Night fell upon the Twin Halls.

This sacred site of the dualistic sect was now cluttered with blackboards and clipboards. Harvey watched Igula weaving among the blackboards, writing and drawing with chalk, while the floor was littered with papers from the laboratory. The Swindler's movements, however, were as elegant as those of a high society individual navigating a dance floor, stepping on vivid petals that added to the ambiance.

The Necromancer naturally watched with a sense of entitlement, since he lacked the brains for information gathering and would have been scolded if he got in the way.

But as he watched Igula busily at work for several days, Harvey couldn't help but speak up, "Hey."

Igula ignored him.

"Your hair is getting pretty long; how many days since you last bathed? Even Alice is cleaner than you."

Igula paused momentarily but continued to ignore him.

"I bet after Ash is rescued, it'll be your turn to pass out."

Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, Harvey also couldn't be bothered to speak further. Concerning himself with the living three times already was his limit. But then Igula suddenly said, "Go call Dark Snake and the others over."

Harvey didn't move, but Alice suddenly leaped out of the coffin, transforming into a mist and leaving the palace. As time passed, Harvey became more adept at transforming corpses into other necromantic beings, and unlocking the ultimate undead species, the Dragon Necromancer and Corpse King of Blood Moon, were not far away.

Soon, the Dark Snake Twins, following Alice, arrived at the palace and asked, "Do you need more documents brought over?"

"No," Igula shook his head, "I have a question for you... Where did I put it...?"

He looked around and suddenly realized his hair did indeed grow long enough to obstruct his view. He casually pushed it aside, took a hair tie from the desk, and gathered his messy golden hair at the back, then knelt on the floor searching for the needed paper. The Dark Snake Twins couldn't help but glance at his exposed snowy nape, then realizing it was improper, looked away, but found themselves glancing back again.

"Got it." Igula picked a paper from the ground and asked, "The Dualistic Sect may not follow the Fangyuan Cicada Great Skill, but your sect's philosophy stems from the experiments conducted here, right?"

"That's right." The Dark Snake Twins nodded, "The concept of 'Perfect Twins, Fate Spiral' was proposed in the experiments of the Fangyuan Cicada Great Skill. It means that only Fate Twins can form the perfect fate, to escape suffering and transcend all worldly matters."

"Generally, that's the case," Igula said, "but I've carefully compared the data from the Natural Sect with the experiments here, and I've found some inconsistencies."

"The data mentions a crucial clue. It says that the concept of Perfect Twins doesn't originate from the Fangyuan Cicada Great Skill or its followers, but from—"

Igula turned to Harvey, "Gospel."

The Necromancer looked puzzled, "Why are you looking at me? Have we encountered Perfect Twins in Gospel before?"

"We've never witnessed it with our own eyes," said the Swindler, "but we've heard of it."

"It's indicated in many experimental records that what Fangyuan Cicada requires for Perfect Twins is not the transcendence of both Fate Twins but for the life, fate, will, and everything of one person to be stacked upon the other. This allows the other person to achieve absolute perfection—"

Harvey caught on, "The List of the Unfavored!?"

In the Underground Mermaid Palace of Nabistin, they had learned the secrets of the List from the First Sea Witch. It wasn't until they reached Senluo that Ash mentioned in passing that the reason the Yisu royal family could ensure that the First Gospel always came from Yisu was due to the effects of the List—stacking the fate of one princess onto another.

"But the followers of Fangyuan Cicada want to transform into a Great Skill with Wisdom, don't they?" Black Crow suddenly spoke up, "What does that have to do with Fate Twins?"

"The reason why a Great Skill lacks wisdom is similar to why mortals cannot wield Divine Beings," explained Igula. "The primal consciousness of a Great Skill and Divine Beings could overwhelm the will of a mortal Mage."

"But in Gospel, someone managed to barely control a Divine Being by accumulating the fate of two people. The Fangyuan Cicada sect might have taken interest in this aspect, but the fate stacking in the Kingdom of Gospel comes from the Divine Lord's Miracle. They could only attempt to replicate it with mortal Wonders."

"Gospel's fate stacking has no prerequisites for the recipient, but the higher the compatibility, the better the stacking result. The case we know of is that the fate stacking between two sisters allowed one of them to possess the quality to contain a Divine Being."

"Since the Fangyuan Cicada sect couldn't replicate a Wonder, their requirements for the recipient could only be higher. So, with the technology of the Gray Fox Era, how would they find the two people with the highest compatibility?"

Everyone's gaze turned towards the Dark Snake Twins in the palace.

"The Gray Fox Mage found the optimal solution," Igula said. "By custom-making a perfect Clone, the attempt of fate stacking is possible."

...

