Lynn spoke the truth. In the Fourth Epoch, thanks to the smooth progress in the construction of the True Creator Church—mainly because the main framework had already been built—he even managed to deceive Pallez into fully supporting him. For him, filling in the rest of the church wasn't that difficult.
It's amusing—half of the Zoroast family members have already been tricked into joining the True Creator Church. Every time Solomon sees him, his expression turns dark. But would Lynn say that?
Unfortunately, there's no medicine for regret in this world, at least not for others. So, even though Solomon is pained, thinking that he shouldn't have let the Zoroast family get involved with Lynn and feels like he's sending lambs into the wolf's mouth, it's already too late.
In short, with most of the Zoroast family on board, Artisan feeling a sense of crisis and performing exceptionally well, and Azik diligently handling most of the administrative work for the church, Lynn has managed to fill up the True Creator Church by more than half.
Although the faith in the True Creator among the church members wasn't devout enough, and the lack of time meant there hadn't been enough promotion of the True Creator's teachings, the True Creator was in a better state than before, though still not fully awake. Still, Lynn managed to extend his influence into every corner of the Solomon Empire, nearly completing his ceremony for becoming an Illuminator. In just a few days, he could take the final steps and ascend.
What about the progress on digesting the Knowledge Magister potion?
Of course, Lynn discovered that the potion was fully digested after he woke from his slumber—the existence of the Eye of Secrets is far more suited to the role of Knowledge Magister than a Sage.
Lynn had already begun promoting various technologies that benefit the people in the Solomon Empire, such as the steam engine, helping him digest the Illuminator potion ahead of time—thanks to Roselle's contributions, allowing Lynn to directly transplant them.
Lynn wasn't expecting the Illuminator potion to digest as smoothly as the Knowledge Emperor's potion. After all, the Illuminator is more accurately termed the Civilization Illuminator, focusing on advancing civilization. While related to knowledge, the focus of digestion differs from that of the Knowledge Emperor. So even though Lynn is the Lord of Knowledge, it's unlikely he can instantly digest this potion, just as he had to slowly digest the Sage and Knowledge Magister potions.
'But, maybe not,' Lynn mused with a subtle expression. 'Even though my special status may not help with the Illuminator potion, in the end, being an Illuminator means advancing civilization, whether by bringing primitive people into the agricultural age or sparking the Industrial Revolution. Either way, it counts as fulfilling civilization's illumination.'
In the Fourth Epoch, Lynn may have only begun this process, but his organization, the Eye of Secrets, had already made significant strides in the Second Epoch. The Eye of Secrets controlled the education system and it had over the past hundred years been responsible for teaching batches of slaves from various Beyonder species, turning them into free citizens. Under the guidance of the Eye of Secrets, these people learned to fight and farm, thus completing the transformation from a primitive slave society to an agricultural age.
Though this wasn't entirely the work of the Eye of Secrets, just as Artisan could digest the Illuminator potion thanks to Roselle, Lynn could theoretically share in this success and digest the potion himself.
'So, am I about to instantly digest it again?' Lynn thought, amused by the idea. He couldn't help but feel that his past self, who chose to establish the Eye of Secrets, was far too foresighted.
Once Lynn digests the Illuminator potion, he can fully absorb the uniqueness of the Paragon. This uniqueness corresponds to knowledge, even if it's knowledge of the material world, making it something he can absorb perfectly.
'With that, I'll be very close to becoming the Demon of Knowledge. The only things left are ensuring Klein's advancement and figuring out how to save people. I've already rescued Roselle, Azik just needs to wait for the right moment, and Mr. Door doesn't require much effort anymore—I'll just take him on a tour of the cosmos. Among those remaining, the most important are, of course, Medici and Sasrir.' Lynn pondered, resisting the urge to stretch lazily.
'Medici has already been halfway rescued. He only needs to successfully ascend to Red Priest in the Fourth Epoch... Now that I think about it, Medici might not need to wait for the Pale Calamity to advance to Red Priest. I nearly forgot—the War of the Four Emperors was a continent-spanning conflict!' Lynn chuckled.
'In theory, as long as Medici wins in the War of the Four Emperors, this massive war, involving numerous Sequence 0s and spanning two continents, would fully support his ascension to Red Priest.'
'Considering the successful construction of the True Creator Church in the Fourth Epoch, and the members of the Aurora Order I've sent for training, Sasrir's recovery should just be a matter of time...' Lynn recalled his identities in the Second Epoch, always ready for a return, and couldn't help but purse his lips.
He realized that avatars who have absorbed uniqueness can indeed return at any time, but once returned, separating them again may not be easy.
In other words, when he ascends to Sequence 0, it might be time to temporarily say goodbye to the friends and family from various eras.
As for when he could reunite with them by splitting off another avatar, it would depend on whether he can successfully detach from his main body and become fully independent.
Once Lynn attains true freedom, he could create new identities and visit his friends once more.
Lynn was confident that this day wasn't far off.
They would meet again—no matter the time or space.
Of course, in addition to these friends and family, Lynn hadn't forgotten about helping Klein retrieve his relatives from the Pre-Epoch, or assisting Bernadette in rescuing her sister. Lynn had always been someone who kept his promises.
Naturally Artisan was unaware of all the thoughts Lynn had in just a few seconds. His breathing hitched for a moment, clearly unsettled by the fact that his Characteristic would disappear soon.
But Artisan was someone who understood reality well, so after a brief pause, he simply said, "That's how it should be."
Seeing Artisan's willingness to submit, Lynn was quite satisfied and added, "For now, we don't need to announce my replacement of you publicly. We have enough time to take this slowly."
Directly announcing the replacement of a church's god would cause great upheaval, so Lynn chose to use Artisan's identity, just like how the Fool had used Sea God's identity before slowly layering other disguises to complete the transition.
After all, he wasn't in any hurry—there was plenty of time in this era.
(End of Chapter)
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