Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1362 The Strongest Natural Disaster
Grey didn't have the chance to witness where the marks on the other "Old Ones" and those Source Beings were located, but as the power holder of the "City of Calamity," a blood-red, banner-like mark was already imprinted on her brow in that timeline leading to the end of the world and the annihilation of everything.

That was proof that the "City of Calamity" responded to her and granted her strength.

In this world, when "Red Angel" Medici prayed for the power of the source of war, a similar mark appeared between her eyebrows, which means that at least the source mark of the "City of Calamity" is located between her eyes, rather than in the valley of her chest.

But when Angel ascends to become an "ageless" witch and truly meets Gray, and the two jointly receive the "Iron-Blooded Knight" blessing from the City of Calamity, the mark attached by the source material appears on her chest.

At first, Gray and Angel didn't pay much attention to this, since the mark on their chest could be covered by clothing compared to the banner between their brows. But after learning that the "City of Calamity" had once been contained by that pillar-level Ancient, and after Gray regained all his memories and understood that he came from the apocalypse, they began to ponder the reason and purpose of this "anomaly."

Furthermore, considering the overlap between the faith in the "Goddess of Light" in his previous life and the authority and symbolism held by the "Omniscient and Omnipotent One," as well as the inexplicable process by which Angel's physical body entered the "City of Calamity" after dying at the hands of a demon, the answer is already obvious.

All of this was probably arranged by the original "God".

After all, before the original Creator awoke, both "Celestial Venerable" and "God" were already conscious and capable of influencing the outside world, preparing for their own advantage after the Creator split.

The Celestial Venerable chose to utilize the characteristics of the "Source Castle" to pull the spirits of hundreds of innocent people who had come into contact with special items into the gray fog for preservation, such as Klein, Roselle, the Goddess of Night, and others still hanging in the Source Castle, as a backup plan for his resurrection. As long as they become gods through the three corresponding paths with the help of the Source Castle, or even just become angels, the Celestial Venerable may be able to revive within them.

In this matter, the Celestial Venerable's style was one of "open strategy" and ingenious arrangement that brought everything together. Although He pulled hundreds of spirits into the gray fog, He was extremely restrained when releasing them. Moreover, because the other source substances were sealed in the Western Continent, even if the gods from other channels did not want Him to be revived, they could only support a new mysterious lord to break the seal and release those source substances.

He doesn't even need to intervene; He can simply wait for the vessel He has chosen to grow until the consciousness within His extraordinary nature becomes powerful enough to revive Him.

In contrast to the Celestial Venerable, God's strategy was "from top to bottom," directly reviving within the body of the true God. The resurrection vessel He chose, or rather, obtained by chance, was the "ancient sun god" Grisha.

This remnant of the past, who was conducting secret research inside Chernobyl, accidentally fell into the Chaos Sea when its power was leaked. He was lucky enough to escape the apocalypse that destroyed the old era, but he also slept in the Chaos Sea until he combined with the power of the "Sun" and "Hanged Man" paths left by God in it. As a dual-path true god, he returned to reality with the first "Blasphemy Tablet" and became the "Ancient Sun God".

This is God's primary means of resurrection. Looking back from the present of the Fifth Age, most of His power was actually devoted to interfering with the resurrection of the Celestials, which reveals the nature of the relationship between the two pillar-level Old Ones.

Of course, besides Grisha, God has many other "alternatives." For example, after containing the "Shadow World," He could have a certain influence on the demon king Fabti. And if the bound god Thorzna had not been corrupted by the "Mother Tree of Desire," this angel king might have also been able to sense the feeling of "the primordial resurrection within his own body."

As for the other source material, "City of Calamity," which was contained by God, it naturally retained some of His methods. Although this source material was chosen by the "First Creator" as the method of resurrection, leading God to ultimately abandon the two paths of "witch" and "red priest," He also left some arrangements.

