Mystery: The New Black Emperor Descends

Chapter 743 The Secret Revealed by the Genie

Klein directed the puppets to set up a tent in the square, and then they began to roast meat.

The three of them sat down, chatting as they waited for the delicious barbecue.

Rosell glanced at the oven and said, "This oven produces too much smoke, which will affect the taste of the roasted meat. I'll give your secret partner some knowledge so he can make a simple hand-cranked blower."

As he spoke, he placed his index finger on his temple and pulled it outwards, dragging out a scrolling message.

"No need for that trouble," Hobart said. "Just give me this knowledge."

Russell nodded, and the scroll of knowledge floated in front of Hobart and disappeared into His head.

Hobart immediately acquired knowledge of the principles of blowers and how to make them.

He pointed towards the fountain and changed a certain tile from "1" to "2".

Suddenly, a floor tile appeared over there.

Then Hobart "altered" the nature of the floor tile, turning the stone tile into a piece of iron.

Ultimately, Hobart "distorted" the shape of the iron, and a hand-cranked iron blower was instantly formed.

Klein picked up the puppet and tried it out; it felt pretty good in his hand.

At this moment, Klein smiled and said, "Actually, I can make a wish to myself and get a blower."

Hobart and Russell were both taken aback. Finally, Hobart laughed and said, "The abilities of a 'diviner' are still much more convenient!"

Just then, the first batch of skewers was grilled. Russell took a sip of beer and ate a skewer: "I feel much better now!"

"Haha, I'm so drooling over the 'Primitive Moon'."

"The 'Primordial Moon' is actually another 'cloak' from the past..." Klein briefly explained the relationship between the "Primordial Moon" and the "Fallen Mother Goddess".

Through Roselle's diary, Klein knew very well that the Great Emperor knew about the "Primordial Moon" and the "Fallen Mother Goddess," but not about the connection between them.

After listening, Rosell nodded: "I see."

Then, as if suddenly remembering something, He said, "I heard that Mr. Fool once collected my diaries? You... how many of my diaries have you read?"

Klein paused for a moment, then finally told the truth: "A lot."

Russell coughed. "Everyone here watched the live stream, so I don't really care."

Hobert: Hey, Your Majesty, you sound like you care a lot!

Russell quickly changed the subject and began discussing His restoration of His kingdom.

Currently, Intis has suffered heavy losses in the Southern Continent, and domestic opposition to the government is rising, making it the perfect time for Him to reclaim everything.

However, the eternal sun and the god of steam and machinery could not calmly allow Him to go back and start another revolution.

Hobart's suggestion was that after He and the Fool became gods, they should send someone to send Roselle back. With two true gods backing them up, the Eternal Sun and the God of Steam and Machines would have to seriously consider how to deal with Roselle's problem.

At the same time, Hobart took the opportunity to promote Medici to Russell.

The three men drank and chatted until dusk. After saying goodbye to each other, Hobart and Russell left one after the other.

Klein watched them disappear, feeling rather sentimental.

Hobart is making his final preparations to become a god; when we meet again, he may already be the "Black Emperor."

Rosell had been secretly working to restore his country for some time, and many political forces in the Republic of Intis had already expressed their support and loyalty to him.

However, when Russell returned to his country, he could only refer to himself as "Rossel II," otherwise he would have no way to explain it to the public.

Klein also planned to help the Goddess of Night obtain the water of the "River of Eternal Darkness". He had just heard Hobert talk about the changes in Calderon, the "City of the Dead", and had also obtained a "Crystal of Order" from Hobert, which allowed him to freely enter and exit the seal formed by the "Land of Chaos".

The ancient Grim Reaper's spiritual imprint had weakened due to the previous failed resurrection, so He was still very confident about this mission.

Having accomplished this task and stabilized his condition somewhat, Klein prepared to head to the Hornach Mountains and advance his advancement as soon as possible.

As Klein pondered this, he instructed the puppet to put away the oven, sunshade, and other items.

At that moment, His spirit seemed to sense something and looked toward the center of the square.

A passage opened in the spirit world there, and Sharon, with her exquisite features, emerged from it.

"Long time no see." Sharon greeted Klein, then looked around and said, "This city... seems deserted?"

The surroundings were spotless, but there were only a few "people" in the square, making it look like a city that was being abandoned.

Klein smiled and said, "No, they were all praying in church just now."

As they were talking, the doors of the Church of St. Ariana opened, and citizens, men and women, the elderly and children, came out.

Their movements and expressions were very natural. They chatted as they entered the streets and alleys of Utopia, and soon Utopia became lively again.

