Edward and Roselle exchanged a glance before Edward said, "So-called transmigration truly isn't a coincidence. It's not like those web novels where some protagonist steps on dog shit luck, crosses into another world, and becomes the main character—the unbeatable"Gary Stu" type."
He glanced at Roselle. "Of course, in Emperor Roselle's early days after transmigrating, he did spend a period of time as a protagonist and a 'Gary Stu'."
"And behind all of this lies the handiwork of a high-Sequence powerhouse. The reason He orchestrated these events was to leave behind a means for His own resurrection." Edward paused. "All the 'transmigrators' inside those cocoons, including…the space above the grey fog, were all preparations that powerhouse made for His eventual revival."
Klein froze. "Above the grey fog?"
This time Roselle answered. "What you call 'above the grey fog' has an official term in mysticism. It is the Sefirah Castle, one of the nine primal Sefirot of this world. As for what a Sefirot is…"
"You already know that at the peak of each pathway stands a Sequence 0 deity. But above the gods, there is actually another tier—Above The Sequence. To reach that tier, one must contain a Sefirot."
"Of course, besides a Sefirot, one also needs additional components, which involve the adjacent pathways…"
Roselle then briefly summarised the rules for advancing to a Great Old One.
"And the one who arranged our 'transmigration,' and who left the Sefirah Castle to you, was precisely a Great Old One—A Pillar—of your pathway. His goal is for you to continue advancing, eventually becoming a Great Old One, so that He may awaken within your body and replace you entirely."
"!!!"
Klein's face changed dramatically. "So when I advance to the peak of this pathway—the so-called Great Old One, beyond even the gods—I would essentially be committing suicide?"
"Not necessarily. If your consciousness can defeat His, then you will become the new Great Old One."
"Then if I—"
Before he could finish, Roselle said flatly, "You mean stopping at a certain Sequence and refusing to advance? Do you still remember the Apocalypse of this world? Advancing beyond godhood is the only chance of overcoming doomsday."
Klein stiffened, fingers tightening. "The Apocalypse…what exactly is it? I've heard the concept mentioned in many places, but I still don't know what it refers to. Is it something like the biblical flood—an irresistible catastrophe?"
"No."
"On this question, only angels at Sequence 2 or higher normally have the right to know. Otherwise, the knowledge risks causing fatal corruption and erosion. Though inside the Sefirah Castle you're relatively safe, once outside, you would still be in danger. But I can give you an example…"
"You can think of the Apocalypse as the monsters invading Earth in Ultraman. With Earth's own power, it's impossible to resist such extinction-level creatures. So Earth needs an Ultraman."
"You are the strongest Ultraman."
Uh.
Klein scratched his head. "That's…quite a vivid example."
Roselle's face wore a mysterious smile. "Just accept this understanding for now. You will naturally learn more secrets about the Apocalypse and the Great Old Ones once you ascend to higher Sequences."
He shot a sidelong glance at Edward, his tone carrying implication. "Of course, everything we've said is only the ideal scenario. Whether the real future turns out that way…well, it's hard to say."
He was naturally referring to the fact that Edward had already contained the uniqueness of the Door pathway.
Klein did not delve into that implication. Instead, he finally voiced the question that had been lodged in his heart—the most pressing one, "Then…can we return to our original world?"
"The world we transmigrated from."
This time, both Edward and Roselle fell silent.
A long time later, Roselle finally gave a gentle smile. "I can't directly tell you whether you can or can't. Some things should be left for you to discover yourself."
Klein's heart instantly sank.
Roselle's evasive answer was, in truth, an unspoken affirmation of Klein's worst fear. A surge of emotion rose within him—despair tangled with sorrow.
Seeing his expression triggered Roselle's own resonance. He recalled the day he himself learned the truth behind "transmigration"—was he not just as helpless and despondent back then? Because of that memory, he could not find the right words to comfort Klein now.
Four or five minutes later, after working hard to steady his emotions, Klein finally turned his gaze toward the two of them. "Let's talk about the two of you. You seem to have quite the good relationship. Don't tell me Edward's disappearance all this time was because he was always with Emperor Roselle?"
He paused slightly, then guessed, "So His Majesty didn't actually die back then—he was merely trapped somewhere and unable to escape, and it was Edward who later rescued you?"
Roselle gave a slight nod. "More or less…that's the gist of it." After a brief pause, he added, "Edward went back one hundred and ninety years into the past. At that time, I was still young. After we met, we went through many things together. It wasn't until yesterday that I finally regained my freedom and smoothly advanced again as the Black Emperor."
"???"
Klein's mind short-circuited; he could not digest such shocking information all at once.
"Edward…went back…one hundred and ninety years into the past?"
As he was still trying to process that, another, even more devastating detail slammed into him—
"Black Emperor!"
