Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 982: Outer Gods and "Doomsday"

In the western district of Backlund, inside the House of Lords building that survived the air raid launched by Feysac.

Because King George III, who was giving a speech at Remembrance Day Square, died suddenly in a bizarre manner, all the nobles and parliamentarians present were gathered here for protection. Military troops and extraordinary people from the three major churches surrounded the place layer by layer as if facing a great enemy.

Compared to their futile search for the murderer, the atmosphere inside the parliament was somewhat eerie.

Nobles and parliamentarians gathered in groups of two or three, discussing various topics in a corner of the hall or in a small room used for consultation, exchanging views and changing conversation partners from time to time.

Audrey Hall, wearing a plain black dress prepared for today's mourning and speech, leaned against the railing on the second floor of the chamber and watched the different discussions below with a cold eye.

The elder brother was very concerned about who would succeed George III after his death. He had been very close to the eldest prince before, but Covington had died on the front line of the Andaman Mountains, the second prince William died in an accident in his early years, and the third prince Edessacker "committed suicide" after last year's heavy smog. The two older princesses were at the end of the line of succession because the Augustuses believed in the Church of Storms.

According to the order of succession, the new King of Loen will be the fourth prince Drake. He represents the old-school forces within the nobility and has always opposed radical environmental protection policies. His ascension to the throne is quite unfavorable to Hibbert's political career...

My father is more concerned about the changes in the war situation. No matter what George III is secretly planning, his death must mean that there is a big problem in Rune. The military, the royal family and the three major churches have internal conflicts... The situation will be very dangerous. Will Feynaport turn his guns and point them directly at Rune?

Audrey used her ability to observe as an "audience" and her understanding of lip reading to observe the conversation below, interpreting it based on her own views, while continuously using "comfort" on herself to calm her mood which had fallen to the bottom.

She witnessed the death of the king and experienced the riots in the square where tens of thousands of people gathered. Even though she had a premonition that Mr. Fool and his followers would take action, she still felt that the whole day was unreal.

She noticed that her mother was sitting in a chair in a corner of the conference room, still in shock, with several noble ladies beside her who also had confused expressions; her father glanced at the second floor from time to time, and looked at her with deep worry in his eyes; the staff who were going in and out to deliver intelligence walked with heavy steps, and the documents in their hands seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

Combined with the dim sunlight outside the window and the gas lamp overhead, the whispers of the crowd and the chaotic footsteps formed a monotonous oil painting, which reminded Audrey of the illusory scene she saw from the spillover pollution of Mr. World when she went to the southern continent to treat a demigod who was on the verge of losing control last month.

By the way, the demigod who claimed to be a member of the Church of Knowledge mentioned a prophecy, a prophecy from the gods:

The end of the world came in the year 1368 of the Fifth Age...

That day is only 18 years away, and now war has broken out, with countries about to join or already joining the war. Is this a sign of “doomsday”?
Audrey's pupils shrank slightly, and she felt a little cold. She became more confused and worried about the future.

At this moment, the door of the meeting hall was pushed open from the outside, and a team of soldiers wearing red double-breasted jackets and white trousers stepped into the hall with guns, divided into two teams, and stood by the door.

This movement immediately attracted everyone's attention. The footsteps and whispers disappeared in an instant, and countless eyes looked towards the gate from all directions.

Two figures walked into the meeting hall surrounded by soldiers. Audrey, who was standing on a high place, immediately recognized that one of them was the Duchess Georgina Augustus who had been missing for some time. She was wearing a military dress that fitted her figure, a command knife on her waist, and her long black hair tied behind her head, looking heroic.

This outfit suits her better than an evening gown... Just as Audrey was thinking, her eyes fell on another person behind Georgina.

He had a round face and narrow eyes, and looked somewhat like George III, who had exploded on the podium that morning, so much so that it took Audrey several seconds to truly recognize his identity.

That was the third prince of the Kingdom of Loen, Edessac Augustus, who “committed suicide out of fear of crime” a year ago!

----

"Outer Gods? The Old Ones?"

Angel repeated the two unfamiliar words spoken by the person in the mirror, unable to connect them with specific references in his mind.

Of course, from the other party's words, she could hear that the culprit causing the "doomsday" was not the gods who were about to intervene in the war or even prepare to start a war between gods, but some existence outside the earth.

