Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 318 The Corrupted Mirror God
"Mirror God?"

Roger was also taken aback upon hearing this.

He knew this creature. He had obtained the potion recipes for Sequence 9 to Sequence 3 of the "Witch" pathway when he interrogated the "Eternal Witch" Katarina Pelle. The "Heart of the Mirror God" was one of the main ingredients for the "Eternal Witch" potion!

"If I remember correctly, the Mirror Gods should be almost extinct. A hundred years ago, the 'Witch Cult' kept a very small number of them, but now no one can say for sure whether they still exist."

Bernadette said hurriedly:
"But I never expected that the 'Forsaken Land' would still exist. It really surprised me."

Upon hearing Bernadette's words, Roger finally understood.

He never expected to encounter such a demigod-level creature so soon after entering the "Forsaken Land." In a sense, this was truly a stroke of incredible luck.

"However, there seems to be something wrong with this Mirror God..."

Roger muttered to himself, but at this moment he couldn't care less about thinking too much, because the Mirror God, surrounded by the crowd, had already launched a strange attack!
The moment it appeared, the silvery-white reflective surface around it reflected the faces of five or six members of the joint search team. At that moment, with a roar from the mirror god, their faces vanished instantly!

Roger cursed inwardly, but before he could act, Bandit had already used the stellar attraction effect of the "Virtual Nexus" to pull those people out!
In an instant, the flames above those people moved away from the Mirror God, causing the mirror reflection on the Mirror God's surface to stop.

However, those whose faces were stripped away had lost their features and expressions, and even their hair and physical characteristics began to wither and decay rapidly. In just a few seconds, they turned into plaster statues, with only a rough human shape.

At present, only Roger, Bernadette, and Leomaster can barely see the somewhat bewildered Mirror God through the darkness with their demigod-level vision.

On its surface, those who had been trapped in the mirror world looked terrified, as if they had been completely cut off from the rest of the world and exiled.

The Mirror God hesitated for a moment, then suddenly rushed toward the direction of the firelight, trying to capture more people!
"Everyone, stand back!"

Roger pushed forward with one hand, and a horizontal gravitational field stopped the Mirror God's momentum.

Although the extraordinary members of the joint exploration team did not fully understand what was happening, they all instinctively stepped back because it was Roger, a demigod, who gave the order.

"Don't let the firelight shine on that monster!"

Seeing that the distance had increased, Bernadette added loudly.

Many people then realized that the firelight would create reflections, and only by keeping the Mirror God in a relatively dark environment could its harm be reduced.

Once everyone had retreated, Roger quickly produced a longsword that shimmered with the light of dawn.

"Demon Slayer" has entered full release mode. Roger shouted loudly to Leomaster, who was not far away:

"Lord Leomaster! You take control of this Mirror God while I attack it!"

"it is good!"

Although Leomaster is usually crazy, he is absolutely fearless when it comes to fighting.

After all, all beings are equal. Even the Mirror God has the right to be purified and enter the divine kingdom of the "original creator"!

"Bernarde, please protect the rest of us. Many monsters lurk in the darkness of the 'Forsaken Land,' and there may even be other demigod-level monsters... Please."

Bernadette nodded in agreement.

Soon, Leomaster coughed lightly, and a very handsome, almost tangible man appeared beside him.

The man was wearing a high-necked, court-style red and black cloak, and his thick, beautiful hair was neatly combed back.

Moreover, his skin was extremely pale, his left eye was tightly closed, and his right eye, which emitted a blood-red light, silently stared at the "Mirror God" shrouded in darkness.

Strangely enough, as soon as this gaze occurred, the "Mirror God's" movements slowed down and eventually even stopped.

"A vampire demigod?"

Roger was somewhat surprised. Although he had long expected that Leomaster should have the soul of a demigod, he did not expect that he was a vampire demigod.

Immediately afterwards, the demigod made a strange gesture:

He covered the eye that was staring at the "Mirror God" with his left hand!
A dense darkness instantly enveloped the "Mirror God," covering it completely and preventing it from reflecting the surrounding light.

Then the vampire count actually stuck his finger into his eye socket and crushed his right eyeball!
Along with the blood and bits of flesh spurting out, so too did the body of the "Mirror God"!

"What kind of ability is this? The 'Witch King'?"

"That gaze seemed to be some kind of 'source of curse,' a spell that could create a mystical connection between the target's eyes and one's own..."

Roger was quite surprised. While making guesses, he used the "magnification" boost given by "Fallen Earl" Chunus Korg to instantly appear in front of the "Mirror God" shrouded in darkness.

He did not activate his "Black Knight" form for fear of frightening Leomaster.

