Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

As clusters of gray-white crystals were enveloped by the mist and disintegrated, blending into it, Perle's white mist expanded rapidly into a gigantic, peculiar vortex.

Within the vortex, the Overseer's face flickered in and out of view, sometimes distorted, sometimes normal.

She looked up at the sky, her voice becoming ethereal, and spoke using the Words of Order, "Bernadette offers the location of Roselle's mausoleum on the primitive island, the place for the vortex ritual, and some materials in exchange for a gray trade. She requests that the great Uncertain Mist bestow a blessing upon Roselle, bringing balance to the corruption within Him."

As soon as Perle finished speaking, a light appeared within the white vortex.

Within the light was a deep, dark void, at the center of which was a solid, massive planet shrouded in layers of ever-changing white mist.

Suddenly, a wisp of white mist that could envelop the planet detached itself and moved towards the edge of the light, as if encountering an invisible barrier.

That wisp of white mist spread out, becoming intangible, and then, using the power of the ritual, a medium containing the truth, and the cracks in the invisible barrier, it penetrated magically, merging with the white mist that Perle had become, landing on her sometimes grim, sometimes smiling, blurred face.

The two fused into one.

Then, a large part of the white mist that Perle had transformed into separated and flowed like a river towards the black mausoleum built into the hollowed-out mountain, seeping inside continuously.

Queen Mystic Bernadette turned her back on the mausoleum.

Her chestnut hair suddenly parted, and a pair of cold, merciless, transparent eyes grew at the back of her head. Other facial features slowly formed around these eyes, blurring together.

It seemed like another her was emerging.

Through this, Bernadette glimpsed several scenes inside the black mausoleum, confirming that her father, Roselle, was being enveloped by the white mist.

The mist slowly eroded Roselle's body, beginning to distort the constantly regenerating corruption, slowing it down.

Likewise, it distorted the force that rapidly killed the new corruption.

Due to the difference in quantity between the white mist corruption and the original corruption, it would take some time to maintain the ritual to achieve true balance.

At this moment, the mid-morning sun in the blue sky with white clouds suddenly blazed intensely, as if sensing the dangerous gray trade happening on this primitive island.

With the white mist strengthened by the wisp from the light, Perle's face became more blurred and abstract, the corresponding mist expanding to completely envelop the treeless area, though it did not approach Bernadette or the black mausoleum.

One by one, points of light appeared within the mist.

Perle's distorted face turned to one of these points of light and, in an even more ethereal and elusive voice, said, "The great Supernova Dominator agrees to intervene fully, suppressing the barrier so that all true gods in the astral world cannot interfere with the matters inside the barrier..."

Before Perle could finish speaking, a blinding light suddenly emerged within the point of light she was gazing at, bright enough to devour all darkness and blind an Angel.

With this change, the sky was illuminated as if a flashbang had been thrown into a dark room.

Even Perle, protected by the ritual, had to close her eyes.

Neither she nor Queen Mystic Bernadette could see the high sky becoming void, with a transparent barrier full of cracks deep within the void.

Within that void, there was a drawn sun, a gigantic entity shrouded in dense darkness, a terrifying figure surrounded by a storm of lightning, a pair of brass-colored eyes opening within the cracks, a corner filled with wheat, flowers, and springs, and a faint glow presenting vague scenes of civilization...

A massive, heavy, and profound "fireball" crashed heavily onto the invisible barrier with many cracks, exploding with a dazzling light that illuminated the void completely, making the abstract patterns seem nearly transparent.

This didn't cause widespread earthquakes within the barrier; it merely temporarily blinded people.

In the white mist, Perle's face, with closed eyes, continued speaking with the Words of Order, "What He needs in return is for the seal on the ship beneath Port Santa to be broken."

As soon as Perle finished speaking, one of the points of light grew slightly, showing a scene of the deep blue sea.

Finally, the bright light penetrating the barrier became less dazzling, and Perle opened her eyes, looking at the deep blue sea within the point of light. In an ethereal voice, she said, "Topsy of the School of Deliciousness is willing to pay this price..."

As Perle spoke, a terrifying vortex suddenly formed in the deep blue sea.

