In the heart of the ancient palace, two definitions of "Fate" stood face to face.
Klein-Amon, the newly born Lord of Mysteries, adjusted the gold-rimmed monocle that flickered upon the illusory blank mask. The dark, translucent trench coat billowed, its interior an infinite abyss of writhing worms and glowing doors.
"Why are you here?"
Termiboros turned his head curiously, as if questioning the question asked itself.
"Why now?"
Klein's voice, layered with Amon's characteristic lilt, echoed through the pillars. "You didn't invade with the others."
"I know that you are currently stabilizing. And I'll gladly give you this opportunity to talk."
Termiboros, the vessel for the Circle of Inevitability, offered a thin, sharp smile.
"It wasn't worth the risk," the Circle replied through its incarnation. "Why suffer the blow of the initial clash? The chances of a new Lord of Mysteries arising were high even without my interference. But the chance to destabilize you during your transition? That chance was not zero. I just needed to wait".
Termiboros stepped forward, his eyes spinning with a light that seemed to see through the castle's history.
"Besides, I felt a resonance. The Redemption symbolism reacted to something—or someone—deep within this castle. Termiboros was drawn here instinctively".
Klein and Amon felt a collective chill. There was a mystery within the Sefirah that even they had not yet fully unraveled.
Termiboros did not wait further for a rebuttal.
His form erupted into his Mythical Creature Form: a Three-headed, Three-bodied, Six-armed Giant. His heads represented the Past, Present, and Future, and unlike the closed loop of his pathway, this form remained a jagged, open cycle of power.
[System Alert!]
[Outer Deity 'Circle of Inevitability' is attempting to seize control of 'Sefirah Castle'!]
Even with knowing Circle of Inevitability's plan they could not let him do it. Yes, 'His' Pathway, Eternal Aeon, wasn't directly connected to 'Him', but, as a full Great Old One, Circle could comparingly easy counter Celestial Worthy's psyche. Unlike Klein and Amon who couldn't boast about their stability as Lord of Mysteries at the moment.
The gray fog began to boil as a conceptual tug of war began.
The previous owner's psyche—the will of the Celestial Worthy—pulsed within Klein-Amon, growing stronger with every second they spent fighting for control.
[Function 'Self Sense' activated!]
[Status: Stabilizing Psyche...]
"You have interesting tricks," Amon's side whispered.
"We have," Klein corrected.
From the junk pile, they Grafted a single drop of blood—corrupted essence from the Mother Goddess of Depravity—directly onto Termiboros's hand. The giant recoiled as the biological corruption hissed, but he quickly used his Cycle authority to reset his state, returning to a moment where his hand was intact.
Klein-Amon countered by summoning the Supernovae of the Secretive Plotter from the Star Stream, but Termiboros moved with a grace that defied physics. Using his Future symbolism, he navigated the tributaries of fate, dodging the explosions before they even occurred.
Termiboros's Present Self raised two of its six arms, invoking the power of the Sufferer.
He imposed his own past torments onto the Fools: the massive suction force that had occurred when his own Sefirah was being forcibly pulled during the Original Creator's awakening. Klein and Amon felt their spiritual bodies being torn toward a central point, their synchronization rate spiking to a dangerous 70%.
[Synchronization Rate: 72%... 75%...]
[Will of 'Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings' is awakening!]
"Tsk," Klein-Amon's thoughts racing.
He reached into the Fog of History, utilizing his bonus skill that he had chosen back in the tutorial of Tower of Wish. Although Klein wasn't sure if that would work, but in that situation that wasn't the worst choice, so he tried.
[Historical Cognizance]
He didn't look for his own past; he looked for the stories he had read in the library. He targeted the Stories of Kim Dokja.
[Story 'The Last Witness of the Unwritten End' is surprised!]
[Giant Story 'Season of Light and Darkness' doesn't understand anything!]
Probability sparks erupted around the gray fog, suppressed only by the sheer status of the Sefirah.
['Star Will' is annoyed with the Sefirot 'Sefirah Castle'!]
The narrative power of the stories flooded Klein-Amon, successfully suppressing the Celestial Worthy's psyche.
But the cost was near-infinite spirituality; they had 15 minutes before they ran dry.
"Our turn," Amon said.
Using Error, they canceled the Destined outcome of Termiboros's attack, Stole the torments, and threw them back at the giant. Termiboros's three bodies spun, resembling a small boat in a tempestuous sea, skimming the weak spots of the vortex as if Predestined to remain unaffected.
Klein-Amon didn't stop.
They utilized Error to cancel the Predestined protection and Grafted the vortex directly into Termiboros's center.
The giant stumbled. Simultaneously, layers upon layers of bluish-black doors manifested within his form, tearing him apart from the inside.
Klein-Amon finally manifested their full Lord of Mysteries form.
[Symbolism 'King of Space-Time' is activated!]
The symbolism of the Lord of Mysteries acted as a hard counter to the Past, Present, and Future. Klein raised his cane, now infused with the Story 'Those Who Defy the Immutable', and struck the ground.
