Lord of the Mysteries: Yao Guang

Chapter 643: Prophecy
"Well, I wanted to have a casual chat with the old gentleman. It's really depressing to stay in this underground." Barnaby stretched his neck and continued to walk towards the door. "But you made this time unbearable, beautiful lady."

"Forget it. You're a very powerful Beyonder. You don't care whether you can gain some verbal advantage or not. You just hope that I can lose my composure so that you can reveal more information to you."

Daly Simone, or Mrs. Smith, suppressed the smile in her voice. She did not want to make the other party too angry, but she needed to see this guy with her own eyes, at least to make the spirit she controlled remember the other person's appearance completely.

This will be very convenient if there is any tracking or communication in the future, so that this "Master of Secret Dolls" does not disappear directly at sea.

"What a clever and cruel woman!" Barnabel yelled shamelessly at last, then rushed out without looking back.

However, he was unable to go out. His spiritual intuition prompted Barnabel to stop in time before he bumped into someone else. There happened to be a man with his collar pulled up very high blocking the way at the door. After seeing Barnabel, he just made a "please" gesture, which made the man who was just depressed feel deflated.

Walking into the room behind Barnabe, the man with neat short golden brown hair introduced himself to the supervised person who was driven back: "Hello, you can call me Mr. Cecima, please take a seat. If there is anything you want to know, I will also provide answers within the scope of my duties, Chara..."

Barnabe quickly collapsed on a single sofa and quickly interrupted the other person: "No, no, just call me Barnabe, no need to mention the shitty surname you found. Well, then I ask, why did you catch me?"

"Sword of the Goddess" Cecima shook her head: "In fact, it was you who sent the 'invitation' and delivered a signed letter with clear instructions to the church. Because your divination involved a very dangerous high-ranking person, it was ultimately Lady Arianna who invited you here."

Cecima cleared her throat, as if she was not sure whether the information in the file was complete: "It is said that you... have no hostility."

"I'm a 'fortune teller'. When facing high-ranking Beyonders, I will have very dangerous spiritual warnings." Barnabel forced out an ugly smile, "I'm not that crazy. When I saw the 'Sir' you mentioned, I immediately felt that staying alive was the most important thing."

After two seconds of silence in the room, Daly couldn't stand it anymore and tapped her coffee cup with her stirring spoon, reminding the two people who were thinking, "I still need to supervise you to board the ship and leave Backlund as soon as possible. This is a special period, and it will be very troublesome to miss the scheduled voyage. If you have any questions, please tell me as soon as possible. There will be a secret-keeping ceremony later."

Since the other party allowed him to ask questions, Barnabel did not hesitate. However, the Church of Evernight knew very little about his missing memories. It was not until the conversation involved what Barnabel was about to do that Barnabel turned his attention back to the newspaper he had been holding in his hand.

There are many explanations for Bayam's case, such as an underwater volcanic eruption, an earthquake causing the displacement of continental plates, or a pre-existing gentle slope floating to the surface... These reasons that can be made up at random can be found in the teaching materials written by Emperor Roselle.

However, the Church of Night, if what these people said is true, then they are about to take a follow-up measure that is contrary to common sense: they will allow all kinds of rumors to arise, and even guide them, until the right time to make them public.

Barnabe would play the role of communicating with the "New Bayam", establishing a connection with him, and announcing the "miracle" on the island to the public.

Extraordinary appearance?

This is really crazy.

Are they crazy, or are the gods behind them crazy? This makes little difference to the man who is full of doubts.

Barnabel finally put away his ever-changing demeanor and for the first time used a purely alert expression to face Mr. Cecima, who always had a serious face:

"I don't understand why you are doing this? Is Rune going to be the first to break up with other churches for the sake of war advantage?"

Cecima took out a few notes from her bosom and handed them to Barnabe. "It's not for war. It seems that you have figured out our ultimate goal. This is also part of your assessment. Next, please read these messages and then burn them."

Barnabel was not in a hurry to turn over the thin papers. As he spoke, he calmed down his shock. "Protecting ordinary people by hiding extraordinary powers is fine. This has long been a recognized peace rule among several churches! For hundreds and thousands of years! You are now -"

"You know a lot. To you, we must be crazy, right?"

