Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1440 Chrismona and the Great Being
“I am Christina, one of the caretakers of this catacombs,” the dark-haired woman introduced herself with an elegant slight bow. Her body, hidden beneath a loose, unadorned white robe, made Christina and Dorothy feel inexplicably hot. “I am responsible for guarding the entrance to the fourth level. I do not allow anyone to enter unless absolutely necessary.”

“But those tourists, and Mr. Pierre just now, all went to the fourth floor, but he didn’t mention you.”

Dorothy frowned slightly, her voice tinged with doubt, her gaze fixed on the spot where the Trier student had suddenly disappeared.

"Because the fourth level of the tomb that most tourists enter is essentially a 'mirror world' that replicates everything in reality. They step into it, explore it, and then leave satisfied, but they never actually reach the next level."

The world in the mirror… This Ms. Chrismona is also a high-ranking witch, just like the “Chariot” lady we encountered before? Tina immediately thought of that space that was generally deep and dark, connected to different mirrors only by gray mirror passages, and could not be associated with the “replicated reality” underground tomb that was difficult to distinguish from the real thing.

But according to the witch, she and Dorothy had already entered the Mirror World!
Indeed, it was not much different from reality. If she hadn't told me, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference at all... Tina looked around and could only see the huge "night pillar" running through the floor and ceiling within the circle drawn by the dim candlelight. She realized that she couldn't tell the difference between the mirror world and the real world at all.

Right, this is the "Chrismona Night Pillar," and the witch in front of me calls herself Chrismona. The genie just said that the pillar was formed after the death of a Sequence 2 "Calamity" witch. Could it be that she—no, she is actually...

Thinking of this, Tina's face turned pale. Her infatuation with Christina's appearance and temperament was instantly overshadowed by a chilling fear, and she couldn't help but shiver.

"Could it be that you...you are dead? I mean, you have perished..."

She stammered as she asked, her hand holding the candle trembling slightly.

If the walls covered with tombs and skeletons, and the college students dancing and singing around the corpses, were just novel and interesting to Tina, then the witch behind her, whose spirit claimed to be the tomb's caretaker, truly terrified her.

Under her fearful gaze, Christina nodded slightly and replied in a light tone:

"To be precise, I died here, but was resurrected with the help of the goddess of calamity."

Resurrection… Can gods do such a thing? Then why do their followers still die? Does such resurrection require harsh conditions? Tina immediately thought of the skeletons buried deep underground all around her. It is said that more than a million dead are buried in the entire catacombs. If their gods can resurrect their followers, why would they lie here?

As if guessing what she was thinking, Christina continued to explain:

"Of course, there are many prerequisites for such resurrection, such as the integrity of the spirit body, or having great power in life... Basically, except for some special cases, only angels or those of higher rank have the hope of resurrection."

So you are an angel on the witch's path... Tina concluded in her heart, her fear of Christina gradually dissipating, and she was instead attracted by His face, which seemed to blend various ages and could make both the opposite sex and even the same sex feel close to Him, and she couldn't help but take a few steps closer to Him.

Just then, the witch with a touch of pale gold in her black hair withdrew her allure and spoke in a more serious tone than before:

"As the guardian of the fourth level of the tomb, I need to ask three questions to everyone who wants to enter. Only if your answers satisfy me can you truly enter, instead of getting lost in the illusion of the mirror world."

"What is this? A quiz game invented by Emperor Roselle?"

As a student in the post-Rossel era, Tina instinctively attributes everything she doesn't understand to "Rossel's inventions," just as her parents often jokingly refer to the emperor.

“Of course not!” Christina shook her head in denial. “In my time, Roselle hadn’t even been born yet.”

"Then you must be at least two or three hundred years old... By the way, the genie just said that the 'Night Pillar' that makes up the seal is a product of the Fourth Epoch. This witch angel is over a thousand years old?" Tina carefully calculated in her mind, and after a moment nodded, indicating that the other party could ask questions.

At worst, she could secretly ask the genie… Just as she had this thought, Chrismona added a rule:
"Only the two of you are allowed to answer. You cannot ask for help from other people or things, including sealed items."

Dorothy's arm, which had just reached into her pocket, froze. Tina also instinctively covered her handbag. The two exchanged a guilty glance and gave each other awkward smiles.

