Chapter 1368: Death Imprint

Death Salinger, who was pacing around the River of Eternal Darkness,

looked at Klein, who was enveloped in the grayish-white cocoon.

"His" eyes that had pale-white flames that were about to be extinguished

instantly reflected the golden bird-shaped accessory on Klein's chest.

In the next second, a deep roar came from "His" rotting mouth,

reverberating above the river, causing the entirety of Calderón City to

visibly shake.

The distributary that occasionally rose up or plunged down, sometimes

dark and sometimes pale-white, reached the end of the stone staircase

with the rising of tides, surging towards Klein.

During this process, the illusory tide fused with the grayish-white fog,

creating a similar color.

The grayish-white torrent slammed into Klein's body repeatedly, but it

failed to destroy the cocoon around him.

Death Salinger's rotting body took steps to the edge of the

distributary, but "He" couldn't escape no matter what. All "He" could do

was stand there and roar wildly.

Klein's gaze swept past "Him" as he looked at the blurry figures

loitering around the banks.

One of them had already been swept to the center of the distributary by

the surging tide. They couldn't help but sink to the bottom of the

river, melting like ice.

The remaining ones didn't show any fear as they maintained their blank

and lost state, moving back and forth endlessly.

At a glance, Klein saw many familiar figures.

They were the same person---Azik Eggers with "His" bronze skin and soft

facial features.

This Death Consul seemed to have dissociated into multiple selves.

"They" constantly paced between the pale-white stone pillars on both

sides of the River of Eternal Darkness.

This... As Klein's heart stirred, his right leg suddenly

turned cold.

He subconsciously lowered his head and saw a pale-white hand.

The palm penetrated the grayish-white cocoon and grabbed his calf.

And the owner of the palm floated in the surging torrent was like a

water ghost as it attempted to pull Klein into the depths of the water.

Its attack could actually ignore the aura of Sefirah Castle!

Sensing Klein's gaze, the pale-white palm's owner raised his head to

reveal his face.

He had black hair and brown eyes. His facial features were ordinary and

he had a scholarly air.

Klein Moretti!

The "water ghost" was Klein Moretti!

In the next second, Klein's left leg, right shoulder, and left arm were

grabbed by different pale-white hands.

This made him feel cold all over as his Spirit Body seemed to freeze. He

couldn't even use all his Beyonder powers. It was impossible to resist.

The three pale-white hands belonged to different blurry figures, while

the different blurry figures all had the same face---Klein Moretti's

face!

Under the pull of the four "water ghosts," Klein's body gradually

separated from the grayish-white cocoon and sank into the torrent.

His body became colder and colder, and his thoughts gradually fell into

silence. His vision gradually darkened, and eventually, there were only

dark ebbing waves.

Above the gray fog, in the ancient palace, Klein's consciousness

returned to his original body.

Then, without any hesitation, he extended his palm and used the power of

Sefirah Castle to steal an item from the latter through his connection

with the historical projection.

A golden beam of light flashed as Klein held the golden bird-shaped

accessory.

At the same time, he stopped maintaining the Historical Void projection.

The "drowning" figure disappeared from the Eternal Night flood.

*It can ignore the aura of Sefirah Castle, which means that those four

figures truly are "me"... But why would I be trapped in the stream of

the River of Eternal Darkness, pacing about endlessly? Four figures,

four figures...* Klein's expression was solemn as he gently

tapped the edge of the long mottled table. He gained some inspiration

amidst the tapping.

The words "four," "souls," and "death" corresponded to the reality that

he had died four times and had revived four times.

Of course, after becoming an Attendant of Mysteries, the four

resurrection opportunities had been reset again.

*Every time I die, regardless of whether I successfully revive or not, I

will leave an imprint in the River of Eternal Darkness? I died four

times, so there are four figures wandering the banks of the River of

Eternal Darkness? Klein roughly grasped the crux of it before he sighed

inwardly. The River of Eternal Darkness is indeed a sefirah. As expected

of the symbol of death, repose, destination, endpoint, and darkness...

This is what the Goddess meant when "She" pointed out that I'll

encounter a different kind of danger? Hmm, when the historical

projection was "drowned," I suffered some mental damage. If my mental

state was unstable, I might've suffered some terrible consequences by

now.*

Based on this deduction, Klein had a brand new understanding of the many

Azik figures and the wandering Death Salinger.

"They" were the corresponding imprints of death.

*Mr. Azik has indeed died many times in the process of searching for his

memories, but he comes back to life every time. According to the present

situation, although an Undying doesn't die, it leaves behind a lot of

hidden dangers. Once the number of deaths reaches a certain level, their

true bodies might be attracted to the River of Eternal Darkness one day,

ending up as one of the figures that wander around there for an

eternity... Only Salinger's figure is there... This means that, after

accommodating the Uniqueness, "His" death imprint also becomes

unique.* As Klein's thoughts raced through his mind, he became

worried about Mr. Azik's state of survival.

And there were two solutions to resolving this problem: One was to make

Azik's soul whole and make "Him" stop repeating "His" resurrection

process. And second, to help the Evernight Goddess become a Great Old

One and gain control of the River of Eternal Darkness.

*Heh heh, perhaps this is another binary choice. When the Goddess

becomes a Great Old One, there's no need for "Her" to make use of half

of Mr. Azik's soul again.* Klein reined in his thoughts and

focused his attention on his goal.

