Lord of Mysteries: Yao Guang

"What do you want to get when you go to that castle? Or is it a little gadget?" Esther touched the base of the compass and looked at the magpie squatting next to it.

The magpie regained its composure after hearing her tone, then flapped its wings and landed on Esther's shoulder: "I'm going to find some items left in the castle that can be used to drive spiritual creatures... I don't even know if there will be any harvest."

Noticing Esther's thoughtful expression, Magpie added: "If it is too dangerous, we will give priority to escape."

Esther nodded: "Should we split up?"

"Do you know what I'm looking for?" Magpie didn't wait for Esther to answer the question, and then continued talking on his own, "And together, the two of us can walk in openly from the front door. If from other If the place invades the midnight castle, then what will greet us is malice."

Esther looked towards the direction of the woods. The dense canopy of trees could not cover the spire of the strange castle. Even just looking there would make her feel a chill in her back: "Is there no problem if you go through the main entrance?"

The magpie laughed softly: "That old castle has a big problem. We can't expect to confront it head-on, but it's okay to pretend to be with them. You just need to stay calm. Leave the rest to me. You don't have to speak. .”

Esther frowned, seeing that the ruins of the old castle were in completely unrepaired condition, and it didn't look like anyone was staying there, but Benjamin said it as if there were still people living inside.

However, Benjamin's word was "them", and the people staying in the castle were probably not humans. This made Esther couldn't help but have some divergent associations: "Are the people who live in the castle vampires?"

"Maybe it's a noble." I don't know why. Benjamin's tone sounded a little dissatisfied. "But you are right. This castle originally belonged to a vampire marquis, but after he was contaminated and became crazy, the castle here was... It gradually became deserted and became what it is now.”

Esther couldn't help but frown. Even though there was Mr. "Moon" in the Tarot Club, she was still very vague about the composition of the vampire clan and didn't know much about it: "Marquis of the vampire clan? That should correspond to..."

"The three extraordinary people in the sequence of the 'Moon' path are also known as summoning masters." Benjamin's tone gradually became serious. "Some paths are inherently dangerous and will be affected by high-ranking people, and even lead to further contamination from external factors. …”

Having said this, Magpie lowered his voice and quietly looked at Esther's profile.

Esther seemed to understand what Benjamin did not say. She pointed at herself with a wry smile: "Why do you look at me like this? Do you think I am also like some kind of 'external pollution'?"

Benjamin quickly considered his words and organized his language: "When he was parasitic on the rabbit, there was something very strange in his memory. That light has something to do with you."

"Yes, it has something to do with me." Esther admitted frankly, but under the expectant gaze of the magpie, she did not continue.

The magpie's raised tail feathers drooped: "Okay, it seems you don't want to share. But I do have some clues about that light."

Esther turned her head sideways and stared at Magpie with very peaceful eyes. However, when her face was expressionless, Benjamin could clearly feel that he was being scrutinized, which made him very resistant.

Magpie shook his head: "But I won't say it."

"Whatever you want." Esther looked away and looked at the spire of the castle standing in the deep forest.

"What were you thinking about just now?" Magpie asked.

Benjamin didn't expect to get the answer, but Esther smiled: "I'm wondering how much you know and how much I can believe."

She reached out and poked the magpie's white chest and abdomen: "After all, we are all 'thieves'. The more we talk, the more lies we tell, so why not stay silent?"

That way at least there will be a little more trust between us and we won't be caught on suspicion.

The magpie lowered his gaze quietly: "The True God is the end of the extraordinary, and the old days are above the True God."

Esther's fingers froze in mid-air: "You..."

The magpie closed his eyes: "If the 'Stealer' and the other two adjacent paths want to cross over to the True God, the source material they need is the 'Origin Castle'. And the 'Destiny' path needs the source material to break through to the True God..."

After a pause, the magpie put its beak to Esther's fingertips and pecked her index finger gently: "It's the 'Key of Light'."

Esther stared blankly at the magpie, the white down around her eyes surrounding her dark eyes, amplifying some emotion emerging within them. Esther didn't think it was pity, it was more like some kind of lament that only occurs when someone is of the same species.

Why?

Her surprised look seemed to please Magpie, causing a mocking smile to replace the sigh at that moment. Magpie slapped Esther's finger hard, making her retract the finger that poked Magpie's chest in pain.