Klein looked at Sharon and smiled, "This city will always exist for you."

……

After Hobert returned to Caesar's Port, Roselle sent his "invisible servant" to deliver the "genie".

To better seal the pollution within Roselle's body, Hobart also gave Roselle a "Crystal of Order".

The sealed object, "Genius," is golden in color and resembles a shrunken kettle, with a wick protruding from its spout.

Its surface was covered with complex mystical symbols, and without Hobart wiping it, the wick burned silently.

The light emitted from the lamp wick, like viscous water, sprayed upwards, forming a blurry and distorted pale golden figure.

"Ha, if I didn't look closely, I'd think you were 'Mystery' itself." The pale golden figure spoke in a majestic voice, "How can you still retain your own will after being so severely invaded by 'Mystery'?"

Hobart's double offered a perfunctory compliment: "Good eye."

At this moment, Hobert, hiding in the "shadow," carefully observed the "genie" and his own condition, fearing what kind of reaction this guy might have with the "Land of Chaos."

This is Hobart's biggest concern. Neither the "Black Emperor" nor the "Judges" before him possessed the "Disorderly Kingdom." It is currently unknown whether the one among the "Geniuses" can temporarily break the seal and affect the "Disorderly Kingdom."

The double added, "The reason I can still maintain myself is because I have received help from a new 'mystery'."

The genie's expression was very indistinct; Hobart couldn't tell if it was deep in thought or surprised. After three or four seconds, it asked, "A new 'Lord of Mysteries' has appeared? Why can't I sense him?"

"It will appear soon." Hobert did not continue the topic. He said this only to intimidate the "genie," so that if the other party had any ideas, it would have an extra layer of consideration.

The substitute started a new topic: "I've heard that you are a very special being, even closer to the primordial creator than the 'Fallen Mother Goddess'?"

The genie countered, "Wasn't it the 'Uncertain Fog' that told you?"

"No." Hobart's double sat down in a chair opposite the "genie," indicating that today's conversation was destined to be long: "It's the ancient sun god."

The genie seemed to suddenly remember: "I had forgotten about him."

"That's right, He has the authority of 'omniscience' and knows many secrets."

This was tantamount to acknowledging the words of the ancient sun god. Then, the "genie," who did not appear to be very tall, said, "That's right, I carry many of the wills of the 'original'."

Hobart's double then asked, "I've also heard that 'The Beginning' was searching for the meaning of the universe, for the meaning of life?"

The "genie" stared at Hobart for a few seconds, his tone changing slightly, no longer as cold as before: "You also know quite a few secrets."

"Why?" the stand-in continued, "I mean, why would 'The Beginning' have such thoughts? In my understanding, 'The Beginning' is a very important part of divinity; He should be as cold and indifferent as the rules."

The vague "genie" said, "In a universe with extraordinary characteristics, anything is possible."

"Here, the speed of the universe's evolution and the speed of biological evolution are very rapid because many subjective ideas influence this process."

"You can think of the 'initial' considerations as the considerations of this universe."

Hobart pondered for a moment before asking again, "The 'original' one is the consciousness of this universe?"

"Not entirely." The Genie explained, "The universe is without consciousness. You can think of the 'original' as the sum of all extraordinary characteristics. You should know very well that high-level extraordinary characteristics have a certain degree of activity."

"But the sum of extraordinary characteristics can manipulate this universe, such as forming galaxies and generating life, which is why I say that we can consider the 'beginning' as the universe."

Hobart considered it for a moment before saying, "I understand."

"The initial thinking is like people considering the meaning of their existence and the meaning of life."

The genie chimed in, "Pretty much."

"This seems to be the manifestation that 'originally' existed in everyone."

This reminded Hobart of many philosophical ideas: that humans are puzzled about their own existence and life because of their insignificance, and why they had such thoughts "in the beginning".

But He didn't dwell on that question. Instead, He said, "I am about to be promoted to 'Black Emperor,' and I will need your protection."

"No problem." The Genie readily agreed, "The 'mysterious' setup is not difficult for me to crack."

"But as payment, after you become a god, you must try to break my seal and release me back into the starry sky."

Hobart replied almost without hesitation, "No problem."

He then asked, "I've always had a question: why did 'Mystery' seal you away back then, instead of releasing you back into the starry sky like 'Uncertain Mist'? Was 'Uncertain Mist' another version of you?"

The genie slowly nodded and said again, "It seems you know many secrets."

He replied, "The 'mysterious' seal was because I was trying to become a 'pillar' at the time..."