The chaotic head separating the dragon's head on the left and the human face on the right is the power left by God foretelling the first resurrection. As long as Yin and Yang cannot truly merge into one, the first resurrection will lack its most important foundation.

Of course, He also foresaw the weakening of the seal on the Western Continent, and that the power of the "City of Calamity" would leak out. This could be exploited by the new "Witch" and the "Red Priest," especially the latter, who, as a priest of the Creator, could potentially influence this source matter through the seal. Therefore, before the initial Creator was about to awaken and split, and before the "God" and the "Celestial Venerable" became independent, He hid a corpse that had been killed by the Chaos Clan and corrupted by the power of the source matter in the City of Calamity.

During the long wait, the corpse continued to be eroded by the City of Calamity. The remaining consciousness and spirit within the body naturally became the favored ones of the source matter. Until the "Source Castle" failed in its first two attempts, it released the third "transmigrator" and threw out the "Mysterious Servant" characteristic that could accelerate the revival of the Celestial Venerable. The disturbance between the source matter caused the power of the "City of Calamity" that leaked out of the seal to release the "transmigrator" Angel Gray and select a suitable vessel.

And she will deprive the "original creator in the mirror" of her last chance to be resurrected.

Therefore, the mark on Angel Granger, this Source Being, is different from that of Medici. It is on his chest, where he was pierced by the demon's flaming spear, in the area repaired and corrupted by the "City of Calamity," rather than between his eyebrows.

Some of this information comes from Grey's recovered memories, some from conclusions she reached with Angel, but most of it is just speculation.

Moreover, this conclusion cannot explain why, in Gray's memories of his "previous life," his mark was located between his eyebrows, the same as Medici's, rather than on his chest like Angel's in this life.

We should both be “Angel Gray” sent to the City of Calamity, but now it seems that this special status is something she brought to me… Could it be that God foresaw that there would be an Angel who would come to this timeline out of despair because the end of the world was inevitable…? Gray’s mind was filled with thoughts until the City of Calamity in the mirror gradually shrank, collapsed, and turned into a phantom city outline that flew toward her. Only then did she gather her thoughts and guide them into the increasingly crimson, blood-seeping source mark on her chest.

The next second, the source energy in the mirror froze on the chest of the person in the mirror, and her consciousness and spirit were directly pulled into a vast but empty space.

A gray fog of war permeates the air, invisible and colorless flames burn in the distance, and scorching meteorites streak across the sky from time to time, as if it were a composite of disaster and war.

Before her, a staircase appeared out of thin air and rose higher and higher, at the end of which was a divine throne stained with deep red blood.

That is the "Tao" pursued by the Daoists of countless cities of calamity. Generation after generation, they integrated themselves into the source matter, blending their own consciousness into it, thus forming this tangible symbol.

Beside the steps, another figure also looked up at the throne. That was Angel, who had entered the Western Continent at the same time as the true "City of Calamity."

“It seems this method is indeed effective,” Gray said softly as he approached Angel. “This should be the consciousness space corresponding to the City of Source Calamity, the place where the ‘Evil Dragon’ dwells and resurrects.”

This is not the real world, the spirit world, or the astral realm; it is merely a symbol, a space of consciousness formed by a symbol that "contains the source matter." Climbing the steps and ascending the throne signifies accommodating this source matter.

“Yes, if we are not chosen ones of the City of Calamity, and do not have such a special relationship as those in the mirror that can simultaneously accommodate both the City of Calamity in the mirror and the original body sealed in the Western Continent in reality, we would not be able to enter here. We could only watch helplessly as the ‘evil dragon’ is resurrected again, returns to reality, and becomes the ‘destructive calamity’ that gives the Dao cultivators of the Western Continent a headache.”

Angel nodded and said.

As soon as she finished speaking, the outline of the wicked dragon, which had shrunk considerably but still completely blocked the way, was revealed on the steps leading to a distant, high place. It became clearer and more imposing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

His black and white dragon body, black dragon head, fair face, and chaotic head sandwiched in the middle quickly took shape, and a terrifying aura that was much stronger than when he was sealed came over you.