He had entered the depths of Calderón City, not to resolve the death

imprint of Death Salinger, and destroy any chances of "Him" reviving;

instead, he was here to retrieve the river water from the River of

Eternal Darkness.

*Clearly, the illusory tide's water that flows out of the river doesn't

work. It's only an aura that flows out, not the river water itself.

Also, water that has fused with the grayish-white fog won't do either.

It's not pure enough, so it wouldn't be able to accomplish the desired

effect. From the looks of it, only when the distributary turns back into

its deep and dark state can I get the water. Heh, there's definitely no

way to get it from the main river. That grayish-white fog is definitely

a solid barrier.* Klein quickly formulated a plan based on his

analysis.

That was to avoid going close to the River of Eternal Darkness, and not

attract the attention of Death Salinger. He would wait for the

distributary's water to recede and turn dark before he headed over

before allowing his four death imprints to drag his historical

projection to the bottom of the river.

During this process, the historical projection would seize the

opportunity and use the golden, bird-shaped accessory to scoop the river

water. Then, he would return his consciousness back to Sefirah Castle.

Using the powers of "Theft," as well as the close connection between the

two items, he could take away the golden, bird-shaped accessory.

After considering the finer details to the procedure, Klein returned to

Calderón City and summoned his Historical Void projection.

He repeated the previous process and soon returned to the stone tablet

next to the giant bronze bird statue. He walked down the grayish-white

stone steps, step by step.

The aura of Sefirah Castle around him gradually thickened, turning into

a thin "cocoon."

It didn't take long before Klein arrived at the end of the staircase. He

saw the River of Eternal Darkness flowing in the void, the pale-white

columns on both banks, and the countless blurry figures that lingered at

the banks of the distributary.

This time, he wasn't in a hurry to go forward. He left the staircase and

waited patiently at the same spot for the distributary's water to

recede. The grayish-white colors faded and the water darkened.

Right now! Klein's figure flashed as he "stole" the distance

and appeared in Death Salinger's blind spot.

Without any surprise, as his body sank into the River of Eternal

Darkness, the pale-white hands immediately penetrated the aura of

Sefirah Castle and grabbed his limbs.

His four death imprints appeared around him, eager to drag him to the

bottom of the river!

Klein's head submerged under the dark river water, making his body turn

cold as his thoughts turned still.

Before he completely lost his senses, transparent and distorted maggots

crawled out from Klein's neck. They quickly crawled to the side of the

golden, bird-shaped accessory, clustered around it, and lifted it up,

preparing to scoop the water of the River of Eternal Darkness.

At that moment, a massive shadow appeared in the swirling illusory river

in front of Klein.

It was a giant bird floating in the water, one that was completely

submerged by the River of Eternal Darkness's distributary.

The giant bird's surface was covered with white flames, and the feathers

formed from mysterious patterns, but most of them had been melted away

by the River of Eternal Darkness. The exposed parts were pitch-black and

rotten with pale-yellow pus on the surface.

The giant bird's eyes seemed to be made of bronze, and layers of

illusory doors were hidden within.

Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace!

The ancient Death who had opened up the Underworld!

In front of Gregrace's eyes, a bronze beam burst out, enveloping the

golden, bird-shaped accessory and Klein's historical projection in a bid

to drag them over together.

After weighing his current situation, Klein instantly made a decision

and gave up the attempt of scooping the river water.

His consciousness immediately returned to Sefirah Castle, and he stole

the golden, bird-shaped accessory.

His historical projection dissipated.

*There's danger in the water too... The ancient god, Phoenix Ancestor

Gregrace, has completely sunk into the River of Eternal Darkness... If

the Goddess can truly accommodate the Uniqueness of the Death pathway,

and if Salinger can't use that opportunity to revive in "His" body, "He"

should also sink into the water like Gregrace. And the death imprint of

Gregrace will melt further...* Klein silently sighed as he

modified the plan.

Following that, he summoned the Historical Void projection and returned

to the end of the stairs.

After waiting for a while, when Death Salinger turned around and slowly

walked towards the bank, Klein suddenly "stole" the distance and

appeared in front of "Him."

In the next second, Salinger let out a low growl, rapidly increasing the

flow of the distributary.

At the same time, Klein was grabbed by his death imprints, and

forcefully dragged to the bottom of the river. He sensed the Phoenix

Ancestor, Gregrace.

Like before, Gregrace's bronze eyes lit up.

However, what enveloped this light wasn't Klein and the golden,

bird-shaped accessory, but Death Salinger.

Grafting!

Seizing this brief opportunity, the Worms of Spirit crawled out from

Klein's historical projection and lifted the golden, bird-shaped

accessory.

The bronze eye of the accessory also released a beam of light, scooping

up a tiny portion of the river water.

In the next moment, Klein's consciousness returned to Sefirah Castle. He

raised his hand and retrieved the accessory.

Phew, I'm finally done... Looking at the golden, bird-shaped

accessory in his hand, he slowly exhaled.

As the owner of Sefirah Castle, this mission wasn't too difficult. As

long as he didn't rashly enter with his main body, he could rely on

repeated failures to accumulate experience and figure out the situation.

And if it wasn't for the fact that there were two Deaths in the

distributary of the River of Eternal Darkness, one wandering and the

other sinking, Klein wouldn't have failed twice.