Chapter 1033: Let There Be Light

Scrutinizing the bronze cross in hand, Klein was certain that it was at

least a Grade 1 Sealed Artifact.

Apart from its purifying effects, this mystical item also possessed

Flaring Sun and other demigod-level spells of the Sun domain. As for its

negative effects, they weren't a problem to resolve if one used it

properly. For example, helping people who stumbled into the Beyonder

world and hoped to escape this madness to become normal humans again. It

could also be used for people who consumed additional potions to secrete

the Beyonder characteristic---though this required precise timing;

otherwise, it easily caused one's Sequence to drop.

Of course, the body and soul that had been reconstructed by potions

would definitely suffer from frequent conflicts with an ordinary human's

essence. Beyonders who relied on this bronze cross to retreat from this

"circle" would undoubtedly suffer residual effects, and the exact

circumstances would be different depending on their pathways and

Sequences.

This made Klein sigh. This was the most useful and valuable negative

effect he had ever seen.

To him, the only problem was that this bronze cross couldn't be carried

with him for extended periods of time. He couldn't hand it to his

marionette either, as it would expel the marionette's Beyonder

characteristic and drop its Sequence. And a marionette could no longer

consume potions for advancements, as their Spirit Bodies were

essentially dead.

As for letting ordinary creatures turn into marionettes, they would

"praise the Sun" by wearing this cross for extended periods of time and

escape his control.

*I can only leave it above the gray fog and take it out when I need

it... To a Bizarro Sorcerer, this side effect isn't much. After all, I

don't perform unprepared... I'll later confirm if it corresponds to an

Unshadowed. If it does, I'll sell it to Little Sun after he finishes

digesting the Priest of Light potion. I believe that the City of

Silver's six-member council's Chief wouldn't be miserly to not exchange

it with a Sealed Artifact of equal value. The Sun pathway is clearly

more suitable for the Forsaken Land of the Gods than the other

pathways...* Klein thought in a good mood as he placed the

bronze cross back on the long mottled table.

He didn't immediately make a confirmation and planned on leaving it

until he returned to 160 Böklund Street. When that happens, he would

also use dream divination to figure out the origins of the Sealed

Artifact. As Maygur Manor was too close to the underground ruins, he was

afraid that the royal family's angel or maybe even Adam was observing

the area. If his experiments were to trigger some change and create a

stirring in the gray fog, his biggest secret might be exposed.

*Even if this Sealed Artifact doesn't correspond to an Unshadowed, it's

definitely from the Sun pathway. At most, it's mixed with other Beyonder

characteristics. No, it will be expelled, and the Church of the Eternal

Blazing Sun's trademark is a Sacred Emblem made of gold, an abstract

sun, having nothing to do with a cross. Hmm, after eliminating this

possibility, the only one related to the Sun domain is the City of

Silver's Creator, the ancient sun god, Adam and Amon's dad, the

suspected transmigrator...*

*It appeared in the hands of Viscount Stratford, so does this mean that,

in a particular sense, it's the Twilight Hermit Order who's cooperating

with the royal family, and the Psychology Alchemists is just a ruse? Of

course, there are too many other possibilities. It might've been found

by the Augustus family since they're quite a famous angel family in the

Fourth Epoch and have a long history. Finding certain items of the

ancient sun god is rather normal...*

*If this Sealed Artifact really was provided by Adam, could it be part

of "His" arrangements?*

*Faced with Demoness Trissy, who is clearly involved with an evil god,

and her partner, Viscount Stratford, who chose to use this purifying

cross and gave up using other items. That arrangement is very

reasonable. Upon deciding to eliminate Shermane, since he wasn't sure if

she had been corrupted by an evil god and was afraid of accidents

happening, he didn't use any direct offensive means and instead wasted

time activating this Sealed Artifact. That too is also very

reasonable... Yes, it's all very reasonable. I'm just not sure if there

are signs of this outcome being arranged...*

*With this in mind, my phobia for 0-08 has reared its head again... Yes,

Miss Magician and Miss Judgment had privately discussed Adam before. It

involved matters regarding the Forsaken Land of the Gods, the Giant

King's Court, and King of Angels...*

*This... even if it was arranged by Adam, why does "He" want to give

this item to them?*

Klein felt his scalp tingle as he thought about it. Composing himself,

he decided to do further experiments after returning to Böklund Street.

He didn't hesitate and immediately returned to the real world.

As for the items on Qonas Kilgor, he relied solely on his divination

powers without the gray fog's enhancements to gain an initial grasp on

the situation.

Apart from the Concerto of Light and Shadow which Church of Evernight

ascetic leader, Arianna, had taken, and the badge used to open the

underground ruins, Qonas Kilgor had two other mystical items.

One of them was Réver's Shout of Despair which Arrodes had mentioned. It

originated from a failed sacrifice and had two modes. One was an

ordinary shot, its might was slightly weaker than a Clown's Air Cannon.

The other was a machine gun sweep. It could spew out large numbers of

bullets in one to two seconds. These two modes came with the shout of

despair, having a certain level of influence on demigods at the saint

level, but it wasn't too effective. Of course, not every demigod could

withstand such an attack. Just like Klein himself, he didn't have a

ridiculous body or defense to withstand it head-on.

