Chapter 20: The Brick Strikes the Goddess’s Forehead

White feathers...

The pain in both mind and body did not cause Hermione to lose her reason or memory. In this moment of crisis, she was unusually clear-headed. She vividly recalled that this characteristic had been mentioned by Urolius—

A malicious observer!

At a time like this?!

Hermione quickly turned to check on Amanesis’s condition.

Amanesis was still trapped in the torment of a nightmare, and the condition was worsening. The arms beneath Him, continuously decaying and regenerating, waved and clawed aggressively toward the corrupted trait that had fallen to the ground.

As if trying to pull that trait into Amanesis’s body!

At that moment, the tall, slender figure calmly walked past Hermione’s side.

Within His eye sockets burned a fervent white flame. His face, covered in flesh and blood, wore an expression of obsessed greed, like a starving wolf, steadily approaching Amanesis.

Oily white feathers... a necromancer? A high-ranking being of the Death God’s path?

Hermione couldn’t immediately identify this sudden monster’s identity, but it was clear this creature bore hostile intentions toward Amanesis!

Even without thinking, Hermione knew she must not allow this fiend to touch the defenseless Amanesis!

Sensing Hermione’s intense emotion, the tall figure in gray clothes walking toward Amanesis glanced back at her.

That single glance carried a deathly chill like icy water poured over her head. Hermione’s senses felt alien, as if her spirit was about to drift back to the spirit realm.

The tall figure did not stop but continued walking toward Amanesis, his steps growing slower and smaller, as though wary and expectant at once.

Meanwhile, in a neglected corner, Hermione felt as if she had returned to a place like the “ocean,” her body enveloped in a black, sticky sensation that was somehow warm.

Like the warmth of “home.”

Was this the spirit realm?

Not quite.

Hermione recalled the spirit realm as a world layered with colorful blocks and strange creatures. This place was pitch black, more like the depths of some oily liquid.

Just as Hermione was lost in confusion, her entire consciousness was suddenly lifted by a veil of gray-white mist.

—

In the blink of an eye, she was carried to an extraordinarily ethereal “ocean,” whose color and form defied any language.

Yet within this indescribable “ocean,” Hermione saw a person in deep slumber.

It was a pale-skinned individual wearing a lab coat resembling that of a scientist. He lay quietly in the distant gray-white mist, his facial features difficult to make out.

Not far from him “floated” a strange stone emitting a ghostly gray-white glow.

On the faintly visible surface of the stone were inscriptions in a script Hermione had never studied but could understand at a glance.

This writing seemed to be the origin of all current languages, including Giant Tongue, Dragon Speech, Elvish, and even the language Hermione herself was creating!

Sequence 3: “Dreamweaver.”

Sequence 2: “Seer.”

Sequence 1: “Fairy Tale Author.”

Sequence 0: “Dreamer.”

The ritual for ascending to “Dreamer”:

To shape the development of the era according to one’s own expectations, then at a critical juncture, within the prescribed currents of the era, to consume a magical potion.

What was visible were descriptions of the high-level abilities of the “Dreamer,” the recipe for the potion, and the ascension ritual!

These details confirmed what Hermione had learned from the videos… they were exactly the same!

Almost simultaneously, Hermione recognized what this strange stone was.

The Blasphemous Tablet!

A piece of the “Blasphemous Tablet” formed from the corpse of God!

Hermione was stunned. She guessed where she was—this place had to be the source material once controlled by “God,” the “Sea of Chaos”!

Then…the scientist lying in the gray-white mist—was he the ancient sun god, still not awakened?!

Hermione wanted to see the sun god’s face clearly, even call out to him for help.

But just then, the floating, silent “Blasphemous Tablet,” like a massive flying brick, smashed toward her forehead!

—

Hermione felt darkness before her eyes. When she regained consciousness, her mind was back in the hall of her residence.

The gray-clad figure stood not far from Amanesis, but his posture was stiff, no longer advancing.

Because Amanesis, tormented by pain, had now opened His eyes!

His six arms were completely still, no longer decaying or falling apart. The illusory worms crawling over Him had vanished entirely. His gaze was cold as He looked at the gray figure and said softly, “Salinger…”

At the moment Amanesis confirmed His awareness, the gray figure’s entire body collapsed like dust into mist, leaving only the deathly empty eyes still held in Amanesis’s hand, the rest utterly ground to powder.

Then, as Amanesis’s six arms moved, darkness surged like a tide, engulfing the twin-headed demonic wolf trait that had fallen beside Him.

At this moment, Hermione saw the appearance of that corrupted trait—an amorphous mass of dark flesh covered in countless slimy tentacles, deep and shadowed, as if ready to swallow one’s sanity.

The darkness completely swallowed the corrupted trait.

Then, Amanesis, revealing a mythical creature’s form, looked at Hermione with a strange expression. His features shifted constantly but finally let out a gentle sigh: “Are you alright…”

“You’re alright?” Hermione asked in relief, noticing she could now gaze directly at this divine being as if an invisible shield protected her.

But more than this trivial matter, it was Amanesis’s awakening that thrilled her most. She kept asking, “When did you wake up? You nearly scared me to death just now.”

“Just now,” Amanesis said, gradually withdrawing His mythical form, returning to the human shape in a black dress and veil. With a wave of His hand, the nourishing darkness enveloped the unconscious Urolius once more, then He faced Hermione and said:

“I underestimated the desire for that ‘alteration’ and ‘resurrection’ trait, and I underestimated the means left by that existence. I almost willingly let myself be consumed by that trait.”

A trace of lingering fear showed in Amanesis’s eyes, underscoring the danger of this incident.

Fortunately… this loss of control was over for now.

“So how did you suddenly wake up?” Hermione asked, catching her breath.

Amanesis looked at her oddly; His voice grew low and faint as He said, “It seems… a brick hit me on the forehead and woke me up.”

Hmm? A brick to the head?

Hermione’s eyes widened in bewildered innocence.