Super Righteous Player
Chapter 707 - 248

Chapter 707: 248

If Annan hadn’t heard the greatest secret about the Lady of Silence, the Lady of Mystery, and the Goddess of Cup from the Sacrificial Saint—Henry Walden, "the one opposed to himself," he might indeed have had some difficulty unraveling this nightmare.

However, Annan just happened to know this secret.

—The Lady of Mystery was once the daughter "Sibyl" was about to give birth to, the one she sacrificed to "the Night," along with her womb.

It was because of this sacrificial ritual that the Lady of Mystery, the god of rituals, was born... It was also because "the Night" imparted some of its power to the Lady of Mystery that it was demoted from "the Night" to a god.

This event occurred in an era before the birth of mountains, rivers, and streams.

Sibyl, as the first flesh-and-blood being in this world, was only able to establish "the path of blood and desire" on earth after completing the sacrifice. Only after that did new life begin to be born.

And the secret described here, "the Genesis Secret," falls on the timeline after the secret regarding "Winter."

—The term "Winter" originated before the creation of the four seasons, even before the birth of light and fire. It was first used to describe the tranquility of the earth at its inception, like the silence of a dying old man; and the "earth’s" hatred for all that was to perish but had not yet passed away.

This earth refers to the bone-burying old woman at the beginning of creation. And the "Night" without light and fire, the tranquility like that of a dying old man, naturally refers to "the Night."

Because there was no light and fire, there was no distinction between day and night. The lightless firmament was precisely what was referred to as "the Night."

This is why only rituals for the bone-burying old woman and the Lady of Silence are effective here. And why the response of the bone-burying old woman is so swift...

"Because here, the proper name for the bone-burying old woman is... [the Earth]."

—If there is day, there will definitely be night; if there is earth, there must also be heaven.

"Elle" stood in the pure, warm darkness, looking at the three spinning runes, and calmly said,

"We have to start from the very beginning. Elle, you must be able to sense it yourself that this world was created with you and the Angel of Skeletons at its core, with everyone else’s ’desires’ as a supplement.

"Then you should be able to figure out for yourself why this world is caught in an infinite cycle, staying on this day."

[...Is it because I’m afraid that mother will come home, and also because I want to see such a cheerful Amos?]

Without time to think, Elle replied in the depths of Annan’s heart.

The girl’s voice was full of guilt and hesitation.

Clearly, she had already pondered over this matter herself.

[If it weren’t for me...]

"—You’re wrong, Elle. What you fear is not this."

Annan declared.

His pupils sparkled with a faint light in the pure darkness.

It was the light of [Understanding].

"Elle" fell silent for a while, then sighed.

She spoke softly, "Perhaps even you have forgotten... You are not Elle Morrison, nor are you Eirelle Backer. You are Elle Angelo.

"Your real name is... Angelo."

—Elle had already passed away long ago.

"Joseph told me that Angelo was sealed in Frostwater Harbor. And the Gallery Nightmare is what’s left behind after the ’Transcendent child’ Angelo passed away. Elle is just a spiteful ghost that has repeated the same tragedy 1,834 times."

"From the very beginning, you were the daughter of the Angel of Skeletons."

Elle was just a mortal.

After her death, there was no spiritual body— it’s only the Transcendents of the bronze tier who possess a smoky spirit, the silver-tier Transcendents who can turn their condensed spirits into liquid droplets, and the gold-tier ones capable of having a crystalline solid spirit.

Even a demon cannot extract a "tangible" spirit from a mortal’s body.

The reason why the Angel of Skeletons could retain Elle’s spirit was that when she was still alive... Amos had traded her to the Angel of Skeletons, and it was through absorbing the curses from the Gallery Nightmare that Elle’s Spiritual Body finally took shape.

So here’s the question.

Since the formation of the Gallery had nothing to do with Elle... what then was the relationship between Angelo and Elle?

A memory, not yet yellowed with age, flashed before Annan’s eyes.

