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On Minsk Street, in the bedroom of Leyton's rented house, Leyton's figure quickly materialized.
"I wonder if Bernadette will come and ask me about what happened today?"
"Hmm, probably not. At the time, it was because she sealed off the surroundings and the Spirit World, severing my connection with the paper figurine, which triggered the self-destruct mechanism I left on the paper figurine."
He muttered a few words softly, took off his coat, and hung it on the coat rack nearby.
After a simple wash-up in the bathroom, Leyton lay down on the bed and went to sleep.
The crimson moonlight streamed through the glass window, scattering into the bedroom, creating a tranquil atmosphere.
In his deep sleep, Leyton once again fell into a profound dream.
The blurry figure, calling himself Sasrir, became slightly clearer. The surrounding scene was the interior of an ancient and magnificent palace. He sat quietly on a tall, golden throne, gazing at the twilight outside.
Leyton's figure appeared in this palace, abruptly like a discordant intruder.
"Is this the Giant King's Court?"
Leyton looked doubtfully at the blurry figure sitting high on the throne at the very top of the palace.
"This is the Giant King's Court from my memory."
The blurry figure replied, then rose from the throne and walked towards Leyton step by step, saying as he walked:
"I didn't expect that besides you and Roselle, there's still an Outer Deity survivor in this era, and one of the contingencies left behind by the former Lord of the Mysteries."
"The superficial calm is about to be broken. In the not-too-distant future, this world will enter its final carnival before the apocalypse!"
The other party's words had no fluctuations, but Leyton's expression unconsciously grew solemn, as if he had already seen the future scene.
After two seconds of silence, Leyton recomposed himself and said:
"With your help, how long can I fully Exploit the power of the Sage characteristic within me?"
"Less than thirty seconds. This is the limit your body can withstand."
The blurry figure said without any change in his voice.
Leyton nodded slightly. Less than thirty seconds was quite a bit longer than his estimated ten-odd seconds.
The blurry figure stopped about a meter in front of Leyton. Although his figure was blurry, Leyton could still perceive that the other party should be half a head taller than him.
He curled his lip slightly, changed the topic, and continued to ask:
"Will the True Creator's descending avatar instinctively resist when facing a fatal threat?"
"The insane consciousness will have some resistance, but it won't be too strong. With two Sages working together, plus the cooperation of my own will, killing this avatar won't be too difficult."
"Hmm." Leyton nodded upon hearing this. The other party's words should be credible.
Hopefully, the Evernight Goddess's divine descent will be a bit slower then.
The blurry figure proactively brought up another topic:
"Are you planning to support that Outer Deity survivor to become the new Lord of the Mysteries?"
"Surely you're not going to support Amon, are you?"
Leyton looked at the other party without flinching and retorted.
The blurry figure showed no particular expression, or perhaps he did, but it was too blurry to see.
Seeing that the other party had no response, Leyton continued:
"Amon very clearly chose Adam between you and Adam!"
The blurry figure seemed to be silent for a moment, perhaps saddened by his good son, or thinking of his other divine half.
The blurry figure finally just said: "He doesn't acknowledge my identity."
"If Amon becomes the Lord of the Mysteries, are you sure it won't be worse than the return of the former one?"
Leyton continued, trying to persuade this father.
The blurry figure did not answer this question, only saying:
"Before they truly begin to contend for the position of Lord of the Mysteries, I will not interfere!"
Leyton waved his hand, no longer attempting to say anything.
Another topic ended. Leyton and the blurry figure silently watched each other, but neither had any intention of speaking again.
After a long silence, Leyton finally broke the quiet:
"Are there new Pathways in the Cosmos that are adjacent to the existing twenty-two Pathways?"
"Yes! I don't know exactly which ones, but those Outer Deities entrenched in the Cosmos, except for those who want to reclaim their lost authority, the rest are here to gain authority similar to their own."
"However, accommodating more authority can elevate an Outer Deity's rank and strength, but it cannot exceed a Pillar."
The blurry figure answered in great detail.
Leyton nodded slightly. These matched his conjectures. Then he asked a new question:
"If an ordinary Outer Deity accommodates more authority, is it possible for him to become a new Pillar? Or will he directly lose control?"
