Sage

Neph quieted down.

This is a somber reminder, and it is a moment that should be somber.

She was still not quite used to such occasions, but at this moment, Neph was no longer in a panic to run away. She took a deep breath, nodded, and solemnly accepted the request. "I will."

"Of course, before that, I will still try my best to save you."

"On the bright side, maybe by the time you come out, electricity will be back on and Wi-Fi will be up and running, so you might be able to play games."

She painted an unrealistic picture for Roselle, Roselle smiled obligingly. Neph sighed softly, then said in a serious tone, "However, there's one thing you need to be careful about."

"What?" Roselle became alert.

Neph chuckled softly and shook her head, saying, "Before coming to your Mausoleum, I promised your daughter that if she was still interested in the contents of your diary after she returned from here, I would teach her Chinese."

In other words—

"No!" Roselle said sternly, "We can't tell Bernadette —no, not even future time travelers! Let my diary disappear from the world, or be turned into some incomprehensible script!"

"Do you think I would agree?" Neph countered.

Roselle paused for a moment, then lowered her demands. "At least don't tell Bernadette about this!"

"Be grateful," Neph rolled her eyes, "I'm already being kind by not adding a single page to your diary."

Roselle moved her lips as if to speak, but Neph added, "Of course, we have no grudge against each other, I wouldn't do such a thing. As for Bernadette —well, you just had bad timing. My promise to her came first."

"You can pray that she doesn't want to know what kind of person her father is, and that she doesn't plan to read your diary after she goes back here—that's not entirely impossible, is it? Maybe she realizes she needs to respect her father's privacy."

Roselle seemed to have little hope for the future Neph described, and instead pleaded, "I hope that after she finishes reading the diary, she will still consider me her father."

"I'll do my best." Neph shrugged.

"Miss Pure White?" Bernadette, who was curled up in the Captain's Quarters, slowly raised her head, revealing a pair of unfocused eyes.

Neph observed her expression; her eyes were slightly red, clearly she had just cried, and her expression still held undisguised sadness and confusion, even regret and self-blame.

Neph suddenly remembered the person who had questioned her in Moon City. A playful smile appeared on her face as she asked meaningfully, "Do you blame me?"

"Why should I blame you?" Bernadette paused, taken aback.

Neph smiled and replied, "I think you've realized to some extent that I knew what would happen on this island, that the seal on your father would be broken because of your arrival, and that your Uniqueness way out was to seal your father away yourself."

Her voice trailed off, her smile vanished, and a complex pity appeared on her face. "I knew everything all along, but I didn't tell you anything, nor did I try to stop you."

"Why did you stop me?" Bernadette asked, surprised. "You—"

She seemed to remember something, paused for a moment, and then said, "I was once taught a saying."

"What?" Neph tilted her head.

"Believe in the power of the God," Bernadette sighed, "But do not believe in their mercy."

Neph paused slightly, and Bernadette continued, "I have long realized that you are a New Life God, and given your Authority, I have never doubted that you know."

"You must have your reasons for not telling me."

"Even if I did it for fun?" Neph asked curiously.

Bernadette hesitated for a moment, then carefully chose her words: "I believe you are not the kind of God who would toy with believers for your own pleasure, but frankly, there are records of such deities throughout history—"

To be honest, I think I could really tease believers, but there are different kinds of teasing. What you're doing isn't really suitable for teasing people—well, I think I understand what you mean.

She chuckled softly, then said with a sudden realization, "I understand."

"Those who question me are not my believers, but false believers hiding among me, falsely claiming my blessings."

When she said this, Neph didn't actually show much aggression; she just used a teasing tone. But Bernadette was startled and her expression turned solemn. She pulled herself out of her elation and despair, no longer curling up as before, but instead kneeling on one knee and burying her head in the ground.

Neph lowered her eyes to look at Bernadette, shaking her head slightly. "You should get up. I don't really like people kneeling before me, and as far as I know, normally one doesn't have to kneel before God, at least—"

"My Lord has never forced believers to kneel. Well, usually we kneel voluntarily—uh, does that sound like you're threatening me?"

She belatedly looked at Bernadette, but fortunately Bernadette was no stranger to her and understood her true intentions. She stood up from the ground, bowing her head to express her respect.

Neph looked at her, thought for a moment, and then asked, "Do you need some time to calm down and adjust your state, or are you preparing to advance to ' Sage ' right now?"

"No, I don't need to," Bernadette raised her head, her expression hardening. "I can be promoted right now."

"Alright," Neph chuckled softly, "I'll wait for you outside."

She turned and walked towards the door. Just as she was about to reach the closing door, her figure suddenly faded, becoming a faint, semi-transparent shadow. Then, the shadow naturally stepped through the door.

Bernadette showed no unusual emotion at the scene. She exhaled and looked at the "Sage Diadem" floating in the air beside her.

As a "Clairvoyant," she clearly saw the opportunity for Pusheng and understood that she had completed the corresponding Ritual, preventing a Catastrophe involving high-level forces.

This was corroborated by Neph's chanting before she left her bedchamber, and Bernadette was quite certain that she was qualified for promotion to Sequence 2.

However, the price for all of this was that she personally sealed away the father she had been searching for for over 100 years.

"What a wonderful irony—" Bernadette sighed almost imperceptibly, looking at the diamond-encrusted vertical eye.

Chapter 19 Sage

After leaving Intis, she had two main wishes: first, to find out the truth of those events and see if she had misunderstood her father; and second, to follow in her father's footsteps and see what he had experienced and whether there was any possibility of his resurrection.

Bernadette's first wish has been fulfilled; the truth is that she did indeed misunderstand her father. This has eased her Affliction and anguish, completely dispelling her resentment towards him, but it has also added a great deal of guilt.