It was when "Angelo," as a flesh-and-blood orb, instantly transformed into an infant girl weighing seven or eight pounds.

"—How should I address you?"

At that time, Annan softly inquired, "Angel of Skeletons? Angelo? Or... Elle?"

"—You can call me Elle... Annan. This is the privilege I grant you, seeing as you stayed with me until the end, watching over my birth."

The voice of a young girl came from the infant before Annan, "And my true name is Angelo.

"—The Betraying Angel... The daughter of the Angel of Skeletons, Angelo."

The one who had made the sacred pact with Annan was that deceased Elle... or rather, the newly born "Angelo".

And this innocent girl, who knew nothing...

She merely thought she was "Elle," who was Angelo.

Just like the artificial human who thought he was "Nicholas II," with the memories of Nicholas.

"...Clearly, you have forgotten that pain. But I must help you remember it."

Elle recounted.

Yet in the depths of Annan’s heart, the real Elle remained silent.

She gave no response, as if she had disappeared.

Annan simply kept talking to himself, "As long as it’s confirmed that you are Angelo and not Elle... another fact emerges.

"Why does the Ritualist need you as the divine half? Why can you help him complete the truth of betrayal? What is the purpose of your existence?"

The Ritualist was a genius.

His ability to detect the flaws in the sublimation ritual and to create a new ritual that did not require the "Prototype of Truth" as an essential step already proved his talent.

So, the reason for Elle’s existence...

"Perhaps you do not know, the mystery lady is the Goddess of Cup’s own daughter."

Annan suddenly said.

[...What?]

This major revelation made Elle herself unable to suppress her astonishment; she couldn’t hold back any longer.

"Yes. The mystery lady is the unborn daughter of the Goddess of Cup, who offered her own daughter, along with her womb, to the night, gaining the power of the [Chalice]. The night, in turn, shared half of its power with the unborn child, granting her existence, bestowing upon her truth...

"...and the night is none other than the Lady of Silence."

——What exactly is this so-called divine half?

As of now.

The truth has come to light.

"What you fear is not your mother. Or rather, not ’Elle’s’ mother, ’Lady Clara.’ It is the ’mother’ of[you] — your creator, the Ritualist.

"As soon as the Ritualist returns, you will be offered as a sacrifice to the night. To become the world’s ’mystery lady’, to complete the entire world... and to remain in this world forever.

"And the Ritualist will attain a fleshly body through the power of ’the chalice,’ freeing himself from the despised form of the undead."

——It is an inevitable path.

Having forsaken the truth of "bones," the Ritualist, now devoid of the power of "bones" to sustain his existence, must regain a physical body to exist in this world.

And he always hated the undead... at the very beginning, it was only to prevent the tragedy from repeating that he transformed himself into an undead.

"That suit of white armor... is the testimony of a former holy knight."

Annan recounted, "That’s why the Ritualist always wore it."

This nightmare, in essence, is identical in structure to the Sporogenesis Mill.

"Spider" Glover and "Little Bear" Alice each control half of the nightmare’s special qualities. Alice does her utmost, trying to use the power of the "Phantom Dream" to keep the purifiers away from the "Web," yet she is utterly powerless...

In this nightmare, however, the one who wields control is "Elle," or rather... Angelo.

As long as she doesn’t wish it, this nightmare will never see a new day;

Consequently, the real Ritualist would never return.

But this also means that the nightmare will keep repeating on this very day.

And the part that the Ritualist is responsible for... is "everybody fulfilling their duties diligently, living peacefully in their own lifestyle."

Just like the dominion he once ruled over in the mortal realm — the Eternal Principality.

However, the difference is that...

The Ritualist, does not wish for them to die so easily.

"That is... a god full of hatred for the mortal world. A duke betrayed by everyone and who himself betrayed his subjects."

Annan murmured softly, "Merely [remembered] by all, yet meaningless... the ’Unforgotten Item.’

Its name is——

The Eternal Duke.