"Chernobyl!"
Upon hearing Amon's words, Klein's first reaction was one of shock.
Back when they were approaching the bluish-black, single-eyed giant, he had come up with many possibilities, but he never expected to hear such a name.
This was akin to seeing a machine gun appear in an ancient oil painting, or a novel's plot appearing in a scientific paper. It was filled with unbelievable contradictions.
In the next second, he thought of the funny matter about how the ancient sun god had used "His" rib to create Dark Angel Sasrir, but had named "His" eldest son Adam. He instinctively believed that the current situation was similar, and he couldn't help but laugh.
To have Amon, who was so powerful that "He" was almost a "bug" in the real world, a King of Angels who always wore a sinister smile on "His" face, speak the name with such seriousness and solemnity, it made Klein unable to hold back his laughter. Besides, he had no intention of controlling himself.
It's best if "He" gets angry from the embarrassment and kills me... The reason Amon is this way today has largely to do with the ancient sun god's method of upbringing! The corners of Klein's mouth curved into a smile, prepared to ruthlessly vent his inner laughter.
At this moment, another bolt of silvery-white lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the deep ravine. It made Klein once again see the grayish-white building at the bottom.
This was a building that was completely different from the current style of the Fourth, Third, and even the Second Epoch.
Thump!
Klein's heart rapidly contracted before it expanded again. The smile he just made froze on his face.
Thump! Thump!
When he heard his own heartbeat, he suddenly had the common sense he had regarding the present world appear in his mind.
12 months a year, 365 days a year, has leap years...
24 hours a day, 60 minutes a day, 60 seconds a minute...
It's confirmed to be a planet...
There's a sun and a moon in the sky...
Badump! Badump! Badump!
Klein's instinct prevented him from thinking any further, but deep in his heart, there was still a "voice."
Could it be that I've never actually "transmigrated"? I've always been on Earth the entire time, but I've been hanging from the door of light above the gray fog for too long, making me truly not belong to this era...
As this thought formed, many details that didn't catch his attention spewed out like a volcano in his mind.
To the easternmost front of the Sonia Sea, before entering the ruins of the battlefield of the gods, there are rotting and crumbling steel buildings around the ancient well. They appeared to be left behind by humans...
The Northern and Southern Continent are overall very similar in shape to that of North and South America. However, a large part of the isthmus that connects the two landmasses has been wiped away by some kind of power, forming the Berserk Sea with its complicated and winding sea routes... Also, Sonia Island is like the gigantic landmass in the north that drifted south... Midseashire is like the expanded and connected version of the Great Lakes of North America. It's as though it suffered a strike from a massive meteor...
The mountains and rivers on the Northern Continent have changed a lot, but the overall shape is barely recognizable...
In that case... the Western Continent where the elves come from, and the Forsaken Land of the Gods in the Eastern Continent, will correspond to Chernobyl...
In the legends of treasure out at sea, there's a lost civilization called the Newins. It sank somewhere in the Fog Sea...
The Giant King's parents are humans... The Sanguine, elves also seem to originate from humans...
I previously had two questions: Why would Sefirah Castle grab transmigrators from Earth? Why would all of them be people from my era? This can also be explained...
In the short span of two to three seconds, it was as if lightning was constantly exploding in his mind. This caused his lips to tremble slightly, as though he was trying his best to contain the backlash of his revelation.
But the moon in this world is crimson... The constellations are somewhat different from those of Earth... I'm not an astronomy aficionado, so I can't remember clearly. However, the Emperor consumed the potions from the Savant pathway. If the cosmos was completely identical, he would've discovered it a long time ago... The opposing opinion appeared in Klein's mind. They were like a strong anchor, preventing his ship from being blown away from the port in the midst of the storm.
But one second later, he remembered two lines.
One sentence was a terrifying prophecy that he had read online in his previous life:
"When the stars are right, Chaos will rise from underground, and the Great Oldest One will awaken."
The other was:
"Be careful of the moon!"
This... That prophecy wasn't randomly made up? When the stars are right... So, this resulted in the previous discrepancies? Klein almost ignored Amon in front of him. Even his body began to tremble.
He used a great deal of strength before he sighed inwardly.
Perhaps, I've never left my hometown, but I will never be able to return home...
Just as he came to this understanding and realization, the grayish-white fog silently appeared in front of him.
This time, he directly stood in front of the Waning Forest, which corresponded to the end of the First Epoch and the early stages of the Second Epoch.
Unlike the past, the boundless gray fog in front of him was no longer empty. Deep in the fog, in a very far distance, points of shattered light were lit up.
