Edward immediately tried to flip a coin.
But nothing happened—his fingers brushed against air. In the very next instant, he felt his entire body spiral out of control—Amon had possessed him.
"Why," Amon said with a faint smile, idly toying with a gold coin between his fingers, "did you ever think I'd give you the chance to flip a coin in the first place?"
The corners of his mouth curved upward in amusement.
"From the very first day I entered the Sefirah Castle, I noticed something odd—each time you flipped a coin, you invoked some unknown power that forcibly sealed me inside that birdcage."
"And afterwards, whenever you 'infused me with humanity,' you still had to toss that same coin."
He flicked a gold coin into the air with a clear ding and rested his chin lazily on one hand, watching Edward with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"So, that ability of yours…its prerequisite must be the coin flip, right?"
Edward glared coldly at him.
"Heh, and what if I was just deceiving you?"
Amon spread his hand, his smile deepening.
"Then…please, by all means, put on your performance. After being cooped up in that cage for so long, I've almost forgotten what freedom feels like. Go on—send me back."
"..."
Edward coughed violently, blood flecking his lips. The tearing pain in his soul flared once more.
"Considering I'm in a good mood today after obtaining a Beyonder Characteristic, I'll let you off this once. Now get the hell out of here."
"Ah," Amon sighed regretfully, shaking his head. "How many times do I have to tell you? You're just not very convincing when you try to act tough."
Edward sneered.
"Since you're so certain I'm bluffing, why are you still standing here wasting time with me?"
Amon's grin widened.
"Because, after spending so much time together, I've come to think of us as…half-friends. And friends can negotiate, can't they?"
"Negotiate?"
Edward laughed derisively.
"You're this confident that you've already got me cornered, yet you still talk about negotiation? If there's something you want, why not just take it?"
"No, no, no," Amon wagged a finger. "It's different. You willingly handing over the Sefirah Castle isn't the same as me forcibly taking it."
Edward's eyes narrowed slightly.
"I see now. You want to seize control of the Sefirah Castle—but leave me to shoulder all the responsibility and consequences, don't you?"
Indeed, that was exactly Amon's habit. In the original history, he'd lingered in the Forsaken Land of the Gods with Klein for ages, all to avoid bearing responsibility. Perhaps in the future, Amon would be an active saviour—but in the world of Mysteries, he had always been one who shirked it completely.
"You could say that," Amon admitted without shame. "But don't feel too pressured. As long as I succeed in ascending as the Lord of Mysteries and drive away the Outer Gods, you won't actually have to bear much of anything. You could even serve under me as a Great Angel. What do you say?"
"Not interested."
"Ah, why so stubborn?" Amon sighed, shaking his head in mock sorrow. "I really thought we were getting along rather well lately."
Edward let out a cold laugh.
"The only good Amon is one inside the cage. Once you're out, you're nothing but a walking catastrophe."
"Your misunderstanding of me," Amon replied with exaggerated melancholy, "is truly profound."
Leaning back comfortably, he rubbed his chin in thought.
"How about this—I'll grant you a condition. Anything you want. You have my word."
"Really?" Edward's gaze sharpened. "Then leave the Sefirah Castle. Right now."
"..."
Unfettered!
Edward suddenly broke free from the parasitic control. In one smooth motion, he manifested a paper figurine and pressed it against his chest—activating Angel's Embrace for protection. His form split into dozens of afterimages, each surrounded by Phantom Doors. At that same instant, he triggered multiple abilities simultaneously—and flipped a coin.
"Tch. How troublesome."
Amon pinched his monocle lightly, then extended a single hand. All of the airborne coins vanished into his palm in an instant. The monocle flashed faintly with light.
He reached out once more—swapping positions with one of the projected Edwards.
The next second, Edward found himself engulfed by his own barrage of unleashed attacks.
He immediately retreated into an Illusory Door, rapidly traversing through space and tossing out another coin.
But before it even hit the ground, his mind went blank. When consciousness returned, he was seated once more upon the bronze chair of the Sefirah Castle. His Wandering and Space Concealment abilities had completely vanished.
