Lord: Sequence Master

"After all that talk, I still don't know what to call you," Candleglow said, looking at the mysterious person lost in thought, as he poured him some tea.

Rosen came back to himself and replied apologetically, "Rosen. My apologies for my rudeness."

"It's alright. What I've said is hard not to overthink. Is there anything else you'd like to know?" Candleglow sighed bitterly.

"I actually have a few questions I'd like to ask you!" Rosen said eagerly.

"I can answer your questions, but I've already answered many for you," Candleglow shook his head. "It's only fair if it goes both ways. If you wish to know more from me, you'll need to resolve some of my own doubts in return. I'll tell you everything I know about what you wish to find out, as an exchange."

"That makes sense. What do you want to know?" Rosen asked, agreeing.

"What's the Great Cycle Realm like now?" Candleglow mused before asking.

"The entire Great Cycle Realm is shrouded in nightfall..." Rosen answered without hesitation. "All universes have become cosmic remnants, and the Cycle Dark Suns illuminate the vicinity of these remnants. I've traveled extensively throughout the Great Cycle Realm for many years and haven't found any living organisms in any cosmic remnant..."

"All universes are destroyed? Then where did you come from?" Candleglow questioned.

"I may have been born in the last universe of the Great Cycle Realm..." Rosen said with a sigh. "It was a universe that gave birth to many Primeval Lifeforms. Later, the powers of the Dark Sun and Nightfall somehow appeared within the universe, leading to a chaotic war among the Primeval Lifeforms. Ultimately, the Cosmic Will perished, and the surviving Primeval Lifeforms became Cycle Lifeforms and left the universe.

Due to severe loss of cosmic origin, the universe could only produce Eternal Lifeforms after the Cycle Lifeforms left. In recent billions of years, two reincarnated Primeval Lifeforms have consistently plotted to destroy the universe to gain resources for their own ascension to Primeval Lifeforms. They successfully destroyed the Heart of the Universe, and I also managed to seize some resources and successfully ascend to a Primeval Lifeform. Later, with the universe destroyed and nowhere to go, I could only wander in endless deep space."

Rosen's answer plunged Candleglow into contemplation. Clearly, he was judging the truthfulness of the answer based on his own knowledge.

"I have no more questions. Is there anything else you want to know?" Candleglow asked with a kind smile after ending his contemplation.

Rosen asked without reservation, "I want to know how one can become a Cycle Lifeform?"

"I only know of three ways..." Candleglow replied without hesitation. "The simplest way is to destroy the Cosmic Will and consume it. Those Cycle Lifeforms you mentioned who successfully ascended and left the universe achieved it through this method.

Another way is to be a naturally born Cycle Lifeform. Many universes directly give birth to Cycle Lifeforms. Finally, there's the path for Primeval Lifeforms who master Indestructible Will. If they can experience a spacetime cycle of the Great Cycle Realm, they can also transform into Cycle Lifeforms. This is the most common type of Cycle Lifeform, and relatively speaking, they are the weakest."

Rosen felt a chill when he heard these three paths, as he realized none of them seemed viable for him. Now, the New Universe was his clone, and his Indestructible Will was the New Universe's Cosmic Will. He couldn't exactly kill himself, so that path was clearly out.

He wasn't a naturally born Cycle Lifeform either, so the only remaining path was to wait for a spacetime cycle. However, that would be at least 1.6 billion years from now. Even if he survived in the memory world until the Great Cycle Realm reset, he would only become the weakest type of Cycle Lifeform. Therefore, he had to find other paths. If he couldn't, he'd have to find a way to take the first one. While killing himself was difficult, it wasn't necessarily impossible for him.

"What are those mysterious mummies that destroy universes?" Rosen finally asked. He had many more questions, but he felt he couldn't stay in this memory world for too long. He could clearly feel that his Eye of Nightfall was becoming increasingly active in this memory world, which permeated the Great Cycle Realm. If he lingered, the balance between his Eye of Nightfall and the Dark Sun Heavenly Eye would surely break.

"I don't know that either. The Nightfall Parasitic Flowers obscure certain forbidden memories within the memory world that cannot be touched," Candleglow explained, shaking his head.

"Thank you very much for your guidance. I owe you a favor," Rosen sighed with disappointment.

If what Candleglow said was true, it would be a huge help to him. While he wasn't one to repay a small kindness with a torrent of gratitude, he would certainly not repay kindness with enmity if the opportunity arose.

