The exploration of the Land of Rebirth soon led to an astonishing discovery.
Within this world, corresponding to Massachusetts State in U.S. on Earth, the Foundation detected spatial fluctuations in the basement of a certain building.
Upon receiving the report, Foundation personnel were immediately dispatched to the location.
It was an ordinary U.S estate. Beneath the main house, there was a staircase leading downward.
This was not unusual. During the 19th to 20th century, many estates in America were built this way.
For safety or food storage, farm owners often excavated deep cellars or basements.
After removing the house, the Foundation conducted extensive excavation work in the area.
As a result, the underground space was significantly expanded.
Eventually, a door buried beneath the earth was revealed before the Foundation personnel.
The moment the door was pushed open, intense spatial fluctuations erupted.
Behind that underground door lay an alternate reality.
For unknown reasons, exploration of this parallel reality was extremely limited, making it impossible to conduct a thorough investigation.
The area directly beyond the door led to a vast salt field.
This salt field spanned several thousand kilometers in radius, featuring a distinct and highly recognizable terrain.
After capturing images of the area and comparing them with both the Land of Rebirth and the Main World, the Foundation found no matching terrain in either location.
The Foundation determined that this parallel reality had been affected by some anomalous force, causing significant alterations to its geography.
At the center of the salt field, approximately ten meters ahead of the "door," stood seven stone pillars, arranged in a ten-meter-wide circular formation.
Each pillar was one meter in diameter and seven meters tall, made of marble and engraved with intricate unintelligible relief carvings. The artistic style of these engravings did not match any known modern, historical, or prehistoric civilization.
After extensive analysis, the Foundation concluded that this was an entirely new artistic style, one that transcended normal reality and time periods.
These marble pillars, engraved with mysterious carvings, extended over two hundred meters underground.
Beneath these pillars, deep below the salt field, was a massive hollow space.
The seven pillars were connected to an enormous spherical cavity with a diameter of approximately 100 kilometers.
The outer walls of this cavernous space were composed of the same material as the pillars.
A structure of this magnitude was beyond human comprehension, it was simply unimaginable that such a colossal construct could have been built by human hands.
Since physical excavation of the area was not feasible, the Foundation conducted radar scans beneath the salt field.
Through ground-penetrating radar, they discovered the presence of a supermassive entity within the cavity.
The entity appeared to be a gigantic, grotesquely obese humanoid with an estimated upright height exceeding 200 kilometers.
Three branched horns protruded from its head, and it had no jaw on its face.
Its entire body was covered in countless overlapping plate-like scales. Seven massive hooks were embedded in its back.
Each hook was attached to an iron chain, which extended upward and connected to the underside of the seven pillars at the top of the space.
The entity was found in a hunched, curled-up posture, showing no signs of life.
At the time of discovery, five out of the seven chains had already snapped, leaving only two intact.
Upon confirmation of this entity's existence, the Foundation personnel immediately reported their findings to the O5 Council.
Ultimately, this information reached Haruto.
Following this discovery, all Foundation personnel in the Land of Rebirth were temporarily evacuated, except for those stationed within a 100-kilometer radius of the Red Sea Object.
Two members of the O5 Council personally traveled to the Unclean Land.
(DATA EXPUNGED).
The record of this anomaly ends here.
At this moment, Haruto and Echidna were making their way to the U.S. region where the "door" had been discovered.
Echidna was flipping through a book in her hands.
This book bore a strong resemblance to Betty's Gospel. In reality, however, it was the manifestation of Echidna's Authority.
As the Witch of Greed, Echidna's Authority was omniscience.
The Book of Wisdom in her hands could record all knowledge of the world, even events that had yet to occur.
Moreover, as the timeline shifted, the book would update itself with records of newly formed futures.
Betty's Gospel was merely an inferior version of the Book of Wisdom.
The Gospels commonly held by members of the Witch Cult were even more degraded versions of this concept.
Of course, Echidna's Authority was not an absolute divine power.
