Just do it for me, okay? Go become the Hanged Man (previous chapter revised)

In a city in the Southern Continent, in the state of Paz Valley.

It was afternoon, and the weather outside was fine, but the streets near the port were unexpectedly quiet. There were few pedestrians, and the rows of benches Sea were empty, with only a few bare black gas streetlights for company.

"Strange, really strange..."

A man with black hair, black eyes, and ordinary, gentle features sat on a bench, talking to himself. Although he was facing the magnificent sapphire Sea, enjoying the sea breeze and sunshine, his face showed no joy, but rather a look of confusion.

"Strange... who am I again?"

As if lost in some kind of philosophical contemplation, he frowned and kept muttering things like, "Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?"

"Tap, tap..."

Footsteps sounded from afar, and soon an elderly gentleman dressed in the Northern Continent attire walked across the street. He came to the bench, sat down on the other side, and then took out a book from his pocket and began to read with great interest.

"Aren't you planning to preach today?"

After flipping through a few pages, the old man asked without looking up.

"... Preaching? Me?"

The confused young man paused for a moment before realizing the old man seemed to be speaking to him. "Sir, do you know me?"

"I wouldn't say we know each other, but I know you're Missionary of the Blood God, and you used to enthusiastically spread the Blood God's greatness to everyone you met every day... so I'm quite surprised to see you so quiet today."

"Blood God... that title sounds so familiar..."

The young man murmured the name, his face gradually contorting into a frown. The name, and the meaning it represented... he seemed to recall something, but it all felt blurry, like looking through frosted glass...

He felt lost and lonely, as if something great that once existed in this world was disappearing.

Finally, he remembered that what he had forgotten was the god he worshipped...

"I'm not preaching today; the Lord has left me."

The young man said blankly and painfully, "His existence is becoming increasingly faint..."

It was as if a thread stretched from the sky above his head, connecting him and his many companions to the Lord they believed in and preached to. Now, that connection remained, but the other end of the thread was slow to respond, as if the latter was becoming more and more transparent and hollow.

"Hmm, that sounds really bad."

On the other side of the bench, an elderly man with a white beard calmly nodded. "After all, you encountered those brothers. Given their power and authority, it was inevitable that you would find yourself in a situation you couldn't resist."

"But there is still hope. Remember, no matter who is in charge, you are the key to integration... As long as you still have the will to fight, there is always a possibility of breaking the deadlock."

His tone was calm, but what he said was something that was hard to understand.

"... Sir, what are you saying?"

The black-haired youth looked somewhat confused.

"It's okay if you don't understand, I wasn't talking to you."

The old man smiled upon seeing this, a mysterious light gleaming in his wise eyes.

He slammed the book shut, then stood up from the bench and walked over to the young man.

"Take it."

The old man handed the book to the other person, saying, "It might be useful to you... You only get one chance, let's see if you can seize it."

o

What book is this?

The young man Consciousness caught the book and noticed that it had an ancient design, with an overall brass color. A vertically oriented metal eye was inlaid on the spine, observing the entire world and radiating wisdom.

Before he could examine it closely, the brass book, along with the old man, vanished into thin air.

Luther's Consciousness floated in the chaotic Sea.

He was surrounded by countless tormented and maddened spirits—dark, profound, extreme, and Distortion. It was the dark will of the entire world, the final resting place of all the Degeneration ones after death.

Within this Degeneration Ocean, two colossal Consciousness exist, one pure, the other Filth. Like Luther, they too are steeped in the clamor of things, repelling each other yet simultaneously attracting one another.

Gradually, Luther felt his spirit dissipating.

The boundary between him and this place was no longer distinct, as if they had merged into one. Not only him, but the other two wills were also dissolving, no longer repelling each other, but instead, through the medium of the Ocean, beginning to draw closer...

Luther could feel that his Mental World was constantly collapsing.

His Consciousness began to merge with the other two beams of light, and in a daze, countless pieces of information began to flow into his mind. It was sublime Divinity, it was complex humanity, it was praise for the sacred, it was redemption for the Degeneration, it was the most devout prayers of countless believers over thousands of years, it was the venomous Curse of numerous enemies slain over several eras...

This massive amount of information washed over Luther, reshaped his perception, and engulfed his soul. Compared to this grand content and the long years, his love and hate of those few short years seemed so insignificant and trivial.

More and more parts of Luther's mind were being dismantled and assimilated. He felt himself becoming increasingly insignificant, no longer himself. His Mental World gradually shrank into an isolated island, swallowed up by the will of the gods, until he became a part of them.

As if desperately trying to escape, Luther threw himself into the last remaining glimmer of light in the Mental World...

"Crackling, popping..."

The sound of burning firewood filled the air, and a nostalgic atmosphere permeated the space.

Luther opened his eyes and found himself in the living room of No. 6 Daffodil Street.

The familiar furniture, the familiar furnishings... even the cracks in the walls are exactly the same as in my memory. The streets outside the window are covered in snow and ice, and the fire in the fireplace is burning brightly, spreading a warm and cozy feeling that makes one feel at ease and comfortable.

On the carpet in front of the fireplace, a slender figure stood with her back to Luther, gazing intently at the burning firewood.

As if sensing his gaze, the girl slowly turned around.

The orange-red firelight illuminated her delicate profile, revealing her breathtaking beauty.

"Elder brother."

Cecilia asked softly, "Didn't you promise to avenge me?"

Her azure eyes were filled with sorrow, trembling slightly in the flames.

Oh my god...

Luther closed his equally blue eyes in anguish.

"No! You are not my sister. The real Cecilia is still sleeping in the White Tower on the Chaos Sea..."

