Chapter 376: Conclusion and Interaction (Additional Update for the Nameless Pawn)

As the brass‑colored glimmer spread, pairs of illusory eyes formed; they could see every weak point in any structure, and could also create weak points directly.

As the glimmer spread, the eyes appeared, and the partial consciousness of the primordial witch that had descended upon this dreamscape was directly expelled.

With the dissipation of the primordial witch's consciousness, the surrounding layers, like a maze‑like dream, seemed to shatter rapidly as if reaching their limit.

In the spirit realm, a gray‑white figure emerged from the mental world; it was a massive dragon claw covered in thick gray‑white scales, each scale engraved with mysterious symbols that instantly left Katelinna and Kèlālìsī who saw it in a stunned daze.

Their thoughts once again became mired in tangled, frantic ideas, making it hard to control their bodies, and even thinking itself became difficult.

The dragon claw reached straight for the gray‑white stone statue bound by invisible transparent threads; under the dragon's power, those threads were as fragile as cotton candy and tore apart easily.

The gray‑white stone statue was dragged into the mental world, leaving only the two witches, now in mental disarray, who in the spirit realm fought a fierce battle against the invading consciousness within themselves.

Deep within their island of consciousness, a somewhat illusory figure quietly emerged—it was their own likeness, but with dark‑gold eyes, vertically slit pupils, and faint layers of gray‑white scales on the body.

As time passed, their mental state gradually improved, and the figure hidden deep in their consciousness island shed all incongruous traits, fully disguising itself as part of their own self‑awareness.

Above the gray mist, within that grand ancient palace.

Kèláiēn withdrew his gaze from the spirit realm, turned his head toward the prophet's avatar and Mr. Azuk seated to the left of the mottled long table, and spoke with a hint of wistful loss:

"Is this the end?"

He had expected to witness an exaggerated battle among High Sequence beings; at the very least, it should have been more spectacular than the few fights that occurred earlier with Baiyam.

Azuk turned his gaze toward the foremost Kèláiēn, and in a gentle voice explained: "Their battlefield lies within the mind and the dream, beyond our observation."

"Although we could not directly observe the recent battle, I sensed the will of the primordial witch descending. It gave me a familiar feeling, perhaps because the primordial witch and the Death God were once allies,"

"Alongside that descending will, another being of the same tier also arrived; I do not know who it is, nor can I observe its specifics."

"It is most likely the God of Knowledge; Angerweide can easily weave the former Wise Dragon within the dream, allowing that entity to descend with a fragment of consciousness."

The prophet's avatar leaned on the high‑back chair, murmuring his own speculation.

The Imaginary Dragon and the Wise Dragon—there is always a precarious feeling to their cooperation, as if they might stab each other at any moment.

Kèláiēn silently muttered a remark in his mind.

In the next instant, a deep‑red light suddenly expanded, sending layers of crimson ripples across the gray mist.

Following his intuition, Kèláiēn saw the deep‑red star representing Angerweide pulsating—expanding and contracting. Though no prayer was uttered, how did it reach me? As thoughts drifted, Kèláiēn turned to Azuk, pondering, and said:

"That 'Imaginary Dragon'."

"No need to worry; here, even angels cannot discern your illusion or reality, and I am also present."

Azuk gave Kèláiēn a light smile and nodded.

Having received Azuk's affirmative reply, Kèláiēn finally relaxed; this time he did not intend to communicate with the 'Imaginary Dragon' through the gray mist.

As he made his decision, his spirit extended to touch the deep‑red star representing Angerweide, intending to pull it directly into the gray mist.

Just as when he pulled Azuk before, he felt a resistance; it seemed that if the other party wished, they could simply refuse his pulling.

Angerweide responded to Kèláiēn's tug almost without hesitation; a surge of deep‑red light rose, and its figure instantly appeared above the gray mist.

It still retained its massive dragon form; within the grand ancient palace it did not seem overly huge, rather just right, as if the palace were built for such colossal beings. Angerweide's pale‑gold vertical pupils scanned the surroundings, and upon seeing the few figures here still in human shape, it gently shook its head, its form becoming instantly transparent, rapidly shrinking and reshaping.

A flash of gray‑white light passed, and it had become an elderly man with silver‑gray beard and hair, pale‑gold eyes, wearing a gray‑white robe, with sharp, dignified features, standing tall at about 1.9 to nearly 2 meters.

Its gaze swept over everyone unnoticed, then it found an empty high‑back chair to Azuk's left and sat down.

After sitting, it turned its body toward the foremost Kèláiēn, whose figure was already shrouded in gray mist, and in a gentle voice, more like a kindly neighbor than the former Dragon King, said:

"'Fool'? I am the ancient dragon Erihoge, and also the former 'Dragon King' Angerweide."

Truly worthy of an angel of the audience path, every word and deed were perfectly appropriate, showing no unnecessary emotion from the disparity of his status; however, he seemed to prefer being called Erihoge—perhaps an effect of this identity?

While pondering, Kèláiēn relaxed against the chair back and, in a calm tone that placed the other on equal footing, said:

"Yes."

"The 'Grosser Journey' will be handed to you later; as for my promise, it can be fulfilled at any time."

Angerweide nodded lightly and said:

"I am not in a hurry to retrieve Levi­chid; within it lies contamination from the Chaotic Sea that I sealed, and I cannot resolve that part of the pollution now."

So you hope my promise can be exchanged for helping you solve the Chaotic Sea's pollution? It should involve more than just the pollution; it also contains part of its former power.

While contemplating, Kèláiēn tapped the edge of the mottled long table twice, seeming to consider how to answer, and after a moment said:

"I can resolve the Chaotic Sea's pollution, but I still need to reclaim some authority."

"Otherwise, it would only erase your portion of power along with the pollution."

Angerweide, expression unchanged, nodded toward Kèláiēn and, in the same gentle tone, said:

"Thank you for your assistance; I will monitor news of erroneous‑path High Sequence traits, but when most traits have been aggregated by A Meng, finding an angel‑level trait is not easy."

"Even if found, it is likely a trap left by A Meng."

Indeed, A Meng is inescapable, Kèláiēn thought silently, then, without changing tone, said:

"No need to worry about traps."

If the trait is truly obtained, simply crush the trait and re‑aggregate it; any trap becomes useless, and A Meng cannot directly infiltrate this gray mist.

Kèláiēn's calm reply took on a different meaning in Angerweide's eyes; he was confident, believing A Meng could not wrest the Source Fortress from him, since he himself is the Source Fortress? The sequence‑one traits and uniqueness of the Error, Gate, and Fool paths are held by A Meng and Bote Li; their true power is likely inferior to A Meng's, yet their stature surpasses A Meng's, and with the home‑field advantage here, he fears not A Meng.

Calling himself 'Fool', he intends to start from the Fool path, first reclaim a complete set of authority; the third Mysterious Secret Servant trait that Freigla has never found has been on the Source Fortress, controlled by the activated Source Fortress?

While pondering, his gaze fell on Azuk to his right; the former Bayrang Empire's Death Regent Antigonus was currently sealed by the Night Goddess, and he hoped to reach a tacit understanding with the Night Goddess, using the Death God's leftover to exchange for Antigonus? Seeing Angerweide's eyes land on him, Azuk glanced back with slight puzzlement and, curiously, asked, "You seem to know me?"

Angerweide's gaze lingered a moment before gently nodding: "The former Bayrang Empire's Death Regent, who manages the mortal empire for that Death God."

"Your condition doesn't seem well—have you lost your memory?"

(End of Chapter)