An attempt to escape

"Not even as its owner?" Neph raised the Blank Canvas.

"Not yet," Amon drawled. "But perhaps you could tell me what exactly you want to do. I might be willing to lend you a hand."

Honestly, I think you're more likely to cause me trouble... though probably not with my current goal.

"I want to resurrect your father," Neph said.

"You think the Hanged Man is my father?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Of course not." Neph shook her head. "He's the fallen humanity... uh, wait, do you not know about this yet?"

"About what?" Amon asked, looking at her.

GOOGLE search

"Adam, your brother," Neph said. "That obsessive who wants his father to resurrect inside his own body."

"What about him?" Amon seemed a little interested.

"He's your father's divine side," Neph said calmly.

The atmosphere around them chilled. The smile vanished from Amon's face, and he stared at Neph without a word. Under that oppressive pressure, Neph spoke:

"You can go verify it."

"I will," Amon replied. "What else do you know?"

Even that news isn't enough? Fair enough. Finding Adam and keeping me under his control aren't mutually exclusive. Besides, even if he wanted to let me go, he probably wouldn't do it outright. He'd just refrain from stopping me when I tried to escape... he probably wants to see what I'll try.

One thing's certain: Amon isn't very interested in hurting me. As for parasitizing me... he should have had a chance to do that much earlier, but he never did... why? Because I'm still a "collectible"? From what he said, I'm no longer entirely a "collectible," but I'm still under the Blank Canvas's protection... hmm, is that why he said I wasn't qualified to cooperate with him?

I didn't truly spread faith in the True Creator. Instead, I combined him with the Ancient Sun God and skirted the rules, essentially to justify my identity. That should still be within his limits. Also, he seems to want information from me... hmm, he can't steal my memories or parasitize me, so he has to make me say it? Like this?

If that really is his goal, he probably won't be in a hurry. After all, fifty years isn't very long to him... hmm, maybe I really can try to escape... but how?

Neph thought for a moment, then raised the Blank Canvas and asked with utter sincerity in her eyes, "Can I go inside for a bit?"

The moment she spoke, Amon laughed. He asked Neph:

"As the God of Mischief, I've lived from the Third Epoch until now. Do you know what that means?"

I know. It means you're cautious... Neph didn't take the bait. She asked again, "Can I go inside?"

"Sure," Amon said with a smile.

Without the slightest hesitation, Neph extended her spirituality toward the Blank Canvas, and her figure vanished on the spot. Amon looked at the empty space before him, raised a hand to pinch his monocle, and chuckled.

"A clumsy deception... but admirable courage."

Neph opened her eyes in the pure white world. Without hesitation, she extended her spirituality toward the Blank Canvas, then saw a floating mass of potion.

It was a cloud of gray mist. Looking closer, she could see silver threads winding through it, with faint specks of green phosphorescent flame flickering in and out of sight. They reminded Neph of the will-o'-the-wisps in legends.

This was the Dirge Poet potion. Neph reached out, and sure enough, she once again saw the potion being prepared:

"One Night Watcher egg... one complete Corpse-Chasing Bird heart..."

The ingredients were mixed together one by one, finally forming the potion. Along with the silver threads, the mist wrapped around Neph and merged with her.

As she advanced, her spirituality spilled outward, and Neph heard those murmurs once again:

"The world... forget me... the world... forget me... the world... forget me..."

Do I have to hear this every time I advance? Hey, these aren't your last words, are they...?

Neph clutched her head. After the murmurs faded, she heard an illusory shattering sound-it proved that the True Creator's status was indeed enough to support her in fully digesting the potion.

That brought Neph some relief. Once everything settled, she drew back her scattered spirituality. Without taking the time to examine the potion knowledge that had appeared in her mind, she extended her spirituality toward the Blank Canvas, and a new potion appeared before her.

The Winter Envoy potion was solid, taking the form of black ice crystals with blue patterns faintly visible inside. Neph reached out again, and the scene of the potion's preparation appeared as usual. She had already learned to ignore it, allowing the potion formula to be recorded in her mind.

I wonder if its ingredients can be found on Earth. Probably not... from what Amon said, I really shouldn't be on the Blasphemy Slate... hmm? In that case, where are all the Beyonder Characteristics of this Pathway?

Neph's consciousness grew hazy. She felt herself turning into drifting white mist, about to disperse through this pure white space. But amid the illusory shattering sounds, starlight seemed to surge deep within her spirituality, pulling her scattered consciousness back and keeping her where she was.

After absorbing the knowledge within the potion, Neph pressed a hand to her forehead and frowned.

"Even with the potions fully digested, advancing this many times in one go is still risky... ow, one more to go..."

If she had the time, she thought she ought to let herself recover. But Amon was still waiting outside like a predator. At present, Neph couldn't investigate what was happening outside, and what remained of her conscience wouldn't let her hide here and leave Amon to do as he pleased.

Besides, it's cold here, and I don't have... huh?

Neph raised her hand slightly, her pale skin passing through the motionless snowflakes. She suddenly realized that, as she was now, she could withstand the cold of this Pure White Space.

-She really could stay here now.

There's food here, and I've stored drinking water too. I just don't know what Amon will do... a few days should be no more than the blink of an eye to him, right? Surely he wouldn't do anything drastic...?

Her struggle and hesitation gave way to relief, because Neph suddenly realized that even if she went outside, she wouldn't be able to stop Amon from doing anything. And if she died just like that, the problem would probably be even worse-the Blank Canvas alone would be enough to give Moon City plenty of trouble.

"Your Excellency Neph, are you still there?" Nim knocked on the door and asked gently.

"I am." Inside the room, the young man wearing a monocle sat in a chair, silently turning a page of his book, a teasing smile curling at his lips. "You must be

tired, right? Would you like to rest?"

"Yes." Nim pushed the door open and walked in. As though he had noticed nothing unusual, he smiled at the young man before him. "You seem quite happy?"