Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1388 The End of the World Arrives
Sensing the changes in various powers, symbols, and concepts emanating from different locations on the beautiful planet below, Klein finally felt relieved.

Even with meticulous planning and foresight, he initially had no absolute certainty of getting this far, given the presence of numerous Outer Gods who were also of ancient status.

Fortunately, "God" Grisha also gained the upper hand in the struggle against the original God. They also had important information from another timeline, or rather, a parallel world, which allowed them to deceive all the Outer Gods and stage a magic show of deception.

Now, all the forces that Earth could muster at this time are ready, and they finally have the strength to fight against the Outer Gods.

Moreover, the pillar-level Ancient who leads all the Outer Gods is not in good condition at the moment... and the remaining Outer Gods, although some of them can restrain the "Lord of Mysteries" ability, are still separated by a barrier and cannot enter this planet in a short time.

Now is the perfect time for all the ancient forces on Earth to gang up on the "Fallen Mother Goddess," severely damage her, and drive her away!
In the instant his thoughts raced, Klein's face, which showed no signs of the past few years and seemed to remain frozen in the moment of his transmigration, along with his body draped in a black trench coat and wearing a top hat, transformed into a dark vortex extending numerous slippery tentacles, approaching the astral barrier that was already on the verge of collapse under the heavy pressure of many Outer Gods.

Grayish-white mist immediately filled the barrier, as if forming a new barrier that concealed the newly added and old cracks, making the outer gods, whose huge and terrifying figures flickered in different lights and appeared and disappeared in the mist, invisible and untouchable.

Since the intangible and invisible vulnerabilities no longer exist, the barrier of the astral plane is thus stabilized.

The moment the gray mist filled the air, several of the Outer Gods hesitated. Knowing that the pillar who had once toyed with and sealed away some of the "Children of Chaos" had been resurrected was one thing, but seeing Him join the battle was quite another.

They weighed the pros and cons and decided that they should not continue fighting.

However, several other Outer Gods intensified their attacks on the barrier. These included the "Mother Tree of Desire," which was torn apart and absorbed into the barrier from the "Shadow World," as well as the "Decaying King," the "Unending Whispers," the "Higher Dimensional Overlooker," and the "Primal Hunger."

Some of them needed to reclaim the source matter to complete themselves, otherwise they might end up being tracked and hunted by other ancient beings after this battle. Others believed they possessed the authority to restrain some of the symbols of the "Lord of Mysteries" and thought they could fight against him.

Under the continued attack of these Outer Gods, several others, who had hesitated slightly, also joined in the destruction of the barrier.

This wasn't because they had found another way to forge an inviolable pact, nor was it an attempt to stand together with temporary "comrades." It was merely a way to fish in troubled waters. Even if they couldn't defeat the "Lord of Mysteries," they could still try to deal with other Great Old Ones.
Besides, we also have a pillar-level ancient figure on our side...

With their longing for the "Fallen Mother Goddess" and their covetousness for the characteristics and essence of other ancient gods on Earth, and even those around them, the Outer Gods once again gathered astonishing power, and the stars that symbolized their transcendent existence burst forth with light that illuminated the entire astral plane.

The barrier, which had just been isolated and repaired by the gray fog, cracked and broke again.

……

At the same time, inside the area that was almost completely opened, with only a small portion of gray mist sealing the border between the Western Continent and the Forsaken Land, a blood-red moon, half-embedded in the ground, trembled continuously.

It soared above the clouds, almost reaching space, its surface constantly bulging and sinking, as if it were not a dense star, but a sac containing an embryo, with the fetus inside seemingly attacking its mother in a defiant manner.

That was the "Fallen Mother Goddess" attempting to devour and contain the "Mother Nest" that had been separated from her for ten thousand years, and was fighting against the consciousness born from this source matter.

Suddenly, the writhing surface of the blood moon solidified, partially returning to its original grayish-white color. The crimson tide clinging to the moon's surface defensively contracted, as if anticipating some kind of attack.

The next second, countless black flames, symbolizing destruction and end, erupted from all parts of the moon, forming active volcanoes. Wherever the lava-like black flames flowed, the crimson tide receded in fear, but many were still swallowed up by the flames and turned into nothingness.

This is the result of the power that killed Lilith, the Mother Goddess of the Earth, being manifested in the Fallen Mother Goddess through the combined effects of the astral symbolism, the power of "grafting" and "deception," and the power symbolizing "chaos," which can trace back to its origin from any possibility of destruction.

In that instant, even the "newborn" could not resist the symbol of the end and could only temporarily avoid its sharp edge.

This gave the "mother nest," which had been suppressed and whose consciousness had been almost completely shattered, and which could only struggle and persevere by instinct, an opportunity to resist the integration.

Suddenly, a mountain peak ten thousand meters high rose from the top of the enormous blood moon, the last wave of resistance from the source matter that had been swallowed up by the moon.

