Lilith asked in surprise, "Th-this…is that really possible?"
"Of course. Imagining another version of myself is part of 'Fantasy'—a component of acting. And if that clone can actually take action in my place, then it becomes acting on top of acting. Hah…who knows? Maybe the moment I wake up, I'll already have completely digested the potion and be ready to advance to Sequence 1."
Lilith immediately said, "Then I'll help you gather the Key of Stars and the Author's Beyonder characteristics! And I'll wait for you to wake up properly!"
"Mm~"
Edward didn't object. "But remember—you must stay safe."
Just as the words left his mouth, he waved his hand dismissively. "Oh come on, listen to yourself. I already said I'm not going to sleep right away. I still need to die several times—maybe a dozen more times—to gather imagination. Why are you talking like we're parting forever?"
"Huu—"
His breathing suddenly became rapid. The Worms of Star across his body began dying in large numbers, and his entire body gradually dissolved into faint starlight.
"Well…didn't expect this."
Edward stared blankly at the ceiling, laughing weakly to himself. "I never thought the day would come when I'd feel…accustomed to dying over and over again."
"How ridiculous…"
The hand Lilith had been holding suddenly vanished—turning into dispersing starlight. Before her eyes, Edward once again died… nd disappeared completely.
A thousand thoughts and emotions condensed into a single feeling. She stared dazedly at the fading starlight and murmured:
I never want to just watch like this again, unable to do anything.
I must grow stronger—stronger than ever—so I can protect Edward!
After a long moment, she rubbed her eyes and spoke with force:
"Edward…hurry and come back."
———
Chaos. Murkiness. Confusion.
Edward once again arrived at the "fork" of death, standing before the shimmering segments of memory that resembled a brilliant river of stars.
This time, he didn't think twice. He immediately intended to resurrect once more from Lilith's memory.
The more times he resurrected, the more severe the fading and loss of memories would become—but this was only the second time. It wouldn't be too bad yet.
And the version of himself revived from Lilith's memories was the most "stable" and "normal" form he had. He could not waste a single moment—he needed to keep gathering Imagination.
With a thought, he transformed into a string of "code" and plunged into Lilith's memory chain. That familiar sensation preceding revival enveloped him, and his consciousness gradually began to blur.
But just then—
A powerful force suddenly pulled at him.
The moment Edward sank into Lilith's memory, an irresistible suction wrenched him out. That force dragged him across the vast river of memories, pulling him all the way to its outermost edge.
This too was a memory.
But the person within the memory made Edward instantly regain clarity.
It was a man wearing a simple white robe, sporting a thick, pale-gold beard that covered the lower half of his face. His golden eyes were as pure and innocent as a baby's. A gentle smile rested on his face, and a silver cross hung from his chest—he looked like the most ordinary priest.
Adam.
Rumble—
A stone plaza appeared beneath Edward's feet, floating in the void. One by one, pitch-black stone pillars rose into the air, supporting a majestic and holy cathedral.
In that cathedral, every pillar, every arch, every dome was studded with bones of different races. They were densely packed, the many hollow eye sockets silently watching Edward as they surrounded a cross over a hundred meters tall.
Before the cross, Adam slowly turned around. His golden eyes fell quietly on Edward as he spoke gently, "Number Eight, you missed this month's gathering."
Edward froze.
Only then did he realise that during all the chaos and frantic events, he had completely forgotten about this month's Twilight Hermit Order meeting. He had not even sensed the prompt from the silver cross that initiated the gathering.
Adam…brought me here deliberately just for that?
No! Of course not.
What Adam wanted to know, of course, was what Edward had seen in the Chaos Sea.
But what Edward cared about even more at this moment was something else entirely—Adam had forcibly interrupted his resurrection.
Adam had dragged him effortlessly into the Corpse Cathedral, giving him no room to resist at all.
So this was the power of someone who once mastered the Chaos Sea…who had been only half a step from becoming a Pillar?
Even though the Ancient Sun God was long dead, even though Adam was merely the remnant godhood "side," and even though He was currently only Sequence 1—He still possessed some powers stronger than those of gods.
Following Adam's question, Edward replied, "When I joined the gathering, Mr. Hermes said participation each month was voluntary. Missing one meeting shouldn't be a big problem, right?"
"Of course not. I only wished to remind you not to forget the commission I assigned you last time."
"I haven't. If You hadn't called me, once I 'recovered,' I would've sought You out myself to ask for guidance."
Adam quietly watched him for a moment, then asked, "So, you went to the Chaos Sea? What did you see there?"
