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

Chapter 323 Perfect

The Tarot meeting started promptly at 3 PM.

A series of deep red figures rose simultaneously on both sides of the bronze table, then solidified into blurry, different figures.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool!" Audrey, the "Justice," greeted him with a lighthearted rise.

The other members also offered their greetings, and received a nod in response from the person at the head of the mottled long table.

The 'Hermit' lady spoke respectfully:

"Dear Mr. Fool, this time there are five pages of Russell's diary."

Ever since we made contact with the 'Mysterious Queen,' the acquisition of her diary has been frighteningly consistent! Klein nodded slightly and chuckled softly.

"very good."

After a brief silence, the Hermit, Cattleya, materialized five pages of yellowish-brown paper, watching them leap into the palm of the Fool as if traversing the spirit world.

Knowing that the diaries carefully selected by the "Mysterious Queen" must contain very important information, "The Fool" Klein focused his mind and casually glanced at the yellowish-brown parchment in his hand:

"On September 11th, ever since I became an angel, I have had the feeling that my personality is splitting. In my heart, in my soul, in the depths of my spirit, there is always a voice urging me, influencing me, and creating uncontrollable indifference, bloodlust, cruelty and madness."

"This does not originate from the outside world, nor is it the influence of gods on my own path. I can clearly feel that it originates from genes, from the collective unconsciousness inherited by generations of humans, from the extraordinary characteristics themselves, rather than from the residual spiritual influence above."

"It gives me an intense urge to hunt and kill, to devour all living beings around me with extraordinary characteristics. This forces me to spend most of my energy fighting it, and even though I'm already acting out and digesting the potion, it hasn't helped."

"No wonder Mr. Men said that reason is temporary, but madness is eternal."

The contents of the first page of the diary weighed heavily on Klein's mind. The Roselle who wrote those words was no longer an ordinary person; he had become an angel, joined the "Twilight Hermits," and read the "Blasphemy Tablet." His understanding of the mystical world and extraordinary characteristics far surpassed Klein's own, yet he was far more pessimistic, seemingly believing that the world was inherently distorted, insane, and destined for self-destruction...

The Fool showed no unusual behavior and then looked at the remaining pages of the diary:

"On November 28th, I dreamed of Green again. He was the smartest of my subordinates, but unfortunately, while exploring that nameless island, he was infected by an unknown virus and died in the Misty Sea, leaving behind not even his child."

……

"December 29th, another new year is almost here. All the mausoleums are completed, there's no turning back now."

……

"I think I'm not the only time traveler in this world."

"If anyone can still understand my diary, remember to carefully choose your extraordinary path."

"Once this is determined, it also means that your allies and your enemies are roughly determined as well."

"..."

"One last reminder: watch out for the moon!"

The mausoleum is already built... There's no turning back once the arrow is released... Klein stared at the diary in his hand, his mind racing with thoughts, various ideas constantly emerging and then shattering.

Judging from the content and dates of the diary, apart from a clear time gap between the first and second pages, the remaining three pages appear to be continuous. The first page was written when Roselle had just become an angel, and by the time he wrote the other four pages, he should have already been a Sequence 1 angel, only one step away from becoming a true god.

The three diary entries following Emperor Roselle's entry proved his earlier conjecture: in his later years, he chose to forcibly switch to the "Black Emperor" path, attempting to become a true god of Sequence 0 at the cost of half-madness!

What exactly drove the Emperor to make such a decision? What happened to him in his later years? Why was he wary of the Moon? Could Roselle's decision to switch to the "Black Emperor" path also be related to the Moon?

There exists a threat and pollution beyond the heavens that could destroy the world, a fact confirmed by both Ember and Roselle's diary, even by the gods themselves.

From Russell's diary, it can be inferred that he once went to outer space and was filled with despair because of it.

The current message "Beware of the Moon" suggests that Emperor Roselle may very well have gone to the moon!

He saw something on the moon: pollution. Even after returning to the real world, he remained pessimistic and despairing.

At that time, he was already a Sequence 1 "Knowledge Emperor." He could have played it safe and found an opportunity to devour the "Hidden Sage" and become a true god through the "Secret Seeker" pathway. Given Rosell's strength and power at the time, this would have been absolutely not difficult.

