It was an ordinary paper crane. As soon as it took flight, it burst into a blazing red flame and shed a few ashes. Watching it drift in the air, Amon suddenly turned his head, gazing at the crane now glowing with intense heat, then raised his palm. The gaze behind his single pair of glasses had already brightened with a cold, sharp radiance. Suddenly, the flames on the crane's surface vanished—along with the ability to swap places with the secret companion, the power to manipulate flames, the ability for flame leaps, and the air cannon power! In that instant, Amon had stolen away six extraordinary abilities, including four of the most significant ones. If Amon could perform a few more such thefts, Caine might very well become an ordinary person. This was the angelic power of "theft!" As the light dimmed, the crane drifted slowly downward. ………… Beckland, at Dr. Allen's home, inside a black baby carriage. Will Onsight Cris, wrapped in silver silk, wiped his mouth and brushed away a tear, murmuring, "Life is truly so difficult..." Before he had finished speaking, he produced from somewhere an object resembling a walking stick with a transparent gem at its head. A pure, clear light blossomed forth, illuminating the calendar in the room with such clarity that every detail became sharp and distinct. Today was Tuesday. (Note 1) ... At No. 160 Berkland Street, within the garden of Dauan Tanthès. The thousand paper cranes, once burned to a crisp and blackened, suddenly froze mid-air, one after another, releasing a sequence of shimmering silver symbols that instantly coalesced into a vast, ethereal, scaleless serpent. On the surface of this silver-white giant serpent, intricate patterns and symbols formed a series of interlocking wheels, each surrounded by distinct markings. The intense, cold crimson eyes swept across, and the great serpent rose into the air, arching its body above the Borough of Berkelund, biting its own tail. Its shadow enveloped the entire street, like a mysterious, exaggerated wheel. Suddenly, in the living room of No. 39 on Berkelund Street, Mahert the Senator, Lady Liyan, and several maids and servants, who had been smiling, lifted their hands, removed their single-lens spectacles from their faces, and watched as each one successively transformed into a radiant beam of light. Then, they either reattached their decorative spectacles, gently pressed their eye sockets, or calmly gazed out the window, returning to their previous states. Haejouel sat down on the ground, watching the scene with growing disbelief, shaking her head in despair, holding her hands to steady herself and retreating step by step. The man who had been carrying the "winner" title, Amun, lost his composed, distant gaze; his crystal spectacles slightly tilted, no longer conveying the sense of superiority over Kline. Moreover, something within him was being slowly drawn out, forming a clear, robust, yet transparent and mysterious "Chrono-Serpent" at the crown of his head. Within this "Chrono-Serpent," a figure swiftly materialized—dark hair, dark eyes, broad forehead, and a slender face. This was not the time on Berkland Street reversing, as neither Cline nor Leonard nor anyone else had been affected; rather, it was Amun himself returning to his state from just a few minutes prior! "The Serpent of Fate," "rebooted!" Though Willy O'Ceinten's prophecy of fate had encountered a slight delay, slightly later than expected, the impact of Amun's arrival was remarkably timely. To secure the "Fated Serpent's" involvement, Caine not only served it various flavors of five-ball ice cream but also pledged additional compensation, agreeing to create special items that would temporarily restore Will Aunseitin's strength during his vulnerable phase—at least two such items. When Amun was struck by this unexpected blow, Caine showed no hesitation; he swiftly drew his "Hourglass" revolver, pulled back the hammer, gently rotated the cylinder, and aimed at the enemy. Crack! With steady resolve, he depressed the trigger of the "Hourglass" revolver, firing the pre-prepared "Soul-Command" bullet. A streak of silver-black light burst forth, precisely striking the ethereal figure of Amun—wearing a pointed soft hat and a classical black robe—and hitting the "Chrono-creature," which proved to be both broader and more vivid than any Caine had previously encountered. A gentle glow diffused, and the ethereal form of Amun suspended in midair trembled, stiffening into stillness with no expression. At that moment, Leonard, who had already reached the zenith, followed the old man's instructions, stepping onto the staff of "The Words of the Sea" and floating in the air, slightly spreading his arms and relaxing his spirit. Instantly, within the green depths of his eyes, two "Chrono-creatures" appeared—one slightly dimmed, composed of twelve semi-transparent segments—each forming a vertical, identical ring in sequence. The rings slowly rotated, casting upon Leonard's back the silhouette of an ancient, weathered, immense form. This form resembled the surface of a stone-carved wall clock, divided into twelve distinct