Dunn Smith sat on the train, head bowed, quietly conversing with fellow Nighthawks. After weeks of treatment and examination at Backlund's grand cathedral, he had finally purged the corruption from his body, ready to return to Tingen as Nighthawk captain.
During his corruption by the True Creator, Dunn spent much of his time unconscious. In fragmented, surreal dreams, he battled the pollution within, wandering as a Nightmare through his dreamscape, desperately seeking freedom. Fortunately, comrades who once fought beside him joined him in these dreams.
Adelaide, Dawn, Little Yit. Their Beyonder characteristics, consumed by Dunn, left their spirituality flowing within him. In this divinity-tainted dreamscape, they fought side by side once more.
In those near-real dreams, they moved, laughed, and shared Dunn's pain from the True Creator's corruption. Amid these layered dreams, a graceful figure often flickered.
Daly Simone.
Dunn credited his swift awakening from the polluted dreams to his former comrades and his unspoken love for Daly. While recovering in Backlund's cathedral, he reflected deeply. Gently gazing at the necklace carefully tucked in his pocket, Dunn resolved to confess his feelings to Daly upon returning to Backlund.
A sudden tension gripped him. Beyonders like them could perish in any supernatural incident or lose control to madness. Time was fleeting; he couldn't delay.
The train neared Backlund.
…
Something's wrong! Klein sensed a looming crisis closing in. Before him, a woman approaching Blackthorn Security Company moved with an eerie demeanor. Klein recognized her—Megose, deceived by Lanevus at the Divination Association, her body used. Now, "Megose" moved stiffly, her face bearing an odd smile, slowly nearing the company.
Closer inspection revealed faint black patterns on her body. Under sunlight, these lines seemed to writhe beneath her skin, nearly imperceptible to passersby. What shocked Klein most:
Megose's once-prominent pregnant belly was now unnaturally flat!
Recalling the High-Dimensional Overseer's warning, clues clicked, sparking a chilling theory.
Could Megose be the second "divine vessel" the Aurora Order failed to locate, as the High-Dimensional Overseer mentioned?
Daly Simone shot Klein a discreet glance, signaling him to stall Megose, who was nearing Blackthorn. She tapped Leonard's shoulder, directing him to join her in retrieving Sealed Artifacts from behind Chanis Gate to counter an evil god's vessel.
Klein took a deep breath, gently opening Blackthorn's door. Watching the rigid "Megose," he closed it behind him, pulling out a charm imbued with a "Wall of Spirituality." Crafted at great cost after recognizing charms' power, he hid it behind his back, quietly infusing spirituality to seal the door with the charm's wall.
Seeing "Megose," Klein braced for the worst. Facing an evil god like the True Creator, whose mere gaze could corrupt Beyonders, Klein, a nominal True Creator follower, closed his eyes briefly, then opened them, resolutely approaching Megose. He aimed to stabilize her while ready to alert Daly and Leonard.
But when "Megose" gave a dazed look and tore out a handful of hair—scalp and blood attached—Klein's expression froze. The woman had ripped off her scalp.
Klein frowned. Based on the High-Dimensional Overseer's intel, Megose became a True Creator vessel because Lanevus and the Aurora Order used ritual magic to impregnate her with the god's offspring before Klein's transmigration. Yet, her flat belly suggested no divine child remained.
Had Megose been corrupted by the True Creator's divinity in her womb, or had a tragedy caused her to lose her child, driving her mad and fully corrupted?
Klein recalled the two honorific names the High-Dimensional Overseer shared, but hesitated. At this critical moment, he dared not recite an evil god's name. Though he and the High-Dimensional Overseer were nominally True Creator followers, Klein wouldn't bet on the god's disposition toward him.
In their Gray Fog talks, the High-Dimensional Overseer had repeatedly stressed: You can trust a god's might, but never their benevolence!
Unless utterly desperate, I can't recite the True Creator's name… Klein thought, watching "Megose" scratch her cheek, tearing a strip of bloody flesh from her fair face.
"Officer, I feel unwell…" "Megose" said in a dazed, oddly seductive voice, pressing her hand to her skirt. The white fabric turned dark red, soaked in blood. Bits of flesh, tainted by corruption, crumbled, melting into a pool of gore.
Klein's face twitched, spotting writhing flesh buds beneath "Megose"'s skin.
…
"The Lord of Dimensions;
The Eye Overlooking the Mortal Realm; The Source of All Illusions; The Creator of the Painting World;
The Source of All Fantasies.
