"Eh?"

The little one blinked in confusion, tugging at Edward's clothes. "Edward, you're not giving it to me?"

"Doesn't Lilith want to be self-reliant and earn her own money? You're supposed to be a strong, independent woman of the new age!"

"I do! But Miss Lilith doesn't know how~"

Edward tapped her forehead lightly. "Then for the next few days, while you're acting as a Witch, try to earn some money for yourself."

Lilith scrunched up her face in frustration, starting to sulk.

——

Half an hour later—

Phoenix sliced through the air and landed with a whoosh. "I found it."

Edward immediately jumped up from the sofa. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. It's another ruin, and its style is almost identical to the last one. There's also a similar lingering aura."

"Take me there."

Phoenix hesitated. "But…as soon as I entered the ruin, I sensed something dangerous hiding in the shadows."

Dangerous?

Was it the Book of Calamity, the one that caused people to lose control and climb into their own stomachs? Or was it the undying Queen of Calamity, the elf Cohinem?

Whichever it was, Edward figured as long as he was careful, it wouldn't be a big issue.

"Take me there."

"Alright."

———

City of Silver, the Berg household.

Derrick opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

Though everything was quiet around him, he could feel it—someone was secretly watching.

Still, he had no regrets about exposing the corruption among a few team members. Everything he did was for the City of Silver. He had a clear conscience.

What confused him, however, was that the Chief hadn't ordered him to be imprisoned beneath the Round Tower. Derrick had even prepared for the possibility of going silent for a while—avoiding contact and skipping the Tarot Club to avoid Amon's attention.

——

Round Tower, Chief's office.

The silver-haired, scar-faced Colin Iliad sat in silence, his eyes thoughtful.

Before long, a knock came at the door. Lovia was escorted in by a "Shadow Monitor."

"Chief, Elder Lovia has arrived."

"Good. You may return to watching Derrick."

With a casual wave, Chief Colin gestured to the seat across from him. "Please, sit, Elder Lovia."

"You wanted to see me, Chief?"

Lovia sat down calmly, her face unreadable, though inwardly, she was a little puzzled—by the rules, she should still be under confinement for some time.

"What do you think of Derrick Berg?" Colin asked bluntly.

"…"

Lovia opened her mouth, then closed it again, saying nothing.

After a while, she shook her head and said, "I don't know. But…I believe he carries hope for saving the City of Silver."

Colin silently placed something in front of her—a segmented worm the size of a finger, twelve segments in total.

"Do you recognise this?"

"This…I think I've seen it in a book."

"This is a Worm of Time," Colin said gravely. "According to records, it originates from an ancient being—the Angel of Time, Amon. It fell from Derrick's body after he collapsed into madness a few days ago."

Lovia froze. "You mean…Derrick was parasitised by the Angel of Time? Or secretly worshipped him?" She quickly shook her head. "No…that's impossible."

"I don't think so either. Then what do you think explains the appearance of this worm?"

Lovia sank into thought. After a long silence, she spoke softly, "It's a warning."

"Oh? Go on."

"Someone is warning us…that a fragment, or avatar, of the Angel of Time has hidden itself within the City of Silver."

Colin nodded. "That's my guess as well."

"Then the remaining questions are—who's warning us? Why are they warning us? Why would the Angel of Time hide in the City of Silver? And…"

Suddenly, he looked straight into Lovia's eyes and asked, "Which existence do you believe in?"

Lovia: "…"

———

In the dark and dim underground ruins—

Edward stepped out of the spirit world with Phoenix and entered a massive, empty palace ruin.

What greeted them were withered vines draping over decayed wooden structures. In some spots, engraved tablets could be seen peeking through. The air was thick and still, as if no one had been here for a very, very long time.

Fallen columns and crumbled walls littered the floor in disarray. And at the centre of this ruin…stood a towering, ancient tree.

The very next second, a sharp, almost imperceptible prickling sensation spread across Edward's exposed skin. This had to be the hidden danger Phoenix mentioned.

Ding.

Edward flipped a coin into the air.

"Staying here continues to be dangerous."

The coin landed with the number side up—negative response.

With a sweep of his wand, he transfigured dozens of surrounding stones into hanging lanterns. One after another, they suspended themselves in midair, lighting up the dark ruins in an instant.

Compared to the elven ruin where Sea Serpent Kalvetua had once dwelled, this place was much better preserved. The collapsed structures here had all fallen due to the slow corrosion of time, not by the violent destruction Kalvetua had left behind in the previous ruin.

Because of this, the murals remained clearly visible. Though faded, they depicted a storm-shrouded man towering above his enemies, holding a spear formed entirely of lightning. The background showed an ocean engulfing everything.

Beside him in many scenes stood a tall, dignified elven woman. Compared to the man's imposing and powerful presence, she gave off a gentler aura—always standing at his side.

That tall elven woman was most likely the Queen of Calamity—Cohinem.

Back in the Third Epoch, the elves were among the rulers of this world. But now, they were nearly extinct. Even the once-mighty Elf King had been replaced, and the Elven Queen was reduced to a mere wisp of a soul, waiting in slumber for the Western Continent to be opened.

At that moment, Edward raised his right hand.

"Accio Book of Calamity!"

