Lord of Mysteries

Chapter 1388 Solution (Seeking recommendation votes on Monday)

Behind an endless curtain of shadows, in a darkness that shimmers with a faint, watery light.

A young man with black hair, black eyes, a broad forehead, and a thin face suddenly sat up, as if he had just experienced a nightmare.

Dressed in a classic black robe, He stretched out His right hand, attempting to retrieve a monocle made of crystal from the "void" and place it over His right eye.

But this time, He got nothing.

His right hand paused in mid-air for two seconds before he withdrew it and pinched his right eye socket.

At that moment, a gentle, calm, yet emotionless voice rang in His ears:

"For him, there are things more important than life itself."

"For you, there is almost nothing worth caring about except yourself."

"When things get to the point where you have to gamble with your life, it means you've lost."

Amon curled the corners of his lips, as if he wanted to respond with a smile or two, but in the end he said nothing.

The voice continued:

"As a naturally mythical being, your lack of a sufficiently normal anchor is also a problem."

"This makes it difficult for you to understand courage and sacrifice, even though you know what they are."

Amon's expression changed as he stood up from the darkness that shimmered with a faint watery light.

He glanced at the human skin glove that had been discarded to the side but seemed quite satisfied, then looked away, a smirk playing on his lips.

"This seems interesting."

"Next, I plan to leave here and dive into the starry sky. It's much more exciting and thrilling than reality. Maybe I'll finally understand those two words you just mentioned."

"That's dangerous. Once we enter the starry sky, I won't be able to offer any more help until I succeed. However, at least we can avoid Him," the gentle, calm, and emotionless voice replied.

Amon didn't speak again, raised his hand to pinch his right eye socket, and disappeared into the endless curtain of shadows.

…………

Above the gray fog, inside the ancient palace.

As Amon was completely shattered by the power of "Supernova Burst," Klein couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

If given a choice, he certainly wouldn't want to sacrifice himself to revive "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun," but would rather personally protect this world and rediscover the meaning of life.

Of course, if he had no other choice, he would not hesitate to awaken the "Celestial Venerable." He was certain he could do this, and Amon was equally certain, so he did not force him, but merely tried to break free.

In the end, the battle we just fought was a contest of courage; whoever was truly unafraid of dying completely would gain the absolute advantage.

Clearly, Amon was not prepared to sacrifice his conscience for this matter.

After catching his breath, Klein's face, hidden behind that cold and eerie mask, suddenly contorted.

Beneath his semi-transparent dark cloak, the slippery, sinister tentacles extending from his body either slapped the ground or rose high, completely beyond his control.

He could feel that the "Heavenly Venerable of Blessing and Profound Yellow" within him was awakening at an accelerated pace, and it seemed unstoppable.

Even if Klein were to die with this will and then be resurrected using the abilities of a "miracle worker," he would still be unable to escape it, because the "Lord of Mysteries" also wields the power of "miracle."

At that moment, Klein recalled the words of the "Dark Angel" Sasriel, the ancient sun god:

"The primordial has awakened within me..."

The next second, from where Amon's body shattered, beams of light, drawn by an invisible force, rushed straight toward Klein.

Some of them are time-bound insects with twelve segments, some are insects forged from dazzling starlight, and some are simply a large number of light spots...

Klein tried to prevent these extraordinary traits from merging with him, but was interfered with by the increasingly powerful will of the "Celestial Being" within him and failed.

His body suddenly swelled up like a balloon, then abruptly thinned into a paper doll, repeating this cycle endlessly.

The mask on his face grew brighter and more eerie, and the slippery, sinister tentacles extending from under his cloak became more numerous and increasingly uncontrollable.

One "Time Worm" extraordinary attribute, one "Star Key" extraordinary attribute, and one... Klein's spirit felt like it was being torn apart and devoured piece by piece by an invisible monster, causing him considerable pain.

Finally, a pair of eyes, seemingly made of pure starlight and containing layers of illusory gates, and a monocle made of crystal reassembled and rushed toward Klein's face, toward the eye socket of the mask.

Almost simultaneously, the strange light gate, tinged with a bluish-black hue, reappeared on Klein's body.

"Yuanbao"!

In that instant, the uniqueness of Klein, "Source Castle", "Gate", and "Error" showed an extremely strong tendency to converge.

Once they merge into one, the "Lord of Mysteries" will be fully awakened and resurrected.

Klein suddenly raised his hand and covered half of his face.

His entire body bent down, as if he were fighting against another version of himself.

Thanks to the cognitive positioning and image interference brought by the Anchor of Believers, Klein finally slowed down the recovery of the "Lord of Mysteries" will and weakened the power of aggregation slightly.

The pair of starlight-like eyes and the monocle made of crystal hovered in front of Klein's face, suspended just centimeters away, like a planet revolving around the sun.

