Mystery: Big Alarm Clock Ghroth Path

Chapter 383 The Black Prophet (Thanks to Minggugong Donggua for the Qidian Coins donation)

According to the time information provided by the "Living Star Chart" ability, Roger can clearly know that he has been in the Boötes Void for 9 days, and there are still 5 days before he can leave safely.

At this moment, Roger was no longer afraid of the bottomless darkness in the void of the universe. On the contrary, he even felt like a fish in water.

After some deliberation, he ultimately decided to stay there long enough to ensure the ceremony went perfectly.

Aside from being a little bored, Roger didn't feel any discomfort. In the end, he took out a novel from the "Original Core" and began to read the text with the help of his "Secret Insight" vision.

In between, Roger would take out something to eat when he was hungry, drink some water when he was thirsty, and take a nap when he was sleepy. In this way, he finally made it to the last day.
This made Roger breathe a sigh of relief. He had to admit that although he had completely overcome his fear of the dark, boredom, while not as terrifying as fear, was the greatest torture.

He bit his lip, took out a huge glass beaker, applied gravity to it to ensure that the extraordinary materials thrown into it wouldn't float out, and then began adding the auxiliary ingredients for the "Black Prophet" potion.

Roger's plan was very clear: first, put the "Spirit Worm," "Star Worm," and "Time Worm" into the beaker, and then cover them with the trail of the "Star Wanderer."

With these things having a tendency to converge, Roger wasn't afraid that the light coming out of the light-gathering box would escape. He directly aimed the lens of the box at the inside of the beaker and then turned the knob on the base.

A beam of infrared light poured into the beaker, turning the originally solid potion into a rust-colored gel, somewhat resembling jelly.

Then, Roger reached out with his left hand and pulled out a twisted, mist-like sphere from the void.

The fog was almost absolute black, nearly imperceptible in the already dark constellation of Boötes, but if one looked at it for a longer period of time, or viewed it using the "Secret Insight" vision, Roger could see infinite and vast light within it.

He threw the mist into the beaker, and the gelatinous substance immediately shrank to about half its original size.

Its color has also turned completely black, with specks of dark red starlight within, making it look like the light emanating from an extremely distant star in this void in Boötes.

Most importantly, there seems to be some kind of regular connection between these seemingly unrelated celestial bodies, but upon closer inspection, it is impossible to accurately discern the relationship.

Roger steadied himself, then created a force of gravity to force the already combined potion into his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp.

Roger then closed his eyes and entered a state of advancement.

He first saw a large amount of starlight rushing by, and Roger himself was one of the larger and brighter ones among these stars, which seemed to indicate that he possessed divinity.

Besides him, there were many other beings in the starlight that were similar in size and brightness, or even more conspicuous and enormous.

These beings are not real, but conceptual, yet Roger was still able to recognize which of them symbolized which beings he was familiar with.

Soon, Roger emerged from the starlight and found himself at the very center of darkness, surrounded by the starlight that enveloped him like an electronic cloud.

This scene is somewhat like the inherent internal scene of the "living star chart," except that at this moment Roger can clearly feel an indelible mark appearing in his own inner starry sky.

Roger understood that this was the completeness of his self that he had gained through the "Black Prophet" ascension ceremony, because all conceptual darkness had been swept away, so that the imprint of this self could exist independently and be engraved in the deepest part of his spirit.

As a result, he felt that his fate had broken free from the collective fate and that he had begun to possess independence and autonomy.

Although Roger himself could be seen as a region of the starry sky, and could use the power of this starry sky to alter his own and others' identities and destinies, he was still subject to predetermined fate in many situations, that is, the influence of the larger "universe".

Roger has now created a completely independent microcosm, or embryonic universe, which can be seen as a preliminary escape from the inertia of collective cause and effect in terms of destiny.

If there were dominant figures and followers in the original destiny and cause-and-effect relationships, then Roger has now truly become the master of his inner universe. He can see all the projections and trajectories of existences in his own universe that he can touch in a mystical sense, and minimize his influence from them.

However, this was not the end. Soon, as the "electronic cloud" enveloped Roger and formed a huge sphere, it suddenly shone brightly in the darkness.

The intense light immediately spread out into the darkness outside, illuminating certain entities lurking in the even darker darkness, along with their corresponding trajectories and ripples.

After a long while, Roger finally opened his eyes and looked at the outer space in front of him.

