Ebner had no time to study what abilities a Cognizer possessed.
He reflexively activated the Pure White Eye and, guided by an inexplicable sense, looked past the All-Seeing Eye and the Pure White Angel blocking the entrance of the passage—
and "saw" into the depths of the Unknown Land.
Within that unknown time, that unknown space, a slumbering, Unknown figure lay still.
His face was "unknown," his form was "unknown," all of him was "unknown"—
yet Ebner distinctly felt that a portion of this being's fate was intertwined with his own.
And that was the only thing, as a Cognizer, he was capable of "seeing" about Him.
At that moment, that Unknown shadow seemed to sense Ebner's "gaze,"
and its body trembled ever so slightly.
In the next instant, Ebner felt a deep tranquility wash over his soul—
and then he lost consciousness entirely, falling into a deep sleep.
Simultaneously, the Unknown figure whose fate was linked to him stopped trembling and returned to slumber.
In the real world, Ebner's mythic form collapsed back into human form, and he was caught and gently held by the waiting Mother of the Sky.
…
Backlund, West Borough, Horatio Family Villa
The Flora·Jacobs parasitizing Emma suddenly caused her host's head to turn toward the outskirts.
Her mouth whispered softly:
"Unknown… My Lord… has awakened!"
After a few seconds of dazed silence, Emma herself curved her lips into a soft smile—
her expression filled with pure devotion.
In the same city, Bridge South Borough, beneath the Harvest Church
Lilith, having descended using the Goddess of Beauty's body, also looked toward the outskirts and nodded.
"It seems the conclusions drawn from that experiment in the Forsaken Land of the Gods were correct.
The impact from advancing to Sequence 3 can indeed be dispersed by the power of 'Evernight.'
"In that case, the influence Ebner receives from the 'Unknown' should be the smallest among all versions of 'him.'
"It is a pity that when Alwen realized this and sought Evernight, it was already too late…
Otherwise, there would have been no need to wait until…
"Hm. I wonder whether he will manage to break through the barrier of Sequence 1.
"Even Oliver, Rhine, and Vicente never dared attempt advancement to Sequence 1—
for fear of losing themselves completely."
…
Within the Secrecy-cloaked mirror world, Vera Tamara—who had just temporarily "bound" the Black Saintess using the Fog of Uncertainty—turned toward the outskirts beside the manifested "Spirit Angel" Tholtzna.
Her expression turned complicated.
"…Unknown…" Vera murmured.
The doll-like Tholtzna remained expressionless, her thoughts unreadable.
East Chester County, Cabas Town, Deep Nightmare Church
Yaloran and Cohinem suddenly sensed something.
They exchanged a glance.
"You think he can replace the 'Unknown' in this lifetime?"
"I don't know…
But if he fails, with how 'polluted' we already are, we will eventually become mindless puppets.
The apocalypse draws near.
The 'Unknown' cannot sleep forever."
"Yet the Unknown's attitude… is also 'unknown.'
He might not do that."
"Then do you dare gamble on it?"
"…I do not.
"So let us hope he succeeds."
…
On a certain primitive island in the Fog Sea,
a pure black shadow suddenly surfaced.
Two cracks tore open on its face, forming a pair of grotesquely uneven "eyes."
But these "eyes" had no pupils—only blood-red color.
The blood-red eyes gazed eastward for a while—
when another crack split open beneath them, forming a mouth.
The shadow burst into eerie laughter:
"'Unknown'… briefly awakened?
"No wonder the monster inside me weakened slightly…
"Pity—if I'd chosen to believe in 'Liu Bo' back then,
I might have escaped my predicament through this."
…
Wednesday night, having completed all reviews and finally left the Church of Storms headquarters on Pasu Island, Alger drove the Blue Avenger into a remote sea region.
He then used a batch of vampire anesthetic gas—bought from "The Moon" for 130 pounds—to knock out all the sailors.
Only then did he lay out a ritual and chant in Ancient Hermes:
"I!
"I summon in my name:
"The spirit wandering the illusions,
the friendly creature available for command,
the messenger belonging to Gehrman Sparrow."
On the deck, the wind suddenly roared, becoming violent.
The flames of the candles expanded, turned pale—
a bright gold-haired, red-eyed head emerged from within them.
Alger was about to speak—
when he realized that behind the head was not a neck,
but a hand holding it by the hair.
Renette Tinicol stepped out in her somber, ornate long dress,
the four heads she carried all turning toward Alger, speaking in turn:
"You… "
"Need… "
"Fruit… "
"Ice?"
Fruit ice? What?
I didn't summon her for snacks!
I asked the "World" for the Loenese… no, for the Obnis Sea Monster!
And this spirit creature talks?
As expected of the messenger of the Fool's favored!
Alger, confused, corrected her:
"I need the Obnis Sea Monster."
"Then…"
"That's…"
"Not…"
"Wrong…"
The four heads nodded in unison—
and then Renette spat out a block of ice containing… a strawberry.
Before Alger could react, she lifted the "transformation curse"—
and an enormous sea monster appeared on the ocean surface like a small mountain.
Its tentacles writhed wildly, excited at its regained freedom—
until it noticed Renette.
Instantly, it behaved like a domesticated pet, falling obediently still,
opening a mouth large enough to swallow a full-sized ship.
—Clearly, after days of "training," it had become very obedient to this ancient, eldritch being.
Seeing this, Alger wasted no time.
He dove into the water and swam inside the Obnis's belly.
There, he took out the jars and bottles he had prepared.
After preparing the materials,
he calmed his emotions, meditated once,
and then drank the metal vial of Ocean Songsterpotion in one gulp.
Ten minutes later—
Now successfully advanced to Sequence 5 Ocean Songster, Alger excitedly raised his voice, testing his "singing" ability—
A moment later, the sea monster spat him back out.
"Singing…"
"Just like…"
"A murderous…"
"Seaweed-head!"
…
Thursday, the capital of Lenburg — Aesara
Edwina Edwards's archaeological discoveries went on public display in dozens of museums.
Because "Admiral of Iceberg" was widely known, and with excellent pre-show publicity, crowds flooded in to visit.
Everyone was stunned—
for these artifacts came from various periods of the Fourth Epoch,
spanning its entire history,
capable of overturning many historians' established theories.
Meanwhile, Edwina's academic papers were published worldwide simultaneously—
Even though none mentioned anything supernatural,
every scholar who read them felt their worldview collapse.
Amid this global upheaval in the fields of history and archaeology—
Edwina performed a ritual,
shattered the mirror formed from the Prophet characteristic granted by God,
and brewed it into potion, drinking it all.
After nearly losing herself in the River of Fate and the world of Absolute Rationality,
Edwina Edwards succeeded—
Advancing to Sequence 4 Prophet.
"I'm now the fifth 'Queen' of the sea…
The 'Iceberg Queen.'
At last… I've somewhat caught up."
…
Backlund, 28 Kingster Street
When Ebner woke again, it was already Friday morning.
He groggily sat up,
trying to recall what had happened before—
Only to hear someone calling his name.
He turned toward the sound—
And saw that Fors and Xu, who had been leaning on the bedside,
were now looking at him in pure joy.
(End of Chapter)