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

Chapter 157 Is there any possibility, I mean possibly, that it is your god?

December 27th, another Monday.

At 2:50 p.m. sharp, Klein went to the gray fog and summoned the members of the Tarot Club.

Sitting on the other side of the bronze table, "Justice" Audrey originally intended to greet "The Fool" and the others with her usual cheerful and lighthearted manner.

But a quick glance revealed that the little "sun" was in a bad mood, and she immediately asked:

"Mr. Sun, what happened? The expedition to explore the Temple of the Fallen Creator isn't going well?"

"The Sun" Derrick, as if grasping at hope, quickly described in detail his exploration of the temple, his encounter with a little boy named Jack, and how he became trapped in a loop:

"After the little boy was eliminated by the Chief, we all closed our eyes and then woke up in the camp outside the city, ready to start a new exploration, with no memory of the previous one."

This process was repeated five times, with only slight differences in the details. If Mr. Fool hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't even have known I'd been living a repetitive life all this time.

He naturally assumed that the extra memories he had gained after arriving above the gray fog were due to Mr. Fool's reminder, so he stood up and solemnly bowed to the blurry figure sitting at the head of the bronze table.

I only understand what happened after you described it to me... 'The Fool' Klein looked completely bewildered.

He turned to the others and asked earnestly:

"Do you know the root of the problem? How can it be solved?"

"Mr. Sun"

Alger, the "Hanged Man," hesitated for a moment before saying, "That little boy, Jack, is very likely the key to this cycle."

He paused, first analyzing the situation of "The Sun," then said in a deep voice, "In addition, I was once ordered to hunt down a few Listeners of the Aurora Society at sea. Their goal was to find the sanctuary of the true Creator. That Listener also had his child with him, whose age was very close to that of Jack as described by The Sun."

"Justice!" Audrey was the first to react, exclaiming in astonishment:

"Mr. 'The Hanged Man,' do you suspect these two are the same person?"

"That's right."

Alger, the "Hanged Man," nodded slightly and said without hesitation, "Originally, I only had some doubts, but Mr. 'Lover' has confirmed my guess. The end of the Sunia Sea is the legendary Forsaken Land, which perfectly matches the route of the Listener."

Upon hearing this, Derrick the Sun felt a surge of joy. While he didn't doubt the Lovers' claims, there were no concrete examples yet; the only Lovers who had reached the Forsaken Land had relied on Mr. Fool. But the appearance of Jack truly meant that the two worlds were connected!

As if seeing through the 'Sun's' thoughts, Alger the Hanged Man glanced at him and then poured cold water on him, saying:

"Of course, if simply crossing the Sunia Sea would lead to the Forsaken Land, then the Forsaken Land would probably have been discovered long ago. I suspect that some condition needs to be met, and that condition is extremely demanding. So it's a bit premature to consider these things now; the focus right now should be on resolving the trouble you're facing."

"My suggestion is that you could try to mention the Sunia Sea, the Kingdom of Rune, and the port city to the little boy Jack. Perhaps you'll get a different reaction. Of course, try to avoid mentioning it to the chief of your Silver City."

"Also, the key point may not necessarily be the little boy Jack. We need to consider other possibilities. If you describe the specific situation, such as the details of the mural, we might discover something useful."

The Sun silently noted these down, nodded solemnly, then turned to the embers and said apologetically:

"Mr. 'Lover,' I originally planned to return to Silver City to consult the ancient texts after exploring the temple, but now we are trapped here. I'm sorry, I may not be able to provide you with the information you want in the short term."

The thought simultaneously crossed the minds of "The Hanged Man," "Justice," and several others:

"What an honest child."

Even though he was already in danger, he was still thinking about this.

"It's okay."

Ember waved his hand to indicate that he wasn't in a hurry, and said, "The temple itself is part of the commission. You can first tell me about your exploration experience. Perhaps this will help you get out of your current predicament."

"it is good."

Without further hesitation, with the help of Mr. Fool, "Sun" materialized the images he could recall, presenting the exploration process and what he considered to be the key points to others in an intermittent manner, and then supplementing them with some explanation.

Among those murals, there is one that 'The Sun' considers important—

A pristine white cross stands at the very center, surrounded by sea-like blackness that engulfs many struggling, outstretched arms. Hanging upside down on the cross is the "fallen creator," his rusty nails and blood-stained image indistinguishable from any other idol.

