841 The Brand

Jenna paused before responding, "True."

Initially, they believed the special mirror world was a result of the War of the Four Emperors, created in the aftermath of fierce battles among beings like the Primordial Demoness and the Blood Emperor. However, after Lumian explored the treasury of the Blue Avenger, he uncovered new information suggesting the special mirror world existed before the War of the Four Emperors. He speculated it was a tool crafted by Blood Emperor Alista Tudor to counter the Primordial Demoness and a means for resurrection.

Their greatest confusion at the time was why Alista Tudor, a true god of the Hunter pathway, could create such a uniquely bizarre mirror world. Did high-rank beings of the Apprentice pathway under Him participate?

Franca then remarked wistfully, "According to Lumian's theory and our experience, both Hunters and Demonesses bring calamity. Wouldn't a true god of the Hunter pathway combined with one from the Demoness pathway essentially epitomize the concept of disaster? No wonder Fourth Epoch Trier ended up the way it did...

"However, is it possible for true deities from neighboring pathways to cooperate amicably, instead of immediately succumbing to the urge to converge and battle for dominance?"

Jenna, puzzled by this question, pursed her lips in thought before asking, "Is there a way to control that urge to converge?"

"That's beyond my knowledge for now, at least until I come into contact with the corresponding mystical knowledge after becoming an Angel," Franca self-deprecatingly said, her thoughts wandering. "Perhaps the Primordial Demoness could, but definitely not the Blood Emperor. Given our understanding of the history of the Fourth Epoch, He was a violent, bloodthirsty madman. How could He control Himself unless someone helped Him? Who could that be?"

Jenna paused thoughtfully and then said, "The Tamara family..."

"Uh..." Franca's eyes lit up. "Right, the Tamara family at that time was primarily known for the Apprentice pathway. High-rank beings of the Apprentice pathway excel at sealing and controlling space, and could utilize the mirror world to a certain extent. Yes, this explains why the Tamara family was involved in the creation of the special mirror world."

One of the two Special Mirror World Fragments they held came from a tomb of the Tamara family.

Growing more excited, Franca said, "The Tamara family must have been the bridge between the Blood Emperor and the Primordial Demoness, carrying out a secret mission! And since they had long been exposed to the Demoness Sect, it makes sense that some of their members sided with them after the split.

"And, moreover, since Lady Krismona is a descendant of the Blood Emperor, then Her twin brother, the current Demoness of Gray, probably is too. The Apprentice lineage of the Tamara family has borne many humiliations over the past thousand years, willingly becoming women to continue serving the direct descendants of the Blood Emperor. Such loyalty, such loyalty!"

As she spoke, Franca mockingly wiped away a tear, moved by her own words.

Jenna, long accustomed to her companion's boundless digressions and jokes, raised her own question, "Could a Sequence 2 Apprentice pathway Angel from the Tamara family really seal the Blood Emperor's urge to converge?"

"If the Tamara family can't, what about Mr. Door?" Franca turned serious, pondering. "Lumian said He is the foremost noble of the Tudor Empire, and ranked behind Him, Amon, is a confirmed King of Angels. Then it's likely He is one too. A King of Angels of the Apprentice pathway might be able to temporarily seal the Blood Emperor's urge to converge, right? Was Mr. Door also involved in the matter of the special mirror world?"

"Possibly," Jenna agreed.

The normal mirror world was essentially an embodiment of the concept of "doors."

Franca's thoughts suddenly took a playful turn, chuckling softly. "There's also a possibility that the convergence behavior of the true deities of the Hunter and Demoness pathways differs from other pathways. First, they attract each other, dancing around each other, and only after reaching a certain climax do they start to devour each other, deciding the ultimate victor."

Jenna couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Franca was at it with her crude jokes again.

Of course, for Jenna, who had once frequented bars and dance halls in the market district, living as a Showy Diva for a long period, such coarse humor was hardly adult-only material.

Franca then composed herself. "I can now truly understand what the Demoness of Black meant. No wonder she asked me why I thought the Demoness Sect didn't control the special mirror world. She said it had been under the Primordial One's control until the end of the War of the Four Emperors.

"But she also believed that the special mirror world was initially created to combat the Primordial One, only later controlled by Her. Is she unaware of the secrets of those times and the Demoness of Gray's lineage, or is she just deceiving me, trying to mislead me? Or, did the Blood Emperor indeed initially want to combat the Primordial One, but She then took control of the nascent special mirror world, leading to Their cooperation?

"Or, was their cooperation aimed at combating something else?

"Ah, what was their purpose in creating such a special mirror world?"

Jenna shook her head honestly. "I don't know."

Franca thoughtfully stroked her ponytail.

"The Demoness of Black is both a descendant of the Primordial One and has the Tamara family's bloodline. She probably knows more about the special mirror world than I imagined."

Jenna hummed in response, rubbing her temples. "Either way, we need to report this information quickly."

