Chapter 171: Meeting and Signature

"Leave this place!"

On the central platform, a black figure sat atop a black Wang Zuo, suppressing madness, pain etched across its face.

It originally had no facial features; after Bernadette shouted "homeland" in Chinese, two blood-red eyes grew on its face, tearing open an organ resembling a mouth.

"Leave this place!" the figure repeated.

Bernadette was nearly certain this black silhouette was the father she had sought for years, Rosel.

She did not obey Rosel's command; she simply stood there, staring fixedly at the black shadow on the high-backed Wang Zuo—perhaps nostalgia, perhaps relief, but more like loneliness after being drowned in sorrow.

Suddenly, countless fissures split open across Rosel's body, blooming everywhere with blood-red flowers that emitted eerie light, as if about to become a blood moon.

In that instant, Rosel invoked the Black Emperor's rule, exiling itself into another Transformed World, leaving only a phantom shadow behind—its true form could not return to reality.

It painfully tilted its head upward; the eyes within these flowers began to show fatigue, gradually ceasing to blink—it had twisted the progression of things, forcing the blossoming "flowers" back into their bud stage, repeating this cycle endlessly.

After completing all this, Rosel looked at Bernadette with relief: "Heh, my little Princess, you've grown."

"You've grown—you came here alone. Come closer, let me see what my little Princess looks like now."

"In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed. I still remember how you looked when you were born, waving your chubby little hands, those sapphire-blue eyes so beautiful."

Rosel chattered on about the past, recalling happier times, as if these memories could offer some solace against the present misery.

"When you were a bit older, I designed all sorts of clothes for you—too bad, once you grew up, you couldn't wear cake dresses anymore."

Those eyes, no longer twisted by madness, fixed on Bernadette, filled with longing.

Bernadette took a step forward, intending to walk toward Rosel—when a gray vortex appeared beside her, and two figures swelled into view.

"Stop, niece." As Su Lin appeared, he seized Bernadette's shoulder. "Don't go closer."

Beneath Zhongli's feet, visible, tangible divine power flowed, forming a golden, transparent wall that blocked the path ten meters ahead.

The chaotic tide solidified from transparency, slamming against the wall; runes flashed brilliantly, constantly being twisted and corroded, yet new runes continuously reappeared.

At this moment, the Black Emperor lowered its head, its weary expression returning; it strained to speak: "Yes! Stop! Don't come near!"

"I'm corrupted!"

It roared its final words, then fixed its blood-red eyes on the two intruders—cold and brimming with desire.

Bernadette's sorrow deepened; her long-held suspicions were finally confirmed. She had once hoped the corruption was a lie, and also hoped to find Rosel.

The truth proved the Light God's words correct.

The crimson flowers opened and closed like shellfish in the sea, glowing with blood-red radiance; the eyes within blinked open and shut intermittently.

It glanced at Su Lin and Zhongli's faces, then studied Zhongli's attire, surprised yet pleased—it sensed the rank and power emanating from both. Though the Earth's energy felt strange, it didn't matter—as long as they could fight.

It straightened slightly, struggling to speak: "Seal me!"

Seal

Bernadette silently repeated the word; her blue eyes quickly moistened, misting over.

Though she had long known this day would come, and though she was no longer the little girl she once was, this emotion remained uncontrollable.

A blade of light flew from beyond the heavens, piercing Rosel's chest and pinning it to the black high-backed Wang Zuo; white threads like spiderwebs spread from the point of contact between flesh and blade, growing all the way to the throne behind.

Rosel could no longer fully control its actions, attempting to rise from the iron-black chair, but fought desperately, allowing the force of Order to ravage its body. Gradually, its consciousness cleared slightly; seizing the moment, it closed all the eyes on its body.

Sacred hymns echoed in its mind, seeking to guide it toward eternal peace, but the Black Emperor's power instinctively resisted—even so, Rosel's condition was vastly improved from before.

The crimson fissures closed one after another.

Four hundred-meter-tall rock spines rose from the earth, resonating in unison, solidifying the surrounding space; metal qi filled the air, a grim, deadly atmosphere emerging. The Black Emperor's attempts to interfere with external laws were disrupted and severed; golden chains erupted from the spines, binding Rosel to the throne.

Above the gray mist, Kleine, using the three's vision, dropped a paper doll. Rosel looked up, gazing toward the tomb's ceiling, through layers of time and mist, fixing its gaze on the Source Fortress—and even on Kleine within it.

It exclaimed in Chinese: "Wōcào, you've got another person?!"

A twelve-winged angel descended from the illusory space, spreading its wings to embrace Rosel, leaving a mark within its body, imbuing it with traces of gray mist.

This was not enough to permanently prevent a Black Emperor from breaking the seal.

Vast as an ocean, luminous energy flooded into Zhongli's rock spines; golden ridges shimmered with white aura, reinforcing the seal while forming a compressed energy reserve. If the Black Emperor tried to twist the spines and draw power from the earth, the light element would supply it instead—enough to sustain for over half a year.

"Come on, keep going! Don't pity me!" Rosel roared. "Harder! Haven't you eaten?!"

