Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1356 The Final Secret Pact
In the dark and deep astral realm, composed of various abstract concepts and authorities, a colossal mirror floats slowly.

Its mirror surface points to the barrier separating the astral plane corresponding to Earth from the complete astral plane corresponding to the universe. There, several terrifying faces, indescribable in detail, are pressed together, peering into the transparent and cracked barrier. However, they are constantly blocked by a kingdom composed of open books, a sea shrouded in raging storms, and a curtain so dark that not a single ray of light can penetrate, making it impossible to truly see the abstract circular symbol representing that blue planet.

Occasionally, these giant faces would see their own reflection in the mirror, see the starlight of the night sky, and inside the mirror, a quiet street and several row houses seemed to be reflected.

The "old ones" were not interested in this and quickly looked away, continuing to search for any possible gaps that might penetrate the barrier.

This is the only thing they can do before the end of the world truly comes.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

As the terrifying gazes left his divine realm, Angel, sitting on the single sofa, let out a soft snort and turned his divine realm around to actively pursue the outer gods who were spying on the barrier, preventing them from taking advantage of the situation and sending more power into the barrier.

A year and a half ago, she cut out her own special part from the Mirror World and, with the help of half of the "Spirit World Ruler" and the "Astral Lord," moved it to the Astral Plane to fill the void left by the fall of the "God of War" and the "Eternal Sun," and to free the "Black Emperor" Roselle who had been helping to maintain the barrier.

Although the latter is also a deity, His foundation and His kingdom are in the real world. Even if He can be resurrected in the astral plane based on the order He previously established, He cannot bring His own kingdom into the astral plane as a divine kingdom.

Although Roselle was able to use methods such as "distortion" to make Intis, which was still operating its own order, form a corresponding concept in the astral plane to serve as a divine kingdom in a short period of time, this was not sustainable and ultimately Angel's Mirror World was needed to take the lead.

This is also a major reason why Solomon, the "Black Emperor," and the other six gods could not truly form an alliance during the Fourth Age.

Collecting his thoughts, Angel rose from the soft, comfortable armchair and strolled out of the living room to the outside of the building, which shared the same style as the house at No. 6 Narcissus Street in Tingen.

This street is not a perfect replica of the one in the real world. It only has a few houses, including No. 2. Beyond that is a dark and eerie mirror world, where the ground shakes, meteorites fall, volcanoes erupt, and various flames reflect the outline of the entire divine kingdom.

This is a world where only she exists as a deity.

Even if I wanted to invite other deities, they probably wouldn't be willing. Once they enter this place, the male ones will develop obvious feminine characteristics, while the female ones will experience extreme pleasure from time to time... As for beings below the divine level, those who see what they shouldn't will immediately turn to stone or suffer various calamities originating from within themselves... Only the outer area corresponding to the divine kingdom, that is, the mirror world area in reality, is relatively safe for my followers to enter and exit...

Angel pondered for a moment, then wandered aimlessly around the street twice before returning home and settling down on the sofa by the bay window.

"Phew, in less than two years, I'm already utterly bored. No wonder those beings who ascended to godhood in the Fourth Epoch all became weak-willed and needed a large number of believers as anchors to maintain their balance. Perhaps after the apocalypse, I can renovate my divine kingdom, or perhaps I can simply use an avatar to stay in reality for a long time, just like the 'God of Wisdom' Herabergen... He must have simulated the abilities of a dreamer..."

Angel quickly used this method of silent muttering to dispel his loneliness and bring his thoughts back to the main problem at hand.

It is now February 1354, less than half a year before the crimson foreshadowed by the "Post-Revelation" descends from the sky. This means that the gods within the barrier have only a few months to make final preparations before facing the end times and the invasion of the "Old Ones".

This time should have been 1368, a conclusion reached by many prophets and even the "seven lights" of the spirit world. Even the gods believed it without a doubt and made preparations according to this time.

But news from another timeline, brought by Angel Gray, confirms that this doomsday "node" is not fixed, but rather can arrive earlier due to the influence of the Old Ones, gods, and related mortals both inside and outside the barrier.

The "Genius" in Seal 0-05 had mentioned this to her and Klein: the Old Ones outside the barrier wouldn't wait until the barrier truly disappeared, but would use various methods to bring forward the end of the world, preventing the gods on Earth from becoming Old Ones and having the opportunity to face the battle.

In that case, Angel should try to postpone this moment as much as possible. Eliminating the followers of the evil god and moving the divine kingdom to the astral plane to seal the barrier's loopholes were all done for this purpose, and were also seen by those outer gods who were eyeing the barrier.

