Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

"A hidden fourth Pillar?" Madam Magician exclaimed in shock.

She clearly had never heard of this before.

The Chariot Lumian was equally surprised.

He couldn't help but glance at Madam Magician, muttering internally, Her humanity is well-preserved…

Mr. Fool, shrouded in grayish-white fog, explained in a calm tone. "This world was born from chaos. Besides the astral world's dominator, the spirit world's lord, and reality's sovereign, there is another important symbolism-one that represents the endpoint of destiny, the universe's destruction, and the finale of all things. Under such a symbolism, even the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings and the Mother Goddess of Depravity would completely perish. Their spirits no longer existing, everything returning to chaos. Of course, the hidden fourth Pillar would meet the same fate, not much later than us.

"Or rather, Its self-destruction brings about all termination."

"Mr. Fool, which sefirot does this correspond to?"

Madam Magician curiously asked, beating The Chariot Lumian to the question.

Mr. Fool's fingers lightly tapped the edge of the bronze long table. "Formed by the convergence of two sefirot -one is the City of Calamity, the other the River of Eternal Darkness."

The Chariot Lumian's heart stirred, raising his right hand and gazing at the pitch-black, lifeless "pinhole" in his palm.

Mr. Fool continued, "The best way to transcend the Sequences is first to become a Sequence 0 true god of one pathway, then accommodate the corresponding sefirah, followed by the Uniquenesses of other pathways under the sefirah and Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics, with no ritual to assist.

"This is the general approach, though some pathways have their own unique details, like the Demoness and Hunter pathways. But ultimately, one must first become a Sequence 0 true god of a pathway to accommodate the sefirah, not become a dual- pathway true god before attempting. The latter has hope of success, but not a great chance.

"When the Red Priest or the Primordial Demoness accommodates the City of Calamity and continues to occupy the neighboring pathway's Uniqueness and one Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic, becoming the Origins of Disaster or Calamity of Destruction, and then accommodates the River of Eternal Darkness along with its pathway's Uniquenesses and Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics, they can become the hidden fourth Pillar, becoming the endpoint of destiny and the universe's destroyer.

"Conversely, the Sequence 0 true gods of Darkness, Death, and Twilight Giant pathways can also become the hidden fourth Pillar, starting from accommodating the River of Eternal Darkness.

"Now, the Evernight Goddess has already obtained the Uniquenesses of the Twilight Giant and Death pathways and grasps all the required Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics. She is deepening Her connection with that sefirah by using the tributary leaked from the seal through the Underworld Daoist and the River of Eternal Darkness."

Through the Underworld Daoist... Lumian suddenly understood the value the Church of Evernight's emphasis had with Amandina.

In the past half year, they hadn't had much contact with her, but they knew her general situation.

The Church of Evernight Goddess had directly established contact with this Underworld Daoist's student, personally managed by Mr. Star. The current Amandina had obtained the Sequence 5 Spirit Medium Beyonder ingredients, was digesting the Spirit Warlock potion, preparing for her advancement ritual, and waiting to receive a new round of boons at the end-of- year Dream Festival.

Her relationship with the Church of Evernight Goddess had become very close.

Just as Lumian was suddenly worried, Mr. Fool continued, "You should have realized that the hidden fourth Pillar is related to the universe's destruction and the termination of all things, and would not normally appear.

"As for whether we will need to wait until the universe reaches the end of life before the City of Calamity and River of Eternal Darkness can merge and give birth to the fourth Pillar, or if the fourth Pillar can be forcibly born through congregation but would bring about the universe and all things' destruction-unless He immediately falls into slumber or passively splits - everything will perish. I can't see clearly yet, but the deity worshiped by the Aurora Order currently leans more towards the latter scenario."

In other words, the hidden fourth Pillar will either be unable to be born for a very long time, or can only be used as a final option of mutual destruction or intimidating enemies? The Chariot Lumian gradually felt relieved.

Then, he pondered the purpose and implications of Mr. Fool's explanation about the hidden fourth Pillar.

For me, this knowledge is currently meaningless...

Or perhaps, I can first jump to Sequence 1 of Death or Twilight Giant to better borrow the power of 0-01, narrowing the gap between myself and Red Angel Medici?

If I could defeat this King of Angels, obtain two Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics of the Hunter pathway from Him, then find a way to lower my status, expel the original Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic, return to the Weather Warlock level, and then re- advance, becoming a King of Angels of the Hunter pathway, accommodating 0-01...

Lowering my status and re-advancing has significant risks and potential hidden dangers, but it's much better than competing with Red Angel Medici at Sequence 2. However, I won't challenge the Red Angel one-on-one. I'm a Major Arcana of the Tarot Club, a patron saint-no, a patron angel of the Church of The Fool. Hunters are about collective strength, so why would I fight alone?

