Night had fallen on Tivian. Within the royal palace's inner area—situated at the center of the four great districts—bright, densely packed lights adorned the towering, timeworn buildings. In this brightly illuminated restricted area, solemn royal guards marched in orderly formation, patrolling the palace walls and roads, guarding against all possible threats. Outside the restricted area, a luxuriously decorated carriage pulled by four black horses was making its way down the broad street toward the royal district. Along its path, soldiers immediately stepped aside upon sighting the carriage, clearing the way and respectfully watching as it passed. Crossing the moat and layers of magical wards, the carriage drove deep into the restricted area and finally stopped before the Solitary Cloud Palace. As it came to a halt, a palace guard immediately stepped forward to open the door. From within, a young girl clad in a form-fitting noble’s outfit beneath a blue overcoat, her short golden hair shining, leapt down lightly. Upon seeing her, the surrounding guards bowed at once. “Good evening, Lady Field.” With a slight nod in response to the attendants around her, Anna entered the palace. Leaving her entourage behind, she briskly made her way alone through the expansive court, navigating past the guards with practiced ease until she arrived at a secluded corridor deep within the palace. Standing before a door, she straightened her posture and knocked lightly. A familiar voice responded almost immediately. “Come in.” Upon hearing the voice, Anna stepped inside. What she entered was a relatively private audience chamber within the palace. Though not large, the room was lit with cool moonlight streaming through a lushly decorated balcony. On the elegant carpet sat a girl with long golden hair, dressed in a plain robe. Standing beside her was another girl with short black hair, draped in a black and gray cloak. “Your Majesty… Your Eminence Artcheli…” Seeing the two before her, Anna greeted them with solemn courtesy. The saint from the Church nodded silently, while Queen Isabelle smiled and spoke. “Please, have a seat, Lady Field. Her Eminence has traveled far for an important matter—we must hold a preliminary private discussion.” “An important matter? Could it be that the remnants of the Eight-Spired Nest have yet to be fully eradicated?” Anna asked curiously as she took a nearby seat. But Artcheli shook her head lightly. “No… it’s something else entirely.” Turning her gaze toward the moonlight spilling in from the balcony, Artcheli continued. “It concerns the one we all revere—the Mother of Serenity… the Hidden Saintess… the Day's Shadow… the Lady of Secrets…” Her voice was gentle. Upon hearing this, a trace of surprise appeared on Anna’s face. She spoke. “Our teacher’s… the Mother Goddess… Your Eminence, do you mean to say…” “The Holy See has decided—it will no longer fully suppress belief in deities outside the Three Saints. This means Pritt now has the opportunity to partially restore its traditional cultural faith.” Artcheli’s tone was solemn. After she spoke, Queen Isabelle followed with her own declaration. “I’ve already made my decision. Pritt shall gradually restore faith centered around the Queen of the Night Sky and the Divine Child of Night. We’ll begin with the intermediary image of the Hidden Saintess, coexisting with the Three Saints, as a transitional step to revive some of Pritt’s ancient traditions. “For this, I would like to hear your opinion, Anna. If you could also receive guidance from Her Grace the Divine Child, that would be even better.” Hearing the young queen’s words, Anna’s expression became visibly more serious. In this secret audience hall, she began to discuss with Isabelle and Artcheli a matter that would fundamentally shape the future of Pritt. … Meanwhile, in another corner of the audience chamber, several other pairs of eyes were quietly watching this private discussion. “So… in the end, Phaethon intends to loosen even the restrictions on faith?” On the far side of the hidden audience chamber, seated on a long sofa behind a tea table, Dorothy watched the ongoing exchange and commented aloud. She quickly received a reply. “Indeed. Now that the threat of Chaos has passed, Radiance no longer needs to outwardly suppress all other faiths. There’s no need to monopolize belief. Letting go benefits everyone.” Crossing his legs, Hyperion sat on a single-seat sofa across from the tea table and calmly answered Dorothy’s remark. Then, another gentle voice joined the conversation. “Both my brother and that child Phaethon… they’ve endured far too much this epoch. Now that everything is over, it’s understandable that they’d want to set down their burdens and quietly recover…” Seated beside Dorothy, Selene was peeling an apple. Once she’d sliced it, she picked up a piece with a toothpick and held it to Dorothy’s mouth. Dorothy took a bite without