On the Twilight Battlefield, of the hundreds of civilizations that had once existed, few remained after years of brutal warfare.
At present, the only surviving ones were a single First Calamity Civilization, two Eighth Calamity Civilizations, three Seventh Calamity Civilizations, one Sixth Calamity Civilization, and one Fourth Calamity Civilization—eight in total, ranked by strength.
If the Fourth and Sixth Calamity Civilizations had clawed their way to power by battling lower-tier civilizations and surviving by the skin of their teeth, growing strong enough to face Eighth Calamity Civilizations without fear...
Then the lone First Calamity Civilization—the Dark Sea Civilization—had been different. From the very beginning, it had crushed its way to the top, becoming the strongest without contest.
Every civilization that clashed with the Dark Sea Civilization, even those of the Seventh Calamity level, had been utterly defeated.
Rosen had been too preoccupied these past years to pay close attention to the Twilight Battlefield. He hadn't expected a monster like the Dark Sea Civilization to be hiding there.
Its appearance was strange. Back when he had first entered the King's Game, he had awakened three First Calamity Civilizations to initiate the Twilight War. According to the rules he had set, when only one First Calamity Civilization remained, a sealed Second Calamity Civilization would be released.
However, among the three civilizations he had unsealed back then, there had been no sign of this Dark Sea Civilization.
It was as though it had suddenly appeared out of thin air after the Twilight War began.
Moreover, the name "Dark Sea" immediately reminded Rosen of the Primordial Dark Sea mentioned in the Doomsday Ark.
The Twilight War of the Twilight Battlefield was a form of gu-raising, just like the King's Game, but the methods were vastly different.
The Twilight War was far more intense. In the King's Game, players grew stronger by killing monsters and leveling up, but once they left the domain of the game, their power would weaken significantly. Kings who reigned as Great True Gods in the King's Realm would be nothing more than slightly stronger True Gods outside of it.
Power not earned through one's own cultivation could never fully become one's own.
But the Twilight Battlefield was different. There were no monster kills or level-ups here. Instead, when one civilization completely annihilated another, the victor would undergo explosive growth in a short period of time—a growth with deep and solid foundations. Some True Gods had even used this method to ascend to Great True Gods.
In fact, two of the Great True Gods from the Eighth Calamity Civilizations had already reached the peak of their level, qualifying to ascend as Immortal Godfiends.
This rapid development was largely tied to the existence of the Dark Sea Civilization.
A war that should have taken centuries to conclude was now estimated to end within decades, all thanks to the terrifying strength of the Dark Sea Civilization. Even the two Eighth Calamity Civilizations had been forced to accelerate their pace in the war.
At this rate, a peak Ninth Calamity Civilization was expected to emerge.
As long as it could survive its final civilization-level tribulation, it would be able to escape the New World.
The more Rosen observed the Twilight Battlefield, the more he sensed that something wasn't right.
Before entering the King's Game, he had already secured 52% control over the Twilight Battlefield. Over the years, that number had increased significantly. When defeated civilizations were on the verge of destruction, many chose to pass their control rights to him rather than let them fall into enemy hands.
As a result, he now held 61% of the battlefield's control rights.
With such a high level of control, he should have been fully aware of everything happening on the battlefield.
Even if he was busy with the King's Game, there was no reason he should have overlooked such a major anomaly—unless some force had actively caused him to ignore the Twilight Battlefield.
These irregularities were undoubtedly linked to the Dark Sea Civilization.
Rosen used his authority to observe the Dark Sea Civilization from a god's-eye view.
The entire civilization took the form of a massive black water sphere. When clashing with other civilizations, it simply rolled over them like a wave. As for what was hidden inside that giant water sphere—no one knew. It seemed he would have to rely on the remaining civilizations to test and uncover the truth for him.
Rosen immediately dispatched an eternal clone, using his battlefield authority to monitor any changes.
Meanwhile, inside the Mysterious Study Room, he took out all of the Great True God-level miracle artifacts he possessed.
The Main God Computer, the Doomsday Ark, the Terror Amusement Park, the Wargame Chessboard, the Chaotic Pointer, the Wireless Signal Tower, the Biological Alchemy Manual, the God's Cross—strictly speaking, even the Eye of the Void and the Omniscient Evil Eye were tangible Great True God-grade existences.
All of these could be merged into the Miracle Sequence, enabling him to further master them.
