Chapter 182: Salinger

Clang!

The Underworld Gate slammed shut with a boom, and Chumen and Azik Eggers walked into the Underworld.

"He succeeded..." The moment Chumen set foot on this land, he looked toward the deepest part of the Underworld, where the tributary of the "River of Eternal Darkness" was located.

"But fortunately, he was unable to discover me." Chumen could vaguely sense the existence of Salinger.

"What do you need me to do?" Azik Eggers asked. After entering the Underworld, his permissions had actually increased, allowing him to control this world to a certain extent.

"... Nothing. You do not need to participate in what follows." Chumen refused.

"Leave. I will handle the matters ahead; you should go and pursue your own life."

Chumen gently patted Azik on the shoulder, bestowing upon him the blessing and protection of Dream.

"... My own life?" The entire phrase was extremely foreign; Azik Eggers had existed as a tool—the Death Consul.

The meaning of his existence was actually to manage the Balam Empire well for the "God of Death"; beyond that, he was not supposed to have any self-awareness.

But Dream had given him humanity.

"I... am a bit tired." The boulder that had been pressing down on Azik Eggers' heart was removed, and for a moment, he felt somewhat lost, not knowing what to do.

"Then go and have a good rest." Chumen chuckled, guiding Azik Eggers toward another node in life.

"There are still some problems with you, but you can choose to end them yourself, or pray to me, and I will resolve them for you."

Azik Eggers was, after all, the "Death Consul," and the "Death Consul" from when the "God of Death" was at his most powerful; the traces he carried were simply too heavy, and he would inevitably become a resurrection vessel for Salinger.

"Thank you!"

Azik Eggers wore a look of relief, finally nodded gently, opened the Underworld Gate once more, and left this place.

Chumen watched him go, and only after he had truly stepped onto his own path did he wave his hand to disperse the Underworld Gate.

"I am Azik Eggers." Chumen's figure began to change, and his appearance also transformed into that of Azik Eggers.

Azik Eggers himself held no secrets before him and could be perfectly replicated by "Myriad Phenomena"; what mattered was the permission to enter the Underworld—this thing was a form of "authorization" that could not be replicated.

"Salinger..."

Chumen walked toward the deepest part of the Underworld, a place he had already stepped foot in during the Second Epoch: a Bone Temple, and beneath the Bone Temple was the "River of Eternal Darkness."

Chumen arrived here, sensing a certain aura.

Dead silence, pallor, carrying the implication of Eternal Sleep, but beyond this "death" was a fervor flowing like blood—it was the control over war and Calamity, and a sacrifice to the essence of power.

These two types of auras, which should not have appeared on the same god before the collapse of the universe, had now undergone a deep fusion.

Hum!

The Dream Book hummed and trembled, sensing something, and the Dream Ocean filled with fallen stars surged in Chumen's eyes.

On that Dream Ocean, countless Dream Bubbles grew dim because of this aura, and countless Dream tentacles reached out from the Starry Sky, looking toward the outside world.

"This is 'End'..."

It could also be called "Termination" or "Destruction," but all represented the end of all things, including the Oldest One and the universe itself.

"This is 'Symbol'."

Chumen had always had doubts about the Dream Book; according to his analysis, the "Dream" Authority was about having one's wishes fulfilled and fantasies becoming reality.

If one became an Oldest One, this Authority could even be called an alternative "Creator."

This was powerful enough that even among the Oldest Ones, it was close to those three manifest Pillars.

However, what was the symbol of "Dream"?

Above the Sequence, symbolic meaning was something even more important than Authority.

But the problem was that the current Chumen had not found traces of where he should exist in the world and the universe; he had not found the symbol corresponding to him.

He needed to search, which was why he tacitly allowed Salinger to grow to a status that could even threaten his own safety.

Dream needed to see something in the end—not just the "Pillar," but also a certain "condition."

In the entire universe, the Fourth Pillar was implicit and could only appear completely and thoroughly when the universe ended.

This "end of the universe" was the condition for the appearance of the Fourth Pillar's symbol.

Dream...

"The root of everything?" Chumen sighed softly.

The Dream Ocean surged with waves, constantly battering Chumen's clarity; at the same time, the three powers of "Eternal Day," "Sleepless," and "Eternal Sleep" were all at work, maintaining Chumen's clarity.

Then, for the first time, Chumen took the initiative to walk toward the Source Quality.

The correlation between the Source Quality and that original Creator was too high, and its influence on his state was simply too great.

Therefore, after entering the Fourth Epoch, it was always the Source Quality seeping through and causing trouble that he would deal with; if it didn't reach a certain level, he wouldn't even pay it any mind.

Yet it just had to be the "River of Eternal Darkness"...

Before long, the dark river water surging within the gray-white mist appeared before Chumen's eyes.

Compared to the Second Epoch, the scale of the "River of Eternal Darkness" tributary was now even larger.

Ssh!

After Chumen stepped into that Space, the will in the deepest part seemed to sense something, but because Chumen was currently "Azik Eggers," he was not blocked.

Chumen gradually delved deeper into the "River of Eternal Darkness" and arrived at the place where the gray-white mist was thickest.

This was where the "River of Eternal Darkness" seeped out from the Seal, and it was also where Salinger was currently located.

It was still that altar constructed from the skulls of various races; Salinger sat quietly on that Bone Temple, his consciousness attempting to delve into the Source Quality entity of the Western Continent.

But having reached this point, the Source Quality was also wary of being mastered and accommodated by him, placing many restrictions upon him.

Coupled with the Seal of that gray-white mist, he was fundamentally unable to deeply control the "River of Eternal Darkness."

"What happened?" Salinger did not even open his eyes as he asked "Azik Eggers."

Yet in a certain instant, he suddenly raised his head and turned around, looking at Chumen.

"'Myriad Phenomena'? You are Dream?!" Salinger stood up abruptly, and the entire tributary of the "River of Eternal Darkness" began to shake violently.

"Eh? You actually recognized me?" Chumen was quite surprised; this was the first time he had been seen through.

"It really is Dream..." Salinger's deeply lined face wore a very strange expression, his gaze fixed on Chumen.

"..."

Chumen reverted to his true form, locked eyes with Salinger, and sensed something.

"As expected, you have become a 'Half-Old One', but..." The expression on Chumen's face gradually turned indifferent.

"You are mad."