hesitation. “Mhm… true. Holding that position for so long really was exhausting. Since the core issue has been resolved, gradually lifting the pressure is completely fine. The old way was not only tiring, it was prone to causing problems.” Chewing on the fruit, Dorothy continued. In a world where multiple true gods exist, trying to enforce a belief system that denies divinity was always bound to cause issues. Radiance Church only pushed the Three Saints so forcefully due to extraordinary circumstances—now, it was finally time to return to normal. “Exactly… and as it stands, Radiance’s own pantheon is in ruins. It’ll take time to restore it. The era of ‘Three Saints alone’ is over. The true Savior shall return soon…” Selene spoke while feeding another piece of fruit to Dorothy, who munched contentedly before glancing toward Hyperion again. “So then… with almost all of Radiance’s divine thrones vacant, are you interested in taking one? I mean, it’s not like you’d be stealing anything from your children—it’d be them taking care of you in return. Being a god would be a much better retirement plan than what you’ve got now.” “A retirement plan? That’s not a bad way to put it… Father, would you consider it? If you’re not interested in my brother’s seat, I’ve got a few open spots on my side too~” Dorothy said with a smile, and Selene chimed in as well. After thousands of years spent waiting outside the universe, Hyperion had returned, but now he’d lost most of his godhood. He was merely a faint divine being, carrying only a sliver of divinity. “Becoming a god again, huh…” Hyperion rubbed his chin in thought, then chuckled. “I appreciate the offer… but I think I’ll pass. I willingly gave up the powers of Lantern and Shadow. There’s no point clinging to them now. A divine throne is indeed attractive—but I’m not so desperate that I need my children to hand me one. If I want one, I’ll earn it myself.” “You want to compete for a divine throne?” Selene asked curiously as she fed another piece of fruit to her daughter. Hyperion laughed. “Of course I do. But not in this universe. Don’t forget—I’m a transmigrator. Naturally, I should go adventure and forge my destiny in another world, another universe, and once more carve out my legend.” “…So you’re planning to leave our universe?” Selene asked directly, intrigued. Hyperion waved a hand. “I’m considering it—but not just yet. I’ve still got a lot of prep work to do first. For example… gathering power again, maybe crafting myself another system… What kind of transmigrator doesn’t have a cheat system, right? Wouldn’t you agree, Little Dorothea?” Turning his gaze to Dorothy, Hyperion smiled. Dorothy swallowed the fruit in her mouth and replied thoughtfully. “…A transmigrator, huh.” Leaning back on the sofa beside her mother, Dorothy fell briefly into silent contemplation. Selene let out a sigh. “Pity that Father won’t be staying… So now where am I going to find someone to fill my vacant thrones?” She pondered aloud as her gaze shifted toward the other side of the room—to Anna, Isabelle, and Artcheli, who were still deep in discussion. Watching them, she too fell into thought. Seeing both his daughter and granddaughter lost in their own musings, Hyperion smiled slightly. He gently placed his feet down, rose from his seat, and walked slowly to the balcony of the hidden audience chamber. Raising his head, he gazed up at the bright moon hanging in the sky. As he stared at the moonlit sky, Hyperion seemed to sink into a different kind of thought. A trace of perplexity flickered in his golden eyes—as if the moon, a symbol of his daughter, now held an entirely different meaning. Dorothy, seated in the room, instantly sensed the change in his mood. But after a moment of reflection, she said nothing more. Because… Selene had already fed her another piece of fruit, and her mouth was currently too busy to speak. … Deep within a certain mountain range, embedded in layers of solid rock, there lay a solemn palace carved into the mountain itself. It was an enormous, enclosed cylindrical space—tens of meters wide, over a hundred meters tall—perfectly vertical from bottom to top and located entirely within a towering mountain mass. At the base was a circular plaza, its edge ringed by towering stone columns. Below the columns flowed a slow-moving moat of lava. Engraved on the plaza’s floor were depictions of mountain ranges. Rising from the plaza base, the sheer vertical walls were carved with concentric rings of sculptures: stocky, hammer-wielding warriors… skeletal dragon heads… piles of coin-shaped circular geometry… interlocking gears… These solemn stone reliefs stretched upward along the wall to the very top of the space. Floating metal spheres glowed with heat and suspended light midair, illuminating the entire enclosed chamber. Between the stone carvings, hollows had been dug into the rock to form alcoves—each filled with figures