The " Death " Salinger, wandering aimlessly in the " River of Eternal Darkness," looked at Klein was wrapped in a gray-white "cocoon."
In the blink of an eye, where the pale flames were about to die out, the bird-shaped gold ornament that was different from the one on Klein's chest was reflected.
The next second, a deep roar came from His rotting mouth, echoing over the river and causing the entire Calderón City to shake noticeably.
The tributary, sometimes swirling, sometimes cascading, sometimes dark, sometimes pale, surged upwards, rushing madly toward the end of the stone steps, toward Klein.
During this process, the illusory tides combined more with the grayish-white mist, presenting a similar color.
Waves of grayish-white torrents crashed against Klein's body, yet they could not destroy the "cocoon" surrounding him.
The decaying body of " Death " Salinger walked step by step to the edge of the tributary, but he couldn't get away. He could only stand there and roar madly.
Klein's gaze passed over Him and fell upon the countless blurry figures lingering on both sides of the tributary.
Some of them were swept to the center of the tributary by the rising tide, sinking uncontrollably to the riverbed and melting like frost.
The rest showed no fear, remaining in a blank and bewildered state, pacing back and forth endlessly.
At a glance, Klein saw many familiar figures.
They all belong to the same person, Azik Eggers, with his bronze skin and soft features.
This " Death Consul " seemed to have split into multiple selves, wandering aimlessly between the pale stone pillars on both sides of the " River of Eternal Darkness ".
This... As Klein's heart skipped a beat, his right leg suddenly felt icy cold.
He instinctively looked down and saw a pale hand.
The hand pierced through the grayish-white "cocoon" and grasped his calf.
The owner of this hand was submerged in the surging torrent, like a Water Ghost, trying to drag Klein into the deep water as well.
Its attacks can actually ignore the aura of the " Sefirah Castle "!
Noticing Klein's gaze, the owner of the pale hand raised his head, revealing his face.
He had black hair and brown eyes, ordinary features, and a somewhat scholarly air.
Klein Moretti!
This " Water Ghost " is Klein Moretti!
The next second, Klein's left leg, right shoulder, and left arm were also grabbed by different pale hands.
This left him feeling ice-cold all over, his spirit seemingly frozen, unable to use any of his extraordinary abilities, and even struggling was difficult.
The three pale hands belonged to different blurry figures, and these different blurry figures had the same face.
Klein Moretti's face!
Dragged along by the four " Water Ghost," Klein's body gradually detached from the gray-white "cocoon" and sank into the torrent.
His body grew colder and colder, his thoughts gradually faded, and his vision slowly darkened until only swaying, lightless waves remained.
Above the Gray Fog, inside the ancient palace, Klein's consciousness returned to his original form.
Then, without hesitation, he reached out his palm, invoked the power of the " Sefirah Castle," and through his connection with the Historical Projection, Stealing an item from the latter.
A flash of golden light appeared, Klein grasped the bird-shaped gold ornament.
At the same time, he removed the maintenance of the Historical Void images.
The figure that "drowned" in the eternally dark flood then vanished.
"Being able to ignore the aura of ' Sefirah Castle ' means that those four figures really are me... But how did I get trapped in a tributary of the ' River of Eternal Darkness,' wandering endlessly? Four figures, four figures..." Klein tapped the edge of the mottled long table with a solemn expression, and Spirit Intuition came from the tapping sound.
The fact that corresponds to "four," "soul," and "death" is that he has died four times and been resurrected four times.
Of course, after becoming a " Attendant of Mysteries," the four resurrection opportunities are reset.
"Each death, regardless of whether resurrection is successful, leaves a mark within the ' River of Eternal Darkness '? I've died four times, so there are four figures lingering on either side of the ' River of Eternal Darkness '?" Klein roughly grasped the key point, then sighed inwardly, "' River of Eternal Darkness ' truly lives up to its name as Sefirah, a symbol of death, Eternal Sleep, the end, the end, and the deepest darkness... Is this what the goddess meant by the unusual danger it poses to me? Hmm, when the Historical Projection was 'drowned' just now, I suffered some mental damage. If my mental state is unstable, I might already be in trouble."
Based on this deduction, Klein gained a completely new understanding of the numerous Azik figures and the lingering " Death " Salinger:
They are all the corresponding marks of death.
"Mr. Azik did indeed die many times during his ' Undying ' phase, in his later journey to retrieve his memories, but he always came back to life. Judging from the current situation, although the ' Undying ' are immortal, they also have great hidden dangers. If he dies too many times, perhaps one day his true form will be attracted to the ' River of Eternal Darkness,' becoming one of the eternally wandering figures... Salinger's figure is only one... This shows that after embracing Uniqueness, one's own death mark will also be unique." Klein's thoughts raced, and he was somewhat worried about Mr. Azik's future survival.
To resolve this hidden danger, there are two methods: one is to replenish Azik's soul so that He will not repeat the past, and the other is to help the " Evernight Goddess " become the Great Old One and take control of this " River of Eternal Darkness ".
"Heh, maybe this is another choice that combines two elements: since the goddess has become the Great Old One, there's no need to use Mr. Azik's other half of his soul anymore." Klein collected his thoughts and focused his attention back on the purpose of this trip.
