Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 147 The Truth Behind the Fog

"Sun" looked at Ember expectantly, clearly hoping to get a clear and certain answer from him. After all, for Silver City, located in the land forsaken by the gods and perpetually shrouded in darkness, a patch of sky where sunlight could be seen was more precious than anything else!

If the space where the embers are located really exists in the Forsaken Land, then Derrick will do everything he can to find it! Even if he is only a Sequence 8 Lightbringer now, even if he has only just qualified to join the Silver City exploration team, it at least brings a glimmer of hope to the dark and hopeless Silver City, doesn't it?

Even if you couldn't see its face clearly, anyone could see the almost overflowing longing in the 'sun'. This inexplicably reminded Audrey of a famous quote by Emperor Roselle: "I could have endured the darkness if I had never seen the sun."

This phrase is probably the most fitting description for Mr. "Sun".

Ember gazed at the figure of the 'Sun,' his tone calm yet tinged with a hint of lament:

"Unfortunately, it is indeed located in the land forsaken by the gods, but it is probably an ideal place that you can never reach, existing only in illusion."

Upon hearing Ember's words, 'Sun' remained silent, frozen in place. Even shrouded in gray mist, others could almost see the desolation and loneliness in his eyes, a look that shifted from hopeful anticipation to utter disappointment.

What is Gensokyo?

Apart from Klein, who knew the inside story, the other members of the Tarot Club were all stunned, and then fell into thought.

Mr. Fool said that the place Ember went to was the land forsaken by God, and Ember himself admitted this.

Since both are lands forsaken by the gods, why can't the 'Sun' ever reach them? Is it because of the special nature of the Giants' Royal Court? It's not impossible, because after all, it was once the residence of the Giant King, and not just anyone can reach it; one must have sufficient strength.

But Silver City has demigods! More than one! Does that mean even someone with that kind of power isn't qualified to reach the Giants' Court in Ember's eyes? Does that mean that to go there, one would need to be at least a Sequence 2 angel?

"Angel!"

The Hanged Man's expression changed slightly; this guess startled even him. He had considered that Ember might be a Sequence 3 Saint, but he never dared to imagine that he would be an angel!

Because within the Church of Storms, only the Pope possesses Sequence 2 strength. No! Perhaps it's far more than that!

The Hanged Man felt a chill run down his spine, realizing another possibility—

He had always treated Mr. Fool with more of a guarded attitude. Although he had some initial doubts, Mr. Fool's power had convinced him that he was a resurrected deity. As a fellow member of the Tarot Club, The Hanged Man had always felt that Ember was different from the others.

First and foremost, there's the matter of strength. Everyone else, including him, joined the Tarot Club as low-ranking Extraordinary Beings. Even Miss "Justice" and Mr. "The Sun" weren't Extraordinary Beings, but they were able to join the Tarot Club because they each represented a different faction—either the Rune Nobles or the Forsaken Lands.

The only exception is 'lovers'!

Upon joining the Tarot Club, he possessed power strong enough to easily kill a demigod, yet initially he only referred to himself as an "apprentice"! Alger initially thought this was merely a disguise, but now it seems it might be an allusion or metaphor—

"The Lover" is indeed an apprentice, but not a Sequence 9 apprentice; rather, he is an apprentice on the path to godhood, an apprentice of "The Fool"! Mr. "The Lover" may very well already be on the path to godhood!

The Hanged Man almost instinctively rejected this possibility, finding it hard to believe. But then he considered the details he'd noticed that he hadn't previously paid much attention to—for example, the Fool and the Lovers' relationship was clearly closer than with the others in the Tarot Club; even the Fool occasionally sought the Lovers' help; the Lovers could freely take magical items from the Fool's realm without restriction; and the Lovers were constantly searching for the Black Emperor, who represented another god…

All of this demonstrates that the "Lover," whose goal is to hunt down the Black Emperor, has always held a position equal to that of Mr. "The Fool"! A resurrected god, and an angel on the verge of becoming a god. The Hanged Man grew increasingly excited, for this meant that the Tarot would have at least two deities! This was something no other force could achieve!

What an honor it is to be able to join us!

Alger was incredibly excited, but his deep composure forced him to suppress these emotions. He glanced at the others and noticed that, apart from Miss 'Justice' who seemed to understand something, everyone else looked bewildered. This further solidified his resolve to keep it a secret—

Some things are better left unsaid; it's best to keep them to yourself.

The Sun clearly didn't notice any of this; he simply lowered his head in a somewhat dejected manner and said in a low voice:

"I understand. Thank you for the information, Mr. Lover."

