Lord of Mysteries: The Color of the Stars

"What night watchman? Sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

Julian's mind raced. He didn't take the bait that Dunn Smith had thrown out, which was like a confession, but instead answered in the most conservative way.

"I understand your point of view, but..."

After a moment's hesitation, Dunn reached out his left hand and beckoned.

Leonard understood and immediately took out a few sheets of paper from the file folder in his hand and handed them to Julian.

Julian took the documents and discovered that they contained all his true identity and past information.

In other words, his background has been completely exposed.

Julian remained silent for a long time before letting out a soft sigh:

"What do you want to do? Imprison me, or return me to the Church of Knowledge?"

"No, you don't need to be nervous."

Dunn shook his head and asked Leonard softly:

"Leonard, give me the document you prepared."

Upon hearing this, Leonard took out another document from the file folder.

"What is it?"

Julian raised an eyebrow and took the paper with some doubt, only then noticing that the title "Letter of Appointment" was printed on it in beautiful cursive script.

Shift your gaze downwards; the following content is:

"Julian Albrecht, Assistant Professor at Hoy University, is hereby appointed as an expert consultant for the Department of Forensic Science for a term of three years."

At the bottom is the handwritten signature and seal:

"June 29, 1349, Arhowa County Police Station."

"What does this mean?"

Julian asked with some confusion, as he genuinely didn't understand the current situation.

"In other words, you are now under the protection of the 'Night Watchers'."

Dunn replied.

"What benefit do you get from sheltering me?"

Julian asked again.

Although he knew this was most likely the meaning of "Goddess of the Night," he also wanted to understand what responsibilities and obligations he had to the Church of the Night.

"This is an order sent directly from the Holy See, and I am not aware of the deeper considerations behind it."

Sure enough, Dunn shook his head:

"However, as a former scholar of the Church of Knowledge, you certainly have a better understanding of extraordinary items than we do."

"So when we need help, you will need to help us identify some physical evidence... As long as you go to St. Serena's Church every weekend, we will not interfere with you much."

"Of course, we will also pay senior members of the 'Night Watch' team double their salary as compensation..."

"A weekly wage of £20, with a 30% annual increase thereafter, what do you think?"

20 pounds isn't a high price for someone of Julian's stature, but considering that although his body still bears the marks of the "Knowledge Keeper" potion, he's not even a Sequence 9 Extraordinary in essence.

So this is considered a very good deal—especially considering he also has a salary from Hoy University, which allows him to live a very comfortable life.

Even if we take a step back and assume that he is no longer being hunted down by the Church of Knowledge, and can still engage in extraordinary activities under the protection of the authorities, Julian would be happy to do so even without being paid!

"Okay, I'll take that. Do you have a pen?"

Julian showed absolutely no hesitation.

"Professor, since we'll be colleagues in the future, I can remind you of something."

Just then, Leonard suddenly leaned forward and spoke.

"What?" Julian asked.

"Your handwriting should ideally be as beautiful as your knowledge; it'll be on your record."

Leonard smiled and winked as he handed over a pen.

"Don't worry, if you want to learn to write, I can teach you."

Julian raised his eyelids to glance at the somewhat frivolous "Midnight Poet," while lightly flicking the somewhat irregularly filled-in date on the blank space of the paper with his index finger.

He then took the pen and wrote his name.

"Thanks."

He smiled and returned the letter of appointment to Leonard, whose smile had frozen, then looked at Dunn:

"When can I be discharged from the hospital? I feel like I'm basically recovered."

Although only five days had passed since Julian was attacked, the Church of the Night had clearly given him some extraordinary potion that helped his body recover quickly, so he now felt that his condition was basically no different from before he was injured.

"You can complete the discharge procedures in a moment."

Dunn answered first, and then added:

"Coincidentally, we have a case involving a 'secret society' that may require your cooperation in the investigation."

"The Secret Order... June 29, 1349, could it be related to the Antigonus Family Notes incident?"

Julian suddenly realized that the date written on the employment letter was exactly the day after Zhou Mingrui transmigrated into Klein, and the "Night Watchers" were currently investigating this case.

This was such a coincidence that he couldn't tell for a moment whether it was the result of a deliberate arrangement by the great beings or the guidance of fate.

