Chapter 876: The Patient |
876 The Patient
Lumian knew that the figure before him was Amon. Although Amon's appearance differed somewhat from Monette and the other Amons, the monocle over his right eye and his overall demeanor and aura unmistakably confirmed his identity.
But why was Amon here? And why did he call himself Termiboros?
Lumian clearly saw those silver and black beams of light emerging from within himself, from the shattered seal of Mr. Fool. How did they transform into Amon?
This was why Lumian had frozen in place earlier.
Could it be that during their previous encounters, Amon had secretly bypassed Mr. Fool's seal, hidden inside him, and replaced Termiboros?
If so, what had Mr. Fool's seal actually been for?
Despite his shock and confusion, Lumian suppressed these emotions because he had more urgent matters to attend to.
He stood up, ready to pick up the Sword of Courage and use the Mirror Traversal ability of the Black Tear to reach Franca, Jenna, and the others, to help them fight Higdon.
Amon, who claimed to be Termiboros, raised His hand to stop Lumian.
He glanced at the transparent boundary showing the battle between Franca, the others, and Higdon, and smiled, saying, "I've fixed their fate for the next ten minutes so they won't die. You still have some time. As for what happens after ten minutes, that's up to your choices."
Lumian refocused on Amon, removing the Black Tear forehead accessory and tucking it into the separate space within his Traveler's Bag to prevent any further negative effects. In a low voice, he asked, "What choices?"
Without waiting for Amon's response, he couldn't help but ask another question, "When did you become Termiboros?"
As he spoke, Lumian temporarily put away the Devil's Whispers bone ring.
Amon's lips curled slightly. "A long, long time ago. By the time you first learned that name, Termiboros was already me."
At this, the former King of Angels' smile took on a hint of mockery.
"In that dream in Cordu Village, the Warlock symbolized the power of inevitability. The Warlock's death and burial in the tomb symbolized the loss of the true owner of that power-the real Termiboros. The owl guarding the tomb and the Warlock's body symbolized an outsider seeking this power. The other you, accompanying the owl, symbolized the inherent depravity within everyone.
"Pallez couldn't even decipher this, yet he calls himself a Cryptologist? Just because I changed my symbolic form, He couldn't recognize me?
"Has he already begun aging prematurely at such a young age?"
Lumian didn't know who Pallez was, but he understood the implications of Amon's explanation.
The first time he had heard about depravity was from a Secrets Suppliant. That knowledge came with the potion. The second time was in the honorific name of the True Creator worshiped by the Aurora Order.
And Amon had a very close relationship with that individual.
This meant the True Creator's influence on the Cordu incident was much deeper than Lumian had imagined. It wasn't just a matter of sending a few lizard-like elves to nudge events along!
Rage that even an Ascetic couldn't suppress burned within Lumian. He squeezed out a hoarse voice from his throat, "Was the Cordu disaster the plan formulated by you two?"
Amon pinched His right eye's monocle, not directly answering Lumian's question.
He pulled a piece of paper from the void and read it in the tone of a report, "Patient: Lumian Lee, male, claims to be born on September 26, 1340, a native of Cordu in Riston Province, Intis Republic.
"Diagnosis: Strong self-destructive tendencies, loss of ability to respond to others' emotions.
"Cause Analysis: Experiences as a street urchin made the patient distrustful of his surroundings, developing habits of self-neglect to survive, abandoning certain societal morals. Aurore Lee's care, sympathy, love, supervision, and interdependent life helped the patient initially heal from that phase, reestablishing social connections and gradually becoming a normal person.
"The disaster at Cordu Village and Aurore's death shattered the patient's rebuilt life, bringing more severe pain and despair, making him afraid to desire or respond to others' emotions, fearing loss again, thus fostering strong self-destructive tendencies.
"First Phase Treatment Plan:
"Step 1: Emphasize the possibility of Aurore Lee's resurrection to give the patient motivation to live.
"Step 2: Arrange for the patient to stay at the Auberge du Coq Doré in the Trier market district, where many people at the bottom of society can effectively evoke the patient's empathy.
"Step 3: Force the patient to form connections with Celia Bello and others through events, preparing to rebuild social connections.