The blurry figure shook his head and said:
"There are only four clearly defined Pillar ranks. Aside from these, an Outer Deity who accommodates more authority can only increase his own strength and authority, but there will be no new Pillar rank, unless he chooses to lose control and allow the Original Creator to awaken within him."
Leyton nodded in understanding.
The next morning, Leyton sat at the dining table with the day's newspaper, enjoying breakfast while reading reports about the serial murder case:
"The 12th case!"
"Devil reappears, another lady victimized, killer has been apprehended!"
"Gas explosion, serial killer caught in blast, dies at crime scene."
In an inconspicuous corner of today's newspaper, there was also a brief mention of the theft at the Royal Museum.
"The long-suffering scapegoat, the gas explosion, finally played the hero today."
Leyton sighed with a hint of mockery.
Then he put the newspaper aside and continued to enjoy his breakfast.
At the same time, inside the Royal Museum.
In the restored Roselle's study, Max Livermoor, the captain of the Machinery Hivemind team wearing a monocle Sealed Artifact, asked his team members:
"Are you sure only two bookmarks were stolen?"
"Yes, only those two bookmarks were stolen," the questioned team member replied with certainty.
An old man standing in front of the desk, dressed in a white priest's robe and wearing a clerical soft cap, gazed at the desk for a long time.
Then he turned around and said in a calm tone:
"Last night, there was more than one person here, at least two, or three, opposing each other."
"One of them might even have a higher Sequence than me, while another strangely fled, and then there was the third one, who didn't seem like a normal life form, perhaps consciousness residing in some item."
"I cannot reconstruct the complete scene, but I can still make out quite a lot. This matter is more complex than we imagined!"
"Your Grace, Archbishop…" Max, the captain of the Machinery Hivemind team, still wanted to say something.
But the old man, referred to as Archbishop, waved his hand and sighed, gazing once more at the two books from which the bookmarks were stolen:
"I know why they stole the bookmarks. We were all deceived by Roselle…"
Klein, who had just returned to his body from above the Gray Fog, stretched a bit, then went downstairs to enjoy breakfast.
He had just taken a bite of a crispy and fragrant corn tortilla when the house's front door was pushed open directly.
Klein immediately turned to look. Leyton walked in, holding a newspaper.
Klein quickly swallowed the corn tortilla in his mouth, looked at the undamaged door behind Leyton, and said:
"How did you open my door?"
"Just a gentle push, and it opened."
Leyton made a pushing motion with his hand.
Klein looked at the other party suspiciously, then said:
"Did you analyze the Master Key's door-opening ability?"
"It is indeed a door-opening ability, but not analyzed from the Master Key. My crow can also open doors."
Leyton walked into the dining room, pulled out a chair, sat down, and replied.
Klein was stunned for a moment, then remembered the night before last, when he escaped that house by opening a door with the Master Key, and that crow of his actually managed to keep up with him.
Leyton handed the newspaper to Klein, with the page reporting the theft at the Royal Museum on top.
He raised an eyebrow at Klein, then said:
"You're quite fast!"
Klein's first reaction was to deny it, but then he felt there was no need.
He hesitated for a moment and asked:
"How did you know it was me?"
"Guess what Bernadette and I were talking about then?"
Leyton did not directly answer Klein's question but instead retorted with a question.
Klein's face stiffened. He carefully replayed the scene from last night in his mind. He hadn't seen anyone other than Bernadette.
Finally, the image in Klein's mind settled on the small paper figurine lying on the manuscript, crudely cut, but with strange patterns drawn on it.
"You were that paper figurine?"
Leyton nodded slightly and said:
"I had left a coordinate there yesterday during the day, originally planning to go and get the bookmark at night and then run, but it just happened to land right in front of Bernadette."
Without waiting for Klein to exclaim, Leyton looked at Klein with a half-smile and continued:
"Then, while Bernadette and I were talking, another strange Spirit ran over, grabbed something, and ran off."
"Uh…" Klein scratched his head awkwardly. He hadn't thought about how to explain his appearance as a Spirit and sudden disappearance.
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