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"Don't worry, this isn't an illusion created by a Nightmare, but in a sense, you are indeed still a 'dead person' right now."
A somewhat familiar voice made Dunn's muddled brain instantly clear. He turned his head to look at the prayer room door and subconsciously asked, "Lord Envoy?"
Aaron stood with his hands behind his back, nodding slightly, and calmly explained to Dunn, "I have a Sealed Artifact that can graft fate. I extracted your flesh and blood to create a body, then grafted your dying fate onto that body, thereby completing a swap."
Dunn listened, half-understanding, but a strong hope suddenly surged in his gray eyes. He asked with a dry voice, "What about Klein?"
Meeting that hopeful gaze, Aaron controlled his expression and said with feigned regret, "When I arrived, he had already been killed by Ince Zangwill. I was blocked by a Demonic offspring and Sealed Artifact '0-08'. Although I severed one of his arms, Ince Zangwill still escaped with Saint Selena's ashes."
His steps faltered slightly as all the information Dunn knew surfaced in his mind. His fists clenched tightly:
"Ince Zangwill, the renegade Archbishop, a Gatekeeper who failed to advance, and Sealed Artifact '0-08'. And I'm just a Sequence 7…"
Glancing at the somewhat dejected Dunn, Aaron added, "Fate grafting is not without a price. The grafting only lasts for one year, and after a year, the fate of Death will return."
"However, this isn't entirely bad. The Corpse Collector Pathway and Sleepless Pathway can be interchanged at high Sequences. Your situation is actually very suitable for becoming a Sequence 4 Undying."
Although Moon City did not have an Undying, it did retain the corresponding potion formula, which was one of the few demigod formulas preserved by Moon City.
The ritual required building a mausoleum of specific size and structure, isolated from the Spirit World using special methods. It needed to contain detailed murals and documents recording the life of the advancer.
The advancer had to consume the Undying potion in a dying state and enter the mausoleum alone until the advancement was complete.
Due to the loss of the Undying Beyonder characteristic in the past Dark years, the records of the ritual's essence were very vague.
Aaron could only guess that the essence of the ritual might be to allow the advancer to pass through the cognitive disorder brought by divinity between life and Death, and truly experience Death to usher in a new life.
And the information provided by the murals and documents could help the advancer quickly reawaken corresponding memories after losing them due to Death and rebirth. After all, someone who forgot they were advancing would inevitably fail their advancement or even lose control and die due to their unconscious inaction.
The mausoleum isolated from the Spirit World was equivalent to a special altar. On one hand, it could assist the advancer in gathering temporarily uncontrollable Death power to create an environment suitable for advancement. On the other hand, it could prevent the foundation of the advancement from being destroyed if the advancer lost their memory and couldn't control their power, causing the sublimated core of the Underworld to be assimilated by the surrounding Spirit World.
"Undying… Demigod…" Dunn murmured like a dream. When he looked up again, a madness capable of destroying everything burned in his eyes.
Nodding in satisfaction, Aaron casually tossed a mask, textured like human skin, to Dunn, reminding him, "Archbishop Anthony has re-sealed the Chanis Gate, but due to the loss of Saint Selena's ashes, the Tingen City Nighthawks team's standing has been lowered. Items with living characteristics or those difficult to seal need to be transferred to the Backlund diocese."
"Also, today is your and Klein's funeral!"
Dunn trembled all over, his lips twitching slightly without a sound. He slowly but firmly placed the human skin mask over his face. His flesh eerily wriggled, revealing a completely unfamiliar face. The only thing unchanged was his pair of deep gray eyes.
-----------------
Non-human roars emanated from the bottomless, gloomy deep valley, like the legendary Devil Abyss. All around were gray rock walls stretching upwards, seemingly supporting the entire area.
A faint light came from glowing moss growing in different places. Darkness and depth were the main colors of this "world."
At the deepest part of the gloomy crack, there was an altar carved with various complex patterns. Although there was no glowing moss here, it wasn't dim; countless sparkling fine sands floated, like the Cosmos at night.
Countless black, cold, slimy threads spread, merging with the bizarre patterns on the altar. Ince Zangwill, sitting in the center of the altar with the half-skull of a Death descendant in his arms, took out a pure white quill with his remaining right arm and quickly wrote on the altar beneath his feet:
"Fortunate Ince Zangwill, with the help of the Demoness Sect, recovered from his injuries and finally successfully advanced to Nighthawk."
