"Buy me enough time."
Hearing that, Wilt frowned.
"Can't you solve my problem directly?"
"Hmph, you really are greedy," Amon suddenly said.
"You should know that Great Old Ones are the highest existences in the universe. Their corruption isn't so easily dealt with."
"Being able to buy you enough time is already quite good."
Adam nodded slightly in agreement.
"If you want to completely resolve the problem of the Circle of Inevitability, you'll ultimately have to rely on yourself."
"We can only offer you a little help."
"All right, I was being a little unrealistic." Wilt also realized how naive he had been. He then asked Adam:
"Mr. Adam, what method do you have to slow the corruption in my body, and how should I resolve the problem of the Circle of Inevitability?"
"The Circle of Inevitability's main authority lies in fate. Therefore, only authority can counter authority, and only fate can counter another force of fate."
"Use fate to counter fate?" Wilt thought for a moment and quickly understood what Adam meant.
"Are you talking about the Key of Light, Mr. Adam?"
"That's right." Adam nodded slightly.
"You bear the imprint of a Sefirah. Once you become a Beyonder of the Monster Pathway, the seal the holy monk placed on you will automatically strengthen, and the Circle of Inevitability's corruption will naturally slow as well."
"As long as your Sequence level in the Monster Pathway is no lower than your Sequence level in the Dancer Pathway, you won't have any major problems."
"Once you reach Sequence One of the Monster Pathway, you can even use the Sefirah to devour that corruption instead and make the Circle of Inevitability's power your own. Then your problem will naturally be perfectly resolved."
"I see." Wilt nodded, seemingly enlightened.
"So I need to change Sequences and switch to the Monster Pathway."
"That won't be necessary." Amon pinched his monocle and chuckled.
"Have you forgotten that the Marauder Pathway also has authority over fate?"
"Oh, sorry." He then gave Wilt a teasing smile.
"I forgot you're still just a little Sequence 8 and don't know about such things."
Wilt: "..."
"Phew!" He sighed inwardly.
Hold it in. Amon is just a brat. There's no need to stoop to his level.
The priority is to get a clear answer about my problem.
Wilt took a few more deep breaths inwardly before speaking. "If I don't switch Pathways, how can I use the Key of Light to counter the Circle of Inevitability's corruption?"
"Simple. Just become a Beyonder of two Pathways."
"Oh, no, three Pathways, since you also have a Sequence from the Dancer Pathway."
"Three Pathways at once!" Wilt's voice rose sharply.
"Those three Sequences aren't adjacent at all. If I really did that, I'd probably kill myself before the corruption could kill me!"
A satisfied smile appeared on Amon's face.
"It's not that serious. You'll only go half-mad at most."
"That's still better than becoming the Circle of Inevitability's puppet."
Wilt stopped looking at Amon and turned to Adam instead. "Mr. Adam, what he said isn't true, is it?"
"It is. You do need to become a Beyonder of three Pathways." Adam gave him an affirmative answer.
"You already have the Marauder Pathway, and it's also your foundation. You'll need to use it to draw on the Key of Light's power and suppress the Circle of Inevitability's corruption."
With that, a Potion appeared in Adam's hand. "This is a Sequence 9 Potion of the Monster Pathway. Drink it here, and it will greatly reduce the extent to which you lose control."
"As for the Potions after this, you'll have to rely on yourself."
Wilt took the Potion and fell silent for a moment. Then he gritted his teeth, pulled out the stopper, and poured its contents into his mouth.
"Gulp!"
Once the Potion entered his stomach, the Spirituality within Wilt suddenly multiplied and spilled out of him.
At the same time, layers of overlapping ravings rang out in his ears and mind.
"Key of Light... chaos... incarnation of fate..."
"Great... Circle of Inevitability, cause... effect... future..."
Then an image appeared in Wilt's mind: in a dim room, an old man was using blood to draw a bizarre ritual array on the floor.
"Bang!" The image vanished, and Wilt's nerves snapped with it.
"Aaah!!!!"
The veins all over his body bulged, and blood flowed from his eyes and ears. He seemed on the verge of dropping dead.
"Boom!!!" A pure, brilliant light descended from the sky and enveloped Wilt's entire body, healing his physical injuries.
At the same time, a transparent force of the mind swept over Wilt's body, soothing his soul.
Two minutes later, the light faded. Aside from looking tired, Wilt showed no sign that anything was wrong.
He had successfully become a Sequence 9 of the Wheel of Fortune Pathway: Monster!
"Thank you for your help, Mr. Adam." Wilt felt a wave of lingering fear.
"If every advancement is like that, won't I be dead for sure?"
Adam smiled and reassured him. "The first time is rather special. It's also when you're most likely to lose control."
"Your subsequent advancements will be much easier."
"That's good." Wilt touched his chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
But then a puzzled expression appeared on his face. "Why are you helping me, Mr. Adam?"
"I'm just a little Sequence 8. Wouldn't getting rid of me be the best choice?"
"Because your situation is very unusual."
"You bear not only the imprint of a Sefirah, but also corruption from the cosmos. Killing you would be easy, but that corruption wouldn't disappear as a result. Instead, with you as its host gone, it would wander freely through the real world and bring about terrifying Catastrophes."
"So keeping it trapped in you is the best choice for now."
"Besides..."
Adam fell silent for a moment, but still said it.
"Although Amon succeeded in stopping the corruption coming from you, your fate has already become deeply bound to His in the realm of mysticism."
"My fate has been bound to Amon's!" Wilt looked incredulous.
As for Amon, His hand suddenly stopped pinching His monocle, but He offered no explanation.
"Yes, your fates are bound together," Adam said affirmatively.
"Although I don't know how the Circle of Inevitability did it, it has already happened. If anything happens to you, Amon will also suffer negative consequences."
"Conversely, as your Sequence level rises and you grow stronger, Amon will benefit as well."
Wilt understood at once. No wonder Adam is so invested. Besides the Circle of Inevitability, there's also an old father's love.
Then he heard Adam continue:
"However, this help isn't free either. You'll need to pay a certain price."
Wilt grew serious. To him, this was only natural.
"What price do I need to pay?"
Adam spoke, giving the final answer:
"Information about the Western Continent and the Great Old Ones!"