"Okay, but I need to go home first, is that alright?"

Julian pointed to his hospital gown:

"I need to take a shower and change into some decent clothes so I can cooperate with you on this mission."

"understand."

Dunn nodded, and then arranged for Leonard to help Julian with the discharge procedures, and then called a horse-drawn carriage to take him home.

"...Thankfully, my house wasn't searched."

Julian breathed a long sigh of relief when he saw that his home was still neat and tidy.

The "Night Watchers" must have played a role; otherwise, the potion ingredients they were hiding would certainly have been destroyed.

After searching through the bag, he found a peculiar handbag.

Main materials: 20 grams of non-cooling meteorite powder, and one hexagonal star crystal stained by the aurora.

"5 grams of soil that has completely lost its fertility, 10 grams of white datura flower essential oil, and 20 milliliters of the deceased's blood that has not yet congealed."

This is the potion recipe of the "Four-Colored Awakener". Two of the main ingredients are extremely rare and very expensive. It took him three years to purchase them.

Julian found a clean iron pot and then added the ingredients into it one by one.

Looking at the bubbling, black, viscous liquid in the pot, Julian added the two main ingredients.

Suddenly, a burst of dazzling light erupted from the pot, so bright that Julian could barely open his eyes.

When the light faded, a jelly-like substance appeared in the pot, faintly projecting a special color that seemed to defy categorization within the known spectrum.

"This is the 'Four-Colored Awakener' potion..."

Julian swallowed hard, poured the potion into a glass, took a deep breath, and drank it all in one gulp.

The next second, before Julian could even react, a large number of indescribable, seemingly unclassifiable halos of color burst forth in front of him, while at the same time, a series of strangely eerie and evil, yet meaningless, whispers erupted in his ears.

The halo and whispers invaded Julian's entire body in an instant. With a "bang," he turned into a cloud of light and mist, and his consciousness began to expand infinitely, seemingly heading towards some infinitely deep and terrifying place in the starry sky.

Trembling, expansion, plundering, surpassing.

Julian's ego was almost completely swallowed up and dissolved into that dazzling light by these beliefs, and the entire living room began to vibrate violently, like a buzzing sound, as if it were resonating with some special spirit.

Even more terrifying was that this tremor was not confined to Julian's side, but spread and surged towards the highest point in the sky.

In an instant, within Julian's indefinable transcendent perception, he was locked onto by many great wills.

Just as his mind and body were about to collapse and be destroyed, merging with the dazzling light, Julian suddenly saw a burst of darkness erupt in front of him.

The darkness swallowed the colors, and it also devoured Julian.

A special kind of peace arose from the depths of his heart, and the noisy sounds and various illusory lights subsided.

When he came to his senses again, the power of the overflowing potion had completely subsided, and the world around him had become very different.

As if he had gained new cone cells, all the colors Julian saw were completely different from before.

What were originally simple colors now appear complex and varied, and visual information that most people would never notice can be easily revealed.

This ability to perceive color far surpasses that of ordinary tetrachromatic thinkers, who are born from genetic mutations, because it involves not only optics but also the spiritual and mystical "halo"—for example, Julian can clearly see the aura of himself and passersby outside, and can even vaguely see the special colors of the scent molecules on their bodies.

In addition, his strength, spirituality, and physical attributes have been significantly enhanced, and his divination and ritual magic abilities have also received a boost.

Julian also keenly sensed that there seemed to be some kind of peculiar light and shadow in the empty air around him, but when he looked closely, it disappeared.

"That feeling just now... was it an extraordinary being from the 'Sleepless' pathway who made a move?"

Just as Julian, still shaken, couldn't help but have this thought in mind, he suddenly noticed that all the colors in the room seemed to be flowing towards a dark area.

The feeling was like light being captured by the gravity of a black hole.

Julian frowned and shifted his gaze to the pure blackness.

Although he could not see anything, he could intuitively picture in his mind a woman with ordinary features, wearing a simple linen robe.

She stood quietly in the shadows by the window, as if she had become one with the darkness.

And those dark eyes, seemingly reflecting the tranquil night sky, were calmly watching Julian Albrecht!