Chapter 1274: The Stabilization of the Situation

On the surface of the mirror, silver words surfaced one by one amidst

the aqueous light:

"...adopt Beyonders from the Church of the God of Combat and the Feysac

military who are willing to pledge their loyalty. Only the extremely

pious, faithful, and those willing to be martyrs, as well as a few mid-

and upper echelon members of the Church are to be eliminated. This is

both the benevolence and compassion of the Goddess, as well as the

necessary measures to deal with the subsequent situation ... With the

apocalypse approaching, the number of Beyonder incidents will inevitably

increase all across the world. To maintain the stability of the world,

we have to do our best to increase our strength as quickly as possible.

"If we were to cull the Beyonders of the Church of the God of Combat and

the Feysac military, obtaining their corresponding characteristics, that

still doesn't aid us in nurturing a Beyonder of the same level within a

few years. A Beyonder with rich experience, be it in their digesting of

the potion or accumulated knowledge, requires a sufficient amount of

time..."

Upon seeing this, Klein mumbled inwardly. He felt that this wasn't the

usual tone of Arrodes. It was more like an official document.

*It's showing documents of unknown origins that it peeped at... By using

words like "digesting," it means that both the writer and the reader

have mastered the acting method. And from the tone of the document, it's

from the Church of Evernight... Based on these two points, it's not

difficult to tell that these documents are for the eyes of archbishops

and high-ranking deacons. The author should be the Apostolic See from

the Cathedral of Serenity... Arrodes's secret-prying abilities are very

impressive...* Klein nodded indiscernibly as he waited for the

contents in the mirror to "flip the page."

The silver words vanished one after another, quickly forming new

sentences and paragraphs:

"There's no need to spread the fact that the Goddess has replaced the

God of Combat to the ordinary nobles and citizens of Feysac. This allows

them to retain their faith in the God of Combat. On the one hand, it's

beneficial for us and the priests, bishops, and various major cathedrals

who have surrendered to us. It will stabilize the situation in Feysac in

the quickest way possible. On the other hand, it also prevents the

Goddess from being disturbed by the unresolvable problem of faith before

"She" completely gains control of the God of Combat's authority.

"An update will be disseminated after a new revelation is given. Now, we

will only draw up the corresponding draft.

"...Try not to incite the strong resistance of Feysac and other

countries. We've lost too many Beyonders and soldiers, and we have

expended a large amount of resources and items. Be it the Church, the

countries, or the people of different classes, we are all very weak. We

need some time of peace and stability to recover... We should work with

the Church of Storms, the Church of Knowledge, the Church of Earth

Mother, countries like Feynapotter or Lenburg. We will force Intis and

Feysac to make an unconditional surrender. We will obtain what we hope

for at the negotiation table. During this process, we can use the

purging of the stubborn old-fashioned faithful to exert pressure on

them.

"When dealing with the domestic situation and the filling of the void

left behind by the Church of Steam, the Church of Storms should be given

enough respect. We can even make concessions on certain matters. This is

the will of the Goddess.

"Finally, from this moment forth, the number of times the crimson moon

that appears in the sermons, preaching, rituals, and Masses should be

reduced. In official canon, the Goddess's title of 'Lady of Crimson'

shall no longer be mentioned..."

"Lady of Crimson" shall no longer be mentioned... Klein's

brows twitched as he felt a strong sense of confusion towards the last

sentence.

Soon, he thought of the Sanguine Ancestor, the ancient god of the Second

Epoch, and the present Earth Mother, Lilith, who was once a Sequence 0

of the Moon pathway. She was the true Lady of Crimson. In a moment of

enlightenment, he vaguely understood that this might be an exchange

under the table. It was a necessary price.

*Yes... The Goddess's attitude is very clear. That is to stabilize the

situation as quickly as possible... Before "She" truly controls the

authority of Death and that of the God of Combat, and becomes a Great

Old One, "She" undoubtedly doesn't wish for any more orthodox deities to

perish. If that happened, the invisible barrier left behind by the

Primordial One will have no one to mend it; this will allow the Outer

Deities to find an opportunity to bring the apocalypse forward... Also,

based on Loen's present situation, if we continue the war, the anchors

will waver even more. It might lead to the awakening of the Primordial

One in the Goddess...*

*The Goddess took a huge risk having the frontline retreat all the way

to Backlund. "She" had to divert more strength to suppress the

Primordial One. If Earth Mother betrayed "Her," "She" might've perished

even faster than the God of Combat. Uh, could "She" have other trump

cards?*

*The losses that the Church of the Evernight Goddess and the Church of

Storms suffered seems quite significant. It's no wonder that after the

Resistance announced that they would retain the corresponding cathedrals

and respect the Storm religion, that bunch of irascible fellows didn't

attempt to retaliate, and they silently agreed to the establishment of

the new government...* Klein mumbled to himself as he had a

rough idea of the current situation.

He asked a third question:

"If the Evernight Goddess wants to advance further, does 'She' need to

find the River of Eternal Darkness?"

This was one of the nine sefirot. Klein remembered Arrodes mentioning it

once, saying that this "river" was related to the ancient Death, the

Phoenix ancestor, Gregrace. The clues seemed to be hidden deep in the

spirit world's Calderón City.

