Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability
Chapter Summary
Her colossal body rapidly collapsed inward toward Her abdomen, as though transforming into a nest or womb, reverting Herself to an embryonic state for rebirth. As the Mother Goddess of Depravity began to collapse and reset Herself, Lord of Mysteries Klein, in the astral world, abandoned the maintenance of the illusory barrier. Furthermore, the Mother Goddess of Depravity, having invoked the unique symbolism of the Chaos Primogenitor, was in a prolonged state of weakness that couldn't be recovere...
The Mother Goddess of Depravity, having broken free from Charm, began to change as soon as Lumian took hold of the Phoenix Egg.
Her colossal body rapidly collapsed inward toward Her abdomen, as though transforming into a nest or womb, reverting Herself to an embryonic state for rebirth.
This process would reset all symbols associated with Her, except those intrinsic to Her being, erasing external mystical correspondences.
Lumian would no longer be able to exploit the mystical law of similarity to equate himself with Her, thereby killing Her by killing himself.
Previously, the Mother Goddess of Depravity had refrained from using this method to rid Herself of symbolic influences for two reasons. First, She had just descended into the barrier by leveraging Her symbolic powers when she was immediately Fooled and Deceived by The Fool Klein using the core aggregation instinct of godhood. She was then guided into the grayish-white fog sealing the Western Continent. Her focus was on reclaiming the Brood Hive and She did not wish to reset Herself and lose useful symbolisms. Second, during the process of accommodating the Brood Hive, rebirth was impossible, as it would reset Her progress to zero.
As the Mother Goddess of Depravity began to collapse and reset Herself, Lord of Mysteries Klein, in the astral world, abandoned the maintenance of the illusory barrier. Listening to its creaks as it neared shattering, he raised his hands, revealing a massive door of light tinged with bluish-black hues deep within the shadows of his black trench coat.
Sefirah Castle!
Klein was now fully utilizing one of the core symbols of the Lord of Mysteries.
With a resounding clang, the Mother Goddess of Depravity's collapse and rebirth slowed noticeably. What would have been instantaneous now required two or three seconds to complete.
Change!
This was one of the core symbols of the Lord of Mysteries: control over change-slowing, accelerating, halting, or introducing errors into transformations. The Mother Goddess of Depravity's attempt to revert to an embryonic state and reset Her symbolisms fell under this domain.
Previously, Klein had not used the symbolism of Change to influence the Mother Goddess of Depravity's accommodation of the Brood Hive because doing so required full exertion of Sefirah Castle's power. At the time, he needed to maintain the barrier and contend with the other eight Great Old Dominators. Furthermore, the Mother Goddess of Depravity, having invoked the unique symbolism of the Chaos Primogenitor, was in a prolonged state of weakness that couldn't be recovered using New Life.
This made any influence over Her transformations significantly more effective.
With the Mother Goddess's collapse into an embryonic state delayed, Lumian-the Origins of Disaster-smiled brilliantly yet resolutely as he drove the massive black-flame sword, imbued with destruction and madness, into his own body. This act embodied the symbolism of disaster.
In an instant, flames of destruction erupted from within him, consuming his body, the consciousness of Cheek, Alista Tudor's consciousness, the divided halves of the mirrored Original Creator, the remnants of the Primordial God Almighty's spirit, the consciousness of the malevolent dragon, and even Lumian's own consciousness along with those of Aurore and Jenna.
Lumian's body began to collapse catastrophically, nearing its annihilation and return to chaos.
To bring disaster upon oneself and embrace destruction was the truest embodiment of the Origins of Disaster, the Calamity of Destruction.
Amidst the silent, roaring black flames, Lumian turned his head, exchanging smiles with Aurore and Jenna, both of whom bore expressions of pain.
He then looked back at the Mother Goddess of Depravity, his face twisted yet serene with delight.
He saw black flames, imbued with destruction and chaos, erupting within the crimson-glowing Mother Goddess. Her semi-collapsed colossal body crumbled layer by layer, ejecting various birthing organs that were swiftly reduced to ash in the enveloping Fire of Destruction.
Having ascended to become the Origins of Disaster, Lumian no longer required Mr. Fool's assistance to fully harness symbolic powers, especially those capable of bringing calamity!
The Mother Goddess, flawless in Her beauty – a concept that equaled beauty itself-threw Her head back slightly and let out a banshee-like scream filled with agony.
Many of the Kleins surrounding the area withered instantly, collapsing into death and returning to the embrace of Mother Earth.
The entire planet lost its vitality, the stars in the sky dimmed, and tremors reverberated throughout the boundless cosmos.
Reality quaked.
