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Stopping in the dimly lit alley, Klein ignored Emlyn White's incessant grumbling. He calmly took out the Sun Brooch, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and emphasized, "Now that I've saved you, it's time to discuss my reward, Mr. Emlyn."
Looking at the dark golden, sunbird-shaped brooch, a flicker of discomfort crossed Emlyn's face. He subconsciously took two steps back before snorting in response, "Fine, once this is over, we're even. And it's best if we never meet again."
"What do you want? Gold pounds or a potion?"
Suppressing the burning sensation in his heart, Klein chuckled, "No, I don't need either. What I want is the Sequence 8 Beast Tamer Beyonder Potion formula."
If he hadn't obtained the subsequent Beyonder Potion formulas for Seer from the remnants of Marionettist Rosago's spirit, Klein would have almost thought this was a Beyonder Potion from the Seer Pathway. After all, Seer, Clown, Magician, Beast Tamer—it was practically a circus hodgepodge.
Emlyn looked at Klein with some surprise, then thought for a moment and said rather arrogantly, "You humans don't understand the noble Sanguine. Only after acquiring additional Beyonder characteristics do the Sanguine reproduce. Therefore, every Sanguine newborn is a Sequence 7."
"Sequence 8 and Sequence 9 Beyonder Potion formulas are not important to us. I don't have a hobby of collecting such things."
Holy crap! A Sequence 7 right after birth? Klein almost failed to control his expression. Then his eyes narrowed slightly, and he questioned in a low voice, "So, you can't give me the reward?"
Emlyn White's expression immediately became quite strange. After two seconds of silence, he raised his chin and said, "Heh, we have many powerful Mysticologists among the Sanguine. I'll write to them for help. Give me two days."
"Don't look at me with such suspicious eyes. A mere low-Sequence formula is nothing to me."
Recalling the Mental Terror Candle held by Bishop Utravsky, Klein looked at Emlyn White with pity in his eyes, waved his hand, and motioned for him to leave.
Emlyn felt quite uneasy under his gaze. He opened his mouth but said nothing, directly disappearing into the Darkness.
After confirming Emlyn's departure, Klein quickly took off the Sun Brooch, isolated its influence with a Spirit Wall, then wiped the fine sweat from his face, turned, and prepared to return to 15 Minsk Street.
Ten minutes later, Klein saw the golden-yellow outer wall of the Harvest Church again from another direction, his mouth twitching uncontrollably.
"It seems that in the future, when I go out, the 'Master Key' cannot be carried with me. At the very least, it needs to be sealed by a Spirit Wall...."
Thinking this, Klein broke off a branch from a roadside tree, fashioned it into a temporary divining rod, and was about to divine the direction home when his steps paused at the main entrance of the Harvest Church. He saw a familiar figure.
"Why haven't you gone home yet?"
A familiar voice came, and the dazed Emlyn turned his head blankly, saying dazedly, "I feel like I'm starting to miss the Harvest Church, miss the feeling of reciting the scriptures, miss the Holy Emblem of Life, want to do cleaning and tidying, just for an hour, this shouldn't be happening....."
Looking at Emlyn's appearance, Klein couldn't help but gasp.
"This suggestion is even more 'vicious' than I imagined. That candle is called 'Nightmare,' and it's said to come from a giant dragon. Is the Spectator Pathway really that terrifying...."
After a moment of contemplation, Klein tentatively asked, "If you can't resist this feeling yourself, why don't you take a carriage back to Bay Avenue?"
Emlyn suddenly stiffened for two seconds. Then, he said very softly, almost too quietly for Klein to hear, "I don't have any money on me....."
---
Southern Continent, Nikifor City.
The Church of the Evernight's aid for the reconstruction of the Southern Continent was nearing its end. Beyonder incidents in the surrounding areas had been cleared, and by late October at the latest, "Goddess's Sword" Crestet Cesimir would return to Loen by airship, bringing with him the Grade 1 Sealed Artifact.
Bright sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows. Susie wagged her tail, curiously watching the serious Aaron. She imitated Audrey and jumped onto the sofa, assuming an attentive listening posture.
"Hmm, to get a messenger, you must first design an accurate summoning ritual, prepare the corresponding Spirit World creature contract, and the messenger can only transmit messages back and forth between the owner and the artifact holder, not involving anyone else."
