Lord of the Mysteries: Yao Guang

The waves repeatedly wash onto the beach, never getting tired. The white foam sinks like broken glass, sweeping over the creatures living in the shallows, occasionally leaving behind traces of their lives, or simply spitting out empty shells that have no life, completing the polishing between high tide and low tide.

If you step on it, the empty shell with only one side left will be easily crushed, and then the crack will expand and become fragments that get stuck under the thick soles of boots.

The man wearing high boots looked unkempt. He said unkempt because his tangled black hair had not been combed for a long time and hung down behind him like a bush. His dense stubble was quite decadent, and he looked completely self-destructive.

He looked like one of those homeless people whose savings had run out. There were too many people like him in Bayam. The laws here were just like a broken fishing net, through which small fish and shrimp could easily pass and then fend for themselves in the waves.

It’s just that some unusual things have happened recently, and this place has attracted too much attention, making it no longer suitable for people who want to live in quiet seclusion.

The man wore an antique leather tricorn hat on his head, revealing his bronze skin and furrowed brows. From his slovenly appearance, there was another sharpness that could not be ignored.

Only his eyes were bright, almost frighteningly bright, like a drawn machete, reflecting silver shadows that focused in the void.

He tried hard to see something, to distinguish the chaotic trajectory, and then decide where to go.

Warm blood flowed from his nose, and the fine threads of blood seemed to have life as they climbed, gradually covering the whites of the man's eyes. There was no one else nearby; this was the edge of the beach he had specially found, so he could use his abilities without concealment, risking losing control and becoming a monster, exploring the limits of his own glimpse into fate.

He was afraid that Bayam would sink.

Seven days had passed since he landed on the island and found this beach. From this angle, the new land was growing every day, now almost half the size of Bayam's original land, like half a snail emerging from its shell.

Where did it come from? What was it from? Was it harmful to Bayam? Divination wasn't even an option for these questions. His intuition had warned him countless times—he should run, leave this place, find a ship like any other pirate or adventurer and return to any "normal" place, instead of staying here any longer.

But he couldn't let go. Some people could leave, while others couldn't. He was still thinking about someone who had no way to leave Bayam. She said the port was incredibly busy, and the garrison had begun personnel control. Her desk was piled with documents waiting to be reviewed and classified, and she wouldn't be able to write to him for a while.

So he came here, and without looking away, he saw many incomprehensible things from that abrupt peninsula, gray, blurred, and fragmented.

The man pressed his hand on his waist. The pistol covered by the loose shirt was still there. The cold inorganic substance made his boiling brain feel calm. This was the only truth he could touch behind his fate.

He was almost blinded, but he couldn't take his eyes away. He knew he was approaching some truth, he was about to see the key point of all this, he needed to know if Bayam was safe.

A tear of blood flowed down his cheek and disappeared into his hedgehog-like stubble.

She didn't even realize that she had come to Bayam out of worry during this chaotic time. Even if he lost control and died on the beach, she wouldn't know a single thing. He would become a pen pal who disappeared forever in the waves.

Something was undulating in his eyeballs, trying to crawl out across the shadow of fate and transform into white patterns covering his weathered face.

He did see something. The silver light shattered from his eyes, and a nightmarish red hung in the sky. The sun and the moon disappeared, leaving only the crimson eternal night.

he saw...

"What are you looking at?"

A sudden female voice sounded from behind, and the pain in her eyes seemed to have just arrived at this moment, causing the man to utter an uncontrollable low groan. He felt as if someone had hit him on the head with a club, driving away all his perceptions and leaving only a chaotic confusion.

"Uh...I..."

The man rubbed his bloody eyes in panic, responded vaguely twice, and ran quickly in the direction he came from. He didn't even look back, leaving the stranger who spoke to him there, his mind full of thoughts about leaving quickly.

Naturally, he didn't notice the soft light hidden between his fingers. All he could see was the color of blood, and for a short while he couldn't see anything.

Esther crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the extraordinary person from the "monster" path fleeing in amusement. He was really crazy to the point that he had the courage to watch the end of the world without knowing his own life.

How could I watch some of this? Wait, Klein's here too. This guy's going to go even crazier.

Esther also looked up, observing the new settlement of the residents of the East Continent from this position. No matter what the purpose of this false miracle was, at least it had settled the people well after the migration, allowing them to get the longed-for daylight.

Esther couldn't do this. For Klein, a miracle of this scale that came out of thin air would require at least Sequence 2 or even Sequence 1.

The "New Bayam" confirmed some of Esther's suspicions. The progress of "history" was too slow for Him, and there were too many forces playing tricks. He couldn't wait to open the door and descend into the new world.