"It's just a title. You can understand it as a level beyond the sequence. In terms of status and strength, the gap between the 'Old One' and the true god is like the gap between Sequence 0 and Sequence 1."

The "man in the mirror" answered calmly, as if he was commenting on which of the two cups of coffee was bigger, rather than the power difference between gods.

As she spoke, Angel's mind flashed with the images of several Sequence 1 archangels or angel kings that he had met, such as Adam, Amon, Ouroboros, and Will Auceptin. Even if these powerful Beyonders were tied together and could easily deal with her, they would not be able to resist the attack of a true god. This was the gap between a true god and the "Old Ones" and "Outer Gods."

"This 'Old One' you are talking about will attack the Earth in 1368 and cause the real end of the world?"

Angel asked immediately.

The answer she got was a sneer from the person in the mirror.

"Oh, if there is only one Old One watching the Earth, then if these true gods, including the True Creator, the Original Witch and other 'evil gods' unite together, there is still hope for resistance.

"But I'm talking about the 'Old Ones' and the 'Outer Gods'.

"As far as I know, the Old Ones currently wandering outside the Earth's barrier include 'Fallen Mother Goddess', 'Mother Tree of Desire', 'Son of Chaos', 'Ring of Fate', 'Superstar Overlord', 'Decay King', 'Primal Hunger', 'High-Dimensional Overlooker', and 'Eternal Whisper'.

"As the barrier recedes, perhaps more 'Outer Gods' will come here and join in this doomsday carnival and feast."

Those difficult-to-pronounce names that contained unknown power popped out from the mouth of the person in the mirror and penetrated into Angel's mind, making her almost frozen in place.

This is too many... nine "Outer Gods"?
There are only seven righteous gods on Earth! Together with the evil gods, there are nine, which is barely enough to fight one-on-one. But according to the man in the mirror, even if all the gods on Earth gathered together, they could only deal with one "Old One".

No wonder the arrival of the "Old Days" marks the end of the Earth. There is no way to defeat them...

And the "Mother Tree of Desire" is actually the Outer God, the Old One? So even the True Creator and the Original Witch are clearly against Him, this is a real "enemy contradiction".

A feeling of despair welled up in Angel's heart, like cold river water drowning her body from her ankles upwards.

And above her head, a series of equally cold gazes looked down at her condescendingly.

Those were the malicious spying of the nine "Old Ones". Invisibly, subtle connections were about to be established, and curious, vigilant, or hungry eyes followed the connections, but got lost in the complex environment of the mirror world, staying in abandoned cities of different ages, blocked by the smell of decay and corruption.

Angel sensed something and looked up.

In the sky that was originally hung with a pale and broken moon and full of stars, a few exceptionally large stars shone brightly, and then returned to normal.

"As long as you know them and recall the corresponding knowledge in your mind, they will also know you and be able to establish a mystical connection."

The person in her mirror also looked up, watching the fleeting stars and said.

"Is this why I have to reach Sequence 2 to learn this knowledge?"

Angel asked subconsciously, and then answered himself in his heart.

At that moment just now, the invisible connection she felt undoubtedly came from the "Fallen Mother Goddess" and other foreign gods. Although she was in the "City of Disaster", these gazes could not penetrate deep into this place and fall on her, but as long as she left the protection of the "Source" and returned to the real world, she would inevitably be eroded if the corresponding thoughts flashed through her mind.

Of course, after becoming an angel, Angel can use his own status and power to cut off this invisible connection, or rely on a stable anchor to avoid contamination. Otherwise, he can only hide in the "City of Disaster" like the "Man in the Mirror" before today, isolated from contact and prying eyes.

Beyonders below the level of angels would "explode" upon hearing this... Angel thought with sympathy, and the scene of Hvin Rambis's body collapsing after turning into a dragon suddenly appeared in his mind.

Immediately, she noticed a key word in the words of the person in the mirror and immediately asked:

"What is this 'barrier' you're talking about? Is it because of it that the 'Outer Gods' haven't invaded yet?"

"Yes, you should have heard of the legend that the Creator woke up from chaos and his body turned into all things. In fact, after the 'first Creator' woke up and split, what was left behind was not only the 'source' and 'exceptional characteristics', but also an invisible barrier covering the entire earth. It blocked the erosion of the Outer Gods, giving himself a chance to gather source and power again and revive again."

The person in the mirror answered in a solemn tone, his eyes looking up to the sky, as if looking at the barrier that protected everyone.

