Chapter 48: Don't Come Any Closer!

A simple church.

A church built from the corpses of the fallen, its four walls riddled with hollows.

The corpses of the fallen still retained more or less the features of their once-human forms, yet there was no stench of decay here. Bathed in the bright, burning firelight, the space exuded a sense of holiness.

The bell inside the church tolled melodiously.

Dressed in a pristine white robe and holding a black clinker, Hermione struck the bone-white bell again and again.

Three strikes, then a pause.

She raised her gaze to see that the entire tribe had melted into the darkness.

Yet the people swallowed by the darkness were not deprived of their sight.

They dissolved into the shadows as if immersed in a gentle, warm current.

Standing or sitting within this warmth, they felt a lightness as fatigue was stripped from their bodies, and a dreamlike sensation as calamity drifted far away from their lives. This lightness and dreamlike quality lulled the people into a peaceful slumber.

Only the Nightwatchers from the Darkness pathway maintained a strange state of lucidity, chanting a melodious lullaby.

From afar, Hermione heard these nocturnes and witnessed the joyful and peaceful dreams of the people, echoing from the ocean of collective unconsciousness precipitated across the region of Ilusa.

She also beheld a female phantom standing tall like a knight.

Layers of darkness, as ethereal as gauze, drifted out from every corner of the tribe.

Quietly, the statues belonging to the giant race within the tribe were draped with an illusory veil of darkness.

The illusory veil and the flowing dark river of night jointly concealed all movement within the Ilusa tribe.

It was precisely at this moment, inside the bone church.

The spiritual imprints of the fallen, which Hermione had harbored within her consciousness over this period, melted one by one into her spiritual body.

Black imprints protruded across her luminous back like searing brands.

The floor, walls, and dome of the entire bone church now began to shimmer with a golden-red glow—those were the sacrificial arrays carved directly into the corpses.

Amidst this shimmering golden-red micro-light, the mountains of spiritual materials accumulated inside the church vanished layer by layer from the real world.

Within Hermione's dream space, the spirituality of the giant stone statue swelled rapidly. Suddenly, a twelve-tiered illusory ring materialized before the statue—

That was the uniqueness of "Error"—the concrete manifestation of the singular traits belonging to the True God of the "Error" pathway!

Under Hermione's will, amidst the surging tides of spirituality, the hazy gateway formed within the dream space attempted to draw in the uniqueness of "Error," striving to yank this uniqueness out of the Sea of Chaos and cast it into the real world!

Yet, despite the violent shaking of the entire dream space, the illusory ring still could not be pulled through the door.

Prepared for this exact scenario, Hermione retrieved the concocted "Three-Headed Cathedral" potion, and the black-and-white interlaced liquid flowed down her throat.

A pool of corrupt flesh oozed from her body, condensing into a visage that belonged to Hermione, yet appeared far more wretched and compassionate.

An illusory spirit detached itself from her psyche, condensing into a visage that belonged to Zhou Mingxiang, yet appeared far more lucid and serene.

Having separated two distinct entities—one physical, one spiritual—Hermione grew all the more pure.

Pure as a holy spirit.

Yet she immediately threw her arms wide open—

The "True Self," the "Fallen," and the "Pure" gradually merged back into one.

Simultaneously, the spirits of all the fallen souls that had been soothed throughout the church awakened from every corner. Their despair, their fear, their sacrifices... layered one upon another, descending entirely onto Hermione's shoulders.

This was the process of burden-bearing and comprehension, the mandatory path to profoundly understanding "The Hanged Man"!

When Hermione shouldered the spirituality and spirit of all the fallen, the entire bone church shifted from tangible to ethereal, merging wholly into her spiritual body!

At this very instant, Hermione officially advanced to become a "Three-Headed Cathedral"!

Without a single moment of rest, Hermione—now formally advanced to a "Three-Headed Cathedral"—leveraged the abundant spiritual materials, the convictions of the fallen, and the faith of the tribal believers to drive her own will, completely pulling the illusory ring—which had been teetering under the gateway's gravitational pull—into the passage leading to reality!

The uniqueness belonging to "Error" was dragged directly by Hermione into the real world!

And the moment that the uniqueness of "Error" was exposed to reality—

Hermione felt a gaze that was tyrannical, greedy, and eager to taint everything!

She felt a gaze that was startled, gloomy, and withered with twilight!

Yet at that exact juncture, thick, heavy gray fog poured out from the dark corners, enveloping the uniqueness of "Error."

The source of the gray fog was Amanises, concealed within the darkness.

At this moment, Amanises had also consumed the Beyforder characteristic of the "Calamity Knight."

During her advancement, the aura of Sefirah Castle that constantly churned around her was continuously stripping away, flowing outward and melting perpetually into the illusory ring high above in the sky!

All of this was part of Hermione and Amanises's plan.

Over this period, they had cooperated closely, laying out various preconditions specifically so that during their simultaneous advancements, they could utilize the leftover uniqueness of "Error" within the Sea of Chaos to absorb and bear Amanises's Sefirah Castle aura, as well as the destiny of the avatar of "Sefirah Castle"!

Everything up to this point had proceeded with absolute smoothness!

However, just as Hermione intended, according to plan, to hurl the uniqueness of "Error"—now noticed by the ancient gods—far away from this place,

she was astonished to discover that the uniqueness of "Error," gradually manifesting in the real world, was displaying an affectionate attachment toward her in an almost human-like manner!

Not only that, but deep within her own heart welled an instinctive, maternal fondness for the uniqueness of "Error"!

Under the sway of these emotions, she found herself utterly unable to bear casting the uniqueness of "Error" away from this place!

Yet, Hermione was acutely aware that this uniqueness of "Error" had at least drawn the attention of two deities: the "King of Dark Wolves" and the "Giant King"!

If she continued to linger with such reluctance, she would end up dragged alongside the uniqueness of "Error" into the direct sight of those two deities!

This outcome was the exact opposite of the plan she and Amanises had formulated!

Their goal was to use the uniqueness of "Error" to divert the influence of "Sefirah Castle," and even further disrupt the currently balanced stalemate among the eight "Kings," thereby carving out breathing room for their continued growth!

Hermione realized at this moment that this emotional bond of maternal affection between herself and the uniqueness of "Error" was a contingency left behind by the "Celestial Worthy"—

It was a measure devised by that "Celestial Worthy" to suppress the "Lord of the Mysteries" from utilizing the Sea of Chaos and the residual characteristics and uniqueness within it to resurrect!

Yet this very contingency had completely stitched Hermione up at the worst possible time—she was going to be exposed right alongside the uniqueness of "Error" before those terrifying, tyrannical, and utterly unreasonable ancient gods!

At this moment, Hermione completely shed the lofty aura of her recent advancement, wishing for nothing more than to scream at the uniqueness of "Error," which was acting like a child crying out for its mother:

"Stop coming over here!"