Lord of the Mysteries: Yao Guang

Light the candles with your spirit, and in the laurel-colored flames, offer the sacrifices to break the seal.

One of the "sacrifices" stood at the center of the sand pattern, reciting in Old Fusak, following the voice that arose in his heart:
"The Great Gate of All Gates..."

Medici, who stood very far away and refused to approach the altar, maintained a spectator's attitude throughout.

But when he saw the candlelight on the altar become distorted, Medici suddenly turned his head: "Little Raven, there shouldn't be a strong enough connection before the name is recited, so the ritual can't start immediately. Something's wrong?"

Amon simply grunted in response, seemingly uninterested in the topic. However, his gaze remained fixed on Esther, who stood at the edge of the pattern, closely observing Verdu, who had his back to him, and the overall state of the sacrificial ritual.

She looked very focused, her hands loosely clasped in front of her, the flowing silver light flickering in her eyes.

"The guide to the endless starry sky..."

The change happened very suddenly.

The three offerings, which were originally placed on the stone used as an altar and belonged to adjacent paths, suddenly made a slight "pop" sound, as if they were balloons that had been injected with too much air, and instantly burst into a large amount of blood foam.

Scattered blood fragments splattered on his face, and the extraordinary power contained within them even caused Verdu a burning pain for a moment.

But the pain vanished in the next second, and a hazy light and shadow enveloped the scene before him, which relieved him. He tried his best to stay still, though Verdu didn't have much strength left, which suppressed his survival instinct to run away.

This was not the situation a normal sacrifice should take, Verdu knew in his heart, but he was already deeply trapped in the net, unable to escape even a step, and could only let the blood mist spread in the air, swelling in his heartbeat filled with fear.

Medici just laughed as he watched, then lowered his voice further: "Aren't you afraid the little sparrow will harm you? This ritual wasn't arranged by you..."

Amon then glanced at Medici: "You don't actually think that kind of talk works, do you?"

Verdu shook himself for a moment, then calmed down slightly before continuing to read aloud:

"The key to all mysterious worlds—"

The blood mist, which had been merely floating on the rocks, surged violently, and Verdu even thought something was about to burst out—however, his spirit merely shrieked at the sense of crisis and could not replace his body in taking action.

The sense of calm surrounding Verdu had solidified into a more cohesive entity, repelling the expanding blood mist and freezing Verdu firmly in place.

The victim closest to the Blood Mist was protected, and Crimson began to wander across the pattern of symbols, seemingly confused by the forces binding it. Bearing three extraordinary properties, it briefly gained the will of a higher order through a brief communication with Mr. "The Door."

Esther knew perfectly well that He wasn't seeking more sacrifices, but rather searching for Himself. She wasn't sure if Amon could also hear the mournful cries and accusations that kept emanating from the blood mist—a mother searching for her "half-child."

Esther had considered this from the very beginning: Verdu was not the bait, but she was; only in this way could the pollution on the "door" be drawn away to the greatest extent.

Verdu took a deep breath, listening to the gentle voice in his heart, repeating each word carefully, trying not to bite his trembling tongue:
"I beg you, I beg you to come into this world!"

The blood mist that had been spreading outwards expanded and contracted once more. After the patterns on the ground lit up, it suddenly sank downwards, filling every groove drawn in the sand.

The colorful light was stripped from the blood mist, outlining numerous symbols in the air. They leaped and overlapped, then rose rapidly until Verdu had to look up.

The star-studded doorway appeared majestically after the crimson faded, as if it had always been there, looking down on Verdu, or as if it had been forcibly dragged into the real world and given a physical form only after hearing his plea.

The soft light before Verdu flickered. He saw the door, the dense darkness and howling storm within, and felt an eerie aura emanating from beneath his feet—all of this was beyond Verdu's limits. He should have exploded into a bloody mist in a frenzy, but he still maintained his crumbling sanity.

Verdu, you need to calm down, calm down...