After Franca and Jenna's advancement, if the ritual is difficult or Beyonder characteristics are unavailable, they could also consider switching to one of the Darkness, Death, or Twilight Giant pathways...

While The Chariot Lumian was contemplating, Mr. Fool looked at him and said, "After switching to a hidden neighboring pathway, if you don't expel the corresponding Beyonder characteristics, you'll be unable to accommodate the sefirah in the future and will be rejected by the belonging sefirah.

"Also, after becoming a Weather Warlock, your destiny has become chaotic and full of change. I am not omniscient, nor omnipotent. I can no longer see things as clearly and can only remind you to be extremely careful going forward."

When he advanced to Weather Warlock, Lumian had already confirmed that the remaining spiritual imprint of Blood Emperor Alista Tudor had not been strengthened or revived within him.

From that point, he knew the Blood Emperor's resurrection arrangement would emerge and erupt in subsequent events, which were currently unforeseeable. Mr. Fool's warning deepened his vigilance in this aspect:

An arrangement that even this great existence cannot provide effective guidance must be extraordinarily complex!

Madam Magician Fors, who had chatted with Mr. Fool many times, knew from his last statement that today's small gathering, or the "common knowledge" lesson for the Tarot Club's new angel, should conclude.

She looked at The Chariot Lumian and said, "You should now understand the current situation and the source of the apocalypse. Analyzing things afterward will allow you to directly see their essence.

"As an Angel more senior than you by several years, let me share three final experiences.

"First, previous Sequences must be acted upon again because the potion you consumed contains Beyonder characteristics from all previous Sequences. Most importantly, you need to make up for the acting of Iron-blooded Knight and War Bishop, Hunter, Provoker, Pyromaniac, Conspirer and Reaper can all be naturally and effectively digested in your future battles or wars.

"Second, travel to different regions to improve local weather and leave behind legends. This is not only necessary for digesting the Weather Warlock potion but also a must-do to spread faith and obtain more anchors.

"Third, Mr. Fool has already explained the difference between godhood and humanity very clearly.

"Combining my own experience, I have one insight: distinguish between the normal desires brought by the second layer of humanity, and the abnormal desires created by first-layer humanity and godhood. Resist the latter, guide the former. Don't be too suppressed and restrained, nor can you be greedy and indulgent."

The Chariot Lumian listened carefully and thoughtfully said, "Thank you, Madam Magician."

Madam Magician Fors smiled self-deprecatingly. "If you have any new insights in this area later, you can tell me too.

"I need to prepare for my Sequence 1 advancement."

"Sequence 1 of the Door pathway?" The Chariot Lumian asked with slight surprise.

In his view, the Sequence 2 Planeswalker of the Door pathway was the Sequence most likely to survive the apocalypse, without question.

First, before reaching Sequence 1, they wouldn't be specifically targeted by the Outer Deities. Second, They possessed the ability for space travel and could carry a group of people. Afterward, They could completely find a planet in a "remote" area of the universe with relatively suitable conditions, and use Their recording abilities or the Beyonder characteristics of different pathways to make it habitable and redevelop civilization.

Madam Magician nodded. "Yes, the Key of Stars. The Beyonder characteristics and supplementary ingredients are not lacking. The Abraham family has long wanted to give them to me. The price is to protect their clan, prevent the Abraham name from going extinct, ensure at least one Sequence 1 Angel is born among them. Afterward, if the apocalypse comes, my first task would be to transfer them away.

"The good news is they now have several Saints. The bad news is they are far from digestion. The Sequence 3 Wanderer still needs to travel in space to digest quickly.

"The ritual itself isn't complicated. Find a continuously rotating, signal-emitting heavy planet, approach it, land on it, and then find a way to establish sufficient mystical connections with it.

"The first part of the ritual is very dangerous, the latter part extremely difficult. But with Mr. Fool's help, these aren't major problems-He can directly Graft me onto the corresponding planet to satisfy the conditions, though the premise is that I can withstand such pressure.

"The current trouble is that my Planeswalker potion hasn't been completely digested. These years I've been going everywhere, the number of times is enough, and the term 'walker' is satisfied, but none of it counts as planeswalking..."

At this point, Madam Magician suddenly closed her mouth.

She felt like she was complaining about work, and her direct superior-who could easily crush her-was sitting at the head of the long table.

Listening to Madam Magician's words, Lumian suddenly discovered a problem.

Mr. Fool doesn't actually have to deal with the subsequent planetary apocalypse, because no Outer Deity would compete for Sefirah Castle- accommodating this sefirah with a Pillar symbolism would only lead Them to self-destruction…