Order... Awaken!

The dawn of this era had been marked by the withdrawal of the gods; its twilight was marked by the God of Order's inability to stem their return. That former hegemon of the divine realm had spared no sacrifice, giving up everything he had merely to secure an era free of gods. As for whether the inheritance of Light had been preserved like that of Order, it was impossible to say for sure for now. Yet if what Professor Hiderod, the theological historian from Order University, said was true—that back then, the God of Light had stepped aside voluntarily to make way for the God of Order—then Order might well have made an exception for him. Still, dwelling on this from the grand perspective of mythological narratives mattered little right now. For in the present, it concerned only one thing: whether Neo had any chance of surviving. In a deadlock, the sole hope of enduring lay in an exception granted by a god an era ago. And even if such an exception existed, whether you could claim it, whether it belonged to you, was far from certain. Even if the God of Order had preserved the inheritance of Light, why would it ever fall to you? Kevin's agitation was understandable. His reverence for the God of Order had reached an incomprehensible depth. Even now, when Karen commandeered this "only complete god" of the era, he was reaping copious dividends left behind by his predecessor. The golden retriever was just like those old scholars of the Church of Principles, at times overcome with uncontrollable excitement over some academic research or discovery. Yet there was another, deeper reason beneath it all... When this era truly came to an end and the gods returned, he, Raniedal, would have to stand on the front lines to face the divine tide. That had never been a position he was accustomed to. Just picturing the scene filled him with dread and anxiety. But if Order and Light both stood in front of him, he could immediately scurry to his most familiar corner and huddle there. With those two towering backs before him, the divine tide... well, hey, it really wouldn't seem like that big of a deal anymore. Thus, Kevin's mind instantly began drafting a plan and issuing instructions without delay: "Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof!" The opportunity presented by the God-Creation Project was exceedingly rare. Such a dense coalescence of divinity was practically unheard of in this era, let alone the fact that Neo could channel two iterations of it at once. If they could make proper use of the resources at hand, Neo might truly seize that ethereal inheritance of Light from the unseen depths. Ascending to godhood in a single step was out of the question; one could never attain divinity all at once, or else that would be underestimating a godhead far too much. But if they succeeded this time, Neo would have a strong chance of becoming an existence very much like Karen... Just as Karen possessed the hunger addiction within him, Neo might also grasp onto something, allowing him to walk a "similar" path to Karen despite their different paths of faith. Hearing Kevin's arrangements, Purr first frowned and cast a reluctant glance at her tail. Under Kevin's plan, this Light finger of hers was to be surrendered. For two hundred years, she had loved and fought with this finger, developing a unique bond with it long ago. Yet now, she had to offer it up with both paws. Still, considering the relationship between Neo and Karen, she could hardly refuse. Every time Neo had saved Karen in the past, it had been equivalent to saving her; after all, she and Karen shared a symbiosis contract. In the end, Purr could only grumble in a low voice, "Out of all that pleasure-seeker's investments, this debt of personal favors has yielded the biggest returns." Pausing, Purr did not forget to add: "And it's leveraged the highest, too." Leveraged so heavily that even a divine relic like this had to be given away. Karen spoke up. "Neo, did you understand what Kevin said?" Neo shook his head, indicating he couldn't speak dog. What a joke. He had called out the big shots living in his head just for some company and bustle, so that it wouldn't look like he was deliberately killing himself. He genuinely lacked any burning desire to struggle for survival on a one-in-ten-thousand chance. What he had always wanted was simply a respectable release in death—one that looked decent enough on the surface to fool both others and himself. Young Mr. Philias was a kind soul. He said, "He understood. He definitely understood, because we understood too." Neo shot Young Mr. Philias an irritated glare. "You sure talk a lot." Young Mr. Philias said with a smile, "I only want you to live, Neo. And I hope that you can represent Light and protect this world I love." "Is this world really that wonderful to you?" "Is it not?" Young Mr. Philias replied as if it were obvious. "Otherwise, why would I have been willing to spend the rest of my life drawing closer to it?" Young Mr. Philias then turned to Mr. Luther and said, "My friend Luther, over in Wien, there is another sealed subterranean cavern holding a great deal of divinity. Only a portion of it has been pulled over so far. Could you trouble yourself to drag all the divinity from that place here? That way, the