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Bernadette sat on the chair, rested for a moment, and after feeling herself recover, she reached out and wiped away the bloodstains flowing from the corners of her eyes.
Her gaze towards Leyton was somewhat unreadable; she was certain that the very blurry figure she had glimpsed was the Hermit. This was her perception of her own pathway as a Clairvoyant.
"Did He intentionally let me see Him?"
The only reason Bernadette could think of for seeing that figure was this.
What truly puzzled Bernadette was that He was not the Hidden Sage.
Had the Sequence 0 of the Mystery Pryer pathway ultimately been occupied by someone else?
Bernadette even suspected that the other party might be her own father.
She knew that her father was once a Sequence 1 Knowledge Emperor, and she hoped her father had not truly died.
Leyton and Klein exchanged glances, neither speaking. Bernadette had clearly seen something through her prophecy.
Bernadette reorganized her thoughts and looked at Leyton with a scrutinizing gaze, saying,
"You should know that Oravi Island has always been opposing the Moses Ascetic Order."
She picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, while mentally organizing her words, then said,
"These matters have nothing to do with the Moses Ascetic Order. They are not collaborators, nor are they included."
Seeing Bernadette show interest, Leyton continued,
"The Hidden Sage mostly acts based on instinct as a Uniqueness, which is why He appears mad, but when needed, He can break free from this state."
Bernadette listened quietly, not interrupting Leyton's words.
The relationship between the Hidden Sage and the Moses Ascetic Order was indeed subtle. Although the Moses Ascetic Order believed in the Hidden Sage, the Hidden Sage rarely responded to them; He merely continuously pursued every Mystery Pryer.
After making some guesses and considerations in her mind, Bernadette nodded slightly and said,
"Tell me why you came to see me. I think this should be related to the opportunity you mentioned."
"Yes." Hearing Bernadette's words, Leyton knew that the other party had already made a choice. His eyes lit up, and he immediately nodded in response,
"The Aurora Order will plan an event to bring the True Creator down in December of this year. At that time, the True Creator will descend with a Sequence 2 avatar."
"If you kill this avatar before Evernight and Storm react, you will be able to complete your advancement ritual."
Unexpectedly, Bernadette didn't show much reaction, merely saying indifferently,
"What's your plan?"
"The True Creator's descending avatar will actively seek death. What we need to do is kill Him in the shortest possible time."
"I will pray to the Hidden Sage in advance to temporarily raise your strength to the level of Sequence 2. Only Sequence 2; any higher, your own will would inevitably be eroded."
Bernadette's eyes flickered, and she looked at Leyton playfully, saying,
"Why not raise your strength to Sequence 2?"
"At that time, I will also temporarily use the Sage's power, and the price will be borne by the True Creator's clone residing in me!"
Leyton directly stated the agreement between himself and the True Creator's clone.
"No wonder He wanted to reside in you."
Bernadette nodded slightly, not questioning the plan. Since he had already approached her, he must have factored in the sealed artifact she possessed.
Two Sages, plus the sealed artifact she held, and the other party also had the favor of the God of Knowledge. They indeed had the ability to kill an actively suicidal evil god's avatar in a short time.
The premise was that the evil god's avatar was truly intent on seeking death...
"If there are no additional changes, I can agree to this plan, but what can you offer?"
Bernadette looked at Leyton with cunning eyes.
"Uh..." Leyton paused, silent for a moment, repeatedly thinking in his mind about things that could attract Bernadette. After a while, he said,
"I can offer three options for you to choose from."
"Oh?" Bernadette looked at Leyton in surprise.
Did the other party mean there were three satisfactory rewards?
Klein, who was beside them, also looked at Leyton in surprise. He thought the other party would exchange information about Emperor Roselle, but he didn't expect him to offer several options for Queen Mystic to choose from.
Leyton picked up three cups, placed them side by side on the dining table, and then poured black tea into them one by one.
"The first option is to have the Hidden Sage mark all the Mystery Pryers of the Oravi Island, so they will no longer encounter the problem of knowledge chasing people."
"However, I personally don't think this option is very good. Pursuing knowledge and bearing pain can accelerate their growth."
Leyton stated the first option he could provide.
Klein, who was quietly listening from the side, was the first to ask,
"Why not have the Hidden Sage reduce the danger of knowledge chasing people? Wouldn't that be better?"
Bernadette also looked at Leyton, waiting for his answer.
Leyton picked up the tea he had poured and took a sip before continuing, "Knowledge is not something obtained without effort. This goes against the essence of seeking knowledge."
