“Have you chewed enough?”
Karen walked up to Little Kanna, looking down at her as he asked.
Little Kanna shook her head, then patted her belly to signal that she could still eat more.
The Temple of Eternity was undeniably an extraordinarily exquisite place. After all, it was a traveling palace built by an era hegemon two eras ago.
It was only because of Eternity’s self-exile and the subsequent “visit” paid by the God of Order that the place had been thoroughly cleaned out. Whatever meager dregs remained had slaughtered one another during an era of isolation, until they ultimately vanished completely.
Thus, it appeared utterly deserted, but fundamentally, its underlying architecture was not inferior in the slightest to the Temple of Order.
The spots Little Kanna had gnawed through not only damaged cultural relics, but also breached small worlds one after another. If architects, array masters, runemasters, and the like in church circles were to witness this, they would probably beat their chests and stomp their feet in agonizing regret.
However, the little bone dragon’s purpose truly was not mischievous teeth-grinding from an itchy mouth. Karen could see that she was absorbing the internal frameworks of these small worlds.
More accurately... within her own draconic body, she was attempting to construct small worlds.
Back when he watched Purr “exploit” the child’s studies, Karen had felt a bit tenderhearted. But seeing the results now, he suddenly understood Purr.
Of course, Little Kanna’s advantages and privileges were not something just anyone could enjoy: the legacy of the Rebel Dragon God, Raniedal and Purr as her teachers, Old Hoffen providing extracurricular tutoring...
Most importantly, one couldn’t find so many complete, well-structured small worlds anywhere else, let alone be allowed to gnaw on them at will.
It was only because Eternity no longer cared about any of this that Little Kanna had been granted such an opportunity.
Yet this was also predicated on Karen bringing her in. If someone from outside had barged in—even the Pontiff of an orthodox church—they would probably have been swatted into pulp.
“Mm, where’s Great-grandfather?”
“He went into Eternity’s memories.”
“Oh, Great-grandfather is so pitiful. At such an old age, he still has to keep studying. How despairing—live and learn, even to your dying day.”
“Our Kanna is very impressive too. It’s fine, keep gnawing away. They’re all vacant anyway.”
Besides, Eternity had no intention of refilling them. He was simply waiting for the final, ultimate battle.
The throne was already vacant; the Principles notebook and Eternity’s phantom silhouette had vanished together.
They were likely somewhere within the palace’s spatial layers, but Karen could not be bothered to look. Once Little Kanna was done here, he could return and attend to his own affairs.
Right at that moment, however, Richard walked up to Karen’s side and said placidly:
“Let’s talk.”
Karen looked at Richard and asked, “Can you still afford to be distracted?”
“Why would you ask such an infantile question?”
“Oh, never mind then. Do we need to find a place?”
Richard raised a hand, and Karen took the opportunity to grab Kanna’s little backpack. Little Kanna cooperated fully, taking another bite out of the pillar in front of her while slipping out of the bag.
In the next instant, Karen and Richard vanished from the spot.
Philomena walked over. She knew Richard had just been possessed again; though she disliked it, she was utterly helpless to stop it.
She bent down, looked at Little Kanna who was chewing away, and asked, “Does it taste good?”
“Mm, no.”
“Then why do you keep eating it?”
“Calcium supplement.”
Philomena opened her mouth, intending to take a bite out of the pillar as well.
Little Kanna reached out to stop her, and Philomena bit right down on Kanna’s fair, tender wrist.
“Hm?”
“You can’t bite this. It’ll shatter your teeth. Are you hungry?” Little Kanna took a pill out of her pocket. “Eat this instead. Use your fingernail to scrape off a little piece at a time. Be careful not to stuff yourself.”
“Oh, okay.”
Philomena scraped off a tiny flake and popped it into her mouth. It melted instantly on her tongue, and her eyes lit up.
The taste was mediocre, even slightly bitter, but the immediate wave of satiety that surged through her after a single bite was something the girl thoroughly enjoyed.
Little Kanna glanced at her and said:
“Next time, I’ll take you to the Demonic Beast Research Institute so we can get physical checkups together.”
***
The place Eternity chose to converse was simple: the top of the palace bell tower.