The eye-related artifacts were the first to be excluded. The two types of eye abilities, along with the Dark Sun Heavenly Eye, had already been perfectly integrated into the Eye of the Creator.
The Wargame Chessboard was also ruled out—it was more suitable for the Miracle Stone Golem.
The Biological Alchemy Manual leaned too far into support, and Rosen wasn't lacking in support.
The Wireless Signal Tower was excluded as well—he wasn't about to set up a Main God Network across the infinite cosmos beyond the New World.
There weren't many choices left—only the Main God Computer, the Doomsday Ark, the Terror Amusement Park, and the Chaotic Pointer.
Each of them had its own advantages, and Rosen wanted to merge all of them into the Miracle Sequence.
After careful consideration, Rosen ruled out the Terror Amusement Park. It had been fused with the Seed of Corruption, and he was concerned it might be incompatible.
Merging the Main God Computer would grant him full control over it.
He was already close to becoming a Great True God, yet the Main God Computer remained at Sequence 0.
From Sequence 0 onward, the restoration of the Main God Computer had stalled.
Because the computer was incomplete, continuing repairs would require fusing the dark matter AI chip he had obtained back when he solved the Main God Radiant Sphere. But the chip remained a mystery despite all his research, and he didn't want to risk fusing it with the Main God Computer.
Rosen then considered the Doomsday Ark. As a miracle relic on its own, its value was already beyond estimation.
Not to mention, the Doomsday Ark also held the possibility of escaping the New World.
The Chaotic Pointer wasn't bad either. It could destroy all kinds of order—virtually the nemesis of all laws, rules, and systems.
It could even drastically enhance the power of Eternal Fall through the destruction of order.
After long contemplation, Rosen ultimately decided to merge the Doomsday Ark.
It was a last-resort safeguard. Miracle treasures fused into the Miracle Sequence could level up alongside the sequence itself.
Once he became an Immortal Godfiend, the Doomsday Ark would also evolve into an Immortal Godfiend artifact.
By then, even in the worst-case scenario—should an Old God awaken—he would at least have a route of retreat.
[Doomsday Ark: Miracle Sequence]
[Level: Taboo Godfiend]
[Miracle Attribute: The Doomsday Ark can sail through the Primordial Dark Sea and the Endless Void]
[Miracle Traits: Doomsday Barrier, Doomsday Escape, Doomsday Survival]
After Rosen merged the Doomsday Ark into the Miracle Sequence, its properties changed.
Previously, it could break free from the Primordial Dark Sea to sail—now it could naturally navigate through the Primordial Dark Sea.
Additionally, though the Miracle Sequence's advancement to the Great True God level hadn't brought any boost to his divine or life origins, it had given birth to the fourth unique ability of the Miracle Sequence.
That was: by consuming Eternal Miracle Essence, all miracle treasures of the Miracle Sequence could be fused into the Doomsday Ark.
It turned out that the unique ability born at the Great True God stage was directly tied to the miracle treasure merged at that stage.
Because of the Doomsday Ark's miracle trait Doomsday Survival, which allowed it to fuse with certain special miracle treasures, this led to the birth of the unique ability to integrate all miracle treasures of the Miracle Sequence—yielding unimaginable power-ups for the Ark.
Rosen fused the Ancient God's Sacred Bell into the Doomsday Ark, granting it a sound-recording feature.
Then he fused the Secret Brass Book, allowing the ship's log to record hidden knowledge.
Next, he fused the Wisdom Relic—filling the Doomsday Ark's water reservoir with the Fountain of Wisdom. The water could be drunk, and it also helped everyone on board remain rational while significantly boosting resistance to spiritual damage.
Rosen became more and more addicted to the process, and went on to fuse the Ashen Emblem and the History Camcorder.
The former generated a Great True God-level mist of ashes around the Doomsday Ark, greatly enhancing its stealth capabilities.
As for the History Camcorder, it gave the Ark the ability to instantly revive at full strength once after taking fatal damage.
Eagerly, Rosen continued fusing the Coin of Fate, the Miracle Pouch, and the Apocalypse Treasure Map.
The Doomsday Ark gained enhanced stealth and void-escape capabilities. Its radar system was upgraded to search for treasures and convert passengers' luck into Fate Coins—now, everyone boarding the Ark would pay with their fortune.
The Fate Coins collected from passengers could then be used by Rosen to spin the Wheel of Destiny.
