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Cavendish Lancer Pinto, standing at the bow, frowned as he looked ahead. It was no longer a sea shrouded in mist, but a "Darkness" so thick it couldn't be dispersed.
This brought a word to his mind—the "Abyss"—which was also the goal of his current journey.
Before he could examine his surroundings, a faint weeping sound suddenly emanated from the black ocean.
"Wooo, wooo, wooo…"
"Wooo, wooo, wooo…"
Amidst the ear-splitting wails, Cavendish Lancer Pinto calmly spread his spirituality, suppressing the resistance of the damaged Death Announcer, controlling it to proceed towards the Abyss.
The moment he made contact with the deep, thick Darkness, the Seer's spiritual intuition subtly stirred. He turned his head to the east, and that peculiar fluctuation vanished in an instant.
Cavendish Lancer Pinto frowned but did not perform a divination. He would not make any unnecessary moves that could affect his current operation. Who knew what he might encounter if he divined in such a dreadful place?
As they entered the black ocean, layers of illusory whispers entered his ears. These whispers were not violent; they were unrelated to the physical body, entirely a spiritual corruption.
However, unlike the usual whispers that brought madness and pain, these used and manipulated the emotions and desires at the bottom of everyone's heart, either planting seeds or directly catalyzing them.
This caused the target to gradually degenerate, or lose emotional control, unable to resist, or experience an explosion of desire beyond the body's capacity. This was practically a replica of the Desire Apostle.
This level of depressive corruption was clearly nothing to him, a Sequence 3 Beyonder, but this was only the edge of the Abyss, or perhaps not even the edge.
He glanced at the black ocean, which exuded an aura of degradation, and shook his head, silently mocking himself:
"Beyonders must constantly fight not only danger and madness, but also various evil thoughts originating from themselves, and the gravitational pull of degradation that can cause them to sink if they are not careful."
"Beyonders below demigods who have not obtained divinity, even if they only explore the outer regions, will have lingering seeds of corruption that will continuously influence their degradation and madness in the time after leaving this place."
Ever since entering this extremely special area, the powerful spirituality bestowed by the Seer caused terrifying scenes to continuously flash before Cavendish Lancer Pinto's eyes.
Some even caused him to experience an uncontrollable, abnormally terrifying dizziness, as if he were walking on the edge of the Abyss, about to fall at any moment.
Out of helplessness, Cavendish Lancer Pinto voluntarily severed his connection with the Spirit World. In this Abyss, full of madness and bloodlust, maintaining a stable state was the most important thing.
He extended his right hand, palm down, pointing forward. The black ocean suddenly surged, and howling winds came from nowhere. The Death Announcer's hull trembled, and it instantly vanished.
Along the pitch-black ocean, penetrating the liquid-like mist, the Death Announcer arrived at the Monster-like mountain. Behind it was an endless expanse of black mist, as if covering a continent.
The mist rising from the black ocean also changed, becoming increasingly cool and slippery, as if it could permeate flesh and soul. That unknown fear was like an invisible hand, tightly gripping Cavendish Lancer Pinto's heart.
These minor discomforts were quickly dispelled, but the Fourth Epoch rumors about the Abyss swiftly emerged in his mind:
The Abyss is the most contaminating place; even angels will fall and lose control there, and those who guard the Abyss will eventually be assimilated by it…
Suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind, and looking at the Death Announcer, which already showed signs of corrosion, Cavendish Lancer Pinto raised his right hand. The pre-arranged array patterns lit up, and the Death Announcer completely shattered.
Strands of black patterns detached and adhered to the surface of the stone man, emitting an aura comparable to a high-ranking Devil—though, of course, it was only an aura.
Stepping onto this desolate land of degradation, he descended the mountain, attempting to go deeper, but his brow soon furrowed deeply.
Behind the jagged black rocks, beneath the muddy paths that could hardly be called roads, and in various normal or unimaginable places, there were different Devil corpses. They seemed to have met the same demise at the same moment.
Was this influenced by the Dark Side of the Universe?
This thought flashed through Cavendish Lancer Pinto's mind. It was known that high-Sequence Beyonders, especially angels, could actively influence mid- and low-Sequence Beyonders of the same Pathway.
This area could already be considered the outer region, yet he hadn't seen a single living Devil. The abnormality of the Abyss made him inexplicably irritable.