The moon suddenly appeared somewhat pointed overhead, causing Klein, who had arrived there, to chuckle in disbelief.

With the ability of puppets and teleportation brought about by his "Change" symbol as the "King of Time and Space", he can appear in multiple places at the same time to deal with multiple enemies. Moreover, each clone is equivalent to the original body and has the same status and power.

If the Lord of Mysteries does not encounter an Old One who can counter these abilities, he is fully capable of dealing with all the other Old Ones at the same time, including those who have not yet come to Earth.

But if this symbolism is restrained, then Klein will have to deal with both of the Old Ones at the same time by virtue of his position as a pillar.

This is why most of the ancients feared the "Celestial Venerable"—if one cannot restrain His power, then a human wave tactic is ineffective.

On the contrary, He could use a large numbers of people as a tactic.

With Klein's appearance, a series of "Lords of Mystery" also appeared, wearing top hats, trench coats, and holding canes.

They are all creatures from all over the world whose spiritual threads have been manipulated and turned into marionettes. Some are only the size of a palm, while others are several meters tall. They are densely packed, numbering in the hundreds of millions, and almost completely cover the location of the "Fallen Mother Goddess". Even the sky is obscured and the sea is filled.

But the moment these "Klein Moretti" landed, the light emanating from the blood moon enveloped them, and the undisguised aura of the Fallen Mother swept over them.

Some Klein's bellies swelled up, and they instantly gave birth to strangely shaped offspring; some were reborn with self-awareness and were no longer controlled by the spiritual threads; and some were reborn, growing vigorous and deformed tumors and losing their ability to move.

If this pillar hadn't been drawn into the sealed crevice to house the mother nest the moment it descended, all life on the planet would have ended up like this, with no chance of survival.

Under the power dissipated by the Mother Goddess, the "Kleins" immediately began to fight amongst themselves. In the explosion of the supernova grafted here, in the recorded black hole, and amidst the rising and falling cries of "Leodorus," most of them were lost.

Those who die will be resurrected by "new life," manipulated by the threads of the spirit body to become puppets, and then betray them to join a new cycle.

Only a few lucky Kleins escaped this change, attempting to use various abilities to attack the blood moon embedded in the ground, hoping to help the pointed "mother nest" hold out longer.

On this chaotic battlefield, the speed at which the "Fallen Mother Goddess" absorbed the source matter became increasingly slow. On the one hand, she tried to repair the parts destroyed by the power of termination and destruction, and on the other hand, she had to suppress the "Mother Nest" to prevent it from breaking free and causing all her efforts to be in vain. She also had to spare some attention to deal with the "Lords of Mystery" around her, whose numbers seemed to be increasing. For a time, she was overwhelmed with troubles.

Moreover, He noticed that the other side was clearly stalling for time, waiting for the "Old Ones" of Earth to truly be born. At that time, the one who besieged Him would become two pillars, plus a varying number of other Old One rulers, including at least the "Cataclysm" who had just severely injured Him.

Although He is immortal, it does not mean He is not afraid of any attack or means. There are still many ways to annoy Him without killing Him.

For example, the current "siege".

— The Outer Gods' attack on the Astral Barrier reached its climax.

They all used their most important and destructive symbols. Countless stars turned into pure energy and crashed into the Earth. The destruction from higher dimensions bypassed the gray fog and tore through the gaps in the barrier. The terrifying maws even began to devour the gray fog directly, causing turmoil in the source fortress deep in the spirit world and making the astral barrier shrouded in gray fog teeter on the verge of collapse once again.

Suddenly, all the symbols and concepts became momentarily confused, and could no longer affect the barrier, which was fragile but of extremely high status.

Inside the barrier, a giant figure radiating light slowly emerged.

Grisha Adam, the "God"!

Unlike when He was first born in the Astral Plane, symbols such as storms, blazing suns, and white towers have been incorporated into His body, giving the Giant of Light five heads, just like His shadow, displaying five different appearances: benevolent, majestic, wise, and so on.

He created everything; He is all-knowing and all-powerful; He rules the astral plane and can influence the many powers and symbols manifested within it.

Under His watchful gaze alone, the astral barrier became stable again and was no longer so affected by various higher powers.

This means that the "Fallen Mother Goddess" entered the barrier entirely because of the pillar's indulgence and permission.

His purpose was to separate the rest of the old world and obtain a perfect environment where the many could defeat the few.

At that moment, even the Outer Gods who had previously thought they could try to deal with the "Lord of Mysteries" began to hesitate.

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.

When the astral barrier once again isolated Earth from the stars, the Fallen Mother Goddess, who was besieged by the Kleins and struggling to suppress the "Mother Nest" and repair her own damage, suddenly withdrew her aura.

This caused the pregnant, newborn, mutated Kleins to be controlled by the spiritual threads once again, with hundreds of millions of brown eyes looking at the enormous, still-protruding blood moon.

