for a cooperation opportunity.
Hastur looked to the Mother Tree of Desire, waiting for its reply.
The Mother Tree of Desire answered: "I wouldn't be that foolish."
If it sold the news of the Sovereign of the Stars to the Overseer to secure cooperation, it was certain that as soon as the deal was made, the Sovereign of the Stars would pull the Overseer into the Hall of Stars.
That would put the Mother Tree of Desire in a very awkward position.
Besides, the current Hall of Stars suited her needs: by joining with the Supernova Dominator to suppress the Son of Chaos, it could command greater speaking power during the star gatherings.
Adding a High-Dimensional Overseer would break that balance.
The Son of Chaos sneered: "Who knows."
Hastur gave the Mother Tree of Desire a significant look: "My game with it is not over."
That subtle threat stirred a bit of unease in the Mother Tree of Desire.
It and the Supernova Dominator still hadn't learned this Sovereign of the Stars' full disposition and didn't want to provoke its enmity so casually.
"I also hate those who break the balance of the game." The Son of Chaos smiled widely.
"Just like your game with the Lord of Mysteries?" the Supernova Dominator said, expertly driving a knife into the Son of Chaos's lungs at the right moment.
"..." The Son of Chaos was furious but had no answer to the Supernova Dominator.
The Mother Tree of Desire chimed in at an opportune moment: "It's said you voluntarily jumped into the Wishing Lamp at the start? That gameplay is... quite unique."
"..." The Son of Chaos felt stifled; in the end it only let out a cold snort and ignored the provocations of the Supernova Dominator and the Mother Tree of Desire.
Hastur suppressed a smile and said calmly: "Under the gaze of the stars, everything is like a game."
"Compared to games, I prefer annihilation." From this single sentence, Hastur understood that the Supernova Dominator was the most resolute destroyer among the three outer gods.
The Son of Chaos had tried everything just to return to the starry sky; the Mother Tree of Desire wanted to regain its Sefirot and Beyonder paths, and they didn't care whether the Earth was destroyed.
Only the Supernova Dominator had long prepared, for when the barrier vanished, to offer the cosmos a grand firework.
"Heh, lunatic." The Son of Chaos's assessment was fitting.
"No rush, that planet appears to hold many secrets yet." The Mother Tree of Desire also disagreed with the Supernova Dominator's ideology.
The Supernova Dominator chuckled: "Perhaps those so-called secrets are merely coincidences."
The Son of Chaos looked at the Supernova Dominator as if at an idiot and mocked: "You awakened here at the beginning; both the God Almighty and the Lord of Mysterious chose this place for further experiments. Do you think those two are stupider than you?"
This time the Mother Tree of Desire did not speak, clearly it agreed with the Son of Chaos's thought.
Otherwise, why would a ring of outer gods surround the outside of the barrier? Many among them didn't need this place's Sefirot or Beyonder paths.
They came here because of the beginning, because the God Almighty and the Lord of Mysterious chose it.
Whether to witness or to participate personally, they all wanted a look at the secrets hidden here.
The Supernova Dominator didn't get angry; it said calmly: "When everything explodes, whatever secrets there are will be exposed to the starry sky."
"You're so brutal, aren't you afraid your actions will destroy the secrets here?"
"If something can be destroyed so simply, it's not worth the God Almighty and the Lord of Mysterious leaving it here."
The Supernova Dominator's position was clear: when the barrier disappears, first blow the whole planet apart, then search for the so-called secrets.