Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Since he was summoning his messenger, Lumian didn't perform the ritual in Mr. Fool's name. He simply called forth Penitent Baynfel, who was garbed in a black clergyman's robe, resembling a charred corpse with black flames clinging to his body.

"I wish to enter into another contract with you," Lumian requested with a smile.

He briefly recounted the power of Inevitability, the special contract, the sharing of abilities, the potential price, and the negative effects, awaiting Baynfel's decision.

Baynfel stayed silent for a few moments before responding in a deep voice, "If you're not worried about the downsides, I have no objections."

"What might the negative effects be?" Lumian inquired cautiously.

In Baynfel's empty, dark eye sockets, the dark flames that served as his eyes flickered twice.

"That hinges on your choice. I can let you finalize the contract. Once you know the specific negative effects, you can decide if you want to seal the deal."

Different choices lead to different negative effects? What choices? Lumian spoke the Mystical Language of Fate, filled with curiosity and puzzlement, allowing the silver-black symbols, words, and patterns to land on the faux goatskin, forming a short, powerful, mysterious, and sinister contract document.

Through the connection forged by the Mystical Language of Fate, Lumian sensed Baynfel's traits and abilities.

The Penitent's powers were intimately tied to shadows and darkness, but most of them seemed to be submerged in murky depths. Lumian could sense their presence, but he couldn't discern their nature.

The two abilities floating above the surface were Shadow Animation and Spirit World Traversal. Their characteristics were Ancient Corpse.

Perfect, Shadow Animation is just what I need… Baynfel probably showcased it specifically for me… He's quite unique, completely different from spirit world entities like Headless Bride, Abscessed Hand, and Human-Faced Mantis… It's much more straightforward to truly communicate with him… As Lumian mused, he gained a deeper understanding of Shadow Animation.

This was an active ability that could animate the shadows of oneself and others. The former could be used to swap places with the body and evade fatal damage when dodging was impossible. The latter would ensnare the corresponding target, hindering their movements, but it couldn't inflict much harm or completely restrain the opponent.

Activating it swiftly to produce instantaneous effects was its greatest strength. Otherwise, it couldn't shield from death or injury. Its drawback was that it could only maintain the activation of one shadow at a time.

As a substitute, if the animated shadow perished, Lumian would have to wait for the sun to rise or set before the shadow would reappear. Shadowless individuals would be deathly afraid of sunlight and instinctively dread it.

In the past, my emotions and desires were volatile, and now I'm piling on a fear of sunlight? If I really run into Mid-Sequence Beyonders of the Sun pathway in the future, won't I be too terrified to even open my eyes? Thankfully, this is a downside that only kicks in after losing the shadow substitute. It's not permanent… Lumian looked at Baynfel and asked sincerely, "What sacrifice do you require? Or rather, what price must I pay?"

So far, he still hadn't figured out the negative repercussions of signing a contract with Baynfel.

Penitent Baynfel, with only a thin layer of charred skin clinging to his bones, replied, "Any mystical item in your possession."

Any one… Is this the so-called choice? Picking a mystical item to offer directly shapes the ultimate negative effects? Lumian had an epiphany as he took stock of the mystical items he carried.

His knee-jerk thought was the Pride Armor. After all, he couldn't effectively use the Sealed Artifact at present. However, looking at Baynfel's charred corpse, he felt that he wasn't just sacrificing an item but attempting to off his messenger. Furthermore, while he couldn't use the Pride Armor for now, Franca, Jenna, and Anthony could. Lumian had already taught them the corresponding usage techniques.

At the crux of it all was a single mantra: Don't wear it yourself. Only utilize the negative effects by letting the target trigger them!

As for proactively triggering higher-level negative effects in exchange for indiscriminate area-of-effect damage, there was no way to teach that. It had to be improvised based on the environment and the enemy's traits. After all, Demonesses likely relished this method. It was brutally effective in bullying targets without substitute-type abilities!

Mystery Prying Glasses, Flog boxing gloves, Eye of Truth, Lie earring, Mr. K's finger, Symphony of Hatred bone flute, Fury of the Sea brooch, Traveler's Bag, Omebella's umbilical cord remains, expired misfortune gold coins and unlucky banknotes, Serial Killer Beyonder characteristic… Lumian went through these items one by one.

Excluding non-mystical items and ones that were very handy to him at the moment, Lumian ultimately decided to choose between the Mystery Prying Glasses and the Eye of Truth.

Their abilities overlapped to a degree. Keeping one sufficed.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Lumian opted to offer the Eye of Truth to Baynfel.

He believed that the Mystery Prying Glasses had fewer negative effects than the Eye of Truth when usage time was limited. Furthermore, the Eye of Truth could only see the truth. The Mystery Prying Glasses could at least be used to paint supernatural works and disguise himself. After Lumian became an Ascetic, he could effectively rein in the urge to paint while donning the Mystery Prying Glasses. He could paint as needed or abstain.