"Strange…"
Amon murmured thoughtfully, tapping his chin.
"Why is it that all those strange abilities you've mastered—I can't steal a single one of them? If you keep refusing me, I might just have to perform a deep-level parasitism…and create a new Amon to properly study your body."
"You're welcome to try," Edward said coldly.
As he spoke, illusory pages turned in his pupils, and a small, scaleless serpent biting its own tail appeared in his eyes. He invoked Reboot—for the third time—recorded from the Snake of Mercury.
A gigantic phantom of that silvery serpent appeared behind him, the aura of the Sefirah Castle's master surging forth. The flow of time reversed violently. Everything that had occurred moments ago began rewinding—Edward's stolen abilities were restored.
But before the reversal had fully settled, Amon once again stretched out his hand toward him.
At the same time, Edward mirrored the gesture, activating Theft on Amon.
Amon couldn't help but find the situation amusing.
Using a recorded Theft to steal from the progenitor of thieves himself? How absurdly naïve…
Yet before the smirk could fully form, his expression froze.
He felt it—the sensation of his fate being pried open, thin strands of destiny forcibly peeled away.
This brat actually succeeded…He completed the Theft—and at the level of fate itself!
Amon instantly triggered Deception to fool the effect, then reached up to adjust his monocle—
Only to blink in confusion.
"Huh?"
Amon paused.
"Where's…my monocle?"
Amon's head snapped toward Edward—only to see the man smiling faintly at him, eyes gleaming with mischief.
Perched upon Edward's right eye was a crystal monocle—Amon's monocle.
That was the Uniqueness of the Marauder Pathway!
For once, even Amon froze in disbelief.
Me—Amon, Sequence 1 of the Marauder Pathway—possessor of the Pathway's Uniqueness and two Sequence 1 Beyonder Characteristics…actually had my Uniqueness stolen? By a man merely "recording" the Theft ability?!
His first reaction was absurd amusement—but it quickly shifted into a sharp, unfamiliar dread, a sense of crisis so intense that even when facing gods, he had never felt its like.
"I already gave you a chance, Amon."
Edward mimicked Amon's posture, holding the crystalline monocle with an easy, almost mocking gesture.
"If you'd stolen my destiny the moment you acted, it would've all ended there. But no—you wanted to inherit the Sefirah Castle without shouldering any responsibility."
He smiled thinly.
"So tell me—why do you think that in my own territory, I could best you once, but not twice? The swimmer drowns, the rider falls, and the thief—"
Edward's eyes glinted coldly.
"—the thief dies from being stolen from."
"Are you satisfied with that ending?"
Amon raised both hands dramatically.
"I surrender! I yield! I'll behave and go back into the birdcage like a good little raven."
"Do you really think I'd keep a powder keg beside me that could explode at any moment?"
Amon smiled with easy humour.
"Why not? After all, I no longer pose any threat to you—and keeping me around means you'd have someone who can answer all sorts of tricky questions. Doesn't that sound useful?"
"Sorry," Edward replied coolly. "I don't need you."
"Ah…then I suppose this is goodbye."
Amon let his arms fall to his sides and sighed softly.
"Reboot."
"???"
———
City of Trier, No. 7 Rose Street.
In a small room, the little serpent Will scratched his head in puzzlement.
"Why do I feel like, even though I wasn't there, I've somehow played a massive role in a matter of tremendous importance?"
He tilted his head thoughtfully.
"Is it because of my luck bonus?"
He frowned.
"Weird…"
———
Inside the Sefirah Castle.
Everything began to flow backwards again.
Just as Edward had used Reboot earlier to retrieve the abilities Amon stole, Amon now used the same method to reclaim his own Uniqueness.
The crystal monocle reappeared upon Amon's right eye.
"Good thing I'd stolen a little Reboot of Fate just in case," he murmured. "Otherwise, that would've been the end of me."
Edward's expression changed drastically, his body tensing for action—
But before he could move, the Sefirah Castle itself began to quake violently. The endless grey-white mist roiled and churned as if roaring in furious protest.
