Chapter 6: Morning

Chapter 6: Morning

As Klein gazed ahead, scarlet flames suddenly rose and swallowed him.

When the scattered sparks fell, his figure had already vanished from Saint Samuel Cathedral.

Inside an empty room of an ordinary hotel, Klein stepped out from a sudden surge of fire and began preparing a ritual to request a bestowment.

Very soon, the mysterious door formed by candlelight opened, and an ancient-looking ornament flew out from the endless darkness, landing upon the altar.

The ornament seemed to be made of gold and resembled a slender bird. Around it were wings formed from pale flames, while its bronze-colored eyes flickered with layer upon layer of light, as though one illusory door after another was hidden within them.

Klein sincerely thanked the Evernight Goddess, ended the ritual, and picked up the golden bird ornament.

“This seems to be the image of Gregrace, the legendary ancestor of the phoenixes…

“Beyond Her own pathway, this ancient Death seems to have also controlled part of the Apprentice pathway’s authorities. This can be preliminarily confirmed from the city-state ruins in the Forsaken Land of the Gods that worshiped the phoenix…

“No wonder most ancient gods found it so difficult to control Their emotions and hovered on the edge of madness. No—They constantly wandered between madness and reason… Before the first Blasphemy Slate appeared, all extraordinary creatures had no concept of Sequence pathways. There was only convergence, the instinct to reproduce, and blind experimentation…” Klein carefully examined the golden bird ornament while sighing inwardly.

As the owner of Sefirah Castle, he could sense a subtle connection between the ornament and the River of Eternal Darkness.

“So that is why it can carry water from the River of Eternal Darkness? Hmm, the ‘water’ of the River of Eternal Darkness is definitely not river water in the true sense, but an abstract concept or symbol.” Klein nodded thoughtfully, then casually threw the golden bird ornament into Sefirah Castle and sealed it among the pile of miscellaneous items, lest it cause unnecessary accidents.

…

On a mountain peak outside Bayam.

The Red Angel evil spirit watched as the edge of the sea gradually brightened and an orange-yellow sun slowly pulled itself free of the horizon.

At some unknown point, a young man wearing a pointed soft hat and a classical black robe had appeared beside Him.

The young man played with a monocle ground from crystal before placing it over His right eye. He was Amon, who had already become Mr. Error.

Sauron Einhorn Medici turned His head and glanced at Amon.

“The one you sent out as the sacrifice was actually your main body.”

“If it hadn’t been the main body, how could I have stolen the ritual and replaced Bethel in time?” Amon answered with a smile. “As a qualified Conspirer, you shouldn’t have failed to realize that.”

The Red Angel evil spirit gave a derisive laugh.

“How would I know you weren’t bluffing me? Perhaps you predicted that I would predict your prediction.”

Amon smiled and did not answer directly. Instead, He took out a strange crown covered in rust and bloodstains.

“This is your payment.” He tossed the item to Sauron Einhorn Medici.

After catching the strange crown, the Red Angel evil spirit seemed rather surprised.

“Yo, you actually didn’t try to renege.”

“Acting against what you expect is also a form of deception.” Amon pinched the monocle over His right eye and said with a smile, “I am very much looking forward to you becoming the Red Priest and devouring that Demoness. When the time comes, your image will surely be especially interesting.”

As He said this, Amon’s smile carried unconcealed mischievous malice.

Sauron Einhorn Medici fell silent for a moment.

“I do not think it will be essentially different from now.”

On both sides of His face, bloody mouths split open, then swiftly closed.

Amon adjusted the monocle over His right eye and turned His head toward the other side of the sea.

“The situation in the Western Continent seems rather interesting.”

With that, Mr. Error, the former Angel of Time, transformed into light and scattered.

The Red Angel evil spirit also looked toward the direction Amon had been watching, tossing the strange crown in His hand.

On the two sides of His face, the bloody mouths appeared again and spoke separately.

“After absorbing this Beyonder characteristic, you had best stay far away from Bansy.”

“If you wish to grow breasts and swell all over, you may of course continue staying there.”

Medici curled His lips.

“Isn’t that what you two would want?”

…

Facing the altar covered with ingredients and ritual implements, Klein raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.

The table before him instantly became empty and clean. All the miscellaneous objects returned, sorted by category, to the places where they had originally belonged.

This was a “miracle,” originating from some of the wishes Klein had accumulated.

“Compared to past Miracle Invokers and Attendants of Mysteries, the ‘miracles’ I can create are truly diverse and practical, including but not limited to building houses, interior renovation, garbage sorting, and environmental protection…” Klein glanced at the tidied altar and mocked himself with a smile.

He then opened the door and left, walking toward the street.

He wanted to strengthen his humanity and initially stabilize his mental state by returning to reality, returning to human society. His current problem was rather troublesome and involved the awakening will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. If he could not suppress it first and directly went to Miss Justice for treatment, he would only contaminate her, causing his psychiatrist to suffer from mental illness as well. Of course, if Miss Justice could reach Sequence 2, the influence would not be too great.

Backlund had already completed its reconstruction. The number of pedestrians coming and going had returned close to its peak. The moment Klein pushed open the hotel door, he heard all kinds of voices.

“Wait! Wait!”

“Fresh sea fish from Pritz Harbor! Plenty of meat, few bones, perfect for pan-frying!”

“Special ginger beer with scones and fried potato strips!”

“Fresh and hot oyster soup!”