Even so, Roger's attack methods were already sufficient!
Like a burst of light capable of cleaving through space, the "storm of light" surged outwards in the darkness, even shattering the darkness that the "Witch King" had activated, which had originally enveloped the "Mirror God," into fragments!

A fierce roar belonging to a woman rang out, and the "Mirror God," which had already been shattered into pieces, turned into dust once more. These dazzling fragments reflected Roger's face in the "dawn light," refracting his fate.

These silver fragments tried to devour Roger's fate, but Roger simply smiled.

He attributed the concept of "uniqueness" to his own destiny!

This uniqueness does not refer to the uniqueness of the extraordinary path, but rather to the confirmation that, at the same time and in the same place, Roger's potential fate could only be one, and could not be repeated or replaced.

When numerous fragments simultaneously attempt to steal his fate, they become entangled in a logical paradox, restraining each other.

The "Mirror God" instinctively tried to plunge into the darkness, but the light of dawn created by Roger was too intense, and now that it was already in fragments, it was impossible to discuss anything.

Soon, the glass shards flying through the air began to turn to ash.

The "Mirror God" killed himself!

With a "thud," a silver, heart-shaped object fell to the ground.

The many linear marks on it faded quickly, and after a moment only the heart was still beating on its own.

"The Heart of the Mirror God..."

Roger seemed to understand something, and he got up and picked up the "Heart of the Mirror God".

"Your Excellency Leomaster, Bernadette, we can discuss the profits later."

Roger took the initiative.

"Alright, but I didn't put in too much effort in the battle just now. You and Lord Leomaster can reach a consensus."

Bernadette answered rather modestly.

"I don't need it; money is just an external thing."

Leomaster waved his hand, seemingly unconcerned.

The ascetic's eyes were incredibly clear. If Roger hadn't known how he became like this, he probably would have suspected that this "Black Saint" of the "Aurora Society" was a top-notch actor with exceptional acting skills.

Seeing that the Mirror God had been destroyed, everyone began to collect the bodies. Those whose fates, faces, and even physical characteristics had been taken away were all put into the first layer of the "Old Box" by Roger.

Hearing the cries echoing in the darkness, Roger felt a pang of sorrow.

I wonder if those who were swallowed into the mirror were freed after the "Mirror God" was destroyed?

"Although I knew how terrifying the 'Forsaken Land' was, I didn't expect to run into a demigod-level creature right away. I was too careless."

He sighed softly and began to review the situation in his mind.

After the bodies were collected, the main force continued their journey, while Bernadette quietly approached Roger.

"Roger, there's something I need to tell you."

Bernadette whispered:
"That Mirror God just now was a little different from the one I read about in the book."

"Not the same?"

Roger nodded; he had also noticed something unusual earlier.
"What's the difference?"

"According to records, the Mirror God would devour the souls and physical characteristics of others, and would also piece their limbs together and divide them into individual Mirror God clones according to the different souls."

"When these mirror god clones are destroyed, the mirror god fragments contained within them will return and gradually reset the fragmented state of the mirror god... that is, they will become the complete form of the mirror god."

Bernadette said as she walked:

"But I didn't immediately confirm that it was a Mirror God. The fundamental reason for this was because those strings extending into the void from the Mirror God's clones... don't they look like the strings on a marionette?"

"Yes, I've found it."

Roger nodded:

"My first impression was that it was a bit like the effect of a 'puppet' or a 'master puppeteer'."

“I possess abilities in the realm of ‘fate’ and can perceive that the way ‘Mirror God’ devours our companions is by first devouring their fate, thereby achieving a complete devouring in a mystical sense and stripping away the body’s personal characteristics… This is very different from the path of ‘Mirror God’ that you described.”

"From this perspective, I tend to believe that the power is related to the 'Master of Puppets,' or that there is some kind of fusion mutation... because the 'Master of Puppets' is the superior of the 'Diviner,' which is originally a path related to fate."

"Later, when the 'Heart of the Mirror God' was formed, I saw that similar line-like patterns on it also faded away... I suspect that was the source of that power."

"Fortunately, the pollution in the 'Heart of the Mirror God' should have disappeared with its death... It's a pity that we didn't obtain the fragments of the 'Mirror God,' otherwise these two items together could have sold for a lot of money."

"Hmm... but compared to the 'Heart of the Mirror God,' there should still be quite a few Mirror God Fragments in existence."

Bernadette replied.

Roger nodded and continued to press:

Will the limbs pieced together by the 'Mirror God' rot?

"Yes, but the rate will be significantly slower, only about one-third of the normal rate of decay."

