Chapter 3: Roaming

After gaining a preliminary understanding of his "golden finger," Ael roughly understood why there were no remnants of the initial spiritual corruption within him.

This was because his soul came from a higher-dimensional traveler, inherently transcending this world in Sefirot and information. His status was high enough that, within certain limits, the initial and other Outer Gods' spiritual corruption was almost negligible to him.

As for what that limit was, based on his current speculation, the threshold for maintaining minimal sanity would likely be at the level of a Dual-Pathway True God.

For him, devouring the Beyonder characteristics of non-adjacent pathways was entirely feasible—there was no need for rituals or role-playing. As long as his body could withstand the transformation brought by the characteristics' power, he could obtain the corresponding abilities.

Regarding the ritual to become a True God, all he needed was to accommodate three Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics, either from the same pathway or different ones, using "Blank" as the uniqueness. This would allow him to ascend like the ancient gods. However, unlike the ancient gods, he did not suffer from spiritual corruption.

But to become an Old One, merely possessing the "Mirror World" Sefirot and the "Blank" pathway was insufficient. He would have to seize the uniqueness of another pathway and obtain a Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic to reach the bare minimum threshold for ascension.

Though he had already become an angel and had the Fallen Mother Goddess backing him, he lacked the strength to contend for singularities and Sequence 1 characteristics.

Unless he could effectively wield the uniqueness and Sefirot he carried, he wouldn't be able to participate in the struggle as an Angel King.

Yet, it was evident that he could not fully utilize the power of his uniqueness and Sefirot—because the "Mirror World" Sefirot was incomplete!

Originally, the "Mirror World" should have included another pathway besides "Blank," but for some unknown reason, it had never manifested.

If he were to accommodate the "Mirror World" using characteristics and singularities from other pathways after fully assimilating "Blank," the remnants of the initial spiritual corruption would grow immense.

At that point, the conflict between his own mind and the original corruption would inevitably drive him into madness and division, turning him into an uncontrollable Old One-level abomination.

"The best solution is to complete the missing pathway, but without omniscience or an authority related to knowledge, I have no way to deduce it."

With this thought, Ael, seated upon his palace throne, enveloped in the brilliant radiance of the stars, raised a hand and rubbed his forehead.

"I must prepare an anchor. I may not need one now, but if I ascend to an Old One, it will be the best way to resist the initial corruption.

Aside from that, restoring my Sefirot and nurturing the missing pathway are my top priorities. But how do I restore the Sefirot? Just wait patiently?"

As someone who had read the original novel, Ael knew that an incomplete Sefirot would naturally repair itself—but that required time, and time was something he did not have.

The current date was June 19, 1349. It had not been long since Zhou Mingrui had reincarnated as Klein atop the Source Fortress, and the shattering of the initial barrier—the arrival of the apocalypse—was not far off.

To be honest, as a human, he did not trust the Outer Gods who stood at the peak of the cosmos. Even the Fallen Mother Goddess, who had saved his life, was no exception.

If he did not grow stronger, then when the apocalypse came, what would happen if an Outer God took an interest in his Sefirot and uniqueness?

Would the Fallen Mother Goddess wage war against other Outer Gods just to protect a mere pawn like him? It was far more likely that she would sell him for a high price in exchange for characteristics and Sefirot she could accommodate.

"The 'Mirror World' Sefirot symbolizes the unknown, the inversion of all things, and its authority encompasses time, space, fate, and rules. If I can acquire high-sequence characteristics and singularities related to these authorities, perhaps I can accelerate its restoration."

"As for the three Sequence 1 characteristics required for the Blank pathway, they should ideally be related to fate, time, and rules. And the high-sequence characteristics connected to these pathways..."

At this thought, Ael lightly tapped his fingers on the throne's edge and slowly uttered three names:

"Pallez, William I, Ouroboros ."

"A Worm of Time, a Hand of Order, and a Mercury Serpent—if I can obtain their Beyonder characteristics, I could become a Sequence 0 True God in a short time and gain the right to manipulate the chessboard."

But was that possible? No, it wasn't.

Pallez Zoroast was still parasitizing Leonard Mitchell and was under the Night Goddess's attention. For an Outer God's spawn to seek trouble there was nothing short of suicide.

As for the founder of Ruen, William Augustus I, he was not only a Sequence 1 but also likely possessed an additional "Hand of Order" characteristic. Ael was not his match at all.

Moreover, Augustus' family had another angel, Drink, as well as powerful figures like Grove and Georgina, who wielded Grade 0 Sealed Artifacts—none of whom were easy to deal with.

"Perhaps I should shift my focus to the Castiya family? They likely hold a Hand of Order characteristic as well."

Meanwhile, Ouroboros , aside from chasing after Will Auceptin, remained in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, close to the True Creator. Trying to seize his characteristic now was as good as lighting a lantern in a latrine—courting death.

As for the other Mercury Serpent, Ael did not even consider him a target. The reason was simple—he liked Will Auceptin as a character, and unless there was no other choice, he did not want to target him.

"My priority now is to collect one characteristic each from Sequence 9 to Sequence 3, completing the lower sequences of the Blank pathway beneath the angel level."

As the current owner of the "Mirror World" Sefirot, Ael naturally understood the nature of the Blank pathway and its sequence names:

Sequence 9: Passerby (Requires a Spectator characteristic)Sequence 8: Actor (Requires a Clown characteristic)Sequence 7: Artist (Requires a Lucky characteristic)Sequence 6: Constructor (Requires an Artisan characteristic)Sequence 5: Dimensional Wanderer (Requires a Traveler characteristic)Advancement Ritual: Enter the Spirit World from the material world using only one's own strength, then enter the Astral World, and finally return to the material world before consuming the potion.Sequence 4: Mirrorborn (Requires a Witch of Despair characteristic)Advancement Ritual: Create a personal, logically consistent Mirror World and connect it to reality.Sequence 3: Spectrum (Requires an Ancient Scholar characteristic)Advancement Ritual: Acquire extensive knowledge of astronomy and astrology and spread it to others. The more people who know, the stronger the ritual.Sequence 2: Lord of Time and Space (Requires an Arcane Traveler characteristic)Advancement Ritual: Create a real city that connects the Astral World, Spirit World, Subconscious Sea, Mirror World, and Material World, with enough inhabitants to sustain it.Sequence 1: Voice of the Stars (Requires a Sequence 1 characteristic)Advancement Ritual: Transmit the voices of the stars.Sequence 0: Gate of Dimensions (Requires two additional Sequence 1 characteristics and the "Blank" uniqueness)Advancement Ritual: ???