Lord of the Mysteries

The lady in a simple robe nodded and said, “Arianna, Servant of Concealment.”

Servant of Concealment... Arianna... Klein’s eyes constricted, as he knew who the lady was.

As a former Nighthawk, how could he not be aware of the name “Arianna”?

She was the Evernight Cloister’s matron, head of the thirteen archbishops, a likely candidate for the future Pope. Regardless of which identity she had, she was part of the general knowledge that couldn’t be avoided in religious studies and mysticism!

As for the name, Servant of Concealment, Klein had read about it in Emperor Roselle’s diary. Considering the similar name of Attendant of Mysteries, he suspected that this pointed to an angel. Meanwhile, based on the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Conservation, with a Sequence o in existence, it meant that Attendant of Mysteries couldn’t be a Sequence 1 angel. Therefore, Klein believed that the Servant of Concealment was likely Sequence 2 of the Evernight pathway.

This... It isn’t that the Goddess didn’t reply, but that she used a very special way to respond... “She” directly sent her servant over... Klein felt mixed emotions that could hardly be described.

He fell silent for a few seconds before giving a solemn bow.

“Good afternoon, Your Eminence.”

In the various Churches, if a demigod at the angel level walked the land, there was a need to address them as “Your Eminence” as a show of respect. Likewise, towards the pontiff, pope, and chief shepherd-representatives of the deities-one had to use “Your Holiness.” In addition, a Church’s head was synonymous with the Holy See or Apostolic See. Of course, many a time, the Holy See could also represent the Church’s headquarters itself.

Arianna tapped her chest four times in a clockwise fashion and replied in a pious manner, “May the Goddess bless you.”

She then said, “I’m an ascetic. You can just call me Ma’am.”

“Yes, Ma’am Arianna.” Klein didn’t insist.

Arianna looked at him calmly for two seconds and directly asked, “You plan to deal with Blasphemer Amon’s avatars in Backlund?”

“Yes, I wish to obtain the blessings of Concealment,” Klein frankly replied.

At this moment, he felt a little stumped because this was different from what he expected.

He originally expected the Goddess to answer by blessing him. Then, he and Pallez Zoroast could join forces to wipe out all of Amon’s avatars in Backlund. During this process, it wouldn’t expose Leonard or the Marauder pathway angel. But now, with the blessings becoming something corporeal that would be involved in the battle, Pallez Zoroast would be immediately be discovered once “He” took action. When that happened, it was hard to predict what would ensue!

Don’t tell me I don’t need to ally with Pallez Zoroast? I’ll only get “Him” to provide intel and then split some of the spoils of war? Klein’s thoughts rapidly ran through his mind as Arianna spoke unhurriedly:

“I can provide the power of Concealment to shield everything that happens from the prying of fate. However, I cannot guarantee that I can eliminate all of Amon’s avatars in Backlund.”

Pallez Zoroast said that “He” has the means of doing so... The person who understands Amon the best is indeed a Sequence 1 of the same pathway... Klein thought and said, “Ma’am Arianna, I have already come up with a well-thought-out plan. All you need is to provide the power of Concealment. You do not need to be involved in the actual battle. Leave the rest to me.”

Arianna nodded and raised her right arm as she spread her palm.

Points of light lit up, profound and resplendent as they quickly outlined an emblem in her palm.

This emblem was completely crystallized, as though it was made of obsidian. It made one realize its existence when looking at it, but it appeared to vanish when not looking at it.

“This is my Evernight coat of arms. It doesn’t possess any characteristics or power by itself. The only use is that, when triggered, it will establish a connection with me, regardless of where you are in the real world,” Arianna explained simply. “Before you begin your operation, remember to use it. I will provide you with the power of Concealment. If you need more direct assistance, use ancient Hermes to chant ‘Arianna’ when triggering it.” This is equivalent to an itemized altar and ritual that points to her... Oh, at the level of angel, the range of responding to prayers has extended to the entire world? Klein instantly grasped the true nature of the Evernight coat of arms.

As a Bizarro Sorcerer, he did not have the means to reply to prayers. This was a trait that could be obtained only at Sequence 3. Of course, as Sea God and The Fool, he was very well-versed in such matters.

Klein didn’t stand on ceremony as he accepted it and bowed sincerely.

“Thank you.”

After saying that, he tapped four spots in a clockwise manner on his chest, forming the sign of the crimson moon.

“Praise the Lady!”

This way, he could still join forces with Pallez Zoroast. As long as he triggered the Evernight coat of arms without using ancient Hermes to chant Arianna’s name, everything would be fine.

“Praise the Lady,” Arianna replied piously.

Her figure then vanished as though she had been erased by an eraser.

