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 werenât 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 characteristicâthough this required precise timing; otherwise, it easily caused oneâs Sequence to drop.
Of course, the body and soul that had been reconstructed by potions would definitely suffer from frequent conflicts with an ordinary humanâs essence. Beyonders who relied on this bronze cross to retreat from this âcircleâ 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 couldnât be carried with him for extended periods of time. He couldnât hand it to his marionette either, as it would expel the marionetteâs 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 âpraise the Sunâ 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 isnât much. After all, I donât perform unprepared⊠Iâll later confirm if it corresponds to an Unshadowed. If it does, Iâll sell it to Little Sun after he finishes digesting the Priest of Light potion. I believe that the City of Silverâs six-member councilâs Chief wouldnât 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 didnât immediately make a confirmation and planned on leaving it until he returned to 160 Boklund 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 familyâs 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 doesnât correspond to an Unshadowed, itâs definitely from the Sun pathway. At most, itâs mixed with other Beyonder characteristics. No, it will be expelled, and the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sunâs 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 Silverâs Creator, the ancient sun god, Adam and Amonâs dad, the suspected transmigratorâŠ
It appeared in the hands of Viscount Stratford, so does this mean that, in a particular sense, itâs the Twilight Hermit Order whoâs cooperating with the royal family, and the Psychology Alchemists is just a ruse? Of course, there are too many other possibilities. It mightâve been found by the Augustus family since theyâre quite a famous angel family in the Fourth Epoch and have a long history. Finding certain items of the ancient sun god is rather normalâŠ
If this Sealed Artifact really was provided by Adam, could it be part of âHisâ 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 wasnât sure if she had been corrupted by an evil god and was afraid of accidents happening, he didnât use any direct offensive means and instead wasted time activating this Sealed Artifact. That too is also very reasonable⊠Yes, itâs all very reasonable. Iâm just not sure if there are signs of this outcome being arrangedâŠ
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 Kingâs Court, and King of AngelsâŠ
This⊠even if it was arranged by Adam, why does âHeâ 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 Boklund Street.
He didnât 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 fogâs 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 Reverâs 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 Clownâs 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 wasnât too effective. Of course, not every demigod could withstand such an attack. Just like Klein himself, he didnât 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 oneâs chance of success after a subsequent failed attempt. The negative side effect
Kleinâs appraisal on it was to change its name to âMother of Success.â
These two mystical items were of little value to Klein. He continued keeping them on Qonas Kilgorâs 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 âBribeâ; Baron of Corruption had âDistortionâ; Mentor of Disorder had âDisorderâ; and Earl of The Fallen had âBestowment,ââMagnify,â and âExploit.â They were all pretty good powers. If he hadnât 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 thatâs the case, I can only use three of the Earl of The Fallenâs 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 faceâa result of the smoke. Portland Moment was holding a cup of wine, smilingly watching the relatively âyoung ladâ being busy. From time to time, he would raise a metal skewer with chunks of meat and bite at it.
Upon seeing this scene, Kleinâs heart suddenly calmed down.
On Sunday afternoon, the group of people who went to the Boklund Street suburbs returned to Boklund 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 pathwayâs 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.â
Klein didnât immediately divine if Unshadowed Crucifix had any traces of being âarranged,â afraid that it might point to Adam and place âHimâ in a state of vigilance. He planned on investigating the situation by figuring out the Sealed Artifactâs origins. If the Unshadowed Crucifixâs owner or former owner was Adam, the truth of the matter would undoubtedly point towards a âdeliberate arrangement.â
Putting down the pen, Klein looked down at the cross and exhaled heavily.
âIâm courting death againâŠâ
He suspected that the Unshadowed Crucifix originated from the City of Silverâs Creator, the ancient sun god, a powerful deity that was stronger than the ancient gods like Dragon of Imagination. Sneaking a peek at âHimâ would cause damage that exceeded Kleinâs previous divination of Groselleâs 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 buildingâs surface as a palm that had almost white skin reached out.
A figure walked outâa man. He wore a black clergyman robe and had a silver crucifix hung on his chest.
This manâs hair wasnât 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, âLet there be light!â
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 couldnât 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 Foolâs high-back chair. His deep voice sounded once again:
âMysteriesâŠâ
Suddenly, without any forewarning, Kleinâs thoughts erupted with a boom.