Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 983 The Mist of Memory (Two in One)

"Were you, or were we, once the witch of 'Doomsday'?"

Angel's question caused the person in her mirror to fall silent for a moment, as if she didn't know how to answer the question.

There was a rare look of confusion in her purple eyes, but the moment Angel caught sight of that emotion, it was covered by a calm, gem-like color.

"Yes, we did experience the 'doomsday' period of Sequence 1. Specifically, it was within thirty minutes before you became Angel Granger and I disappeared into the mirror and became your mirror image. After that, that power completely disappeared, and I became an 'assassin' like you."

The person in the mirror answered carefully, his eyes flickering.

"Another question is how I know this knowledge... I'm not sure about that either," she continued, leaving Angel stunned. "The extra memory I have is only thirty minutes more than yours. This includes information about the Outer Gods, Doomsday, and the meaning of Sequences, but not how we left the City of Disaster and appeared in Tingen City, next to Cole Granger who just died."

"But I can be sure that all of this is related to Adam and Amanesis, because the first thing I remember was them standing in front of me, introducing themselves in an obviously perfunctory manner."

This... is similar to the memory fragment I saw when I was promoted, except that I was lying on the ground, and Adam and the goddess were standing beside me... Angel was stunned. She thought that after the difficult promotion to the "Disaster" witch, she would be able to retrieve all the memories sealed by Adam from her mirror man, but she didn't expect to face just another victim in a similar situation.

"What else did they say during that half hour?"

Angel asked, his inner doubts not only not being answered but becoming more serious.

"Some obscure words, such as the forbidden knowledge in my mind will lead to the spying of the Outer Gods, causing both of us to be polluted, so I can only hide in the 'City of Disaster' and wait for you to be promoted to an angel and have the ability to resist and cut off this connection... Another example is not to use the power of the source to interfere with you too much, so as not to cause the 'plan' to deviate."

The person in her mirror murmured, obviously having many questions about this broken memory.

Plan... Angel was stunned, and remembered the conversation between Adam and the goddess when he was promoted to the Immortal Witch. The "beginning of the story" mentioned by the former might be the "plan" they made?
What is this "fantasy angel" planning? Each of his moves may seem insignificant, but they are actually carefully considered. For example, he tricked 0-08 into appearing and waited for him to run out of power before appearing to pick him up. He also cooperated with George III to start a world war, giving himself the opportunity to complete the ritual and ascend to true god. At the same time, he also promoted the collision and competition between the three paths of "Night", "Death" and "Warrior", and an "Old One" appeared, increasing the possibility of the Earth defeating the Outer Gods...

So, why did He hide part of my memory and the memory of the person in the mirror? Were we forced to participate, or did we actively cooperate with Him? Before this, was I lying in the "City of Disaster" as revealed by my distant memory, or did I have other experiences and become the "Doomsday" witch?
Questions popped up in Angel's mind one after another, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.

But she captured a key point:

"The original witch had already become a true deity in the Fourth Epoch, so she should have possessed all three 'Doomsday' characteristics, as well as the uniqueness of the witch's path... Then how could we become Sequence 1 archangels?"

"This is also what puzzles me the most. The only possibility I can think of is the 'mirror image' ability of the 'City of Disaster', but this has a prerequisite. The 'mirror image' must have an original body as a template. In other words, if we want to obtain a 'doomsday' feature, we must already have one..." The man in the mirror frowned slightly and replied.

"And those three characteristics are all in the hands of the 'Original Witch'..."

Angel said the second half of the sentence for her.

You looked at me and I looked at you, and we both saw helplessness in each other's eyes.

To get to the bottom of this matter, it is undoubtedly necessary to "confront" Adam face to face. This has become possible after Angel was promoted to Sequence 2. At least the "Man in the Mirror" can appear in the real world and meet the "Angel King" face to face.

However, the other party's good and evil are unclear, and his attitude is uncertain. He used Angel and Klein to obtain "0-08" and helped George III complete the construction of the key mausoleum. He was like a villain who would do anything to achieve his goals. However, when cooperating with Amon to capture Klein, he obviously did not try his best, and even left early, giving Angel the opportunity to rescue Klein.

He also appears beside me from time to time, as if to "protect" the smooth progress of his own plan. He is simply an angel king who is more terrifying than Amon... Angel muttered, and instinctively felt a little more afraid of Adam, but he couldn't tell whether this was based on reason or some kind of hint planted by the other party before. Suddenly, he felt a headache.

