Facing the Hanged Man

"How could it be like this..."

After learning the truth about himself, M looked at Luther beside him, then at Adam in front of him, his golden eyes revealing an extremely complex expression.

Before she could react further, Adam waved his hand, causing her to disappear again.

"Whoosh..."

Beneath Luther's feet, the Blood Sea completely dried up, and the strange phenomena brought about by the five Beyonder Characteristic also faded from his body, leaving only the blood-red Cross formed by the "Silent Angel" firmly nailed to his chest.

M's figure has vanished, but the damage she inflicted on Luther remains. The connection to the Chaos Sea has been severed once again. Moreover, due to the relationship between their personalities, even if Luther tries again later, Adam can still access her through M.

To stop myself.

The current situation can hardly be described without the word "despair."

"Oh..."

Luther chuckled softly, his voice carrying a hint of self-deprecation.

Let's go.

Adam spoke, his expression calm, as if nothing had just happened.

He reached out and grabbed Luther's shoulder. Although Luther wanted to dodge, he couldn't muster the will to resist and could only follow him to the edge of the huge pit. The hole was deep and vast, with a cold, biting wind blowing from it, and all the light was swallowed up by the darkness in its depths.

Luther felt his feet suddenly sink into the ground, and he and Adam jumped into the hole at the same time.

The fierce wind howled in his ears, whipping his clothes wildly. Even though he had jumped into the cave, Luther felt as if he were floating in the air, the darkness below lunging at him, Greed swallowing him...

Soon, the whole world was shrouded in darkness.

All sound vanished—the wind, breathing, heartbeats...only darkness remained, endless darkness, a darkness that swallowed everything. In this impenetrable darkness, it seemed as if something was watching him.

It was a colossal and imposing presence, a gaze of utter madness and Distortion, an inescapable and intense malice... It was the True Creator... He saw you...

"!!"

After an unknown amount of time, Luther suddenly woke up.

He opened his eyes and looked around, finding himself in a desolate wasteland.

This should still be the "Forsaken Land of the Gods"... Hmm, something seems off... Right, there's light here...

It turns out that this wasteland was not shrouded in eternal darkness, but it was not as bright as Daytime or Twilight either; rather, it was closer to a dim twilight.

The sky above had changed from pitch black to a clear sapphire blue, and the intermittent, violent lightning strikes were no longer occurring. The danger in the surroundings seemed to have decreased significantly, and there were no longer any Degeneration Monster lurking in the depths of darkness.

The remaining divine power of the "Lord of Storms" is isolated here...?

Luther guessed.

He soon discovered that Adam was standing not far from him, gazing ahead. At that moment, the "Angel of Imagination's" body was almost frozen, his golden eyes fixed on him without moving.

What is He looking at?

Luther followed Adam's gaze.

He saw that the edge of the wasteland connected to a series of mountains, which looked like the backs of galloping beasts, rising high and colliding with each other to form countless ravines and crisscrossing paths, appearing majestic and spectacular.

He seemed to recognize this mountain peak, as if he had seen it somewhere before...

Oh, right, it's the mural in Amon's tomb!

In the mural, the Ancient Sun God stands atop a mountain peak, radiating divine light upon the world, illuminating the entire world. The shapes of these mountains are very similar to the mountains where the god in the mural resides.

According to the murals, the Ancient Sun God should have been standing on the main peak of this mountain...

Luther Consciousness looked up along the ridge.

He saw that at the top of the highest mountain, there stood a huge Cross that was somewhere between reality and illusion.

A blurry human figure hangs upside down on the Cross, with several ancient wooden stakes piercing through his body and nailing him to the frame.

The inverted Cross and the wooden nails were stained with thick, bright red blood, as if it could drip down at any moment.

Holy, mad, great, Degeneration.

The True Creator!

After a long journey and struggle, Luther finally saw the true face of this evil god.

"Ugh!"

Upon seeing that burly figure, he almost Consciousness covered his head, bracing himself for the intense pain that was about to explode inside his brain!

However, the terrifying shock of facing the True God did not arrive until several seconds later.

Luther released his grip, noticing that Adam was watching him.

Oh right, this guy's around...

Luther straightened up as if nothing had happened.

"I've seen this mountain, in the murals of Amon's Tomb," he said to Adam. "It seems it has now become the Divine Kingdom of the True Creator?"

Adam did not respond, but simply stepped forward, leading him toward the mountains.

Crossing the wasteland, reaching the foot of the mountain, bypassing the front, and venturing deeper into the mountains.

A magnificent avenue suddenly appeared before us, wide enough for two Pritz to pass each other, and its stone slabs remained smooth and clean to this day.

Along both sides of the avenue, at regular intervals, stood tall white stone pillars, their tops ablaze with golden flames that radiated a brilliant golden light. Thus, the entire avenue was enveloped in a sacred aura, stretching all the way into the depths of the clouds above the mountain peaks.

Is this... the road used for pilgrimages in the past?

Luther wondered to himself.

The entire world outside has fallen into darkness, and the more sacred this place is, the stronger the sense of desolation brought about by the contrast becomes.

As you continue up the avenue, the scenery on both sides gradually changes, and many ancient buildings begin to appear along the roadside.

These Third Epoch buildings exhibit a strong style, constructed with white stone pillars and vaulted ceilings, and are somewhat similar to the various temples on Mount Olympus.

Further on, the scenery changes again. More stone buildings begin to appear, their shapes unchanged, but now stained with rich crimson and heavy dark black, as if freshly smeared with Flesh.

On the exterior walls of many buildings, an inverted Cross surrounded by flourishing Blood Rose, the Sacred Emblem of the True Creator, has been blatantly painted.

Faintly, it seemed as if some sounds were coming from the building ahead; the sounds were dense and overlapping, filled with Distortion.

A feeling of madness and joy.

A look of disgust gradually appeared on Luther's face. After dealing with the Aurora Order for so long, he naturally realized immediately that those voices came from prayers to the True Creator.

It's ironic that such a once glorious and sacred country has now fallen into this state of Degeneration.

Sure enough, after passing the building in front of them, a Small Settlement came into view. Many believers were kneeling on the ground, led by a tall man with a head on each side of his shoulders, worshipping the True Creator on the distant mountain peak.

The last remaining forces of the Aurora Order.