Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

On a stone plaza floating in the void, rows of dark stone pillars support a magnificent and sacred church.

The only flaw is that every pillar, every arch, and every dome is inlaid with skulls of different races. Most of them are pale white, densely packed together, their empty eyes observing their surroundings. On the walls, windows, and doors of the church, transparent, distorted, and tormented faces stand out, completely separating the interior from the outside world.

At the very front of the church stands a cross that is over a hundred meters tall.

In front of the cross, there are rows of black chairs with backrests.

Dressed in a simple white robe, with a light gold beard and a silver cross pendant, Adam stands beneath the cross, facing the rows of seats, like a pastor preparing to preach to his believers.

This is the Church of Bones, also known as the Kingdom of the "Dreamer".

Since acquiring the extraordinary properties of the 'Eternal Sun', He has never left this place. Everyone believes that He is making the most of the time to digest the uniqueness and extraordinary properties of the 'Sun' pathway.

But this does not mean that He has given up His influence on reality; on the contrary, He has been secretly observing the development of the times.

As the prayer ended, the space in front of Adam suddenly rippled like water, solidifying into an image:

The scene is one of darkness, a deep void, with no end in sight.

That wasn't the starry sky, because even in a dark starry sky, there are still stars twinkling.

It was underground, filled with a black, viscous liquid, like a chaotic ocean.

Just like the starry sky that covers the world, the Chaos Sea is also omnipresent. People can enter the Chaos Sea from anywhere in reality—as long as they dig deep enough, they will always find those black, viscous liquids.

Normally, Adam would never dare to so brazenly peer into the Chaos Sea.

Even a true god, if he were to rashly peek into the Chaos Sea, would still be corrupted by the primordial chaos.

But things are different now.

Because in Adam's vision, that deep black "ocean" was boiling.

Yes, it's boiling!

Although no light could be seen, the chaotic sea was indeed boiling, with one bubble after another surging and bursting on the 'surface,' as if it were giving birth to a new life.

Adam knew the reason for the boiling of the Sea of ​​Chaos was the spread of the "First Fire" creation theory. As this theory gained momentum, the Sea of ​​Chaos also boiled, a harbinger of destruction.

Once the "First Fire Creation Theory" completely replaces the Creator, that chaotic sea will be completely evaporated, and the flame will be "born" from it.

By then, the beginning will be completely a thing of the past.

As for Adam, He did not reject seeing such an ending, but...

"Too fast," Adam murmured, looking up at the huge cross before him, his eyes clear.

All the suffering in reality comes from the beginning, and all the good fortune also comes from the beginning.

He left behind not only spirit, will, imprint, and contamination, but also essence, characteristics, and power.

His remaining power formed an invisible barrier outside the planet, preventing the Outer Gods from directly intruding. However, as time passed, because the "Origin" had never truly been resurrected, His will and power waned. By the end of the Fourth Age, this had become quite severe, causing cracks to appear in the invisible barrier. The Seven Gods were forced to move their divine kingdom to the Astral Plane to mend the gap.

Now that the God of War and the Eternal Sun have both fallen, the remaining cracks will remain unfilled.

Therefore, Adam had to personally intervene and fill the gap with his own divine kingdom, which was the price he had to pay for seizing the power of the sun.

Of course, He could also choose not to do so.

But in that case, the Outer Gods could use this rift to open the barrier of the world more quickly and eventually enter reality to feast.

This was clearly unacceptable to Adam, who had his own plans. Because once the Outer Gods from the Old Ones entered the scene, they could completely overturn all of Adam's plans and seize everything they wanted with the most primal and pure violence.

Therefore, He must eliminate the influence of external gods before He can achieve His purpose.

But correspondingly.

That invisible barrier actually symbolizes the 'original' present state.

In the first three ages, the will of the "original" was the strongest and the one most likely to be restored.

However, during the First Age, God and the Heavenly Venerable fought each other and both perished.

By the Third Age, the will of the "Original" had weakened considerably, and that was almost His last chance. The "Ancient Sun God" at that time was the best choice for the "Original" to revive.

However, the 'Ancient Sun God' was unwilling to be controlled by the 'Origin' and broke this deadlock by committing suicide.