Lumian produced the peculiar Eye of Truth and handed it to Baynfel.

Just as Baynfel grasped the eyewear, which appeared entwined with flesh and blood vessels, Lumian suddenly sensed the downside of signing the contract.

In scenes closely tied to Baynfel's past, he would witness truths better left unseen.

However, it's fine if such effects only happen when it involves this messenger's enigmatic background. Otherwise, I would have cut today's ritual short and made a new choice after finding a suitable contract partner… In Aurore and Franca's words, seeing what shouldn't be seen is a death sentence… Lumian pondered for a moment and replied to Baynfel in a deep voice, "The contract stands."

As he finished speaking, the short and sinister contract spontaneously ignited without fire, transforming into silver-black symbols, words, and patterns that seared onto Lumian's arm.

Lumian glanced down at his shadow and saw it warp on its own, as if performing a powerful dance.

A smile spread across Lumian's face.

After about ten seconds, his shadow settled.

Lumian expressed his gratitude to Baynfel and ended the summoning, stowing away all the items on the altar.

"It's done?" Franca asked eagerly.

It wasn't that she doubted Lumian couldn't even handle his messenger, but she worried the nature of his abilities might not meet the requirements or come with too many strings attached.

Lumian nodded and briefly recounted the situation with Shadow Animation.

As he walked towards the quarry cave's exit, he said to Franca, Jenna, and Anthony, "Now, we can hatch a plan to deal with Moran Avigny.

"Franca, contact the Demoness of Black and let her know we're about to make our move. However, to avoid spooking the family and hidden forces behind Moran Avigny, she doesn't need to observe nearby for now. Just request an emergency help charm from her that can contact her through a mirror if the Mirror People have hidden allies. Yes, it's a golden opportunity to test the Demoness of Black's stance towards the Tamara family and the Mirror People. Also, inform the Eternal Blazing Sun Church that they can get ready to cut us some slack.

"Jenna, write to Madam Judgment and clue her in on our plan in the event the Demoness of Black is in bed with the Mirror People.

"Anthony…"

Lumian's mind raced as he considered various details and doled out missions to his companions.

Franca, Jenna, and Anthony didn't just passively accept their tasks. They actively chimed in with ideas and helped Lumian fill in gaps and polish his brainstorming.

Upon returning to Apartment 702 at 9 Rue Orosai, Anthony ducked out early to keep up appearances at the Trier Psychiatrist Guild. Jenna, meanwhile, changed into a dark black cloaked dress and seized the chance to play the part of a Witch.

Soon, only Lumian and Franca remained in the apartment's living room.

The atmosphere grew awkward, and a prolonged silence hung in the air.

Lumian broke the ice as if nothing had happened.

"How's Jenna coming along with digesting the Witch potion?"

Franca breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Not bad. She's found her groove acting as a Witch. Ask around the market district and you'll hear whispers of Witches appearing in the dead of night to punish rowdy drunkards. Some claim to have fallen into an icy river. Some wake up the next day aching all over, while others get splitting headaches come evening and don't dare drink anymore. What they have in common is they all ran into someone dressed as a Witch. Yes, some drunkards even vanished into thin air…"

Franca's voice trailed off, replaced by a tone fit for telling ghost stories.

"The missing ones committed serious offenses? The others are guilty of beating their families, harassing passersby, and groping women?" Lumian guessed with a smile, based on his read of Jenna.

"Bingo." Franca nodded with a bright smile.

Lumian pondered for a moment and asked, "Aren't you worried the Demoness of Black will catch wind of this rumor and send someone to investigate?"

Franca felt smug and pointed at herself.

"You're looking at her! Me! In the Demoness Sect, I'm the one handling matters tied to the market district!"

She then sighed and said, "Jenna is a natural. She whipped up a solid acting plan in under a month. Maybe she can digest the Witch potion before I advance to Affliction."

"If those incidents hadn't happened, she would've been a star actress. Acting is second nature to her," Lumian agreed.

The two fell silent again.

After a few seconds, Franca put on a brave face and said, "Um, um, you can't breathe a word to Jenna or anyone else about what I said or did near the altar in the mirror world!"

Lumian asked in confusion, "Did you say or do anything out of the ordinary back there?

"I don't recall…"

Franca was taken aback for a moment before flashing an understanding smile.

She stood up with a breezy grin and walked to Lumian's side. She patted his shoulder gratefully and said, "What a bro!"

She felt all the awkwardness had evaporated.

…

A few days later, as Moran Avigny attended an interministerial meeting, Lumian appeared near the government-provided villa.