crowded behind railings, peering down toward the circular plaza below, clearly spectators of this ceremony. At three opposing points around the plaza, three heavy stone thrones were set. One was unoccupied, while the other two bore seated figures: one, a burly man in ornate armor with a full beard; the other, a humanoid shape composed of sand and dust, cloaked entirely in gray. At the center of the plaza stood an elderly man in formal robes, kneeling with his head lowered in silence. “Aldrich Hodus… your masterpiece has been submitted to the Eternal Forge… passed through seven trials… seven refinements… seven appraisals… and has ultimately attained sevenfold flawlessness. “You have laid the steps yourself and reached this place. You have once again proven your worth to stand among us. May the Unending Flame forever grace your craft… and bless your name of Graystone…” Seated in his place, the figure of sand—Whitestone, first of the Golden Triad—opened a mouth formed of shifting grains and addressed the kneeling Aldrich. In turn, Aldrich responded in a low, reverent voice. “I am grateful for your grace… Eternal Forge…” And in his heart, he silently added. “And I am grateful for your blessing, O Great Fate Sovereign…” Just as Aldrich’s voice faded, the earth began to tremble ever so slightly. The mountain-range engravings on the floor glowed faintly, and the lava in the outer channel began to rise and flow upward into the air, tracing mysterious patterns around the kneeling figure at the plaza’s center. “Oh… the lava’s floating! And it’s… drawing something? It feels so hot here—can the people down there even stand it?” Leaning over the railing of one alcove on the cliffside wall, a young girl in a black dress adorned with butterfly patterns—Saria—stared downward, speaking with curiosity. A reply came quickly. “For a Beyonder of the Stone Path, this level of heat is nothing. They forge at temperatures that can melt steel without effort.” Standing beside Saria, Dorothy replied in a quiet tone. Saria nodded in understanding. “I see… as expected of the most material domain. It’s so different from dream-based abilities… Good thing Miss Scholar gave me some cooling gear, or I’d be dead by now.” She smiled in thanks to Dorothy. “So… Arovatt only sent you here alone?” “Mhm. Grandpa’s still in Cassatia, too busy with church matters to come himself, so he sent me in his stead.” As Saria spoke, another male voice interjected from Dorothy’s other side. “Cassatia? You mean the Anamnesis Church?” asked Kapak, a young man with tanned skin, wearing a formal suit and hat. Saria nodded and elaborated: “Yes, that’s the one! Grandpa and I originally planned to form the church more like a hidden society, but Radiance’s sudden major policy change threw everything off. Now the whole plan needs restructuring, so he’s swamped. “This induction ceremony for the Golden Seat of the Craftsmen’s Guild is a big deal—he should’ve come himself. But since he couldn’t, he sent me. And among the group we just established, I have the highest formal rank after Grandpa. He also said this would be good training for me—meet more people, since everyone I meet now is bound to be a big name in the mysticism world someday.” Saria said it all quite directly. Kapak gave a small nod before asking. “For someone of his level, wouldn’t it be easy to create an avatar to attend?” “Sure, creating one is easy. But sending a clone to such an important ceremony would be disrespectful.” She shot him a playful glance before turning back to Dorothy and adding. “Especially when there are at least three Gold-rank elders of the Craftsmen’s Guild here—not to mention Miss Scholar herself. Using a clone would be terribly improper.” Dorothy responded only with a slight smile and said nothing more, instead gazing back toward the ceremony below. After many trials of self-refinement—and with a little help from Dorothy—Aldrich had finally become a fully fledged Gold-rank Beyonder, officially inducted as one of the Golden Triad. The White Craftsmen’s Guild was whole once more. And with the birth of the Goddess of Dreams, Radiance’s suppression of other faiths had loosened, and the new Dream Church was preparing to reemerge in Cassatia. Saria and her grandfather—its core figures—were now guaranteed high positions in its hierarchy. “Lately, all the mystical factions have been so busy… Even for a ceremony this major, many of the supposed top leaders didn’t show… By the way, Kapak—how’s Uta doing lately?” Dorothy asked as her eyes swept across the surroundings before landing on Kapak. He straightened up and respectfully responded. “Miss Scholar, my teacher has only recently broken through and officially become the Western Great Shaman. Due to some strange fluctuations in the Great Soul, the Four Shamans have all gathered with the True Spirit Shaman in the Ancestral Valley, working on something… As for me, I’ve temporarily taken