At this point, He countered with, "Do you know anything about the 'Pillars'?"

"I don't know much," Hobart said. "I only know that the 'Omniscient and Omnipotent One' and the 'Lord of Mysteries' were once pillars, and it is said that the 'Fallen Mother Goddess' was one as well."

"I've also heard that there are more than three paths to becoming a pillar in this universe, but there can only be three pillars."

The genie paused for a few seconds, then suddenly asked, "What is your relationship with the ancient sun god? How do you know so much?"

Hobart thought for a moment before answering, "A 'fellow countryman' I'm not very familiar with?"

He spoke of these secrets only to make it clear to the "genie": I know a lot, don't try to fool me.

In this way, if the "genie" were to lie, he would have an extra layer of consideration, and his answers would contain fewer lies.

"Fellow countrymen?" The genie was somewhat puzzled by this answer. He probably thought that he himself did not know where the ancient sun god came from, so he was also unsure where the angel king in front of him shared a common hometown with the ancient sun god.

So He simply asked in return, "You basically already know all the highest-level knowledge about the pillars."

The "genie" paused and then said, "Although the 'fallen mother goddess' at that time was no longer a 'pillar' in the strict sense, she still had the possibility of regaining her extraordinary characteristics and essence."

"I could very well become the fourth 'Pillar,' destroying the universe. This act is considered extremely dangerous by the 'Omniscient and Omnipotent One' and the 'Lord of Mysteries.'"

"But because 'mystery' can't kill me, they have no choice but to seal me away."

"As for the 'Uncertain Mist,' it only possesses a portion of my essence and extraordinary characteristics. 'Mystery' injected a part of its consciousness into its body..."

Hobart felt a chill run down his spine: I knew it was strange that the "Celestial Being" created an old world; it turns out He had such a deep level of planning.

Then He sighed: I don't know where I offended the "Celestial Venerable" in my past life. I have to fight against Him when I transmigrated, I have to fight against Him when I became a god, and I have to fight against Him if I want to become a "pillar"!

However, Hobart then thought: After Klein became an Old One, he should be happy to talk to the "Uncertain Mist" and should be able to completely "destroy" the "Uncertain Mist", since those source substances and extraordinary characteristics do not belong to the "Celestial Venerable".

To put it bluntly, part of this ancient consciousness belongs to the "Celestial Venerable." It is not an independent ancient consciousness. The relationship between the Celestial Venerable's part and the source quality and extraordinary characteristics of the "Uncertain Mist" is definitely not as close as that between the "Celestial Venerable" and the "Source Castle."

While Hobert's main body pondered, his stand-in listened to the "genie" say, "However, 'Mystery' fooled the part of its own consciousness that it split off, so that 'Uncertain Mist' never thought that it had any connection with 'Mystery'."

"But I am very clear that this is an important step for 'mystery' in taking away my power."

Hobart continued on this topic, asking, "Why would 'Mystery' want to seize your authority? Won't it go mad because of it?"

The genie suddenly said, "First, I need to tell you how to become a 'pillar'."

Hobart was slightly taken aback: "You're going to tell me all this?"

"Yes, friend, I've been sealed away for so long that I can no longer be a 'pillar'." The Genie sighed and said, "If you become a 'pillar' in my place, you can suppress the consciousness of 'mystery' as much as possible, which can also be considered as avenging me."

Hobert thought to himself: Liar! Don't think I don't know you still possess some extraordinary properties. As long as I release you, you should be able to reclaim your source matter and properties very quickly.

The stand-in said very seriously, "Please speak."

The genie began to explain: "After becoming the Old One, if one wants to become a 'Pillar,' one must devour the source matter and extraordinary characteristics that have similar authority and symbolic meaning to oneself."

"Once you reach that level, you can 'tamper' with the characteristics of newly devoured similar authorities to the characteristics of adjacent pathways."

"That's right, then you'll be able to 'modify' the extraordinary characteristics to some extent."

"Well, this is actually a very confidential piece of information. Most of the laws governing extraordinary characteristics were set in the 'original' stages."

"I don't know why He did that, but I'm very clear that He used the authority of 'transformation' to manipulate the extraordinary characteristics."

"He gave me the authority to 'transform,' which is a very special authority, similar to many extraordinary ways of authority."

"For example, if you were not affected by the 'Chaos Sea' and the 'Source Castle,' you could completely devour the 'Wrong' path, because this path has the characteristic of 'modification.'"

"You can also devour the two pathways of 'Sun' and 'Sailor', because these are the foundation of the authority of 'Creation' and have the characteristic of 'Creation'."

