The "Saint Roselle Birth Anniversary Celebration" was held on the only mountain in this "Urban Legend World."
At the summit of this mountain stood a temple, said to enshrine Saint Roselle's remains and relics. Under normal circumstances, it was not open to outsiders. Only during the one month when the "celebration" was held were civilians allowed to enter, to express their gratitude to the Saint.
—Although ordinary people were unaware of matters concerning the "Inner World," the "civilization" Roselle had brought to this world was still worthy of such treatment.
"Worship" was an officially mandated requirement. Every resident had to participate, and since Ebner's group of four did not want to wait any longer, they lined up at the foot of the mountain early the next morning.
This scene inexplicably reminded Ebner of the "mass testing" before his transmigration. The only difference was that there was no need to wear masks.
However, in a world shrouded by the symbolism of a "Demoness," thinking about an "epidemic" was definitely not a good omen… Ebner muttered to himself for a few moments, then said to the three women behind him, "Later, I'll enter the temple first. If you notice anything abnormal, act immediately according to the plan we discussed last night."
"Understood," Xio and Philina nodded.
Only Edwina hesitated for a moment before saying, "I have 'foreseen' that this world is about to undergo a huge change… It seems that something is awakening."
Foreseen… Ebner frowned slightly. Although he had the same premonition, that was because he had the "Pure White Eye" as a cheat. An ordinary "Seer" should find it very difficult to peer into the River of Fate within the "Ghost Empire."
What was more, Edwina's Beyonder abilities were still being blocked by the "Hand of Order," and she currently only had the so-called "professional skills" bestowed by it.
That meant this "foresight" did not come from her herself? So that was it—no wonder she had turned into a "Dragon" in the very first world!
It must have been that "Two-Five Dragon" forcibly enhancing the effectiveness of her abilities by using the authority of the "White Tower," giving her a cheat, right?
No wonder her initial "level" exceeded her own Sequence level… I even thought it was preferential treatment for a "villain."
As his thoughts turned, Ebner did not point it out. After all, it was actually better that the "Two-Five Dragon" had made preparations. At the very least, the safety of Edwina and the others should be guaranteed.
Because the "birth anniversary celebration" had been held very frequently in recent times, the organizers were highly experienced, so it quickly became Ebner's group's turn.
The solemn temple appeared somewhat empty. At the central "seat," a man with chestnut-colored, slightly wavy long hair, blue eyes, a high nose bridge, thin lips, and two meticulously groomed mustaches sat upright. His complexion was ruddy, his expression dignified, looking just like a living person.
In his hands, he also held a book with a relatively ancient style.
The moment Ebner stepped through the temple doors, he could tell at a glance that the "Roselle" seated on the chair was not a "person," but merely a mechanical puppet covered in realistic synthetic skin. Moreover, due to long-term lack of maintenance and depleted energy, it was on the verge of being scrapped.
"Still, calling this Roselle's remains isn't exactly wrong…
"Hmm, this so-called 'celebration' really is a kind of ritual. Its purpose should merely be to maintain the spirituality of this puppet so that it doesn't completely dissipate.
"But what use is that? Preserving a bit of spirituality still won't make him move again." Ebner was somewhat puzzled, then shifted his gaze to the book held in "Roselle's" hands.
After a brief consideration, he no longer bothered with restraint and directly reached out to summon the book in front of himself.
The other worshippers around him were completely accustomed to this and showed no reaction. Only an armed squad from the "Foundation" inside the temple seemed to notice something amiss. They immediately called for reinforcements and surrounded the temple tightly.
Ebner ignored them. After all, these ordinary people's firearms could no longer harm him. Most of his attention was already focused on that ancient-looking book.
The Book of the Three Divine Artifacts. It really was here! Looking at the name on the cover, Ebner nodded slightly and then casually flipped through its contents.
A moment later, he closed the book and pondered inwardly:
"'The Emperor Who Brought Civilization' wields the 'Holy Seal';
"'The Sovereign Who Proclaims Death' holds the 'Divine Sword';
"'The Star King Who Achieves Miracles' raises the 'Magic Mirror';
"…to seal the 'Giant Serpent' that returns from reincarnation…
"This book roughly tells the story of three heroes using three divine artifacts to seal the all-devouring 'Giant Serpent.'
"Only the final description is the key point… It should be the trigger condition for Roselle granting special powers to the so-called 'Three Divine Artifacts.'
"Although it might be a bit narcissistic, I feel that every sentence Roselle wrote is hinting at me!
"'The Emperor Who Brought Civilization' most likely refers to 'Mechanical Emperor' Evans;
"'The Sovereign Who Proclaims Death' should be 'Lord of the Undead' Vicente;
"As for the 'Star King Who Achieves Miracles,' that would naturally be the original 'Wanderer,' now the 'Miracle Invoker,' Alvin…
"After all, as Alvin, I was revered by multiple life-bearing planets and was indeed honored as a 'Star King.'
"In other words, it requires three different 'selves' of me, each holding one 'Divine Artifact,' and then performing the ritual according to this book's description, in order to activate the special ability added by Roselle as the 'Knowledge Emperor'?
"Heh, it shouldn't be just Roselle… Judging from the effect being aimed at countering the revival of the 'Giant Serpent,' one can guess that there must be the scheming of the 'Calamity Seal' in this setup!
"Moreover, the one who originally incited Roselle to forge the so-called 'Three Divine Artifacts' was precisely the 'Calamity Seal.' It's unlikely that it didn't meddle in some way.
"Only it, working together with Roselle's power to arrange things, could form an effective means to target the 'God of Luck'…
"The only question is, why was this book placed here…
"Right, the later 'me' favored by the 'Calamity Seal' should have been Giuseppe… And Giuseppe has fate-level entanglements with the 'Ghost Empire,' so he would inevitably come here… Placing The Book of the Three Divine Artifacts in this world counts as an ingenious arrangement. After all, if it were placed elsewhere, Giuseppe might very well miss it under the calculations of various gods and angels.
"But who would have thought that Lilith would be even more ruthless, personally stepping in to drag Giuseppe back for ten years, massively diverting the fate of that 'me'!
"Of course, Lilith and the Goddess simply didn't want a 'me' of the 'Order' pathway to grow and allow the 'Calamity Seal's' conspiracy to succeed. As for whether I could obtain The Book of the Three Divine Artifacts, They were not opposed.
"After all, the final 'me,' whether Oliver or Ebner, doesn't really matter to Them…
"Of course, judging from the series of arrangements Lilith and the Goddess made earlier—including Vera, Will, Yalolan, and Ghosinam—they should all be more inclined toward me as Ebner… After all, compared to my previous selves, I'm relatively 'clean'!
"As for the 'Two-Five Dragon,' It's accustomed to betting on multiple sides, so I'll withhold judgment for now."