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May 21, 1399, 3:00 AM.

In a magnificent bedroom, a noblewoman clad in black silk pajamas abruptly threw off her thin silk quilt and walked to the window. Under the crimson moonlight, her exquisite face wore an unreadable expression. A black cat darted into her arms; together, the woman and the cat stared with four vertical green pupils toward the direction of Bester Mountain in the northeast, their expressions grave. The cat had even arched its back, its tail fur standing on end.

In a luxurious theater, long since emptied of its audience, the flowing piano music stopped abruptly under a strange mark. The figure in the yellow robe sat at the piano in the theater lobby, facing the tranquil night sky to the northeast outside the window. The eight tentacles extending from beneath the yellow robe hovered above the keys, several slender ones twisting and nervously intertwining beneath the fabric. Beneath the hood, a pair of dull yellow eyes stared coldly at the dark night sky in the northeast.

In the Rhine City Museum in the Crown District, the aged president of the Archaeological Association looked up from a thick pile of mystery documents, dropped his monocle, and picked up his cold coffee. His withered hand trembled, and the cup fell onto the desk, shattering into pieces. But Mr. Olei, the old president, ignored the documents soaking in liquid, rushed to the top floor terrace, and faced northeast into the night. His cane poked the ground irregularly, leaving small pits in the hard bluestone.

In the high stargazing tower of the Arcane Research Society in the Valley District, a loud bang suddenly erupted in the top floor laboratory. Before the smoke and flames could spray out the window, a purple robed occultist in a pointed hat rushed out onto the balcony, his face covered in soot, staring blankly at the starry sky above.

At this very moment, several people around Rhine City woke from their sleep or paused their work, either gazing at Bester Mountain to the northeast or staring at the starlit night sky.

Mist swirled, and the moonlight was dim.

On the distant horizon, within a perception beyond common sense, the mystery of filth extended invisible tentacles, tightly entangling itself with the current world. That invisible, inaudible, and unknowable treachery and distortion were hiding within the thick fog, step by step infiltrating the world through this intangible entanglement, slow yet unstoppable.

"The constellation of the speaker of the dead is encroaching on the main star position; this is the will of the Great Old Ones squeezing into the present world. An ominous sign." Someone murmured while looking up at the sky. "This is a sign of extreme danger; something major is about to happen... Hm? What is that?"

A beam of crimson moonlight tore through the thick fog, illuminating the dark night sky. The hazy crimson moon hung high in the center of the firmament amidst the mist, emitting a gentle yet mysterious moonlight that masked all the starlight penetrating the center of the sky.

"Give up? I never learned how to spell that word. I do not care who stands behind you, but if you want me to give up, at least have the god behind you act in person. By yourself, you do not have the qualifications."

Deep within Zur Baha Sahr, Lynch said faintly, looking up at Miss Valente floating above the canyon.

The ball of light had completely entered her body. The noblewoman radiated a dark green glow, and the tentacles on the surface of the ball extended from the halo behind her back, twisting eerily in the air. In particular, her pair of glowing green eyes dragged an air of extreme eeriness with every movement.

Smiling at the noblewoman now occupied by the avatar of the evil god, Lynch took a deep breath, turned his head to stare coldly at the empty picture frame, and scoffed softly:

"I am sorry, Mr. Black Spider, I had to ruin the trap you spent twenty years setting. But I must also thank you; without your cooperation, we could not have completed the mission so smoothly. So now... as you wish."

As soon as he spoke, the crimson moon rose from Lynch's soul.

The supreme will of the cat god Bastet filled his soul, causing the phantom of his soul to be filled with a real, tangible texture.

The moonlight illuminated the cave, crimson and ink green colliding in the dark, sunless underground cavern.

The next moment, the moonlight shattered, turning into billions of light points that merged into Lynch's body. A beam of moonlight descended from the sky, and the sky and his soul, two red moons, were connected once again.

For the first time, Lynch activated Divine Authority.

As if sensing a massive threat, Miss Valente, who lacked consciousness and was merely floating blankly, suddenly turned toward Lynch. The tentacles behind her back straightened abruptly, pointing at Lynch, while she opened her mouth, thick with green mist, and let out a silent roar.

At this moment, Lynch's gaze was unfocused. He felt as if he had returned to that hallucination, having transformed into the red moon in the night sky, hanging high above and looking down upon the entire world.

He could see the look of astonishment on the Black Spider's face in the picture frame, see the top powerhouses watching from afar, see the lady's soul struggling against the evil god's avatar and causing a commotion due to the heavenly signs, and see the filth of the Dreamlands struggling to infiltrate this world.

Omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent.

'Is this the power of Divine Authority? Neighbor. Is this what you experienced back then?'

【Mm.】

'A quite beautiful feeling. No wonder people say that mortals can never understand the experience of gods.'

Lynch could not help but immerse himself in this rare experience.

It was a wondrous feeling that was difficult to describe in words. He did not feel as if he had become much stronger, nor did he feel as if there was much power in his body. At this moment, whether he was strong or how much power he had had actually lost all meaning.

Those were the thoughts of mortals, the standards of mortals, and they had nothing to do with me.

I am the power, I am the rule, I am the world.

"Roar!"

As the crimson moonlight grew increasingly intense, the ink green ghostly glow was rapidly compressed. The occupied Miss Valente let out a piercing shriek. The green light behind her surged, and dozens of tentacles shot out simultaneously, hurtling toward Lynch like a rain of arrows.

Lynch's movements were slow yet fast. He placed his index finger in front of his lips, made a silencing gesture, then smiled faintly, flicked his finger, and snapped it in front of him.

In an instant, the crimson moonlight surged, completely engulfing the entire cave.

The first sound was a series of piercing screams. The sound came from the empty picture frame. The portrait of the Black Spider inside covered its right eye tightly, screaming with a ferocious expression. Then the frame suddenly exploded into a ball of fire, with only the Black Spider's resentful expression lingering in the flames for a moment before turning completely into ash.

Following closely behind was a high pitched roar.

The green ghostly glow was squeezed by the blood colored moonlight, clinging to the surface of Miss Valente's body, while dozens of tentacles wrapped tightly around her, turning her into a large green cocoon.

Lynch frowned, walked through the air, and appeared in front of the large cocoon in an instant, thrusting his fingers together like a knife with great force.

It felt as if the entire world were shaking. The mist tentacles wrapping Miss Valente disintegrated directly, exploding into countless points of light that vanished into the cave, revealing Miss Valente, who was still wrapped in a final layer of green mist. Miss Valente's mouth and eyes were still trailing green light, and she gave Lynch a threatening, ferocious smile.

There was no sound, but from the smile coming from the evil god's avatar, Lynch already understood its meaning.

I have already merged with this body. If you want to destroy me, you have to destroy this body along with me. If you are ruthless enough, then come.

Lynch's expression hardened, but he gritted his teeth, stepped forward once more to close the distance completely, and clenched his fist tightly.

The beam of light connecting heaven and earth grew more solid, and all the radiance condensed onto his clenched fist, which he smashed heavily into Miss Valente's abdomen.

"This is the ending she chose herself, Mordiggian. This is not the Dreamlands, get out!"

"Boom."

Light and shadow intersected, and the two forces collided head on.