But he still chose to forcibly switch to the "Black Emperor" path, perhaps because he had already been contaminated in outer space!

Therefore, he no longer trusts "Mr. Door" or "Raccard".

Russell was corrupted after just one trip to the moon, while the former was trapped in outer space for thousands of years, so how could he not be corrupted?

The latter is a true god from beyond the heavens, and He Himself is corruption!

The corrupted Roselle had no other choice but to hope that becoming a true god would free him from this corruption.

But judging from his ultimate downfall, this attempt most likely ended in failure.

Roselle's coup occurred in 1173, when he was merely a colonel, most likely having just been promoted to demigod, or perhaps not even yet. The greatest support he received in successfully staging a coup, overthrowing the Soren family, and transforming the Kingdom of Intis into a republic, despite his demigod-like strength, was likely the Steam Church.

At that time, the relationship between the Steam Church and Rosell was quite good. In fact, the only time the God of Steam sent down a divine oracle was based on the steam engine that Rosell "invented," and he took the opportunity to change the church's name from "Church of the God of Craftsmen" to "Church of the God of Steam and Machinery."

The fact that even the god's name was changed as a result speaks volumes about Roselle's status at the time; it is no exaggeration to say that he was favored by the gods!

This period lasted for twenty years. In 1192, Rosell underwent a dramatic change in temperament, proclaimed himself Caesar, and transformed the Republic of Intis into the Empire of Intis.

A reasonable speculation is that, between 1190 and 1192, Roselle, who had become the Emperor of Knowledge, went to outer space and was thus corrupted. It was this corruption that caused Roselle to despair, which led to a drastic change in his personality and alienation from his followers.

But Roselle had no choice. To save himself, he had to convert Intis into an empire and begin arranging the ceremony to become the "Black Emperor."

To possess one's own kingdom, to associate one's name with the title of emperor, and to make this common knowledge among the people. Furthermore, it would require establishing a rigorous and complex set of rules, including architectural styles, that defied conventional norms.

Next, he instigated the people to secretly build nine pyramid-like mausoleums. Then, he entered one of them and, in a series of rituals scattered throughout different cities, consumed a magic potion of sequence 0, with the participation of the vast majority of the people.

The Republic clearly could not meet Roselle's demands, so he had no choice but to change the Republic into an Empire.

George III also made many changes to the Kingdom of Loen in his attempt to become the Black Emperor, but these changes all ended in failure.

Most of those nine mausoleums are probably located within the territory of Intis.

But from the few words in Russell's diary, Klein had a guess—

The last mausoleum may be on that nameless island in the misty sea!

In 1192, the Republic of Intis was transformed into an empire.

In 1198, Roselle was assassinated by the Church of the Eternal Sun, the Soren family of the Intetis royal family, and other nobles, and perished in the White Maple Palace.

During this period, Roselle must have successfully ascended to godhood.

But even ascending to godhood could not save him, nor could it free him from the pollution of the "outer heavens".

Therefore, his fall may have been part of his plan.

On the one hand, he did not want his corrupted true god to harm the world.

On the other hand, he may also have pinned his hopes on the Black Emperor's ability to be reborn after death, hoping to get rid of the pollution in the process.

However, given the current global landscape, this attempt also ended in failure. But he was, after all, the former Black Emperor, so it's highly likely he's not completely dead yet—

Just like Solomon in the Fourth Age, even though he had been betrayed and died, he was still able to be resurrected and return.

Therefore, the corrupted Roselle should now be hiding in some mausoleum, waiting to be reborn.

However, as long as the pollution problem remains unresolved, it will never truly be revived.

As Klein pondered this, he made the diary disappear from his hand, turned to look at the 'Hermit' Cattleya, and said with a smile:

"What is your request?"

Without hesitation, the hermit, Cattleya, asked directly:

"My esteemed Fool, I would like to know whether Emperor Roselle ever joined a very secretive and ancient organization."

Very secretive, very ancient… the Twilight Hermits? Was Emperor Roselle once a member of them? “Justice” Audrey suddenly remembered the organization that Mr. “Fool” had mentioned before.

