Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

"October 30th, the Calamity Seal is missing."

With this entry, the page came to an abrupt end.

Klein set down the diary, reflecting thoughtfully:

"So Liu Bo left Roselle because of his insistence on going to the moon... And Roselle, ever stubborn, didn't listen to reason. He lost Green in his youth for being headstrong, and that still didn't teach him a lesson?

"But what's really on the moon? Why was Liu Bo so wary?

"Judging by the outcome, Roselle must have returned safely... Either he reconsidered after Liu Bo left and gave up the idea, or he went to the moon, came back safely but was affected somehow... perhaps polluted by the Primordial Moon.

"That would explain Roselle's rambling in that dream fragment: 'I should've listened to Liu Bo back then.'

"And Mr. Door is sometimes trustworthy, sometimes not? That sounds eerily like Roselle's contradictory nature during the Dream Labyrinth Tower. Maybe my previous speculation was right—Mr. Door was likely polluted by the Primordial Moon, or perhaps he was the very source of the pollution...

"Could it be that Roselle was tricked by him into going to the moon?"

Because of the Dream Labyrinth Tower's revelations while removing Temperance's corruption, Klein quickly linked the diary's content to what he already knew, cross-verifying and validating some conjectures.

"But this 'Two-Faced Dragon' title... who does it really refer to? And what kind of collaboration did Liu Bo have with it that made the Emperor so wary?

"Judging by the context, it... no, He, is probably a deity... But based on the six divine statues I saw in the Williams Street ruins, none depicted a dragon...

"Could it be that the God of Steam and Machinery is actually a dragon? Or is it the ancient god recorded by Silver City, the Dragon King Ankewelt, who is still alive and working with Liu Bo?

"There's too little information... But one thing's clear—Roselle didn't trust this 'Two-Faced Dragon.' He even began doubting Liu Bo and insisted on verifying the truth for himself...

"But what's this 'truth of the world'? Why must it be confirmed on the moon?

"Could it be something like 'brain-in-a-vat' or 'virtual reality'? Hmm, probably not. Otherwise, someone would've already pulled my plug, or an administrator would have shown up..."

Klein sighed. There was important information on this page, but critical details were missing, leaving him to speculate wildly.

Roselle said he would punch every fortune-teller he met, but he really should've punched himself—writing diaries full of riddles!

—Though maybe it's just because I haven't collected enough of them yet.

Taking a slow breath, Klein turned his focus back to the diaries, picking up the page contributed by Justice.

He quickly found something intriguing:

"January 18th. I attended another gathering of that ancient secret organization.

"Recalling how the Seal provoked me yesterday, I decided to investigate further.

"During a break in conversations, I whispered to the elderly Hermes gentleman next to me, asking if he recognized the vampire duke Rhine Callendia or the 'Death Regent' Vicente Miranda.

"The elder told me he'd only heard of Rhine Callendia, who was a vampire and held the title of Count of Silver Eye, bestowed by the Solomon Empire.

"Typically, angels were granted dukedoms, but this 'Silver-Eyed Count' who styled himself as an 'Observer' was an exception, making him memorable.

"As for more detailed information, the old gentleman suggested I consult the Zaratul family, who had once served the Solomons. They might have records on the matter."

"I wanted to ask him directly, but ever since I gave him the Antigonus family's notes, I haven't seen him again. He didn't even attend this gathering.

"Later, I inquired about Vicente Miranda, the 'Death Regent.'

"The elder said he'd met that one several times. Vicente called himself the 'Lord of Souls' and was supposedly a contingency plan left by the God of Death. Yet he maintained close ties with the Church of the Evernight Goddess, which earned him the God of Combat's resentment.

"The elder then cryptically mentioned that the 'Lord of Souls' retained an unusually intact humanity, quite different from most angels. It was as if he were entirely free from divine corruption, even though he had few 'anchors.'

"I didn't quite understand. Isn't retaining one's humanity a good thing?"

Reading this, Klein was perplexed and couldn't help mulling over it:

"Is 'anchor' some sort of code? What does it represent that it can stabilize divinity?

"And does humanity really diminish after becoming an angel? Otherwise, why would Hermes say that Liu Bo retained complete humanity?"

Exhaling deeply, Klein felt the diary held an impressive amount of valuable information today. Beyond the questions he couldn't immediately answer, there were some noteworthy gains:

Firstly, the Zaratul Roselle met was clearly not the same figure from the Fourth Epoch's War of the Four Emperors. By this world's naming conventions, he should probably be called "Junior Zaratul" or "Zaratul Nth."

Secondly, Roselle confirmed that Liu Bo's past titles were "Observer, Count of Silver Eye" and "Lord of Souls." This would help Klein gather intelligence about him in the future.

Thirdly, Liu Bo's "Death Regent" incarnation likely met his demise because the God of Combat feared he would hand over the God of Death's remnants to the Goddess. Although it's unclear how one ascends beyond Sequence 0, according to Tower's Pathway Theory, the true gods of the Black Death and Combat pathways can't coexist in that state. This was likely the fundamental reason for the conflict between the Goddess and the God of Combat.

Klein's thoughts swirled as he read the final lines of the page. He couldn't help but tug the corners of his mouth wryly:

"Although the elder Hermes gentleman shared many little-known stories about the 'Lord of Souls,' I was dissatisfied.

"After all, my original intention was not to learn those stories… but to inquire about Vicente Miranda's private life!

"Unfortunately, Hermes had no information on that and politely ended our conversation."

Klein sighed inwardly: Truly worthy of being the Emperor!

He glanced at the date on the top of the page: January 18th.

Wait, isn't this the day after the Emperor bragged to Liu Bo about tasting the charms of a Witch, only to get humiliated by Liu Bo's high-quality female companions, making him write down his envy in the diary?

If both entries were from the same year...

Given the Emperor's desperation to verify Liu Bo's claims, it probably was.

(End of Chapter)