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Although there was no immediate danger to his life, Cavendish Lancer was currently in the Abyss, and even being within the historical fog couldn't guarantee that no accidents would occur.
Delay would lead to complications, so Aaron didn't hesitate. The most urgent task now was to help eliminate the information pollution from the Worms of Spirit. Only then could Cavendish Lancer's body reform within the historical fog.
Fortunately, each Worm of Spirit bore his distinct imprint, and his understanding of historical secrets made them appear exceptionally "solid." Even with his consciousness divided among many Worms of Spirit, he wouldn't be dispersed by the equally diluted information in a short time. Aaron only needed to help him stabilize his consciousness and gradually dispel the torrent of information.
During this process, Aaron, using specially marked prayer light spots, mobilized part of the Nation of Disorder's power to activate the Sun Chaser Scepter, purifying the pollution. Time passed minute by minute, and one by one, Worms of Spirit detached from the historical fog, beginning to reassemble their bodies.
Watching Cavendish Lancer's body continuously squirm, Aaron put down the Sun Chaser Scepter and condensed a ball of light, sending it into the now normal prayer light spot. Inside it was the symbolic pattern he had obtained from the staff traded with Bernadette.
Although the damage caused this time was not small, misfortune and fortune are intertwined. Deeply integrating with the historical fog was also a form of role-playing for a Scholar of Yore. After Cavendish Lancer recovered, he should be able to start making "Yesterday's Recurrence" charms.
After dealing with Cavendish Lancer's matter, Aaron stirred the dark gold mist to thoroughly check himself, ensuring there was nothing suspicious. He then layered the semi-illusory, indifferent eyeball, a remnant from when he dealt with the Hidden Sage's pollution on Old Neil, and placed it beside the Sun Chaser Scepter.
He would settle this score with him sooner or later!
After taking a few items from the junk pile and offering them as sacrifices, Aaron returned to the real world. It was time to look at his spoils of war.
In the underground hall filled with a bloody aura, Varna stood in front of the indistinct statue that had appeared out of thin air, his expression solemn. If Aaron hadn't given a heads-up before acting, a mere "Gate of Banishment" couldn't have opened his territory.
Looking at the junior who gave him so much trouble, Varna sighed helplessly. Crimson and silver interwoven light surged, and the indistinct statue gradually vanished, leaving a yellowish-brown parchment book quietly suspended.
On the surface of the book, a line of words was written in Elvish: "Book of Calamity."
There was no need to search; under the power of an Angel, which could even shatter Beyonder characteristics, the most special item would naturally emerge. Varna controlled it well, not actually shattering it, but merely breaking its original seal.
Aaron, with anticipation in his eyes, grabbed the "Book of Calamity." His expression changed slightly. The book, with a texture like human skin, eagerly tried to burrow into his flesh, and his affected spirituality vaguely showed a tendency to split into three parts.
The Chain of Order suddenly emerged, isolating this strange "Book of Calamity." Aaron frowned and threw it to Varna.
Looking at the parchment book, which was once again covered in flames and lightning, Aaron spoke uncertainly after a moment:
"This is a living Sealed Artifact. Hmm, and it's definitely not of the Tyrant Pathway."
The latter half of the sentence was extremely certain. Varna closed his eyes, which were filled with various symbols, and corrected Aaron's statement:
"This is a demigod Sealed Artifact of the Hanged Man Pathway, and its living characteristic doesn't come from the characteristic itself, but from the item sealed within it."
"Is this really the remnant of that Elf Queen, 'Queen of Calamity' Cohinem?"
Hanged Man... Aaron's mind suddenly recalled the fate of the three Moses Ascetic Order members who obtained the Book of Calamity in the original timeline: three-headed flesh Monsters, clearly Rose Bishops.
Aaron remained silent and didn't respond. He suddenly realized that he seemed to have fallen into a habitual way of thinking. Did the title "Queen of Calamity" necessarily mean she was a Sequence 2 Calamity of the Tyrant Pathway?
Could a mere Sequence 2 survive the great catastrophe where even several Ancient Gods perished?
Although the Elf race controlled the Tyrant Pathway, not all Elves were of this Pathway. Moreover, the fundamental reason for the Ancient Gods' madness largely depended on the conflicting Beyonder characteristics within their bodies.
