Chapter 878: Patient (Thanks to Taiyang Qianxiao for Supporting the Silver Alliance)

Lu Mi knew perfectly well that the figure before him was Amon, though the latter's appearance differed somewhat from Monite and other manifestations of Amon; whether it was the monocle on his right eye or his overall demeanor and aura, there was no doubt that He was indeed Amon.

But the question was, why was Amon here? Why did He call Himself Thelmipolos?

Lu Mi had clearly seen those silver-white streaks with black veins fly out from within himself, from the shattered seal of the "Fool" Master—so why had they become Amon?

That was precisely why Lu Mi had just frozen in place.

Could it be that during all their previous encounters, Amon had quietly bypassed the "Fool" Master's seal and hidden inside him, replacing Thelmipolos?

Then what was the "Fool" Master's seal?

Amidst shock and confusion, Lu Mi forcibly suppressed these emotions, for he still had something far more important to do.

He stood up, ready to retrieve the "Sword of Courage," then use the "Black Tear"'s mirror-travel ability to reach Franca and Jianna and the others, to help them fight Higton.

Vazan Sansong and Harrison remained standing there, dazed, like statues.

The Amon who called Himself Thelmipolos raised a hand to stop Lu Mi.

He glanced at the transparent boundary showing the battle between Franca and the others and Higton, then smiled and said:

"I have already fixed their fate so they will not be killed within the next ten minutes. You still have time. As for what will happen after those ten minutes, it depends on your own choice."

Lu Mi turned his gaze back to Amon, removed the "Black Tear" forehead ornament, and shoved it into the independent space within his "Traveler's Satchel" to prevent the negative effects from returning, then asked in a low voice:

"What choice?"

Before Amon could answer, he couldn't help adding another question:

"When did you become Thelmipolos?"

As he spoke, Lu Mi also temporarily put away the "Demon's Whisper" bone ring.

Amon's lips curled slightly:

"Long, long ago—since the very first time you heard that name, Thelmipolos has been me."

Here, the former Angel-King's smile carried a hint of mockery:

"In that dream in Kordu Village, the Wizard symbolized the power of Fate; the Wizard's death and burial in the tomb symbolized the loss of its original master—that is, the true Thelmipolos had declared his demise; the owl that had remained beside the tomb, beside the Wizard's corpse, symbolized the outsider seeking to seize that power; and the other you who accompanied the owl symbolized the fallen self inherent in every person."

"Pales couldn't even decipher this—what kind of 'Decoder' is he? I changed my symbolic form, and he didn't recognize me?"

"Did you age prematurely at such a young age?"

Lu Mi didn't know who Pales was, but he understood what Amon's interpretation implied.

He had first heard of the Fallen Self from a certain "Mystic Supplicant"—it was knowledge inherent to the Elixir—and the second time was in the revered title of the "True Creator" worshipped by the Aurora Society.

And Amon had a very close relationship with that being.

This meant the "True Creator"'s influence on the Kordu Village incident was far deeper than Lu Mi had imagined—far beyond merely sending a few lizard-like imps to steer events toward the expected outcome!

A fury, even the "Ascetic" could not suppress, erupted in Lu Mi's heart. He forced out a hoarse voice from his throat:

"Was the disaster in Kordu Village planned by you?"

Amon pinched his monocle, not directly answering Lu Mi's question.

He pulled a sheet of paper from the void and read it in the tone of a report:

"Patient: Lu Mi Li, male, claims birth date of September 26, 1340, from Kordu Village, Dari Region, Lessen Province, Intis Republic."

"Symptoms: Strong self-destructive tendencies; inability to respond to others' emotions."

"Etiology analysis: Experiences during his vagrant childhood left the patient deeply distrustful of his surroundings; to survive, he developed habits of neglecting his own body and abandoning certain human social morals. The adoption, sympathy, care, guidance, and interdependent life provided by Aurora Li helped the patient partially heal from that trauma, rebuild his social relationships, and gradually become a normal person."

"The disaster in Kordu Village and Aurora's death shattered the life the patient had rebuilt, bringing even greater pain and despair, making him afraid to seek or respond to others' emotions, fearing he would lose them again, filling him with self-destructive impulses."

"Phase One Treatment Plan:"

"Step One: Emphasize that Aurora Li still has a slight chance of resurrection, giving the patient motivation to live."

"Step Two: Place the patient in the Golden Rooster Inn in the Trill Market District, where many people from the social underclass reside; their experiences will effectively trigger the patient's resonance."

"Step Three: Force the patient to form connections with Chelia Belo and others through events, preparing him for future social reintegration."

"Step Four: Use the undercover mission within the 'Iron Cross Society' to bring the patient into contact with Franca Roland; Franca Roland shares a very similar background to Aurora and has a cheerful personality, effectively lowering the high psychological walls the patient has built around his issues, becoming his most crucial figure for rebuilding social ties."

