Lord of the Mysteries: Yao Guang

Chapter 644 The Envoy’s Path

Barnabel stepped out of St. Samuel's Church.

He walked in with fear and worry, and now walked out with life and secrets that could crush any life. This "fortune teller" has never been so grateful for his disrespect for the gods. He is not a devout believer and has no faith, so he can still maintain his sizzling sanity and not lose control and become a monster.

Perhaps there were other reasons... such as the protection of the Fool, even if Barnaby really wasn't very pious.

In fact, he never felt that he was a believer, but at that long table, he had no unshakable right to speak, and the "Fool" had never invited them to decide anything. Putting aside the rules of "transaction", most of the secret knowledge in Roselle's diary was also a form of sharing.

From an objective point of view, what he said was not wrong. All members of the Tarot Club are "messengers of the Fool."

What about the others? Those messengers of storm and night, how do they feel when they hear the news that the extraordinary power is out of balance?

Barnaby did not hide his inquiring gaze, so Daly responded with a smile. It was not until the two of them got into the special carriage with the church emblem and set off towards the port under the cover of night that the lady nodded:

"I won't talk to you about anything. First, because of the confidentiality agreement, and third, for my own physical and mental health."

The curtains were drawn in the carriage, and Barnaby had no intention of opening them. He just looked at that position, as if he wanted to see out the window through an obstacle: "Did you miss two?"

"You asked me if I had two. This is a confirmation that you have a clear mind and are stronger than I thought."

Barnabel thought of the previous words. It was obvious that the moment he stepped out of the church, he had not been struck by lightning or disappeared at night, which proved that the news was not blasphemy, but a warning that was spread because of "the permission of the righteous gods."

If this warning were really made public, everyone would fall into panic, and the quiet streets outside would be filled with screams. Those who thought they couldn't survive would indulge in the malice in their hearts, and those who wanted to struggle to survive would be more easily overwhelmed by this malice...

Many, many people will die, far from the people who died in previous wars, not for any king or country, but pure, meaningless deaths.

Turning his gaze to the opposite side, Barnabel saw Daly's natural smile again. There was often a mysterious feeling in her smile that seemed to see through other people's thoughts, which made Barnabel feel subconsciously irritated. Of course, he could control the expression on his face, but this feeling of resistance could not be easily forgotten.

"We also know that when you arrive at the new Bayam, the 'agreement' between you and the church will have many loopholes that can be exploited."

Daly took the initiative to speak, her tone as relaxed and casual as before: "But we don't care that much. We are only responsible for reaching out to express this wish. Crazy, crazy doomsday theory is never directed at anyone, but the Beyonders are the first to bear the brunt."

Barnabe's lips moved slightly, but in the end he just said "hmm".

Daly leaned forward and whispered, "I can see that you don't care about this mission and don't realize its importance, but my mission is just to get you on board. I hope we can have a 'happy cooperation' until here."

After a pause, Daly's eyes dimmed: "Because Backlund really can't withstand any more shocks. Whether it's war or extraordinary power, it may detonate the shadows lurking here."

"This is your purpose, to send me away, so that I, the 'envoy', won't cause any crisis here..."

Daly smiled again: "It's just one of the purposes. Of course, I personally still look forward to what you can do in Bayam."

Isn't it because they don't have to send their own people to lead the way? If there is a pollution or something, they don't have to harm the believers of the night, so it is easier to preserve the current night watchers of the church.

When Barnabe thought of this, he couldn't help but roll his eyes at Daly: "I also want to know why you are still so... calm now?"

Daly's reaction was completely different from what Barnabel had expected. She lowered her head and gently stroked the ring on her ring finger, feeling the texture of it pressing against her finger:

"At first, I also felt it was ridiculous and terrifying, because as Extraordinary people in the church, we even directly felt the gaze of the goddess. What happened afterwards was more like a dream, in fact, it was just a moment in a dream, and the specific content was also hidden. I only remember a sense of tranquility that made me calm down and want to fall asleep again in the dream.

"When we woke up from that wonderful dream, those of us who had entered it only remembered the goddess' gentle comfort and the advice she wanted to convey to everyone..."

"Your God went out of his way to comfort you? How thoughtful." Barnabel's words did not sound very respectful.

