Krismona hesitated for a moment before asking softly, "But…your father…"
What she wanted to say was that her "Mama" didn't seem to have a father for a long time.
Lilith smiled. "Don't worry. I have my own plan."
She paused briefly, then added with a light laugh, "Oh, right—almost forgot. Things here aren't quite over yet."
At her words, Krismona walked toward the bronze coffin. "Ah, poor Vermonda Sauron…You plotted in the shadows for so long, calculated so meticulously, convinced yourself that you controlled everything—that you could use this opportunity to escape both madness and sealing, and become a true Conqueror. But in truth, you were a pawn on Adam's board from beginning to end."
"This time, not only did you turn yourself into a powerless corpse in your own tomb, but you also destroyed the last two angels of the Sauron family, crippling the royal line. You even cleared the path for the future birth of Emperor Roselle."
"Adam…is truly terrifying."
From within Krismona's translucent body, an ethereal arm stretched outward once more, passing through the bronze coffin and into its depths.
Moments later, the hand withdrew, holding a strange, bloodstained, rust-covered crown—the Beyonder characteristic of the Red Priest pathway's Sequence 1: Conqueror.
Lilith caught the crown and tossed it lightly in her palm, then let it sink back into Krismona's body for safekeeping.
"Vermonda Sauron," she said with a mischievous tone, "I'm taking your Conqueror characteristic for now. Sleep another century or two—by then, you should wake up clear-headed. Being a sane Sequence 2 is much better than a deranged, idiotic, and out-of-control Sequence 1, don't you think?"
"The Red Priest pathway runs far too deep for you. You can't handle it. Till we meet again, perhaps!"
As Lilith's vessel, Krismona obediently knocked twice on the coffin's lid before turning away and retracing her steps.
"Mama, are you really going to jump to Red Priest?" she asked.
Lilith gave a drawn-out hum. "Mmm…"
"Then does that mean I'll have to call you Papa from now on?"
"???"
Lilith snapped irritably, "I told you ages ago to call me Sister! Honestly, what's wrong with you? Must you insist on treating a 'thief' like your mother?"
"I was raised by you since I was a child. You are my mother. Besides…"
Krismona paused briefly before continuing in a low voice, "To Cheek, every female witch—including Her own daughter—deserves to die. If it weren't for you, I would've been buried down here long ago."
Lilith chuckled faintly. "All right, all right. We're both millennia-old monsters—no need to get sentimental. The Trier affair is done. Time for the next step."
"I even came up with a brilliant name for it: Lilith Resurrection Project 2.0!"
Krismona's eyes sparkled. "What a magnificent name—concise and impressive!"
Lilith laughed joyfully. "Hahahaha! You're flattering me again, Lil Krismona."
———
Fog Sea.
Deep within the ocean lay a primitive, untouched island.
After nearly two weeks of sailing, Roselle—aboard the Black King—and his Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse followed their map's directions in search of the nameless island said to hide the treasure of a noble Solomon family.
But after a violent storm, they lost their bearings entirely. Instead, they stumbled upon an isolated island far outside safe navigational routes. Still, Roselle suspected this might be the very island the map had described.
It was completely uninhabited. The coasts were piled high with layers of silt and mud, making it impossible for large ships to dock. They had to transfer to small wooden boats and land in batches.
As soon as his boots touched the soft, rustling sand, Roselle threw open his arms and laughed heartily:
"Hahahaha! The great navigator Roselle Columbus Magellan Gustav has taken the first step of his Grand Voyage!"
One day, he thought, before I die, I'll bury part of my fortune on some nameless island deep beneath the sea—and tell the world:
"Want my treasure? You can have it. Go find it! I left it all there!"
Yes—after just a few days, he was back to his usual self.
While he was still daydreaming about his future legend, two of his men—Grimm and Edwards, who had gone ahead to scout the area—returned with grim faces.
"Captain," Grimm said gravely, "something's not right about this island."
Roselle turned to him with a raised brow. "What's wrong?"
"We found a great number of extinct Beyonder creatures ahead," Grimm reported. "They seemed to be gathered together as if worshipping something." He paused briefly. "But they're all dead."
Edwards, his face still etched with shock, added, "And…it looks like they only died very recently. Some of the corpses still retain body heat. Many of them were even at demigod level!"
At this, Roselle's expression hardened. "Take me to see."
The group followed a newly opened trail through the forest into the heart of the island. Sure enough, they soon saw them: bizarre, never-before-seen creatures lying lifeless, layer upon layer, arranged in a kneeling posture as though venerating a deity. Yet all were silent, motionless—dead.
Many of the bodies had already precipitated their Beyonder characteristics, glittering and enticing to the eye.
