Truman was about to join Medici on another battlefield when, in an instant, the prophetic intuition of the Robe of the Sage stirred.
Amid the convergence and dispersal of information flows, he glimpsed a figure entering a familiar city-state.
"Sasrir? Silver City?" Truman's heart stirred. He twisted the void, opening a gate to wander directly to Silver City.
His timing was impeccable, catching Sasrir, holding the Blasphemy Slate, emerging from a corner of Silver City.
"Hiss? So soon?" Truman eyed the slate in Sasrir's hands, surprised. With the ancient gods still in a stalemate, the Chaos Sea's aura could ignite a divine war.
The war hadn't reached its climax; the anchors of the ancient gods remained unshaken, their madness not yet at its peak.
"It's not to start a divine war, but for the Elf King and the Dragon of Imagination," Sasrir said, nodding lightly at Truman.
"Ankewelt may have sensed something. Even the volatile Soniathrym is holding back." Sasrir glanced toward the City of Miracles.
"The Dragon of Imagination?"
Whatever it imagines becomes reality. The kingdom it envisions descends upon the material world. The future it proclaims unfolds, becoming truth.
Such is the legend of the Dragon of Imagination, the authority of a Visionary.
"The Dragon of Imagination's authority can even stir the tides of fate."
Their planned future, crafted by the four, now clashed with the Dragon of Imagination's envisioned future, alerting it.
"Groselle is clever enough to restrain Soniathrym," Sasrir said, somewhat.
"Ancient gods are mad, not foolish," Truman sighed again. The Spectator pathway needed curbing—it was too potent!
The goddess's secrecy, his Book of Dreams, and the Blasphemy Slate had concealed their plans perfectly, yet the Dragon of Imagination still sensed a disturbance in history's currents.
Perhaps they'd been too hasty?
Lilith's entry into the fray was indeed rushed, but after tasting sanity, who'd want to remain a madman?
"No need to overestimate the Visionary's authority. Without omniscience and omnipotence, imagination is just an empty dream," Sasrir explained.
"Drawing Ankewelt into the field requires only a simple method." Sasrir tapped the Blasphemy Slate.
"Beyonder characteristic convergence?" Truman raised an eyebrow, marveling at the world's wondrous rules.
The Blasphemy Slate recorded this law, alongside the Acting Method, serving as the origin of Sequence potions.
"Exactly!" Sasrir held the slate. "What is scattered must converge—a fundamental principle, enough to lure the Dragon and Elf into the fray."
"And after that… ancient gods, when gathered, always cause trouble."
Sasrir chuckled, his palm brushing the Blasphemy Slate.
Whoosh!
Truman stepped back, preventing the Book of Dreams from clashing with the Chaos Sea, as if waves roared in his ears.
A thick shadowy veil appeared before Sasrir, parting to reveal an indescribable, color-shifting sea, seemingly harboring all secrets.
In that moment, gazing at the Chaos Sea, Truman underwent an unforeseen change. His expression turned indifferent, his pupils flickering with pale phosphorescence.
He'd glimpsed the Chaos Sea remotely before, but this was his first true encounter with its essence!
His face grew strange, resembling the mad ancient gods. Even the drowsiness he most feared surged, threatening to drown his consciousness like a tide.
Sizzle!
His divine badge flashed with dual glows—Sleepless and Eternal Day—restoring a sliver of clarity. The Book of Dreams opened, its phosphorescent light shielding his gaze.
Phew!
Cold sweat beaded on Truman's back, his brows furrowed. "Chaos Sea… Sefirah!"
He keenly sensed the potential influence of the Chaos Sea and other Sefirot on him.
"I'll need to be cautious with Sefirot in the future…"
Truman regained composure, looking at Sasrir, now cloaked in the shadowy veil. Only his eyes peered through, brimming with "corruption" and "indifference."
He resembled the lofty Ancient Sun God!
At that moment, Truman looked skyward, distinctly sensing the surge of ancient god powers!
Two gazes, the fastest to lock onto the Chaos Sea's aura, descended. Truman's pupils contracted, as if beholding a gray-white dragon with pale golden eyes and vertical pupils.
The dragon's scales bore intricate, three-dimensional mystical symbols. Were Truman not immune to madness, those symbols would've plunged him into mental chaos, twisted thoughts, and suicidal urges!
Dragon of Imagination, Ankewelt!
The other was a figure in black armor, striding on waves, wreathed in storms, lightning at their back, eyes holding natural disasters, wielding a trident—a tyrant!
Elf King, Soniathrym!
Drawn by the law of beyonder characteristic convergence, these two ancient gods were the first to cast their gazes here.
Their eyes burned with raw madness and desire, fixed on the Blasphemy Slate in Sasrir's hands.
"It's linked to the Chaos Sea, offering a chance to control it!" Both ancient gods understood this.
Sasrir looked up indifferently, stowing the Blasphemy Slate. The sea of secrets gradually faded.
"Damn it!" Frenzied lightning crackled, the sky turning blinding white, filled with countless bolts.
The shadowy veil rose, using the lingering power to deflect all lightning.
"Go!"
The veil fell, enveloping Sasrir, and he vanished.
"Roar!" Atop the grandest palace in the City of Miracles, Leviathan, the Dragon of Imagination's eyes gleamed with insatiable desire. Suppressing it risked destabilizing its state!
This convergence effect was more terrifying than a curse.
"Seize it, claim the Chaos Sea!" Ankewelt roared, turning to the dragons of the City of Miracles, coldly ordering, "March to the battlefield!"
"Roar!" Countless dragons lowered their heads, growling in response.
A similar scene unfolded at the Elf King's palace. Were it not for Queen of Calamity Groselle's restraint, Soniathrym would've become lightning, charging to Silver City!
"The Chaos Sea calls us!" The Elf King growled, his destructive urges at an all-time high.
"Then we go!" Groselle, knowing it was unstoppable, looked to the assembled elf warriors.
"Storm above!" The elves roared, the ocean surging with white lightning, relentless storms unleashing terrifying tsunamis.
The Chaos Sea's emergence accelerated the war. All ancient gods mobilized, converging on the Giant King's Court.
With subordinate gods and angels joining the fray, the war's intensity surged dramatically!
(End of Chapter)