Aaron withdrew his gaze, and just as he was about to take out his divination pendant to divine his current location, the entire ship suddenly lurched violently.
Looking sharply ahead, the mist cleared, and a huge rift inexplicably stretched across the sea in front of them.
The azure sea was cut off here by a huge rift, and endless seawater poured down like a waterfall, vertically rushing into the bottomless darkness!
Splash!
The ship could no longer stop and rushed directly off the edge, plummeting rapidly.
Aaron also lost his balance and was uncontrollably heading towards the ceiling, but his expression remained calm. He had not received a warning of danger from the "Demon Button," indicating that this would not bring danger.
He maintained his posture by using his powerful body to brace against the ceiling.
Just as they were about to completely fall into the bottomless dark rift, seawater surged upwards from below like a fountain!
It supported the ship, tossing it high and throwing it to the other side of the section.
After a feeling of weightlessness, Aaron felt the ship land steadily on the sea surface and looked sideways out of the cabin window.
At this moment, the sunlight outside the window became bright, shining in intensely, causing Aaron's eyes to narrow slightly.
He quickly walked to the window and saw that the boundless ocean outside seemed to be burning with golden flames, as if it were always in a state of noon.
And it had been night just now!
Aaron raised his head and saw that the sky was filled with direct sunlight, with no clouds and no sun visible, just a golden expanse.
This didn't seem like a real ocean, or not entirely so, but rather a place left behind by the war of the gods.
As his gaze swept across, he noticed a patch of ruins not far in front and to the side.
Most of the ruins were submerged in seawater, with gray stones and pillars piled up like peaks above the surface. At the top, there was something like a dome, which, by its own curvature, supported a considerable space.
These ruins must have been incredibly huge originally. Through the clear seawater, Aaron saw that they extended downwards to the seabed, with no end in sight.
He restrained his curiosity well. Aaron withdrew his gaze. He knew that many ruins within the Divine War ruins contained various mutated monsters, including many out-of-control demigods and ancient evil creatures.
Many of the monsters and out-of-control evil creatures here could truly kill intruders, but they would not leave anything behind after being killed, only consuming effort in vain.
Spirituality surged, and Aaron intended to control the ghost ship to move away from that patch of ruins, when a huge and clear gasp suddenly echoed in his ears!
The huge gasping sound reached Aaron's ears slowly and rhythmically, sending a chill down his spine and making him feel inexplicably irritable, yet the "Demon Button" gave no warning of danger.
Not wanting to cause further trouble, Aaron steered the ghost ship towards a more distant direction, and the gasping sound gradually faded away.
The sea still looked as if it were illuminated by noon sunlight, subtly tinged with gold.
As the ship moved forward, a light spot in front and to the side grew larger and larger, reflecting a dazzling, dreamy, and multi-colored brilliance under the sunlight.
Golden light appeared in his eyes, and only then did he realize that they were four huge pillars carved from pure diamond.
Like the sky-supporting towers in myths and legends, they extended downwards, stood firmly, and supported a considerable floating island.
On the floating island, the soil was scorched black, without a hint of green. In its depths, the light was unusually bright, surpassing the noon sky.
Suddenly, a long neighing sound came from there.
The sound was loud and unrestrained, but it didn't have the kind of dangerous feeling that would make one's hair stand on end.
Aaron heard the 噠噠噠 sound of horses running and saw two horses that seemed to be made of gold rushing out of the floating island. Behind them, they were pulling a similarly golden and magnificent chariot.
A burning sensation, as if coming from his soul, invaded his entire body. This was very similar to the negative effect of the "Scepter of the Sun." Aaron was not at all stubborn and obediently lowered his head, controlling the ghost ship to accelerate away from this sea area.
For the next period of time, this ocean was like the outside world, with only the rippling surface of the water, vast, silent, and boundless.
Aaron occasionally saw strange bonfires floating on the sea surface, but he found no trace of the existence of the "Ghost Empire."
Frowning, Aaron took out a dark golden token from his 怀. It was the key to opening the "Ghost Empire."
After entering this Divine War ruin, relying on the bloodline sensation after lifting the hidden state, Aaron had been sailing for some time, but it was as if he had entered a maze.
He activated the token again, and the bloodline sensation still remained in this sea area. Looking at the empty sea area around him, Aaron's gaze lingered on the golden sea surface.