At the same time, Edward felt a terrible weakness wash over him—as though something precious beyond measure was being ripped out of his very being.
"No!!!"
Amon's voice was calm, almost casual.
"Your Sefirah Castle…I'll be taking it."
It's a matter of life and death, he thought. Better to steal first and deal with the consequences later. As for the fate and responsibility that come with it…I'll figure that out afterwards.
BOOOOM—!
The Sefirah Castle shook violently. The gardens wreathed in grey fog crumbled inch by inch; the ancient bronze round table splintered into several fragments, leaving deep craters in the ground.
The floor cracked open, spiderweb fissures leaking streams of pale mist. In a single instant, everything shattered.
The grand Castle was reduced to nothing but endless, boundless grey fog.
Edward's body flickered—his form shrinking and twisting—until he returned to the shape of a child. Simultaneously, Amon's form shifted as well…
He had even stolen Edward's transformation into a woman!
For a long moment, silence reigned.
Then, the mist slowly receded. The Sefirah Castle began to repair itself—gradually, deliberately—but it did not return to the small, peaceful garden Edward had once built.
Instead, it became a vast, majestic, ancient palace, grand and oppressive in its divine weight.
———
In the Spirit World.
Seven radiant lights gathered together—sometimes flickering brightly, sometimes dimming—as if in anxious uncertainty for what the future held.
It had been less than two months since the last enthronement of the Lord of the Spirit World, and now the position had changed hands again. The Seven Lights could not foresee whether this was good or ill.
———
In the Astral World.
Within the divine kingdom of the Earth Mother, the Goddess of Harvest Lilith suddenly stopped mid-step. Golden wheat and clear springs bloomed beneath her feet as she turned her gaze toward a distant point.
"So…Amon succeeded after all?" she murmured softly. "What a pity."
———
In the Steam and Machinery Divine Kingdom, the robust God of Steam, Stiano, stood before an anvil, hammering a strange metal into the shape of a gear. His muscular arms gleamed with divine power.
Suddenly, the hammer froze midair. His brows furrowed.
"Dead?"
———
In the Dusk of Decay, upon the crumbling throne, the God of Combat lifted his gaze slightly toward the void, then lowered it again in silence.
———
In the Realm of Fire and Thunder, disasters raged as ever—endless lightning and infernal flames, unchanged by the shifting heavens.
———
Beneath an ancient tree, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom sat leaning against its trunk, brows drawn tight in deep thought.
———
And in that tranquil darkness blanketed by moonflowers and night vanillas, a woman dressed in a starlit gown—her body half-immersed in a flowing river of light—opened her eyes. Within them flickered faint surprise.
———
Within the secret palace atop Mount Hornacis, Antigonus, from whom Zaratul had just stolen an Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic, descended once again into madness.
He roared, trying desperately to break free from the palace's confines.
———
On a primitive island within the Fog Sea, a modest, golden-eyed priest stepped out from an abandoned chapel.
Calmly, he gazed ahead. A parchment and quill appeared in his hands.
He thought for a few seconds, then wrote a single sentence upon the parchment.
The moment the words were formed, both parchment and quill shattered into dust—leaving no trace behind.
Adam's golden eyes rippled faintly.
"Then…let's wait a little longer," he whispered.
Meanwhile, across the vast starry heavens, the Outer Gods all sensed the shift of authority within the Sefirah Castle.
Among them, Mr. Door hung suspended in the cosmic void, gazing down upon the blue planet below. His eyes alternated between cold rationality and gentle madness.
"Amon…"
And then—
The Blood Moon rose once more.
———
[Note]: 255 Powerstones for an Extra Chapter tomorrow! Go, VOTE! (Rate this Cliffhanger from 1 to 10. Heh.)
And if you are like me and want to read 40 Chapters in advance of the current story right now, you can support me on my Patreon. Thank me later~
Link - (P)atre(o)n.c(o)m/ Iseeblack [Remove the brackets]