"but?"

Angel demanded, frowning.

"However, as His will gradually faded, this barrier became shaky and crumbling. Various prophecies pointed to the year 1368, when the barrier would completely disappear and the cradle Earth would face nine or even more 'Old Ones'.

"In fact, at the end of the Fourth Epoch, cracks appeared in this barrier, and the seven gods had to move the kingdom of God from the real world to the astral world to fill the gap and prevent the infiltration of foreign gods' power." The man in the mirror replied.

This is why the Fifth Age is called the "Black Iron Age" and why few gods showed their power. After the Fourth Age's activity, they all went to "plug the leak"... Angel compared this information with his previous knowledge one by one, muttering:

"So, the Earth is like a house with a locked door. There are nine armed robbers outside, waiting for the day when the door lock rusts and fails, so they can rush into the house and wreak havoc. And there are also nine unarmed residents in the house. They know that they cannot beat even one armed robber, so they try their best to reinforce the house and actively prepare for war, but they still cannot avoid the moment when the door is kicked open?"

"Yes, it's a very 'modern' analogy," the person in the mirror raised his lips slightly, and praised Angel subtly, "In this case, all the conflicts within the house and the struggles for power among the nine residents are meaningless. Once the door is opened, their endings will be no different."

This is truly a despairing topic, and the reality will probably only make people more despairing. After all, unarmed people can still use strategies to deal with gunmen, but a true God of Sequence 0 may not be able to do anything to the "Old Ones"... Angel took a deep breath to ease the negative emotions in his mind, then frowned and asked:
"There are still some problems... The gods of Earth must have tried their best to survive, which is why they acquiesced to the appearance of the 'Black Emperor'. But at this critical moment, why did Feysac and Loen go to war? Isn't this simply internal friction? The royal families and military of the two countries don't know about the existence of Doomsday, but the gods can't be unaware of it, right?
"Also, what is the purpose of the 'Old Ones' invading the Earth? To seize believers? To plunder the Earth's resources?"

"These two questions point to the same thing, which is the relationship between Sequence 0 and 'The Old One'..."

As if expecting Angel to ask such a question, the person in the mirror answered without changing his expression.

"Some of the Old Ones surrounding the Earth want to take back the 'source essence' and extraordinary characteristics that the original Creator absorbed from their bodies through the aggregation effect when they awakened, and some want to accommodate high-level characteristics that are close to themselves. These are important components of the 'Old Ones' and can even be said to be the basis for them to be superior to ordinary gods.

"The war between Feysac and Loen was caused, firstly, by the world trend secretly guided by Adam, and secondly, by the fact that your Goddess of Night obtained the 'uniqueness' of the God of Death, which aroused the vigilance of Feysac's 'God of War' and caused Him to react and take the initiative to start the war."

Aren't these two things... Angel was startled, and immediately reacted:

"You're saying that accommodating the uniqueness of adjacent pathways is an important step for Sequence 0 to move to 'above the sequence' and become the Old One? And the God of War and the Goddess are adjacent sequences to each other, including the God of Death. Among the three, only one 'Old One' can appear?"

The person in the mirror nodded.

This makes it understandable why Feysac's "God of War" condoned or even tolerated the war between the two countries. Loen's advance preparations were just an excuse, and the war in the mortal world was insignificant compared to the coming of the end of the world. However, the goddess obtained the uniqueness of the God of Death first, and it is very likely that she would seize the initiative in these three adjacent paths.

Even if the end of the world is near, the earth will have more hope of victory if it has one more Old Day. However, no one, no god is willing to be a stepping stone to make other gods successful!

Such is the essence of the mutual hostility between gods from adjacent paths!

Thoughts kept emerging in Angel's mind, refreshing his cognition bit by bit.

But she immediately began to wonder how the "person in the mirror" knew all these things?

Could it be that Adam and the goddess told me this knowledge, and then erased the relevant memories of my original body, leaving only the part in the brain of the person in the mirror?

Isn't this unnecessary?

The Man in the Mirror used "Yesterday's Reappearance" in the battle to stop George III, and obtained help from the past from the historical gaps to recreate the power of the "Doomsday" Witch, which is Sequence 1, which further increased Angel's suspicion.

She stared closely at the person in the mirror who had the same face as her, and asked slowly:

"You, where did you know this?
"Were you, or were we, once the witch of 'Doomsday'?"

(End of this chapter)