Just as Aaron was hesitating whether to venture into the seabed to explore, he suddenly noticed that the surroundings became dark!
The sky, which had always been in a state of noon, was now devoid of sunlight, completely shrouded in dense darkness.
This change was so fast and so sudden that the Mark of Night on Aaron's wrist emitted a soft fluctuation.
Drowsiness struck. Having realized that the most terrifying night of the Divine War ruins had arrived, Aaron did not resist and obediently closed his eyes.
In a world as if covered by a thin veil, he suddenly woke up, clearly recognizing that he was dreaming.
Aaron looked around and found himself on a mountaintop. In front of him was a bottomless cliff, and across the cliff was a mountain peak covered with countless palaces, countless tall towers, and majestic city walls.
Those buildings were magnificent and luxurious, layered and surrounding each other. Individually, they were unusually huge, unlike places where humans would live, and together, they had an indescribable sense of epicness, miracle, and mythology.
The sun hung in the extreme distance, casting the colors of dusk onto that city, the light seemingly solidified.
The Giant King's Court of Dusk, or more accurately, a Giant King's Court from a memory...
This thought flashed through Aaron's mind, but his gaze did not linger and instead turned to the black, monastic-style buildings behind him.
The mountaintop seemed to be a dividing line. The twilight light cast by the sun was blocked here, and the monastery was shrouded in peaceful blackness.
And behind the monastery seemed to be an even larger black ocean. Following a sudden strong sensation, Aaron looked there with some disbelief. A magnificent outline seemed to be faintly visible in the black ocean.
After being stunned for several seconds, Aaron withdrew his gaze with a somewhat strange expression and understood why, even with the token's guidance, he still hadn't found the "Ghost Empire."
This last treasure of the Trunsoest Empire did not exist in reality but in a dream world between reality and illusion.
The huge ship that was rumored to appear on a foggy night in the Sonia Sea, in Aaron's current view, seemed more like a projection of the dream world projected onto reality based on some medium.
After figuring all this out, Aaron breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless, the ultimate goal of this trip had been found, but that patch of monastery and the black ocean further behind were clearly fraught with danger.
Aaron was mentally prepared to stay in this sea area for a long time. This would allow him to encounter more nights and enter this dream world more often, which would give him many opportunities to explore.
Having made up his mind, Aaron looked around, searching for a direction to explore. As expected, he found that whether to the left, right, or back, there were black buildings of the monastery in patches, and they were separated from the cliff by tall walls.
No matter where he wanted to explore, unless he jumped off the cliff directly, he could not bypass the monastery.
And rashly using Travel Teleportation in such a place was clearly seeking death. Since there was no other choice, Aaron walked directly towards the dark gate of the monastery.
This gate was nearly ten meters high and did not seem to be prepared for humans. Aaron observed it for a few seconds, took a breath, extended his hands, and pressed them on both sides of the gap.
A creaking sound immediately rang out. The heaviness of the gate was a bit beyond Aaron's expectation. It took the physical strength enhanced by the Punisher Knight to move this giant gate.
Thump!
A heavy friction sound rang out, and the gate slowly opened, revealing the scene inside.
Two dim tall towers and black buildings were connected to each other by covered walkways, enclosing a spacious gray stone plaza.
The plaza was covered with pits and stuck with huge arrows, with several bonfires burning, as if it had been attacked before.
Behind the plaza was a vast hall supported by two rows of thick stone pillars.
There were no candles in the hall, but it was not dark. Aaron looked at the source of the light, and his gaze suddenly froze.
On the walls and even the dome of the hall were vivid murals with golden colors. They were connected to each other, leaving no gaps, giving the place a grand and sacred feeling.
On the mural was a sea of fire, which parted in the middle, creating a path. The light illuminating the hall emanated from here.
On the path was a long procession, whose members were either devoutly bowing their heads or prostrating on the ground, heading towards the depths of the sea.
Their leader was a tall, thin man with long silver hair, soft features, closed eyes, and layers of wings behind him.
This... Aaron's pupils suddenly contracted.
He recognized the leader in the mural!
It was the "Angel of Fate" that flashed by in many scenes when he last contacted Will Auceptin!
It was the "World Devourer," Ouroboros!
Aaron's heart tightened, and he forcibly withdrew his thoughts. Then he felt a little worried, unsure whether he had fallen into the "Fate Cycle" created by the "World Devourer" by coming here.