Bernadette replied.

At that moment, a very important idea popped into Roger's mind.

That is, where did the Mirror God come from?

On the surface, it should be one of the creatures that survived the 'Forsaken Land' but are now almost extinct in the outer world.

While wandering in the "Forsaken Land," it seemed to be affected by the gray fog at the easternmost part of the "Forsaken Land," suffered a certain degree of pollution, and subsequently lost some autonomy.

On the other hand, the human limbs that appeared on the body of the "Mirror God" clone also revealed another piece of information.

That is, this "Mirror God" must have killed those humans somewhere, devoured their souls, and then disassembled and pieced together their limbs to create his own clone.

This happened after it was contaminated by the "gray fog," because the lines suspending human limbs did not highly integrate with their bodies, but rather with the "Heart of the Mirror God." Both of these points indicate that the humans were devoured by the "Mirror God" after it was contaminated.

Based on this, Roger can deduce that when the "Mirror God" wandered to the easternmost part of the "Forsaken Land," it may have entered the gray fog, been polluted, and undergone a certain degree of mysticization. Afterward, it escaped the gray fog, instinctively hunted some humans, and attempted to dilute the pollution in its body by creating clones.

Roger wasn't sure if this would work, and it wasn't important right now. What he could confirm was that there should be a human settlement along the line from the edge of the "gray fog" to where they were now!
The relatively mild decomposition of the limbs also supports this view. The only question is, where exactly is that city?
It could be "Moon City," which has guarded the border of "Gray Fog" for generations, or it could be "Silver City," or it could be somewhere else entirely.

To be specific, Roger needs to perform a divination on the "Heart of the Mirror God" before he can confirm.

“Klein is much better at this than I am… I’ll try to use this ‘Mirror God’s Heart’ to tell him the divination later.”

"However, given the isolation effect of the 'Forsaken Land' and the influence of the 'Gray Fog,' this divination may not be successful."

"But this is worth a try, since it doesn't cost any money anyway."

Roger walked while he pondered.

At this moment, Bernadette spoke again, interrupting Roger's thoughts.

"Roger, you still haven't explained why the contamination of the 'Sun' pathway manifests darkness similar to the 'Forsaken Lands'?"

Roger then remembered that he and Bernadette hadn't finished their discussion, and he replied:
"The sun god of the Third Age was not a sequence 0 of a single pathway; He was a true god of both the 'sun' and the 'Hanged Man' pathways from the beginning."

"'The Hanged Man' pathway is what we know as the 'Mystic' pathway."

This statement immediately made Bernadette's face light up with a look of sudden realization:

"So, the position of that Third Age Sun God is somewhat similar to that of the Ancient Gods of the Second Age, right?"

“They are not the same.” Roger shook his head:

"Although He occupied two pathways, He maintained a considerable degree of clarity because the 'Sun' pathway and the 'Hanged Man' pathway are adjacent pathways and there is no symbolic conflict between them."

"Adjacent paths..."

Bernadette murmured:
"I studied this question a long time ago: what other significance does the manifestation of adjacent pathways in high sequences have besides the ability to switch pathways?"
“What you said today has indeed confirmed a lot of things for me… including why there is obvious hostility between certain deities, through certain means.”

"It's good that you know. Don't talk too much about these things; it's not good to talk too much."

Roger smiled slightly and replied.

What is your view on the relationship between the 'King of Angels' and the Sun God of the Third Age?

Bernadette then raised another question.

The reason for asking this question is likely because the "Hermit" Cattleya had previously overheard Roger and the others discussing the "King of Angels" and the ancient sun god at the Tarot meeting. According to Cattleya, Roger knew significantly more than he had mentioned at the meeting.

So, taking advantage of the fact that they had already discussed the topic of the sun god of the Third Age, Bernadette asked a question.

"We've already talked a lot today."

Roger shook his head and smiled as he looked at Bernadette:
"We still have a long way to go, and it would be very boring if we talked about everything at once."

“I promised to help you figure out a lot of things, and I won’t go back on my word… Of course, this will happen as we explore the ‘Forsaken Land’.”

"Because what we are telling is essentially a lost history, and we are walking through history now, it is equally important to see and hear with our eyes."

"Alright, then I'll leave it to you, Roger."

Bernadette nodded, agreeing with Roger's assessment.

The group then trekked through the darkness for another day, encountering numerous dangers along the way.

They not only fought two more battles with monsters in the darkness, but two of them also tasted the unknown products of the 'Forsaken Land' and immediately showed signs of poisoning.

If Roger hadn't immediately used the antidote created by Baron Bohr to detoxify them, the exploration team would likely have suffered unnecessary casualties.