Some of them have already quietly begun to parasitize this pillar-level Old One. Although they cannot truly control the other party or seize His authority and symbolism, they can interfere with the other party and delay the moment when He takes control of the "Mother Nest".

Suddenly, a powerful, earth-shaking heartbeat came from inside the blood moon.

thump—

As if struck by a heavy hammer, all the Kleins were momentarily stunned. The "original creator" consciousness within them, which had been suppressed and nearly dissipated at the end of the Fifth Era, showed signs of returning.

This allowed Klein to immediately identify the source of the heartbeat:
"The Primordial Chaos," a symbol of the fallen Mother Goddess giving birth to the next Creator.

Moreover, this is fundamentally different from the power He used to pass through the barrier and enter Earth. It signifies the first heartbeat of the Chaos Primordial Embryo as it is about to arrive in reality, possessing a concept that even the Fallen Mother Goddess herself cannot grasp.

The "Creator" is far superior to the pillar. This symbol is actually borrowed from the body of the "Mother" and does not belong entirely to the fallen Mother Goddess. Even if He wants to use this power, He can only use it once every "great month" in the mysticology, that is, once every 2160 years, and He will fall into a state of weakness after using it.

If this power belonging to the Creator is borrowed again during these 2160 years, then the Primordial Chaos will truly descend into reality, which means the destruction of the entire universe, including the Fallen Mother Goddess who is the ruler of reality!
Therefore, when this pillar triggered the first heartbeat of the "primordial chaos," it was already a desperate and reckless choice.

He must forcefully suppress the "mother nest" and absorb this source matter as quickly as possible to avoid being attacked by the combined forces of "God" and "the Lord of Mysteries," or even more ancient beings within the barrier.

But as this heartbeat resounded throughout the entire planet, piercing through barriers and reaching the ears of all the ancient beings besieging Earth, another unexpected event occurred.

The barrier left behind by the fallen and fragmented "original creator," the barrier that had been reinforced by "God," vanished like a bubble in a dream.

Even the five-headed giant of light, standing on chaotic liquid, was momentarily stunned. Even the omniscient and omnipotent being could not foresee everything related to the "Creator".

The eight Outer Gods, who had already begun to consider retreating, were no longer separated from the small blue planet. They cast aside all hesitation and doubt and immediately returned to reality from the astral plane.

The first thing to appear near Earth was a terrifying star cluster composed of countless supernovae. It was the "Supernova Overlord," which had just gathered the power of countless stars and was about to transform into an energy attack barrier.

Without any active attack, its immense gravity began to tear apart the fragile Earth, much like a black hole pulling a celestial body. From the atmosphere to the seawater, the land, and even the scorching core, everything was ripped apart and turned into countless scattered fragments.

Those are all shards of glass.

In the instant the barrier shattered and the apocalypse arrived, Angel left the gray fog surrounding the Source Castle and returned to the "Mirror World" under his control, pulling in the planets exposed to the Outer Gods as well, leaving only the false mirror images that had been replaced by the Mirror World.

The real Earth, however, has arrived at a vast mirror world that connects to the entire universe after the barrier disappeared. It exists in relation to the spirit world, and there is a false sun and normal gravity. This allows the planets that carry countless people and animals to stay safely for a considerable period of time, which is better than the spirit world, where space and location are chaotic.

Of course, the ancient beings conceived by the native gods on Earth, as well as the pillar that was devouring the "mother nest," were left in reality and did not come to the mirror world. Otherwise, their very existence would have caused irreparable damage to this world.

After settling things in, Angel returned to reality and looked at the Great Old Ones who had jumped into reality one by one from the astral plane, displaying different terrifying appearances.

Before these ancient symbols of different concepts and powers could appear, she unhesitatingly flashed to the blood-red full moon left behind after the Earth shattered in the mirror, and the huge sword of destruction extended, slashing straight at the "Fallen Mother Goddess".

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.

In the mirror world, the angels, who were on high alert and ready to join the seemingly hopeless battle at any moment, suddenly discovered that the crimson light above their heads had vanished without a trace, replaced by a sky where no stars could be seen.

The premonition that lingered in my mind, as if the end of the world was coming, also faded somewhat.

But before they could catch their breath, streaks of light of different colors flashed across the sky, and strange creatures invaded the mirror world, arriving near this planet.

Those were the Outer Gods and Angels who came into the mirror through the world in the painting, aided by the "Eye of the Mortal World" pathway mastered by the "Higher Dimensional Observers".

Although the world in a painting is not the same as the world in a mirror, by observing from a higher dimension and drawing out what the world in a mirror looks like, the two can be transformed into each other to a certain extent.

With the ruler of the mirror world unable to attend to defenses, the angels of Earth can only rely on themselves!
P.S.: A little less today...

(End of this chapter)