Chapter 87: Let There Be Light

Examining the copper-green cross in his hand, Klein was certain that it corresponded at least to a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact.

Apart from its purification effect, this mystical item also possessed demigod-level spells from the domain of the Sun, such as Solar Flare. And if its negative influence was applied properly, it could solve quite a few problems. For example, it could help certain people who had mistakenly stepped into the extraordinary world and hoped to break free from madness return to being ordinary. It could also help someone who had consumed an extra potion separate out the corresponding Beyonder characteristic. Of course, that required grasping the exact timing with extreme precision; otherwise, it would very easily cause one’s own Sequence level to drop directly.

Naturally, the body and spirit transformed by a potion would also frequently conflict with the essence of an ordinary person. A Beyonder who relied on the copper-green cross to leave this “circle” would undoubtedly suffer certain aftereffects. The specific situation would differ according to pathway, Sequence, and individual details.

This made Klein sigh inwardly. This was the most useful and valuable negative effect he had ever seen.

For him, the only problem was that this copper-green cross could not be carried for long periods. Even giving it to a marionette would not work, for that would cause the marionette’s Beyonder characteristic to separate out and its level to fall. And after becoming a marionette, it could no longer consume potions and advance, because its spirit body was, in essence, already dead.

As for marionettes transformed from ordinary creatures, wearing this cross for a long time would make them “praise the Sun” and break free from control.

I can only place it above the gray fog and take it out when needed… For a Bizarro Sorcerer, this does not affect much. After all, one does not perform without preparation… Later, I will confirm whether it corresponds to the Unshadowed. If it does, once Little Sun digests the Priest of Light potion, I can sell it to him. I believe the Chief of the City of Silver’s six-member council would not be stingy in exchanging a Sealed Artifact of equal value. The Sun pathway is clearly much more suitable for the Forsaken Land of the Gods than other pathways… Klein thought in a rather good mood, placing the copper-green cross back onto the mottled long table.

He did not immediately confirm it because he planned to do so after returning to 160 Böklund Street. At that time, he would also use Dream Divination to learn the origins of this Sealed Artifact. Rose Song Manor was too close to the underground ruin. It might very well be within the watching range of the royal family’s angel or even Adam. If, during the attempt, he triggered some change that caused fluctuation in the gray fog, his greatest secret might be discovered.

“Even if this Sealed Artifact does not correspond to the Unshadowed, it certainly belongs to the Sun pathway. At most, it has been mixed with some Beyonder characteristics from elsewhere. No, those would be rejected. And the Church of Eternal Blazing Sun’s symbol is a golden sacred emblem shaped like an abstract sun, unrelated to a cross. Mm, after ruling out that possibility, the only thing connected to the Sun domain is the Creator of the City of Silver, the ancient Sun God, the father of Adam and Amon, a suspected transmigrator…

“It appeared in Viscount Stratford’s hands. Does this mean, in some sense, that the one cooperating with the royal family is the Twilight Hermit Order, and that the Psychology Alchemists are only a cover? Of course, there are too many other possibilities. Perhaps the Augustus family collected it themselves. As an angelic family with a long history and no small reputation even in the Fourth Epoch, it would be completely normal for them to have gathered certain items belonging to the ancient Sun God…

“If this Sealed Artifact was truly provided by Adam, could this be part of His arrangement?

“Faced with Trissy the Demoness and her companion, who are clearly involved with an evil god, it is perfectly reasonable for Viscount Stratford to choose this cross, which excels at purification, and give up other items. When deciding to eliminate Shermane, because he was unsure whether she had encountered corruption from an evil god and feared an accident, he did not adopt direct attack methods. Instead, he wasted time activating this Sealed Artifact. That is also very reasonable… Mm, it is indeed very reasonable. The question is whether there are traces of human arrangement within that reasonableness…

“Thinking of it this way, my 0-08 phobia is about to act up again… Right, Miss Magician and Miss Judgement have privately discussed Adam before. The topics involved the Forsaken Land of the Gods, the Giant King’s Court, and Kings of Angels…

“This… Even if it was truly arranged by Adam, what meaning would there be in Him giving this item to Miss Magician and Miss Judgement?”

Klein’s scalp tingled slightly from his thoughts. He calmed himself and decided to verify things after returning to Böklund Street.

Without delay, he immediately returned to the real world.

As for the items on Qonas Kilgor, he had already gained a preliminary grasp of their specific circumstances earlier, without relying on the enhancement from the gray fog and solely through his own divination ability.

Apart from Concerto of Light and Shadow and the crest that opened the underground ruin—both taken by Arianna, the leader of the Church of Evernight’s ascetics—Qonas Kilgor had two mystical items.

One was Revere’s Desperate Scream, which the Magic Mirror Arrodes had mentioned. It originated from a failed sacrifice and had two usage modes. The first was normal shooting, slightly less powerful than an Air Cannon. The second was machine-gun fire, able to fire a large number of bullets within one or two seconds. Both methods carried a “despairing roar,” which had a certain effect on Saints at the demigod level, though not especially great. Of course, not every demigod could withstand such attacks. Klein himself, for instance, did not possess a sufficiently monstrous body or defense to receive them head-on.

