Other than the Calamity Seal, had all the rest of "me" stopped at Sequence 2?
It really did seem to be the case…
This should not have been an issue of lacking materials.
Judging from the earlier incident when the Wheel of Fortune actively entered the Pure White Eye and stepped into the Unknown, back then, as the God of Fortune, I must have already wielded it…
And at that time, Will most likely had not yet become the Sequence 1 Serpent of Mercury. With my "luck" and the external aid at my disposal, finding that Sequence 1 and advancing with it should not have been difficult.
But for some reason, I had chosen not to do so…
That lifetime as Rhine Karenardia, the Observer of the Silver Eye, was also similar. Aside from the Blood Moon Queen and Lilith, who each held one characteristic of the Goddess of Beauty, there should have been another one lost outside, yet Rhine seemed to have shown no signs of deliberately seeking it.
As for Vicente Miranda, the Lord of the Dead, there was no need to even mention him. From the historical projection I had drawn out in the Land of Evernight, it was clear he had always possessed the "0"-level sealed artifact, the Pallid Death, formed from the Sequence 1 Pale Emperor's characteristic!
It was worth noting that the sealed artifact had originally slumbered together with Vicente in a tomb deep in the city of Calderón. But later, in his twilight years, Roselle entered that tomb and took away the Pallid Death.
In summary, in the three lifetimes of mine with the greatest achievements, there had been opportunities to advance to Sequence 1, yet in the end I had never succeeded, or I had simply given up…
Was it because I could not, or because I dared not?
Hmm, in one of Roselle's key diary entries, he recorded words revealed by the Calamity Seal. He said only by becoming a Sequence 1 could one search within the Unknown and retrieve all of one's past memories…
Could this "all memories" have carried some hidden issue?
Was that why the Calamity Seal was so peculiar… why it felt completely unlike me?
Given what I knew about myself, even faced with tremendous threats, I would never have been content to remain at Sequence 2. I would have tried every possible way to overcome it.
Maybe… the matter of traversing into a "0"-level sealed artifact was itself one of my attempts?
I remembered that the latter half of The Feast of Blood recorded a ritual spell called the "Sealed Artifact Vitalization Ritual." By praying to an Unknown existence and offering a sacrifice, one could grant a chosen sealed artifact the property of being "alive."
At the time, I had thought the ritual carried too many variables, with uncertain outcomes. So although not very difficult, it had seemed impractical… But thinking back now, perhaps in that lifetime as Rhine, "I" had already thought of trying something similar. That magic was merely a prototype, or a preliminary step toward some ritual.
But the direct attempt to become the Sequence 1 sealed artifact, the Calamity Seal, must have run into problems, and ultimately failed…
That was why I was now myself as the Reader… Yet I still did not know what sort of path the former me had left for the current me.
Heh, I must criticize that self of mine as Giuseppe Castiya. All he did was indulge in "pleasures." In the memories, aside from "enjoyment," there was nothing else… Truly disgraceful.
As a Prophet, Ebner was skilled in both logical deduction and mystical reasoning. Very quickly, he organized his thoughts and roughly guessed part of his former intentions.
"It seems the most critical lifetimes were Alwyn the Wanderer, Dannet the Silent Disciple, the Arcane Demon, and the Calamity Seal.
"Alwyn should have set the overall direction. Dannet, together with that Dragon of Twenty-Five, ran numerous experiments, eliminated certain plans, and even produced many by-products and branch schemes.
"That lifetime as the Arcane Demon, though still unclear what exactly was done, just so happened to be on the Artisan pathway, so it must have laid the groundwork for the later transition into the Calamity Seal.
"And the Calamity Seal was in some ways similar to Roselle in his later years. On the one hand, it prepared all kinds of conveniences for me now. On the other, it refused to let me obtain them easily, even setting up numerous obstacles…
"This might be the surface symptom of its own problems!
"The series of times it sabotaged Roselle afterwards, though meant to conceal its own small moves within Roselle's actions, still revealed certain contradictions!