Verdu couldn't even tell if the comforting voice came from him or the woman standing behind him. Perhaps a touch of stubborn pride was keeping his trembling legs upright.

Esther's observations were far more comprehensive than Verdu's. Her gaze shifted slightly downwards, and she saw the crimson color that had merged into the magic circle struggling to carve out new traces, crawling and wriggling like earthworms, trying to extend in her direction.

Its spread was slow; the three extraordinary qualities had died, and the remaining spirituality could hardly sustain such an action. It needed a deeper connection with reality to complete its exploration of Esther, such as the corrupted life forms.

Esther didn't move, but simply refocused her gaze on the towering gate, letting the line of blood on the beach get closer and closer to her.

Amon squinted as he examined the door: "It's not quite the same..."

"What's different?" Medici's expression became much more serious after watching the spectacle. They were further away and could see the changes in the magic circle spreading outwards more clearly.

"The passage has become...normal."

Amon rubbed his monocle, choosing patience over eager curiosity. Since Esther hadn't called to him, it meant it wasn't time to ask for help yet.

Unlike the doors built of flesh and blood in that memory, the sealed door that Verdu leads to reality now is the simple, unadorned door it should have been.

The doors trembled, darkness and storm raged violently, and the barrier they had so painstakingly maintained was shattered by the ritual. The passage to reality was unstable, so the life form trapped in the seal stepped towards the real world and reached out its hand.

The candle on the altar was still burning. Neither the blood mist nor the door could make it collapse. The dim, soft candlelight still flickered gently in front of the door. Although it looked like it might be extinguished at any moment by the strong winds, it barely managed to maintain its existence.

A swollen, twisted arm emerged from the darkness inside the door. The two-meter-long monster arm scrambled twice into the air before landing on the door beside it.

Having found a foothold, it suddenly rammed outwards, breaking through the darkness to reveal more clumps of flesh, as if it had already sensed the freedom of the real world, and it squeezed out of the door faster and faster.

The crimson stains on the ground had formed a new ring, converging precisely at Esther's feet and encircling her as well. Esther glanced in Amon's direction, but Amon merely shook his head at her, for He felt it was not the right time.

This left Esther somewhat helpless. She didn't know whether Amon trusted her too much or wanted to wait and see if she made a sincere "plea." Either way, he didn't have good intentions.

Esther clasped her hands together in a prayerful gesture in front of her, and then she closed her eyes.

Seemingly touched by an unseen force, the candle burned down to its base in an instant, transforming into a gentle curtain of light. The mutated body that had squeezed out of the door had just taken a step toward Verdu when it was completely enveloped by the rising candlelight.

Then the enormous monster, which resembled a pile of blood clots, became ethereal and misty, like a cloak shrouding reality, revealing the human form hidden beneath:
His figure, however, was far less substantial than flesh and blood, like a glass doll pieced together from several illusory orbs of light. While reflecting countless alien planets, it was futilely trying to maintain its image as a "human being," rather than collapsing into a flesh and blood gate leading to the outside of the barrier.

Even so, it is not difficult to discern his original appearance. This middle-aged man has a stern face, and his black hair, mixed with a few white hairs, is fluttering due to the stirring of his spirit. When he looks up, his blue eyes, which appear like ripples, are now covered with large blood vessels and are almost completely stained crimson.

But those eyes lingered on Verdu's face, and through the flowing curtain of light, a sense of disorientation washed over them.

He certainly couldn't recognize Verdu, but the blood ties and the summoning ritual connecting the two sides allowed the one who broke the seal to recognize him naturally—it was his descendant, seemingly at the center of some kind of sacrificial ritual.

That's right, it was a sacrificial offering, and also a young man from Abraham's family.

Ah... Abraham, who is that again?

Esther opened her clasped hands outwards, and the droplets of water she had just picked up from the river of fate were released back to their origin, falling into all the destinies that belonged to "Bethel Abraham".

It stirred up a huge wave.