The view here was superb: bright sunshine above, pure white snow stretching below—staring at it too long could easily cause snow blindness.
Karen took wine and glasses from the backpack and set them out.
“You specifically brought these?”
With their abilities, they could casually conjure objects like these with a wave of a hand.
“Some are for you, some are for my grandfather. Life still requires a bit of ritual.”
“It seems you thoroughly enjoy life here.”
“Yes, indeed.” Karen handed a glass to Richard. “If one doesn’t enjoy and love it, how could one ever be willing to protect it?”
“When Order descends, I want to fight Him.”
“Hm?”
“Not a fight to the death, but at least an exchange. Otherwise, it would remain a regret of mine.”
“Fair enough.”
“Your word doesn't count. You are the new God of Order; I am speaking to Him.”
“I imagine He would like to fight you as well.”
“Naturally...”
Richard’s expression suddenly froze. The sensation was like a radio losing its frequency signal.
After a moment, Richard resumed his previous motion, took a sip of wine, and remarked:
“Astonishing learning ability.”
Karen smiled.
No one knew better than he how terrifying the Inmeles family talent truly was.
More importantly, this was not an inheritance handed down from antiquity; its origin was Diss himself, and currently, the sole successor eligible to share in this talent was Karen.
Richard swirled the glass in his hand and said, “Do you know? He is plundering my memories.”
Karen: “Only because you gave him the opportunity.”
“He does indeed have the capital to be proud.” This was an acknowledgment from Eternity. “Why would a person like this be a believer of Order?”
“Why? Can he not be?”
“Heh... heheheh...” Eternity’s gaze turned profound. “According to the laws of things, this should be impossible. Because he and Order belong to two different eras, between them there must inevitably exist competition and conflict.”
“These things were never written in history books.”
“Of course they wouldn't be written down. Because the only ones capable of seeing through this law are the era hegemons of each generation. Once they reach the pinnacle, they can perceive the dynamics of this world.
“Endless life, spans of time beyond the measure of conventional thought—these certainly exist. Yet there remains a supreme rule propelling all motion forward.
“It is not time, yet it stands above time; it is not destiny, yet it transcends destiny.
“This is also why most era hegemons can only suppress their own era. Of course, a rare few of supreme might can suppress two, three, or even more eras, but in the end, all become history.
“Either a more powerful new generation arises to challenge you, or you perceive the frailty settling upon yourself.”
“Is this the true nature of era transitions?”
“Yes. Oftentimes on the surface, era transitions use the occurrence of major events as dividing markers, but in reality, such major events are merely phenomena spawned by internal causes.”
“So, Light sensed it? Sensed the conflict arising between Order and Himself?”
Richard chuckled. “Presumably so. But He made an even more extreme choice: He fell by His own hand, thereby erasing the boundary between eras.
“In truth, the previous era should have been split in two: the Era of Light and the Era of Order.”
“I can roughly follow.”
“Once you inherit His godhead and truly stand in that position, you will understand.”
“Perhaps.”
“Yet are you truly content with that?” Richard stared at Karen. “You could have an even better choice. For instance, inaugurating an era that belongs to you, rather than considering yourself someone else’s second-generation successor. You should understand what that entails: it means your imprint on history will be overshadowed by Him. You will have existed, you will have acted, you will have shone, but history will focus far more on Him than on you.”
“Ah, but great ideals require people to step forward wave upon wave,” Karen said, dropping an ice cube into his glass. “Right now, the entire Church of Order is doing just that.
“Countless individuals from different eras are silently dedicating and sacrificing themselves. Why should I feel aggrieved?”
Richard pointed to himself. “One born of pure bloodline theory, one picked up from the street by throwing a bone—they are completely different from someone nurtured from scratch through self-cultivation.”
Eternity was referring to the comparison between Richard, Neo, and Karen.
“You flatter me.”
“A pity those two cannot descend right now. When the day comes that They do descend, if there's an opportunity, the four of us can sit together, drink wine, and chat again.”
“I’ll pour the wine.”
Richard froze again.
A smile touched the corners of Karen’s mouth.