Because of his previous experiences, Roger's "Black Prophet" potion was now showing signs of digestion, reaching nearly half its previous level.

He surmised that this was because the false identity of the "Lord of the Stars" illuminated the darkness belonging to the realm of the mind and the stars, while the undigested portion of the potion should correspond to the darkness of the real and mystical realms.

At this moment, he could clearly see the stars in the sky, as if the secret experience during his previous advancement had become a reality. The starlight that was originally covered by the void of the universe tens of millions of light-years away could finally be seen by him easily.

This was Roger's first ability, namely "Secret Insight." With a significantly enhanced vision, it could become permanent without any cost, allowing him to perceive hidden information and secrets from all sides at all times and in all directions.

If this ability is actively activated, it can transform into "Dark Annihilation".

"Dark Annihilation" can reveal almost all the information Roger wants to uncover. This revelation can be achieved through information sharing between Roger and his companions via mystical connections. It can directly break through the forces of darkness, secrecy, fog, and secrecy associated with Sequence 2 and below, and even sweep away most concepts related to darkness and shadow for a period of time. Its influence is not limited to the spiritual, mental, and physical realms.

Even the hidden power at the angel level can be completely or partially destroyed with a probability under the power enhancement of the "Original Heavenly Core".

With the aid of the "Dark Annihilation" ability, Roger can choose the degree and method of breaking secrets. This means that he can not only block the supernatural manifestations corresponding to secrets by leaking them, as before, but he can also distort and tamper with the rules and phenomena corresponding to the secrets.

Roger can use this power to to some extent abolish and block the opponent's supernatural power, and tamper with the manifestation of supernatural power. For example, he can directly distort the damage reduction effect of the "Black Knight" armor into damage increase, temporarily remove the armor penetration effect of the "Spirit and Flesh Blade", or transfer the "Hidden Authority" from the area it affects to other places, or even reverse some of the hidden effects and make the originally hidden information "highlighted".

The third ability related to "darkness" is called "Mystery Manifestation." Roger can directly extract the authority related to secrets that he has fully understood from the darkness for his own use. Judging from Roger's current progress in digesting the potion, he can even use an angel-level ability twice. However, the duration and corresponding power are still some distance from those of a true angel.

This ability is somewhat similar to the ability of "ancient scholars" to extract information from the mists of history, except that the two have different focuses in "acquiring" information and different sources of power.

For example, Roger now has a full understanding of the abilities of the Planeswalkers, which allows him to achieve two "reappearances" or interstellar travel without the "guidance of Amra," undoubtedly giving him more and richer combat methods.

In terms of "fate," Roger also gained two new abilities.

The first ability is called "predicting hidden threads." At this point, Roger was able to establish a firm anchor point for himself within his own inner star field. This allowed him to not only distort and assign fate and even identity, but also to use the power that could illuminate the darkness of the outer star fields to perceive the flow of causal hidden threads, thereby achieving prediction of the future based on his mastery of secrets.

The second ability is called "Fate Control". Because Roger's mystical existence has been removed from the reality side and engraved in the core of his inner star field, as long as Roger's deepest secret has not been leaked by more than 50%, he can resurrect once from the still-keeping secret by creating an avatar in advance.

Furthermore, because he completely overcame his own shadow during the ascension ceremony, he possessed complete autonomy and extraordinary anti-divination and anti-prophecy abilities. With the blessing of the "Primal Heavenly Core," even angels could not divine or prophesy about him.

As a side effect, he can also shield himself from the influence of mental forces, and is immune to the power of illusion, suggestion, and depravity.

From a mystical perspective, his inner star cores formed a barrier that could distort information, making it impossible for outsiders to directly probe Roger's true inner self.

In terms of "music," Roger's musical power was further enhanced, and he gained new mastery of "rule mastery" and "musical substitute."

"Mastery of the Rules" allows him to directly apply the musical rules he has compiled to opponents, teammates, or fixed battlefields without "playing" occult music. He can also temporarily alter the specific manifestation of the musical rules, such as twisting "Mind Thunder" into a real lightning strike or twisting the power of "Reversal" into "Rebound," in order to counter certain powerful attack methods.

"Musical Substitute" allows him to temporarily create a melody, and the power corresponding to that melody can counteract various attacks, including curses. This greatly reduces the damage Roger receives, and in the best-case scenario, it can even cause the opponent to suffer the effects of his own attacks.