As if unable to accept it, he kept uttering words that seemed to be escaping reality, "You are just my last obsession, my Illusion, coming to torment me in the form of my sister, not allowing me to give up... The real Cecilia would never force me, would never say such cruel things to me..."

"Didn't Cecilia say anything cruel?"

The black-haired, blue-eyed girl stared directly at his bewildered expression. "But I remember, she clearly said that."

"Have you forgotten? In front of the Blackthorn Company, she sacrificed herself, begging you to live. She made you struggle in this cruel and cold world, constantly feeling pain, constantly losing things that are important, constantly running around seeking..."

"You are tormented, desperately wanting to end it all, yet you cannot abandon the life your sister sacrificed for you, leaving you only to continue sinking into despair... Isn't that cruel enough?"

"I don't want to hear it, stop talking!!"

Luther covered his ears and shouted as hard as he could.

Normally, he would never show such a vulnerable side in front of outsiders.

But on the last isolated island of his own Mind World, in front of his deceased sister, the pain that had always been left behind and ignored finally caught up with him.

The carriages they drove rolled over the tracks, pounding against his nerves and rumbling in Luther's mind.

"Stop running away, brother."

Cecilia, or a hallucination created by Luther to torment himself, or some other strange thing—whatever she is, she is now in the former home of the brother and sister, posing a soul-searching question to Luther.

"Go on with your obsession, go and complete your revenge, go and kill the True Creator, go and kill Adam..."

"No, I can't do it..."

Luther shook his head in despair, "He is the ancient Sun God, the one who saved the world in its darkest hour, and now He must protect the earth from the Apocalypse brought by the Outer Deity. Compared to Him, my revenge is utterly insignificant..."

The consequences of disrupting this union and leading Adam to failure are far too heavy to bear, and are simply unacceptable.

Cecilia simply looked at him intently.

"Brother, even if Adam was the savior, even if He had a great goal... you still have the right to hate Him, the right not to forgive Him."

"His series of arrangements have caused my brother and me such harm... He spoke of sacrifice, but in the end, He benefited the most, reunited, and became the Creator, yet He expects others to dedicate themselves to Him... Why should everyone be expected to cooperate with Him?"

Luther's body trembled violently, and he raised his head.

"But He has already apologized to me, and He has promised to create a perfect body for you to help you be resurrected..."

"Brother, so you're handing over the hope of reviving me to someone else?"

Cecilia looked at him and shook her head slightly. "Besides, even if Adam made a promise to you, he could easily have broken it later... Anyway, you're already dead, so how could you possibly come back to life and cause him trouble?"

"Luther, have you forgotten your usual attitude? You need to take the initiative into your own hands."

"Initiative...?"

Luther murmured Cecilia's words.

"Yes, brother, you can totally take their place."

Cecilia said, "You shall become the Hanged True God, and be the last Shepherd."

After ascending to Sequence 0 True God, there will naturally be a way to save Cecilia's life, and she will have complete control over her own destiny. However, this is an incredibly dark and difficult journey.

"No... I don't want to do this anymore..."

Luther kept shaking his head.

"Cecilia, I'm so tired..."

His expression was one of despair, and he murmured softly as if enduring intense pain, "I miss you so much, let me go to you..."

Luther's tone was almost pleading. His will was wavering, and his mind was on the verge of collapse. If Cecilia continued, he would inevitably descend into madness.

Everything was just one step away from being decided.

"Luther."

Before the fireplace, half of Cecilia's beautiful face was bathed in firelight, while the other half was shrouded in shadow. Her azure eyes flickered slightly as she looked intently at Luther. Her delicate lips parted slightly as she said, "Brother, please, for my sake, become the Hanged Man."

Deep in the living room, a heavy shadow surged in. Those shadows transformed into familiar, pained faces— the Lamb of Luther, all the innocent people who died in the "Great Smog" incident.

"For us, become the Hanged Man!"

They cried out in unison, their voices echoing throughout the world.

"Boom!"

The living room was breached from the outside; the combined will of Adam and the True Creator had finally breached Luther's last isolated island and invaded.

Luther stood there, stunned, watching Cecilia's pitiful figure being swallowed by those sacred yet Filth lights and shadows. His eyes instantly turned bloodshot.

The Forsaken Land of the Gods, the Sanctuary of the True Creator.

"... Um?"

At the base of the Cross, Adam, gazing up at the hanging Giant, suddenly let out a soft cry tinged with a sense of unease.

The next instant, a sudden change occurred!

The Giant, who had been sleeping with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and let out a thunderous roar.

"Puff!"

From His illusory abdomen, a spray of blood suddenly erupted, raining down like a deluge. Something pushed open the wound and emerged!

Adam's golden eyes could see clearly that the Flesh mess was Luther and the Avatar he had created!

"I'll kill you all, I'll kill you all!!"

Luther was soaked in blood, roaring hysterically. His arms stretched forward, passing through Adam's Avatar and nailing Him and himself together.

"You refused..."

Adam's Avatar let out a regretful sigh.

Luther completely ignored him, instead lunging forward frantically, opening his mouth, and biting hard on the side of his neck.

"Snap!"

Like biting into a plump, crisp red apple, he was frantically tearing at the Flesh of Adam's Avatar to replenish his previous consumption!

"Go to hell, all of you go to hell! To hell with your greatness, to hell with your Creator!!"

At this moment, Luther seemed to transform into a ferocious beast, unleashing his most primal killing instincts. After devouring Adam's Avatar, he unhesitatingly opened his palm, summoning a jet-black Blade of Flesh and Spirit and a silver rapier, which he thrust directly into the Giant's body beneath him!

He has only detached from the upper body so far; the lower part is still inside the Giant's body, so this method is used to forcibly excavate it out.

After that, he'll make all the bastards present pay the price!