Boom!
In a palace of coral and gemstones, thunder crackled wildly.
"It's the Chaos Sea!" On the throne at the palace's heart sat a man in a simple robe, his pointed ears high, his chiseled face strikingly handsome.
Yet more striking was his savage aura, as if ready to hurl a lightning spear into the sea.
He gazed toward the Giant King's Court, his tone brimming with unmasked desire, long coveting the Chaos Sea.
"This time, it's dangerous." Beside him stood a beautiful, regal elf woman, her expression grave, far more rational than the Elf King.
"Controlling the Chaos Sea—how could it be easy?" The Elf King's body sparked with thick bolts, shaking the palace. "I couldn't do it before, nor could that dragon!"
"But the Chaos Sea may already be claimed. Didn't you see that sun?" Elf Queen Cohinem said coldly.
"The sun? I'll devour it!" The Elf King's temper, as if woven into his blood, roared like thunder, his craving for the sun undisguised.
To ancient gods, adjacent or even non-adjacent pathways were prey, with adjacent ones "tastier."
"Kill that sun, and the Chaos Sea and it are mine!" His voice burned with fervor, an urge to descend upon the Giant King's Court surging.
"That dragon has the same idea!"
"Best case, we stew the dragon and sun together, then feast on the Sea of Chaos!"
Cohinem remained cold, unmoved by the Elf King's vivid scenario. As the elves' queen and his strongest anchor, she grounded the sky's tyrant.
"That wolf's already lost patience. We'll enter last!"
"Fair point!" Cohinem persuaded the Elf King, quelling his savagery and madness, to wait for the Giant King's Court war to clarify.
"Ancient gods are mad, not stupid," Truman stressed again, far off in the Ancient Sun God's divine kingdom.
Sasrir, over the years, had planted countless spies among the ancient gods, gathering firsthand intelligence. Now, all major ancient gods were restless, gearing for war.
"The Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt, is the only one we can't infiltrate," Sasrir said regretfully.
"Hm!" Truman nodded. The Dragon of Imagination's pathway was just too cheating—unplayable without nerfs!
"Good thing it's your target." Truman shifted to his next move. "Coming with me?"
Sasrir raised an eyebrow, tempted.
"You don't, and I'll struggle to convince Lilith," Truman pressed, seeing Sasrir's interest.
"I've got a lot to handle…" As deputy lord, Sasrir oversaw all the divine kingdom's major decisions.
"Dump it on those guys." Truman glanced at the distant angels. "They're angels—can't be idle, brawling all day!"
"…Fine!" Sasrir gritted his teeth, agreeing to the trip—a legitimate excuse!
"Medici, Leodero, rally the army, prepare for war!"
"Aucuses, get Ouroboros, monitor the war's shifts, report anything to the Lord!"
Sasrir methodically delegated tasks.
"Yes!" Medici and the others grew serious.
"Let's go!" Truman and Sasrir set off for Lilith's divine kingdom.
"Sasrir's gone?" The Ancient Sun God sensed it, looking toward Lilith's realm, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"The Book of Dreams has such effects?" he murmured, encountering something even he couldn't fathom. Its presence let Sasrir's humanity shine more freely.
The primal madness seemed quieter, his condition noticeably improved.
His state was tougher than Truman realized.
The Fool of later eras climbed from Sequence 9 in the Fifth Epoch, where the Lord of Mysteries' influence was weakest, yet became a mental patchwork after godhood.
Now, a dual-pathway true god, the Sun God was worse off, with Sasrir as his "firewall."
"But… dreams come true?" The Sun God's lips twitched. "Sasrir's exhausted, craving rest, freedom…"
After time with Truman, Sasrir's humanity surged, closer to his pre-Chaos Sea self.
"It's good." The Sun God withdrew his gaze, praying calmly.
"You might not believe it, but this is my first time leaving the kingdom," Sasrir said as he and Truman arrived in a vibrant, flower-strewn region near Lilith's divine kingdom, lush with thriving flora.
"That's why I dragged you along." Truman and Sasrir shared a grin, turning to Lilith's realm.
A red moon hung high, countless flowers vied in splendor, a spiritual spring flowed everywhere, and animals thrived amid rice, wheat, and fruit crops.
And, of course, purebred vampires.
"Lilith, ancient god of the Moon pathway and parts of the Mother pathway, even swallowed other sequence characteristics," Sasrir said. "But her mind's still sharp."
"Brace yourself. Lilith is beauty incarnate," Sasrir teased with a smile.
"Beauty… hiss!" Truman gasped at the sudden figure of a girl before them.
She seemed born from the red moon, her blood-red hair cascading, clad in an ancient, dreamy gown, enveloped and haloed by moonlight.
All things glowed in her presence, starlight pooling in her eyes. Barefoot, she stood on blooming flowers, speaking with proud, icy authority.
"Who are you?!"
Truly beautiful—not just in appearance, but a mystical symbol, the very concept of "beauty" embodied!
"So this is that kind of beauty." Truman was genuinely stunned.
"Greetings, Lady Lilith. I come on the Lord's behalf," Sasrir said, a solar glow rising from him, making the moonlike Lilith squint slightly.
"That sun from before?" All ancient gods saw it blaze in the astral realm.
"We bring a cooperation proposal you won't refuse."
Dreamlike phosphorescence fell on Truman's divine badge, which hummed softly, sealing everything from fate.
The power of secrecy!
"Oh?" Lilith's expression didn't shift, but her gaze locked onto them, her body tensing.
"Uh?" Sasrir and Truman exchanged a glance. "Ancient gods really are a bit off."
Perhaps it was their pride and madness, or a test of whether these two were worthy of partnering with the noble vampire ancestor.
Either way, radiant moonlight spilled from Lilith, shimmering threads weaving into a galaxy.
(End of Chapter)
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Do You Know:
I thought Sasrir's name was Sarsir and that's how I read his name even after the end of book one. LOL