Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Lumian let go of her hand, pressed his left chest, silently praised Mr. Fool, then led Amandina towards the bottom of the slope through the grayish-white fog.

The further Amandina walked, the more uncomfortable she became with her current state. The icy coldness emanating from within made her feel as if she had already died and become a corpse, while it seemed like another version of herself inside her body was trying to tear its way out.

"Shall we... go back?" she hesitantly said to Lumian.

"We're almost at our destination," Lumian pointed in the direction where the faint, illusory sound of water could barely be heard, then added, "If you really decide to go back now, I can fulfill your request."

Amandina hesitated for a few seconds. "We're already at the edge..."

Wouldn't it be a waste to go back now?

Lumian chuckled. "Don't worry, if it really gets to the point where we can't bear it, I'll definitely run faster than you."

"You saying that makes me even more worried..." Amandina replied softly.

Lumian continued forward, thinking for a moment before saying, "When I tell you to close your eyes, close them. When I tell you to open them, open them immediately."

"Alright." In such an environment, Amandina could only choose to trust Lumian.

Soon, the gray fog in front of them became very thin, revealing a spring the size of a pond.

Pale-white water flowed in the spring, surrounded by deep, dark objects of indescribable color.

Amandina saw a wet, seaweed-like black hair floating in the water, and at the bottom, there seemed to be multiple faint figures hidden, struggling as if they had just drowned and were trying to crawl out.

At the same time, she noticed a lady wandering beside the spring water, wearing a white robe, with black hair, exquisitely perfect features, and a holy aura that seemed out of place in the catacombs.

Amandina was immediately attracted, and if it weren't for the lady's blank and cold gaze, lacking necessary charm, and if the spring water hadn't suddenly retracted into a pitch-black hole that light couldn't penetrate, she might have been unable to pull herself away.

Lumian also saw Krismona's figure, and several thoughts flashed through his mind, I could bring Jenna here to meet Amandina directly, without having to wait until an advancement every time...

The Krismona here is more like a wandering ghost, bound to the area around the Samaritan Women's Spring. Whether she can communicate normally, whether she would indiscriminately attack approaching Demonesses, whether this would cause any abnormalities, is still unknown...

I need to find a way to confirm before bringing Jenna in...

Seeing that Krismona's shadow didn't even glance at him, Lumian turned his head to Amandina and said, "You can close your eyes now."

"Okay." Amandina felt a certain fear and obediently closed her eyes.

Lumian then took two steps forward, reaching the edge of the Samaritan Women's Spring.

The next second, Amandina heard the sound of gushing spring water and felt a violent, frenzied aura descend upon her.

She couldn't help but tremble, her knees weakening.

At the same time, she had hallucinations, believing that multiple figures were approaching her, each extremely terrifying-the kind that would cause nightmares if seen and lead to a tragic death if encountered.

Amandina cried out in fear, "Let's go back! I want to go back!"

As she screamed, the violent and frenzied aura subsided, and the multiple figures in her hallucination retreated.

She heard Lumian's deep voice in her ear. "You can open your eyes now."

Amandina broke free from the extreme fear, relaxing a little.

She didn't hesitate and opened her eyes.

She saw that familiar figure, wearing a strange, rust-spotted iron crown, skin as crystalline as jade, with a white beard gently floating, already quite elderly.

At this moment, the old man's figure was sitting cross-legged at the deep hole, which was violently shaking as if some unknown entity was trying to squeeze out.

Amandina's gaze fell on those deep eyes that seemed like the night sky.

Her thoughts suddenly became blurred, as if she saw a rotting, pus-oozing hand with strange feathers reaching out and pressing on her head.

She also heard an old, blank, cold, and hollow voice ringing in her ear.

But she couldn't understand what the voice was saying.

After an unknown amount of time, Amandina came to her senses. The old man's figure was no longer in her sight, only the dark soil that had lost the pale-white spring water, and Lumian crouching beside the spring, holding a small golden bottle to collect the seeping water droplets.

Of course, Lumian and the others had reported Amandina's situation to the Major Arcana card holders before daring to bring her into the area around the Samaritan Women's Spring, and Madam Magician had also asked him to collect some more spring water.

"What's the use of this water?" Amandina, no longer so nervous and scared, asked curiously.

"If you make your enemy drink it, they will die instantly," Lumian patronizingly replied.

Amandina's eyes lit up, but she asked in confusion, "But how can I make my enemy drink it..."

Lumian put away the small golden bottle, stood up and said, "What did you see just now? What did you experience?"

Amandina recalled and recounted all the details, then self-examined.

"But I couldn't understand what was being said, the pronunciation was %￥...

"It seems like I've gained a new ability, I can placate souls, calm emotions and desires..."

