In the boundless dark-gold world, the profound void gradually closed, and a mask, its metal luster faded and already mutated into a human face, flew out from the eye-sockets, which burned with pale flames.
The human face on the mask had distinct Southern Continent features, with decaying patterns from which grew one white feather after another, stained with light yellow grease, emitting an aura of decaying stillness.
Aaron recognized Him; it was Azik Eggers' father, the "Death" of the Fourth Epoch—the Underworld Emperor Salinger!
And almost at the moment of entering the Nation of Disorder, this terrifying Sealed Artifact formed from the Pale Emperor characteristic completely activated, the expression on the human face was no longer rigid and frozen, and the inherent pollution burst forth.
A low roar emanated from within the mask, and the lowest part of the illusory world within the Nation of Disorder, the deep blue space formed by condensing a portion of the Underworld's authority, trembled slightly.
As the controller of the divine kingdom, Aaron directly saw a River of Eternal Darkness flowing in the void, and saw the pale giant pillars on both sides of it and countless blurry figures lingering at the edges of its tributaries.
The illusory tide stirred the gray-white mist that enveloped it, and a huge figure flickered in and out of sight within it, but it could not break through the invisible shackles no matter what.
Accompanying the abruptly stopped roar, the Nation of Disorder returned to tranquility. Aaron looked at "Pale Death," which had been violently destroyed and completely turned into pure light points, and immediately modified the rules within the divine kingdom, accelerating the condensation of Beyonder characteristics.
An invisible barrier emerged, completely separating the pure Beyonder characteristic from the pollution mixed within it. The latter also gradually converged to form an illusory human-faced feathered serpent, like a miniature version of the Artificial Death in the Death's mausoleum.
"After Salinger accommodated the Uniqueness, His own Death imprint would also become unique and remain forever in the River of Eternal Darkness. The hidden hand He left within this characteristic was, in nature, more akin to the negative personality produced by the Dragon of Imagination being influenced by the Chaos Sea."
"However, this separated consciousness also mutated after the main body fell, and did not merge with Azik at that time as Salinger had envisioned."
"Furthermore, it would integrate the Death Pathway's Uniqueness, becoming an incomplete Death, and with the help of the Death imprint returning to the River of Eternal Darkness, truly leverage and even initially control this Sefirah."
The golden patterns deep within his eyes gradually dimmed. Aaron, who had completely analyzed the essence of this illusory feathered serpent, curved his lips. He did not completely obliterate it, but instead sealed and isolated it using the authority of the Hand of Order.
After properly placing the re-condensed "Pale Emperor" characteristic and a "Death Consul" characteristic separated from it, He slowly stood up, stirring the surrounding mist, and His figure disappeared within it.
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In Desi Bay, the smoke of war was dispersed by the sea breeze, leaving only the ruins of the port, demonstrating the cruelty of war.
Senior Deacon of the Punishers, "Executioner" Simon Hughes, glanced at the dying Iron-Blooded Knight Einhorn, who was enveloped by disease and Death.
He didn't say much, shifting his gaze to Klein, who was disguised as Gehrman Sparrow. After scrutinizing him for a moment, he turned back to Dunn, whose face was somewhat pale, and his voice, like muffled thunder, rang out:
"Even as a demigod, and even with the Underworld within you, it should be difficult for you to forcibly commune with spirits. However, given this fellow's position in the Feysac military, you should be able to obtain a lot of valuable intelligence."
"The combined forces of Feysac and Feynapotter also suffered significant losses. I will personally guard this place; you can take Einhorn and use Spirit World traversal to return to the Cathedral of Serenity first."
Streams of Spirit Body Threads emerged from his body. In front of a Sea King, Klein had no intention of hiding his identity as a Bizzaro Sorcerer.
After initially turning the severely wounded Einhorn into a marionette to prevent this Iron-Blooded Knight from fighting to the Death, he exchanged glances with Dunn, and they both nodded simultaneously.
After learning some secrets in the Foggy Town, Klein, on the contrary, felt a sense of calm, as if he had too many debts to worry about. Knowing that he wouldn't be arrested and Judgement as a heretic, he felt more curiosity and longing for that Holy See that only existed in telegrams and ancient texts.
An agreement was quickly reached. Klein followed behind Dunn, manipulating the stiff-faced Einhorn, who disappeared into the colorful oil painting.
Skipping over the abstract color blocks, Dunn, who was walking ahead, suddenly thought of something and stopped. Under Klein's somewhat puzzled gaze, bronze light surged from between his eyebrows, and the illusory Underworld Gate opened, from which flew out a green-tinged Door-shaped characteristic and a note:
"After you disappeared back then, that marionette withered uncontrollably. Rather than giving it to the Druid who was with you, it's better to exchange it for something more useful to you."
"This is Ludwell's Beyonder characteristic. I have already claimed the 55,000 pounds bounty from the Governor's Mansion and deposited it into an anonymous account at Backlund Bank. The note contains the account number and the corresponding cipher."
55,000 pounds!
Klein's eyes widened slightly, almost turning into the shape of gold coins. Meeting his captain's slightly teasing gaze, he smiled with rare shyness, pushing back the Gatekeeper characteristic and only taking the note.
Standing on the ruins, Simon Hughes thoughtfully withdrew his gaze from the gradually fading space, pondered for a moment, and instructed the bishop beside him:
"Immediately send a telegram to the Holy See, reporting the situation in Desi Bay, and also inform His Holiness the Pope that the Beyonder of the Seer Pathway secretly cultivated by the Church of Evernight has already crossed the threshold of a demigod...."
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In North Borough, Backlund, the Aaron family's home was filled with joyous sounds, and the festive atmosphere dispelled the gloom brought by the resumption of war.
A lovely, exquisitely carved infant, blinking its round, clear eyes and sucking its finger, was placed in a delicate crib by His Mother after being baptized by the clergy of the Church of Evernight.
The clamor faded, and silver-white patterns emerged, preventing his own destiny from interacting with the outside world. Ricciardo, the "Fate Councillor," who was invisibly hidden in a unique way, emerged from the shadows of the corner, leaning on a translucent scepter.
It was one of the foundations of the Fate Council, a Sealed Artifact formed from the Sequence 3 Chaoswalker characteristic!
Will Auceptin smacked his lips, just about to say something, when his eyes suddenly widened, and he looked at the suddenly appearing Aaron as if he had seen a ghost.
Feeling the oppressive sensation similar to, and even stronger than, Ouroboros, He opened His mouth and whispered in disbelief:
"You, you've advanced to King of Angels?"
Looking at the shocked Will Auceptin, Aaron took out an amulet made with a "Yesterday Once More" charm and placed it in the baby carriage, saying in a teasing tone:
"Didn't I tell you before that I was planning to advance soon? But it's good that I didn't miss Mr. President's birth. This is a gift for you."