After doing all this, Ince Zangwill immediately locked the quill in a metal box with layers of symbolic runes and magical markings.
Waving his hand to draw in the sparkling fine sand, which had merged with other supplementary ingredients, the Underworld Gate on Ince Zangwill's forehead slowly opened, swallowing the Nighthawk potion.
His eyes instantly turned deep black, as if stained with ink, and the intricate patterns around them slowly extended, forming strange and distorted mystical symbols.
Accompanied by a suppressed, mad low growl, Ince Zangwill's waist and ribs, his clothes swelled, and his flesh wriggled. Four skinless, blood vessel-wrapped arms suddenly grew out.
These arms quickly became covered in white feathers, and a deathly aura rippled outwards.
At the same time, Ince Zangwill's teeth elongated one by one, becoming sharp, their surfaces embedded with many blurred, tiny faces.
In the blink of an eye, this Gatekeeper had already sprawled on the ground, becoming a strange Monster with eight "legs" and white feathers!
The entire gloomy deep valley instantly fell into a deathly silence. The insects in the soil died one by one, entering eternal slumber.
The half-skull in his arms eerily melted, flowing into the patterns of the altar. From the abyssal gloomy crack, illusory black liquid immediately seeped out, and the water level continuously rose, with pale arms reaching out wildly.
This was the fusion of the power of "Darkness" and "Death"!
In this bizarre and eerie environment, a pure white quill, emitting a faint glow, suddenly appeared, continuously writing on the altar:
"Fortunate Ince Zangwill, though he advanced to Nighthawk, he has thus fallen into an even greater vortex, for only a Gatekeeper who has obtained divinity can long contain a powerful evil spirit."
"Sauron Einhorn Medici, trapped in the ruins, would be very willing to cooperate with the great Quill of Alzuhod, because they have a common enemy!"
After writing these two paragraphs, the ordinary-looking quill stopped writing on its own, its surface dimming slightly.
More and more illusory black liquid surged upwards, submerging Ince Zangwill on the altar. The dense Death intent and surging Darkness rapidly receded after reaching a critical point, being swallowed little by little into the Underworld Gate, which was now almost real.
Ince Zangwill, whose aura grew increasingly sinister, suddenly stood up, his single eye completely turning black, his smile appearing horrifyingly ferocious, until he saw the pure white quill lying on the ground.
The dark tide, heavy with Death intent, completely corroded the altar. Ince Zangwill couldn't even find the words he had written earlier.
A faint unease stirred in his heart. He suddenly turned his head, looking upwards. There, a beautiful woman in a simple, pure white robe had appeared at some point. It was "Saintess of White" Katrina.
This Demoness Sect high-ranking member, who constantly exuded feminine charm, paid no attention to Ince Zangwill's somewhat gloomy expression. Her melodious voice carried a smile:
"Congratulations on your advancement to Nighthawk. Duke Negan of Loen was assassinated. This is good news for us, but the King also demands we speed up."
"Don't make that face. This is the price you pay for receiving shelter…"
-----------------
Tingen City, Raphael Cemetery.
Leonard stood in the corner of the group, his expression blank as he watched two coffins being buried. After the priest's eulogy and their respective prayers, shush, shush, shush, earth began to fill, gradually covering the black coffins.
Looking at the two erected tombstones and listening to the prayers echoing in his ears, Leonard clenched his fists and roared hoarsely in a low voice, "Why?!"
An old sigh sounded in his mind:
"The 0-08 in Ince Zangwill's hand attracted a very terrifying fellow. Even merely speaking his name will draw his gaze."
"Even at my peak, I would struggle to face him, let alone in my current state. I'm already so old, with old arms and legs. There's no need. I definitely have to hide a bit."
Leonard was momentarily speechless, unable to retort. After a few seconds, he realized another key point revealed in the words:
…He? Is that an Angel? Was the old man also an Angel at his peak?
His lips moved for a moment, his hands loosening and then clenching again. He froze for several seconds before speaking in a low voice, "What should I do?"
