The raven with a white circle around its right eye, leading the group, lowered its head and glanced at Medici, speaking in a human voice:
"Just testing the Evernight Goddess's attitude. Even if Zaratul recovers his complete Attendant of Mysteries, he's still just a slightly larger pawn."
"But you, tsk tsk, it seems you've received that guy's tacit approval...."
It ruffled its wings, looking at Trier not far away, and sighed mockingly:
"How proud, the undefiled Sun...."
Ignoring Amon's sarcastic tone, Medici shrugged, his deep, flame-flickering eyes also looking at Trier, and he muttered to himself:
"The Iron and Blood Cross Order's century-long exploration has finally found its use. Rather than letting that Conqueror characteristic continue to be wasted in a daze on your descendant, it's better to fulfill me."
As he spoke, the flesh on Medici's cheek squirmed, and a human face vaguely emerged, but under the influence of the bloody red mark on his brow, it could never truly form.
Bored with Medici's reaction, the raven with the white circle around its right eye dissipated. As its playful voice echoed, a twelve-jointed Worm of Time drifted down:
"I have some avatars still left there; I haven't retrieved them to avoid provoking certain sensitive individuals. Take this, and you'll get the help you desire...."
---
Fog Sea, La Cha Island, Emerald Palace.
The Mystical Reenactment of the "Nine Cauldrons" stood majestically. After receiving a response from The Fool, Melissa was no longer as anxious as before. With Cattleya's help, she was learning Beyonder knowledge in the field of Constellations.
"As neighboring Pathways, Constellations Master and Astronomer share commonalities in potion digestion and certain taboos. Cattleya's experience can help you avoid many detours."
"Once you've fully digested the potion, I will provide you with an opportunity to complete the advancement ritual. Only by acquiring divinity will you truly be considered my disciple."
Benoit, dressed in a simple priest's robe, spoke in a gentle tone. He was quite satisfied with this student Aaron had given him. After all, strictly speaking, Melissa was Benoit's first disciple after his humanity returned.
After giving some instructions, Benoit then looked at Audrey beside him and said with a smile:
"The remaining mental imprint within that Discerner characteristic had already been cleared by Duke Aaron earlier. This saved me time, and now the final step can be performed."
Audrey was momentarily stunned by the words, then felt a pleasant surprise. Following her previous discussion with Benoit, she entered her consciousness island to separate a virtual personality, and at the same time, she looked around curiously and asked:
"Is Her Excellency Bernadette not on La Cha Island?"
As she spoke, a halo of light emerged from the void beside Audrey, transforming into another, less real version of herself. This virtual personality held the Card of Blasphemy of the Visionary Pathway.
"The situation is turbulent now, especially with the changes in the Moses Ascetic Order, so Bernadette has left. If my identity weren't so sensitive and unsuitable for public appearance, I probably wouldn't be able to remain aloof here either."
Without hiding anything, Benoit nodded slightly in explanation. He waved his hand and cast the Card of Blasphemy along with Audrey's virtual personality into the chaotic light emitting grayish-white fragments within the giant cauldron:
"The Card of Blasphemy's status is sufficient to bear Angel-level power. This is also the most suitable vessel I could think of, capable of maximizing the authority of this characteristic with the least cost!"
Patterns formed by symbols surged out from Benoit's body, integrating the Discerner characteristic, which had been forged to its final step, along with Audrey's virtual personality into the Card of Blasphemy.
Audrey, who had maintained contact with that virtual personality, felt a momentary trance, as if she saw countless symbolic patterns and strange designs overlapping and extending, penetrating the surrounding environment, even allowing her to glimpse the essence of this space constructed based on Mystical Reenactment.
This indescribable, wonderful feeling flashed by. When Audrey came back to herself, she noticed the Visionary Card quietly suspended before her, half-illusory and half-real, as if it could disappear into the collective unconscious sea at any moment.
---
At the deepest part of Calderon, at the end of a tributary of the River of Eternal Darkness, illusory, almost lightless ripples undulated in the grayish-white mist, and a faint glow surged out from the crack in the skeletal gate.
Aaron, who had already prepared, raised his hand to separate the surrounding grayish-white mist and grasped the faint glow.
"This is the Western Continent's System..."
Bone-chilling coldness came from his palm, bringing a slight stinging sensation. Aaron raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing the black sigil inscribed with numerous symbols that materialized after the faint glow dissipated.
With Aaron's current status and his degree of integration with the Nation of Disorder, through this medium, he could also get a glimpse, further perfecting the envisioned system of blessings unique to the Nation of Disorder.
Although due to initial caution, neither party revealed too much to each other, even the most basic exchange of information allowed Aaron to learn a great deal.
The existence that called itself "Underworld Daoist" was more like a kind of collective consciousness to some extent. Over a long period, it had gained some understanding of the world beyond the Western Continent through Alista Tudor's Death imprint, which had merged into the River of Eternal Darkness.
What surprised Aaron most was that this "Underworld Daoist" knew that the Evernight Goddess had obtained the Uniqueness of the Death Pathway. It showed no hostility towards this, and even actively expressed a desire to contact the Evernight Goddess.
And from the veiled content it revealed, Aaron could confirm that the Mother Goddess of Depravity's previous influence on the Brood Hive had also affected the Western Continent, which was based on Sefirah.
Holding this special symbol, Aaron looked again at the skeletal gate. The grayish-white barrier's influence on him seemed to have weakened considerably, and he could vaguely see the figure wearing a rusted iron crown and strange long robes.
"I will hand it over to the Evernight Goddess!"
Without overly revealing his need for the rift eroded by the River of Eternal Darkness, Aaron nodded slightly towards the figure, making a concise promise in his native language, firmly grasping the stepping stone of his Outer Deity descendant identity.
Without further delay, dark golden radiance surged around Aaron, forcibly correcting the rules distorted by the River of Eternal Darkness's tributary, and he directly teleported out of Calderon.
Suspended deep within the Spirit World, Aaron silently gazed at the ancient divine kingdom shrouded in grayish-white mist. Although he had obtained the water of the River of Eternal Darkness, the appearance of the "Underworld Daoist" forced him to reconsider his original plan of using the hidden gap in the Celestial Worthy's barrier in Calderon.
"I still need to contact the Evernight Goddess as soon as possible. I can feel that the state of the 'Underworld Daoist' and the 'River of Eternal Darkness' is completely different from my relationship with the Nation of Disorder. This should also be the reason for his display of goodwill...."
With thoughts churning in his mind, Aaron withdrew his gaze and swiftly left the Spirit World.