Clack, clack, clack—

The rubble beneath the ancient tree began to tremble, and with a whoosh, a yellow-brown blur shot out from the debris and flew toward Edward.

Yet, just as it reached about a meter in front of him, it abruptly halted—caught midair by his Invisible Hand.

Just in case, Edward decided it was better not to touch it directly.

The object was a volume bound in yellow-brown parchment. On its cover was a line of elvish script—exactly the same words Edward had seen during his previous divination.

"Heh, that was almost too easy."

Controlling it with his Invisible Hand, Edward opened the Book of Calamity.

Half a minute later, he silently closed it again—

Hah! Not a single word made sense!

After thinking for a moment, Edward conjured a stick in his hand and lightly poked the Book of Calamity.

"Hey, anyone home?"

Poke.

"Oh great Queen of Calamity?"

"Your Highness, the unparalleled Cohinem?"

"You in there?"

Lilith asked curiously, "Edward, what are you doing?"

Phoenix landed on a broken column at a distance, clearly trying not to get caught in the fallout if lightning struck. "I think…he's doing something really dangerous."

Edward shrugged. "Actually, I'm just testing if this book is dangerous."

Saying that, he poked it again. "Don't hide in there pretending you're not home. I know you're in there. You're bold enough to steal a man—cough, cough—so don't be shy now. No one hiding in there?"

When the Book of Calamity still didn't respond, Edward began to mutter, "Could it be…it hasn't awakened yet?"

"So this book is basically useless? Should I just hand it over to the True Creator and maybe trade it for something…"

Before he could finish the thought, his vision abruptly blurred.

A resplendent coral palace appeared before his eyes.

Lilith and Phoenix vanished without a trace.

Above the palace swirled layers of deep blue ocean water. Massive pillars held up an extravagant domed ceiling—grand and majestic, yet shrouded in a cold, oppressive gloom.

Edward flipped a coin.

Seeing that nothing seemed dangerous, he stepped into the coral palace.

Inside, he saw elves going about their lives—some grilled fish over open flames, some seasoned blocks of congealed animal blood with spices, while others lifted food to their mouths with two thin sticks. Not one of them seemed to care that a stranger had walked in.

At the very back, atop a flight of coral stairs, stood a throne inlaid with sapphires, emeralds, and lustrous pearls.

Seated upon it was a tall, elegant elven woman dressed in an ornate and ancient gown. Her appearance matched almost perfectly the murals in the ruins.

She was the Queen of Calamity—Cohinem.

Right now, her expression was complex as she looked down at Edward. Her voice was cold, "You've seen me now. You may leave."

Her reaction threw Edward off.

The truth was, poking the Book of Calamity hadn't been about actually wanting to meet the queen—it really had just been to test whether the book was dangerous.

But this reaction…why did it feel so strange?

Wait a second…!

That expression—he'd seen it before.

On the face of Miss Exeggutor, Reinette Tinekerr!

"Your Highness Cohinem," Edward said slowly, "you seem…rather reluctant to meet me?"

The Queen of Calamity responded coldly, "I am waiting for someone—someone worthy of inheriting my legacy. Someone who can carry me to the Western Continent. You…clearly are not that person."

Edward replied, "But whether it's the Sea Serpent's Beyonder characteristic or this Book of Calamity, they've all ended up in my hands. Whatever you want to do, you can't bypass me."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you want?"

"What can you offer me?"

Cohinem closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her voice was quieter.

"Carrying the Book of Calamity allows you to temporarily suppress the negative effects of that sceptre. But once the suppression ends, the backlash will double."

"You even know about the Seagod's Sceptre?"

"Hmph. One of the Beyonder characteristics inside that sceptre originally belonged to me."

Edward nodded thoughtfully. "Then what about the side effects of carrying the Book of Calamity itself?"

She let out a cold laugh. "The longer you carry it, the more it pollutes you. Eventually, you'll lose control."

Pollution, huh? I'm not afraid of that.

"Besides that…the book doesn't contain any Beyonder abilities?"

"No."

"So it's only useful as a material for advancing to Sequence 2 on the Sailor pathway?"

Cohinem: "…"

Edward tapped his chest lightly. "Your Excellency Cohinem, I believe I have potential. If you're willing to invest in me now—give me some benefits—once I grow stronger, I'll be sure to repay the elves in full. Maybe even help them survive the apocalypse."

"Apocalypse?"

Cohinem looked deeply into Edward's eyes. "Are you referring…to yourself?"

"…What?"

The next instant, everything around him vanished.

Edward was back in the ruined elven palace.

"Edward?" Lilith's voice rang out, "Why did you suddenly zone out?"

"How long was I out?"

"A few seconds, I think."

Edward nodded. It seemed the Queen of Calamity really did have some tricks up her sleeve.

But seriously…she's just like all those big shots—always speaking in riddles.

The apocalypse? Me?

She thinks the apocalypse is related to me?

But wasn't the apocalypse in the world of Mysteries supposed to be caused by Outer Gods? If she's saying I am the apocalypse, does that mean I am an Outer God?

I mean, sure, Cuttlefish did say once that a reader transmigrating into this world would basically count as an Outer God…

But come on, he's just a novelist. What the hell would he know about the real Lord of the Mysteries?

"There's nothing valuable left here. Let's go."

———

[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps me motivated.