The other was called Lucky Clover. It looked very crude, nothing more than a four-leaf clover made into an amulet. Its ability was to allow the wearer, after every failure, to accumulate a certain probability of success for the next attempt. Its negative effect was that it magnified the wearer’s human flaws.

Klein’s evaluation of it was that it would be better renamed “Mother of Success.”

To Klein, neither of these two mystical items had much practical value, so he had left them on the marionette Qonas Kilgor.

And this demigod-level marionette was his greatest harvest.

A Lawyer’s keen grasp and exploitation of loopholes in rules, the guidance and persuasion of targets; a Barbarian’s physical strength and ability to break rules; a Briber’s Bribe; a Baron of Corruption’s Distortion; a Mentor of Disorder’s Confusion; and a Fallen Count’s Bestow, Magnify, and Exploit—each was an excellent ability. If Klein had not grasped detailed information in advance through the Magic Mirror Arrodes, made full preparations, formulated a plan, and received the aid of an angel of concealment, then even with items such as Luck Stealer on him, he would have had no absolute confidence in keeping Qonas Kilgor there.

Actually, compared to turning him into a marionette, using Creeping Hunger to herd Qonas Kilgor would be more concealed and harder to discover. But in that case, only three Fallen Count Beyonder powers could be used… As Klein thought, he left the washroom and returned to the lawn where the bonfire dinner was being held.

On the lawn, Member of Parliament Macht stood before a grill, sweat on his forehead as he performed East Balam-style barbecue. Hazel stood a little farther away, her eyes bright as she watched. She no longer had the arrogance of the past, and there were even some black marks on her face from smoke and soot. Portland Moment held a glass of wine and smilingly watched those “youngsters,” relative to him, busily moving back and forth, occasionally picking up an iron skewer of roasted meat and tearing off a piece.

Seeing this scene, Klein’s mood suddenly became calm.

…

On Sunday afternoon, the group that had gone to the outskirts of Backlund for vacation returned to Böklund Street.

Before dinner, Klein once again entered above the gray fog and picked up the copper-green cross.

First, he confirmed that this cross corresponded to Sequence 4 of the Sun pathway, Unshadowed. With little creativity, he named it the Unshadowed Cross. Then he picked up a fountain pen and wrote a new divination statement:

“The origin of this cross.”

Klein did not directly divine whether there were traces of arrangement in obtaining the Unshadowed Cross, for fear that this would point to Adam and draw His attention. He planned to begin with the origins of this Sealed Artifact and investigate the specific circumstances. If the Unshadowed Cross’s previous and previous-previous owners were Adam, then the truth of the matter would undoubtedly lean toward “deliberate arrangement.”

Putting down the fountain pen, Klein lowered his gaze to the copper-green cross in his hand and breathed out with a rather solemn expression.

“I’m about to court death again…”

He suspected the Unshadowed Cross had originally come from the Creator of the City of Silver, the ancient Sun God. That was a deity stronger than ancient gods such as the Dragon of Imagination. The harm sustained from peering at Him would certainly surpass what Klein had suffered when divining Groselle’s Travels.

However, the present was not the past. Klein was now a Sequence 4 Bizarro Sorcerer, a demigod. Both the damage he could withstand and the power he could mobilize from the mysterious space above the gray fog far exceeded what he had possessed at Sequence 5.

After taking several seconds to calm his mind, he leaned back against the chair, holding the Unshadowed Cross in one hand and the paper in the other as he repeated the divination statement in a low voice.

Again and again, using meditation as a springboard, Klein entered a deep dream.

In that hazy, indistinct world, a building appeared. It had been layered over and over in grayish-white, making its original form impossible to see. It stood in a pitch-black environment, with what seemed like one monster after another hidden around it.

A crack opened in the gray-white building’s surface, and a pale-skinned hand reached out.

A figure walked out. It was a man dressed in black clerical robes, with a silver cross hanging before his chest.

This man’s hair was not long. It was mostly pitch-black, but the roots showed a faint yellow-golden color. His eyes were pure gold, his skin rather pale, and his contours deep, with sunken eye sockets. He looked fairly similar to modern Northern Continent people.

He took two steps forward, reached out, and held the seemingly ordinary cross. His eyes gradually broke free of their confused state, and the corners of his lips curled up bit by bit.

Then he spoke in a low voice:

“Let there be light!”

In an instant, the darkness around the gray-white building was pierced by brilliant light, revealing its true appearance.

This was a deep valley whose top could not be seen, and endless radiance filled every corner of this place.

And so, this world had light.

The scene flashed and jumped into the next image.

A drop of golden blood blooming with light and heat dripped downward, landing on the silver cross.

Following the blood upward, there seemed to be a human figure formed from pure light. His face could not be seen clearly. It was lifted upward, and tangible pain and distortion overflowed from it.

His gaze turned over.

It turned toward the gray fog, toward the high-backed chair of The Fool, toward Klein sitting there.

That low voice sounded again:

“…Mysteries…”

With a boom, Klein’s thoughts exploded without warning.