What did she mean, "joined them"? What had Bernadette joined?
Even if she had been deeply "corrupted" by Liu Bo without realizing it while probing Pale Death, the Unknown was still asleep. I could interfere with how it treated its "believers," so she hadn't lost herself.
After all, she was an Angel, and unlike Flora Jacob, she hadn't let the "corruption" erupt directly inside her mind. The situations were entirely different...
Strictly speaking, though, Bernadette still held Pale Death, and that did make her situation somewhat similar to Yaluolan's, Hosenam's, and even Lilith's.
Vera's situation was more like that of Richelieu, the Magic Mirror that worshipped an illusory "White Angel." Both had been corrupted "indirectly."
The question was, what was the Goddess's situation?
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Abner made no attempt to deny Bernadette's supposed "joining." He didn't want Vera going after her. After a moment's thought, he said:
"You should know that, for the Magic Wishing Lamp, its holder and its owner aren't the same thing. Until Bernadette dies, anyone else who gets hold of it would only be its owner, while any wishes they make would still count against her... So she's unlikely to give the lamp to anyone else. That would be like handing over her life."
"You really are looking out for her!" Vera chided him with feigned displeasure. Then she shook her head. "But you know the so-called Genie is the Son of Chaos's Spirit Body—or Evil Spirit—don't you?
"He isn't without intelligence. Being 'fooled' by that person may have left him with a few problems, but he's still extremely clever and cunning.
"His so-called 'rules' can be negotiated.
"And I happen to be rather good at communicating with him."
I see... Abner used Insight to examine several possible futures. After a