As the deep crimson light burst through the door within the shadows, the originally insubstantial shadows quickly came alive, continuously collapsing and contracting inward, transforming into a pitch-black giant.
The moment this pitch-black giant formed, it uncontrollably split, becoming two smaller pitch-black giants, one with deep red eyes and the other with pale golden eyes.
They instinctively regarded each other with hostility, uncontrollably fighting each other, attempting to devour the other and return to wholeness.
At the same time, a fierce wind arose around them, howling as if trying to close the door in the sky.
As it drew near, the violent hurricane, like the shadows just now, came alive, gaining an independent self and life. Whirlwinds contracted inward one after another, growing limbs and a head, transforming into a dark, howling human figure.
Just as before, this human figure formed by the hurricane also began to split uncontrollably, then fought each other.
The deep red moonlight behind the door grew increasingly crimson, continuously stretching and deforming, striving to allow more light to penetrate.
A deep red hand had already grasped both sides of the doorframe, pulling hard on the body behind it.
Amidst the struggle, a phantom, rippling, pitch-black and terrifying "ocean" appeared out of thin air, as if it could encompass all things, enveloping the pitch-black shadow giant, the howling wind giant, and the door from which deep red light continuously spread outward, dissolving them into nothingness.
In the pitch-black, phantom "ocean," everything was being dissolved and assimilated.
The deep light gradually dimmed until it was completely obscured. Subsequently, that phantom "ocean" spread out, like a pitch-black, phantom curtain draped across the sky.
Under the interference of the Chaos Sea's aura, the gazes of the Astral World's gods struggled to penetrate reality and discern the situation here.
Beneath the pitch-black, phantom "curtain," the moment Mr. Door returned to the real world, his Apotheosis Ritual had already begun.
His already vague figure had completely vanished, leaving only a phantom and abstract, layered and illusory door that seemed to be woven from pure starlight and crimson moonlight.
At a certain moment, the crimson moonlight intertwined within the pure starlight continuously disappeared or dimmed, making the conceptual being, transformed into starlight, somewhat purer.
Amon's voice echoed at the appropriate time:
"Give up, and hand everything over to me, how about it?"
"You probably don't want to advance to Sequence 0 in this state, do you? At that time, you, who control the authorities of 'Wandering,' 'Space,' and 'Door,' will become their opener for invading reality, causing the apocalypse, which originally had about ten years left, to begin early."
"I don't need much; accommodating too many Characteristics will diminish my own state. I will return the rest to the Abraham Family. You can also leave some resurrection contingencies for yourself. Dying once and then resurrecting is the best way for those of our level to escape negative states."
"This world needs a Lord of the Mysteries. Antigonus went mad, and you are corrupted. So, there is only me."
Each sentence Amon uttered caused Mr. Door to lower some of his resistance, allowing him to steal more of his destiny, Characteristics, and Apotheosis Ritual.
Within the phantom and abstract Astral World, distorted and grotesque faces emerged at the very top, blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to cross even slightly.
On the barrier left by the original, the existing phantom cracks subtly showed a tendency to expand.
This gave the Outer Deities of the cosmos, who were blocked outside, some hope. They intensified their erosion of the Astral World, and transparent, distorted faces obscured the entire upper part of the Astral World.
In the Land of Perfection, embraced by a canopy of trees woven from countless flowing colors, Leyton, who had retrieved his separated information, Characteristics, and spirit, and whose state had returned to its peak, calmly gazed at the Outer Deities beyond the barrier.
Rays of unbrilliant, unclear, and colorless light formed around him, blossoming with the Land of Perfection as their center.
They quickly condensed into projection-like paintings, one after another, lacking thickness but giving a sense of extreme weight.
Light and shadow constantly flickered on these paintings, showcasing the enlightenment and development of human society at different stages.
As if carrying thousands of years of civilization, carrying the history of generations of humans numbering in the billions, with an indescribable weight and vastness, they unfolded closely against the barrier left by the original, completely isolating the power and gaze unleashed by the Outer Deities of the cosmos.
In a phantom kingdom guarded by numerous dark, pyramid-shaped mausoleums, Roselle leaned back in a giant stone high-backed chair, watching the civilization paintings that blocked the Outer Deities' power and gaze. He shook his head and chuckled softly:
"Heh, so you alone can replace the Seven Gods who have guarded the Astral World for thousands of years? How embarrassing for them."
As he spoke, his figure suddenly became much more phantom-like, as if he were in another world with completely different underlying rules. Like a shadow, he wandered between two contradictory rivers of fate, leaving the Astral World and entering reality.
