Chapter 55: The Genesis

“The Withered King’s… flame.”

Ewan instinctively glanced at his wrist.

Ordinarily, there was no sign of it, but when faint tendrils of fire ignited in his pupils, he could clearly discern the fingerprint-like marks extending from his sleeve.

It was the mark the Withered King had left on him.

While this power wasn’t a mere gift, but a ‘Divine Favor’ obtained by the Black Book through an exchange of vital information, Ewan still harbored reservations about it.

After all, it belonged to an evil god.

Yet, he had to admit, the power of a Divine Favor recipient was formidable.

Its sheer might was evident in Anna and Celicia; if he wished to gain power swiftly, this was undoubtedly the shortest path.

“Actually, my initial reason for studying magic was to separate myself from this power.”

Ewan forced a bitter smile. “But I never imagined I’d still reach the point of accepting it, did I?”

“Haven’t I told you? Power itself is neither good nor evil. What truly matters is the one who wields it, and that holds true even for the power of an evil god.”

As Mera spoke, she gently flicked a finger, and a delicate flower floated up, settling into her palm.

She softly caressed the blossom, coaxing it to bloom even more vibrantly, then crushed it in her hand.

“So, if one day you grow dissatisfied with this power, and turn to the Withered King to demand more…”

At that moment, a chilling sensation enveloped him.

Ewan’s vision was abruptly stained crimson, and countless blooming flowers seemed to transform into blades dripping with blood.

Mera stared at him with an unruffled expression, yet Ewan felt his death premonition buzzing frantically.

“I will personally kill you.”

The sanguine hue vanished, and the flower sea swayed, breathtakingly beautiful.

It was as if everything had been an illusion.

However, the sweat-drenched feeling on his back made Ewan realize that should he truly embrace the Withered King, Mera would undoubtedly slay her newly accepted disciple without hesitation.

“I won’t.”

Ewan wiped away a bead of cold sweat, speaking earnestly. “Don’t I have Teacher Mera now?”

“…” Mera paused, slightly taken aback, then chuckled softly. “It seems the rumors weren’t false after all?”

“Huh?”

“Nothing. Do you have any other questions about the weapons? Time is short, so ask quickly.”

“Questions?”

Ewan wielded the short blades, sensing that with their enhancement, his dagger combat technique, which had long stagnated, showed signs of advancing to a higher level.

“I don’t have many questions, but are there any precautions for my regular use, Teacher Mera? Like how often they need maintenance?”

“Weapons with living spirits generally possess self-repair and cleaning abilities. So you needn’t worry. As for precautions…”

Mera pondered casually. “Aside from it being best not to brandish them carelessly in front of people from the Church of Life, there shouldn’t be any other issues.”

“Oh, I see. Then I definitely won’t… Wait, what?”

Ewan reacted, widening his eyes as he asked, “What do you mean I can’t brandish them in front of the Church of Life? Is there something about these two weapons they shouldn’t see?”

Ewan was somewhat flustered. After all, it was *that* church; provoking them would invite immense trouble.

“It’s nothing much.”

Mera shrugged indifferently. “It’s just that the material for these two blades was a Holy Sword from the Church of Life. It wouldn’t do for those petty believers to see them.”

“Oh, I see. So it was just a Holy Sword melted down and reforged into short blades, which doesn’t sound like… doesn’t sound like nothing at all!”

Ewan roared in horror. “Which Holy Sword? Teacher Mera, you’re not going to tell me it was one of the five Holy Swords of the Church of Life, are you?”

“Five? Wasn’t it seven?”

Mera looked somewhat confused. “Did they lose two more while I was sleeping? Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. There are only four left now, aren’t there?”

“It really was *that* Holy Sword, wasn’t it?”

Ewan’s hand trembled slightly as he gripped the blades. “Wh-why would you do that? Wouldn’t it have been better to just use it directly?”

Every man, Ewan believed, harbored a hero’s dream of wielding a Holy Sword to slay demons. If he could use a Holy Sword, it wouldn’t be impossible for him to resume practicing swordsmanship.

But he never expected Teacher Mera to play such a grand game, directly refining a Holy Sword!

If the Church of Life found out, Teacher Mera, as a top-tier powerhouse, might be fine. But he, Ewan, would surely be tied to a cross and burned alive!

“I couldn’t help it. The Holy Sword had the church’s imprint on it, which was troublesome to break. So I simply melted it all down together.”

Mera spoke with the casual air of someone who found a vault lock too difficult to pick, so they just smashed the entire vault instead.

“…”

“Calm down, calm down. It’s not as terrifying as you imagine.”

Seeing Ewan still looking foolishly stunned, Mera continued to reassure him. “After all, I’ve refined it to this state. Unless you’re unlucky enough to bump into an Arch-Bishop level expert, it won’t be easy for them to discover anything amiss.”

“…What if I’m really that unlucky?”

He might not fear much else, but when it came to bad luck, Ewan feared no one.

Perhaps he’d just be about to strut out, brandishing the two blades, only to stumble upon a group of Arch-Bishops from the Church of Life holding a team-building event.

“In that case…”

Mera thought for a moment. “You could try to resist with all your might.”