He entered the depths of Calderon not to remove the death mark on " Death " Salinger and eliminate any hope of His resurrection, but to collect some water from the " River of Eternal Darkness ".
"Clearly, the illusory tide overflowing the river won't work; it's just a diffused aura, not the river water itself. Also, the river water mixed with the grayish-white mist won't do either; it's not pure enough and won't achieve the desired effect. So it seems that we can only take the river water when the tributaries return to their deep darkness. Ah, we can't get into the main stream at all; that grayish-white mist must be another solid barrier." Based on his analysis, Klein quickly formulated a plan.
That is to first avoid getting close to the " River of Eternal Darkness " and avoid attracting the attention of " Death " Salinger, and wait until the tributary recedes and becomes dark before going directly over, letting one's own four death marks drag the Historical Projection to the bottom of the river.
During this process, the Historical Projection seized the opportunity to use the bird-shaped gold ornament to collect some river water. Then, its consciousness shifted back into the " Sefirah Castle," and relying on its " Stealing " ability and the close connection between the two, it took away the bird-shaped gold ornament.
After refining the steps, Klein returned to Calderon, the Spirit World city, and once again summoned his influence from the Historical Void.
He repeated the previous procedure and quickly returned to the stone tablet topped with the bronze bird statue, descending the gray stone steps one by one.
The aura of the " Sefirah Castle " surrounding him gradually intensified, transforming into a thin "cocoon".
Before long, Klein reached the end of the stairs again and saw the " River of Eternal Darkness " flowing in the void, along with the pale giant pillars on both sides and countless blurry figures lingering on the edge of the tributaries.
This time, he didn't rush forward, leaving the steps, but patiently waited in place until the tributary's water receded, fading from gray to dark.
Now! Klein's figure flashed, Stealing distance and appearing in a corner where " Death " Salinger couldn't see him.
As expected, as his body was immersed in the waters of the " River of Eternal Darkness," pale hands immediately pierced through the aura of the " Sefirah Castle " and grabbed his legs and arms.
Four death marks appeared around him, trying to drag him to the bottom of the river!
The dark river water submerged Klein's head, leaving his body cold and his thoughts silent.
Before he could completely lose consciousness, one after another transparent, Distortion worm emerged from Klein's neck. They quickly crawled to the bird-shaped golden ornament, surrounded it, lifted it up, and prepared to draw water from the " River of Eternal Darkness."
Just then, a huge shadow appeared in the illusory river water shimmering before Klein's eyes.
It was a giant bird that had been completely submerged by a tributary of the " River of Eternal Darkness " and was suspended in the water.
The giant bird's body was covered in feathers woven from pale flames and mysterious patterns, but these had been melted away by the " River of Eternal Darkness," revealing parts of its dark, rotting skin covered in pale yellow pus.
The giant bird's eyes seemed to be cast in bronze, concealing layers upon layers of illusory doors.
Greygardy, the progenitor of the phoenix!
The Ancient Death of death who created the Underworld!
In Gregrace's eyes, a burst of bronze light erupted, instantly enveloping the bird-shaped gold ornament and Klein's Historical Projection, as if to drag them along.
After weighing his current situation, Klein made a quick decision and abandoned his attempt to draw water from the river.
His consciousness immediately returned to the " Sefirah Castle," and he Stealing the bird-shaped gold ornament back.
His Historical Projection then vanished.
There are dangers in the water too... The ancient goddess Greta, the progenitor of the phoenix, has completely sunk into the "River of Eternal Darkness"... If the goddess truly embraces the uniqueness of the "Death God" pathway, and Salinger cannot seize the opportunity to resurrect within her, he will likely sink into the water like Greta, and Greta's death mark will be further dissolved as a result... Klein silently sighed a few times and made corresponding modifications to the action plan.
Then, just like before, he summoned the Historical Void image and returned to the end of the staircase.
After waiting for a while, until " Death " Salinger turned around and walked slowly and heavily towards the river, Klein suddenly Stealing the distance and appeared in front of him.
The next second, Salinger let out a low growl, causing the water level in the tributary to rise rapidly.
At the same time, Klein was grabbed by his own death marks and dragged to the bottom of the river, where he sensed the Phoenix Ancestor, Greta Garley.
As before, a light burst forth from Gregrace's bronze eyes.
However, the light did not envelop Klein and the bird-shaped gold ornament, but rather " Death " Salinger.
" Grafting "!
Seizing this brief opportunity, the " Worm of Spirit " that crawled out of Klein's Historical Projection lifted up the bird-shaped gold ornament.
The bronze eyes of this ornament also emitted light, as if they had absorbed a small amount of river water.
The next instant, Klein's consciousness returned to the " Sefirah Castle," and he reached out to retrieve the ornament.
Whew, finally finished... He slowly exhaled, looking at the bird-shaped gold ornament in his palm.
For the owner of " Sefirah Castle ", this task is indeed not very difficult. As long as he does not recklessly enter in his original form, he can accumulate experience and figure out the situation by relying on repeated failures.
If it weren't for the existence of two " Death " in the tributary of the " River of Eternal Darkness "—one lingering and the other sinking to the bottom— Klein wouldn't have failed twice.