A moment later, Richard recovered. His expression was somewhat solemn as he repeated what he had seemed to say earlier:
“How could a person like this be a believer of Order?”
“What happened now?”
Richard froze yet again.
This time, however, he recovered very quickly, but his gaze seemed to belong to an entirely different person.
He looked at Karen with affectionate eyes and said, “Karen.”
“Grandfather?”
The one controlling Richard’s body at this moment was actually Diss.
“Grandfather, what are you...”
“Apologize to Him on my behalf. It seems I overdid reading His memories.”
“All right, Grandfather.”
Richard closed his eyes. After a while, he opened them again; this time, he had reverted to Eternity.
Karen spoke up: “My apologies, he didn’t mean to.”
Richard: “He should have been the one pushed forth by this world to upend the Era of Order, yet now, he has become a believer of Order.”
When Diss slew a chief god immediately upon attaining godhood, Eternity had not felt astonished.
Yet after He opened His memories to Diss, He finally tangibly perceived the talent harbored within Diss—it was a potential that could grant a chance to become a challenger to an era hegemon.
Just moments ago, Diss had inadvertently nearly wrested away control of this wisp of Eternity’s divine-sense phantom.
Karen said, “I don’t think there is anything surprising about it. Haven’t you and Light stood together with us as well? Although you and Light are not believers of Order, we all intend to reform this world, sharing the same pursuit and ideal.”
Richard reached up and tapped his forehead lightly. “I won’t chat with you anymore; I can’t afford to be distracted.”
“Very well.”
“My true self remains outside the eras, but of the portion of power I projected here, half was consumed in the battle of gods in Wien, and the other half will likely be spent sharing my experience with him. I will maintain the memory space as long as I can. I too am looking forward to seeing just how far he can grow.”
“Thank you for your sacrifice and generosity.”
“The next time I see you will be when Order and Light descend, and I descend along with Them. Therefore, three things.”
“Speak.”
“First, protect this fellow well. When I descend, I will need to use him as a vessel. Among the surviving bloodlines, only he is suitable; none of the others will do.”
“Naturally.”
“Second, when Order prepares to descend, you will surely be the first to sense it. When that time comes, tell Him to preserve the last bit of His remaining power, wait for me to descend, and fight me.”
“There’s no need to ask; of course.”
“Third...”
*Buzz!*
The Spear of Eternity manifested, planting itself in the snow ahead. The artifact spirit, Michios, appeared and bowed to Richard and Karen seated up high.
“Imbue my spear on the battlefield in the upcoming battles of gods, so it will be ready when I formally return. Look at him now—after being imprisoned by your Church of Order for so long, does he look anything like he used to? He’s practically turned into a frail scholar.”
Michios: “...”
“No problem.”
“Fourth, let this body of mine follow you like a shadow, help you handle things, share your burden...”
“Richard.”
“Ah?” Richard scratched his head in embarrassment. “Why do you see right through it every time I try this?”
“Heh, you brat.”
Karen reached out and patted Richard’s shoulder twice.
“Brother, did you know I was your cousin from the very first time we met?”
“Mm. At your home, I saw a portrait of my mother.”
“I knew it! No wonder you’ve always looked out for me. For a time, my mother and I even suspected you might be my dad’s illegitimate son. Later, I confirmed you weren't.”
“Why?”
“Where would my dad get such good genetics?”
“Don’t let your grandfather hear that.”
“It doesn’t matter. My grandfather is now the foremost proponent of bloodline theory—he is deeply superstitious about it and proud of it.”
With a living example like Karen, his direct grandson, and looking at this prospective granddaughter-in-law possessing quasi-dual godheads, any elder would eagerly anticipate the bloodline prowess of the next generation. This was no longer opening a mystery box; it was practically playing with cards face up.
“Alright, go down and call them. We should get going.”
“Yes, High Priest.”
Karen took a step forward, his figure vanishing from the spot and reappearing before the Spear of Eternity. He gripped the shaft and hoisted it up.
The Blade of Sighs was merely Ankara’s sidearm, and the Scythe of War was the weapon of the God of War, but this spear was a genuine artifact of an era hegemon.
