946 A Bestowment Or A Curse (1/2)

The ice-cold potion slid down his throat, bringing Klein numbness, one that reached deep into his soul.

He had already stopped dancing. His mind seemed to be lifted as though he was high in the air, looking down at the ruined Revival Square, at Cookawa City which had been left in shambles by the repeated lightning strikes.

At this moment, he felt his emotions rouse up for some baffling reason as all the pedestrians below seemed to be connected to him by some invisible threads. They could be happy, angry, or sad, making all kinds of actions based on his directions.

Klein often had such feelings recently. He knew that this was the vision of a ”director.” By viewing all participants as marionettes or actors, he attempted to control or guide them into putting on a grand performance.

Using that hint of familiarity, Klein hurriedly adjusted his state of mind, completely separating his emotions from it, and viewing everything in a cold, aloof manner, so as to prevent himself from being affected by the play.

As a ”director,” he followed the script, referred to reality, and rationally made an analysis to choose according to the circumstances. He allowed emotions to build up, allowing himself to push matters forward and use the clues that had developed.

Once his state of mind settled, he felt the potion's power spread across his body, like a sharp threaded net.

Suddenly, Klein felt that his Soul Body was connected to his physical body. They were split into countless parts, and without being able to hold it in any longer, he let out a cry from deep within his soul.

”No!”

His thoughts were diced apart, turning into fragments as they fused with different pieces of flesh as he gained his own sentience.

These included Klein with pain, Klein with arrogance, Klein with coldness, Klein with gentleness, Klein who could amusement himself, as well as Zhou Mingrui, Sherlock Moriarty, Gehrman Sparrow, and Dwayne Dantès!

His entire Spirit Body seemed to be thrown into a grinding machine.

Not far away, Leonard, whose cheeks were streaming with unconscious tears, first saw Captain Dunn, who was embracing Daly Simone, transform back into Klein Moretti. Following that, he noticed his face, neck, and the back of his hands. Pale-colored tendrils protruded out as though they had a life of their own. They kept growing outwards, turning into a transparent maggot. And beneath his clothes, there were also signs of squirming.

This made Leonard have the feeling that Klein would collapse into a cluster of transparent maggots the next second as they raced in different directions!

Just as he wanted to do something, he felt dizzy. He instinctively closed his eyes and didn't dare to keep watching.

The transparent maggots that grew out of Klein's body shimmered under the sunlight, producing three-dimensional layers of mysterious symbols. They connected to higher and lower levels, directly presenting the abstract concepts of bizarreness, madness, change, strength, and wisdom.

Amidst howling cold winds, black illusory threads rose up around Klein as they bonded together, forming strange ”tentacles.”

The tentacles flailed as his Soul Body, Astral Projection, Body of Heart and Mind, and Ether Body were reduced to fragments as they fused with the different maggots that represented Klein's various thoughts, turmoil, and dilemmas. As they wafted between them gently, they seemed to fly up to an infinite height where there were countless illusions hugging huge distorted buildings. They were either playing wind instruments, giving speeches, growling, or raving.

Amidst Klein's countless chaotic senses, everything around him stacked together as though they turned into the spirit world. However, there were living people coming and going with the stars shining upon them.

At this moment, the fragments filled with thoughts had similar memories appear⁠—fresh memories:

It was of King of Angels Adam praying with his eyes closed. It was the scene of his shocking appearance;

It was him using Death Knell against Ince Zangwill as he pulled the trigger to blast open his head;

It was when he revealed his Clown's smile, saying in a deep voice, ”This shot is for Captain”;

It was when Spectator Adam used an extremely clear and innocent eye to take in the ending of the performance;

It was of him turning into Dunn Smith, inviting Daly Simone to dance the closing dance.

They were all so fresh on his mind, especially the gaze of a Spectator. There was a seemingly corporeal feedback that felt like a magnetic force. It made Klein gradually discover his sense of self-awareness once again.

I…

Who am I?

This was a question that Klein had an answer to when he was still a Faceless. He didn't need to think too much about it as he quickly understood his identity:

A person from Earth, a person who had been reconstructed from Klein's memory fragments;

A person whose experience as a Nighthawk deeply influenced him;

A person who played safe and was afraid of danger, but was able to persist and give up everything;

A guardian and a miserable wretch.

Strange sensory organs that didn't come from the Body of Heart and Mind or Soul Body were extracted bit by bit from the fragments, condensing Klein's new thoughts⁠—coldness, calmness, spectating, and overlooking. They were thoughts that allowed him to view the world from even more angles and dimensions.

He knew that this could possibly be godhood. Without putting up any resistance, he chained the original Spirit Body fragments with black threads, allowing him to slowly take form again.

At this moment, he realized the purpose of the advancement ritual.

It was a mark, an anchor. Compared to other pathways, the Bizarro Sorcerer, who experienced the fragmentation of their Soul Bodies, required an anchor much earlier!

However, this didn't require the support of any faith. On the contrary, faith was a numerous and jumbled affair with too many personal feelings involved. During the fragmentation during this ritual, it easily wiped away the humanity of the advancer who was only Sequence 5, leaving behind godhood.

A grand and profound performance under the watch of countless spectators was enough to make up this anchor!

Although the spectators were few in number, as the pinnacle existence of the Spectator pathway, Adam could match thousands of ordinary spectators. He could even imagine a theater of spectators to create the effect.

With his entire body taking form, all kinds of knowledge surged out from the depths of his demigod Spirit Body, embroiling Klein's mind and giving him an indescribable impact. It felt as though his brain was about to explode.

However, with some level of godhood and his rich experience, he could view this in a detached manner and rather easily pass through this stage.

The transparent maggots on his face, hands, neck, and beneath his clothes returned into his body, turning back into the black-haired, brown-eyed Klein Moretti.