Lord of the Mysteries: Yao Guang

"So now the churches have also reached a cooperation agreement, including those few traitors. I never thought they would finally realize that they no longer have the ability to take another step forward... It's really funny."

Although Amon was speaking with a smile, his tone was filled with sharp, angry barbs no matter how you listened to it.

Esther sat on a large rock lying on the beach: "You know what happened, why are you still so angry?"

Amon, who was originally standing next to her, simply sat down beside her. The sea breeze kept blowing her stray hairs, causing Amon to squint slightly, but her pointed hat remained motionless as if it were glued on.

Well, Amon was still very angry, and his anger wouldn't dissipate until he got his revenge on those "true gods." Esther understood and patted Amon on the shoulder.

The two had been chatting on this very beach, and for some reason, Amon had described in detail the situations of several nations, including their no longer concealing their extraordinary powers. Amon found these changes in attitude quite amusing—even if that's how He described it, Esther believed He simply wanted the situation to be more chaotic than it seemed.

The two weren't there to enjoy the sea breeze and chat; Amon had said he was "waiting for someone," and Esther, not knowing who he was waiting for, could only obediently stay with him.

She didn't know where she was, but based on the endless sea, she guessed it was probably a small island in a safe area.

It was already late at night, and the crimson moon hung in the sky, strengthening the connection between spirituality and life, distorting the satellite's natural light.

Esther would occasionally look up at the black curtain above her head, a subconscious action, as Li Xing's memories always made her want to compare and find something different. However, Esther would never gaze at it for too long before quickly looking away, because the flickering lights were extending towards her with an increasingly strong sense of probing.

Esther could almost hear another "self"—a life form born from the Mother of All Things, an old day truly clinging to the web of fate, constantly calling out to her with sorrow.

She preferred to believe that it was all in her head, but unfortunately, the aftereffects of using the other person's extraordinary characteristics were very clear.

Esther squeezed her eyes hard until the starlight blurred in her eyes, then sighed, "Amon, why didn't I find it this noisy when I used your extraordinary abilities before?"

"...Because you sealed away my clone."

“That’s true,” Esther said, a little embarrassed, but that didn’t stop her from brazenly continuing to ask questions. “Why didn’t you go beyond the world? I thought you would leave here long ago and ignore the predicament that Redemption Rose has been left in today.”

“I’m not quite sure either. Maybe it’s because He wants to stay here, or maybe I just don’t want to leave like this.”

Esther turned her head in surprise and stared at Amon as if she were seeing Him for the first time. Such sincere and heartfelt words, even revealing a genuine sense of bewilderment, gave Esther a different kind of unease.

“A Monk who tells the truth is quite frightening.”

After Esther blurted out what was on her mind, Amon merely glanced at her indifferently: "You didn't leave either, did you?"

Esther's surprise vanished instantly, and she rolled her eyes: "I'm not stupid enough to rush out and die!"

The two chatted leisurely, as if there were no grudges between them and no worries about the future.

It's as if I was once under the gaze of the red moon, watching that girl who knew nothing about herself or the world, clutching only a tiny Time Worm.

Until the false sun rose on the horizon, its even more brilliant sunlight obscured the crimson moon.

"It's dawn," Esther said, standing up and stretching, suddenly missing the feeling of sleeping.

Amon didn't make any movement, he just tilted his head: "I know, I can see."

However, Esther quickly realized something and, following the direction Amon was suddenly staring at, looked up at the horizon: "Hmm, isn't there something...?"

The first adjective that popped into her head was "shooting star".

The flames that burned from the west seemed to set the sky ablaze, facing the rising sun in the distance, yet filled with a wanton desire to trample the sun underfoot.

Esther barely needed to guess to know that the missile-like flame must have been heading straight for the island with utter disregard for everyone else.

The "shooting star" didn't intend to fly over their heads like that. Esther noticed it was getting lower and lower, clearly heading towards the island.

The crimson-scented musket crashed heavily to the ground, creating a huge crater, while the flying sand perfectly bypassed the boulder standing on Esther and Amon—a path that defied the laws of physics, but conformed to the result of mysticism deceiving the laws of physics.

The flames did not dissipate; instead, they gathered inward, quickly condensing into the outline of a tall figure. Finally, they dimmed, transforming into a thin cloak that completely covered the rusty and blood-stained armor, leaving only the red hair, which seemed to still be burning, fluttering wildly behind the newcomer.

As He fell, His knees were slightly bent from the impact, but when He raised His young and handsome face, His body was already standing straight, just like the spear that arrogantly pierced the sky.

The first thing Esther noticed was the flaming banner between His brows. The tangled symbol had spread outwards, becoming even more vivid and lifelike, almost as if it were about to seep out of His forehead and flutter up at any moment.

However, soon, another thing rolled out from under Medici's cloak, causing Esther to let out a soft "oh".

Even though he was treated rudely, the person who had been "delivered" by Medici remained motionless with his eyes closed, lying obediently face down on the ground. If he weren't still breathing, he would have looked like he was dead.

Esther didn't recognize the person, but she could vaguely sense some extraordinary power that she recognized. She studied him for a few seconds before looking at Amon: "Is this an extraordinary being of the 'Gate' pathway?"

“It’s what the little raven wanted!” Medici said, raising his head with a nonchalant air. He preferred to look down at people with his chin, a posture that seemed to never change over time. “The fool of Abraham’s house.”

When Esther heard the word Abraham, she knew what Amon was going to do, but it was not quite the same as the original "history"—at least as far as Esther knew, Amon had not collected all three "Thief" traits. If he were to help the "Gate" unseal and perform the ascension ceremony now, wouldn't it be too hasty?
Meeting Esther's questioning gaze, Amon immediately knew what she wanted to say, and casually spread his hands: "Because I never intended to 'borrow' His ritual, well, at least not this time."

