304 Secret Keeper
William saw the Demon General, the Secret Keeper he had once sealed away in the book. Through the invisible link between himself and his holy emblem, he was able to view the scene from the first-person perspective of Grimm.

A smirk spread across William’s face as he saw the familiar figure of the Demon General.

It wasn’t the demon’s appearance that was amusing, but rather its reputation.

Players in online forums often joked about the Demon General being a “leaker” or “snitch” for revealing information about six of the 12 Judgment equipment. This Demon General was like an honorary member of Judgment, and some even suspected it was sent by the Forbidden Sage to cause trouble for the Void Sovereigns.

Some people even felt that this fellow was specially sent by the Forbidden Sage to cause trouble for the other Void Sovereigns. After all, the Forbidden Sage was also a Void Sovereign who wasn’t that interested in directly invading Currere.

Although the demon’s eyes, nose, and mouth were sewn shut with needles, William could sense its smug expression.

It was the kind of expression that could be fooled twice by the same trick.

“So, mortal, where do you intend to begin?”

Grimm didn’t reply for a moment, and the Demon General grew impatient.

It seemed to be more anxious than the person asking.

Let it start from the beginning.

William used his soul voice to remind him.

Grimm trembled slightly in the holy emblem’s vision. Then, he repeated nervously, “Then… Start from the beginning.”

“Whoa? How greedy… Let me think. Start from the beginning?”

Chains dragged in the background, and the Demon General continued,

“The infinite possibilities of the Realm of Light must first pass through the Currere barrier, where they are filtered and funneled into a single linear stream of time. As humans, you use the repetition of events to mark the passage of time. You anchor your memories to those milestones and write them into the so-called “historical truth.” It’s the common sense of time that you all share and live by.

“But what happens when the Currere barrier is breached? When more possibilities surge into our world, causing conflicting “historical truths” to coexist? It’s a phenomenon you call “time fragmentation.”

“You might have experienced it yourself, without even realizing it. Countless small-scale events that are hardly detectable. But there are also larger ones, events that shake the very foundations of our world. I know of three such events, when the scale of the entire land was affected. But there may have been more. I was imprisoned by the Moon Realm Calamity for a long time, cut off from the outside world. Who knows what else I missed?”

Let it get to the point.

The Presiding Judge’s voice reverberated through the depths of Grimm’s soul. Having given up on thinking, he was forced to repeat them like a parrot.

“Get to the point.”

The Secret Keeper trembled with excitement but Grimm’s words had knocked the wind out of its sails. It eyed him warily before uttering in a sullen tone,

Grimm remained silent, knowing he had made grave errors under the intimidating gaze of the Demon General. He decided to play it safe and become a mere mouthpiece.

Grimm’s vacant stare seemed to unnerve the Secret Keeper who finally broke the silence with a sigh.

“Fine, if you insist… Let’s skip the basics and get to the meat of the matter. But before we begin with the first secret…”

As the word “secret” left the Secret Keeper’s mouth, a cold chain slithered up Grimm’s arm. Before he could react, the chain glowed red-hot and left a mark on his flesh, resembling a branding iron.

Although the pain was nonexistent, Grimm couldn’t help but stare in disbelief as the chain disappeared, leaving no trace of its existence. It was as if the entire incident was a figment of his imagination, and the chain had vanished into thin air with a whoosh.

“The mark of secrecy has been branded. When our conversation ends, your soul will belong to me.”

The Secret Keeper laughed and retracted the chain before continuing, “Then, let’s begin. The first secret… is about Demuge’s bet with the Void Sovereigns.

“Although he was celebrated by mortals as a hero and the greatest gambler in history, Demuge won every bet through deceit. His eyes, you see, are connected to the Realm of Light. He can look down at the entirety of time from a higher level. Every bet he made, he took the initiative to invite the Void Sovereigns to Currere and used their powers to shatter time in Currere, finding the possibility of winning from countless timelines. It was a clever ploy, one that he used to deceive the Void Sovereigns time and time again.”

“Unfortunately, the last one to make a bet with him was Absurdity Jester. Perhaps it was out of the mentality of fair competition or because he saw through Demuge’s trick, but in short, Absurdity Jester didn’t let his main body descend into Currere. Instead, he created a clone that was no different from a mortal. That mediocre clone couldn’t break time, causing Demuge to be unable to use his eyes to cheat. Therefore, he naturally lost the last bet and his soul was ultimately torn apart.”

Although it didn’t seem immediately useful to William, the Secret Keeper’s words contained a wealth of information. If what they said was true, it meant that the Void Sovereigns had the power to summon his former self to Currere whenever They pleased.

Wouldn’t it be stopped by the World Shell?

And what about Demuge’s eye, which seemed to connect to the Realm of Light in a way that reminded William of the Eyes of God?

But there was one thing that stood out to William above all else: the possibility of winning from countless timelines. It sounded familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it…

Before he could finish his thoughts, the Secret Keeper spoke again.

“Then, the second secret… it’s about the Moon Realm Calamity who sealed me here.”

William watched Grimm take a deep breath.

The Secret Keeper’s lips curled into a sinister smile, revealing a few taut sutures that had been pulled open.

“Similar to Demuge, he navigated through an abyss of defeats and opportunities until he finally landed on the banks of triumph. Yet, not a single Void Sovereign had descended into Currere and shattered the very fabric of time. Do you grasp the gravity of what I’m saying here?”

Grimm remained mute.

Without wasting another moment, the Secret Keeper divulged, “It’s because his mere presence would spell doom for time in Currere… You do recall the gaping hole in your creation model, don’t you?

“He’s the final, incomplete Holy Spirit. He’s forced to exist as a human because he’s not whole enough.”