Lord of the Mysteries

On the surface of the mirror, silver words surfaced one by one amidst the aqueous light:

“…adopt Beyonders from the Church of the God of Combat and the Feysac military who are willing to pledge their loyalty. Only the extremely pious, faithful, and those willing to be martyrs, as well as a few mid- and upper echelon members of the Church are to be eliminated. This is both the benevolence and compassion of the Goddess, as well as the necessary measures to deal with the subsequent situation … With the apocalypse approaching, the number of Beyonder incidents will inevitably increase all across the world. To maintain the stability of the world, we have to do our best to increase our strength as quickly as possible.

“If we were to cull the Beyonders of the Church of the God of Combat and the Feysac military, obtaining their corresponding characteristics, that still doesn’t aid us in nurturing a Beyonder of the same level within a few years. A Beyonder with rich experience, be it in their digesting of the potion or accumulated knowledge, requires a sufficient amount of time…”

Upon seeing this, Klein mumbled inwardly. He felt that this wasn’t the usual tone of Arrodes. It was more like an official document.

It’s showing documents of unknown origins that it peeped at… By using words like “digesting,” it means that both the writer and the reader have mastered the acting method. And from the tone of the document, it’s from the Church of Evernight… Based on these two points, it’s not difficult to tell that these documents are for the eyes of archbishops and high-ranking deacons. The author should be the Apostolic See from the Cathedral of Serenity… Arrodes’s secret-prying abilities are very impressive… Klein nodded indiscernibly as he waited for the contents in the mirror to “flip the page.”

The silver words vanished one after another, quickly forming new sentences and paragraphs:

“There’s no need to spread the fact that the Goddess has replaced the God of Combat to the ordinary nobles and citizens of Feysac. This allows them to retain their faith in the God of Combat. On the one hand, it’s beneficial for us and the priests, bishops, and various major cathedrals who have surrendered to us. It will stabilize the situation in Feysac in the quickest way possible. On the other hand, it also prevents the Goddess from being disturbed by the unresolvable problem of faith before “She” completely gains control of the God of Combat’s authority.

“An update will be disseminated after a new revelation is given. Now, we will only draw up the corresponding draft.

“…Try not to incite the strong resistance of Feysac and other countries. We’ve lost too many Beyonders and soldiers, and we have expended a large amount of resources and items. Be it the Church, the countries, or the people of different classes, we are all very weak. We need some time of peace and stability to recover… We should work with the Church of Storms, the Church of Knowledge, the Church of Earth Mother, countries like Feynapotter or Lenburg. We will force Intis and Feysac to make an unconditional surrender. We will obtain what we hope for at the negotiation table. During this process, we can use the purging of the stubborn old-fashioned faithful to exert pressure on them.

“When dealing with the domestic situation and the filling of the void left behind by the Church of Steam, the Church of Storms should be given enough respect. We can even make concessions on certain matters. This is the will of the Goddess.

“Finally, from this moment forth, the number of times the crimson moon that appears in the sermons, preaching, rituals, and Masses should be reduced. In official canon, the Goddess’s title of ‘Lady of Crimson’ shall no longer be mentioned…”

“Lady of Crimson” shall no longer be mentioned… Klein’s brows twitched as he felt a strong sense of confusion towards the last sentence.

Soon, he thought of the Sanguine Ancestor, the ancient god of the Second Epoch, and the present Earth Mother, Lilith, who was once a Sequence 0 of the Moon pathway. She was the true Lady of Crimson. In a moment of enlightenment, he vaguely understood that this might be an exchange under the table. It was a necessary price.

Yes… The Goddess’s attitude is very clear. That is to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible… Before “She” truly controls the authority of Death and that of the God of Combat, and becomes a Great Old One, “She” undoubtedly doesn’t wish for any more orthodox deities to perish. If that happened, the invisible barrier left behind by the Primordial One will have no one to mend it; this will allow the Outer Deities to find an opportunity to bring the apocalypse forward… Also, based on Loen’s present situation, if we continue the war, the anchors will waver even more. It might lead to the awakening of the Primordial One in the Goddess…

The Goddess took a huge risk having the frontline retreat all the way to Backlund. “She” had to divert more strength to suppress the Primordial One. If Earth Mother betrayed “Her,” “She” might’ve perished even faster than the God of Combat. Uh, could “She” have other trump cards?

The losses that the Church of the Evernight Goddess and the Church of Storms suffered seems quite significant. It’s no wonder that after the Resistance announced that they would retain the corresponding cathedrals and respect the Storm religion, that bunch of irascible fellows didn’t attempt to retaliate, and they silently agreed to the establishment of the new government… Klein mumbled to himself as he had a rough idea of the current situation.

He asked a third question:

“If the Evernight Goddess wants to advance further, does ‘She’ need to find the River of Eternal Darkness?”

This was one of the nine sefirot. Klein remembered Arrodes mentioning it once, saying that this “river” was related to the ancient Death, the Phoenix ancestor, Gregrace. The clues seemed to be hidden deep in the spirit world’s Calderón City.