At this moment, he instinctively wanted to activate the sub-consciousness left on the dark golden mist, forcibly retrieve the memory that might have been erased, but in the end, he suppressed this impulse and decided to observe first.
Aaron had had many exchanges with the Fate Councilor Reychod before and had even observed Will Auceptin performing "Fate Restart," so he had a relatively good understanding of the interpretation of the domain of fate.
He then calmed his emotions and looked at the vast mural.
From the perspective of interpreting symbolic meanings, there was no cyclical river here, only black mud with fish stuck in it, indicating that there was no cycle of fate, only the entanglement of misfortune!
His heart relaxed slightly. Leaving aside the fact that this was a dream world with limited infiltration influence, even if he were cursed by misfortune in reality, as a favored one of the "Queen of Misfortune and Horror," Aaron was not worried.
He turned his gaze forward and found that this hall was very deep, with no end in sight, and the light shining in from the mural was limited to this area.
Other areas were quite dim, becoming darker the deeper one went, only vaguely seeing wooden doors on both sides, not knowing where they led.
Aaron's gaze looked into the depths of the mural hall, and his eyes suddenly froze. A tall figure appeared in front of those wooden doors.
This figure was nearly two and a half meters tall, wearing heavy, dark black armor. The cold feeling was almost palpable, the aura was restrained, silent like the deep sea, and in the eye sockets were two clusters of dark red light.
The figure emanating a terrifying aura had already raised the long and wide black straight sword in its hand. A warning sign suddenly arose in Aaron's heart. Just as he was about to flash away to dodge and seize the opportunity to counterattack, a sudden change occurred.
#190Chapter 188 Black Saint
The dazzling sunlight penetrated everything, and everything in the fresco hall suddenly froze, first becoming bright white, then fading, and finally disappearing.
Aaron suddenly opened his eyes and instinctively rolled over to dodge, only to find himself lying on the deck of the ghost ship, and the outside had returned to a midday state.
Looking at the golden ocean around him, Aaron recalled his exploration of the dream world just now and fell into deep thought.
He already knew the situation of the "Ghost Empire," so there was no need to continue searching outside. The remaining focus was to explore the black monastery and reach the final black ocean through it.
The dream world entered after night fell in the God War ruins was composed of the dreams of all creatures. The appearance of the black monastery and the Giant King's Court could be explained as projections of some power in the dream world.
However, the "Angel of Fate" depicted in the fresco hall inside the monastery was clearly related to the black-armored man who appeared last, who was at least at the demigod level, or it was a manifestation of his dream.
"Angel of Fate," Aurora Order... Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly, and he already had a guess in his heart.
That mysterious demigod was very likely Leomaster, the "Saint of Black" of the Aurora Order, Sequence 4 "Black Knight" of the Prying Sorcerer pathway.
Or, more accurately, his evil personality.
While leading the pilgrimage team to find the True Creator's sanctuary, he was trapped in the God War ruins at the easternmost part of the Sonia Sea. In the collective dream, he was affected by some power and developed a split personality.
"The fact that I can meet him in the dream world means that the area where this Saint of Black is trapped is in this sea area, and since he is backed by the Aurora Order, he definitely herds more than one demigod."
"Maybe I can make use of that kind personality, but this requires an attempt the next time I enter the dream world..."
Aaron's thoughts flew, and then he suddenly realized an awkward problem:
He didn't have any items with a deep connection to the Aurora Order. The only one he had was the Listener's glove contaminated by the Mother Tree of Desire, and he couldn't possibly use that for divination.
Without a medium for divination, it would be too time-consuming to find the area where the Saint of Black was trapped in this vast sea.
After thinking for a moment, Aaron walked back into the cabin. A moment later, a paper crane appeared in his hand. He wanted to try to contact Will Auceptin.
Although he didn't have items related to the "True Creator," Will Auceptin, as the "Mercury Snake," should be able to roughly sense the location of that "Fresco of Misfortune," and the Saint of Black might be trapped nearby.
It had been almost two months since their last contact, and without any specific clues, Uroborus shouldn't still be staying in Backlund.
Thinking this, Aaron wrote a sentence on the paper crane:
"Where is the Fresco of Misfortune in the God War ruins?"
Placing the paper crane aside, Aaron lay down quietly, feeling the rise and fall of the ghost ship and looking at the sky filled with gold.
