Knowing that the journal carefully selected by the "Mysterious Queen" surely contains significant content, Kline focused his attention, gazing at the yellow-brown vellum in a seemingly casual manner: "On September 11th, since becoming an angel, I've felt a sense of personality fragmentation. Within my heart, within my spirit, deep in my consciousness, there has always been a voice urging me, influencing me, creating an uncontrollable coldness, bloodthirstiness, cruelty, and madness. This is not originating from the outside world nor from the influence of the divine path itself. I can clearly feel it stems from my genes, from the collective unconscious passed down through generations of humanity, from the very essence of my extraordinary nature—rather than from any residual spiritual influence upon me." "It instills in me a powerful desire to hunt and to slay, compelling me to consume all living beings possessing exceptional qualities—requiring me to devote nearly all my energy to resist it, even though I am actively playing my role, even ingesting magic potions, with little improvement. "Which is precisely why the 'Gate' gentleman remarked that reason is temporary, while madness is eternal." "On September 28th, I have not written in my journal for a long time. For the past fifteen days, I've felt as though I am gradually being replaced by strangers, growing increasingly cold and formidable—so much so that even my daughter, Bernadette, can only evoke a faint sense of paternal affection from me, barely any at all. Just as I was on the brink of madness, I began to hear an endless stream of praise—coming from my subjects, from all those who have benefited from my reforms, from the faithful who see me as the 'Son of Steam'—praising me, celebrating me, erecting statues, composing stories, and creating poetry in my honor." Their voices felt like the anchors of ships, holding me steady and helping me "locate" myself. I began to have the strength to resist that deep, inner cry—step by step, I emerged, and once again, I could feel the ordinary emotions of a father, a husband, a man. Just within Sequence 2, such transformation occurred. By Sequence 0, at the level of the True God, how terrifying must the relentless madness be? Perhaps they too need to be "located," to counteract their extraordinary nature and the powerful tendency toward uncontrollable upheaval deep within the collective unconscious. Now I begin to understand why they established churches, why they spread faith, why they wrote chapters for their saints, and composed legends for their corresponding angels. Yet why do they lack human forms, existing only as symbols? I still cannot figure it out. "Next time, ask the 'Gate'先生. He knows a great deal within the realm of spirits—had he not been exiled, there might have been one more spirit among them." "On September 29th, re-reading yesterday's journal, I recalled the rituals corresponding to my Sequence 4, Sequence 3, and Sequence 2—each of them clearly carried a sense of madness and cruelty, much like those performed by the antagonists in novels." "The Path of Sequences is likely a road destined for madness and despair." "Yet this is the only path humanity has to attain extraordinary power." "How ironic, how poignant." "We strive so diligently to save ourselves—only to be more thoroughly and completely destroyed?" The content of the first page of the journal weighed heavily on Caine, pressing upon him with a sense of solemnity and restraint. Roscel was no longer an ordinary man—he had become an angel, a member of the "Order of the Twilight Hermits," and had witnessed the "Lay of the Profaned Stones." His understanding of the mysterious world and the nature of the extraordinary far surpassed Caine's current comprehension. Yet, Roscel was more pessimistic than Caine, as if he believed the world itself—its very essence—was fundamentally twisted, mad, and destined for self-destruction. Though the Seven Gods had found ways to preserve rationality, ordinary humans still held value; their collective awareness and spiritual depth, when gathered, might help the gods stabilize their original forms, preserve the accumulated memories and clarity of the past—something that could be inferred from Roscel's personal experience. Yet, why had the Seven Gods abandoned their human forms and instead adopted symbolic, abstract emblems? This doesn't quite align with my judgment... I just can't grasp it. Kline didn't waste time; he turned to the next page of the journal: "December 5th, the Night of the Blood Moon, I spoke with the 'Gate'先生. "He still consistently requests that I return Him to the real world, but never pushes too hard, and occasionally answers my questions at random. "Hah, He's clearly playing a game, working to build rapport—though, I'm sorry, I've already locked in that option. "Since I'm familiar with the legends of the Archangels, I approached the 'Gate'先生 with a mindset of inquiry that wouldn't cost me anything, especially focusing on the precise level of strength among the Archangels. "The 'Gate'先生 explained that some Archangels embody uniqueness, others have consumed two Sequence 1 magic potions, and some have both." “The word ‘contain’ seems rather odd, and I raised this point of inquiry. Mr. Door didn’t offer a direct answer, but instead told me that if the uniqueness couldn’t be contained, then for the angels of Sequence 1, uniqueness would become a burden rather than an advantage prior to the ceremony and the promotion to Sequence 0. “Ah, that makes sense—much like using a Level 0 seal, the negative effects are always overwhelming, and