Mystery: Starting with the Night Pope.

Chapter 431 "The True Apostle"

"...Three hundred years out of reality? How long have I been hanging in the gray fog?" Klein was enveloped by a deep fear, which he could no longer explain.

"This kind of ceremony is just made for me..." Klein tried to curl the corners of his mouth into a "clown" smile, but he just couldn't manage to smile.

Does the Joker mock fate, or does he mock himself within fate?

After an unknown amount of time, Klein composed himself and offered the recipe and materials to the gray mist.

"My fate was already sealed." This feeling had become increasingly clear to Klein after witnessing the ritual of the "Ancient Scholars."

"The 'Dream' might be my only chance!" Klein instinctively pushed away the cloak that was creeping into his body from the gray mist and moved closer to the "Dream".

"Let's advance through the 'Dream' pathway first!" Klein quickly skipped work. Anyway, he was rarely at the church as a deacon, so he didn't mind a few more times.

Klein went directly to Truman Manor, his first visit to the manor since his expression of gratitude after advancing to demigod status.

At this point, facing Truman was still somewhat awkward, but there was no way he could not come.

"Hello, sir, Bishop Truman has gone out." To Klein's surprise, the homebody Truman actually went out.

"Did he say when he'd be back?" Klein asked the waiter.

"The bishop has gone to the Hornachis Mountains and may not be back for quite some time," the servant replied respectfully.

"The Hornach Mountains..." Klein's spirit skipped a beat when he heard the name.

"This is what the bishop instructed me to give you," the waiter said, handing over a piece of parchment.

"Thank you." Klein took the parchment and gently unfolded it.

"The third sequence of the 'Dream' pathway, 'True Apostle,' the ascension ritual: materialize something, make it real, and gain the recognition of enough people."

"A 'True Apostle'?" Klein stared incredulously at the ritual depicted on the parchment. "A creation?!"

After Sequence 6 "The Figure in the Painting" in the "Dream" pathway, Clay can draw something in a painting and then materialize it through dream phosphorescence.

However, this creation is essentially a dreamlike phosphorescence, merely a change in form, more like an "illusion" that transcends the boundaries between reality and illusion.

Is the "True Apostle" now trying to make this creation real?

This is almost the work of creation!

"Isn't this going a bit too far?" Klein stared in astonishment at the ritual. "And what's your relationship with the 'True Creator'?!"

"No!" Klein intuitively sensed his mistake; the power of the "Career of Cause and Effect" was simply insufficient to complete such a ritual of the Creator.

"The key is to get enough people to believe it's real; then even if it's not real, it becomes real!"

When everyone believes something is true, then any untrue assessment becomes a lie.

"Something still doesn't feel right. After this ritual is completed, wouldn't the 'True Apostle' truly possess a certain power of creation? Is that something a Sequence Three can do?!"

The eighth in the "Dream" pathway sequence is called "Illusionist," whose strongest ability is "the boundary between illusion and reality." It is said that the ultimate illusion is reality, and now a "True Apostle" has actually arrived.

"The 'Dream' path seems to undergo a qualitative change starting from Sequence 5, which is 'Fairy Tale Mage', after the advancement ceremony, becoming even more outrageous than before."

"Theoretically, there is no limit to the abilities that a 'Fairy Tale Wizard' can possess; it depends entirely on their own creativity and is all-encompassing."

"When used well, the causal threads of 'Karma' are like a smaller version of 'writer,' manipulating fate like a spider weaving a web."

"The 'True Apostles' are even more exaggerated; they already possess the power to manifest reality."

Klein took the parchment back to his own manor next door, already contemplating his "True Apostle" ritual.

"A ritual isn't entirely impossible, it just requires some time and skill..."

Having grasped the essence of the ritual, Klein already had a corresponding idea: the ritual via the "Dream" pathway naturally required the use of Dream's abilities to complete.

……

The Kingdom of Night is a strange little country nestled at the foot of the Hornachis Mountains.

It is located within the territory of the Solomon Empire, but it has mysteriously persisted without the Empire taking any strong measures to assimilate it.

Of course, in fact and in name, this small country also swore allegiance to Solomon.

"You've done a good job here." Truman nodded in surprise as he walked through this city where the ancient and the modern coexisted.

"It's all thanks to the Dream Cultists. The Night Kingdom is the second largest gathering place of Dream Cultists in the world." Antigonus was standing next to Truman.

As an ancient being who survived from the Second Era, His face was relatively young, but unfortunately His long hair had turned gray, and His eyes were unusually dark and deep, hiding an indescribable sense of vicissitude.

Antigonus looked at the city, where He had guarded it for thousands of years, and even when He saw the "Source Castle" appear, He refrained from leaving.

After He received the corresponding revelation of destiny and prepared to go to Backlund, the "dream" that had saved Him many times appeared before Him.

"Don't you want me to go to Backlund?" After showing Truman around the city, Antigonus invited him to the palace in the mountains.

There is a city of secret puppets here, whose layout is not much different from the Night Kingdom below the mountain.

"No," Truman denied, "I'm just here to give you something, after all, you've been my angel for so many years."

"You have already given me the 'Mask of the Fool'." Antigonus frowned slightly. It was as if an illusory mask appeared on His face, with mysterious symbols flowing on it. Even an angel would be fooled if he took a look.

This is "half a fool".

"I'm giving it to you and you don't want it?" Truman ignored the mask.

"I...I'm afraid I can't bear it." This wasn't modesty; Antigonus meant it sincerely when he said this.

Having reached His current position, He is well aware that every gift of fate comes at a price.

"Given my status, do you think you have anything that could interest me?" Truman said speechlessly.

"It seems there really isn't one." Antigonus thought for a long time but couldn't come up with anything.

"Heh." Truman showed a hint of disdain, like a prodigal son. He produced a crystal ball and tossed it directly to Antigonus.

"The 'Fool's Mask' was originally something I lent you; what you have now is your salary for being my angel for two thousand years."

Although Truman was a semi-producer, he was not a capitalist who only knew how to exploit. His wages had been delayed for two thousand years, but he still paid them!

(End of this chapter)