Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 316 The Passage into the "Forsaken Land" (Thanks to From_To for the Qidian Coins donation)
Led by two crew members of the "Dawn," Roger quickly circled around to the other side of the ship and looked at the island not far away.

It was a small island with a huge square stone pillar, covering an area of ​​several hundred square meters, with the pillar broken diagonally in the middle.

Like many islands in the "Gods' War Ruins" sea area, the island had no vegetation, but some cube-shaped, clustered black square stone sculptures, as if some indescribable extraordinary power had been frozen and calcified.

On the shore of the island, there was a man dressed in a classic black linen robe and wearing a hood, looking in the direction where Roger and the others were.

Roger recognized the man's features at a glance; he was "Black Saint" Leomaster!

However, compared to his appearance in the dream, Leomaster in reality looked much younger. If it weren't for the fact that his eyes were just like those of the old man Roger saw in the dream, Roger would probably have thought that the person in front of him was Leomaster's son.

Just then, the sky brightened again, and an indescribable light burst forth from the sea.

Roger, who was about to fly to the island to bring Leomaster to the ship, suddenly looked down and stared at his feet.

After the strange light dissipated, Roger looked at Leomaster with some nervousness.

Fortunately, this Aurora Society saint seemed to know the rules here, and he buried his head between his legs to ensure his survival.

Seeing that the danger had temporarily passed, Roger flew up and came to Leomaster's side.

"Lord Leomaster, I have arrived."

Roger drew an inverted cross symbolizing the "True Creator" on his chest, and then began to speak:

"Praise be to my Lord, it is His protection that has brought us together again."

"Praise my Lord!"

Thanks to Roger's assistance, Leomaster, the "Black Saint" who had just woken up on the deserted island in a daze but still had some doubts about his experience in the dream, finally confirmed upon seeing Roger that his experience was not a fabrication and that his fellow member of the "Aurora Society" truly existed.

"You've suffered."

Roger hugged Leomaster, then looked around.

On the island's land and on the nearby ships, there were no corpses or human remains, but there were some black marks resembling human figures or footprints, which seemed to indicate that many of the Aurora Society's followers who went on pilgrimage to the "Forsaken Land" with Leomaster had perished.

Like Roger, Leomaster was also gazing at the marks, and after a moment he sighed:
“It looks like I’m the only one left in our advance team.”

Leomaster sighed, his expression complex.

If Roger hadn't known the background of the suppression of the "Black Saint's" evil personality, he might have genuinely believed him to be a devout, loving, and compassionate simple monk.

"Perhaps not entirely."

Roger shook his head, meeting the questioning gaze of "Black Saint" Leomaster, and said:

“I received a revelation from the Lord a few days ago that Jack and his father arrived at the sanctuary.”

Roger was referring to the boy that "Sun" Derrick had mentioned earlier, the one the Silver City exploration team had seen. At that time, the "Tarot Society" had also deduced and analyzed Jack's background and finally concluded that he was one of the believers of the "Aurora Society" who went on a pilgrimage.

"Jack...that little boy?"

Leomaster thought for a moment and immediately remembered the father and son who had been traveling with him.

"They've reached my Lord's sanctuary? Is that true?"

Leomaster's eyes reddened and his voice trembled.

"Yes, it seems that this father and son are very blessed, and their loyalty has been recognized by our Lord."

Roger laughed:

"Just as your piety finally moved my Lord, which is why you and I met again."

"In this process, perhaps some of our compatriots did not pass the Lord's test, and that's why..."

"Do not."

Leomaster shook his head:
“Roger, that was not the Lord’s punishment. My Lord is loving, He is everything, and everything is within Him, so He will not oppose or hate anything.”

“We should rejoice for our deceased compatriots, for they have surely gone to the Kingdom of God and been freed from the calamities of life and death.”

Huh? You can interpret it like that?

Roger was stunned; he never expected the "Black Saint's" thought process to turn out this way.

For fanatical believers of normal evil gods, the theory of trials is a very popular theory. Those who pass the trials can meet the gods, while those who fail will fall into hell or be exiled. This black-and-white binary judgment is the normal thinking of most of the "true creator" believers in the "Aurora Society" that Roger is familiar with.

It is precisely because of this that they are able to commit acts of sacrificing large numbers of living people in an attempt to induce the divine descent of the "true creator." For them, most people are not important because they are not the chosen people of the "true creator."

Or to put it another way, even the lives of the fanatics of the "Aurora Society" are not important. As long as they can be filled with "divinity," they can even accept becoming twisted and out of control. Even death is a necessary step to become an angel of the "true creator" and enter His kingdom to serve Him.

