At the easternmost edge of the Forsaken Land of the Gods, where the thick barrier of endless gray fog resided.
Leyton, who had been in an informational state and had lost his perception of his surroundings, suddenly became clear-headed and gradually regained his self.
His ears echoed with the prayers of countless people, in different languages, different tones, and different voices, appearing chaotic, yet he could easily discern the meaning these voices wished to convey, understand the emotions and will intertwined within the language, and thereby make his spirit more stable.
During this process, his own spiritual will began to undergo a qualitative change, little by little. Gradually, he somewhat detached from the angel level and evolved towards a higher level of existence, which made his spirit exceptionally stable amidst the chaotic and complex information Shock around him.
As his thoughts cleared, he began to gather the diffuse and fading torrent of his main body's information, starting to re-converge.
At a certain moment, he vaguely saw an indescribable, unformable silver-white light. These lights surged mightily, with no visible beginning or end, making one inexplicably think of the river that represented destiny.
As this light appeared, something within him seemed to shatter, and something else began to take root and sprout, growing rapidly.
He felt much lighter and freer, as if he had shed a heavy disguise and returned to his true self.
In his mind, many blurry memories, intentionally or unintentionally forgotten, began to surface.
He saw that indescribable, infinitely vast wilderness, but this time the perspective had changed; he seemed to have become the wilderness itself.
He then saw that indescribable, pure, silver-white light, seemingly encompassing everything yet incredibly chaotic. This time, he knew the name of this light: Key of Light, Endless Disorder, Incarnation of Fate.
It was the chaotic Key of Light representing destiny, the incarnation of destiny.
It had always watched everything, observed everything, alone on the side, never participating in the schemes and actions of the other original qualities, nor communicating with them.
Beneath it, on the wilderness where countless figures roamed, huge ravines split open, and countless pitch-black things surged out from within, intertwining with the silver-white river flowing from far above.
The scene quickly blurred, and he saw the wilderness and the silver-white light return to tranquility. A faint, indistinct glimmer, difficult to perceive, shot out from the depths of the wilderness and fell into the river representing destiny, stained with a thick layer of silver-white, and was pushed into the distance, beyond the endless gray fog.
Gradually, a clearer murmur echoed in Leyton's ears. The voice was indifferent and mad, as if speaking to itself:
"It is the most mysterious, and also the earliest original quality to come alive."
"As the chaotic side of destiny, it sensed the soul I captured, a soul different from this universe."
"Chasing knowledge and chasing destiny are our instincts. I had some contention with it, and that soul shattered in the process, so we turned from opposition into cooperation."
This was not any known language, but Leyton could easily understand it and grasp the meaning it wished to convey.
After a brief silence, he asked himself in his mind:
"Am I the experimental product of your cooperation? An identity used to collect characteristics and authority outside the seal?"
The indifferent and mad murmur continued to echo in his ears:
"Yes and no."
"You are more successful than the Hidden Sage; you are a part of me, a personality facet of mine."
"Before the seal on the Western Continent is lifted, I cannot fully merge with you. The information I can transmit and the power I can infiltrate are very limited."
"Your interference with destiny will become the sustenance of the Key of Light, serving as its anchor to the outside world. If enough chaos is created, perhaps we can break free from the seal and seize more authority before He returns."
"This will be extremely important in the subsequent confrontations with the High-Dimensional Overseer, Supernova Dominator, Goddess of Fate, and Circle of Inevitability."
"Do not trust Mysteries, under any circumstances."
"God is likewise not to be trusted. Maintaining the balance between them, and ensuring that God can never be born, is the best outcome."
This was not the other party answering his question, but rather pre-set, already transmitted information. However, as the main body, the Knowledge Moor, had long anticipated his reaction, it now seemed like a question and answer session.
The murmuring echoing in his ears gradually faded, and a faint glimmer composed of complex knowledge detached from the Spirit World Depths, converging before the wall formed by the endless gray fog, reorganizing Leyton's body with complex and pure knowledge.
His flesh and blood were still very slowly wriggling and surging, as if eyes were about to grow from within his body.
His eyes gleamed with a pure light, giving one an exceptionally sacred, wisdom-filled feeling, yet appearing quite cold and without warmth.
