Chapter 1072: Chapter 408: Endless Knot Ai Shiping

In his soul state, Aiwass’s expression turned solemn.

He scrutinized the “Aiwass” standing before him.

Short golden hair, disheveled like flames reaching upward, eyes glowing with a purple-red radiance resembling flowing smoke inside. His upper body was bare, revealing well-defined muscles and skin of a coffee-toned wheat color.

Across his skin sprawled numerous silver runes, overlapping to create a formation of profound mystery and cryptic rune whispers. These runes inhaled and exhaled the overflowing elemental power in the air, continually drawing in and expelling glimmers of blue, red, white, and yellow hues. Behind this “Aiwass,” these incandescent colors intersected to form a grand radiant wheel spinning with those four hues.

Simply standing there, he emanated an overwhelming sense of oppression.

–To describe it, one might call it “blinding divine majesty.”

Compared to Aiwass’s fair skin, smooth as jade, and musculature only faintly visible, requiring touch to fully perceive, this figure was utterly different.

The “Aiwass” before him made one think, “A few punches with bare fists could kill someone.”

…More than the “aged Aiwass” depicted in this image, Aiwass preferred to believe this was the other being he had long awaited.

“Serpent Celestial Marshal…”

Aiwass murmured under his breath, “I’ve finally met you.”

The one who entangled Aiwass in a labyrinth of intrigue and made him the fulcrum of numerous conspiracies–the mastermind behind the development and planning of the Ring of Ouroboros ritual, the culprit responsible for numerous apocalyptic crises, and the God set on consuming Aiwass’s existence… the true transmigrator, Ai Shiping.

Even Aiwass’s precious memories and name from his past life had been taken from him–or rather, had never been left for him to keep.

In a sense, this mysterious figure was even Aiwass’s original creator and true self.

Until now, Serpent Celestial Marshal had only appeared through cryptic fragments, like a riddler speaking in half-sentences.

Encountering the Serpent Celestial Marshal directly as an individual personality, Aiwass felt completely caught off guard.

Aiwass originally believed he’d encounter this being only after defeating the Fallen Celestial Marshal, the Calamity Demon Dragon… or even his foster father. He had imagined it standing in some dark palace, awaiting his challenge, the inevitable showdown mandated by destiny between them, deciding life and death…

Yet now, it had appeared so early.

So early that Aiwass was utterly unprepared, without even the chance to let his emotions build…

“Actually, you should now call me Endless Knot,” Ai Shiping said with a smile, exuding a surprising affinity. “But calling me Serpent Celestial Marshal works too–up to you…”

It took a step back, observing Aiwass as though admiring its most perfect creation.

“Finding this moment is no easy task.”

Serpent Celestial Marshal sighed, “Only when your transcendent soul has separated can you calmly listen to me. Yet I can’t descend near the Holy Nation, so I could only wait for you in the Dream Realm…”

“…So,” Aiwass furrowed his brow slightly, “because I died, you’ve come before me, is that it?”

“One of you or Aleister has to die for me to show up. You both must split apart somehow… If Aleister saw me and launched an attack, you’d just join in, wouldn’t you? That would be troublesome.”

Serpent Celestial Marshal said with a sly smile, “That Hakimi–if he went crazy and bit someone… well, that’d be a key cap, wouldn’t it?”

Aiwass couldn’t understand its cryptic remark, but he instinctively sensed it wasn’t anything good.

His brows furrowed tightly, yet he couldn’t deny one truth–without Aleister’s presence, he indeed had the patience to hear Serpent Celestial Marshal out and was undeniably curious.

“…So what exactly is it you want? To take over my body and ascend to the Ring of Ouroboros?”

Aiwass countered, “Isn’t Endless Knot enough for you?”

“You must be joking. Do you think you’re special somehow?”

Serpent Celestial Marshal gave a faint smile, gentle yet tinged with an undeniable arrogance and indifference: “To ascend to the Ring of Ouroboros, I don’t need you at all. You don’t even understand the meaning behind the name ‘Aiwass.’

“Listen carefully, Aiwass–I am your Shepherd. Whether it’s you or Aleister, you’ve both been fragments separated from me from the very beginning. You’ve simply forgotten far too much, which led you to develop a sense of self… Thus, if the day comes when I need to complete myself, it wouldn’t be ‘taking over your body.’ It would merely be reclaiming what is mine.”

