Chapter 484: River of Eternal Darkness

Klein descended from Sefirah Castle and began to perform a prayer ritual.

The prayer to the Goddess was very smooth; Klein even felt the gates of the Dark Kingdom swing open.

He raised his head slightly, seeing night vanilla and deep sleep, and felt an extreme sense of peace; he knew the Goddess was watching him.

This process lasted less than three seconds before an ancient-style ornament flew out from the Dark Kingdom and landed in Klein's hand.

This ornament appeared to be crafted from gold and was shaped like a slender bird, surrounded by wings made of pale white flames, with layers of light gates flickering within its bronze-colored pupils.

The gates of the Dark Kingdom closed, and Klein thanked the Goddess for her bestowal.

"Ancient Death, Phoenix Ancestor Grejary..." Klein was slightly stunned, not expecting it to be something so ancient.

"This pioneer of the Underworld possessed the Authority of 'Death' and 'Door', so is the River of Eternal Darkness actually related to her?"

Klein made some deductions, then his main body went up to Sefirah Castle, while a clone that appeared out of thin air teleported to the Underworld without concealment.

This was likely the effect the Goddess wanted as well.

After stepping into this world of the dead, Klein suddenly felt a sense of induction and looked toward a certain direction in the Spirit World; he nodded slightly and then dived straight into the depths of the Underworld.

That place was the same as the palace where the Fallen Creator resided, a forbidden zone that no one dared to follow him into.

Klein had been to the Underworld many times, but this was his first time truly venturing deep into its underground.

Soon, he saw a massive bronze phoenix statue.

The Underworld Emperor of the Fourth Epoch had not carried out large-scale modifications here, preserving its original appearance.

"Here..." Based on the intuition of an Ancient Scholar, Klein felt the scent of hidden history.

"The Goddess has been here." Klein made this judgment from the phoenix ornament.

"Then why didn't the Goddess take the river water at that time?" Doubts welled up in Klein's heart.

"Also, how did the Goddess of that period enter without being corrupted? Was it the Dream Book or the Chaos Sea?"

It was most likely the former... Klein continued down the stairs, at which point he summoned the aura of Sefirah Castle to protect his body.

Swish, swish... Klein soon saw the dark, intangible flowing water; on its surface, even light could not exist.

"The River of Eternal Darkness?" Before Klein could collect it, he saw a mass of grey-white mist, and the appearance of the mist pulled the dark river water back into the depths.

The aura of Sefirah Castle... Klein had already obtained the corresponding knowledge from Chumen and knew that most of the Source Quality was currently sealed in the Western Continent.

"Truly insidious..." Klein muttered, then continued to venture deeper.

Before long, he saw a virtual black tributary.

The tributary flowed slowly, with grey mist occasionally swirling on its surface; the existence of the mist restricted the river water to a certain range.

"But the riverbed here seems wrong too..." With a slight sensing, Klein felt the presence of Dream Phosphor.

Boom!

The Dream Phosphor on Klein's body erupted, outlining the information from back then in the invisible space.

This was a form of Reproduction, a capability that combined the powers of History, Miracle, and Fantasy.

When the information was well-preserved, it could reproduce history. "The 'Underworld Emperor' of the Fourth Epoch forcibly accommodated the Red Priest Unique with the help of the River of Eternal Darkness; he went mad but also became stronger, and then he was finished off by Chumen..."

"The River of Eternal Darkness permeated through with the help of the Underworld Emperor's power, but in the end, it was also beaten back by Chumen."

The current River of Eternal Darkness had permeated out again after the Fourth Epoch.

"Tsk!" Klein had already discovered a law: the shadow of Dream was present everywhere.

"My whole life has been shrouded in the shadow of Dream..." Klein teased himself, then walked toward the tributary.

"Roar!"

Klein suddenly encountered a terrifying obstruction; it was a giant figure standing in the river, whose face Klein was very familiar with.

The Underworld Emperor, Salinger!

"I might be afraid of others, but not you." With a thought from Klein, a massive amount of Dream Phosphor descended upon this space, illuminating the dark area.

Klein pulled back sharply, and a Spear of Destiny appeared, piercing through the body of the Underworld Emperor!

This was the main battlefield of the war at the end of the Fourth Epoch; the aura left behind by the Spear of Destiny here was exceptionally thick, and Klein directly manifested it using Dream Phosphor.

Of course, this Spear of Destiny lacked that terrifying power and was just an empty shell, but the fact remained that the Underworld Emperor died under this spear, so the Spear of Destiny had a special effect against the Underworld Emperor!

Sss!

The Underworld Emperor's body was pinned directly in the river, unable to get any closer to Klein no matter how he struggled.

"The immortality of Death seems to be pinned down by the Spear of Destiny..." Klein thought of that bronze coffin in West Balam earlier.

Every Death who wanted to resurrect would be pinned down by the Spear of Destiny; for this alone, it was worthy of the name "Fate".

Huh? Klein suddenly lowered his head and looked at his feet.

At this very moment, a hand was grabbing Klein's calf, continuously pulling him into the River of Eternal Darkness.

"It's myself?" Klein's pupils constricted as he saw himself in the river; his Spirituality reacted immediately, turning into a Dream Bubble to escape the clutches of "himself".

"It was that time I died during my transmigration; the death and resurrection of a Miracle Invoker would leave corresponding traces in the River of Eternal Darkness."

Klein's body reproduced to the side; this time, in addition to using the Grey Fog for protection, he also summoned the Dream Sea.

The starlight-like seawater directly washed "himself" away, preventing him from getting close.

Klein threw down the phoenix ornament to draw in the water of the River of Eternal Darkness.

Just then, a massive shadow appeared in the illusory river water rippling in Klein's eyes.

It was a giant bird, completely submerged and floating in the water.

"Phoenix Ancestor Grejary!"

Klein was slightly startled, but this time he could no longer take shortcuts; he suddenly produced the "Last Supper" in his hand and gave it a gentle shake, causing the "Pure White Angel" to appear by his side, the scorching sunlight blocking the gaze of the phoenix.

"Come!" Klein grabbed the phoenix ornament, which had already finished drawing the river water; the mission was complete, and Klein did not want to stay any longer.

"Screech!"

But at this moment, Klein suddenly felt the River of Eternal Darkness beneath his feet trembling, its water surging violently!

(End of this chapter)