An Angel-level Cinderella can not only change her appearance, image, and temperament, but as long as she masters enough correct knowledge, she can also gain some of the target's abilities as her image changes.
In this state, he perceived the environmental changes under the influence of the Ugly Duckling. The surrounding rules became unusually conspicuous, as if he could easily deceive and tamper with them.
Leyton reached forward, pulled an illusory hat from the void, and placed it on his head.
His figure then vanished, concealing all traces.
Amon, maintaining his mythical creature form, did not restrain himself. Instead, he separated many Worms of Time from his body, blending them into the rapidly swimming and flowing light and shadow around him, making it difficult to distinguish which were real and which were fake.
A moment later, a transparent figure emerged from the shadows of the distant architectural ruins, gradually solidifying.
He resembled Amon closely, in both attire, appearance, and temperament, except for the absence of the iconic monocle over his right eye.
Several illusory Worms of Time flowing in mid-air suddenly merged, transforming into the image of Amon with a monocle. With one hand behind his back and the other clasped forward, he spoke:
"Why don't you also put on the monocle? That way, you'd be closer to me, and your unique spell could achieve even greater effects."
Leyton chuckled and said:
"Wouldn't I be instantly parasitized by you then?"
As he spoke, his figure flickered rapidly, appearing in various parts of the city ruins, but the figure standing before Amon never disappeared.
More and more Amon figures appeared around them, all reaching forward to grasp. Broken stones, rusted iron pieces, and other items appeared in their hands from time to time.
His confrontation with Amon evolved into a constant cycle of stealing and being stolen from, of twisting and tampering with the stolen targets.
Amon's avatars continuously appeared around them. Some were busy stealing, some were gazing around, and others chatted with Leyton:
"You have a great talent for becoming a Marauder. Are you really not considering changing your Pathway?"
"My true self can help you steal the Sage and lower characteristics from your body, allowing you to safely transition to a new Pathway."
"The Marauder and its adjacent Pathway's peak are still empty, and the very apex of this Pathway is a Pillar-level Great Old One. Are you truly not tempted?"
Snap!
Leyton, who had been unable to successfully steal his own position, suddenly raised his hand and snapped his fingers. The sound was magnified and distorted into an air cannon powerful enough to destroy a large sailboat.
The Amon standing in front of him was hit by the air cannon. At the same time, all the Amons around him showed signs of tearing, like a newspaper ripped apart by a strong wind, instantly disintegrating.
Leyton distorted the attacked target, transforming it into all the Amons present. They were essentially one person, and this distortion was easily completed.
In mid-air, the shattered Amons became illusory and ethereal, once again transforming into the light and shadow of Worms of Time, wandering and flowing everywhere.
"Interesting, so you carry a Mystical Item of the Black Emperor Pathway on you. No wonder you dared to confront me on the rule level."
"I remember you didn't have this Mystical Item last time I saw you. Where did you find it? Or did you get it from the outside world through the Fool?"
"Heh, it seems to be the latter."
Amon's voice sounded ethereal and illusory, echoing from the dust in the air, the shadows in the corners, and the stone slabs and dirt on the ground.
Leyton did not answer Amon's words. Instead, he looked up slightly at the sky, where lightning occasionally flashed. The deep blue, almost violet, glow in his eyes brightened for a moment, and he whispered:
"Light!"
His body was tinged with gold, and countless golden specks of light appeared around him, emitting circles of pure, clear, warm, and radiant white light.
The moment this light appeared, every corner of Chernobyl was illuminated, leaving no blind spots, not a single shadow.
Under the pure and clear light, the illusory Worms of Time wandering and flowing in the air rapidly faded until they disappeared.
The affected environment instantly returned to normal, and Leyton took a step forward, his figure instantly vanishing.
The next moment, his figure reappeared on a gray-white street several hundred meters away, having also reverted to his original appearance.
Less than five meters directly in front of him, Amon, dressed in a white lab coat, emerged from the void. He raised his hand and pinched the monocle over his right eye.
Rumble! Rumble!
Streaks of silver-white electric snakes sprang out of nowhere, carrying a strong, almost tangible, destructive aura of violence, landing around Leyton and engulfing his figure.
On the ground, silver-white electric snakes darted about, crackling loudly.
This state lasted for about two or three seconds. The dazzling silver-white receded, and Leyton remained standing in his previous posture. At his feet was a charred pit, still faintly reddish and with fine electrical currents.