Su Lin paused, then formed a sphere of light in his hand; threads of light wove and converged, while an alien hymn synchronized with the world's voice, chanting destruction.

"You sure?" Su Lin replied in Chinese.

"Stop!" Rosel writhed restlessly on the throne. "I can still be saved!"

How long had I been insane? How did two true gods suddenly appear among my fellow countrymen? If this last tomb is destroyed, I'll be in real trouble.

How long has it been? The Eternal Radiance and the Mother Earth God have already been shattered by these two?

Su Lin extinguished the light divine art in his hand and said: "That's enough. In a few months, the Fool will return and graft your state, stabilizing you."

"The Fool." Rosel gazed toward infinite heights. "That'll do—as long as you remember to come here regularly to recharge."

"Hey, buddy up there, come down and join the party."

"Dad…" Bernadette whispered.

Rosel turned his gaze back to Bernadette, trying to smile—but no smile came. His brow furrowed slightly, his tone shifting: "Bernadette, who taught you to dress like this?"

A tear traced Bernadette's cheek; this tone and manner of questioning were identical to how he had spoken many years ago when she attended court banquets.

Seeing Bernadette's expression, Rosel's face—merely an outline of features—softened instantly. "You shouldn't have come here."

He looked at Su Lin and Zhongli too: "You shouldn't have brought her here—only adding to the sorrow."

The Old Ones' methods were too refined; perhaps only another Old One could save him. This corruption has fused with him entirely—no matter how many times he is resurrected, he cannot escape it.

Su Lin said in Chinese: "I've come on behalf of Zhou Mingrui atop the Source Fortress to propose marriage. Since both sets of parents are here, when should we hold the wedding?"

"How many tables? Send an invitation to the Fallen Mother God—I'd like to give her a slash."

"."

The black figure fell silent; then the crimson fissures split open again, blooming like grotesque flowers, as the Black Emperor's power surged, twisting the Light and Earth seals.

All chaos and shadow twisted into a spiral, venting upward toward the sky, crashing against an invisible barrier—only to be bound by chains blazing with radiant light; golden energy sprayed from where the chains gripped it, like sparks or splashing rain.

Bernadette, watching Rosser grow even more frenzied within the seal, felt her sorrow instantly turn to deep concern, yet as longtime leader of the 'Elemental Dawn,' she calmly turned to Su Lin, as if they had just exchanged something in the language of their 'hometown'—something that had caused her father to become this way.

"Get down here, you bastard!!!"

"You little brat, get your ass down here!!!"

Zhongli raised an eyebrow toward Su Lin, his tone uncertain: "Stimulating him like this seems unwise."

"Sorry, I might've gone too far," Su Lin said with a faint smile, nodding, showing not the slightest trace of guilt.

Above the Grey Mist, Miss Kelaien silently sighed. Both parents? Whose parent are you anyway? You'd make a fine hunter—just one sentence and you trigger a Level 0's loss of control and anger the Fool.

He summoned a paper doll, flicked it idly, and with a sharp *pop*, the paper rapidly thickened, swelled, then flew into the semi-transparent vortex of illusory mystical symbols beside the Fool's throne.

Through the symbol-mark embedded in Rosser's body, the paper doll pierced the slowly rotating vortex and descended into the tomb's dim interior—where the light's source was unknown and the space appeared faint—transforming into a human at the center platform.

This human had black hair and brown eyes; compared to the two beside him, his features were less angular, his lines less defined, his aura less cold, his facial structure noticeably different, with a bit of extra flesh on his chin and belly—socially induced.

He turned his back to Bernadette, refusing to let her see his face.

"So you're Zhou Mingrui!?" The shadow formed by Rosser slammed repeatedly against the barrier; the glowing light it emitted illuminated the entire dark tomb, his voice echoing: "Once I get out of here, I'll kill you!"

"He's joking," Kleine said calmly, his face showing no alarm: "Aside from the years you spent asleep, your daughter is older than I am."

Rosser's movements froze. The twisted shadows gradually solidified into the earlier black figure—no face, only crimson fissures covering his entire body, those eyeballs fixed unblinkingly on Kleine.

"It's true," Zhongli stepped forward and said to Rosser: "You don't need to maintain this form. Sustaining this balance for so long harms your mental state."

Hearing this, Rosser, using the chains' power, barely stabilized his condition; the fissures slowly closed one by one.

"You're my peers—Bernadette should call you uncles." Rosser pressed one palm against the armrest, leaning slightly forward; bound by chains, he could only stretch his neck. He spoke not in Chinese, but to all three—and to Bernadette: "Brother, give me an opening."

Zhongli nodded, flicked his finger, and a rock spine split apart, revealing a narrow gap.

"Dad needs to speak with the uncles."

"Bernadette, leave. Never come back." Rosser no longer looked at Bernadette, nor spoke further.

Bernadette wanted to say something, but her vision darkened—she glimpsed the shadow of order—and the next second, she found herself back at the edge of the Original Island.

She stared blankly at the mountain peak deep within the island, then slowly turned and walked toward the sea.

