Lord of the Mysteries

1354 This Nigh

Late at night, the clanging sound of the door and windows opening woke Wendel up from his deep sleep. He warily rolled off the bed and surveyed his surroundings.

What happened? Utopia encountered a super heavy storm? It wasn’t easy for the recently insomniac Wendel to fall asleep, but he had no choice but to get out of bed. His mind was still lethargic, and he looked rather lost.

He soon realized that there was no wind blowing in from the open window, nor did the rain enter. It was like he had opened it while sleepwalking to take in fresh air.

Wendel suddenly thought of the supernatural events that he had experienced and learned from the dossier. He was reminded of the fear of the unknown that once ruled his heart.

He didn’t know what else would happen next, nor could he guess what he would encounter. He felt a chill run down his back as he shivered again.

At this moment, he heard the commotion outside the door. All sorts of voices entered his ears.

There were the loud sounds of running, the sounds of judgment, the declarations of orders to be changed, and unconcealed shouts.

“Something is wrong with the underground seal!”

“Be on high alert!”

Underground seal? What kind of item is sealed beneath the Irises Hotel? Wendel was surprised and confused. He couldn’t help but walk to the door and look around.

He then saw an MI9 colleague, who he barely knew, and Colonel Xio Derecha, who was on duty tonight.

Did MI9 find Utopia because of me? They’re here to handle the abnormality? Wendel instinctively frowned just as the thought flashed through his mind.

He discovered that the corridor outside was completely different from the Irises Hotel. Not only were there gas lamps on both sides, but there were also classical candle stands. The floor was very bright, and the ceiling was more than three meters high…

This… This isn’t the Irises Hotel… Wendel suddenly turned around and sized up the room he was in.

He quickly recognized that this was his sleeping quarters at MI9 headquarters. His luggage was placed quietly in a corner without any signs of movement.

Wendel clearly remembered that he had headed to Utopia through the washroom in his room. He wasn’t too confident in the process, so he didn’t bring his luggage and only held the subpoena from Utopia’s courts.

Tap! Tap! Tap! He quickly ran to the window and looked outside.

What greeted his eyes was the garden and lawn at MI9 headquarters.

I-I’m back in Backlund again? Or perhaps, I didn’t return to Utopia at all. I was just too tired and ended up having a dream in my sleep? Wendel dazedly walked back to his bed and sat down.

After about ten seconds, he suddenly jumped up and picked up his coat from the ground.

Then, he saw the Utopian subpoena in the inner pocket of the coat when it should be inside a drawer.

Wendel fell silent, as though he had become a statue.

…

Travel columnist, Monica, also woke up from the banging of the doors and windows.

She sat up straight, pulled the blanket up, and placed it in front of her chest.

The sleepy-eyed Monica’s first reaction was that a robber had barged into the hotel. She was about to scream and call for the police.

But in the next ten to twenty seconds, Monica didn’t hear any footsteps entering her room. However, there were more and more people gathered along the corridor.

“What happened?”

“It doesn’t seem like a hurricane…”

“Was it a prank?”

“Damn clown, if I knew who it was, I would definitely kick his ass hard!”

…

The voices of discussion were mixed with all kinds of curses.

Monica didn’t think much of it when she heard it. Instead, she thought of using the crowd’s discussion to consider the reason underlying the paranormal activity and write it in her traveling column.

But as she listened, she gradually realized something was amiss.

How could Irises Hotel have so many guests?

She remembered clearly that on this floor, there were at most five rooms with guests. This included her room.

At that moment, Monica thought of the ghost stories she had heard. She immediately felt as if there were wraiths and shadows outside.

She had originally stretched her feet towards the bedside, preparing to leave the room to participate in the discussion and grasp more details for her writing material. But now, she retracted her feet and curled into a ball, trembling.

A few seconds later, she heard a man say, “I asked the hotel owner, and he said that he had no idea what happened. Perhaps there was a short storm just now.

“Return to your room and get some rest. Remember to lock the windows. Yawn. I have to get up early tomorrow to go to the Royal Museum.”

Royal Museum… Monica was stunned.

As a travel columnist, as a traveler who had been in Utopia for a long time, she naturally knew that there was no Royal Museum.

In the Loen Kingdom, a museum with such a royal name would definitely be in Backlund.

To take a steam locomotive from Utopia to Backlund required many hours. Even if he woke up early, he wouldn’t be able to arrive before the Royal Museum closed.

Monica was puzzled. She slowly lifted the blanket. She heard the sound of the door and windows closing continuously.

She got off the bed carefully and walked towards the door.

During this process, she gradually saw the room through the moonlight.

Hiss… Monica almost screamed.