The old voice gradually weakened, responding briefly, "The 'Blasphemer' is coming. You need to apply to join the 'Red Gloves' and go to Backlund as soon as possible to escape Amon's threat!"
"There, you will have a chance to seek revenge on Ince Zangwill…"
.......
Melissa stood in front of the grave, her eyes unfocused, staring blankly at the tombstone. It bore Klein's black and white photo, a very scholarly one.
After a long while, meeting Benson's worried and sad gaze, Melissa said in a hoarse voice, slowly and firmly, "Benson, let's go to Backlund."
Benson, who was worried about his sister's mental state and was about to comfort Melissa, saw the black-haired man, who claimed to be Klein's colleague, approaching.
Her tear-stained face rarely showed a hint of stubbornness. Melissa stopped Benson, who was about to say something, and walked up to him alone.
In the sorrowful atmosphere, Leonard somewhat dared not look into the girl's eyes:
"I respect your choice. Afterwards, I will leave Tingen and go to Backlund. If you need help, you can take this to Backlund, and I will be able to find you."
Saying this, Leonard slipped a somewhat mottled, clearly Solomon Empire-era ancient gold coin into Melissa's hand. He took one last look at Klein's tombstone. His epitaph had three lines:
"The best older brother;"
"The best younger brother;"
"The best colleague."
A low voice, like reciting a poem, came. Melissa clutched the gold coin in her hand, her lips tightly pressed as she watched Leonard walk away:
"We are Guardians, and also pitiful wretches who constantly face Death and madness!"
-----------------
The lingering glow of the setting sun cast upon the lonely Raphael Cemetery. A gray-eyed man with an ordinary face but an exceptionally composed demeanor slowly walked in, stopping before a tombstone, gazing at its epitaph:
"A true Guardian;"
"The most trustworthy companion;"
"Forever Captain."
After a long while, a suppressed, painful voice emerged from his dry throat:
"I'm sorry, I wasn't a qualified Captain…"
He looked at Klein's tombstone on the other side, his hands trembling slightly as he brushed over the grayscale photo. Standing up again, he was like an Evil Spirit crawled out of hell, seeking revenge, his deep gray eyes like a dead sea.
Dunn Smith is dead… He took a deep look at the photo and inscription on the tombstone, then slowly drew a crimson moon on his chest. After that, he didn't look back, his steps heavy as he walked away, preparing to head to the chaotic Southern Continent.
The space beside the tombstone instantly became rich in color. Azik, with bronze skin, walked out of the abstract oil painting with a bouquet of white flowers, standing before Klein's grave. He frowned slightly as he watched the receding figure.
After gazing for a moment, Azik withdrew his gaze, sighed, bent down to place the bouquet of white flowers in his hand, and turned to leave the cemetery, also leaving Tingen.
...
Above the gray fog, a crimson star suddenly expanded and contracted. The ripples it cast out gradually overlapped with the ripples created by the other three, turning into a tide that surged and echoed throughout the entire mysterious space, causing a slight tremor.
The crimson moonlight shone on the tombstone, with an indescribable tranquility and desolation.
Suddenly, the stone slab sealing the grave was moved, and a slightly pale hand stretched out from the soil!
Whoosh!
The stone slab was pushed open, the coffin lid was pushed open, and Klein sat up, clutching his head, his expression somewhat pained.
The resonance of the Tarot Club members' prayers echoed in Klein's consciousness. A dense gray fog appeared before his eyes. Within the fog, a brilliant Gate, tinged with some greenish-black, was faintly visible.
That Gate was composed of countless layers of overlapping light spheres, each light sphere being a mass of distorted worms huddled together. Some of these worms were transparent, some translucent, bearing symbols and patterns that were either complex and unspeakable or profoundly meaningful.
Before Klein could clearly see the specific details, his mind suddenly buzzed, and in an instant, his consciousness returned to the real world.
Suddenly opening his eyes, Klein looked around, a little bewildered.
His memory was still fixated on the gleaming leather boots and the hand holding Saint Selena's ashes, after which it was like entering a dreamless deep sleep until he was awakened by the continuous prayers.
That's right! The Tarot Club!
Klein's previously somewhat muddled consciousness instantly cleared. He seemed to have heard a voice he was extremely familiar with amidst the layered prayers.
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