"Yes, Great Master." The silver words twisted and distorted, forming new

text. "The Death at the end of the Fourth Epoch should've been able to

use the River of Eternal Darkness. 'He' attempted to use this sefirah to

forcefully accommodate the Uniqueness of non-neighboring pathways. Then,

'He' went mad."

*So that was how Death went mad back then. I knew it; a Sequence 0 true

god, one who has lived for three Epochs and has seen the Blasphemy

Slate, wouldn't lack common sense and randomly drink potions. It's not

like "He" is Alista Tudor, having reached a point of only having the

options of madness or death... It's no wonder Death challenged the

fractured seven deities with just a Primordial Demoness. Back then, "He"

was equivalent to half a Great Old One... Yes, Mr. Azik had a golden

phoenix accessory that came from Death*... Klein strung up

certain matters.

Suddenly, he inwardly let out an exclamation. He suspected that the

price of so many bestowments was the River of Eternal Darkness.

Just like how the True Creator had repeatedly tolerated him so as to

force him into the Giant King's residence to obtain the first Blasphemy

Slate!

As the owner of Sefirah Castle, he was probably the only relatively high

Sequence Beyonder who could resist the corruption of other sefirot.

Of course, the Evernight Goddess could also wait up to a decade or so.

After the Primordial One's will faded further, "She" could personally

retrieve it. However, this way, Klein wasn't sure if "She" could

complete the ritual before the apocalypse happened.

He composed himself and raised the fourth question:

"Where can I get the potion formula for Attendant of Mysteries?"

Arrodes made the silver words reassemble into brand new content:

"Zaratul; first Blasphemy Slate; second Blasphemy Slate; The Card of

Blasphemy, The Fool; The Fool Uniqueness that has become a Mythical

Creature."

*The first choice and second choice might be plotting against me...

Zaratul is even more terrifying and cunning than the Dark Demonic Wolf.

If I were to plot against "Him," there's a high chance of me falling

into "His" trap. The danger is extremely high... The third choice is

Amon's brother. "He" should've used this war to become a Visionary. If I

were to provoke "Him," Sefirah Castle might not be able to save me...

The fourth and fifth options are related to The Half-Fool of the

Antigonus family. It's related to the Goddess's foggy town. Uh, the

Goddess should have a way to circle around The Half-Fool and extract the

Card of Blasphemy, but perhaps I'll need to use the River of Eternal

Darkness to exchange for it...* Klein realized that he had

reached a dead end.

The path ahead was the River of Eternal Darkness, and behind him was the

leader of the Secret Order, Zaratul.

*Unfortunately, if I can find the Dark Demonic Wolf, I can try to

negotiate with "Him." "He" should've seen the first Blasphemy Slate and

grasp the potion formula of Attendant of Mysteries... Sigh, "He" will

flee far away once he smells me...* Klein thought for a moment

and said to Arrodes, "Fifth question, what did you mean when you said

you saw a pillar and support from me?"

The aqueous light in the mirror swirled slightly as the deepness became

more obvious. The corresponding silver text seemed to turn a little

whiter.

"Great Master, this is a feeling that I can't describe using words.

"However, I've experienced similar feelings in another existence before.

Apart from 'Him,' only you possess it. That existence is the ancient sun

god."

The ancient sun god... Klein nodded in thought.

"Alright, it's your turn to ask."

On the surface of the mirror, the words on the silver screen suddenly

turned golden:

"Supreme Master, do you think you can take away your loyal and humble

servant, Arrodes?

"Supreme Master, do you think you can take away your loyal and humble

servant, Arrodes?"

This question appeared five times in a row, completely covering the

surface of the mirror.

Having become an angel, Klein no longer feared Arrodes. After thinking

for a few seconds, he smiled and said, "Let me talk to that angel. This

is basic courtesy."

With a boom, illusory beams of different colors spewed out from the

mirror and exploded into fireworks in the carriage.

Almost at the same time, two dark rays of light reached out from the

edge of the mirror. Two arms that appeared surreal grew out.

The two "arms" originally wanted to reach out to Klein's calf, but they

silently shrank back and gently swayed on the spot.

"Praise the Supreme Master!" After the fireworks fell, a golden message

appeared in the mirror.

In the middle section of the steam locomotive, in a simple room.

A tall and handsome young man with long chestnut hair sat on a hardwood

chair. Facing the triangular Sacred Emblem, he clasped his hands and

closed his eyes as he sincerely prayed.

On the side of the narrow table was a mannequin made of metal

components. Behind the mannequin was a faint meshed glow.

Suddenly, the young man opened his eyes and looked towards the other

side.

Someone had appeared there.

And in the young man's blue eyes, the figure only looked like a person.

In essence, it was an invisible vortex wearing a silk top hat and a

black trench coat. Inside the vortex, there were transparent and

distorted maggots squirming about in the cluster.

"Gehrman Sparrow." The young man calmly read out a name.

All the items around him floated up, but there was no wind in the room.

Klein pressed his top hat and revealed his human face.

"How may I address you?"

The young man nodded slightly and said, "Bornova Gustav."