The former lover of Mnemone, Mnemone himself, arrived in this current hall where all the First Generation Angels, Second Generation Angels, and Third Generation Angels awaited him. The mighty angels attacked in a surge, intent on crushing Mnemone into dust in one blow.

Yet, the origin of Mnemone's cultivation technique was Buddhist Chan Gong, a bizarrely mutated practice that granted Mnemone a terrifying immortality!

"True immortality!" Mnemone ground his teeth, glaring at the dumbfounded Siren with a cold snort. "Dozens of Twelve-Winged Angels, just as powerful as I am, including my direct progenitor, joined forces and killed me. But when this planet plunged into night, I resurrected. They killed me again, but I revived once more, and with every resurrection, my power increased slightly. By the end, no single Twelve-Winged Angel was my match!"

Siren looked at Mnemone, perplexed. "Then why have you ended up like this?"

Mnemone forced a smile that was uglier than a grimace. "I allowed them to seal me."

"Why?" Siren stared at Mnemone in utter horror. Possessing immortality and power surpassing any Twelve-Winged Angel, why would he willingly submit to sealing?

With a light sigh, Mnemone spoke faintly. "My former lover, she lured me into this trap; she also deceived all my subordinates—every single brother in my Dark Angel Legion... all brothers below the rank of Eight Wings were slaughtered... those above Eight Wings, those who followed me through life and death, who sacrificed so much for me, they were all brought here."

Mnemone spoke with a dry throat. "In exchange for their lives, I was granted eternal sealing. So, here I sit, and they are sealed upon the walls."

One day, two days, three days... one month, two months, three months... one year, two years, three years... until now, when I encountered you."

"They died!" Siren stated bluntly to Mnemone. "They still died in the end!"

Two streams of blood flowed down Mnemone’s face as he wept. "Yes, they died... My lover, the one I cherished most, before drawing off all the guards here, fearing my brothers might one day break through to the power of Twelve Wings, rendering the Demon-Binding Chains useless against them—she sprinkled the most terrible, potent poison of our race upon them."

Mnemone suddenly burst into wrenching sobs, blood spraying from his eyes like a fountain. He wailed loudly, "They all died, every one of them! I have immortality, but they did not. They didn't! If they had broken through to the level of Twelve Wings, they too would have possessed immortality, but they were poisoned to death before reaching that strength!"

Mnemone thrashed wildly on the throne, yet dozens of light swords and seven chains bound his body fast. He could only move his head; not a single finger elsewhere obeyed him. Paradoxically, his struggles only intensified the sacred light emanating from the swords and chains, which continuously eroded his body, causing the demonic energy spewing from him to grow even stronger.

"My brothers, ah!" With a great roar, scalding blood erupted simultaneously from all seven orifices of Mnemone. He screamed madly, "Before their deaths, they channeled all their power into their heart cores and sent it to me! They wanted me to become strong, to break this seal! But I am useless; I cannot break this seal! This is a joint seal formed by the projections of the innate sacred artifacts born alongside the First Generation Angels! Unless I can become a hundred times stronger than the First Generation Angels, I cannot break this seal!"

"Ah~~ I am useless! My brothers!" Accompanied by ear-splitting howls, Mnemone suddenly coughed up a spray of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. These bloody pieces hit the ground and transformed into a viscous, paint-like dark power that surged upward, manifesting as a black flood dragon that roared out of the great hall.

Siren stared blankly at the frantic Mnemone, and two lines of tears suddenly traced paths down his own eyes.

Unconsciously, Siren walked up to Mnemone. He leaped onto the armrest of the throne and gently placed his small palm over Mnemone's massive finger.

Siren’s hand was warm; Mnemone’s finger was icy cold—chilling to the bone, like a corpse lying in a morgue for tens of thousands of years.

The two men gazed at each other—one bleeding, the other weeping.

"I am luckier than you," Siren gently patted Mnemone's finger.

"I have a lover I grew up with since childhood. True, she can be a bit rough with me at times, but she is still very lovable."

"I have a benevolent father. Of course, sometimes he neglects his proper duties, dumping the entire burden of family restoration solely upon my shoulders. But he is accomplished in the arts; he is a very famous musician and painter in the Federation. Most importantly, he loves me and my mother, he loves everyone in our family."

"I also have a slightly stubborn grandfather. Alas, he could not confront his own son, so since I was small, he focused all his attention on me. He always told me: Siren, for the honor of the family, you must strive, even if it means becoming a villain, even if the entire world curses you, you must restore our family's glory and reputation! Of course, my grandfather deeply loves our family members, though he’s a bit senile now, often mistaking the pack of hounds he keeps for his sons... Perhaps this is the retribution my father deserved?"