Just as Aaron thought he wouldn't get a response and was preparing to find a way to contact Fate Senator Reykhod, a familiar drowsiness struck. Aaron subconsciously glanced at the golden sky. There was no night approaching, so he voluntarily closed his eyes.
After an unknown amount of time, Aaron suddenly woke up in his dream. Unconsciously, he was in that familiar barren plain, stepping on the black stones under his feet and walking towards the center of the plain.
A huge, scale-less silver-white long snake was coiled around the black spire, its body covered with countless Ouroboros symbols. Will Auceptin sat at the bottom, and as soon as he saw Aaron, he spoke indignantly:
"That smelly snake Uroborus just left, why did you run into the God War ruins again? That place is very unfriendly to beings above the demigod level."
"Without the protection of those few existences, even the penetration of power there could cause unknown and terrifying mutations."
Saying this, He snorted lightly and added:
"Responding to you this time is also because I was lucky enough not to cause any accidents."
"But Uroborus has the protection of the True Creator and can freely walk in most areas of the God War ruins. I advise you not to covet that fresco."
Looking at the little boy with his hands behind his back, acting like an adult giving a lecture, Aaron suppressed a smile and explained:
"I want to deal with the Saint of Black from the Aurora Order. He might be trapped near that fresco, which is why I'm asking you."
Will Auceptin almost thought He had heard wrong. As far as He knew, the True Creator's sanctuary should be somewhere in the God War ruins. Killing His believer right at the doorstep of the evil god's home, what kind of suicidal operation was this?
Catching a glimpse of Aaron's indifferent expression out of the corner of His eye, and remembering the deep and terrifying night in the God War ruins, a terrifying guess surfaced in Will Auceptin's mind: Could it be that person...
Quickly calming the thoughts in His mind, He coughed lightly and said directly:
"That paper crane will guide you to that fresco. The residual power I left on it can temporarily shield you from Uroborus's possible gaze."
"And I suggest you make your move when night sweeps through the God War ruins. With the protection of that residual power, you should be much safer, at least you won't be observed by the True Creator."
Saying this, He coughed lightly and directly waved His hand, forcefully ending the dream.
Aaron detached from the dream and looked strangely at the paper crane floating autonomously beside him, pointing in a certain direction. While controlling the ghost ship to sail in that direction, he muttered in his heart:
"Is this because He's afraid I'll attract the True Creator? Tsk, but His idea coincides with mine."
Aaron was not worried about the True Creator. The Seven Deities were all watching, and a mere demigod was not worth the risk for this evil god to take action.
The most likely appearance was Uroborus, but with the help of the night and fate, as long as the battle ended quickly, there would be no problem, not to mention he still had "Groselle's Travels."
Following the guidance of the paper crane, the ghost ship sailed on the golden sea, and the sky suddenly darkened. Thinking that the dream was coming, Aaron subconsciously looked up and towards the distance:
Lead-colored clouds appeared one after another, overlapping each other, seemingly completely covering the surrounding sea area.
A huge roar came, and in the blinding flash of lightning, a hurricane rolled in from the distance.
It connected the clouds above and the sea below, more exaggerated than any giant in legends, like a giant snake coiling to destroy the world.
This terrifying tornado brought mountain-like waves, and the branch-like lightning did not stop because of the heavy rain, continuously striking the sea surface and splitting into tiny electric snakes spreading in all directions.
The pattering raindrops hit the deck of the ghost ship, and a name instantly rose in Aaron's heart: "Lord of Storms" Leodero. A feeling that the end of the world had arrived lingered in his mind.
Without trying to be brave, Aaron controlled the ghost ship to dock beside a small island. He didn't go ashore, and no monsters appeared. He quietly waited for the storm to end.
Such a storm did not last too long. After about fifteen minutes, the waves subsided, the hurricane dissipated, and the midday sun once again dominated the sky.
He glanced at the depths of the island, where there seemed to be unusual fluctuations emanating, but Aaron had no desire to explore the island and directly controlled the ship to leave.
After several hours, Aaron was thinking about whether the next time he entered the dream, he would appear randomly within a certain range, or start from where he left off last time, when night fell once again.
Aaron quickly regained his clarity and rationality in the dream. He opened his eyes and looked around, finding himself not far from the monastery. The monastery's gate remained open, and the original Saint of Black had disappeared.