Although the smile on Daly's face did not change, her eyebrows were raised:
“My expression when I first heard about this was even worse than yours, but there’s nothing I can do about it.

"This is to prepare for a longer-term disaster. If you are well-informed, you may have heard something from the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom... or someone else may have told you about related prophecies.

"1368, the end of the world." Barnaby took another deep breath. "I don't believe in such things."

The most important thing is that this matter was said by the old man named "Zaratul", so no matter whether it is true or false, Barnabe can only express denial.

As for what he was thinking, he didn't even know if he could live until that time. Once that old man found him again... Could it be that someone handed himself over to the Church of Night to help me escape danger?
After this thought suddenly popped up, Barnabe suddenly realized that signing a contract with a true church like the Church of Evernight would actually be a huge protection for him. The purpose of the Church of Evernight was very clear. He was about to be sent away, leaving Backlund and going to the legendary Bayam Island - oh, the newspapers had already started calling it "New Bayam".

The Church of the Night must of course consider that if they let a "Master of Secret Dolls" go, it would be basically impossible to catch him again. Barnabe did not believe that there were any Beyonders at the level of angels stationed on that small, broken island.

Extraordinary characteristics are not stones. Kicking the ground will hurt your little toe.

Daly ignored Barnabel, who was scratching his hair in confusion, and continued to speak. It was more appropriate for her to say these words than Cecima. At least it would not sound as serious as if a disaster was about to happen tomorrow:
"Yes, you don't believe it. Listen, I didn't believe it before, but when all the -- all the sects are spreading this story, you should know it's serious enough."

"You have reached a consensus?"

Daly shook her head. "The oracles about the end of the world are all consistent. But as for those guys in the secret sect, do you really think anyone can have any control over them?"

Barnabel didn't say anything for a while. He finally recovered from the initial shock and began to read the paper in his hand again.

After all, these were just a few notes, not a dozen files, so Barnabe could finish reading them in two glances. There were only three messages on them, and the handwriting in the ancient Feysac language was neat but elegant:
"Make the elimination of evil spirit organizations the primary goal, and if necessary, coordinate with secret organizations to take action."

"An emergency evacuation plan to deal with extraordinary public accidents is being formulated and negotiations are going smoothly."

"Bayam is about to establish a new church as a friendly church, and both sides will retain the right to preach."

Barnabe fell completely silent, rubbing his chin as he thought about it. The Church of Darkness was on guard against the group of people defined as the "evil spirit organization", and even relaxed its defense against the secret organization for this? This was not in line with the style of the Orthodox Church...

Extraordinary accidents involve the word "public". Those hedging plans are most likely prepared for ordinary people without ability. Then who are they negotiating with? Other Orthodox churches, Barnaby believes that this probability is the highest, or they are secret organizations that are not so harmful. From the first point, it can be deduced that it is not just the Church of the Night, but a more secret force that is invading the gaps between several countries. Only when the "enemy" is united, the past hatred will be diluted and temporarily put under the table.

The third point has already been explained by the one called "Cesima" just now. Barnabe is just curious about what role he will play in it.

The trouble far outweighs the benefits, unless...

Barnabel's eyes flickered. As a member of the Secret Order, he certainly knew that the Church of Evernight was intentionally raising mermaids. So, maybe they also possessed some of the extraordinary characteristics of the "Fortune Teller".

The flames ignited along Barnaby's fingertips like snakes. He threw the paper that was gradually shrinking into ashes into the unlit fireplace and shook off the residue on his hands:
"Why is this note written in the ancient Feysac language? Shouldn't it be written in Loen to be on the safe side?"

Compared to what the three messages could convey, Barnaby asked a seemingly insignificant question.

This time, it was no longer Daly who answered him, but Cecima who had handed over the note before: "Because we are dealing with some special beings, these notes and inks are blessed. Using the language of occultism can keep the things on the paper more 'secret'."

"…I feel like trembling after hearing what you said."

