By making an oath for what resembled a new wisdom race, Suero, the King of Ghouls, met the conditions to become the king of a racial group. The Source of Wisdom responded.

Above the sea of clouds, hidden beyond the atmosphere and circling the Earth, another secret moon lay concealed.

It suddenly erupted with infinite radiance and appeared in the sky.

Its pure light spread outward.

Time itself seemed to flow more gently.

The clouds were dyed with silver brilliance, and the earth was bathed in divine light.

It stood far above the clouds, beyond the limits of the sky known to mortals, reaching deep into the starry heavens.

Its radiance illuminated the entire world.

Ruhe Beast Island was merely a corner of the world, and Mooneclipse City was but a speck upon it.

To mortal eyes, the grand battle between divine beings was apocalyptic and despairing, yet from hundreds of millions of miles away in the sky, it seemed almost insignificant.

Yet none could ignore the silver moon that had appeared in the heavens.

At that moment, all eyes turned skyward, drawn to the God’s Moon.

Snake People, Winged People, demons from all directions, and the demon spirits of the Abyss Royal City, all ten million beings looked up at the starry sky, their emotions as varied as their origins.

Some had heard their elders speak of the legend of twin moons crossing the sky, tales of the God’s Moon. Others were witnessing such a wondrous sight for the first time.

Some were astonished, some were shaken, some yearned, some were bewildered.

No one understood what was unfolding in that faraway city.

Even if those from distant lands learned of it, they would only say, “Oh, so such a thing occurred.”

Those magnificent and dramatic events, when placed in the context of the entire world, suddenly seemed unimportant.

Above the sea of clouds, in the Kingdom of Knowledge

Asai watched the God’s Moon appear. Below it, Mooneclipse City, once shrouded in mist and storm, suddenly became clear.

He understood that only those watching Mooneclipse City, or those within its bounds, shared this feeling.

In truth, the entire world seemed washed clean by a fine rain. Mooneclipse City was merely one part of it, not special in that regard.

The crisscrossing seal was shattered.

The Truth Seal had targeted Suero’s consciousness, cutting off his perception and ability to receive information. However, Suero managed to break the seal by connecting to the God’s Moon through his oath. That connection opened a passage, allowing him to escape.

Emerging alongside him was the Door of Original Sin.

Yet at this moment, Asai no longer bothered with the enormous dark shadow escaping from beneath the Door of Truth, nor did he care about the Door of Original Sin breaking free. From the beginning, he had never believed the seal could hold the other.

He raised his head and gazed at the moon in the sky.

With just one glance, he removed the hat from his head and held it before him.

“Xiao, you have truly gone mad.”

“That is the Crown of Wisdom, the God’s Moon lit by the Creator.”

“Do you so wish for Yinsai to see you? To see your actions?”

“Do you think you are also a saint?”

“Do you really think you can meet the God Yinsai?”

Asai’s final words came, “Are you worthy?”

Within the Abyss

Xiao walked to the front of the skeletal long table, standing alone upon the Flesh and Blood Star.

Xiao watched the God’s Moon appear once more before the people. Its radiance shone down upon the mortal realm, allowing everyone to bask in its Divine Grace.

The Abyss, however, remained untouched.

Xiao stared at the moon, feeling his consciousness drawn into the vast expanse of the starry sky and pulled toward that eternal presence.

He sensed the origin and end of time. He felt the beginning and terminus of all things.

It was as if every step forward brought him closer to the edge of existence.

Until he realized that continuing forward would lead to his death. Only then did he lower his head.

That was the source of wisdom. All demigods of this era yearned to reach the Source of Wisdom, to become true gods of wisdom. Even Xiao was no exception.

And beyond the Source of Wisdom lay the Creator, Yinsai.

Because all life and wisdom in this world originated from Him.

That was why they could see the Creator’s shadow in that God’s Moon, in the Source of Wisdom.

“Do you see it?”

“The Crown of Wisdom, our origin.”

“At this very moment, do you suppose the Creator is watching us?”

Xiao turned around, returning to sit upon his divine throne.

“Perhaps He has never cared about us at all.”

“The myths speak only of Redlichia, the Firstborn of God, never of a race of firstborn.”

Xiao leaned back lazily, closing his eyes.

Then he took a deep breath and solemnly recited the oath of the Crown of Wisdom.

