Strictly speaking, the only reason the Goddess's vessel—the Mother of the Sky—appeared here at all was because Klein, acting in Dwayne Dantès' name, had filed a report directly to an archbishop.
Otherwise, as the Church of Evernight's sealed artifact 0-17, She would never have left the Chanis Gate beneath St. Samuel Cathedral on Her own.
As for why the Black Saintess ran straight into the hands of the Goddess and Ebner—
First, because Lady Arianna, the Servant of Secrecy, had secretly placed a state of misfortune upon her when she applied Secrecy over the mirror world.
Second, because the "Conqueror" crown the Black Saintess wore carried a characteristic resonance with the Mark of Catastrophe within Ebner's eyes.
Thus, aside from the Goddess's vessel, the mirror world was surrounded inside and out by five angels—Vera, Arianna, Will, Tolzna, and Klein's summoned "Messenger," Miss Renette.
Under such conditions, the Black Saintess—who lacked a "0"-level sealed artifact—had almost no path to escape intact.
While these thoughts flashed across his mind, Ebner followed the Goddess's advice.
He took out a stack of cards and began unsealing the materials stored inside, one by one.
Asmodeus's Eye, one of the main ingredients—obtained from "Lust" Owen Dorian, who seized it after using the White Saintess to kill the Sarri family's only demigod.
Complete Brain of a Mist Demon, another main ingredient—Vera's commission reward. Though he hadn't completed the commission yet, she had already paid upfront.
10 grams of Astral Light Dust, an auxiliary material—acquired through trade with "The Hermit," Cattleya.
10 grams of Sand of the Spirit World, an auxiliary material—one of the Spirit World's specialties, easily obtained from Tholtzna.
100 ml each of Earth Water, Ocean Water, and Sky Water, auxiliary materials—readily available in the physical world; only Sky Water took extra effort, but Ebner, who could fly, simply collected it from the clouds.
Once all the materials were gathered, Ebner surveyed the surroundings.
This place was barren and empty—no creatures in sight.
No risk of collateral damage.
And with the Evernight Goddess's vessel beside him, the area was essentially Her kingdom.
Even if the advancement caused a massive disturbance, it would be safely concealed.
Thinking this, Ebner took out a large cauldron and added in the ingredients one after another.
As the materials blended, the mixture quickly thickened and condensed—
Finally turning into a pot of indescribably "yellow" slurry.
A single bubble floated atop it—round, glossy, and disturbingly eye-like…
In short—
It looked utterly inedible.
If Ebner weren't already seasoned to such horrors, he might have retched on the spot.
Staring at the thing he had "cooked," Ebner's mouth twitched.
He deeply felt that the Reader Pathway's potions were getting more and more bottom-tier.
What is this potion trying to say?
That knowledge is incomprehensible, repulsive, and dangerous?
Well… it is… but does it have to be reflected so literally in the potion?
After complaining inwardly, he gradually adjusted his mindset.
He turned to glance at the Goddess's vessel.
Seeing the Mother of the Sky nod gently, he let out a breath.
His body suddenly swelled, tearing apart his clothes—
Transforming into the incomplete Mythical Creature form of the Reader pathway.
Since the "White Tower" mythic form—like the Trickmaster's—is peculiar, being both a whole and countless fragmented "Spirit Eyes"…
If I couldn't already control my incomplete mythic form, I'd have no choice but to imitate Klein and let my limbs tear at the potion bit by bit…
Imagining a swarm of eyeballs scrambling to drink from a pot of yellow sludge…
The thought alone is terrifying.
Also, the advancement ritual for "Cognizer" is "fully understanding the essence of at least three incomplete Mythical Creature forms and completely analyzing their model."
And I've already analyzed all 22 pathways' mythic forms.
Even if a few are still partially incomplete due to time, they should be more than enough…
With this passing through his mind, Ebner inhaled deeply.
He stopped hesitating.
His mythic form absorbed the potion.
Silently—
His White Tower's "bookshelves" flooded with new "volumes."
Every Spirit Eye plunged into madness—
Madly learning.
Madly absorbing knowledge.
Spirit World, Astral Realm, Physical World, Fate…
It was as if all phenomena under the heavens had been thrown into their curriculum.
Even Ebner's multi-threaded mind overloaded instantly.
Some of the knowledge carried dangerous elements—
The kind sealed within Beyonder characteristics.
Fortunately, these dangerous bits overlapped with the knowledge he'd gained analyzing Mythical Creature forms, causing their priority to drop.
They settled into the "sections" of the White Tower that had already studied similar material—
Not assaulting his Spirit Eyes directly.
Because he had analyzed all 22 pathways' mythic forms—almost every symbolic domain—
Ebner recovered from overload quickly.
He began sorting the ocean of knowledge—
Stars, Spirit World, reality, fate—
Classifying, organizing, restructuring.
He even had spare attention to reflect:
So the real purpose of "analyzing mythic forms" was to reduce the difficulty at this moment…
Knowledge you've "previewed" is always easier to digest.
The ritual's minimum of three forms must correspond to:
—One of the Five Gods' pathways,
—One of the Three High Sequences,
—One of the Fate-related paths…
Only then is success barely possible.
If one only "previewed" adjacent pathways, they'd already be dead under the foreign knowledge's impact…
But of course—Cognizer… to comprehend the world's rules, grasp deep secrets, find the lever that shifts reality, and solve problems effortlessly…
It sounds simple.
But the amount of knowledge and analytical ability behind it is monstrous.
And naturally—only by becoming a Cognizer can one complete the secret technique that every past "me" failed to complete…
After a long stretch of contemplation—
Ebner's White Tower finished its temporary expansion.
Rows of ethereal bookshelves became clearer, more complete.
He released a quiet breath.
This meant the potion's impact had fully passed.
He had succeeded—
He was now the Sequence 3 of the Reader Pathway—
A Cognizer!
(End of Chapter)