Seeing that Angel's expression was about to wrinkle into a ball, the "man in the mirror" smiled and comforted her:

“It doesn’t matter. At least we have been promoted to ‘Disaster’ witches now, and the ‘City of Disaster’ can grant the gift of the Sequence 3 ‘War Bishop’. They shouldn’t attack us easily.

"And, no matter what happens, I will be with you."

As he spoke, the person in the mirror opened his arms and hugged Angel.

I always feel that she is a bit clingy, but if it were me, I would do the same... Is this the tacit understanding between the main body and the "person in the mirror"... Angel quickly calmed down in the warm embrace, temporarily put aside this problem that he could not figure out by himself, and changed to a more concerned topic:

“Since the end of the world is certain to happen, what should we do?”

She originally hoped that after the death of George III, the war between Loen and Feysac could end in a more dignified manner. However, when she learned from Klein that Adam did not care whether the "Black Emperor" succeeded or not and had already made a double plan, this thought became a luxury.

And now that she understood the truth about the "Outer Gods" and "Doomsday", and knew the irreconcilable contradiction between the God of War and the Goddess of Night, she felt even more powerless.

The War of Gods, even in the Fourth Age when the gods walked the earth, is a word that represents brutal war and death. The most famous of these is the "War of the Four Emperors" that reshuffled the forces of the Northern Continent.

Now, how many gods will be involved in this world war before the end of the world?
In contrast to the worried Angel, the tone of "The Man in the Mirror" remains as steady as ever:
"Of course you have to do your best to improve your strength. First of all, you have to digest the 'disaster' potion as much as possible. You can get the answer from the name and image of the potion. Creating disasters and controlling disasters should be ways to get feedback... This war will probably continue to expand due to the death of George III. Although Adam has fueled the flames, you have also played a key role in it. This will continue to provide corresponding feedback in the future, giving you the opportunity to digest most of the potion before the end of the war."

"But I'm not the main player in the war. Can I still get feedback this way?"

Angel asked back, somewhat confused.

"The people don't know, but the gods see it. The Black Emperor's promotion ceremony has probably attracted the attention of all gods, even the Primordial Witch... They think you are a key role, so you will get enough feedback.

"And this leads to another problem... In the previous promotion, the goddess's holy emblem should have shielded you from the attention of the top of the sequence, but the promotion of 'Disaster' can no longer be covered by Her power... The 'Original Witch' is probably aware of your existence. Next, the angels of the Witch Cult will definitely take certain actions, but this is also your chance to shake Her anchor."

What is the purpose of shaking the anchor of a god... Angel was stunned, and then he thought of the key point:

"Because... we have the favor of the 'City of Disaster'?"

The person in the mirror nodded seriously and replied:

"That's right. When the end of the world is near, those who have the opportunity to become gods will do their best, and those who have already become gods will also set their sights on the sequence and prepare to become the 'Old Ones'... The 'Original Witch' asked her sect to help George III. The purpose was naturally to gain the 'Conqueror' attribute. Then, she only lacked the uniqueness of the Hunter Path and the key source, the 'City of Disaster'.

"This means that we will be at war with Him to the death... After you choose a path, the corresponding allies and enemies will be determined."

But I had no choice at all. When I woke up from this era, I had the misfortune to possess the dead Cole and become an "assassin"... Angel muttered, his expression suddenly frozen, and a flash of lightning seemed to pass through his mind:
Can this really be explained by "bad luck"?

Cole Granger failed to be promoted to a "witch" and had clearly eliminated the contaminated Sequence 7 characteristics. Why was she still an "assassin" after her resurrection?
Unless, before this, some being separated out a pure "assassin" characteristic for her to absorb and contain before she woke up.

There are many examples of people being promoted through direct contact with Beyonder characteristics. Although most of the results are madness and loss of control, with just a little bit of luck and means, a complete Sequence 9 Beyonder can be created.

The gods and angel kings who were present at the scene at that time did not lack the corresponding means!
Not noticing the thoughts running through Angel's mind, the man in the mirror continued:

"Also, you must pay attention to the key information about the Outer Gods and the Old Ones in your mind. They are harmless to you as an angel, but they are deadly poison to any Beyonder below Sequence 2."

This warning brought Angel back from her memories. She nodded subconsciously and asked:
"Do other angels know this information? As far as I know, Ms. Arianna gave a warning about the information related to the 'starry sky', but other angels never mentioned it."

"Because not mentioning it is the best way to protect you. Once you consciously explore this information, it often means that you have attracted the attention of the Outer Gods, which means contamination or death."