In comparison, Roger gained relatively few new abilities related to celestial bodies, focusing almost entirely on enhancing his existing powers.

Currently, Roger's "Star Punishment" can drag down 3 to 5 meteorites with a diameter of over 150 meters at a time. These meteorites can be split into two fragments and distributed for attack. Each of the fragments has a strong ability to lock onto the opponent and restrict its movement.

The Sequence 3 level "Astral Burst" can actively create unfavorable astral phases while triggering the power of unfavorable astral phases. It inflicts massive damage and adds various mystical effects to the opponent. Even those beings without destiny cannot escape the corresponding blows because Roger forcibly endows them with a series of astral phases.

In addition, the strength and duration of Roger's other abilities that he originally possessed in Sequence 4 have been enhanced by about 35%, the preparation time has been reduced by about 50%, and those attacks that previously required specific hand seals to be launched no longer require hand seals—if Roger still forms hand seals, the effect of the attack will be enhanced.

As for what new abilities can be created by fusing the "Black Prophet" and "Dreamweaver" pathways, Roger still needs to explore further.

Currently, all he can think of is creating one or more substitutes that can help him revive, and using the "Dream Weaver's" ability to perceive psychological weaknesses, he can directly throw certain terrifying secrets into the opponent's mind, inducing the opponent's madness and loss of control from within, and so on.

In conclusion, although Roger has not yet fully developed his power, he is already very satisfied with the abilities granted to him by the "Black Prophet".

The only problem was that Roger's eyes became permanently black instead of their previous blue, a change somewhat similar to the effect of the "Red Priest" pathway on changing the hair color of an extraordinary being.

However, as long as Roger's gender is not changed, he has no problem. On the contrary, his black eyes make him look more like a Chinese person, which gives him another sense of identity.

Afterwards, Roger directly used "Mystic Manifestation" to manifest the interstellar travel ability he had previously used from "Guidance of Amra," which transformed him once again into a series of symbols, and then sped towards Earth.

However, because Roger lacked experience as a "wanderer," he broke out of the symbolic state twice. Only after confirming that he was on the right track did he finally return to Earth smoothly.

"Clap."

Roger finally breathed a sigh of relief when his shoes landed on the second-floor floor of 15 Minsk Street.

He first took a nice bath in the bathroom, then had a hearty meal, before returning to his studio on the second floor and plopping down in his chair.

Soon, Roger arrived at the stone platform inside the "Original Core".

He looked up and saw that the bridge of light formed by the four spokes of the previous bridge, the one representing the power of the tributary of the Chaos Sea, was now stained with a thick, dark black.

Every now and then, without warning, a glimmer of light would appear in the darkness, which, in Roger's judgment, seemed to be where the authority of the "Black Prophet" should have been.

However, it has now merged with a tributary of the "Chaotic Sea," and Roger is not yet fully certain what kind of chemical reaction this will cause.

The spiritual sky above, divided in two, has become more profound in its representation of the "starry sky," and the range of stars it encompasses has become more extensive.

Roger tried it out and discovered that he could also switch the scene to his own internal star field and then modify the material composition and rules of that star field.

This discovery immediately intrigued Roger. He recalled a game he had played in his previous life called "Minecraft," which shared a certain similarity with the current inner star field.

Roger played the creation game in this star field for quite a while, and after having his fill, he finally reluctantly turned his attention back to the stone platform.

He snapped his fingers, imagining a certain scene in his mind.

In an instant, a large patch of roses suddenly appeared in the sector between the red bridge and the black bridge. These flowers moved and swayed gently without any wind, just like the botanical garden that Roger often took Rosanne to when he was a child in his previous life.

This sector seems to be completely isolated from the other three sectors. You can't see the other sectors from inside; you can only see the scene of the spiritual sky.

This scene stirred something within him, and he murmured to himself:

"As expected, my control over the 'Primal Core' has improved once again."

As he spoke, Roger recalled Rosanne's earlier behavior in his unconscious world and had a new idea:
"By the way, I was able to create simulated life forms in here before... let's give it a try."

He snapped his fingers again, but there was no reaction.

Roger was somewhat disappointed, but as he turned around, he saw a young woman in a beige dress, barefoot, standing in the flower bushes, smiling at him.

Her naturally curly hair, her dark brown eyes, her high nose, her thin lips, and the few freckles on her cheeks all indicate that this is Roger's sister, Roxanne.

"You understood what I meant after all."

Rosanne looked quite pleased and then spoke.