“Because of loneliness, God created Redlichia, the King of Wisdom.”

“Because of Redlichia’s loneliness, God then created the Trilobite Men.”

“We are merely creations to fill Redlichia’s loneliness, nothing more.”

The ceramic figurine dared not look at that moon, dared not even speak.

It cowered in the corner of the table, not daring to answer the God of Original Sin’s question.

“Can’t see me, can’t see me…”

It feared gazing directly upon such a great existence, just as shadows fear the light of the sun.

Everyone was watching the God’s Moon.

At this moment, Suero, the King of Ghouls who had made the Crown of Wisdom Covenant, truly stood before the Crown of Wisdom and the Source of Wisdom.

Suero’s consciousness transformed into a white luminous shadow, standing before an enormous circular door.

“This is the Crown of Wisdom?”

“And I must make my oath to become King of the Abyss with it as my witness?”

Even now, he believed he was making an oath to become King of the Abyss. He thought the divine artifact before him was simply a witness to him becoming the Abyss King.

An artifact he had never heard of before, called the Crown of Wisdom.

He watched as the radiant circular door unfolded, and a tree symbolizing all wisdom races and all beings possessing thought and consciousness grew from the light within, its form filling the entire Source of Wisdom.

Roots, trunk, branches, leaves, each seemingly represented something.

Suero gazed at this Tree of Origins.

He seemed to see the gods of the mortal realm. He seemed to see how their authority originated from this place.

He saw the masses of living beings and the mental consciousness of the mortal world churning here, regardless of good or evil, high or low. He saw all consciousness and thought originating here, born here.

Suero suddenly felt something was wrong.

This divine artifact seemed to exceed his imagination.

His heart filled with doubt.

“This is the Crown of Wisdom? The divine artifact that witnesses the formation of covenants?”

“Then why does this artifact bear the brands of the gods’ authority?”

“Why, here, can I see the convergence of all beings’ consciousness and the myriad spirits of the mortal realm?”

Before he could grasp the full meaning of what he was witnessing, the Source of Wisdom revealed the forms of countless races. Among them were the wisdom races that thrived as the protagonists of this era, as well as ancient beings that had disappeared with the passage of time over two hundred and fifty million years ago.

He saw the savage earth, saw ancient races walking upon the desolate ancient land hundreds of millions of years past, building city after city that seemed like divine creations.

He saw the primordial ocean, saw the era when the ancestor of fish was born, another race possessing wisdom crawling out from bottomless trenches, establishing civilization and ruling over the seas.

He saw countless flaming monsters soaring through the sky, giving birth to a new race.

He saw Snake People crawling from shells, moving in groups through the divine mountain peaks of the Life Sovereign. He saw Winged People breaking free from chains, soaring in the sky. He saw monsters breeding in filthy mud, granted the ability to reproduce by a fallen angel with black and white wings.

The latter four Suero recognized.

They were Demons, Snake People, Winged People, and the Abyss Race.

But the former two, he had never even heard of, let alone seen.

Yet they emanated an ancient, savage aura, and Suero knew they must be beings from an unimaginably distant era.

They were born before Snake People and Winged People, dominating the earth and seas long before the other races existed.

“What races are these?”

Suero felt as if he were glimpsing lost myths and history, secrets from unheard-of distant eras.

Trilobite Man, People of the Abyss, Demons, Demon Spirits, Snake People, Winged People, Abyss Race.

The races alternated in cycles, gradually appearing and disappearing before Suero’s eyes, finally merging into the pale void beneath the Tree of Origins.

Only there were no ghouls.

Because ghouls were never an independent wisdom race. They were merely a special existence, a variant of Snake People, like witch spirits and alchemists.

They did not possess the ability to reproduce independently and could not separate from the Snake People to become an independent race.

At the very least, they had not yet become a race and had not gained the recognition of the Crown of Wisdom.

At this moment, a message was transmitted from the Source of Wisdom.

Or rather, the source was not transmitting a message at all. Instead, Suero was seeing what he wished to see from the Source of Wisdom, hearing what he wished to hear.

Because what Suero heard was not another’s voice, but his own.

The Source of Wisdom was both the myriad spirits of the world and a reflection of himself.

“Ghouls are not an independent wisdom race. The conditions for the oath have not been met.”

That voice was boundlessly grand. Though it was clearly his own voice speaking, it carried a divine nature.