He nearly jumped out of his seat. "Y-You…You're already Sequence 0 Black Emperor?!"
Roselle burst into triumphant laughter. "Hahahaha—yes!"
"So…you're now a deity?"
"That's right!"
A deity?
Klein inhaled sharply. Roselle was now a genuine god, on the same level as the Seven—the real thing. Compared to him…or rather, compared to Them…Klein himself—a fake, makeshift deity—fell painfully short.
Thinking back, the closest he had ever been to a true god was when he prayed to the Evernight Goddess not long ago and received a simple "I know." But now, a true deity—Roselle—was standing only a few meters away. It felt like he could reach out and touch him.
This was…far too surreal.
Klein abruptly stood and gave up his seat, gesturing respectfully. "Cough…Your Majesty, perhaps you should be the one to sit here instead."
"No need. I'm perfectly fine here." Roselle extended a hand enthusiastically. "When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Why don't you draw a Tarot card for me as well? I'm joining the Tarot Club."
"Uh…"
"Hey, you're allowed to act mysterious in the Tarot Club, but I'm not allowed to join in the fun?" Roselle rubbed his palms together. "I've been wanting to experience the feeling of a max-level player returning to the newbie village just to show off."
Truly, worthy of being Emperor Roselle.
The corner of Klein's mouth twitched as he materialised a Tarot card before Roselle.
Roselle rubbed his hands together like a gambler lifting a card on the table. "Let me see what my card is!"
With a crisp snap, a card flipped—unsurprisingly, it was the Emperor card. Roselle clicked his tongue. "What's this? The Emperor card? Too uncreative. Boring."
He tossed the card aside in disgust. But at that moment, Klein suddenly snapped out of his stupor—compared to Roselle being the Black Emperor, wasn't Edward travelling back in time even more shocking?
He stared at Edward, stunned. "Edward, everything His Majesty said is true? You really went back one hundred and ninety years into the past?"
"That's right." Edward smiled. "In fact, I only truly awakened from my slumber yesterday. And the place I slept…was inside the light door deep within the Sefirah Castle."
After a moment of confusion, Klein suddenly realised, "The person who broke out of the 'cocoon' right under my nose—that was you?!"
"Mm."
"H-How…How is that even possible…"
Thus began Edward's turn to enter "storytelling mode." He recounted his experiences after transmigrating—though with certain omissions, naturally hiding everything related to Outer Gods and anything involving Harry Potter.
In truth, aside from Lilith, he had not told anyone about coming from the Harry Potter world or the existence of that book. (Even Audrey knew nothing about the Harry Potter novel.) Even Roselle still believed Edward, like them, came from Earth in the past.
"…Because I was burdened with the curse of 'Death,' I had no choice but to sleep within the Sefirah Castle to resist its erosion. Only when you advanced to Sequence 4 yesterday, stepped onto the final Light Staircase, and opened the depths of the grey fog did I awaken."
Edward continued, "After that, I sensed Lilith was in danger and immediately left the Sefirah Castle to help her…In the end, thanks to Amon's 'betrayal,' we managed to 'take down' Adam and force him into slumber."
As Edward's story unfolded, Klein's expression grew increasingly distorted—his jaw dropping lower and lower.
Though he had learned during the last Tarot meeting that Edward was advancing to Sequence 1, he never imagined the reality would be far beyond anything he could have conceived.
"You actually served as the master of the Sefirah Castle for a while in the past—oh…So that's why Lady Strength asked me whether there was another 'above the grey fog.'"
"And so that's why Miss Empress felt like she returned a changed person this time. She still behaved like a child on the surface, but something about her was clearly different. I thought she was just a kid imitating adults. Turns out she…went through so much during that period."
"And the Apprentice Marionette that Miss Empress gave me was actually your avatar? No wonder when I performed divination on it, the result was beneficial toward me!" Klein finally understood. Then he asked, "But why did you send your avatar to me as a Marionette? Did you foresee what would happen yesterday?"
"Right—what exactly is your avatar? It actually let me jump from Sequence 4 to Sequence 3 for a short time?!"
Facing Klein's barrage of questions, Edward shook his head. "All of that was Lilith's arrangement. Her goal was simple—to help you advance to Sequence 4 as fast as possible, so that I would awaken from the Sefirah Castle."
"As for your 'advancement,' it came from something similar to the ability of a Visionary. It looks powerful, but it's entirely illusory. Against a true powerhouse, it shatters instantly."
As he spoke, Edward couldn't help recalling yesterday's battle with Adam—
Whether it was the Sequence 0 abilities he had "eaten," or the quick leap to Sequence 1 via the fantasy-powered regression, all of them were as fragile as glass before Adam.
Were his abilities really only good for bullying those below Sequence 0?
It was honestly infuriating!
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.