The accelerated collapse of Lumian's consciousness and body gained a boost from death and desolation, further amplifying his destruction. This, in turn, worsened the Mother Goddess of Depravity's collapse, leaving numerous remaining organs lifeless.
As the Mother Goddess of Depravity was reduced to a thin, womb-like shell surrounding Her colossal form, the black flames of chaos and destruction extinguished or could no longer penetrate deeper.
The Indestructible!
This was the Mother Goddess of Depravity's symbolism of Indestructibility. Her Indestructibility nature meant that, like the Primordial God Almighty and The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings, Her spirit would never be eradicated and would gradually recover over time, It also represented the indestructibility of Her soul and body.
The Mother Goddess of Depravity would never perish - unless She encountered the Original Creator, who could make the impossible happen, or the fourth Pillar symbolizing the end to everything was born, or She overextended the Chaos Primogenitor's unique symbolism.
Of course, Klein and Lumian had never aimed to truly kill the Mother Goddess of Depravity, aware of Her honorific title and Indestructibility as The Indestructible. Their plan had always been to severely wound Her and drive Her out of the astral barrier.
At this moment, the Mother Goddess of Depravity, having used the Chaos Primogenitor's symbolism and entered a prolonged state of weakness, slowed Her recovery from the influence of New Life. Simultaneously, Lumian's exploitation of symbolic correspondence and the calamity symbol had dealt Her a devastating blow, fully achieving the first stage of a Magician's performance plan.
The problem, however, was that the second stage could never be realized, as the astral barrier was no more.
Lord of Mysteries Klein remained calm and unaffected by disappointment. Raising his star-studded cane, he infused the bluish-black door of light's projection with his will.
His eyes reflected the image of the Mother Goddess of Depravity reduced to Her last organ and embryonic state.
Banishment and Sealing!
Previously, attempting to extract a Pillar in reality from the planet would have been nearly impossible. But now, with the Mother Goddess of Depravity severely wounded, an opportunity had emerged!
As starlight fell, the Mother Goddess of Depravity's distorted form changed.
She transformed into a colossal, ethereal oak tree, rooted deeply in reality, supporting the heavens, and intertwining Herself with the fabric of the real universe.
Pillar symbolism!
The Mother Goddess of Depravity invoked Her dominion over reality, embodying the symbolism of a Pillar.
The immense, incomprehensible oak tree trembled violently, yet remained firmly rooted in reality, unable to be banished or sealed.
A wilderness unfurled around it as a greenish mistletoe-covered branch broke from the treetop, flying above Lumian's black-flame-wreathed, crumbling form, and raining down dew-like droplets.
The Fire of Destruction engulfing Lumian were swiftly extinguished, and his collapsing body was halted by the effects of New Life. Among the consciousnesses within him, only his, Aurore's, and Jenna's were revitalized, restoring balance for a few more minutes.
At that moment, the Mother Goddess of Depravity chose to save him!
Of course, saving him was also an act of self-preservation.
She did not want Lumian to die prematurely before the symbolism was removed, worsening Her weakened state. Nor did She want him to lose balance and unleash something potentially terrifying, which could reflect through their symbolic connection and lead to the Chaos Primogenitor's emergence in the real world.
As the dew-like droplets fell, the immense oak tree supporting the world leveraged Klein's banishment powers and vanished from its location.
The Pillar in reality, the Mother Goddess of Depravity, left the planet and reappeared beyond the solar system.
She transformed into a crimson liquid, enveloping a gas giant, and began reverting to Her embryonic state, initiating New Life to reset Her form.
This time, though no influence was exerted by Lord of Mysteries Klein's symbolic power, the severe wounds and compounded weakness delayed Her recovery. The symbolism of destruction seemed to obstruct New Life, carefully avoiding agitating the now-dormant Chaos Primogenitor.
From a great distance, the crimson planet continued to gaze at the location containing parts of Herself. While severing symbolic connections and healing Her wounds, She patiently awaited a new opportunity - when the remaining Great Old Dominators descended into fierce competition, weakening or suppressing the Lord of Mysteries, and She could return to reclaim all and gain even more.
Lord of Mysteries Klein did not pursue the Mother Goddess of Depravity to strike Her again, and Lumian did not exploit symbolic connections for further self- destruction. Both understood the Mother Goddess of Depravity's Indestructible nature. Severely wounding and driving Her away for a period was already their anticipated outcome. Any additional efforts risked unforeseen consequences, such as awakening the Chaos Primogenitor.
More pressing matters loomed as Klein heard the faint but definitive sound of shattering behind him.
The last barrier he had pulled from the fog of history had completely collapsed.
What Lumian saw next was a terrifying star cluster composed of erupting suns.
The lifeless planet beneath his feet was violently torn apart into fragments, ceasing to exist.