Responding to Trissy's question with His own honorific name, Aaron looked at the Demoness whose expression kept changing, and calmly added:
"You have already obtained divinity; I presume some things are already clear to you. This body of yours is limited to Sequence 4."
"The advancement ritual for Sequence 3 'Demoness of Unaging' requires delving into the Mirror World to find your mirrored self."
"But in your current state, the only possibility of delving into the Mirror World is to completely lose yourself and truly become a vessel for Cheek's descent."
With her inner fear being laid bare without concealment, Trissy clenched her hand with a gloomy expression. Before she could speak, the dense dark-golden mist around her dissipated.
A projection-like scene appeared before her. Trissy was stunned for a moment, her gaze sweeping past the Night Holy Emblem carved on the wall, then fixating on a face that was aged and praying with downcast eyes. She murmured in a hoarse voice:
"Edessak, he's still alive…"
Aaron snapped his fingers, and the image projected through the power of faith vanished. He then looked at the forlorn Trissy and spoke meaningfully:
"Prince Edessak of the Augustus family died that day. The one alive now is just an ascetic named Edessak."
Taking a deep breath, Trissy, whose thoughts were now clear, bowed gracefully to Aaron:
"Thank you for giving him a new life and resolving a knot in my heart."
"I can feel that you also despise the Evil God worshipped by the Demoness Sect. For the remaining matters, I will do my utmost, and I hope for clear instructions."
After a combination of soft and hard tactics, Aaron nodded in satisfaction, seeing that Trissy had come to a realization. He tossed the spring-like, grayish-white crystal, which was bound in his hand, over to her:
"This is the Beyonder characteristic of the 'Demoness of Unaging', from your old acquaintance, 'Demoness of White' Katarina."
"The charm you obtained earlier can help you retrieve the medium for Cheek's descent. When you truly use it, just chant my honorific name and directly swallow this characteristic!"
"The power contained within the characteristic will be awakened after you chant the honorific name, which can help you regain balance, temporarily seize control from Cheek, and cooperate with me on some matters."
Without ritual assistance, and even without supplementary ingredients, directly swallowing a high-level Beyonder characteristic makes successful advancement almost impossible.
However, being in the special state of accepting the Primordial Demoness's descent, Trissy could temporarily ignore the risk of direct loss of control and bear more symbolism at the Sequence 3 level.
Katarina… Recalling some past memories, Trissy curled her lips into a mocking arc. Having long come to terms with her own fate, she didn't hesitate to raise her hand and take the sealed Beyonder characteristic before her.
The next second, the surrounding scenery abruptly changed. Trissy was once again back by the endlessly flowing Tussock River, a coordinate appearing in her mind, and an echo lingering in her ears:
"Wait for the right moment…"
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Feynapotter City, inside an antique-decorated detached villa.
Count Alex, a direct descendant of "Duke Full Moon" Olmer and responsible for matters in the Feynapotter region, walked to the semi-open balcony. Bathed in the crimson moonlight, he felt the constantly restless spirituality.
It's not a full moon… Alex frowned as he looked up at the sky. Just as he was about to use ritual magic to trace the source of the unusual feeling, a faint "dong" sound echoed in his ears. It was ethereal and seemed to come from an infinite distance.
Alex's heart sank slightly. He immediately activated his incomplete Mythical Creature form, but the expected attack did not arrive.
He frowned, his crimson blood eyes stained with a golden glow symbolizing divinity. He cautiously surveyed his surroundings to identify the source of the sound. The next moment, his pupils contracted sharply.
Under the crimson moonlight, dark stone pillars, invisible to ordinary people, rose up, supporting a magnificent and enormous church above the Castiya Royal Mausoleum in the southern part of Feynapotter City!
Gazing at the Corpse Cathedral, built from the bones of different races and countless distorted souls, and feeling the terrifying aura contained within it, Alex's eyes twitched violently. He recalled some unpleasant memories.
As one of the oldest Sanguine Counts, Alex had personally experienced the Battle of the Violated Oath over six hundred years ago, and a similar scene had appeared in Feynapotter City.
Something big has happened… Thoughts surged in Alex's mind. His body blurred and took on a faint red hue, transforming into a hazy moonlight and vanishing without a trace.
He planned to leave Feynapotter City first to avoid being caught in the crossfire, and then report to "Duke Full Moon" Olmer via ritual magic after getting away.
Alex was clearly not the only Demigod with similar thoughts. Various hidden factions concealed in the capital of the Feynapotter Kingdom were all awakened and swiftly moved away.
Northern Feynapotter City, the deepest part of the "Church of Life", the headquarters of the Church of the Earth Mother, a continuous expanse of golden buildings.
Crimson light streamed down through the Earth Holy Emblem carved on the dome. Matriarch Roland, graceful and full of maternal radiance, slowly rose. Her figure faded in the moonlight and reappeared outside the deep black, bone-inlaid church.
Matriarch Roland stopped, her expression solemn, as she looked at Adam, who was wearing a simple white robe, holding a silver crucifix pendant, and praying with downcast eyes.
Behind Him were rows of black chairs with backrests. A middle-aged man in a luxurious gown, with a ferocious and angry expression, was slumped in one of them, his chest pierced by a wooden cross stake stained with mottled blood, pinning him to the chair.
It was clearly the only surviving Angel of the Castiya Royal Family, apart from the "Founder" Charles Castiya I!
-----------------
"Amon! You actually dare to appear in the outside world in your true form…"
The angry yet undeniably weak muffled roar echoed for a long time. Transparent, distorted faces emerged on the boundaries of the illusory world, sealing inside and out, isolating the Spirit World and the Astral World.
In front of the hundred-meter-tall cross, Amon, wearing a classical black robe, a pointed soft hat, and a monocle, slowly turned around. Looking at the impotently enraged Charles I, a mocking arc appeared at the corner of His mouth:
"It's really not easy to deceive you, but now it seems you are more foolish than I imagined. Procrastinating is meaningless."
"Tsk, let me guess, you wouldn't be hoping for those self-absorbed fellows in the Astral World to save you, would you?"
As His words fell, Amon quietly transformed into an ancient, mottled, giant stone wall clock. The second hand, constructed by a Worm of Time, trembled violently. As the distant chimes echoed, time seemed to be infinitely stretched.
The power of order solidified throughout the Feynapotter Kingdom was temporarily isolated by the Corpse Cathedral. Charles I, unable to draw power, felt his nascent Divine Kingdom being slowly suppressed. The rules of order, which were his foundation, were being gradually tampered with by Amon, falling into irreversible chronic death.
After an unknown period, when the chimes rang again, Charles I, with a slightly stiff body, took out a monocle from the void and slowly placed it in his right eye socket.