HPxLOTM: A Wizard's Path to Divinity-Chapter 705: The Barrier Shattered

Almost at the same time—

The moment Leonard opened his eyes, he saw a postman wearing a monocle walk in. A mailbag hung from the man’s back as he used his long fingers to draw out a sheet of stationery and toss it toward Leonard.

"Sir, your letter."

The postman curled his lips into a smile. "From Amon, addressed to Pallez Zoroast."

In an instant, boundless terror swallowed Leonard whole. He heard the old man shout a single word—"Run!"—and after that, he knew nothing.

———

In a small villa in the Empress Borough.

Edward and Lilith opened their eyes one after the other. Lilith immediately scooted over to Edward’s side, giggling as she said, "So this is what you guys mean by a max-level account farming newbies in the starter zone?"

"This is way too fun! Did you see that just now? Everyone else kept freaking out—again and again—until they were completely numb." She pinched her chin and muttered to herself, "Hmm...when Miss Lilith advances to Sequence 0, I’m going to play like this too!"

Edward flicked her on the forehead.

"How many times have I told you—forget about the Red Priest pathway!"

She yelped, clutching her forehead as she puffed out her cheeks. "I didn’t say I was advancing as a Red Priest! I said the Primordial Demoness! With Roselle around, once you advance to Sequence 0 as well, the two of you together still wouldn’t lose to a single Cheek, right?"

"Fine." Edward nodded. "Then just behave yourself and wait for me to avenge you—wait for me to snatch back your Beyonder characteristics and Uniqueness."

As his words fell, Edward suddenly raised his brows and looked toward a certain direction.

"What is it, Edward?" Lilith asked.

"...Sigh."

He shook his head and let out a soft sigh.

"It’s Amon...He just took Klein away."

Lilith’s eyes widened.

"Huh? Is He really that bold? Doesn’t He know Klein now has a Black Emperor backing him—and the two of us as well?"

"...Amon doesn’t care about that."

"Then let’s head out right now and find them!" Lilith clenched her fingers, snorting. "This time I’m definitely going to teach Him a proper lesson! Hmph! Don’t think I’ve forgotten everything He did just because He worked with you to screw Adam over!"

"No rush," Edward replied calmly. "Amon’s primary objective is still to obtain Sefirah Castle without bearing any responsibility."

More than a hundred years ago, atop Sefirah Castle, the reason Amon had recklessly stolen it from Edward’s hands was because of the subtle, long-term influence Edward exerted through [Madman on the Right], combined with the very real sense of danger Amon felt at the time.

At this moment, however, Amon would most likely follow the same course as in the original timeline—playing a "game" with Klein.

"Here’s what we’ll do," Edward said. "Lilith, you go along and keep an eye on Amon. Don’t let anything actually happen to Klein."

She immediately asked in surprise, "Then what about you, Edward?"

"I’m going to the Chaos Sea."

Lilith’s expression turned worried. "You’re starting already? That’s so sudden..."

One moment they had been laughing and joking; the next, he was about to undertake something of this magnitude.

Edward hummed in acknowledgement and said in a low voice, "This can’t be delayed."

"Don’t worry. Everything will go smoothly."

As he spoke, he waved his hand, opening an illusory door.

"Go on. Be careful."

Lilith kept turning back as she stepped through, repeatedly reminding him, "Edward, you be careful too! Oh, right—remember to find Roselle...and Amanises as well. You’re all on the same side now, so don’t hold back with Them."

"Got it, got it."

Edward gently pushed her on the back, then closed the illusory door.

"Phew—"

He exhaled a long breath, then took a single step forward, traversing endless space. In the blink of an eye, he arrived deep within the Abyss, before the intertwined Chaos Sea and River of Eternal Darkness, wrapped and encased by the Shadow World.

Everything was almost identical to his previous visit. The only difference lay at the very centre: within the golden radiance, the Harry Potter book had already vanished, leaving behind nothing but pure golden light.

This was the junction where the two worlds met.

"Clink."

Edward lightly tossed a gold coin. As it flipped through the air, he caught it firmly in his hand—but he did not open his fingers to check the result. Instead, he extended his left hand.

The lines on the back of his hand faintly lit up.

With a thought, a palm-sized "door of light" seeped out from the back of his hand and hovered before him—

This was the Uniqueness of the Door Pathway.

Edward stared fixedly at the small, exquisite door of light. After a moment, he reached out and grasped it. Then he slightly turned his head and spoke toward his back, "Since you were the one who asked me here, is there really any need to keep hiding?"

He turned around and looked at a middle-aged man with short black hair, dressed in a simple priest’s cassock, a cross held in his hand.

"I didn’t expect you to awaken so quickly," Edward said calmly. "So—how should I address you now? The True Creator, Adam, or the Ancient Sun God?"

A gentle smile appeared on His face. He blinked His golden eyes and replied softly, "Call me Grisha Adam."

Edward frowned slightly and said flatly, "Get to the point. Why did you call me here?"

"Primarily, to thank you," Grisha Adam said. "If not for you, I would have already become another existence dominated by Adam. I am truly grateful for everything you have done for me."

"It wasn’t for you. It was for myself," Edward replied in an even tone, simply stating a fact. "Adam was determined to target me, intending to use me to ’deal with’ that person. I was merely acting in self-preservation."