They then realized that every witch was a master of divination, including the most basic and practical method of "mirror divination," and Arodes's special abilities could not be hidden from her.

Seeing that they had stopped making any more moves, Christina nodded in satisfaction and asked:
"The first question is, which is more important, humanity or divinity?"

Humanity and... divinity?
Tina opened her mouth, unsure how to answer. She had thought Christina would ask some mystical questions, or questions in mathematics or history that most people would find difficult to understand. She had just been educated by the "genie" and could answer some of the former, while the latter could be left to Dorothy.

But I didn't expect the first question to be such a nonsensical problem that seemed to have no correct answer at all.

Only then did she realize that Christina didn't want the "correct answer," but rather an answer that would satisfy Him.

Previously, Ms. Anne from the ghost ship "Queen Anne's Revenge" explained to me the difference between humanity and divinity. She mentioned that beings like genies are driven only by divinity and have no concept of good or evil in human nature. On the other hand, the gods who protect this planet have abundant humanity and need to do their best to maintain it so as not to be overwhelmed by divinity... She racked her brains to recall everything she had experienced today, trying to find the answer.

As a human, I would naturally choose humanity as more important... But wouldn't answering like that lead me into a trap? After all, the one in front of me is an angel, a complete mythical being. Wouldn't divinity be more important to Him...? Thoughts popped into Tina's mind, and she opened and closed her mouth, hesitating and unable to answer.

"It seems you're facing a difficult decision?" Chrismona didn't urge you, but spoke in a gentle tone, "You can listen to my experience before making your own choice."

Tina, who was struggling to choose between the two options, immediately nodded and made a gesture of listening attentively.

“I am a mythical being born from the union of two true gods. I was born with an extraordinary Sequence 2 characteristic, which you can probably guess is ‘Calamity’.”

The witch said wistfully.

A born Sequence 2 angel... Tina and Dorothy exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

Compared to Tina, who only obtained the "Wishing Lamp" today and truly came into contact with the world of mysticism, Dorothy learned about the relevant knowledge much earlier. Therefore, she was clearer about the laws of extraordinary traits inheritance. If high-ranking extraordinary individuals are unwilling to release their traits, their offspring cannot be born with the corresponding power. Even if they reach Sequence 0 and become true gods, this law will not change.

The fact that one of Christina's parents was willing to give her a Sequence 2 extraordinary trait was itself a form of help, a gift. "You think it's a gift, a stroke of luck, right?" Christina smiled, her expression no longer as beautiful as before, but rather somewhat melancholic. "This kind of innate extraordinary trait isn't necessarily a good thing."

"The third child of the most famous emperor of this country, Roselle, inherited his characteristics equivalent to a Sequence 5 Beyonder from birth. He displayed the various special abilities of an 'astrologer' from birth, and easily ascended to sainthood upon reaching adulthood, becoming a chosen one of the God of Steam. This may seem like a great achievement to outsiders, but the price was that he was born lacking enough humanity and emotions, as if he believed in a pure Holy Spirit rather than a human being."

"Session 5 will be like this, born with the status and power of an angel, as you can imagine."

"Looking back now, I would rather call it a curse than a blessing."

The power of Sequence 2—that must be something every Extraordinary Being dreams of, right? "Flame" Danitz was even willing to become Denise in order to possess the power of a Saint… Tina found it hard to accept the idea of ​​a "curse," but she quickly realized that the Saints and Angels she had encountered along the way all possessed abundant humanity, which was created by their life experiences before becoming high-ranking Extraordinary Beings. These were memories that they would not easily discard even if they possessed divinity, and also "anchors."

With the help of this memory, the angels are able to balance their humanity and divinity, so that they do not become purely mythical creatures driven by divinity and abandon their original concepts of good and evil, as well as their humanity and emotions.

If one is born with Sequence 2 power... Thinking of this, Tina looked at the "Disaster" witch in front of her.

The latter sighed softly, a bitter smile appearing on his face, revealing an unusual humanity, before continuing:

"My parents, the 'Blood Emperor' and the 'Primordial Witch,' perished in the war between the gods in the Fourth Age, and the other became even more irrational, eventually killing me with her own hands... I don't blame them, because my lack of humanity bears some responsibility for this outcome. I failed to notice their changes in time, and I didn't talk to them properly or try to dissuade them..."

"Now, do you still think divinity, or innate divinity, is a good thing?"

