Backlund, Empress Borough. Sodela Palace, symbolizing the royal family, shimmered under the morning light.
In the shadows untouched by the sun, George III, wearing a crown and sporting a small mustache, sat on his throne with a cold expression, ignoring Viscount Stafford, the chief of the Royal Guard, who was kneeling at the foot of the steps. His deep eyes reflected the crowds slowly gathering in the Municipal Plaza.
It wasn't until the grand and melodious chimes of the "Bell of Order" rang out from the towering Gothic clock tower nearby, signaling that the nine o'clock speech was about to begin, that George III, like a punctured illusion, vanished instantly from the throne.
---
Inside a detached attic near Municipal Plaza, Trissy, dressed in a black gown, emerged from a deep, hidden mirror. The distortion caused by the Abyss's corruption was almost irreversible.
Her crimson-nearly-black eyes swept coldly over the crowd. Listening to George III's speech on the broadcast, Trissy struggled to suppress the killing intent in her heart, gripping the Demoness of Unaging Beyonder characteristic at her chest, a cold arc forming at the corner of her lips.
Even a forced advancement to Sequence 3 to receive the Primordial One's descent was extremely brief. She had to wait for the most critical moment, when George III had swallowed the potion and had no retreat. And this was not something she, a mere demigod, could achieve.
Taking a deep breath, Trissy took out the Yesterday Once More charm, always prepared, and softly chanted the name of the Lord of Order in ancient Hermes.
---
In the Nation of Disorder, Aaron, who had already returned from Sonia Island, immediately responded to Trissy's prayer, observing the situation in the plaza through the corresponding "True Sight."
Aside from George III on the high platform, what attracted the most attention were the Amons, hidden in the crowd with smiles on their faces.
They were all just avatars... Aaron was not surprised by Amon's appearance. Having identified their essence, he no longer paid them attention and directly shared the True Sight with Roselle in the mausoleum. After all, no one understood the Black Emperor's advancement ritual better than him.
"He is using the gathered faith to distort related anchor points, linking himself to the concept of the Emperor. Even with the Crown, it's merely a clever shortcut..."
Roselle, who still held the True God's position despite only lacking the corresponding Beyonder characteristic, stared at the "True Sight" for a moment, then curled his lip in disdain:
"When I proclaimed myself Caesar, it took me six years to open safe sea routes and become famous throughout the Northern and Southern Continents before I completed the prerequisites for the ritual."
"Given this guy's state, even if he successfully advances, he won't be much better off than I was when I advanced across Pathways."
Aaron, who was observing the changes in order within the "True Sight," instantly entered the mausoleum. He raised his hand and waved, and a phantom velvet "curtain" immediately descended from the sky, drifting before Roselle:
"The residual will of the Celestial Worthy within this Attendant of Mysteries characteristic has temporarily fallen into eternal slumber. At the critical moment, you can directly provide assistance to them with the Nation of Disorder's blessings."
As he spoke, Aaron sequentially lit up the prayer stars corresponding to the Angels participating in the operation, synchronizing George III's status to everyone.
"If I had had so many Angels under me back then, I wouldn't have..."
Roselle clicked his tongue in envy, then immediately stopped speaking and took the velvet curtain.
As the former Black Emperor, the Shadow of Order, even in his current state, he could still use the core authority of "distortion," which was compatible with the "grafting" of an Attendant of Mysteries, both acting upon concepts themselves.
Roselle, who was exploring how to use this Attendant of Mysteries characteristic, suddenly turned his head, looking almost simultaneously with Aaron at the True Sight projected by the prayer screen. In an instant, the high platform was already empty.
But as high-level individuals of this Pathway and adjacent Pathways, they could clearly feel an abnormal, extremely vast power of distortion covertly brewing beneath the ground.
---
"We can begin!"
The majestic and indifferent voice soothed the mental stinging caused by the corruption. Trissy, whose eyes slightly opened in response, subconsciously looked at the high platform in the distance, where George III was still delivering his speech.
Pressing her lips together, Trissy quickly averted her gaze. After a moment of hesitation, she still uttered the name of a certain Sanguine Duke that had appeared in her mind, in ancient Hermes.
In quiet anticipation, Trissy made the full-length mirror deep again, connecting to the mirror she had already set up near Backlund's No. 1 Ruin.
A starry, blue portal of starlight also appeared from the void at this moment. Cavendish, whose body was not solid enough, emerged from it, carrying the historical projection of the "Crown of Stars," allowing Trissy to grab his arm and drag him into the deep mirror world.
His main body was still in the Forsaken Land of the Gods; only the historical projections summoned by the two Sanguine Dukes who remained behind had come, directly teleporting here using the prayer's positioning. Their sole purpose was to assist Trissy, ensuring that this Demoness would not be forcibly assassinated before successfully completing the descent.
Near "No. 1 Ruin" on the outskirts of Backlund, two figures quietly appeared.
Without the slightest hesitation, Cavendish activated the power of "wishes" he had accumulated in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, looking at Trissy and speaking in a low voice:
"I wish that Trissy Cheek will not experience loss of control or madness for five minutes after consuming the 'Demoness of Unaging' characteristic!"
The next second, Cavendish, as a Miracle Invoker, fulfilled his wish. In the Nation of Disorder, Roselle simultaneously snapped his fingers, successfully distorting the five minutes in the wish into eight minutes.
Trissy, who had already taken out blood and was about to draw the special symbols to open the mausoleum door, paused for a moment. She then felt the change in her spirituality, gave Cavendish a deep look, and swallowed the Beyonder characteristic originating from the "Demoness of White" Katarina.
Looking at Trissy, who was engulfed in black flames and rapidly merging with the characteristic, Cavendish felt the consumption of the power of "wishes." He took the blood from her hand, drew in the void, and a phantom door quickly took shape.
Cavendish lightly flicked the "Crown of Stars," allowing the brilliant starlight to envelop the two of them, sweeping them into the phantom portal. In the feedback from an Angel-level Seer's spiritual intuition, he saw a bottomless, dark Abyss and a white vortex resembling a gaping maw.
Using the Crown of Stars to transform himself into a symbolic representation, he avoided the preset traps. Cavendish, having dispelled his symbolization, frowned slightly, looking at the elderly man with dark brown eyes who emerged from the white mist.
This was an Angel, but he did not belong to any of the 22 Beyonder Pathways familiar to Cavendish.
In the Nation of Disorder, after transmitting the message to all Angels to begin the operation, Aaron and Roselle, who had been constantly observing Trissy's prayer screen, exchanged glances. Having a deep understanding of the "Magic Wishing Lamp," they instantly grasped the source.