On the other hand, because the spirit world was severed in the "Forsaken Land," many methods of divination and time determination became ineffective. If Roger hadn't been able to determine the current time through the "Primal Core" and his own ability as a "Living Star Chart," they would probably have been completely confused about the concept of day and night.

During this process, Roger felt that his "Living Star Chart" potion was being digested to some extent.

This made him realize that another symbol of the "living star chart" might be the starry sky detached from reality, providing astronomy, calendar, and even time guidance for people who lack the ability to observe.

This role-playing should have been a long process, but the isolation and darkness of the "Forsaken Land" and the Astral Plane greatly improved his role-playing efficiency, which allowed for a noticeable feeling of potion digestion.

This greatly encouraged Roger, who planned to further utilize the "Forsaken Land" to digest the potion during his subsequent explorations.

Finally, as everyone lit a campfire and briefly set up camp, Roger heard Mr. Fool's reminder:

"It's time for the meeting."

Roger looked up at Cattleya and noticed that she was also tense and seemed a little nervous.

"By the way, Cattleya should be like me, participating in the 'Tarot Club' for the first time with so many people around her."

In fact, this was how "The Sun" Derrick had always participated in Tarot meetings—often when the meetings were being held while he was on a mission with his exploration team, he would take advantage of his rest time to hold the meetings.

Because of the special nature of the "Source Castle" summoning, the scenes that the participants can see are not visible to those around them, so there is no need to worry about the secrets being leaked.

Sure enough, as a rust-colored light burst forth, Roger reappeared before the bronze table shrouded in gray mist at "Source Castle," transforming into Mr. "Wheel of Fortune."

The Hermit, Cattleya, was also sitting diagonally across the long bronze table. Obscured by the gray mist, Roger could roughly make out that she was still wearing her black robe, though many details were not very clear.

However, this detail did not escape the notice of Alger, the "Hanged Man".

"The 'Hermit' lady has changed her clothes... Is she trying to conceal her figure and physical features with this outfit?"

"Is she attending some secret gathering, or is there someone around her that she's wary of and doesn't want them to discover her identity?"

Like Alger the Hanged Man, Audrey the Justice also noticed these details.

However, she showed no sign of anything amiss, and simply greeted Mr. Fool in a light voice:

Good afternoon, Mr. Fool.

Afterwards, "Justice" Audrey greeted the other attendees in turn, and everyone nodded in return.

"The Sun" Derrick's eyes were filled with expectation and unease as he looked at Roger, and his subconscious movements also revealed his great anxiety.

Even so, Derrick still maintained awe and respect for Mr. Fool, and his rare weekly reading time.

“'Fool,' I have brought three pages of Emperor Roselle’s diary this time.”

"The Hermit" Cattleya spoke first.

"very good."

"The Fool" Klein chuckled softly:
"You can consider making your request now."

As the "Hermit" Cattleya materialized the three pages of the diary and handed them to Mr. "Fool," the latter relaxed and began to read them.

In this diary entry, Emperor Roselle recounts the personality split and auditory hallucinations that began to appear after he became an angel, suggesting that a cold and insane will seemed to awaken within him, constantly eroding his humanity.

Even the appearance of his own daughter, Bernadette Gustave, could only evoke a very small amount of paternal love in him, which made Roselle feel very uneasy.

He feared losing control, feared turning into a monster, and ultimately becoming a completely inhuman being.

Fortunately, just when He was about to go mad, His subjects, His believers who regarded Him as the "Son of Steam," praised Him, sang His praises, and erected statues of Him.

These people acted as anchors for Emperor Roselle, ultimately enabling Him to combat that inner division.

Eventually, Emperor Roselle gradually recovered and regained normal human emotions and needs.

He was greatly shocked by this, and this experience made Him gradually realize why those Sequence 0 true gods established their own churches. This was likely an important, even core, means to help them stabilize their own humanity.

"I see……"

"The Fool" Klein suddenly had a realization. He couldn't help but wonder if he would need to establish his own belief system if he became a demigod or even an angel.

After a moment, he banished the thoughts from his mind and continued reading.

The second page of the diary records the conversation between Emperor Roselle and Mr. "Door," who, as always, asked Emperor Roselle to help him return to the real world, but without being too insistent.

During this interaction, He would randomly answer questions, as if playing a game, in order to increase His favorability towards Roselle.

However, having experienced many things before, Emperor Roselle had become wary of Mr. "Door" and had no intention of helping Him return to the real world.

He was simply playing a game with Mr. "Door," trying to gain more information.

