Cthulhu Gonfalon

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The God's Kingdom of the Master of Mystery was named the "Seven Colors Spring," and it was located in the "Country of Rainbow" at the front of the Ring of the World.

The Country of Rainbow was not exactly a country. In fact, it was an extremely vast field with a surface area that was much bigger than its Main Plane. This field was filled with springs and basked in sun rays. It was also home to countless beautiful colored living creatures.

Right in the middle of this field was where the "Seven Colors Spring" could be found.

This God's Kingdom was unlike the others—it did not stay on the ground. It was suspended up in the air instead. It was like a colorful ball of light that was suspended over the gigantic spring right in the middle of the Country of Rainbow. There were strands of Divine Power falling from it that, when mixed with the spring water and then placed under and amidst the sun rays, would transform into an enormous rainbow.

That was how the name the "Seven Colors Spring" came about.

The scenery within this God's Kingdom was not very different from the scenery on the outside. Both were equally bright and warm, and springs with rainbows suspended over them could be seen all over the place. Right in the middle of this God's Kingdom, there was also an enormous spring. The Master of Mystery would usually transform into an elderly man with colorful hair and sit by the side of this spring as he meditated in silence.

That day, he was in the midst of meditation when he suddenly frowned and got to his feet.

"The Void Mask has arrived," he told the God of Spellcaster who was by his side. "This uninvited guest most probably comes with ill intentions."

The God of Spellcaster was taken aback and asked, "Are we going to prepare for war?"

"I hope there is no need to fight." The Master of Mystery sighed. Then, he sent a clone of himself out of his God's Kingdom. Coincidentally, his clone came face-to-face with Sui Xiong, who was just making his way over at a roaring speed. The two of them confronted one another outside the Master of Mystery's God's Kingdom.

At this time, the environment was filled with genial sunshine and a heartwarming breeze, yet between the two gods, a flow of chilliness was being exchanged.

"Why have you come?" the Master of Mystery asked after a short moment.

"A few days ago, I met two Legendary Masters. They were praying for some divine blood so they could prepare to concoct some wine of eternal life." Sui Xiong continued to say, "At that time, I acceded to their requests and gave them some. Thereafter, I realized that this so-called 'wine of eternal life' was able to obtain eternal life by stealing the divinity of a god."

"If you are having regrets, you can always look for them and settle the scores. What has it got to do with me?" the Master of Mystery asked with a frown.

"Just that tiny trace of divinity means nothing much to me. Since I was willing to help them achieve eternal life, I didn't mind losing that tiny bit of divinity." Sui Xiong shook his head. "But there is just one thing that bothers me a great deal—when they were praying to me for some divine blood, I was very sure that they did not know the truth about the wine of eternal life."

The Master of Mystery frowned again, then asked, "You mean to say, that someone is messing with you behind your back, secretly plotting something against you?"

"That should be. If not, how could everything be so coincidental?" Sui Xiong sneered, then asked, "Don't you think so?"

The Master of Mystery was silent for a moment as he used his Divine Power to probe and investigate. Then, he nodded gently and said, "You are right; things cannot be so coincidental. The two people that you are talking about, I know them too. They should be specially selected, and they were most probably chosen because, firstly, they were not experts in the medical field back then, so it was impossible for them to know the truth of the wine of eternal life; and secondly, for so many years, they probed deep but kept things simple. Other than doing their best to continue living, they did not really do anything bad, so it was relatively easy to gain your understanding… but things can't possibly be that coincidental."

"Right, if there's really a formula for the wine of eternal life within the ancient legacy, then it's impossible for it not to have any mentions of it in any relevant history, especially when this is something that could possibly anger the gods. This is one point that must have been especially emphasized," Sui Xiong said. "This is why, when they have obtained that formula, they must have made it a point to destroy all the relevant content about it.

"The masterminds responsible for all this plotting and scheming… first, they must have reached a certain age old enough to be able to retrieve something from that generation; secondly, they must be powerful enough to be able to twist the two Legendary Masters, both of which were a few thousand years of age, around their fingers so easily. People of this caliber, no matter what, do not seem to exist in great numbers."