Franca glanced at Jenna and cleared her throat. "You also need to go back and rest, adapting to the changes the potion has made to your body."

...

At the foot of the corpse mountain, Lumian sat with his eyes closed, his back against the piles of bodies and skeletons, intently listening to the monotonous voice emanating from the brass earplugs.

He was completing his studies.

He no longer needed to listen to all the remaining books; mastering this one would likely suffice. Yet, even so, it would still take over ten hours.

As time ticked away, Lumian's body grew weaker. Even with the support of the corpses and skeletons, he could no longer sit upright, relying solely on external forces to keep from collapsing.

His spirituality was evaporating faster, rendering him unable to use his teleportation ability anymore.

Fortunately, he had stowed away the artifact left by Celeste and the mystic pathogens had been dissipated completely by 0-01's activation; his condition hadn't worsened to the point where his heart was too weak to beat or his Spirit Body began to disintegrate, allowing him to barely keep at it.

After an indeterminate period, Lumian suddenly felt invigorated, his body regained strength, and his spirituality was replenished.

It was six in the morning based on Cordu time.

His body refreshed and free from illness, Lumian sat up straight and resumed the final part of his study.

Nearly 45 minutes later, he uttered an ancient Hermes word in a deep voice, "Stop!"

He felt he was on the brink of corruption and could not accumulate any more!

Just as the brass talisman finished transmitting the knowledge, Lumian's mind became hazy.

Vaguely, he "saw" the charred flag dotted with dangerous blood spots, surrounded by dense darkness, gently swaying.

Lumian also "saw" the ground covered in corpses, a vast army marching, the earth soaked in blood, countless severed arms and limbs...

A strong smell of blood and rust pierced his nose, as if coming from himself.

Lumian felt a certain call, not just from the charred flag but also from the dense darkness enveloping it.

The burning heat and icy cold in the palm of his right hand became more distinct.

They originated from the residual aura of the Blood Emperor and the seal left by the Underworld Daoist.

At that moment, Lumian suddenly realized another, deeper purpose of the Aurora Order's arrangement of the Dream Festival: With the Underworld Daoist's seal, I truly share a mystical similarity with 0-01...

0-01 once belonged to Blood Emperor Alista Tudor, then fell under the control of Death and suffered the corruption of the Death pathway's powers, which were also utilized by the Church of Knowledge to seal 0-01 itself. And now, I carry the residual aura of the Blood Emperor and the seal left by the Underworld Daoist, bearing powers of the Death, Evernight, and Warrior pathways...

With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Lumian combined the knowledge he had learned with the behavior of Albus and Julie, and amidst the strange and dangerous summons, he stood up and teleported to the top of the corpse mountain.

He didn't open his eyes. In the deathly silent, icy darkness, he couldn't see anything even if he did.

But as he drew closer, a sharp pain developed between Lumian's eyebrows, and his blood-or something else-seemed to want to burst through his pores and flesh.

Lumian didn't resist, enduring the pain.

Finally, a droplet, resembling blood, tore through his forehead and flew towards where 0-01 was located.

With a plop, the residual aura of the Blood Emperor inside Lumian suddenly boiled over, turning into a raging river of flames that ravaged between his Spirit Body, organs, and flesh.

The icy, rotting sensation in his palm intensified, preventing this river of flame from carrying away all his flesh and breaking the seal.

Lumian soon suffered so intensely he nearly lost consciousness; only when the residual aura of the Blood Emperor gradually subsided did he slowly regain his thoughts.

He let out a long breath and whispered to himself, I should be the proxy for 0-01 now...

If it weren't for the Underworld Daoist seal, I would definitely have become another Wanak, no, not another Wanak, but Blood Emperor Alista Tudor, who would have used my body to return.

Lumian didn't dare to linger near 0-01, afraid that the Sealed Artifact might detect a flaw in its new proxy, a defect with a will of his own that still persisted.

And Lumian knew that with his current status and power, it was impossible to take 0-01 out of Morora; even if the Church of Knowledge agreed to let him do so, it would only lead to his own destruction.

Leaving a mark and becoming a proxy is enough to complete this task.

Unfortunately, 0-01 is tightly sealed, and a proxy's special abilities can only be fully manifested in Morora... Lumian muttered a few words and teleported back to the wasteland.

He immediately sensed a team of undead soldiers and iron puppets patrolling silently in the darkness, seemingly eternal in their movements.

Suddenly, Lumian felt a stir in his heart.

The connection between contractors told him that the leader was the Abscessed Hand!

This mysterious being had regrown bones and flesh after being subjected to the bombardment of divine descent, but it seemed to have been conquered by 0-01, becoming its guard.

Is Hand Bro's unique trait being indestructible? Lumian turned his body, letting the Abscessed Hand and its puppets pass by.

Unexpectedly, the Abscessed Hand stopped in front of Lumian and uttered in a low voice, "Omebella..."