“The freshest vegetables!”

…

Most of these voices came from street vendors. A smaller number came from passengers chasing after public carriages or pedestrians bumped by people in a hurry. The scroll of early morning slowly unfurled amid this bustle, noise, and disorder.

Klein listened to those cries, both familiar and unfamiliar, and quietly watched the scene before him without moving for several minutes.

Only when a thief edged closer did he slip both hands into the pockets of his black wool coat and walk, step by step, into the nearest café.

“A better cup of coffee, a serving of lamb stewed with tender peas, and one oat loaf,” Klein said to the owner of the cheap café.

“That will be eleven pence,” the owner replied after mental calculation.

Then he added, “Everything’s gone up in price these days.”

Klein said nothing. From the pile of miscellaneous objects in Sefirah Castle, he took out a one-soli note and handed it to the owner.

He then found a window seat where the tabletop was not quite so greasy and sat down, pulling out a few sheets of paper napkins to use as a mat.

After that, Klein spread letter paper over them and took out a dark-red, round-bellied fountain pen.

He watched the morning street and the passing pedestrians for quite a while before finally writing:

“Dear Mr. Azik,

“It has been another month since I last wrote to you, because I had no choice but to sleep for a period of time. This was not because I was injured, but because a ritual required it.

“When I woke and once again walked into human society, onto the streets, I suddenly remembered life in Tingen.

“Back then, mornings were always noisy and bustling. Large numbers of citizens left their homes and hurried to factories and companies. Street vendors gathered by the roadside, hawking vegetables, cooked foods, and fruit of questionable quality. They were always very cheap.

“I would protect my wallet and carefully squeeze through them to the stop, waiting for the public carriage with many others.

“I worked at the Blackthorn Security Company at 36 Zouteland Street. I had a group of very good colleagues.

“Dunn Smith was the captain, the person in charge there, an experienced Beyonder, kind and very responsible. He had a gentle temperament and handled matters efficiently. He cared for every team member equally. His only flaw was that his memory was not very good; if a matter was not too important, he might turn his head and forget it. What he most often said was, ‘Wait, there’s one more thing.’ Of course, there was a reason for this. He had lost too many companions and hoped they would all remain in his dreams. Because of that, he often could not clearly distinguish which things belonged to reality and which belonged to dreams.

“Old Neil was my first mysticism teacher. The most useful skill he taught me was reimbursement. He was always designing strange ritual magic, hoping to gain help from the Goddess. Some of them succeeded; others produced laughable accidents. Even today, I can still recall them. He was a very kind person. Even for the wish he dreamed of most, he was unwilling to harm others.

“Leonard is a poet with secrets of his own. At first, I thought he was very mysterious, a hidden expert who had to be treated with importance. Later, I discovered that, in essence, he was a rash, simple, impulsive, rebellious, casual young man without much sense of courtesy. Also, he truly has no literary talent; he can only rely on memorization to complete his acting. Hmm, he does have a few merits. He is still fairly brave, and in certain matters, he possesses sharp intuition and terrifying deductive ability—though that is limited only to certain matters.

“Frye is a Beyonder who appears cold and makes people afraid to approach him. In reality, he has a strong sense of responsibility and is warmhearted. He always extends a hand when others need help.

“Kenley was short in stature and used to be a civilian employee before voluntarily applying to become an official member. He was rather shrewd, but when cases came up, he never shirked them. When playing cards, the thing he mentioned most was his fiancée.

“Roxanne was the receptionist of the Blackthorn Security Company. She had a lively personality, was a little lazy, and was deeply loved by everyone. To us, she was like a younger sister. She likewise loved each of us very much, yet she also hated all official members, because her father had once been an official Beyonder and later died heroically in the line of duty. Perhaps in her heart, official members could be equated with people who had received critical illness notices.

“Mrs. Orianna was the accountant and the victim of a supernatural case. She was delicate and gentle, pursued an exquisite life, and usually did not speak much, but she took very good care of everyone. She never made things difficult for us financially. For example, she rarely rejected Old Neil’s reimbursement applications. No matter how absurd the reason was, she would merely hand them over to the captain to decide.

“Ms. Siga Teon had rare white hair and was an unsuccessful writer. Her bearing was outstanding, and her personality calm, completely unlike a Beyonder who fought in the darkness. She was also very brave and very steadfast. Even in the face of death, she did not retreat.

“Ms. Loyao was very similar to Frye. Both spoke little, yet cared deeply for their colleagues—hmm, except at the card table.

“Bredt was the civilian staff member best at writing reports. He was a romantic gentleman. Even after fifteen years of marriage, he still loved his wife dearly. I think he will live well, because the motto he follows is: the less one knows, the longer one lives.

“Cesar Francis was our coachman. Although he counted as a civilian employee, he often came into contact with dangerous scenes. Therefore, the captain entrusted him with purchasing and requisitioning supplies. His presence was not strong, and perhaps that is the key reason he has survived until now.

“I occasionally think that if those later events had not happened, I would surely still be living in Tingen, going to work on time every day, taking shifts underground, handling the few cases that arose, playing cards with my colleagues, and from time to time accompanying Melissa and Benson to watch plays or circus performances. If I could go home early one day, I would study food—this is one of my greatest hobbies. On weekends, perhaps I would visit you and discuss history from various fields with you…

“Unfortunately, life always pushes us forward, forcing us to face one change after another.”