"Step 4: Use the undercover mission in the Iron and Blood Cross Order to make the patient meet Franca Roland. Franca Roland's background is similar to Aurore's, and her cheerful personality can effectively lower the psychological walls the patient has built, making her the most important candidate for re-establishing social connections.
"Step 5: Coordinate with the Tarot Club's Justice and Susie for treatment, reasonably allowing certain events to happen to aid in improving psychological conditions:
"Early Stage: Use the patient's sympathy for the unemployed Charlie and the street girls Ethans allow his help to yield positive results, giving him positive feedback.
"Mid Stage: Ensure the patient encounters Celia Bello after setbacks, receiving companionship and comfort, and using the self-indulgent yet unintentional behavior he chooses to relieve accumulated emotions.
"Late Stage: Bring inevitable events forward at the most appropriate time, with some events potentially occurring before mid-stage treatment:
"These include:
"1. Susanna Mattise targeting Charlie again, having the Bliss Society abduct him to Underground Trier. This would allow the patient to vaguely sense the Sufferer's presence, feel anger, and through these events, strengthen his connections with Franca, Celia, and Charlie, initially rebuilding social ties;
"2. The madman Flameng, whose situation most resembles the patient's, hangs himself after losing all hope and motivation for life despite the patient's help. This strongly resonates with the patient, giving him a huge shock, triggering his rebellious spirit and stubbornness;
"3. Scavenger Ruhr, unfortunately getting affected by the indiscriminate influence of cultists, contracts a severe illness. The patient's efforts to help end in failure, with Ruhr's wife, Michel, losing hope and choosing to indulge once by having a hearty meal and singing loudly before hanging herself at dawn. This similar fate and predestined outcome thoroughly ignite the patient's emotions, making him want to fight against the unfairness of fate, wanting to challenge everything.
"4. The explosion at the chemical plant where Celia Bello's mother worked, acting as the final catalyst.
"First Phase Treatment Result: The patient's self-destructive tendencies significantly reduced, re-established social connections, regained some motivation to live, and can now handle more events."
As Amon read the "report" in an even tone, Lumian felt his heart sink, growing colder with each word.
It was like being doused with cold water as a street urchin, the chill spreading from his head to his toes, extinguishing all his hope and pride like a candle flame.
His indignation, his rebellion against fate-all of them seemed like a joke, shattered into pieces and ground into the dirt by those in power.
At this moment, Lumian felt completely numb.
Half of him burned with uncontrollable anger and the self-destructive urge to drag the report writer to death with him. The other half once again felt the despair and pain from when Aurore had pushed him away to face death alone.
Amon finally finished reading the first phase treatment report and looked at Lumian with a smile, seemingly waiting for a response.
Lumian's body hunched slightly, and his voice erupted from the depths of his soul, filled with agony, "Why? Why me?"
Amon smiled and said, "The Fool's aura and Aurore's foolish choice made you a good test subject, capable of bearing many things and verifying the initial experimental results.
"That's one reason. The other is if you truly self-destruct, won't my role as Termiboros be exposed? How can I deceive those outside and make Them place heavy bets?
"Only by slowly absorbing and digesting Termiboros' Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics within The Fool's seal and changing pathways will it be most hidden and least likely to be discovered."
Lumian's mind was in chaos, his emotions exploding, even the Conspirer's abilities were hard to use. He could only ask instinctively, "In that large ceremony with the padre, did not only Termiboros descend but also you? Did you intentionally seal yourself with the injured Termiboros into my body?"
Amon nodded lightly and smiled. "Thanks to your gifts, it helped me open the return path and gave me such a present."
Lumian fell silent, involuntarily breathing heavily as if the air here was too thin, and he had to force himself to breathe deeply. "Previously, the Sufferer hidden around me, who was it?"
Amon shook His head. "Haven't you guessed it yet? You should have heard His name, the Angel of Fate, Ouroboros."
The Angel of Fate, Ouroboros... Lumian was stunned, but it seemed to make sense.
This was the King of Angels who had once followed the Ancient Sun God and was currently serving the True Creator as mentioned by Mr. K during his preaching.
Lumian instinctively gritted his teeth, his voice squeezing out through the gaps, "Did you have a chance to save Aurore back then?"
Amon smiled. "Do you want to hear the answer?"
He glanced at the paper in His hand, seemingly preparing to read new content that might contain all the answers.
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