This was in a state of extreme imbalance, and Klein knew he couldn't maintain it for long. Perhaps in a few minutes, or even a few seconds, the aggregation would continue uncontrollably, bringing changes he could hardly bear.

"Haha, this can be considered a kind of fusion." Klein laughed, his emotions somewhat unstable.

Then, he "fooled" the "Trentost Brass Book," causing it to enter a sealed state and fly into the pile of junk.

Immediately afterwards, Klein left the "Source Castle" and stepped into the astral plane, which is composed of symbols and authority.

This place may seem similar to the starry sky, dark, deep, and boundless, but it actually has many unique features. For example, you may see a star that looks like the sun hanging in the distance, emitting normal light and heat. But if you try to get close without getting hurt, you will find that the star boundary there is like a black curtain, and the sun is painted directly on with oil paint. There are a bunch of concepts and symbols gathered around it.

Moreover, the sun wasn't drawn very well; it looked like a child's random scribbles without any artistic skills, both comical and terrifying.

From another perspective, this may be a manifestation of the chaos and madness of the underlying rules.

As soon as Klein entered, he immediately felt invisible gazes upon him.

Some of them come from regions protected by global barriers, while others originate from broader regions, carrying obvious malice.

Klein's lips curled up uncontrollably. He suddenly turned his head and looked back at the world barrier, raising those slippery and sinister tentacles.

This also caused the star-like eyes and the monocle made of crystal to rotate.

Suddenly, the gaze from the stars all retreated, leaving only a hand-drawn red moon hanging there, shimmering with light.

"Haha." Klein laughed as he arrived outside a dark kingdom filled with night-blooming jasmine and deep-sleeping flowers.

At the same time, the "Goddess of the Night" appeared at the edge of the divine realm, wearing a layered long dress adorned with stardust, her face covered by a thin, semi-transparent black veil.

He did not grow to a gigantic size, but looked at Klein at eye level, raised his right hand, and revealed a bird-shaped golden ornament.

Within the bronze-like eyes of the bird-shaped golden ornament's head, layers of illusory gates peeked out, allowing a drop of colorless liquid, imbued with an aura of eternal stillness, to fly out and land on Klein's cold and eerie mask.

The will of "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun" passively entered a state of eternal slumber, and so did most of Klein's consciousness, leaving only a little bit of awareness.

Under these circumstances, he retracted the mask and transformed the cloak into a black trench coat.

Then, he turned the monocle made of crystal into a pair of black gloves, and the eyeballs made of starlight into a cane inlaid with stardust.

—This is only a change in appearance; the essence remains the same. Once these two items are separated from Klein, they will return to their original form. Of course, if Klein stabilizes and accommodates them, revising the corresponding concepts and symbols time and time again, he can permanently change their form.

"This can't last long; it's just postponing things for a while," the "Goddess of Night" gently reminded him. "If the water of the 'River of Eternal Darkness' is used repeatedly, the 'Lord of Mysteries' will awaken even faster because He will react to unknown changes and adjust His own state. Similarly, the special power from the 'Source Castle' and my blessing will gradually be worn away, and you will also enter a state of eternal slumber."

Klein, as if he weren't discussing his own affairs, smiled and nodded.

"I see."

"The Goddess of the Night" spoke in a tone that seemed to be soothing to Klein's spirits:

"In this matter, the methods and actions taken by Amon exceeded my expectations. He truly is the 'God of Deception'."

"You are not entirely without a chance. You can try to completely control the 'Source Castle' and drag the will of the 'Lord of Mysteries' into eternal sleep, both fighting and merging with Him in your dreams. I can give you some blessings, but the most crucial thing is still yourself."

"To become the old day, there is no ritual. No ritual can change the awakening of the original will. But the ancient sun god believed that the order of inclusion could, to some extent, enhance self-awareness and increase the success rate of things."

"The optimal order is to first become a sequence 0 of a pathway, then control and merge the source matter, and finally accommodate another uniqueness."

"Becoming a dual-path true god, controlling the fusion source, and then accommodating the remaining uniqueness is a sequence that is neither good nor bad."

"Fusing the source substance only at the very last step is the worst choice."

Klein smiled and said:

"This is a good idea. As long as one wakes up, a 'Lord of Mysteries' will be born."

"This could be Him, or it could be me. Hmm, after completely taking control of the 'Source Castle' and entering eternal slumber, I should be able to create a weak point in the seal of the Western Continent, a weak point that allows entry and exit."

The "Goddess of the Night" listened to Klein's words without saying a word.

Klein continued to laugh:

"This is my own choice."

"I had long anticipated this day would come, and I would eventually have to face Him."

P.S.: This is a first update, later revisions. Both updates for today have been delivered. Tuesday's first update should also be released early, around midnight. Please vote for me on Monday!

(End of this chapter)