Harboring such guilt and long-held longing, she tried her best to fulfill her second wish, but the final result was far from pleasant.

If there had been no hope, she might not have had such a strong emotional reaction, but she clearly saw the light at the end of the tunnel, she saw her father, yet she had to personally send him back to his slumber.

Bernadette shook her head, no longer hesitating, no longer blaming herself, no longer experiencing any negative emotions. She firmly raised her right hand and traced one ancient word after another, shimmering with starlight, in the void. She summoned the Spirit World Creature with the upper body of a human and the lower body of wind, and retrieved some of the auxiliary materials for the "Sage" Potion from it.

As for the remaining parts, since they did not require special preservation, they were kept in the Collection Room of the "Dawn".

Not long after, Bernadette, through "Pale Death," shattered the "Sage Diadem" and concocted the Potion that would allow her to advance to Sequence 2.

After glancing at the "Sage" Potion bubbling and releasing bubbles, each containing a transparent eye, Bernadette resolutely raised her right hand and brought the glass bottle to her lips.

She knew that what was needed at this moment was not sadness or sentimentality, but a firm heart and a will to move forward, because to help her father, Emperor Roselle, escape the corruption and be fully resurrected, a higher Sequence and greater power were required.

Therefore, she was willing to bury the Affliction deep in her heart, not letting it affect her mental state, only bringing it up at night when no one was around, to savor it alone.

As the "Sage" Potion entered her body, Bernadette's body became ethereal at a visible speed.

She broke down into streams of complex knowledge, transforming into a form of information flood.

The entire "Dawn, and even the surrounding gale, rainstorm, lightning, seawater, and waves, all lost their sense of reality, as if they were restored to the most basic and authentic information.

For most Sequence 3 practitioners of the "Mystery Pryer" Pathway, this state is extremely dangerous. If their will is not strong enough, their luck is not good enough, or their preparation is not sufficient, the torrent of knowledge they have created will be infiltrated, washed away, and assimilated by various external information within seconds. They will quickly lose consciousness and will never be able to rebuild their bodies again, transforming into a very strange and difficult-to-deal-with Monster in the Mysticism:

Knowledge Pixie!

Bernadette, relying on the "Sage Diadem," had transformed into a torrent of information many times, although each time it was limited to two or three seconds and could not be maintained for long. However, she still had some experience. At this moment, she tried her best to maintain her own consciousness and established some kind of connection with the Spirit World information that was preventing a high-level Catastrophe.

The information bore her distinct mark and involved a very high level, making it exceptionally "solid." It wouldn't be dispersed by other information in a short time, helping her to initially stabilize her consciousness and gradually gather the dissipating and fading torrent of her original information.

Neph stood outside the door, her eyes slightly narrowed.

She maintained her translucent form, which caused the power emanating from Bernadette to ignore her, passing through her body and spreading freely to the surroundings.

Her gaze fell on Bernadette, her Spirituality easily discerning the situation, and she let out a barely perceptible sigh.

Ascension to Angel is an extremely dangerous threshold, and even if Bernadette has completed the Ritual, success is not guaranteed.

Moreover, Bernadette still cherished her father in her heart. She did suppress her grief, but the Ritual of ascension was an occasion that magnified all weaknesses. Neph closed her eyes, raised her hand to temporarily conceal the deep sorrow, and made the information related to the Catastrophe clear again.

There's not much she can actually do. For most Beyonder, the advancement Ritual allows them to seek help from higher beings. However, at the moment of taking the Potion, the higher being cannot guarantee a 100% success rate for the advancement. At most, they can only ensure that even if you fail, you won't lose control.

Of course, the "Fate" Pathway might be of great help in this process.

Neph was not there to help Bernadette through her ascension Ritual. What she was truly worried about was the "Hidden Sage." As the Uniqueness pass through the "Mystery Pryer" Pathway, He couldn't possibly remain inactive when faced with a newly ascended Angel.

After all, if Sequence 2 wants to advance further, it's about time they made their move against him.

It is clear that Bernadette was not a follower of the "Hidden Sage," but rather an enemy.

As Bernadette gradually calmed down amidst her prayers, the "Hidden Sage" appeared as promised. Neph's figure vanished from her spot in an instant, her consciousness arriving in Pure White Space. Then, a white mist surged out, covering Bernadette, and without hesitation, rushed towards the "Hidden Sage."

This being, activated by "Uniqueness," retreated without a fight. The moment it saw the surging White Mist, it chose to flee without hesitation. Its movements were extremely fluid, as if it had been rehearsed countless times, leaving Neph speechless.

During the time she was under protection, Bernadette was able to initially balance the awakening will within her body and stabilize her condition.

When she regained consciousness, she found Miss "Pure White" shaking her head outside the cabin. Upon seeing her, Miss "Pure White" complained, "Your Hidden Sage is really something else—why stuff so much gibberish into the knowledge you're sharing? Ugh, so troublesome—"

- This was left behind by the "Hidden Sage" before he fled.

Neph wasn't quite sure what this behavior meant, considering that the "Hidden Sage's" true form was Information Stream, it might be similar to a gecko shedding its tail to survive.

"--If you don't mind, I can help you organize this information," Bernadette said understandingly. "I have plenty of experience in this area."

"Compared to that—" Neph shook her head, smiling at Bernadette, "I think you should consider whether you'd like to hear those secrets only Angel know, or whether you'd like to learn the language your father's diary was written in?"

Bernadette froze, her lips twitching slightly before she fell silent. Neph remained still, simply watching Bernadette until Bernadette shook her head and said, "I want to understand the existence that polluted my father first."