The other item was Lucky Grass. It looked very simple, a four-leaved

clover that had been made into a protective charm. Its power was to

accumulate one's chance of success after a subsequent failed attempt.

The negative side effect was that it magnified the wearer's character

flaws.

Klein's appraisal on it was to change its name to "Mother of Success."

These two mystical items were of little value to Klein. He continued

keeping them on Qonas Kilgor's person.

Instead, it was this demigod marionette that was his greatest harvest.

Lawyers had an acute grasp and knowledge of how to make use of loopholes

in law, with the ability to guide and convince the target; Barbarian

provided strength and a constitution that broke the rules; Briber had

"Bribe"; Baron of Corruption had "Distortion"; Mentor of Disorder had

"Disorder"; and Earl of The Fallen had "Bestowment,""Magnify," and

"Exploit." They were all pretty good powers. If he hadn't obtained

detailed information from Arrodes and made sufficient preparations and

formulated a plan, together with the help from an angel of Concealment,

Klein believed that he had no way of restraining Qonas Kilgor even if he

had items like Fate Siphon.

*In fact, instead of turning him into a marionette, using Creeping

Hunger to Graze Qonas Kilgor would be a lot more discreet, making it

harder to be discovered. But if that's the case, I can only use three of

the Earl of The Fallen's Beyonder powers...* As Klein thought

about it, he walked out of the bathroom and returned to the bonfire

party.

On the lawn, Macht was standing in front of the roasting rack, trying

hard to make East Balam-styled roasted meat while sweat dripped down his

forehead. Hazel was standing a short distance away, her eyes looking on

brightly. She no longer had the arrogance from before and had a few

black marks across her face---a result of the smoke. Portland Moment was

holding a cup of wine, smilingly watching the relatively "young lad"

being busy. From time to time, he would raise a metal skewer with chunks

of meat and bite at it.

Upon seeing this scene, Klein's heart suddenly calmed down.

On Sunday afternoon, the group of people who went to the Böklund Street

suburbs returned to Böklund Street.

Before dinner, Klein headed above the gray fog once again and picked up

the bronze cross.

He first confirmed that the cross corresponded to the Sun pathway's

Sequence 4 Unshadowed and had, rather uncreatively, named it Unshadowed

Crucifix. Following that, he picked up a pen and wrote a new divination

statement:

"The origins of this cross."

Klein didn't immediately divine if Unshadowed Crucifix had any traces of

being "arranged," afraid that it might point to Adam and place "Him" in

a state of vigilance. He planned on investigating the situation by

figuring out the Sealed Artifact's origins. If the Unshadowed Crucifix's

owner or former owner was Adam, the truth of the matter would

undoubtedly point towards a "deliberate arrangement."

Putting down the pen, Klein looked down at the cross and exhaled

heavily.

"I'm courting death again..."

He suspected that the Unshadowed Crucifix originated from the City of

Silver's Creator, the ancient sun god, a powerful deity that was

stronger than the ancient gods like Dragon of Imagination. Sneaking a

peek at "Him" would cause damage that exceeded Klein's previous

divination of Groselle's Travels.

However, things were no longer the same. Klein was now a Sequence 4

Bizarro Sorcerer, a demigod. The damage he could withstand as well as

the amount of power of the mysterious space above the gray fog that he

could use far exceeded his previous state back when he was a Sequence 5.

After spending a few seconds to calm his emotions, he leaned back in his

chair, holding the Unshadowed Crucifix in one hand and holding the piece

of paper in the other. He softly repeated the divination statement.

Over and over again, Klein used Cogitation as a jumping board to enter a

state of deep sleep.

In the hazy world, a building whose original form was obscured by layers

of grayish-white stood in a pitch-black environment. Surrounding it were

monsters.

A crack opened up on the grayish-white building's surface as a palm that

had almost white skin reached out.

A figure walked out---a man. He wore a black clergyman robe and had a

silver crucifix hung on his chest.

This man's hair wasn't long and was mainly raven-black in color. There

was a faint hint of blond at the roots of his hair. His eyes were pure

gold in color, and his skin was rather white. He had a deep outline and

pronounced eye sockets. He looked quite similar to the people of the

Northern Continent.

He took two steps forward, reached his hand out, and grabbed the very

ordinary crucifix. His eyes gradually lost their look of confusion as

the ends of his lips curled up slightly.

He said in a deep voice, "Let there be light!"

The pitch-black surroundings of the grayish-white building were

immediately pierced by bright lights, revealing what it really looked

like.

This was a deep valley where nothing could be seen above it; yet, the

infinite light filled every corner.

And there was light.

The image of the next scene flashed.

A drop of golden blood that emitted light and heat dripped onto the

silver cross.

Above the drop of blood seemed to be a figure that was formed of

dazzling light. The face that he couldn't see clearly was looking up,

seemingly being effused with pain and a sense of distortion in a very

real manner.

He cast his gaze over towards the area above the gray fog, casting it at

Klein, who was seated at The Fool's high-back chair. His deep voice

sounded once again:

"Mysteries..."

Suddenly, without any forewarning, Klein's thoughts erupted with a boom.