Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 323 The Merciful Father (Thanks to saynol for the Qidian Coins reward)
This is Roger's newly separated persona as "Galactic Admiral".

When Roger ascended the stone platform, while Leomaster was immersed in the vision of the "Church of Truth" and the various connections between the legends in the "Aurora Society" scriptures, he had already used the "invisible bracelet" to separate his identity and enter the spiral staircase leading underground.

Not only that, he also attached some of his own flesh and blood to this clone as an extra layer of defense.

As "Admiral Galaxy" walked, he felt the darkness around him growing thicker and the surroundings becoming increasingly cold.

Seeing that he was already far from the first floor of the "Church of Truth", he lit the lantern he carried with him for illumination.

Suddenly, the forces that had been stirring nearby all quieted down. "Admiral Galaxy" looked closely and found that they were all black cocoon-like things that were entrenched on the walls, flowing with a viscous, almost tangible shadow, and interspersed with some blood-red networks.

At this moment, the cocoons were twitching slightly, as if something was breathing inside them.

However, the frequency was not very high, because the surrounding darkness was dispelled by the "Admiral of the Galaxy's" lantern, and they were no longer as agitated as they had been a few seconds ago.

These shadow creatures differ from the servants who previously rallied around the Sequence 4 minotaurs and fought to the death. The latter were likely fed directly with the flesh and blood of the divine minotaur, but these creatures may have acted solely on instinct and followed the commands of their superiors. This is the fundamental reason why they would retreat in extreme danger.

After the minotaurs of Sequence 4 were slain and the divine guidance was lost, they lost their will to fight and their activity level dropped significantly, forcing them to cocoon up and enter a dormant state.

"Admiral Galaxy" predicts that if they cannot be nourished by flesh and blood, nor can they receive new divine commands through the "Hanged Man" pathway, they may never be able to hatch.

"However, on another note... if 'I' were to become the new ruler of these shadow creatures, I wonder if that would be possible?"

After a moment's thought, the "Galactic Admiral" tentatively separated a portion of the flesh and blood Roger had given him and sent it to one of the egg cocoons.

The moment that smear of flesh landed on the egg cocoon, it immediately turned a blackish-red color and began to twitch rapidly.

A moment later, with a "snap," "Admiral Galaxy" saw a small hole appear above the black cocoon-like object.

With the sounds of wriggling and flowing liquid, a clump of viscous flesh fell to the ground and stood up a few seconds later.

It was a newly born minotaur-headed shadow monster. Upon seeing the "Galactic Admiral," it respectfully knelt down, showing its submission.

Even when the light source was right next to it, it did not retreat a single step.

"It's really possible..."

"Admiral of the Galaxy" shifted his gaze slightly, and then distributed all the flesh and blood Roger had given him to the dense cocoon-like creatures around him.

Soon, the cocoons were reactivated and hatched, and 36 minotaur shadow creatures of varying sizes appeared in the underground passage and submitted to the "Galactic Admiral".

"Admiral Galaxy" estimated that these creatures were all of extraordinary strength, with most being Sequence 7 and Sequence 6, and a few being Sequence 5.

In the “Forsaken Land,” all shadow creatures can be broadly regarded as the servants of the “True Creator,” so their growth rate is much faster than in the outside world.

Most importantly, they hardly need to worry about digesting potions, because they are originally controlled by instinct and obey the guidance of superiors who possess divinity through the same path. Therefore, as long as they encounter similar extraordinary characteristics, they can devour them and grow.

For Admiral Galactic and Roger, this was a truly unexpected bonus. The expedition beneath the Church of Truth yielded him 36 mid-sequence henchmen who were unafraid of shadows, fearless, and impervious to the twisted and corrupted nature of the Forsaken Land.

As long as they don't encounter multiple Sequence 5 or higher extraordinary beings, this is already a force that allows them to almost roam freely in the "Forsaken Land".

"Admiral of the Galaxy" was very satisfied with this. He had some of the stronger minotaurs lead the way, while others brought up the rear. He himself walked through this underground space like a shepherd for these minotaurs.

As the "Galactic Admiral" moved further in, he began to see some murals.

The style of these murals is quite different from that of the first floor of the "Church of Truth". They mainly tell the various histories of the "servants of God", including but not limited to how they were brought here by the "angel of fate" Urolius to assist in the construction and defense of the "Fog City", and how Urolius gave revelations to a small number of priests in the "Fog City" and strengthened the dominant position of the belief in the "true creator".

Roger had already heard most of this information from Amon and was familiar with it, so the "Galactic Admiral," who was now his clone, only glanced at it briefly to get a general idea of ​​the situation before continuing to walk inside.

