Light
Envelops you with its dying flames
Standing thus, pale and dazed,
You are silent, alone in the loneliness of the hour of death
And yet full of the vitality of fire
You are the pure heir of the day of destruction*
—
"Listen to my excuses, no, listen to my explanation!"
During dinner, Klein happened to ask Miss Pallas about Detective Stuart. The Aurora Society's matter was more serious, and he was a little worried, so he didn't dare to ask for the time being. He wanted to find an opportunity to go to the gray fog to try divination. Although every divination against her failed...
So Miss Pallas chewed her pasta and answered immediately like a hamster: Wait a minute, listen to my excuse first! Klein:? Don't play tricks at this time, let's talk business!
Why does she always talk while eating? Didn't the adults teach her that when she was a child... Klein had an inappropriate thought, but he quickly shook his head and forgot about it. If Pallas could hear his inner voice, he would definitely shout: Because I didn't eat much when I was a child! Medici and Ouroboros can't cook! ! Although my father has retained some human habits, he doesn't miss three meals a day!
"Detective Stuart is indeed my distant relative. He once came to Backlund from the countryside alone, penniless and in dire straits. The reason he came to Backlund at that time was not only because it was easier to find a job in the capital, but also because someone told him that he had a wealthy banker relative in the capital." Miss Pallas said vaguely, "Of course, my father is not a philanthropist, but Mr. Stuart is a gentleman who makes people feel good, you know, just like Duke Myshkin--" Miss Pallas made a metaphor that Klein didn't quite understand, but he roughly understood what she meant.
"But he soon had an income and moved out. So I didn't know him well, after all, we only spent a short time together. So I didn't talk about this matter, not intentionally hiding it."
Klein also felt that the question he asked was very abrupt. How could you check someone's ancestors to make friends? What's more, she was from the same hometown. It was normal for her to not understand many situations after traveling through time! Well, he actually wanted to ask about Miss Pallas and the Aurora Society, and the fact that every divination against her failed, but those were too difficult to talk about, so he only asked this most insignificant question, which made him seem overly suspicious. Fortunately, Miss Pallas didn't care. She just finished her noodles silently, raised the fork with scarlet meat sauce and pointed it at him, with a faint smile on her lips - she always liked to pick up things at hand and point at others, but it didn't make people feel offensive. Instead, it gave people the illusion of surrender, as if she had been in a high position for a long time - "I guess you actually want to ask, why can't you do an effective divination for me, my dear fortune teller?"
Klein was like a cat with its fur standing on end. He almost jumped up from his chair. Fortunately, his clown ability made him look less panicked. How did she know that I was secretly fortune-telling her? Klein was like a peeping Tom who was caught red-handed. His toes almost dug the place into the Loen Palace.
"I'm a spectator." She just explained casually, like a happy criminal, not intending to completely erase her suspicion, but she was confident enough to seduce the other party. She pulled up the silver necklace on her chest with a smile: "This is what I brought with me when I traveled through time. How do you say it, the Dragon Slaying Sword was given to me at the beginning...? I always feel that its aura is very special, and when I carry it, I always gain unexpected good luck, so I have never taken it off."
Klein stared at the necklace carefully. It was indeed different from the ordinary extraordinary items he saw in the market... For a moment, it reminded him of the golden cross he saw in the Fourth Epoch Ruins that day.
"I don't have enough knowledge of mysticism, but recently, that pretentious guy who calls himself Mr. E... ah, it's one of my recent suitors. I seem to have forgotten to tell you—" She casually revealed the thing that Klein cared about the most. Mr. E, this familiar naming method, should be the messenger of the Aurora Society. Klein listened to her carefully, because the information she took the initiative to reveal strengthened the trust between the two that had become somewhat fragile, and he couldn't help but relax.
"Mr. E told me that this seemed to be a Extraordinary Item blessed by a High Sequencer. He said he couldn't tell me too much because some knowledge, if known alone, would easily lead to loss of control... However, judging from the effect it showed, I think it should have come from a demigod of the Path of Destiny, or even an angel?" Miss Pallas said, taking a big sip of iced Southwell beer. She really loved drinking. "It should be because the existence of this Extraordinary Item interfered with your divination. However, if you are very interested in my private life, I can take it off before you do divination on me next time?" She showed a playful smile and squinted at Klein. Her gray eyes were cunning and bright. Klein dropped the fork in his hand on the table. He hurriedly cleaned the table and lowered his head to avoid looking at her.
"Let's talk about Mr. E... He doesn't look like a serious person just from his name, but he is very handsome and he took the initiative to tell me a lot of knowledge about the occult. I want to try dating him."
