Chapter 65: The Time Has Not Yet Come

Chapter 65: The Time Has Not Yet Come

“Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun.”

The instant he heard those voices from deep within the grayish-white fog clearly, Klein trembled slightly. The back of his head went numb.

That feeling rapidly spread to the crown of his head and then to every part of his body, raising one tiny goosebump after another across his skin.

This was the second time he had heard the name “Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun” from “someone else’s” mouth in the real world. The first time had been when Amon spoke it by stealing his thoughts. In truth, Amon had not understood its meaning, nor had He truly grasped that “incantation.”

Therefore, in essence, this was the first time.

At the edge of the legendary Western Continent, outside that vanished homeland, Klein heard for the first time in the real world the incantation that had caused his “transmigration.” He heard one of the most important secrets hidden in the depths of his heart. He heard that Eastern-style honorific name whose true corresponding existence remained unknown.

He stood where he was, his mind almost completely blank. By his ears echoed chanting and cries that were sometimes blurred and sometimes distinct:

“Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun…

“Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun…

“Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun…”

Only when those voices grew lower and lower, nearly fading away, did Klein finally recover his thoughts.

As a false god who had done more than a few “guilty” things, his first reaction was:

“Will I be struck by heavenly punishment for changing ‘Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun’ into ‘the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck’?”

Back when he designed The Fool’s three-part honorific name, the first line described his own experience and state. At the time, believing it to be transmigration and fearing exposure, he had changed “The Fool from another world” into “The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era.” In the end, that had instead struck at the essence. The second line bound the gray fog—Sefirah Castle—to himself, making the direction more explicit.

And in order to completely limit the target and avoid ambiguity, Klein had directly translated the final line of the incantation—the phrase “Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun”—into meaning, turning it into the third line of the honorific name.

Originally, he had not thought much of it. Later, he had suspected that the previous master of the strange door of light inside Sefirah Castle—the one who had caused him to “transmigrate”—was “Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun,” or some existence wearing an Eastern-style vest. Of course, it was also possible that “Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun” was the true body, and that afterward, it had put on an outer garment more suited to this world. As for which garment that might be, Klein still could not guess.

Because he had never heard the honorific name “Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun” in the real world from anyone other than himself, suspicion was only suspicion, wariness only wariness, fear only fear. In practice, Klein had not paid too much attention to the matter, as though he had already grown used to it.

But at this very moment, those repeated chants of “Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun” were like naval cannons, constantly bombarding his heart and mind, causing the worry and fear accumulated in his subconscious to surge out all at once.

After steadying himself, Klein began forcing himself to consider the current situation rationally:

“Are these chants hidden within the grayish-white fog itself, or do they come from the vanished Western Continent?

“I knew it. The color and state of this fog are extremely close to the fog below Sefirah Castle… Does its power also originate from history? Does it require the correct power from the domain of time to open?

“The Queen of Calamity, Cohinem, once said that when the apocalypse arrives, the Western Continent will definitely reappear… In other words, only when time advances to that node will this grayish-white fog come alive, and only then will it be possible to open it with the corresponding incantation?

“The one who made the Western Continent disappear, or sealed it, or isolated it for protection, was that ‘Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun’—an existence suspected to be the previous master of Sefirah Castle?

“According to all kinds of information, the nine things such as Sefirah Castle were left behind by the Original Creator. They are either different parts of His body, or things He personally created… Does ‘Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun’ roughly equal the previous master of Sefirah Castle, which roughly equals the Original Creator? But Sefirah Castle only existed after the Original Creator split apart. And the incantations involving ‘Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun’ can only point toward Sefirah Castle. They have no way to influence the Chaos Sea or other places…

“Also, the Western Continent definitely vanished before the Second Epoch. Even the ancient god, the Elf King Soniathrym, could not return to his homeland…

“In other words, in the chaotic and mad First Epoch—or even before the First Epoch, after the Original Creator split apart into the Chaos Sea, Sefirah Castle, and the other things, but before the ancient gods were born—something else happened? Those events caused the Western Continent to disappear and the previous master of Sefirah Castle to vanish?

“The prophecy of the ancient Sun God—the Creator of the City of Silver—is also very interesting. He said someone would walk out from within this grayish-white fog, so He stationed people in Moon City and had them guard this place. Strictly speaking, I really did come out from the Western Continent and from within this grayish-white fog. It’s just that when I left the Western Continent, I entered Sefirah Castle long, long before the ancient Sun God gave His prophecy. And when I left the grayish-white fog, it was the year 1349, in Loen…

“Mm. After going round and round, I’ve arrived here again and met the people of Moon City… The ancient Sun God’s prophecy actually did come true. The process was merely a little twisted, and the way it was fulfilled was something no one could have imagined…”

As Klein thought, his mood gradually improved a little, because the situation at the scene and his spiritual intuition told him that there was still civilization on the Western Continent isolated by the grayish-white fog. Quite a few people were still alive.