Although the underground space of the "True Meaning Church" is not very spacious, it is winding and the route is not short.

Soon, "Admiral of the Galaxy" came to a fork in the road, and from that fork, a faint light was shining through, as if someone was also carrying a lantern to provide light.

"Admiral of the Galaxy" had a sudden thought and strode forward.

Soon, the swarming, shadowy minotaur creatures lined up and watched as the "Galactic Admiral" entered the fork in the road and walked toward the black-robed youth wearing a monocle who was carrying a lantern and groping around.

"Yo."

Upon seeing the "Galactic Admiral," Amon adjusted his monocle and looked at the densely packed shadowy creatures in the distance:

"They're pretty quick on the uptake; they grasped the key point right away."

“I was wondering if you would remove those cocoons. Although it’s just a clone, your mind is indeed just as good as his.”

"I take this as a compliment."

"Admiral of the Galaxy" smiled.

"You have something to ask me?"

Amon turned back and asked a question while continuing to explore, as if he had expected this situation.

"Ah."

"Admiral of the Galaxy" nodded:
“I found a stone platform on it, which marked the location of the sanctuary of the True Creator… I guess that’s the direction from which the remaining followers of the True Creator in Fog City migrated, right?”

Upon hearing this question, Amon suddenly turned his head, and an arc of light was reflected from his monocle, which was made of polished crystal.

He stared at the "Galactic Admiral" for several seconds, who remained calm and unchanged.

After a while, Amon nodded:

"Yes."

"Thank you, boss."

"Admiral of the Galaxy" breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't know why Amon had been staring at him like that just now; to be honest, it was a bit creepy.

He paused, then asked:

"Leomaster developed a split personality in the ruins of the God War. I temporarily suppressed his evil personality in the 'Abyss' of the psychological level, but this made Leomaster forget about the 'Black Knight'. He is now not only unable to use the 'Black Knight's' special abilities, but he has even forgotten the name of the 'Black Knight's' potion."

"This is undoubtedly a potential problem... Is there any way to resolve this?"

"Yes, I do, but you need to answer one question in exchange."

Amon replied with a smile.

"what is the problem?"

"Admiral of the Galaxy" knew that Amon asked this question because he couldn't steal his thoughts, but was particularly curious about something, which was why he asked it.

"What do you plan to do after Mr. 'Door' is resurrected?"

Upon hearing Amon's question, "Admiral of the Galactic Empire" answered without hesitation:
“I will not allow Him to be promoted to Sequence 1 again, but at least two Sequence 1 extraordinary properties will be recycled back to the Abraham family.”

"I won't concern myself with other matters."

Roger understood this point very well. The corruption of the "Fallen Mother Goddess" is immortal, and this immortality will be transmitted through mystical symbols. Therefore, no matter what, the identity of "Mr. Door," who became the King of Angels and even the Archangel, must be completely erased and must never reappear.

Otherwise, Mr. Door's problem will repeat itself, although he will no longer have the symbolism of "the gate of all doors" by then, but that will be enough for the Abraham family.

On the other hand, "Admiral of the Galaxy" also knew that Amon was asking this question to test his attitude toward the identity of "Lord of Mysteries".

The "Galactic Admiral's" answer highlighted two key points: the new "Lord of Mysteries" would be born from the paths of the "Diviner" and the "Thief," and he only requested the recovery of two Sequence 1 extraordinary properties.

At that time, combined with the two Sequence 2 level seals that still exist in the Abraham family, Roger can train Sam to become a Sequence 1 Archangel of the "Gate" pathway—provided, of course, that he is willing to switch pathways and return to the "Gate" pathway that originally belonged to the Abraham family.

Otherwise, Sam can only become a Sequence 2 "Miracle Master" at most.

Of course, Roger had another option, which was Perseus, but the boy was still too young, and many things needed to be observed.

To be honest, if he could, Roger actually hoped that Mr. Door would become the Lord of Mysteries, because in terms of temperament, knowledge, and willpower, He was a very suitable candidate.

However, for safety reasons, He could not regain the extraordinary properties of Sequence 1 after His resurrection. In fact, this was the core reason why Mr. "Door" prepared a complete Sequence 2 clone as a backup plan after His resurrection, because he was very clear that He was very likely to be corrupted in the starry sky.

Judging from the outcome, Mr. "Door" should have been out of the game. Roger was already very satisfied that he was able to bring this ancestor back to life as an angel.

As for the possibility that His divinity might overshadow His humanity after His resurrection, Roger wasn't too worried, because the nine star coordinates stored in "Raziel's Star Compass" were very likely the "anchors" that Mr. "Door" had left for himself.