He's handsome... Klein thought of Mr. A, who looked gloomy, thin, and half-dead. So girls like this now! He was going to remind Miss Pallas that she was a dangerous person, but before he could think of how to start, Pallas continued, "One day he said he would take me to see a mysterious being. I thought he was going to show me some luminous watch, so I went... Hey, don't look at me like that. I was a full-grown adult woman with normal physiological functions before I traveled through time! Anyway, I went, and then, in a dark basement... There was no one there, but I felt some inexplicable gaze, as if it came from a great being above the clouds... At that moment, I felt terrified."
Klein heard the slight tremor in her voice, so he reached out and tried to touch her shoulder to comfort her, but he didn't notice that she lowered her head and laughed secretly. She continued, using a fragile tone that just aroused others' desire to protect her: "I heard that voice, like Stavrogin who had just killed someone, whispering to me with solemn madness and calm confusion. He said-"
"Athie, I found you."
Klein felt an indescribable depression just by listening to her description. He stood up and opened the window. A strange red moon shone quietly in from outside the window. He took a deep breath and considered his words: "He, or from what I heard, it should be "Him". He seems to know you? Or rather, He knows the body you had before you crossed over. But why would the daughter of an ordinary banker..."
"I don't know... Speaking of which, I've been having the same dream recently." Pallas said. "In the dream, I saw a mysterious young man with blond hair, looking down at me... He seemed to be looking at me with the gentle eyes of an elder. There was a golden cross on his chest. Because I am a spectator, I have a certain ability to restore and record dreams... I remember he said at that time,
"He will find me eventually."
---
Athena didn't like Klein. He was gentle, firm, and reassuring, with a kindness that was almost pedantic in this chaotic world. When she was growing up, everyone had ulterior motives. She had never seen pure emotions, and everyone was deeply trapped in some huge whirlpool. Maybe Ouroboros was pure... No, he was just simply heartless. Athena shook her head, holding the necklace on her chest and staring at the bedside lamp in a daze. Will someone like Klein die miserably, or will he win in the end? One thing is certain, he is stronger than anyone she has ever met. Even if he was born in the mud and is weaker than a mayfly, he will never be completely defeated by anything. Athena has never seen such a person.
At this time, it began to rain outside the window. She felt drowsy and turned off the lights in the room.
Athena always liked rain, and liked some gloomy weather, when the sun was particularly bright behind the clouds, as if it was going to pierce through everything. But she rarely saw those pure and clear thunderstorms. The climate in Solomon's royal city was always dry and cold, like living in a dark anthill. She always remembered the story of Plato and the underground cave that the night told her when she was a child.
I really hope our story is just a lie. I hate this world... If this world is real, it would be so sad. The young star angel lay on the knees of the night, her golden hair scattered, like priceless brocade in the sun. She always looked carefree. At that time, she was strong, beautiful, courageous and wise. There was really nothing in the world that could stump her.
I hope so too. The goddess of night just smiled and praised her.
In the Kingdom of God in the Third Age, there were no cloudy days, rain or snow, no heat or cold, and the sun always rose warmly and golden. They always sat at the back of the Giant King's Court, facing the blue sea that was like a mirror. The sea was so calm that it seemed fake, as if the two of them were just a still, sad painting.
What is "secret"? She once asked Amanesis. It was a vague word that she repeatedly dreamed of in her dreams. Others might not be able to remember it, but she was the wanderer and guide of dreams.
"If you don't know, you can still die happily." The night always spoke to her in a soft tone, like chanting a hymn, saying some puzzling words.
"What if you knew?"
"Then you will be even sadder than you are now." The night was just caressing the top of her furry golden hair, a kind of intimacy between a lover and a pet.
However, if one can still struggle in the face of the heaviest sorrow in the world, then the posture at that time must be beyond all beauty... Athena only thought secretly in her heart. She always thought of unrealistic things, because she was stubborn and willful, as if the whole world was in her hands. If someone was to be destroyed, it was because of excessive love and hatred for her.You are more than just this pure white head that I
hold tightly in my hands like a bouquet of flowers every day . Wind, wind, I can only fight with the power you give me.
—
"Mein roter mond*. Come here."
Under the rich red moon that looked like the eye of dead fire, the blonde girl sat on the roof and stretched out a hand to the child in front of her.
"Mother, I can't go there." The blond, blue-eyed child looked at the girl sitting on the tall spire innocently and said honestly. He looked very similar to Alistair when he was young (to be honest, Athena had never seen Alistair when he was young, but Teren showed her a portrait of them when they were young. Alistair turned his face to the side and hid it in the shadow, but he could see his beautiful outline). But the child in front of him was never stubborn or arrogant, and faced his own incompetence frankly. In terms of personality, they were poles apart.