Barnaby laughed again, as if he had just watched a wonderful comedy. The comfort of watching others go through the joys and sorrows of life wiped out the little fear that had ignited in him before: "You must be in big trouble."

Daly looked at him with interest, curious about the man's sudden change of mentality, but Cecima didn't react, at least no expression could be seen on her face.

“It is precisely because this trouble is so huge that you, the great believers of the Orthodox Church, are actually asking for help from a wild Beyonder like me who is not even ranked among the top!” Barnabel slammed the coffee table hard, and the liquid spilled from the trembling cup splashed onto the newspaper he had thrown down earlier, staining the name “Bayam” black. “Is there anything more ridiculous than this?”

Daly's eyes suddenly showed a trace of pity, which pierced through the essence of Barnabe's courage and hit the most turbulent worries at the bottom: "Yes, this is a terrible thing. We must contact all the forces we can find."

Like Daly, Cecima, the always calm leader of the Red Gloves, had a flash of pain in her eyes: "Not just us, all the Orthodox Churches are doing this."

Daly wanted to say something, but Cecima suddenly waved towards the door and said, "Go out for a moment, Daly. I have something to say to this gentleman alone."

"I understand. Give me two minutes. I'll probably be back in ten minutes... I still have to supervise this guy getting on board!"

Daly glanced at the clock on the wall and stood up from the sofa.

However, what made Barnaby even more uncomfortable was that Daley spent the extra two minutes to set up a "spiritual wall" in this lounge.

The moment Daly closed the door, Barnabel's patience reached its limit. He finally overcame his curiosity and shouted loudly at the urging of his spiritual intuition:

"Wait a minute, Mr. Cecima! Actually, I don't really need to know what you want to tell me—"

"The God of War has died, even before this century. What remains of him is just a phantom. The oracle of the God of Steam and Machinery has begun to drift away from his believers, and there are signs of a split within the church. The Church of Mother Earth has begun to relax the control over the number of God's Graces that had been in place for hundreds of years. More and more people have received the seeds spread by the 'Earth' and become Extraordinary Ones."

As if trying to frighten Barnaby into unconsciousness, Cecima quickly added:

"The Storm Church has sent a warning to all churches about the alienation of the ocean, including those that have always been hostile. The seals of the Knowledge Church have begun to have problems, activating or failing. The same situation has occurred not only in their warning areas, but also in the churches we are responsible for guarding. Even if the goddess does not blame us, it is still our dereliction of duty..."

During the few seconds that Cecima paused, Barnabel asked without thinking, almost subconsciously:
"What about the Church of the Eternal Sun?"

Cecima shook her head. "They are arrogant, and our relationship is not friendly... But I don't think the situation will get better."

Silence, and then more silence. Barnaby's silence almost brought the ten minutes to an end.

All churches are having problems, and this problem is only a wall away from believers.

For some reason, there was another turbulence in Barnabel's spiritual intuition. He suddenly felt that the extraordinary power that had always been pursued by the extraordinary people seemed to turn around and start chasing humans this time.

He really hoped that he could forget all this, wake up from this messy dream, or just faint - of course Barnaby did not faint, and his nerves had never been so firm as they were at this moment, as if he wanted to engrave these words firmly on his scalp.

So he gritted his teeth and spoke again: "Well, does your church have any other extraordinary items that can make people forget short-term memories?"

Cecima relaxed a little, as if he had let out all the pain and confusion that had been pent up in his heart for the past few days along with the few words he shared. He even felt like easing the atmosphere:
"No, even if there was, I would say no now."

Barnabel wailed. He should have blocked his ears at the first moment. The "Faceless Man" was obviously capable of doing that.

Although this action could not stop Cecima from deciding to speak out these contents.

Cecima ignored him and looked at the clock on the wall. According to the return time limit given by Daly, this was the last few seconds for the two of them to communicate alone: ​​"Now you realize the seriousness of the matter. We are people walking together in the dark, Mr. Barnaby."

"N-No! Not at all! I didn't need to hear that!"

This simply proves what that damned old man said, "The end is near."

"You need to know this. We are the same messengers of the Goddess as we are, the messengers of the Fool."

Barnabel's eyes suddenly widened.

Quietly...