"Just tell me. What do you want?"
Hearing Lumian shamelessly speak up, Nimrod replied in a leisurely tone:
"For your sister's sake, I might be willing to help you. But you'll have to hurry. Your sister will probably wake up soon-I can tell she doesn't want you getting involved with Beyonder powers."
At Nimrod's words, Lumian's ears twitched. Sure enough, he heard movement downstairs.
The choices in front of me are that mysterious woman and this unfamiliar Beyonder who looks incredibly powerful... If Aurore finds out, she'll definitely stop me from becoming a Beyonder!
He looks a lot more reliable than that mysterious woman...
Lumian took a deep breath and chose his words carefully:
"I hope I can get a chance to become a Beyonder from you in exchange for something. Since you can enter my dreams, you must be a very powerful Beyonder..."
He hadn't expected the Beyonder before him to grant him Beyonder powers for nothing. But from the few things Nimrod had said, Lumian felt that his unusual dream seemed to be what had drawn this Beyonder here.
[He bears the destiny of becoming the "Calamity of Destruction."]
Just then, the Celestial Worthy's voice slowly reached Nimrod's ears, seemingly offering a reminder:
[In case you aren't aware, I need to tell you that this is an opportunity. The "Calamity of Destruction" is one of the children born to the "Mother Goddess of Depravity" and our Original Creator...]
[My fellow, I don't know whether "symbolism" exists in your world, but in ours, "symbolism" is almost equivalent to the laws of the Beyonder world. If you can become the father acknowledged by the "Calamity of Destruction," then we will have a chance to advance further...]
"-Why should I help you? I'm not your godfather."
The Celestial Worthy's words stirred something in Nimrod, and he deliberately said this to Lumian.
He wasn't so overambitious as to think, I want to become a master at assembling the ultimate Original Creator! Nor did he know what lies might be hidden in the Celestial Worthy's words. Still, he believed he really couldn't let this little "Red Priest" cub slip away.
He couldn't oppose the Celestial Worthy in everything simply out of fear of his lies. Although the Celestial Worthy's behavior in the dream city suggested he had thoroughly digested the Sequence 8 potion of the "Fool" pathway, there was no denying that he was also the most terrifying "deceiver" in this universe.
[You seem to be thinking something rather offensive.]
The Celestial Worthy's voice sounded again. Nimrod felt a momentary pang of guilt, but still answered quietly in an utterly unruffled tone:
"You're imagining things."
After that brief and pleasant exchange with the Celestial Worthy, he smiled at Lumian standing before him.
Lumian's expression seemed to waver, but he soon appeared to make up his mind:
"Fa..."
Compared to my sister's safety, what does it matter if I call someone my father?
If acknowledging someone as my father will give me Beyonder abilities, I can acknowledge plenty of fathers!
...You're going to accomplish great things someday, Lumian, Nimrod silently murmured to himself.
But before Lumian could finish what he had been about to say, the sound of the door opening cut him off:
"What are you two doing in the middle of the night?"
Aurore stood in her pajamas, her hair slightly disheveled. Her voice and expression held a trace of confusion as she looked between Nimrod and her younger brother, apparently wondering what had happened between them.
-Before this, she had secretly performed a divination regarding what Nimrod had told her earlier and confirmed he hadn't lied.
"Earlier, I suspected his dream would attract other things." Nimrod picked up where Aurore left off:
"I was drawn here by his unusual dream myself. If even rational people are affected, spirits lacking reason are even more easily attracted. And sure enough, that let me catch this owl."
"That's right, Aurore. I even saw Naroka just now..." Lumian gave a dry laugh and hurried to explain.
I absolutely can't let Aurore find out I nearly acknowledged someone as my father!
Just as Lumian secretly made that resolution, Nimrod's voice sounded very softly beside his ear:
"Don't worry. I won't tell your sister any of this. It's our secret."
"Tonight, we'll meet in your dream. There's something in there that can make you a Beyonder."
For a moment, Lumian even felt a little gratitude toward Nimrod. But the next instant, Nimrod's voice smothered that gratitude:
"But when it's just the two of us, what should you call me?"
"You have to call me Godfather!"
Why does this guy hold such a grudge...? Hearing Nimrod's words, Lumian couldn't help grumbling quietly to himself.
Time passed quickly. Nimrod spent the entire day continuing to investigate the village within this dream, gradually deepening the impression of "Cordu Village" he already held.
Meanwhile, Lumian and Aurore attended to matters concerning Naroka's death and continued their discreet investigation into the dead owl and the Father of the Parish.
Late at night, Above the Gray Fog.
The Celestial Worthy lounged in a luxurious chair to one side, leisurely savoring the Historical Projection in his cup, while Nimrod quietly watched the countdown on the back of his hand tick away.
Today was his last day here. His preparations were thorough enough. What he needed to do now was enter what Lumian considered the "Dream Ruins"-which were actually "reality"!
Until now, he had kept his physical body in "Sefirah Castle," entering Lumian's dream with only his spirit body.
But he couldn't stay in "Sefirah Castle" forever. If fear of attracting the attention of higher beings kept him from entering the real world, then the "golden finger" he had finally obtained would be wasted.
After all, the apocalypse wouldn't wait for him to finish all his preparations.
Although Nimrod's recollection of "Circle of Inevitability" wasn't particularly clear, he knew full well that more than one Outer Deity coveted "Sefirah Castle."
And he had no intention of placing his fate in someone else's hands.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, Nimrod took a deep breath, and his figure vanished from Above the Gray Fog.
