Lord of the Mysteries (Web Novel)

Unlike the past, Derrick was clearly smarter. He didn’t clumsily rely only on words to provide a description.

After receiving Mr. Fool’s permission, he conjured a series of scenes from the memories that he could recall. He showed the exploratory process and the points he found important to The Hanged Man, Justice, The Magician, and The World in a fragmented fashion, and then he included some explanations for them.

The walls that had collapsed in the darkness, the streets that passed through the destroyed buildings, the stone pillar-propped white and blue ancient temple that was covered in dust under the light of the animal hide lantern, the statue that hung upside down from a pitch-black cross, the series of murals depicting the Fallen Creator who suffered from the sin in place of humanity, the exceptionally alluring “mushrooms,” the statue at the altar that had strangely opened its eyes, and the young yellow-haired Jack who had been hiding in the back—all these scenes took shape and were reflected in the eyes of the Tarot Club members in the most direct and realistic manner.

The gloomy and dark tone, the sense of crisis with every step that was taken, and the bizarre development that The Sun was experiencing made Audrey rather excited. She became extremely interested in what he was saying.

This is the situation around the City of Silver… It’s more attractive than any I’ve ever read… This is the charm of mystery, uncertainty, and terror combined… Of course, to the humans who live there, this isn’t a good thing… Audrey’s thoughts were in disarray. She wanted nothing more than to immediately become a powerhouse at the level of a demigod and venture into that region ruled by darkness and storms.

Klein watched and sighed emotionally.

He was sighing because it truly wasn’t easy for the City of Silver to last all this time in such an environment. He sighed because Little Sun still wasn’t smart enough and had no experience. Otherwise, he would’ve been able to completely present the events that happened in the form of a movie or documentary. It would certainly be exciting and attractive!

However, this way, the description would take too long. My spirituality wouldn’t be able to endure if everyone were to watch such a movie. Also, the longer one stays above the gray fog, the more likely it is that something bad will happen in the outside world… Klein suddenly felt lucky.

Alger finished watching in silence as he thought over it. He got The Sun to pick a few important points he had chosen to present them above the long bronze table. Among them included the mural of the Fallen Creator resisting the six “evil gods.”

“Which evil gods are these?” Alger looked at the octopus with lightning wrapped around its body, black waves at its feet, an avian-feathered cloak on its back, and a three-pronged trident in its hand as he began to make connections.

Derrick shook his head honestly.

“I don’t know. I thought you would know them.”

Audrey and Fors cast their gazes over at the same time, carefully observing them several times, but they still failed to come up with any guesses.

They had originally thought that these were six of the eight ancient gods from the legends of the City of Silver, but they couldn’t find a suitable match. After all, there was a dragon, an elf, a giant, a phoenix, and an Annihilation Demonic Wolf, while there was only one giant in the mural.

This… The Fool took a serious look and his pupils nearly contracted.

In consideration of his standing, he had only taken a cursory look at the mural in the beginning, but now, he finally realized that something was wrong.

This is very similar to the statues of the six gods which I saw in the Tudor family’s underground ruin, except that one is a normal version and the other is a corrupted version… It really is a bit hard for people to look at it directly, especially Earth Mother, Lord of Storms, and Eternal Blazing Sun. Not only have they been sullied as evil gods, but they’re even akin to ugly monsters… Klein didn’t feel a sense of sudden enlightenment from having realized the truth. He had expected the True Creator to disparage the six gods and distort their images.

However, I can’t completely ignore the possibility of this mural appearing. Just like how I had always thought that the orthodox gods didn’t have a human form, with only symbols left. As a result, the statues in the ruins of the Tudor family have made me less certain… It seems like the establishment of the images of the gods have undergone a long evolution, and many secrets are hidden within… Klein was relieved when he saw that Miss Justice was focusing on examining the mural and didn’t pay attention to Mr. Fool’s attitude.

Because it involved whether or not Little Sun could get out of the strange predicament of repeating that short period of life, he decided to tell them what he knew.

Of course, the long introduction and display of the images of the six gods inside the underground ruin didn’t fit the identity of The Fool. He intended to control The World to complete this task.

And this was in line with his goal of making The World and Sherlock Moriarty equivalent.

The Fool should enigmatically say, “Evernight, Sun, Storm, Wisdom, Earth, Giant,” and then give no explanation, with superfluous descriptions… Klein thought for two seconds and let The World say in a hoarse voice, “I’ve seen similar statues.”

After attracting everyone’s gaze, he paused and added, “In an adventure to a Fourth Epoch ruin.”

Audrey was very interested, but she maintained her basic level of restraint.

“Mr. World, what kind of statues were there? Can you show it to us? Of course, if you aren’t willing to, or if you require compensation, it’s negotiable.”

“There’s no need, as this might also solve some of my doubts.” The World smiled darkly.

He acted by making a request to Mr. Fool, and when he got permission, he conjured the statues of the six gods and their corresponding Sacred Emblems.