But in reality, she was going to do the opposite and bring about the "end of the world" sooner!
The barrier currently appears to be protected by six deities: "Calamity," "Storm," "Wisdom," "Steam," "Earth," and "Night," providing temporary reassurance. However, numerous hidden dangers lurk beneath the surface.

If the "Uncertain Fog" were to recover ahead of schedule, rejoin the ranks of the Outer Gods, and become the "mediator" for their cooperation...

If the "Fallen Mother Goddess" influences the Earth Mother Goddess's state through the barrier, causing her to be unable to maintain the barrier, or even becoming a puppet of the outer gods...

If the "Mother Tree of Desire" found a new way to control Fabuti when the Earth Mother could no longer protect the Demon King, allowing Him to wreak havoc within the barrier...

If the two pillars awaiting their own awakening, the Celestial Venerable and God, realize they have been deceived, and each cooperate with the Outer Gods to actively destroy the barrier...

Since the end of the world is inevitable, rather than waiting for the barrier to break at any time or for it to happen prematurely due to interference from the Outer Gods, it would be better to launch a preemptive strike the moment when our side has completed its preparations.

The first step is to use the effect of the Level 0 sealed artifact, the "Post-Revelation Book," to alter the timing of the doomsday prophecy. Although it is merely a sealed artifact formed from the "prophet" characteristic, it can only have a certain influence on the true gods and is almost ineffective on the Old Ones. However, prophecy and divination are inherently mysterious things. The future it foretells may not necessarily come to pass, but as long as the holder of the sealed artifact and the person who knows the prophecy prepare to avoid or welcome their fate, there is a very high probability that it will become reality.

Even for the gods and the ancient times, fate remains wondrous.

Building on this foundation, Angel's "Church of the End Times" and Klein's "Church of the Fools" sought to acquire a minimum amount of faith from the nations whose faiths were already firmly established. Furthermore, the withdrawal of these nations from the southern continent, allowing the former Byron and Highland Kingdoms to become independent and accept the protection of the "Black Emperor," was all aimed at allocating as many believers as possible to the gods who were about to become ancient, in preparation for that moment's arrival. The gods had reached a tacit understanding on this point. As for entrusting the Temperance faction members with the search for the remains of "Giddas," it was because Angel learned that the "Mother Nest" had given birth to the brother and sister Omibella with that God. He hoped to influence the source that had never lost its own will through the mystical connection between mother and child, thus delaying or even preventing the "Fallen Mother Goddess" from completing her symbolism and authority.

On the one hand, this could preserve the Earth Mother Goddess Lilith, or allow her to live through the apocalypse as an angel, which is not difficult given that the vampires' anchor to the "Progenitor" is strong enough; on the other hand, the fallen Mother Goddess who failed to replenish her source matter is only equivalent to a slightly stronger, immortal and indestructible Old One, rather than one of the pillars that control reality. Even if she cannot be killed, there are many ways to expel her.

"From this perspective, the Church of the Eternal Sun might have traded a Sequence 2 'Light Chaser' attribute for the Earth's bounty because the 'True Creator' Grisha also considered this? As an entity that rivals God, He must understand that the Fallen Mother is the greatest problem facing Earth..."

"He has taken control of the 'Sun,' yet he doesn't actively control the Church of the Eternal Sun. This is to give up some believers for me and for Klein, which shows that He has a considerable degree of tacit understanding with my plan... For Him, the most important thing right now is to take back the authority of 'Wisdom' and 'Storm' as soon as possible, truly contain them after mastering the 'Chaos Sea,' and fight against the 'God' who is resurrecting. Does He really have time to deal with the 'Fallen Mother Goddess'?"

Angel sighed inwardly as he thought of how "God" had successively contained the city of calamity, influenced Fabti, awakened within the "Eternal Sun," and attempted to cooperate with the Outer Gods.

Similar to Grisha Adam's situation, "The Fool" Klein also faces the threat of another pillar-level Great Old One's awakening. Although he is progressing faster than the "True Creator" and has obtained all three necessary pathways of authority, he has not yet truly contained the "Source Castle" as a source substance, let alone become a Great Old One above the sequence.

Fortunately, he did not actually fall into a deep sleep; his silence over the past year was almost entirely a pretense.

