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Just as Klein was still hesitating, the deep pupils of "Rusco's Eye" shimmered with points of cyan-blue light, and a bone scepter flew out from within it. The tip of the scepter was inlaid with tiny cyan-blue "gems," some of which were stained with deep black and others with dawn.
He didn't dare to directly touch Kalvetua's remnants, but even so, layers of illusory pleas still echoed in Klein's ears.
Illusions appeared before his eyes, showing countless devout believers prostrating and praying. As the layers of illusory pleas entered his ears, Klein felt as if he had a physical body again, and his head throbbed with sharp pains, making him want to violently bang his head against a wall to stop the pain with more pain.
Those prayer scenes from different people caused him to experience an uncontrollable, extremely terrifying dizziness, as if he were walking on the edge of the Abyss, ready to fall at any moment.
Although Klein was already accustomed to responding to prayers, that was limited to the few members of the Tarot Club. He had never before dealt with the prayers of thousands of believers all at once.
It was only because he had the Blasphemy Slate and Azik's Copper Whistle reinforcing his Spirit Body; any other non-demigod Sequence holder would have already lost control, collapsed in pain, and transformed into a Monster or disintegrated into flesh and blood.
"What a terrifying Sealed Artifact. If I use it directly, I might only last a few seconds, but that's enough for me to end the summoning and return above the gray fog."
"There, I can effectively block these thousands of prayers and temporarily unknown negative effects, and it will also allow me to safely study what changes have occurred to that divine gift…."
Having made his decision, Klein began to clean up the mess. After finding the gold coin with the aura of gray fog that he had sacrificed to Kalvetua, he only had time to record the remaining murals in the largely collapsed hall.
Even if "Sea King" Jahn Kottman had temporarily left Bayam, there must still be an unknown number of Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts stored in the Church of Waves, and the Loen Navy might be searching around the Rorsted Archipelago at this very moment.
Kalvetua's death must have attracted their attention. Klein didn't know when the church and military personnel would find this place. In such a situation, he had to race against time and could not afford the slightest delay.
Numerous starlight portals on his body flickered simultaneously. Amidst the echoing prayers and clear, numerous scenes, Klein suddenly grabbed the short bone scepter that symbolized the Sea God's authority!
Splash!
The seawater throughout the ruins surged violently, either swaying uncontrollably or collapsing into whirlpools.
In the last moment before Klein's figure disappeared, "Rusco's Eye," which had been quietly suspended after devouring Kalvetua, transformed into a faint light and entered the cyan-blue gem at the tip of the bone scepter.
When the familiar majestic palace reappeared before his eyes, the prayers in Klein's ears and the illusory scenes before him had already vanished.
He sat on the high-backed chair belonging to the Fool, raised his right palm, and examined the "Sea God Scepter," which was inlaid with cyan-blue "gems" and stained with some deep black and dawn.
Around this Sealed Artifact, countless light points floated, each seemingly corresponding to a praying believer, causing the scepter's milky-white body to glow with a dazzling, both illusory and sacred, radiance.
But at this moment, at least half of the light points that originally surrounded the Sea God Scepter suddenly extinguished. Klein's pupils sharply contracted. Under the strange perspective provided by this gray fog space, he finally saw clearly that they were not extinguished.
Instead, they were entangled, engulfed, and devoured by invisible threads, and the culprit was the blood-stained eyeball floating out from the cyan-blue gem at the tip of the Sea God Scepter.
Klein looked at the Sea God Scepter, which had fallen into his hand, its divine aura weakened, and its luster dim. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. Without that almost tangible aura of the sea and storms, he had already divined the Sealed Artifact's effects and negative consequences.
At this point, he looked at "Rusco's Eye," which seemed to have "eaten its fill," and tentatively extended his spirituality, while also preparing to cut off the connection at any time to avoid being drained like the "Sea God Scepter."
The anticipated resistance did not occur. A flood of complex memories and knowledge instantly appeared in Klein's mind. After a while, he reopened his eyes and met the gaze of the deep pupil.
This ancient god's eye, which had absorbed Kalvetua's divinity and activated prematurely, could, in addition to its inherent hidden effects, bestow misfortune through the form of prayer light point observation.
