Back in the sword prison, Mike cleared his throat.
"Afterskin, you there?"
Afterskin, lounging nearby, looked over in surprise. His expression shifted when he noticed Mike's eyes-gray and lifeless.
"What happened to you?"
Mike, in his usual carefree tone, casually explained how he had blinded himself.
Afterskin rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Do you even realize how close you were to dying in the river of ti?"
Afterskin had been idling in the sword prison, occasionally observing the Supre Abyssal.
Suddenly, the Supre Abyssal had stirred with ominous activity.
The Supre Demon God, restless and seemingly ready to act, had shown signs of making a
move.
But then, a single sword light descended, forcing the Supre Demon God to reconsider. Mike had been sent by Ares to the end of the river of ti, which also happened to be the mont of the Supre Demon God's birth.
If Mike had lingered even a second longer, the Supre Demon God would have crossed the river of ti to hunt him down.
The reason was simple:
The Supre Demon God would never pass up an opportunity to kill a potential human Supre Being.
Failing to kill Morpheus early on had been the Supre Demon God's greatest mistake.
Now, with Mike under the protection of Ares and Apollo, the Supre Demon God had no chance to act.
Afterskin opened his mouth as if to say sothing but ultimately stayed silent.
Afterskin knew all too well how terrifying the Supre Demon God truly was.
When the Supre Demon God decided to act, it ant that the majority of its competing wills had reached a consensus.
In Apollo's case, the Supre Demon God would hesitate to strike for two reasons:
1. While the Supre Demon God would undoubtedly win in a fight against Apollo, the cost would be catastrophic-so much so that it couldn't afford the losses.
By waiting for Apollo's vulnerabilities to surface naturally, the Supre Demon God could achieve its goals with minimal effort.
Even if Apollo managed to resolve his vulnerabilities, the Supre Demon God wouldn't lose much. Fighting Apollo later would always be better than fighting him now.
2. Apollo was the real deal.
Mike, on the other hand, wasn't yet a true Supre Being.
Alone at the end of the river of ti, Mike was like a chick that had lost its protector- becoming a pri target for a hunter.
If the Supre Demon God had decided to act, Ares would have had to pay a steep price to deter it.
Afterskin knew this but chose not to voice it.
Instead, he asked, "Is there any hope?"
"How would I know?" Mike replied with a laugh.
"All I know is... hey, I'm still here, aren't I?"
Afterskin couldn't help but see a bit of Nathan in Mike.
But there was a difference.
Nathan's optimism stemd from his belief in the goodness of the world.
Mike's optimism ca from his confidence in his own future.
In a way, they were two sides of the sa coin.
Afterskin sighed and changed the subject.
"You should hurry up and break out of this sword prison."
"That's not sothing you can rush," Mike replied, showing no urgency.
Instead of working on escaping, he began crafting another Illusory Reality scroll.
Afterskin slapped his forehead in frustration.
This guy is at it again-
Once the scroll was complete, Mike casually tossed it to Afterskin.
Without needing further explanation, Afterskin activated the scroll and hurled it back at
Mike.
Mike found himself back in the dream space.
The world around him spun as he entered a new realm.
"Sir, are you blind now?"
The child blinked curiously at Mike and asked, "Did my eyes break?"
Mike: ...
The Eye of Truth, a fragnt of the Truth Source, was indeed connected to the Supre Demon God.
If the child referred to it as his eyes, it wasn't entirely wrong.
Mike turned to face the child and asked,
"Can you take back again?"
"Back where?"
The child's tone grew cautious as he reminded Mike,
"Sir, you almost died last ti."
The child had a lot of goodwill toward Mike and naturally didn't want him to die.
Mike explained, "We don't need to go too far back. Just take to the Tower of Truth about
half a month ago."
The Supre Abyssal was technically the zeroth floor of the Tower of Truth.
In a sense, Mike was already within the Tower of Truth.
His request wasn't difficult to fulfill.
Still, the child didn't understand the purpose of this.