Of course, the Master of Mystery would not raise any objections to the inferences Sui Xiong made. He listened quietly, then asked, "So, why did you come to me?"

"Since this person is someone from the Witch Age and an expert in the medicinal field, then coming here to you is definitely the right thing to do," Sui Xiong sneered and said. "How vast this world is. If someone of that caliber intentionally hides himself, then I really have no way of getting him out of his mouse hole. But you, being the Master of Mystery, and of spells, potions, and sorcery… these all fall within the range of your priesthood. Someone like this culprit would never be able to escape your attention."

Without waiting for the Master of Mystery to explain, he went on to say, "The truth is, in this world, anyone with exceptional powers, whether they be your followers or not, would definitely have a good relationship with you. For this person to be daring enough to plot behind my back, he must have someone that he can rely on—and I think his backing is no one else but you!"

The Master of Mystery remained silent.

"If you think there is a problem with my reasoning, you can point it out," Sui Xiong said. "If not, hand over the culprit to me."

The Master of Mystery did not reply. On the other hand, the God of Spellcaster, who had rushed over later, was already incredibly mad. "Void Mask, be it your self-conduct or your way of doing things, but you have to be reasonable. Without any evidence at all, here you are, making trouble for His Majesty. Please be reasonable!"

With a sneer, Sui Xiong retorted, "Reasonable? When the Master of Mystery condoned the others who are plotting against me, how was that reasonable?" He continued to say, "Or let's put it this way, in this world, there is a spellcaster who had lived for a few thousand years. He has formidable powers, great wisdom and is well-versed in the field of medicine, but the strange thing is, the great Master of Mystery knows nothing about him?"

Up to this point, his face fell, and he shouted angrily, "Do you take me for a fool?"

"If you have fallen victim to someone's plot, you should investigate the matter on your own. What use will it be if you come looking for us!" the God of Spellcaster asked furiously. "Regardless of whether we know anything or not, why should we help you look for this person?"

"You are very much mistaken!" Sui Xiong said. "I am not asking for your help. I am warning you, do not offer any form of protection for this fellow!"

"We are, most certainly, not hiding him. You can search to your heart's content. After you have found him, how you choose to deal with him is up to you. We are not going to utter a single word at all."

"If you guys do not hand him over, it is the same as protecting him!" Sui Xiong said coldly. "For a criminal, you know who he is, know where he is, and yet, you are unwilling to hand him over. If this is not protecting and hiding him, what else could it be!"

The God of Spellcaster was momentarily dumbfounded. He did not know how to explain further.

After a while, he sighed and then said, "If I tell you that I too, have no idea who this fellow is, would you believe me?"

Sui Xiong merely sneered with indifference. He did not even bother answering.

The God of Spellcaster closed his eyes and began to search for the culprit with his Divine Power.

After a long time, he opened his eyes, but his expression was somewhat unpleasant.

"I can't find him," he said. "Believe it or not, no matter what, I really can't find such a person."

Sui Xiong laughed. "Please give me a reason to believe you."

"What I say can't be trusted?" the God of Spellcaster answered him with another question.

Sui Xiong ignored him and turned around to look at the Master of Mystery, who had been quiet all this while with eyes shut; then Sui Xiong asked, "Is this your intention?"

The Master of Mystery opened his eyes; then he sighed gently as he said, "I understand. I dare not say that I will definitely be able to find this person, but I will find clues for you. This person is definitely under the protection of some other god. I really cannot find him for the time being. But just as you have mentioned earlier on, spells, potions… all of this fall within the range of my priesthood, so long as I am given enough time, even if I am unable to apprehend him directly, I will still be able to look into the matter thoroughly.

"Are you satisfied with such a reply?" the Master of Mystery asked.

Sui Xiong thought for a moment, frowned, then nodded before he said, "Well, I will be waiting for the outcome of your investigation then."

Finishing what he had to say, Sui Xiong turned and left straight away, leaving behind the Master of Mystery, who was contemplating in silence, and the God of Spellcaster, who was still very mad.