Chapter 1275: Stabilization of the Situation

On the surface of the mirror, pale silver words rose one after another in the rippling light: "…to accept the Beyonders of the Church of the God of War and the Feysac military who are willing to defect, and to purge only the small number of mid- and high-ranking members whose faith is exceptionally devout and who are willing to die for it — this is both the Goddess's tolerance and mercy, and a necessary measure for handling the situation that follows… As the apocalypse approaches step by step, supernatural incidents in various places will inevitably increase, and the only way to maintain the stability of the whole world is to strengthen our forces as fast and as much as possible.

"If we harvest the Beyonders of the Church of the God of War and the Feysac military, even if we obtain the corresponding characteristics, we still cannot, within a few years, raise up equivalent, experienced Beyonders: digesting potions and accumulating insight both take sufficient time…"

Reading this, Klein gave an inward "uh," feeling that this was not the usual tone of the "Magic Mirror" Arrodes — it sounded more like an official document.

It had displayed in full a document peeped at from who-knows-where… The use of "digesting" showed that both the writer and the document's readers had mastered acting; from the tone, they were from the Church of the Goddess of the Night… Combining these two, it was not difficult to conclude that this was a document circulated among archbishops and senior deacons, and that the writer should be the Pope of the Cathedral of Serenity… Arrodes's peeping abilities are very strong… Klein gave an almost imperceptible nod, waiting for the contents of the mirror to "turn the page."

Pale silver words vanished and appeared one after another, quickly forming new sentences and paragraphs: "As for the ordinary nobles and people of Feysac, there is no need to proclaim the fact that the Goddess has replaced the 'God of War'; let them retain their faith in the 'God of War' as before. On the one hand, this will help us, together with the priests and bishops who have defected, take over the major churches and stabilize the situation in Feysac as quickly as possible; on the other hand, it will keep the Goddess from being disturbed by faith She cannot yet process, before She has fully grasped the authority of the 'God of War.' "Once a new oracle descends, we will then make the substitution; for now we only draw up corresponding contingency plans.

"…Try not to provoke fierce resistance from Feysac and other nations. We have lost too many Beyonders and soldiers, and consumed great quantities of resources and supplies. Whether church, state, or different strata of the populace, all are extremely weak and need a period of peace and stability to recover… It would be best for us to ally with the Church of the Storm, the Church of Knowledge, the Church of the Earth Mother, and with the nations of Fenepot, Lenburg, and so on, to force Intis and Feysac into unconditional surrender and obtain at the negotiating table what we wish to obtain; in this process, purges of stubborn elements may be used to apply pressure.

"In handling domestic affairs and taking over the gaps left by the Church of Steam, accord the Church of the Storm sufficient respect; in certain matters concessions may even be made. This is the Goddess's will.

"Finally, from now on, reduce the number of times the Red Moon appears in preaching, sacrifices, mass, and other rites; in formal texts, the Goddess's title 'Lord of Crimson' shall no longer be mentioned…"

No longer mention the title "Lord of Crimson"… Klein's brows stirred faintly; the last line gave rise to strong puzzlement.

Soon he thought of the vampire ancestor, the ancient god of the Second Era, the present "Mother of the Earth" Lilith, who had once been Sequence 0 of the Moon pathway — the true "Lord of Crimson" — and he understood at once, dimly grasping that perhaps this was the exchange under the table, the necessary price.

"Hmm… the Goddess's attitude is very clear: stabilize the situation as quickly as possible… Before She truly seizes the authorities of the 'God of Death' and the 'God of War' and becomes an 'Outer Deity,' She undoubtedly does not wish for any more orthodox gods to fall. Otherwise the gap left in the invisible barrier by 'the Original' would have no one to fill it, and the Outer Gods would find their chance to bring the apocalypse forward… Also, judging from the current state of Loen, if the war continues the anchor will be shaken even more violently, perhaps causing the awakening of the 'Primordial' within the Goddess…

"Having the front withdraw to Backlund earlier was already a great risk the Goddess took. She must divert more power to suppress the 'Primordial'; if the 'Mother of the Earth' betrays, She may fall even faster than the 'God of War' — heh, does She perhaps still have some other trump card?

"It seems the losses of both the Church of the Goddess and the Church of the Storm are not small; no wonder, when the Resistance Army announced that the corresponding churches would be preserved and that faith in the Storm would be respected, that hot-tempered bunch did not try to strike back and tacitly allowed the new government to be set up…" Klein muttered to himself, and so obtained a rough grasp of the present situation.

He then turned and put forward the third question: "If the 'Goddess of the Night' wants to go a step further, does She need to find that 'River of Eternal Darkness'?"

This was one of the Nine Source-Essences; Klein recalled that Arrodes had once said this "River" was related to the ancient God of Death, the phoenix ancestor Galigali, and that the clues seemed to lie deep inside the spirit-world city of Calderón.

"Yes, great master." The pale silver words twisted and writhed, forming new text. "The God of Death at the end of the Fourth Era ought also to have been able to make use of the 'River of Eternal Darkness'; He tried to use this source-essence to forcibly contain the 'uniqueness' of non-adjacent pathways, and then He went mad."

So that's how the "God of Death" went mad. I should have said — a Sequence 0 true god who had passed through three eras and had seen the 'Tablets of Blasphemy' could not have lacked basic common sense and drunk potions wildly. He wasn't Alista Tudor, driven to the point that he had to go mad or die… No wonder the 'God of Death' dared challenge the seven separated gods with only the 'Primordial Witch' at His side; back then He was practically half an 'Outer Deity'… Hmm, and Mister Azik back there had a golden phoenix ornament that came from the 'God of Death'… Klein began to string several matters together.

Suddenly he hissed inwardly, half suspecting that the price the Goddess had set against all those gifts was the "River of Eternal Darkness."

Just as the "True Creator" had repeatedly tolerated him in order to drive him into the dwelling of the King of Giants and obtain the first "Tablet of Blasphemy"!

As master of the "Origin Fortress," he was probably the only person of a relatively high Sequence who could withstand the pollution of other source-essences.

Of course, the "Goddess of the Night" could also wait a few years or a dozen years, until the 'Primordial's' will had ebbed further, and go personally to fetch it; but whether the ritual could then still be completed before the apocalypse, Klein did not know.

He gathered his thoughts and put forward his fourth question: "Where can the potion formula of 'Mystery Pryer' be obtained?"

The "Magic Mirror" Arrodes regrouped the pale silver words into entirely new content: "Tsalatu; the first 'Tablet of Blasphemy'; the second 'Tablet of Blasphemy'; the 'Fool' card within the 'Blasphemy Cards'; the mythical creature evolved from the 'Fool's' 'uniqueness.'"

The first option and the second option are both probably plotting how to deal with me… Tsalatu is more terrifying and more cunning than the Dark Demon Wolf; were I to plot against Him, I would in all likelihood fall into His trap — the risk is enormous… The third option is Amon's elder brother; he should already have become a 'Daydreamer' by means of this war, and if I provoked him not even the 'Origin Fortress' might be able to save me… The fourth and fifth options both concern that half-'Fool' of the Antigonus family and the Goddess's Mist Town. Erm, the Goddess should have some means of bypassing that half-'Fool' and producing that 'Blasphemy Card,' but perhaps the trade She wants is the 'River of Eternal Darkness'… Klein discovered that he seemed to have walked into a dead end.

Ahead of him on this path lay the 'River of Eternal Darkness'; behind him stood the head of the Secret Order, Tsalatu.