"I still don't understand."

Roger shook his head slightly, his heart filled with mixed feelings of joy and bewilderment.

Roger was pleased because he was actually able to use the "Original Dynamic Core" to simulate a life form and recreate Rosanne, and she showed a personality and intelligence close to Rosanne herself. What was strange was that Roger was not quite sure what state Rosanne was in.

"As I said, I am your past secret, and now you have the power to resurrect me."

Rosanne smiled and walked up to Roger:

Are you asking if I am a real person?

"Ah."

Roger nodded and looked at Rosanne with some confusion.

“If you’re talking about the Rosanne of the past, I can tell you that I’m not her, because she’s dead.”

"But I can also assure you that I am the same Rosanne I was before, because I existed vividly in your past."

"From every angle, there is no difference between me and her, except that I know more things than she does."

Roger listened in silence, then nodded.

"Can I understand it this way: you are a part of my past that emerged from the 'secret'?" "That's right."

Rosanne nodded.

"Then why can't I create others, but only you?"

Roger knew that although he might be able to simulate his parents, they wouldn't possess the intelligence of Rosanne in front of him, and would only communicate with Roger according to a fixed formula.

Upon hearing this, Luo Shan looked up at the spiritual sky above the "Primal Core":
"If you ask me to really explain the cause and effect clearly, I can't do it."

She immediately sighed:
Ultimately, it's because you know too little about this place.

"If you can digest the 'Black Prophet' potion and ascend to become an angel, you should have a better understanding of the function of the 'Primal Core', and then your problems will be solved."

"Can you stay here and wait for me? I'll come to see you every now and then."

In response to Roger's question, Rosie suddenly laughed:

"What, you think you can erase me?"

"Can't you?"

Roger paused for a moment, but quickly realized that something seemed off about what he had said, and hurriedly added:

"What I mean is, I can help you materialize some things you like, and I can also help you find some things you like to eat in the real world..."

"It's okay, brother, you don't need to worry about me. I can pick some flowers and plants to eat here."

Rosanne spoke pitifully, then, seeing Roger's embarrassed expression, she suddenly laughed:

"It's okay, you go ahead and do your thing, just find me a few books to read."

"Row."

Roger breathed a slight sigh of relief, and then he asked:

Do you understand Rune?

"I didn't understand before, but now that you understand, I understand too."

Rosanne nodded.

"That's fine."

Roger breathed a sigh of relief:

"I'll find you some novels to read. If you're really bored, just let me know."

"it is good."

Seeing Rosanne nod, Roger immediately left the "Original Core". When he returned, he had brought back several books for Rosanne.

These were mystery novels and anecdotes that Allister and Perseus had bought, including many folk tales and episodes about the mysterious world. Roger hoped that Rosanne could learn more about the outside world through this method, which would make communication between the two of them much easier.

Watching Rosanne sit among the flowers and begin reading, Roger repeatedly confirmed that she didn't need his help for the time being before reluctantly leaving the stone platform in the center of the "Original Core".

Roger opened his eyes again in his room at 15 Minsk Street, but instead of getting up, he fell silent.

"I still don't quite understand."

Roger rubbed his temples. Although he had become the "Black Prophet," he found that there were even more things he didn't understand.

Although he seems to have "resurrected" his sister, it seems to be quite different from a real resurrection.

Roxanne seems to exist based on Roger himself, rather than as a completely independent individual, as evidenced by her ability to understand Rune.

"It seems I might really have to wait until I become an angel to figure these things out."

Roger shook his head. He decided to put the matter aside for the time being and instead inform Mr. Fool that he had returned to the ground.

After delivering the report, Roger summoned "The Rat of De La Hoya" and sent an email to Klein to let him know that he had returned safely. Only then did he change his clothes and head towards Worston Gardens.

Roger did not take a carriage, but walked.

Throughout the journey, he used his "hidden clues" to observe the pedestrians on the road, anticipating their various possible choices and corresponding consequences.

Just as Roger felt that the information was too complex and lacked any particularly interesting points, and was about to close the "Dark Line Prediction" vision, he suddenly saw a strange scene.

She was a beautiful young woman about the same age as Cecilia. Coincidentally, Roger had met her before; she was a student at Backlund Technical University and had participated in his lectures on phonograph technology.

At this moment, she looked anxious and was carrying a shoulder bag, hurrying towards a place in the opposite direction from Roger's, which was the entrance to a subway station.