The ascension ceremony of the "Planetary Planeswalker" Sequence 2 requires the ascendant to leave behind his own legend at nine coordinates outside Earth. These are undoubtedly nine civilizations of varying sizes. Even if some of them have been destroyed, Mr. "Door" can still gain enough followers to solidify his identity and humanity.

In this sense, the resurrected Mr. Door cannot be considered a born mythical creature, but rather a personality that has fully digested Sequence 9 to Sequence 2 potions and revived in a functional body through his own power.

Furthermore, although the "Galactic Admiral" said this, he did not explicitly state whether he supported the "Diviner" or the "Thief" path, which is consistent with his previous attitude, namely that he would not intervene in the struggle for the "Lord of Mysteries" unless absolutely necessary.

To the "Galactic Admiral's" surprise, Amon actually laughed after hearing this answer.

The laughter contained something complex that the "Galaxy Admiral" couldn't quite understand for a moment.

As he was pondering, Amon nodded and said:

"It's good that you can think this way."

"The method for modifying Leomaster is also very simple."

Upon hearing this, "Admiral of the Galaxy" immediately straightened up, appearing to be all ears.

"The reason he can't remember anything related to the 'Black Knight' is because his corresponding cognition was stripped away by the dream in the 'Gods' War Ruins'... You got that mirror, right? It's very special; you can study it carefully when you have time."

"But that's not the point. The point is, you need to let Leomaster 'see' his 'Black Knight' side again in the dream... but you can't let them truly merge."

"In this way, Leomaster's cognition will change, but that part of the subconscious will still not rise to the surface level of consciousness."

“This might require a little help from me. You should get this sorted out before you leave ‘Fog City,’ and I will make my move at the appropriate time.”

After receiving Amon's assurance, "Admiral Galactic" breathed a sigh of relief.

He nodded and was about to thank him when he saw Amon suddenly touch something and move it.

With a "crack," the wall in front of Amon suddenly shattered, revealing a deeper, dark passageway inside.

"If there's nothing else, I'll go in first."

Amon called out and then walked inside with the lantern.

Although the "Galactic Admiral" was very curious about what was inside, seeing that Amon did not intend to invite him, he turned around and left with his shadow servants, heading back the way he came.

Just as the "Galactic Admiral" was about to reach the spiral staircase, Roger took the initiative to recall this clone.

The shadow servants hesitated for a moment, then quickly found the source of their vanished, new master's power.

These shadowy servants descended the spiral staircase to the first floor of the "Church of Truth" and then surrounded Roger and Leomaster.

"Roger, what's this?"

Leomaster was initially taken aback, but he quickly realized that these were the "servants" of the true creator and looked at Roger with some curiosity.

“These servants of God seem to have been called by our Lord and have voluntarily come to serve as our protectors.”

Roger, suppressing his nausea, touched the chin of the largest minotaur and said with a smile.

"I see."

Leomaster nodded in agreement upon hearing this:
“You are truly blessed by my Lord.”

The two then left the Church of Truth and headed toward the main street of "Fog City".

Bernadette was slightly taken aback when she saw the shadowy minotaur following Roger, but she quickly realized that these monsters had been tamed by Roger.

Roger picked up Bandit, who was following Bernadette, and then recounted to her, somewhat reservedly, what they had seen and heard in the "Church of Truth," and told her that their next exploration would be towards the sanctuary of the "True Creator."

Bernadette was initially quite critical of the proposal, as she viewed a sanctuary close to the "true creator" as too dangerous.

But when she saw Roger wink at her subtly, she stopped talking and temporarily acquiesced.

"How's your haul here?" Roger asked, looking around at the scattered members of the exploration team after seeing that Bernadette had stopped speaking.

"I have to say, there are some good things inside this abandoned city."

Bernadette nodded slightly.

"They just found an armory with a lot of usable weapons, and even some sealed artifacts that are particularly lethal to monsters."

"Currently, one of our team's 'craftsmen' is helping them research the uses and side effects of these things. If all goes well, these things will play a significant role in the upcoming battles and explorations."

"In addition, the exploration team also found some precious metal coins, some of which appear to be relics from the Tertiary period."

"I must say these things are of great research value... I kept some of them and distributed the rest, which were not of much historical significance, to the exploration team members as extra compensation for their participation in this exploration."

"Thank you for your hard work, Bernadette."

Roger nodded slightly to express his gratitude.

"The current 'Fog City' can be considered a safe area for the time being. I suggest that the exploration team members continue to explore here in groups of five. Once we are sure that there is nothing of additional value here, we can leave and set off."

