Inside the mausoleum of the "Black Emperor" in the central region of the primitive island.
After sending Bernadette away, Roselle did not immediately enter slumber. He slowly lifted his head and once again gazed at the infinitely high distance.
Above the
With a "snap," the paper figurine rapidly grew thicker and expanded, flying into the translucent vortex composed of illusory and mysterious symbols beside the seat of "The Fool."
—Even though Bernadette had been moved to the edge of the primitive island and Klein could no longer see inside the "Black Emperor" mausoleum through the specks of prayer light representing her, he could still maintain a connection with the Emperor to some extent through the "The Fool" symbol that had integrated into Roselle's figure.
After passing through the slowly rotating vortex, the paper figurine descended into the dim interior of the mausoleum, where the source of light was unknown, and transformed into a human figure before the central dais.
This figure had black hair and brown pupils, bearing some resemblance to Gehrman Sparrow, but his features were not as hard, his lines not as deep, his aura not as cold. There were also distinct differences in his facial features, and his chin and belly had a bit of extra fat fostered by society. It was Klein's original appearance as
Roselle was not surprised by his appearance. Pressing one hand on the armrest and leaning forward slightly, he looked at him and said, "You're here."
"I'm here," Klein nodded almost imperceptibly.
"You shouldn't have come," Roselle sighed.
"But I'm already here." Klein naturally caught the reference.
Roselle, finally certain of this fellow's origins, straightened his posture and let out a low chuckle. "I was planning to ask where you're from, to see if I needed to engage in any regional prejudice, but upon second thought, it's unnecessary. We're both poor souls who don't belong to this era, who have lost our homeland."
Before Klein could respond, the Emperor's voice deepened. "Do you know the truth about the apocalypse?"
"Yes," Klein gently nodded.
Roselle pressed on. "Do you know that this place is Earth?"
"Mm." Klein answered frankly.
Hearing this, Roselle gave a self-deprecating smile. "You figured it out so early. I only dared to confirm it when I went above the moon and saw the true appearance of this planet from a height."
Speaking of this, the Emperor sighed. "The place above the moon was so bizarre. I clearly felt terror, yet never once considered whether I was being corrupted. Then, I grew more and more extreme.
"Still, I occasionally gained some clarity from the opinions of those around me. But I didn't dare write a diary in that state, afraid of leaking secrets and losing my last chance.
"Ultimately, I decided to switch to the 'Black Emperor' pathway using the groundwork I had laid. Not only because the apocalypse meant only a Sequence 0 could protect those I wanted to protect, take them to other planets in the vast cosmos, and use the corresponding authority to rebuild a complete order for human survival in barren, dead places, but also because the 'Black Emperor's miracle of 'resurrection' gave me hope of escaping the corruption.
"As long as I could be truly killed after becoming a Sequence 0 'Black Emperor' and going half-mad, I would have a chance to resurrect within this mausoleum or in the Astral World. At that time, what would return to me would be the pure 'Uniqueness' and three Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics, free from all corruption and uncontrollable madness.
"Come to think of it, 'The
"However, the terror of the 'Old One' exceeded my imagination. Accompanying my resurrection was a reborn corruption… Perhaps the Old One is the only one who can fight an Old One.
"I had no choice but to halt the resurrection process and survive in this last mausoleum in my current state, preventing that Old One from being born into the real world through my body, which would bring catastrophic disaster."
Based on what he had previously understood and what had just happened, Klein had long had a suspicion about Roselle's state. Unsurprised, he calmly responded, "The Outer Deity that corrupted you is called the 'Depraved Mother Goddess.' She has deceived many believers through Her incarnation, the 'Primordial Moon.'"
The faint features on Roselle's face shifted slightly.
After a few seconds of silence, he said, "I knew about the 'Primordial Moon,' but I didn't know Her true honorific name was the 'Depraved Mother Goddess.'
"Thinking about it now, my discovering 'Mr. Door's cry for help might not have been a coincidence…"
Hearing this, Klein's heart jolted in shock. In an instant, he recalled the various situations on the outer island and had a premonition of what the Emperor was about to say.
Roselle sighed with a wry smile. "The biggest problem in my early life was my overconfidence. I always felt like I could just reload a save, and I didn't scrutinize the details thoroughly enough.
"Back then, Green was corrupted by the strange power of this island. After he died and returned here, he was reborn, wasn't that the influence of the 'Primordial Moon'? I ran all kinds of checks afterward, performed various purifications, and assumed I was clean. But in reality, destiny might have taken a slight turn at that very moment. This led to my 'chance encounter' with 'Mr. Door' later, who gradually guided me to the moon…
"I can't blame Mr. Door. His state might be even worse than mine is now."
The Emperor meant that from the moment he discovered this primitive island, he had been targeted by the "Depraved Mother Goddess"? Klein sighed. "Back then, who could have imagined the problem was so severe?"
Before Sequence 2, understanding the "Stars" and the "Old Ones" themselves brings terrible corruption. Yet, without that understanding, when encountering certain situations, one cannot accurately judge how serious the problem is and what remedies are needed afterward. This led Roselle to regard this primitive island as his secret base, failing to tell those qualified to know about the Outer Deities, the Old Ones, and the "Stars" about what had happened here.