“Oh? Does that mean Teacher Mera has a contingency plan?” Ewan’s eyes lit up.

“No.”

Mera replied seriously. “It just means you’ll die with more dignity.”

“…”

****

“Alright, our pleasant chat time has come to an end. Shall we get to the main topic?”

Mera stretched languidly, her small face growing considerably more serious. She looked at Ewan and asked, “Do you know the essence of deities?”

“The essence of deities?”

Ewan was taken aback, never expecting Teacher Mera to delve into such profound matters right away.

But…

“Deities… aren’t they just deities?”

Ewan recalled the original book, realizing that its descriptions of deities were quite vague and unclear.

This annoyed Ewan somewhat.

Indeed, one should never read only half a novel; at least, it should be finished. Otherwise, if he ever truly transmigrated into the book’s world, he wouldn’t even know such important settings.

“So-called deities are…”

Mera was about to explain but suddenly froze. She tapped her head and stuck out her tongue. “Oh, I almost forgot. I am one of the seven who signed the Original Silence Pact. This is something I cannot speak of.”

“Huh?”

Ewan was stunned, then looked at the white-haired old loli, who was maliciously acting cute, and indignantly said, “Teacher Mera! Do you know the two types of people I detest the most?”

“Hm?”

“One is people who speak in riddles, and the other…”

“The other?” Mera tilted her head, awaiting the continuation.

“…”

****

“Alright, back to the main topic.”

Mera expressionlessly retracted her small fist, looking at Ewan, who was writhing on the ground like a grub, clutching his abdomen. She asked, “You’ve been here for so long, have you noticed anything different from before?”

“Different?”

Ewan, arching like a grub from Teacher Mera’s loli-fist, struggled to lift his head and look around.

The sky, whether real or not, remained azure, and the breeze blowing from afar was still fresh and pleasant. If there was any difference…

“The flowers.”

Ewan stated, “It’s the flowers. Their color is different now compared to when I first arrived.”

When Ewan had first entered, the flowers in the sea of blossoms were multicolored. But now, all the flowers in his line of sight were uniformly pure white.

“Correct, the flowers are different.”

Mera nodded, acknowledging Ewan’s perceptiveness, then asked, “Do you know why they’re different?”

“Because…”

Ewan thought for a moment. “The flowers change color?”

“A good thought, but that’s not the reason. The flowers are different because they are genuinely different flowers.”

“What do you mean?” Ewan felt a little dizzy from Teacher Mera’s convoluted explanation.

Mera didn’t answer. Instead, under Ewan’s puzzled gaze, she picked up her watering can again and watered the flowers.

Nourished by the water, the flowers became even more vibrant and lush, and their branches and leaves seemed to stand taller.

No, it wasn’t ‘seemed’.

Before Ewan’s horrified eyes, all the flowers centered around Teacher Mera bloomed and unfurled at a visible speed. Then, after a moment of splendor, they withered rapidly.

The sea of flowers vanished, transforming into barren land.

Then, from the bare, dark soil, new sprouts quickly emerged.

They budded, branched, leafed out, and bloomed into flowers.

Vibrant red filled Ewan’s entire vision.

Then, they withered again.

“Pity, I still can’t grow the pink I want.”

Mera sighed softly, then looked at Ewan. “Did you discover anything?”

“This is…”

Ewan was still in a daze, but having confronted an evil god directly, he quickly recovered. “Time?”

“Your comprehension is good. This is the power of time.”

Mera explained, “While I cannot tell you what exactly a deity is, there is one thing you can know: among the many authorities possessed by the gods, time and space are uniquely absent.

This means that, in a sense, the laws of time and space are masterless.”

“Masterless?”

Ewan couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

From Teacher Mera’s tone, it sounded as if these two laws, which even deities couldn’t control, were somehow manageable.

“So—

Now, open your eyes wide and observe, my dear disciple.

Behold my life’s work, your teacher’s masterpiece!”

Mera spread her arms as if to embrace something, her white hair swaying without a breeze.

The ground suddenly trembled, as if undergoing a momentous geological shift. The black earth beneath their feet rapidly vanished, revealing a colossal mechanical structure hidden beneath the soil, emanating a brutal beauty.

Tens of thousands of massive gears meshed together, striking out brilliant sparks.

Millions of mechanical components operated with intricate precision, driven by immense magical power.

It was as if a planet, composed purely of machinery and gears, had appeared beneath their feet. At this moment, Ewan couldn’t help but tremble at his own insignificance, even forgetting to breathe.

It seemed that before this monstrously beautiful ultimate creation, all things in the world, even fundamental laws… could be rewritten!

“Look!”

Standing at the very center of it all, the white-haired loli girl shouted with fervent enthusiasm.

Behind her, the faint outline of a gigantic clock emerged, its hands shifting, meticulously counting the passage of vast stretches of time.

“This is the pinnacle of alchemy and magic.

The fusion of idealism and materialism.

A magnum opus spanning a thousand years of painstaking effort.

The true core of the Grand Arcanum.

A supreme creation that would make even deities tremble.

An artificial authority.

—The Eternal Clock.”