Without moving forward immediately, Aaron wanted to seize the time to verify his idea before the danger truly emerged.
He chanted his honorific name in a low voice, established a connection with the sub-consciousness within the Sefirah, and let the sub-consciousness take over the sleeping body outside.
Aaron, who was lying on the deck of the ghost ship, suddenly opened his eyes. The mark of night on his wrist echoed the dense and viscous darkness around him, and the pulling sensation that seemed to drag people into darkness immediately disappeared.
Through the synchronized perspective of the Sefirah's sub-consciousness, Aaron in the dream world clearly felt this change, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up. Then he ended this attempt.
Aaron looked at the black monastery not far away again, tightened his grip on the "Sword of Judgment," and walked back into the fresco hall, going straight into the depths. Feeling no danger, he pushed open the black wooden door.
Behind the black wooden door was not an absurd or strange scene, but a very ordinary hall piled with many miscellaneous items.
In the most conspicuous position in the hall was a pair of double iron doors. Just as Aaron was about to walk over, the corner of his eye caught sight of an inconspicuous black wooden door in the corner, identical to the one he had entered through.
Aaron frowned, but still turned and walked towards the wooden door. He reached out and grasped the handle. The door was not locked; it opened by itself with a gentle push.
Behind the door was a storage room. A full-length mirror was placed on the left side, and a figure wearing a linen short robe was huddled on the right.
"Who?" The figure wearing the linen short robe asked urgently but softly, his tone filled with despair and pain.
Aaron's tense nerves immediately relaxed. He had already seen the figure's appearance using his night vision:
His face was weathered, with deep wrinkles on his forehead, around his eyes, and at the corners of his mouth, exactly the same as the black-armored demigod he had seen last time. This should be the kind personality of the Saint of Black.
Aaron, not knowing when the dream would end, did not answer his question, and shamelessly made up a story:
"Mr. Leomaster, I am Mr. B of the Aurora Order, ordered by Lord Kosma, the 'Saint of Gloom,' to rescue you from your predicament. I have even brought a Holy Artifact for this purpose."
Hearing the stranger opposite him directly call out his name, Leomaster was stunned for a moment. And upon hearing the Aurora Order and "Saint of Gloom" Kosma, it was as if he had grasped the last straw.
Although his memory was fragmented due to the split personality, these two sets of words still stirred his remaining memories, causing him, who believed himself to be in a desperate situation, to subconsciously choose to believe.
The joy on his face lessened slightly, and he glanced worriedly at the hall:
"Mr. B, we'd better close the door first. We can't be caught by that demon, otherwise..."
The muscles on his face twitched noticeably twice, and his smile disappeared with them, as if he recalled something unpleasant.
Aaron nodded without changing his expression and gently closed the door. He had been prepared for the other party not to believe him, but he didn't expect this guy to be so easy to deceive. Was this also a sequela of the split personality?
Looking at Leomaster, whose face still showed fear, Aaron coughed lightly and said:
"This space is not stable, so let's make a long story short. The Holy Artifact that can take you out requires your blood."
Aaron raised his hand to stop Leomaster, who was about to cut his wrist, and regardless of whether the other party understood, he explained:
"Not here, but one day after you wake up, when you find yourself having left here and appearing in a world you've never seen before, then find a way to send your blood out of the seal."
Looking at the somewhat confused Leomaster, Aaron didn't continue to explain. After the night receded, the main personality, the "Saint of Black," would definitely occupy the demigod body outside.
Leomaster, this split kind personality, would definitely be suppressed tightly, as could be seen from the pursuit in the dream world.
But if the main personality, the "Saint of Black," were severely injured in the dream world, Leomaster would likely gain temporary control of the body and accomplish what Aaron wanted him to do.
This was a last resort. Aaron would not put himself in danger in a place that could trap a powerful demigod and even cause him to split his personality.
After all, he didn't want a rampant evil personality to appear. If not handled properly, it could even affect his control over the Sefirah. In this situation, "Groselle's Travels" was undoubtedly the best choice.
Just as Aaron was thinking this, two figures were clearly reflected in the full-length mirror opposite Leomaster.
One was Leomaster, with many wrinkles and black hair, and the other was Aaron Weil, with deep eyes, mature and majestic.
At this moment, even though Aaron made no movement, the figure of him in the mirror slowly turned its head and showed him a gloomy smile!
