The coin landed with the number side up—
A negative result.
Edward let out a breath of relief.
That meant Danitz was only lightly contaminated, not in any immediate danger.
He didn't rush to wake Danitz. Instead, he turned and walked toward the golden goblet buried under the rubble, carefully retrieved it, and tucked it into his pouch.
Then he found a flat stone platform and sat down, patiently waiting for Kalvetua's Beyonder characteristic to precipitate.
Roughly seven or eight minutes later, the scattered remnants of extraordinary power on the ground began to stir—whirling into a violent storm, they converged in the grand hall and were finally absorbed into a single white fang that had straightened and hardened.
At that moment, Kalvetua's massive corpse collapsed like rotted sludge, disintegrating completely.
And the fang that had absorbed all the traits transformed into a sceptre, which now stood silently embedded in a partially toppled pillar.
The white bone staff was topped with numerous tiny aquamarine "gems", some of which shimmered with hues of inky black and sunlight gold.
The Sea God's Sceptre.
After tossing another coin to confirm the area was safe, Edward donned a glove and carefully approached the sceptre.
Before his hand even made contact, layers of illusory prayers rang out by his ear.
His vision blurred with hallucinations—
He saw kneeling worshipers, heads bowed in pious prayer, and rebels sobbing hysterically before the crumbling idol of Kalvetua.
Of course, the Church of Sea God had traitorous figures—like that archbishop who was willing to sell out his god to serve his goals.
But far more numerous were the faithful natives, believers who had nothing else but their faith.
The rising tide of ethereal prayers echoed in Edward's mind, causing a stabbing headache—
But it was still bearable.
He reached out and grasped the midsection of the pale sceptre.
The hallucinations instantly grew clear—
The whispers in his ears turned real.
He saw a bald man in a wheelchair, fallen to the ground, crawling desperately toward a self-shattered statue of Kalvetua, chanting the honorific title with lifeless despair.
He saw a man with a blue-green sea serpent tattoo, bowing fervently before another bleeding idol, smashing his forehead against the stone until it was bloody pulp.
Even more vivid were the countless native worshipers in the slums of the Rorsted Archipelago, hiding in their homes, weeping silently, praying in numb desperation.
At that moment, Edward suddenly understood why the Sea God's archbishop had chosen to cooperate with the Numinous Episcopate.
Hundreds of thousands of natives in the archipelago had pinned all their hope on Kalvetua, sacrificing through primitive blood rituals, hoping this so-called god would deliver them from their miserable fate and resist the oppression of the Church and Loen.
But the truth was—this so-called sea god was merely a lucky beast, utterly incapable of providing real salvation.
So then...why not replace it?
Replace it with a stronger, greater, more divine being who might actually help them.
Thus, he made his pact with the Numinous Episcopate.
"Huff—"
With force, Edward pulled out the Sea God's Sceptre.
Countless glowing motes drifted around it, each one seemingly tied to a single praying soul. The staff's milky-white shaft shimmered with radiance, both hypnotic and holy.
He casually tossed the sceptre into his leather pouch, then used Invisible Hand to seize Danitz and Phoenix.
With a step, he teleported out of the ancient elven ruins—
No need to wait for the Sea King to show up and complicate things.
After a brief passage through the Spirit World, Edward stepped out again onto the familiar deserted island.
He lay down on the soft sand, spreading his arms wide.
Lilith darted out of his chest pocket.
"Edward! What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just overused my spirituality...I'm a bit drained. Headache, too."
"O-oh! Let Miss Lilith help!"
Lilith shifted into her childlike human form, knelt beside him, and used her delicate fingers to gently massage his temples.
To Edward's surprise, the sensation was soothing—his body relaxed, and a subtle drowsiness began to set in.
But he sat up with a sigh.
"Alright, we're not done yet."
He took the Sea God's Sceptre out again.
After several rounds of divination and spirit channelling, he confirmed—it was essentially the same as in the original canon.
It could summon tsunamis, hurricanes, torrential storms, and lightning strikes.
It allowed its wielder to fly through the sky, walk along the ocean floor, and defy nearly all terrain restrictions.
It was nearly indestructible.
It ensured the bearer would never lose their way, as long as no stronger force interfered.
It granted perfect balance, commanded sea creatures, answered the prayers of believers, and could even bestow sea monster-like power.
In essence, possessing the Sea God's Sceptre was equivalent to owning the might of a Sequence 3 Sailor Pathway powerhouse.
It was undoubtedly a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact.
Which made Edward wonder—
If Kalvetua could become a "Sea God" and produce such a weapon just by digesting part of a high elf's Beyonder traits…
Then what about the mysterious Book of Calamity?
Could it also hold such incredible power?
He tried to recall—
In the original novel, the Moses Ascetic Order had discovered the ancient elven ruins on Symeem Island.
But the exact location wasn't revealed.
Still, one thing was certain—
It wouldn't be easy to find.
If it were, the Church of Storms would've already located it after so many years.