my teacher’s place and been formally appointed as a shaman.” Kapak spoke earnestly. Hearing this, Saria couldn’t help but ask curiously. “So the west Shamanic Church only sent you to attend this ceremony?” “No, no, I’m just accompanying someone. The actual official representative is someone else.” Saria leaned forward, more curious. “Then who is it?” “Well… she’s a young shaman appointed personally by the True Spirit Shaman. I don’t really know her background, and neither do most others, but the True Spirit Shaman seems to value her greatly…” Kapak muttered, brows furrowed in thought. Saria’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “A girl shaman? Then where is she now? I haven’t seen anyone like that around.” “Uh… I’m not sure either. After we arrived, she said she’d act on her own and told me not to follow. I thought she’d show up at the ceremony… but I haven’t seen her at all…” Kapak glanced around the stands, clearly puzzled and a bit uneasy as he failed to find her among the audience. Meanwhile, Dorothy's expression shifted into one of mild amusement and intrigue. “You two keep chatting. I’ll take a look around…” … After briefly saying goodbye to Kapak and Saria, Dorothy left the viewing stands and entered a deserted corridor. There, her figure suddenly vanished. When she reappeared, she had already shifted to another concealed corner of the mountain palace. She now stood at the end of a quiet hallway, where a thick and unadorned wooden door stood before her. Dorothy examined it briefly, then raised her small hand and knocked gently. After the knock, she waited silently. Soon, footsteps approached from within, and the door opened to reveal a familiar face. “Yo, you made it. Get in here—we’ve been waiting forever.” Wearing a loose robe and her usual lazy expression, Beverly greeted Dorothy and waved her in. Dorothy entered without hesitation and spotted another figure in the room. “Oh~~ if it isn’t the Great Descender. Welcome, welcome~” Seated cross-legged on a rug, wearing a headdress of beast bones with upright rabbit ears and barefoot as always, Gitche Manitou cheerfully waved at Dorothy. Dorothy sat down on a sofa and replied plainly. “You’re looking better than expected. Seems like the process of regaining your divine body is going smoothly.” “Hardly~ I’m still just a clinging remnant, barely able to maintain form. Returning to godhood won’t be easy. All I can do now is slowly rebuild, bit by bit, reconnecting with the divine body. My progress isn’t even at ten percent—still a long way from my peak.” Manitou spoke as such, while Beverly brought over a freshly brewed cup of tea for Dorothy, muttering as she set it down. “Well, to the rest of the world, you’re basically a vegetable that’s been in the hospital for ages. Now you’re finally starting to show signs of waking up, but you’ve got a long rehab ahead…” She sat down beside Dorothy, and Manitou, catching the clear undertone of her remark, raised an eyebrow and said bluntly. “Sounds like you’re still holding a grudge about being kept in the dark. But don’t blame me—the one who insisted on telling you nothing was that brat Hyperion. Complaining to me won’t help. Go find him.” “If I knew where he was, I would’ve gone already… That bastard… He’s been back for this long and hasn’t even come to see me once. The next time I catch him, I’ll make sure he gets properly ‘taken care of’…” Beverly crossed her arms and scowled. Meanwhile, Dorothy took a sip of the hot tea and spoke calmly. “You’re still upset that they kept the whole plan from you? They probably left you out of it out of caution. After all, you were still an active god within this universe. If the Lord of Knowledge had any way of extracting information from you, it could’ve been disastrous. “Look on the bright side—you’re still better off than Tiametta. She was the one who got sacrificed without knowing anything at all…” Having clearly noticed Beverly’s sour mood, Dorothy offered her some comforting words. Beverly, however, couldn’t help but retort. “Yeah, but Tiametta wasn’t entirely in the dark… She had some level of foresight about her fate…” “Some level of foresight?” Dorothy tilted her head, intrigued. At this point, Manitou spoke up to explain. “Let me take this one… When Hyperion and I decided to turn the Lord of Knowledge’s plan against Himself, we were already aware that Tiametta would likely become the sacrifice. But she is the Main God of the Chalice Domain—tricking her into falling and being sacrificed wouldn’t be easy. “The key lies in her instinct. As the Lord of Chalice, Tiametta possesses the strongest biological instinct in the entire universe. Her sense for threats to her own existence is extraordinarily sharp. That instinct has helped her evade countless schemes…” “The Lord of Chalice’s instinct… So how did you guys bypass it in the end?” Dorothy asked with genuine curiosity. She had seen the power of