Ripples suddenly spread across the mirror surface, and a hand reached out. The Aaron Weil who looked exactly like him crawled out of the mirror, his face stained with a clear sense of eeriness due to the darkness!
Tsk, even with a dark filter, he's still just as handsome... Aaron looked calmly at the other party, raising the "Sword of Judgment" in his right hand, which was already flowing with crimson flames.
The gloomy Aaron Weil opposite him smiled at the corner of his mouth, also raising his right hand, and a long sword wreathed in flames also appeared in his hand.
Leomaster was so frightened by this sudden change that he trembled and huddled in the corner, not daring to make a sound.
My copy? Aaron frowned slightly and simultaneously took a step forward to block in front of Leomaster.
After all, this guy absolutely could not die in the aftermath of the battle. Then he raised his left hand expressionlessly.
A scepter that seemed to be entirely made of gold, flowing with crimson flames, suddenly appeared in his left hand, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Scepter of the Sun!"
Although actions in dreams must conform to logic to achieve the desired effect, this place definitely couldn't affect the Sefirah.
At least the outer areas had not yet reached the level where they could affect things related to the Sefirah. The experiment outside the black monastery just now had confirmed this.
#191Chapter 189: Fighting and Speculation
Therefore, Aaron, using the sub-consciousness within the Source, simplified the ritual process. Under the premise that the "Sun-Chasing Scepter" truly belonged to him, this Sealed Artifact 0 was "taken" out!
Looking at the "Sun-Chasing Scepter" in his hand, a smile finally appeared on Aaron's face. He also believed that the mirror in the dream alone could not replicate the part related to the Source.
The dark and deep Aaron-Will stared blankly at the figure opposite him, instinctively raising his left hand, but his left palm was empty.
Then, he saw countless streams of scorching white flames shoot out, wrapping around him layer by layer. He cast one decree after another, but still couldn't stop it, nor could he escape this area.
Zzzzt, zzzzt, a giant scorching fireball illuminated the room, which was too narrow to dodge in. It then vanished along with the Aaron-Will who had walked out of the mirror, leaving only the strange mirror behind.
Unlike before, the mirror no longer reflected his own figure, only Leomaster huddled in the corner.
For some reason, Aaron felt inexplicably calmer at this moment, somewhat like entering a state of sage mode.
The wooden door was blown open by the aftershock of the previous battle. A loud bang came from the hall filled with various items, and the central double iron door of the hall was directly kicked open.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Heavy footsteps, like drumming, headed directly towards the corner, as if they had already discovered the hiding place of Aaron and Leomaster.
Through the gap in the opened wooden door, Aaron clearly saw the knight in full black armor from the previous dream.
He looked exactly like Leomaster, even the subtle features matched perfectly!
The only difference was that his eyes glowed with a deep red light.
Black Saint...
The name flashed through Aaron's mind. He watched as the deep red light in the knight's eyes intensified, and he raised the gloomy, broad straight sword in both hands.
Stomp!
He took a step forward and delivered a cleaving strike, moving so fast that Aaron, a Punisher Knight, almost failed to track it.
Following his spiritual intuition, which was close to the demigod level, the "Judgment Sword" in Aaron's hand, wreathed in crimson flames, slashed straight upwards and diagonally.
Unlike the projection's sword just now, which dissipated, this one displayed the full power of a demigod-level magical item. Aaron only felt a slight tightness in his chest, retreated two steps, and stabilized his body.
With this breathing room, the "Sun-Chasing Scepter" in Aaron's left hand emitted light, and layer after layer of golden flames surrounded Aaron, protecting him in the center.
Rip!
The subsequent attack came like a black stream of light, breaking down the layers of flames one by one, shooting out in all directions, making the entire hall tremble.
Boom!
Under the heavy black greatsword, the vortex of flames exploded, turning into shockwaves that engulfed the area, tossing up all the piled-up items and sending them into the air.
Ignoring the chaotic scene around him, and seeing Leomaster hide again, golden light appeared in Aaron's pupils as he looked around, trying to find the Black Saint's trace, but found nothing.
As a demigod of the Mystic Prayerer pathway, concealing oneself in the shadows is indeed the most practical move, whether for attack or escape.
Just then, the shadow under Aaron's feet suddenly came alive, grabbing his ankle, and rising up like water, tightly binding him.
