At the deepest part of the Sea of Ruins, near the entrance to the Forsaken Land of the Gods.
As the illusory tower appeared, specks of brass-colored light began to emerge above the sea, rapidly moving and outlining symbols and eyes in mid-air, constantly analyzing and reconstructing the seals present there.
This was a seal left by the Seven Deities together, and as a former participant, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom had a sufficiently deep understanding of it.
Under His control, those brass-colored specks of light transformed into layers of invisible barriers, strengthening and altering the seal there.
At a certain moment, the seawater below suddenly became dim and unreal, as if numerous "channels" converged below, forming a complex and mysterious "spiderweb" that wove together a profound and bizarre Mirror World different from reality.
Immediately after, one snake-like black tentacle after another stretched out from the Mirror World, forcefully striking the surroundings, attacking the invisible barrier, and the illusory Tower that stood on the sea surface, reaching into the sky.
The tip of each of these tentacles had an eye, either closed or open; anything they looked at instantly turned into grayish-white stone.
The reefs, sea surface, illusory books, and other objects directly touched by the tentacles all distorted, growing limbs and heads, transforming into women of various sizes and attractive appearances.
Gradually, a thin black mist rose from the sea surface. This mist was extremely viscous, as if it was about to liquefy into sticky black droplets.
These mists carried the implications of Depravity, curse, filth, and corrosion, emanating strange colors, as if they could evoke and magnify the darkest emotions and desires within a person's heart.
From within the mist, hoarse and layered whispers continuously emerged. Every single word in them could severely injure the Beyonder who heard it, causing them to lose control directly, or suffer mental confusion, or be afflicted by curses.
On this Sea of Ruins, all self-aware beings inevitably fell into a state of hallucination, their emotions and desires rapidly expanding, then their minds were ignited, their rationality destroyed, losing control and turning into Monsters. Those who were already Monsters became even more insane and sinister.
On the illusory tower, every book and every eye that made up this tower trembled, and brass-colored specks of light continuously surged out from within.
These specks of light rapidly moved, forming pairs of illusory eyes, carefully observing every tentacle extending from beneath the sea surface, examining every wisp of mist floating on the sea, searching for and creating reasonable weak points.
Amidst the rustling sound of turning pages, the surrounding light suddenly brightened, and the temperature rose, turning into a golden daytime.
Under these circumstances, light carrying a magnificent Sun aura condensed into droplets of liquid and fell from the sky, initiating a "sun sacred water" rain over this sea area.
Under the washing of the golden rain, the surging black mist continuously thinned and faded, as if it could disappear at any moment. The black tentacles with eyes at their tips constantly distorted and swayed, shedding layers of dry, transparent skin like snakes shedding theirs.
Boom!
A silvery-white electric light lit up, followed by more and more dense lightning bolts sliding from between the turning pages, carrying an aura of rage and destruction, striking into the black mist and onto those twisting, shedding tentacles.
These lightning bolts, directly striking weaknesses, were difficult to guard against and resist.
Under the continuous bombardment, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, who had not truly manifested from the Astral World, directly and forcefully suppressed the combined offensive of the Primordial Demoness and the Dark Side of the Universe.
In the Astral World, amidst the mottled painting where black mist permeated and surged, illusory torrents composed of vast amounts of complex information surged in without distinction, fiercely contending against each other.
The terrifyingly complex information torrent formed a tangible, indescribable storm, causing the painting, which had carried thousands of years of civilization, to tremble uncontrollably, as if it could collapse at any moment.
Immediately after, streaks of hazy light, not brilliant, not clear, devoid of any color, and seemingly composed of a vast number of illusory things, appeared out of thin air.
These lights seemed to be some manifestation of the rules of reality, rapidly decomposing the black mist created by Leyton using the Hermit Pathway, re-modifying the rules here, making the transmission and interaction of information slow and difficult.
Beneath the mountain-like black-robed figure, Leyton's body reappeared, solidifying into tangible flesh and blood, rather than an illusory information state.
Looking at the light that continuously eroded his Hermit Pathway, his eyes instantly became extremely deep, like a sea brewing a terrifying storm.
The aura around him became profound and deep, like the boundless Cosmos. The information torrent, the incarnation of the Hidden Sage, seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, beginning to continuously merge into his body. The auras of the two gradually unified, constantly rising.
Almost simultaneously, Medici, maintaining his flame giant form, suddenly burned fiercely, bringing a shower of purplish-red fire that erupted in all directions, carrying the will of conquest and disaster.
