After a burst of excitement, Ebner recalled the experience he had just gone through after consuming the potion, and he couldn't help but furrow his brow.
The state of immersing himself in the "world of absolute rationality," wandering through the different tributaries of the "River of Fate," was simply too dangerous!
Of course, this didn't mean that Ebner had encountered a great peril during his advancement. On the contrary, his promotion had been relatively smooth.
But unlike ordinary "Mysticism Magisters," he had long since grown accustomed to a "multi-threaded" mental state thanks to the ability provided by the "Pure White Eye" back at Sequence 9. What's more, the "ritual" he held for his advancement to Sequence 4 was of an absolutely unparalleled scale, and its effect of anchoring him in reality was exceptionally strong.
Even with all those advantages combined, Ebner still felt lingering fear toward the terror of the "River of Fate." With one careless mistake, he might have been trapped there forever, becoming part of that world! If even he felt this way, how much more luck would other Mysticism Magisters need to succeed in advancing?
Or is it that I'm special? That's why I was able to plunge into the River of Fate… while others only observe from afar during their advancement?
Is this the influence of the "Wheel of Destiny" I obtained after the Pure White Eye?
Hmm, I recall Lilith once said that after becoming a demigod, I would qualify to begin learning the secrets of the Pure White Eye… but that it would be best not to enter it myself…
Though tempted to explore the "space" behind the Pure White Eye immediately, Ebner had just completed his promotion and his spirit was exhausted. To prevent any accidents, he decided to rest with his eyes closed first and act only once he had fully recovered.
While waiting, he also organized the knowledge he had gained during the promotion and obtained a preliminary grasp of the abilities of the "Seer":
First of all, by becoming a Seer, he could glimpse the River of Fate and naturally acquired the core ability of this Sequence—"Prophecy."
This ability had roughly three directions of application:
The first was the combination of his previous "Breath Extraction" and "Scene Retrospection" abilities, elevating the former into "Information Extraction." This truly realized the saying, "Everything leaves a trace." As long as no Authority-level powers interfered, he could extract "information" from within a scene out of thin air, then "retrospect" its past "fate trajectory." Compared to before, this was far more advanced, resembling the method by which the "god" in a domestic animation he once watched read hidden data.
The second was the sublimation of his "Mechanical Mind" into an "Absolute Rationality State," allowing him to observe the River of Fate within this mode. With the help of "keywords," he could "search" for related information, then use his further-advanced "Analysis" ability to deduce the direction of fate.
Most of the time, fate branched into multiple paths depending on choices. Typically, a newly advanced Seer could only observe and analyze the most probable "fate tributary," with limited accuracy and success rate… just like when Ebner had once used the Pure White Eye to attempt "active prophecy" before he had obtained the Wheel of Destiny.
However, his prophetic ability had mutated because of his deep immersion into the World of Absolute Rationality and the River of Fate during advancement. He could observe far more developments of fate than ordinary Seers, and his results were clearer and more accurate.
That said, the Seer pathway was inherently dangerous. After glimpsing the future, a Seer could not casually reveal the results or act deliberately upon them—for most people and things, their fate was already set.
Changing fate would force the Seer to pay a heavy price.
Thus, most Seers only guided others discreetly, nudging them toward fate tributaries with better outcomes. This way, they avoided being backlashed by fate and paid negligible costs.
But if one insisted on changing someone's predetermined fate, fate's resistance was inevitable. Even if the attempt succeeded, the Seer would pay a steep price.
The cost might be reduced lifespan, weakened fortune, harm to family ties, or the attraction of disaster… reminiscent of the "Five Losses and Three Lacks" that fortune-tellers in his previous life spoke of.
Of course, this wasn't absolute. Some Seers actually gained benefits after altering others' fates…
Ebner guessed that this was because the foundational rules of the mysterious world were chaotic. The honorific of the Old One who symbolized "Fate," the Key of Light, even contained the description: "Endless Chaos." Thus, problems in the application of fate-related abilities were normal.
The third direction was "Passive Prophecy" related to one's own fate. This only applied to oneself. Upon encountering a key person, object, phrase, or even sound, the Seer would passively receive a prophecy that told them how to avoid disaster or seize fortune.
Because such prophecies lacked "information," they were often vague, but every Seer valued them greatly. For example, that Knowledge Church leader in West Balam, Mr. Luca, in the original novel had actively sought out Klein because he passively foresaw that Klein could turn a crisis into an opportunity.