This is a departure by entering a concealed state? Klein pursed his lips in thought.

Meanwhile, he was filled with suspicion over Arianna’s swift arrival. After all, the Evernight pathway wasn’t well-versed in methods such as teleport. To go from Winter County all the way to Backlund required a significant amount of time.

My ritual isn’t the kind that prays for a direct descent... Could it be that Ma’am Arianna happened to be in the vicinity, in the Backlund diocese? Isn’t that too much a coincidence? If it isn’t one, it only serves to exacerbate the problem. What is “She” doing in Backlund? The undercurrents are stirring... Klein retracted his gaze and patiently waited a while before turning back into Dwayne Dantès.

He found a pen and some paper once again and drew the symbol that was a mixture of concealment and mystery prying.

When the final stroke was written, the full-body mirror in the master bedroom produced a dark but pure light, as though a silent undercurrent was surging out from the bottom of a lake.

Right on the heels of that, fireworks appeared, bursting in the sky.

Colors of gold, silver, red, and blue exploded as words formed in the mirror:

“Welcome back, Great Master!

“Your humble servant, Arrodes, has witnessed the retrieval of a portion of your authority. I’m thrilled that you are gradually recovering your aura. You will eventually return to your supreme position and make the entire world turn silent under your watch!”

This is really... passionate... There’s always something new... Klein nodded in silence.

Amidst the fireworks, those words dissipated and formed into a new sentence:

“Great Master, what instructions do you have for me?”

“I have a question,” Klein said calmly. “In a place where being in darkness can result in danger, how should one create a safe but pure darkness? There are two kinds of dangers involved. One, it will make a person directly vanish in the darkness, and two, it will cause strange monsters to appear and attack.”

The fireworks in the full-body mirror calmed down as aqueous light rippled. Silver words surfaced one after another:

“Great Master, are you referring to the Forsaken Land of the Gods?”

This magic mirror actually knows quite a lot. He also gave me a free question in passing... Klein nodded and said, “That’s right.”

Without any breaks in between, Arrodes’s full-body mirror produced new lines of Loenese text:

“The formation of the Forsaken Land of the Gods is related to the second Creator’s fall. The danger of night there stems from the transformation of two essential powers.

“First, it’s the remnants of the Evernight Goddess’s divine powers. Second, it’s the influence left behind by the Creator. “He” wielded partial authority over shadows, darkness, fallen, corruption, and mutation. The former makes creatures vanish into thin air, while the latter produced monsters in the darkness.

So the two types of dangers stem from different powers. It’s no wonder that there’s such huge differences... Arrodes called the ancient sun god the second Creator... This is very close to my theory... Amon’s and Adam’s father isn’t the reawakening of the original Creator, but a transmigrator who inherited a huge “inheritance”? Klein asked in thought, “In that case, the Evernight Goddess was involved in the fall of the second Creator?”

This was something Klein had vaguely expected. This was from the trait of humans evaporating in the darkness of the Forsaken Land of the Gods. It was very similar to the strange disappearances if one didn’t sleep at night in the ruins of the battle of the gods. And based on Little Sun’s description, King of Demonic Wolves, Flegrea, who wielded control over the Evernight and Concealment authorities, had long perished in the Second Epoch. It was impossible that “He” had done it.

Therefore, unless there was another deity of the Evernight pathway born in the middle, it was difficult for the two abnormalities to not have the Evernight Goddess involved.

On the surface of the mirror, the silver light rapidly converged forming a short sentence:

“That’s right.”

That’s right... Klein was just about to press on when he immediately shut up. He had just recalled one of his identities—Blessed of the Evernight. Therefore, even without anyone watching him, he had to show respect to the deity and not seek out relevant secrets. Of course, time in the mysterious space above the gray fog was excluded.

He was just about to focus on the main question from before to urge Arrodes to list out solutions when he saw the silver words in the full-body mirror change:

“Great Master, your loyal servant, Arrodes, wishes a small favor from you. C-can we not discuss matters regarding the Evernight Goddess?”

At the end of the question, a simple stick figure was drawn.

Just as I wished... Klein deliberately pondered for two seconds and said, “Okay.”

The silver swirls on the surface of the mirror immediately turned brisk as words began taking form:

“As for the question you asked, there are two solutions:

“One is to accept the corruption and let oneself transform into monsters of the darkness. The reason why these creatures do not vanish into thin air during the night is because they have received the protection of the ‘Fallen’ authority. This way, all the darkness is equivalent to safety.

“The second is to create a darkness that comes with the dream world. This will allow the Spirit Body to receive the protection of the dream; thus, slowing down the encroachment of danger at night.”