The Throne Room, City of Gods.

"He died?"

Sunny's voice cut through the silence of the palace, his tone hovering between amusement and mild surprise.

He sat on the Throne, his chin resting on his hand, while his consciousness remained linked to the clones in the Eastern District.

Through the clone's eyes, he surveyed the aftermath. The vault, which had been pristine moments ago, was now painted with the grim residue of a explosion of the spy.

There was no body. No bones. Just a lingering smear of cursed energy and the smell of blood.

"Even his soul is destroyed?" Sunny asked, checking the nearby space for any escaping souls. "That was not a normal death. That was an erasure."

[Master, The invader has been identified as God Vorr. He was a God who went missing during the Evacuation of Gods]

Thea said, She remembered Vorr. Years ago, or what felt like years in the accelerated timeline, she had been linked to Vorr.

But when Vorr's territory was swallowed by Demon Lord Ichor's corrosion, the connection had snapped. She had assumed he was dead.

[My particles were able to capture his image and aura nanoseconds before detonation. And it perfectly match with Vorr]

Sunny leaned back, his eyes narrowing behind his mask. "He was surely enslaved by Ichor and forced to follow his order to become a spy."

[Master, If there are more spies, they are likely the two Gods who disappeared similarly]

Sunny waved his hand, dismissing the projection of the vault and pulling up a new interface.

"Three spies," Sunny mused, rubbing his chin. "Three rats in my territory."

Streams of particles flowed into the air. Thea pulled the information on these Gods who went missing in the same way as Vorr.

Sunny scanned their profiles. "Vorr. Mongo. Kael. None of them possess high intelligence or leadership qualities. Their information describe them as average at best. They are followers, not the masterminds."

He shook his head. "They are weak. Too weak to bypass my God's Domain on their own. Someone opened the door for them. Someone is guiding them."

[Master, there is a fourth possibility. My particles were destroyed near the ruins of the Planet Solara, similar to how they were destroyed near the planet of the other three Gods. Could he be the hidden leader?]

"Kairos..." Sunny spoke the name. "Yes, that fits. He could be the leader of this spy team....."

"But even Kairos is just an ordinary God. The mastermind is someone else. Someone powerful enough to create an artifact that hides them from me."

He rubbed his chin as he thought of Ichor or Maledictus, they can be the mastermind or the one who gave Kairos this artifact.

"Whoever this puppet master is, they planned well. A Dead Man's Switch. A curse that detonates the body and soul the moment a pawn is captured. It destroys the evidence and silences the witness."

Sunny stopped, a cold, predatory smirk curling his lips.

"A clever trick. Against any other God, it would have worked perfectly."

He raised his hand, and the air in the throne room began to distort. The colors faded to gray. The sound of the waterfalls outside slowed until time itself froze.

"But you underestimated me," Sunny laughed, his voice echoing with absolute authority.

He immediately activated his time affinity, as he began to pour his mana into opening the river of time.

CRACK.

Reality shattered. Sunny's consciousness stepped forward, across the fourth dimension.

He exited the present moment and entered into the currents of history.

The world dissolved into a swirling river of events. He saw the construction of the palace in reverse.

He saw his clones leaving. He saw himself sitting on the throne five minutes ago.

Sunny walked against the current. He moved to the specific time, just before Vorr had died.

"Bingo," Sunny whispered.

He stepped out of the stream and floated invisibly above the scene.

Below him, time was frozen. He saw Vorr standing in the vault, his hand raised, a look of maniacal greed plastered on his face.

He was holding a miniature black pearl a cracked, pitiful thing that was leaking darkness.

Sunny's eyes glowed with violet-gold light.

"Let's see what you really are."

With that Sunny activated his God's eye talent, as he peered into the soul of the frozen Vorr.

He peered directly through the darkness of the miniature pearl. If it were the real Pearl of Calamity, its energy might have blocked his gaze.

But this was a copy, cracked and broken by Vorr's own stupidity.

Information began to enter into Sunny's mind.

[God Name: Vorr]

[Profession: None]

[Talent: Airbender (A-Grade)]

[Status: Cursed / Enslaved]

[Description: A human transmigrated from Earth by the God Adam. He ascended to Godhood through Faith. During the return of Demon Lords towards Ashgar, he was captured by Demon Lord Ichor and enslaved as a farmer. Later, he was manipulated by -:';!'!':' to infiltrate the City of Gods.]

