Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability
Chapter Summary
Without this "negative effect," Lumian suspected he would have been attacked the instant he was spotted by the goat-faced Demon, instead of being asked if he needed flesh. It was unclear whether it was the Knight of Swords or the temperance faction demigod who then took control of Lumian's body, translating his words into a language the goat-faced Demon could understand. Once the translation was finished and control of his mouth returned, he added, "A bird's egg?" After about ten seconds, the go...
For a moment, Lumian was unsure whether the Authority Holder's Under-the-table Transaction, a Beyonder item from the Broker pathway, actually had negative effects.
On the one hand, encountering a deal with Demons and other evil beings surprisingly prevented a potential battle. Without this "negative effect," Lumian suspected he would have been attacked the instant he was spotted by the goat-faced Demon, instead of being asked if he needed flesh. This seemed like a manifestation of how a Shadow Merchant could reduce the malice from dangerous creatures and mysterious entities.
However, it was definitely wrong if this wasn't considered a negative effect. Dealing with a Demon wouldn't be simple or easy. It might even be very dangerous, even if the Demon was already dead.
After a few seconds of deliberation, Lumian, pointing to the half-body of the Abscessed Hand on the grayish-white stone table, asked, "I want it all. What must I give in return?"
He planned to gauge the difficulty of the transaction first. If it proved too challenging, he would ask for help from the temperance faction demigod to confront and collectively eliminate this decaying goat-faced Demon!
Having a deal offered by a Demon didn't mean you had to accept it!
As soon as Lumian spoke, he felt his body stiffen and a coldness spread within him.
He understood what was happening and didn't resist or struggle, then found himself involuntarily speaking in a gravelly, metallic voice, as if using dead vocal cords.
His words were repeated in an unknown language by the goat-faced giant, and every word struck a chill into Lumian's spirit, feeling as though they were piercing his Spirit Body.
Bent over and goat-faced, the black-skinned decaying Demon responded in the same hollow language, its voice echoing ominously.
One of the words seemed to grasp Lumian's Spirit Body and body as if by a giant hand.
If it weren't for his "dead" state and the protection of the Eggers family's golden mask, just this interaction alone could have severely harmed him.
Soon, the ethereal voice of the Knight of Swords resonated in his mind: "I want Farbauti dead!"
Farbauti? The Devil Monarch, Farbauti, the true form of Naboredisley?
The terms of the deal require me to kill an ancient god? Lumian narrowed his eyes at the towering goat-faced devil, regaining control of his voice to say, "That's an ancient god. I can't do it. Change the terms."
If the goat-faced devil refused to change the terms, then there was no need for negotiation!
Facing an ancient god might be beyond me, but taking you down certainly wasn't!
It was just a matter of owing a favor to a demigod!
That debt could be repaid slowly over time!
It was unclear whether it was the Knight of Swords or the temperance faction demigod who then took control of Lumian's body, translating his words into a language the goat-faced Demon could understand.
This also brought Lumian a strange sensation.
The goat-faced Demon, capable of standing four to five meters tall but appearing only a bit over three meters due to its bent back, fell silent for a moment before speaking in a deep, hollow tone, "I want that egg."
Egg? Lumian muttered to himself in confusion.
He understood directly because the Knight of Swords had already translated it synchronously.
"Where is this egg?" Lumian inquired.
As a member of the temperance faction took control of his mouth to relay the question, the decaying goat-faced Demon let the massive thigh bone in its hand drop to the ground with a loud thud.
"In the palace," the goat-faced Demon answered simply, making the Knight of Swords' job of translating much easier.
This also made the Knight of Swords' translation job much easier.
Lumian asked, seeking confirmation, "The palace of Death?"
Could a former divine residence be extremely dangerous?
The goat-faced Demon's eyes, oozing blood and pus, shifted slightly.
"Yes."
An egg within Death's palace... Lumian hesitated between agreeing to the deal or just seizing it.
As he surveyed his surroundings, he further inquired, "What does this egg look like?"
While waiting for the member of the temperance faction to translate, Lumian noticed a broken statue by a half-buried stone pillar, with only parts of its body remaining.
It was vaguely recognizable as an avian statue, its feathers seemingly woven from mystical patterns, pale-white and dim.
An avian statue... Lumian thought, connecting this with the egg the goat-faced Demon wanted.
Once the translation was finished and control of his mouth returned, he added, "A bird's egg?"
After about ten seconds, the goat-faced Demon dragged its pale thigh bone forward a few steps, which scraped against the ground, producing a grating sound.
The goat-faced Demon spoke slowly and intermittently, "Yes. It's large. Black, within flames."
It really is a bird's egg, and obviously from an abnormal mother...
Birds... Lumian suddenly remembered the prematurely born child they were tracking, associated with the Banshees in their full might.
They resembled birds, with claws and wings!
Although there are clear differences from this bird statue, they are at least all birds... Moreover, since there is an abnormal bird's egg inside Death's palace, it implies the existence of a mother, a mother in the mystical sense... Lumian vaguely grasped the reason Oxyto had conceived such a stillborn and cast it into the Underworld.
