Chapter 190: Rumors from Ancient Times

Chapter 190: Rumors from Ancient Times

Setting down the Classical Alchemist potion formula in his hand, Klein shifted his gaze to the two tubes of blood sacrificed by Little Sun.

Then he beckoned, drawing over a ceramic jar wrapped layer upon layer in paper figurines.

This was the blood of Beyonders from different pathways that he had previously collected. He had kept it above the gray fog and sealed it with Paper Angels so that it could slowly absorb the aura of this mysterious space, erasing the connection between the blood and its original owners. That way, if something unexpected happened when drawing the symbol to open the door, it would not affect the providers.

As far as Klein was concerned, backlash against himself could be endured. After all, he still had at least one, and very likely two, chances to revive. But if it would affect the people who trusted him enough to provide their blood, he would rather not do it.

He removed the paper figurines sealing the mouth of the jar, poured in the two tubes of blood, manifested a glass rod, and stirred a few times.

Immediately afterward, he used Paper Angels to seal it again.

“I’m still missing Prisoner, Demon, and Demoness… Once I finish the ritual, I’ll personally visit Miss Sharron. For something like this, asking in person is more polite. Requesting it by letter would be too rude… Only Miss Magician is special. Clearly, she would rather I write her a letter than have to see Gehrman Sparrow. Heh. She actually used the excuse that the temperature was too low and the ink had frozen to delay her manuscript. Are all those tricks she knows fake? Luckily, my potion has already finished digesting, so I don’t need to urge her anymore…” As Klein muttered inwardly, he tossed the paper-wrapped ceramic jar back into the pile of miscellaneous items.

After leaving the space above the gray fog, he did not immediately begin preparing for the advancement to Scholar of Yore. Instead, he took out paper and pen and drew a complicated symbol blending Concealment and Peering.

This was something he had already planned to do before consuming the potion—ask the magic mirror Arrodes about information related to Sefirah Castle.

As the symbolic mark took shape, the already poorly lit room grew even dimmer, as if clouds had drifted over and happened to block the sun.

After more than ten seconds, the surface of the full-length mirror, which bore cracks, suddenly rippled like water. Silver words swiftly seeped out one after another:

“Great, supreme, eternal master, your devout, loyal, humble servant Arrodes has answered your summons.

“Am I… am I still your most trusted, closest, and most beloved servant?”

This question… I seem to read panic and anxiety from this magic mirror… Is it feeling a sense of crisis? Klein nodded thoughtfully, feeling somewhat amused.

“Yes.”

Actually, you never were… I’m just comforting you… After answering, Klein silently added two lines in his heart.

The watery glow on the mirror’s surface abruptly brightened, and all the silver words were tinged with gold.

They wriggled, forming a new sentence:

“Great master, is there a question you wish to test me with?”

“Yes.” Klein secretly tensed his mind. “What do you know about Sefirah Castle?”

The magic mirror Arrodes was silent for several seconds before the pale-gold words changed.

“I know little about it. I have only heard certain rumors: in the early Second Epoch, the ancient gods believed that the original Creator left behind certain things. They might be ‘kingdoms’ transformed from certain parts of His body, or perhaps things He created. Sefirah Castle was one of them.

“That was the name given by the Demon Wolf King Flegrea. He called Fog Hounds the ‘guardians of Sefirah Castle.’ However, until His fall, He never entered Sefirah Castle. Therefore, many powerful creatures suspected that Sefirah Castle did not truly exist and was only an abstract concept.”

It is related to the Original One, the Creator of creation? Klein pondered for a long while before asking, “One of them… How many similar places or items are there?”

“Eight. They are recorded in detail on the second Blasphemy Slate. Unfortunately, I have not seen it.” Line after line of words appeared on the mirror’s surface. This time, the pale gold faded, revealing silver again. “The ancient gods suspected that the source of the underground corruption came from a place similar to Sefirah Castle. They called it the Chaos Sea. Also, according to rumors, in the depths of Calderón, that city of the spirit world, there are clues hiding the River of Eternal Darkness. This comes from the ancient Death, the Phoenix Ancestor Gregrace. As for the others, I have only heard a few names, and they are incomplete. There is the Shadow World, the Knowledge Moor, and the Brood Hive, which is related to the moon.”

“Eight in total. The Chaos Sea, the River of Eternal Darkness, the Knowledge Moor, the Shadow World, the Brood Hive… The Brood Hive is related to the moon. Just hearing that sounds dangerous… I wonder if it has anything to do with the Mother Tree of Desire…” Klein silently repeated the key information in Arrodes’s answer. He felt as though he should be able to grasp something, but he could not gain much. He was still missing the clues needed to connect the matter together.