Sunny frowned. The text in the description shimmered with a blur, which made the name of the true master distorted.

"What?" Sunny hissed. "My God's Eye is SSS-Grade. Why is the name not showing?"

He focused harder. He poured mana into his eyes, trying to burn through the censorship.

He saw the letters trying to form 'L... O...' but then they scattered like frightened birds.

"The mastermind used a Law to scrub their identity from the causality of their pawns. Impressive."

"Fine. If I can't read the description and fate of these Gods, I'll read the contents. Let's check his memory."

Sunny descended, placing his glowing finger on the frozen forehead of Vorr.

Instantly, Sunny was sucked into the mind of Vorr.

Images flashed by at light speed.

He saw Vorr's first cry as a baby on Endor.

He saw him as a teenager, struggling with exams.

He saw the blinding light of Adam's summoning spell.

Then, the life of a God. Vorr building his first temple. Vorr laughing as his believers worshipped him. It was a good life. A peaceful life.

Then one day the sky turned red.

Sunny watched through Vorr's eyes as the Demon Lord Ichor descended. The fear was palpable. The corrosion ate Vorr's world. He saw Vorr kneeling, begging, and finally accepting the collar of a slave.

Days passed in a blur of humiliation. Vorr raised demons instead of humans. He grew bitter yet ambitious.

But then... the memory glitch happened.

Sunny watched as Vorr was approached by a figure in the shadows. Vorr looked up, terrified. The figure spoke.

Crack.

The audio cut out. The visuals turned into a swirling vortex of inaudible noises.

"Why is the memory so unclear?" Sunny growled, trying to stabilize the vision.

One second, Vorr was standing in front of this hidden entity.

The next second, he was standing inside the darkness of the Pearl of Calamity, holding the artifact.

"A huge chunk of memory is missing," Sunny realized. "The manipulator erased even the memories?."

He fast-forwarded through the remaining fragments.

He saw the inside of the Pearl. He saw Mongo and Kael huddled together. And he saw Kairos.

Kairos was distinct. He had an aura of arrogance and fear.

And suddenly he saw Kairos killing Kael out of nowhere.

Slash.

Sunny watched as Kairos drew a dagger and slit Kael's throat. The body was absorbed by the Pearl.

"So Kairos killed Kael," Sunny noted cold. "But why? Was it also the doing of the unknown manipulator?"

Sunny analyzed Kaiors. "He possesses a minor mastery of Time. He can dilate a small area, maybe slowing down reality by a factor of 100. It's crude compared to my Time Affinity, but dangerous enough for a spy."

Sunny pulled back from Vorr's mind. He had seen enough.

He stood in the frozen vault, looking at Vorr one last time. He tried once more to break the censorship on the mastermind's name.

"I have Faith," Sunny growled. "Let's see if money can buy truth."

He channeled 10 Quadrillion Faith Points into his God's Eye, focusing it like a laser beam on the blurred text.

The river of time groaned. The letters trembled. L... O... M...

But before the name could solidify, the text evaporated entirely, leaving a blank space.

"Tch."

Sunny stepped back, canceling the flow of Faith. It was a waste. The fate between Vorr and the unknown entity had been severed too thoroughly.

"Disappointing," Sunny muttered, his face darkening. "I underestimated you, Hidden Manipulator. You cover your tracks well."

The world twisted again as Sunny exited the river of time.

WHOOSH.

He was back on his throne. The present time resumed. The waterfalls roared.

Sunny sat there, processing the information.

"I didn't get the name," he admitted to the empty room. "But I confirmed the names of spies."

He held up three fingers.

"One: Kairos and Mongo are still alive. They are in the city, likely spooked by Vorr's death, hiding and leaking intel to the Demon Lords."

"Two: The mastermind is powerful and likely a high-ranking Demon God or Lord who specializes in artifacts and curses."

"Three: I saw fireworks."

Sunny chuckled, his mood lifting slightly. "Technically, Vorr exploded beautifully. Even if someone else lit the fuse."

He looked at the holographic display of the Eastern District. The festival was in full swing. The Gods were gathering, eager to bid on the treasures.

"The show must go on," Sunny decided.

"Thea," he commanded.

[Yes, Master?]

"The guests are hungry. Remove the fakes from the vault. Replace them with the real SSS-Grade artifacts."

Sunny smiled, leaning back on the throne. "if Kairos is watching, I want him to see what he missed. Let him see the wealth of the empire he is trying to fight."

"Let the auction begin."

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