Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Chapter 1147: An Early Deal
New City of Silver.

Derrick Berg picked up the prepared Lightseeker potion, gazing at the liquid that seemed to intertwine pure beams of light. He drank it in one go.

In an instant, it felt as though he had approached the true sun, his entire body igniting and showing signs of melting.

Derrick did not retreat. He continued running toward the light, the sun, sensed in his core.

His body quickly melted like heated metal-first dripping liquid, then softening and flowing toward the ground like water.

His bones melted, his organs melted, his brain melted, and even his spirit and consciousness began to dissipate rapidly.

But he never stopped. Supported by the justice deep in his core, he struggled and wriggled forward, guided by the faint light of the sun in his blurred consciousness.

At this moment, he seemed to return to the Forsaken Land of the Gods, to the days when he ventured into the Giant King's Court with Chief Colin Iliad and Gehrman Sparrow. But unlike then, the surroundings were not cloaked in darkness and lightning but illuminated by the crimson moonlight that shone through the gloom.

Dragging his melted body and soul, fueled by a belief that abandoned everything for the light, Derrick continued his pursuit with difficulty but unwavering determination.

The light grew closer, and his spirit merged with the burning heat, leaving only a sliver of residual consciousness.

Finally, he saw a pair of grand double doors, sensing the sun and light he longed for beyond them.

His blurred consciousness collided with the doors, pushing them ajar.

A sea of golden light entered Derrick's vision, and a sun of intertwining blazing white and gold rose steadily, illuminating all and dispelling the crimson and darkness.

Derrick Berg smiled and stopped at the entrance.

He immediately sensed his spirit, soul, and body flowing back together, merging into one.

The door he saw quickly became illusory, while the sun gradually lost its color and form, revealing its true nature-a slowly rotating chaotic vortex face.

Lumian placed the dark golden, peculiar mask back onto the center of his left shoulder head, covering the face with its starlit glow.

He had come to the New City of Silver this time to fulfill his promise of helping Mr. Sun Derrick complete the ritual.

The ritual for the Lightseeker potion required finding an item with at least the rank of an Angel and a close connection to the mysticism of the Sun. The item had to be bound to the Beyonder's most critical and justice-related memory, then placed in front of them.

This served as a beacon for Beyonders consuming the Lightseeker potion, providing a mystical connection that would be the last to melt, helping them maintain their direction, clarity of consciousness, and determination to persist through the transformation process.

For this ritual, the binding of memory and item was accomplished by Mr. Fool's Grafting, and the item was Lumian's chaotic vortex face. Its close association with the Chaos Sea naturally made it deeply connected to the mysticism of the Sun.

Lumian's role was to arrive at the scene, remove the mask, and let the chaotic vortex face manifest the power of the Sun.

After stabilizing himself, Derrick Berg, clad in a plain white robe, bowed respectfully to Lumian. "Thank you for your assistance."

Lumian glanced around and smiled. "I'd like to borrow a room."

"Alright," The Sun Derrick replied without asking why.

He helped Lumian find a quiet scripture-reading room in the Church of The Fool's headquarters.

Lumian sat down, raised his left hand, and pressed it onto the center of the mask on his head.

His shadow suddenly squirmed as if it had gained self-awareness.

Then Lumian's voice echoed in his heart, plunging into the depths of his shadow and the corrupted part of his nature. "Mr. Naboredisley, I'd like to meet with you now."

The sound sank into the pitch-black abyss, reverberating layer upon layer.

Lumian did not need to unseal or remove the mask to employ the abilities of the Visionary and The Hanged Man at this level.

Not long after, a dark, sinister liquid seemed to churn and surge within his shadow, from which an ice-blue-eyed Naboredisley rapidly emerged.

"Good afternoon." Naboredisley greeted with gentlemanly poise, taking a seat opposite Lumian with a smile. "Are you preparing for the secret deed with the City of Calamity?"

"I still need two or three weeks to strengthen the balance of my body. You wouldn't want me to explode the moment I accommodate the City of Calamity, would you?" Lumian responded with a faint smile.

"Then why did you seek me?" Naboredisley asked directly, skipping any guesses.

Lumian chuckled. "I want you to give me that portion of Abomination Beyonder characteristic in advance. Otherwise, we might not have time to handle it when the moment comes.

"We must prepare for unforeseen events and get all the groundwork done early."

"But you haven't fulfilled your end of the deal," Naboredisley reminded.

Lumian looked at him with a teasing tone. "I'm not that Celestial Worthy. Have I ever broken a promise?

"Besides, helping you is also helping myself. I have no reason not to fulfill my promise. At worst, if I fail to accommodate it, your attempt will fail indirectly, but in that case, everyone dies anyway, including your Abomination avatar. Keeping it would be meaningless."

Naboredisley remained silent, not responding immediately.