Looking at the 'Sun's' dejected appearance, Yu Jin pondered for a moment before speaking:

"If you simply want to see the sunlight, I can offer you a suggestion..."

Derrick looked up, and his previously dull eyes regained their hopeful light.

"west."

Ember spoke slowly, "Head west to the sea, cross the Sunia Sea, and you will arrive in our world. Hmm, if you can't tell which way is which, head towards the Giants' Court, which is directly west of Silver City."

Derrick paused, seemingly not quite processing what had just happened, while the others were speechless with shock. Although Ember's words weren't meant for them, the information they contained completely overturned their understanding!

"Mr. Lover."

The Hanged Man couldn't help but ask, "You mean, the Forsaken Land is at the end of the Sea of ​​Sonia?"

Yu Jin nodded slightly.

"really!"

While the others were still pondering the meaning of these words, Klein already had a clear answer in his mind. He had once read in Emperor Rosell's diary that Rosell suspected the Forsaken Land was located on the legendary Eastern Continent, at the end of the Sunia Sea. And Ember's words could be seen as direct proof of Emperor Rosell's conjecture.

The Forsaken Land is the legendary Eastern Continent! If this is the case, does the Western Continent truly exist at the end of the Misty Sea? It is said to be the homeland of the elves, but what happened that prevented them from returning to their homeland, leaving them trapped on the island of Sonia?

and--

"The Southern Continent, the Northern Continent, the Western Continent, and the Eastern Continent—all four continents are separated by sea..."

Klein frowned slightly. He pieced together the outlines of the four continents in his mind based on the existing map, and the resulting map gave him a strange sense of déjà vu.

Having received an affirmative answer, Derrick, the "Sun," was filled with renewed hope and said excitedly:

"Thank you for your help, Mr. 'Lover.' What kind of reward would you like for this suggestion?"

Almost simultaneously, everyone in the Tarot Club had the same thought:

"What an honest child."

Ember hesitated for two seconds, then spoke after a moment's thought:

"I hope to learn more about the creation myth of Silver City."

Upon hearing Ember's request, Derrick, the "Sun," seemed relieved, as it wasn't a particularly difficult request. His tense body relaxed, he gathered his thoughts, and then spoke:

"The all-knowing and all-powerful God created everything and then went into slumber."

"The eight ancient gods divided the authority left by the Lord, becoming the rulers of the sky, the earth, and the sea; the rulers of reality, the spirit world, and the astral world; the rulers of all races—the true gods, the ancient gods. Some perished in their struggles with each other, while others were stripped of their authority after the awakening of the omniscient and omnipotent creator of all things..."

"..."

"When the Creator of all things, the all-knowing and all-powerful God, looks down upon this world, He is surrounded by many angels. Among them, there are eight angel kings, the leaders of all angels, closest to the throne of God. Some of their names have disappeared into the long history, while others are still recorded, some briefly, some in detail. Legend has it that among these eight angel kings are even offspring of God..."

Derrick recounted the history he had learned from reading ancient texts during this period, and then honestly added at the end:

"Mr. 'Lover,' that's all I know. But when I get back, I can find time to continue reading through the classics, and there should be quite a few that I've missed."

Yu Jin nodded slightly, pondered for two seconds, and then gave the order:

"When you are reading the ancient texts, you can focus on the records about the giant queen Omibella, and where the 'creator' awoke from."

"The Giant Queen?"

Derrick was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but ask, "How do you know the Giant Queen's name is Omibella?"

Looking at Derrick's innocent expression, Ember casually offered an explanation:

"That should be the god that your Silver City once worshipped. Go back and look carefully in the records; there should be a corresponding account."

"The Sun" Derrick looked stunned, and almost instinctively blurted out:

"We have no records of this in Baiyin City."

The Hanged Man looked thoughtful. While the Sun claimed that the Silver City worshipped the Creator, they never concealed the fact that they had once worshipped the Giant King Ormir, and that Ormir had profoundly influenced them. However, they made no mention of the Giant Queen Omibella, as mentioned by Mr. Lover. Perhaps this involved some secret or taboo?

It's not surprising that Silver City has some unknown secrets. For example, for the Church of Storms, Pasu Island is a taboo. This is because it is the headquarters of their Church of Storms, and also the location of the divine kingdom of their god, the Lord of Storms.

But the problem is, if what the "lover" said is true, and the Silver City did indeed worship the giant queen Omibella, then why would they conceal this fact and instead claim that they once worshipped the giant king Ormir?

