052: Special State
This was a confrontation between two supreme forces!
The seemingly infinite knowledge radiated a blinding brilliance capable of scorching any living being foolish enough to attempt to glimpse its secrets! Every character, every symbol within it was the very essence of spirituality and numerology! Its existence was equivalent to the existence of knowledge itself! The past, the present, the future; the discovered, the undiscovered; the essence of all things; the eternal, unchanging truths—under the corruption induced by its level of existence, unable to withstand eternity and infinity, in the process of knowledge pursuing knowledge, they lost their 'self', transforming into twisted, maddening knowledge. Forming a torrent, they all converged here! The petroleum was decomposed into countless characters of mystical significance. Reduced to mere symbols, this petroleum no longer possessed its terrifying power of corruptive erosion. It sublimated, drifting into the blinding brilliance, becoming part of it!
The black substance gushing out from the Sun Scepter, however, was equally formidable.
Sweeping forth like a tidal wave, its utterly terrifying corruptive power caused the blinding brilliance to decay. Symbols became corrupted and depraved, plummeting into the deep, tranquil ocean, dragged into darkness, concealed behind the veil of shadows!
The black substance pouring from the sun symbol seemed poised to form a vast ocean. Layers of thick blackness superimposed, threatening to coalesce into an indescribable color of even greater horror!
This was the mutual erosion between Sefirots.
But Don found it strange.
The Theater Core huddled with a group of marionettes, trembling. After being ejected from his spirit body, Don noticed a problem.
His current state was highly peculiar. Without the 'Knowledge Persue Man' enhancement, Don hadn't gone mad, collapsed, or died outright from confronting the clash of the two Sefirot head-on, despite being only Sequence 5.
Instead, he recalled various scenes he had previously seen during 'Knowledge Pursue Man'.
Although some were still blocked by instinct, this signified a great deal.
He had ascended.
Don set aside pondering that for now and focused intently on the spectacle of the two Sefirot clashing.
Looking closely, he indeed spotted issues.
"The Knowledge Moor… as expected…"
The entity behind the system was this Sefirot. It had 'awakened' and created the 'system' that brought him here.
But that wasn't the main point.
From Don's perspective, he saw an extremely slender 'pipeline' beneath the Sun Scepter.
It pierced through the Theater With Curtains That Never Draw, penetrated the thick crust, connected to an unfathomable depth, and was continuously pumping 'petroleum' upwards.
However, maintaining this continuous extraction of Chaos Sea corruption wasn't solely the work of the 'pipeline' itself.
Countless mystical symbols, like stars, surrounded the 'pipeline', reinforcing it while simultaneously regulating the rate of extraction.
The Sun Scepter's ability to connect to the Chaos Sea wasn't accidental; the system was involved.
The symbols representing mysticism engraved on the scepter's surface weren't merely decorative; they were also tools the 'Artisan' used to enhance and restrict the Sun Scepter's negative effects.
The level of craftsmanship involved… the system's own level wasn't sufficient, but what about the Knowledge Moor?
This wasn't an unknowable mutation occurring by chance during the creation of a mystical item. It was the Knowledge Moor, leveraging the convergence of characteristics from the five Omniscient-Omnipotent pathways within the item, deliberately optimizing its negative effect.
Optimizing a negative effect…
Don's lips twitched, and he refrained from comment.
He looked again at the two indescribable entities—the petroleum and the radiance of knowledge—converging.
'The Knowledge Moor's knowledge hasn't been completely assimilated by the Chaos Sea.'
He thought with chilling clarity.
He also realized his current state wasn't purely just a 'spirit body'; he seemed able to perceive certain fundamental truths.
The dazzling, brilliant light of civilizations and knowledge had 'fallen', but at their core, they still retained a sliver of the Knowledge Moor's power.
They perfectly concealed themselves within the petroleum, becoming part of it, as they captured, assimilated, and polluted more maddening knowledge. Then, they repeated the process.
"Is the Knowledge Moor trying to erode the authority of the Chaos Sea?"
Omniscience and Omnipotence… Was the Knowledge Moor attempting, through this, to use its 'Maddening Knowledge' to erode the Omniscience authority within the Chaos Sea's domain?
Tsk, tsk. Was it taking advantage of God Almighty's will no longer being clearly present, with the Chaos Sea in an ownerless state, to personally enter the fray and start tearing chunks out?
Seeing the two forces locked in a stalemate, the petroleum bubbled aggressively, seemingly wanting to seep further into the real world and coalesce into that indescribably colored horror. Witnessing this, the countless motes of knowledge surrounding the 'pipeline' leading to the depths suddenly erupted, unleashing even more terrifying power.
They aimed to destroy the formation of this 'pipeline', preventing further corruption from surging up!
The petroleum surged backwards, as if scooped up by some immense force. Around it, the maddening knowledge, twisted and bloated within the radiance, accelerated its decomposition of the residual petroleum, chasing after it relentlessly. Like a ruthless iron lid, it mercilessly forced the petroleum, along with the already contaminated marionettes, back into the Sun Scepter, then slammed shut and sealed it.
The unwilling petroleum, carrying the 'knowledge' it had corrupted, flowed back down the channel into the Sun Scepter, returning to the depths below before the channel could be destroyed.
The 'Black Sun Light' vanished, and along with it, the 'floating sun' disappeared.
The young man who had been watching stood motionless, holding the Sun Scepter. His eyes were vacant, staring unseeingly, seemingly unconscious.
Most of the maddening knowledge transformed into layers of radiance, flowing back into the symbols on the scepter, reforming a unique seal.
Nearby, in his 'spirit body' state, Don also saw the residual, twisted maddening knowledge around him gradually retract, merging back into his physical form. It wove a layer of white light around his body.
This halo flickered with countless mystical symbols, then slowly contracted, merging into his body. After that…
[Aaaaah! Where's my host?!]
Don saw a white ball of light erupt from his own body. It spun wildly 360 degrees, scanning everywhere, then plunged back into the body in disbelief, only to burst out again.
[Where is my so ginormous host!!] The electronic voice was filled with utter incredulity.
Frankly, this was the first time Don found his system's voice endearing.
But…
"The system can't see me?"
Don had already floated over, standing before his own physical body.
Yet, the system seemed oblivious to his 'spirit body'. The ball flew right through him, passed through the horde of trembling marionettes in the theater, darted to the Theater Core, and swallowed it whole.
[Where's my host?]
[Where did you put my ginormous host?]
[Tell me! Did you turn him into a marionette?!]
[Speak! Or I'll obliterate you—humanely? No! Sealed-Artifact-ly!!]
[Aaaaaaaaaaah twisted screaming—!]
Theater Core: )
Exhausted. Let it die.
(End of Chapter)