The Glorious Map allowed the Doomsday Ark to generate its own exclusive sailing charts. Any location it had sailed to and recorded on the map could become a teleportation destination—instantly travelable once.
The Final Judgment Ring granted the Ark powerful damage capabilities via Judgment Thunder Punishment.
As for the Glimmer Ring, once merged, the Ark's surface could be coated in Eternal Holy Radiance, significantly boosting its ability to navigate through special environments—such as Void Storms. Storms below the level of Immortal Godfiends would no longer be able to harm the Doomsday Ark.
After fusing a total of eleven Miracle Artifacts, the power of the Doomsday Ark had already completely surpassed the level a Great True God should possess. And this was only the surface-level change that Rosen could perceive—many of the hidden transformations brought by the Miracle Traits had yet to be explored.
Inside the Doomsday Ark's passenger cabin, Rosen arrived before the ticket space. Inside was still sealed a mad Great True God. Now, he had the power to deal with this lunatic.
Very soon, he would learn how this Great True God went insane, and also what exactly had happened aboard the Doomsday Ark in those days—what it had encountered to nearly be destroyed. Perhaps, he could even find out why the Doomsday Ark had ended up in the deep seas of the Spirit World.
Atop the Doomsday Ark's mast, the Holy Bell of the Old God began to sway rhythmically.
Rosen also started using the skills he had learned from the Musician Sequence, through the abilities of the Creator Scholar.
Flores's Lullaby, enhanced by the Holy Bell of the Old God, was a song that hypnotized the depths of divinity. Under its influence, the trembling Great True God in the corner of the ticket space gradually shed his instinctive fear. A peaceful smile appeared on his face as he drifted into slumber.
Within the dreamscape constructed by the tolling of the Holy Bell of the Old God, Rosen didn't directly guide this Great True God to recall memories.
To drive even a Great True God—who held immortal will and had incredibly firm resolve—into madness and endless fear, that experience must have been an absolute taboo. Forcing him to recall it would only provoke resistance and cause him to break free of the lullaby's power and awaken.
So Rosen instead transferred the Miracle Trait [Historical Replay] of the History Camera to the Holy Bell of the Old God through the Miracle Sequence.
With the [Historical Replay] trait, the Holy Bell could use its sound to recreate the past memories of this Great True God.
As long as he locked onto the most deeply imprinted segment of memory and replayed it, he could uncover exactly what happened on that ship back then!
Rosen projected the memory recreated by Historical Replay onto the open pages of the Hidden Brass Tome.
In case there was anything dangerous within the memory, the Hidden Brass Tome could block it out and simultaneously record it.
With the Miracle Sequence's enhancement of the Hidden Brass Tome, the tome now rivaled a Great True God-level Miracle Artifact in power. Its capacity to carry secrecy had been enhanced countless times over.
As the memory scenes unfolded, everything that had once occurred aboard the Doomsday Ark reappeared before him.
At first, everything went smoothly—just as he had understood it.
The Void Worm swarm, the Cursed Wraiths formed by the Apocalypse Curse—while dangerous—had all ultimately been overcome.
Until the Doomsday Ark encountered a sudden attack at the edge of the Void of the New World: it was an enormous beast, whose entire body had no organs except for mouths—countless mouths—shaped like a sea cucumber.
From its mouths poured countless voices, composed of myriad languages intertwined into a cacophony.
Even the immortal will of a Great True God couldn't withstand the attack of those voices. Some of the True Gods aboard the ship were almost instantly twisted into unnameable monsters by the sounds. In the end, they had to be thrown off the Doomsday Ark by the remaining Great True Gods.
Only by the combined effort of three Great True Gods did they barely escape the mysterious beast's assault.
But that was just the beginning—not the end.
In the aftermath, all kinds of colossal beasts emerged one after another. The True Gods aboard were slaughtered until only one remained—sheltered by the strongest of the Great True Gods, his direct descendant.
Fortunately, the Doomsday Ark had already escaped the New World—it had successfully transcended it.
However, outside wasn't the universe—there was no cosmic void—only the deep sea formed by the origin of infinite worlds, and infinite monstrous beasts.
The Doomsday Ark was surrounded, caught in a hopeless situation.
Leaving the New World didn't mean freedom. What awaited them was a despairing abyss.
At that time, the only sliver of survival was to flee back to the New World. During that return, two of the three Great True Gods perished.