As a neighboring Pathway to the Tyrant Pathway, it was highly likely that the Elf Queen had mixed these two Pathways, or even, with the help of the Hanged Man Pathway's special nature and the Elf King's assistance, had pastured a "Calamity."
This might have been the Elf King's deliberate intention. After all, before the Ancient Sun God appeared, the Godhood of the Hanged Man Pathway was vacant. If they could cultivate another True God for the Elf race, the final history of the Era of Fire might even be rewritten by them.
The Ancient God who held similar thoughts probably included the Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt. His subsidiary god, the "Dragon of Wisdom" Herabergen, who later became the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, was also of the neighboring White Tower Pathway, and that Godhood was also vacant.
Perhaps having learned a lesson from her old rival, Cohinem had always deliberately disguised herself, not revealing her true Sequence, and secretly advanced with the pastured "Calamity..." using the title "Queen of Calamity" to deceive other Ancient Gods into lowering their guard.
Traces of this could also be seen in Shartas's memory fragments left in Groselle's Travels. When the alliance of the three humanoid Ancient Gods finally broke, Cohinem was unaffected by Soniathrym's terrifying roar.
That was a Tyrant! A Tyrant who ascended through the faith of fear and obedience. If Cohinem was truly just a Sequence 2 Calamity, she wouldn't have been able to remain so calm and composed.
This had nothing to do with the private feelings of the two Mythical Creatures; this was the absolute suppression of a superior over an inferior on the entire Tyrant Pathway.
His thoughts became increasingly divergent. After truly seeing the Book of Calamity, more and more details emerged from his mind.
Aaron couldn't help but recall how Alger's mind was easily read when he met Cohinem in a dream. He exhaled softly, and Aaron had more conjectures:
"What exactly is Cohinem's current state? How did she survive that disaster?"
Thinking of this, Aaron suddenly paused. If he remembered correctly, the Elf King Soniathrym had three subsidiary gods. Excluding Lilith, who joined the Elves after her fall, and Cohinem, there was also a mysterious God of Fortune...
Seeing Aaron's constantly changing expression, Varna no longer inquired. This junior of his knew far more than he, an Angel, did. Every time he thought of this, Varna felt he had lost his Angelic status.
After resealing the Book of Calamity, he saw Aaron, with shining eyes, grab it again and hastily open a Gate of Teleportation.
Listening to the insincere thank you echoing in his ears, Varna looked at the underground hall, which had returned to its empty silence, his forehead twitching slightly.
-----------------
When Aaron teleported to Backlund, he suddenly remembered that he had run out of paper cranes. He seemed to have no way to actively contact Will Auceptin.
Standing awkwardly on the clock tower, looking at the grey sky where the morning light was just peeking through, Aaron's figure disappeared, returning to his room in the outskirts of Backlund.
After setting up a Wall of Spirituality, Aaron tried several times and finally saw Arrodes in the floating mirror, which gave him a peeking sensation.
Initially, Aaron was still thinking about the Elf Queen and didn't notice Arrodes's abnormality, until he saw the golden words appear on the mirror and his eyebrow slightly raised.
"Mysterious and great Duke, innocent and weak Arrodes extends his most sincere greetings to you. Are you, are you well?"
Innocent? This tone... Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly, and he responded indifferently:
"I'm fine. According to the rules, it's my turn to ask you a question."
Feeling that he had escaped a disaster, Arrodes happily displayed the short words: "Please ask!"
Aaron nodded slightly and didn't ask immediately. Instead, he took out a bottle containing a drop of silver blood. In the blood, countless tiny, transcendent, illusory wheels seemed to be rotating, forming a long ribbon, with its ends almost meeting.
This was the blood given by the Snake of Fate back then, and it was also the most convenient way Aaron could think of to find Will Auceptin now.
Of course, even with this drop of blood, Aaron didn't expect Arrodes to be able to locate Will Auceptin, whose precise location even Ouroboros couldn't pinpoint.
This was more like a one-way message, using the fluctuations of fate to express his desire to meet the Snake of Fate. If he agreed, Arrodes would naturally find him; if he refused, he would certainly find nothing.
After simply stating his request, he slightly lifted a seal to allow Arrodes to sense the blood's aura, and the mirror quickly rippled with silver waves.