So…using the golden goblet I found in Kalvetua's dwelling… could I divine the location of the ruins on Symeem Island?
Hmm. Worth a try.
Through spirit channelling, Edward had also learned of Kalvetua's original plans for Danitz.
Kalvetua indeed had a very limited understanding of the Beyonder world.
But it was acutely aware of one thing—after devouring a Beyonder characteristic, it had neither died nor lost control and transformed into a monster.
It knew full well that its survival was largely due to sheer dumb luck.
So for years, it had been searching for people with that same kind of luck. Danitz's meteoric rise through the sequences was impossible to miss. Naturally, it caught the attention of the Church of the Sea God—and thus, of Kalvetua.
Through the archbishop, it had given Danitz a beaded bracelet, a fragment of its own bone imbued with its power, intending to use it as a slow, insidious means of corrupting him.
The plan was simple: Convert Danitz into a vessel it could possess, one bit at a time.
Once Danitz was fully compatible, Kalvetua would have him swallow its Beyonder spirituality, allowing it to resurrect in a new body.
This would free it from its current state of madness and decay, and allow it to pursue further ascension through a human shell.
Admittedly, the idea of a human swallowing raw Beyonder characteristics was...laughable. But then again—for a lunatic with limited knowledge of the supernatural, this half-baked plan almost made sense.
And who knows?
If luck came through again, it might have actually worked.
Unfortunately for Kalvetua, the archbishop's betrayal, the Numinous Episcopate's sabotage, and the Sea King's interference completely derailed its scheme before it even began.
In the end, it had no choice but to forcefully control Danitz via the bracelet in its dying moments.
But then Edward showed up and interrupted again—
Kalvetua perished in a final storm of rage and madness.
"Tch...seriously, how the hell has Danitz had such ridiculous luck lately?" Edward muttered to himself. "It's like he's got a demigod—or even an angel from the Fate Pathway—blessing him 24/7."
A coincidence?
Damn it. There'd been way too many coincidences lately.
But if it was someone's doing, wouldn't such manipulation feel a bit...clumsy and obvious?
The Sea God's Sceptre had three negative effects:
It made its bearer increasingly irritable and aggressive.
Every 20 to 35 minutes, it would drain the blood of both the wielder and everyone within a 1-kilometre radius.
It constantly projected the voices and visions of its believers' prayers, which could easily overwhelm anyone without the mental strength of a demigod.
The first and third were manageable.
But the second...
That one was a real problem.
It wasn't that using the sceptre was inconvenient—rather, just carrying it around was already dangerous.
Edward could use the Spectre ability of his Resurrection Ring, or transform into an Obscurus with Animagus transformation to avoid the blood drain entirely.
But...where was he supposed to store the damn thing?
Items made with the Undetectable Extension Charm weren't like the spatial treasures of cultivation novels—they weren't truly isolated from the outside world.
So if he put the Sea God's Sceptre inside one, it would still affect the surroundings.
Once he advanced to Sequence 4, he'd gain access to the Secrets Sorcerer's spatial abilities. Then he could make a true pocket dimension to store it.
But until then...
Edward scratched his head.
"So I really do have to sacrifice this to Mr. Fool, huh?"
It felt like no matter how much work he put in, he was always just making offerings for Klein.
What a raw deal.
"I mean, I could ask Bernadette to hold onto it, but that's even less ideal. At least with Klein, I can get it back whenever I want. Bernadette's not going to follow me around all day."
Edward was reluctant, but after pacing back and forth across the beach for several minutes without finding a better solution—and with the next blood drain cycle rapidly approaching—he made up his mind.
"Lilith, you and Phoenix stay here a while. I've got something to take care of."
"Why can't you bring Miss Lilith with you?" she asked.
Edward explained the negative effects of the Sea God's Sceptre.
The little one waved her hand.
"Okay then, just come back quickly~"
"Phoenix, I'll leave things here to you."
"Understood."
———
Rorsted Archipelago.
On an uninhabited island, Edward stepped through a Traveler's Door and immediately flipped a coin to confirm it was safe to use the Sea God's Sceptre here.
Then he activated his Animagus transformation.
His body twisted unnaturally, skin burning like it was on fire, melting into black smoke that spread rapidly from his limbs to his torso, and finally to his head.
Bang!
A surge of magic burst forth—
Edward vanished.
In his place hovered a shadowy Obscurus in midair, a shapeless cloud of black mist.
As surging destruction and dark emotions flooded his mind, Edward cast several recorded Placates spells on himself in rapid succession, quickly regaining clarity.
Then he reached out a tendril of smoke, scooped up the Sea God's Sceptre from the sand, and stretched out his spirituality to touch the swirling lights around it.
He connected with twenty or thirty of the glowing prayer points—
And then, using the sceptre, he summoned a mighty storm and lightning, projecting both his voice and image to those connected believers.
"Death is the beginning of rebirth."
He paused, then added:
"I have returned."
He would bring to the believers of the Rorsted Archipelago—
A new sea god,
A new blessing,
A new hope,
And…
Online classes for all.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.