"I wonder, what is it that you want me to do?" Ebner thought for a moment before repeating the same question he had asked not long ago.
First, out of prudence and responsibility, it was best to clarify the other party's request before agreeing.
Second, he couldn't treat them differently, could he?
Just as he was mocking himself inwardly, Cohinem spoke calmly:
"You should be able to see it yourself—unlike a certain woman who has already reincarnated into a human form, I am still in the state of an 'evil spirit,' and an incomplete one at that."
As she saw Ebner give a slight nod, she glanced at Yaloran before continuing, "My request is simple: help me free myself from the bondage of your Trial Temple, then find me either a Beyonder of the Gatekeeper or Undying pathway, or a mystical item of the same, so I may have a vessel to inhabit…"
Well, that's… quite proper. A normal request. Accepting it shouldn't be a problem. Ebner thought briefly and was about to agree, but still asked one more question:
"How exactly am I to help you free yourself from the Trial Temple?"
The noble lady, her black hair tied into a high bun, answered with an unchanged expression:
"I originally existed relying on the Book of Calamity. With the blood of Fortune's descendants, I could break free…
"But after Roselle's 'relocation,' the blood of descendants alone is no longer enough. The remaining elves must also be gathered to hold the Song of Calamity ritual for me.
"Of course, if Fortune could revive and directly reclaim authority over the Trial Temple, that would work as well… But for me, that carries certain risks."
Descendants? We still have descendants? Just what on earth did the former 'me' get up to? Ebner's scalp tingled, but he still asked calmly:
"As for these descendants… could Lady Yaloran's descendants suffice?"
After all, you two were originally one. In theory, Yaloran's descendants should also be yours. And as it happens, I know one—Tren, the youth aboard Lady Gwen's ship.
"Of course not. I already used a Soul Stone stripped of its Sefirot imprint, combined with the power of the Unknown, to 'revive' once. My soul is still linked to her, but my body is human now. I no longer have anything to do with the title 'Queen of Elves.'" Yaloran interjected.
It was clear she no longer recognized that identity.
On the other side, Cohinem, with her shining black hair and soft features, seemed to drift into a pleasant memory.
After a few seconds, she came back to herself. Without refuting Yaloran, she instead said with a complex tone:
"I remember my descendants… They established the Constantine family.
"Though half-elven, they should have lived decently among humans, yes?"
"The Constantine who saw the Second Blasphemy Slate?" Ebner frowned. The name Constantine was indeed one of the most exalted surnames of the Fourth Epoch—on par with Solomon, Zaratul, Tudor, Trunsoest, Augustus, Einhorn, Sauron, Castiya, Zoroast, and Stiano…
But after the Black Emperor Solomon's first fall, Constantine vanished without a trace, with no further records.
Only Admiral of the Deep Sea Hal bore the surname Constantine… Whether he adopted it after becoming a Sea Monster's dependent, or whether his mother had already been a Constantine, no one knew.
Surely that Sea Monster didn't just take the God of Fortune Oliver Constantine's "Seer" characteristic and then presume itself to be his child, thus calling itself Constantine and influencing Hal too?
Ebner muttered a few words. Still, he didn't find the task of locating Cohinem's descendants too difficult—since they would also be the God of Fortune's descendants. And he himself was that God of Fortune, with full knowledge of where that body lay…
With so many mediums, whether by his own prophecy or Klein's divination, he would surely obtain plenty of revelations.
As for finding a Gatekeeper-pathway Beyonder or mystical item, that was trickier.
After all, most of the middle and high Sequences of the Death pathway were in the hands of the Church of the God of Death.
Hmm, perhaps I could ask Patrick Bryan… Come to think of it, that 'immortal fool' really is a distant relative of mine…
After I became a viscount, he even sent me a visiting card under the guise of a garment factory owner.
Yes, it's worth meeting him. First, I might wring a Gatekeeper or two from him. Second, the Grade 1 Sealed Artifact "Mad Hunt" medal I retrieved from Morning Star City requires fresh blood from a blood-relative anyway.
As these thoughts spun, Ebner agreed to Cohinem's request. In exchange, he asked about the God of Fortune and the God Casket.
On Liu Bo during the Fortune era, Cohinem's tone differed, but the content was much the same as Yaloran's—only with more detail. This was natural; back then, they had not yet "split" into two.
"Roselle only managed to find the Book of Calamity because of your 'arrangement.' That's why I didn't resist when he cut off my connection to it.
"I suspect you foresaw that she might become a threat to me in the future, so you had your friend transfer me into your temple…
"And during that time, the God Casket I had taken out from the Book of Calamity was also seized by Roselle." Cohinem summarized her encounter with Roselle.
At this, Ebner pondered for a moment, then asked again:
"Besides the God Casket, did you bring anything else out?"
For the first time, Cohinem's always-cold expression wavered. After a long while, she nodded:
"Yes… there was also Omebella's Soul Stone… stripped of the Brood Nest imprint."
Omebella? The Giant Queen? She was the special soul of the Brood Nest imprint?!
So Lilith's true target must have been Omebella's Soul Stone, the fragment of her remaining spirit and will!
Since the imprint was stripped, Omebella lost all connection to the Sefirot. Revival by source quality was almost impossible. Then why is Lilith searching for her? To prevent news of Omebella's death from spreading?
With that thought, Ebner asked again:
"Where is Omebella's soul now?"
"I don't know." Cohinem shook her head. "Roselle took it away too."
Before Ebner could press, she added after a pause:
"I suspect Roselle intended to use her as a medium for some ritual."
A ritual… Eleven years ago? Ebner thought, then asked carefully:
"When exactly was Omebella's Soul Stone stripped of its Sefirot imprint?"
Did Lilith obtain it in the end? And why would she stop short of annihilation?
"I don't quite know… I've lost the memory of how I acquired it. I can only guess it happened not long after my split from the woman beside me…" Cohinem frowned in thought, then added:
"Right, I do remember seeing, in Omebella's lingering spirit, the scene of her final moment.
"She was slain by her own child—Badheil!"
Badheil… the God of Combat? He killed his own mother? The root of Silver City's patricide curse?!
Ebner was dumbstruck by the revelation. But after a moment's thought, he frowned:
But wait… If the God of Combat knew the Earth Mother wasn't Omebella, then why would Lilith still deliberately hide it, even sending me to look for Omebella's soul?
And why would the God of Combat slay Omebella—his own mother?
Thinking thus, he asked aloud:
"What was Badheil's reason for doing this?"
Cohinem glanced at Ebner, then after a few seconds' hesitation answered:
"Omebella, like me, was also an ancient god. Beyond being the Sequence 2 'Desolate Matriarch' of the Mother pathway, she advanced further after Lilith's death to become Naturewalker. And she also housed a Hand of God characteristic. After all, Desolation's authority is close to Dusk's decline and death. In the time before potion Sequences were known, ancient gods like us tended to gather authorities together…
"Most likely, Badheil slew his mother for that Sequence 1 characteristic.
"Of course, bringing the land of Plenty into decline and ruin may itself have been part of accommodating a Uniqueness."
(End of Chapter)