The dark and chaotic power surged upward, wrapping around the inverted triangle rune as Noah’s body stirred slightly.
She opened her pupil-less eyes and looked up at the crowd.
She was no longer Noah, but that blind and foolish creation, the Big Alarm Clock, Geheluosi.
A serene bell toll rang from somewhere unknown, bringing peace to everything within sight.
The chaotic, disorderly tentacles stopped writhing, the confused whispers gradually faded away, the light of the stars dimmed, and the originally clear fate became obscure.
“Ah…”
Geheluosi let out a soft sigh.
He took out his Tarot deck and casually scattered the cards into the air.
The twenty-two cards fluttered like leaves, floating in midair under the power of some mysterious force.
Geheluosi reached out and pinched a card.
He turned it over, revealing the pattern of the sun to everyone.
“Command: Cremate All…!”
A beam of energy that could melt gold and iron splashed toward Xin.
Startled, Xin didn’t dare block it with her weapon.
She quickly leaped backward, narrowly dodging the energy cannon.
The steel floor beneath her was scorched red by the beam, a testament to the power’s ruthlessness and terror.
“What the hell! You weren’t this strong when you fought Gexiusi!”
Xin had no idea why Geheluosi had suddenly turned on everyone.
While dodging the energy beams, she tried to get closer to him.
Seeing his attack miss, Geheluosi reached out and took down two more cards.
He placed [The Sun] and [Strength] on either side of [The Hierophant], then raised his hand to gather the Star Divine Power.
“Divine Punishment: Solar Wind!”
A massive fireball appeared above Noah’s head.
She channeled the solar energy and rained beams down on everyone like a downpour.
The tentacles hit by the beams burst into flames and broke apart.
Nothing at the Main Gate could escape.
Suo’en failed to dodge and lost half an ear to a beam.
Ignoring his injury, he shouted at Geheluosi with a sorrowful voice.
“Madam! Wake up, Madam!”
As Suo’en shouted, he ran toward Geheluosi.
Sensing someone trying to interrupt him, Geheluosi immediately pulled the Magician Card from the air.
He waved his hand sharply, using a powerful storm of magic to blast Suo’en back.
“Don’t be stupid! She’s not your so-called Madam!”
Xin’s clothes were riddled with burn holes.
She gritted her teeth in frustration but could do nothing.
Turning to look at Ska, who was forging a shell, she said urgently, “How’s it going, buddy? When will it be ready?”
She noticed that the Three Pillar Gods hadn’t moved since the ritual began, so she knew the caster couldn’t leave once it started.
If she could coordinate with Ska to interrupt one of them, the ritual could definitely be broken.
“Almost there!”
Ska used Flame Divine Power to create a rocket, then loaded it into the cannon barrel.
He hoisted the rocket launcher onto his shoulder again and asked Xin, “Who to hit?!”
Xin pointed at Shabu.
“That tentacle monster! She’s the closest!”
With a whoosh, the rocket shot out of the barrel.
But Geheluosi, as if sensing it, stepped into the rocket’s path.
He pulled three cards from his side—[Temperance], [The Hierophant], and [The World].
He turned them over and simultaneously clapped his hands together.
“Divine Punishment: Banishment!”
A Space Rift appeared before Geheluosi.
It expanded abruptly and swallowed the entire rocket.
Ska stared in shock at the bizarre sight, barely believing his eyes.
“A dark version is ten times stronger—the ancients weren’t lying!”
Xin had no time to listen to Ska’s complaints.
She swung her Katana, cutting through the tentacles blocking her path as she closed in on Geheluosi.
She swung faster and faster, but the tentacles became more numerous.
Xin used Combat Art: Stygian Sun Slash to sever all the tentacles around her, then shouted to Ska with all her might.
“Cover me! I have to punch this bastard!”
“Got it!”
Ska shook out his trench coat, fished out a few Smoke Grenades and firebombs from his pocket, and without caring about the consequences, hurled them all at Geheluosi.
In an instant, flames roared, and thick smoke obscured everyone’s vision.
Xin brandished her Katana, sprinting toward Geheluosi relying on memory.
“Noah!!!”
Xin called out the name no one else knew.
She raised her fist and slammed it into Noah’s face with all her might.
“You idiot! Wake—up!!!”
In her hazy consciousness, Noah felt her body sinking endlessly.
Countless black tentacles coiled around her, pulling her down with force.
The colors of nothingness painted everything in an extreme, ashen gray.
Amid the vast sea of consciousness, only Noah was sinking without end.
‘I’m so tired… Am I going to die?’
‘Dying is fine… I can finally rest a little…’
Suddenly, Noah sensed something was wrong.
If she really were dead, why didn’t she see the vast stars?
If she wasn’t dead…
‘Then where is this…?’
Noah jolted awake.
She lifted her head in bewilderment and looked at this gray-white sea of consciousness.
At the far end of infinity, something seemed to be watching her.
The next moment, long-sealed memories suddenly surfaced.
These were things she should have remembered—the origin of everything and the very beginning.
In a blur, Noah heard a woman speaking in a voice identical to her own.
“Clone Sample A0256… body rejects Star Divine Power, heart and brain did not grow… judged as Failed Product.”
“Clone Sample A0329… rejects Star Divine Power… fusion failed… take this pile of minced flesh away.”
“Clone Sample A0413… incomplete body function development, minor brain damage… failed… but this is the most normal clone body so far.”
“No, I’m not going to discard it yet. You have to understand, in our line of work, we could die at any moment… What’s wrong with keeping a backup for myself?”
As the memories grew clearer, the person’s appearance finally surfaced in Noah’s mind.
White hair, golden pupils—she looked exactly like Noah!
‘She… is the Director?’
Noah thought.
‘Then what about me… who am I?’
“Another war? The End Organization is utterly annoying!”
“You want me to abandon her? No! Don’t even think about it!”
“It’s just a clone? Ha! What do you know! A0413 is the work of my life’s efforts. I fused it with the Remnants of Stellar Divine Power and embedded my Memory Chip and combat instincts into its brain. Do you have any idea how low the success rate of this experiment is?”
“You won’t snitch, will you? … Haha, my dear assistant, you should know that dead men don’t snitch.”
“The Leader’s funds were all spent on cloning… Damn it… He won’t forgive me…”
“Sorry, Gexiusi… Just act like a madman and balance the books for me.”
Noah struggled to open her eyes.
In a daze, she felt as if she had returned to that time.
The memory’s illusion appeared before her.
She heard the Director speak in a gentle tone.
“Good child… sleep… sleep…”
“I’ve modified your body. As long as you absorb water, you can survive. You don’t have to think about anything or do anything.”
“The room outside is filled with traps. No one can approach you… One day, I will wake up from here.”
“And you, my dear… you will merge with my memories. I will love you as I love myself… forever.”