Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader

Antigonus... Is that the "Half-Fool" Mr. Tower mentioned before? His condition is even worse than Mr. Door's… Does that mean he's also sealed or trapped somewhere?

The Hanged Man said that Antigonus was eradicated by the Evernight Goddess... So it was the Goddess who took action?

The place of sealing is probably the missing Nation of the Evernight on the main peak of the Hornacis Mountain Range, right?

Recalling the entanglement with the Antigonus family since his initial transmigration and the whispers of "Hornacis... Flegrea" he heard every time he drank a potion, Klein couldn't help but make some guesses.

But... what does the last sentence mean, "Amon was never a family"... ?With questions still lingering in his mind, Klein lowered his gaze and continued reading the rest of the contents:

"I know Jacob has long since withered. After all these years, I've never encountered anything or anyone related to this family. If it weren't for reading about them in Fourth Epoch history, I wouldn't even know they existed. They've disappeared even more thoroughly than Amon.

But the following lines went far beyond my knowledge… So I asked Mr. Door about them.

This time, Mr. Door was surprisingly willing to talk, and he told me three things.

First, Antigonus forcibly accommodated the Uniqueness and went mad long ago. He's now trapped in eternal slumber in the Nation of the Evernight by the Evernight Goddess, unable to even wake up. Naturally, his condition is worse than Mr. Door's.

Second, because the six gods supported the Night Emperor, the Tamara family lost the Hand of Order. After the War of the Four Emperors, one faction of the Tamara family intermarried with the declining Abraham family, gaining access to the Apprentice pathway formulas. The other faction continued to insist on the Arbiter pathway, leading to an eventual split.

Third, the reason Amon is not considered a family is that every member of the Amon family is actually a clone of Amon. As a Sequence 1 Worm of Time, Amon has devoured countless Beyonders of the Marauder pathway. The number of his clones is beyond counting… Even the downfall of the Jacob family was because of him—they also held dominion over the Marauder pathway.

I was utterly stunned. If Mr. Door isn't lying, then could there be an Amon among the people around me?

Mr. Door seemed to notice my concern and laughed, telling me that Amon is actually easy to identify because his clones usually wear a monocle over their right eye. Even animals parasitized by him would have a distinctive ring around their right eye.

Apparently, this is a habit of that ancient son of the Sun God."

The page ended there, and Klein quickly flipped to the next one, hoping to gather more information… Unfortunately, what greeted his eyes was:

"May 1st, I feel somewhat tired of Madame Flonarl. Although she hasn't changed, I no longer feel the same passion when I see her…"

Emperor, you were still "laboring" on Labor Day… Truly tireless. Klein sighed in exasperation, quickly skimmed the subsequent paragraphs, and, seeing that they were of a similar nature, flipped to the next page.

The third page was largely the same, but one line stood out:

"August 5th, my loyal captain Isacca is about to set sail on the latest steamship to search for the Forsaken Land of the Gods. Before he departed, he entrusted his wife and daughter to my care…"

I recall seeing a previous diary entry mentioning that this ship, which sought the Forsaken Land of the Gods, lost contact… That incident even inspired Roselle to invent the wireless telegraph.

And Captain Isacca… If I remember correctly, wasn't there a Miss Isacca who later helped Roselle "relive his youth" or something?

What a scoundrel.

After muttering a few complaints, Klein set aside the last two pages and flipped back to the first one. He reread it word by word, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the table as he pondered:

Antigonus was indeed sealed in the Nation of the Evernight by the Goddess… He went mad from failing to accommodate the Uniqueness. Is that the origin of his title, "Half-Fool"?

But the truly terrifying part is that even a near-godly being can go insane. If the Goddess hadn't intervened, would we now have another evil god?

Moreover, the Apprentice, Marauder, and Seer pathways are supposed to oppose each other… So why did they all serve the Blood Emperor Tudor?

Was there a grand conspiracy behind it? Or was it merely the aggregation of Beyonder characteristics?

Lastly, just as Sun encountered Amon, I received a diary page about Amon… This feels eerily similar to my entanglement with Antigonus and the various misfortunes tied to the Twilight Hermit Order… Is this also the result of Beyonder aggregation? The pull of adjacent pathways?

But this level of attraction hasn't been so obvious before…

Could it be that the Amon in question has a significant connection to this gray fog space? Or is it simply because he possesses far too many Beyonder characteristics, amplifying this "aggregation pull"?

He didn't suspect Tower directly, as Derrick's question about Amon had been spontaneous. There was no way Tower could have prepared in advance. Besides, the handwriting on the first diary page was clearly feminine. Which one of Tower's female friends wrote this for him?

After pondering for a while, Klein glanced at Sun and decided to linger in the gray fog after the meeting to observe any further developments.

I wonder if the exploration team captain in Sun's neighboring cell wears a monocle…

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Klein allowed the diary pages to dissipate and leaned back in his chair with a smile:

"You may proceed with your transactions."

As soon as he finished speaking, Justice Audrey slightly raised her hand and said without concealing her intentions:

"I'm seeking three materials: a pair of Mirror Dragon's Eyes, 50 milliliters of its blood, and the fruit of the Elder Tree."

Sun Derrick nodded seriously:

"I'll keep an eye out. Corrupted Mirror Dragons aren't uncommon… Well, in the City of Silver, there are also lingering characteristics of Psychoanalysts, but they're difficult to trade for and easily arouse suspicion.

"Of course, that depends on me successfully leaving the bottom of the tower first…"

At this moment, Klein manipulated World to make the gloomy, hoarse voice resonate:

"I'll ask around in my circles. Also, help me search for the characteristics of a Skin Shadow."

As for the Thousand-Faced Hunter, thanks to the information provided by the Dream Labyrinth Tower, Klein already had a target in mind. However, his recent schedule had been overwhelmingly busy, preventing him from rescuing the vampire Emlyn just yet.

"Alright." Justice Audrey nodded confidently before turning toward The Hanged Man:

"Mr. Hanged Man, I'll also keep an eye out for the Dragon-Eyed Sea Eagle's Eyeball that you're looking for."

She was soon to join the Psychological Alchemy Society, and with such a secretive organization supporting her, access to rare materials might become far less of an issue—as long as she was willing to pay the price.

World chuckled lowly:

"Make sure you stay safe…"

Then, he turned his attention to Judgement:

"I've already obtained the Golden Wings of the Gondola. I'll deliver them to you after the gathering ends."

In truth, Sharon had already delivered the material at noon, but Klein hadn't handed it over immediately. He planned to settle everything after the Tarot Meeting.

"Alright." Judgement Xio sighed in relief. Although she trusted The Fool's fairness, she couldn't help but feel uneasy after paying without seeing any immediate response.

At this moment, Magician Fors inserted herself into the conversation:

"What kind of payment was required to obtain this material, Mr. World? Do you have any extra?"

She was trying to help Xio inquire further.

"2,200 pounds," World responded in a low, even tone after a brief silence.

Upon hearing the price, Fors politely smiled and leaned back into her chair without asking further.

(End of Chapter)