The Blood Emperor and the Primordial Witch? Both were gods I'd never heard of, but the latter name alone was terrifying. Perhaps she was an evil god; no wonder she'd killed her own daughter… Tina thought to herself, then realized it was disrespectful to a god, quickly shook her head, and replied:

"No, I think humanity should be more important."

This was partly her true thought after hearing Christina's story, and partly because the other party was so patiently guiding her and hinting at the answer, and she had answered "divinity," which might anger the angel.

But upon hearing this answer, Christina did not offer any comment. Instead, she composed herself and continued to ask:

"The second question is, what is the most important bond and 'anchor' for a god, or even a 'great being'?"

How would I know... How could an ordinary person like me possibly speculate about matters concerning the gods? Tina instinctively wanted to say she didn't know, but then she thought that based on the previous question, Chrismona wouldn't casually ask a question that she couldn't answer. So she swallowed the words that were about to come out and prepared to wait for the other party to give a hint before answering.

She then noticed the hidden message in the witch's question.

Doesn't "great being" simply refer to gods? Could it have a deeper meaning?

Previously, Lady Ariana of the Church of Eternal Darkness had mentioned this title, and deities such as the Goddess of Night, the Goddess of Calamity, and the Fool belonged to this category. This naturally led Tina to believe that deities were equivalent to great beings, with the latter being merely a more respectful title. However, according to the "Lamp God," great beings did not seem to belong to those who had traveled the furthest on the path of divinity, reaching the end, that is, the sequence 0 of each path...

As if on the same wavelength, Dorothy, who was beside her, immediately asked the question:
"What does 'great being' mean? Isn't that an honorific title for a god of Sequence 0?"

Seemingly finding no problem with discussing deities and profound mystical knowledge with two thirteen or fourteen-year-old girls, Christina smiled and replied:
"You should understand that Sequence 0 in the potion pathway has reached its end, but there is another level above that, which we call the Great Beings. Of course, it is fine for ordinary people to regard them as gods, but truly high-ranking extraordinary beings must know how to distinguish between the two, because above the sequence, the extraordinary abilities of potions will be replaced by the power of authority and symbolism. They are the concepts and symbols themselves, the source of all power and all authority."

“Great beings above the sequence…” Dorothy murmured, repeating the other person’s words. Suddenly, she looked up and asked urgently, “Then, are these great beings considered ‘extraordinary’? Or rather, are they within the potion system?”

"Silly sister, you're asking too many questions. It's clearly He who's testing us, not the other way around..." Tina thought to herself, but immediately understood Dorothy's purpose in asking the questions. Her expression froze, and she turned her gaze to Chrismona, expecting His answer.

"Of course, they don't belong to the extraordinary."

The witch angel slowly shook her head in reply.

"This involves some knowledge that you cannot yet understand, but simply put, the great beings that first appeared were all born that way, which is equivalent to inheriting a part of the Creator's power and authority. It was not the potion that created them, but their power that created the potion. The power from Sequence 9 to Sequence 0 is actually the manifestation and degradation of a certain authority of these born great beings."

"The great beings that are protecting the Earth now are all formed later. They are extraordinary beings who have walked the path of God step by step and finally become above the order, but that does not mean that they are still a part of it now."

Seemingly to conceal some crucial information, Christina's explanation was somewhat convoluted and obscure, but Dorothy clearly understood it; her eyes lit up, as if an important question in her mind had been answered.

I can ask her later... Tina glanced at her sister, knowing that the "mysticism mini-lesson" was over and it was her turn to answer questions.

Of course, after learning that "great beings" also came from ordinary people step by step, she also had her own answer to Christina's second question.

But before she could speak, Dorothy beside her had already raised her right hand as if she were answering a question in class:

“I think the most important bond for these great beings is deep memories, the most important anchor… is their family and friends, both past and present.”

Did she already know something...? Tina paused, swallowing back the answer she was about to utter, and looked at Chrismona.

The latter then revealed a smile that would captivate any living being, and said:
"If I had realized this earlier, perhaps many things could have been different."

His gaze shifted to the "pillar of night" formed from his own remains, as if he could see the past and the deepest part of his memories from within the smooth obsidian pillar.

After a moment, the witch withdrew her gaze and asked one last question:
Do you believe that a completely mythical creature can regain humanity through acquired experiences?

(End of this chapter)