Chapter 826 : A Family Talk

All destinies eventually come to an end. Every strand of cause and effect must be drawn to its close.

After countless cycles, endless suffering, and unimaginable sacrifice, this young greater cosmos has finally completed its own struggle. A hopeless future has at last been reversed.

"How… is this… possible… #%@…

"I am the great god…

&

… how could I possibly be toyed with… by you juniors… *）&"

Within the realm of consciousness, the turbid information entity comprising the Lord of Knowledge stirred in violent agitation. Countless overlapping tongues spewed forth in a disorderly torrent of noise—like a radio signal under heavy interference—growing more and more incoherent.

"I… should have… &%_… controlled everything… I should be the God of Chaos…

"This is… )**#… a fraud… you pawns… created merely to fulfill my grand design… how dare you… &%…

"*@#‖%..."

As the Lord of Knowledge’s voice grew increasingly garbled, He finally reached a point where He could no longer be deciphered or understood. At that moment, the informational body that composed the entity began to rise slowly into the air, His form gradually fading into nothingness. He was now being forcibly expelled from this space by a power far greater than Himself.

Watching as the Lord of Knowledge faded from the realm of consciousness, a figure born from ancient memories—Osiris—spoke softly.

“You were far too arrogant, Father…”

With that remark, the entirety of the Lord of Knowledge’s informational body was cast out from the consciousness space and expelled into a more tangible plane—the divine throne domain.

And now, what He had to face was a girl who was already awakening to her “true self.” At this moment, her form had undergone a radical transformation.

The girl, newly reawakened, stretched her petite frame. The cracks that had once marred her body had completely healed, and her fair skin had become ethereal—almost unreal. The plain dress she once wore had vanished, replaced by a gown woven from countless scrolls. One end of each scroll coiled around her illusory body, forming a strange ceremonial dress, while the other end stretched out into the distance, disappearing into the void—connecting to infinite records.

Upon this scroll-gown, dense characters bloomed—words, symbols, formulas, and numbers—interweaving to construct unfathomable mysteries. They surged ceaselessly across the endless pages, evolving and vanishing…

Her long hair, once tied up, now cascaded freely, glowing faintly. It had grown much longer, flowing in all directions, its ends likewise disappearing into the void. Each vanished strand was now connected to the fate of all ages. No ornament adorned her, no engraving marked her—only stone-like adornments, ancient and wordless, clung to and floated around her like monoliths.

Her expression remained indifferent. Within her eyes bloomed layer upon layer of “gateways,” extending into an endless abyss. At the end of these gates lay a sublime shore unreachable to any being of this world.

“&*@+#!”

Upon manifesting in the divine throne domain, the Lord of Knowledge’s informational body let out a piercing, inhuman screech—containing terror, confusion, dread, and shock. Immediately afterward, He tried to flee, pouring all His strength into escaping the space—but that was utterly impossible.

The girl known as Dorothea reached out her hand. Instantly, the Lord of Knowledge, mid-flight, was seized by an overwhelming, irresistible force. Everything—every part of Him—was pulled in a single direction, sucked into the girl’s grasp, compressed into a writhing mass of chaotic information, completely immobilized.

Totally restrained. Completely suppressed.

Now, the Lord of Knowledge could not move in the slightest. Then, He felt that overwhelming power invading His very being—analyzing Him.

Enduring unimaginable torment, the Lord of Knowledge was entirely unraveled. The girl extended her other hand, and through this information entity, she began expanding her influence throughout the entire cosmos.

In an instant, all anomalies within the cosmos ceased. Cracks between dimensions halted. Surges of chaotic power stopped. The fragmentation and fusion of the cosmos was interrupted.

Next, on the surface of the myriad dimensional boundaries, the cracks began to ooze filthy, murky substances. These pollutants—emerging from every dimension—gathered across cosmic scales, converging toward a single point. As each flow of filth exhausted itself, the dimensional barrier it seeped from healed and returned to its original state.

At last, all filth—every trace of impurity—converged into a single space, into the girl’s illusory hand, forming a small sphere.

The sphere was at once bright and dark, real and illusory, soft and unyielding. Within it, one could see the one and the many, obscured by filth and corruption. It could not be fully understood, not even by the girl, though she now grasped nearly all things.

This… was the Egg of Chaos, the root of all disaster in this cosmos—the origin of turmoil across all universes and the highest rank of cosmic secret.

“*&%#!!!”

Just as the Egg of Chaos formed in the girl’s hand, the imprisoned informational entity violently struggled again. It tried desperately to break free from the force suppressing it, lunging toward the nearby corrupted treasure. Yet the noise it emitted was no longer intelligible, serving only as a final, futile wail.