These manifestations of the authority belonging to the "Mother of Secrecy, Empress of Calamity and Fear" were not unexpected to Klein, but what surprised him most was that within this gray fog space, "Rusco's Eye" could fulfill the holder's wishes proportionally by devouring divinity.
"Is this an ability derived from the ancient god's main body? Or is it a change caused by this mysterious gray fog space?"
"Although there are no obvious negative effects, constantly devouring divinity is the biggest hidden danger in itself. I also cannot be sure what it will turn into if too much divinity accumulates."
Sighing, Klein looked at "Rusco's Eye" with some indecision, and finally, tentatively muttered to himself:
"I want to immediately advance to Marionettist…."
After waiting for a few seconds, Klein frowned, unsure if his method of wishing was incorrect, or if this type of wish involving advancement exceeded his current capacity.
After some thought, he changed to a simpler wish and continued:
"I want to appear next to 'Blazing' Danitz!"
This time, he did not linger above the gray fog but directly sank his consciousness back to the real world. But before he could even open his eyes, he heard a startled cry:
"Shit!"
"You, how did you find me?"
Meeting Danitz's terrified eyes, Klein's face revealed a cold smile, and he uttered two words:
"Guess!"
Ignoring the trembling Danitz, Klein casually dispelled the spiritual wall covering the basement. After several tests, he had roughly analyzed some of the limitations of making wishes through "Rusco's Eye."
-----------------
Cities, almost real, stood in a world permeated with dark golden mist. Aaron stood atop the magnificent palace at the center of this world, overlooking his Divine Kingdom.
After the "Specter Empire" returned to reality and left its mark in the Spirit World, a phantom of this massive creation also appeared in the Nation of Disorder. Aaron was gradually filling his anchors based on the Trunsoest Royal Guards in their undead state.
The Rose School of Thought had lost "Abomination" Suah. Even with the help of the Primordial Moon believers, their strength was definitely greatly diminished.
The "Specter Empire" was too large a target; once it openly appeared in the outside world, it would easily become a target for everyone. However, those undead Royal Guards could operate under the banner of the Numinous Episcopate to make some early arrangements in the Southern Continent.
Suddenly, the palace beneath Aaron's feet trembled slightly. He pinched his brow, sighed softly, and had already returned to his throne, suppressing the "Die of Probability" which had become restless again.
After advancing to Angel, with the Nation of Disorder and the Hand of Order characteristic, Aaron could forcibly sever the connection between the "Die of Probability" and the Spirit World, Astral World, and the real world.
The cost was that this already active Uniqueness of the Fate Pathway required Aaron to constantly mobilize the power of the Nation of Disorder to suppress it, otherwise it would gradually affect the nascent Divine Kingdom that was being perfected.
This was no small burden for Aaron, who had just advanced and was stabilizing his divinity and anchors.
Aaron mobilized the power of the Nation of Disorder, briefly suppressing the "Die of Probability," a cluster of abstract symbols in his hand, and returned to the Moon Kingdom.
The vast Specter Empire had not changed. The undead Royal Guards grew stronger under the nourishment of the Moon Kingdom's massive and rich Yin power, but the brown vine containing the "Abomination" characteristic had vanished.
After greeting the three Sanguine Dukes, and learning that the characteristic still contaminated by the Mother Tree of Desire was being suppressed in the core of the Moon Kingdom, Aaron had no immediate intention of retrieving it.
After obtaining the last Abomination characteristic, Astolfo immediately left the battlefield and disappeared into the depths of the Spirit World. Even Aaron could only vaguely sense through the Nation of Disorder that his messenger was in the process of transformation.
Re-ascending to the Abomination Sequence was also the limit Astolfo could currently reach. Although the contaminated history could serve as an anchor for high-level Beyonders of the Chained Pathway, relying on it too much would make one susceptible to reverse erosion by the Mother Tree of Desire, which controlled the main body of the Chained God.
Once Astolfo returned, Aaron would hand over this undead army to him, to gradually erode the faith belonging to the Rose School of Thought and the Numinous Episcopate in the Southern Continent.
To prevent the Mother Tree of Desire from acting recklessly, Aaron also specifically instructed the Seven Lights of the Spirit World to pay attention to the Spirit World area corresponding to the Abyss. If the Chained God showed any signs of approaching the Abyss, they were to immediately pray for a warning.
