21 Novel

November 30, 1349.

Convincing Reinette Tinker proved to be a challenge. Putting aside her reservations, talking to her four heads was like an uphill battle. Imagine each of her heads saying a word one at a time to build a long and drawn-out argument—ugh, that was the embodiment of their conversation.

But Lucien had been working on his tolerance. He tolerated all of her words, but his tolerance did not translate into acceptance in the end, for her demand was, to be honest, brazen. He even began to suspect Reinette was just testing the waters.

In exchange for joining their side for not only the conflict against the Rose School of Thought but also the coming world war, Reinette demanded that her temperance faction remain autonomous even after everything settled down on the south continent and a new government arose to rule it.

Lucien didn't even consider her request; after all, he was going to be Emperor. Nothing in his empire shouldn't be completely outside of his authority.

Nonetheless, he made some concessions because Reinette Tinker was crucial to his plan to restrict the influence of Mother Tree of Desire from growing across the southern continent. Even if they were successful in eradicating the Indulge Faction of the Rose School of Thought, the corrupted Chained God remained, and through him, the Mother Tree of Desire could just keep propagating her influence, so someone was required, someone strong and willed enough to always be able to thwart it.

Reinette was that someone—yes, Lucien planned to use her as a shield against Mother Tree of Desire until he was powerful enough to deal with Chained God himself. Even he had an offhand idea about allowing Reinette to ascend farther after obtaining the sequence 1 characteristic of the Chained Pathway, but it was simply an afterthought for now.

Coming back to his concession, he allowed the Temperance Faction to be semi-autonomous, although it would be under his direct purview.

As he expected, Reinette was just testing the waters with her demand, as she didn't immediately deny his concession but hesitated in silence.

To seal the deal, Lucien volunteered to heal her. Her injuries were mostly to her soul, and while most of them had been healed, some lingered deep within her. He could heal them with his soul authority, but it would take some time. This was also beneficial to him, for he preferred his allies in their peak state rather than injured and bruised.

And he wasn't concerned that Reinette would reject his counter-proposal because the path he offered her was the only one that granted her Hope and Success.

Ultimately, Reinette Tinker agreed and shook hands with him.

After they discussed her healing sessions, she left for the northern continent—he calculated that by the time the assault on Loen and Intis began, she would be in her peak state, and even if she wasn't, he would make sure she was, as they needed all the hands they could get for the assault—to bring her faction back to their homeland.

Speaking of the assault, in the great chamber of the Numinous Episcopate, there was a table in the shape of the known world, etched with its important cities, ports, landmarks, and so on. He had ordered its creation, drawing inspiration from the painted table from Game of Thrones, but it was extraordinary in comparison to its equivalent.

And on it were the major military bases of Loen and Intis, spread across the southern continent and seas, all blazing as crimson as the blood moon.

Every day, strategies and tactics were being developed and scrapped with the goal of not only eliminating all military centres but also invading the Northern Continent.

Invasion of the Northern Continent.

Yes, Lucien intended to invade the Northern Continent. It was he who initiated this motion, with his Angels immediately supporting him, albeit their apprehension was evident to him given how absurd his idea was.

Absurd, but not improbable. If this were a normal world, a colony attempting to invade its coloniser immediately after winning independence would be ridiculous and inconceivable, but not here, since this was the the world of mysteries, where anything was possible.

But it would need time and effort for it to become a reality—much more than what is needed for the assault. First of all, the assault needed to be successful for the invasion to even be possible, as it would almost destroy the maritime and air superiority of the northerners. All in all, the preparations for the assault were their priority.

And it was coming along quite well. He had begun actively participating in the planning for he had successfully amassed much knowledge in the art of warfare through his angels, but he was still not comparable to them since some things could only be fully grasped through actual experience in the field. It did not matter how great his comprehension skills were.

The preparations for the assault were led by Lucien and Sia, with Haiter helping in from time to time as he was preoccupied with the task of controlling the local governments of East and West Balam.

It was proven to be somewhat easy since the influence of the Numinous Episcopate extended there too. There was also the fact that the traditions and cultures of the Southern Continent highly respected faith and divinity; therefore, most administrative officials of the local governments practised the religion of Death in secret.

All of this was assisting Haiter in winning their allegiance and reverence. He projected that by the middle of December, both governments would be under the rudimentary control of the Numinous Episcopate. And despite the Angel of Imagination "Himself" covering him, he was nevertheless careful not to leave any tracks.

Adam…..

Lucien had been pondering consulting Adam on an important matter. It wasn't the deal Amon had proposed, though it did cross his mind now and then. He knew that he had let his emotions influence his decision-making rather than being impartial with that deal, but you couldn't blame him given who Amon was. For all he knew, the Blasphemer may be using this so-called alliance as a cover to become Error, which required Amon to replace someone who was undergoing apotheosis ritual with himself.

Lucien had no intention of becoming a scapegoat for the God of Deceit. Nevertheless, he still hasn't completely dropped the deal out of his mind, as with every passing day, he began to feel the precariousness of his future.

As for the matter he meant to address with Adam, it was a complicated situation surrounding his father, Azik Eggers. To be honest, he still wasn't sure what to think of his father, but regardless of his personal feelings, he acknowledged the importance of bringing his father back to the Southern Continent.

After all, his father was essential in restoring the Artificial Death to its original state—the Death Uniqueness. Yes, he could try to use his soul authority to remove or destroy the half of his father's soul from the artificial death, but he decided to wait until he met with his father before making a decision.

But meeting with his father was easier said than done, especially since Evernight Goddess was most certainly keeping a close check on him. It was such a perilous situation that even he felt helpless in the face of it, which is why he considered counselling Adam about it.

That's how he ended up standing in front of the corpse cathedral, which was now deep within the mind realm, after ultimately deciding to go through with it. He'd always made his way here owing to a badge stamped with the symbol of a cross that Adam had given him, for the Corpse Cathedral never lasted in one place for more than a day.

Begrudgingly ignoring the picturesque surroundings of the Mind World, Lucien entered the corpse cathedral with solemnity, and he was immediately welcomed by the bones of gods, carved across the cathedral in holy grimness. No matter how many times he came here, he still couldn't get used to this strange cathedral.

Adam was there, but he was not praying to himself, like usual; rather, he sat in the front row, penning a book with a black quill.

Lucien approached Adam quietly, peeking at the book as he sat next to the Angel of Imagination, but Adam closed the book before he could see anything, much to his dismay, as he suspected Adam was literally writing the changes into the trend of times.

"Is that...?" Lucien asked tentatively.

"Yes." Adam replied lightly, his gaze fixed on Lucien. "My novel—the Fifth Epoch."

'Okay, that was something.' Lucien gulped. "Why are you revealing this to me?"

This was no coincidence, the Reaper reasoned; Adam was deliberately disclosing this to him.

"I have been stuck on a chapter for some time," Adam said.

"What is the title of the chapter?" Lucien questioned tentatively, to the tune of Adam.

"The World War." Adam held the silver cross around his neck.

'The World War.' Lucien's heart sank. "On which event are you struck?"

"The Balam Empire invades the Northern Continent." Adam revealed, meeting his eyes.

"So you are stuck on my plan." Lucien guessed wryly. "How did it go? Did we fail abysmally?"

"Yes." Adam spoke slowly. "But not for the reasons you think." His voice grew deep, containing something otherworldly and mythical, as if he were reciting a prophecy. "The Balam Empire and all its allies successfully invaded the Northern Continent under the leadership of the fallen angel, causing the red of war to spread throughout the world, affecting everything, including the anchors, which ultimately induced the Gods to descend into the world with their true bodies to put an end to it."