Therefore, He is accelerating the birth of "The Fool" in this world, opening a backdoor in the program and loading "Merlin," the Executioner with full health. Such an extreme action will simultaneously intensify both worlds, like a nail stuck between two colliding eggs. Even if the old world is likely to shatter faster, the existing new world is unlikely to remain intact.

Esther felt that this action was somewhat stupid. He had revealed his goal directly. Wasn't he afraid that Dazhibo would take advantage of this anxiety?

Well, no one is more anxious than anyone else. The end is near, and the deadline is the same for all gods.

Thinking of this, Esther also gazed at the brand new peninsula, and with the sea breeze blowing, she showed an extremely gentle smile.

The silver light reflected in her eyes was far clearer than that of the daring Beyonder before. If the world was destroyed for a second time, both the new and the old would be unable to sustain their own existence. The Ouroboros would return to its place, returning to true chaos and dissipating at the origin of its slumber.

The River of Eternal Darkness is closer to the River of Destiny than anyone thinks.

So now, those who don’t want to dissipate are struggling.

"Esther."

When she heard the call, the smile on Esther's face faded slightly.

She turned her head and saw Klein standing beside her, a slightly worried look on his face. "You were smiling strangely just now."

He didn't appear as Hermann, but instead wore the same black vest and formal suit. Beneath his half-top hat, he looked just like when they first met and introduced themselves. He still held the sunken wood cane in his hand, his brown eyes calm and resolute. His smile was more natural, though no longer the shy and curious one Esther remembered. Instead, he seemed at ease and controlled.

This is a historical projection of Klein Moretti from Tingen.

"What's strange about that?" Esther asked.

Klein thought for a moment before saying seriously, "It's as if you're about to fly away at any moment. As if you're not standing here, with no intention of meeting me, but about to face some kind of... helpless yet liberating outcome."

He considered his words and decided to be more honest about his feelings.

"Is this also the special ability of the 'Fortune Teller'? Hehe, maybe you're overthinking it," Esther winked playfully. But before Klein could reply, she pointed to the horn-like new island and said, "Let's go take a look first. We'll talk about other things after we've seen them. I bet you're curious about how they're doing now."

Yes, the residents of the Sun and Silver City are just around the corner of this small bay. They left that sunless land and received the promise from the Fool without knowing the full picture.

Klein's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously patted his chest. This action was certainly not because of the sigh in his heart. Soon, a lark's fluffy and messy head popped out from inside, reluctantly chirping as if afraid of being noticed.

Esther met Norns' extremely aggrieved eyes. It was hard to imagine that such a small black bean could contain such a huge resentment. This time, she smiled more naturally: "I thought you would be even angrier. Being left behind is never a pleasant thing."

Then the lark became furious and flew out from the projection of history like a small cannonball, biting Esther's hair frantically amid a series of curses mixed with language and bird calls.

As Klein listened, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion. For the first time, he realized that his vocabulary was smaller than Norns's. Because he couldn't hold it in, his sigh also revealed a distorted laugh.

He suddenly realized that he hadn't been so relaxed for a long time. It was not for a set plan or a targeted victory, but for feeling a little happy for something simply meaningless.

It seemed that when he was with Esther, this stable and comfortable feeling would be magnified, and the cold feeling brought by the Beyonder's characteristics would be covered up.

"Anchor"?

Is this also why she wasn't harmed by Amon and the others? She truly has infinitely convenient and exploitable value.

Before Klein's brows furrowed in thought, Esther grabbed the fluffy lark with one hand, letting it leave red marks on her hand. With her other hand, she patted Klein's shoulder:
"Let's go. Don't worry about this little alarm. Just wait until it has vented its anger."

Klein knew that if he laughed too loudly, Norns would get angry, but he couldn't help it.

-

After communicating with the local garrison, the Church of Storms had already established a checkpoint at the border between the "New Island" and the former Bayam, to guard against those giants who appeared to have Feysac blood—they were even taller than the Feysac people, and some of them had strange and alienated features.

This can easily make ordinary people feel uncomfortable when facing aliens. They look like "humans" who can communicate, but because of various details that are not in line with common sense, they bring a sense of fear that goes against common sense.

The only thing that made the locals feel fortunate was that these strange people could at least communicate—albeit in some extremely ancient language. This was an effort made by the Church of Evernight, which had temporarily landed in Bayam. They had established communication with the other side before the Church of Storm.

Rumors abounded among those in charge of the temporary checkpoints, all claiming the Church of Evernight knew where these people came from. Since someone knew, they weren't as frightening. However, the Mandated Punishers of the Church of Storms dared not let their guard down. Their greater concern wasn't the people landing on the island, but the island itself.

