The Beginning

Neph's words startled Klein. He never expected Neph to give such an answer, but upon reflection, it seemed perfectly reasonable. In his astonishment, he couldn't help but ask curiously, "What did your master say?"

"He agreed," Neph's expression grew even colder. "I think that counts as agreement—He said He didn't mind, but He also told me I probably wouldn't have the chance."

"----I suddenly realized that I might have said something wrong," Klein took a breath, "Besides the power of the God, we can also occasionally believe in God mercy."

"Yes," Neph sneered, "Merciful Mr. Fool."

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore," Klein tactfully changed the subject. "If you're sure it doesn't matter if people know about George III's desire to become a god, I'm going to tell Lady Arianna about it."

"If there's a connection, why don't you just say so?" Neph retorted.

"Not necessarily," Klein shook his head. "If there's a connection, it means you took a risk to leak this information to me, and I need to know what that risk was."

Neph smiled and replied, "See? I wasn't wrong, was I? You really are the merciful Mr. Fool."

Klein rolled his eyes at her and said nothing.

The kind-hearted Mr. Fool remained silent, which greatly disappointed Neph. She could only say, "Actually, even if you didn't tell Lady Arianna, I would have told Bernadette. Don't forget, George III's ascension to godhood meant the complete death of her father."

Beings at the level of True God are mostly difficult to kill, and the "Black Emperor" is no exception. As long as the "Black Emperor's" nine secret Mausoleum are not all destroyed, he can awaken and be reborn from one of Mausoleum.

Even if all nine Mausoleum are destroyed, as long as some remnants of the order established by the "Black Emperor" remain, he can mysteriously resurrect and return. Only the birth of a new "Black Emperor" can completely annihilate him and prevent him from ever appearing again.

Eight of the Mausoleum of Emperor Roselle were destroyed, and the last one that remained was corrupted by the "Mother Goddess of Depravity." This caused him to be stuck in the middle of the resurrection process. He could not be truly resurrected because if he were to be resurrected, he would bring back the corruption of the "Mother Goddess of Depravity."

However, this is still much better than Mr. "Door" being imprisoned by the Evernight Goddess and the Lord of Storms, since he is still fighting against the pollution, while on Mr. "Door's side, the pollution has clearly gained the upper hand.

He is most likely truly beyond saving.

Klein suddenly remembered this, and just as he was about to say something, Neph stroked her chin thoughtfully and said, "Tell me, should I act before or after you assassinate George III?"

That's what she asked, but Neph already knew the answer in her heart: George III had to die. It was part of her promise to Bernadette and Roselle, and she considered herself a person of her word.

Klein, however, was less clear on the matter. "I'm not sure what kind of chain reaction your actions will have. If it were me, I would make a decision through Divination."

"Are you also going to follow the guidance of Fate?" Neph gave him a strange look.

Klein looked confused by her words, and Neph thought for a moment before explaining, "You know, Ouroboros's just our nature, and considering His Pathway, it's somewhat normal, but—"

Neph's expression Distortion slightly, then she said, "The last time I saw Amon, he said that Fate had given him guidance—"

"Is that why you're unsure of his current attitude?" Klein asked thoughtfully.

Neph nodded.

Klein thought for a moment, then asked, "Are He and Adam searching for their father's past?"

Neph's expression Distortion slightly; she seemed to want to say something, but ultimately gave up. Klein heard her reply, "Just pretend that's it."

Klein frowned at her, but Neph refused to say anything more and simply got up to leave. Klein had no choice but to say goodbye to her, and frowned after she disappeared from sight.

Clearly, his guess was wrong, but Neph seemed determined not to tell him the answer, which troubled him. He tried to think about it, but ultimately had no clue.

Therefore, he had no choice but to gather his thoughts and prepare to contact Arianna to share his conjectures about the "Black Emperor".

He had a plan for this; he didn't intend to directly mention Adam's role in covering up for George III, but only to suggest the possibility that George III was preparing to become a god. As for the rest, he would address it later.