ordinary people living on Wien will be rid of a hidden danger." Mr. Luther shrugged. "I don't approve of this fellow..." He pointed at Rotini's idol. Young Mr. Philias said, "Actually, it has nothing to do with him anymore." Mr. Luther pointed to Neo again. "Nor do I approve of his choices. He is too extreme." Young Mr. Philias asked, "And so, my friend?" Mr. Luther smiled. "Yet I am willing to do a little something for all the ordinary people living on Wien Island. I hope they can live in a more peaceful environment." With that, Mr. Luther raised his head and opened his mouth. Opening along with it was the rift in the sky. Mr. Luther lacked experience, so his movements were hardly elegant, but fortunately, the effect was identical. Contamination from the subterranean cavern began pouring into this place on a massive scale, continuously converging into Rotini's idol. The "products" generated by the two God-Creation Projects accumulated together at this moment, increasing the odds of success to some degree. This also caused the stretch of ocean beneath their feet, already transformed into a sea of insects, to sprout a field of purple seaweed, swaying endlessly amidst the vermin. Young Mr. Philias turned to the ancestor of the bloodthirsty aberrant demons and said, "We also require your blessing—a physical one." The old vampire pointed to his own face and asked, "You mean you want me to summon my true body to perform a blood sacrifice ritual, and offer up whatever little remains my true body might still have to him?" "Yes, exactly." "Do you take me for a fool? Why should I do that? Heh. The return of the gods is fast approaching, and a new era is about to unfold. When that time comes, all taboos will be reset, and my true body will be able to break free from its isolating seal. "When the time comes, as long as there is enough nourishment, he can gradually recover to his peak and restore our clan to glory." Young Mr. Philias said, "Light never forgets anyone who has ever aided him." The old vampire gave a disdainful snort. "I believe what you say, but I'm still unwilling." Karen spoke up then: "Order never spares anyone who has ever defied him." The old vampire fell silent. Karen looked at him with an utterly calm gaze. "I am not begging you; I am ordering you. Otherwise, I will have my dog sniff out the sealed location of your true body, mobilize the forces of the Church of Order, dig your true body up, expose the corpse, and whip it until all possibility of revival is completely destroyed." In a tone both cowed and somewhat sullen, the old vampire said, "The seal is thorough and extremely secretive..." "Then I can promise you this: when the gods return and your true body revives, the very first thing I do upon ascending to godhood will be to drag your true body over and sacrifice it in blood to the battle flag of Order." Young Mr. Philias hurriedly interjected, "He's willing! We've been arguing with each other for so long that we've grown fond of one another. He was merely putting on airs. How could he possibly bear to watch our landlord die like this?" "Right, of course, that's definitely it!" The old vampire nodded immediately. This was a threat from a future God of Order... Anyone who could stand firm under such a threat—no, most gods wouldn't even be able to withstand it. The old vampire turned to the Mad Pope and said, "Step aside for a moment, let me go first." The Mad Pope stood there motionless. The old vampire began to chant. As he chanted, the divine aura within the idol began gathering toward him. Gradually, new colors were added to the ocean beneath their feet: the sea of insects, the purple seaweed, and now a backdrop like churning blood and plasma. The scene looked remarkably like the sweet bean-paste soup Wien housewives often cooked. A colossal phantom of a bloodthirsty aberrant demon materialized behind Rotini, slowly spreading its arms to shield Neo within its embrace. Fortunately, Little Kanna had sealed off the surroundings with a divine artifact, isolating and walling off the area. Otherwise, a commotion of this scale would have been more than enough to trigger alarms across the observational organs of numerous orthodox churches. In fact, tremors had already begun. Within the Sea of the Abyss of the Church of the Abyss, furious roars shook the depths and surged outward, raising tempestuous waves. Many angels pulling the temple stalled in their tracks from the sudden shockwave. A host of elders from the Temple of the Abyss appeared at once over that stretch of sea. "With the return of the gods drawing near, has even he grown restless?" "The bloodline of the bloodthirsty aberrant demons is truly terrifying. Even after an entire era of imprisonment, he hasn't been worn down to dust." "Though he is no god, his prowess is likely beyond that of ordinary deities." "He cannot break free. The seal remains secure." "His stirring is a good thing. When our Lord returns, we can use him to hasten our Lord's recovery." Beneath the feet of the Temple of the Abyss elders, far down into the abyss, in the deepest reaches of the Sea of the Abyss, a rotting skeleton was pinned in place. Flesh and blood continually sprouted across his frame, only to be promptly washed away by the seawater. He was struggling. Though unable