"Writing a diary out of curiosity, and I ended up with Sefirah Castle and the River of Eternal Darkness."

  "If Amon and the Evernight Goddess from that world knew about this… they'd probably explode with rage."

  It was hard to imagihe time and effort Amon had spent scheming to seize Sefirah Castle.

  And the Evernight Goddess… her efforts iablishing the River of Eternal Darkness were no less signifit.

  The Celestial Worthy had sealed a vast number of Sefirah fragments within the Western ti. Unlog those seals to allow the corresponding Sequerue Gods the ce to advao the level of the Old Ones required either the resurre of the Celestial Worthy or the birth of a new Lord of Mysteries.

  A task that demanded meticulous preparation, long-term pnning, araordinary patience.

  After all, giving rise to a brand-new Lord of Mysteries wasn't something that could happen ht.

  A…

  All I did was write a diary…

  With nothing more than that, Ren had obtained not only Sefirah Castle but now also the River of Eternal Darkness.

  It was almost ughable. A ic irony.

  But it also raised another intriguing point.

  "So, the diary harvest other types of essences…"

  "But I won't deviate from my core paths."

  Mastering three adjat pathways was already araordinary feat. Even if the diary provided access to other pathways, he had no iion of jumping tracks.

  Pg both hands on the riverbank, Ren pushed himself out of the water.

  His clothes were soaked with the dark, colorless water of the River of Eternal Darkness, yet the sensation of dampness never came.

  The water sank effortlessly into his skin.

  A strange ess washed over him. The surging spiritual energy within his body quieted, leaving him with a profound sense of tranquility.

  The world itself seemed to dim, its noise reduced to a faint whisper. Even his own presence felt like it was dissolving into the surrounding stillness.

  Eyes closed, Ren took a deep breath.

  When he opened his eyes, he raised his hand.

  A droplet of colorless water densed in his palm.

  "Secret."

  The droplet vanished.

  "Sword."

  In an instant, an a-looking sword materialized in his grasp.

  The bde was simple, with no ornate engravings or unnecessary embellishments; it erfectly banced, her too long nor too broad.

  It reminded him of the swords often seen in historical dramas.

  But uhe iron and steel bdes from those shows, this sword looked more like it was fed from bros surface shimmered faintly, carrying an inexplicable sense of weight and mystery.

  Ren reized it immediately.

  "The Sword of Dawn…"

  This sword wasn't just a random maion, it was the personalized form of the Sword of Dawn.

  I never really liked greatswords to begin with…

  Even in games, he alreferred bows and ranged bat over cumbersome melee ons. His skill with greatswords was so abysmal that he only ever used them while watg others py.

  Perhaps this subscious preference had shaped the sword's form, molding it into something more familiar and fortable in his hands.

  He tested the grip for a moment, then muttered to himself:

  "Not bad… though I don't really use swords much."

  He paused.

  "What about… a card deck?"

  The Sword of Dawn shimmered in response.

  Its form shifted like liquid metal, flowiween his fingers until it solidified into a deck of cards.

  A plete tarot deck.

  The cards felt smooth and cool against his skin, their backs adorned with subtle, shimmering patterns that seemed to shift in the dim light.

  I didn't expect it to be this versatile…

  He fanned out the cards and ied them.

  They were practically indistinguishable frur tarot cards, except for the faint, otherworldly aura they emitted.

  "It looks like I won't o repce my tarot decks anymore."

  Divination tools jured from the River of Eternal Darkness were far superior to any ordinary cards. Their in grahem a e to something far deeper and more profound than mundane fortuelling.

  The River of Eternal Darkness itself was inexhaustible. Its waters naturally replenished, making it an endless source of energy.

  Ren shuffled the cards absentmindedly.

  Suddenly, they dissolved into water droplets and vanished.

  "Huh… it's like it's remindihat the cards revert to river water anytime."

  So there really is no ption issue.

  This meant he could use tarot cards freely during divinations without w about running out of materials.

  That's going to e in handy.

  He let out a soft exhale.

  The River of Eternal Darkness didn't reject him, it weled him, much like Sefirah Castle had.

  Its power was already beginning to resoh his body, adapting itself to his presence.

  Ren had now gained initial trol over the River of Eternal Darkness.

  However, the iion process was slow, noticeably slower than it had been with Sefirah Castle.

  The reason wasn't difficult to guess.

  I didn't choose the pathway associated with the River of Eternal Darkness, he thought. That's probably why the iion is taking longer.

  But he wasn't particurly ed.

  Obtaining the River of Eternal Darkness had been an ued windfall, and he wasn't about to pin about the slower synization.

  It's fine if it takes a while. Iing with a source essence is a naturally slow process anyway. The fact that it's already showing some progress is good enough.

  Satisfied with that clusion, Ren closed his eyes.

  When he opehem again, he was ba his room.

  The effect of the River of Eternal Darkness was already noticeable.

  His emotio more stable, his spirit calmer, and the subtle agitation that usually apanied heightened spiritual activity had dissipated.

  This feels like the ability of a Sequence 6 Soul Assurer…

  The parison made sehe power resembled that of the Darkness Pathway's Soul Assurer, a role focused on calmiless souls and navigating the mysteries of death.

  And if that's the case, then the Sword of Dawn must e from the extraordinary characteristics of the Twilight Giant Pathway's Sequence 6—Dawn Padin.

  He frowned slightly.

  Why does the River of Eternal Darkness seem to offer more immediate utility than Sefirah Castle did?

  When I first obtained Sefirah Castle, it could only grant abilities from Sequence 7.

  But the River of Eternal Darkness is already giving me access to Sequence 6-level powers…

  Curious, Ren experimented further with the newly acquired abilities.

  After several attempts, he began to uand the underlying meics.

  So that's how it works.

  The River of Eternal Darkness ma individual abilities at higher Sequence levels, but it 't grant the plete set of powers from that Sequenless I reach the corresponding level of authority.

  The logic aligned with what he already knew about the source essences.

  The power from the River wasn't an all-access pass to higher-tier abilities, it simply allowed him to access fragments of extraordinary skills from select pathways.

  That discovery immediately elevated the River's strategic value.

  Sequence 6-level abilities from the Dawn Padin and Soul Assurer paths are already highly practical.

  Even if the iion process was slow and the River couldn't yet grant more advanced powers, these partial abilities still held immeential.

  And the Death Pathway's Sequence 6 abilities…

  The thought made him pause.

  In a world where death was an ever-presey, abilities from the Death Pathway would undoubtedly bee invaluable.

  Especially when dealing with mysteries and is like the one we just experienced on Tsukikage Isnd.

  Satisfied with his assessment, Ren shifted his focus back to the present.

  Time to che with the others.

  He stood up, brushed himself off, ahe room.

  Let's see just how lucky they've been this time.