"I have a large extended family as well, like my lover's father and mother, and her grandfather and grandmother. Her entire family are the stewards of mine! Her father is my father's steward, her grandfather is my grandfather's steward, her great-grandfather is my great-grandfather's steward... As for the more ancient lineage... her ancestor was my ancestor's most reliable comrade-in-arms on the battlefield, and her ancestor was also my ancestor's steward!"

Mnemone looked at Siren with a vacant gaze, a brilliant smile spreading across his blood-streaked face as he looked tenderly at the self-absorbed Siren.

"Finally, I have a decent group of... well, hangers-on!"

Siren laughed, a strange twist to his smile.

"My group of friends are all scoundrels, a pack of bastards, but I like them."

"A zombie consumed by lust and gambling—oh, that scumbag, I won’t even mention him."

"A group of violent mercenaries; I suspect their heads are filled entirely with muscle. I doubt these fools will do anything but point a gun at their own heads the day they retire. Because they know nothing but fighting; outside the battlefield, these guys can't manage to live."

"And lastly, I have a leader! To be honest, I never imagined there could exist such an utterly fascinating bastard!"

"He is an absolute, naked, thorough villain! He is wicked, but his wickedness doesn't repel you! He is also good, but his goodness is reserved only for those around him! You call him ruthless? He never touches a single hair on a woman’s head! But can you call him benevolent... can slaughtering hundreds of thousands of Romanians at once be considered charity?"

"Still, I like him! Hmm, granted, I am still a bit miffed why I always end up taking a loss against him?"

"But Mnemone, he trusted me completely with the strongest power he held! And he used all his resources to arm this force of mine! Even after I transformed this power into my own Knight Order, he still supported me from behind! All the finances, all the material support... So, I can't really call him a complete bastard anymore!"

Siren smiled, lifting his head to look at Mnemone, seated on the throne like a small mountain. "I am luckier than you!"

"Yes, you are far, far luckier than I, Zeka is!"

Mnemone smiled as he looked at Siren, speaking softly. "When you crawled in just now, I saw your sword and that storage pouch. You are connected to the world of cultivation too, aren't you? Lucky little one, are you willing to inherit the legacy of a little-known Buddhist sect from the cultivation world, the Great Dream Reincarnation Dao?"

Siren looked at Mnemone in surprise; Mnemone looked happily at the stunned Siren, chuckling. "The Great Dream Reincarnation Dao has only one successor in perpetuity. My heart... has gone with my brothers, but I cannot forgive myself enough to end myself. By passing the legacy to you, I can finally find release."

Taking a deep breath, Mnemone spoke distantly. "Angels cannot enter reincarnation; their death is the absolute end. But I am different; I have cultivated a soul akin to that of a human; I can live again. I want to find someone who loves me, and whom I also love. I want to find a group of passionate brothers who will live and die with me, who will never abandon me. I want to live out the lives owed to all my fallen brothers!"

His finger twitched slightly, and Mnemone gently tapped Siren's cheek, chuckling lightly. "My body, my power, cannot leave this seal, but my soul can. Those arrogant First Generation Angels—they have no idea that I possess something they cannot comprehend. Inherit my mantle and my power, grant me true liberation, allow me to seek the life I dream of. Mortal, will you help set me free?"

Siren looked at Mnemone, who gazed back with a gentle smile—a look, a smile, just like Siren's senile grandfather looking at his most beloved hound.

Siren knelt devoutly by the armrest of the throne, bowing deeply to Mnemone in solemn obeisance.

Mnemone smiled, raising his head to speak faintly. "Monk... the divine abilities of you cultivators are truly extraordinary... It took me all these years to finally find a successor for the Great Dream Reincarnation Dao. Will the second divination you cast for me be as accurate? Can I find my brothers? Can I find the kinship, friendship, and love I never had before?"

"The mortal world is like a dream, an illusion, a fleeting shadow—all born of obsession. Can liberation be found? Can liberation not be found?"

Mnemone laughed hollowly, and two streams of bloody tears slowly traced paths down from his eyes.

"In the next life, let me be an ordinary person!"

Bang. Mnemone's colossal body, hundreds of meters high, suddenly disintegrated, and billions of dazzling beams of black light drilled into Siren’s body.

Mnemone's gentle voice echoed in the hall. "Siren, my disciple, cherish what you have now, protect what is yours. Your lover, your family, your friends! You live in this world not for yourself, but for those around you. With great love in your heart, you shall receive great love!"

A faint white light shot out of the hall, instantly vanishing without a trace.

Siren’s body tensed, and he let out a roar aimed straight into the heavens.

Amidst a tremendous crash, the hall that had sealed Mnemone for unknown years suddenly collapsed, and Siren shot toward the clouds enveloped in a sphere of black light.

"Mnemone~ I will not disappoint you!"