In this diary entry, Mr. Door describes in detail the relationship between the "King of Angels," "uniqueness," and the Sequence 1 potion. He also mentions that Amon and Adam, the two Kings of Angels, were born with uniqueness, and in a sense, they can be regarded as uniqueness due to consuming the Sequence 1 potion.

Then Mr. Door tempted Emperor Roselle to go to the moon, saying that it would help Him understand many things.

However, Emperor Roselle remained wary of this, because he realized that Mr. "Door" seemed to want to use him to return to the real world, since Mr. "Door" always appeared in connection with the moon.

In the third page of his diary, Emperor Roselle mentions his trip with Edwards, Benjamin Abraham, and others to explore the islands in the Misty Sea.

There, Emperor Roselle saw many unknown creatures on the island worshipping some unknown god, and he even saw his long-dead subordinate, Grin, among them!

The record ends here. "Fool" Klein was somewhat shocked. After all, the idea of ​​the dead coming back to life and worshipping unknown gods seemed like a horror story.

"By the way, Roger said he plans to explore the Misty Sea later, I should remind him about that when I have the chance..."

There is clearly some kind of unknown pollution in the Misty Sea, which could very well cost Roger his life if not handled properly.

"What is your request?"

"The Fool" Klein put down his diary and looked at "The Hermit" Cattleya.

"My esteemed 'Fool,' I would like to know whether Emperor Roselle ever joined a very secretive and ancient organization?"

Upon hearing this question, everyone in the Tarot Club remembered the "Twilight Hermits" that Mr. Fool had mentioned, but they were unaware that Emperor Roselle had also been involved in it.

"Yes."

"The Fool" Klein nodded. He didn't mention the "Twilight Hermits' Society" because he could get another copy of "The Hermit" Cattleya's diary or other benefits next time.

"You may begin your free discussion now."

Then he spoke.

"The Sun" Derrick immediately spoke up urgently:
"Mr. 'Wheel of Fortune,' have you entered the 'Forsaken Land'?"

"Thank you for your help, Mr. 'Sun'."

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," nodded and smiled.
"I've already entered and am currently exploring the 'Forsaken Land'."

Upon hearing this, "The Sun" Derrick let out a long sigh of relief, seemingly finally at ease.

"Do you have any plans to visit 'Silver City'?"

"The Sun" Derrick paused:
“If you are interested in this, I can find an opportunity to meet with you privately.”

"No rush, I'll go later."

Roger shook his head:

"I have already dispatched an advance team towards Silver City. I have instructed them not to approach the city's security perimeter. If you encounter them while exploring, it would be best to guide your exploration team to avoid them."

For Linsaya and her group, directly interacting with the residents of "Silver City" was definitely not a good thing. The leader of the "Six-Person Council" had previously held a grudge about the little boy Jack. If Linsaya and her exploration team of dozens of people were to directly contact the residents of "Silver City" at this time, it would most likely attract the great attention of Colin, the "Demon Hunter," and a battle between the two sides could not be ruled out.

“Yes, Mr. Wheel of Fortune.”

"The Sun" Derrick nodded immediately, but he was very excited inside.

After thousands of years, "Silver City" finally received a visit from outsiders.

How could this not excite and thrill Derrick?

"By the way, I have something to ask you."

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," cleared his throat:

"During my exploration with my team, I discovered a Mirror God that seemed to have been corrupted... We engaged in battle, and it somehow obtained many limbs from humans and made them into semi-mimicry clones."

"I want to ask, is there any record of any expedition team members in Silver City being attacked and...dismembered by the Mirror God?"

"Mirror God?"

"The Sun" Derrick was slightly taken aback upon hearing this:
"Silver City does have records of Mirror Gods, but the last time such a creature appeared was a very, very long time ago."

"If I remember correctly, our previous chief encountered the Mirror God when he led the team on an exploration... but the chief repelled it, and only one person in the team died. As for dismemberment or anything like that, there is no record of it. Yes, that should be it."

The boy became increasingly certain as he spoke, and he answered with conviction.

"Is the Mirror God a single entity or does it have many clones?"

"The Wheel of Fortune?" Roger asked again.

"A single entity, not a clone, I'm certain of that."

Derrick replied:
"If it's the situation you described, it would definitely cause all the extraordinary beings in Silver City to mobilize... Wait, could it be?"

His voice suddenly trembled slightly.

"Yes, I suspect that besides Silver City, there are other human survivor city-states in the 'Forsaken Land'!"

Roger, the "Wheel of Fortune," nodded:
“Those dismembered and pieced-together limbs were clearly very fresh. Although there was slight decomposition, they certainly hadn’t been stitched up for very long!”

(End of this chapter)