Mystery: Lucky One

There seemed to be fear hidden in her voice. Klein instantly realized that something was wrong. He frowned and asked:
"Is there something wrong there?"

“No, no, no,” Alice denied quickly, “For you, that place is - well, it’s a little bit problematic, but it won’t be that exaggerated - really, if you take me there, I might face hell.”

Without waiting for Klein to ask, she directly pointed out the hidden danger of the River of Eternal Darkness:

"Death will leave a mark on the 'River of Everlasting Darkness'. If you experience enough death, then in a sense, the 'River of Everlasting Darkness' will become a huge problem..."

“Even true gods can be branded?” Klein was shocked.

Ellie retorted without hesitation: "First of all, I wasn't a true god when I died. Secondly, that was Sephiroth! Sephiroth!"

“…I understand.” Klein rubbed his ears.

In fact, Alice was not sure whether there would be any traces of herself left in the "River of Everlasting Darkness", or whether the traces she had left were still there.

Alice was unable to judge things like this. Her understanding of the "River of Eternal Darkness" only stopped at "this thing is a bit like the River Styx." As for going further...she was not omniscient and omnipotent, and she was overestimated.

However, considering the other party's source status, Alice felt afraid.

She was not worried about Klein. She had warned him of the possible dangers and ensured that no one had tampered with his life—at least no one of lower status than him. Alice thought this level of protection was enough.

Moreover, the "reproduction" ability of the "planeswalker" is very useful. Although it can be seen as an improvement on the original recording ability, the client records not only extraordinary abilities, but also scenes and characters - although reproducing Alice is actually equivalent to calling for help.

By the way, the "Planeswalker" also has the ability of "teleportation", which means that "Creeping Hunger" has finally retired and become a member of the junk pile - after all, with Klein's advancement in sequence, it only has the "travel" function that can be used, and after Klein became a "Miracle Worker", "travel" also lost its value.

Back to the question of the "Eternal Darkness River", Alice felt that if her death really left a mark on the "Eternal Darkness River", it was uncertain whether she would be a help or a hindrance if she went there in her current situation...

This birth was decided so hastily, but Klein still asked in confusion:
"Have you pinched your face?"

This was a topic Alice didn't want to talk about. She answered dejectedly:
"No... and to be honest, I always feel that I need to change my name... Oh, even if I don't change my name, I should be...

"Alice Kingsley Moretti."

"Huh?" Klein was confused.

"Shouldn't I take my parents' last names?" Alice asked rhetorically.

After a moment of silence, Klein asked thoughtfully:

"Then if you restart enough times in the future and have many parents, won't you have a long list of names?"

“…That’s actually true,” Alice answered thoughtfully, “Then I’ll try to find parents whose last names sound more like Mary Sue, so…”

"...As expected, art comes from reality." Klein's tone sounded very complicated.

"Don't talk about me," Alice quickly changed the subject, "Are you any different after your promotion?"

Klein did not hide the secret from her. He had already acquired the corresponding mystical knowledge, and the first thing he introduced was his own abilities:

"Remember the 'grafting' I told you about before? I found out that it's not called that. It's actually called 'reorganization', or it can also be called 'tampering'. It's to reassemble many physical objects or abstract concepts to achieve incredible results, just like tampering with definitions, logic, directions or rules... However, I think the name I gave it sounds better and more appropriate."

"I think so too," Alice agreed with him, "What about the others? I'm not talking about abilities. I mean... when you were at Sequence 2, you were able to display the strength of an Angel King on Sefirah Castle. What about now?"

“There is no difference,” Klein said calmly. “With the help of Sefirah Castle, I can exert strength close to that of a true god, and can mobilize some of the authority of Sequence 0, including that of adjacent pathways. Moreover, whether or not I am in Sefirah Castle, I have this strength… That’s right.” Note ①

He suddenly stopped narrating, showed a joyful expression, stretched out his hand, and a gold coin appeared in his hand.

"I have a portable space!" he said to Alice in a joking tone.

"Congratulations, you finally have the standard equipment for a time traveler," Alice praised cooperatively, "So can this portable space be used for farming?"

“Yes,” Klein nodded confidently, “We can also grow ice cream trees. Do you want to see them?”

"...Psycho." Alice cursed him.

Klein smiled and turned to talk about his own changes. He briefly introduced the abilities of Sequence 1 and told Alice about the anomalies he observed when he was promoted. He expressed his feelings about how difficult it was to kill Zaratul. Finally, he asked:

"You said, should I go find Amon?

“There’s only Sequence 2 Amon…”

"......?" Alice was somewhat puzzled. "If you insist on doing this, don't take me with you."

“Are you afraid even though He is only Sequence 2?” Klein asked in confusion, “Aren’t you already a god?”

Alice answered, "But He has a Father—are you not afraid?"

Klein fell into deep thought.

The scene was quiet for a while, and then Klein called Alice again and said to her:
"By the way, Alice...did you know all the high-sequence potion formulas, abilities, and other such stuff before?"

"Yes," Alice replied, "what's wrong?"

“That source essence is still not as useful as uniqueness…” Klein sighed, “You won’t be able to use abilities but don’t know how to use them, and you won’t need to find potion formulas yourself.”

"Well," Alice did not agree with him, "I don't think so. The source quality should be considered based on the actual situation. After all..."

She paused and said thoughtfully:
"'God', that is the 'omniscient and omnipotent', who controls the 'Chaos Sea', so he must know something, right?
"Moreover, full control or containment is different from what you have now. Although you can use Sefirah Castle now, your authority is clearly unlocked step by step as you advance. And I...