The person in the mirror answered like a teacher earnestly teaching his students, and then changed the subject and continued with a sigh:

"In fact, in addition to the information about the 'Outer Gods', the 'Source' also has similar characteristics. The more you know about them, the easier it is to establish a mystical connection and be contaminated invisibly. Of course, most of the source substances are not in the world you are familiar with now, but are sealed in the 'Western Continent', so the impact they can cause is very limited, but there are two sources of source... They are 'Source Castle' and 'Chaos Sea'.

"The former is located in the spirit world. Only divination and prophecy about it will lead to unpredictable things happening, and it will hardly have any impact on reality. The latter has a certain connection with reality and seems to be buried deep underground. Once you get close to it, the higher the sequence, the greater the impact. In ancient times, when the will of the original creator was still strong, it led to the pollution of countless angels and even ancient gods, and even indirectly caused the fall of some gods."

This is the source of underground pollution that Arrodes mentioned... It caused the ancient gods to be polluted. The higher the sequence, the greater the impact... Angel combined these keywords in his mind and suddenly thought of a specific direction:

Deep in the sea of ​​collective subconsciousness in "Groselle's Travels", there is the "City of Miracles" Levished created by the "Dragon of Imagination" Angerweed!
Behind its palace, in the sealed door, there is a mysterious force that almost makes the team exploring the Hall of Honesty lose control. After discussing it, several people thought that this was a reflection of some kind of pollution buried deep in Angelwede's heart in his subconscious. The pollution from the underground made him afraid, so he created a miraculous floating city and lived in the sky for a long time. Now Angel can be sure that the pollution that this ancient god avoids comes from the "Chaos Sea", one of the source substances.

"So, even the true gods cannot resist the power of the 'source element', and the source element can only fight against the source element?"

She asked thoughtfully.

The person in the mirror nodded:
"Yes, of course, the Old Ones can also deal with the power of Essence. After all, they either possess a certain Essence, or once possessed it, and still have the corresponding status. Otherwise, even true gods would avoid Essence."

There is the Chaos Sea underground, and the Old Days are hidden in the starry sky above. The Earth is really plagued by disasters... In addition, as the only two unsealed source substances, the Sefirah Castle, according to my previous speculation, should be Mr. Fool’s kingdom of God, that is, the gray fog space, but it is very safe and has not caused any harm to the members of the Tarot Club. On the contrary, it often eliminates the hidden dangers in our bodies, especially the pollution of the Mother Tree of Desire and the pollution of the Chaos Sea after the last exploration of the Hall of Honesty...

Does this mean that Mr. Fool has actually mastered the power of this source, and his status is even above that of the true God, and he has almost reached the level of the "Old Days"?

No wonder the goddess and Adam both expressed a certain degree of goodwill towards Him. This existence may be the only force on Earth that can fight against the outer gods when the end of the world comes...

Angel thought with a sigh, regretting that he couldn't tell Klein all this.

I can only help him advance to Sequence 2 as soon as possible... She muttered to herself, and discussed some follow-up actions with her mirror image. She was about to leave the "City of Disaster" with a head full of knowledge that only she could enjoy, and return to the normal "mirror world", when she suddenly asked:
"By the way, after I was promoted, I noticed one thing... Before this, every time I used the 'Mirror Stand', was it you who bore the corresponding damage?"

This should have been a problem she had noticed when she was promoted to "Immortal", but if it hadn't been for the help of the Man in the Mirror, her promotion would have almost gotten out of control, so that when she subsequently summarized the knowledge carried by the potion, she omitted some information and forgot this important information.

And this should have been told to her by the "man in the mirror" himself!

Today, when he was promoted to Sequence 2, Angel once again noticed that the essence of the "Mirror Double" was a cycle of sacrificing the person in the mirror and splitting into a new one. He felt deeply guilty towards the person in the mirror who had self-awareness and had reconciled with him, so much so that he did not dare to use this ability in the battle with Amon.

Under her intense gaze, the blond, purple-eyed, smiling figure in the mirror shook his head and replied:
"What are you thinking about? I am a special person in the mirror. All the injuries, even your deaths, were borne by the 'temporary mirror images' I split off. Of course, they will feel pain, but it is fleeting and will not leave any memories."

So that's how it is. Hmm, I think she mentioned this last time... Angel nodded in understanding, took a long breath, floated towards the sky with peace of mind, and left the "City of Disaster" along the passage in the mirror.

……

Watching the figure shrink and disappear, the smile on the "person in the mirror"'s face slowly faded. She looked at the mirror beside her that blocked out light and sound, waved her hand to remove it, revealing the evil spirit Sauron who was leaning against a ruined wall with his arms folded across his chest.

The latter sneered and said sarcastically:
"I thought you were going to fight and decide the winner first. Isn't that what the person in the mirror should do?"