The physical body of Termiboros began to Decay.
[You have earned a Story related to your Victory!]
As Termiboros's form dissolved into circles of mercury, they attempted to loop back into the River of Fate. Klein quickly erected a Gray Fog Barrier, isolating the remains. He looked at his cane, then at the abyss within his coat.
"Same thought?" Amon asked.
"Same thought," Klein replied.
He threw the cane into the barrier with Beyonder Characteristics of Termiboros, wondering which sealed artifact would emerge eventually.
Then stepped through a Door into the Spirit World. Though the information was filtered by the Star Stream, he felt a familiar, resilient resonance.
It was the first time he felt the divination so clear, his own thoughts didn't even need to reach the Spirit World.
In less than two seconds he fully understood the situation.
Klein-Amon stepped out of the fog and back onto the Alberta Peaks.
The battle of the Gods was still raging, but the Fool had finally returned to the stage.
He looked across the ravaged peaks of the Alberta Range with a sense of grim surprise.
Despite the overwhelming entropy of the Monarch of Decay, the Half-Great Old Ones of Earth—Evernight, Lilith, God of Steam—and the remaining Nine Stars stood intact.
Through divination he knew the cost: Atlas had sacrificed his very authority to regress their existences into past state.
"A heavy price for a momentary reprieve," Klein-Amon's voice echoed, layered with the distinct, mocking lilt of Amon.
He did not hesitate.
He imposed the manifested Sefirah Castle upon the battlefield, the Door of Light flickering upon his dark trench coat.
Simultaneously, he dispatched a swarm of marionettes across the globe to suppress the rampagers—beyonders and secret organization members who had lost control due to the Inextinguishable Ravings—while harvesting fresh vessels for his army.
Beside him, the Quasi-God Almighty (Adam) stood as a radiant pillar.
Together, the two Pillars unleashed a conceptual assault so devastating it forced the High-Dimensional Overseer, the Mother Tree of Desire, and the Monarch of Decay into a full retreat.
[The Battlefield of Alberta has concluded!]
[System: Multiple Constellations and Nebulas are reeling from the result!]
[Your Narrative is becoming legendary within the Star Stream!]
Yet, the Scenario #??? – The Apocalypse did not end.
Klein-Amon felt a cold premonition; though the angels had retreated, the devils—led by Vassago—and the demon kings remained. The true threat had not yet manifested.
Suddenly, Klein-Amon's hand moved against his will.
It reached into the cosmos, Grafting an unknown coordinate and utilizing the Door authority to tear a hole in space.
"Amon, what are you doing?" Klein's consciousness hissed.
"We are doing nothing," Amon replied with a rare note of gravity. "That... is the Celestial Worthy".
Despite their combined efforts to suppress the ancient will, the Celestial Worthy succeeded in cracking the cosmos apart.
From the sky, a drop of the River of Eternal Darkness fell, successfully forcing the Worthy's will back into a temporary slumber, but the rift remained jagged and unyielding.
Around them, the defenders gathered: Evernight, Lilith, and the Eternal Buddha (Will Auceptin, the Holy Monk, and Kim Hajin).
Jesus Christ, the Chief Administrator, appeared alongside Medea and Athena, who bowed deeply in his presence.
"I know where this leads," Kim Hajin said, his face pale. "And it's bad".
Everyone tensed, preparing for another battle.
Through the rift, Yoo Sangah tumbled out, clutching an unconscious Evandel, behind them stumbled constellations and incarnations of
Behind them followed Sun Wukong and Shakyamuni, their bodies battered and bleeding.
Hajin immediately split from the Eternal Buddha to catch Evandel, using the [Orb of Regeneration] on her before ordering Spartan to transport the survivors to the Essence of the Strait underground city.
"Maknae! You're here too!" Sun Wukong rasped, leaning on his staff.
"What happened?" Hajin asked.
"The Emperor was defeated in Scenario #96 – 'Great War Against the Heavenly Worlds'," Shakyamuni explained. "The Mother Goddess of Depravity has won. She is stronger than ever before".
The rift widened as a colossal, winged female composed of stacked reproductive organs emerged.
The Mother Goddess of Depravity had descended. An army of monsters poured out behind her, their very presence warping the laws of the universe.
Star Will remained silent. So it was in the range of expected Probability.
'Shit,' Hajin cursed.
Hajin immediately clasped hands with Will Auceptin, flooding the battlefield with Good Fortune to ward off her immediate symbolism.
Jesus and Shakyamuni stepped forward; [Wall that Decides Samsara] manifested to block her New Life symbolism, while a strike from Jesus—magnified by Roselle's distortion—tore through half of the Goddess's body.
She regenerated instantly, compressing raw mana into a lethal blob and firing it at the Earth. Evernight, Lilith, and the God of Steam and Machinery formed a desperate shield around the planet.