It was confined within the Re:Zero world—a lower-tier manifestation of the concept of Wisdom.
It was a power close to the concept of 'God'.
However, in this case, "God" referred to True Guardian Gods, not mere divine beings.
Due to the limitations of the world, once Echidna left Re:Zero's reality, her Authority could no longer achieve true omniscience.
Even so, it was not entirely useless.
At the very least, right now, Echidna had flipped to an important piece of information. Echidna handed the Book of Wisdom to Haruto.
"Here, take a look at what I've found."
Haruto took the Book of Wisdom and began reading the contents.
It was a historical record, an omniscient account of events in the parallel world of the Land of Rebirth.
The records described how the Land of Rebirth had once contained numerous supernatural organizations.
This was unsurprising, as the Land of Rebirth harbored anomalies, but lacked a Foundation to contain them.
Naturally, many supernatural groups emerged.
Among them, a group known as the Society of the Golden Arrow discovered the existence of the "door."
This society opened the door and encountered the supermassive entity.
Based on the history, culture, and religious beliefs of the Unclean Land, this colossal entity was identified as an Ancient Being—the Devourer of Worlds (SCP-2317).
Scholarly research in the Land of Rebirth described the Devourer of Worlds as an ancient existence predating planetary formation, dwelling in the void before the birth of worlds.
It was sealed beneath the earth, bound by seven chains, trapped in an eternal slumber.
But when all seven chains broke, the Devourer of Worlds would awaken and bring about the end of this world.
When the Golden Arrow Society discovered the Devourer of Worlds, four of its seven chains had already snapped.
This terrified the Golden Arrow Society, prompting them to desperately attempt to repair the broken chains.
However, after repeated failures, all attempts were deemed futile.
As fear and despair consumed them, most of the Golden Arrow Society's members gradually descended into madness.
It was as if knowledge itself was a curse, the moment they learned of the Devourer of Worlds, they had already been doomed.
Eventually, the Golden Arrow Society disbanded.
A new supernatural organization, called "Our Founder," inherited the legacy of the Golden Arrow Society.
(T/N: I can't find this group anywhere in the SCP lore, I don't even know if this is the right name of the group or is the group even exit or its just a fan-made.)
This included the knowledge of SCP-2317's existence.
The high-ranking members of "Our Founder" were also horrified upon learning the truth, but they quickly sealed away the information.
Only the inner circle conducted experiments in an attempt to restore the broken chains.
But during this period, the Land of Rebirth suffered the greatest earthquake in recorded human history.
The damage and casualties were catastrophic.
More importantly, the earthquake reached the parallel world where the Devourer of Worlds was sealed.
As a result, the fifth chain snapped.
Haruto fell into deep thought as he read the recorded timeline.
The fifth chain's rupture had occurred precisely when "he" discovered the 'Unclean Land' and descended upon it.
What happened afterward needed no further explanation.
A false god descended.
The tears of the divine cleansed the land.
Humanity was exterminated.
Earth was completely reduced to an "Unclean Land."
After Haruto finished reading, Echidna added,
"Apart from these records, I sensed additional information that couldn't be written down. This feeling is very similar to you, it must be what the records refer to as…"
Haruto's expression darkened as he continued,
"Supreme Divinity."
This was undoubtedly bad news.
Haruto's first thought was whether he should abandon the Unclean Land altogether.
Using his Root Authority, the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, he could sever this world completely, turning it into an isolated reality.
That way, the calamities of this world wouldn't spread to the main world.
In the end, Haruto decided to take a look first.
Standing before the Gate to the Otherworld, his eyes shimmered with a dazzling rainbow light.
"Are you staying outside?"
Haruto turned to Echidna and asked.
Although the Foundation personnel had already entered and exited safely, there was no guarantee that no unforeseen changes would occur.
While Echidna's power was close to that of a "god," she was still far from possessing Supreme Divinity.
However, Echidna shook her head.
"How could I resist the temptation of the unknown?"
Haruto sighed helplessly.
Of course—this was just the kind of person Echidna was.