Daly didn't care. She just kissed her ring and whispered, "'Live on.' This is the most profound impression we have from that dream."

Barnabel stared at Daly for a few seconds, until the carriage jolted slightly, untangling his tangled thoughts: "I thought the oracle would be a more formal order, but now that I see it, yours... well, it's really thoughtful. Who doesn't want to live?"

"Unfortunately, I was closer to 'death'..." Daly smiled, making it difficult to discern the emotions behind her words, "even more than a little. I almost lost someone very important to me, but fortunately we held on to each other in the end."

Barnaby rolled his eyes again: "I guess, it's your husband."

"Yes, so we will survive, survive together, and do everything in our power to find a way to survive - just as our goddess would have us do."

Daly drew the hand sign of the Crimson Moon on her chest and mouthed "Praise the Goddess" silently.

Barnabe had always had only a vague understanding of the "anchor" thing, and only now did he vaguely feel that at least these people who were pulled into the dream had an invisible connection with the gods.

That’s right, just like the relationship between the Tarot Club members and The Fool…

Barnabe's vigilance had only subsided at this moment since the two met. After Daly showed an open-hearted attitude, he felt that since the other party could still look at future events calmly, there was no reason for him to panic.

Similarly, he also needs to communicate and listen to other people's ideas to drown out the chaotic voices in his own head:

"Well, let's talk about something else, Ms. Daly. Have you ever imagined... the end of the world?"

-

“Crimson fell from the sky.

"The sun burns its own corpse, and the crimson moon falls in a foreign land;

“The storm is sinking towards the abyss, and the intellect and reason are becoming increasingly blind;

“The hidden one, the open one, the vanishing one, the creeping one;

“Everyone is waiting, waiting for Crimson to fall from the sky.

"The thread of fate, the eye of fate, the web of fate,

"The birds that herald spring, announce the death again and again,

"Blood and flesh, spirit and bones, why do they grow?

"The shadow of the old lingers behind the new,

"Let those who close their eyes know fear and be terrified.

"He, they, woke up from the nightmare and gave advice to those who practiced it.

"Let out a roar that must fall to dust:

"The end is coming, and crimson is falling from the sky."

Amon sat on the right side of the bench. He only needed to turn his neck to the left to see Adam, who was one meter away, and the words soaked in ink on the parchment.

But He didn't need to do that, because another crow with white eyes was squatting intimately beside Adam's ear, conveying those words that were more poetic than narrative to Amon's sight in their entirety.

This was very different from Adam's past habits as a "writer", and even completely different from Amon's impression of his father.

In fact, Amon found an avatar to come to the Church of Bones. He did not expect to see Adam or any of his personality clones here, and he was prepared to come back empty-handed.

But Adam was here, and when Amon came in, He did not pray toward the cross as usual, but just looked at the visitor who did not greet him in advance calmly, and then sat on the bench with Amon after he sat down.

Amon blinked and said, "I don't know when you became a poet...if there is a sequence called this."

After this sentence, the crow on Adam's shoulder also tilted its head and quacked inquiringly.

"This is not a prophecy or a story. I didn't use any extraordinary powers. This is just a record." After a two-second pause, Adam smiled and looked at Amon instead of the crow that was closer to him. "I want to relax sometimes."

Amon seemed to be choked by these words, and a hint of genuine and fake confusion appeared on his face: "This is even less like something you would say."

Adam didn't say anything, and so Amon didn't say anything either. They just looked at each other.

The crow flapped its wings and flew towards the cross standing at the front of the church, circling around it again and again.

"I thought you would have a lot to ask me." Adam said softly.

Amon just shook his head, staring at the clone spinning freely, still without saying a word.

"This involves many things and many changes. We are still exploring and cannot determine which path can deviate from the established trajectory. We can only carefully find a balance. We cannot act too hastily to prevent "Him" from destroying the new world after waking up. We cannot deviate too much from the original "history" of the world, as that would allow the erosion of the old world to spread and destroy the re-established order of the new world."

"What a big plan," Amon muttered in response.

If He had not discovered "another Amon" in advance, Adam, or the father, would have kept it from Him for a long time until the time when "this secret should be revealed" - so that everything would go on as it did in the old world.