Lumian carefully remembered the few pronunciations Amandina had relayed, walked back to the young lady's side and said, "You've received a new boon, Soul Assurer."

"Yes." Amandina smiled, "I feel like my body has even changed a little..."

Lumian chuckled.

"Maybe you'll slowly grow a white beard, develop wrinkles. I've heard that boons gradually make the blessed ones resemble the high-level beings who granted them power, both mentally and physically."

Amandina was startled. "Can I... not have that?"

"Try consuming corresponding pathway potions to see if it can counteract it," Lumian said as he passed by Amandina and walked up the slope leading to the tomb chamber.

Amandina followed closely behind, lost in thought.

...

Even until Lumian and Amandina left the underground catacombs, Franca, Jenna, and Anthony had not encountered Harrison, the visitor from Resurrection Island.

"He didn't show up?" Franca frowned and said, "Was my deduction wrong? Is relying on the traits of characteristics alone not enough to achieve such powerful convergence? Or is it that only Angel-level high-sequence Beyonders can actively utilize the law of convergence?"

Jenna's eyes shifted slightly as she thought for a moment before saying, "Maybe Harrison can sense this deliberate convergence and actively avoided it...

Maybe, maybe he's not from the Death, Darkness, or Twilight pathways. He has a deep understanding of death and is pursuing corresponding things and scenes, but that doesn't mean he's a Beyonder of these pathways. What if he's a scholar studying death?"

"It's possible." Franca sighed, "Let's wait five more minutes, then we'll go after Lumian and Amandina."

...

Even until they all gathered at 9 Rue Orosai Apartment 702, Harrison from Resurrection Island still hadn't appeared.

"Thank you all, I can provide help for you now," Amandina said, looking at Franca.

Franca looked at the young girl who appeared somewhat tired from her terrifying experience and smiled, saying, "There's no rush. You should go back first. Once you've adapted to your newly gained power and regained your body's balance, we'll come again.

"Besides, it's quite convenient to travel from Port Pylos to Trier."

How is it convenient? Without using the mirror world or teleportation, it might take two or three months to arrive... Amandina grumbled silently, but accepted Franca's suggestion.

Then, she was sent back by Lumian and the others using Black Tear to the mirror Franca had given her, and she emerged from it.

At this moment, it was still night outside, with servants occasionally passing by in the corridor.

Looking at her familiar bedroom, at the fountain pen on the desk and the pile of books, Amandina suddenly felt as if she had been away for many days and experienced too many things.

But it had only been half a night.

In this half night, she had completed a round trip using the mirror world, toured the prosperous Trier that was farther than any distant place, explored the underground catacombs featured in magazines, and witnessed the terrifying area around the Samaritan Women's Spring.

After savoring the experience for a while, Amandina sincerely sighed.

"How amazing... A marvelous journey..."

...

Inside Apartment 702 at 9 Rue Orosai.

Lumian tried to repeat the sounds Amandina had heard.

Franca listened intently, hesitating before saying, "It seems to be... 'Be careful, Penglai'..."

"Be careful of Penglai? The Penglai divine mountain mentioned by the Armored Shadow? This doesn't have much practical meaning for us..." Lumian said thoughtfully.

Jenna and Anthony both nodded.

"Indeed." Franca quickly adjusted her mindset, "But we've at least achieved one of our goals. In a few days, we can bring Amandina to summon Armored Shadow!"

At that time, she planned to first try asking if it could understand the meaning of the text on Mr. Star's information.

Just thinking about it was quite exciting!

After chatting idly for a while, Anthony, seeing that it was getting late, bid farewell and left to return to his own home.

Jenna looked at Franca pacing back and forth, then turned to Lumian and quietly pointed at herself.

Lumian slowly shook his head and pointed at himself.

After exchanging glances several times, Jenna, wearing her Vampire makeup, pursed her lips and said to Franca, "I'll make a move first."

"Mm." Franca didn't say much, as she wanted to talk to Lumian alone about those ancient texts and the Curly-Haired Baboons Research Society.

After Jenna left, she sat down in the armchair and comfortably stretched her limbs.

She glanced at Lumian and asked curiously, "Why don't you sit down?"

Lumian looked at Franca, unable to hold back another sigh. "I have something to tell you."

Franca scrutinized Lumian's expression suspiciously.

"Are you playing a prank? You're the type of person who would warn everyone in a joking tone even if a disaster was about to happen. No, you're... you're serious? Is it something very serious?"

Lumian had already used Black Tear to sense the various mirrors in the room, roughly confirming that the Demoness of Black wasn't watching.

He looked at Franca, instinctively wanting to force a smile to make himself seem a bit more relaxed, but he couldn't manage it.

Franca unconsciously sat up straight.

Lumian spoke in a low voice, "Jenna asked me to help her digest the Pleasure potion."