Mystery: Starting with the Night Pope.

Chapter 138 The Negative Side of "The Beginning"

Now that Salinger has decided to truly become "Death" and completely seize the power of death from Gregory, the hidden tricks left by Gregory have been unleashed, aiming to drag Salinger into the river.

If this plan succeeds, the one who will awaken will be the progenitor of the phoenix!

"Greggary?!" Salinger frowned, but also felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had finally been lifted from his shoulders.

Only those who share the "Death God" path know just how difficult their own path truly is to kill.

Salinger was prepared for this!

Salinger leaped up, and his human body began to change. White feathers stained with dirt grew all over his body, the flesh of his hands wriggled and became wings, and his feet became one and slowly stretched out.

In just a few moments, Salinger transformed into a feathered serpent the size of an island!

It has huge, dark green scales, with feathers stained with pale yellow pus growing from the gaps between them. Each feather has illusory black tubes that connect to the unknown darkness.

The feathered serpent's eyes burned with pale flames, and its face was that of Salinger, with its bronze complexion and deep features.

The feathered serpent unfurled a pair of exaggerated and thick wings from its back and roared as it crashed into the phoenix that was already stuck in the river!

In order to counter the absolute oppression of the lower beings by the higher beings of the "Death" pathway, Salinger changed his own mythical creature form and faced the Phoenix Ancestor with a completely new attitude.

On the other side, after killing Salinger, Chick jumped back to the "River of Eternal Darkness" space where he could hide.

Almost simultaneously, a purifying beam of light, covering nearly half of the southern continent, slammed down!

The purifying beam forcibly suppressed the entire turbulent continent, and Truman's true form instantly wandered there. The authority of "truth" turned all the terrifying disasters that had occurred into nothingness.

"The Grim Reaper's ritual?!" Truman frowned slightly, but judging from the situation, Salinger was probably already dead, having completed the first half of the ritual.

"And there's Chick's 'apocalyptic' aura!" Truman recognized Chick and understood what had happened here.

After calming the disaster on the spot, Truman did not leave immediately. The situation in the Northern Continent had gradually become clear, and his involvement was no longer necessary.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Truman suddenly looked up and sensed a gathering of power.

He had seen a similar power in the progenitor of the phoenix.

It was a pale death, yet a concept had taken on a tangible form.

At this moment, all those who could become undead or ghosts felt the birth of their god.

The power of death has caused countless cemeteries around the world to undergo strange changes, with countless corpses that were not yet stiff breaking out of their coffins to pay homage to "death".

"Adam?" For some reason, the first person that came to Truman's mind was Adam.

"What is He up to now?"

The fact that "Death" became a god seems to have nothing to do with Him, but the audience, those who know, know.

……

"He has indeed appeared again." Chick returned to the dark space where he had hidden himself. "Only he is different."

Other true gods may choose to save believers because of issues such as "anchors" or "faith," but only He saves humanity.

During the great catastrophe, the first thing he did was save people.

"Dreamlike..." A chilling voice suddenly flashed through Chick's mind.

He turned his head, and a grayish-white cloud made of bones appeared out of thin air in this space, causing a violent upheaval in the "River of Eternal Darkness" below.

He is Salinger who has truly become "Death"!

Perhaps His preparations of over a thousand years had paid off, for He buried the Phoenix Ancestor for the second time, completely submerging him in the "River of Eternal Darkness," merging him with the concept of "death" to become the "God of Death."

Even because of the presence of the Phoenix Ancestor's spiritual imprint, His condition was actually quite good.

"It's your turn to fulfill your promise." Chick remained aloof before the "Grim Reaper" point.

"No rush." ​​Salinger slowly shook his head. "Let me adjust to my new state."

"No!" Chick stared intently at Salinger, his long, snake-like hair pointing at the newly appointed "Grim Reaper."

Chick showed no fear of "Death," and was even willing to fight him at the slightest provocation.

"What's wrong with you?!" Salinger's face stiffened, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, deathly gray light.

"I want to become the 'Original' as quickly as possible!" Chick didn't back down at all, staring straight at "Death".

The two strategic allies, who had just been working together seamlessly, were suddenly on the verge of a major fight.

"..." Salinger looked at Chik with his deathly gray eyes and asked the same question he had asked before.

"What did Adam say to you? Tell me, and I will help you perform the initiation ceremony as quickly as possible."

"...To get closer to 'Dream,' one must turn towards 'the beginning'!" Chick paused for a moment before speaking softly, showing sufficient respect to this "Grim Reaper."

"And 'the beginning' is the most important step I've taken toward 'the beginning'."

"The 'First Creator'?!" Death thought of many things in an instant, about the legendary "First Creator", about "Dream", about "the Primordial".

"You're insane!" Death spat out the words through clenched teeth.

"I simply gave up suppressing the will within me, so that I could get closer to the 'Origin'."

"I will be the 'original' feminine aspect, allowing certain of His qualities to awaken within me..."

"Only in this way can I become equal to Dream in status and have the right to hold him in my hands!"

Chick laughed maniacally, his long, snake-like hair flying behind him. Something strange appeared on Chick, making Salinger's expression turn serious.

A mysterious symbol appeared silently on Chik's smooth forehead.

That is a symbol representing the "original" and the feminine aspect of the "original creator".

The appearance of this symbol made Chick's eyes even more terrifying, but Chick himself maintained a very strange and obvious sense of self.

"What a madman," Salinger suddenly exclaimed. "However, the difficulty of your ascension ritual will probably be minimized."

Even if things continue as they are, in a few more years, a certain will within Chick's body will awaken to a certain degree, and the characteristics within his body will naturally converge, transforming him into the "Primordial Witch".

The ultimate goal of the ascension ritual is to stabilize the state of the user and maintain self-awareness to counteract the effects of the potion.

Without engaging in confrontation, the only function of the ritual is to bring about a qualitative change in the body's inherent characteristics.

"Alright, I'll help you become a 'Primordial'." Salinger nodded slightly, deciding to fulfill his promise and help Chik advance to the rank of "Primordial Witch," which would be a relatively long process.

(End of this chapter)