This had nothing whatsoever to do with the fallen, mad Suero, yet it seemed to hint to him that every wisdom race possessed both good and evil aspects within, both humanity and divinity.

Even the most fallen and evil person was not born inherently evil and fallen.

Only now did Suero understand what he was seeing before him.

His eyes widened with disbelief.

His voice grew somewhat sharp.

“The Crown of Wisdom!”

“The Eternal Covenant!”

“A supreme divine artifact of Wisdom Authority… such a thing truly exists in this world?”

Suero suddenly understood something, as if another version of himself was telling him secrets he should not know, secrets that were hidden in the deepest consciousness of every wisdom race.

What he saw was a supreme divine artifact, the source of all wisdom.

“This is not the oath of the Abyss King. This is a wisdom race signing a covenant with the source of all spirits.”

“How did I come here?”

“Why did the God of Original Sin’s apostle have me come here?”

“What does this mean?”

Suero had made the Crown of Wisdom Covenant.

But his oath could not be fulfilled. The Crown of Wisdom did not respond to him.

He had not yet completed the second step. He had not even managed to call out the content of the oath. He was far from being able to sign an eternal covenant and seek the Crown of Wisdom’s protection for his race.

Only now did Suero understand that from the beginning, he had fallen into a trap.

The so-called King of Gluttony was merely a trap. From the start, he had been nothing but a chess piece.

In this moment, Suero’s heart surged with boundless rage, but it subsided just as quickly.

Because in that moment of clarity, he realized he had lost.

And having lost, he had lost everything.

Because what he lost was not merely power and life, but also his lifelong faith and everything that had supported him all along.

After reaching this step, everything became meaningless. Even rage became superfluous.

“So from that time, from the very beginning…”

“It was all arranged.”

Suero stood in place, his ordinary face once again showing that somewhat mad smile, as if in his madness he could finally transcend his ordinariness and become extraordinary.

“I’ve lost.”

“In the end, I proved to be nothing more than a mortal.”

“A mortal who could not create miracles.”

Suero understood that in the end, he had not created a miracle. He was nothing more than a clown, manipulated and toyed with by others.

He had tried to leap beyond the chessboard, only to discover he had merely entered another chessboard.

He had no choice.

Even all his choices pointed to the same destination, a destination arranged by others.

Suero raised his head, watching the Source of Wisdom before him gradually disappear. He did not know what he would face, what kind of ending awaited him.

Would he fall completely under the Evil God of the Abyss’s control, or be killed or sealed by the God of Knowledge and Truth?

Regardless of the outcome, he would either meet his end or confront a fate far worse than death.

But it no longer mattered. The moment he lost, life and death lost all meaning.

At this very moment, Suero suddenly thought of another person, another madman.

His consciousness stood at a height of ten thousand feet, looking down upon the mortal realm.

“Akmanmon, a fellow as mad as myself.”

His words suddenly transformed into intense unwillingness, as if he were roaring at the other.

“Rise above madness itself!”

He cried hoarsely, as if voicing this with his very soul.

“Advance, advance, advance!”

“Let there be no taboos. Be blocked by no existence, not even the gods.”

“Take my share as well. Break free from the shackles of fate.”

Suero’s voice trembled with anticipation.

“No one may look down upon us.”

The Tree of Origins vanished, and Suero lost his protection in an instant.

In the endless heights, the God’s Moon revealed itself, shining upon Suero.

To face the eternal God’s Moon directly with one’s consciousness was a greatness life could not bear.

Suero turned his head, gazing at the God’s Moon.

Suero froze completely. His mad, agitated expression gradually calmed.

“This is my ending?”

Watching this brilliant silver moon, his heart held an indescribable peace.

“This is a moon?”

“Truly…”

He began to speak, but became speechless in the blink of an eye.

Beautiful, great, sacred.

These words barely scratched the surface of its essence. It was like trying to capture the universe with the word vast or attempting to define time with the word endless.

He stared blankly at the God’s Moon.

His eyes did not blink even once, letting that powerful gravitational force pull his consciousness toward the distant shore.

His consciousness was instantly pulled into the starry sky, experiencing the boundless vastness of that great galactic sea.

He felt no fear, because fear itself seemed swallowed by this eternity and infinity. He was like a speck of dust falling into the ocean.