Nevertheless, he followed Mike's instructions, taking him through the river of ti to half a
month ago, near the Tower of Truth.
"Sir, we're outside the Tower of Truth. Now what?"
The child tilted his head and looked up at the blind Mike.
Mike patted the child's head and said seriously,
"We wait."
They stood there for what felt like an eternity.
Suddenly, the child hid behind Mike.
Mike knew the person he was waiting for had arrived.
Though he couldn't see, Mike could deduce Apollo's position based on the child's evasive
movents.
He waved and called out with a smile,
"Third Bro, good morning."
Apollo thought for a mont before correcting him,
"It's noon."
"Good afternoon, Apollo."
What Mike didn't know was that Apollo was standing on a cloud while Mike was on the
ground.
In other words, they were having a conversation across a distance.
The next mont, a white cloud ford beneath Mike's feet, lifting him into the air.
The child beside him was also carried up.
Apollo glanced at Mike and asked casually,
"You're injured?"
This was probably the most severe injury Mike had suffered since arriving in this world.
Mike waved dismissively.
"It's nothing serious. I'm almost used to it. Honestly, not being able to see isn't so bad
sotis."
Apollo thought for a mont, then shook his head and corrected him,
"It's bad."
Not being able to see was definitely a bad thing.
Apollo calculated briefly before saying,
"You can replace your eyes."
Mike smiled and shook his head, rejecting Apollo's suggestion.
"No thanks. I'm quite fond of these eyes."
Mike knew exactly what Apollo ant by "replace your eyes."
After Thor's first appearance, the first demon god to suffer was the Fourth Demon God.
At the ti, Mike hadn't fully understood the power of human Supre Beings and had assud Apollo had used cunning strategies to defeat the Fourth Demon God. Looking back now, it was clear Apollo didn't need any elaborate sches.
The simplest thod would've been to ask the Archdemon to "deliver" a few demon gods,
like ordering from a nu.
If Apollo had personally gone to the Abyss, it wouldn't have been just a few demon gods dying
-it would've been a massacre.
In fact, that's exactly what Apollo had done.
The Fourth Demon God was still alive, though few knew this.
If Mike wanted new eyes, the Fourth Demon God would be the best candidate.
And with Apollo's abilities, it wouldn't be difficult to make it happen.
After Mike refused, Apollo's expression didn't change.
But the child beside Mike began looking at him with a subtle shift in his gaze.
Apollo continued,
"Go to the ninety-fifth floor. That will solve it."
Mike smiled and nodded.
"Great. I'll just be blind for a while. No big deal."
[Yay!]
The Eye of Truth was practically celebrating.
Not only did it avoid being replaced, but it also got the chance to visit the ninety-fifth floor-
a dream co true!
The three of them stood silently on the cloud.
Apollo added,
"It's better not to fix it now."
He ant that Mike was better off staying blind for the ti being.
While Apollo could heal him-even across the river of ti-doing so would harm Mike's
future potential and limit his growth.
Mike nodded, indicating he understood.
Even without Apollo's explanation, Mike knew this to be true.
To Apollo, whether Mike could see or not didn't seem like a big deal.
Mike hesitated, then rembered the child was still beside him.
He patted the child's head and instructed,
"Cover your ears. Don't eavesdrop."
The child obediently raised his fingers and plugged his ears, refraining from listening to their
conversation.
Mike hesitated for a mont before deciding to tell Apollo the truth.
"Apollo, the Source of the World in your dreams might be the Source of the World from the
Heavenly Realm."
Mike was confident Apollo would understand what he ant.
Apollo nodded and replied, sowhat curiously,
"I know."
Mike: ???
A flurry of question marks filled Mike's mind.
"You know?" he asked instinctively.
Apollo nodded again.
"I've always known."
Mike: ...
He and Ares had gone through so much trouble, traveling to the mont the Tower of Truth
was forged, risking life and limb to uncover the truth for Apollo...
And this was the result?
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