We must also warn Miss Justice to be careful—after Hvin Rambis is exposed, there's a high probability he'll go looking for her—

With that in mind, Klein took action.

Suddenly appearing in an unfamiliar place, Bernadette instantly became alert. She looked around and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the figure approaching amidst the falling snow. She called out, "Your Grace?"

Neph stared at her, hesitated for two seconds, and then asked, "Why don't you call me Your Majesty?"

"Ah?" Bernadette looked regretful.

This was a title for a secular King, which should belong to a different system than that for Beyonder. However, it seemed this wasn't the first time the God before her had suddenly come up with such a whimsical idea, so Bernadette quickly composed herself and respectfully said, "Your Majesty."

Neph nodded in satisfaction and said seriously, "I'm going to call this place the Winter's End Kingdom."

Bernadette looked around; she didn't really understand the meaning of the name, but she still played along. "Is this your country?"

Neph stared at her for two seconds. Bernadette clearly couldn't follow this nonsensical joke. Even if Klein were here, he wouldn't be able to pick up on this joke, because when he was hung up, the origin of this joke hadn't even been born yet.

Neph suddenly sighed in disappointment and murmured softly:

--

"I hope that among those guys who are locked up in their cocoons, there are some who are a little later in life—I could become Paimon."

"Hmm? This idea seems pretty good. If Amon is freed by then, I can invite Amon along. I want to teach Amon how to impersonate the system—hiss, we can't let Klein find out. Also, I need to remind Amon pranks are fine, but don't eat random things—"

She paused, looked at the bewildered Bernadette, and then got to the point. "Do you remember what I told you? There's a very important matter in Backlund that's closely related to your father—"

Bernadette certainly hadn't forgotten this matter. She had been wanting to know about it ever since she returned from the Mausoleum, but Neph hadn't brought it up herself. Bernadette didn't have the courage to ask for the time being. She had originally planned to wait a while longer before asking, but now that Neph had brought it up, she was naturally happy.

Bernadette then looked at Neph with eager attention. Neph stroked her chin and asked, "Do you know anything about the resurrection of the Black Emperor?"

Bernadette nodded.

"Then do you know how to completely kill a Black Emperor?" Neph chuckled.

Bernadette pursed her lips slightly. She didn't believe Neph wanted her father dead; otherwise, the previous events seemed somewhat inexplicable. However, the question still made her uneasy. Suppressing her bad premonition, she replied, "The birth of a new Black Emperor."

"Yes," Neph snapped her fingers, "That's exactly what's happening in Backlund."

Bernadette's eyes widened abruptly, and she blurted out, "Who?"

"Who else could it be?" Neph asked her in return.

Bernadette's breathing quickened. The answer was obvious: it was King George III of Loen. And once that was the answer, finding the evidence would be a very easy task.

Bernadette was no stranger to the "Black Emperor's" ascension Ritual; she had found corresponding connections in the various movements of the Loen Kingdom, but many questions remained. Before she could speak, Neph waved her hand and said, "You can go find Gehrman Sparrow, or rather, the world."

"Ask him for more information. I've already told him once, and I don't want to repeat myself."

She dismissed Bernadette, but Bernadette paid no heed. She almost immediately summoned Messenger, but then, feeling it wasn't fast enough, she contacted Cattleya through the channel of faith.

This was a power only Angel possessed; she immediately relayed her message. After listening, Cattleya prayed to the Fool, explaining her request. When Klein heard this prayer in the "Sefirah Castle," he felt utterly powerless. He pressed his temples and accused the nonexistent figure, "Neph, did you tell Bernadette just so she would come to me?!"

Neph naturally wouldn't answer that question. Firstly, she hadn't heard it, and secondly, even if she had, she wouldn't have cared. At that moment, she was trying to search for the past of the "Cross of Darkness".