But in this mural, the "Fallen Creator" is being corrupted by darkness, to the point that parts of the white cross have turned black. In addition, the cross supports a hazy earth, and countless humans kneel in prayer before the "Fallen Creator."

Around the edges of the scene, in the deepest darkness, lurks a figure resembling the Six Paths Evil God.

"The Sun" explained earnestly:

"The meaning of this mural is that when the Great Cataclysm came, the evil gods crawled out of the abyss, and the fallen creator, in order to save mankind, bore most of the sins and suffering, and thus showed signs of being corrupted and his appearance changed."

Alger, the "Hanged Man," listened quietly, gazing at the octopus-headed monster wreathed in lightning, treading on black waves, draped in a bird-feather cloak, and wielding a trident. A strange connection stirred within him. He immediately pointed at the figure and asked curiously:

"Which evil god is recorded in the annals of your Silver City?"

"The Sun" Derrick honestly shook his head:

"I didn't know; I thought you two knew each other."

"Justice" frowned as he looked at the figure in the mural:

"Among the evil gods that are said to exist in the Northern Continent, there is no similar image."

"this……"

Klein was somewhat surprised; these were very similar to the six god statues he had seen in the Tudor family's underground ruins! Only, those were the normal versions, while these were the corrupted, twisted, and depraved plus versions. Especially the Earth Mother, the Lord of Storms, and the Eternal Sun—they hadn't just been corrupted into evil gods, but were closer to hideous monsters!

Klein pondered for a moment, wanting to share this information with others, but then felt that the 'Fool' was not suitable to speak. Just as he was about to manipulate the world to speak, he heard another voice—the Hanged Man.

The Hanged Man felt a strange sense of familiarity, but couldn't quite place it, and he asked hesitantly:

"Mr. 'Lover,' do you have any clues?"

Ember pointed to the octopus-headed monster that the "Hanged Man" was focusing on and said:

"Is it possible—I mean, just maybe—that this is the Lord of Storms?"

The Hanged Man's pupils constricted sharply, and he abruptly turned to look at the mural. The figure, wreathed in lightning, treading on black waves, draped in a bird-feather cloak, and wielding a trident, if the octopus-headed monster were removed, wouldn't it represent the authority of the Lord of Storms?!

The Hanged Man murmured:

"They are so similar, yet I couldn't connect them at first glance."

He's clearly a member of the Church of Storms, yet he just pointed at the image of the Lord of Storms and called him an evil god.

Alger's heart trembled. Even though his faith was not particularly devout, it was still enough to make him feel terrified!

"No, it would be strange if you could even make that connection, okay?"

Audrey thought to herself, "How blasphemous must one's thoughts be to connect a twisted monster with one's own god?!" The fact that the Hanged Man couldn't reconcile the two images precisely demonstrates his unwavering devotion to the Lord of Storms.

Well, that's not quite right either, since Mr. Hanged Man's faith in the Lord of Storms doesn't seem to be that "devout."

Suddenly, 'The World' spoke in a hoarse voice:

"I've seen similar statues."

After attracting everyone's attention, he paused and added:

"On an adventure to explore Quaternary ruins."

He feigned a request to Mr. Fool, and upon receiving permission, materialized the six divine statues and their corresponding symbols that he had seen. Unlike the frenzied and distorted figures in the fresco, the six statues he materialized were quite sublime. It was clear that the sculptor of these statues had painted them with reverence for the gods.

Among these six statues, the Lord of Storms is depicted as a majestic middle-aged man clad in black armor, standing on waves, surrounded by storms, with lightning flashing behind him, and wielding a trident. The statue's image is largely similar to that in the murals, except that his appearance has been distorted into a monster with an octopus head.

However, if this monster... is the Lord of Storms, then what about the others? Audrey subconsciously glanced at the upper left corner of the mural—

In the upper left corner is a woman dressed in a long, classic black dress. Her clothing is layered yet not elaborate, studded with numerous star-like shimmering lights. Her body is somewhat ethereal, showing signs of ripples spreading outwards. Her face is indistinct, seemingly wearing a mask without features. Around her, darkness surges, and eerie eyes appear and disappear!

Blasphemy! This is blasphemy against the goddess! Audrey was suddenly furious. Although her faith in the goddess had been affected to some extent by the embers, it did not prevent her from expressing her anger at this act of distorting the goddess's image.