Somewhat to Aaron's surprise, the image quickly appeared: a young boy with his hands in his pockets and a somewhat rebellious expression was staring at him from outside the frame with a look of disdain.
The camera pulled back, revealing the house number: 72 Sibery Street, Cherwood Borough.
Looking at the image that lasted only a few seconds before shattering, Aaron, with a smile, resealed the blood and put it away.
Seemingly sensing Aaron's good mood, text appeared on the mirror again:
"Great Duke, do you, do you have any more questions?"
Aaron reined in the smile at the corner of his mouth and responded succinctly: "Of course!"
Without waiting for Arrodes's response, after answering the mirror's question, Aaron suddenly asked:
"Who killed the Star-Moon Pillar on Symeem Island? Hmm, you can use descriptive terms as a reference."
Not comforted by the understanding final sentence, the text on the mirror immediately distorted, rippling for a long time before pale words appeared:
"It, it was that one from the God of Church of the God of Steam and Machinery..."
Aaron was both surprised and unsurprised by this answer. To forcibly kill a Sequence 3 under the Hidden Sage's protection was not something an ordinary Angel could do.
What surprised Aaron was how quickly the God of Steam and Machinery located Symeem Island. If it was that easy to pinpoint a location, the Hidden Sage's "Hidden" title would be like a paper wall, and his whereabouts wouldn't have been untraceable for thousands of years.
Seemingly realizing that it couldn't hide it any longer, it proactively confessed, hoping for leniency. A large amount of text appeared on the mirror:
"Humble Arrodes dared to peek into your image and was coincidentally corrupted by that evil god, which triggered the core seal of St. Hilaire Cathedral."
"That is a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact. A power prevented me from prying into that Sealed Artifact, and I have no way of knowing its specific function, but the pollution I suffered was cleansed."
No one actively asked, so how dare it peek at me? Aaron's eyes narrowed slightly. Combining this with previous clues, he roughly guessed what the mirror had done.
Mr. Fool is indeed sharp-minded, but this mirror still needs to be disciplined. I don't want to be constantly watched through a mirror...
He sternly warned this unprincipled magic mirror, emphasizing that no matter who wanted to peek at him, it should create an unpeekable or erroneous image.
Looking at the now calm mirror, Aaron's figure also disappeared from the spot, appearing at 72 Sibery Street, Cherwood Borough.
Stepping through the already open door, Aaron finally saw Mr. Speaker again in reality, even though the other party's attitude was not very welcoming.
"Cough." Aaron unconsciously smiled, bowing slightly, "It's an honor to see you again, Mr. Speaker."
"The current situation is grim and complex, which will also bring considerable uncertainty to your restart. Therefore, I have brought a way to temporarily restore some power during your weak period."
"Hmm, the last time we met in reality, the paper cranes you gave me have run out. You see..."
Will Auceptin stopped shuffling the tarot cards in his hand, looked Aaron up and down, and extended his right hand, saying:
"Let me see it first."
Aaron took out the staff embedded with transparent, elongated gems from his spatial pocket and handed it over.
Will Auceptin took it with interest, glanced at it twice, then raised his voice:
"This can only be used once!"
Aaron maintained a warm smile and continued unhurriedly:
"I have already replicated the symbolic patterns and magical marks on it, and my Scholar of Yore's condition has returned to normal..."
Will Auceptin's small face immediately wrinkled, and he reluctantly handed Aaron a paper crane, muttering softly:
"Every time I see you, I feel like I'm being played by fate..."
Looking at Will Auceptin, who started playing dumb after handing over one paper crane, Aaron didn't press the matter. One was fine; he could always get more after it ran out.
With that thought, Aaron spoke:
"I may not be able to attend to Backlund for a while in the future. I'd like to ask you to look after Audrey. Would you be so kind as to tell me your honorific name?"
The staff transformed into a silver glow, merging into his body and disappearing. Will Auceptin didn't refuse, slowly chanting:
"The Embodiment of Luck;
The Clairvoyant Monster;
The Calamity that Spreads Misfortune;
The Witnesses of all Fates in Backlund;
The Keeper of Chaos and Madness."
Noticing Aaron's peculiar gaze, Will Auceptin snorted lightly and explained:
"This is my honorific name with some modifications. Even if I have started my restart, as long as your fiancée is still in Backlund, I can provide some response."
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