Amidst the spine-chilling, grand prayers, an altar built from flesh and blood slowly took shape.
Within the complex information torrent of the Hidden Sage, crimson stood out, disintegrating into countless abstract numbers stained crimson, rapidly spreading towards the Mother card and Moon card suspended in mid-air.
As a special existence formed by the activation of the Uniqueness of the Hermit Pathway, His status far surpassed that of Roselle, who was merely the Knowledge Emperor back then. With His own authority and the Mother Goddess of Depravity's grace, He could bestow more fundamental power upon the abstract knowledge contained within the Cards of Blasphemy.
Correspondingly, having received power beyond the Sequence 0 level and from a non-adjacent Pathway, He would enter a period of weakness for a considerable time afterward, a weakness that could not be alleviated by "rebirth."
The invisible vortex formed by the two Cards of Blasphemy frantically absorbed the information torrent originating from the Hidden Sage's main body. Roselle's image on the cards became increasingly real, but his face gradually blurred.
The next second, a crimson Moon, as if real, appeared high in the sky, while a mass of brown soil, covered in plants and various reproductive organs, plummeted sharply, falling towards the flesh and blood altar directly below.
Almost simultaneously, on the surface of the blood-red full Moon outside the Astral World barrier, a distinct bulge suddenly shot upwards, as if the Earth's crust was violently active, instantly forming a mountain thousands or tens of thousands of meters high.
The mountain writhed, resembling a bird's nest or a womb; it was the remaining part of the Mother Goddess of Depravity's brood nest after being torn apart.
Further away, a certain planet, always covered in white mist, trembled slightly, as if it were a signal.
In the desolate universe, seven other stars of different colors—crimson, gold, etc.—suddenly erupted with extremely bright light, ignoring distance, projecting terrifying faces, difficult to describe with normal words, onto the cracked world barrier.
The crumbling barrier blocked most of the attacks, and although the gods filling the gaps were prepared, they could only manage to seal off the Astral World, preventing the disaster from spreading to reality.
Even so, the most powerful Mother Goddess of Depravity still managed to infiltrate some of Her power with coordinated efforts from inside and out.
Within a vibrant realm somewhere in the Astral World, the plump deity holding an illusory infant suddenly looked somber, and then flowers and trees violently shot up from the ground.
They intertwined with each other, layer upon layer, forming a natural barrier outside the realm that blocked all observation.
Not far away, in another realm shrouded in eternal night, a blurry, indistinct figure emerged, adorned with countless starlight on a layered yet uncomplex black long dress.
From Her ribs and waist, two pairs of arms covered in dark black short fur grew out. Two of these hands dragged a giant scythe made of gathered death intent, while the other two restrained a crimson Moon that still seemed to be "pulsating"!
Compared to the Earth Mother, who was directly affected by the Mother Goddess of Depravity, the Evernight Goddess merely exploited the symbol of the "Crimson Moon," so the impact on Her was limited. However, simultaneously suppressing two Uniquenesses was an immense burden for Her at this moment.
Her beautiful and gentle face beneath the thin black veil showed no emotion. Her eyes seemed to condense a night sky filled with stars. She withdrew Her gaze from the Mother Goddess of Depravity outside the barrier and looked towards the Eternal darkness Plain in the real world.
Realizing something, She violently swung the giant scythe in Her hand towards the continuously restless "Crimson Moon." The moment the latter's vitality was extinguished by the all-consuming death intent, She stuffed it into the misty world held by Her last two hands.
All traces were completely hidden, but the mystical connection established by a status beyond the Sequence level did not completely fail.
In the depths of the Evernight Plain, the "Crimson Moon" suspended above the rift trembled slightly. All information torrents pointing to the Moon's Uniqueness were secretly stripped away, but they did not dissipate under the maintenance of some power.
On the flesh and blood altar, which had been stained dark brown, space distorted irregularly, and deep red fissures appeared, vaguely revealing the thick gray-white mist behind them.
The prayers seeking grace slowly subsided, replaced by increasingly uniform and grand heartbeats. As this sound reached its peak, a mass of flesh and blood, indistinguishable from a heart or a placenta, fell from the gray-white mist, instantly merging into the flesh and blood altar directly below.
A much more illusory and weaker information torrent than before spread outwards. After the Hidden Sage cleared all traces, He instantly vanished, carrying the flesh and blood altar, which had transformed into a bloody flesh pupa, seemingly gestating something unknown.
Only then did the terrifying faces on the barrier gradually recede, and the Astral World stopped trembling only when the bulging mountain on the surface of the blood-red full Moon collapsed again.
The faint light symbolizing the God of Steam and Machinery surged from nothingness, leaving behind projected scenes throughout the Astral World. Rather than repairing the cracks, it seemed more like seeking some special information.
In the realm filled with twilight, the God of Combat wore silver armor full of a sense of decay, and the orange-red light beneath His visor seemed to reflect the Evernight Goddess holding aloft a giant black scythe.
After a long silence, He slowly turned His head and looked at the realm of life, still shrouded by the natural barrier.
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Backlund Greater Region, downstream of the Tussock River, "Ruin No. 1." A curtain woven from shadows enveloped this deep, dark, and majestic secret mausoleum.
George III, who had been observing the anomalies in the Astral World from beginning to end, rose from his massive black throne. His body was already enveloped in a hazy shadow, seemingly not long before he could truly become the Shadow of Order.
Withdrawing his gaze, he looked at the side of the throne, at the crown inlaid with numerous dark gems, symbolizing the Uniqueness of the Black Emperor Pathway. He murmured to himself with a subtle smile:
"They need a Black Emperor...."
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Backlund East Borough. Amidst the whistle of the steam train, Klein adjusted his top hat, watching the hurried crowds with solemn expressions under the shadow of war. He expressionlessly carried his suitcase and quickly arrived at the nearest hotel.
After paying the full amount in gold pounds, Klein politely declined the attendant's offer, casually picked up a newspaper from the front desk, and went to his room. During this process, his Spirit Body Threads extended, and some inconspicuous animals were transformed into marionettes, secretly monitoring the surroundings.
Sitting on the soft sofa, Klein recalled the crimson Moon that had strangely appeared during the day. Although he did not know about the battle in the Astral World due to the limitations of his status, he inexplicably felt irritable. As someone whose Bizzaro Sorcerer potion was almost completely digested, he knew clearly that this was Sefirah Castle warning his spirituality.
Taking a deep breath, Klein went to the washroom and skillfully drew a complex pattern representing Concealment and prying on the mirror. After waiting a few minutes, just as he thought the magic mirror might have gone offline again, pale text finally rippled across the mirror's surface.