"I'm sorry, I lost my composure."

After finally calming down, Derrick the Sun took a deep breath and said, "I will consult the records of Silver City, but Silver City may not have many records on this matter."

"No problem, just do your best."

Yu Jin nodded slightly. He had only asked casually, as if to give it a try, and hadn't pressed the issue. After all, he already had the answer in his heart; he just wanted some corroboration from historical records.

"There's one more thing."

"The Sun" Derrick paused for a moment, then continued, "I wish to purchase the potion recipe from the 'Sun Priest'."

He had already become a Prayer of Light, and the potion was being digested methodically, expected to be fully digested in about a month. Therefore, he hoped to obtain the potion recipe in advance so that he could collect the necessary extraordinary materials ahead of time and seamlessly advance after the potion was fully digested.

As he spoke, Derrick's gaze remained fixed on Ember. After all, Ember had always been the source of most of the potion recipes for the Tarot Club members, so in Derrick's eyes, Ember was the most likely person to help him obtain the potion recipes.

"pity."

Klein sighed inwardly. It was a pity he didn't have the Sun Priest's potion recipe, otherwise he would have wanted to do this business too.

"I have!"

The Hanged Man answered without hesitation, "A Sequence 7 potion recipe costs around 800 pounds, and can even fetch over 1,000 pounds with a premium. Give me 850 pounds, and I can show you the Sun Priest's potion recipe."

Derrick looked surprised, then hesitated and said:

"But I don't have any gold pounds..."

Not only did he not have any gold pounds, but he also owed Miss Justice a portion of gold pounds. Fortunately, Miss Justice needed to purchase extraordinary materials for her family, which allowed him to barely repay the debt.

"It's okay."

The Hanged Man, clearly expecting this, hummed in agreement and said, "You can repay me with materials of equal value, but I'm not sure what I can get from you. First, make a list of the common monsters and corresponding materials around Silver City, and I'll choose from it. Hmm, I can show you the Sun Priest's potion recipe first."

He had previously found the "Sun Priest's" potion recipe in the secret treasury of the Rothschild Islands parish, but only recently had he found a good opportunity to access it with a sufficiently legitimate reason and the necessary permissions.

With Mr. Fool as guarantor, and given the little "sun's" noble (and perhaps somewhat wicked) character, Alger wasn't worried that Derrick would take the potion formula without paying. So, he figured he might as well do him a favor.

"No problem, I'll do it as soon as possible, but it might have to wait until after the exploration is over."

Derrick visibly relaxed, his tone carrying a hint of delight, as if he had gained a great advantage.

The Tarot Club members nearby wanted to cover their faces in disbelief. Little 'Sun' was just too naive. Didn't he realize that the list itself was extremely valuable? However, although they had realized this, no one took the initiative to expose 'The Hanged Man's' scheme, because they also wanted to know what monsters were common in the area around Silver City and what extraordinary materials they were.

As for the little "sun", well, he'll learn from his mistakes, and this is for his own good!

"explore?"

The Hanged Man asked thoughtfully, "You've been assigned another exploration mission?"

Derrick adjusted his posture, appearing somewhat nervous, and said:

"right."

"Where are we exploring?" Alger, the Hanged Man, noticed his unusual behavior and turned his head to ask.

"It's still that half-destroyed temple of the fallen creator."

Derrick replied with a somewhat tense and solemn expression, "However, Elder Lovia is still in the dungeon, and this exploration is being led by the Chief himself."

The team that explored that temple last time was almost completely wiped out, with only the 'Shepherd' Elder Lovia 'luckily' escaping unharmed. But no one could guarantee that she was truly without abnormalities, not even the six-person council dared to, otherwise they wouldn't have kept Elder Lovia locked up in the dungeon.

The Hanged Man thought for a moment and suggested:

"This should be the final assessment of you before the surveillance is completely lifted. The information you conveyed before was that Amon and the Fallen Creator are mortal enemies, and they are willing to expose themselves in order to thwart the other's schemes."

"During this exploration of the Temple of the Fallen Creator, as long as you do not show any abnormalities, the council of six can basically conclude that you are no longer affected by Amon."

These events occurred after Ember's "disappearance." The Hanged Man, fearing Ember wouldn't understand, explained:

"The time when 'Sun' was possessed by Amon, it was disguised as a death sentence with the fallen creator."

"Mr. Sun"

Ember tapped the table lightly with his fingers as if deep in thought, and slowly said, "I have a request regarding your exploration this time."

