He rolled His eyes. "Your idea might not be wrong, but how are you going to accomplish it? Do you think the Outer Gods are idiots? Do you expect them to walk obediently into a giant trap they can clearly see, just waiting for you to catch them like turtles in a jar?"
"Uh…what if someone helped me punch them in, or force them inside? Like—like in Digimon Adventure Season 1, when everyone teamed up to knock Piedmon into MagnaAngemon's Heaven's Gate?"
"If the Outer Gods only numbered one or two, maybe even two or three, that might be possible. But they outnumber all the native gods of Earth combined—and let's not forget there's also a Pillar-level Mother Goddess of Depravity. Who exactly do you think you're teaming up with?"
"…"
Edward thought for a moment, then sighed in disappointment. "Alright, fine."
"By the way…what about that situation where Lilith and I travelled back in time? How did that happen?"
The "Creator" frowned slightly as He pondered. "That was probably an accident…The Time-Turner from Harry Potter, combined with you, a 'higher-dimensional being', stumbled into the effect of time traversal."
"But calling it time travel isn't entirely accurate. If we treat the Lord of the Mysteries world as a book, then as a reader, you can flip to any time, any scene, any event you want simply by turning to the corresponding page."
Edward nodded slightly. "So that time-travel event was essentially equivalent to…flipping a page?"
"Mm, that's roughly what it means."
"Then why didn't the Time-Turner do that the last time I used it…?"
"Who said it didn't? The first time, you went back two hours. The second time, you went back more than a hundred years. The span was different, but the nature of the act was the same."
He curled His lip and huffed, "Don't underestimate that!"
Edward fell silent, trying to digest everything the "Creator" had just told him. It didn't seem like much, but his brain felt like it was swelling painfully.
After a long time, he turned his head toward the river outside the window and asked, "The Chaos Sea and the River of Eternal Darkness—are you planning to return them?"
"Return them? Why should I? I acquired them through ability—why would I give them back?"
He scratched His cheek with a shameless expression. "Besides, those two Sefirot were ownerless from the start. Who exactly am I supposed to return them to?"
"…"
"Hahahaha, I'm joking. When you ascend to Sequence 0, this world will no longer require Sefirot to sustain it. At that point, I won't need them anymore. Whoever wants them can take them."
Edward looked at Him with a complicated expression.
"…I thought your original plan was to use them to ascend to a Great Old One, or even a Pillar."
"Sorry to disappoint. When I designed this pathway, I never considered anything beyond Sequence 0. So there's Sefirot for this pathway."
He continued calmly,
"It's not that I didn't want to, or that I couldn't. It's that there was no need."
His tone lowered, airy and distant.
"Because half a step above Sequence 0…the Oldest One will be waiting for me."
"If I succeed, I replace the Original Creator. If I fail, the Oldest One replaces me."
"There's no buffer. No middle ground."
He walked two steps closer and patted Edward's shoulder. "Of course, now things are different. If we succeed, the two of us will share the Original Creator's authority. If we fail, well…we go down together."
Edward: "…"
He clasped His hands behind His back and stood before him.
"So—do you have any other questions?"
Edward shook his head. "For now…none."
"Then we'll end here. I hope that the next time we meet, things will have progressed for the better, Edward."
As soon as His voice fell, Edward's vision rapidly blurred. Everything around him retreated like a rewinding film. He saw the train rushing across the black waters, the distant golden ocean, and a figure slumbering within its depths.
He had no idea how long it lasted.
Suddenly, he found himself standing once more at the train door.
The ticket inspector greeted him politely, "Sir, may I see your ticket?"
After a brief daze, Edward shook his head.
"Sorry. I don't have one."
The inspector smiled. "Then please return the way you came. Missing the wrong train is often its own kind of fortune."
Edward bowed slightly. "Thank you."
He turned, glanced at the station one final time, and vanished in a blink.
At the same moment—
Inside the speeding train, the "Creator" leaned His chin on one hand, gazing out the window. Suddenly, His brows furrowed. He casually reached out and grasped something from thin air.
A blurry silhouette formed before Him—
Salazar Slytherin, the one who had been erased like a pencil mark in front of the Evernight Goddess.
Still terrified from his earlier erasure, he blinked and found himself in a new place. For a moment he was lost—until he saw the black waters outside the window. His pupils shrank violently.
"I…I'm back…?"
The "Creator" glanced at him coldly, flicked His finger, and sent Salazar flying into the black river, where he sank without a ripple.
Then He muttered, "You talk too much."
———
Leaving that so-called "dwelling place of gods" proved far easier than entering it. With a mere thought, Edward returned to the Room of Requirement.
But he did not immediately rush off to find Audrey and the others.
Instead, he took out the Key of Stars and the Author's Beyonder characteristic, hesitating over whether he should brew the potion and ascend to Sequence 1.