to move, with spikes driven through his wrists, his hands were nonetheless held upright, as if cupping something, or drawing something into an embrace to protect it. ... "My true body's response is far more vehement than I imagined!" The old vampire was astounded by this intense response. As a consciousness surviving within the bloodline of his descendants, he had previously been trying to conserve strength on his true body's behalf, knowing full well that after an endless imprisonment, his true body's condition could not be good. Yet his true body had not only disregarded his considerate intentions, but had also delivered an extraordinarily generous and proactive response. Kevin twitched his nose, then barked, "Woof, woof!" Karen looked again at the "sweet soup" beneath their feet. Kevin had smelled the scent of the Sea of the Abyss. So it was the Church of the Abyss that had sealed the ancestor of the bloodthirsty aberrant demons. The colossal phantom sheltered Neo, prepared to bear part of the pressure for him in the impending onslaught. Karen said, "If this succeeds, I can promise you partial freedom—freedom under Order." The phantom solidified noticeably in an instant. Deep beneath the Sea of the Abyss, the skeleton's struggles grew even more violent, shedding copious bone fragments. This was the promise of a God of Order! ... The preparations were complete. Young Mr. Philias looked toward the Mad Pope and bowed to him. The Mad Pope was not only his senior in rank and along the path of faith; a bond of blood tied them together. The Mad Pope surged forward, plunging straight into Rotini's idol. The next moment, Rotini's idol began to transform. The originally hunched frame straightened by degrees, and the eerie, gloomy aura shifted toward the sacred. The transformation was swift. Just as Karen releasing the aura of his hunger addiction in the past had struck terror into the spirits of divine artifacts, in the face of orthodox faith, substandard imitations remained substandard, even if tainted by a trace of "divine" presence. All the more so for a half-finished false god like Rotini, who couldn't even qualify as a defective product. "Whoa, gotta admit, this is pretty spectacular, meow." Philomena replied, "Inconceivable." Purr swished her tail and said, "It's normal enough. After all, the pleasure-seeker has so many people crammed into his head." Sacred radiance cascaded down. The sea of insects below dissolved, and the purple seaweed was annihilated with it, leaving only a blood-red expanse of ocean. For under this holy radiance of Light, a terrifying purification effect was taking hold. Karen raised his dharma body, intercepting the force of purification and thereby shielding Purr and Philomena behind him. Meanwhile, Neo, positioned at the very center of the purification, bore the fiercest sensation of being "excised"—or rather, "obliterated." Neo cursed loudly, "Karen, did you really have to pull this?! I wanted to die, but I never asked to suffer this much before dying!" Karen offered no reply. In the past, he was the one who didn't want Neo to die because he didn't want to lose such a friend. That desire had actually been quite selfish; from time to time, he had used "Eliza" as an excuse, topping up Neo's moral burden like refueling a car. Now, the selfishness had been shared among many. Even if Neo wanted to die, all those personalities living inside his head would never allow it. Having supplanted Rotini's idol, the Mad Pope's phantom expanded slowly, its majestic presence growing increasingly tangible. Neo was in agony. He should have died, yet under the protection of the bloodthirsty aberrant demon ancestor, he couldn't die. A torture far more terrible than the torment of death was being unable to die. Small wonder Neo couldn't help cursing Karen. Such an ordeal truly exceeded what any ordinary person could endure; even if one survived it, one would practically be driven mad. Still, Karen had faith in Neo. After all, the man was a ruthless bastard who peeled off his own face for kicks when bored. "Woof!" Purr blinked, gave an exasperated "Hmph," and called back with a "Meow!" Yet before Purr could actively fling off the Light finger, the finger on her tail detached on its own, severing all connection to her in a single instant. A wave of dizziness washed over Purr, making her totter, but fortunately Philomena caught her in time. "Are you alright?" "That finger has no conscience at all! Leaving just like that without a second thought, cutting itself loose so cleanly!" Purr was incensed. Soon, however, the anger in her feline eyes began to fade. Though weak, a new source of power was steadily pouring into her. Purr knew this was Karen's power being channeled across their symbiosis contract. Back when she was hunted down, she had suffered a terrible accident. To survive, she had been forced to merge with the Light finger. While that had indeed kept her alive, it had permanently locked her strength into the form of a cat. Like a ring easy to slip on but excruciating to pull off, the Light finger had now detached completely thanks to this opportunity. For her, it was a loss, yet at the same time a gain, because the shackle that bound her... was gone. Which meant she now had a chance to return to her former