...

Cicada Transformation Hall.

Ash sheathed his sweet words and a hidden dagger back into the sword scabbard.

Two Cicada Transformation Chambers, four people.

Someone must remain in the hall as a sacrifice for the Trialists of the Cicada Transformation Chamber.

By normal logic, one group should defeat the other, leaving the losing Trialists in the hall as material, to be utterly consumed by the victors.

Although cruel, Ash had already passed the previous trials and knew that this Divine Fire Trial was no ordinary inheritance; he was mentally prepared for this.

However, the two Cicada Transformation Chambers were so far apart, and as soon as one was activated, the other would only allow entry for the next 30 seconds.

If both groups of trialists wanted to enter the final trial with their other halves, then they naturally had to duel to the death, and the victorious Fate Twins could return home full-handed, jointly undergoing the trial.

However, if even one person didn't think this way, only seeking to get through the trial alone, then the current situation would arise.

Silver Lamp had already entered the Cicada Transformation Chamber, and Ash and the others only had a little over twenty seconds left to enter the other chamber. Moreover, no matter what they did, there was only one spot left to survive.

Only one person could survive alongside Silver Lamp.

In that instant, Ash was aware of the attack coming from beside him. Even though he reacted very quickly, the Observer's speed completely exceeded his imagination—

Thud!

Just from an impact to his waist, Ash retched, his body instantly losing all strength and feeling numb, even his vision doubled, leaving him completely unable to control his own body. What was happening, he didn't remember mastering any combat skill like this...?

In a daze, he felt himself being lifted, then dropped onto the cold ground.

Once his vision returned, Ash struggled to turn his head and saw the Observer looking down on him from above.

"I told you from the start," he said, "look out for yourself."

The Observer stepped out of the Cicada Transformation Chamber, took out the candy Ash had given him, flicked it toward the activation button of the chamber, and the door closed.

"I will not take care of you anymore."

Weiser watched this scene from a distance, feeling not so much surprised, but somewhat happy, and perhaps a trace of satisfaction.

When Ash recovered, the countdown had just ended, and he only managed to rush to the door in time, staring at the Observer through the glass.

What did he want to say?

The Observer, for once, wanted to hear him speak, but the next second, Ash, along with the chamber, plummeted into the Earth Abyss, meeting their fates alongside Weiser.

Too often in life, partings come without the chance for goodbyes.

"I really thought you would seize this opportunity."

The only other voice echoed in the vast underground hall.

Yooran removed her fox mask, revealing a face of sorrowful chill, "This was the perfect opportunity. Ash had laid the foundation for you, and you could have played the role of Ash. If only you had switched places just now, you would have achieved a perfect rebirth."

"Although Death Mad might rampage, you, who excel at weighing gains, would naturally understand what's more important." She spoke softly, "After all, compared to Ash, you are still more rational, stronger, more—"

"Even if you hadn't reminded me, tempted me," the Observer said coldly, "I would still have been well aware that I, like you, am a demon covered in filth."

"I won't deny that I did indeed have such thoughts at the beginning." He said, "The Divine Fire Trial was my midterm exam for Ash."

"He didn't surprise me, as disappointing as ever."

"Weak enough to feel the need to confide."

"Merciful enough to fear killing."

"To think he would so recklessly trust people he'd just met."

"Valuing friendship, family, love. I used to think he wanted to control them with love, but now it seems it might be the other way around..."

"He even found a home here." The Observer said calmly, "A stray dog satisfied with a dog kennel."

"Though you say that," Yooran said, "aren't you quite happy? Staying behind is the best acknowledgment you could give him."

"Our staying was already part of the original plan, I just didn't want any complications, as Death Mad is still tricky to deal with." The Observer looked down at his own hands and shook his head slightly, "And moreover…"

"As a brother, of course, I must protect my younger sibling as much as possible."

"He passed the midterm exam."

Yooran had never before seen him say such a thing, and couldn't help but squint her eyes, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.

But soon, her expression slowly changed, "How... could this...?"

They both began to emit white mist from their bodies, which did not dissipate but instead gathered into white ribbons, like... floating bridal veils.

The Observer stared intently at the anomaly engulfing his body, knowing full well what it was. It was the Miracle of Fusion of the Fate Twins, stacking the fate of one person onto another. Only the Kingdom of Gospel and the Kingdom of Senluo within the Divine Countries had this miracle's legacy, but he had never seen the miracle in effect—almost never seen it.

The Lord of Mirrors looked at him, subconsciously reaching out a hand as if to comfort the Final Observer. However, the moment her hand touched him, it turned into mist. The Observer did not look at her but closed his eyes, until both of them dissolved into white fog and completely vanished.

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