A monster emerged from the vortex, towering dozens or hundreds of meters high, with a lower body resembling a giant snake covered in shark-like skin with hidden evil patterns. The upper body split into nine necks, each with a different head-some resembling snakes, some like giant sharks, some with wet black wolf heads, some possibly of legendary dragons...

The most bizarre central head appeared human but had only a mouth left, with teeth sharp enough to crush anything.

This head lunged at the invisible force sealing the sea, biting it furiously, while the other heads either devoured the fish in the sea, spewed venom at the seal, or tried to use their abilities to affect the seal...

"What he needs is..." Perle's voice reached Queen Mystic Bernadette's ears through the white mist, "for the Angel of the great Primordial Hunger to return!"

Outside the white mist, Bernadette had conjured an ancient-style spear. This spear had appeared in ancient times and was stained with the blood of a great being, covered in dark red spots and stains, seemingly capable of harming true gods.

Mystical Re-enactment, Spear of Longinus!

Bernadette hurled the spear emitting a destructive aura into the white mist, not targeting Perle but the point of light that had grown larger.

She intended to stop the subsequent gray trades, preventing the vortex from spinning further and causing real harm. After all, she had achieved her goal, and maintaining it for a while longer would suffice!

The Spear of Longinus pierced the white mist, hitting the point of light showing the deep blue sea.

However, it didn't dim or extinguish the point of light, as if it had struck a phantom.

As the ancient spear dissipated, Perle's exaggeratedly smiling face turned towards Bernadette.

"The vortex has formed; unless you kill me, it won't stop.

"And if I die now, Roselle won't achieve true balance, and the broken fragile balance won't be restored."

Bernadette froze.

Perle then looked at another point of light and, in an ethereal voice, said, "Offering help to Topsy of the School of Deliciousness is Mr. Higdon of the Order of All Extinction."

The point of light Perle was gazing at grew slightly, revealing a luxurious room.

In the room, an elderly man with neatly combed graying hair sat quietly on an antique armchair.

He wore a crisp white shirt and black suit with a gray bow tie, his handsome but stern face showing intermittent festering and oozing from exposed skin, with maggots crawling out occasionally.

His deep, magnetic voice reached the white mist and Perle's face: "But I don't know where the target is in Trier."

Perle's twisted smile widened, her gaze shifting to another point of light at an angle above.

That point of light grew, revealing a dimly lit room with closed doors and windows.

Sunlight streamed in through the glass windows, illuminating countless dust particles floating in the air.

Below the dust was an old wooden loom, with a black-haired woman sitting beside it, her hair reaching her waist.

The woman had an ethereal demeanor and delicate features but kept her eyes shut, constantly pulling out her hair and weaving it into the threads on the loom.

Tears of pus-laden blood streamed from her eyes, her left arm severed and fallen to the ground, her skirt covering her empty legs, with a graceful female statue standing behind her. The statue, originally faceless, gradually grew features resembling the woman's.

The hair-threads on the loom shimmered with faint light, containing a wealth of information.

Seemingly hearing Overseer Perle's question, the woman brushed her fingers over several black hair-threads on the loom.

The threads she touched lit up, revealing the corresponding information: "The indulgence faction of the Rose School of Thought brought the Shadow of the Beauty Goddess to Trier, trying to get as close as possible to Fourth Epoch Trier. They did it covertly, avoiding detection by Trier's demigods..."

"The temperance faction of the Church of The Fool discovered the indulgence faction's movements and the presence of an important item early but hesitated to act immediately. They waited for the right moment to complete their investigation, missing the opportunity..."

"Lumian Lee and Ludwig moved to a safe house in District 14's botanical garden in Trier. If he knew how immense this vortex would be, he would have regretted not teleporting directly to the New City of Silver with his companions. But how could he have known?"

These intertwined destinies formed a foreseeable future.

Overseer Perle's ethereal voice echoed in the room, "The founder of the Dreamseekers, Fate's Attendant, Héloise, is responsible for weaving the entire matter, ensuring it progresses smoothly without alerting higher beings. She will also provide the locations of two Angels..."

As Perle spoke, the woman named Héloise plucked a strand of destiny thread representing Lumian and Ludwig moving to the new safe house.

A bit of light jumped out, splitting into three fragments that entered the white mist transformed by Perle and flew in different directions.