“This method of making the Western Continent disappear reminds me of the Miracle Invoker ritual, while also containing the power of spacetime. Those mainly belong to the Apprentice pathway and the Marauder pathway… So the previous master of Sefirah Castle, ‘Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun,’ really does correspond to these three neighboring pathways?” Klein restrained his wandering thoughts and walked forward two steps.

Immediately afterward, he turned and said to Moon City’s High Priest Nim and the others, “I heard those voices clearly.”

“…What were they saying?” Nim’s gray-white eyes abruptly widened, and an uncontrollable excitement appeared on his deeply grooved face.

Adal, Xin, Rus, and the others reacted in much the same way—some even more intensely.

Their bodies were visibly trembling.

This was a question that had troubled Moon City’s residents for more than a thousand years. Solving this mystery had long since become, in their hearts, a symbol of escape from their current predicament.

Klein quietly inhaled and spoke in the tone of a charlatan-preacher:

“They were praying to my Lord.”

This was absolutely not a lie. After all, he, The Fool, had already preliminarily grasped Sefirah Castle, and the final line of his honorific name was “the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck,” roughly equivalent to “Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun.”

Nim and the others fell silent. When they looked at Klein again, obvious respect and fear had entered their eyes.

Combined with the “miracles” he had displayed, they gradually began to regard Mr. Fool as a savior.

Klein swept his gaze around and said calmly, “Move back at least a hundred meters.”

“Yes, Your Excellency Sparrow.” High Priest Nim agreed without hesitation.

Once the Moon City Beyonders had retreated far enough, Klein reached his right hand into the void and swiftly dragged out another version of himself. His main body disappeared immediately afterward.

Then Klein’s historical projection walked to the front of that solidified grayish-white fog and pressed its right hand against it.

There seemed to be an invisible barrier there, faintly cold, blocking everything.

After staring for two seconds, Klein opened his mouth. Suppressing his voice, he recited in Chinese:

“Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun.”

As the sound echoed, the grayish-white fog before him showed no reaction whatsoever. It remained still. It remained solidified.

He waited nearly a minute. Then, after thinking for a moment and inhaling, he murmured again:

“Fusheng Xuanhuang Xianzun;

“Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianjun;

“Fusheng Xuanhuang Shangdi;

“Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun.”

This was the complete incantation of that luck-enhancement ritual.

As the final word fell, Klein’s right hand pressed against the invisible barrier suddenly felt a clear tremor.

The gray fog began to shake, like a lake into which a giant stone had been thrown.

Those ripples rapidly spread, overlapped one another, and faintly outlined a “Door” in front of Klein.

A bolt of lightning tore across the sky, illuminating the scene. Not far away, the Moon City Beyonders watched with dilated pupils, unable to look away.

Among them, those who had not previously witnessed a similar sight felt their minds shake even more violently, finding it almost impossible to restrain themselves.

In their eyes, this was a miracle beyond any doubt.

Klein held his breath and waited for that “Door” to take shape. Yet in the end, those ripples still calmed, stopping just one step away from success.

…

After a moment of silence, Klein recited the incantation again. Then he recited it again and again. But although the ripples stirring inside the grayish-white fog did not disappear immediately, they could never truly outline that “Door.”

For an instant, he thought of attempting it with the complete ritual procedure: placing four portions of food, walking four steps counterclockwise in reverse, and reciting the incantation. But very quickly, he laughed at his own stupidity.

Because if he completed the entire set, he would vanish with a swish and enter Sefirah Castle—not open the invisible barrier here.

Breathing out, Klein grabbed a gold coin from the void and used divination to confirm that the complete ritual’s effect was exactly as he imagined.

It really is that the time has not yet come? That the apocalypse has not yet arrived? Klein looked at the grayish-white fog ahead and remained utterly still for several minutes.

Only when another bolt of lightning split the sky and illuminated his face did he turn around. Carrying the lantern, he walked back to Moon City’s High Priest Nim. In a calm voice, he said, “The correct time to open it, as spoken of in the divine oracle, has not yet arrived. There are still more than ten years.”

Without waiting for Nim, Adal, and the others to respond, Klein pointed with his empty right hand toward the darkness nearby.

“I will cultivate bitterly here for a period of time. If you wish to feel my Lord’s radiance and listen to His teachings, you may come here whenever lightning is frequent.

“I will perform one purification and treatment each day, during the period when lightning is most frequent.”

He did not attempt to make Moon City’s residents immediately convert, nor did he plan to directly visit the city-state or ask for concrete intelligence. He left them enough room to ease into it.

Moon City’s High Priest Nim quietly relaxed and responded with even greater respect, “I will convey your words to everyone.”