However, Leomaster, who had now been redeemed, had a new interpretation of these matters.

That is, no one can escape from "the Creator of all things, the all-knowing and all-powerful God", so whether they live and are able to meet the "true Creator" or die, they are all glorious.

The former will take on the important responsibilities given to them by the Lord in reality, while those who die will ascend to the Lord's Kingdom of Heaven or even become His angels to serve Him.

This completes the loop; no one is evil, and everything is within the "true creator's" prediction.

At this point, Roger finally understood how the attributes of a fanatical believer in a "true creator" and a benevolent person with a childlike heart could manifest in the same person.

He was greatly shocked.

After regaining his composure, Roger invited "Black Saint" Leomaster back to the "Star Lord".

Facing the hundreds of people on the four ships, Roger explained to Leomaster that two of the ships were people who had gone on a pilgrimage with him, while the other two ships were friends who had come to help.

Leomaster once again expressed his appreciation, but when he saw Bernadette, he was visibly taken aback.

He thought for a long time, but couldn't remember where he had seen Bernadette before.

"Have we met somewhere?"

he asked.

"We once joined forces to send a person to the heaven of the 'First Creator'."

The "mysterious queen" remained calm and composed, answering without changing her expression.

She was referring to the incident where she bribed Leomaster to kill someone for her, just in a different phrasing.

"You are such a kind person."

Leomaster's eyes lit up:
May the Lord protect you.

After saying that, he nodded to Bernadette and left with Roger.

Considering Leomaster's status, Roger specially arranged a room for him with facilities and views second only to the captain's cabin on the "Star Lord," and it was prepared several hours in advance.

However, to Roger's surprise, Leomaster rejected this arrangement.

“Roger, I am a monk of the Lord, and I must reject pleasure and corruption, so I cannot stay in this room.”

Roger bit his lip, somewhat speechless:

"You can state your demands."

Leomaster, the "Black Saint," nodded and replied:
"I need a dark, harsh, secret room."

"Dark and harsh conditions?"

Roger paused for a moment, then thought for a second and said:

"You know what, I happen to have a room like that. It's extremely dark and often experiences extreme temperatures ranging from over 50 degrees Celsius to minus 50 degrees Celsius... and it's very damp. I wonder if it meets your requirements?"

"That must be the place where you practiced asceticism for the Lord, right?"

Leomaster was somewhat surprised to hear this, and then looked at Roger with some appreciation.

“Ah…yes, when the Lord suffered for the world, I wept day and night and prayed for my Lord, asking Him to relieve all the suffering of the world and bring all life into His Kingdom.”

Roger paused for only a second, then, without changing his expression, he imitated Bernadette and earnestly began to deceive her.

“You are indeed a devout believer of the Lord, Roger.”

Leomaster was very pleased, and his gaze toward Roger was full of admiration.

"Next, take me to that room. I will suffer the same pain you have endured."

The "Black Saint" said firmly.

"it is good."

Roger, without further hesitation, personally led Leomaster into the "space behind the door" with its extreme conditions and closed the door.

"Captain, is this man mentally ill?"

At this moment, Zeus poked his head out from the side with a worried expression:
"I've been on the 'Star Lord' for so long, and this is the first time I've seen anyone make such a request."

"If I remember correctly, this room was originally used to imprison and interrogate enemies, right?"

"Mind your own business when it comes to saints."

Roger was also somewhat helpless. He originally thought that "Black Saint" Leomaster would only become gentler in personality, but he did not expect that extreme kindness and fanatical faith could be stitched together to produce such a result.

In fact, Leomaster's current mindset is only one step away from the divine intervention of sacrificing the whole world to summon the "true creator." The biggest difference is simply that he cannot bear to see people suffer.

"We need to have a meeting about this, no matter what, otherwise we don't know what kind of trouble he'll cause."

Roger was somewhat helpless. He summoned Zeus and his trusted confidants, and also invited the "mysterious queen" Bernadette to discuss countermeasures.

"Everyone, as you can see, I have rescued the 'Black Saint' of the 'Aurora Society,' but his current state is very strange."

Roger recounted his experience to his men, omitting the part about Ophina wielding a scythe and hacking people in her dream.

“I originally wanted to use his abilities to add another demigod-level combatant to the ‘Forsaken Land,’ but now it seems that it is impossible to predict what changes will occur after he gets closer to the ‘True Creator.’”

Roger's biggest concerns were twofold: firstly, that Leomaster would lose control and become a monster after entering the "Forsaken Land"; and secondly, that he might suddenly start killing his own people and send the crew of the "Star Lord" and the "Dawn" to the "True Creator's" kingdom to become one with Him.