In Suero’s mind, thought after thought arose.

“I am going to die?”

“To die in such a place, that does not seem bad.”

“Just a pity.”

“I cannot devour that fellow, cannot swallow even the Abyss.”

His consciousness separated from his body, pulled toward that God’s Moon, toward the existence behind the God’s Moon.

He raised his head and saw a great star standing beyond the universe and time itself.

In that moment, he felt himself corroded by time, worn away by the relentless passage of the ages.

Time reversed the years. He saw the past continuously flowing by, all past events flowing backward.

In a trance, his memory froze in an instant.

He saw again the young Suero, saw his humble, lowly, dustlike self.

“This is…”

Suero stood within the impression left by time, watching everything that had once occurred, everything he most wished to erase.

Below the bright, magnificent temple steps, he was covered in filth.

A group of children stood as victors, wildly mocking him, ridiculing his foolish delusions, his overestimation of himself, his lowliness, and his weakness.

Hahahaha!

“He actually ate it! He actually ate it!”

“What a fool, an absolute fool!”

“His family are veterinarians. Perhaps they’re used to eating such things at home.”

“Hahahaha, I’m dying of laughter!”

The young, handsome, noble priest looked at him with contempt, saying, “I’m sorry, the temple cannot accept a defiled person like you. That would tarnish the glory of our temple.”

“Priests are the noblest beings in the mortal realm, not something someone like you can aspire to.”

As these memories replayed vividly before his eyes, Suero, the cannibal and monster who sought to devour gods, came to a sudden realization.

In that moment, he understood what he most desired to consume and erase from this world.

It was not the god servant on the steps. It was not Mooneclipse City. It was not the lofty gods looking down upon the mortal realm.

It was himself.

That weak, lowly, ugly self.

His whole body trembled, his mouth quivering.

He moved forward bit by bit, coming before his childhood self.

He looked at himself, his eyes splitting with rage.

“Stand up, trash!”

“Do not bow your head to anyone.”

But the young Suero only knew fear, only knew how to tremble, so humble and terrified he could not even speak.

Suero looked at himself, at his weak, humble self.

Suddenly he could not help but laugh loudly.

“What a worthless creature.”

In an instant, Suero became a black shadow that consumed the image of his childhood self.

The young Suero and the present Suero vanished together into the remnants of time’s impression.

No one knew his past, no one knew his former self.

Likewise, no one cared.

The Abyss

The Original Sin Evil God Xiao watched Suero’s every move. Through a contingency he had left on him, he saw all the scenes Suero witnessed.

The appearance of the Tree of Origins, the manifestation of the great wisdom races’ shadows, and the requirements of the Crown of Wisdom Covenant.

Xiao saw it all.

Only the final scene, of Suero gazing directly at the source of the God’s Moon, the Original Sin Evil God Xiao did not dare to watch.

Otherwise, he too would perish beneath the light and shadow of the eternal star, his consciousness obliterated in the erosion of time’s reflection.

However, this was the first time Xiao had witnessed the Source of Wisdom up close.

“The Source of Wisdom.”

“The Source of Wisdom is composed of all spirits. It is the place where the consciousness of all spirits converges. Only when it exists does wisdom exist.”

“The roots are spirituality, the trunk is wisdom, the branches are desire, the leaves are knowledge.”

“Four great authorities, ultimately bearing four fruits leading to the source.”

Xiao’s emotions grew somewhat agitated. His yearning, his obsession seemed to ignite in this moment.

“Not just four. Through the oaths of wisdom races connecting to the Source of Wisdom, each should ultimately bear its own Wisdom Fruit as well.”

“Each wisdom race has gained recognition from the Source of Wisdom.”

“Each race also possesses its own path.”

Through multiple observations and the collection of experimental data, Xiao seemed to have finally touched upon some secrets of the Source of Wisdom.

Xiao also knew the God of Knowledge and Truth and the God of Desire and Alchemy were both establishing their own divine systems. After all, these two had made considerable moves recently.

Establishing a divine system was related to the completion of one’s own authority.

In the case of the God of Knowledge and Truth Asai and his Apostle Sukob, Asai held the authority of knowledge. Under this primary authority were several subordinate authorities, one of which was writing.

He himself could not complete so many authorities, so he had to split off seeds of authority and let his followers complete the authorities for him.