Unshaken, the girl stared at the thrashing entity with an unchanging expression. With a thought, she drained the last remaining trace of power from its body, reducing it to a pure, inert mass of information—then crushed it into dust with a simple squeeze.

Thus ended the existence of one of the three great creators of this universe—the being known as the Lord of Knowledge. The conspiracy He had planned for a billion years, the fates He had orchestrated, the rituals He had enacted—were all extinguished here.

The cosmos would now welcome a destiny of its own making.

Having completely destroyed the Lord of Knowledge’s lingering will, the girl slowly lifted her other hand. The Egg of Chaos rose from her palm, drifting upward—beyond this space, beyond all confines of this universe.

Eventually, the divine disaster known as the Egg of Chaos ascended into that external “hole” reaching into this world—toward the distant beyond, outside the universe itself.

…

Eastern Pritt Island, Tivian.

Clear skies and bright sun.

Today, as always, Tivian began with the toll of church bells at dawn. Dockworkers labored to the sound of ship horns. Factory smokestacks billowed thick black clouds in the distance. Carriages rolled through the streets. Pedestrians bustled along the sidewalks, busy beneath the shouts of newsboys.

So it was today, as it had always been. The mortals living in this city—and this world—carried on their ordinary lives, unaware that the entire universe that sustained them had just undergone a cataclysmic transformation.

At midday, on a busy street in East Tivian, inside a high-end restaurant, a young man in a collared shirt, jacket, slacks, and leather shoes sat at his table, gazing absentmindedly out the window at the endless stream of passersby and traffic, lost in thought.

“What’s wrong, Gregor? Is the food bad?”

A light, gentle voice brought him back. Turning toward the familiar silver-haired girl in a white dress seated across from him, he smiled and said,

“Nothing—just spaced out a little… It's not like the food is…”

Glancing down at the fried fish on his plate, Gregor hesitated for a moment, then changed his tone.

“…Okay, fine. The food’s not ideal. I didn’t mind it much before, but after traveling around a bit, I guess I do notice the difference.”

“Really? That’s how I felt too. It wasn’t until I went on my study trip that I realized how much better food is elsewhere.”

Dorothy said this while gently toying with her fries using her fork and knife. As she poked at her food, she continued asking Gregor:

“By the way, how was your trip abroad these past few months? Was it fun?”

“Ah… It wasn’t exactly a vacation. I was sent overseas by the company, not for leisure. You know how my job is—honestly, it’s exhausting and risky. But I did manage to do a bit of sightseeing during downtime, so that part was nice…”

Gregor spoke while once again turning his gaze toward Dorothy, then asked.

“Speaking of which, how have you been doing in Tivian lately? How’s school? If I remember correctly, you just finished your finals not too long ago, right? How’d you do?”

Gregor looked at her seriously as he asked, and Dorothy simply waved it off with a cheerful smile.

“Of course I did great~ Even I’m satisfied with how I did!”

“Really…? Then I’ll have to make time to check myself—like, directly with your school!”

“No problem~ Gregor, go anytime you want. I don’t mind at all.”

And so, Dorothy and Gregor continued their meal and conversation just like in the old days. After some time had passed in this pleasant routine, a trace of hesitation suddenly appeared on Gregor’s face. It was only after wrestling with something internally that he finally opened his mouth again.

“By the way, Dorothy… have you recently… dreamed of Mom at all…”

Just as Gregor began to speak, a faint whooshing sound stirred the once-calm air. Upon hearing it, his expression tensed into a frown.

“Damn it… why now, of all times? I just got back…”

Abandoning what he was about to say, Gregor muttered under his breath, his expression darkening. After some internal conflict, he turned to Dorothy.

“Sorry, Dorothy. I just remembered there's an urgent matter at the company that I need to handle… I’ll go settle the bill. You can take your time finishing your meal and head home at your leisure.”

“An urgent matter? Gregor, are you working overtime again? That’s rough… Take care~”

With a sweet and obedient expression, Dorothy bid Gregor goodbye. Hearing her words, Gregor grabbed his coat and rose from his seat. But when he saw the large pile of food still left on Dorothy’s plate, his expression grew stern.

“Be sure to finish everything. No leftovers, no wasting food!”

“Ugh… but this stuff is… all greens…”

Dorothy muttered as she stared at the plate piled with vegetables, especially the hard-to-swallow salad. Seeing this, Gregor replied in a sincere and fatherly tone.