Bernadette nodded in agreement, "What are the other two options?"
Klein looked at Queen Mystic in confusion, and couldn't help but ask,
"Aren't you considering this option?"
If the situation of knowledge chasing people could be avoided, it should be a beneficial thing for Oravi Island, which holds the Mystery Pryer pathway, with no harm whatsoever.
Bernadette smiled slightly, "I am also very interested in the other two options that can be put together."
Leyton continued to pour tea into the cups, while saying,
"A characteristic of the Knowledge Emperor, not now of course, but it will take a long time, most likely when the apocalypse arrives. If you choose this characteristic, you choose a faction, so I suggest you consider it carefully before making a decision."
Without waiting for Queen Mystic to wonder where the Knowledge Emperor characteristic came from, he continued to state the third option:
"The third option is some information about Emperor Roselle."
Bernadette's eyes once again became extremely deep, clearly losing focus, her eyes wide and blank.
After a moment, they returned to normal, her brows furrowing slightly, then relaxing again.
She picked up the third cup that Leyton had filled with tea, took a small sip, and then said,
"I choose the third option."
Leyton nodded, not too surprised:
"I can tell you about Roselle now. Roselle became a god in the end, but was then directly killed by the descent of the Eternal Blazing Sun."
"But he, well, it should be said He, jumped to the Black Emperor pathway. The special thing about this pathway is that one can return after death, as long as no new Black Emperor is born."
"He's not dead!?"
Bernadette suddenly stood up, her voice extremely agitated, and the surrounding emerald green pea vines swayed continuously, as if dancing in a strong wind.
Leyton and Klein silently lowered their heads, waiting for Queen Mystic to calm down.
In a moment, everything around them quieted down, and Bernadette's tone returned to its previous calm, like an ancient well without ripples:
"Do you have more news? We can make another deal."
"Not for now. I got this information from the Omniscient One."
Leyton shook his head, no longer revealing information about Roselle, and at the same time, shifted the blame to the God of Knowledge.
"Omniscient?" Bernadette murmured twice, then continued to ask,
"Since he can still return, why has there been no movement after so long?"
"Perhaps something went wrong, but as long as the Black Emperor's mausoleum remains, and as long as a certain number of the order He established still exist, He can return from death."
Leyton shook his head, telling Bernadette the conditions for the Black Emperor's resurrection.
Bernadette was silent for a moment, as if recalling something, then after a while, she continued,
"Invisible creature roaming the upper realm, strange spirit friendly to humans, Bernadette Gustav's exclusive messenger."
"This is my messenger's summoning incantation. For future actions, remember to write to me a week in advance."
The emerald green pea vines around them retracted one by one, and the surroundings turned back into the restaurant compartment. Various sounds from outside the compartment clearly drifted in.
Bernadette's figure across the dining table also disappeared along with the pea vines.
"Gone?"
"Then it's time for us to enjoy breakfast."
Leyton didn't pay much attention to Bernadette's departure.
Since the cooperation had been settled and the information about Emperor Roselle was known, Bernadette would definitely go back to organize people to investigate the location of Roselle's secret mausoleum.
"Do you think Queen Mystic paid?"
Klein looked at Leyton, who was cheerfully eating breakfast, and asked.
Leyton waved his hand and said, "It's fine, I don't lack this money."
Leyton tasted a sip of milk that had been boiled with strange ingredients, then silently placed the cup of milk a bit further away.
Klein took a deep breath, feeling his poverty once again.
Then he also began to enjoy the lavish breakfast here.
"By the way, what's your opinion on the Hidden Sage?"
Klein asked his question while eating breakfast.
He didn't know much about the Hidden Sage; the information he had gathered from Old Neil's experience and the Church's archives led him to classify the Hidden Sage as an evil god.
Leyton said without hesitation, "My personal view on knowledge is: everything is a question, and everything must have an answer."
"The Hidden Sage is like a pure personification of knowledge. He has almost no desires or emotions, only following His instincts to collect and disseminate knowledge."
"Personified knowledge?" Klein seemed to be asking a question, and also speaking to himself.
Then he thought about the information he knew about the Hidden Sage. Except for Beyonders of the Mystery Pryer pathway, the Hidden Sage never actively bothered others.
"Then why did He become an evil god?" Klein asked the doubt in his heart.
"Aside from the Gods worshipped by the Seven Orthodox Churches, all others are collectively referred to as evil gods, regardless of their inherent good or bad."
He paused, then added, "There's a bit of a connection too; those guys rejected by the Seven Gods all have their own problems, none of them can be considered normal."
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