Lord of Mysteries: The Color of the Stars

On the balcony of an inconspicuous detached house in the northern district of Tingen.

A middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a black double-breasted robe, was sitting in a folding chair against the wall.

The man wore a soft hat, had dark gold hair, and his features were as clear as a classical sculpture. His skin was pale and his face was without a single wrinkle.

The difference between his deep blue, almost black pupils revealed that he was blind in one eye.

At this moment, a notebook was spread out on the round table in front of the man, and a quill pen that looked very old-fashioned was writing on the paper as if it were being pulled by an invisible rope.

This is none other than the former archbishop Ince Zangwill, who defected from the Church of the Goddess of Night, and the sealed artifact 0-08 "The Pen of Alshogod" that he secretly stole.

The function of this sealed artifact is to make most of what the holder writes come true by fabricating "reasonable" plots and "coincidences"—as long as these events are supported by potential external factors.

The side effect is that 0-08 possesses a certain degree of liveliness; it creates many new "plots" beyond what the holder has written, attempting to kill off its holder.

Therefore, after obtaining this sealed artifact, Ince Zangwell has been engaged in a tug-of-war with it.

If 0-08 tries to create a situation that will surely defeat him, Ince will write information that is favorable to him in the opposite direction, thereby pulling the situation back onto the "right track" he envisions.

However, at this moment, Ince's expression as he looked at the contents of the paper was filled with confusion and shock.

Its content relates to Lanius, Megos, and the offspring of the "True Creator," but it is fundamentally different from what was written before.

"...After completing the insemination ritual for the offspring of the 'True Creator,' Lanluus seemed to be affected by some inexplicable external influence."

"The source of this influence... (crossed out) is still unclear, but one thing is certain—Lanius not only did not regain his sanity after completing the conception ritual, but became even more confused."

"He not only temporarily abandoned his plan to escape Tingen, but also did something to Megos, but no one knows the specifics."

"In this process, some inexplicable force intervened... no, it seems there is more than one."

"Fortunately, Megose and her unborn child seem to be fine, and have even become more vibrant and radiant."

boom!

Incredulously, Ince stood up and accidentally bumped into the table.

"What's going on?"

Ince muttered to himself:

"Previously, 0-08 resisted my will and crossed out some things that did not happen, but never before has the 'plot' been written so vaguely!"

"Where exactly did things go wrong?"

Although the ending of this special episode still met Ince Zangwill's expectations—Megoos and the offspring of the "True Creator" did not die, and the latter was still growing—Ince had a bad feeling about it.

This premonition was unfounded, but Ince felt he had to do something.

At the very least, some additional explanations and embellishments should be made regarding the current situation to ensure that things do not develop in ways he anticipated or "arranged."

Fortunately, 0-08 stopped writing on its own after finishing that paragraph.

Ince sat down again, took a deep breath, picked up the quill pen, and began writing furiously once more...

"Mmm...that feels good!"

Around 10 a.m. the next day, Julian, who had just woken up and felt refreshed, stretched in front of the window and then shouted with delight.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud suddenly came from the living room. Julian opened the door in confusion and found Ethan lying on the floor, looking completely bewildered.

"Sorry, I forgot you stayed up all night studying last night."

He scratched his head apologetically, then put the snowy owl he had woken up back on the table.

However, after Julian's antics, Ethan was now unable to fall asleep.

It made a "woofing" sound while opening its mouth and aiming it at Julian.

"Is...it because you're hungry?"

Julian quickly realized what was happening, and he scratched his head:

"That being said, I forgot to ask Vincent and Grace what snowy owls should eat?"

Just as he was wondering, Ethan swaggered over to the "Highland Language-Rune Language Dictionary," opened it, and showed Julian the words "small," "mammal," and "insect."

"You want to eat these things?"

Julian chuckled, completely surprised that the little guy was so clever.

It clearly prioritized learning vocabulary related to its food in order to establish basic communication with Julian and prevent itself from starving to death because the latter didn't know what to feed it.

"Then come with me, I'll go find you something to eat."

Upon hearing Julian's words, Ethan let out a happy cry, then flapped his wings and wobbled to Julian's shoulder.

Julian picked up his cane and took Ethan to the nearest live food market. After buying him some live insects, the guy finally began to feast.

After Ethan finished eating, he closed his eyes and fell asleep standing on his shoulder.

"I really can't help you."

Julian sighed and patted Ethan's head, trying to pull it off, but found that the owl's claws were already firmly gripping his shoulders.

Left with no other choice, Julian had to take Ethan to the "Fortune Telling Club".

Because it's Monday, Julian is required to not only provide services at the "Fortune Telling Club" but also attend the "Tarot Meeting" as agreed.

"Angelica isn't here?"

Julian glanced at the empty reception desk and guessed that the woman had probably just left temporarily.

On a sudden inspiration, he took out the club member roster from the table and quickly flipped through it.

Soon, he found the name he had been waiting for.

"Klein Moretti."

"Skilled in various divination methods, charging 8 pence per session..."

Just as Julian was reading, Angelica's voice suddenly rang out:

"Mr. Albrecht, you've come at the right time. Someone is waiting for you."

Julian looked up and saw Angelica walking briskly towards him.

As she walked, she continued:

"He is a guest introduced by Congressman Oakley. He seems to have some family matters that require your advice."

"I originally wanted him to come after 2 o'clock, but he was very insistent and insisted on waiting for you here."

Just then, she suddenly stopped and looked at Ethan, the little owl on Julian's shoulder, with a somewhat surprised expression.

"It seems my intuition was very accurate... so I arrived here ahead of time."

Julian smiled and nodded slightly, then pointed to Ethan on his shoulder and explained:

"My newly hired fortune-telling assistant."

"...You are indeed an interesting gentleman."

Angelica paused for a moment before giving a somewhat incongruous evaluation.

"Take me there."

Seeing that Angelica seemed unable to understand all this, Julian shook his head and then walked towards the divination room, led by the woman.

As soon as he opened the door, Julian saw a handsome young man with short hair, dressed in a well-tailored black double-breasted suit.

"I've heard so much about you, Mr. Albrecht."

Upon seeing Julian appear, the young man immediately stood up and shook hands with him, displaying a very enthusiastic attitude.

Unlike Angelica, he noticed Ethan on Julian's shoulder, but did not show any strange reaction.

"My name is Alexander Hoy, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hoy?"

Julian paused slightly upon hearing the surname.

Then, he quickly pressed for an answer:

"Is it the Hoy from Hoy University?"