Amon and the strange gate were seamlessly fused together. His face immediately began to twist, the deep blackness in his eyes intensifying. Beneath his classical black robe, more smooth, slippery tentacles surged forth, radiating an overwhelming sense of frenzy. As Caine prepared to sever the connection between Amon and "The Source Citadel," leaving Amon in this state of wild excitement, Amon's lips curled upward—much as if to say, "Congratulations, you've stepped into the trap." Instantly, a semi-transparent mask, resembling the uniqueness of "The Fool" yet more ethereal, settled over Amon's face. Caine's spirit tightened; without pausing to think, he immediately reached for the "Deception" power, determined to act at all costs. Yet before he could react, his thoughts stalled, and he found himself frozen in a state of bewildered, helpless stupor. "Deception!" Amun, surprisingly, leveraged the brief "reconfiguration" between himself and the "Source Citadel" to escape Caine's interference and summoned forces from the domain of the "Fool." This was far beyond instinct—it resembled a carefully orchestrated trap. Amun seemed not yet fully mad! Immediately, the true god, who had traversed both the paths of "Error" and "Gate," severed the "fusion" with the "Source Citadel," allowing the peculiar, faintly bluish-glowing gate to rapidly fade and vanish, thus preventing further contamination. Once this potential threat was resolved, Amun raised both hands, placing his thumbs against each other and his index fingers against each other, forming an ellipse. Within this ellipse, stars ignited, perfectly encompassing Caine's form. Then, with a sudden and forceful motion, Amun pushed his hands apart, as if tearing something apart, the movement seeming notably weighty. With a sound like crumpling paper, the area where克莱恩 was standing seemed to transform into glass, fracturing under the intense impact—countless cracks spreading out, breaking piece by piece, inch by inch. This was a degradation and destruction of space that克莱恩's body could not withstand; he could only be reduced, again and again, into swirling fragments of paper that were instantly swallowed by the deep blackness. When the collapse of space finally ceased,克莱恩's paper figure had been largely consumed. Of course, he had managed to resist the effect of "blind ignorance and unwavering folly" through his inherent "Fool" status and qualities. At that moment, Amun had split into countless forms—some purely duplicated, others symbolic copies, and others residual imprints left behind by continuous flashes and movements. At this moment, the sky above Caine and the surrounding wilderness are completely filled by the Amons—dense and unbroken, their sharp-crowned soft hats and single spectacles pressing into every gap. Some have transformed into weathered, ancient, interwoven wall clocks; others into pure streams of starlight, as if forming a cage. Some extend their hands, engaging in layered acts of "theft"; others have their single spectacles glowing, drawing upon the diverse things they once stole; some simulate various abilities—either restricting, disrupting, or attacking. — In the Path of the "Theft," "Theft" is the core ability and one of the primary symbols. Unlike the "Seer's" manipulation of the "Lines of Spirit," as the sequence advances, "Theft" not only becomes more effective and efficient, but also deepens conceptually: From Sequence 9 to Sequence 7, it involves the physical objects; at Sequence 6, it involves extraordinary abilities; upon reaching Sequence 5, it involves thoughts and ideas; at Sequences 4 and 3, it involves life itself—including bodily parasitism; at Sequence 2, the scope expands to include fate, identity, self-perception, and extraordinary traits; and at Sequence 1, even time, anchors, and powers can be briefly stolen. Thus, when "Error" faces the True God, it employs "Theft" at the level of powers. As the sound of the voice resonates, each ancient wall clock simultaneously pauses. This caused the surrounding environment to freeze, making the wild lands—already shattered by the "star" impact—extremely quiet, even the act of destruction itself becoming still. At this instant, Caren seemed to lose his body, leaving only a semi-transparent, deep-colored cloak and an eerie, cold mask. Beneath the cloak and mask, darkness was thick and profound, with nothing visible but a series of smooth, strange, sinuous tentacles extending out. In this state, Caren appeared to have escaped the constraints of time, moving fluidly like a fish within the still environment, weaving through real or conceptual gaps and emerging from the encircling ranks of the Amons. He once again invoked the power of "Deception." This time, he deceived time itself. The ancient wall clocks vanished, and on the nearly collapsed wilderness, time resumed its flow. The Amons halted their efforts, suddenly coalesced, and "materialized" behind Caren, leaving him no room to breathe. His left hand extended, fingers tightening as his arm retracted. Suddenly, shadows enveloped the space around Caine, layering like thin gauze. These gauzes twisted and reconfigured, forming a sturdy enclosure that imprisoned Caine within. A phantom door shimmered upon the enclosure, swiftly moving and refusing to settle. Yet Caine's form appeared abruptly outside the cage, as though never sealed by Amen's power of the "door." He had deceived history, splitting his own presence between the moment before and the moment after. Thus, the version of Caine trapped within the cage became a projection of his historical self. This represents a deepening of the "scholar's" ability under the power of "deception." Since Caine's ascension ritual relied on the power of "deception" of history, his mastery in this domain—particularly in "deceiving history"—outshines his abilities in "deceiving time" or "deceiving fate." As soon as he broke free from the spatial prison, Kline immediately sought to activate the "Mysterious Realm" once more, establishing a new "Fool" divine realm to buy time and find an opportunity to stabilize his mental state—having just consecutively employed the "Deception" power multiple times, the delicate balance within him had reached a precarious state. Without swiftly stabilizing his condition, the will of the "Heavenly Sovereign" would awaken even further. This too presented a serious issue. The book lay open, revealing a passage: "Klein Moretti has endured the mental erosion of the 'Mysterious Sovereign,' suffering greatly, feeling deeply weary. After a fierce battle, the one whose spirit has been profoundly affected finally reached his limit and decided to give up, no longer resisting." Before him, standing tall like a mountain, was Amun—wearing a pointed soft hat, a classical black robe, and large, single-crystal spectacles that seemed to magnify his presence. He gazed at Klein, who had surrendered, his dark eyes softening and lightening, a gentle smile curling at the corners of his mouth. "I took it. How does it feel?" Klein looked up at this 'mistake' man, struggling to open his mouth, his voice weak and strained. "You—have been deceiving me all along, haven't you?" Amun raised both hands, smiling. "Unfortunately, you've come to understand too late." With his thumb against his thumb and index finger against index finger, he traced out an ellipse. Within the ellipse, stars ignited, casting light upon Caine's form. Immediately, Amen spread his hands heavily, tearing at the void that sustained both Caine and his surrounding environment. The void, like glass, cracked in fragments, shattering inch by inch, collapsing like towering skyscrapers. Yet all this collapse and destruction passed around Caine's body, never directly touching him. He remained as an incongruous, steady little fishing boat navigating through a storm, out of place and seemingly out of harmony with the scene. Amen adjusted his single-lens glasses resting in the groove of his right eye socket, a subtle softness appearing in his smile. On Caine's semi-transparent cloak, dense clusters of protuberances continually rose and then subsided. Gazing up at the mountainous figure of Amen, Caine's eyes grew slightly dimmer: "Since you entered the 'Source Citadel' and uttered your first word, you have been deceiving me." At that moment, Amen had risked releasing the suppression on the "Mysterious Sovereign's" will, in exchange for attaining the status of the "Master of the Source Citadel." Now, Amen hovered in midair, gazing down at the "Fool" with an unexpected stillness. Klein, too, made no further move, his tone strangely calm, as though preparing something: "If the suppression on the 'Mysterious Sovereign's' will is lifted, and one pays the price of partial madness, then Antigonus could have achieved entry into the 'Source Citadel' at the outset, and even earlier, Fregrala the 'Destroyer of the Great Wolf' could have done so. Your predecessors, as well as the 'Gate' gentleman, each had countless opportunities. Clearly, simply reviving the 'Mysterious Sovereign' to a certain degree—combined with partial madness and 'errors'—is insufficient to breach the 'Source Citadel.' You cannot find a usable 'bug' in this matter unless you directly have Him replace you." "Only when you gained the authority to open any 'gate' did you begin to see hope—by creating a backdoor, exploiting a 'bug,' having the 'Source Citadel' treat you as the 'Master of Mysteries' and grant you access. "Of course, this would certainly require the 'Master of Mysteries' to be revived to a critically dangerous state; without this concealed identity, you couldn't convincingly deceive the 'Source Citadel' from scratch. "After incorporating the uniqueness of the 'gate,' you didn't immediately enter the 'Source Citadel' to confront the then-weaker me, because at that time, the newly promoted you simply couldn't withstand the further awakening of the 'Master of Mysteries'’ will. "I believe you've now found a more secure approach. If I hadn't ascended so swiftly to the rank of 'The Fool,' you would have been able to enter the 'Source Citadel' in your optimal condition, resolving everything at your own pace. Now, however, you're forced to accelerate this plan—there must be serious issues within you." "You've willingly sacrificed the half-mad condition—not only to prompt me to consider strategies centered on that point, laying a fatal trap at the crucial juncture, but also to divert my attention, thereby concealing other issues. 'You've never actually been half-mad,' Amun listened quietly as Celine finished speaking, unusually refraining from interrupting midway, or launching any counterattack. Only after she had concluded did Amun speak, his expression now slightly unusual: 'You've been mad all along.' "