"The diary says that Rhine joined the 'Black Emperor' faction partly because the Tamara family's 'Hand of Order' was ambushed and killed by the Night Emperor…
"And that 'Hand of Order' was Liu Bo, my friend… When Old Huang quoted it, he even used the third-person pronoun 'she'…
"Although the evidence isn't solid, judging from Princess Vera's inexplicable closeness to me, she's very likely the evil spirit of the Tamara family's 'Hand of Order' that I rescued!
"She's able to recover now, probably because of the 'Mist of Uncertainty'… But the 'Mist of Uncertainty' is an Outer God. Even if it somehow slipped through Earth's barrier, it must have its own will… How could it let Vera control it so freely?
"Hmm… this is most likely Rhine's doing… Perhaps the consciousness within the 'Mist of Uncertainty' has been sealed away in some artifact, just like the 'Lamp Genie'?
"To pull off something like that, he must have tricked It into the 'Primordial Substance' or the 'Unknown Land'…"
At this thought, Ebner suddenly remembered the research recorded in the latter half of Banquet of Blood, as well as the experiments conducted with Solomon and the Death God…
"Maybe the 'Mist of Uncertainty' was summoned from outside back then by Rhine, using the special nature of the 'Unknown Land'!"
As he pondered, Ebner also decided that, when he had the chance, he would search for the small island where that "laboratory" was located. His past self had very likely left something behind for him there.
Or rather, the "Seal of Calamity" had used those ruins to scheme against Roselle and left something for his current self…
Yes, ever since reading those crucial diary entries, Ebner had been almost certain that Roselle's series of strange, uncharacteristic actions in his later years were seven or eight parts guided by the "Seal of Calamity"!
It had been using Roselle's actions to conceal its true purpose.
For example, the "Dream Labyrinth Tower." That "wondrous building" not only accumulated "wishes" for the "Miracle" pathway, but also helped Lilith trap the "Primordial Moon," achieving the first step of the "Silver Moon Plan." And in the end, it would most likely become a material for Ebner's ascension to "Angel"…
But Old Huang's original intent in building it—resurrection—had never had any chance of success from the very beginning!
That was completely unlike something he would do… As expected, the "Seal of Calamity" was the version of him that least resembled himself!
With a sigh, Ebner set the diary aside, then noticed that Klein had already finished watching the "film" and was deep in thought.
Sensing Ebner's gaze, Klein snapped out of it, a mischievous smile appearing on his face as he asked, "After reading those diaries, what do you feel?"
Ebner knew exactly what Klein was thinking. He glanced at him and replied coolly, "It's fine. After all, in my awakened memories, I did live together with Lamia for several years."
Klein's expression stiffened. He stared deeply at "Mr. Tower." Now he somewhat understood Roselle's feelings. This man's way of "Versailles-ing" things was really infuriating.
"You're not afraid the Goddess Lilith might be angered and punish you for it?" Klein pressed, unwilling to give up.
At this, Ebner only chuckled and answered meaningfully, "My relationship with Lamia… Lilith wouldn't care."
After all, Lamia = Mother Earth Goddess = Lilith.
Seeing how unbothered he was, Klein was left speechless. He could only grumble inwardly, So the goddesses' pretty boy really does have some tricks, before changing the subject.
"In the earlier image, the 'Pure White Angel' should be the current 'Eternal Blazing Sun,' right?
"And the 'Angel of Wind' is the 'Lord of Storms'?"
He was rather certain about the first. After all, when he once divined using the "god-blood" stored in Sealed Artifact 3-0782, he had gotten the term "Pure White Angel," which matched perfectly.
"That's right. The three current deities were once the three Angel Kings serving the 'Ancient Sun God,'" Ebner nodded slightly.
"All three gods fall under what you summarized as 'omniscience and omnipotence'… That's also the authority of the one worshiped in Silver City as the 'Omniscient and Omnipotent Lord'… In other words, the three gods betrayed Him, causing His fall, and split His authority among themselves, which created the 'Forsaken Land of the Gods'?