This state did not last too long. He casually found a large rock nearby to sit on, closed his eyes, and restored his state through meditation.
Ten or twenty minutes passed. When he opened his eyes again, the exceptionally pure, exceptionally cold light in his pupils had disappeared, and the flesh and blood on his body had calmed down.
"Whew."
"It's a bit worse than I expected, and also a bit better than I expected."
"But I probably understand why my luck fluctuates and why sometimes I make decisions that don't align with my predictions and personality."
"No wonder I took Will Auceptin's Die of Probability, and he only complained twice in a dream. I always want to see Ouroboros but can never manage to."
He paused, then quickly thought of a new problem: If I return to the Knowledge Moor, I should encounter the same problem as the True Creator. After fusion, who will be the dominant one? I am just a personality facet, and I definitely can't contend with the Knowledge Moor of the Western Continent, unless that old salted fish, the Key of Light, is willing to help me.
"The new identity adapts a bit too quickly, somewhat like the manifestation of a 'virtual personality.' The Knowledge Moor was once compatible with God, so it still retains some of the Visionary's information. Can it simulate corresponding abilities?"
"Or do I need to find Miss Justice again? I hope she has already advanced to Hypnotist, so the psychological intervention will be more effective."
After muttering to himself for a few moments, he quickly reined in his scattered thoughts and looked around, using the silver-white light brought by the frequent lightning strikes in the sky.
A faint purple glow flashed in his eyes, and everything around him changed in his vision, becoming incredibly clear and transparent. As long as he concentrated, his thought speed would greatly increase, making everything in his sight appear as if it had entered slow motion.
As he concentrated, the silver-white lightning streaking across the sky gradually slowed down in his eyes, allowing him to dissect it bit by bit, see the trajectory of the charges, decompose the current at the information level, understand its effects, and clarify the types of forces that counter it and are countered by it.
He could see the traces left by the monsters hidden in the darkness, see their hiding places, and see their unique characteristics.
He could even glimpse the residual aura belonging to the Lord of Storms from the clouds covering the sky, clearly see the shadowy curtain descending from infinitely high places in the darkness, and perceive the tranquil, peaceful darkness within it.
After taking in everything around him, he closed his eyes, then opened them again. The faint purple colour was no longer in his light blue eyes, but they still gave off a feeling of profound wisdom, somewhat overly calm, and thus appearing cold.
He curved his lips, then felt his smile was somewhat false, like a purely superficial expression.
Humanity is becoming thinner and thinner. He sighed inwardly, then lowered his eyes slightly, carefully sensing some of the changes in himself after becoming an angel, as well as the improvement of his Beyonder abilities:
"The Eyes of Mystery Prying has been further enhanced. Besides being able to see the structure of things at the information level, it also has the ability to see the essence of things, similar to what angels of the Paragon pathway possess."
"Combined with that bullet-time-like rapid thinking ability, I can analyze Beyonders, Beyonder abilities, and mystical items I see in a very short time, understanding their weaknesses and strengths, and solving problems with great ease."
"This is somewhat similar to the Insight of the Tower pathway, but it should be stronger. Even angels would find it difficult to hide anything from my Eyes of Mystery Prying, unless they are angels of the Concealment pathway."
"All the Beyonder abilities I originally possessed have also been elevated to the angel level. In addition, I can now convert the knowledge I master into tangible power, which is somewhat like a higher-level version of Mystical Reenactment. I can also transform myself into a pure information flow creature, and a further step would be the Knowledge Emperor's ability to manipulate and modify information."
"I am now a complete mythical creature. Thanks to the essence of the Knowledge Moor, although I don't have the status of a Great Old One, I am far above ordinary angels, and even Sequence 0 true Gods, especially when facing high-level existences of the Paragon and Hermit pathways, I have a natural suppression over them."
"Heh, I even feel like I can single-handedly challenge Steam now, and then I'll most likely be suppressed by him and made into a new Sealed Artifact."
He self-mocked, then reached out and conjured the dark bronze lantern from thin air. The next second, his figure vanished in a flash, then reappeared a hundred meters away.
With a premonition, he followed the barrier made of gray fog northward, his figure constantly disappearing and reappearing. In a short while, he had covered a distance of over a thousand meters.