peak. Best of all, Karen was continually supplying her with an endless stream of spiritual power. The conditions for recovery could not have been better! What had once been an intractable dilemma had suddenly turned extraordinarily simple under the summons of "divine Light." Once the Light finger merged into the Mad Pope's idol, it hovered at the chest, making the idol exude an even more overwhelming presence. The Mad Pope raised an arm, pointed into the sky, and hurled a challenge: "I do not believe a God of Light exists in this world... unless you make me see your presence!" ... Boom! Rumble! From a micro-world pocket in the deepest recesses of the Temple of Order, an anomaly suddenly erupted. Immediately following it, a large swath of nearby micro-worlds began to collapse. The figure of the Temple Guard Commander appeared. He waved everyone away, though one person had arrived even earlier than he had. Because of that person's unique form—resembling a divine artifact—the restrictions here held little effect over him. The Temple Head said, "What you are about to see must be kept secret. I will announce to the outside world that this was another disturbance originating from our Lord." "I understand." As one micro-world after another shattered in the chain reaction, within that deepest realm there appeared a colossal human head wearing a crown, radiating supreme majesty. Even though it was merely an inanimate object. Ukonga said in astonishment, "Why is the head of the God of Light sealed within our Temple of Order?" There was another question Ukonga did not ask aloud: why did the face of this God of Light look somewhat like a former roommate of his? Just then, the head's eyes seemed on the verge of opening. The Temple Head said urgently, "Do not look directly at him!" Ukonga and the Temple Head retreated together at once, while the Temple Head forcefully activated the quarantine seals over the area. Yet after a short while, the head did not open its eyes after all. The Temple Head said, "He has fallen, in the end." Ukonga nodded. "Fortunate that he is already dead." Saying so, as if deliberately trying to lighten the mood, Ukonga joked: "Turns out dead gods are just like dead men—neither can open their eyes." ... Over the sealed ocean surface, following that questioning cry from the Mad Pope's idol, all things returned once more to calm. And the extraordinary window opened by the God-Creation Project had finally reached its end. The phantom idol of the Mad Pope gradually dispersed, and the phantom of the bloodthirsty aberrant demon ancestor faded away. Those personalities belonging to Neo vanished as well. Neo himself lay there quietly, eyes closed. The Light finger drifted down slowly, resting upon his chest. Neo... was dead. He had not succeeded. He had not received an inheritance of Light akin to the hunger addiction as Karen had. Without that, any attempt to attain godhood before the end of this era was doomed to failure! Little Kanna raised her dragon claws, covering her eyes. Kevin let out a silent sigh. Purr looked at her tail, at a loss for words at this moment. Philomena spoke up. "Should we start preparing the funeral?" A despondent, stifling atmosphere hung heavy over the sea. Karen walked up to Neo. Neo had no heartbeat, no breath of soul, and due to the purification, he had even lost the spiritual power that might have otherwise lingered. He was dead through and through. He had loved to play games, but this time, he had played too reckless a game. Yet his goal had been reached all the same: he had finally played himself to death. Karen had thought he would find such an outcome hard to accept, yet the reality was that he hadn't broken down as imagined. Instead, he was accepting it with calm composure. "Your wish has finally been granted, Captain." Karen reached out. Out of professional habit, he wanted to tidy Neo's appearance for the casket. There would be no memorial service, but at the very least he would ensure Neo was decently laid to rest beside Miss Eliza. Neo had never voiced such a request to him—not because he didn't want it, but because he knew Karen would certainly see it done. Yet when Karen's fingers brushed against the Light finger resting on Neo's chest, an exceptionally pure spiritual power surged from within it. "Hm?" Karen's eyes slowly widened. He gripped the finger in his hand. Terrifying soul pressure bore down upon Karen. Anyone else daring to touch a relic of Light directly like this would likely suffer the collapse of their soul. Only Karen could endure such pressure. He raised the finger, aimed it at Neo's chest, and plunged it down! Squelch! The finger sank halfway into Neo's body. That exceptionally pure, preserved soul power began slowly fusing into the flesh. This granted Neo, who had been completely dead, the sudden prerequisites for a certain ritual to be performed upon him. Only, there was no telling whether the one awakening would be Neo, or that great being... who had once illuminated this world. Yet there was no room for hesitation, no reason to vacillate. At the very least, some trace belonging to Neo should remain inside—even if only an insignificant sliver. Karen opened his palm, hovering it before Neo. Closing his eyes, he chanted with solemn gravity: "[Order... Awaken!]"