LotM: Surviving as a Marionette

It was the grafting of fate, the grafting of some abstract concept.

The illusory river flowed continuously, and through this river, one could vaguely see a certain tributary hidden deep within the Spirit World, with a massive figure emerging above the tributary.

He had obvious Southern Continent features, but his body had grown feather after feather—white feathers stained with pale yellow grease, filthy and terrifying.

That was 'Death Emperor' Salinger... who could also be called Grandfather's predecessor Death God.

On the massive feathered serpent's body, part of its fate was connected to the depths of the illusory River of Eternal Darkness, connected to that massive, rotting, bewildered figure that could never escape the river waters.

The grafting of fate caused some power from the Death pathway's Uniqueness to continuously pour into the tributary of the River of Eternal Darkness, then quickly fall into 'death' and 'slumber,' becoming eternally silent.

"Is this dealing with the tricks Salinger played on the Death pathway's Uniqueness?"

Through grafting, all the resurrection contingencies left by Death God were stuffed back into Death God's hands within the River of Eternal Darkness, liberating the other half of the soul.

Doing this was roughly equivalent to wanting to kill his grandfather completely, stuffing his grandfather into a cold coffin, only preparing to dig him out someday to crush his bones and scatter his ashes... right?

Oh, this Death God wasn't any good bird either, so he could only say "serves him right for dying."

Great Filial Grandson Don's gaze looked toward that massive feathered serpent.

From the high-dimensional perspective of Euclid space, the grafting of fate was traceable.

The grafting power on the artificial Death God shaped by the Uniqueness traveled through Euclid space, grafting certain secrets into the River of Eternal Darkness, while the other half, the soul belonging to Azik Eggers, was grafted onto the human figure above.

Don looked upward.

A young man with features almost completely identical to his own was looking down with open eyes, as if watching him.

Don saw a phantom of a golden bird-shaped ornament hidden in the shadows beside the other party, and the grafting of fate was precisely there!

"It looks like the future me can solve this problem."

Seeming to sense Don's gaze, the young man with similar features slowly hid the bird-shaped golden ornament phantom behind himself.

Don watched as another version of himself hid that phantom behind him: ...??

"Ah this..."

Subsequently, Don saw 'himself' half-raise his hand.

A mass of phantom spread from his hand, and a book composed of page after page of bronze emerged from the phantom.

Upon observing again, Don confirmed that it was indeed the Trunsoest Brass Book.

The Uniqueness of the Arbiter pathway!

The next moment, the charm's power suddenly expanded before him.

Countless parchments spread from the bronze book, filling this space, filling the historical gaps, blocking all vision before him.

"The law stipulates: In this area, outdoor walking is strictly prohibited from 8 PM to 8 AM."

"The law stipulates: Able-bodied persons within the jurisdiction are strictly prohibited from being lazy and getting something for nothing."

"The law stipulates: Destruction of public property is strictly prohibited, and damage to others' property is strictly prohibited."

"The law stipulates: Students should study hard and should act like students."

"The law stipulates: Cosplaying as sunny day dolls is strictly prohibited."

"The law stipulates: ..."

Wait, something strange seemed to have mixed in.

"The law stipulates: Any theft is prohibited in this area!"

That's the one!

Don's eyes brightened slightly.

Countless parchments displayed various regulations—these were all rules that the Trunsoest Brass Book had promulgated!

There really were some here. If it was his own personality, upon obtaining the Trunsoest Brass Book and being able to influence it to a certain degree, he would definitely promulgate this kind of prohibition to suppress Amon!

He moved forward to prepare to lift up that public document to see the effect.

Actually, he wanted to communicate with his future self more. Obviously, both he in this state and his future self could see each other.

But there wasn't enough time. The power of the Yesterday Once More charm was about to be exhausted, the historical gaps were about to close, and he could only wait for the next opportunity.

"Pry... space..."

A blurred voice came from above.

Don was stunned for a moment.

"Sequence... Four... Demigod..."

"Beware of Amon."

The next moment, Don's consciousness instantly returned, the historical fog closed, the Yesterday Once More charm was completely consumed, and at the same time, an additional document appeared in his hand.

It was a decree, a law that the Trunsoest Brass Book had once promulgated and publicized.

Logically speaking, this kind of borrowed power wouldn't last too long. The Yesterday Once More charm made by the Theater Core didn't have a higher-ranking prayer target after all, so the charm's effect wasn't that good.

But... the parchment that should have disappeared along with the disappearance of the Yesterday Once More charm's power was now lying quietly in Don's hand, without any mutations occurring, and similarly without displaying any anomalies.

Even when spiritual consumption occurred and Don returned to the physical world, this document still existed.

[Very strange energy.]

The system very tactfully automatically threw an identification at it, but the feedback given was also a jumble of garbled code.

There was higher-ranking power participating and influencing, making the system's identification ineffective.

Don sat in the high-backed chair, placed this document on the table in front of him, thought for a long time, then opened the system interface to take a look before speaking up to ask.

"What happened to those Abraham fellows?"

After returning, he found that the speed of his potion's progress increase had slowed down.

That shouldn't be right. He hadn't killed those Abraham fellows. At most, after they climbed to the rooftop and found no way out, when they were preparing to jump down, they were knocked unconscious by the Theater Core, then stuffed back to the first floor, creating the illusion that 'everything just now was a dream,' and then experiencing days of being chased by Slender Man, by Chu Ren Mei, by the red wedding dress.

He hadn't killed anyone, so why had his potion progress become so still and motionless?

[Let me go check.]

The system's voice disappeared, then the system's voice appeared again, [Ah, host.]

[They seem to have given up.]

Don: ??

What's going on? How did everything suddenly collapse?

---

Deep Red Campus.

In room '404,' the knocking sounds outside the door continued, but Charlie sat there with a dull expression, mumbling something completely incomprehensible. Even hearing the pressing knocking sounds and footsteps, he could no longer resonate with them.

Aidas lay on the ground, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes, his body occasionally twitching strangely, as if proving he was still alive.

And the only female, Norma Abraham, leaned against the cabinet, looking down at her toes, softly humming a nursery rhyme in her mouth, oddly consistent with the sounds outside the door.

"Sister carries a doll..."

"The doll wants to find mama..."

The eerie nursery rhyme was both hummed from Norma's mouth and came from outside the door, but the several people present had no reaction to this.

Olsen pushed open the door and walked in.

Seeing the tragic scene before him, Olsen's mouth corner moved slightly, but in the end, he said nothing.

(End of Chapter)