But a chill crawled up Roselle's spine. The hair on his neck stood on end.
Having twice before drawn the gaze of "evil gods," Roselle instantly connected this sight to them. No matter how bold, proud, or reckless he had been in his youth, he still knew when to draw the line. After a brief hesitation, he immediately gave the order:
"Everyone, return to the Black King—now!"
Grimm and Edwards both exhaled in relief.
——
Half an hour later, the Black King weighed anchor and moved off swiftly, retreating from the nameless island until it was several nautical miles away. Only then did they stop.
Roselle stood on the upper deck, monocular in hand, carefully observing the island. But it remained still and dead, without the slightest movement.
Lowering the telescope, he stroked his moustache and muttered, "To tuck tail and flee like this isn't my style…"
Yet pressing on recklessly—what was that if not courting death?
The Four Horsemen exchanged looks, clearly seeing their captain's thoughts. They wanted to advise him, but none knew how to begin.
After a long while, Roselle finally made up his mind. "I'll go inside and think this through. You rest first."
With that, he strode quickly into the ship's interior, heading straight for the captain's cabin. Closing the doors and windows tightly, he sat down on the sofa, folded his hands, and whispered:
"The Eternal Sovereign Above Dimensions;
The Deconstructor of Endless Stories;
The Transcender of Past and Future."
———
Bansy Island.
Edward tossed a gold coin to confirm he had truly left that "Old Shanghai"-like place. At once, he looked down at the tin box in his hand.
Opening it, he saw that the Wanderer's Beyonder characteristic was still inside.
He exhaled in relief. Good. This whole desperate gamble hasn't been for nothing.
Excitement surged through him. He couldn't suppress the joy rising in his heart: Now it's certain—I can truly advance to Sequence 3!
Yet beneath the joy was a creeping sense of fear. Damn, I really am reckless. The City of Calamity, Mr. Door, the Fallen Mother Goddess…this Wanderer characteristic is worth more than gold.
Come to think of it—the Mother Goddess of Depravity Herself appeared in the end, didn't She? Does that mean I somehow disrupted Her plan?
If my earlier guess was right, did I just ruin Her attempt to seize the Brood Hive? Did I really offend Her beyond redemption?
At that thought, Christine's figure flashed through his mind, and a new doubt arose:
In the future, did Christine—the Fallen Mother Goddess—recognise me?
If She didn't, why would She single me out, asking me to bear Her child?
If She did, shouldn't She have devoured me on the spot? Why, instead, play some bizarre "game" with me—even if its purpose was still to have a child? Isn't that…redundant?
Edward scratched his head helplessly.
Right, and what about the attack I suffered when I pushed open the door just now?
Turning into a rabbit?
If memory serves, that's a transformation curse of the Prisoner pathway's Sequence 2. In the original story, Reinette once cursed Hermes into a giant rabbit.
So, was there a Prisoner-pathway angel behind that door?
No—if that were the case, I'd still be a rabbit now. Even Hermes couldn't break that curse quickly.
He remembered the feeling of being transformed.
It was more like…Transfiguration?!
Edward's heart gave a violent lurch as a memory suddenly surfaced.
Back in Bansy's "Inner World," he had fled in panic when the wooden door appeared—because at that moment, the door had opened a crack and a hand had reached out.
And then—
He had poured all his spirituality into casting Transfiguration on that hand, turning its owner into a rabbit.
Edward froze.
So the hand that reached out from the door was mine?
So I was turned into a rabbit by my future self using Transfiguration?
So the decayed wooden door led…to the future?!
How…how could that be possible?
He had never heard of the Door Pathway, nor of the Mother Goddess of Depravity, possessing an ability or authority to travel through time. Strictly speaking, in the world of Lord of the Mysteries, such time-travelling power simply did not exist.
Fate's Reboot, Error's theft, Fool's Fooling—at best these could only interfere with local, limited time. Even the Great Old Ones couldn't truly do it. That was precisely why Edward, after travelling back in time, had never dared to approach the Evenight Goddess.
Time's authority was too great.
A deity might ignore your being from another world, but it could never ignore your ability to travel through time—to strike at Them when They had once been weak.
If the Mother Goddess of Depravity had really used Mr. Door to achieve "time travel," then this game between Earth and the Outer Gods was already beyond saving.
For a long while, Edward forced himself to calm his surging thoughts. Another possibility occurred to him:
Could it be that the reason pushing open the door led to the future was because…it was I myself who pushed it open?
After all, the only confirmed instances of true time-traversal involved himself and Lilith. Perhaps, in the process of crossing time, something had caused a special change in his body.
If that's the case, could I repeat today's experience—replicate it—and go directly to the future?
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.