“No excuses. Look at you, Dorothy. You’re almost sixteen and still barely grown. You’ve hardly gained any height these past few years. You need to eat properly, especially nutritious food, or you’ll still be like this by the time you enter college.

“I’ve noticed you always eat meat and skip your vegetables. That’s an unbalanced diet. You’re not growing because of it. That’s why I ordered these veggies for you—so finish them, alright?”

With his words of caution, Gregor left the table, walked briskly to the counter, paid the bill, and exited the restaurant.

As he stepped onto the damp pavement, still wet from a recent shower, he hurriedly slipped on his coat. Just then, a passerby’s umbrella was knocked loose in the crowd. Gregor swiftly reacted, catching it before it hit the ground and handing it back to its owner.

“Thanks, young man…”

The umbrella belonged to a tall, well-built man with long golden hair, wearing sunglasses, a buttoned shirt, pants, and boots. He smiled as he thanked Gregor. Gregor nodded in return and quickly continued on his way.

“‘Young man’? Was that guy really that old…?”

Gregor mused to himself as he walked off, while the blond man simply smiled at his retreating back, took his umbrella, and continued forward.

Back inside the restaurant, now that Gregor had left, Dorothy stared down at her untouched salad, knife and fork in hand, a rare look of distress on her face.

At that moment, a gentle voice whispered in her ear.

“These were specially ordered for you by your brother. As a good daughter, you shouldn’t be picky with your food~”

Hearing the voice beside her, Dorothy paused for a moment. Then she slowly turned her head and calmly looked at the figure seated beside her.

It was a young woman who appeared slightly older than Dorothy herself. She had the same long silver hair cascading down her back, the same fair skin. She wore a white blouse trimmed with lace and a high-waisted black skirt. Her chest, accentuated by the fitted blouse and waistline, was visibly fuller than Dorothy’s. Beneath the skirt, her pale legs were clad in crystal high heels, and her outfit was adorned with crystalline accessories that sparkled like stars—just like her silver eyes.

This was Dorothy’s mother—the Mirror Moon Goddess Selene.

Now that her duty of suppressing the Egg of Chaos had ended, she was able to manifest herself—at least to some extent—in the present world.

She had been seated beside Dorothy from the very beginning, smiling as she watched her two children dine and chat. Gregor simply couldn’t see her.

“You came along too, huh? Gregor really doesn’t have a clue, but you should know better than anyone what’s going on with me,” Dorothy remarked with a roll of her eyes in response to Selene’s deliberately playful tone.

Selene only smiled slyly and replied in a teasing voice.

“Oh? What’s the matter now? Mommy doesn’t understand. I just know that eating more vegetables is good for your health and helps you grow taller… I’m only looking out for my precious daughter.”

Hearing her mother’s playful tone, Dorothy pouted slightly before replying flatly.

“Looking out for your children? You call it that when your own son doesn’t even understand what’s really going on? Is that what you call care?”

Selene shifted her tone to a calm reply.

“Gregor’s inability to see the truth isn’t my fault. It’s because he himself doesn’t want to accept reality—especially when it concerns you and me…”

“Oh… so Gregor doesn’t want to face it?”

A spark of curiosity flashed across Dorothy’s face as she listened. Selene continued.

“To make communication easier, I’ve used dreams to guide Gregor into the Nation of Night in a half-dreaming, half-wakeful state. There, I’ve revealed quite a lot to him. But deep in his subconscious, he still refuses to accept that his dearest sister and mother are deeply involved with mysticism. He yearns for a normal family, far removed from the mystical.”

Selene explained softly. Dorothy nodded slowly, seeming thoughtful.

“Gregor has always longed for family and an ordinary life. So that longing of his is strong enough to reject even the truths you’ve revealed to him in dreams?”

“Not exactly. If I were to speak forcefully, he would have no choice but to accept it, even subconsciously. But… as his mother, how could I bear to force my son like that? Since his heart refuses it, then let it be. Besides, within that very subconscious is a powerful desire to protect his sister—you. And with that desire, I can better guide Gregor to fulfill the duty of bloodline protection, helping you through your next trial.”

Selene’s tone had grown more serious as she explained. Dorothy, upon hearing this, continued.

“But Gregor can’t stay like this forever. He has his own destiny—the destiny of the Blood Shade…”

“Yes, and he will inevitably accept it in time. Once he grows weary of the mundane, he will awaken naturally and return to his rightful place. For now, he’s still not ready to fully bear that power. He needs to grow. In the coming years, I can help guide him to make up for all the ‘lessons’ he’s missed…”

Selene spoke calmly. The prior elevation of Gregor to Blood Shade Knight had been a temporary measure—unsustainable. He still had a long road to traverse before reaching true godhood. He would need to experience more within the mortal world before accepting the divinity that awaited him. After all, not everyone could ascend like riding a rocket.

