SCIAW: Chapter 267/268

Chapter 267: Shake

After a brief observation, the Evernight Goddess discovered that the amulet was merely a blessing. Although its outer layer carried a strong Sefirah aura, that aura held no actual power. The true source of power was the blessing within.

It wasn't a boon granted by any known deity, and the nature of the being who cast it was extremely vague. Even as a true god, she couldn't trace it back.

The only thing she could determine was that the amulet was a tool built with a blessing at its core and Sefirah aura as its shell.

So then, was the boon… particularly unusual?

With that thought, the Evernight Goddess conducted a simple test.

It wasn't much of an experiment. She simply threw the sacrificial amulet at an individual who had been corrupted by the portion she had sealed away.

Then, after witnessing the result, the Evernight Goddess let out an unprecedented exclamation.

"Fuck!"

The sheer shock nearly caused her humanity to overwhelm her divinity. Fortunately, no believers were nearby. Otherwise, they might have seen the goddess's indecent reaction at the moment her humanity surged.

The amulet, tossed into the sealed space, worked before it even made contact with the corruption source.

Though the amulet emitted almost no power fluctuations, the corruption quickly subsided the moment it landed near the source.

The corruption that even true gods couldn't solve had been neutralized so effortlessly.

Just a single amulet was enough to subdue a corruption source.

No wonder the Evernight Goddess was so shaken.

After all, even a true god could do nothing in the face of certain corruptions. The former Black Emperor Roselle had barely survived after succumbing to one such instance.

That kind of corruption was unsolvable even at the divine level.

Yet somehow, it was subdued by a talisman powered by nothing but a blessing.

What the hell was this?

It was like humanity still being in the Stone Age, only to receive two-dimensional foil technology from a random village visit.

Anyone would be left with a million questions.

"…"

The more abnormalities she noticed, the more unsettled the Evernight Goddess became.

Who exactly made this amulet? How could it possess such a heaven-defying effect?

Her first thought turned to the sealed and half-dead Emperor Roselle.

Roselle, who had sealed himself due to corruption, might have been instantly revived if he had access to such a small amulet.

"So then, where and from whom did Klein's follower get this thing?"

The Evernight Goddess immediately realized the entity behind this amulet was anything but ordinary.

This was undoubtedly something that required thorough investigation.

Moreover, if Klein's follower had such an amulet… what about Klein himself?

Right now, the Evernight Goddess was simply curious.

She retrieved the amulet from the hidden space, but the moment it was taken out, the previously subdued corruption surged back, this time even more intensely—hundreds of times stronger than before.

Sensing the danger, the Evernight Goddess tightly grasped the amulet, suppressing the now-frenzied corruption.

She seized the moment to re-seal that portion.

Once she completed the sealing process, she realized through her divine authority that the entire concealed space had been completely corrupted.

After layering multiple concealments over the space and ensuring its stability, she finally exhaled in relief.

Then, she looked down at the amulet lying quietly in her palm.

"It's just a boon, so it can only suppress corruption. And once the suppressed corruption is released, it rebounds even worse."

"This amulet is truly a double-edged sword."

Once it leaves the body, the consequences are severe. However, it's undeniable that as long as a corrupted individual keeps it on their person, they can remain free from corruption's influence indefinitely.

The Evernight Goddess once again recognized the amulet's immense value.

But she also realized something else. This wasn't just a casually made item. It clearly wasn't designed to permanently cure corruption in a single use.

But what if it wasn't made casually?

What if this blessing could fully resolve corruption? Then this was an entirely different matter.

The Evernight Goddess had already formed a plan in her mind.

Given that the amulet could suppress corruption, then loss of control, the terror all Beyonders feared—should also be suppressible.

The Evernight Goddess quickly conducted another test. The result was just as she expected. However, once the out-of-control Beyonder lost the amulet, they immediately reverted to their frenzied state. And almost at the very moment of transformation, they exploded into a mist of blood.

Their Beyonder characteristics were extracted on the spot. Strangely, the extracted traits were completely pure—entirely free of corruption.

"Good grief..."

Upon confirming this, the Evernight Goddess couldn't help but sigh. This amulet, powered only by blessings, had once again proven its worth.

It might even be able to suppress the madness caused by the failure of a true god trying to accommodate the uniqueness of adjacent pathways.

This made the Evernight Goddess even more curious. Who on earth created such an artifact? It was absolutely incredible.

It seemed her decision to invest in Klein had been the right one.

She hadn't even achieved the result she was aiming for yet, and already this surprise had come her way.

Right now, the Evernight Goddess could only praise her own foresight.

Originally, she had chosen Klein simply to prevent Amon from becoming the Lord of Mysteries. But now, this unexpected return had far exceeded her expectations.

With that in mind, the Evernight Goddess returned the amulet that had been offered.

This casually crafted item was far beyond anything she had anticipated.

By the way, the Evernight Goddess also returned with interest a portion of the insight she had gleaned.

At that same moment, Miss Audrey, who was in the Backlund Church, saw the amulet reappear before her, along with a divine reply.

She stared wide-eyed at the amulet in front of her, her expression filled with disbelief.

"This… is this real?! The goddess actually responded to my prayer!"

(To be continued.)