After saying this, Roger ordered the shadow minotaurs to guard and keep watch around "Mist City," and to notify him immediately if anything unusual happened.

Although Leomaster was somewhat anxious, upon hearing Roger's words, he had no choice but to sit cross-legged in the shadows once more and begin his meditation in silence.

Although the two hadn't known each other for very long, Roger had already successfully gained his trust.

This was partly due to Roger's planning, and partly due to his good luck.

But more so, it's because Leomaster's current mental state doesn't allow him to harbor too many suspicions.

Roger glanced at Leomaster but didn't disturb him immediately. Instead, he chatted casually with "Admiral" Gadriya for a few moments before sitting down again near "Black Saint" Leomaster, holding Bandit and closing his eyes, entering a meditative state.

What no one saw was that Roger had already activated the "Dream Weaver" ability of the "Invisible Bracelet," weaving a dream for Leomaster, who had entered a deep mental state through meditation.

After Leomaster had unknowingly fallen into this dream, Roger plunged into the sea of ​​the collective unconscious and interacted with Leomaster's mind.

At this moment, Leomaster, dressed in a simple linen robe, was walking along a flower-lined path under the night sky. His gaze and expression were calm, as if he regarded this place as a perfectly normal illusion.

This dreamscape was extremely peaceful and undisturbed; even the flowers on both sides seemed to be completely still and motionless.

For Leomaster, the "ascetic," seeing illusions during meditation is perfectly normal. Unlike other extraordinary beings, those on the "mystic" path tend to believe that divine revelations are hidden in the darkness and mystery, so they tend to discard a large part of the warnings based on spirituality and knowledge. This makes them more likely to encounter dangerous illusions.

Simply put, Beyonders who follow the "Mystic" pathway are generally braver than Beyonders who follow other pathways—of course, someone like Heath Doyle, the "Bloodless," is a purely exceptional case.

It is precisely because of this characteristic of Leomaster that Roger is more likely to guide him into dreams that are clearly suspicious, and he is doing just that.

The path Leomaster was walking on had a distinct upward slope, guiding him step by step toward the black sky.

This is part of the inverted nature of dreams. In dreams, the path to higher places corresponds to the lower places in reality, and to approach the "abyss" of dreams, one must walk towards higher places.

As Leomaster walked further, the sky grew darker and darker, while Roger stood with his hands in his trench coat pockets, watching him from a distance, knowing he would never turn back.

The reason why Leomaster would never look back is because "behind" represents the unconscious area that cannot be understood by consciousness, which is the principle of "psychological invisibility".

As he walked, Leomaster began to hear a series of roars, which seemed extremely angry and contained almost all the malice in the world.

Filth, depravity, darkness—even Roger could feel the unsettling meaning contained within that voice just by hearing it.

Leomaster hesitated for a moment, and he stopped walking, which was unusual for him.

But ultimately, with Roger's encouragement, he once again chose to move forward.

The walk continued for a while, and then suddenly a crack appeared in the sky above Leomaster's head.

The crevice was like a deep ocean trench, filled with a cold and dark atmosphere. If you looked closely, you could see a faint glimmer of starlight within it.

At a moderate depth within that crevice, a silver-white cage was suspended by three iron chains. The "Black Knight" who had been chasing Leomaster in the collective dream of the "Gods' War Ruins" was imprisoned in that cage.

When he saw Leomaster appear, he immediately began to howl angrily, his body shrouded in dark shadows, as if he wanted to kill him as soon as possible.

Strangely enough, all those shadows and the power released by the "Black Knight" were completely isolated by the silver-white iron cage. Even with gaps in the bars that allowed the two to look at each other, the power of those shadows could not be released at all.

When Leomaster heard that roar, he trembled violently as if he had encountered a great terror, seemingly completely terrified.

"Look up..."

Roger chanted frantically in his mind.

That silver-white cage was a "sacred enclosure" he designed, which symbolically confined the dark side of Leomaster's power within it, but allowed it to visually interact with the good side of Leomaster.

Once this visual connection is complete, Roger can break free from the dream, and Leomaster will be able to remember everything.

However, Leomaster's reluctance to do so, and even his lowered head, made Roger feel extremely frustrated again.

He tried everything and made several attempts, but Leomaster wouldn't look up.

However, just when Roger was at his wit's end, he suddenly heard Amon's voice.

"cross."

cross?
Roger narrowed his eyes. After a moment's thought, he quickly understood what Amon meant.

He immediately used the Dream Weaver's power to conjure an inverted cross at the feet of Leomaster, who was bowing his head.

