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Antigonus's descent into madness and loss of control was primarily due to the awakening of the Celestial Worthy's consciousness. This forced him to pour every ounce of his focus into resisting the possession of his body, which in turn left him unable to regulate his own Beyonder characteristics.
The Evernight Goddess had seized the moment when the two were locked in a stalemate to seal them both away. Her goal was twofold: to prevent the maddened Antigonus from slaughtering indiscriminately, and to stop the Celestial Worthy from winning the struggle and gaining a vessel to return to the world.
However, George's earlier attack had not only heavily wounded Antigonus but had also weakened the Goddess's seal. The Celestial Worthy had seized this opening to suppress Antigonus's consciousness and take temporary control of the body.
"Even better. Compared to Antigonus, I'm much more interested in acquiring your knowledge!"
George didn't retreat an inch just because the Celestial Worthy now inhabited Antigonus's form. Instead, a look of genuine delight spread across his face.
What did Antigonus's memories have to offer? Historical trivia and the experience of advancing through the Seer pathway, at most. While useful, they weren't essential; George had already secured the core knowledge of the Fool pathway from Roselle.
The Celestial Worthy, however, was a different story. He was one of the most powerful personalities split from the Original Creator. His memories contained the complete, perfected experiences for not just the Fool pathway, but the Door and Error pathways as well. He knew how to fuse the three neighboring pathways, how to advance to a Great Old One, how to become a Pillar, and the locations of the missing Sefirot.
In terms of value, the Celestial Worthy's mind was an incomparable treasure trove. Better yet, Antigonus was severely wounded. Even a being as great as the Celestial Worthy would find it difficult to exert much power through such a shattered vessel.
"The Sefirah Castle is in your hands... I'm surprised you haven't been consumed by my revival already. But no matter. It simply requires a little more effort."
The Celestial Worthy spared George a glance with eyes that were void of emotion, treating him as though he were beneath notice—even though he could sense that George's body held energy far exceeding a True God's, bordering on the level of a Great Old One.
The Worthy casually reached out toward George. Instantly, a glowing gate stained with hints of bluish-black appeared in the air above George. Endless greyish-white fog billowed from the gate, and through the mist, one could see countless spheres of light. Each sphere was composed of swarms of writhing, translucent worms, etched with symbols and patterns of profound, unspeakable complexity.
This was the manifestation of Sefirah Castle.
The Worthy believed that as long as he reclaimed the Castle, even if his current vessel was only a "Half-Fool," he could instantly regain the power of a Great Old One. At that point, he could forcibly strip the characteristics and Uniquenesses from the Fool, Door, and Error pathways, regardless of whether True Gods had already been born within them.
As a persona of the Original Creator and a natural Great Old One, he was the creator of this world. Even if he were resurrected in a Sequence 9 or a commoner, he could theoretically reclaim Sefirah Castle and his symbolic authorities instantly. To him, the possessor of Sefirah Castle was merely a temporary caretaker. Once he reached Sequence 1 or a vessel like Antigonus reached a "Half" state, his revival was inevitable.
With Sefirah Castle and the three pathways, he was the Pillar of the world: the Lord of the Mysteries, King of Space-Time, Beacon of Destiny, Embodiment of Sefirah Castle, and Dominator of the Spirit World. Only "God," another persona of the Original Creator, could hope to rival him.
As the Celestial Worthy summoned the image of the Castle, the darkness over the Hornacis peak intensified significantly.
"Celestial Worthy, the world has changed. It belongs to me now, not you."
George watched the gate begin to drift toward the Worthy, but he didn't panic. He formed a hand seal, and ancient talismans immediately flared to life across the surface of the glowing gate.
He had refined Sefirah Castle using the methods of the Great Desolation—the same techniques used to forge Innate Spiritual Treasures—and had layered it with multiple profound seals. Even though the Celestial Worthy was essentially the "living spirit" of the Castle, George had ensured he couldn't simply whistle it back.
In the Great Desolation, if a treasure was a weapon and the Worthy was its original spirit, there were countless ways to isolate that spirit or even refine it into non-existence to make room for a new one.
"How is this possible!?"
Seeing the gate freeze in mid-air under George's influence, refusing to move another inch toward him, a look of genuine shock finally appeared on the Celestial Worthy's face. This was a situation he had never encountered in all his aeons of existence.
"It seems that during my long slumber, the world has indeed undergone some... unexpected developments."
To seal his natal Sefirah Castle so thoroughly that he couldn't even summon it—not even "God" should have been able to achieve that. It suggested that after his mutual fall with God, the world had evolved beyond his predictions, giving rise to power systems outside his understanding.
Like the young man before him: a mere Sequence 5 Marionettist in terms of pathway level, yet possessing energy that transcended True Gods and mastery of strange techniques that could suppress a Sefirah.
"But since you chose a branch of power that belongs to me, the outcome was decided from the start."
Despite failing to reclaim the Castle, the Worthy did not panic. If George had belonged to the Sun or Tyrant pathways, it might have been troublesome. But George was on the Seer pathway—his own natal pathway. That made things simple.
The real threat the Worthy perceived was the other person lurking in the shadows, maintaining the hidden seal. The Darkness pathway was not under his control. He had only gained the upper hand in the struggle for this body; he hadn't erased Antigonus's consciousness. If the Sequence 0 of the Evernight pathway hiding nearby chose to strike now, he would be sealed back into a stalemate.
His plan shifted: he would force the Fool pathway characteristics within George's body to lose control, turning him into a monster he could indirectly influence.
George might only be a Sequence 5, but with his massive spiritual energy and that other mysterious power, he would be the perfect shield to delay the Evernight Goddess. It would only take one second. One second to reclaim control of Sefirah Castle, become a Great Old One, and reclaim his status as a Pillar.
(End of Chapter)