Although the consequence of this was the fall of the "Ancient Sun God" and the division of power due to betrayal, at least Adam and the true creation survived.

In contrast, "Initially" was the one that truly lost all chance of recovery.

Because in the Fourth and Fifth Ages, the gods who already knew the truth of the world no longer attempted to ascend to the Old Ones, and they tacitly maintained their strength at the Sequence 0 level.

Because at the Sequence 0 level, as long as they do not actively approach the "beginning" or the "chaotic sea," they can rely on faith to anchor their humanity, thereby avoiding further contamination and erosion by the "beginning."

Once the barrier completely disappears and the apocalypse arrives, it also means that the 'original' will will completely fade away.

The true gods are aware of this, so they are all waiting for the appropriate time, which is the coming of the end times.

Of course, they wouldn't really wait until the end of the world to start their actions, because while the 'original' will would have faded by then, the threat from the Outer Gods, who were eyeing the world from beyond, would be no less than, and perhaps even greater than, that of the 'original' will.

After all, the 'original' only had the risk of revival, while these Outer Gods are the real Old Ones!

Therefore, the true gods must find a balance, and the period before the end of the world is the best balance.

During this period, the Outer Gods coveted the world, but had not yet descended.

The 'original' will was only one step away from completely fading away. That's why the true gods acted in unison, attacking each other and vying for the ticket to ascend to the Old Ones!

But—even if the 'original' will fades, it doesn't mean they can rest easy.

Because the 'original' will will fade, but the spirit will exist forever and will not be extinguished unless the entire universe is reduced to a single point. Therefore, there is still a possibility of the 'original' awakening within the corresponding higher-ranking beings. The higher the rank, the greater this possibility, and the more severe the corresponding influence and erosion.

Even without the 'original' will, it only slightly weakens the influence and erosion, preventing direct 'possession'.

In other words, whether it is the true God or the Old Ones, their purpose is actually the same: to wait for the 'original' will to fade away. As for the 'original' spirit, there is actually no need to worry about it so much.

Because as long as they do not stubbornly pursue the possession of all power, they can completely use the "anchor point" to resist the "original" spirit, preventing it from giving birth to a new "will," and thus ensuring the continuation of their own will.

Therefore, Adam's goal was never to become the true "creator," because He knew that was utter nonsense. What He sought was simply to regain His former power and once again become the ancient sun god He once was.

Because the 'Old Days' represent His limit in confronting the 'Original' spirit, and the power of the Three Pillars is enough for Him to surpass the vast majority of beings.

That's it.

He was never greedy.

However, the situation has changed slightly now.

Although some of the twenty-two paths originate from external gods, they all ultimately come from the "original" source, either directly or indirectly.

The 'First Flame' was different; it was a true 'invader'!

What Adam and the Outer Gods demanded was nothing more than more extraordinary characteristics and greater power.

The attitude towards the "original" was merely one of resistance and suppression.

But the First Flame is different. What it seeks is the ultimate—to classify all the essence of the world as the First Flame, to completely annihilate the original spirit, so that no one in this world will know the Creator anymore, only the First Flame.

Most importantly, the 'First Flame' actually has this ability.

Just like that boiling "chaotic sea", it is actually the primordial fire that is eroding the original "will" and "spirit"!

The original doomsday was supposed to be in 1368, the year the barrier disappeared and the year the 'original' will completely faded away.

It is now 1351, and Adam has at least 17 years left. He is confident that He can restore His former power within this time, provided that His true creation is willing to merge with Him.

But now, things have changed somewhat.

Because under the "boiling" of the first fire, the "original" will will dissipate in a faster time than before.

The original estimate was 17 years left, but now there are at most less than 15 years left.

Furthermore, the process of 'boiling' is continuous, and the 'original' will will also continue to fade away.

Judging from the current progress of the initial fire, He will ultimately have less than three years, or even less.

For the Outer Gods, this was undoubtedly a celebration.

Although a decade or so is just a blink of an eye for the old days, they wouldn't mind starting their meal a little earlier.

For Adam and other true gods, this was actually a mixed blessing.

The worry is that the Outer Gods will arrive sooner than expected.

What is pleasing is that along with the 'original' will, the 'original' spirit is also being worn down, which will make their advancement easier.