It felt a lot like watching a movie. The first scene was not much different from what Klein had seen. Neph stared at the gray and white buildings in the hazy world and suddenly remembered that she had never Visit this place before. It was the site of Chernobyl's old house, the place where the "Ancient Sun God" crawled out, and most importantly, it seemed that an Amon's Avatar was lying there.

If I kick Him down while He's climbing up----

The dangerous thought was only halfway through when a pale hand reached out. Neph held her breath, then remembered that she didn't need to breathe.

The earliest "Ancient Sun God" to emerge did not actually look exactly like Adam, but they were indeed quite similar. Neph looked at the Silver Cross swaying on his chest and raised an eyebrow.

I remember that was the Uniqueness Pathway "Visionary"—

Before Neph could ponder further, the ancient "Ancient Sun God" reached out and grasped the silver Cross. His eyes, no longer lost in thought, curved into a smile, and he began his first step in cosplaying as "God Almighty": "Let There Be Light!"

Light bathed the earth, and almost instinctively, Neph recited a passage. "God said, ' Let There Be Light,' and there was light—"

As her words faded, light illuminated the entire Valley, and within that light, the "Ancient Sun God," clad in a black priest's robe, gently raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the illusory curtain and projecting towards the distant future. "---- Pure White?"

The slightly confused voice was like a bombshell. Neph stared in astonishment, her hand instinctively tightening, causing the spikes on the Verdigris Cross to pierce her hand. The blood was absorbed, and the verdigris faded away, revealing a bright but not dazzling light that suddenly shone and spread outwards, bringing a warmth rarely seen in the cold winter.

Neph gasped, letting the images of the past fade away. Gazing at the Yang Guang emanating from the "Cross of Darkness," she finally understood, murmuring softly, "I finally understand how you made that mistake—"

He may have truly seen himself in the Prophecy, but the Prophecy was vague; only in this glimpse across time and space did He see the blossoming Yang Guang.

Who would have thought that a Pathway existed on Earth back then that wasn't marked on the "Blasphemy Slate"?

Or perhaps she hadn't yet appeared within the barrier—which is no longer important. To understand everything that happened in the past is simply to figure out how much effort the "Lord of the Mysteries" and "God Almighty" each contributed in this game.

Neph sighed softly and continued scrolling through the progress bar.

She wasn't going through the past of the "Cross of Darkness" to be mistaken for the "Eternal Blazing Sun"; she had other purposes. Now that the misunderstanding had occurred, her original purpose became even more important—even though it sounded like a sunk cost.

When Klein saw Neph again, he noticed a listless and powerless expression on her face. He asked with concern, "What's wrong?"

"It's hard to say," Neph glanced at her, "I've discovered that the story did indeed begin with me pretending to be White Angel."

"Hmm?" Klein looked at her, puzzled. "Although you insist on saying this, you don't seem to have really said that you are the same person, do you? You're even eager to deny it all."

"Yes," Neph nodded, "But there was one time I actually succeeded, and I didn't have a chance to explain."

"When?" Klein asked.

"Yesterday," Neph replied, "Or rather, the end of the Second Epoch."

Klein's expression froze.

He reacted almost instantly, his astonishment barely concealed as he blurted out, "You disguised yourself as a White Angel and greeted the Ancient Sun God? This led Him to mistake you for someone else???"

"It wasn't me in disguise," Neph explained. "He discovered me, and I was startled. The Cross pierced my hand, and the power of the ' Sun ' domain leaked out—"

Klein moved his lips twice, then closed them again. After a long pause, he finally spoke, "Don't you think this is too much of a coincidence?"

They looked at each other, Neph smiled bitterly, "You know, I've passed the stage of believing in coincidences. To me now, all coincidences seem like they were secretly arranged."

"But the problem is, now that I know all this, what can I do?"

She closed her eyes, her face weary, her voice filled with a profound sense of powerlessness. "You see, I clearly knew from the beginning that He would see the Divination, even if it transcended time and space, it wouldn't make a difference. Why did I have to recklessly pry into His past?"