Deep in the Spirit World, Klein and the Seven Lights sat in the reception hall with a lit fireplace that he had pulled from the historical void, listening to the Seven Lights' descriptions of the Outer Deities of the cosmos, the Sefirah Castle, and the Outer Deities.
"Regarding the previous Lord of the Mysteries, also known as the Celestial Worthy, we don't know much either. We can only deduce from some residual traces that he and the Lord had already fallen before the second epoch."
"But they didn't truly die. According to our Seven Lights' conjecture, they are all personalities split from the original, and to a certain extent, they are equivalent to the original. As long as the corresponding Beyonder characteristic still exist, they might return from nothingness."
"This probability will decrease as time passes and the mental imprints in the Beyonder characteristic fade, but it will not disappear completely."
"Orange Light" Hillarion enthusiastically explained their conjectures and understanding of the Celestial Worthy to Klein until "Yellow Light" Venithan, who had been silent, suddenly interrupted:
"Your Highness, I apologize for the interruption, but I saw some reminders transmitted through the Spirit World by the Erudite."
"Mr. Door has escaped the troubles of darkness and storms and returned to reality. Amon is trying to steal his Apotheosis Ritual to become a True God of both the Error and Door Pathways."
"He hopes you can use the power of the Sefirah Castle to tear open the barrier created by the True Creator using the power of the Chaos Sea."
Klein was stunned for a moment, mumbling to himself as if he hadn't fully processed it:
"Mr. Door has returned?"
"Amon is trying to steal his Apotheosis Ritual?"
He felt that all of this was a bit too dreamlike and unreal. He had just become a Miracle Invoker, had just learned the true nature of this world from the Seven Lights of the Spirit World, and before he had time to digest the news, Amon was already ascending to godhood, and as a True God of two pathways at that.
Composing himself, Klein nodded gently to the Seven Lights and said, "I'll leave for a moment."
"Red Light" Aiur Moria was the first to stand up and bow to Klein:
"Your Highness, if you need anything, we can also provide some assistance."
"Mmm." Klein nodded slightly. His figure instantly vanished from the Spirit World, directly entering the ancient palace above the Gray Fog.
The black "curtain" automatically flew up and draped over him, transforming into a black cloak.
Klein raised his hand, and The Fool card, which he had placed face down on the table, immediately flew into his hand. His aura rose a bit further, and his control over this Gray Fog deepened.
After preparing, his gaze lowered. Without needing the positioning of prayer light points, his Seer's intuition immediately directed his gaze towards the southern Sonia Sea.
He saw a phantom, pitch-black and lightless "ocean," seemingly frozen eternally in the sky above the clouds, difficult to penetrate even with the true vision above the Gray Fog.
Above this pitch-black and lightless "ocean," he saw Roselle's figure, very phantom-like, as if he had become some kind of illusion, appearing to be isolated in another world.
He was trying to cross this "ocean" and enter the Sonia Sea below.
Seeing this scene, Klein casually summoned a paper figurine from a pile of sundries in the corner, infused it with power, and threw it down.
In an instant, this paper figurine crossed a long distance and appeared beside Roselle, transforming into a shroud of gray-white mist that constantly surrounded him.
"You're really slow."
Roselle looked at the pitch-black "ocean" below, sighing softly. With the aura of the Sefirah Castle forming a barrier, he no longer feared the corruption from the Chaos Sea.
Immediately, his body transformed into pure shadows, carrying the gray-white mist, and rushed into the pitch-black and lightless "ocean" below.
Relying on the Gray Fog aura from Roselle, Klein finally managed to penetrate his gaze downwards and see what was happening on the sea surface.
He saw a brilliant starlight, extremely phantom-like, as if composed of layers of illusory doors, no longer resembling a physical being, but closer to a concept, a symbol.
With just a glance, Klein deciphered numerous pieces of information from it, understanding the symbolic domains represented by this brilliant starlight.
"'Wandering,' 'Door,' 'Sealing,' 'Key,' 'Concealment'… all are domains contained within the Apprentice Pathway. Is the final form of this pathway to become a conceptual being? I wonder what The Fool is like."
As he muttered to himself, Klein noticed that a layer of crimson was always intertwined within the brilliant starlight; the two seemed to have completely merged, indistinguishable from each other.
"Corruption from the Primordial Moon? This must be thoroughly marinated by now!"
As he sighed, he saw a figure emerge within the starlight, a figure wearing a monocle.
He seemed to have noticed Klein's gaze as well, smiling and looking up, meeting Klein's eyes.