"You know a lot of things."

Angel's mirror image replied coldly.

"Oh, back then, after reading the contents of the blasphemous slate, I once thought about switching to the 'Witch' path... Of course, after Chike occupied the top of that path, the matter was dropped.

"At that time, Einhorn, Medici and I were on guard against Him while thinking about taking away other 'Conqueror' characteristics. Unexpectedly, we were plotted against by that madman Alistair Tudor. He had clearly seen the blasphemous slate, but he was even crazier than the evil spirit!"

Soran said with a ferocious expression.

"You may not know about the crazier things He has done..." The person in the mirror curled his lips and smiled, "However, now you may have a chance to realize your previous dream, for example, switch to the 'witch' path?

"After all, the newly born 'Original Witch' needs some believers to share her authority."

----

After leaving the mirror world, Angel returned to the Iris Winery in the suburbs.

Although only half a day had passed from attending George III's "mourning speech" in the morning to actually attending his "mourning service", she felt as if a week had passed and she wished she could collapse on the sofa and have a good rest.

But according to my sense of time, it has indeed been almost a week, because we have to count the repeated five days... She muttered, confirming that the servants of this winery did not become secret puppets, nor did they seem to be parasitized by Amon's clones. Only then did she completely complete today's "mission".

“Now that I have truly become a Sequence 2 Angel, Zaratul should not attack me. Given His level of caution, unless He sets a trap and hopes to quickly kill me, He will just continue to lie dormant…

"According to the Archon's clone, Amon's real body should still be in the God-Forsaken Land. This can be verified by taking Klein's clone to the same place. As long as it's the clone that comes, I don't have to worry too much..."

Angel half leaned back on the sofa, summarizing today's gains and information.

"But compared to me, Klein is much more dangerous. He is currently only Sequence 3. Whether it is Zaratul or Amon's clone who come to him, he will be unable to resist. I don't even have time to support him... And the goddess is accommodating the uniqueness of the 'God of Death'. The situation may get worse and worse. Backlund may not be a safe place..."

With this in mind, Angel stood up from the sofa, his eyes flickering as he entered the mirror world. He instantly arrived at the meeting place he had agreed with Klein, another safe house in the East District.

After being promoted to the "Disaster" Witch, she no longer needs to use the mirror channel to make short trips within a large city and its surrounding areas. Instead, she can use a combination of "projecting a mirror substitute" and "exchanging the substitute and the original body" to move to any mirror-reflected location within the perception range at a speed that is almost instantaneous.

As soon as she stepped into the simple bedroom of the safe house, the gas lamp on the wall that had been extinguished suddenly burst into flames, and a figure walked out of the fire. It was Klein who used the "Faceless Man" ability to change his appearance.

When he saw Angel, his unrememberable face instantly returned to its normal appearance.

"Back from the Mirror World?"

"Have you prayed to the goddess yet?"

They both spoke at the same time, and then smiled at each other.

This was a temporary joy and relief after the resolution of George III and the end of the Great Smog.

In the small room, Angel, who had just been promoted to an angel, leaned on the sofa without any image, and told Klein the information he got from the "Man in the Mirror" that did not involve the Outer Gods or the Old Ones.

"The source substance involves the power that allows the true god to take a step further. The underground pollution and the terrifying thing sealed in the floating city of 'Liveseyd' are the 'Chaos Sea'. Only the source substance can fight against the source substance. The conflict between the God of War and the Goddess does stem from the belonging of 'uniqueness'. From the same set of adjacent paths, only one winner can be determined..."

Recounting these fragmented pieces of information, Klein felt that some of the doubts that had been shrouded in fog had been partially answered.

The reason why it is called "partial" is naturally because the "isolation" of those contents that Angel could not mention makes this information not complete at all, which makes him more anxious to advance to Sequence 2.

After all, it is better to have it yourself than to have it from others. Even if Angel will protect him at all costs, the two heavy stones of Amon and Zaratul still weigh on his heart, making him feel full of crisis.

"Without further delay, let's ask the amazing Arrodes... to see where my path to advancement lies..."

He rubbed his hands together and said expectantly.

But before the two could make the next move, a newspaper boy's voice could be heard outside the window:

"Extra, Extra! A large number of Intis troops are gathering at the border!"

"Extra, Extra! Prince Edessak has reappeared after recovering from a serious illness!"

The two men looked at each other, and the excitement they had about stopping George III's deification ceremony disappeared without a trace.

PS: It’s not easy to split, so it’s two chapters combined into one big chapter. There’s no one tonight.

(End of this chapter)