"Black Knight," "Dominion of Shadows"!
Before the subsequent attack arrived, the "Sun-Chasing Scepter" shone brightly, radiating beams of pure and clear light, which was the "Undark Domain."
The light illuminated every corner of the surroundings, turning it into a realm without a single trace of darkness, leaving no shadows, and allowing nothing to hide.
The Black Saint's shadow concealment was directly dispelled, and the figure holding the black greatsword immediately appeared behind Aaron, seemingly intending to defeat him in one go during that opportunity.
With a smirk, Aaron suddenly raised the "Sun-Chasing Scepter" in his hand, and a spear of ultimate purity and undarkness was thrown towards the Black Saint, expanding into a miniature sun bright enough to illuminate the entire hall.
Although the decree "Prohibit Shadow Concealment" could also be effective, restricting a demigod, in terms of spiritual consumption and the actual damage that could be caused, was not as good as directly using the "Sun-Chasing Scepter."
Anyway, this was a dream world. As long as he ended the dream before the negative effects of the "Sun-Chasing Scepter" arrived, Aaron's current spirituality was enough to deal with a Sequence 4.
Watching the "sun" enlarge in his pupils, the Black Saint immediately raised his hand, grabbed at his brow, and directly pulled out a ball of darkness, throwing it into his shadow.
His shadow then separated from him, twisted and stood up, forming another black armored outline.
"Black Knight," "Fallen Shadow"!
Without any hesitation or choosing to counterattack, that shadow directly disintegrated into a deep blackness, turning into a viscous liquid emitting a corrupt and corrosive aura, covering the Black Saint.
With the collision of the scorching white and the deep black, the hall constructed by the entire dream began to shake. Aaron seemed to hear a muffled groan.
Feeling his consciousness gradually blurring, Aaron condensed a ray of light and threw it towards the Leomaster huddled not far away. Within the light was a distorted and strange symbol.
That was a twisted and incomplete version that Aaron had specially created based on the Source's symbolic representation after communicating with Will Onsatin. It allowed Aaron to sense it and also prevented it from spreading and leaking secrets.
After doing all this, Aaron didn't have time to check on the Black Saint's condition before the dream was torn apart by the spreading battle aftermath.
Suddenly opening his eyes, Aaron looked at the still deep night around him. He did not choose to continue sleeping and enter the next dream. His spirituality directly surged into the Mark of the Night.
Protected by the Authority of Secrecy, Aaron finally let out a sigh of relief and curiously surveyed his surroundings.
The ruins of the divine battle, plunged into night, were like a dead land. All sounds disappeared, with only the occasional scorching white lightning in the distant sky and the faint golden flames flickering somewhere far away still emitting light.
The paper crane hovering beside Aaron seemed to be severely interfered with, spinning constantly and unable to indicate the direction forward in the darkness.
The unknown is always the deepest fear in people's hearts. The deep darkness around him made Aaron feel an unspeakable sense of oppression.
Just then, one after another miniature, scorching suns suddenly appeared. These countless small suns intertwined and collectively plunged into the abnormally dazzling golden sun that was rapidly rising in the depths of the realm.
The illusory sun emitted a scorching light that seemed capable of illuminating the entire world. Beams of light, like sharp swords, pierced through the night, and everything quickly returned to the state of midday.
After the night receded, the illusory sun dissipated into endless golden light, rendering both the sky and the sea gold.
Aaron, witnessing the day-night cycle of the divine battle ruins for the first time, endured the stinging pain in his eyes and watched it all. Only one term remained in his mind: Sequence 0 "Sun."
Lowering his head and rubbing his stinging and sore eyes, Aaron collected his thoughts and recalled the battle in the dream world just now, his brows furrowing involuntarily.
Frankly speaking, the strength displayed by that Black Saint could only be said to have barely touched the threshold of a demigod. Even without relying on the "Sun-Chasing Scepter," Aaron was confident he could contend with him using only the "Judgment Sword."
As a Black Saint whose prerequisite sequence was "Shepherd," he had used abilities from the "Mystic Prayerer" pathway itself from the beginning of the battle onwards, but the most powerful "Herding" ability had not been used at all.
Aaron took out the "Sun-Chasing Scepter" from the very beginning, partly because he was worried that the time in the dream was insufficient and the battle had to be concluded quickly, and partly to prevent a sudden attack from an unknown number of demigod souls herded by the Black Saint.