In fact, for Adam, Amon knew a little too much.

In fact, that time point is not too far from now, but Amon still acted like a stubborn child and expressed his dissatisfaction to Adam in a tactful way.

Adam reached out his hand and caught the crow that flew back toward him: "I owe you an explanation, sorry."

The crow croaked twice again, and Amon gently touched the edge of his monocle: "It's okay, I don't really need it now."

There was another moment of silence.

Adam stood up from the bench, walked to the cross, and looked up at the sunlight coming through the broken glass: "You are also an important member of the 'end of the world'. The subsequent 'history' still needs your participation."

"What about Esther?" the crow suddenly asked.

Adam turned away from the cross and looked into the dark eyes behind the monocle. "She is our 'backup plan.'

Amon's face showed more curiosity, breaking away from his previous tense state: "So what is your first plan?"

"The secret of the new world was born successfully, the source of the new world has returned to stability, and the remains of the old world are enough to support the new barrier until enough of the Old Ones take the stage to drive out those greedy people who want to tear us apart. The Western Continent... also needs them to be willing to cooperate with this plan."

Raven smacked his lips, "Oh, then Esther is of no use."

"The backup plan was originally prepared to appease the 'old world', weaving new historical nodes, maintaining the status of the plan's participants, and even anchoring new mysteries to keep their humanity always on our side. She has done far more than I expected. She has accomplished all these things very well."

But there are some things that are not done well enough, Amon thought.

"Yes, the mystery of the old world has awakened, which will further strengthen the connection between the two worlds. This is what I and we have been worried about for a long time."

The raven on Adam's shoulder flew up and landed on top of Amon's head, in about the same place as the skylark had sat before, but the raven was still heavier, weighing the soft-top hat down slightly and casting a shadow on the thoughtful dark eyes.

"So the next step is to officially activate the backup plan?"

Adam actually sighed, and Amon could hear a hint of helplessness in his voice:

"It was Esther who was supposed to take that ship and reach the wreckage of the old world."

"Oh, it shouldn't be me."

Amon suddenly seemed much happier. He stood up and slowly turned around, looking around the church's never-changing furnishings: "But I saw another Amon. The things you wanted to leave for Esther are not there now."

Adam knew Amon very well and could tell that the "Time Angel" was excited from the bottom of his heart: "Yes, there is an avatar there, and you... and your avatar successfully entered the old world."

“Is He also Amon?”

"The destruction of the old world did not stop your curiosity. Because of His special path and some 'inevitable' luck, His attempts were able to lead to today's results, and in the end, you also saw yourself."

Amon stopped his pleasant stroll and looked at Adam carefully. Just as Adam understood Amon, Amon could also see the few ripples hidden behind the calmness: "I have reached an agreement with that self on certain decisions."

"You won't give up being a secret," Adam nodded, without Amondo's explanation, "I've always known it."

Amon looked at Adam and saw the corners of his beard-covered mouth curled up in a smile, which made him feel at a loss.

The crow perched on Adam's arm suddenly spread its wings and flapped vigorously. It was not until Adam looked at him that the black bird spoke in a hoarse voice: "We think this is unfair."

"Is that so..." Adam didn't say anything else. He just stretched out his fingers and gently ran them over the crow's feathers, feeling it biting his fingers very hard.

"I still owe you an apology." Adam said to the crow.

Amon shook his head: "Not this time."

Adam did not try to persuade him any further - fate had its own inertia, cause and effect were connected, and no matter which direction it rushed, the main trunk of the long river had only one side.

The things that Amon wanted to change might still remain the same in the end. But Adam respected this wish, and when Amon "didn't need" his apology, Adam understood this decision. It was precisely because Amon did not intend to follow Adam's script that they were still clear between them.

Amon was still waiting for Adam to say something, but he just saw him approach, pat him gently on the shoulder, then sit back on the bench, bow his head and pray calmly.

"By the way, I noticed that when you asked about her before, you used the name 'Esther'." Adam smiled gently, and did not look up when he spoke. He stroked the cross with an olive branch hanging between his fingers, no different from usual. "It seems that you two get along well."

Amon shook his head again, and walked back towards the church door amid the hoarse and noisy cry of the crow.

Better...more...