For example, the Goddess of Night, having already obtained the unique status of the God of Death and the God of War, is a foregone conclusion to ascend to the status of an Outer God. Three years is enough time for her to complete the process, and with the help of the Embers, the River of Eternal Darkness will not be an obstacle. She can ascend to the status of an Outer God before the end of the world.

The same principle applies to Adam.

The problem is that, unlike the 'Goddess of Night' who has already gathered all the necessary conditions, Adam is currently only a dual-path true god; he still lacks three paths. He must persuade the 'True Creation' to willingly merge with him, and he must also snatch the uniqueness of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom and the Lord of Storms from the jaws of death.

Even if He were to accomplish all of this, He would still need to consider the consequences—the consequences of a full-blown conflict.

Fool, door, white tower, night, death, twilight giant, mother, moon, black emperor.

Of the twenty-two paths, the Fool's side possesses nine complete paths, four true gods, and one angel king.

Adam, on his own side, also has eight paths: the Dreamer, the Sun, the Error, the Witch, the Red Priest, the Abyss, the Hermit, and the Perfect One, four true gods, and two angel kings.

Although the Hanged Man is one with Him, he may not necessarily stand firmly on His side.

Although the tyrant stands in opposition to Him, He also has reservations about the Night, and He most likely naively wants to remain neutral. And even if the other side joins the Fool's side, the Hanged Man will inevitably intervene, so the two cancel each other out and are not considered.

As for the Wheel of Fortune and the Bound Ones, these two paths are incomplete and cannot have an impact on the overall situation.

That leaves only the judge's approach.

The uniqueness of the "Judge" path lies with the Church of War, and it has now mostly fallen into the territory of Rune, and may eventually fall into the hands of Roselle.

In other words, the situation on the surface is still unfavorable to Him.

But this may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Adam suddenly looked up, as if he had sensed something.

boom!

The next moment, the previously stable void suddenly erupted with a surging turbulence, sweeping across the entire astral plane like a monstrous wave.

At the same time, everyone in the Astral Plane sensed a terrifyingly complex torrent of information washing over every corner of the Astral Plane and every divine kingdom standing within it.

That is the 'Hidden Sage,' who is seeking advancement.

A sliver of light pierced through the stained glass windows high above, illuminating the enormous cross and the image of Adam below.

A powerful will permeated the church.

He seemed to be asking Adam whether the promise he made still stood.

Adam did not answer, but calmly looked away.

He didn't even move an inch, yet He himself had vanished from the Church of Bones and appeared somewhere in the Astral Plane.

A massive torrent of information completely enveloped an area, forming an impregnable defense to prevent the advancing "Hidden Sage" from being influenced by external forces.

Outside that defensive line, faint lights swarmed in from all directions, quickly analyzing and dismantling the defenses built by the information deluge.

However, the hidden sage who was about to become a god was not afraid of the Lord of Steam at all. Although the Lord of Steam decomposed very quickly, His flood of information was endless!

Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a shadow suddenly darted into the defensive line—the information torrent should have blocked it out, but it 'mistakenly' mistook it for part of the defensive line, allowing it to pass smoothly through and appear before the ascending Hidden Sage.

He was a young man with slightly curly black hair, a wide forehead, thin cheeks, deep black eyes, and wearing a monocle.

He is Amun.

"The Blasphemer" Amon!

Amon smiled brightly at the Hidden Sage, then immediately burrowed into the Hidden Sage's body and merged with Him!

Generally speaking, angels at the 'Hermit' level are very difficult to deal with.

Because they can transform themselves into a pure flow of information, most pathways are powerless against them.

But 'error' is different; it excels at finding loopholes and making these pure pieces of information consider itself a part of them.

Adam ignored everything before him.

They neither intervened to help the Lord of Steam nor helped the Hidden Sage strengthen their defenses.

A true god is powerful, but not powerful enough to bring sufficient benefits to His side.

But His existence could enable another true god, or even an Old One.

The enormous, immortal serpent swam through the void, silently infiltrating the Hidden Sage's vicinity before its gaping maw snapped open.

Adam watched all this indifferently and calmly said:

"This is a necessary sacrifice."

He seemed to be talking to himself, or perhaps speaking to someone he couldn't see.

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