However, if Candleglow had deceived him, he would absolutely not mind exacting swift revenge. "No need to thank me, I'm happy to talk to a living person..." Candleglow said, then suddenly smiled regretfully.

"Living person?" Rosen was slightly stunned, then suddenly saw Candleglow, who had been sitting opposite him drinking tea, vanish. It wasn't just that the person disappeared; the perfectly clean tea table was now covered in dust.

Rosen's Indestructible Will instantly covered the city where the incense shop was located. He saw that the hundreds of thousands of citizens who had been there simply vanished without a trace along with Candleglow, and the entire city had become desolate, as if abandoned for years.

His Life Space warped space, and he quickly investigated the entire Candleglow Universe. The entire universe was silent, as if all life had suddenly vanished in an instant. He wanted to investigate what had happened, but his increasingly active Eye of Nightfall forced him to leave the memory world and return to endless deep space.

Returning to the Ark of Doom from the memory world, Rosen pondered Candleglow's last words. "Happy to talk to a living person" implied that Candleglow was dead? When they were talking face-to-face, he couldn't carefully perceive Candleglow. After all, he was seeking help from Candleglow, so he couldn't do anything so rude as to offend him. Thus, he hadn't noticed anything unusual about Candleglow during their conversation.

But it was normal not to notice anything unusual about Candleglow. What wasn't normal was that he hadn't noticed anything unusual about the Candleglow Universe. A few years later, the Dark Sun Heavenly Eye and the Eye of Nightfall achieved a perfect balance once again.

Rosen eagerly activated his Eye of Nightfall and re-entered the memory world that permeated the Great Cycle Realm. In reality, he hadn't moved, so upon entering the memory world, he first saw the Candleglow Universe. His Life Magnetic Field encompassed it, and his Creator's Will permeated it. The entire universe was silent, with no trace of living beings. It was no different from what he had seen and perceived when he left a few years ago.

Rosen left the Candleglow Universe, swung the Heaven-Splitting Divine Axe, and with the power amplified by his Eye of Nightfall, cleaved the Candleglow Universe in two. The Spacetime Cycle reappeared, and the Candleglow Universe was restored to its original state through the spacetime cycle. Rosen used the Heaven-Splitting Divine Axe to tear open a spacetime rift and re-entered the Candleglow Universe, indeed finding that the entire universe had come alive.

This meant that the Candleglow Universe in the memory world should normally be in a state of emptiness. Only by being destroyed by the Heaven-Splitting Divine Axe and then triggering a spacetime cycle would the Candleglow Universe come alive again. Otherwise, the Candleglow Universe wouldn't have revived and allowed him to encounter Candleglow.

Rosen eagerly went to the incense shop, and what happened upon meeting was exactly the same as last time. "Are there still living beings in the Great Cycle Realm?" Candleglow asked, surprised to see Rosen.

The exact same reaction made Rosen realize that the Candleglow before him might have already died. "Are you a living person?" Rosen asked directly.

Candleglow looked displeased, scrutinizing the mysterious person before him. Why would someone ask if he was alive for no reason? The incense shop instantly vanished, transforming in a blink into an Incense Divine Temple standing in the void. Behind Candleglow was a divine statue erected on an altar, with two massive, towering candle flames on either side of it.

An endless divine pressure incredibly pressed upon Rosen, making it difficult for him to move and filling him with dread. Divine might was like a prison; deities possessed a natural suppressive force over ordinary life. This divine pressure was essentially a natural suppression on the mental and spiritual levels, very effective against mortals but almost useless against deities. Yet, Candleglow's divine might could instill fear in a Primeval Lifeform.

Indeed, every universe in the Great Cycle Realm had its own unique extraordinary system. Rosen was familiar with faith systems, but he hadn't expected a faith system to elevate divine might to such a level. Since he had made a move, it was a good opportunity to test Candleglow's true strength.

Rosen activated his Life Magnetic Field, which isolated the divine pressure. His Life Space even began to forcefully merge with the Incense Divine Temple to suppress Candleglow. Normally, a Primeval Lifeform like him couldn't be a match for a Cycle Lifeform, but the Eye of Nightfall allowed him to be at home in the memory world.

All his powers received an astonishing boost, so much so that his Life Space was actually able to control Candleglow. Although Candleglow knew that the mysterious person before him wielded the Eye of Nightfall, giving him an overwhelming advantage, as a Cycle Lifeform facing a Primeval Lifeform, he still believed he could offset the Eye of Nightfall's advantage with the sheer difference in strength.