For prophecies about oneself, there was no need to worry about fate's backlash—perhaps because Beyonders in the domain of Fate had inherently unstable destinies.
After researching his new ability of Prophecy, Ebner sensed his other powers and found that the "Omniscient Heart" had fused with the "Learning Space" into his incomplete demigod mythic form—the bookshelf of the Crippled Room, surrounded by countless eyes made of black shadow.
In essence, this mythic form was just a "room" within the White Tower that stored knowledge.
The Learning Space formed its framework, the Omniscient Heart provided its material foundation, and "Analysis" became the eyes within the shadows.
With the Omniscient Heart's sublimation, the mystic techniques that once required rituals or special items could now be instantly cast as if they were extraordinary abilities.
Take "Disintegration," for example. In the past, Ebner needed the longsword of the "Hell Lieutenant General," which could destroy anything, as a medium.
But now, he could directly "create" the trait of that sword within himself, then complete the mystic technique.
Even the extraordinary items or talismans he had crafted in the past, since they too were stored within the Learning Space, could now be "created" within his mythic form.
Unfortunately, such creations couldn't last long in reality. Once removed from his Crippled White Tower, their power would dissipate within seconds, and their material basis would instantly collapse.
Talismans could still unleash their effects if used quickly, but extraordinary items were difficult to employ, and using them risked harming himself when they collapsed.
Since they were already included in his White Tower, meaning he could simulate their abilities directly, there was little point in using such "created" items in battle. This application was somewhat tasteless.
Still, it reminded him of the Dream Labyrinth Tower's exchange function. The "Ninth Law Talisman" he once exchanged for had a similar application, unable to exist long in reality…
Lilith once said the Dream Labyrinth Tower was built using an Archangel's extraordinary characteristics… Heh, so the entire tower was actually created by Roselle relying on another's mythic form? The bookshelves in the 'Reward Space' must be the knowledge reserves of that deceased Archangel.
Well, no rush. Once I advance to Sequence 3, the Cognizer, I'll take complete control of the Dream Labyrinth Tower.
Speaking of which, my Seer potion has already been mostly digested right after I drank it, with less than a fifth remaining. At this rate, I may fully digest it within a month or two.
For now, the Seer's acting requirements seem to revolve around three aspects: "Glimpsing Fate," "Diverting Fate," and "Changing Fate."
The hardest of these is Changing Fate, since it requires heavy costs and often brings resistance and danger… But I may already have fulfilled this part. My arrival alone has altered the fates of countless people… Not to mention the big shots—just Talim, Cherie, Dunn, Daly, Freya, even Buddy and Winter… all of them avoided death because of me. That definitely counts as changing fate.
Not to mention Zaratul and the Chained God, along with other angels and demigods who should not have died, yet did…
The strange thing is, I haven't paid too steep a price for this… Is it because I don't belong to this world? Or did the Pure White Eye shield me?
And as for glimpsing fate… is there anything more like peering at fate than reading the plot of a novel? In a sense, the Secret novel itself is a reflection of the River of Fate.
What I currently lack is the simplest—Diverting Fate. That is, guiding others so their fate flows into tributaries with better or worse outcomes.
As he calculated in his heart, Ebner felt his spirit had almost fully recovered. He took a deep breath and activated the Pure White Eye.
Now, as a demigod, he immediately sensed the differences in the Pure White Eye.
First, due to his divinity, he hardly felt any burden from this "golden finger." Even if he kept it active for days on end, it would likely be no problem.
Second, unlike before, with his mythic form, Ebner could clearly perceive the existence of the passage behind the Eye.
That passage didn't lead to reality, nor to the spirit world or astral world… A voice whispered within him that it connected to an "unknown" world!
Ebner had a hunch that as long as he transformed into his mythic form, he could pass through the passage and enter the world beyond.
But Lilith had warned him not to enter rashly before reaching angelhood… So, after a moment's hesitation, Ebner split off a fragment of shadow containing an "eye." This was his mental and rational avatar, a thread of his multi-threaded thoughts, a mythic state born of his sublimated "Analysis" fused with his divinity.
He named it "Insight Eye."
The shadow with the eye was soon sent by Ebner into the passage behind the Pure White Eye.
Immediately, through the Insight Eye, a gigantic illusory sun embedded with a pair of illusory brass eyes manifested in Ebner's mind.
It sat at the other end of the entrance, completely blocking the passage!
"Pure White Eye"… "Pure White Angel"… "Omniscient Eye"…
So the names I casually gave… actually held real meaning?!
(End of this chapter)