However, at this moment, in Roger's "premonition" state, Roger was able to see the girl's greatest potential.

She lay on the ground in the shadows, her eyes filled with terror. Her stomach and chest had been cut open, and all her internal organs seemed to have been dug out and disappeared. Even her jawbone had vanished, leaving only her tongue and upper teeth exposed.

"This……"

Roger suddenly felt that this scene was somewhat familiar, because he had seen it before when the "Blood Cult" carried out a series of murders in Backlund.

He stopped abruptly, and after a moment, Roger decided to catch up with the girl.

"Hello, miss."

Roger took off his hat and greeted the girl as he walked away.

"What's the matter with you?"

The girl glanced at Roger with some suspicion and asked a question, her eyes revealing wariness.

“We’ve met before; I gave a lecture at your school.”

He spoke with a smile.

The girl was slightly taken aback before realizing what was happening and exclaimed in surprise:

"Mr. Baleno Jones?"

"Shhh."

Roger made a shushing gesture, and the other person realized that the kingdom's famous musician seemed unwilling to reveal his whereabouts, so he quickly nodded and covered his mouth.

Why have your eyes changed color?

The girl asked curiously, because in her memory, Roger's eyes should be blue.

"I recently invested in a new project called contact lenses. They can be directly attached to the eyeball to function as glasses, and you can choose the color yourself."

Roger smiled and said:
"I am conducting an experiment."

"I see."

The girl nodded slightly:

"What an interesting invention."

She paused, then continued:

“My name is Grace Morgan, and I am a junior at Backlund University of Technology… When you came to give this lecture, I was only a sophomore.”

"Yeah, time flies."

Roger nodded and gestured for Grace Morgan to proceed.

“Ms. Morgan, it looks like you’re going to take the subway? I happen to be taking the subway too, maybe we’re going the same way.”

“Really? I’m going to Reading… My sister is back from her holiday in West Velas County today, so I’m planning to go see her. Where are you going?”

Reading is a large town in the northwest corner of Backlund with a population of over 15. It is a satellite town of Backlund and the terminus of the Blue Line metro.

“What a coincidence, I’m also going to Reading Town; my technology partner is there.”

Roger casually made up a story:
"We should get off at the same stop as you, so we can go together."

"That's great."

Grace Morgan seemed very pleased; she nodded and showed no suspicion towards Roger.

In fact, this is easy to understand, because Backlund Technical University has a school spirit that respects inventors, and Roger had also given lectures at Backlund Technical University’s Hillston campus, which further helped him gain Grace’s trust.

So the two of them got off at the subway station together, bought their tickets, and waited for the train to arrive.

“It’s so crowded.”

Because it was rush hour, the train was packed with people.

Fortunately, someone was getting off the bus, and he quickly grabbed two seats next to Grace so that he could sit down with her.

It takes more than 40 minutes by subway from the Georgewood district to Reading, so Roger kept trying to find topics to chat about with Grace along the way.

The conversation ranged from Roger's new inventions to the new artists his agency had cultivated, to the new programs recently opened at Backlund Technical University, and then to some of Reading's local specialties.

Based on Grace's account and Roger's judgment using his supernatural abilities, he was certain that Grace had never had any dealings with the Blood Cult or the Demon Family.

"If that's the case, then the members of the 'Blood Worship Cult' must have been randomly selected as their targets?"

The ritual for ascending from Sequence 6 to Sequence 5 in the "Abyss" pathway requires the ascendant to kill at least 13 people and eat their internal organs—Roger and Klein had previously investigated similar cases.

This incident caused a huge uproar in Backlund at the time, and the enforcement efforts of the Siviras Field and the Church of the True God were strengthened. For a time, demonic activities in Backlund almost disappeared.

And it seems that this is why the ascendant chose Redding Town as the location for his ascension, because the official extraordinary forces there are weaker and the police are less vigilant.

"However, I've heard that the security situation in Reading Town hasn't been very good lately, so you should go home as soon as you get back."

Roger tentatively began to speak.

"Really? You've heard about it too?"

Upon hearing this, Grace immediately looked troubled.

"Actually, I don't really want to go back, but if I don't go back this time, I won't see my sister again for another year."

As the two were talking, the train suddenly began to slow down, and the train conductor's voice came through the loudspeaker:

"The next stop is Reading. Passengers, please take your belongings and disembark in an orderly manner."

(End of this chapter)