Athena smiled, and under the moon, she spread a pair of golden dragon wings. She flew down from the roof and landed gently beside the child. "Ah, Kronos is so useless. He can only rely on his mother for his whole life." She sighed in an exaggerated tone, grabbed the child in front of her, and held him in her arms like a cute cat. Once, Ali asked her not to carry the child like this, and she protested loudly: But Medici carried me like this when I was a child! I have become much gentler! Alistair: ...
Perhaps because of Athena's own peculiarity, Kronos was born in a rather twisted way in modern times. He inherited the extraordinary characteristics of both the audience and the lawyer. It was not uncommon for two paths of different essences to appear in the same person in the Second Age, but because of this, it was a chaotic and crazy era. People who carry two paths with different essences are likely to fall into a state of insanity and destruction. Therefore, Athena wanted him to expel some of his extraordinary characteristics and only keep one side. But she still hasn't figured out which path is best for Kronos, so she has been shelving it. At least so far, Kronos looks lively, innocent and cute, no different from an ordinary child.
------------
The empire is undergoing a silent transformation. The old regime is crumbling, and the new forces are like parasite eggs hiding silently under the skin. Now it is time to be ripped open and rush out.
The situation had indeed changed unexpectedly. A few months ago, everything was still relatively simple. In this turbulent situation, Adam and Amon chose to stand on Tudor's side, and Athena, as the youngest daughter of Duke Amon, was engaged to Alistair, which seemed to be a routine exchange of interests among the nobles.
But after Solomon summoned the noble lady of the Duke of Amon, everything seemed to be like tangled waterweed finally struggling to poke out of the water. Athena walked out of Solomon's main hall with a brisk pace that day, and her blood-red skirt fluttered in the quiet early spring. She saw Alistair standing outside the palace. He was looking at the grass on his boots, with his head down, wondering what he was thinking. Athena rarely saw him hesitant and vulnerable like this, and she found it very interesting.
"Ali, what are you thinking about?" She buttoned up the cuffs she had stolen from Alistair, and accidentally touched his fingers, which were dry but slightly warm, like a piece of decomposing stone.
Alistair was silent for a while. They were not close enough to each other to confide in each other, but it was always difficult not to speak your mind to a dreamer. "Are you really on my side?" he said softly, and then did not talk about this topic again.
In fact, Medici had asked her the same question. "I don't think you have such a good relationship with that paranoid man." He said irritably, "Can't you see what he is plotting? He treats you like Leodero and the others treated the Lord back then... Your relationship is no longer the same as when you were kids. To be honest, even I can't see what kind of guy he is now." He ruffled his messy red hair.
"Ah, then do you know what he is planning specifically?" Athena just said nonchalantly, "Anyway, I have already been a sacrifice in one round. Even if I am the sacrifice in the next round, it doesn't seem to matter, right? The more deaths you have, the more skilled you will be."
"He is too conceited. No one will regard someone who is on the same path and has a similar status as a truly loyal subordinate." Bethel said while chatting with Athena. The two of them were playing a very bad game of chess, mainly because Athena played too badly, but Bethel didn't want her to lose too quickly - he seemed to always take care of the feelings of others in social occasions - so the game became worse and worse.
"Should we say that Solomon's humanity is too well preserved, or too poorly preserved? He believes in so-called loyalty more than the most naive people, as if he can't imagine conflicts of interest and betrayal. But maybe this is just a manifestation of his extreme narcissism - how could anyone dare to betray me? He doesn't look like a tyrant, but sometimes he looks like a spoiled child." Athena complained casually, and willfully pushed the chess pieces around, trying to start over.
"Solomon seems to want to see you." Bethel took a sip of the tea at hand, and the emerald pinky ring reflected an ambiguous light in the dusk air. He looked at Athena meaningfully, as if asking, do you think Arista can still trust you?
"Yeah, have you guessed what he is trying to say?" Athena muttered, "Don't look at me like that, I'm not the one who is being a riddler, it's all of you who are being riddlers. Just like Adam and Amanesis back then. What on earth did they plot against me? I don't want to know, but at that time I thought it would be fun to die for them." The real name of the goddess of night was hidden on the ground, but Athena could say it. What was her relationship with the goddess of night? Bethel could only choose to wait and see among these many mysteries.
"But I don't want to die now." Athena left a child. Because I have something in this world that I don't want to give up, I decided to join this fight. Isn't this also a very novel thing? She thought to herself.
---
"Do you know the Twilight Hermits?" He suddenly asked Klein during dinner.
At this time, Klein was busy investigating unusual events in the East District and the Dock District, and was caught up in a strange busyness. So one tired evening, Pallas took the initiative to invite Klein to dinner. They sat opposite each other in a restaurant on Minsk Street, and Pallas ordered a large glass of iced Southwell Ice Beer - she seemed to like this drink particularly. So when the two were chatting, she suddenly asked this question without restraint. Klein's pupils trembled, and his spiritual intuition was frantically warned. Before she could say the words "Twilight Hermit Society", he pulled her above the gray fog.