The sole survivor had merely sealed himself in the ticket space in a false death.
A Doomsday Ark with no living beings aboard no longer drew the beasts' attacks.
However, the Doomsday Ark had already suffered nearly fatal damage—only following its final navigational directive did it return to the New World.
After that, the Great True God who survived in false death knew nothing more. Because unknowingly, he had suffered some unknown injury that directly caused his immortal will to fall into endless mental torment, eventually transforming him into a madman trapped in the ticket space.
"Those giant beasts were what my divine consciousness saw in the universe."
Rosen muttered to himself with certainty.
Through the Eternal Origin Ascension, he had seen those giant beasts.
However, he hadn't had enough contact or understanding of the true threat posed by those endless monsters.
Now, it seemed that leaving the New World from the edge of the Void was a dead end.
Not to mention the Great True Gods, even Immortal Godfiends facing so many giant beasts would have only one way to die.
Rosen thought of the Dark Sea of Origin, filled with the endless origin of the world. Could it be the so-called Dark Sea of Origin?
Beyond the Dark Sea of Origin, were there other cosmic spaces, such as the cosmic void filled with countless stars?
Parallel worlds, layered inner and outer worlds, overlapping worlds, and different dimensions could all explain the true face of the universe.
In his past life, even on the Blue Star planet, scientists had speculated about the existence of a dark matter world.
The starry universe should exist in truth, and the stars used as arrows for the Star Shooter might have come from the Starry Universe.
Leaving the New World through different paths should lead to different cosmic levels.
Some of these paths might lead to life, but many others lead to certain death.
The path guided by the Star Shooter might be one of those rare paths to survival.
But if that were the case, where did the civilizations that threatened the world's will and were ultimately expelled by it go? Were they sent to the Dark Sea of Origin, or to the cosmic void filled with countless stars?
Rosen could only speculate for now. To uncover the truth, the best way would be to find another path under the guidance of the Star Shooter.
After reviewing the memories of the mad Great True God, Rosen casually condensed a Secret Key generated by the Hidden Brass Tome.
This key, upon contact with a lifeform, allowed the Hidden Brass Tome to steal the deepest secrets hidden within that lifeform.
Of course, this required the Hidden Brass Tome's level to surpass that of the target lifeform. Now, with the Miracle Sequence advancing to the level of a Great True God, the Hidden Brass Tome had also been upgraded to a Great True God-level Miracle Artifact, so the Secret Key could now be effective against a Great True God.
However, Rosen didn't care much for this secret, as it was very likely to be of no value.
Sure enough, the results were not impressive. The greatest secret of this Great True God was that, as a child, he had secretly loved his next-door sister. Even when he had become a Great True God, the sister had already been dead for thousands of years, yet he still couldn't forget her and found a substitute to bear a child.
This child, in the end, was the one who almost survived to the end but died in another ticket space.
So, secrets hold value based on the person. To call it a secret was more like a deeply hidden obsession.
Rosen left the Ancient Tree of Origin and the Tianren Tribe to continue exploiting the Old World. He would stop only when the World Will called for it. As long as the Old World's surface wasn't destroyed on a large scale, it wouldn't touch the World Will's bottom line.
...
In the Sea Domain of Mount All Gods in the New World, this area had already been fully developed by civilizations from the Old World.
The extraordinary system mastered by the Old World had been fully transformed into the Magic Potion Sequence system over the years.
The New World now had four major factions.
The Sea Domain of Mount All Gods faction, the World Government faction, the Star Realm faction, and the final Spirit Realm faction.
The first three factions constantly clashed with each other but had united against the Spirit Realm faction.
Now, True Gods had retreated to the second tier in these four factions. The first tier was entirely occupied by Great True Gods, and it was certain that all four factions had Immortal Godfiends behind them. This didn't even account for the unknown forces hidden in the background.
At the very least, the Immortal Godfiends behind the Star Shooter could be confirmed to be in a universe outside the New World.
Rosen didn't plan to join any of the four factions. He had enough pieces within them.
The virtual divine personas attached to the initial version of the Player Sequence, which had been spread long ago, had now all transformed into true god avatars. Through these virtual divine personas, he already had enough influence within the four major factions to make an impact.
Therefore, Rosen was ready to establish the fifth faction and redistribute the New World's pie with the four major factions.
(End of Chapter)