Her golden hair was casually tied up, and her emerald eyes sparkled, very charming. Audrey asked curiously, "Can I find a messenger of my own now?"
Patting Susie, Aaron took out a pre-prepared contract and a parchment detailing the summoning ritual from his "Spatial Pocket." He handed them to Audrey while explaining, "There are two ways to obtain a messenger: one is to think of an accurate description, perform a ritual, summon the corresponding Spirit World creature, and sign a necromantic contract with it."
"The second is to directly enter the Spirit World, find the desired messenger, and after obtaining its consent, sign a contract with it and record the precise descriptive language for future use."
"The first method is simpler but quite dangerous, because what fits the description might be a powerful Spirit World creature or a bizarre evil spirit. Each summoning cannot fully determine what will be attracted, and this is a risk that divination can hardly avoid in advance."
"So this time, we'll choose the second method. I've already had Astolfo help you find the most suitable Spirit World creature for you in the Spirit World. Hmm, by now, it should have been trained well."
Amidst the crackling sounds, the surroundings suddenly became quiet, with an invisible, subtle sensation surging.
The candle flame on the table suddenly expanded, and Astolfo, covered in strange patterns, appeared, holding a Spirit World creature whose aura was roughly comparable to Sequence 6.
Looking at the oval-shaped Spirit Body trembling under the aura of the high-level Spirit World creature, Aaron, who had received information from Astolfo, quickly filled in the blank spaces on the necromantic contract and handed it to the eager Audrey.
Aaron personally stood guard until the ritual was successfully completed. He picked up the contract, watched the messenger, named "Cecile" by Audrey, disappear into the candlelight, then thought for a moment and added, "The connection between a messenger and its host is not untraceable for some people. So, if you are in certain special circumstances, and your messenger's own Beyonder characteristic is not high enough, it can easily be tracked and expose information."
Audrey nodded repeatedly. Having just acquired a messenger, she was extremely excited, like a child with a new toy.
"Crestet Cesimir will return to Backlund by airship in two weeks. You'll go back with him then. Earl Hall must miss you very much."
"Even if you don't need to carry aid supplies on the return journey, the airship's return to Backlund will be at least by the end of November. At the end of the year, the Queen will also host a New Year's ball at the palace, which will be your social coming-of-age ceremony."
Sitting beside Audrey, his fingertips brushing her smooth golden hair, Aaron looked at Audrey, who had stopped smiling and seemed a little downcast. He smiled and took out another piece of parchment:
"Sequence 7 Psychiatrist"
"Main ingredients: A pair of Mirror Dragon eyes, fruit of the Elder Tree"
"Supplementary ingredients: 100 ml of Black Hunt Giant Lizard blood, 50 grams of Elder Tree root powder."
Looking at the somewhat surprised Audrey, Aaron patiently explained, "'Psychiatrist' takes a step further than 'Telepathist,' beginning to directly influence targets and truly possessing a certain degree of self-preservation capability."
"For example, treating the other party's madness or other issues, or making the other party mad and lose their rationality. Therefore, during this time, digest the Telepathist Beyonder Potion as quickly as possible."
"Backlund is far from as peaceful as it appears on the surface, especially your relationship with me, which may attract some ill-intentioned individuals. Therefore, it's best to advance to Psychiatrist before returning to Backlund."
Audrey pursed her lips, inexplicably recalling Duke Negan, who had been assassinated, and couldn't help but clench the parchment.
After a few words of caution regarding summoning messengers, Aaron replicated Audrey's messenger summoning ritual and handed it to Harland Rooney. This experienced "Artificer" would use it to create several Mystical Items with the Spirit World creature summoning ritual solidified within them.
This way, even if Earl Hall was far away in Backlund and didn't understand the ritual process, he could still successfully summon a messenger.
---
Calderon, where the River of Eternal Darkness and two Death closely related to it were hidden, was located deep within the Spirit World. Led by Astolfo, the strange Spirit World creatures along the way dared not approach, or even look directly. It wasn't long before Aaron reached his destination.
The scene before him was no different in essence from other parts of the Spirit World. Rich, vivid color blocks overlapped, and some thin mist permeated certain areas. In various deep recesses, pairs of eyes successively moved away.
However, this city hidden behind the mist was different from normal; it did not develop upwards but extended in circles deeper and deeper into a subterranean pit, giving the overall impression of an inverted mausoleum.
