# 1896
Chapter 1889: Second Covenant
"Cthulhu Faction leader?" Lin Qiye's heart skipped a beat.
Previously, when [Chaos] had addressed it as "Lord Azathoth," Lin Qiye had already suspected as much, but hearing that the Three Pillars were born because of Him sent his heart plummeting into an abyss.
The Three Pillars alone had already left numerous divine kingdoms at their wits' end—so how terrifying must the existence that birthed them be?
"I remember the settings for Azathoth being quite exaggerated," Jinian chimed in, as if recalling something. "It seems like, He's omnipotent. No one knows how He was born, no one knows what He looks like, purposeless, chaotic, indescribable...
Oh right! The most ridiculous part is that they believe the entire universe exists because of Azathoth—when He awakens, everything in the universe will be erased, like a dream that never existed... Anyway, the lore about this guy is a mess, just saying He's invincible and unbeatable and whatnot. All jumbled together by different people, making it feel very uncomfortable."
Hearing this, Lin Qiye's expression grew somewhat peculiar.
Omnipotent, purposeless, chaotic, indescribable... he could understand all that, but the universe exists because of Him? When He awakens, everything gets erased? This was rather too ethereal.
Regardless, they had finally learned some information about Azathoth. Just knowing that He was the leader of the Cthulhu Faction and the origin of the Three Pillars was enough to demonstrate His overwhelming power. The culprit behind those four maddened universes in the asylum should be Azathoth.
But if that were the case... how could they possibly fight?
Just the Three Pillars—[Chaos], [Key to the Gate], and [Black Goat]—already made Great Xia's odds of victory extremely grim. Now an Azathoth, even more变态 than the Three Pillars, had appeared...
"Why did you say that even if He exists, we can't perceive Him?" Lin Qiye asked, as if remembering something.
"Because this entire universe exists because of Him, right? We're like living in His dream. The dimension He's in is higher than ours... The shadow of a two-dimensional world, no matter how much it struggles, can't truly touch a three-dimensional human." Jinian continued,
"Don't even mention us—even those Cthulhu Faction gods can't. Apparently, in the Cthulhu mythology, only the Paths Walker, [Chaos], can communicate with Azathoth."
"Only [Chaos] can communicate with Azathoth?" Lin Qiye recalled [Chaos]'s words in the asylum, deep in thought. "No wonder He was so confident in thinking He was the leader of all gods..."
If the Cthulhu Faction mythology were compared to a religion, then [Chaos] would be equivalent to the only being capable of communicating with the true god. As the true god's spokesperson, His status naturally should be the highest.
Wait!
A thought struck Lin Qiye like lightning.
Higher dimension than us... an existence that cannot be perceived... In Lin Qiye's mind, he suddenly recalled his game of chess with An Qingyu in the small courtyard in the capital!
[...However, if you treat the game within this chessboard as the basis for determining victory or defeat, you may never win]
[Are you saying... the thing that determines victory or defeat is not within this chessboard?]
[The world is small, the chessboard is also small... some things are bigger than them, and far, far bigger.]
"Outside the chessboard... outside the chessboard?" Lin Qiye猛地 turned to look toward Mirror Strait, his eyes flashing with brilliance. "Could He have been referring to Azathoth?"
As one of the Three Pillars, even if An Qingyu couldn't communicate with Azathoth, He should have sensed His existence... That game of chess between them—had it actually been a hint about Azathoth?
No matter how fiercely they clashed with the Cthulhu Faction on Earth, if they couldn't find a way to deal with Azathoth, everything would be meaningless. This universe would still end up like the other four—madness and destruction.
"Is there any record in those books about how to defeat Azathoth?" Lin Qiye asked immediately.
"No... They're just novels, not some ancient secret manual. Azathoth's setting in most works is that He's invincible, and the endings of those works are one比一个惨..."
Lin Qiye fell silent.
Invincible... Didn't that mean this was a battle destined to fail?
Seemingly sensing Lin Qiye's mood, Jinian spoke to comfort him, "I'm just saying this casually, don't take it too seriously... Novel settings are fictional after all. What I said might have exaggerated elements. What if Azathoth doesn't even exist? Even if He does, He might not be as strong as I described."
Lin Qiye took a deep breath. "I understand... No matter what, I'm the Commander-in-Chief of Night Watch. If I were so easily demoralized by rumors, you'd be underestimating me."
Jinian was about to say something more when his expression suddenly changed, and he looked back behind them.
Almost simultaneously, the distant sky darkened, and a massive cloud of flesh and blood was approaching at a startling speed toward the two of them.
"As expected, they caught up." Lin Qiye scanned the surroundings. "A few Cthulhu Faction gods... [Chaos] didn't come—that's the only good news."
"We're still some distance from Great Xia... Can we outrun them?"
"His speed is too fast. He'll catch up sooner or later."
"Then what do we do? Should we have Great Xia's sword immortal strike again?"
"No need..."
Lin Qiye索性 stopped his movements, turned to face the approaching [Black Goat], and slowly spoke, "If there's only one Pillar God... it should be feasible."
"What are you planning to do?" Though Jinian was confused, he still stopped alongside him.
Lin Qiye didn't answer. His gaze shifted from the sky-obscuring cloud of flesh and blood to the direction of Great Xia.
...
Great Xia.
Qilian Mountains.
Between howling winds and snow, a figure walked slowly forward, finally stopping at the mountain peak.
A deep crimson cloak fluttered in the mountain winds, and in the mournful howling wind, an ancient and massive bronze bell stood imposingly before him.
Eastern Emperor Bell!
"The Second Covenant... It's time." The Seraph Lin Qiye murmured to himself. "Are you ready, Chloe..."
The last time the Eastern Emperor Bell tolled was when it was struck by the hand of the Fate Monk. The First Covenant was activated, sending Lin Qiye back thousands of years, setting up the causal chain that brought them from despair to salvation... It was also at that time that he made two other covenants with the Chloe of that era.
And now, he would personally strike the Eastern Emperor Bell... The Second Covenant was about to manifest.
In the vast snowstorm, the Seraph Lin Qiye raised his palm, golden divine power surging into his hand. He took a deep breath and struck the surface of the bronze bell with all his strength!
Dong—!
Dong—!!
Dong—!!!