Lord of the Mysteries:Voice of the Stars

Hearing Mr. corder's words, the black-haired, brown-eyed Benson first scrutinized the two men before him. Then, with a hint of confusion, he asked,

"Mr. corder, are you transferring the company to these two gentlemen?"

"That's right. I've reached the age of retirement, and it's time for me to focus on my later years rather than business matters.

Benson, you've always been an outstanding employee. I hope that under Mr. George's leadership, you will have an even brighter future."

Hearing his former employer's words, Benson nodded thoughtfully before smiling and extending his hand toward George.

"Hello, Mr. George. I'm Benson Moretti. It's an honor to work under your leadership."

"Hello, Mr. Benson. I look forward to seeing your future contributions."

Noticing the refined speech and proper etiquette of the young man before him, George smiled and extended his hand as well, giving Benson a firm handshake.

Seated comfortably on the couch, Ael set down his teacup and gazed at Benson Moretti with a curious expression.

If he wasn't mistaken, this man should be Klein's older brother.

To think that the company he acquired just happened to be the one where Benson Moretti worked in the original novel—what a coincidence.

Could this be an arrangement by someone…?

After pondering for a moment, Ael dismissed the thought.

Given his uniqueness, unless the Visionary had gained a deep understanding of him and deliberately manipulated fate, no one could orchestrate such an encounter without him noticing.

A mere Writer wouldn't be able to arrange his destiny—not even Adam could. This was a matter of rank and authority.

The Nature of "Blank"

By now, Ael had already resigned himself to the peculiar nature of his pathway and Sefirot—essentially a "discounted" version of divinity.

Even though he possessed a uniqueness, he was unable to wield its power effectively. The "Blank" uniqueness required a Sequence 1 characteristic as a foundation to function properly. In other words, until he reached Sequence 1, his uniqueness was practically useless.

The "Blank" uniqueness was rather special. Its authority and symbolic domain were abstract, allowing it to accommodate the Beyonder characteristics of any pathway.

If he absorbed three different Sequence 1 characteristics, the "Blank" uniqueness could transform into the uniqueness of those respective pathways.

For example, if he obtained the Sequence 1 characteristics of Writer, worm of Time, and Mercury Snake, then the "Blank" uniqueness could freely shift between the uniqueness of the Visionary, Error, and Wheel of Fortune pathways.

It was similar to the White Tower pathway's ability to simulate abilities from other Beyonder paths—except that Ael's pathway simulated them on a far grander scale, even replicating the authority of uniqueness itself.

It was essentially a patchwork divinity, stitched together from fragments.

This was why selecting Beyonder characteristics that aligned with his symbolic nature was of utmost importance. While the "Blank" uniqueness could transform into any pathway's uniqueness, its fundamental symbolism and authority never changed.

Furthermore, his incomplete, underdeveloped Sefirot was in the process of self-repair and the gestation of another pathway, meaning that it couldn't exert much influence outside of his Mirror World.

At best, he could use it in a manner similar to Klein's method with the Gray Fog—to momentarily elevate his status, respond to prayers, and create charms.

He had a hunch that his Sefirot's method of completing itself and birthing another pathway was deeply connected to his Mirror World outside his Mirror Palace.

If he could turn the Mirror World from an illusion into reality, then his Sefirot should become complete, allowing him to truly walk the path of the Old Days.

As for how to achieve that transformation, Ael speculated that anchors would be the key.

In a world where everything bore divinity, the beliefs and perceptions of ordinary people—anchors—held significant power.

"I think, therefore I am" wasn't just an abstract statement in the world of Lord of the Mysteries. The sheer weight of mortal faith and perception could influence even the existence and cognition of Sequence 0 beings.

This mind-influencing force was the most unpredictable and insidious.

The Importance of the "Writer" Pathway

This was precisely why Ael sought the Writer characteristic. Among the Five Apocalyptic Pathways of Omnipotence and Omniscience, the White Tower represented omniscience, the Sun represented the foundation, the Tyrant represented the physical, the Hanged Man represented omnipotence, and the Visionary represented the mind—the authority of creation.

If he became a Writer, he could leverage his "Blank" uniqueness, converting it into the Visionary uniqueness, thereby gaining the power of Imagination.

Just as Adam once envisioned an entire island into existence, Ael would be able to imagine countless beings into existence, filling his Mirror World with life.

At that point, he would introduce these imaginary beings into the real world, establishing a bridge between reality and his Mirror World, allowing ordinary people to freely enter and exit.

For those imaginary beings, Ael could script their destinies using the Writer ability, ensuring deep interactions between them and real-world individuals.

As more people entered and influenced his Mirror World, their perceptions would gradually solidify it, transforming it from illusion to reality.

In the end, Ael planned to make his Mirror World into something akin to the Spirit World or an extra-dimensional space—a unique realm attached to yet independent from reality.

This idea was inspired by the Mystic Servant Ritual. In the original story, the Utopia was an excellent example of such a construct. The difference was that it was a manipulated dream, while his was a fabricated world.

"A world, no matter how modest, should at least have a planet, right? That's far more complicated than Klein's city-sized domain."

"Time, fate, rules—those are easy to define. But how do I establish the fundamental settings of this world? Should I copy ideas from my past life's novels? Manga? Or should it be like those virtual reality games?"

"Should it be a Cyberpunk Metropolis or a Mythological Revival?"

"A Waterworld or perhaps a Jurassic Dreamscape?"

"Ugh, I'm thinking too much. First, I need to acquire the Writer characteristic. If that doesn't work, I may have to target Bernadette's Pale Emperor characteristic instead."

"Worst case scenario, I'll just turn it into an Undead World."

The more Ael thought about it, the more excited he became. He could already envision himself in the future—punching the Tianzun, kicking the Lord of Storms, and flipping over the Mother Goddess of Depravity with a single move.

A grin stretched across his face, and before he knew it, he had started laughing out loud.

His eerie, cackling laughter sent shivers down the spines of George, Benson, and corder, causing them to inhale sharply.

Realizing he had gotten too carried away in his daydream of godhood, Ael coughed into his fist and smiled.

"Apologies, I just remembered something amusing. I didn't disturb you, did I?"

"Oh, not at all, Mr. Ael. Feel free to laugh however you wish—after all, this is your company."

In high spirits, corder waved his hand dismissively, unconcerned.