The Celestial Worthy gently set down the newspaper in his hand and murmured to himself:
"I actually have no way of stealing his thoughts... The portion of my awakened will in this shell is substantial, yet it cannot penetrate beyond..."
"Does he truly come from outside this world? Is he the Oldest One of another world?"
"What a terrifying fellow he is."
Within the thin gray mist, Lumian gradually regained consciousness. His surroundings remained unchanged. The only difference was the knocking at the door.
Is it Mr. Nimrod? Lumian murmured inwardly and cautiously looked out the window. Only after confirming that the person knocking was indeed Nimrod did he take his weapons and carefully open the door.
At that moment, the Beyonder before him, who had looked little different from an ordinary person in reality, appeared particularly terrifying:
Gray mist wound beneath his wizard's hat and classical wizard's robes, making the Beyonder look like a humanoid composed of gray fog.
But Lumian felt his vision blur for a moment, and the humanoid formed from gray fog slowly grew less distinct. Soon, Nimrod looked no different from an ordinary person, apart from the faint mist drifting from his body.
"What's wrong?"
Nimrod gave Lumian a slightly puzzled look.
"Ah..." Lumian snapped out of his daze and said to Nimrod, "Mr. Nimrod, what do we need to do next?"
Nimrod hadn't explained, and Lumian didn't intend to ask about that bizarre, almost monstrous form. Among the stories his sister Aurore had told him were horror stories in which disguised creatures that had previously left everyone alone slaughtered all the survivors after being exposed.
"Do you remember the Shotgun Monster you encountered before?"
Watching Lumian carefully close the door, Nimrod pointed toward the silent ruins outside:
"It, or others of its kind, possesses a characteristic that can turn an ordinary person into a Beyonder. What we need to do now is hunt down that monster and combine it with supplementary ingredients to concoct a 'potion.'"
Nimrod didn't quite remember whether Miss Salted Fish had explained potions to Lumian, so he simply gave him a brief account of the relevant knowledge. Once he finished, he smiled:
"You'll have to hunt the monster yourself. I'll only provide a little assistance by drawing away anything far beyond your current ability to handle. If you can't even deal with the dim-witted monsters left behind, then even if you become a Beyonder, you won't be able to skillfully use the abilities the potion gives you."
"...That's about it. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Mr. Nimrod." Lumian took a deep breath and asked tentatively, "Then shall I get ready to hunt that monster?"
"Good." Nimrod nodded lightly. "As your godfather, I need to remind you of something."
Lumian abruptly raised his head.
"Although monsters that have lost control and possess Beyonder powers have little intelligence, they still retain the 'instincts' granted by their Beyonder characteristics." Nimrod considered his wording before telling Lumian, "Based on my observations, the monster you encountered in your dream the day before yesterday should be a 'Hunter.'"
"While you're hunting it, it will also be preparing to hunt you. The roles of hunter and prey can often reverse in an instant."
"...I understand."
Lumian nodded solemnly, picked up his steel pitchfork and axe, and headed into the distance.
He didn't believe he could defeat a monster with Beyonder powers head-on. "The weak overcoming the strong" sounded wonderful, but in most cases, the "weaker" side simply possessed something the stronger side lacked.
Originally, Lumian had believed his only advantage was being able to outsmart a monster like that. Now, however, he wasn't quite so sure.
Still, he intended to follow his earlier plan: set multiple traps and use himself as bait to lure the Shotgun Monster into them. He would simply spend more time digging the traps as deep as possible to weaken the Shotgun Monster as much as he could!
Only monsters acting on instinct alone would clash head-on with others.
A little farther away, Nimrod watched Lumian swiftly begin setting traps and luring the monster.
"I've entered the real world now. In theory, my current state should make me as conspicuous as a firefly in the dark or a lighthouse in a storm. Those higher beings should discover me as soon as I appear in reality..."
Nimrod spoke to himself, then muttered:
"I've already made contact with Lumian, the 'pawn' chosen by multiple parties, and slightly altered some of the things that were supposed to happen to him. Yet no one has noticed me?"
"Is 'Sefirah Castle' blocking everyone else's view for me?"
"No, that's unlikely." Nimrod rejected his own guess and continued silently to himself. My current level relies on "Sefirah Castle," and "Sefirah Castle" itself isn't invincible. Beings of equal standing can still discover it...
Even taking into account the unique nature the Celestial Worthy mentioned, I couldn't possibly be overlooked by every higher being. It isn't the "Chaos Sea" I've inherited, and I'm not a Spectator capable of "Psychological Invisibility."
Even if my presence completely vanished in the mystical sense, the unknown identity of the person "interacting with Lumian" would still attract the attention of those higher beings. And my physical body genuinely exists in these ruins!
Could some higher being have noticed me and deliberately blocked the other higher beings' view...?
After turning it over in his mind, there was really only one person with both the motive and the ability to do so.
Once that possibility occurred to him, Nimrod didn't hesitate. He spoke quietly:
"Celestial Worthy."
"Tell me, would the Heir of God Almighty want someone... to help him suppress God Almighty's will?"
While Nimrod waited for Lumian to act and worked through his deductions, he saw Lumian encounter the Shotgun Monster and lure it into that extremely deep trap.
The countdown on the back of Nimrod's hand ticked away, about to reach zero.
In an instant, gray fog rose from the back of his hand and swiftly spread over the rest of him, about to envelop his entire body.
He instinctively looked up at the sky and seemed to see a pure gaze cast toward him from above the surface of a deep, dark sea.
Amid the silent gray fog, the Celestial Worthy's soft chuckle and his answer reached Nimrod's ears together:
[Yes.]
[Now, we share common interests and goals.]
Before you continue