uniqueness must be even more dramatic. “I then asked which of the Angel Kings actually contain uniqueness, and Mr. Door again didn’t give a direct response, only saying that Amun and Adam naturally inspire deep envy among all the angels, since they are born with inherent uniqueness and thus don’t have to consider the issue of containment. In another sense, does that mean Amun and Adam themselves embody the uniqueness of the Sequence 1 elixir? Truly, no wonder they are the children of the Creator!” The Creator, known also as the Ancient Sun God, is so powerful that He can pass on to each of His two children both uniqueness and the exceptional Sequence 1 traits—He is refining Himself, eliminating unnecessary distractions, isn't He? Then, does the 'Gate' Sir also embody uniqueness, having even consumed two doses of Sequence 1 elixirs? I didn't ask, because I knew He would certainly not answer. During our exchange, the 'Gate' Sir reminded me not to mention Adam's full name directly, or else the conversation would be detected. I now understand the reason, smiled, and asked Him, "Didn't you just use Adam's full name yourself?" The 'Gate' Sir reassured me that it was fine, since the Sequence 4 of the 'Apprentice' path is called 'Scribe of Secrets,' carrying a certain sense of confidentiality—though not as strong as the 'Night' path's 'Servant of Secrecy'—it was still sufficient to shield the subtle perceptions of a being of His stature. "I asked many questions about the deities, but Mr. Door did not respond—instead, he said that once I had the ability and opportunity to visit the moon, I would come to understand many things. This aligns with some of my earlier thoughts, yet I suspect He is guiding me, perhaps even enticing me to return to the earthly world, since every time He appears, it is connected to the moon!" "As soon as the 'Gate' gentleman appears, the information density is always high—filling an entire page... Hmm, his explanation of the 'King of Angels'' strength level aligns perfectly with my own expectations. Broadly speaking, the 'King of Angels' refers to beings who surpass Sequence 1 but haven't yet reached Sequence 0—nearly divine entities—through various means, such as embodying the concept of 'Uniqueness' or consuming additional Sequence 1 magic potions. Narrowly speaking, the 'King of Angels' specifically denotes the eight sovereign rulers who govern all the angels in the Silver City, the celestial beings entrusted by the ancient Sun God. Of course, these eight also meet the broader criteria. Several thoughts swiftly flashed through Caine's mind. Regarding Roxel's speculation about the ancient Sun God, he expressed strong agreement, believing that the Silver City's divine being had accumulated too many and too diverse powers from the ancient gods, leading to a state of disorder and even madness. To resolve this, he decisively gave birth to two children, thereby eliminating a significant portion of the accumulated complexity." In short, both Amun and Adam were administered the potion. Thus, it's clear that Adam, the "Idealized Angel," clearly possesses the uniqueness of the "Audience" path—he must be the enigmatic leader of the "Dusk Hermit Order," intervening throughout history to revive his father and shape the course of ages. I wonder if he has ascended to the Sequence 0 rank. Even if not, the number of angels the "Dusk Hermit Order" can deploy is likely to exceed my expectations. Ah—the term "Seer" also carries the sense of confidentiality, implying secrecy. Suddenly, Caine recalled the symbol behind the "Fool's" chair: a partial representation of the "Eye without Pupils," symbolizing secrecy, combined with the "Twisted Line," representing change! He quickly gathered his thoughts and turned the journal to the third page: "November 28—I once again dreamed of Green." "He was the most intelligent among my subordinates. Unfortunately, during an exploration of that unnamed island, he fell victim to an unknown infection and died in the misty sea, leaving not even a child behind. At that time, I clearly realized that the unnamed island held secrets—secrets of unimaginable danger—though myself, at the time, lacked the necessary depth and strength to confront them, and had to endure them with forced patience. This dream must be my spiritual intuition urging me to go there, to explore the island, uncover its secrets, and finally resolve the matter of Green. On November 29th, I gathered three of my subordinates, with Benjamin Abraham's assistance and after a period of dedicated search, we finally rediscovered that unnamed island. We did not enter immediately, but instead decided to rest and regroup at the edge of the island for one day. Edwards also frequently dreams of Green, and feels deep regret over having been unable to save him at the time. 'This is not your responsibility,' he says. 'It is my problem.' " "I said this to Edwards because I am their leader." "On November 30th, we ventured deep into the island. "There are numerous extraordinary creatures said to have gone extinct, gathering here without conflict, as though worshipping something... "Such seemingly unintelligent creatures appear to be performing a ritual! "Are they praying to some unknown deity? "During the ritual, I saw Green..." PS: Recommend a book, *I Pretend to Have Powers*. From the mid-section, many readers reportedly laugh so hard they choke. PS2: Another recommendation, *Dungeon Players*, where the demon lord convinces Earth-born humans to work for free building dungeons. I'm actually reading this one myself—subverts expectations and quite enjoyable.