They even secretly transported a Level 1 Seal, ready to directly drown Bayam in the event of an extreme situation. Every Punisher who had recently landed in Bayam was mentally prepared to die in the line of duty. This was a secret order from the Church.

Each temporary checkpoint will be guarded by a Punisher and a rotating guard team.

Klein and Esther approached the wooden checkpoint. He looked at her, asking her what to do, wanting to see how Esther planned to enter the "New Island" without alerting others.

Then Klein noticed a young guard running over from a distance, excitedly shouting to others, "It's a wanted criminal! There's a wounded wanted criminal over there! I saw him covering his eyes and wailing as he ran away! We still have time to chase him now—"

He took a deep breath and shouted even louder into the checkpoint, "The bounty is over four thousand gold pounds! Mr. Fidi, I think he escaped from the direction of New Island. He's wanted by the Church of Storms!"

This young man was a bit cunning, knowing how to leverage the power of those he could, even using the Church's name. As the Mandated Punisher, it was impossible for him to sit still. Mr. Fidi, who had been resting in the checkpoint, emerged with a taut vein on his forehead, clearly filled with suppressed anger.

But he couldn't help but take a look, otherwise he would feel even more upset.

The attention of several other defenders was also attracted. They gathered around the young man and followed him towards the beach for a while before they suddenly remembered that they should leave some men behind.

Esther and Klein had already passed through the temporarily ignored checkpoint.

Klein was lost in thought. Although it seemed like a sudden, fortunate event at first glance, he couldn't help but observe Esther's expression from the corner of his eye.

Esther responded to his probing gaze. "That unfortunate fellow was right there on the beach before we arrived. He was... well, a 'monster'. He was also looking at something he shouldn't have been looking at."

Klein curled his lips and waved his cane lightly. "Honestly, if you were extremely lucky, would it be possible for you to achieve your dream?"

Esther shook her head in amusement and placed the gradually quieting Norns on her shoulder so that it could comb its messy feathers. "For example, let the enemy suddenly lose control or suffer a sudden illness? However, for such a demanding condition, you need to ask someone else for help."

She looked at Klein seriously. In those pale eyes, Klein glimpsed a cold core: "Don't put too much faith in the power of fate, good luck or bad luck. In the face of fate, the individual is insignificant. No matter which way you go, you are always on the Möbius strip."

"What about you? Are you still walking on that belt?"

Klein's question was deeply rooted in the past detours. Esther was silent for a moment. They left the sentry hut behind and headed deeper into the other end of the dense forest, gradually moving away from the direction they came from.

Klein didn't seem ready to accept Esther's silence. He let her rest for a moment before continuing:

"I know you saved a lot of people, and Norns told me a lot of things. You even pretended to threaten me with them, but now that I think about it, I don't think you could really do it. You were just trying to scare me."

When Esther's rebuking gaze turned away, Klein laughed again: "A thief's little trick, huh?"

Esther's face felt a little hot. This time, Norns, who was sitting on her shoulder, laughed uncontrollably. Esther poked him with a finger, "What are you laughing at? You're also in this mess."

The bird immediately fell silent.

"Nornes has merged with the remaining part of the gray fog. This should be a better result for it, right?"

Esther lowered her eyes. She knew it was because of Klein's choice that he released the last part of the gray fog's restrictions. "Thank you."

"I don't mean anything else, I just want to make sure it's not dangerous... and of course, you, are you really okay?"

Klein's worried gaze passed through a few strands of soft hair, almost piercing the surface of a colorful bubble. He was observing something deeper.

Is Klein really that perceptive? Esther wondered curiously, or has he become a stranger to her, or has his spiritual intuition become even stronger?
Esther nodded her forehead. "I can't really explain it. I just know that my connection to 'The Mystery' still exists. Although it's been weakened after replacing the Beyonder's special characteristics, no, I can't remove myself, just like the appendix can't escape from a person's body on its own."

However, Esther believed that everything she had done was enough to make "Mysterious" lose his patience. If the pain reached an extreme, he might even have the urge to remove his appendix. Many eyes were watching, waiting for this possibility.

Klein took a deep breath. For the first time since meeting Esther, his voice became erratic, as if confirming that he was just a shadow from history. "If, I mean if, someone else becomes a mystery, can they help you get rid of this trouble?"

He didn't even say "himself." He wasn't that arrogant. Sequence Three versus Sequence One, even a being beyond a True God? Who was going to fight? Me?
This time it was Esther who stared at Klein. It was unknown at which sentence the two of them stopped.

For a moment, the only sound was the rustling of the wind through the treetops. This was the "new island," and because it was so new, birds and beasts had not yet set foot here. Now, even the overlapping footsteps of the birds and beasts were gone.

She and he kept pace; it no longer mattered who stopped first. (End of Chapter)