"Step Five: Coordinate with the 'Tarot Society' 'Justice' and Su Qian's therapies, allowing certain events to unfold naturally to aid psychological improvement:"

"Early stage: Leverage the patient's sympathy for unemployed Charlie and streetwalker Isans to ensure his help yields positive results, granting him positive feedback."

"Mid-stage: After suffering setbacks, the patient should coincidentally encounter Chelia Belo, receiving comforting companionship, and through his own chosen behaviors—both indulgent and absurd yet unconsciously bounded—relieve his pent-up emotions."

"Late stage: Accelerate certain inevitable events, allowing some to occur even before mid-stage treatment:"

"These include:"

"One: Su Shanna Martis once again targets Charlie, sending agents of the 'Bliss Society' to abduct him to Underground Trill, causing the patient to vaguely sense the existence of the 'Sufferer,' feel anger, and through this series of events strengthen his bonds with Franca, Chelia, Charlie, and others, preliminarily rebuilding his social ties;"

"Two: The madman Flamand, after receiving the patient's help and escaping the Monsury ghost, loses all hope and purpose in life, choosing to hang himself on his window frame; this will cause the patient to resonate strongly, suffer a severe shock, and trigger his rebellious spirit, awakening his inner stubbornness and defiance;"

"Three: The scavenger Rul, Buxing caught in the indiscriminate effects of a cultist's ritual, falls gravely ill; despite the patient's desperate efforts, he cannot save Rul's life. Rul's wife Michelle, seeing hope extinguished, chooses to indulge in one final binge of drinking and feasting, singing loudly, then hangs herself at dawn; this similar fate and inevitable outcome utterly detonates the patient's emotions, driving him to rebel against injustice and challenge everything."

"Four: The chemical factory where Chelia Belo's mother works explodes—this is the final catalyst."

"Phase One Treatment Outcome: The patient's self-destructive tendencies have significantly decreased; he has rebuilt social relationships and regained some motivation to live; he can now endure more events."

As Amon read the "report" in a flat tone, Lu Mi's heart slowly sank, growing colder with every word, as if drenched in ice water from head to toe, all his hopes and pride extinguished like candle flames.

His defiance, his arrogance, his resistance against fate—all seemed a joke, fallen to the ground, shattered into fragments, ground into dust beneath the feet of those above.

At this moment, Lu Mi was utterly numb.

Half his heart burned with uncontrollable rage and a suicidal impulse to drag the report's author down with him; the other half once again felt the despair and agony of his sister Aurora pushing him away and walking alone to her death.

Amon finally finished reading the Phase One treatment report, smiling at Lu Mi as if awaiting his response.

Lu Mi's body slightly hunched, his voice emerging from the depths of his soul, excruciatingly painful:

Lu Mi's body slightly curved, his voice bursting from deep within his heart, excruciatingly painful:

Amon smiled and said:

"The 'Fool's' aura, Aurora's foolish choice—made you an excellent test subject, capable of bearing much, useful for verifying the original experimental results."

"That is one reason. Another is: if you truly destroyed yourself, wouldn't my impersonation of Thelmipolos be exposed? How could I deceive the others outside, making them place heavy bets?"

"Only by slowly absorbing and digesting Thelmipolos's Sequence 1 Divine Trait within the 'Fool's' seal, switching paths, is it the most concealed, least likely to be discovered."

Lu Mi's mind was a chaotic storm, his emotions exploding; even the "Conspirator"'s ability was useless. He could only ask instinctively:

"On that large ritual, when the parish priest summoned it—wasn't it just Thelmipolos who descended, but also you? Did you deliberately get sealed together with the severely wounded Him into my body?"

"That parish priest—during that grand ritual—was it not just Thermipolos who descended, but you too? Did you deliberately seal yourself with the wounded One inside my body?"

"Thank you for your gift—you opened the path for my return, and gave me such a present."

Lu Mi fell silent, breathing heavily, as if the air here were too thin—he had to strain to draw breath:

"Earlier… who was that… that 'Sufferer' hiding around me?"

"Who was that—someone hiding around me before—that 'Sufferer'?"

"You haven't guessed yet? You've heard His name—'Fate Angel' Urolios."

"Fate Angel" Urolios… Lu Mi froze, yet somehow felt it was inevitable.

He was one of the Angel-Kings who once followed the "Ancient Sun God"; K-Master of the Aurora Society had mentioned that He now served the "True Creator."

Lu Mi instinctively clenched his teeth, his voice slipping through the gap:

"Did you… did you have a chance to save Aurora back then?"

"Did you—did you ever have a chance to save Aurora?"

"Want to hear the answer?"

He turned his gaze back to the paper in his hand, as if preparing to read new content—perhaps containing all the answers.

ps: Thank you to Taiyang Qianxiao for supporting the Silver Alliance~

ps2: Update at 7 PM tonight~

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