"In my opinion, the reason why Leomaster is in this state is because after you remove the necessary evil from his humanity, his personality begins to become extremely one-sided."

The "mysterious queen" Bernadette shook her head:
“But the ‘True Creator’ is originally a symbol of the Fallen Authority. From this perspective, it should be difficult for Him to directly influence Leomaster, who is almost temporarily free from the ‘Fallen Self’… unless he actively uses the ability to ‘listen’.”

"Actively use 'listening'?"

Roger pondered for a moment:
"You mean that because Leomaster lacks the dark side, he will be completely controlled by divinity under the influence of 'listening,' and then lose control?"

"Yes."

Bernadette nodded:

"In fact, his current state is very close to that of an extraordinary being who is overflowing with divinity but has not yet lost control."

"Essentially, it's because the nature of his current personality is still human... but in any case, it has a similarity to divinity."

"So-called evil is actually just a component of human nature."

“For a ‘Black Knight,’ a crucial step in maintaining humanity is to use ‘necessary evil’ to achieve a stalemate with the corrupt part of divinity… I believe that as a ‘Black Knight,’ you should understand this better than I do.”

I don't know...

Roger was taken aback. He wasn't a "Black Knight" who had advanced through potions in the normal sense, nor had he experienced the corresponding potion digestion process, so he didn't have a deep understanding of what Bernadette was saying.

However, in principle, he could understand that under the divine impact contained in the "fallen self," many good intentions would be eroded, and at this time, the important means of maintaining humanity was to maintain evil thoughts that were similar to the "fallen self."

In essence, there is no purely good or evil thought; they are simply two sides of the same coin of personality, existing in a symbiotic relationship.

Therefore, if evil thoughts can survive, good thoughts can also survive; together they form the cornerstone of maintaining humanity.

However, Leomaster is now almost devoid of evil thoughts, so when he hears the voice directly from the "True Creator," he is very likely to be devoured by the authority of the "Fallen Self," completely refined, and become a servant of the "True Creator."

Even though the will of the "True Creator" is greatly suppressed by the power of the "Key to the Gate," some power will still leak out in places as close to Him as the "Forsaken Land," leading to unpredictable consequences.

This risk cannot be offset by Roger's "identity alteration" because it comes from the power of a true god. Unless Roger has become an extraordinary being at the level of the Angel King or above, there is no good way to deal with it.

So, as Bernadette said, Roger needed to do everything he could to prevent Leomaster from having a brain fart after entering the “Forsaken Land” and starting to subconsciously use his “listening” ability during the “pilgrimage”, in case something went wrong with him.

"Yes, you make a good point."

Roger nodded. Bernadette was right. When extraordinary individuals using the "Mystic" pathway do not use "Listen," it is difficult for them to be directly influenced by the "True Creator."

A prime example is Heath Doyle, the "Bloodless One" on the ship of "Admiral of the Stars," who was an ordinary person who accidentally absorbed the Sequence 6 "Rose Bishop" potion and became an Extraordinary. Because he had never used the "Listen" ability, he behaved very normally and was nothing like the lunatics of the "Aurora Society."

For extraordinary individuals who have advanced through the normal process of taking the "Mystic" potion, this is difficult to achieve because it is hard to digest the potion without using a "Listener." Even if they do not actively "listen," they may still have some passive "listening" processes during and after taking the potion to advance.

The current "Black Saint" Leomaster can be roughly regarded as a demigod-level "bloodless" Heath Doyle. Although he has fully digested the "Listener" potion, his mind has not been contaminated by the "True Creator" much, which is almost equivalent to never having "listened" even once.

Roger then added, “However, Leomaster’s desire to ‘listen’ will not disappear into thin air. This is a pilgrimage he has been looking forward to for a long time, and he will definitely not be able to resist using that ability.”

"There is another way."

"Mysterious Queen" Bernadette paused:

“If you can ‘listen’ to the guidance of the ‘true Creator’ on his behalf, then that should also be possible… if it is feasible.”

"Am I listening to the guidance of the 'True Creator' on behalf of Leomaster?"

Roger was stunned again.

"Yes...of course, I know this should be somewhat dangerous for you, but in order to calm things down..."

"No, you misunderstood."

Roger shook his head. Listening to the voice of the "true creator" was not risky for him, but rather risky for the "true creator."

To be honest, the "true creator" has really suffered a lot when he encounters a "divine child" like himself.

