They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 323 A Thousand Faces
Seeing that Ria remained silent, he was puzzled, but he still found reasons in his mind to defend Ria.

For example, he must have offended the deity by using the wrong title, so he went on to explain: "I await your arrival here in the name of that unspeakable being, and—"

"Is the being you mentioned named 'Hephaestus'?"

The image on the mural was so compelling that Ria couldn't help but be bothered by it; he felt he had developed a kind of psychological aversion to the name.

"Who is this? No, He never mentioned His own name, only that in time all the truth would come out."

Your Highness, that being is an extremely great and supreme being. When the Abyss and the Rising Sun were fighting, it was He who quelled the war and repelled the Abyss; otherwise, the Sun would have completely disappeared by now.

Although I haven't seen the sun in a long time, I can roughly imagine what it looks like.

He must be a twisted, dark red being, with fire and wind brewing on His body, elements exploding on His surface, and His eyes always fixed on the earth.

"..." Little Swarth managed to sneak up behind the ghost when no one was paying attention, and then suddenly pounced, passing right through his body.

"So you created all those paintings by yourself?" Ria asked.

"Yes, my purpose in existence is to create all kinds of flawless works, and I want to record your existence!"

The ghost then became hysterical again. He looked up at Ria, as if he were not looking at a young man, but at a two-winged, lion-bodied, faceless monster that humans could not imagine or understand.

That is precisely the most essential mythological creature form of the Faceless Ones.

Ria felt it was necessary to pry everything out of this guy's mouth first; this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"I need to test you because I think your heart isn't strong enough."

"Please feel free to do so!"

"Alright, the first set of questions: How did I get here? Where is this place?"

These questions were too simple. The ghost thought that the Faceless One must not want to make things too difficult for Him, which further demonstrated His mercy and sublimity. See, the high and mighty God never makes things difficult for ordinary people.

Although he is no longer a human, but a ghost.

"Your Highness, this is the Palace of Ambis in North Edlin, a grand hall built by the royal family to worship the gods. Long ago, diviners, clergy, and wizards would converse with the gods and meditate here."

There are also rumors that this was once the dwelling place of the ruler of the storm and the abyss, who roamed the earth in human form. In any case, no one knows the exact age of the palace, nor its original purpose.

"Speak the key."

"Ah yes, I think it must be the subconscious remnant of the deity who is in sync with you that summoned you here."

It's a pity I can hardly find anything anymore, so I can't properly prepare a feast for you—I'm truly guilty!

Ria relaxed her posture slightly, interlacing her fingers and resting her arms on the table.

"Don't be nervous, child." He could offer the most devout greetings to God, and of course, he could imitate a real God.

“I read what you wrote in the newspaper before. It seems you paid a considerable price to meet the great being.”

"Yes, Your Highness, my current physical condition is the best proof."

Can immortality be considered a price to pay?

"I can't touch anything, and I'm gradually losing the ability to create art. This is already a huge torment for me. When everyone in North Edlin in the abyss disappears, leaving me as a lonely ghost, you can probably imagine what a curse that is."

Little Swarth was still trying to attack the ghost "Captain," but the ghost seemed to completely ignore it.

“You should have complete faith in the being I mentioned. After all, the two are the same entity. It was He who stopped the struggle between the Abyss and the Radiant Sun, and now only you can withstand the natural disaster.”

"Right now, you are the only one who is recovering. We trust you wholeheartedly; you are our only salvation!"

Lia lowered her hand and suddenly smiled.

"The original god is asleep, so He just left things to me to handle? He's too lazy."

That being must be the black-clad figure depicted in the mural. I vaguely remember Hephaestus's clones trying to awaken or kill the original body.

If Hephaestus is the one who stops the two gods from fighting, how dramatic would that scene be!
Just as he was thinking this, the ghost suddenly said to Ria, "This is the only way, and once you press your fingerprint on the paper in front of you, you will truly understand His will."

"He foretold your desire, and after you agree to this agreement, all the power He left here will belong to you, and you will transcend everything."

The ghost removed the large, translucent hat adorned with ostrich feathers and looked at Ria hopefully, hoping he would agree to the request.

After thinking about it, Ria thought that obtaining the residual power of a god was probably not a bad deal.

However, there is still a serious problem: where did He hide His power?

"I imagine the price you paid back then wasn't just what you're paying now."

Ria rose from her seat, half-removing her gloves as if preparing to dip them in ink and leave her handprint on the paper.

"That's all, all you need to do is press your handprint..."

"No no no."

The young man shook his head. In the meantime, he slowly put his gloves back on in front of the other person, his eyes suddenly turning dangerous.

"From beginning to end, no artist here spoke to me, only you! An unknown entity that seems to be the consciousness of the man in black in the sculpture."

That artist died long ago from his sin of trying to peek into the divine. You have condemned him, and the price you have demanded is everything he had. Now, you are that artist, and the artist is you.

But you seem to care a lot about this body, even after it becomes a ghost.

Ria: "Let me think, was my body swallowed up by the Hydra that suddenly appeared?"

"No, I just really like human bodies." The ghost changed his attitude very quickly after realizing he had been exposed.

It shook its head, showing no anger at having its identity exposed: "Humans are such magnificent beings, such wondrous existences, their manners as elegant as those of gods—"

Of course, I couldn't bear to waste my body, so while it was still able to touch anything, I dried it, ground it into pigment, and used it to build the wall.

"The consciousness I have before you now is far beyond that of ordinary clones. I have lived longer than them, and I am closer to the true original body!"

"You have other forms?"

"The true essence also has incarnations, doesn't it? I am a part of the consciousness that is completely different from those guys."

(End of this chapter)