Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability Chapter 1174: The Instinct for Redemption

After a few seconds had passed, the Circle of Inevitability finally utilized the anchored tributary of fate to break free from the suppression of the Darkness symbolism.

Nevertheless, neither He nor Eternal Darkness Amanises persisted with Their conflict. Instead, both turned Their gaze toward a distant sector of the star dominion.

In that location, an illusory mirror shattered into fragments, allowing Lumian to emerge in a form possessing three heads, three torsos, and six arms. His physical frame was draped in putrefying, green-yellow flesh while being consumed by intense, pitch-black flames.

That colossal form, burdened by decaying meat, began to collapse inward toward a singular point. The implosion started at the central chest, spreading to the right arm and then the left abdominal region. As the body caved in, a dark spot manifested, possessing a depth that seemed to hold the entirety of the universe.

With every stage of the collapse, Eternal Darkness Amanises felt her sense of peril sharpen. She quickly understood that the situation might be deviating from Their original calculations.

When Klein had achieved full awakening and successfully accommodated Sefirah Castle, he had consulted only two high-level entities to strategize for various contingencies. One was Lumian, who held the swirling face of chaos and embodied both the masculine and feminine traits of the mirrored Original Creator. The other was the Evernight Goddess Amanises, mistress of Concealment. This secrecy ensured that neither Klein's awakening nor Their hidden agendas would be exposed.

The Snake of Mercury, Will Auceptin, only discovered the news of Klein's awakening within the Nation of the Evernight. Although Klein had assisted Him in accommodating His Uniqueness, He remained uninformed regarding the specific details of the plan.

Consequently, Amanises was already aware of how Lumian, acting as the Origins of Disaster, intended to handle the Monarch of Decay and the events that would follow. Currently, it appeared the plan was being executed, yet the final result seemed to have taken a disturbing turn.

The intended goal was for Lumian to generate a force equivalent to the Fourth Pillar, which would destroy both the Monarch of Decay and Lumian himself. This act was meant to permanently wipe out the feminine and masculine aspects of the mirrored Original Creator, along with the lingering consciousnesses of Cheek, Alista Tudor, and the malevolent dragon.

If Lumian—functioning as a component of the Fourth Pillar through his status as the Origins of Disaster and Calamity of Destruction—could withstand the annihilation long enough, Eternal Darkness Amanises would retract the authorities She had lent him. Such an action would destabilize the Fourth Pillar's catastrophic power. Simultaneously, the Lord of Mysteries, Klein, would utilize New Birth, Grafting, and other techniques to attempt to save Lumian. However, this path risked leaving the chaotic cluster of spirits within him intact, making his current delicate equilibrium highly volatile.

While this outcome was now unfolding, it seemed that a far more terrifying phenomenon was taking shape.

Moments later, Eternal Darkness Amanises noticed bizarre occurrences surrounding Lumian’s rapidly imploding form.

A boundless, frozen void lacking any spark of life manifested. A Darkness appeared that seemed driven to devour everything and crush it into a single point...

The symbolism of Termination—the polar opposite of Genesis—had surfaced. This was an impossibility. The cosmos had not reached its conclusion, and the Fourth Pillar should not be capable of birth... The gaze of Eternal Darkness Amanises suddenly grew rigid.

A specific possibility occurred to Her.

Lumian’s vessel did not merely contain the powers required for the Fourth Pillar; it also held the symbolisms of the Monarch of Decay and the dual aspects of the mirrored Original Creator. As the power of Termination clashed with those mirrored aspects—which finally had the opportunity to interact during this cataclysm—there was a chance for the power of Termination to evolve into the true symbolism of Termination! One had to remember that those symbolisms included the concept that "anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

If the symbolism of Termination truly manifested, even for a heartbeat, the consequences would be apocalyptic. In the best-case scenario, every living thing in the galaxy, including the Great Old Dominators, would be erased without the hope of resurrection. In the worst-case scenario, the entire universe would undergo a total reboot!

Eternal Darkness Amanises immediately revoked the powers of Death, Eternal Silence, and Twilight She had bestowed upon Lumian. Despite this, the body, mind, and spirit of the Origins of Disaster continued their inward collapse.

The arrival of the Termination symbolism appeared to be an unstoppable certainty.

At that precise moment, the Circle of Inevitability deserted the golden Buddha representing the Key of Light and raced back to Lumian’s side through the astral world.

Observing this, Eternal Darkness Amanises remembered the suggestion from the Genie and chose not to interfere. Instead, She trailed the Circle of Inevitability back to the primary battlefield, keeping a close watch on the unfolding events.

The High-Dimensional Overseer’s strikes against the Celestial Master and the projection of the Celestial Thearch slowed down. He was already preparing to shift dimensions and escape the galaxy in an instant, though even that might not guarantee His survival.

Primordial Hunger, who had been consuming Grisha Adam, also hesitated. Guided mostly by primal instinct, He began to show clear signs of wanting to retreat.

The primary form of the Circle of Inevitability, featuring the mercury-tinted face of suffering, gestured toward the astral world. The Angel of Redemption, who had been engaged at the universe's edge, returned instantly, turning into a silvery-black radiance that was absorbed into His form. The remaining Sinners, confused by the situation and stripped of the protection of the Sequence 1 Archangel, all opted to flee the battlefield and return to Their own divine realm.

Following this, the Circle of Inevitability’s left dark form and right form of redemptive light worked together to summon the illusory River of Fate. The main flow represented the fixed past, while the branching streams represented the potential futures about to manifest.