Above the dark gold mist, using the true vision provided by the prayer light, Aaron manipulated his perspective to look towards the base of the mountain.
There, black mist, whose bottom could not be seen, quietly surged, filled with degradation and evil.
The alluring whispers carried an invisible corruption, blurring the prayer image for an instant, and some eerie scenes flashed by:
His body, standing deep within the Abyss, grew dark and complex patterns, his skin became hard, and a sticky liquid vaguely flowed on its surface, his eyes completely losing their sanity.
The dark gold mist trembled slightly, shattering the image and the accompanying corruption. Aaron, worried about attracting the attention of certain existences, did not continue to probe.
With only 19 years until Apocalypse, the Abyss had already shown signs. Was it because the inherently abstract and chaotic environment was easier for that Outer God to break through its limits?
Aaron had a rough judgment in his mind, and a sense of anxiety and urgency followed. He watched Cavendish Lancer Pinto's figure continue to go deeper, his gaze flickering.
-----------------
After a period of apprehension, Klein finally calmed down and remembered the most likely factor that caused his transmigration—that luck-transferring ritual!
After clarifying his thoughts, Klein, whose hope had rekindled, began to silently "watch" the original owner's memories, continuing to delve deeper into this world.
Unbeknownst to him, outside the window, the scarlet moon slanted west, gradually sinking, until a faint light appeared in the east, and the horizon was tinged with gold.
After dealing with his sister Melissa, Klein changed into his worn brown-yellow coat, planning to go out to buy groceries and prepare the materials for the luck-transferring ritual.
After taking out all of Benson's current savings from the partition, including the living expenses for these three days, a very faint, special ink scent wafted past his nose—that was the smell of money.
Even though he was in a bad mood, Klein still stopped to admire the exquisite patterns on those lovely little ones for dozens of seconds.
Remembering Melissa's frail body, a surge of guilt suddenly rose in Klein's heart. He pulled out two one-soli banknotes, re-rolled the rest, and tucked them back into the interlining of the cushion.
Because of the original owner's bizarre suicide and his discovery that he couldn't recall the memories before the original owner's death, Klein was cautious when opening the door.
Walking out of the shared apartment, the clanging Foot-operated vehicles passing by on the street made Klein feel a little dazed.
He opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. Klein, feeling somewhat complex, chose to walk to Sulin Bakery.
Foot-operated vehicles had only become popular in Tingen City a year ago. At a price of one pound, an ordinary working-class family could afford one if they gritted their teeth, but it was still too expensive for Klein, who was about to graduate and needed a decent suit for interviews.
Not far away, at the Municipal Plaza where Iron Cross Street and Daffodil Street converged, numerous tents had already been set up, and strangely dressed, funny Clowns were distributing flyers everywhere.
Aaron, wearing a Clown mask, slowly appeared in the plaza. The bustling crowd seemed not to notice his appearance, or perhaps an extra Clown in a circus was not a strange thing.
Even so, the moment he appeared, he felt a gaze fall upon him. Following the sensation, he looked over to see a woman wearing a pointed hat and a black dress.
Her face was painted with red and yellow oil paint, and her eyes were grey-blue and deep.
But under the true vision provided by the Nation of Disorder's sub-consciousness, deep Darkness, imperceptible to the naked eye, surged around the woman, with faint starlight flickering.
The smile under the Clown mask was a bit stiff. Facing the lady's calm and deep eyes, Aaron slowly walked over, drawing a scarlet moon on his chest as he walked.
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit awkward. Fortunately, at this moment, Aaron's peripheral vision caught sight of Klein, who was carrying a paper bag of bread and curiously glancing at the flyer. With a thought, he spoke first:
"Sir, would you like a divination? Hmm, it's free."
Klein, who was about to shake his head in refusal, paused, muttering in his heart:
"Free? Free things are the most expensive!"
He glanced at Aaron, who was wearing a Clown mask, and asked back with a hint of doubt in his tone:
"You can divine?"
Feeling the gaze shift away, Aaron chuckled and pointed to the lady beside him, explaining:
"Of course not, it's my, um, friend who will divine for you."
"Her Tarot divination is very accurate."
"Tarot…"
Klein immediately froze. This familiar pronunciation reminded him of some common knowledge.