Just as Candleglow was about to counterattack, he suddenly vanished without a trace. The Incense Divine Temple also disappeared with him, and the Candleglow Universe, which had only just come alive, died once again. This time, Candleglow's period of being alive was far shorter than the last.

The difference between the two instances was that this time, Candleglow made a move. Clearly, taking action accelerated the demise of Candleglow, who had been briefly revived by the spacetime cycle. This time, Candleglow seemed unaware of his death until he vanished.

However, the last time, he was aware. So, what made the Candleglow from the previous encounter realize he was dead? Rosen wanted to investigate further, but found he had to leave the memory world immediately. Repeated use of the Eye of Nightfall intensified the stimulation received by the Nightfall God. When the Eye of Nightfall was stimulated, it would use the memory world's power to suppress the Dark Sun Heavenly Eye, thus shortening his stay in the memory world whenever the Eye of Nightfall was used.

After leaving the memory world, Rosen waited a few more years, then entered the memory world for a third time. This time, upon seeing Candleglow, every expression, every word, and even every action was identical to their first meeting. However, after going up to the tea room on the second floor, he began to focus on secretly observing Candleglow.

Rosen noticed that after Candleglow drank the tea, there was a clear, momentary pause. Could it be the act of drinking tea that made Candleglow realize he was dead? Rosen picked up his tea and carefully savored it. Indeed, while the tea tasted excellent and even greatly benefited the strengthening of his divine origin, it was clearly not new tea, but rather old tea stored for countless years.

No wonder Candleglow noticed something was amiss after drinking the tea. Perhaps he usually preferred new tea and disliked old tea.

"Are you still alive?" Rosen asked tentatively.

"It seems this isn't the first time you and I have sat down for tea..." Candleglow sighed. "Please excuse my poor hospitality; I don't know whether I'm alive or dead. At this moment, I can confirm I am alive, but through this aged tea, stored for 160 billion years, it seems I already died 160 billion years ago."

"Yes, the first time we met, you suddenly disappeared," Rosen confirmed. "The second time, I tested you. You brought me to the Incense Divine Temple and suppressed me with divine might. I had just begun to retaliate when you vanished prematurely."

"Then it seems my time is limited. There's something I wish to entrust to you," Candleglow said urgently, realizing his time was short.

"You've resolved many of my doubts. Speak freely," Rosen said seriously.

"Time is limited, let's communicate on the memory level!" Candleglow said, releasing his belief to make contact with Rosen's Indestructible Will in the void. Language was one of the slowest ways to transmit information; memory-level communication was the fastest.

Candleglow completely opened his memories, revealing whatever Rosen wished to know. This allowed Rosen to generally confirm that Candleglow's answers during their first meeting could largely be considered true. Of course, he couldn't rule out that Candleglow was hiding too much; it would be too easy for Candleglow to tamper with or fabricate his own memories. Therefore, he couldn't let down his guard; losing vigilance meant he wouldn't even know how he died.

While Candleglow opened his memories for Rosen to examine, he also proactively displayed certain memories to Rosen. These memories consisted entirely of the various inheritances of the Incense Divine Path. The core of the Incense Divine Path was incense faith. It relied on incense faith to continuously strengthen one's divine origin and on the collective will of sentient beings to strengthen one's memories. Thus, Candleglow was naturally equivalent to the collective will of all believers in the Candleglow Universe.

On this foundation, Candleglow then gave birth to an independent self that transcended it. Because of this, the divine might generated by Candleglow's fusion of collective will and belief was terrifying. What seemed like the divine pressure of a single being was, in reality, the collective will pressure of all believers in the Candleglow Universe.

Aside from its unique methods for cultivating belief and divine might, the most distinctive aspect of the Incense Divine Path was that as long as faith endured, so did its practitioner. Even though Candleglow was seemingly dead, as long as there was enough incense faith, Candleglow could be resurrected from that faith. Candleglow's request was for him to create some believers to worship him. If Candleglow could be resurrected, that would be great. If not, the Incense Divine Path wouldn't be lost with Candleglow.

Over the next few hundred years, Rosen entered the Candleglow Universe over a hundred times. He finally managed to store all of Candleglow's valuable memories, with Candleglow's cooperation, in the Main God Computer. However, he didn't immediately cultivate believers for Candleglow, as he still couldn't completely trust him. Whether he revived later or earlier made no difference, and whether he could revive at all was uncertain.

Rosen planned to visit other universes in the memory world, contact other Cycle Lifeforms, see if they too were dead like Candleglow, and then, after multiple verifications, decide whether to resurrect Candleglow.