“I see… Well, for big bro, maybe that’s not a bad thing. It’d be a real shame to step into the dull life of a deity without first enjoying the pleasures of being human… And now that there’s no immediate crisis, he should be free to choose how he wants to live.”

Dorothy nodded in agreement. At that moment, a glimmer flashed through Selene’s eyes. She waved a finger and said with a mischievous grin.

“The joys of mortal life, huh… Little Dorothea, you’re not wrong. Being a god really does get dull at times. And now there’s just the perfect opportunity—why don’t I move to Tivian for a few years, take on a mortal identity, and live with you and Gregor like a normal family~?”

“Ah… come on, don’t go that far…”

Dorothy narrowed her eyes at Selene’s whimsical suggestion, clearly not on board.

“Mom, aren’t there still tons of things you need to deal with in the Nation of Night? You’ve got time to run off here? And how exactly are you going to explain to Gregor that his mom suddenly reappeared after being gone for over ten years? You seriously think he’ll just accept that?”

Still not done enjoying her independent life, Dorothy made her objection quite clear. Selene, however, smiled and responded casually.

“Without the Egg of Chaos, everything left in the Nation of Night is trivial. A mere avatar can handle it. As for Gregor… I’ll deal with that when the time comes. I don’t believe he’d fail to recognize his own mother standing right in front of him once the mysticism’s veil is lifted.”

“It’s not as simple as you think…”

Dorothy began seriously trying to talk Selene out of her idea, but Selene remained steadfast. In the end, realizing she couldn’t persuade her mother, Dorothy could only sigh and take a gloomy sip of her coffee.

Watching her daughter savor her sweetened coffee, Selene's gentle smile didn’t fade. Instead, she spoke again with a note of emotion in her voice.

“How lovely…”

“Lovely? What’s lovely?”

Dorothy turned her head curiously at her mother’s sigh. Selene continued.

“What I mean is… it’s lovely that you, Little Dorothea, still think of yourself as my daughter, as Gregor’s sister, that you still see yourself as Dorothea. I used to worry that once you awakened to everything, you might no longer see yourself as the person you once were—but as something greater, something beyond.”

Selene spoke with an emotion too subtle to fully express. After hearing her, Dorothy responded with her own quiet reflection.

“For beings on the level of the Supreme Pillars, it’s impossible to define them through a single form, a single face, or a single identity… Yes, I could be counted as one of the Supreme Pillars, but the Supreme Pillars are not limited to just me.

“In essence, I am one face, one expression of a Supreme Pillar—a manifestation birthed through you, Mom, and nurtured in this world. To me, the Supreme Pillar is my origin—but origin is not the whole of me. I am Dorothea. I am a mortal of this world, a deity of this world. I was born here, I grew here, and I belong here.”

Dorothy gazed at her outstretched hand as she spoke. Upon hearing her daughter’s words, Selene replied gently.

“It seems you’ve now come to fully and clearly understand your identity, Little Dorothea. You’ve completely cast off your earlier confusion… that’s truly something to celebrate~”

As she spoke, Selene raised her hands and gave a soft clap. Dorothy sighed lightly and said:

“If I didn’t define myself this way, I’d be denying my own soul. My origin may be the Supreme Pillar, but I must never equate myself with it. To do so would strip my being of meaning… That’s why, first and foremost, I must be myself—Dorothea.”

“Well said!”

Before Dorothy could finish her words, a deep, resonant male voice rang out. Both she and Selene turned to look, only to see a tall, broad-shouldered man with golden hair, wearing sunglasses, a collared shirt, trousers, and boots, walking toward them. Selene’s eyes lit up as she exclaimed.

“Father Emperor…”

“Eh, don’t call me that, Little Night. The empire’s been gone for years now—no need for that title. Just call me Dad.”

Waving a hand dismissively, Hyperion sat down opposite Selene and Dorothy, taking the seat Gregor had just vacated. Selene raised an eyebrow and responded.

“The eastern provinces of the Empire still exist within the Nation of Night. If you wished, Father, you could still reclaim your rule there.”

“No need. Since I’ve already handed the Empire and divinity over to you and your brother, I’ve no reason to take anything back. The fact you’ve managed to preserve even half of it this long is already impressive. You’re its Queen—and always will be.”

Hyperion’s words were calm and resolute as he looked upon his daughter. Selene then asked with genuine curiosity.