This was the meaning of a divine system’s existence.

Sukob was the future subordinate god who would complete the authority of writing for Asai.

When a divine system was fully established and subordinate gods appeared one after another, the entire authority would be thoroughly perfected.

That would be the moment when the God of Knowledge and Truth Asai, or perhaps the God Iva, fully entered the source and became a true god.

“If I connect to the Source of Wisdom through a Race Covenant and condense a Wisdom Fruit, could I not also establish a divine system?”

“An Abyss Divine System.”

“Thus stepping through the gates of the Source of Wisdom, becoming a true god.”

“Obtaining true eternity, touching true wisdom.”

This divine system might not compare to the four great authorities of spirituality, wisdom, desire, and knowledge. But it could equally forge a path toward the source, a path toward true godhood.

However, this method relied upon a race and its oaths, rather than the four main authorities.

It very likely had some drawbacks.

For example, if the race weakened or died out, he would also be impacted. Similarly, the strength of the divine system and its power would be limited by the race.

Xiao instantly made many associations.

These remained unknown, and he would only know for sure by attempting it.

However, this was undoubtedly a viable path forward.

Xiao felt he had already touched the essence of this path, finding on a road that seemed to have reached its end the stair to the next step upward.

Though his start was somewhat slow, he was not far behind.

The notes in Xiao’s hand turned continuously, page after page of experimental data and conjectures constantly appearing upon them.

Text was branded onto them out of thin air, incredibly swift.

After a long while, the notes finally closed.

Xiao’s eyes now revealed a glimmer.

“I have finally found the method.”

From this moment, Xiao’s greatest objective was complete, and his path forward became clear.

The Evil God upon the Flesh and Blood Star looked toward the mortal realm. His cold gaze held a clear obsession.

What remained was another objective: reclaiming Purgatory.

The God’s Moon’s radiance faded, once more concealing itself in darkness.

Suero’s consciousness was obliterated.

Only a cursed shadow remained in place, an enormous dark shadow standing between heaven and earth.

Terrifying curse power surged continuously.

In the darkness, one could hear the wailing voices of countless people.

At this moment, the Door of Original Sin merged seamlessly into the cursed shadow.

The unconscious cursed shadow was immediately occupied by another will.

That will was evil and cold. Mythological power surged on the banks of the Shepherd’s River, black mud churning beneath its feet.

Xiao sat upon the Abyss throne, his consciousness controlling the cursed shadow through the Sin of Gluttony.

He did not even glance at the Snake People of Mooneclipse City or the tragic scenes occurring there. He focused only on the situation within the cursed shadow.

“The second path of the wisdom true god is, in theory, ready for direct experimentation.”

“Reclaiming Purgatory will perfectly address the Abyss’s flaws. It can also serve as an experimental subject.”

“Purgatory, as a manifestation of part of the Abyss Race’s authority, also possesses the power of the Abyss covenant. In the future, it will certainly become my vulnerability. I must control it.”

Xiao’s gaze lacked focus. His mind was always deep in thought.

Xiao had also recently noticed Purgatory’s Source of Curses.

This thing created by the Lord of Purgatory not only earned praise from the God of Knowledge and Truth Asai, but even Xiao found it somewhat interesting.

“The Source of Curses!”

“I can research it later. This is a rather interesting power.”

The Original Sin Evil God, relying on the power of gluttony to control the cursed shadow, immediately prepared to leave the present world and return to the Abyss.

But at this moment, the Door of Truth in the sky pressed down completely, blocking the cursed shadow’s path.

The Original Sin Evil God Xiao looked up at the Door of Truth.

Standing beneath the Door of Truth, Sukob suddenly burst forth with radiance. A shadow projected from beyond the heavens, overlapping with Sukob’s form.

In the blink of an eye, Sukob transformed into a young man wearing a top hat and carrying a staff.

The young man gripped his staff, quietly watching the cursed shadow.

“Xiao.”

The Original Sin Evil God also stopped, facing the God of Knowledge and Truth.

Asai’s previous Truth Seal was already broken. Sealing the Door of Original Sin again would not be so easy.

“Asai.”

The words were brief, without any elaboration.

But behind them lay endless, entangled grievances and hatred.

Two deities from ancient times.

One descended in true form to the mortal realm, one controlled a powerful cursed shadow.

A true war between gods was about to erupt.