Chapter 268: The Third

After returning from the Sefirah Castle, Ren calmed his agitated emotions, then checked the time. It was 23:14—almost the end of the day.

"An unexpected result. But one thing is certain, this Sefirah Castle I obtained should be the part that was restored after being torn apart."

"And..."

Ren could still clearly feel that his control over that Sefirah Castle was even greater than Klein's.

"It's really strange. Why does it feel like I'm the same as an Outer God?"

He quickly dismissed that thought. Outer Gods were defined by their overwhelming corruption, but he not only lacked that corruption, he could control loss of control and even cleanse corruption.

If Outer Gods embodied supreme corruption, then Ren's ability to erase it put him in direct opposition to them.

It could only mean one thing, he was different.

"The Wild Card trait likely gives me the ability to house multiple personalities, and its main effect is probably to keep me mentally stable. The most direct result is that I don't suffer from split personality due to potion backlash. In fact, I can even use the mental imprints within potions as resources for rapid growth."

"It's also thanks to the Wild Card that I can remain unique, making it impossible for any being to revive through me."

"Because of this trait, I don't need to fear going out of control. But the ability to suppress others' loss of control and corruption—surely that isn't the effect of Wild Card?"

At that moment, Ren began to question the Wild Card trait he had obtained for the first time.

He hadn't fully understood its purpose before. But after accidentally intruding on Klein's Tarot Club and observing Klein and Alger's near-loss-of-control reactions, he realized something crucial, the source of Chika's corruption and instability might have been him.

That was now the core problem.

Why could he, a seemingly ordinary reincarnator, trigger loss of control in Beyonders?

He not only caused it, he could suppress it. The difference was purely based on his intention.

Because he didn't want Chika to go out of control, she was immediately stabilized. The corruption within her was instantly purged the moment he saw it.

Ren quickly came to a conclusion.

He could control loss of control and corruption.

But why did he have such a strange ability?

There was no clear answer yet.

Even after thinking for a long time, Ren still couldn't figure it out.

"So... I'm actually a special existence?"

Even though he arrived at this conclusion, Ren's face was still full of question marks. He had lived two ordinary lives. How could he end up with such an absurd conclusion after reincarnating?

"I'll shelve this question for now. Without any clues, everything I think is just a baseless guess—random speculation with no direction or proof."

"Maybe next time I attend Klein's gathering, I can get an answer."

Indeed, Ren had no leads on his own situation, but he could confirm it piece by piece, like how the amulet affected Beyonders.

The amulet he made didn't contain any power. It was just his blessing conveyed through Sefirah Castle. That blessing existed purely as a conceptual thing. So was his boons really effective?

He should be able to find out next time.

"No need to rush."

Ren relaxed.

He sat quietly on the floor. The room was covered in soft blankets, so sitting directly on the ground didn't feel cold at all.

He simply waited in silence as time passed.

He didn't know how long he sat like that before he finally opened his eyes again.

He checked the time. 00:01. A new day had begun.

Considering the special events of the night, Ren had a strong sense of premonition.

He immediately pulled out a diary and a pen and began writing a new entry.

[A sudden shock compelled me to pick up the pen on the first day of the new year.]

[Today—no, to be precise, yesterday—was an incredibly exciting day for me.]

[I completed the fate observation during Kogoro Mouri's class reunion. I successfully altered the fate of two individuals, one who was supposed to die, and one who was imprisoned. I also achieved promotion.]

[I thought it was a perfect day, but just before bed, I felt a strange sensation.]

[Following that feeling, I pushed open a door before me and accidentally entered a gathering of the Tarot Club from another world.]

[The Fool, Klein Moretti. Justice, Audrey Hall. The Hanged Man, Alger Wilson. These are the core figures of the early Tarot Club.]

[Originally, I thought that after advancing in the Sequence, I might get the chance to meet the other transmigrator and see how he was doing. I didn't expect that wish to come true today.]

[This unexpected encounter was extremely special and exhilarating. Even as I write this, I still feel overwhelmed with excitement.]

[However, it also made me notice a serious problem.]

[I realized that Fujiwara Chika's loss of control and corruption may have had a direct connection to me.]

[When I barged into the gathering, both Klein and Alger showed signs of losing control. And this happened even under Sefirah Castle's suppression. That's when I understood, I might have the ability to induce loss of control and corruption in Beyonders.]

[This raises a strange question, why do I, as a regular person, possess such an ability?]

[I've thought about it a lot, but I still can't arrive at a concrete answer.]

[But it doesn't matter. As long as I can stabilize Chika during her promotion, and if the amulet I gave them can indeed suppress loss of control and corruption, then I can temporarily confirm that this phenomenon is consciously controllable by me.]

[As for the reason why I can do this... I'll need to pay close attention in the future. Maybe I'll find some clues.]

[So why am I so eager today?]

[There's an idea I want to test.]

---

Ren stopped writing and reviewed what he had recorded in the diary.

Naturally, this triggered the lottery draw, a feature tied to his diary. And this was exactly what Ren had wanted to verify.

He spun the roulette wheel.

According to the guidance of fate, the indicator stopped at: Lord of Mysteries.

And the moment he saw the reward, Ren's thoughts were instantly confirmed.

[Lord of Mysteries]

[Source Acquired: Chaos Sea ]

(To be continued.)