"The Tenebrous World, the River of Eternal Darkness…and something glowing with golden light."
"What was the golden light?"
"I don't know. Before I could see clearly, someone kicked me out."
Adam fell silent for a moment, then said calmly, "Help me obtain that object, and I will help you ascend to Door."
"I would love to help, but unfortunately, I can't."
Edward spread his hands. "Right now, I can't even enter the Chaos Sea again."
"I have a way to send you in."
"…?"
Edward froze—then feigned confusion. "Then why don't You retrieve it Yourself?"
"I cannot cross the Tenebrous World and the River of Eternal Darkness to enter the Chaos Sea," Adam replied calmly, His tone devoid of emotion. "But you possess the uniqueness of Door."
"…Fine."
After thinking for a moment, Edward nodded. "But You'll need to wait. You can tell my condition is terrible. I need a long time before I return to normal."
"When that time comes, even without You asking, I will find a way to return to the Chaos Sea."
Adam then said, "I can delay your 'death,' giving you enough time to accomplish this task for me."
"What?"
"By reviving you using my memory."
The moment He spoke, all four walls of the Corpse Cathedral lit up with flowing starlight—within the starlight, unmistakably, were Adam's memories.
The next second—
The Corpse Cathedral collapsed with a thunderous crash. Adam's figure beneath the massive cross receded rapidly.
And Edward, horrified, found himself already swept into Adam's river of memories. His consciousness dissolved rapidly—he entered the state of resurrection once again.
But this time—
Unlike the previous two resurrections—his spirituality erupted violently, trembling in terror.
It was afraid.
It was panicking.
It was screaming at Edward with all its might:
No!
You must NOT resurrect using Adam's memory!
Not because he would lose his humanity—but because any resurrection involving Adam's memories would no longer produce Edward.
It would produce someone whose memories had been modified by Adam.
Someone whose inner self would be replaced, overwritten, occupied.
Someone who would essentially become—
Edward-Adam, a personality of Adam Himself.
Adam didn't merely want Edward to retrieve the Harry Potter book from the Chaos Sea. He wanted to become Edward, and then retrieve the book.
At that moment, Edward recalled something Amon once said about Adam: "His desire to oppose the Outer Gods and the apocalypse may never have changed. But He is too obsessive—too desperate to control everything."
Faced with the unknown being who once made a deal with the Ancient Sun God and left something behind—Adam was never going to wait obediently, placing His fate in the hands of the unknown.
He would seize control.
He would take for Himself what that person left behind.
He would ensure the initiative remained in His own hands.
If Edward were in His place, perhaps he might have made a similar choice—
But sacrificing me for it?
Absolutely not.
Edward struggled desperately against the flood of Adam's memories. He fought against the blurred consciousness of pre-resurrection, as if tearing chunks of flesh from his body piece by piece, trying to wrench himself free from the resurrection process.
Then, Adam's figure appeared once more.
He held a book in one hand and a quill in the other. His golden eyes showed a trace of pity as he wrote a line upon the page—
Sha-sha…
And almost instantly—
A colossal wave of memories surged forth, crashing into Edward. Countless memory fragments forced themselves into his mind. Cold, emotionless, perfectly rational consciousness seeped into him, devouring his own memories bit by bit.
He tried again and again to break free of the memory river—but every time he surfaced, he was dragged back down into the abyss.
At this rate, only annihilation awaited him.
In a flash, madness filled his eyes.
"Madman to the Right!"
Another titanic wave of Adam's memories crashed toward him—
Buzz!
An ancient, weathered gear phantom manifested above the memory river. This time, it was far larger and clearer than before.
Creak…creak…
The gear began to turn.
Adam had prepared for this. His expression remained unchanged as he wrote another phrase onto the page—
—but the moment his final stroke fell, a faint trace of surprise flickered through his golden eyes.
Because this time, the ancient gear was turning clockwise—
—and its target was Edward himself.
The next instant—
Edward, submerged beneath the memory river, erupted with terrifying force. He leapt free, tearing himself from Adam's attempt at rewriting his memories, and reached out to grab at Adam. At the same time, he fully unleashed his Deconstruction, actually prying at Adam's fate—shaking the destiny of this "avatar" of the Ancient Sun God and preventing "Him," for a brief period, from drawing on "His" former rank and authorities.
"!!!"
Even Adam had a faint glimmer of surprise in "His" eyes at that moment.
Edward did not stop.
He struck again—and Adam was instantly flattened into a sheet of paper.
Not a change of form—
A change of dimension.
Adam had been forcibly slapped from three dimensions into two.
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.