“Father, judging by your current state, did you just come back from visiting my brother? How is he doing?”

“He’s hanging in there… After being a shackle for so many years, bearing such crushing pressure, fully returning to normal won’t be easy. He probably still needs a few more years of support from your nephew. Only recently has he begun to regain his will… Said he’s exhausted and wants to pass his godhood directly to his son. I told him he’s had it no easier than you over the past millennium, so he should shoulder the burden a little longer.”

Hyperion leaned back and crossed his legs as he spoke. At this, Dorothy asked seriously.

“So, my great divine-grandfather has no intention of reclaiming the duties of the Lantern deity himself?”

“Sigh… my dear Little Dorothea, didn’t I already say? Since I’ve given everything to my children, I’ve no reason to take it back. I relinquished it all during the Eclipse Ritual. This is your era now…”

Hyperion replied with a laid-back tone, but Dorothy raised her eyebrows and continued.

“In that case, shouldn’t you be staying by Uncle Heros’s side to help with his recovery? You leaving now basically dumps everything back onto Phaethon… is that really okay?”

“As my grandson, it’s only right for him to gain more experience—

cough, cough

… Alright, fine. I’ll try to make some time to go help out.”

Hyperion had started with a firm stance, but under the gaze of both his daughter and granddaughter, he gave a slight cough and relented. Selene, as if seeing through something, followed up with another question.

“Father, you don’t seem particularly eager to stay there. Is there a reason?”

“Well… if you must know, yes, there are reasons. The main one is Phaethon himself—he’s far too ‘devout.’ Being around him is exhausting. He treats me entirely as a divine being, not as family. He gets overly emotional all the time, and even the way he speaks is pure believer talk… Honestly, it’s pretty dull. Being here with you two is much more pleasant.

“So I made time to come by, check on my other grandson… he’s a fine young man. And I wanted to see whether my greatest-achieving granddaughter had found her way out of confusion. And judging by what you said earlier—I must say, I deeply agree with your view.”

As he spoke, Hyperion removed his sunglasses and looked seriously at Dorothy with his golden eyes. Dorothy tilted her head and asked.

“So, you believe too that—rather than being the Supreme Pillar—I’m more so your daughter’s daughter, your granddaughter?”

“Of course! To me, to your mother, and even to this entire cosmos, your existence carries a weight beyond comparison. Your meaning surpasses that of the Supreme Pillar! The Supreme Pillar may be able to solve the problem of Chaos—but only you can truly save this universe, Dorothea…”

Hyperion looked intently at the girl before him and spoke with utmost sincerity. Hearing this, the Mirror Moon Goddess beside him curiously inquired.

“The Supreme Pillar can resolve Chaos, but Dorothea is the one who can save the universe? What exactly do you mean by that…?”

“Let me put it this way. When I carried out the Eclipse Ritual and reached out to the Supreme Pillars beyond our universe, that act—while extraordinary—was not guaranteed to save us. On the contrary, it might’ve accelerated our destruction.”

Hyperion’s expression turned grave. He picked up the tea on the table, drained the cup, and continued solemnly.

“Even for the Supreme Pillars, Chaos is no minor issue. Across all universal scales, the emergence of Chaos is an urgent threat—even to the Pillars. It must be prevented and eliminated at all costs. When the Supreme Pillars learned from me that our universe was nurturing an Egg of Chaos… we became a threat.

“No one knew how they would choose to deal with our universe’s Egg of Chaos…”

Hyperion’s tone was heavy. Dorothy responded quietly.

“With the perspective of a being of that scale… the simplest solution would be to dismantle our universe entirely—crush it into fragments and extract the Egg of Chaos from within.”

“Exactly. From their standpoint, they don’t need to care about petty wishes. Destroying the host universe outright is the most direct method to retrieve the Egg of Chaos. But when faced with our universe, they hesitated.

“Our universe was built by three of the most powerful gods beneath the Pillars themselves. Its scale is immense, one of the largest among all known universes. Even for the Supreme Pillars, dismantling something this vast isn’t something they can do instantly…

“And during that process of destruction, if—even with a one-in-a-billion chance—that act of annihilation didn’t extract the Egg of Chaos but instead stimulated it into full hatching… the consequences would be catastrophic.”

As Hyperion continued his explanation, the logic was simple: even for the Supreme Pillars, destroying a universe of their scale required time. And during that time, if the gods within—those who originally opposed and suppressed Chaos—were to fall into despair, they might instead embrace Chaos. This would only accelerate the hatching of the Egg of Chaos. In that case, before the universe was even fully destroyed, a Chaos God could be born—and that was precisely what the Three Supreme Pillars wished to avoid.