Great Master, I submit this task's target, hoping to trade part of the reward for aid to escape this mission,"
Trissy prayed, enduring the deathly erosion from Chanis Gate, addressing the great master called the "Overseer."
"Current location verified as safe. Processing request. Per follower Trissy's intent, 32.12% of the task reward will be deducted. Request approved, task confirmed complete, preparing to retrieve task item. Please wait, activating aid—"
…What does that mean? Trissy froze, bewildered. She'd assumed the great master would whisk her away with His power—surely a trivial act for Him.
"Secondary escape aid completed. Protect your safety, and safe travels," the mechanical device in the Sefirot's corner intoned. The request, filtered through layers of high-dimensional avatars, reached the High-Dimensional Overseer. Observing the continent, He prioritized Trissy's plea, relaying her aid plan to His avatar.
The cold mechanical voice echoed in Trissy's mind. Before she could grasp "secondary escape aid," she gasped as the pure white Cheek statue in her hands glowed with a pearlescent light. Its snake heads seemed to come alive, staring at her, their eyes glinting with crimson bloodlight.
Trissy barely rolled backward before fainting outright, her mind blank, unaware of what transpired.
The High-Dimensional Overseer sipped tea calmly, seated beside the True Creator, watching the unconscious Trissy. "Tch, equivalent exchange. How could I use direct teleportation? Adam would notice. Smuggling my characteristics here cost effort to find barrier weak points; I can't waste that…"
The True Creator stared, expressionless, at the High-Dimensional Overseer's cavalier disregard for His Outer God image. Unfazed, the True Creator felt helpless at His flamboyant personality and abundant humanity. But watching Him, the True Creator sensed a strange dissonance—as if the High-Dimensional Overseer were Amon, clueless about humanity, awkwardly mimicking it.
Perhaps too long in the starry void, adhering to Outer God principles? I envy His mindset, retaining such rich humanity as an Outer God, the True Creator thought. How does He maintain it without anchors?
A radiant light emerged at the night's edge, faintly piercing the dark curtain. Like a meteor, it streaked toward Blackthorn Security Company. Halfway, Mr. A, now an Unshadowed, halted abruptly, forcing his body to stop. A fleeting, invisible gaze passed, its owner seemingly puzzled but not probing further.
Mr. A exhaled, shaken, eyeing the massive shadow that flickered in the Spirit World. The Primordial Demoness Cheek had glanced here, spurred by 0-08 and the Cheek statue.
Even her casual, benign glance shattered Blackthorn's wall-embedded glass, shards scattering. Roshan, a clerk running outside, heard the piercing crash and nearly turned back, but recalling Daly's instructions, she restrained herself, sprinting faster to alert the police to seal the district.
Chanis Gate fared worse. With Cheek's statue in Trissy's arms, it shattered under Cheek's gaze and was reclaimed by the High-Dimensional Overseer, but the divine shockwave ravaged nearby seals. A deafening explosion erupted beside Trissy, blowing Chanis Gate open. The upper structure decayed instantly, and the underground gate's entrance lay exposed.
Daly, body arched, was flung backward, pain etched on her face. Leonard, worse off, was hurled into the decaying structure by the divine shockwave, sprawled on the ground, doubled over, unable to rise.
"Daly!" Leonard, in agony, propped himself on his elbows, forcing his upper body up, shouting desperately to his imperiled comrade. Daly stood, biting her lipsticked lower lip, and strode to Leonard. Taking a deep breath, she carefully retrieved a small box from her pocket, crouched, and placed it in his hands.
"Don't worry, little Leonard," Daly smiled. "Can you move?"
"I can." Leonard tried standing but failed twice, sharp pain shooting through his legs, crushed by debris. He groaned in agony.
"If I don't return after this, please give this to Dunn," Daly said with a faint smile. "But don't worry, I'll be back, little Leonard. Find a place to hide. When the dust settles, we'll find you."
"…" Leonard clenched his fists, eyes bloodshot. Head bowed, he stared at the box Daly placed before him, recalling her recent talk with Klein about Dunn. Inside were the rings Daly crafted for their captain!
Cough, cough, Daly rasped. "Leonard, please survive."
(End of Chapter)
Author's Note:
Lord of Mysteries 2 is out—sprinkle some flowers!
This book's performance should secure publication. Thanks for your support. As long as it's published and readers stay, I'll keep writing, not abandoning it for Mysteries 2.
On the 26th, Sunday, I'll get another recommendation wave. I'll do a small burst, about three to four chapters. With more words, it might get published soon. Please let Moon Tiger stockpile drafts. Moon Tiger thanks you!