However, she quickly calmed down, because this was, after all, a mural by the fallen creator, and it would be strange if He didn't distort the image of the six gods.

Fors couldn't help but ask:

"So these six evil beings... are they the Six Gods?"

The Hanged Man had regained his composure and nodded slightly.

"If nothing unexpected happens, that should be the case. But this is, after all, the temple of the Fallen Creator, who has always been an enemy of the Church of the Seven Gods. It's not surprising that he would distort the image of the Six Gods into an evil god."

"Then why isn't there a god of steam and machinery?"

Ember glanced at Fors and explained:

"The god of steam and machinery was not born until the fourth period, while this mural should depict the scene in the early third period."

I see… Fors felt inexplicably guilty, because she hadn’t seriously read the Holy Codex of Steam and Machinery; her faith was more of a lifestyle habit.

Audrey asked hesitantly:

"Then the content of this mural must be completely unreliable, right?"

After a moment's thought, Yu Jin spoke:

"The murals distort the images of the six gods, but it is a fact that the six gods are hostile to the fallen creator. Moreover, judging from the degree of distortion of the images of the six gods, the degree of hostility of the fallen creator towards the six gods is not the same. The images of the Lord of Storms and the Eternal Sun are most severely distorted, followed by the Goddess of Night, the Goddess of Harvest, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, while the image of the God of War is almost not distorted."

Drawn by Ember's words, the crowd turned their gazes once more to the mural representing the 'Sun' and the statue representing the 'World'—

In the statue, the Eternal Sun is a handsome and energetic young man draped in a pure white robe, holding a book of contracts in one hand and a golden orb resembling the sun in the other. However, in the mural, he is a young male in a pure white robe, his face painted pure gold, with radiant whiskers. His hands hold a decaying green book and a spear formed of radiant light, respectively, and the positions of his chest and back are reversed.

As Ember said, the image of the Eternal Sun and the Lord of Storms is the most severely distorted.

The next highest order is that of the god of knowledge and wisdom, depicted in statues as an old man holding a book and the all-knowing eye, wearing a hood that reveals only his mouth, wrinkles, and long white beard. His image in murals is similar; at first glance, he seems normal, but the smile at the corner of his mouth has an indescribable eeriness.

For example, the goddess of harvest is depicted in the statue as a plump and graceful woman, with ears of wheat growing at her feet, surrounded by a spring. Her flowing robes are adorned with various herbs and flowers, and depictions of different animals are also present. The woman's chest is high and full, and she holds an adorable baby tucked in her arms. The whole figure is holy and dignified.

In the mural, Her figure remains plump and graceful, but her chest is bulging high and she is naked outside her clothes. She holds a baby with a rotting face in her arms. At her feet are black ears of wheat, springs with writhing chunks of flesh, herbs oozing pus, and animals mating wildly.

As for the God of War, the image in the two paintings is the most similar, and there is almost no distortion.

In the statue, He is a warrior sitting high on a throne, holding a long sword in front of him. His face is hidden behind a mask, and his armor has an indescribable sense of decay. In the mural, He is a giant warrior wearing tattered armor, holding a long sword and sitting on a throne, with a desolate twilight as the background.

However, after comparing the two images, the members of the Tarot Club still had deep doubts—

The image of the God of War is indeed the most normal, without a doubt.

The Lord of Storms and the Eternal Sun were indeed most severely distorted. But why would Ember consider the Goddess of Night, the Goddess of Harvest, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom to be second-rate?

The goddess of night and the goddess of knowledge and wisdom are one thing, but the goddess of harvest is so distorted that she's on par with the Lord of Storms and the Eternal Sun, no matter how you look at it. In some ways, her image is even more distorted than the Lord of Storms and the Eternal Sun.

"etc!"

Audrey suddenly exclaimed, "'Lover,' you just said 'Goddess of Harvest'? Isn't that the Earth Mother?!"

Fors, Hugh, Alger, and even Klein were all suddenly awakened from their daze!

They were all misled by the embers! They subconsciously identified the woman with the Goddess of Harvest, almost forgetting that there is no Goddess of Harvest among the Six Gods; it should be the Earth Mother Goddess!

Yu Jin paused for a moment before realizing he had confused things, and casually said:

"They're all the same."

The little "sun" hadn't quite grasped the situation yet, and timidly raised his hand to ask:

"Isn't the goddess of harvest the queen of giants?"

(End of this chapter)