Seeing that Arrodes had only heard certain rumors and had no substantial understanding, Klein organized his thoughts and casually joked, “Looking at it this way, perhaps you came from the Chaos Sea.”

“That is not important. What matters is that I am now your loyal, humble, obedient servant.” The magic mirror Arrodes displayed an entire paragraph in one breath.

Obedient… what wording… Klein mocked inwardly, then changed the subject and asked, “What is the origin of Dark Angel Sasrir?”

On the mirror’s surface, silver words formed one after another:

“I likewise cannot see it, but at that time, there was a myth in circulation. It said that when the ancient Sun God was born, He was light and darkness gathered into one. After all, He called Himself the Creator, so He certainly had to be complete and without deficiency.

“Later, He separated the darkness within His body and used it, along with one of His own ribs, to create the first angel. That was Dark Angel Sasrir.”

This… a rib… I can completely imagine the ancient Sun God personally fabricating and spreading that myth back then… Brother of Amon, your wife became the Dark Angel! Klein was first startled, then all kinds of strange thoughts emerged.

As those thoughts settled, he began analyzing what truth might be hidden inside the myth:

“If such a myth was spread, believers would come to believe that Dark Angel Sasrir was the dark side of the ancient Sun God and would worship Him in the same way they worshiped the Lord. No one opposed it at the time, and no one forbade the myth, while the Dark Angel was always the Deputy of Heaven, the Left Hand of God. This shows that the point is very likely true…

“Afterward, the matter can be summarized as the ancient Sun God’s dark side colluding with external enemies, tempting the Kings of Angels, and assassinating His main body?

“This would perfectly explain why Ouroboros and Medici joined Rose of Redemption. They were only obeying the Lord’s command…

“From this perspective, wouldn’t Dark Angel Sasrir’s position in the ancient Sun God’s Heaven be equivalent to The World in the Tarot Club? Mm…

“Thank goodness The World is a fake person and has no spirituality or thoughts of his own…”

As he thought on, Klein suddenly felt as if sweat was about to bead across his forehead. He was rather grateful that he was a Seer and not from some other pathway.

Based on his reasoning just now, he quickly formed a guess regarding why Dark Angel Sasrir slept within the Giant King’s Court:

“Perhaps it is related to the fall of the ancient Sun God…

“That’s why Amon’s brother, the Dragon of Wisdom, and the True Creator all want to confirm Dark Angel Sasrir’s current state…

“However, there are still no small number of questions. Among the twenty-two Beyonder pathways, which pathway does this King of Angels, this Left Hand of God, belong to?

“The Marauder pathway has Amon. Apprentice has Mr. Door. Spectator, Reader, Bard, Sailor, Secret Supplicant, Warrior, Sleepless, Planter, Savant, Monster, Assassin, Hunter, and Arbiter are all obviously impossible… Corpse Collector is also impossible. A Death emerged in the Fourth Epoch, so another King of Angels could not exist at the same time unless the Dark Angel had already fallen to Sequence 2 status… By that same reasoning, Seer and Lawyer can be preliminarily ruled out until it is confirmed that the Dark Angel is no longer a King of Angels…

“Mystery Pryer, Moon, and Demon are all possible. It cannot be ruled out that the Hidden Sage, Primordial Moon, or Dark Side of the Universe might be an alias of Dark Angel… Hmm. The Mother Tree of Desire may also be hidden somewhere in this…

“Prisoner is also possible. There is no clear evidence that this pathway has produced a true god, and the Chained God back then may not even have been a King of Angels.”

Klein pondered for a while, then said to the magic mirror Arrodes, “It is your turn to ask.”

On the surface of the cracked full-length mirror, silver words twisted and combined, stretching into a new sentence:

“Great master, may I guess what you intend to ask next?”

…Klein nodded in amusement.

“You may.”

“You wish to ask about Sasrir’s current state. My answer is: I do not know. I cannot see.” The line of silver words was followed by a simple smiling face.

“Not bad.” Klein praised it, then said, “That will be all for today. Recently, I may summon you again at any time.”

“Yes, great master. Your loyal servant Arrodes is always ready to serve you!” On the surface of the mirror, the simple smiley face transformed into a waving cat paw.

After the mirror returned to normal, Klein took out paper and pen and wrote down what he had just learned.

This was one of the documents he had prepared for the Scholar of Yore ritual.

Over the many days that had passed, he had already written a great deal of ancient historical material.

Then Klein brought those materials and his two marionettes with him and Teleported to the Southern Continent.

He absolutely did not dare advance in Backlund. If some abnormality occurred, Amon and Zaratul would certainly be able to sense it and come straight for him.