During this period, Klein hid in the gray fog of the Source Castle, using the increasing number of faith anchors to balance his humanity and divinity. At the same time, he gradually absorbed the Source Castle and preemptively grasped rather than truly absorbed the power of the two paths, "Error" and "Gate." Without affecting his own state or causing the "Celestial Venerable" to awaken, he approached his former state as closely as possible.

The Mirror of Arodes, shrouded in the mists of history, which was always placed in front of the high-backed chair in front of "The World," served as a bridge for communication between him and Angel.

The two are each other's most important and stable anchors. How could one of them fall into a deep sleep while the other remains indifferent?
Of course, on the surface, Angel still pretends to be in a deep sleep as the "Fool," and his own condition is gradually deteriorating, making the members of the Tarot Club firmly believe that the two gods are in bad shape. Their opinion will then be learned by many people who care about this matter through contact with the outside world.

Today, Klein is only one step away from truly mastering the "Source Castle." With his current control over adjacent pathways, once he incorporates the Source Matter, he can become the Old One at the fastest speed, break the seal on the Western Continent, and give other gods the opportunity to access the Source Matter they need.

This is the second thing Angel has been doing: while maintaining the barrier, allowing other gods to leave the astral plane through avatars or divine descents, and to merge with the leaked source energy with the help of the Dao mergers of the Western Continent. Only by laying such a foundation can the true source energy be accommodated as soon as possible after the seal is broken.

The Goddess of Night already possessed the pathways to "Death" and "Twilight Giant," and like Klein, she must have mastered the corresponding powers beforehand. With the help of the "Netherworld Man," she also had the opportunity to accommodate the tributaries of the River of Eternal Darkness. The God of Steam, with my help, obtained the uniqueness of the Hidden Sage, and her time to master the powers of adjacent pathways was shorter. Moreover, the "Wilderness of Knowledge" was corrupted by the Mother Nest, and it might not be able to quickly accommodate the Source Matter after the seal was broken. As for the Earth Mother Goddess, now I can only hope that she doesn't encounter any bigger problems...

At this point, Angel's third task has become clear: she needs to travel to the Western Continent before the two most likely to become the Old Ones, kill the will of the "City of Calamity," the sealed evil dragon, and be the first to ascend to the Old Ones.

Only in this way can she maintain the barrier for a short time, allowing the darkness and steam to leave the astral plane and successively accommodate the source matter and the uniqueness of adjacent pathways, becoming the "Eternal Darkness" and the "Demon of Knowledge." In this respect, there is no difference between dual-path or even multi-path true gods and single-path ones; only the ancient rank can replace more gods and maintain the barrier with fewer individuals.

As for how to initiate the first step, namely, to have Angel go to the Western Continent to compete with the Evil Dragon for control of the Source before the seal is broken, she already has a specific plan.

"Hopefully, the 'true creator' Grisha truly shares this understanding; otherwise, the barrier might disappear prematurely under the attack of the Outer Gods..."

She muttered to herself as her figure disappeared into the living room at No. 6 Narcissus Street.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Above Trier, which was as bustling as ever, a phantom figure appeared in the air and then vanished in an instant, entering the mirror world.

Using the special mirror world beneath the city, which originated in the Fourth Age, she quickly passed through multiple seals and arrived at the ruins of Old Trier from the previous Age without any hindrance.

The sky here still burns with invisible and colorless flames, and the surroundings are filled with an impenetrable mist. Countless destroyed buildings surround a huge, half-collapsed palace.

Even at this time, the "God of Steam" maintained the seal of Trier in the Fourth Age, while the other half was coordinated by the "True Creator" with the authority of the sun, ensuring that not a single bit of the pollution composed of the leaking power of many source substances permeating this area leaked out to the outside world.

If one did not possess knowledge of all the mirror worlds, even a deity's avatar would find it difficult to enter this place.

Walking slowly along the abandoned streets paved with black stone slabs, Angel soon arrived at the burning palace.

This is where the "Blood Emperor" Tudor finally fell. Originally, there should have been remnants of various source powers, but after Tudor, who had activated the power of the "City of Calamity," was sent into the "River of Eternal Darkness" by the God of Death Salinger, the fusion of two source powers annihilated the rest of the power, making this place appear exceptionally clean.

This is Angel's destination today, a perfect place where Tudor once broke the seal with the authority of the Red Priest, drawing upon the source power of the Western Continent, yet without any other interference.

She planned to make one last deep vow here before heading to the "City of Calamity" on the western continent.

Just then, Angel was illuminated by the inextinguishable flames in the palace ahead, and a figure slowly emerged from the shadow behind him.

(End of this chapter)