Its quality, with all restrictions fully unlocked, was almost beyond words to describe. The only certainty was that this was the most powerful weapon Karen had ever wielded.
The artifact spirit Michios stood by with a somewhat crestfallen expression. Karen comforted him:
“He’s just afraid you’ll be lonely and wants me to look after you temporarily.”
Michios immediately smiled:
“Thank you, Great Order.”
Karen carried Little Kanna back on his back. Her belly was so stuffed that when she transformed into a dragon, she actually couldn't take off.
On the other side, Richard carried Philomena, who had already fainted because she had eaten more than half of that pill.
Fortunately, Old Master Delon didn’t witness this scene. Otherwise, he would probably have been frightened half to death: his deeply cherished, outstanding granddaughter-in-law had nearly gorged herself to death.
When leaving via the teleportation array, Karen took the gifts Dinisen had prepared for him as his godson—a vast pile of bags and bundles. Karen did not mind the trouble and accepted them all.
After the teleportation ended and the formation shut down, the clerics at the observation station involuntarily looked at their captain. Among them, the cook-cleric holding a ladle asked:
“Captain, were you bribing the High Priest?”
***
Over the next six months, the entire church world was extremely busy. A large number of lower- and middle-tier religions were annexed or eradicated. Meanwhile, the Church of Order completed another six rounds of battles of gods.
The interceptions were all successful; not a single god escaped. But the cost was that the 1st Order Knight Corps was nearly depleted, yet five rounds still remained in the second phase.
In other words, starting with the next round, the living generation of the Church of Order would have to shoulder the responsibility of intercepting the gods.
Dikeno submitted the newly drafted plan to Karen. The scheme was simple: conscripts of the eligible age bracket from the first and second rounds would serve as the main force, with the knight corps acting as support.
Piro, Levin, and his maternal grandparents were about to step onto the battlefield of sacrifice.
This was the most cost-effective arrangement under meticulous planning and calculation. Karen looked at Dikeno, said nothing, and silently signed his name.
Afterward, Karen stood by the window and pushed it open. Outside, the bright sunshine felt incongruously untimely. But Dikeno must have given notice after leaving; before long, the weather within the Discipline Department’s barrier turned overcast, and a light drizzle began to fall.
What was meant to come would come in the end.
Little Kanna closed her exercise book, stretched her back, and asked, “When is Big Sister Purr coming back?”
Karen turned around and asked, “What, do you want more homework?”
Sometimes, the feeling of yearning needed to be artificially diluted.
Little Kanna pouted. “I miss Big Sister Purr. Even if my homework doubles, I still want to see her.”
“Soon, probably.”
Purr’s expedition team had been out of contact for half a month. However, this was not too unexpected, as they had lost contact often in the past, only to restore communications shortly after.
Right at that moment, the office door was pushed open. Leon rushed in with a document in hand, a look of sheer panic on his face:
“High Priest, disaster! Just now, the life spirit tablets left behind by the expedition team before their departure all shattered!”
Spirit tablets were the most primitive form of communication, capable of conveying only one thing: life or death.
This situation meant that the massive expedition team tasked with finding Heaven... had been completely wiped out.
Suddenly, the hunger addiction within Karen roared. This was the first time in recent memory that the hunger addiction had stirred spontaneously.
Karen closed his eyes and entered his soul world. In this pool floated coffins one after another. Beneath each coffin were distinct markings and features, representing every Order knight awakened by Karen and branded with the rules of Order.
*Bang!*
The coffin carved with pirate ship motifs split open. This was Count Rekal.
*Bang!*
The coffin carved with countless explorer insignias split open. This was Dicarost.
The fractured coffins gradually disintegrated and slowly sank until no trace of them could be seen on the pool's surface.
This meant that these two... had fallen.
Karen returned to reality. “Rekal and Dicarost, they’ve already...”
Before he could finish, Karen shuddered violently. He clutched his chest fiercely with one hand as a contract rune surfaced, twisting and dissolving.
Leon asked with deep concern, “High Priest, this is...”
Little Kanna stood rooted to the spot, her expression blank, and said:
“Big Sister Purr is voluntarily terminating the symbiosis contract.”
Chapter 957