First, he was brutally beaten by the power of the "Key to the Gate," then he was repeatedly insulted by the noise of Gherros. After a few days of peace and quiet, Roger poisoned the "Chaos Sea."

This chaotic sea is poisonous!
Roger is not the same as before. He is now a true demigod of the "Star of Judgment" pathway and has already mastered the "Primal Core". If Roger dared to use Listening now, or even face-to-face with Grisha in the "Forsaken Land", he would probably have to carry his broken cross upside down and run from the "Forsaken Land" to the Western Continent overnight.

If the "true creator" could speak a complete human sentence, it would surely be:
"Go ahead and shake me, young man."

Roger rubbed his temples:
"That probably won't work... but what you said has certainly given me some inspiration."

"Who says I have to tell him the truth? Can't I just pretend to 'listen'?"

"Pretending to 'listen'?"

Bernadette, the "mysterious queen," frowned.
“It’s not impossible, but as an extraordinary being through the same ‘Mystic’ pathway, if you pretend to ‘listen,’ Leomaster will probably find out, right?”

"Don't worry about that."

Roger waved his hand:

“I will indeed use my ability to ‘listen,’ but I will listen to the voice of another deity.”

"The voice of another deity?"

The "mysterious queen" Bernadette immediately thought of "The Fool"!
"Correct."

Roger nodded:

“‘Listener’ can only judge whether other extraordinary beings around them who share the same path have actually used ‘listening’ unless they themselves use it. However, they cannot know for sure which deity the other party is listening to.”

"I understand."

Bernadette nodded.

Ophina, Zeus, and the others standing nearby couldn't get a word in edgewise; the topic Roger was discussing with Bernadette was far too advanced for them to even comprehend.

"You don't need to stand there blankly."

Roger laughed:

“Once we enter the ‘Forsaken Land,’ you must keep a close eye on Leomaster. If he exhibits any unusual behavior, inform me immediately.”

"Understood, Captain."

Everyone said the same thing.

"Alright, everyone go about your business. Be vigilant for supernatural phenomena and dreams. If the light in the sky disappears, go back to your cabins and sleep immediately."

Roger waved his hand, and everyone dispersed, while Bernadette also said goodbye.

"Bandit, go out into the cabin for a walk, but don't go outside on deck. If everyone comes back to sleep, you can come back to sleep too."

Roger patted Bandit's head:

"I am going to perform a ritual magic."

"Are we going to pray to an evil god again?"

Bandit meowed and teased Roger as it walked outside.

Roger watched it pass through the door and into the corridor, and then began to set up a prayer ceremony for Mr. Fool.

"Fool who does not belong to this era, you are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog, you are the king of yellow and black who holds the reins of good fortune..."

"I pray for your help."

I pray for your favor.

"..."

Roger quickly connected with "Source Castle" and recounted his predicament to Mr. "Fool," hoping that He would be the one to "listen."

On the other hand, he also asked Mr. Fool to inform Mr. Sun Derrick that the musical performance in Silver City could begin within two days.

Roger had previously given the program list to Derrick through Mr. Fool, and the young man readily agreed and spent several days preparing.

Now that I think about it, it should be about time.

Roger selected mostly pieces familiar to the musicians of "Silver City," and also provided "The Four Seasons: Summer."

The purpose of this was to complete the "Four Seasons" music series, which would increase the residents of Silver City's enthusiasm for the performance and maximize their resonance with Roger's music in a religious sense.

At this very moment, somewhere far away on the border between Intis and Rune.

Klein, controlling Maggie Lopez, looked at the three Extraordinary beings lying before him, took a deep breath, and said with some regret:

"These people don't know where Louis Wayne is either... It seems we'll have to keep looking."

"Fortunately, the 'Master of Puppets' potion has been completely digested now."

"Luna was right after all. 'Realized Mystic Puppet' and 'Puppet Show' are indeed the right directions for digesting the potion."

"Next, it's time to prepare for the promotion to 'Trickster'..."

As Klein was muttering to himself, he suddenly heard layers of prayers and calls coming from above the "Source Castle".

"Is it Roger?"

He immediately identified the source of the sound, looked around to make sure it was safe, and then Klein took four steps backward into the "gray fog".

"...What the hell? You want me to be his 'listening' listener? What is this? Sharing an evil god?"

Klein was both amused and exasperated. It turned out that Roger was really treating him like an evil god.

However, he could only mutter these complaints to himself in private. After all, from Mr. Fool's perspective, Roger's request was completely understandable, and providing him with protection was just a small favor.