The implication is that the last time doesn't count.

Since it wasn't through a promotion ceremony, and she was specifically brought in to participate, Esther now vaguely understands what Amon is planning.

Meanwhile, Medici didn't ask Amon why he needed people, because He never cared. He was more interested in Esther, who was deep in thought: "Little Sparrow looks a little different?" "No, how could I be different?" Esther replied with a smile, but she was telling the truth, "I'd rather ask you that question."

Two cracks tore open Medici's cheeks, but before the two mouths could speak, Medici quickly slapped his face twice, forcing them back in.

His slapping motion was quite smooth, and Esther secretly guessed that Medici must have done this quite often.

"Your condition is better than I expected." Amon's words were tinged with disappointment; He seemed more interested in hearing what those two mouths had to say.

Medici grinned instead: "Haha, silencing those two nasty guys is more important than how well I feel."

He paused, then his smile vanished without a trace of politeness: "Where's the thing you promised?"

Amon pointed to the unfortunate fellow who was still unconscious and hadn't participated in the three-person discussion: "This isn't over yet. As we agreed, you're also responsible for the ritual's safety. Only then will I give you the things."

Medici clicked his tongue: "You'd better not try anything funny."

Amon looked at Esther: "If we use this person as a 'sacrifice,' how confident are you in bringing the 'door' back to the real world? It doesn't need to be alive in its entirety. It would be best to separate its extraordinary characteristics and uniqueness to disperse the source of contamination to the greatest extent possible... We only need to condense the 'spirit' part and keep that part as intact as possible."

While Amon was quietly explaining to Esther, Medici, seemingly unconcerned, crossed his arms, hooked the man on the ground with his toe, and flipped him over to face him. The gold-rimmed glasses that were perched on his face were almost completely shattered; given Medici's personality, he probably knocked the man unconscious when he brought him over.

Esther then looked at the pale-faced young man on the ground, who exuded a scholarly air. Even with his face covered in sand, it was easy to tell that he was in his early twenties: "He looks like he's only at a low sequence, and he's not that old..."

"Can it be used?" Amon asked.

Esther hesitated for only a moment before nodding under Amon's gaze: "Yes, and he is also of the same sequence. This, combined with the blood relationship, greatly increases the success rate."

From the brief introduction, Esther had already discerned Amon's attitude. Since He had decided to do this, He would no longer ask for her advice, but simply wanted a feasible answer.

That's just how He is; He's exceptionally pure in his "purpose," which made Esther secretly mutter "snobbish" to herself.

"What will happen if we fail?" Amon asked seemingly casually.

Esther answered even faster this time: "Pollution, extinction, but those are the worst possible outcomes, you can rest assured."

Amon adjusted his monocle: "Okay, but I don't really believe in luck. If that really happens, can you guarantee that 'history' will follow its proper course?"

"Then you can trust me."

Medici watched the two with interest, and out of his sensitivity to the "contradiction," he happily imagined Esther and Amon fighting—Medici had only agreed to watch the place, so there was no reason for him to advise Amon.

If Amon hadn't possessed the "Conqueror" trait, Medici would have only thought about how to roast Him. Medici didn't believe Amon hadn't contributed to Tudor's scheme to become a god.

This debt has been settled for a long time, and there are many, many people to settle.

"But not right now," Medici snorted, then urged the two to quickly set up the ceremony venue.

"I didn't hide my tracks when I came here. If you don't hurry, someone might come and join the fun soon!"

Medici's gloating remark earned him a glare from Esther, while Amon simply adjusted his glasses and said calmly, "Alright."

Even though the surrounding environment was still the same—waves crashing on the beach—Esther suddenly realized that the island had changed its location, and even the color of the seawater had deepened considerably. Faint thunder rumbled from afar.

Esther was the main person in charge of drawing the ritual patterns, because she needed to add some special symbols. As for the rest, Amon had already prepared everything.
A semi-transparent, fleshy tentacle, crawling with worms that looked no different from maggots crawling on rotting flesh; Esther took three steps away the moment she saw it. Another was a deformed bird with a fleshy crest on its head, its feathers like condensed starlight, its body radiating and gathering light, vaguely revealing a shape that also resembled insects. Finally, there was a spirit creature in the shape of a raven, its essence more like a distorted black mist, its feathers almost transparent, connecting to form circular patterns.

These were originally necessary for the return of "The Gate," but Esther made other requests:

“We also need an item that has been interfered with by fate. During the ritual, it will serve as a key external object to disrupt the stability between the extraordinary characteristics of ‘He’. Of course, it would be best if it were something I’m familiar with…”

For some reason, when Esther saw Amon slightly move his eyes, she suddenly felt something was wrong and quickly said, "Actually, it doesn't need to be anything too complicated. Just give me my backpack—"

Amon simply nodded: "I understand. Just let me know when you need it."

"Actually, you could have given me my backpack..."

"Just tell me what you need, and I'll really help."

Esther could only keep her mouth shut. Although her backpack wasn't necessary, she was still very worried about what Amon would "take out".

Amon placed a candle on the altar, then watched as Esther's finger touched it lightly. A faintly glowing pattern spiraled upwards around the candle, infused with some kind of twisted spirituality.

Amon tapped his monocle. From a perspective even more detached from reality, the candle appeared to have split in two, like a signpost pointing to a fork in the road.

Esther pouted and rubbed her fingertips together: "If He knew I was doing these things for you, He might be angry."

“No, because He doesn’t care,” Amon knew who Esther was talking about. “Precisely because He is omniscient, He doesn’t believe in fate.”

"Alright, now it's time to wake up that apprentice from Abraham's house..." (End of Chapter)