'Speaking of which, when the war ends, I should be able to advance to Paragon, right?' Lynn thought with trace of melancholy in his eyes.
The ritual for becoming a Paragon, while being simple in concept, is really difficult in practice. It requires bringing about enough change in the world—this transformation could be a change in civilization, a massive reform in culture, or a technological leap. Lynn couldn't help but speculate that Artisan had likely participated in the War of the Four Emperors and stayed until its conclusion and advanced the remaining destroyed nations, which fulfilled the ritual's requirements.
As for Lynn, he had already caused enough change in the Second Epoch and most importantly in the War of the Four Emperors, his advancement ritual would naturally be complete when the dust settled at the war's end.
As for the remaining Illuminator Characteristics, Lynn hadn't been idle these past two months. He had found all the necessary information and items.
Given that advancing to an Above The Sequence only needs a Sequence 0 as the core, along with the Uniqueness of adjacent pathways and their Sequence 1 Characteristic, once Lynn ascended to Paragon, he could attempt to become the Demon of Knowledge as soon as he obtained the Knowledge Moor.
'Faster than I expected, but...' Lynn's gaze swept over the others in the meeting room, who were already discussing war details, and he chuckled.
'It's not a bad thing. The sooner I leave, the sooner I can return.'
...
Fifth Epoch, December 31, 1349, Early Morning in Backlund—
While the Fourth Epoch was engulfed in war, the Fifth Epoch's Backlund remained peaceful and calm, giving no hint of the invisible disaster looming over the city.
Yesterday marked the end of the final rehearsal, and early this morning, Mr. A, having put on his old equipment, arrived at the secret underground structure of the Augustus Royal Family. He was once again preparing for the ceremony to summon the True Creator with his usual fanatical fervor.
Although Mr. A did not fully understand why Aurora Order still insisted on preparing the summoning ritual despite their transition, as a devout believer, he would never refuse such a glorious task or question it. After contacting the Augustus Royal Family as instructed, he began preparing the new summoning ritual provided by Lynn, who had replaced the old, bloodthirsty ritual with one that was far less bloody.
"Half an hour left…" Mr. A glanced at his watch and silently counted down the time. This was the summoning time agreed upon with the Augustus Royal Family. At the same time, a sequence 4 Despair was to create a large fog to aid the summoning.
Thinking of the Despair Witch and the vessel of the Primordial Demoness sent to "marry" a prince, Mr. A's eyes flashed with disdain.
If it were the Aurora Order, they would never give away their "Divine Child" as a hostage so easily.
...
'Even without Ince and 0-08's influence, the third prince still fell in love with Trissy, despite knowing she was once a man. True love is blind indeed...' Lynn sighed as he observed the unfolding scene from Red Rose Manor, where he had stationed himself to prevent Cheek from acting out of desperation and taking advantage of Trissy.
Moments ago, Lynn had witnessed a love story similar to the original: Trissy confessed to Edessak that not only is she a Witch, but she had also once been a man, and that she was only there as a hostage for the Demoness Sect's alliance with the Augustus Royal Family. Despite being devastated, Prince Edessak still stubbornly loved Trissy and helped her escape, choosing to stay behind and face the consequences alone.
While Lynn didn't usually have much patience for lovesick fools, he had to admire the prince's pure-hearted devotion. As a side note, even without Ince and 0-08, the Demoness Sect still found ways to restrict Trissy, so the overall outcome was not too different from the original.
"Who are you?"
Inside the room, Prince Edessak, still reeling from heartbreak, was startled to see Lynn suddenly appear. He instinctively stepped back while fighting the urge to glance at the hidden passage, managing to restrain himself in time.
"No need to be so tense. I'm just an unimportant spectator," Lynn said, waving a hand dismissively. "But are you sure you want to stay here? You'll die, you know. As the discarded pawn in the Augustus Royal Family and Demoness Sect's conspiracy, you'll be silenced."
Hearing this, Edessak's pupils shrank. His lips trembled, but he managed to say, "This is my responsibility. I am an Augustus..."
"No. Being silenced as a pawn in a conspiracy that will kill countless people is no one's responsibility. Especially not yours," Lynn said while shaking his head. "Do you even know what the Augustus Family is planning? Do you know how many people will die if this conspiracy succeeds?"
Prince Edessak's eyes became blank. As a pawn, he knew nothing of the deeper plot.
"Conservatively, at least a million. Maybe half of Backlund will be destroyed." Lynn smiled as he continued, not exaggerating in the least. Even if the large fog alone didn't kill tens of thousands, the descent of the True Creator would, with massive casualties, regardless of how swiftly the churches responded.
"How could that be?! They wouldn't… They can't do such a thing!" Edessak stammered in disbelief, shaking his head and retreating as he glanced at Lynn. "You must be lying..."
But from the prince's pale expression and wavering eyes, it was clear he was beginning to believe Lynn.
"It's the truth. You want to know what your family is planning? They're summoning a large fog to kill tens of thousands, possibly more, to cover up an even deeper conspiracy. They've even allied with the Aurora Order to summon the True Creator into reality..." Lynn explained calmly, watching as each word made Edessak's face turn paler.
Though not a saint, Prince Edessak wasn't entirely evil and possessed a basic sense of empathy.
(End of chapter)