This wasn’t the guest room she had slept in previously!

Regardless of the layout or arrangement, they were completely different!

The ghost stories that she had thought of earlier surged into her mind again, causing her legs to give way, and she almost couldn’t support herself.

Just as Monica’s teeth were chattering, she saw a hotel name card on the table. It was prepared for guests. If she brought it out, she would be able to get someone to guide her back when she was lost—even if she didn’t know the language.

Monica subconsciously approached it and used the moonlight to identify the words on the name card.

Carlpensa Hotel, Backlund West Borough, 19 Mourning Street.

Backlund West Borough… Backlund… Monica’s eyes widened as she felt like space and time had gone topsy-turvy.

…

Backlund, Hillston Borough, in a house with a fireplace.

Fors heard the door and windows open, but she didn’t immediately wake up. This was because she had fallen into a strange nightmare and couldn’t break free.

She dreamed that her teacher, Dorian Gray Abraham, had been influenced by the family’s Sealed Artifact, dying in front of her with blood dripping. She dreamed that she had lost control and mutated, turning into a series of starlight insects that warped into the shape of doors. She couldn’t help but fly towards a Door of Flesh and Blood. She dreamed that the apocalypse had dawned, and the surging blood-colored tide had drowned the entire world, preventing Xio, Gehrman Sparrow, and company from escaping…

Finally, Fors escaped the dream and sat up, panting heavily.

As a demigod, one who was once an Astrologer, she knew what such a dream meant. She hurriedly suppressed her emotions and looked up ahead.

The glass on the oriel window in the bedroom all bore open at some point in time.

Something must’ve happened… Furthermore, it has a certain relationship with the apocalypse, the Abraham family, and the Apprentice pathway… Fors silently muttered to herself before standing up and wearing a cloak, preparing to “Teleport” to her teacher to confirm his safety.

Such a change made her feel a sense of urgency towards advancing to Sequence 3 or even Sequence 2.

After learning about the apocalypse from Mr. Fool and The World Gehrman Sparrow, Fors had actually been working hard, but the Secrets Sorcerer potion wasn’t something that she could digest in a short period of time. Furthermore, without making any contributions, she couldn’t bring herself to ask her teacher for the Wanderer’s formula and ingredients.

Of course, if she was willing, she could’ve obtained it from Mr. Door. However, how could she have been bewitched after receiving all kinds of reminders?

Phasing away, Fors vanished from the room.

A few seconds later, she appeared at Dorian Gray Abraham’s residence and saw her teacher sitting there, pressing down on his heart as though he had been frightened.

“…Do you need medicine?” Fors asked carefully.

She had purchased medicine from Mr. Moon to treat ailments of age.

Dorian took a deep breath and shook his head.

“There’s no need.”

Fors immediately relaxed.

“Teacher, I dreamed that you were affected by the negative effects of the Sealed Artifact. Uh, the windows and doors around me had undergone unnecessary changes, so I came over to take a look.”

Dorian looked up at the window open and said with a serious expression,

“Your dream wasn’t wrong. I nearly died just now, but at the most critical moment, the seal came into effect…”

Having said that, he suddenly stood up and said to Fors, “Quick! Bring me somewhere else. I’m worried that something might happen to the other family members!”

Without any hesitation, Fors immediately grabbed her teacher’s arm and asked for the exact location.

Their figures rapidly faded away and disappeared.

After traveling through the spirit world that was covered in gray fog for several seconds, Fors and Dorian suddenly left their present environment and landed in a place that looked like a study.

There were quite a few people standing there. They were members of the Abraham family who wielded different Sealed Artifacts and could “Travel.”

“Vilos? Why are all of you here?” Dorian blurted out.

Vilos and the others shook their heads at the same time, both confused and terrified.

In the next second, countless dazzling stars appeared out of the void.

The starlight quickly gathered together, turning into objects that fell to the ground one after another.

There was a miniature door of starlight, a crystal ball formed from insects. There was a translucent, strange-looking key, a resplendent torch that burned slightly…

For some reason, names after names appeared in Dorian and company’s minds:

Sequence 3 Wanderer Beyonder characteristic… Sequence 4 Secrets Sorcerer Beyonder characteristic… Sequence 1 Key of Stars Beyonder characteristic, Sequence 2 Planeswalker Beyonder characteristic…

Furthermore, there wasn’t just one of each Beyonder characteristic. There were even two Sequence 1 Key of Stars Beyonder characteristics! In addition, there were three Planeswalker Beyonder characteristics, and even more of the rest.

The key members of the Abraham family and Fors slowly turned agape, unable to close them for a long time.

By the time all the Beyonder characteristics dropped to the ground, nothing abnormal happened again. There was silence.