Planning

In the end, Truman still didn't preside over the so-called thirty-day Mass Ceremony.

He brought the Angel of Concealment to his stone house.

"You're here." Lilith sat on a stone stool, her face cold, watching the two of them enter.

She stared at the Angel of Concealment for a long time, then looked at Truman and said in a commanding tone, "I want a clone like that too."

"I'll make you my Pope, too." But she soon realized something was wrong with her tone, so she softened it and made a promise.

Truman didn't mind. His expression was only a little strange. "Wake up. You're just a Vampire right now."

Vampires couldn't have a church, so naturally, they couldn't have a Pope.

But honestly, he was a little tempted. After all, the future Church of Earth would be an orthodox church and one of the mainstream faiths, no less important than the Church of Evernight.

And the position of Pope meant more to him than just a crown. It also meant countless followers, enough to help him tap into more of the Book of Dreams' power.

"I'm Sanguine," Lilith corrected him. "It won't take long."

"We'll talk about it then." Truman didn't refuse. The Goddess remained calm. She had long known that her Pope also served as the Dream Angel under the Sun God.

Don't put all your eggs in one basket, and do your best to get some of the big players of the future on your Chariot.

That was Truman's strategy for making a place for himself in this era.

Otherwise, with his trait as The Purifier, if the Ancient Gods discovered him, they might go berserk and attack him without giving the Book of Dreams a second thought!

There were two among the Ancient Gods who dared to touch a Sefirah!

The Dragon of Imagination had been corrupted by the Chaos Sea, while the Ancestor of Phoenix had gone even further, directly drawing over a tributary of the River of Eternal Darkness.

As for the people now working with him, there was no need to mention the Ancient Sun God. Before the Fourth Epoch, He was the greatest support Truman could have.

And after the Third Epoch, the two True Gods would probably be able to protect him, too.

Given that he couldn't rely on Beyonder Characteristics to become a god quickly, this was the best choice.

The Goddess walked over to Lilith. Lilith kept a blank expression, but Truman could sense that she was still nervous. The wreath on her head had even taken on a little more luster.

Before faking her death, she had seen that merciless, ruthless scythe strike.

"Ahem, the meeting's starting!" Truman called out at just the right moment, breaking the silent standoff.

The Book of Dreams in his hand flashed. In the eyes of the woman, the vampire, and the Angel, the magnificent scene of Heaven of Dreams appeared.

The next moment, they were seated in the Dream Palace.

Sasrir was summoned as well, and entered at once.

It was another Dream Council.

The last time the four of them had gathered, two Ancient Gods had been completely destroyed, and the Ancient Sun God had stepped onto history's stage. This time, too, would surely have a profound impact on the future world order.

"You go ahead," Truman said, as the one who had called the meeting. He gestured directly to Sasrir.

"My Lord intends to reveal the Potion Sequences to the world." Sasrir opened with a bombshell.

"Reveal the Sequences..." Once the Sequences were made public, the Ancient Sun God would essentially be confirmed in humanity's eyes as the awakened Creator, truly standing above the Ancient Gods.

And the knowledge revealed this time would probably be the same as what Hermes had taken: knowledge of the low and Mid-Sequences. Anyone who wanted knowledge of the Demi-god level and above would still have to submit to the Ancient Sun God or pay a price ten or even a hundred times greater than the knowledge itself.

In that case, it wouldn't take many years for the Ancient Sun God's strength to swell until He could overwhelm the Ancient Gods.

"Monopolizing knowledge is incredibly profitable..." Truman remarked.

"Weren't you afraid the Ancient Gods would grow wary and unite to deal with you first?" Lilith asked after a moment of silence.

The Ancient Gods had all suffered some degree of injury this time, and their conditions were unstable. It was their most dangerous moment. Faced with life and death, they might indeed unite to resist the Ancient Sun God.

"That's no longer possible. What the Ancient Gods need most now is time to lick their wounds. As long as my Lord doesn't immediately reclaim all His authorities and launch a divine war, the Ancient Gods won't be able to unite." Sasrir sounded confident.

The Ancient Sun God had probably confirmed this through some mysterious means.

The Goddess suddenly raised her hand and looked at Sasrir, then at Truman. "The Church of Evernight wants to formally become part of this world as well."

Truman nodded lightly. As the Pope of the Church of Evernight, he naturally had to show his support.

"..." Sasrir glanced at Truman. You're still the Dream Angel under my Lord, too...

But he shook his head. He already had a response prepared. "I'll avoid the Pathway of Night, but you can't get involved in any other Sequence."

As he spoke, he glanced at Truman. Truman sat upright, saying and doing nothing.

This was already the greatest concession Sasrir could make to an ally.

"Thank you." The Goddess nodded lightly. It was already a good deal to get this promise.

Ultimately, She wasn't yet a true God, so She couldn't bargain with the Ancient Sun God, who controlled the knowledge of every Sequence.

As for Lilith, She was still only a Vampire.

"When are you planning to make your move?" Truman asked, bringing up another matter.

"Once all the Ancient Gods have recovered. My Lord will end their era when they're at the height of their power." Sasrir spoke slowly, leaving both the Goddess and Lilith silent.

Those words placed a heavy burden on them.

No one doubted whether the Sun God could do it. It was only a matter of time.

It could very well mean that even after they became gods, they would remain under the Sun God's shadow.

They had anticipated this before agreeing to cooperate, but hadn't expected it to come so soon.

"This process could last hundreds of years. There are many things we can't decide right now." Truman ended the topic.

"Now for the exchange." Truman looked at Sasrir. "Do you have the Characteristic for the Trojan Horse of Destiny?"

Sasrir nodded lightly.

"Then let's trade!" Truman produced a Sequence Two Characteristic from the King of Exotic Species.

"Agreed." Sasrir didn't refuse. Now that he thought about it, the Error Pathway was probably mostly in his hands.

"Excellent!" Truman's spirits lifted. He had a particular fondness for the three Lord of the Mysteries Pathways. Now that he had obtained a Sequence Two Characteristic from one of those three Pathways, he could upgrade the Gloves of the Ancient!

Too bad there aren't any skilled Artisans right now. I'll have to do it myself.

The exchange ended there. Sasrir was wealthy beyond measure, and no one knew how many Characteristics he had. The Goddess had just gained control of the Pathway of Night and half of the Fool Pathway, while Lilith was in much the same position.

That left Truman as the poorest of them all.

No, I need to build up my reserves. Ideally, I should get a Sequence One Characteristic and a Uniqueness!

Actually, he already had a Sequence One Characteristic in his possession: the "Abomination" from the King of Exotic Species. In fact, the Characteristics he had most of were from this Pathway.