Truman's eyes locked onto the striking man, momentarily stunned by his beauty—only a touch better-looking than himself, he thought.
"What would happen if someone like him drank a Witch potion? Shame I'll never find out."
In his mind, the Nightwoven Robe parsed a single piece of information, and Truman recognized this angel.
[Angel of Fate: Ouroboros]
Just one detail, and he already known to him.
Through the vision granted by the Book of Dreams, Truman saw the angel cloaked in thick shadow, a veil hiding an ocean of indescribable colors.
This being was favored by an entity of immense rank.
"Danger!"
For the first time, Truman felt a heavy sense of peril. Whatever lay behind that shadow could wreak terrifying havoc on his existence!
"It's as threatening as eternal sleep!"
"The Chaos Sea… the source cannot be touched!" Truman realized.
The Book of Dreams seemed to sense his will, flipping open on its own. Dreamlike light spilled out, about to clash with that dense shadow!
"Stop!" In that moment, Truman's eyes nearly reflected the figure hidden behind the shadow.
Under his will, the dreamlike light turned into colorful butterflies, like dreams bursting into reality, shimmering with brilliant radiance.
Fortunately, the other side also restrained their restless power, holding back the sea that seemed to hold all secrets.
No clash of source-like forces occurred, but the energy rippled outward.
"Trouble!" Truman hadn't foreseen this. He could already feel a gaze upon him.
That gaze carried ferocity and madness—giants were no gentle folk, and causing a stir here would have predictable consequences.
"Likely the Harvest Goddess, Omebella," Truman thought.
This was her domain. The aura of a source had drawn her attention, her gaze cast as if answering believers' prayers. She was likely nearby!
Before Truman could react, every blade of grass turned hostile. The land itself seemed to shift, rejecting him, as if ready to become his grave.
Even his body began to change—his hair grew brittle, wilting like a plant.
Truman's form flickered, dissolving into streams of complex knowledge, transforming into a torrent of information.
"Hey! Stop standing there—let's go!"
Glancing at Ouroboros, still dazed from the Chaos Sea's impact, Truman grabbed the stunned Hermes and teleported beside the angel. The three began to roam, aiming for the spirit world.
But before they could fully enter, a mass of wildly growing plants blocked their path.
"Mystical reappearance—Emperor's New Clothes!"
In a flash, the hem of Truman's robe fluttered. An invisible cloak, woven purely from knowledge, draped over them.
They vanished yet remained, gliding lightly through the plants.
The trio resumed their roam, entering the spirit world.
The Elder Glove's two pathways held privileges in the spirit world, making Truman unafraid of Omebella. This fight was an accident, not part of his plan, so he decided to slip away.
Without hesitation, he prepared to fully escape the battlefield—only to be stopped by a decaying dusk.
Now he was in for it! The Giant King, sensing the source's aura, had cast his gaze here.
The gap between a true god and Sequence 2? Think of the Death Archon nearly killed by a single glance from the Blood Emperor in later eras.
"Try staring at me!" Truman, confident in the Book of Dreams's rank, raised it, daring the Giant King to look. If that dreamlike light touched him—well, if the Chaos Sea could taint the Dragon of Imagination, his Book of Dreams should work too!
"Let there be light!"
A clear, magnetic voice rang in Truman's ears, making him lower the book.
A god had stepped in, sparing him the trouble.
The Sun blazed in the starry realm above, its fierce light tearing through the decaying dusk.
Roar! A terrifying bellow shook the entire spirit world.
But under that blazing sunlight, the chaotic dusk seemed too wild, unable to break the Sun's blockade.
"Let's go!" Truman glanced back, seeing a massive giant's shadow—wielding a greatsword, clad in tattered armor, his face hidden, with twilight at his back.
This was the Giant King, Aurmir!
An ancient god! Truman hadn't expected to see him. This all stemmed from the unforeseen clash between the Chaos Sea and the Book of Dreams.
"Could the Book of Dreams really be a pathway? But I've never heard of it!" Truman fretted as their roam completed.
Guided by an outside force and Ouroboros's awakened fate manipulation, they arrived in a strange land, before an unfamiliar church.
Before them stood a man like the Sun itself, dressed in a white clerical robe, a silver cross hanging at his chest.
Truman's first glance caught his eyes—pure gold, like miniature suns.
This was the Sun God, later known as the Ancient Sun God.
Naturally, he might already call himself the Creator.
"Who are you?" Truman and the Sun God spoke at once, their gazes locking.
But the next moment, both instinctively closed their eyes and turned away.
In that instant, Truman saw a dark, secret-filled sea, while the Sun God glimpsed a radiant, dreamlike glow holding all beautiful wishes.
Both were worth exploring, but both sensed danger and broke the mystical connection.
Another source-like clash would be disastrous.
"You may call me the Sun God," he said, his gaze returning, now ordinary, without probing.
"I'm Truman," Truman replied, the dancing light in his eyes dimming.
"Truman?" The Sun God paused, pronouncing the name in a way foreign to this era. "True man?"
"Let there be light?" Truman echoed the Sun God's earlier words.
As expected, the Sun God's demeanor shifted slightly.
The air between them grew subtly different.
Perhaps… for the better.
(End of Chapter)