With her head against the full moon, the lady, who wore layers upon layers of hazy dresses that didn’t repeat, gave off an exceptionally beautiful feeling. On her long black skirt, there were also specks of starlight, as if it were a night sky, and on top of that, that iconic Evernight Sacred Emblem. Audrey immediately recognized her to be the Evernight Goddess she worshiped.

This statue was most similar to the evil god in the upper left corner of the mural, but its face was more human, and there were no strange eyes hidden around it!

What sacrilege! This is sacrilegious to the Goddess! Audrey was a little angry, but she quickly calmed down.

As the most infamous evil god, it’s expected that the True Creator would let his followers disfigure the Goddess… But, why would there be a humanoid sculpture of the goddess in the underground ruins… Isn’t it said that the orthodox gods only have symbols? Audrey frowned slightly, lost in thought.

Alger felt somewhat enlightened as he said with a sigh, “So the murals depict the distorted images of the six gods.

“‘They’ really had humanoid images in the past…”

Perhaps this is the reason why the Churches have always been trying to find the Forsaken Land of the Gods… As for the Forsaken Land of the Gods, it’s most likely hidden in the depths of the Sonia Sea. Yes, it definitely doesn’t exist in a normal state; otherwise, it would be impossible for the deities to not notice it… Alger added silently inwardly.

The Sun was first taken aback before he came to a realization.

“Mr. Hanged Man, are these the deities that all of you mentioned before—the Evernight Goddess, the Lord of Storms…?”

“Yes,” The Hanged Man gave an affirmative answer.

“What do ‘They’ have to do with the apocalypse? What does it have to do with our land being forsaken by the Lord?” Derrick subconsciously pressed.

Unfortunately, no one could answer him.

Fors raised her hand in confusion.

“Why is there no God of Steam and Machinery?”

This was the god she believed in.

In the Northern and Southern Continents, the seven gods had always been equal!

“Rumor has it that the God of Steam and Machinery, also known as the God of Craftsmanship, wasn’t born until the Fourth Epoch. From the looks of it, it’s true, and the time node at which ‘He’ was born seems to be in the late Fourth Epoch, not in the early or mid-Fourth Epoch…” The Hanged Man said, a mixture of explanations and guesses.

He had an unconcealable enthusiasm for such topics.

So that’s the case… Fors felt a little guilty as she had never read the Steam and Machinery Bible seriously, and her faith appeared as just a way of life.

Derrick didn’t harp on the previous matter and instead asked, “Is this mural the key point?”

“Perhaps, you can try to break it, but don’t, heh, don’t let the chief suspect you.” The Hanged Man was about to say that he shouldn’t attempt to pronounce the honorific names of one of the six gods, or else ‘He’ or ‘They’ might directly descend into the Forsaken Land of the Gods, but after careful consideration, he realized that the Little Sun didn’t know the corresponding honorific names at all.

“Alright. Thank you, Mr. Hanged Man. You’re always so kind and enthusiastic. Also, Miss Justice, Miss Magician, and Mr. World, you are similarly as kindhearted,” Derrick thanked them sincerely.

Kind? Enthusiastic? The Hanged Man was momentarily unsure of how to react.

This was the first time that someone had used such words to describe him.

After the discussion was over, Klein suddenly remembered something. In the previous exploration of the abandoned temple of the True Creator, the City of Silver found the name “Rose Redemption.” However, it didn’t seem to pay attention to this.

It can’t be ignored… According to the evil spirit in the underground ruin, this extremely secretive organization is an organization led by fallen angels, and it is in no way inferior to the Twilight Hermit Order. Perhaps the “cyclic time” was set up by them… Thinking of this, The Fool, who was sitting upright in a high back chair, leisurely adjusted his posture and used his fingers to lightly tap the edge of the long, mottled table.

Audrey immediately turned her head and looked at Mr. Fool in excitement, waiting for ‘Him’ to give a hint.

The Hanged Man, The Sun, The Magician, and The World also looked expectantly at Mr. Fool.

Amid the fog, Klein chuckled and said, “Rose Redemption.”

Rose Redemption? What is that… The key point to getting out of this predicament? That’s right, there’s such a name in the corner of a mural near the top of the temple!Derrick seemed to understand something.

Alger, Audrey, and Fors also recalled and gave the name “Rose Redemption” high importance, but they didn’t fully understand the true meaning that Mr. Fool was trying to convey.

“Honorable Mr. Fool, what does Rose Redemption represent?” Audrey raised her hand and took the initiative to ask.

This time, Klein didn’t respond other than giving a short laugh.

His idea was very simple. The organization, the Rose Redemption, was intricately tied to the True Creator. No matter what happened in the temple, it would always point to them in some way.

As for whether this name was a so-called key point, Klein wasn’t sure or worried. After all, he held the right to interpretation.

If The Sun and the others misunderstood the real meaning, how could it be Mr. Fool’s fault?