“Hearing you explain it like that, Father, it seems even the Three Supreme Pillars cannot completely disregard the threat of Chaos…”

Selene murmured.

“Indeed. Because in every universe, the divinity of Chaos remains the highest form of godhood.”

Hyperion took another sip of tea, then set down his cup and continued.

“The Three Primordial Gods of our universe and the Three Pillars across all universes… their natures are actually quite similar. The Three Pillars represent the extreme apex of what the Primordials can reach within their own domains. This means the difference between them lies more in scale than in divine rank.

“In other words, the divinity of Chaos still stands above the Pillars. If a Chaos God were truly born within our universe, it would pose a serious challenge even to the Pillars. While it wouldn’t completely overturn them, it could still cause significant trouble—or even inflict damage…

“After all, Chaos is the highest form of divinity. Even if its scale is smaller than that of a Pillar, the Pillars cannot simply ignore it. The Pillars themselves were born from the Primordial Chaos…”

Hyperion went on. Selene, having listened quietly, nodded and added thoughtfully.

“If that’s the case, then the Lord of Knowledge’s goals did have their value. The ‘gift’ from the Supreme Pillar was primarily to avoid provoking the Egg of Chaos into hatching prematurely… and the vastness of our universe ended up being our shield.”

She was right. If their universe had been too small, then its only fate would have been annihilation. With such scale, however, it had the privilege of being given a chance.

Likewise, because Chaos existed on a higher level than even the Pillars, the Pillars themselves could not always detect the presence of an Egg of Chaos or determine which universes had been parasitized. Otherwise, Hyperion would not have needed to relinquish everything and personally escape Chaos’s grasp just to deliver the warning.

“Yes. But our universe’s own struggle was just as crucial…”

Hyperion responded, then resumed explaining.

“When the Pillar I contacted learned that a universe of such scale had been parasitized by an Egg of Chaos, They were faced with two options. The first was to summon the other two Pillars and jointly disassemble our universe—quickly and cleanly enough to retrieve the Egg of Chaos without triggering it.

“The second… came only after witnessing our universe’s billion-year struggle, its endless cycles of reincarnation and sacrifice. It was to channel a portion of Their power into our universe through the most secretive of means—introducing a new variable, and allowing the beings of this universe to work together with that variable to save their own destiny from within.

“The Pillar believed the willpower and creativity displayed by our universe during its struggles made it worthy of this chance.

“And as for which option the Pillar ultimately chose… well, it’s obvious. Or rather, to the Pillar, there was never a ‘choice’ to begin with. If the second plan failed, They could always fall back to the first. So, in essence, it wasn’t a choice—it was an opportunity. One granted to our universe, and also to the Pillar Themself.”

Hyperion finished his statement and fell silent. Selene, after pondering for a moment, exhaled softly and said:

“Father, in the legacy you left me, you explained the true purpose behind the Eclipse Ritual… and told me that the power you’d sought from beyond would be born in my womb… When Little Dorothea was born, I thought everything had already been decided. I didn’t expect there to still be so many variables…”

“Yes. Dorothea brought with her something even greater than the transmigrator—a deeper variable. But to turn that variable into a miracle… would still take a long time.”

Hyperion turned his gaze toward Dorothy and continued.

“Though Dorothea represents a great variable, there’s only one outcome that this variable must ultimately lead to, if we are to save this universe—Dorothea herself must ascend to become one of the highest gods of this universe.

“Since she is a portion of the Supreme Pillar’s power, subtly integrated into this universe, the only way for her to serve as an interface for the Pillar is for her to become a deity most aligned in nature with that Pillar’s domain—namely, a Lord of Revelation and Silence. Only then can the Pillar perform a surgical infusion of Their divine force through Dorothea, extending it to every corner of the universe from within, binding and excising the Egg of Chaos without harming the universe itself.”

Hyperion’s reasoning was clear. If the Supreme Pillar acted directly, They would provoke the Egg of Chaos. Instead, They let a part of Themself enter the universe secretly, nurtured ‘them’ to power, and had ‘them’ ascend. Once that portion wielded sufficient authority within the universe, the Pillar could operate through ‘them’—from the inside—conducting a delicate, surgical removal of the Egg of Chaos.

“But the real issue lies here… How was I ever supposed to grow into a god under the surveillance of Chaos’s agent, the Lord of Knowledge?”

Dorothy said calmly, her voice low.

Hyperion nodded.