such instincts firsthand during the divine battle with the Afterbirth Cult. Even subordinate gods had the ability to fight on pure reflex, abandoning all cognition. If a subordinate god was that formidable, a Main God would be another level entirely. “We didn’t try to bypass it,” Manitou said, exhaling from her pipe before continuing. “We communicated with it. “You could say instinct is the body’s will. For most creatures, instinct is just a simple reflex. But for the Lord of Chalice, her instinct has evolved into an entirely separate will—on par with her main consciousness. It can be reasoned with.” Manitou took another drag from her pipe before continuing. “We used a special method to communicate directly with Tiametta’s instinct. We revealed the truth about the Lord of Knowledge and our counter-plan. In the end, her instinct willingly chose to assist us—agreeing to endure the fall and sacrifice. “That’s why Hyperion was able to gain the support of her main consciousness later. Her instinct had already begun subtly influencing it. It even made her will appear more deeply corrupted—masking its clarity to mislead the Lord of Knowledge. “And because instinct—the deep-seated thought of the body, so tied to the Chalice domain—was something the then-weak Lord of Knowledge couldn’t perceive, he was unable to glean anything useful from her thoughts.” Manitou explained in a swirl of smoke. Dorothy nodded thoughtfully, then asked with a raised brow. “So in the end… was Tiametta betrayed by her own instinct?” “No, that’s not quite right. Regardless of how distinct they may be, instinct and main consciousness are always aligned in purpose. For the Lord of Chalice, if her main self truly didn’t want something, her instinct wouldn’t act. In other words, once her instinct chose sacrifice, her conscious mind—once it learned the full truth—would reach the same conclusion. “If we had spoken to her directly, without the Lord of Knowledge’s interference, her conscious self would have made the same decision.” Manitou clarified seriously. Dorothy nodded once more, then softly followed up. “Then if that was Tiametta’s case… what about Baybokah?” “Bay knew everything as well. As the Lord of Shadow, both Hyperion and I could speak to her freely without hiding behind ‘instinct.’ In fact, Hyperion contacted her quite early on. She noticed him even before the Lord of Knowledge did—and quietly helped him from the shadows. “She even maintained secrecy to keep Hyperion’s identity hidden, and in the end, she willingly followed through with the plot the Lord of Knowledge had prepared for her—falling by Hyperion’s hand.” “So… Morrigan’s story is both true and false… Bay was slain by Hyperion, but she also knew the entire truth and chose that fate herself.” Manitou said seriously. Upon hearing this, Dorothy paused, then said after a moment of silence. “…They were all so… fearless.” “Indeed. Compared to me, both Baybokah and Tiametta were among the more ancient gods of this cycle. They had witnessed countless divine rises and falls, endless tragedies born from resisting chaos. They already had a sense of when their end would come… and simply wished for it to carry meaning. “In this cycle, after Osiris’s fall, the Lord of Knowledge tried to accelerate the Chaos process. This created an immense crisis—but also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to break through Chaos altogether. And clearly, both of them recognized its importance. “So they went all in… gambling everything on me and Hyperion. Fortunately… the final outcome didn’t disappoint them.” Manitou murmured from the midst of curling smoke. Sitting beside Dorothy, Beverly let out a soft sigh and spoke in a low voice. “So now you understand, right? In the end, practically everyone knew the truth—except me. I was the only one kept in the dark, playing the fool while everyone else acted.” Her tone carried unmistakable bitterness. With the Stone Prince largely inactive, Beverly—who embodied the active part of the Stone deity—had, for all intents and purposes, been carrying out the duties of the Stone deity for many cycles. She had diligently resisted corruption for eons… only to be completely excluded from the final, most critical plan. No matter how one looked at it—it was hard not to be upset. More than anger over deception, Beverly's frustration stemmed from grief. She had watched familiar figures, one by one, sacrifice themselves for the future of the universe—yet for a long time, she hadn't even understood their true intentions or motives, and had even wrongly blamed them. That was something she couldn’t easily come to terms with. “…Sigh. Whatever, at least the ending turned out well,” she said with a long exhale, comforting herself. Then she turned toward Dorothy and shifted the topic. “So, what was the final outcome for the Lord of Knowledge and the Egg of Chaos?” She asked directly, and Dorothy promptly answered. “The