He rolled His eyes. "Your idea might not be wrong, but how are you going to accomplish it? Do you think the Outer Gods are idiots? Do you expect them to walk obediently into a giant trap they can clearly see, just waiting for you to catch them like turtles in a jar?"
"Uh…what if soone helped punch them in, or force them inside? Like—like in Digimon Adventure Season 1, when everyone tead up to knock Piedmon into MagnaAngemon's Heaven's Gate?"
"If the Outer Gods only numbered one or two, maybe even two or three, that might be possible. But they outnumber all the native gods of Earth combined—and let's not forget there's also a Pillar-level Mother Goddess of Depravity. Who exactly do you think you're teaming up with?"
"…"
Edward thought for a mont, then sighed in disappointnt. "Alright, fine."
"By the way…what about that situation where Lilith and I travelled back in ti? How did that happen?"
The "Creator" frowned slightly as He pondered. "That was probably an accident…The Ti-Turner from Harry Potter, combined with you, a 'higher-dinsional being', stumbled into the effect of ti traversal."
"But calling it ti travel isn't entirely accurate. If we treat the Lord of the Mysteries world as a book, then as a reader, you can flip to any ti, any scene, any event you want simply by turning to the corresponding page."
Edward nodded slightly. "So that ti-travel event was essentially equivalent to…flipping a page?"
"Mm, that's roughly what it ans."
"Then why didn't the Ti-Turner do that the last ti I used it…?"
"Who said it didn't? The first ti, you went back two hours. The second ti, you went back more than a hundred years. The span was different, but the nature of the act was the sa."
He curled His lip and huffed, "Don't underestimate that!"
Edward fell silent, trying to digest everything the "Creator" had just told him. It didn't seem like much, but his brain felt like it was swelling painfully.
After a long ti, he turned his head toward the river outside the window and asked, "The Chaos Sea and the River of Eternal Darkness—are you planning to return them?"
"Return them? Why should I? I acquired them through ability—why would I give them back?"
He scratched His cheek with a shaless expression. "Besides, those two Sefirot were ownerless from the start. Who exactly am I supposed to return them to?"
"…"
"Hahahaha, I'm joking. When you ascend to Sequence 0, this world will no longer require Sefirot to sustain it. At that point, I won't need them anymore. Whoever wants them can take them."
Edward looked at Him with a complicated expression.
"…I thought your original plan was to use them to ascend to a Great Old One, or even a Pillar."
"Sorry to disappoint. When I designed this pathway, I never considered anything beyond Sequence 0. So there's Sefirot for this pathway."
He continued calmly,
"It's not that I didn't want to, or that I couldn't. It's that there was no need."
His tone lowered, airy and distant.
"Because half a step above Sequence 0…the Oldest One will be waiting for ."
"If I succeed, I replace the Original Creator. If I fail, the Oldest One replaces ."
"There's no buffer. No middle ground."
He walked two steps closer and patted Edward's shoulder. "Of course, now things are different. If we succeed, the two of us will share the Original Creator's authority. If we fail, well…we go down together."
Edward: "…"
He clasped His hands behind His back and stood before him.
"So—do you have any other questions?"
Edward shook his head. "For now…none."
"Then we'll end here. I hope that the next ti we et, things will have progressed for the better, Edward."
As soon as His voice fell, Edward's vision rapidly blurred. Everything around him retreated like a rewinding film. He saw the train rushing across the black waters, the distant golden ocean, and a figure slumbering within its depths.
He had no idea how long it lasted.
Suddenly, he found himself standing once more at the train door.
The ticket inspector greeted him politely, "Sir, may I see your ticket?"
After a brief daze, Edward shook his head.
"Sorry. I don't have one."
The inspector smiled. "Then please return the way you ca. Missing the wrong train is often its own kind of fortune."
Edward bowed slightly. "Thank you."
He turned, glanced at the station one final ti, and vanished in a blink.
At the sa mont—
Inside the speeding train, the "Creator" leaned His chin on one hand, gazing out the window. Suddenly, His brows furrowed. He casually reached out and grasped sothing from thin air.
A blurry silhouette ford before Him—
Salazar Slytherin, the one who had been erased like a pencil mark in front of the Evernight Goddess.
Still terrified from his earlier erasure, he blinked and found himself in a new place. For a mont he was lost—until he saw the black waters outside the window. His pupils shrank violently.
"I…I'm back…?"
The "Creator" glanced at him coldly, flicked His finger, and sent Salazar flying into the black river, where he sank without a ripple.
Then He muttered, "You talk too much."
———
Leaving that so-called "dwelling place of gods" proved far easier than entering it. With a re thought, Edward returned to the Room of Requirent.
But he did not imdiately rush off to find Audrey and the others.
