"Do not save me... do not save me..."

Hearing this repeated cry, identical to what was described in the original story, Ebner fell silent for a second. Though he felt genuine pity for Mr. "Door’s" manner of "wiping out his own bloodline," he wasted no more time and asked directly: "Why did another version of you tell Roselle about that ritual?"

The slightly frantic voice paused for a moment, then answered: "To search for the location of the ’special souls’ within the ’Divine Chest’ — those connected to the ’Brood Hive,’ the ’Tenebrous World,’ and the like."

As expected, it was for this... And the existence that contaminated "Door" is clearly more than just the "Mother Goddess of Depravity"...

In the ritual eleven years ago, only the "River of Eternal Darkness" and the "Brood Hive" gave no response — that was what created the five survivors.

So in this ritual, the "Mother Goddess of Depravity" will in all probability maintain a certain degree of attention once more!

This is likely the true purpose behind the long-term task Lilith gave me... On the surface, it looks as though She also wants to ascertain the location of the special souls connected to the "Brood Hive"... But in reality, it may be a trap aimed at the "Mother Goddess of Depravity"!

But last time in the "Dream Labyrinth Tower" one could still argue that it was a surprise attack using the contamination of "the Unknown"... Would the "Mother Goddess of Depravity" truly fall for the same trick again?

Or perhaps this task itself contains other arrangements?

As his thoughts raced, Ebner spoke up once more: "What is the ’Seal of Calamity’ scheming by being involved in this?"

He remembered very clearly — the little serpent Will had once said that the greatest hidden mastermind behind the ritual from eleven years ago was himself.

And the version of himself who had made these arrangements through Roselle’s hands was most likely the "Seal of Calamity" — it would certainly not have acted without purpose.

"It... no, He told me an honorific name, and told me to recite it at a specific point in time... That honorific name is..."

The slightly frantic voice came to an abrupt halt here, and then reverted to the earlier composed "Door":

"The ’Door of the Gray Fog’ ritual? Of course... However, I have a request..."

The language He used had also changed, shifting to the Elven tongue.

He told the version of "Door" that could still be saved an honorific name... Whose honorific name would that be? "The Fool’s," or "the Unknown’s"? But regardless of which it is, the "Seal of Calamity" must have "encrypted" it — otherwise, if another Bethel or even an Outer Deity were to learn of it, the arrangement would lose all meaning.

The only thing I don’t know is what the "Seal of Calamity" went to such lengths to accomplish... Did it want to rescue "Door"? Or does it have some other purpose?

Hmm — though the "Seal of Calamity" differs greatly from other versions of "me," judging from Roselle’s records, it sometimes does show signs of "humanity"... So it’s not entirely impossible that it simply wanted to make an attempt to rescue Mr. "Door"... That would be something "I" would do!

While turning this over in his mind, Ebner asked without any change in expression: "What request?"

Mr. "Door" was silent for a few seconds, then said:

"Please pass on a message to my descendants — have them arrange a ritual to free me from this predicament, and the curse will cease to exist.

"There are two kinds of rituals. The first requires one Demigod each from the ’Seer,’ ’Apprentice,’ and ’Marauder’ pathways as sacrifices... The second requires drawing blood from at least ninety-nine Beyonders of the Abraham family and using it to draw a symbol like this..."

"...I will pass it on to them." Ebner responded at once.

At the same time, he added in his heart: I am one of them too — telling me is the same as telling them.

Mr. "Door" gave a slight laugh:

"Very well — the ritual’s connection has been completed. You may now borrow my ’authority’!"

His voice grew more and more ethereal, more and more faint, as though He was step by step reverting to His original state as the ritual’s procedures advanced.

Inside the ritual chamber of the Observer’s Castle, Ebner, standing beside the coffin, suddenly opened his eyes.

And at almost the same moment, a layer of gray fog enveloped the surface of the five survivors at the five "star" positions as well as the body of the "Source of Depravity" within the central coffin.

In the next moment...

The soundlessly still waters of the "River of Eternal Darkness" seemed to flow into the void;

The ghostly image of the "Nation of Disorder," perpetually collapsing and perpetually reforming, flashed briefly past;

The "Tenebrous World," entangled with a great brown tree, conveyed a trace of information;

The "City of Calamity," filled with the ruins of many familiar structures, revealed a corner of itself;

The "Knowledge Moor," teeming with unnameable existences, gave off a low, rumbling murmur;

The river of fate flowed past, and the "Key of Light" — heading toward "the Unknown" — presented itself in full;

And finally, the extremely blurry silhouette of the "Brood Hive" at last emerged!

The power belonging to "Sefirot" and the "Great Old Ones" was drawn out from the five survivors — Maria, Bianca, and the others — and converged into the "Divine Chest" atop the "Source of Depravity’s" coffin. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

A few seconds later, as a flash of seven-colored radiance swept through, an ornate lid inlaid with seven gemstones of different colors appeared out of nowhere and was fitted onto the "Divine Chest."

A seamless, perfect fit, wholly integrated... The entire chest was no longer the "ordinary" thing it had been before, and had instead become mysterious, formidable, and powerful!

It was clearly this "lid" that was the most crucial component of the "Divine Chest."

The ritual from eleven years ago had failed halfway through, and so the lid of the "Divine Chest" had scattered into the bodies of the five survivors — which was what had helped them suppress the "Mother Goddess of Depravity’s" contamination, while at the same time giving rise to their agonizing special abilities.

And now, the ritual had finally been completed in full. The special qualities within the five ladies’ bodies — including the "Mother Goddess of Depravity’s" contamination they had been born with — had all returned into the "Divine Chest."

They had received their "salvation"!

And so even someone as strong as "Vice Admiral Pale" could not help but let tears fall... Let alone Bianca and Abby, who had already broken into loud sobs.

The only one who remained unmoved was Mrs. Felina — she had only just been freed from "hypnosis" by the withdrawal of the "Sefirot" power, and was still somewhat dazed, not understanding what had happened.

But Ebner had no time to attend to what was going through the minds of those ladies, nor any inclination to comfort them. After all, the "Divine Chest" was right before his eyes, and completing Lilith’s task was what mattered most.

And so he took a deep breath, activated the "Pure White Eye," and turned his gaze upon the seven brilliant gemstones on the lid.

But immediately after, the "Memory Theater" deep within "the Land of the Unknown" was triggered once more, and Ebner instantly felt his "soul" being lifted upward. Quite naturally, he entered a theater of ordinary appearance in something akin to a "higher-dimensional" state, and was drawn into the "screen."

And what was being shown on the screen at this moment was the "story" of the special soul connected to the "City of Calamity" — the "Elf King" Soniathrym.

(End of Chapter)