Lord of Knowledge’s will was completely shattered. As for the Egg of Chaos—it was sent beyond the universe and sealed jointly by the Three Supreme Pillars. The one extracted from our universe this time was of extremely high grade, and even the Pillars had to treat it with caution. They couldn’t deal with it the same way they would an ordinary Egg of Chaos.” After hearing this, Beverly followed up with curiosity. “Then… what exactly was the relationship between the Lord of Knowledge and the Egg of Chaos?” “The relationship between a researcher and the subject of their research. Though in the end… it became one of slave and master,” Dorothy stated firmly. After a brief pause, she continued. “The Lord of Knowledge was originally a rather normal, powerful deity—like many information-based gods, fascinated by exploration and research. Back then, his name was The Curious One. He traveled through countless universes, collecting knowledge that caught his interest. “At the time, he was interested only in knowledge from all sorts of universes—whether useful or not. Though powerful, he was harmless. Most of the universes he visited didn’t even retain a trace of his passing. “But everything changed when he stumbled upon an Egg of Chaos in a forbidden zone beyond all universes… An Egg of Chaos far more powerful than most. “Typically, Eggs of Chaos fall under the strict jurisdiction of the Supreme Pillars. Any god who discovers one is obligated to pray and call upon the Pillars to intervene and handle it. “When the Lord of Knowledge discovered this Egg, he intended to do just that—but he hadn’t anticipated how strongly the Egg would resonate with his ravenous curiosity. For the first time, he had the thought to research the Egg… And perhaps precisely because it was forbidden by the Pillars, that sense of taboo only further fueled his obsession. As someone who had always pursued the unknown, he became desperate to understand the secrets of Chaos…” Recalling the memories she had parsed from the Lord of Knowledge, Dorothy murmured softly. Then Manitou, still seated cross-legged, asked curiously. “So… in the end, he couldn’t resist studying the Egg of Chaos?” “Exactly. At first, he just thought—just a peek. Just a glimpse into the secrets of Chaos, into the knowledge of supreme divinity… But that glimpse became a slippery slope,” Dorothy said as she sipped her tea. After swallowing, she continued. “He was captivated. Even shallow, brief contact with Chaos drew him in completely. Chaos absorbs and merges all things—and on a mental level, that means it consumes the will. It ensnares it with fascination, pushing it ever deeper. “Once he was enchanted, the Lord of Knowledge gradually lost all rationality. He abandoned all constraints on his research and delved deeper and deeper into the Chaos Egg’s secrets. During that process, the Egg constantly eroded and captured his will—dragging him into corruption. Even though Chaos Eggs possess no will of their own, they can still enslave the most brilliant of minds. “Eventually, he was utterly ensnared. But he didn’t see it that way. His personality changed drastically—he believed he had mastered the Egg of Chaos, and that through it, he could become the true, supreme God of Chaos. He wanted to hatch it. But he couldn’t do it alone. “So… he invited two of his friends—powerful gods on his level, but from different domains. As I’ve said before, the Lord of Knowledge had been a good god before his fall, and had many strong allies. The two strongest among them became the targets of his plot. “Under the pretense of co-creating a new world, he invited Radiant Cold and Earth Mother to assist him. During the process, he schemed to bind all three of them—himself, Radiant Cold, and Earth Mother—to the Egg of Chaos simultaneously. With the influence of their three distinct divine powers, the Egg began to hatch and used them as fuel, extracting power from all three to nourish itself. “And the rest, you know… To prevent the Egg’s successful hatching, Radiant Cold and Earth Mother chose to self-split, suppressing the hatching process. The Lord of Knowledge, to avoid exposing his true motives, split himself as well, but left behind a contingency plan—guiding our universe from the shadows for a billion years… only to be undone in the end by the resistance of the universe itself and intervention from outer gods.” Dorothy finished, then poured herself a fresh cup of tea and continued drinking quietly. Beverly, after listening, paused for a moment, then sighed with emotion. “So even if he had succeeded, the Lord of Knowledge wouldn’t have become the God of Chaos—he’d have just been swallowed, turned into an offering…” “That’s right… Rationally, he knew that. He must have understood that it was impossible to dominate Chaos with will alone. But even so, he pressed forward with his plan. His will had already been twisted by Chaos. Even if every