Leyton stood there as if he didn't exist at all. He calmly looked at Amon, and his figure suddenly distorted, reappearing directly behind Amon.
Amon turned unhurriedly, asking at the same time:
"How did you detect my attack intention? Logically, this kind of lightning attack is very difficult to avoid by one's own reaction, unless one detects it and evades it in advance."
"Difficult, but not impossible," Leyton replied softly.
Amon nodded thoughtfully and said, "I probably know what you are."
After speaking, he stepped forward, passing Leyton neither quickly nor slowly, and walked towards the depths of Chernobyl, saying as he walked:
"In the depths of this city, there is a pit that leads directly to the earth's core, a pit connected to the Chaos Sea. Are you interested in seeing it?"
Amon's probing ended, and Leyton had no interest in continuing to fight him. Although he could rely on his special status to suppress the other party's 'stealing,' he couldn't do anything else to the other party.
Stepping behind Amon, he calmly said, "I'm more curious about the news of the third Knowledge Emperor characteristic."
Amon, with his hands in the pockets of his white lab coat, said leisurely:
"In the second epoch, the authorities of the Hermit and the Paragon were scattered among various ancient Gods, with Lilith, Ankewelt, and Soniathrym holding the most."
"As far as I know, from the second epoch until now, there have only been two Knowledge Emperors. The first was a subsidiary god of Ankewelt, that great lizard, who perished long ago in the conflict between giants and dragons, and his characteristics are unknown. The second one you should be familiar with; he is widely known..."
"Roselle Gustav," Leyton murmured Roselle's name. He frowned slightly, finding it somewhat incredible that only two Knowledge Emperors had appeared from the second epoch until now.
Amon raised his hand and pinched the monocle over his right eye, then tugged at the corner of his mouth:
"I also think that the frequency of Knowledge Emperor's appearance is a bit too low when a Sequence 0 hasn't been born. However, it's also possible that Beyonders of this Pathway are just too unlucky, after all, Mystery Pryers die very easily."
Leyton subconsciously looked up at Amon. He stole my thoughts again.
The two, now silent, flickered their figures a few times. One stole positions, the other distorted distances, and in a few breaths, they arrived at the edge of the deep pit connecting to the underground Chaos Sea.
This was a very ordinary, nearly circular pit, the edges of its opening stained with an indelible black.
As soon as Leyton stood at the edge of the pit, he heard faint, echoing sounds, like wailing wind or strange whispers.
He instinctively frowned, a look of disgust on his face, and glanced down. Besides the pitch blackness, he could see nothing.
Amon, at the opportune moment, asked, "Do you dislike the aura of the Chaos Sea?"
"Except for those of the five Pathways of Omniscience and Omnipotence, I don't think anyone would like the aura of the Chaos Sea, unless they want to integrate more authority."
As Leyton spoke, he took a few steps back, the deep, pale purple glow slowly fading from his eyes.
The will of the God Almighty in the Chaos Sea wasn't too strong; He didn't even notice my presence. Hmm... it might also be because I didn't go deeper.
Thinking of the God Almighty, he suddenly turned his head to look at Amon on the other side and asked:
"Do you think your father knows the whereabouts of the third Knowledge Emperor characteristic?"
"He is Omnipotent and Omniscient," Amon said with a slight tilt of his chin, his tone carrying a hint of arrogance, but he did not directly answer Leyton's question.
Leyton looked at Amon and scoffed, "Heh, it seems you're not sure either."
Amon's emotions did not fluctuate because of his words. He said calmly:
"Why don't you go ask the existing Omniscient One? Aren't you and that treacherous dragon on good terms?"
"What, are you also worried that he will betray you at an opportune moment, seize the authority of knowledge and civilization, and become the new Demon of Knowledge?"
Leyton slowly shook his head, his tone very certain:
"Absolute rationality leads Him to make decisions most beneficial to Himself. This kind of blindly impulsive gambling behavior is not something a naturally born mythical creature like Him would do."
"People change, and Gods do too."
Amon sighed, seemingly, and his figure instantly transformed into countless streaks of pale white light, flowing into the void and disappearing.
Leyton looked at where Amon had disappeared, then lowered his head to look at the entrance of the pit leading directly to the Chaos Sea deep underground, and said in a hoarse voice:
"Your aura is as repulsive as ever."
As his words fell, his body instantly dematerialized, breaking down into complex streams of knowledge that shot off into the distance.