sections, each either gray-white or dark green, interwoven and clearly separated, bearing unique symbols. Upon mere glances, Caine felt as though his own life were accelerating and speeding toward its end. And then—! A bell's resonance, as though echoing through the ages, resonates far and wide within the quiet, hidden realm. Everything克莱恩 sees slows down, including the form of Amun hovering above the winner, Enyuni. An indescribable, formless current emerges, sweeping the Amun form toward the immense, ethereal stone-carved wall clock. In truth, it is the "Chrono-creatures." The Amun duplicate, wearing spectacles, suddenly extends a hand downward, palm aimed directly at Germán Sparrow. Suddenly,克莱恩 witnesses his forearm skin rapidly drying, wrinkling, and developing faint, barely noticeable age spots. The Amun form's suction slows slightly, yet cannot halt the process. Eventually, it retracts into its slender, segmented form and settles behind Leonard, into the ancient, phantom stone wall clock. Clang! Another chime echoes. On the gray-white and dark-green interwoven face of the clock, a weathered pointer now appears. The pointer jumped several notches downward, making the chime grow increasingly urgent. At No. 39 and No. 160 on Berkland Street, multiple brilliant beams of light surged out, drawn and attracted, one after another, merging into the ethereal, ancient stone wall clock. The Law of Aggregation of Exceptional Properties! The Law leveraging the connections between duplicates and their inherently stronger gravitational properties due to higher dimensional layers! Clang! Light beams flowed in from various parts of the city of Berkland. Once all this settled, naturally, Klein's mind revealed his current appearance: His hair was predominantly white with only a hint of black, his forehead, eyes, and mouth lined with clear wrinkles, his cheeks slightly sagging, with subtle signs of age—clearly that of a gentleman nearing the end of his days. At that very moment, the chime rang once more. On the ethereal, ancient stone wall clock, the weathered gray-white pointer began to reverse its motion. One, two, three—Klein watched his skin rapidly regain its luster, the patterns gradually fading and disappearing. In just a few seconds, he had restored his original appearance, as though his life had never truly departed. The power at the angelic level truly approached divinity... I was merely affected, and I nearly aged to death. I'm not sure if I can be revived at all. Klein assessed his condition and quickly raised his head, addressing Leonard Mitchell in the air above him: "What about the people who have been infected by Amon?" At that moment, the ethereal, ancient clock behind Leonard began to fade swiftly, dissolving into streaks of light that penetrated and settled within his body. Leonard tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something, and only after a while spoke: "The extraordinary properties of the 'Time Worm' within them have been largely drawn out; the remaining portions are either partially drawn or still present, but this won't cause significant issues—well, the old man said it's not severe, perhaps only relatively less so compared to the angels. In any case, they can pray to their respective deities, hoping for a complete purification. However, they can't clearly explain what happened, and the deities may not respond. If you're concerned about lingering effects, you might guide them to pray to, well, that one—any elements drawn out will be yours." Perhaps having personally experienced the battle at the angelic level and witnessed the phantom of the 'Fate Serpent,' Leonard's excitement and tremors were momentarily hard to calm. After all, the residents of this neighborhood were mostly devoted to the goddesses—how could they possibly pray to the ' Fool '? I don’t want to be dragged back into that misty town again… Well, the goddess is well aware of this matter—ask her, and they’ll likely receive a favorable response. Then, I’ll just ask Princess Arianna to return my “Chrono-creatures” they’ve expelled… er, perhaps a share of them. In the span of a few thoughts, Kline had already unconsciously exhaled a sigh of relief. He casually added, “After a complete purification, will there be any lingering effects?” Though he’d experienced this at the smaller “Sun,” this young silver-city boy was no ordinary person. Leonard listened carefully before responding, “A little—since it’s a deep-level parasitism. Even after ordinary people recover, certain aspects will remain affected, such as a fondness for single-lens spectacles.” “Alright,” he said, “you go back now. I’ll handle the rest.” Klein nodded, especially relieved that none of the combatants involved were particularly destructive—otherwise, not only would Berkland Street have been devastated, but even the northern district's integrity might have been in question. Note 1: For narrative flow, we skipped the card reading session, and Wil's prophecy slightly deviated due to Amun's ability to navigate through the cracks in fate. PS1: It seems we've achieved the five-star rating—thank you all, everyone.