When Roger comes to the "Tarot Club" again, he will definitely bring up this matter again. At that time, Alger and the others' original inference that there is a game between Mr. Fool and the "True Creator" will be further confirmed. This will create better conditions for Klein to establish his persona and find the two main ingredients for the potion: the main eye of the evil monster and the true soul of the spirit world raider, which are needed to advance to the level of "Trickster".

As for contacting Mr. "The Sun" to promote the performance, Roger had already said so; it was just routine.

So, in the end, Klein said, feigning profundity:
"Ok."

……

"……OK."

Inside the captain's cabin of the "Star Lord," Roger heard Mr. "Fool's" reply and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Next, all we need to do is wait quietly."

After another day of sailing, the four ships, including the "Star Lord" and the "Dawn," suddenly discovered that the surrounding environment had changed drastically.

The sky, which normally changes between day and night, suddenly turned pitch black, as if a thick shadow had completely enveloped them.

This feeling was different from the periodic black sky that brought collective dreams. The biggest difference was that Roger couldn't see the sea; it was as if the whole world was shrouded in shadow.

Not only that, but even the lights on the four ships, as long as they were shrouded in that shadow, seemed to have been mostly swallowed up, leaving only a few dim shadows.

If Roger and Bernadette hadn't brought along all of their extraordinary individuals with amazing eyesight, they probably wouldn't even have been able to see each other.

"This is it."

At that moment, the voice of Captain Bernadette of the Dawn rang in Roger's ears:

“I arrived in this vicinity earlier, but I was unable to break through this layer of darkness, so I was unable to proceed further.”

"clear."

Roger, now understanding their predicament, replied:
"We need to wait a little longer."

"What are you waiting for?"

Bernadette countered with a question.

"Waiting for a song."

Roger laughed.

Time passed by, second by second. Because the surrounding environment had turned completely dark, everyone felt as if they had been exiled to the end of all space and had almost lost their sense of time.

Just as some people began to experience auditory hallucinations due to excessive anxiety, Roger finally received a message from "The Sun" Derrick through "The Fool" that the concert was ready.

"Everyone, calm down, we'll be able to go in soon."

Roger shouted.

Upon hearing his words, everyone's eyes became much clearer, as if their previously aimless lives had regained direction.

As the overture to the Dawn Quartet began to echo somewhere in Silver City, Roger could clearly feel a magnetic flow of information emerging from the depths of the "black curtain."

At this very moment, the part of the spiritual sky representing the spirit world within the "Original Core of Heaven" also began to show signs of expansion.

Through the lens of "Secret Insight," Roger was already able to glimpse what was happening inside the darkness.

The feeling was ambiguous and not very obvious, but the rules contained in the Dawn Quartet that he could clearly feel were absolutely genuine.

"The Dawn Quartet is a piece I wrote specifically for Silver City... The audience's emotions should be stirred up now, and this transmission of faith is also the reason why I can feel the interior of the 'Forsaken Land'."

"When the 'Four Seasons: Summer' piece begins, the audience's emotions will definitely reach a climax. At that time, I will use the 'leak' technique, and I should be able to successfully break through."

After Roger understood this, he waited quietly.

About twenty minutes later, Roger suddenly felt that the emotional resonance within the "Forsaken Land" had reached a significant climax.

It seemed that everyone felt warmth, sunshine, and joy.

That is the spirit of "Four Seasons: Summer".

"Everyone, back to your cabins! Don't look at me!"

Roger shouted, and all the crew members understood and returned to the lower decks, leaving only Bernadette Gustave, who also possessed divinity, on the deck, watching Roger and acting as his helper and protector.

Just as the music was about to reach its climax, Roger suddenly reached out his hand into the darkness.

"preparation……!"

He took a deep breath and entered the incomplete mythical creature form of the "Black Knight"!
Shadows and writhing flesh immediately appeared on the surface of the "Star Lord". Unlike the previous time Roger used the mythical creature form of the "Black Knight", this time the shadows were stained with traces of rust!

Within this shadow, the darkness deepened.

The expansion of the spiritual realm in the spiritual sky of the "Primal Core" also suddenly began to accelerate.

"A leak!"

As Roger launched the "leak," the melody of "The Four Seasons: Summer" in Silver City finally reached its climax.

The audience members either clenched their teeth, wept uncontrollably, prayed silently, or felt grateful.

Suddenly, a hole appeared in the black curtain that shrouded the four ships, revealing the desolation inside and the constant flashes of lightning and thunder.

Roger also shed his mythical creature form, raised one hand, and looked at the despairing world in the darkness.

"We've arrived."

"The land forsaken by God!"

(End of this chapter)