"What request?"

"The Sun" Derrick immediately sat up straight and said seriously, "As long as it's within my capabilities, I will do my best to complete it."

Ember shook his head and explained:

"It's just a side thing. I hope that when you explore the temple, you will try your best to find the connection, or similarity, between the fallen creator and the 'creator of everything' that you believe in."

"The Sun," Derrick paused for a moment, hesitated, and then nodded slightly.

"it is good."

"What does 'lover' mean by that?"

The Hanged Man was shaken, a wave of unease washing over him. A chilling, taboo speculation began to sprout within him—

Silver City worships the "Creator," the God of Creation. The reason the "Eastern Continent," where Silver City is located, became a land forsaken by the gods is because the "Creator" abandoned them. However, combining this with the creation myth of the Northern Continent, we know that the Creator has long since perished!

Among the mysterious organizations and secret cults led by the Aurora Society, they believe that the Creator has not completely died, and that His remaining core is the true Creator.

Some followers of the Aurora Society even attempted to cross the Sunia Sea to reach the so-called "Sanctuary." This has also been confirmed by Mr. "Lover"—the so-called Sanctuary is the Eastern Continent, the Forsaken Land where "Sun" and Silver City are located!

The seven surviving true gods leave their mark across the northern and southern continents, yet they are conspicuously absent from the records of Silver City. Only the true creator has followers preaching across the northern and southern continents, and even temple remnants in the land forsaken by the gods!

When Mr. Fool first heard the term "True Creator," he immediately declared that it referred to the "Fallen Creator." Initially, Alger only heard Mr. Fool's attitude of looking at him with equality from this title, thus confirming that Mr. Fool was a being of the true god level.

But he overlooked a very simple issue—whether it's the 'True Creator' or the 'Fallen Creator,' the word 'Creator' has always been a symbol of that ancient being! This means that even Mr. 'Fool' did not deny the other party's identity as the 'Creator'; what he denied was 'truth,' considering the other party a symbol of 'fallenness'!

Now, the "Lover" is asking the "Sun" Derrick to find similarities between the "Fallen Creator" and the "Creator"...

When Alger pieced together all these scattered clues, he discovered that they all revealed a terrifying truth...

"The fallen creator is the former 'creator'! Or at least a part of the 'creator'!"

A bold guess suddenly popped into Audrey's mind, startling her so much that she dared not think about it any further.

But Alger was even bolder than her. He had even deduced a self-consistent logic: if the "Fallen Creator" was the former Creator, then wouldn't the Eastern Continent, which was once protected by the Creator, be the sanctuary of this "Fallen Creator"?

Alger, the Hanged Man, almost instinctively looked up at the Fool, but failed to glean any meaning from the man's indistinct eyes. In a sense, however, the lack of expression itself was the biggest clue—it meant that Mr. Fool had likely tacitly accepted the Lover's suspicions!

Why are you looking at me like that?

Klein felt somewhat helpless as the Hanged Man stared at him. He could probably guess what Alger was thinking, because he was thinking the same thing—there was probably some kind of connection between the Creator and the Fallen Creator, perhaps even a relationship of inheritance.

And this is precisely connected to the previous intelligence:

The Church of Storms and the Church of the Blazing Sun are hostile to each other, while all three churches are hostile to the Aurora Society, and conversely, the Aurora Society is also hostile to all three churches. This becomes clear if we consider the deities they represent:

The gods of the three major churches betrayed the Creator, and the fallen Creator is a remnant of the Creator, which is why they are hostile to each other!

Klein knew very well that Ember's guess was not unfounded. He must have already obtained some solid evidence in the Forsaken Land of the Gods in the past—in fact, he may have even met with that 'Creator'!

As for the significance of his current pursuit of the truth...

Klein's eye twitched. He figured Ember was probably thinking about how to drag the other guy over and burn him. Although he was internally ranting, he maintained a mysterious and inscrutable demeanor on the surface, making the Hanged Man hesitant to ask directly.

Firstly, he didn't think he could pay a sufficient price, and secondly, the secrets involved were definitely beyond his control. Knowing more wouldn't necessarily be a good thing for him.

Alger took a deep breath and forcefully changed the subject:

"I'll give you the potion recipe first."

Klein was also eager for Alger to change the subject, and upon hearing this, he immediately conjured up paper and pen, and had "The Hanged Man" Alger write down the potion recipe and hand it to "The Sun" Derrick.

This tarot session has now successfully concluded.

(End of this chapter)