Amidst the pervasive fog of war, the figures of Dao-mergering beings slowly emerged. They were essentially spirits and wills fused with the source matter, and thus did not die in the massive explosion that killed the evil dragon. Now, with the "betrayal" effect gone, they returned to the consciousness space, attempting to merge with the evil dragon representing the source matter, endowing it with emotions and tendencies similar to humans, rather than simply acting on instinct as a mythical creature.

How could Angel allow them to do this? She stepped onto the stairs, revealing her complete mythical creature form once more. Her pale golden snake hair fluttered, her beautiful eyes sparkled, and her lips parted slightly as she looked at the Daoists of the City of Calamity, who were of various forms and genders.

The figures that were drifting toward the gradually recovering body of the evil dragon with their last desire suddenly stopped in mid-air. They involuntarily turned to look at Angel, instantly becoming immersed in her charm that could break down gender, species, and life and death. Even the beauties and favorite concubines in history who used their beauty to seduce kings and bring chaos to the country were the same.

Seeing this, Gray, who had already condensed the "Salinger Blood Flag" in her hand, did not attempt to "conquer" it. Instead, she used her thoughts to make the other beings who had followed her into the consciousness space walk out of her body and stand beside the steps.

This includes Chik, dressed in a pure white dress with black hair tangled into thick tentacles; Tudor, wearing black armor with red hair flowing down his shoulders and a banner mark shining between his brows; and Angel, with blond hair and purple eyes, who resembles Gray more than Gray, but whose face carries a bewildered "original" negative side... ...and the "original" positive side, which, although merged with Gray, has never truly appeared.

He wore white armor, also stained with blood, and like Tudor, had long crimson hair and blue eyes, but his facial features were softer, as if incorporating some of Angel Grey's androgynous beauty. Unfortunately, the pain and anger distorted his face, ruining this beauty.

Compared to the "yin side," which has been hidden deep within the mirror world by Chik since its birth and has little self-awareness other than its hatred for the "Primal Witch," the "yang side," which became a person in the mirror early on and is waiting for a chance to be resurrected, inherited some of Tudor's consciousness and has more vivid expressions.

Because of Gray's "gender issue" in merging with himself, he is always in a state of being about to truly merge but always falling short. In reality and in the mirror world, he is unable to truly meet and merge with his own feminine side to form the initial complete consciousness in the mirror.

Only within the consciousness space of this source matter can He manifest, and even then, He cannot easily merge with the "negative side" that is facing Him.

Unless Gray is now the "Red Priest" and transforms into a male body by achieving balance with his mirror image, his original masculine side can not fully merge with it and thus truly obtain a physical body.

Unlike the stagnant "negative side" and the self-absorbed, frenzied "positive side," Chik gazed tenderly at Tudor before they both looked up at the "evil dragon" above the steps, their expressions somewhat fanatical, as if to say, "The day we've been waiting for has finally arrived."

Whether the evil dragons defeat Angel and Gray and gain further self-awareness, or are defeated by the two and become part of the "Cataclysm," their desire to become great beings above the order, which they have been trying to achieve since the Fourth Age, can be fulfilled.

If they hadn't been so obsessed with controlling the primordial power, but instead had directly merged into it, perhaps the primordial creator in the mirror would have been born long ago... No, "God" still had a final measure in place; the two heads of the evil dragon were separated by "chaos"... Gray and I, on the contrary, used a special mechanism of the relationship between a witch and the person in the mirror to separate the primordial yin and yang aspects in the mirror in another way...

Angel, who was enticing the Dao-mergers to fly towards him instead of merging with the evil dragon to accelerate His revival, turned his head to look beside him and sighed.

Like Grey, she also realized that her own existence, and her current special state, were likely part of the future prophesied and arranged by that God, one of the double insurances to prevent the birth of the "original in the mirror".