"This child is just like that—obedient, clever, knows how to filial piety toward this old father of mine," Rosser smiled warmly. "Even though she's now a major figure in the mysterious world, if even you True Gods can't save me, what could she possibly do?"

"Her nature is too upright—so much so that she couldn't accept some of the things I later did. Hmm, thank the Primordial Moon—he corrupted me. Everything can be blamed on Him. I can remain a guilt-free father, forever her good dad."

Rosser made a dark joke, mocking his own current state.

"You're really a piece of work," Rosser said to Su Lin.

"Agreed," Kleine glanced at Su Lin.

"I was going to ask where you're from—see if we needed a regional discrimination," Rosser sighed, then chuckled softly: "No need. You all know the truth. We're all poor souls who can't go home."

"I eat salty tofu brain," Su Lin shrugged, speaking calmly: "Who can even stomach sweet tofu brain?"

"If I were still on the throne, I'd declare you a demon god nationwide," Rosser sighed, then frowned: "What are you doing?"

Su Lin pulled out a cardboard sheet and an oil-based pen, passing them through the gap to Rosser.

"Sign your name for me," Su Lin's eyes held faint anticipation. "And write me a line too."

"Oh? My plagiarized stuff has fans from back home?" The slit representing Rosser's mouth split open. "What do you want me to write?"

"The taste of a Witch is amazing!" Su Lin paused, then added: "Sign it—Huang Tao."

Zhongli watched as Rosser's black arm gripping the cardboard twitched slightly—a red mark flickered and vanished instantly. He sighed helplessly.

"Why aren't you a Red Priest?!" Rosser asked, puzzled. "This kind of troublemaking style is wasted on the Sun Path."

Thinking he might still need their help, hoping these fellow countrymen might one day lend him a hand, Rosser scribbled his name rapidly onto the white cardboard.

*He really is a Priest—the Tarot's Priest, * Kleine thought silently. Too bad—I always wanted to tease Rosser to his face about this.

Rosser tossed the cardboard away. His faintly visible brow suddenly furrowed. "How many of my diaries have you read?"

"Many," Kleine replied calmly. "I've even collected some Desecration Cards. Hmm, you looked quite good in drag."

This was a lie—he currently held only the Black Emperor, the Tyrant, and the Red Priest.

"We all came from that materialistic era—drag was normal," Rosser glanced at Zhongli's attire: "Can this gentleman use a mobile phone?"

"I have WeChat," Zhongli replied succinctly.

"Sorry… I thought you were from ancient times. Hmm, I mean—you have great aura," Rosser cleared his throat, shifting topic, and asked Kleine: "You're in the Source Fortress—what Path are you on?"

"The Fortune Teller."

"." Rosser was about to say something when he saw Kleine pull out a pile of snacks and a television.

"For you," Kleine placed them inside the seal. "Use them to pass the time when you're bored."

With that, he steered the conversation to the matter at hand and asked Rosser:

"How's your relationship with Zarathustra?"

"A shallow friendship," Rosser recalled, then his tone grew irritated: "Fortune Tellers are truly annoying. You know—as an Angel, you can sense someone using your historical projection."

"That guy keeps pulling out my historical projection to fight me—I was in the middle of important business… cough, why are you asking this?"

Kleine nodded bluntly: "Zarathustra is about to attack me. For some reason, neither of you can help me eliminate him right away."

"Of course, capturing and permanently eliminating a Level 1 Fortune Teller is extremely difficult."

"So I hope you'll give him a decisive stab in the back at the critical moment."

"Hmm… since he's your direct rival on the same Level, he's surely eyeing your Source Fortress," Rosser nodded, hesitated, then muttered to himself: "Actually, my relationship with Zarathustra is quite good."

"I remember—it was a peaceful, sunny night. We, both Level 3, fought side by side in an ancient ruin, completely trusting each other's backs."

Kleine fell silent for several seconds, listening to Rosser's dramatic tale, then interrupted: "Get to the point."

"Zarathustra is my best friend, my brother," Rosser sat upright on the Wang Zuo, solemnly declaring.

For a moment, the scene grew quiet. Su Lin watched Kleine with keen interest.

Kleine spoke in a low voice: "I'll pay more."

He took the joke in stride.

"Deal!" Rosel wanted to stand up to celebrate, but the seal was too strong—he couldn't move.

After slowly exhaling, the Emperor continued: "Actually, it's not a big matter. I have a small request—I hope you'll look after Bernadette, and offer her some help when she needs it."

"Your diary and the Blasphemy Card have greatly aided me in the past; these things allowed me to grasp many high-level truths even when I was weak, helping me avoid numerous dangers and focus my efforts effectively." Miss Kelaien answered without hesitation: "I promise that if I ever have the chance to become an Ancient, I will try to cleanse the corruption for you."

"Heh, good brother." Rosel chuckled, then changed tone and warned: "Remember—you're her uncle."

"By the way, I haven't asked for your names yet."

"Zhou Mingrui." Klein introduced himself.

"Zhongli."

"Su Lin." Su Lin suddenly remembered something—a detail not elaborated in the book—and asked Rosel: "I'd like to ask you about something."

"Have you ever heard of the Key of Light?"

End of chapter