"Unfortunately, they were all greatly affected by the source matter, so if you try to devour them, you might also be affected by the 'Chaos Sea' or the 'Source Castle'."

Hobert listened intently; the knowledge described by the "genie" seemed to have opened a new door for him!

He hadn't expected that becoming an Old One would elevate himself in such a barbaric way, but it seemed reasonable nonetheless, since the extraordinary was inherently barbaric.

The "genie" continued, "Of course, the 'modification' authority I possess is not on the same level as the 'original' one. Regarding extraordinary characteristics, I can only modify them to a certain extent based on the rules set by the 'original' one."

He paused and then said, "Because this authority is very good, 'Mystery' wants to possess it."

"Based on my observations, 'mystery' has taken on many personified forms. On the one hand, it strongly identifies itself as part of the 'original'."

"But on the other hand, He also has a tendency to become an independent consciousness."

"My authority and characteristics gave Him a good opportunity, so He 'molded' the other half of the 'Disordered Kingdom' and a part of my characteristics into one of His own."

"As for the two characteristics of 'Black Emperor' and 'Judge' on Earth, 'Mystery' has also made many arrangements. As long as He is resurrected as 'Black Emperor' or 'Judge,' He should be able to immediately activate the corresponding arrangements, quickly accommodate 'Disordered Kingdom,' and merge with 'Uncertain Mist.'"

"At that time, the independent part of 'mystery' will be fully awakened, and it will be reborn."

Hobart realized: this must be the complete plan of the "Celestial Venerable"! Indeed, those who understand the "Celestial Venerable" best must be His enemies.

The substitute then asked, "How much source matter and attributes must it absorb to become a 'pillar'?"

The genie patiently replied, "If you make the right choices at every step, after a certain point, your own spirit will know that you can no longer devour it!"

Hobart took a deep breath: "Thank you for your answer, it has been very helpful."

"When I become a god, please help me resolve the hidden dangers of 'mystery'."

"No problem," the Genie said. "After you become a true god, you might have a little trouble breaking my seal, but once you become an Old One, you will definitely be able to break the seal."

"Just remember to put me back into the starry sky when the time comes."

Hobart readily agreed, "Okay."

The pale golden figure of the "genie" returned to the small, kettle-shaped lamp.

Hobert was somewhat uneasy, but dared not use the power of the "Disordered Kingdom" to seal it, so he prayed to the "Fool" to use the power of the Source Castle to seal it again.

He still dared not keep it by his side, and planned to let Audrey and Fors take turns in charge of the "genie" after a while.

Next, Hobart recalled his conversation with the "genie".

For Him, the most valuable thing the "genie" had just said was that it allowed Him to learn about the "celestial deity's" complete plan.

Considering the enmity between the "Celestial Venerable" and the "Child of Chaos," this information should be highly reliable.

The other two important pieces of information are the core authority of the "Disorderly Ones" and the way to become a "Pillar".

The authority to "reform" should also be relatively reliable, because the "Black Emperor's" abilities possess similar characteristics.

Russell had the idea of ​​using the "Black Emperor's" authority to transform other planets back then.

Hobart conjectured that the "Black Emperor" must be one of the extraordinary ways to obtain the core authority of the "Child of Chaos".

This path was "originally" torn from the "Child of Chaos," not from the "Celestial Venerable," who seems unable to do so.

Even though the "Child of Chaos" has lost about three extraordinary paths, it still retains a certain core authority.

Of course, the most crucial point is that Hobart knows how deep the enmity between the "Child of Chaos" and the "Celestial Being" is, and that using the "Genius" to deal with the "Celestial Being" is a feasible method.

However, at that time, one should still ask the "Fool" to stay by one's side to prevent the "Genius of the Lamp" from turning against one another and to prevent him from being unable to deal with the "Celestial Venerable".

At present, the only person Hobart can completely trust is "The Fool".

Having made the final preparations, Hobart adjusted his state of mind and awaited the coronation ceremony.

On the morning of July 8th, the dignitaries and high-ranking military officers of Atlantis, angels and demigods, popes and patriarchs sent by the six major orthodox churches, as well as the kings of the Kingdom of Fussac and the Kingdom of Rune, the queen of the Kingdom of Feneport, the president of the Republic of Intis, and other heads of state.

They gathered in the main hall of the former royal palace of the Kingdom of Pas, awaiting the arrival of the emperor.

This was the most solemn coronation ceremony since the Fifth Age, and the whole world was watching this grand occasion.

(End of this chapter)