Lord of the Mysteries — Complete Work Reflections(Part 1)

Complete Work Reflections (Part 1)

I had originally planned to rest for a bit and write this tomorrow, but perhaps the timing is a little sensitive. Quite a few friends kept sending me texts and private messages to ask about it. I was just thinking of taking a good nap and relaxing after the excitement of finishing the ending, but my phone kept beeping nonstop. I… are you people even going to let me sleep?

Finishing in May was something planned from the beginning. I mentioned this a very, very long time ago. It was only that I could not estimate the exact timing back then, so I vaguely said May or June. There had to be enough room for flexibility, right? If it had not been for the pandemic, in a few days I would have gone traveling in Spain.

Also, my contract was signed at the end of 2016 and lasts until early 2022. At present, there is still one book left, around three million words. The new book will definitely be on Qidian.

With those off-topic remarks done, let us return to the book itself.

If, in the later ending portion of Volume 7, I chose a more reasonable development that caused the plot to speed up quite a bit, leaving no way to unfold it more richly and in greater detail, then Volume 8, from the very first chapter, proceeded under my control. What each chapter should write, where the turns should be, and how the ending should close—all of these had already been considered. There was no sudden acceleration of the plot, nor was there any problem of cutting away many side plots.

This ending was something I had already thought of before I began the book. After experiencing all kinds of passivity, expectation, confusion, and hesitation, every member of the Tarot Club finally leaves their comfort zone to face this world and all its difficulties. Meanwhile, Klein and Azik complete a cycle in their roles.

At the very end, the contrast between eeriness and innocence, dimness and sunlight, darkness and new life creates a strange image that is somewhat Cthulhu-like yet also somewhat warm. At the same time, it makes clear that Klein has preliminarily awakened, so the book does not end on a hard cutoff.

As for the foreshadowing of the five gold coins, the respective experiences of the Tarot Club members, and the other unresolved threads that do not involve this book’s main plot, of course they are left for the second book. I wrote them that obviously. The final part is both an ending and a prologue.

Mm. The second book will cover the period from Little Klein’s slumber—or even a bit earlier—to his awakening.

All of this had already been decided before the book began. Why did I consider a second book back then? First, because I felt this setting was too vast and had too much that could be written. If I tried to cram it all into one book, the result would inevitably lose focus, with side plots becoming lengthy, scattered, dull, and bloated. Second, the growth curves of the Tarot Club members could not keep up with Klein. If I gave them too many side plots and more stories, making their improvement sufficiently reasonable, that would impact the structure of the main plot and likewise create the problem of losing focus. But if I did not give them those things and yet allowed them to grow and play roles at critical moments, then a great many friends would definitely feel that when one man attains the Dao, even his chickens and dogs rise to heaven—that they obtained everything far too easily.

Therefore, after weighing things from all sides, I decided that I must write at least a Mysteries 2. This way, this book could follow its plot calmly without needing to run all over the world map, while the members of the Tarot Club would only unfold the first half of their lives here, completing their transformations and growth, then leave their comfort zones and perform even more splendid stories and lives in the second book.

For me, this is likewise a challenge: after several years have passed, how do I bring everyone back into this world? How do I let new readers who have never read Mysteries 1 continue smoothly and without obstacles?

I previously had no experience writing a series, nor any experience writing a second book under the same worldview. On one hand, when I designed my earlier books, I did not consider this issue and did not leave enough room for expansion. On the other hand, I was afraid of repeating past routines and being unable to break through. But this fear itself is also a limitation. I feel that, having already found my own writing methodology, I can now try to challenge myself.

I once said that my slogan—no, my motto—is:

“Never be satisfied. Always challenge.”

As for the second book, I have not yet decided on the protagonist or the point of entry, but some scenes have already appeared in my mind:

They are hidden threads made from the Tarot Club members’ various attempts to awaken Little Klein, and from different people represented by the five gold coins and the iron cigarette case.

Perhaps the protagonist will meet someone lighting a cigarette and speaking about a hunter from the past. Perhaps he will occasionally glimpse half of a beautiful face. Perhaps he will hear news from overseas about the discovery of a new continent. Perhaps he will deal with the rulers upon the sea. Perhaps he will explore several still-unrevealed treasure legends on the ocean. Perhaps he will collide with all kinds of “transmigrators” and “infiltrators.”

The exact style will be decided when the time comes. In any case, the setting has left a great deal of space for the second book, and I am not worried at all about having nothing to write.

As for the apocalypse, it definitely cannot be resolved in a single book. And to make the apocalypse in the second book feel more oppressive, I have decided to give the Mother Goddess an epic-level enhancement—wrong. In short: why are boars becoming pregnant? Why are men walking around with swollen bellies? Why are stones giving birth to children? Behind all this, is it the distortion of human nature, or the decline of morality… As for the enhancement plan, it will probably be placed in the third book related to the Western Continent, though I may not necessarily write it. Serious face.

As for the Western Continent, I actually had not previously created a full setting for it. I only left an interface. What kind of world and advancement system will be built from the remaining seven sefirot and a small number of Beyonder characteristics that do not include Sequence 1 or Uniquenesses?

Recently, I have basically settled on an idea and know what kind of setting I want to create. Hehe.

Mm. A proper-path system centered around the sefirot, unorthodox side-path systems rooted in Beyonder characteristics, and lower-tier schools that each take part from both.

The former begins from the Daoist idea of “receiving registers.” Mm, “receiving registers” means that you have obtained recognition from the Heavenly Court and become a member of that system. You can happily summon deities such as the Six Ding and Six Jia to help you fight. As for wild Daoist priests who have not received registers, if you want to summon the Six Ding and Six Jia, or local earth gods and mountain gods, why should they pay any attention to you? Therefore, in talismans and registers, the talisman and the register are separate. To summarize “receiving registers” in one phrase: you are inside the system. And then, if the Heavenly Court and Pure Land are changed into sefirot, the entire setting immediately becomes lively and eerie.

Writing to this point, I am hungry, and my wife is urging me to go out… After all, this was a temporary decision to write. Mm, I’ll stop here for now. Tomorrow I will continue these complete work reflections and talk about the creative ideas, gains, and losses behind Mysteries, as well as my writing methodology.

In addition, thank you to the big boss Wutong for the tip. I was shocked when I opened Qidian Reading just now. Also, after this, I will first serialize a side story here of around twenty to thirty thousand words on a fixed schedule, followed by irregular side stories. I originally did not plan to write them, but now I have discovered that there are many things which do not involve the second book yet can still be written, such as Little Klein’s dream during his slumber, some fragmentary stories from the Fourth Epoch, and so on and so forth.

Regarding why the Celestial Worthy’s backup plan was interfered with, I have already given certain hints:

As a being that came out of the Chaos Sea, why did Arrodes the Magic Mirror insist on following Klein? Why did Klein take it with him when he entered slumber?

Also, the reset physical edition has come out. This time, the cover is one I like. The content has only revised some internet slang and words not found in dictionaries, such as “He” used for deities. For the specific purchase address, you can check my Weibo: the official “Cuttlefish That Loves Diving.” For later irregular side stories, you can follow my public account by directly searching “wuzei1985,” the one with the anime avatar.

Mm-hmm. Tomorrow, I will continue with Complete Work Reflections (Part 2).