Taking back the "Ring of Mysteries" from Jorna, Aaron directly summoned the projection of the "Crown of Stars" and directly roamed into the Astral World. Having become a complete mythical creature, he could perfectly control the Nation of Disorder without attracting unnecessary attention.
More abstract than the Spirit World, as if encompassing all authority and symbols of the entire universe, a dark and mysterious portal emerged within the Astral World. Aaron, wearing the Crown of Stars, stepped out and looked at the seven illusory kingdoms that seemed to gather all light.
Aaron's gaze swept over those illusory kingdoms and lingered on a dark plain where Moonflowers, Night Scents, and Deep Sleep Flowers grew. He then lifted a trace of the Nation of Disorder's shield on the Astral World, causing the Darkness imprint to fluctuate and spread into the distance.
Then, without resisting, he allowed his body to be concealed. Aaron opened his eyes again, standing on the dark "ground," and looked at a figure not far away.
She wore a layered but not overly intricate deep black long dress, adorned with countless dazzling points, like the embedded stars of the night sky.
Aaron was silent for a moment, and a greenish-black giant's head appeared in his hand. The mad will contained within its single eye spread in the quiet night.
It was the head of Giant King Aurmir, obtained from the depths of the Spirit World, which also contained a Sequence 2 Glory characteristic.
Gifts of fate would be secretly marked with a price, and self-interest was the fundamental principle that maintained alliances. Unilateral taking would only lead to a heavy price at some point.
The borrowed water from the River of Eternal Darkness and the Evernight Goddess's help during his advancement to Angel, plus his current desire for the Evernight Goddess to seal the "Die of Probability" and strip away the River of Eternal Darkness's contamination contained within the Conqueror characteristic—this Glory characteristic was the payment Aaron offered.
Looking at the several items that appeared one after another beside Aaron, the thin veil on the Evernight Goddess's face rippled. Two arms each grew from her ribs and waist, their surfaces covered with short, dark fur.
The "Die of Probability," composed of abstract symbols, seemed to sense danger. The seal Aaron had placed immediately began to continuously disintegrate, but before it could completely break through, it was covered by surging Darkness.
"A fully active Uniqueness is still a burden for you. You do not possess the authority of Fate and cannot completely seal it. After some time, Arianna will return it to you."
The clear and melodious female voice echoed. The Evernight Goddess grasped the head of Giant King Aurmir, and the red Moon hanging high above the dark plain suddenly descended, merging into the greenish-black single eye filled with mad will.
The mad will pervading the entire deep dark Divine Kingdom instantly vanished. A silvery-white light, like a heart or a miniature Sun, suddenly appeared in the Darkness, glowing brightly and emitting a terrifying aura, but it was quickly submerged again by the surging Darkness.
Having completely stripped away the Glory characteristic, the Evernight Goddess returned the greenish-black head, now devoid of its characteristic, to Aaron, and said calmly:
"After the Night Emperor's fall, the Justiciar Pathway's Uniqueness formed the Trunsoest Brass Book, numbered 0-02, and is sealed in St. Millon, in the God of Combat Church's Great Twilight Hall."
Casually taking the ancient god's head, which was only a shell but still extremely high in essence, Aaron nodded lightly. He naturally knew the location of the Brass Book, but this matter was not urgent. Compared to considering the Uniqueness, his main plan was how to recover the other two Hand of Order characteristics.
His purpose in coming here this time, besides sealing the Die of Probability and clearing the River of Eternal Darkness's contamination within the Conqueror characteristic, was primarily to reach an agreement with the Evernight Goddess on how to discreetly eliminate the God of Combat and gain the maximum benefit.
After leaving the Tenebrous Heaven, he would also secretly travel to the Earth Mother's Divine Kingdom. He had not forgotten the promise of help he received from this Sanguine progenitor when he became a demigod, but he had to determine the extent of the Mother Goddess of Depravity's infiltration into the Evernight Plain.
After all, during his advancement to Angel in the Sea of Ruins, the Mother Goddess of Depravity, using Mr. Door's power, had projected a flesh and blood avatar onto Suah, openly declaring her target was himself, or more precisely, the Nation of Disorder on him.
If not for Adam's crucial and powerful intervention, Aaron could not have predicted the final outcome of that battle.
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