The cross was initially a flawless silver-white, with a male figure vaguely nailed to it.

The scene possessed an indescribable sanctity, and Leomaster was momentarily mesmerized by it.

However, with the intervention of some force, blood suddenly began to emanate from the man's body, and this blood quickly stained the cross and the man's entire body.

This caused Leomaster to show a look of fear. He began to crouch down and touch the man, who was covered in blood, but he was completely unable to save him.

The man began to struggle desperately, but after a while, he stopped struggling.

As if he had suddenly realized something, he turned his gaze to the abyss beneath his feet, strained to put all his strength into his waist, and used his last bit of power to turn the cross upside down.

The cross fell into the darkness, and as the man and the cross suddenly turned pitch black, the black stone steps beneath Leomaster's feet also instantly turned pure white.

Leomaster, who had witnessed all of this, suddenly became lost in thought. At that moment, he remembered a passage from the Aurora Society's scriptures.

"The merciful Father bore the sins of the world in His own body."

Leomaster was immediately overcome with emotion, his eyes filled with tears, and he began to sob.

He was no longer afraid, no longer confused, no longer doubtful.

"Merciful Father, I am willing to bear the sins of the world with you."

After saying this, Leomaster resolutely raised his head, stared into the bottomless abyss in the sky, and met the gaze of the "demon" imprisoned in the silver-white cage.

A sudden gust of wind swept around, causing the flowers and plants on both sides to sway, seemingly indicating that the energy between heaven and earth was flowing once again.

Roger let out a long breath; the sudden gust of wind was a symbol.

He understood that Leomaster had remembered the things about the "Black Saint," had taken on the sins of the world through the "First Creator," and had regained his power by entering the imagery of darkness.

However, those corrupt and dark evil thoughts were once again cleansed by his sanctified piety.

Roger left the dream he had created first, and it took him a long time to truly break free from the dream state created by "Black Saint" Leomaster.

He patted Bandit's head, put it on his shoulder, then stood up and stretched.

After a while, Leomaster opened his eyes with tears streaming down his face and looked at Roger.

“Roger, I just received a revelation from the Lord during meditation.”

He spoke, his voice trembling slightly.

What kind of revelation?

Roger also sat cross-legged next to Leomaster, very close to him, adopting a sincere posture of wanting to listen.

“I saw the process of the Lord bearing the sins of the world... He also gave me the title ‘Black Saint’, and I also gained the corresponding power.”

“That seems to be a name that originally belonged to me, a name that the Lord had already decided… It seems that I really am the Lord’s chosen people.”

Although Leomaster said these words, there was not a trace of relief on his face, but rather a solemn expression.

He took a deep breath:

"I also gained the power of darkness and became the Lord's 'Black Knight' because of this."

“But I know this is my responsibility. I will dedicate my life to saving people from calamity, pain and darkness, and to continuing the Lord’s good work in the world.”

If a normal Saint of the Aurora Society had said such a thing, Roger might have instinctively tensed up, but he knew that the "Black Saint" Leomaster was different.

Although his concept of goodness has religious connotations, it is largely still goodness in the literal sense.

As for "darkness," although it is still darkness, it has been given a certain sacred meaning of "bearing the sins of the world," so much so that Leomaster is no longer afraid of it.

This is the key to his ability to regain the power of the "Black Knight," and it is also a bug that Amon guided Roger to implement and then exploit.

Through this bug, Leomaster's perception was successfully altered.

"By the way, Roger, has the Lord ever bestowed any name upon you?"

Leomaster suddenly looked up and asked Roger this question.

"Have."

Roger nodded and spoke softly:
“My title is ‘Dark Star Saint’.”

After Roger finished speaking, he summoned the "Black Knight" armor and covered his entire body.

Although the "Black Knight" armor still has some rust-colored spots and is not as pure as it originally was, it is perfectly suitable for testing Leomaster.

As he did this, he observed Leomaster's expression.

The "Black Saint" did not show any fear upon seeing this; instead, he smiled with relief.

As the shadows appeared, the "Black Knight" armor also appeared on his body.

This scene immediately caught Bernadette's attention.

She glanced nervously at Leomaster, but because Roger had also summoned the "Black Knight" armor, she didn't say anything more.

Roger.

Leomaster's "Black Knight" helmet flashed with a leaping red light:
"Once everyone is ready, we'll set off."

"Where are we headed?"

Roger continued to probe.

“Go forth and save my Lord’s flocks that have lost their way in darkness.”

Leomaster plunged his straight, dark sword into the ground with a "bang" and answered with a smile.

"it is good."

Roger nodded and smiled as well.

(End of this chapter)