“Yes, Great Master.” The silver words twisted and distorted, forming new text. “The Death at the end of the Fourth Epoch should’ve been able to use the River of Eternal Darkness. ‘He’ attempted to use this sefirah to forcefully accommodate the Uniqueness of neighboring pathways. Then, ‘He’ went mad.”

So that was how Death went mad back then. I knew it; a Sequence 0 true god, one who has lived for three Epochs and has seen the Blasphemy Slate, wouldn’t lack common sense and randomly drink potions. It’s not like “He” is Alista Tudor, having reached a point of only having the options of madness or death… It’s no wonder Death challenged the fractured seven deities with just a Primordial Demoness. Back then, “He” was equivalent to half a Great Old One… Yes, Mr. Azik had a golden phoenix accessory that came from Death… Klein strung up certain matters.

Suddenly, he inwardly let out an exclamation. He suspected that the price of so many bestowments was the River of Eternal Darkness.

Just like how the True Creator had repeatedly tolerated him so as to force him into the Giant King’s residence to obtain the first Blasphemy Slate!

As the owner of Sefirah Castle, he was probably the only relatively high Sequence Beyonder who could resist the corruption of other sefirot.

Of course, the Evernight Goddess could also wait up to a decade or so. After the Primordial One’s will faded further, “She” could personally retrieve it. However, this way, Klein wasn’t sure if “She” could complete the ritual before the apocalypse happened.

He composed himself and raised the fourth question:

“Where can I get the potion formula for Attendant of Mysteries?”

Arrodes made the silver words reassemble into brand new content:

“Zaratul; first Blasphemy Slate; second Blasphemy Slate; The Card of Blasphemy, The Fool; The Fool Uniqueness that has become a Mythical Creature.”

The first choice and second choice might be plotting against me… Zaratul is even more terrifying and cunning than the Dark Demonic Wolf. If I were to plot against “Him,” there’s a high chance of me falling into “His” trap. The danger is extremely high… The third choice is Amon’s brother. “He” should’ve used this war to become a Visionary. If I were to provoke “Him,” Sefirah Castle might not be able to save me… The fourth and fifth options are related to The Half-Fool of the Antigonus family. It’s related to the Goddess’s foggy town. Uh, the Goddess should have a way to circle around The Half-Fool and extract the Card of Blasphemy, but perhaps I’ll need to use the River of Eternal Darkness to exchange for it… Klein realized that he had reached a dead end.

The path ahead was the River of Eternal Darkness, and behind him was the leader of the Secret Order, Zaratul.

Unfortunately, if I can find the Dark Demonic Wolf, I can try to negotiate with “Him.” “He” should’ve seen the first Blasphemy Slate and grasp the potion formula of Attendant of Mysteries… Sigh, “He” will flee far away once he smells me… Klein thought for a moment and said to Arrodes, “Fifth question, what did you mean when you said you saw a pillar and support from me?”

The aqueous light in the mirror swirled slightly as the deepness became more obvious. The corresponding silver text seemed to turn a little whiter.

“Great Master, this is a feeling that I can’t describe using words.

“However, I’ve experienced similar feelings in another existence before. Apart from ‘Him,’ only you possess it. That existence is the ancient sun god.”

The ancient sun god… Klein nodded in thought.

“Alright, it’s your turn to ask.”

On the surface of the mirror, the words on the silver screen suddenly turned golden:

“Supreme Master, do you think you can take away your loyal and humble servant, Arrodes?

“Supreme Master, do you think you can take away your loyal and humble servant, Arrodes?”

…

This question appeared five times in a row, completely covering the surface of the mirror.

Having become an angel, Klein no longer feared Arrodes. After thinking for a few seconds, he smiled and said, “Let me talk to that angel. This is basic courtesy.”

With a boom, illusory beams of different colors spewed out from the mirror and exploded into fireworks in the carriage.

Almost at the same time, two dark rays of light reached out from the edge of the mirror. Two arms that appeared surreal grew out.

The two “arms” originally wanted to reach out to Klein’s calf, but they silently shrank back and gently swayed on the spot.

“Praise the Supreme Master!” After the fireworks fell, a golden message appeared in the mirror.

…

In the middle section of the steam locomotive, in a simple room.

A tall and handsome young man with long chestnut hair sat on a hardwood chair. Facing the triangular Sacred Emblem, he clasped his hands and closed his eyes as he sincerely prayed.

On the side of the narrow table was a mannequin made of metal components. Behind the mannequin was a faint meshed glow.

Suddenly, the young man opened his eyes and looked towards the other side.

Someone had appeared there.

And in the young man’s blue eyes, the figure only looked like a person. In essence, it was an invisible vortex wearing a silk top hat and a black trench coat. Inside the vortex, there were transparent and distorted maggots squirming about in the cluster.

“Gehrman Sparrow.” The young man calmly read out a name.

All the items around him floated up, but there was no wind in the room.

Klein pressed his top hat and revealed his human face.

“How may I address you?”

The young man nodded slightly and said, “Bornova Gustav.”