He inwardly grumbled about Emperor Roselle, who invented Tarot cards, but his body honestly followed the woman with red and yellow painted face, bending down to enter the low tent.
A moment later, Klein looked at the card in his hand, which depicted a young man in splendid clothes, wearing a brilliant headdress, carrying a staff with a luggage bag hanging from its head, and a puppy pulling behind him. It was card number "0", and he recognized it as the The Fool card.
Just as he was about to wait for the diviner in front of him to interpret, the tent flap suddenly opened, and strong sunlight streamed in, dispelling the dim sense of mystery.
"Why are you impersonating me again! Divining for people is my job!" A female voice angrily growled, "Go back! You must remember, you are just a Beast Tamer!"
Klein, whose eyes were momentarily dazzled by the sunlight, came back to his senses to find that the man with the Clown mask had left at some point, and the woman sitting in front of him also left the tent.
Klein opened his mouth, looking at the The Fool card in his hand. After confirming that the legitimate diviner would charge for the interpretation, he decisively chose to leave.
He still needed to rush to prepare the main course for his luck-transferring ritual!
In a hidden state, Aaron's mouth curved upwards as he watched Klein take four reverse steps and then be swallowed by crimson light. He took out the restless Ring of Mysteries, removed the Wall of Spirituality attached to it, and began to wait quietly.
He didn't wait long before crimson light suddenly appeared before his eyes. Aaron, already experienced, instantly suppressed the Nation of Disorder's stress response. Having mastered divinity, he could already achieve this step.
To reduce Klein's burden, Aaron did not let the crimson light envelop his body. Instead, he differentiated dark gold "Order Mist" from his body, extending it towards the crimson light. This was not difficult for him, who had already skillfully mastered the incomplete mythical creature form.
After all, if he, a complete demigod, were pulled to Sefirah Castle by Klein, Klein, who was still an ordinary person, would probably have his spirituality drained before they could exchange a few words.
-----------------
In a luxurious villa in Empress Borough, Backlund, the Capital of the Loen Kingdom.
Audrey sat in front of her dressing table, caressing an ancient, cracked bronze mirror on the table, persistently spreading her spirituality.
More than a week ago, with Aaron's help, she had achieved Sequence 9 Spectator. After learning that Evelina had already consumed the potion, she then let Susie also take the Spectator potion.
After becoming a Beyonder, she had been studying the mirror Aaron gave her, but unfortunately, she had not made any progress before.
If Aaron hadn't mysteriously told her that it was a Beyonder item containing treasure, she might have already given up.
Just as she was sensing the ancient mirror with her spirituality, the bronze mirror suddenly glowed with crimson light, instantly enveloping her.
-----------------
Klein, enveloped in grey-white mist, felt his head about to explode, and his thoughts were somewhat sluggish.
He had just entered an endless Gray Fog, and while still bewildered, a crimson "star" beside him suddenly expanded.
Caught off guard, he touched that star, and in his panic, he accidentally touched other stars, so much so that he now felt something in his body being consumed, his head empty, and his spirit scattered.
Fortunately, this feeling of being hollowed out only lasted for an instant. Although the throbbing pain in his mind persisted, his vision had returned.
Klein was also surprised to find that three more figures had appeared in the grey-white mist, which had originally contained only himself.
Thanks to the grey-white mist that permeated his surroundings, obscuring his figure, otherwise Klein's abnormality would certainly have been discovered by Audrey, who was already a Spectator.
However, Audrey was also startled by the sudden change and did not observe him. Instead, she instinctively exclaimed:
"Your Excellency, where is this?"
"What do you want to do?"
There was a brief silence above the Gray Fog, and a calm, deep voice responded:
"This is an attempt."
Looking at Klein, who quickly adjusted his mindset and tried to maintain his persona, the dark gold mist gradually distorted, and Aaron's figure appeared, though transparent.
The pain in his head became more pronounced, and Klein felt a sense of urgency, feeling like he couldn't keep up the act.
Aaron, clearly aware of Klein's current predicament, suppressed his smile and decided to help Mr. Fool smooth things over to avoid being exposed.
Fortunately, Audrey, having already become a Beyonder, did not propose a transaction, making it easy to end this hasty meeting quickly.
He raised his head slightly, and a majestic voice rang out, instantly attracting everyone's attention:
"Great Existence, how should we address you?"
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