Lord of the Mysteries

The mysterious leader of the Twilight Hermit Order enjoys sitting there, silently watching everyone converse. Once “He” wishes for something to be done, the matter can very quickly reach a consensus… This really matches the characteristics of the Spectator pathway… I’m increasingly convinced that “He” is Amon’s brother, the other son of the Creator, Adam… In his later years, the emperor learned plenty of secrets from Mr. Door and was probably able to come up with similar conclusions… As Klein compared the descriptions in the diary with what he already knew to come up with theories and verify them, he cast his gaze down to read the rest of the content of the page.

“11th March. The more I recall what happened yesterday, the more afraid I am. A demigod existence had his fate decided with just a few words. He didn’t even have the chance to express his disapproval. And the makeup of the ancient secret organization convinces me that, apart from dealing with the seven orthodox Churches, there is nothing that they can’t do. Even the toppling of a nation isn’t impossible.

“How lucky I am to be pulled into this organization; otherwise, who knows if I might one day suffer an unexpected assassination I cannot resist. I’ll die with my eyes wide open!!

“This kind of organization that hides behind the scenes, secretly passing judgment on others, while determining the life and death of the target is really unacceptable. Even if I’m one of their members, I’m still appalled and feel fear deep down.

“This world is so much more dangerous than Earth. Perhaps just being born with relatively high spirituality, randomly flipping through an ancient tome, sitting normally on a ship doing business, taking in the beauty of some lady, entering some castle because of one’s love of traveling, being woken up by fighting next door in the middle of the night, or creating something that’s of meaning, these would be enough to cause one to die a baffling, tragic death!

“And this is one of the reasons that drive me to improve myself, to advance myself to gain the ability to determine my own fate. I can definitely succeed. I’m the protagonist of this era, ha!”

“12th March. I feel there’s a need to seek out some material regarding the Fourth Epoch, Third Epoch, and even the Second Epoch. The experience that came from joining that ancient secret organization tells me that there might be countless secrets hidden here, the kind that will influence the direction of an epoch.

“Unfortunately, such information is astonishingly rare. They’re either kept by the Church, or they have been destroyed. I believe that I’m unlikely to gain much simply by relying on my subordinates. The best method is still to raise my Sequence. It will allow me to gain a higher status and greater power in the Church.”

From this diary page, it’s obvious that the emperor’s act of establishing contact with Mr. Door had happened very long after he joined the Twilight Hermit Order. Perhaps he was already a High-Sequence Beyonder; otherwise, there was no way he could withstand Mr. Door’s ravings… Compared to the emperor, it’s so much easier for me to investigate history. I have his diary for the Fourth Epoch. There’s the City of Silver for the Second Epoch. From time to time, I can even encounter the evil spirit that was formed by a King of Angels… Hmm, in the middle of his life, the emperor seems to tone down on his allusions of grandeur… Klein flipped to the second diary page with a relaxed attitude.

“18th May. I’ve been having nightmares recently. I dream of myself wearing ancient silver-gray armor and sitting beside a cliff. In front of me is silence, and there’s a bottomless black fog beneath me. It was filled with corruption and evil. Merely looking at it was enough to influence me. Towards the end, my face grew complicated, jet-black patterns as I monitored the abyss. My skin turned hard and I had the feeling that sticky liquid was flowing across the surface of my body. My eyes completely lost their reason.

“It was a reflection of the Abyss. It was the reflection of the Abyss which I saw and attempted to enter last month!

“As this nightmare becomes more frequent, I realize that extreme thoughts are becoming a common occurrence for me. Occasionally, the anger from being beaten up might lead me to hoping to rip apart the limbs of my target. Also, dark red lumps are growing on my back. My body temperature is also gradually decreasing.

“Is this a form of corruption from the Abyss?

“I have to think of a way to confirm and resolve it!

“For the time being, I cannot get the Church’s help; otherwise, I’ll have to divulge the existence of the primitive island and the Abyss.

“Yes, I can find the priests and bishops of the Eternal Blazing Sun. They’re more skilled at purification!”

“19th May. Through some connections, I received some secret treatment. My entire being felt a lot more relaxed. All the anomalies that happened to me have turned for the better.

“Amidst my joy, I also thought of a problem. I had only explored the periphery of the Abyss, without making contact with any high-level Devils. I even had an object on the Black King that could resist corruption; yet, I was affected without realizing it and even had signs of being corrupted. Those Criminal pathway Beyonders would make sacrifices to high-level Devils from time to time; the corruption they suffer must be even worse. Over time, it’s probably untreatable, and they can only be cleansed—both body and aura.