“Exactly. That was the crux—Lord of Knowledge. If you had advanced too far within the universe, the Lord of Knowledge would notice you, monitor you, peer into your thoughts. Just as He once did to me.

“But my path was that of Lantern, a path unrelated to the Lord of Knowledge. You, on the other hand, must claim a divine throne once held by the Lord of Knowledge. The closer you get to the Primordial Godhood, the stronger the Lord of Knowledge’s power becomes through you.

“Eventually, it would become so strong that even ordinary thought-concealment methods would be ineffective. That’s why you couldn’t rely on techniques like mine. No mental veil would hide you. This made the entire plan far more difficult.”

As Hyperion explained, the danger became clear: once Dorothy neared apotheosis, the Lord of Knowledge’s power would grow proportionally through her, making all thought concealment futile. Even Shadow divinity could only obscure her thoughts—it couldn’t hide the fact that her mind was partially inaccessible. That alone could trigger Lord of Knowledge’s suspicion. And with such a being, even the slightest suspicion could lead to disaster.

“So… in the end, you all decided not to hide my thoughts at all. To let me face Lord of Knowledge openly… by pretending to be a transmigrator.”

Dorothy narrowed her eyes at Hyperion, who answered frankly.

“Exactly. Pretending to be a transmigrator. But I must correct one thing—the one who proposed this plan wasn’t me. It was you.”

“Me…?”

Dorothy blinked in surprise. Hyperion explained.

“Yes. It seems I must clarify: After the Supreme Pillar split off ‘you,’ you weren’t born as a blank infant without will. Instead, you and I—with my fully restored soul—traveled to the outermost edge of our universe and planned how to achieve apotheosis under the eyes of Chaos’s agent…

“In the end, ‘you’ were the one who proposed the transmigrator disguise.”

Hyperion looked at Dorothy seriously. The plan to masquerade as a transmigrator had been devised by none other than Dorothy herself—before she had even truly entered the world.

Because all thought concealment would ultimately fail, the only viable strategy was to forgo concealment entirely and meet Lord of Knowledge head-on, using an elaborate disguise.

Dorothy chose a random mundane being from another world, copied their memories into herself.

She then gathered additional powers and built a “System”—a must-have for any transmigrator. Once that was complete, she sealed away both the copied memories and the system, completely erasing her original memories—her identity as part of the Supreme Pillar, and her connection to Hyperion.

In the end, with a clean slate, Dorothy entered the universe at the appointed time, to be born from Selene.

There were two advantages to being born from Selene: first, it was the most covert possible entry into this world, guaranteed not to alert anyone. Second, once discovered by the Lord of Knowledge, she could pose as a simple transmigrator…

From the perspective of this cycle's Lord of Knowledge, Osiris had, in the final moment, cast the fate of the transmigrator into the divinity of Shadow. Therefore, any future transmigrator could only be the Lord of Shadow or the heir to the Lord of Shadow.

Thanks to Manitou’s efforts, Hyperion—the true transmigrator who would one day become the Lord of Shadow—was never detected by the Lord of Knowledge. Since Hyperion had walked the Lantern Path and his power never fully recovered, the Lord of Knowledge never realized his true identity.

Thus, from the Lord of Knowledge’s viewpoint, no transmigrator had ever appeared. It had always kept its focus on the Lord of Shadow and her descendants, hoping to mark and monitor the transmigrator the moment they arrived.

Dorothy, born from Selene, inherited the identity of the Lord of Shadow’s descendant and grew up alone. At a certain turning point, the sealed memories and the system belonging to the one from beyond this world were unsealed. In her ignorance, Dorothy truly believed herself to be a transmigrator. When the Lord of Knowledge came to investigate and confirmed her memories, system, and divine heritage, it naturally concluded that she was the transmigrator it had long been searching for. Believing it had discovered the transmigrator at last, it immediately began “planting mines,” setting up contingencies from the first moment she “arrived.”

In this way, from the Lord of Knowledge’s perspective, the long-awaited transmigrator had finally descended after seven thousand years.

Dorothy’s arrival as a false transmigrator caused the Lord of Knowledge to fully abandon any remaining suspicion toward Hyperion—the real transmigrator—thus shielding the traces of Hyperion’s manipulations and preserving the overarching plan.

Once the Lord of Knowledge accepted Dorothy as the transmigrator, anything extraordinary she achieved afterward would not arouse suspicion. With a destiny and system in place, even if she eventually ascended to godhood, it would not be surprising. Many such cases had played out in past cycles. On the contrary, it was truly powerful natives that raised red flags—Hyperion being an exception only because the Lord of Knowledge believed him to be secretly cultivated under His own guidance.