There was silence above the gray fog, with only a long bronze table and empty chairs standing there. It was the first time Pallas had seen such a gray fog, so he pretended to be curious and asked: Why did you come here directly?
Uh… Klein was speechless for a second. Fortunately, I didn't appear on the bench at the top, otherwise I would have been exposed. He cleared his throat and said nonsense seriously, "Because I just prayed to Mr. Fool quickly." It is really necessary to put the creation of a small account on the agenda, otherwise it would be too inconvenient. Klein complained wildly in his heart. Miss Pallas looks too smart, and she is the audience's way, so it is several times more difficult to fool her than others. If he plays multiple roles, the probability of being exposed will be greatly reduced.
"Ah, you're really quick to react then." Pallas teased, "So the Twilight Hermits also fall into the category of you know who?"
To be honest, Klein had only recently heard the name of this organization. A few days ago, he learned the name of this mysterious organization after questioning the spirit of the "Apostle of Desire" who had died after assassinating Duke Negan.
Pallas quietly listened to Klein's explanation of the information he had learned about the organization. "Everything that is said must be known. And it can interfere with the course of history to a certain extent... This sounds like a pro max version for the audience." She joked.
"Audience..." Klein lowered his head, thinking. "Why do you think it's the audience's ability?"
"I'm still having the same dream over and over again. I vaguely remember the blond man in the dream telling me that he belonged to the Twilight Hermits... That was when I heard the name of this organization. Since he can control the dream of a mid-sequence audience, I guess his authority should be similar to that of the audience." Pallas analyzed and sighed, "Damn it, if I could ascend to a higher sequence, maybe I could catch him in my dream... But the formula for the Sequence 5 potion is still a long way off, so I can only try to exchange it at the Tarot Club. Oh, I still vaguely remember the upside-down golden cross on his chest." Pallas tried to materialize the cross in his mind, so that the authority of the gray mist could be directly passed to Klein.
"Ah." Unexpectedly, Klein suddenly felt that the cross in front of him was too familiar. He remembered the underground ruins he found at Miller Carter's place that day. In the memory that was forced to blur, he remembered that he seemed to touch a similar cross... but he couldn't remember what he saw later clearly. He tried to recall it, but felt an unbearable headache, as if some kind of spiritual intuition was preventing him from thinking any further.
"Really... So it appeared in the ruins of the Fourth Epoch. Why would a great man from the Fourth Epoch suddenly appear in my dream?" Pallas lowered his head and thought for a while, and soon changed the subject because he seemed to have no conclusion. She never seemed to dwell on things she couldn't figure out, even though these things meant unspeakable and unavoidable dangers in the Extraordinary World, which made Klein admire her very much.
"What actually concerns me more is," Pallas thought for a moment and spoke again, this time with great importance, "Is the original creator they want to resurrect the same one? I mean, both the Aurora Society and the Dusk Hermits mentioned the same creator."
Klein was shocked. But this was beyond his current knowledge of the occult, so he could only look forward to the intelligence he would collect later.
-----------
Athena had another dream about the Fourth Epoch. This was not the dream about the so-called great man in the Fourth Epoch that she and Klein had made up, but something that really happened back then. However, she had deliberately buried these things deep in her memory, and she would never think of them again unless it was necessary.
In the chaotic dreams with constantly changing scenes, she saw the phantom of Solomon standing on a tall building, like the last black sun on the fading horizon.
"I have found the Star Angel, the holy light of the Lord." She heard Solomon announce at the Kingdom Assembly, "Her soul has awakened from her slumber. She will become my loyal subordinate." At this time, Athena walked out from behind the majestic Black Emperor, her golden hair reflecting a dazzling light in the midday light. She stood there quietly, looking at the blurred believers under the city wall. She once stood in the Kingdom of God like this, watching her believers come and go. At that moment, she felt that part of the anchor she had lost had returned to her, and her broken spirit seemed to be more stable.
At this moment, she seemed to see the vague white spire of the church in the distance again. The sharp top was like a sword of Damocles pointing at Solomon, but the Black Emperor himself was unaware of the lurking crisis.
At the end of the dream, she seemed to hear the last words the Red Angel said to her before she and the Red Angel parted ways. "Tell me, you won't stand on the side of that paranoid, right?" he said. But Athena just smiled and brushed his hand away: "Why ask such a question? It's boring." Then the Red Angel's face split in the middle, and a lot of blood spilled out like a guava flower, turning into another twisted face of an evil spirit. He whispered in her ear:
"I finally found you."