"Every time I see the moonlight, I think of you…"
After hearing the content of the "incantation," the corner of Ebner's mouth couldn't help but twitch, and he complained inwardly:
You even copied this line? I suddenly feel like I have no standing to criticize Old Huang for plagiarism… if Rhine and Vicente hadn't walked non-"knowledge"-related pathways, the steam engine probably wouldn't have been "invented" by Old Huang at all!
Seeing Ebner's strange expression, Aglea asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing… I just didn't expect the incantation to be a sentence like this." Ebner replied "honestly," then asked, "Is it enough to just recite this incantation in front of that 'Dream Eater'?"
"Of course not… didn't I say before that you have to 'appease' it first!
"It is, after all, an intelligent creature. If an enemy or stranger recites the incantation, it naturally won't recognize it!" Aglea shook her head and instructed, "You need to give it something it likes to eat first… such as the soul of a mid-to-high Sequence 'Nightmare.'
"Or some high-quality 'nightmares.'"
Mid-to-high Sequence "Nightmares" are almost all bishops and deacons of the Church of Evernight… feeding it those won't do…
As for high-quality "nightmares"… what counts as high quality? Does dreaming about the Goddess count? But would you really dare to eat that kind of dream?
After pondering for a while, Ebner came up with a suitable target—the "Nightmare Town" in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, only a day's journey from the City of Silver.
Previously, when hunting the "Corpse Demon Wolf" to help Leonard obtain the main ingredient for "Spirit Warlock," he had discovered that deep within the nightmares of that town lurked a remnant soul of a demon wolf.
Its identity was the "God of Fear" Muer, who had been imprisoned by the "Giant King's Court," and was also a child of the "Demon Wolf King" Flegrea.
Last time, because he had descended into the Forsaken Land of the Gods as a "projection," he hadn't explored further…
Perhaps I should capture it and feed it to the 'Dream Eater·Chan You'? After all, it's of sufficient quality.
While various thoughts ran through his mind, Ebner placed his hand on the coffin atop the central altar and gently pushed the lid open a little.
He had "played" this being and lain inside for over a hundred years—he had to at least see what this "Father of Succubi, Lord of Desire, Source of Depravity" looked like.
Moreover, the connection that had formed between him and this body after the "Memory Theater" ended also concerned him greatly, and he wanted to understand the reason.
Seeing this scene, although Aglea was somewhat surprised, she didn't stop him. She trusted that her "father" still had a sense of proportion.
On the other side, after pushing open the coffin lid, Ebner finally saw the true appearance of the so-called "Source of Depravity" for the first time.
Its facial features were somewhat androgynous, yet sufficiently handsome. Its temperament resembled that of the "Sanguine," but carried an additional aura of "depravity" and "evil."
However, what drew even more attention was that from the outer edges of its cheeks down to below its neck, its body was entirely composed of plant vines and tree trunks, extending from the top of its head to the soles of its feet, like a full suit of armor made of wood.
Ebner frowned. After "analyzing" the composition of those plant structures, his gaze focused on the top of the corpse's head.
Because there, one of its horns had been broken off and taken away by someone!
The "Father of Succubi, Lord of Desire, Source of Depravity" likely once accommodated both the "Tenebrous World" and the "Brood Hive";
Lamia's true body is a plant… and she was coveted by Suah, eventually being abducted by him, most likely integrated into his own body;
Suah's sudden corruption by the "Mother Goddess of Depravity" likely originated from Lamia's body;
Dennett came to this "ritual room" seven hundred years ago, and even rescued "Gluttony" along the way, giving him Orneia's summoned creature;
After Dennett's death, his soul stone and characteristics were hidden within Sealed Artifact "1-025," and are now sacrificed into the body of the "Chained God";
Suah is fusing with the "Chained God's" body, intending to use it to digest another Sequence 1, and to resist the contamination of the "Mother Goddess of Depravity";
The key to my connection with the "Father of Succubi, Lord of Desire, Source of Depravity" is actually the arrangement Dennett left inside its body!
Fragmented clues flashed rapidly through Ebner's mind and were processed by his "Insight Eyes," ultimately allowing him to glimpse part of the truth:
It seems one of Dennett's backup plans for resurrection was also this body of the "Source of Depravity"! Did he intercept Rhine's plan?
Heh, to be fair, his pathway is indeed highly compatible with the "Source of Depravity," so it's natural for him to target this body…
Unfortunately, this backup plan of his was still sabotaged by his later self—that is, the "Seal of Calamity."
Even though he deliberately erased an entire portion of his memory for this, and even used a "plan targeting the Mother Tree of Desire" as another layer of cover…
However, unlike Alvin and the Goddess, who share the same style of hiding the true objective deep beneath layers of planning, Dennett's schemes seem to follow the style of the "Two-Faced Dragon," not placing all backup plans in a single location.
Just like in his thousand-year scheme to rescue Tolzna, he also had a Plan B of releasing the "Dark Side of the Universe."
The same applies here… Tolzna's original body was likely his "backup"!
Additionally, Lamia's true body was most likely handed over to Lilith by Dennett…
And Lilith, due to her own plans, chose to cooperate with him!
Mm, Dennett probably guessed Lilith's plan, which is why this tacit understanding existed.
As for what Lilith intends to do, although I can't deduce much yet, the most likely possibility is the so-called "Silver Moon Plan"!
And the target of this plan is the Outer Gods…
The final "Goddess of Beauty" characteristic is in the hands of the Mother Tree of Desire, making it difficult to scheme against… but if the "Mother Goddess of Depravity" and the Mother Tree of Desire come into conflict and start fighting, wouldn't that create an opportunity?
However, without the "Brood Hive," the "Mother Goddess of Depravity" is at a similar level to the Mother Tree of Desire, so it would be difficult for them to clash directly.
Therefore, their conflict must be intensified, and the Mother Tree of Desire must be "reasonably" weakened to expose flaws…
If I boldly hypothesize, all of Lilith's previous actions, while each having their own "reasonable" purpose, ultimately converge into a strategic "deception" against the "Mother Goddess of Depravity"…
Including the long-term task she assigned me… I just don't know how many layers deep this scheme goes…
Heh, from this perspective, the so-called "thousand-year scheme to rescue Tolzna" is merely the beginning of a chain of plans!
This likely isn't a scheme by Lilith alone—Adam and the Goddess may also be involved…
I wonder whether the "Mother Goddess of Depravity" will ultimately take the bait… but judging from the previous conflict in the eastern Balam seas, everything still seems to be under the control of the Goddess and Lilith.
Heh, they're actually daring to scheme against a conscious pillar-level Great Old One… the two Goddesses in the original story never made such moves…
Who gave them this confidence?
"Me"?
(End of Chapter)