The hesitation, naturally, came from worrying about the "Creator."
He had just revealed so much—yet conveniently left the details after Sequence 1 shrouded in mystery. It was hard not to wonder if He was intentionally pushing Edward to advance as soon as possible.
Ding.
Edward flipped a coin.
"Advancing to Sequence 1 now will be harmful to me."
The coin spun several times in mid-air before landing in his palm—numbers facing up.
A negative answer.
So…was I overthinking it?
He considered again, then tossed the coin a second time.
"That 'Creator' intends to harm me."
Numbers up again—another negative.
Could it be…that the "Creator" really was bound to his fate, and the two of them truly had to walk this pathway together to replace the Original?
No.
There was also another possibility.
Since this pathway was created by Him, He naturally knew every detail of its abilities. It was highly likely He could affect relevant powers—such as making [Genius to the Right] fail, rendering its results unreliable.
He exhaled slowly.
"At this point, I don't seem to have a choice."
Even without the threat of the Oldest One, even without the Creator's existence, the Outer Gods circling like wolves ensured that Edward could not afford to remain stuck at Sequence 2 forever.
Having made up his mind, Edward sensed Audrey and the others' location, then opened an illusory door and stepped through.
———
On the other side
Audrey and the rest had gone to the Headmaster's Office, where they found Dumbledore.
After listening to Audrey recount the entire situation, the old man—dressed in fuzzy pyjamas and a sleeping cap—fell into deep contemplation. After a long silence, he finally exclaimed, "Salazar Slytherin…Merlin's beard, I never imagined he was still alive."
Lilith immediately corrected him, "Strictly speaking, that was only a fragment of his soul—or rather, a Horcrux."
"Even so, it is astonishing."
Dumbledore stroked his long beard thoughtfully.
"Slytherin evidently went to the dwelling place of gods, and even encountered the legendary deity within."
Audrey added, "He clearly discovered something, but before he could speak, he was silenced. We simply can't figure out what he found."
She glanced cautiously at the Evernight Goddess. "I remember he became extremely shocked when he saw you…Could it be that he saw you before, in the dwelling place of gods?"
The Evernight Goddess replied calmly, "This is my first time here. I have never visited that so-called dwelling place."
Lilith pinched her chin.
"Could it be that when you made that deal with 'that person' back then, He secretly tampered with something?"
"…"
Hearing this, even the Goddess seemed briefly uncertain.
Dumbledore rubbed his temples and sighed.
"Alas, what troubles me most right now is how to handle the disappearance of Ilvermorny's student."
Susie, who had been sitting quietly at the side, spoke up. "That notebook containing Slytherin's soul fragment—could it be the same notebook Ilvermorny presented as a reward for the Four Schools Tournament?"
Dumbledore nodded lightly.
"It is not impossible. And if that is the case, then Ilvermorny very likely knew from the beginning. Hm…I believe I know how to proceed."
Just then, a shimmering illusory door appeared in the room, and Edward stepped through.
Audrey and Lilith's eyes lit up instantly as they hurried toward him.
"Edward!"
"Edward, you're back!"
Edward ruffled Lilith's hair.
"Mm. Good evening, Professor."
Dumbledore smiled. "It seems your trip went smoothly?"
"It did."
The Evernight Goddess asked evenly, "You met Him."
Edward turned toward Her.
"Yes. I did. And the question you asked me to convey…He did give me an answer."
She looked at him calmly, waiting for his explanation.
"When I ascend to Sequence 0, He will no longer need the River of Eternal Darkness. At that time, you will naturally be able to take it."
The implication was obvious—
If you want the River of Eternal Darkness, then at the very least, do not obstruct my advancement to Sequence 0.
The Goddess showed no surprise. She merely nodded lightly. "I understand."
Lilith whispered, "Edward, what exactly did you encounter in there? And what's the situation with 'that person'?"
"I'll tell you all slowly later."
Lilith glanced meaningfully at the Goddess. "Oh—right, Amanises is still here. We'll talk after She leaves."
Edward chuckled.
"In short, I basically learned everything I needed to know. I've also temporarily reached a cooperation agreement with 'that person.' From here on, my only goal is to reach Sequence 0 as soon as possible to face the coming crisis."
"Oh, right, Edward—something happened just now."
Lilith proceeded to recount the earlier incident.
After listening, Edward frowned and exchanged a look with the Evernight Goddess.
No matter how he thought about it, that was clearly the "Creator's" doing.
But what did He want to hide?
He knew perfectly well that Edward did not fully trust Him—so did He not realise that this would only increase Edward's suspicion?
———
[Note]: 1270 Powerstones for an Extra Chapter tomorrow! Go, VOTE!
And if you are like me and want to read 40 Chapters in advance of the current story right now, you can support me on my Patreon. Thank me later~
Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]