The future was seemingly set, with every path leading toward the same grim conclusion.

The two forms of the Circle of Inevitability each performed a hand seal. The Future Redemption Body forged a new path within the mercury-colored tributary where no other options previously existed—a path that could stop the emergence of the Termination symbolism.

The Past Sinner Body then caused the images of the Monarch of Decay within the river's past to be swapped one by one with images of the Circle of Inevitability. In reverse, the original images of the Circle of Inevitability were replaced by those of the Monarch of Decay.

Substitution symbolism!

This represented the pinnacle of the Substitution Spell.

Feeling His history being rapidly rewritten, the Monarch of Decay offered no resistance. Instead, He pinned His hopes on the Circle of Inevitability’s success.

He glimpsed the light of redemption.

As Lumian’s form collapsed further, the Circle of Inevitability’s Present Sufferer Body detached a Sequence 1 avatar made of redemptive light. This avatar directed a hand seal toward Lumian.

In a flash, the rotting essence of the Monarch of Decay inside Lumian was miraculously exchanged with the Sequence 1 body of the Circle of Inevitability. One was ejected to the external world while the other was pulled within, finalizing the substitution.

Now, Lumian no longer played host to the Monarch of Decay, but to a Sequence 1 avatar of the Circle of Inevitability.

The moment the Monarch of Decay was purged from Lumian, He was instantly encased in layers of golden armor. However, His exterior was riddled with cracks that split both the gold and the putrid flesh, with dark flames still flickering in the depths of his wounds.

The Monarch of Decay did not stay to fight, vanishing into the astral world to flee into the distance.

Even with the aid of the Mother Goddess of Depravity, His injuries would require sixty years to heal. Without such help, it could take centuries or even millennia. He did not dare remain in this star dominion a moment longer.

Eternal Darkness Amanises decided not to hunt Him down. Instead, She remained to watch the Circle of Inevitability while supporting the Celestial Master and the Celestial Thearch's projection.

With the symbolisms of the Monarch of Decay removed, the implosion of Lumian’s body and the rise of the Termination symbolism slowed down drastically, though they had not yet ceased.

...

The Mother Goddess of Depravity projected Her influence across space to "lock" the soul and spirit of the Goddess of Fate, preventing the Lord of Mysteries from Stealing them. Klein, however, showed no signs of frustration; he was actually pleased.

High within the infinite gray fog, a marionette that Klein had previously concealed returned to the star dominion, appearing beside the weakened Supernova Dominator, whose fate had been stripped away.

From the beginning, Klein’s actual objective was the diminished Supernova Dominator, whose various symbolisms had been disabled by the Final Judgment. His initial strikes against the Goddess of Fate were merely a feint to force the recovering Mother Goddess of Depravity to fully commit to protecting Her eldest daughter. This maneuver ensured the Mother Goddess of Depravity would find it difficult to block Klein’s next move against the Supernova Dominator.

In contrast to the Lord of Mysteries, every Great Old Dominator possessed Their own unique domains.

Under normal circumstances, a single marionette belonging to Klein would be no match for a perfect Great Old Dominator. However, Supernova Dominator had yet to recover or fully manifest following the impact of the Final Judgment.

Dressed in his black trench coat and top hat, Klein produced another Abomination Beyonder characteristic, dripping with thick black sludge. Lifting his star-studded cane, he shifted the massive star cluster—which was still detached from reality and unable to use its symbolisms of mass and density—into the twisted, tree-like humanoid vessel.

The Abomination Beyonder characteristic began to swell and fracture as if it might burst. Klein’s form then cast a projection of a dark blue, illusory door of light.

The projection of the door settled upon the Abomination Beyonder characteristic, anchoring it. The object rapidly reshaped itself into a clear, ethereal crystal filled with constellations.

Klein then hurled this astral crystal into the spirit world, maintaining the seal.

This was done to block the Mother Goddess of Depravity from helping the Supernova Dominator escape.

Naturally, a Great Old Dominator like the Supernova Dominator—whose spirit, sefirah, Uniqueness, and Beyonder characteristics remained whole—could not be permanently imprisoned. He was not in a state of slumber following a revival, but rather heavily anchored to reality.

Within two or three minutes, He would inevitably shatter the seal and emerge from the Abomination Beyonder characteristic. Even with Klein’s reinforcements, the delay would not last much longer.

However, a few minutes of delay was all the current battle required.

If they secured victory, the Lord of Mysteries would have plenty of time to reclaim the Abomination Beyonder characteristic.

While utilizing his full symbolic authority to imprison the Supernova Dominator, Klein ceased his attempt to Steal the Goddess of Fate’s inner essence, letting Her return to Her physical form.

This, too, served a purpose.

Klein’s coat fluttered as he grabbed the chance to force the symbolism of Foolishness upon the Goddess of Fate.

He had anticipated interference from the Mother Goddess of Depravity, but both he and She simultaneously sensed the shifting tides on the other battlefield.

Klein moved without delay. Opening a Door, He traveled to the star dominion where Lumian and the others were located, leaving behind a flickering, high-frequency image. He Deceived the Goddess of Fate, who was currently affected by Foolishness, leading Her to blindly enter the spirit world during its brief opening. She intended to use it as a shortcut to reach the Key of Light.

Around the Goddess of Fate, a massive labyrinth instantly materialized as the spirit world’s seal was re-established.

For a Great Old Dominator ruling the domain of Fate, sheer fortune might allow Her to navigate the space-time maze and exit the spirit world via the River of Fate. Nevertheless, such a feat would require several dozen seconds to accomplish.