Although he didn't have time to check, Aaron was certain that his Undark Spear had caused considerable damage to the Black Saint. But even in this situation, he hadn't used "Herding," which indicated that something was definitely wrong.
Recalling that the other party had been pursuing Leomaster, the benevolent personality, Aaron's thoughts gradually cleared up. He speculated that it might be due to the benevolent personality's split and resistance that prevented him from continuing to herd the devoured souls.
As for whether the inside story was consistent with what he thought, Aaron didn't care. With a preliminary judgment, he became more confident in his subsequent plan.
The relatively small ghost ship drifted for a while longer following the paper crane's guidance, until a huge island appeared at the edge of his vision. Black, incomplete buildings stood silently in the depths of the island.
Putting away the paper crane that had fallen to the ground, Aaron controlled the ghost ship to continue forward. Just then, he saw a giant hand suddenly reach out from beneath the sea surface and slap the side of the ship.
This hand had extremely long fingers, nearly half a meter, and was entirely a grayish-black like a barren plain!
The giant grayish-black hand slapped the sea surface. Along with the collapse of the sea surface, it incredibly and rapidly climbed upwards, pulling out the part below the sea surface inch by inch.
Through the blue and golden rippling water, Aaron first saw a large area of grayish-black shadow, and then his entire vision was filled with writhing lumps of flesh.
The monster seemed to be haphazardly pieced together from countless grayish-black corpses. Behind the two giant hands were arms withered like dry wood, and the arms originated from a corpse suspected to be that of a giant.
The grayish-blue skin had festered, and where it had festered, several other heads were attached, incomplete parts of various strange creatures pieced together. They were layered upon layer, forming a floating island-like mass of flesh.
The surface of the flesh mass was covered with a layer of grayish-black fuzz. Upon closer inspection, the so-called fuzz was actually grayish-black wheat ears connected together.
From different corpses, from the gaps in the splicing, streams of yellowish-green gas emanated from the swaying wheat ears, spreading outwards, seemingly intending to envelop this area.
Looking at this twisted and disgusting monster, Aaron's brows furrowed fiercely. Any normal person would feel physiological discomfort.
Watching the spreading yellowish-green gas, Aaron, while controlling the ghost ship to dodge the attack and sail towards the island, spoke in a low voice in Ancient Hermes language:
"Imprisonment"
Unlike before, the target of this decree was Aaron and the ghost ship he was controlling. After advancing to Sequence 5, the sublimation of the decree also allowed Aaron to invent many useful techniques.
Layer upon layer of transparent walls created by the decree, along with extremely viscous transparent liquid flowing, together formed a barrier that even spiritual bodies could not penetrate.
Not only did it block the yellowish-green gas, but he could also deliberately be hit by the monster using the sturdy barrier, leveraging the force to sail faster towards the island.
Even so, Aaron's expression remained solemn. Although the yellowish-green gas was blocked outside, he acutely sensed that a strong, twisted, and chaotic life aura easily penetrated the barrier and seeped in.
Along with the invasion of this power, Aaron's hair grew wildly, quickly exceeding his waist. Some strands of hair seemed to have a life of their own, beginning to entwine and bind Aaron's limbs.
Aaron was not unfamiliar with this power. It was somewhat similar to the power the Blood Race angel used to test him through the traded item, also possessing a strong life aura.
Combined with the fact that he was in the ruins of a divine battle, Aaron instantly realized that the monster before him might have been formed by prolonged erosion by the Mother Goddess's aura.
Gripping the "Judgment Sword" tightly, a layer of scorching white flames also appeared on Aaron's body, burning away the mutated hair strands. At the same time, he spoke solemnly in Ancient Hermes language:
"Death!"
Accompanying the decree was a flash of scorching white flame sword light, flying forward, leaping out of the ship's side, and landing on the grayish-black flesh mass made of countless corpses.
Then, the scorching white radiance quickly spread over the surface. With a whoosh, flames shot into the sky.
The massive monster remained frozen there, seemingly having lost all vitality.
Crack, crack, crack! Deep, bottomless wounds appeared on its surface, and in an instant, it split into countless smaller lumps of flesh.
Large amounts of yellowish-green mist were released as the monster disintegrated. The split lumps of flesh extended various tentacles and surged forward, enveloped in the dense mist.