Amon managed to Steal a portion of the attack and redirect it, but the Goddess shouldered the blow without flinching.
"I have to end this," Hajin muttered.
"Let's do it, Maknae."
Familiar voices of 4 Sun Wukongs filled his head.
He merged his essence with Sun Wukong, ascending to a new state: the Eternal Buddha of Liberation.
He raised his bow, infusing it with all his Luck. A singular blinding arrow was formed out of the sentences of his stories and 12 streaks of anti-magic from Stigma.
Adam suppressed the Astral World, weakening all divine symbolisms, while Klein sealed the Spirit World to prevent any escape.
Thousands of marionettes and avatars swarmed the Goddess to pin her down. Hajin placed a final restraint on his own body, vowing not to move for a full day to amplify the arrow's power.
From behind, Chae Joochul and Oh Jaejin placed their hands on his shoulders.
Jaejin enchanted the arrow with 10-star Magic, while Joochul funneled the natural power of the entire American continent into the shaft.
Hajin released the string.
The arrow of sentences and light struck the Mother Goddess of Depravity, throwing her back through the rift with the force of a thousand stories. The rift slammed shut under the sheer narrative pressure of the shot.
Outside the barrier of Twillight and Origin interconnected by Information, the Goddess's chaotic retaliation faded into the void.
[You have severely injured the Outer Deity 'Mother Goddess of Depravity'!]
Remaining millions of mutated monsters surged towards them.
Klein pulled the Astral Barrier of the Original Creator from the Fog of History, wrapping the Earth in an ancient, unbreakable protection.
The Astral Barrier of the Original Creator, pulled from the Fog of History, shimmered with ancient patterns, temporarily halting the advance of the Outer Deities' remaining monsters and constellations.
However, the defense was bleeding spirituality at an unsustainable rate; Klein was burning through his essence to maintain it, while Kim Dokja's stories struggled to balance the awakening will of the Celestial Worthy through pure narrative volume.
Sensing the impending collapse, Kim Hajin summoned his Book of Truth.
The pages flipped frantically before revealing a desperate solution: they could Graft the Astral Barrier to the Dimensional Entropy. By tapping into that infinite source of mana, the barrier could be sustained eternally, though the cost was high—the Crevon troops would be immediately deported back to the Tower of Wish.
They had to choose either maintain the barrier or the magic power for Crevon.
Before Hajin could act, Eleanor, still cradling the infant Atlas, let out a sharp gasp: "Adam!".
Adam (Herabergen-Leodero) stood in a daze, his radiant form flickering. Amon and Hajin immediately recognized the symptoms: the Primordial God Almighty was awakening.
A stray attack from the Mother Goddess of Depravity had bypassed their defenses, planting "New Life" within Adam's collective psyche. Despite Amanises pouring the River of Eternal Darkness onto him to induce slumber, the will of the Primordial surged.
"Kill me," Adam whispered during a brief moment of lucidity given by the drop of water, "before I am taken over".
Suddenly, a hidden resonance erupted within Klein-Amon.
[Klein Moretti was recognized as 'The Angel of Mysteries' under the Ancient Sun God.]
[Something within you reacts to your Status as 'The Angel of Mysteries'!]
'The Angel Of Mysteries?' Klein was puzzled.
'That's the gift 'He' left for you in the Recorded Past of Third Epoch,' Amon reminded Klein.
[Reward '???' is affecting your existence!]
[??? was contaminated by the source of ■■.]
(look up chapter 50 for more info if you forgot)
A voice echoed in his mind: Grisha Adam, the Quasi-God Almighty who had succeeded in that timeline.
'You are as smart as always,' that was the voice of Grisha Adam awakening inside Klein-Amon.
An indescribable pain tore through Klein-Amon as a thick, black liquid seeped from his eyes and ears.
This was the gift the Ancient Sun God had secretly bestowed upon him—a "Contaminated Source" that had been waiting for this exact moment.
The black liquid coalesced into the figure of Grisha Adam. As a Visionary, he had Envisioned a version of himself capable of surviving within the Fog of History. He used his symbolism to 'Create' the literal separate persona of himself inside Klein.
This Grisha Adam summoned the Chaos Sea beneath the feet of the present, failing Adam.
Probability storm emerged immediately to erase the existence that should have never been allowed in this timeline.
['Wall that Decides Samsara' is reciting a sutra!]
Medea used her own cursed magic to supress the Probability.
[Bureau is sending out Great Dokkaebis to support the Probability of the Scenario!]
But Great Dokkaebis were too slow to notice that there was a barrier that blocked their way.
Not only did they need to break the barrier but also deal with the remaining forces of Mother Goddess of Depravity.
'At least they tried,' Klein-Amon lampooned.
"Thank you, Klein," Grisha Adam interrupted Klein's train thought as he and the present Adam merged.
As they disappeared into the depths of the sea to finalize their fusion, a final message flickered across the sky:
[Scenario #??? - The Apocalypse has concluded!]
[Rewards are currently being calculated...]