“Then,” Aiwass said coldly, “if the ultimate outcome is… I devour you instead?”

“…Heh.”

Serpent Celestial Marshal chuckled, unfazed: “If you can manage that, go right ahead. The Nurturing Skill is merely a bridge; it’s not the destination. Whose consciousness takes precedence is something only mortals constrained by flesh worry about. Once you’ve died once, you’ll understand how inconsequential that really is. It’s just like the synopsis of a novel… Sure, it matters, but the absence of it doesn’t prevent you from reading. What’s really critical is what lies within.

“When you become me, you will ultimately choose to act as I would. I know you as thoroughly as I know myself. I know what I have split off, and I know what choices you’ll make. That’s why I posed the prior question…”

“…To ensure more people survive?”

Aiwass murmured softly in reply.

He asked back, “Is that the reason you’re conducting the Ring of Ouroboros?”

“Oh?”

Serpent Celestial Marshal’s face remained unmoved, its smile like the mercy of a deity, spreading its arms casually as if stretching lazily: “Then just take a look at this world.

“This is a world where I didn’t conduct the Ring of Ouroboros ceremony–what do you think?”

“…I think it’s pretty good.”

Aiwass spoke honestly. “Extraordinary Power and technology have fused–it’s like…”

“–It’s like our past life, isn’t it? Only even more interesting now. Indeed, if we consider amusement value or the progression of civilization, this world does seem ideal.”

Serpent Celestial Marshal’s eyes lowered slightly, the smile on its face gradually dimming.

“Explaining here won’t bring the clarity you need.”

It continued, placing a hand on Aiwass’s shoulder.

In the next instant–

The surrounding world was abruptly rewritten.

Pale-purple skies stretched infinitely overhead, with silver-white stars transforming into wandering meteors accompanying the flow.

In contrast, deep-purple rivers churned like tidal waves. Serpent Celestial Marshal stood atop a small chunk of ice, drifting downstream. It hurled all the stars behind it, while ahead lay nothing but the infinite, all-engulfing void–its rivers not yet traversed, where everything was muddled obscurity. Only when the current reached, the beauty of purple unveiled itself.

“This is…”

“The Eighth Source River–The River of Evolving Bonds.”

Serpent Celestial Marshal raised its head, its voice steady: “One of us–you or me–will someday claim the river’s power.”

“…Do you really long for power so much?” Aiwass whispered.

“Longing? Power?”

Serpent Celestial Marshal laughed, as if hearing the most absurd joke: “No, you still fail to understand what it means to become a Pillar God. Take even one step into this Source River, and you avoid reincarnation–you transcend death, returning here endlessly in cycles.”

It pointed forward into the void: “Do you know what lies there?”

“…”

Aiwass didn’t speak.

His lips pressed tightly together, his brow furrowed deeply.

Could this truly… be himself?

Clearly, they were fragments split from one another. Why did the disparity feel so enormous?

“That is the nonexistent Tenth Source River–Void. But I prefer to call it ‘Void Whisper.'”

Serpent Celestial Marshal looked back at Aiwass: “You must’ve heard of it? In another timeline–a timeline where ‘New Avalon’ was called ‘London,’ the moment after December 31, 1999–the world was frozen like amber in twilight.

“Let me tell you that tale from another perspective.

“–This world has been restarted eight times. On that day, the world didn’t perish… it was ‘frozen.’

“For eight millennia, the cycle has repeated endlessly. Amber preserved this world; she ascended as a Pillar God for this feat. Since then… the entire world has revolved perpetually within Amber’s body.

“My authority over reincarnation wasn’t shattered before that event… but rather, ceded to Amber.”

Serpent Celestial Marshal calmly faced Aiwass: “Have you ever utilized the second effect of Nurturing Skill?

“Granting Phantom Demon Power to others–and, as is widely known, Celestial Marshals and Pillar Gods are a type of Phantom Demon too.

“I handed all of my Pillar God power to that girl. She is this world’s living pillar.”

“…The girl within Amber–isn’t she the ‘wrong’ Pillar God?”

Aiwass realized he had misunderstood something earlier.

Serpent Celestial Marshal posed a rhetorical question: “Why would you assume that every Source River necessarily corresponds to a Pillar God?

“You truly haven’t grasped what it means to become a Pillar God. That is the living pillar of this world.

“If ascending as a Pillar God bore no price…

“–Then how else could you have come into existence?”