He had always been prone to interpreting others' intentions with the deepest malice.

After all, He was the embodiment of malice itself.

"If you're still worried, you can plant a spiritual mark in my consciousness and spirit right now," Lumian offered. "I don't mind living with it for two or three weeks. The only problem is it might backfire and corrupt you. You know what's inside me."

"But you can erase the spiritual mark before the secret deed with the City of Calamity," Naboredisley hesitated before responding.

Lumian burst out laughing. "Why not draft a notarized contract while we're at it? I'll make it,

and Mr. Fool can witness it."

Naboredisley stared at Lumian for a few seconds before smiling. "No need. I trust you. I'll

have my Abomination avatar come over now.

"The spiritual mark can wait until you bond with the City of Calamity."

Lumian responded with a smile, "Deal."

Soon after, Farbauti, the Abomination covered in gold and wearing a mask painted black and

white, emerged from the spirit world before Lumian.

Naboredisley raised His head and locked eyes with Farbauti, nodding slightly in mutual acknowledgment.

Seeing this, Lumian remarked with a touch of sentiment, "After the last Dream Festival, we made many preparations to guard the tomb and deal with the Angels of the Rose School of Thought's indulgence faction and Devil families, all for the next Dream Festival. Yet none of that came into play. The early arrival of the crimson moon turned the world into ruins, making it impossible to hold the Dream Festival again.

"That's precisely why I want you to hand over the Abomination Beyonder characteristic in advance. Our enemies won't sit idle while we prepare; they won't wait for us to complete everything methodically before starting the apocalypse.

"With what little time remains, we must finish everything we need to do as quickly as possible. Waiting for the perfect moment is futile; the future is full of uncertainties." Naboredisley smiled in response. "Though I doubt your motives, my rational mind tells me this is indeed necessary."

As He spoke, Farbauti removed the golden mask derived from the former Death, Salinger.

With a clatter, the gold covering His body fell away piece by piece, landing on the ground with

metallic thuds.

In mere seconds, His body disintegrated, transforming into a grotesque tree-like shape coated in viscous black liquid.

"Is this the Abomination's Mythical Creature form?" Lumian asked, his curiosity piqued for

once.

Naboredisley shook His head with a smile. "The Mythical Creature form of the Chained pathway is actually invisible, intangible, a collection of various curses. What you saw previously as a Mythical Creature form is essentially the vessel that carries this aggregate-or no, not 'carries.' Using terms like 'binds' and 'fixes' would be more symbolically accurate. "So, the outward manifestation of the Mythical Creature form of this pathway depends on one's self-awareness and the choices made during the advancement to Sequence 4 Puppet and Sequence 2 Ancient Bane as a base. These bases bind and stabilize the various curses resulting from the disassembly process."

"An embalmed mummy at the demigod level?" Lumian recalled the unique items required for

the Puppet advancement ritual.

Naboredisley nodded gently and explained, "Yes, that's one type of anchor. However, it's not strictly necessary to use a demigod-level mummy. Any item with a similar function and the same rank can serve the purpose. The Rose School of Thought's temperance faction traditionally uses mummies for their advancement. This practice is tied to the imagery and history of Tolzna and has even influenced the burial customs of the Highlands Kingdom. "Similarly, the advancement to Ancient Bane requires finding an ancient, evil item capable of bearing angelic power. This item becomes the core of the final Mythical Creature form." "Born Mythical Creatures like Suah and Tirié, who have not completed the corresponding Sequence advancements, exhibit forms that are essentially amplifications of Their Beyonder

characteristics."

Having finished this explanation, Naboredisley discussed a few more aspects of the deep

secret deed with Lumian before taking His leave.

Shortly after His departure, Renette Tinekerr, carrying four golden-haired, red-eyed heads,

and Sharron, wearing a small bonnet, appeared in the room.

They had sensed the convergence and followed their spiritual intuition to investigate.

"Our deal can now move forward," Lumian said with a smile.

Sharron nodded slightly, allowing the crimson-stained crystal tiara hidden in the spirit world

to emerge from its seal and float toward Lumian.

This was the Grade o Sealed Artifact, Calamity of Crimson, corresponding to the Demoness of

Catastrophe.

"It's yours now," Lumian said, gesturing toward the Abomination Beyonder characteristic. "Thank"..."you"..."for"..."your"..."help," Renette Tinekerr four heads spoke in sequence. Sharron, on the other hand, lightly lifted the hem of her dress in a gesture of gratitude.

Once the two ladies had secured the Beyonder characteristic and left the room, Lumian, holding the Calamity of Crimson, returned to where The Sun Derrick was waiting. With a

smile, he said,

"You can trade me the Gift of the Land now."

As he spoke, Cheek's eyes transformed into mirrors, and a figure emerged.

It was Zedus, a man of almost unparalleled beauty, with scarlet eyes.