Instead, he took out the Key of Stars and the Author's Beyonder characteristic, hesitating over whether he should brew the potion and ascend to Sequence 1.
The hesitation, naturally, ca from worrying about the "Creator."
He had just revealed so much—yet conveniently left the details after Sequence 1 shrouded in mystery. It was hard not to wonder if He was intentionally pushing Edward to advance as soon as possible.
Ding.
Edward flipped a coin.
"Advancing to Sequence 1 now will be harmful to ."
The coin spun several tis in mid-air before landing in his palm—numbers facing up.
A negative answer.
So…was I overthinking it?
He considered again, then tossed the coin a second ti.
"That 'Creator' intends to harm ."
Numbers up again—another negative.
Could it be…that the "Creator" really was bound to his fate, and the two of them truly had to walk this pathway together to replace the Original?
No.
There was also another possibility.
Since this pathway was created by Him, He naturally knew every detail of its abilities. It was highly likely He could affect relevant powers—such as making [Genius to the Right] fail, rendering its results unreliable.
He exhaled slowly.
"At this point, I don't seem to have a choice."
Even without the threat of the Oldest One, even without the Creator's existence, the Outer Gods circling like wolves ensured that Edward could not afford to remain stuck at Sequence 2 forever.
Having made up his mind, Edward sensed Audrey and the others' location, then opened an illusory door and stepped through.
———
On the other side
Audrey and the rest had gone to the Headmaster's Office, where they found Dumbledore.
After listening to Audrey recount the entire situation, the old man—dressed in fuzzy pyjamas and a sleeping cap—fell into deep contemplation. After a long silence, he finally exclaid, "Salazar Slytherin…rlin's beard, I never imagined he was still alive."
Lilith imdiately corrected him, "Strictly speaking, that was only a fragnt of his soul—or rather, a Horcrux."
"Even so, it is astonishing."
Dumbledore stroked his long beard thoughtfully.
"Slytherin evidently went to the dwelling place of gods, and even encountered the legendary deity within."
Audrey added, "He clearly discovered sothing, but before he could speak, he was silenced. We simply can't figure out what he found."
She glanced cautiously at the Evernight Goddess. "I rember he beca extrely shocked when he saw you…Could it be that he saw you before, in the dwelling place of gods?"
The Evernight Goddess replied calmly, "This is my first ti here. I have never visited that so-called dwelling place."
Lilith pinched her chin.
"Could it be that when you made that deal with 'that person' back then, He secretly tampered with sothing?"
"…"
Hearing this, even the Goddess seed briefly uncertain.
Dumbledore rubbed his temples and sighed.
"Alas, what troubles most right now is how to handle the disappearance of Ilvermorny's student."
Susie, who had been sitting quietly at the side, spoke up. "That notebook containing Slytherin's soul fragnt—could it be the sa notebook Ilvermorny presented as a reward for the Four Schools Tournant?"
Dumbledore nodded lightly.
"It is not impossible. And if that is the case, then Ilvermorny very likely knew from the beginning. Hm…I believe I know how to proceed."
Just then, a shimring illusory door appeared in the room, and Edward stepped through.
Audrey and Lilith's eyes lit up instantly as they hurried toward him.
"Edward!"
"Edward, you're back!"
Edward ruffled Lilith's hair.
"Mm. Good evening, Professor."
Dumbledore smiled. "It seems your trip went smoothly?"
"It did."
The Evernight Goddess asked evenly, "You t Him."
Edward turned toward Her.
"Yes. I did. And the question you asked to convey…He did give an answer."
She looked at him calmly, waiting for his explanation.
"When I ascend to Sequence 0, He will no longer need the River of Eternal Darkness. At that ti, you will naturally be able to take it."
The implication was obvious—
If you want the River of Eternal Darkness, then at the very least, do not obstruct my advancent to Sequence 0.
The Goddess showed no surprise. She rely nodded lightly. "I understand."
Lilith whispered, "Edward, what exactly did you encounter in there? And what's the situation with 'that person'?"
"I'll tell you all slowly later."
Lilith glanced aningfully at the Goddess. "Oh—right, Amanises is still here. We'll talk after She leaves."
Edward chuckled.
"In short, I basically learned everything I needed to know. I've also temporarily reached a cooperation agreent with 'that person.' From here on, my only goal is to reach Sequence 0 as soon as possible to face the coming crisis."
"Oh, right, Edward—sothing happened just now."
Lilith proceeded to recount the earlier incident.
After listening, Edward frowned and exchanged a look with the Evernight Goddess.
No matter how he thought about it, that was clearly the "Creator's" doing.
But what did He want to hide?
He knew perfectly well that Edward did not fully trust Him—so did He not realise that this would only increase Edward's suspicion?
———
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