"And the 'God of Knowledge,' because he first defected from the dragons to the Ancient Sun God, and later stole His authority to become a god, is why he's mockingly called the 'Turncoat Dragon'?"
Klein reasoned based on his knowledge, feeling regret at the Ancient Sun God's fall.
After all, Ebner had mentioned before that the "Ancient Sun God" had also been a Transmigrator. Though his method of transmigration was different from Klein's, the Goddess's, Roselle's, and Liu Bo's, it still made Klein empathize deeply.
"More or less, but not entirely correct… In fact, the one who killed that Russian was the 'Rose of Redemption,' and the 'Rose of Redemption' was essentially created by his alt account, the Dark Angel Saslier," Ebner explained briefly, not delving further. After all, Klein was facing a situation similar to the Russian's. If he learned too much before reaching demigod level, it might bring about unwanted consequences.
Although the "Fate Compass" couldn't show him clear fate tributaries, Ebner could still faintly sense certain hazy "premonitions."
Russian? So the Ancient Sun God was Russian? But why would he have his alt account lead people to kill him? Did the alt account develop its own consciousness and betray him?
While pondering, Klein asked again, "Why did the Ancient Sun God do that?"
To this, Ebner only smiled without answering, raising the diary in his hand instead.
Klein immediately understood: This was Ebner's way of saying my diary can only trade for previous answers.
Sighing, Klein didn't press further. He had already gained plenty today. He gathered his thoughts, then pulled out the diary page he had just received from Miss "Justice" and handed it to Ebner.
Since this page wasn't something Ebner urgently needed, and because Klein was also interested in the experiment from eleven years ago and wanted Ebner's opinion, he shared it freely.
Ebner read it carefully, noting the hysteria revealed in Roselle's writing. He frowned and thought to himself:
"From this diary page, it's very likely that the experiment eleven years ago was a ritual Roselle designed for the five girls who could potentially become 'guides' for Outer Gods. Its purpose was probably to use other kinds of primordial substances to seal away the influence of the Mother Goddess of Depravity!
"In that case, my earlier guess about their innate attribute—that they must engage in reproduction to trigger their special abilities—finally makes sense…
"But there's a problem. Roselle in his later years didn't even hesitate to use his eldest son Charles's illegitimate descendants, the Surreys. How could he truly care about a few inexplicable 'daughters' from the moon?
"Hmm, assuming those five girls really were his 'children' from the moon…
"Then it must have been because some existence influenced him… The most likely one being the Mother Goddess of Depravity!
"What was Her purpose?
"To use that ritual as a means to contact the 'Brood'?
"So when the Brood didn't respond, he thought the ritual failed and abandoned them?
"The 'Seal of Calamity' must have interfered as well. At the very least, the location of the 'God's Coffer' was something it 'accidentally' leaked to Old Huang.
"So what exactly was its plan there?
"Hmm… Maybe to figure out what the Seal of Calamity did, I need to find all five survivors and study the secrets hidden in their bodies, reconstructing the ritual imprinted deep within them…"
As his thoughts raced, Ebner shared part of his deductions with Klein, who agreed. But the fifth survivor hidden in Backlund still had no clues, so the matter had to be set aside for now.
Next, Klein entrusted Ebner with a task: to go to the capital of East Chester County and retrieve the original page of the diary that Miss "Justice" had submitted, to prevent the "power" it radiated from causing real harm.
Ebner felt it wasn't difficult and agreed casually.
After that, the two discussed the sea of divine war ruins for a while… And before the small meeting ended, when Klein asked if Ebner had any final additions, the latter thought for a moment and offered two pieces of advice:
"First, write a letter to that 'little snake' in Backlund. He will help you.
"Second, if you encounter mortal danger, try praying to the Goddess…"
…
Monday afternoon, four o'clock. At the Harvest Church on Rose Street in the Southbridge District, Backlund.
Ebner looked complicated as he gazed at the holy emblem of the "Earth Mother Goddess" engraved on the outer wall—an infant surrounded by symbols of wheat, flowers, and spring water. He then took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and pushed open the church doors.
After all, this visit was different. Having recalled all of Giuseppe's memories, his mindset was no longer the same as before.
(End of Chapter)