"The uniqueness of 'Wheel of Fortune' has always been a part of me." "That's true..." Klein nodded slightly to show his agreement.

"But you reminded me of something." Alice said in a serious tone.

Klein was stunned for a moment. He subconsciously recalled what he had said, but nothing came to mind. He had no choice but to ask, "What?"

Alice sighed and replied helplessly:

"I forgot to change the knowledge in the potion... Well, maybe there are extraordinary abilities. Anyway, when they drink potions now, what they get is still... still lacking abilities and knowledge that lacks key information."

“…Why don’t you change it?” Klein said in a shocked voice.

Alice didn't say anything else. She disappeared and seemed to be really modifying her abilities and the knowledge in the potion.

Klein called out twice, but when he found that she didn't respond, he stopped calling out. He spent two days getting familiar with his abilities and stabilizing his status after the promotion. Then his figure disappeared from the spot. When he reappeared, he was already standing in front of Saint Samuel Church, wearing the appearance of Dwayne Dantès.

He stepped into the church, recited the honorific name that he knew by heart, and said that he had become a Sequence 1. He stated that he was ready and would hold a ceremony to request the grant tonight, and then head to the River of Eternal Darkness as soon as possible.

Then, Klein mentioned Alice again, saying how Alice changed color at the mention of the "River of Eternal Darkness" and that he wanted to be born before that.

The Goddess of Night didn't seem surprised by this. She didn't give any feedback. Klein took this as a tacit agreement. He stood up and walked out of the church.

That night, Klein checked into an empty room in the hotel. He wanted to go in directly, but he always felt guilty when he stepped in. In the end, he booked a room from the reception and paid the bill.

Klein opened the door with the room key and entered through the front door. He felt an inexplicable sense of security. He closed the door, sealed the room, and then began to arrange the ceremony to request the blessing.

Soon, the mysterious door formed by candlelight opened, and an ancient ornament flew out from the boundless darkness and landed on the altar.

This ornament seemed to be made of gold, shaped like a slender bird, surrounded by wings made of pale flames, and layers of light flashed in its bronze eyeballs, as if hiding one illusory door after another.

Klein sincerely thanked the Goddess of Night and ended the ceremony. He picked up the bird-shaped gold ornament and examined it:

"This seems to be the image of the legendary phoenix ancestor Gray Carrie...

"I remember that this ancient god of death, in addition to his own path, seemed to have some authority over the 'apprentice' path... Well, at least that's what I saw from some of the remaining city-states in the 'Forsaken Land of the Gods'...

"No wonder most ancient gods have a hard time controlling their emotions and are on the brink of madness. No, they are constantly wavering between madness and reason... Before the first 'blasphemous slate' appeared, all extraordinary creatures had no concept of sequence pathways. They only had the instinct of aggregation and reproduction and blind attempts..."

"...I remembered something," Alice's voice suddenly popped up, "You know, it would be crazy to advance across paths. If you want to do that, you can solve the problem by resurrecting like Emperor Roselle did. But, there is actually another way..."

"What?" Klein asked in confusion.

Alice said slowly:

"After going crazy, the Beyonders still have the instinct to reproduce. As long as they continue to have children, they will eventually expel the excess Beyonder characteristics..."

“…I know that,” Klein said calmly, “but this obviously has hidden dangers. I think if there is a choice, no normal person would choose this method.”

"If given a choice, no normal person would jump the route like that," Alice retorted.

Klein didn't respond to this question. He observed the bird-shaped gold ornament in his hand and said thoughtfully:
"It seems to have some connection with the 'River of Everlasting Darkness', so it can carry the water of the 'River of Everlasting Darkness'? Well, the water of the 'River of Everlasting Darkness' is definitely not real river water, but an abstract concept or symbol... just like the River of Destiny?"

'I don't know,' Alice answered. 'I haven't been to the River of Everlasting Darkness. Well, you must give birth to me first.'

"Have you pinched your face?" Klein asked back.

"Of course," Alice said proudly, "Just wait, I made a face that is perfect for being a charlatan!"

“…?” Klein’s expression became hesitant. “Alice, there is one thing I don’t know if you still remember…”

"What?" Alice asked in confusion.

"You said before..." Klein thought, "You want to grow two meters tall, and you want your breasts to grow... uh, do you remember these two things?"

"I do remember..." Alice answered hesitantly, "but now that I think about it, it's just that. After all..."

She paused and asked in confusion, "If we are all standing, and I am not as tall as others, then if I ask others to kneel down, does that mean I am taller?"

"?" Klein's face was full of confusion.

Alice quickly coughed and explained:
"I'm just kidding... Well, the problem is that even if I can create a two-meter-tall figure, I still have to go through a long childhood and adolescence before I can grow that tall when I grow up. Those decades, um...

"Instead of this, I'd rather stand on the steps!"

“…As long as you’re happy.” Klein said coldly.

He didn't sound like he wanted to talk to him, but Alice didn't care. She continued to say to Klein:
"Are you going to the 'River of Everlasting Darkness' soon? Remember to give birth to me before then... I really don't want to pick a date for my birth, so please help me pick one."

“It’s not impossible, but…” Klein hesitated, “How am I going to give birth to you? I remember before giving birth, was there something… uh, water breaking? I saw that on TV.”

“…That’s not necessary.” Alice’s voice sounded speechless. “That’s normal… Mr. Fool, if you want to be more horrifying, you can spit me out of your mouth. Your body is made up of bugs anyway.”

Klein said thoughtfully:
"Is that so? However, I have one last question...

"If I went directly to the 'Eternal Dark River' after you were born, what would you do? Shouldn't I hand you over to someone?" (End of this chapter)