"It is worth noting that Lilith and the Goddess likely did not support this attempt of the Calamity Seal. So they only observed, set up a few casual arrangements, but offered no assistance, forcing it to cooperate with the God of Knowledge or with Adam…
"The attempt they favored was most likely me now, as the Reader!"
As his thoughts spun, Ebner could not be sure that his guesses were absolutely correct, but he felt they fit well with his own way of acting, and they did have some basis.
Of course, that "basis" lay in his understanding of himself and… his intuition!
Afterwards, Ebner tried to probe Lilith using part of his guesses, but all he received was her enchanting smile.
Realizing Lilith would not reveal anything further, Ebner felt a bit disappointed, yet quickly adjusted his mood.
Glancing at his pocket watch, he saw that it was already late and the banquet at his home would soon begin. He hurriedly bid farewell to Lilith, then almost fled from the underground chamber.
Only when he once more saw Bishop Utravsky's towering figure did he finally breathe a sigh of relief and calm his restless emotions.
Recalling some of Lilith's parting hints, Ebner felt overwhelmed in his heart.
But after all, that was my own body. If it really came to that… it would be far too strange!
If it had been Lamia here instead, perhaps I truly would not have left so quickly.
Unfortunately… all thanks to Sia!
With a few sighs of regret, Ebner returned by teleportation to the villa at 28 Kinst Street, carrying feelings that were a mix of relief and remorse.
…..
Night over the Sonia Sea.
Staring at the undulating sea surface outside the cabin, Klein relied on his "night vision" ability and finally spotted the port city, its houses built mainly of white stone.
The easternmost colony of the Feysac Empire, capital of the Gargas Archipelago—Nass!
"At last we're here… To avoid the hurricane, this ship went off course, forcing us to risk sailing into harbor at night…" Watching the vessel he had boarded, a passenger ship of typical Feysac style, its rough and solid presence almost tangible, Klein let out a sigh.
At the same time, he noticed many ships flying pirate flags moored at the port, without the least concern.
As expected, this sea region has already become a paradise for pirates… Klein set his hat in place, picked up his luggage, carefully packed away the wolf-fish cans, and only after the steamer had come to a halt did he leave the cabin, descend the gangplank, and step onto the dock, heading toward the street beyond.
His first impression of this city called Nass was that most houses were white, with stone widely used as material. Secondly, though not located too far north, the climate was bitterly cold. Even though it was already April, the temperature was only a few degrees Celsius. Thirdly, there were many whaling houses, where massive white whales were butchered into hide, meat, fat, bones, and "ambergris."
The last two were particularly valuable: the bones could be used as skirt supports for evening gowns, while ambergris was a top-grade spice. Whether as incense or perfume ingredient, it was a luxury only nobles and the wealthy could afford.
As for the whale hide, meat, and fat, they each had their uses—clothing, food, oil refining. In Nass and across the Gargas Archipelago, the cooking of whale had already developed into a unique culture, with various methods and famous restaurants.
"Quite distinctive! Perhaps I can buy some fresh ingredients here and let Shoko work with them, so my Food Attendant can develop a few more signature dishes."
As these pleasant thoughts drifted in his mind, Klein walked into a bar named "Rodar"—which in the local language meant "Dawn." It was a gathering place for adventurers of the archipelago and also a hub for information.
Since he had arrived two days earlier than expected, Klein was in no rush to visit Admiral of Stars Cattleya's contact point. Instead, he planned to first find the "Alchemy Master" recommended by Roy King, and use the Black Knight characteristic to upgrade the Creeping Hunger.
After ordering a glass of strong Nippos, burning hot like flame, the bartender pointed to a lady drinking glass beer alone in a corner. "If you're looking for 'Nass's Idiot,' you can ask her to lead you. She's the agent of that old man right now."
Right now? Does that mean the master's agent often changes?
Pondering this, Klein looked toward the solitary woman. After a few glances, he suddenly found her familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before…
He was about to use divination to recall, but the woman seemed to sense his gaze and suddenly turned her head to look back at him.
As their eyes met, Klein immediately remembered who she was:
"Mr. Tower's friend… descendant of Liu Bo…
"Miss Jane Grant Miranda?"