Mist obscured the high-hanging crimson moon, and the chaotic, ruined streets were covered in scorched marks, with broken mirrors everywhere, clinging to black flames.
Panatiya, whose pure white robe had turned completely to charcoal, let out a sharp shriek. The mirror world, formed by countless invisible fine threads and thick black hair coiling back, was pierced, and an uncontrollable numbness seized her entire Spirit Body.
Opposite her, "Klein," whose body was permeated by disease, turned into fragments. This was merely a Paper Figure clone, and the Sea God Scepter, its power exhausted, fell from mid-air, its faint blue light flickering erratically.
This Mystical Item, originating from the remnants of Kalvetua and more powerful than most Grade 1 Sealed Artifacts, unleashed its negative effects without reservation.
Panatiya's body rapidly shriveled, her blood drained, and her thoughts further solidified, interrupting her desperate urge to use her incomplete Mythical Creature form.
The sluggishness of her thoughts became increasingly severe, and the operation of her mind grew more and more sluggish. The Demoness of Despair's gaze revealed obvious, intense hatred and regret, but as time passed, her expression gradually became rigid.
After another moment, once the negative effects of the Sea God Scepter passed, Klein, who had been teleported by the Traveler's marionette, reappeared.
Looking at Panatiya, who had been initially marionetted by Spirit Body Threads, a smile still appeared on Klein's face, which had been extremely pale due to his Spirit Body being on the verge of exhaustion.
Without the slightest hesitation, enduring the stinging pain in his brain, he separated a "Worm of Spirit" and transmitted it through the "Spirit Body Threads," causing Panatiya to fall completely into marionettization.
Only then did Klein breathe a sigh of relief. He first retrieved the "Sea God Scepter" into the Eye of Rusco, hidden in his left palm, and then began to manipulate his first Demigod level marionette.
Panatiya, now a charred mummy, opened her eyes, and her rigid posture gradually became more agile. She took out a deep, strange obsidian from her coiled black hair.
Before the joy on his face could spread, Klein and "Panatiya" simultaneously turned their heads, looking towards the relatively intact western side of the Foggy Town, where a highly identifiable fallen malice was rushing towards them without concealment.
Klein cursed under his breath. To deal with Panatiya, he had used every means at his disposal, even to the point of spiritual exhaustion, so it was naturally impossible for him to contend with Mr. A at this time.
Raising his hand, he retrieved the "Pyromaniac" Beyonder Characteristic from the two marionettes that had been scrapped in the battle. The Planeswalker marionette immediately grabbed Klein and Panatiya and rushed towards the central church. The terrifying Spirit Body threads there were, for him now, the safest place.
As the faint blue light flickered, Klein reappeared at the entrance of the church, his body instantly stiffening. In his slightly enlarged pupils, the dark altar deep within the church was reflected.
On the altar, which originally only had a stone carving of the "Mother of the Sky" statue, a figure wearing a simple linen robe with mending marks had appeared at some unknown time.
Meeting those dark eyes, the sudden surge of astonishment and wariness quickly dissipated, and Klein's heart instantly became extremely peaceful and tranquil.
It wasn't until the roar of fallen will came from behind him that Klein broke free from this state. Just as he was about to say something, his pupils suddenly constricted.
Mr. A, who had borne the negative emotions of the entire Backlund and distorted into a flesh tide, more powerful than Panatiya, offered no resistance. Like a toy being manipulated by a child, he was gradually erased in a bizarre manner, as if he had never appeared.
The last remaining mottled light cluster, radiating strong spiritual fluctuations, was drawn by an invisible force and merged into the "Creeping Hunger" that Klein wore on his right hand.
His spiritual intuition did not detect any malice directed at him, and he did not bother to investigate what changes had occurred to this Mystical Item. Klein's Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and with a troubled mind, he turned around and drew a crimson moon on his chest, asking in a rather complex, low voice:
"You are?"
The lady in the simple robe nodded gently, answering concisely:
"Arianna, Servant of Concealment."
As a Beyonder who originated from the Nighthawks, Klein was extremely familiar with this name. After a few seconds of silence, he bowed respectfully again.
Arianna scrutinized Klein for a moment before retrieving the obsidian slab from Panatiya's hand and continuing:
"Your Bizzaro Sorcerer potion has been initially digested. You can leave!"
Without waiting for Klein's response, she immediately placed the obsidian slab into the recess in the wall behind the altar, and a vertical eye composed of numerous hidden symbols was outlined.
This is a symbol the Antigonus family's notes once showed me! Klein had already realized something, watching the pure beams of light appear, flowing along the patterns, and finally converging.
Amidst a burst of bright light, an illusory, secretive double-door appeared on the wall.
Muttering sounds penetrated through the long expanse of time and history, ethereal and echoing endlessly, causing Klein's spirit to waver for a moment.
He only felt as if the grayish world had split open, and a towering, majestic mountain peak occupied his vision. The constantly enlarging scene finally stopped at the summit of the mountain, within the collapsed and decaying palace.
On the mottled stone chair, countless transparent maggots clustered together. They were densely intertwined, slowly wriggling, and continuously growing.
Fine beads of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead. Klein, having come to his senses, found himself having left the Foggy Town and now stood on a mountaintop. In his hand, there was an additional medal, completely translucent and seemingly cast from obsidian.
Without lingering to investigate, Klein immediately took his two marionettes and traveled through the Spirit World, moving away. After confirming his safety several times in a row, he gritted his teeth and finally took four steps backward, connecting his spirituality to Sefirah Castle.
This was a destiny he could not avoid, but since the Evernight Goddess allowed him to come out, at least the worst would not happen. Moreover, peering into and divining Panatiya's Spirit Body to learn the secrets of the Great Smog still required the help of Sefirah Castle.
-----------------
In a certain crater in the Amantha Mountains, bordering Winter County and East Chester County, soft crimson moonlight shone down. A female archbishop, dressed in a black robe with red patterns, ascended the high platform and began the Grand Mass, accompanied by the ethereal and melodious chanting of the choir.
Suppressed sorrow and bewilderment permeated the entire crater, as if taking on a substantial form. Tens of thousands of soldiers instinctively closed their eyes, gradually pushing this atmosphere to a climax.
Standing in a corner of the crater, Aaron seemed to sense something. He turned his head and gazed in a certain direction, having already detected Klein's return.
Faster than I expected... Mumbling to himself, Aaron retracted his gaze. The embryonic form of his Divine Kingdom quietly enveloped this mountain range. Even if a problem arose during Audrey's advancement, he could intervene in time.