Its buildings had various styles, but all were equally bizarre.
Some were towering pale stone pillars with huge single-unit houses polished at the top, some were built underground with a tombstone at the entrance, and some were even constructed from white bones, appearing chaotic and fragmented.
And the closer to the bottom of the deep pit, the better preserved the buildings were; the closer to the top, the more collapsed areas there were, full of the decay and dilapidation brought by time.
Aaron stopped Astolfo, who wanted to enter the outer area, and stood at the edge of the city, overlooking everything, but he could not clearly see what the buildings at the very bottom looked like.
That place was shrouded in deep Darkness, as if no light had shone into it for thousands or tens of thousands of years, like an Abyssal maw that swallowed everything.
The Nation of Disorder itself did not provide any enhancement to divination, only shielding certain interferences. But because this place involved a Sefirah, his half-baked Seer could at most vaguely see some scenes and could not make accurate judgments.
Turning to look at Astolfo, Aaron pondered and said, "I'm going to enter the depths of Calderon later, which may cause many changes. You don't need to come with me."
"If other high-level Spirit World creatures want to approach here, please help me block them until I come out."
Astolfo scrutinized Aaron, looking at the city of Calderon shrouded in mist. A bizarre sound, enough to make a spirit tremble, echoed directly in Aaron's mind: "You must be careful. Gregerie and Salinger may have left behind contingencies in the depths of Calderon. Even without these, the River of Eternal Darkness itself is the greatest threat."
"Back then, if He hadn't been corrupted by the Tenebrous World, He wouldn't have been completely suppressed by that person, leading to the current situation."
It seems there was something very strange about what happened back then... Aaron looked at Astolfo with some surprise, knowing that the "He" in the messenger's mouth was the "Chained God," and nodded, indicating that he was aware of the danger.
Looking around, Aaron's spirituality surged, the "Ring of Mysteries" glowed faintly, and he raised his hand to summon his historical projection from a few minutes ago, allowing his main body to return to the Nation of Disorder.
His consciousness then shifted to the projection, giving it a substantial sense of existence. He took a step, his head feeling slightly dizzy, and the scene before him suddenly changed; he had already entered Calderon, the "City of the Dead."
After a brief inspection, confirming that there were no immediate anomalies, Aaron focused his attention on observing his surroundings, while also chanting in a low, hoarse voice in Hermes: "The origin of order and shadow;"
"The great emperor of the Realm of Chaos;"
"The Lord of Order who wields rules;"
As soon as he finished speaking, the ethereal, overlapping sounds of prayer echoed in Aaron's ears, who was within the Nation of Disorder. After waiting for a moment, he used "True Sight" to observe and confirm that the aura of the Nation of Disorder had not caused any anomalies.
"This indicates that whatever is deep within Calderon City is still in a state of slumber...." Aaron did not act rashly. After some thought, he manipulated the historical projection to open the recorded "Door of the Underworld."
Illusory light suddenly erupted, then collapsed inwards from a central point, forming a pair of double-leaf bronze Doors.
This Door was slightly blurry, extremely ethereal, its surface covered with countless mysterious patterns, giving an indescribable sense of deathly silence and profound depth.
With a creak, the mysterious bronze Door moved backward, opening a crack.
Through this crack, Aaron saw the deepest, most profound Darkness.
In the Darkness, pallor surged, sometimes swirling up, sometimes falling, like a river flowing through a lightless night.
On its two sides, giant, pale stone pillars vaguely appeared, extremely similar to those in Calderon City, yet even more exaggerated.
"Is this the River of Eternal Darkness?" Aaron, fearing that his prying would cause unnecessary trouble, quickly dispelled the "Door of the Underworld" after confirming.
"This mysterious Door to the Underworld seems to have had its direction altered here. Beyond the Door is no longer the Underworld, but the core area of Calderon City, the deepest part of the underground pit?"
Aaron, seated on his throne, thoughtfully pinched his brow, abandoning the idea of directly entering the core area via the "Door of the Underworld."
After all, this place was related to two Death, and many abilities in the necromantic domain would be rewritten and appear anomalous in Calderon City.
He didn't want to inexplicably appear in the River of Eternal Darkness the moment he stepped out of the "Door of the Underworld."
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