“Likewise, High-Sequence Beyonders, especially angels, should be able to exert influence on Low- and Mid-Sequence Beyonders of the same pathway. And due to the difference in level, there are corresponding limitations on distance. When one becomes a true god, there’s a high probability that they can “communicate” across the whole world and spirit world without any obstructions…

“This begs the question. Am I being influenced to a certain extent by the God of Craftsmanship, no—Should I say the God of Steam and Machinery? This is quite scary. It appears that only by becoming a demigod that I will be able to escape this influence?

“Thankfully, since the Fifth Epoch, there hasn’t been any examples of true gods leaving the astral world to descend upon the land. Likewise, pathways without true gods do not have such severe problems.”

“20th May. After a period of being dispirited, I’ve returned to the social scene!

“F*ck, those bastards have been secretly mocking me, saying that the reason for me not coming out recently has to do with me having too much fun and turning weak! Just because my dark eye circles are more obvious because of my nightmare-induced poor sleep quality?

“Hehe, I want to let them know what it means by the difference in one’s talent!!”

I wonder what an angel’s influence is like on a Low- or Mid-Sequence Beyonder… The transmission of ravings over great distances? Automatic characteristic attraction? Regardless of where it is, as long as one’s honorific name is chanted, one will have the godhood to reply? When meeting each other, is it the direct acquisition and erosion of one’s Beyonder characteristic? If all of this is possible, it’s equivalent to a mini-deity… It’s no wonder that angels in the Second Epoch are called subsidiary gods… Klein’s thoughts raced as he flipped the page in his hand to read the last diary page.

“12th October. Edwards ran to me, telling me that one of his knights discovered a strange chapel. It might have to do with the faith before the Fourth Epoch.

“This piqued my interest as I immediately rushed to the tiny city by the name of Bayman.”

“13th October. Bayman is a tiny town built on a mountain. The buildings all have protruded domes, just like a white straw hat. It’s very special.

“Following the street, and covering several flights of stairs, I finally found the strange chapel. On the surface, it looked like an ordinary residence with nothing special about it. Only by entering would one discover the difference.

“There was only one priest here. He was a genial middle-aged man who wore a simple white robe. He had a pale gold beard that covered half his face. His light-colored eyes were clear like a child’s.

“He claimed the place to be a temple of the Creator. Any creature from any species, any believer of any deity could enter.

“When I heard him mention this, it reminded me of a question I had. Apart from the seven orthodox deities, the other faiths are deemed as heretics. They are unable to openly build a cathedral other than that of the original Creator. However, there has never been any such Church coming into existence. Even cathedrals are extremely rare!

“In front of the chapel was a simple baldachin. In it was a man carrying a cross. This was likely the divine image of the so-called Creator.

“I sat in the front pew and idly chatted with the priest. He told me of many different stories.

“He said that when humans were first born, the ones that ruled the skies, land, and sea were all sorts of crazy, bloodthirsty monsters. They were said to be the origins of the later species: dragons, giants, and elves.

“These monsters freely indulged in their desires, occupying all kinds of places. It appeared that it wouldn’t take long before they destroyed the entire world. At this moment, it was the Creator who had awoken. ‘He’ retrieved the special traits and powers that they had been blessed with, and he had bestowed it to the humans.

“After that, ‘He” returned to his slumber, leaving behind a prophecy:

“When madness, cruelty, greed, indulgence, coldness, and bloodthirstiness drowns the land once again, ‘He’ would awaken and retrieve everything.

“As we spoke, the priest held the hanging cross by his chest and silently prayed.

“Such a myth is completely different from the Churches’ canon. There are many interesting parts that are worth thinking about.”

“15th October. I’ve been back in Trier for a day. Only then did I forget to ask the priest for his name!

“Forget it. There will still be a chance in the future. My sixth sense as a man tells me that I’ll definitely head to that chapel again.”

Isn’t this the condensed version of the City of Silver’s myth? Hmm, the period around the end of the Second Epoch and the beginning of the Third Epoch… That priest seems to know a lot. Perhaps, an organization that passes down such a myth over the generations know a lot… Klein’s mind stirred as the diary pages in his hand vanished.

Then, he looked up at Ma’am Hermit.

“Go ahead.”

Cattleya immediately bowed her head.

“Honorable Mr. Fool, what I wish to know is if the place that Emperor Roselle’s mind and spirit calls home on that island or the depths of the cosmos?”

That island? That primitive island that caused Grimm to die and had left the emperor shocked? From the looks of it, the emperor treated the island with great importance towards the end of his life. Even Queen Mystic Bernadette noticed it…

What does deep in the cosmos mean? The astral world? Or some other planet? There are many things about the emperor that transcends his era, so he’s suspected by his daughter to be an alien?

Although it’s a little ridiculous, it adheres to logic. After all, research has proven that this is a planet. The Sun is a star, and apart from that is the endless universe, a galaxy with countless stars… How should I answer? I can’t just tell her about transmigration. But it’s not like I can’t say anything… Klein pondered for a while before shaking his head with a smile.

“Neither of them.”