The ground, which had been soaked in crimson, suddenly revealed a long silver river. The evil spirits attached to it burned like candles, and a gentle light spread outward from Esther's feet, quickly filling all the traces on the sand.

The shimmering light reflected on the long river, neither too close nor too far, and from it, more and more water droplets were constantly being drawn up. They vibrated and, amidst a harmonious, minor-key-like hum, suddenly transformed into fine threads, rapidly weaving large grids.

Between each grid, a memory of Bethel Abraham is reflected—on Earth or in the stars, on a journey or in his homeland.

Esther's outstretched palms snapped shut again, and with a crisp clap, the commander lit up the giant, shimmering silver net, which swirled upwards, making it difficult for the monster that had stepped out from behind the door to move forward.

The surrounded prey transformed into the controller of the entire ritual, turning the tide against the life breaking through the seal. The blood-red, twisted monster phantom was pushed and shoved by the invisible giant mesh, roaring as it retreated a few steps, while the human-looking figure became increasingly solid.

The middle-aged man's eyes widened, and he subconsciously took a step toward Verdu.

The traveler, who had been trapped in the seal for a thousand years, suddenly remembered where he came from.

The descendant of Abraham's family, however, bent over in agony, gradually curling up on the ground. Years not belonging to his memory were rapidly merging into his spirit. He simply closed his eyes, letting the flood of memories overwhelm him, rewriting the life that belonged to Verdu Abraham.

The flesh and blood wrapped around a pair of blue eyes were real, but only a confused phantom emerged. As that memory drew closer to reality, he instinctively took one or two steps forward.

However, worry and fear welled up in those blurry eyes.

Bethel abruptly looked up at the woman leading the ceremony: "No, you can't—"

He absolutely cannot return to the real world; if he does, he will bring disaster upon reality and bring back the corruption of the Outer Gods.

Take it back to the place you've been longing for.

Bethel realized that he had broken free of the seal and was even standing firmly on the sand, and the painful groans of the Abraham descendant were only a step away from him.

Esther looked at the reproachful gaze, smiled slightly, and then shouted, "Amon!"

The urged "thief" tapped his monocle and, with a wicked grin, opened a passage above the ceremony site, using other forces to tear open another "door".

It's more like a wound nearly a hundred meters long, violently tearing apart the stable present world, and constantly emitting a dizzying, tinnitus-like roar because it's being rejected.

When the seawater, imbued with intense spirituality, poured down from above like a torrential downpour, Esther's smile vanished instantly. She didn't immediately erupt in a tirade; instead, she was filled with regret for believing that Amon would accomplish this "ordinarily."

Fortunately, Medici was there for Amon, and he was there to help Esther vent her frustrations—even though the shouts were all scattered by the force that tore reality apart, it was difficult to quell the anger emanating from Medici.

A boat fell through the crack with the current.

When Esther saw it clearly, she couldn't help but widen her eyes, filled with a wistful joy.

Surrounded by colorful foam, the boat retained its mysterious and dreamlike quality despite its disheveled state. Its billowing sails were riddled with holes, and the warm wood hull was covered in cracks, silently telling the story of the difficult days it had endured.

The pirate flag with the four-leaf clover was tattered at the edges, but it was still waving wildly, as if it were waving to a long-lost friend.

There were even three people standing at the bow of the boat. Two of them were shouting excitedly, while the third stood further away, his face full of relief at surviving, but he did not let his guard down about the changes around him.

It wasn't just them; Esther also saw the crow standing at the bow of the ship. Although birds don't have the same rich facial expressions as humans, Esther could tell it was gloating.

As agreed with Amon, the ritual required something that could disrupt the balance of extraordinary powers—but what she originally wanted was that uniqueness from the old world.

It's definitely not a steam-powered hybrid ship that's practically pickled in the flavor of the Old World!
Then, the "Lucky Clover" fell from the sky, crashing into the gate that summoned the "Gate" back. (End of Chapter)