If Dorothy had not had the transmigrator persona as cover, any outstanding achievement would’ve brought her intense scrutiny. Even if nothing incriminating were found, the Lord of Knowledge would treat her with utmost caution. When the time came for her to face off against the Infant God, the Lord of Knowledge would almost certainly support the Infant God—whose origins were clear—instead of the highly suspicious native, Dorothy.

Had the Lord of Knowledge aided the Infant God wholeheartedly, rather than sitting back and watching Dorothy and the Infant God compete, Dorothy would have had almost no chance of victory. It was precisely because both contenders seemed to fall within His expectations that the Lord of Knowledge allowed them to compete fairly—intending to pick the strongest for His final plan.

Once He confirmed Dorothy as the “transmigrator” and set His contingencies in place, the greatest source of anxiety in this cycle—the whereabouts of the transmigrator—was erased. With no remaining doubts, the Lord of Knowledge could fully devote Himself to accelerating the birth of chaos.

And the secret Selene guarded… was not that Dorothy was a transmigrator, but rather the truth behind the Eclipse Ritual, the truth of Hyperion, and the deeper secret—that Dorothy was not a transmigrator, but a fragment of the Supreme beyond. Thanks to her discretion, even if Hyperion’s grand performance hadn’t been flawless, it was enough to avoid detection.

What the Lord of Knowledge didn’t realize was that in choosing Dorothy as the vessel for His revival, and aiding her in reclaiming His former godhood, He had already doomed Himself. For once Dorothy became a Primordial God, the Lord of Knowledge would reawaken within her body—but Dorothy would then reconnect with her true self beyond the universe: the waiting Supreme Pillar.

Through Dorothy, the Supreme Pillar would be able to channel divine power across the entire universe. Empowered by Pillar authority, Dorothy could effortlessly suppress the Lord of Knowledge’s will, surgically excising the Egg of Chaos from the universe. And because Lord of Knowledge was intimately linked with chaos, His body would serve as the perfect medium for that surgical operation.

However, to make all of this possible, Dorothy had to ascend through her own strength—rising step by step from the mortal realm, overcoming all obstacles, and ultimately defeating the Infant God to ascend to the Throne of Revelation. Otherwise, the Lord of Knowledge would never have selected her as His vessel.

If Dorothy made a fatal mistake at any point—if she perished or her mystic path was broken—then the entire universe would fall with her. The Lord of Knowledge would choose the Infant God as His vessel instead, accelerating the hatching of the Egg of Chaos. And the Pillar, waiting beyond the universe, upon detecting Dorothy’s failure, would immediately summon the other two Pillars and destroy the entire universe in an instant—before the Egg of Chaos could hatch.

So in the end, even though Dorothy was a fragment of the Supreme Pillar, she was not the fated salvation granted by the Pillar to this universe. Because of the Egg of Chaos’s influence, even the Pillars themselves could not interfere with this universe’s internal fate.

At the core of it—Dorothy was a variable. Just like the original intent behind the transmigrator ritual, she was a wildcard summoned from beyond.

“…Hah. I see.”

After listening to all this from Hyperion, Selene let out a quiet sigh and continued.

“In that case, even if Little Dorothea were to fail, the Lord of Knowledge still wouldn’t become the God of Chaos. His goal would be unattainable either way—either we succeed, or the universe is destroyed. There is no path in which He wins...

“Ever since you, Father, succeeded in escaping the universe, the Lord of Knowledge’s plan was already doomed.”

“That’s mostly true… but I do need to correct one thing.”

Hyperion replied as he took another sip of tea. After putting down his cup, he continued.

“The Lord of Knowledge’s plan didn’t just become impossible after the Eclipse Ritual—it was never possible to begin with! From the start, there was never going to be any such thing as a ‘God of Chaos’!

“Chaos is chaos… Its very essence is absolute turbidity and disorder, blind and delusional. Chaos possesses no will—and no will can control it. The idea of imposing one’s will upon chaos, of becoming a ‘God of Chaos,’ is nothing but a delusional fantasy. The only outcome for such arrogance is to be completely consumed by chaos—body, soul, and will alike. Within its murk, there is no such thing as self.

“So from the very beginning, the Lord of Knowledge was just a self-righteous clown—one driven to madness by the essence of the Egg of Chaos. He believed that He would eventually master chaos and ascend as the Chaos God… but even if His plan went off without a hitch, His fate was always the same: total absorption.

“The so-called ‘God of Chaos’… is, at the end of the day, nothing more than Chaos’s slave.”