They were like lighthouses, illuminating the path of history. They led Klein forward as they traced back thousands of years, or even further.
Then, he saw the resplendent bluish-black door of light. He saw transparent cocoons hanging above it, and himself in a T-shirt and loose pants.
An invisible wind blew past as the grayish-white fog beneath the door opened, layer by layer, revealing cities.
There were tall skyscrapers with all kinds of cars parked, frozen with pedestrians that walked past.
One by one, these cities were covered in grayish-white dust. Many buildings had collapsed, broken steel bars tearing out of their frames. Some of the cars had caved in, others had broken down. There were even some that had been squashed into metallic pancakes. The passers-by looked lifeless, like wax figures...
Upon seeing this scene, Klein stopped and stared intently.
He knew very well that:
This world was Earth!
At that moment, he completely digested the Scholar of Yore potion.
Suddenly, Klein's consciousness returned to the real world. He realized that his connection with Sefirah Castle had strengthened.
Amidst the buzzing sounds, the resonance generated by the prayers of the Tarot Club members grew in intensity.
Previously, he could use them to vaguely sense Sefirah Castle above the gray fog and see that the Klein at The Fool's seat was trying to establish some sort of connection with the dark red, warping figure that was about to take form.
In an instant, he came to a realization. There was no longer a need for him to chant the incantation or take four steps counterclockwise. With a mere thought, his Spirit Body could enter Sefirah Castle, becoming one with that "figure."
This was undoubtedly the best opportunity for him to escape!
He couldn't be bothered to marvel at the fact that this world was Earth. Believing that Amon definitely didn't know of such a development, Klein immediately thought of jumping straight towards Sefirah Castle.
At this moment, the corner of his eye reflected the pointy-hatted, monocled, classic mage-robed Amon curled "His" lips into a smile—one that spoke of endless joy.
Klein's mind suddenly exploded as all his thoughts were occupied by the crazy raving from Amon.
"You're right. I didn't want to steal your destiny, bearing the burden while becoming the new owner of Sefirah Castle..."
"You're right. This was a scam that has been going on since the beginning...
"However, the core of this scam was to make you think that me giving you hope and destroying it was to break your will and make you agree to become my Blessed..."
"If I hadn't specially changed my clothes when I entered the Forsaken Land of the Gods, as well as my ‘accidental' use of ‘Error' powers, would you have been so sure that my true body was already here?
"Could it be possible that the God of Deceit doesn't understand that changing one's image would expose many problems?
"Did you think that I wouldn't understand what the name ‘Chernobyl' means?
"I've been in the Forsaken Land of the Gods for more than a thousand years. I've been searching for the oldest traces of history, the ones that go far beyond the First Epoch."
"The true goal of this journey was to give you some time and give you some historical knowledge to aid you in digesting the Scholar of Yore potion, so that you can relax your vigilance in this area. Then, when your connection with Sefirah Castle deepens and you attempt to trigger it, I'll seize this opportunity and use a loophole to steal Sefirah Castle.
"The destiny shall be yours, and Sefirah Castle shall be mine."
...
Not only did the terrifying ravings from the King of Angels contain the sounds of Amon's chuckle, but they also wreaked havoc on Klein's mental state. They were no weaker than Mr. Door's roar.
The surface of Klein's skin began to show signs of protruding Worms of Spirit as he was brought to the brink of losing control.
In his body, a twelve-segmented Worm of Time burrowed out, transforming into an Amon phantom wearing a black mage robe and a matching pointy hat and crystal monocle.
"He" had parasitized Klein at a superficial level, not to monitor his thoughts, but rather to take control of the situation at the critical moment through parasitizing him at a deeper level. "He" wanted to seize this opportunity!
In the beginning, Amon had used a "deeper level" of parasitizing with one main goal—to parasitize a Worm of Time at a superficial level, without the saint being able to detect it!
The Amon projection turned back and gave Klein, who was unable to straighten his thoughts after being disrupted by the ravings, a look. It revealed a smile that was identical to its true body.
The corners of "His" lips curled up slightly, carrying a look of endless joy.
"He" turned around and used the invisible connection to leap towards Sefirah Castle above the gray fog.
This was similar to the situation of "Him" parasitizing Derrick Berg and trying to use the crimson star that corresponded to The Sun to infiltrate the world above the gray fog.
But this time, no one was inside Sefirah Castle to purify "Him"—to close the "door," to stop Amon.
This was a spectacular act.
This was the God of Deceit.
