Truman's gaze fell on the strikingly handsome man, momentarily stunned—only slightly better-looking than himself!
"What would happen if someone like him took a Demoness potion? Shame I'll never find out."
In Truman's mind, the Sage Robe parsed a single piece of information, confirming the angel's identity.
[Angel of Fate: Ouroboros]
That was all, and Truman already knew it.
Through the vision granted by the Book of Dreams, this Angel of Fate was shrouded in a thick shadow, behind which lay an indescribable ocean of colors.
He was favored by an entity of immense rank.
"Danger!"
For the first time, Truman sensed a profound threat, the shadow's hidden force capable of terrifying effects on him!
"As dangerous as eternal slumber!"
"The Chaos Sea… Origin Sefirot must not be touched!" Truman concluded.
The Book of Dreams seemed to sense his will, flipping open on its own. Dreamlike phosphorescence spilled forth, about to collide with the thick shadow!
"Stop!" At that moment, Truman's eyes nearly reflected the figure hidden behind the shadow.
Under his will, the phosphorescence transformed into radiant, seven-colored butterflies, like dreams manifesting into reality with dazzling brilliance.
Fortunately, the other side also suppressed their restless power, preventing the sea of secrets from flooding out.
The two avoided a clash of Origin Sefirot, but the force rippled outward.
"Trouble!" Truman couldn't have foreseen this. He already felt a gaze upon him.
That gaze carried ferocity and madness—giants were no gentle folk, and causing a disturbance here had predictable consequences.
"It must be the Harvest Goddess Omabella," Truman thought.
This was her domain. The aura of Origin Sefirot naturally drew her attention, as she responded to her devotees' prayers, perhaps even nearby!
Before Truman could react, every blade of grass turned hostile. The land itself shifted, rejecting him, as if becoming his grave.
Even his body began to change—his hair withered, on the verge of wilting like a plant.
Truman's form flickered, dissolving into vast streams of knowledge, transforming into an information torrent.
"Hey! Why are you still dazed? Let's go!"
Truman glanced at Ouroboros, still reeling from the Chaos Sea's impact, and grabbed the stunned Hermes, teleporting to Ouroboros's side. The three began to roam, aiming for the spirit world.
But before they could fully enter, a mass of wildly growing plants blocked their path.
"Mystical reappearance, the Emperor's new clothes!"
In an instant, the hem of Truman's robe fluttered, weaving an invisible robe of pure knowledge around them.
They vanished yet remained, lightly passing through the plants.
The trio resumed their roam, entering the spirit world.
The Elder Glove, tied to two pathways privileged in the spirit world, held no fear of Omabella. This battle was an accident, not part of the plan, so Truman decided to withdraw quickly.
Without hesitation, he prepared to fully escape the battlefield, only to be halted by a decaying twilight.
Great! The Giant King had now cast his gaze here, drawn by the Origin Sefirot's aura.
The gap between a true god and Sequence 2? Consider how the Death Archon was nearly "killed by a glance" from the Blood Emperor in later eras.
"Go ahead, look at me!" Truman, confident in the Book of Dreams' rank, raised it, hoping the Giant King would take a glance—ideally letting the dreamlike phosphorescence touch him!
If the Sea of Chaos could pollute the Dragon of Imagination, why not his Book of Dreams?
"Let there be light!"
A clear, magnetic voice rang in Truman's ears, prompting him to lower the Book of Dreams.
A god had intervened, sparing him the trouble.
The sun blazed from the boundless heights of the astral realm, its searing light tearing through the decaying twilight.
"Roar!" A terrifying bellow shook the entire spirit world.
Yet, under the sun's blazing light, the chaotic twilight seemed too disordered to break through the solar seal.
"Let's go!" Truman glanced back, seeing a colossal giant's silhouette wielding a greatsword, clad in tattered armor, his face obscured, with twilight at his back.
This was the Giant King Aurmir!
An ancient god! Truman hadn't expected to see him, all sparked by the unforeseen clash of the Chaos Sea and Book of Dreams.
"Could the Book of Dreams truly be an Origin Sefirot? But I've never heard of it!" Truman pondered, troubled, as their roam completed.
Guided by human intervention and Ouroboros's awakened fate manipulation, they arrived in an unfamiliar kingdom, before an unfamiliar church.
Before them stood a man radiant as the sun, wearing a white clerical robe with a silver cross at his chest.
Truman's first sight was his eyes—pure gold, like miniature suns.
This was the Sun God, later crowned "Ancient" in future eras.
He might already call himself the Creator.
"Who are you?" Truman and the Ancient Sun God spoke simultaneously, their gazes locked.
But the next moment, both instinctively closed their eyes and turned away.
In that instant, Truman saw a dark sea containing all the world's secrets, while the Ancient Sun God glimpsed a radiant phosphorescence harboring all beautiful wishes.
Both were worth exploring, but both sensed danger and averted their gazes, halting a mystical convergence.
Otherwise, another Origin Sefirot clash would erupt.
"You may call me the Sun God," the Ancient Sun God said, looking again without probing intent, just casually.
"I'm Truman," Truman replied, the flickering phosphorescence in his eyes dimming.
"Truman?" The Ancient Sun God paused, pronouncing the name in a way alien to this era: "truemen?"
"Let there be light?" Truman echoed the Sun God's earlier line.
As expected, the Ancient Sun God's demeanor subtly shifted.
The atmosphere between them gained an indescribable nuance.
Well… probably a good one.
(End of Chapter)
---
Do You Know:
Ouroboros, the Angel of Fate, mirrors Lord of the Mysteries' Ouroboros, tied to the Monster pathway and fate.