"The reason I allowed you to take the lead in the fused consciousness was because I believed that you—who possess the humanity of the Ancient Sun God—might not be as extreme and obstinate as Adam, who embodies pure divinity."

Grisha Adam nodded slightly.

"But I believe you also understand that Adam and I are essentially the same person. Humanity and divinity may differ greatly, but they are not completely opposing, mutually exclusive extremes."

"Adam’s ’humanity’ manifests in His love for the entire world, His sense of responsibility toward resisting the apocalypse, and His willingness to sacrifice Himself. Likewise, Grisha also possesses His own ’divinity.’"

Edward studied Him for several seconds, then gave a slight nod.

After a brief pause, Grisha Adam continued, "You have already met that person, haven’t you?"

At last, the real topic.

Edward’s spirit tightened, his expression turning solemn.

"Yes, I’ve met Him. I also more or less understand the cause and effect of what happened back then. According to Him, everything I am experiencing now was originally arranged for Himself—only, through a twist of fate, it ended up falling on me instead."

"He told me that our current states actually form a more ideal configuration: He would devote Himself fully to resisting the awakening of the Oldest One, while I would seize the authority of the Oldest One, and in the end, together we would complete the digestion of the Oldest One."

Edward looked straight at Him and asked, "Do you think His words are trustworthy?"

"They are," Grisha Adam replied without hesitation. "In fact, this was once one of my original ideas. It’s just that before I could put it into action, that incident occurred."

—What He referred to was naturally the dismemberment and consumption of the Ancient Sun God.

"When it comes to resisting the Oldest One, He would not lie. After all, once the Oldest One awakens, the first to suffer will be Him."

That aligned with my own judgment.

Edward nodded inwardly and continued, "Alright. As for the Chaos Sea and the River of Eternal Darkness, He said that once I advance to Sequence 0, I won’t need them anymore. But since you can already come here now, doesn’t that mean you don’t actually need to wait for my advancement in order to take the Chaos Sea yourself?"

Grisha Adam shook His head.

"The ’me’ here is merely a personality born of imagination. The corruption from the intertwinement of the three Sefirot has long eroded this personality. If I weren’t forcibly sustaining it, it would have already collapsed."

"So even if I truly came here, I would still be unable to take away the Chaos Sea."

He turned His gaze toward the distant golden radiance and asked softly, "Then when do you plan to advance to Sequence 0?"

"That’s not something I can simply decide," Edward replied, shaking his head. "Before that, I must first complete the advancement ritual. But ’that person’ said that when the time comes, there will definitely be a backlash from the Oldest One."

"He also said that the Outer Deities will very likely do something under the influence of the Oldest One."

"Mm." Grisha Adam nodded, His tone carrying a trace of lament. "The Outer Deities beyond Earth have already joined forces since the moment you advanced to Sequence 1...They intend to invade Earth ahead of schedule."

"!!!"

Edward’s heart skipped a beat as he exclaimed in shock, "But isn’t that barrier supposed to last for more than ten years before breaking?"

"Yes," Grisha Adam replied calmly, "but someone opened a crack from the inside."

"Who?"

The question had barely left Edward’s mouth when the answer struck him.

"Cheek?"

Cheek had precedent—having cooperated with the Mother Goddess of Depravity before, using Her corruptive power against Lilith and even giving Her an opportunity to descend an avatar onto Earth.

"It was Her."

Edward said in disbelief, "Has Cheek gone completely insane?"

Grisha Adam said flatly, "No matter how mad Cheek is, She wouldn’t normally go so far as to tear open the barrier. The problem is...after failing to kill Lilith last time, She made a grave mistake."

"She went deep into the Mirror World and fused with the Mirrored Original Creator."

"..."

Edward exclaimed in astonishment, "How could Lilith know nothing about this? Didn’t she take away Cheek’s authority over the Mirror World? By all logic, she should have been the first to notice something like this. How did Cheek even enter the depths of the Mirror World?"

"Cheek alone couldn’t," Grisha Adam replied. "But it’s a different matter if the Mirrored Original Creator actively cooperated. No matter what, It is the true master of the Mirror World. Otherwise, Lilith wouldn’t have been completely helpless against It."

"Cheek originally planned to borrow the power of the Mirrored Original Creator to forcibly accommodate the City of Calamity and obtain greater strength. What She didn’t know was that the Mirrored Original Creator had long been influenced by that ’Oldest One.’ After fusing with the Mirrored Original Creator, Cheek naturally couldn’t escape that influence either...and so, She tore open a fissure in the barrier."

Edward said in disbelief, "Then how do you know all of this? Do the Seven Gods know? Didn’t They try to stop Cheek?"

"I don’t know," Grisha Adam shook His head.

"But judging from the outcome, the fissure Cheek tore open in the barrier may actually be beneficial to certain members among the Seven Gods."

"What?" Edward froze. "How could letting the Outer Deities in possibly benefit the Seven Gods?"

Grisha Adam tightened His grip on the cross at His chest and said softly, "Because They know that I will certainly do everything in my power to repair that fissure. And that way, I won’t have the time—or the leisure—to trouble Them."

———

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