Klein looked at the "Hermit" lady, a vague guess forming in his mind.

The Mysterious Queen's experience in selecting diaries is vague. She cannot accurately ask questions about the provided content. In other words, she can probably only know that a certain point in the diary is important, contains key information, or can judge Russell's mood when writing from the handwriting.

As for the question about the 'Hermit' lady, it posed no difficulty for Klein. He smiled slightly and said:

"Yes, it was an organization founded by the imaginary angel Adam, with the aim of resurrecting the former creator."

Klein didn't mind answering a few more questions about the 'mysterious queen' who had become an angel.

The reason for not directly saying "The Twilight Hermits' Gathering" was to let the "Hermit" ask another question, so that she could answer one more question.

"The Hermit" Cattleya desperately wanted to ask the name of the organization, but she held back, not wanting to waste the precious opportunity. She adjusted her thick glasses and bowed respectfully, saying:

"My esteemed Fool, I would like to know if it is possible that Emperor Roselle is still alive?"

Upon hearing this question, the Tarot Club members, lost in their own thoughts, simultaneously snapped out of their reverie and turned sharply to the head of the bronze table, as if strongly stimulated. While whether Emperor Roselle was still alive had no direct relation to them and wouldn't have a significant impact, such a topic was enough to stir up humanity's latent thirst for rumors and gossip!

As expected, the 'Mysterious Queen's' questions were mostly related to the diary provided that time... Klein didn't seem embarrassed and chuckled skillfully, saying:

"Maybe."

"If George III had succeeded, Rosell might have already perished. But with George III dead, there is still a possibility that Rosell could be resurrected."

Could it be that Emperor Rosell is still alive? The Hermit, Cattleya, felt as if she had heard the world's greatest secret, a mixture of excitement and agitation. However, she was puzzled as to what all this had to do with George III.

The Hermit certainly knew George III, the former king of the Kingdom of Loen, who suddenly fell ill on New Year's Eve and died despite all efforts to save him. But why did Mr. Fool mention George III?

Unlike the others who were completely unaware of the inside story, "Justice" Audrey almost immediately grasped the key to the matter—

George III attempted to become a god, and he followed the path of the Black Emperor. In other words, Emperor Roselle also followed the path of the Black Emperor!

Although the god-like Emperor Roselle still could not escape death, it is hard to imagine that he would be assassinated by a group of nobles—only a true god can kill a true god, so there must have been other true gods involved.

But in any case, the fact remains that Emperor Roselle died.

But just like the Black Emperor who was resurrected during the war of the Four Emperors in the Fourth Age, Roselle could be resurrected even if he died.

But this is on the condition that the Black Emperor's 'Sequence 0' is not occupied by anyone else.

Therefore, once George III succeeds, Emperor Roselle will truly be dead, with no possibility of being resurrected.

My thoughts, guided by the concept of "justice," began to wander, and I thought with some surprise:

"Doesn't that mean that Ember's killing of George III indirectly saved Emperor Roselle's life?"

The Hermit, Cattleya, was filled with questions. Seeing that Mr. Fool did not interrupt, she couldn't help but ask:

"Mr. Fool, did Emperor Roselle ever become a god?"

"Yes."

The Fool gave an affirmative answer, but did not give the Hermit a chance to ask further questions. Leaning back in his chair, he said in a calm tone:

"It's your turn."

The Hermit, Cattleya, remained silent, knowing that the Fool had only given her three chances to ask questions, and wisely refrained from speaking again.

The little 'sun' couldn't wait to speak:

"Mr. World, I have become the Priest of Light. I applied to the Chief to go to North City to hunt shapeshifters, but the Chief did not agree."

Klein was somewhat disappointed. Just as he was about to manipulate the 'world' to speak, he heard the little 'sun' continue:

"But the chief decided to personally lead two elders of the six-person council and me to North City. We have successfully hunted a shapeshifter."

Klein's breath hitched, followed by ecstasy.

He has already obtained the true soul of the Spirit Realm Raider, only lacking the trickery and evil magic. And since the 'Sun' has been successfully hunted, it means he now possesses the complete main material and is ready to advance at any time!

(End of this chapter)