calculation led to failure, he would still cling to the belief that the God of Chaos could be real. “Chaos is blind and delusional—but also unstoppable. Even the most brilliant minds, once exposed to it deeply, will lose all reason and become slaves. And Chaos doesn’t even need to give them orders—those slaves will naturally act to further its growth and expansion… even believing they’re working for themselves. “After ten billion years of distortion, perhaps even the Lord of Knowledge’s wisdom had warped so severely that it gave our universe its one and only opportunity for salvation.” With those words, Dorothy lapsed back into silence, sipping her tea. Beverly and Manitou also remained quiet for a while. But the silence didn’t last long. Dorothy set down her cup and turned toward Manitou with a question. “By the way, after all this catching up, I still haven’t asked—why did you come here to find Beverly?” “Nothing major,” Manitou replied casually. “I just looked at the lands of my worshippers and realized they’re still far too primitive. I came to ask the Furnace to help with some large-scale development. I’m not even asking for much—just that their basic standard of living not lag too far behind the East.” Dorothy nodded. “I see… Well, thanks to those evil spirits, the Starfall Continent is way underdeveloped. It’s definitely time to catch up. That kind of thing should be easy for you, right?” She glanced at Beverly, who pursed her lips and replied sarcastically. “Easy? That’s because you haven’t seen this girl’s ‘requirements.’ She wants me to industrialize the entire Starfall Continent without affecting the ecosystem of the spiritual fauna and flora. The habitats of the wild spirits can’t change at all, but she still wants fully functioning factories and zero environmental modification. She wants everything—everything! This whole project could be a thesis on building a brand-new civilization. And she’s offering a laughably small advance… then haggling like crazy.” Beverly glared at Manitou. She, in turn, pointed her pipe toward her and said: “What do you mean, small payment? That’s the deposit! I’m still weak from returning to my divine body. Once I recover, I’ll pay the rest—generously. Don’t you trust my credit?” “I trust your intent, but I doubt you’ll really make it back to full power. From what I hear, there are plenty of challengers who don’t recognize your return. If you can’t even hold onto your godhood, you’re a risky investment.” Beverly said bluntly, still lounging in her seat. Manitou quickly replied. “Ah… You mean Inut, right? Sure, he’s got a problem with me, but it’s nothing serious. Once I recover a bit more, I’ll challenge him to a one-on-one duel, beat some sense into him—problem solved.” “He’s a power-hungry schemer. You think one fight will solve it?” “Of course it will—depends how you fight. Guys like Inut? No fancy tricks. Just go up with a Soulfrost weapon, get in his face, and beat the crap out of him. Once he’s knocked down, he’ll submit.” “And if he still doesn’t submit?” “Then I’ll knock him down again. As many times as it takes, until he does!” And so, the familiar bickering between Beverly and Manitou resumed over their original topic. This time, Dorothy didn’t interrupt—she simply sat quietly, sipping her tea as she watched. In order to help Hyperion, Manitou had fused the last remnants of her soul into Hyperion’s system to shield it from the Lord of Knowledge’s detection. When Hyperion self-destructed during the Eclipse Ritual, Manitou was torn apart as well. Though Hyperion tried to protect her, she still suffered massive damage. Already a fragmented soul, Manitou had been pushed to the brink of collapse after the ritual and fell into slumber. She was only reawakened when Dorothy herself awakened—revived through Dorothy’s power and partially restored. After ascending to become a Primordial God, Dorothy inherited the full dual divinity of Revelation and Silence, formerly possessed by the Lord of Knowledge. However, she chose not to maintain that state. In the end, she separated the core of the Silence divinity—the Great Soul—and returned it to Manitou. She kept only the part passed down from Osiris, remaining the God of Revelation for this universe. After all, in Dorothy’s view, Manitou had played a major role in reversing the Lord of Knowledge’s scheme. As a key contributor, Dorothy had no intention of stealing her divinity. Unlike the other Main Gods, Manitou was still a relatively young god. Even so, Dorothy felt no regret in giving up that power. As one of the faces of the Supreme Pillar, she possessed a divine force vast and detached from this universe altogether. Even outside this universe, the power she could wield at will already far surpassed the scale of the Lord of Knowledge at his peak. If one included the power she could draw from the Pillar’s root source, her divinity became immeasurable, boundless...