Mystery: The Silver Key

At 8 p.m. Backlund time, Sirion lay down in bed on time, intending to use meditation to help him fall asleep quickly.

He had just lain down on the bed and hadn't even had a chance to close his eyes and meditate when he, who had been full of energy, suddenly became sleepy. He couldn't help but yawn and then fell into a deep sleep.

Consciousness sank into nothingness and darkness, as if drawn and pulled by some unknown force, constantly falling and drifting towards some strange place.

How amazing! Is this the way the Twilight Hermits summon people? I wonder where my consciousness is going to drift to—the depths of the spiritual world, or a special collective dream?

The moment the idea took hold, he actually opened his eyes and saw the scene around him clearly.

It was a deep, dark sea, where every drop of water was like a ray of light, as if representing a trace of consciousness, a mark.

His consciousness drifted uncontrollably toward the "sea" and then sank into the water.

A chilling sensation briefly spread through his mind, leaving him momentarily numb, as if even his thoughts had been frozen.

When he came to his senses, Cyril found himself no longer in the deep, dark sea, but in a magnificent and enormous church.

Inside the ancient, magnificent, and mysterious church, there stand rows of dark stone pillars inlaid with skulls of various races, which do not appear gloomy but rather full of holiness.

The stained glass windows high up in the church, the surrounding walls, and the doors reveal countless transparent and distorted faces, as if countless souls were sealed inside, or perhaps a reflection of some kind of collective consciousness.

The most striking feature is a cross that is over a hundred meters long, surrounded by a dense array of bones. These bones include those of humans, giants, elves, and even dire wolves, seemingly encompassing every race that has ever existed in the world. They are embedded in the surface of every pillar, every arch, and every dome, surrounding the magnificent cross.

In front of the cross were rows of black chairs with backrests, and on each chair sat a figure—men and women, old and young—who all shared a special aura that came from years of holding high positions.

At the very front of all the seats, beneath the tall cross, sat Adam, dressed in a rather simple white robe, with a silver cross pendant hanging on his chest and a warm smile on his face, sitting quietly like an outsider observing everyone.

Cyril stared at the gazes fixed upon him with trepidation, feeling as if each gaze could easily destroy him, or even that the mere act of looking at him could cause real harm and destruction.

There are quite a few demigods and angels, and others, even if they haven't touched divinity, are definitely among the top extraordinary beings below demigods.

Church of Bones!

I never expected that the meeting place of the Twilight Hermits would be Adam's Church of Bones. Although I had guessed it before, I still couldn't help but feel excited when I got there. This can be considered a prototype of a divine kingdom, right?

This is more magnificent than any building I have ever seen, and it possesses both artistic and divine qualities.

Most importantly, I now feel like a husky that has wandered into a pack of wolves.

As the thought crossed your mind, Adam's gentle voice rang out: "Sit down, this is your seat."

As Adam finished speaking, a new black chair appeared on His right, the closest seat to Him, while all the seats in the row moved one seat to the left.

At that moment, Sirion felt the gazes upon him become even more intense, filled with inquiry, curiosity, and scrutiny.

He endured the scrutinizing gazes around him with a blank expression, walked through most of the Church of Bones, and sat down in the seat closest to Adam on his right.

After taking his seat, he glanced at his left, intentionally or unintentionally. One of the most oppressive gazes he had just received came from the other person. This person was definitely an angel!

He was an old man wearing a gray-white robe. He had an unremarkable appearance, his hair was completely white but thick enough, and he didn't have many wrinkles on his face. He didn't have any special features.

Because of Adam's arrangement, He, who was originally in the front, was forcibly moved to the back. Xireen was a little worried that the other party might become hostile or dissatisfied with him because of this.

But he seemed to be overthinking it. The person's expression remained unchanged, and even nodded at him with a slight smile, looking exactly like a kind and loving elder.

After Sirion took his seat, Adam did not speak again, sitting quietly under the huge cross and praying, while the people in the hall talked freely.

Xireen also took the opportunity to observe the people here, but he only glanced at them casually. Everyone present was an extraordinary being, and most of them were high-sequence beings. They were too sensitive to gazes, and a direct gaze might make them feel impolite.

Judging from their clothing, the people here come from both the north and south of China, and most of them are upper-class individuals. Even those who dress simply have a remarkable air about them.

It seems that to join the Twilight Hermits, one must either have a high social status or be powerful enough. However, most of the time, these two factors complement each other, and nobles who have political status but no real power are still in the minority.

Noticing his curious gaze as he looked around, the elderly man in the grey-white robe turned his head and whispered something to him:

"Just observe. Although most of the people who come here are not disguised, you can't use that to investigate their real-world identities, and of course, you can't."

"Why?" asked Sirion curiously.

The old man chuckled and said, "Try to recall our appearance in your mind, and try to remember the details of our bodies."

Cyril immediately tried, and then he found that he could not recall the appearance of any of the people present, or even the details of them.

Psychological suggestion? When?

He paused, looking thoughtfully at the enormous cross surrounded by countless bones.

...Perhaps this was not a psychological suggestion directly imposed on the members by Adam, but rather a kind of almost rule-like influence brought about by the environment, after all, this church of bones can already be considered a prototype of the Kingdom of God.

Back then—no, I should say later—the Church of Bones played a crucial role in enabling Amon to obtain the final "Time Worm" extraordinary trait in Backlund.

As he was lost in thought, the old man beside him chuckled and said, "It seems you already know the reason for this restriction."

"There have been quite a few new members recently, but you are the most special and the most interesting one."

"Me? Why?"

Cyril asked back with some curiosity... It couldn't be because she sat next to Adam as soon as she arrived, could it?

The old man leaned back in his chair, and after a moment of recollection, he spoke: "Although many people have joined us in recent years, those qualified to sit here are at least Sequence 6, possessing relatively powerful magical items, and capable of intimidating a region."

"You are the only person in recent years to appear here as a Sequence 9, and you've just been promoted to Sequence 9."

He paused, then added, "The last little guy to appear here as a Sequence 9 was Russell."

Cyril glanced sideways: "Emperor Roselle?"

The old man nodded gently, as if recalling the past: "It was him. He wasn't as restrained as you were back then. The first time he came, he openly and boldly scanned everyone, and then he was warned."

"But undeniably, he was a remarkable figure who reached the pinnacle that all extraordinary individuals dream of within just a few decades, albeit for only a few brief minutes."

A name suddenly popped into Cyril's wandering mind: Hermes.

One of the earliest masters of human mysticism, the founder of human mysticism, an angel of Sequence 2 of the "Audience" pathway, and one of the people Roselle was more familiar with in the Twilight Hermits.

An angel who had joined the Twilight Hermits and called Roselle "little fellow" seemed quite familiar with him. The first person Cyril thought of was Hermes, who had appeared in Roselle's diary.

The thought had barely crossed his mind when the old man's voice rang out at the opportune moment: "You seem to recognize me, because I mentioned Rosell?"

"It seems you have a significant connection with this legendary figure. Are you a descendant or an inheritor of his legacy?"

Cyril's expression stiffened slightly, and the thoughts that flashed through his mind finally settled into one sentence: I hate "the audience".