And now, the two insurance policies you arranged are about to clash again… She smiled slightly, causing the Dao Masters in the mist to freeze in surprise, and then said to Gray standing beside her:

"let's start."

The latter nodded and stepped aside, making way for Tudor, Chick, and the two sides of the original creator in the mirror, so that there was no longer any obstruction between them.

Driven by her will, she possessed Angel's appearance and figure. After Chik's death, her hatred had been eliminated, and only her "yin side," which naturally felt close to the witch's path, reluctantly walked towards the "yang side" of the white armor. Meanwhile, Chik, whose black snake hair almost reached his feet, approached Tudor with a smile.

Under the guidance of these two former "witches" and "red priestesses," the Yin and Yang aspects of the original creator, which still maintained a certain connection due to the initial fusion over the past few hundred years in the Fourth Era, drew closer and closer, and the four figures clung tightly together.

In reality, Tudor and Chick have perished, and the original positive aspect cannot truly recover due to Angel and Gray's arrangement. However, within the realm of consciousness, this signifies the fusion of the two pathways of the "City of Calamity" and the aggregation of the original female and male bodies in the mirror.

This will form a symbol of the “resurrection of the original Creator”.

As if sensing an imminent threat, the three-headed monstrous dragon that had gradually taken shape on the steps let out a roar.

His coiled body suddenly took flight, causing more and more tangible natural disasters to emerge in the surrounding fog of war, such as supernova explosions and black hole formations. On the other hand, he instinctively flew to higher places, trying to get away from the most terrifying natural disaster in the space of consciousness—the resurrection of the original creator.

But this is a space of consciousness, a false space without direction or distance, existing solely on symbols and concepts.

Within this space, if Angel doesn't defeat the evil dragon representing the consciousness of the City of Calamity, even if he manages to ascend the steps ahead of time and reach the throne of the gods through other means, he will not be able to truly sit down and contain this source essence. Conversely, even if the evil dragon escapes to the ends of the earth, it will not be able to escape Angel's attacks.

This is a symbolic, head-on battle between Angel and the city of disaster, a battle where there is no room for trickery.

Of course, using the status and symbolism of the "original creator" to challenge the consciousness of the source material activation as a single-path true god was also a method she had prepared long ago.

As the figures of Chik, Tudor, and the Creator, representing both Yin and Yang aspects, drew closer and gradually merged together, this space began to change.

The Daoists bewitched by Angel, the evil dragon fleeing desperately into the distance, the long staircase and the divine throne at the top, and even Angel and Gray, were all frozen in a cold that brought all consciousness and objects to a complete standstill.

Even the supernova explosions and black hole formations triggered by the evil dragon, as well as the light and heat emitted by these cosmic catastrophes, were extinguished.

The next second, everything exploded violently, and countless substances and energies were scattered everywhere, reforming a new "universe" and its internal celestial bodies and life forms.

It is a symbol of the formation of the universe and its initial evolution into everything in the world; it is a prelude to some of the most terrifying disasters in reality.

If the old and the pillars reunite beyond what is necessary to maintain stability, thus reviving the consciousness of the original creator, He will end this universe and restart a new one, becoming the original creator in that new world.

And everything that exists will cease to exist.

Boom—Intense light and shock swept across the entire consciousness space. The newly formed body of the evil dragon was blasted into nothingness of energy, and then slowly recovered in the concept of the original creator, "Creation." Its figure was outlined on the steps that had reappeared, with the throne representing the power of the source behind it.

This was His second resurrection in a short period of time, and the speed had obviously slowed down. However, compared to the previous madness driven solely by instinct, the spirits of all those who had attained the Dao had now returned to Him, and reason had reappeared in the Evil Dragon's mind, leaving Him half puzzled and half relieved.

Those challengers actually destroyed everything by using the symbol of the "original", but His active consciousness as the source can be reborn countless times. Can others do that?
Of His three newly formed heads, two other than the Chaos head showed a hint of a smile.

"Is it funny?"

He heard a question tinged with amusement.

(End of this chapter)