One star after another then appeared, densely packed, scattering rays of brilliance that dissolved and disintegrated the disaster-bringing fire rain.
The next second, streaks of civilized radiance bloomed out of thin air around, weaving into a magnificent figure, the figure belonging to the God of Steam and Machinery.
Silently, the shining stars around became faint, even their colors evaporated and quickly dissipated, no longer able to obstruct the fire rain that fell like sliding meteors.
The purplish-red flame stream easily penetrated Leyton's body, submerging into the civilized painting below, without causing the slightest harm.
Leyton's figure shattered in the flame stream, turning into a pile of foam.
These foams reflected colors, either reddish-white or purplish-red, under the firelight, vanishing in an instant.
Immediately, his figure appeared in another painting. Black mist gathered around him in wisps, from which one cold and indifferent eye after another emerged.
The light belonging to civilization followed closely, descending here, revealing the figure of the God of Steam and Machinery, and eroding the authority of "Mysticism" with the power of "Reality."
"By forcefully enduring and accommodating the Hidden Sage's madness accumulated over thousands of years, the humanity of this identity you possess will inevitably suffer a strong impact, perhaps even disappearing completely."
The voice of the God of Steam and Machinery echoed in Leyton's ears out of thin air, with no discernible gender, but one could easily feel the majesty and vastness He possessed.
Leyton did not answer, continuing to accommodate and digest the information belonging to the Hidden Sage.
With the Hidden Sage not resisting, their fusion proceeded smoothly, except for the increasingly severe trend of mental fragmentation.
The God of Steam and Machinery unexpectedly did not prevent Leyton and the Hidden Sage's fusion. Instead, He used this time to project His Divine Kingdom, sealing off the outside world while constructing a battlefield advantageous to Himself.
White Steam began to rise continuously around. The mottled light and shadow in the civilized painting constantly flickered, transforming into interlocking and connected gears, chains, and levers, collectively constructing one exquisite machine after another, forming a magnificent and grand palace.
Amidst rumbling sounds, one mountain-sized mechanical armor after another emerged from the ground, walls, and various corners of the civilized painting.
Their forms varied, including creatures from stories like giants, dragons, and Demonic Wolves, as well as angels with layers of mechanical wings on their backs, and Devils with completely metallic long horns on their heads. Each of them had an aura reaching the level of an angel.
Their eyes were vivid and nimble, clearly indicating that they were living mechanical beings with souls and self-awareness.
"Under the accumulation of thousands of years of history, civilization becomes increasingly profound, and the power I can use becomes increasingly strong."
The words of Steam seemed like a pronouncement. As His voice fell, the aura of the mechanical beings that emerged from the civilized painting rose again, and they simultaneously launched an attack on Leyton.
Silvery-white lightning, furious and sharp wind blades, scorching white and sacred flames, ice, darkness, curses… countless powers surged, covering all domains included in the 22 Pathways.
From the wisps of black mist, from Leyton's body, those eyes that grew sparkled with pure light, outlining one complex and illusory symbol after another within their pupils.
Silently, all the attacks disappeared. Immediately after, the mechanical beings that emerged from the civilized painting also disappeared, leaving only vast and pure knowledge surging and settling.
Leyton, who had initially grasped the Uniqueness of the Hermit, used the Pathway of "Knowledge" to reduce all attacks and the summoned mechanical beings back to their purest knowledge and information.
"Under the accumulation of thousands of years, knowledge and history are equally vast."
Muttering to himself, Leyton absorbed all the floating knowledge around him, then released more black mist, attempting to submerge the entire Divine Kingdom projection.
Beneath the dark black robe covered with mysterious patterns, Leyton's body, resembling a dark, shriveled corpse covered in eyes, seemed to spontaneously collapse under pressure, turning into continuously surging dark blackness and numerous eyes.
At the position of his head beneath the hood, starlight flickered, outlining a pair of eyes—a pair of cold and indifferent eyes containing countless brilliant stars, eyes evolved from the Uniqueness!
In the Divine Kingdom projection of "Steam," white Steam and black mist intermingled, yet remained distinctly separate.
Eyes, books, gears, and machines floated between the mist and Steam, falling into a peculiar balance. For a short time, neither side could overpower the other.
Amidst the stalemate, Leyton suddenly chuckled:
"At our level, what we compete on is no longer various powerful or strange Beyonder abilities, but rather the extent of knowledge we possess, the strength of our computational abilities, and our own Pathway and status."
"If there is no external force to break the deadlock, we can persist like this for one hundred years, two hundred years, or even longer…"