Was her goal also this egg, to use it to do something to the Underworld?
Whether integrating the realm of the dead in the Raklev region into her own Paramita or conducting a ritual to impregnate corpses and bear children, was it all for this purpose?
Sheesh, does she intend to merge the Underworld with her own Paramita?
That's quite ambitious, isn't it?
This is a legacy of a true god, a former divine kingdom!
But if Oxyto really succeeds, wouldn't the Great Mother be able to descend directly?
Even if she can't fully merge the Underworld just yet, just planting a seed is still a very dangerous thing for our world!
Lumian immediately asked the goat-faced Demon, "Have you seen a giant baby with bird claws?"
The decaying goat-faced Demon looked at Lumian but did not respond. It was unclear whether it hadn't seen such a thing, or if the influence of the Broker pathway was limited to the transaction itself.
Lumian fell silent for a few seconds before stating, "Deal!"
The goat-faced Demon's head moved almost imperceptibly. It turned and began dragging its pale thigh bone, step by step, back to the grayish-white stone table where the half-body of the Abscessed Hand lay.
Lumian, lowering his voice, shared his recent thoughts with the Knight of Swords and the temperance faction demigod.
Knight of Swords Maric quickly responded, "Let's head to Death's palace right now.'
Seemingly to reassure Lumian, the Knight of Swords added, "You're wearing the Eggers family's mask. Many dangers in the Underworld will naturally avoid you. We only need to worry about anomalies like the boatman. And if Oxyto's monstrous child can get close to Death's palace, close to that bird's egg, then we should be able to as well. Even with the premature birth and the powers inherited from Oxyto, it's at most equivalent to a Sequence 4."
Upon hearing the Knight of Swords say so much in one breath, Lumian pondered and said, "Its state of existence and birth ritual are quite unique. It might be able to harness some of the Underworld's power. Even if it hasn't reached the Angelic level due to being premature, we must treat it as a Sequence 3 demigod in the corresponding environment.'
After all, this was a baby born through the integration of Paramita and the spirit realm, facilitated by Lake Dalsh. And this baby had undergone gestation within a corpse, birth post-mortem, and then returned to its original form through a process of mutation and integration.
It absolutely couldn't be considered a living creature, for living beings would instantly die in the Underworld.
"Yes," the Knight of Swords answered succinctly.
Under the pale glow of a few bone torches mounted on the broken wall, Lumian asked the two members of the temperance faction within him, "If we continue along the path we were on, into the depths of the darkness, will we reach Death's palace?"
Lumian remembered that the Knight of Swords had mentioned reading many notes from the descendants of Death.
Before the Knight of Swords could reply, the goat-faced Demon standing at the gray stone table suddenly lifted the large pale thigh bone.
It used the bone to point toward a dark, deep hole that had been smashed open by a dome-shaped stone block near the broken statue.
That seemed to lead to the dark cathedral's basement.
Lumian paused, then blurted out, "You mean, this leads directly to Death's palace?"
Based on the Knight of Swords' explanations and what he had seen earlier, Lumian believed Death's palace was situated at the bottom of the dark Underworld. One would have to keep heading downward, deep into the ground, to reach it.
But since it was a descent, jumping directly into the seemingly bottomless "basement" might also be feasible.
Emperor Roselle once said, "All roads lead to Trier!"
The decaying goat-faced Demon nodded slowly.
It was only then that Lumian realized: This fellow understands my Intis language! Why did I even bother getting a translator? Is a Demon still a Demon even after death?
Lumian didn't waste any time confronting the decaying goat-faced Demon. He ran a few steps to the edge of the dark, vast hole.
He formed a clump of blazing white flame and placed it at the edge of the hole, illuminating some of the interior: massive stone pillars, blackened wood racks, collapsed stone slabs, and a winding staircase extending downward, disappearing into the darkness.
"No problem," the Knight of Swords conveyed the judgment on behalf of the temperance faction demigod. "It leads to Death's palace."
Without hesitation, Lumian jumped onto the partially collapsed staircase.
Instead of running down the stairs in the usual way, he jumped back and forth between stone pillars, wood racks, staircases, and walls in a linear free-fall.
During this process, Lumian occasionally transformed into a blazing white flame spear to leap over completely collapsed parts without footholds and at other times turned into a shadow creature to navigate around special areas.
The surrounding darkness seemed to hide something, something even the blazing white light couldn't illuminate, but Lumian ignored it, pretending not to notice.
After descending for an indeterminate amount of time, Lumian's feet finally touched the ground.
In the light of the blazing white flame, he saw that the area was littered with broken bones, some white, some yellow-brown, and some dark brown.
Not too far from Lumian, a deep black stone wall stood, set with a heavy wooden door large enough for a giant to pass through.
Lumian walked up to the door, bent over, and extended his palms, beginning to push outward with all his strength.
His instincts told him that beyond this door lay Death's palace.