"Why are you telling me this?" Esther's expression was uncertain, as if she wanted to avoid the magpie on her shoulder, but her body was too stiff to move.

The magpie didn't answer her, but just clasped Esther's shoulders with its claws, as if it was ready to take off directly after losing its footing.

The silence between the two did not last long, and Esther suddenly laughed again: "Forget it, my intuition tells me that you have no malicious intentions. Although I don't know your purpose..."

"I don't want to hurt you." Magpie whispered.

Esther blinked. Benjamin's words were sincere, which made her a little at a loss: "Okay, since you said that, then I believe you. The premise is that my intuition tells me that you are not here." You lied, you just hid something, but I also hid something, it’s even.”

On the contrary, Magpie looked very dissatisfied: "I think you are not the 'Key of Light', or not completely. The most direct proof is that you are too weak. Whether it is the 'Key of Light' or the 'Origin Castle', it is They can all exert power beyond the true gods, but it seems that only your 'thief' ability is stable.

"I saw those lights in the rabbit's memory. They do not have power above the King of Angels, they just have special personalities. This is a judgment I made based on many aspects."

Esther lowered her head and thought: "My relationship with the extraordinary people of the 'destiny' path is very special, and I have been verified on this. But above the true God? He is not like..."

"Him? Who are you talking about?" Magpie stared at Esther's expression, scratched her shoulder twice more, and picked up a thread on her clothes.

"Nothing, just some questions." Esther frowned and smoothed the thread to prevent the magpie from doing nothing, and continued to pull it with the tip of her talons.

She was a little curious about the real relationship between "The Fool" and Zoya.

If "The Fool" is an awakened ancient god and is at the level of a true god, then how could Zoya, as the attendant of "The Fool", be the "Key of Light"? Or is "The Fool" actually the Old One?

If "The Fool" is really the old man, then Amon is just the King of Angels, how dare he chase Zoya to ask for "Origin Castle"...

Esther always felt that she had a "no" answer in her heart, but her respect and trust in "The Fool" prevented her from thinking deeply about it. After all, the Tarot Club held by "The Fool" and the "Fool" rescued her. , which made Esther unwilling to think more about Him.

But the words Amon said seemed to be getting closer and closer to her ears, and seemed to be urging her softly - "Don't be fooled by the appearances they show you."

Benjamin talked about the existence of those light spots and considered the source of Zoya, which made Esther subconsciously put her fingertips to her forehead.

Tiny light spots flowed out along with her emotions and thoughts, swirling between her hair and fingers. When they gathered together, they turned into a stream of light that was constantly fluttering, passing back and forth through her fingers.

Soon, Esther calmed down, and driven by her thoughts, these light spots returned to her hair.

The magpie observed the light spots emerging and shrinking: "It seems you can control them well?"

Esther's brows furrowed tighter and tighter. What Benjamin said today made her feel very uneasy. She looked at the compass in her hand that was turning the pointer: "I don't know very well, but most of the time it is within my control. They sometimes give me a feeling of being 'alive'..."

"They may really be some kind of spiritual beings." In Magpie's right eye, there was a faint darkness squirming, but it was completely invisible from Esther's point of view. "They do not have entities when they appear. They must be attached when they fall silent. …”

Esther rubbed the top of her head twice: "Then where should they stay if I'm bald? The top of my head?"

She imagined it, and it was probably similar to a light bulb.

The magpie hesitated to speak and opened his mouth for a while before shaking his head: "You won't be bald."

"Many people in Loen tend to go bald as they get older. It's hard to predict this."

"...You are an extraordinary person."

Esther twisted a strand of bangs, and the light spots on it flickered slightly, as if in response to her touch: "I have also seen extraordinary people with very high hairlines."

"You are still a demigod!" Magpie sighed forcefully, "Oh, why on earth do we waste time on such a topic?"

"Okay, let's talk about something serious." Esther immediately stopped her previous casual smile and changed her face very quickly, "You haven't talked about your plans for the evening. Are you planning to give me a surprise?"

The magpie fell silent.

Esther squinted at it and saw that the black and white bird was squatting on her body without moving for a long time. She reached out and poked it several times, causing the magpie to impatiently stretch out its wings and sweep her hand aside.

After Benjamin thought for a while, he felt that it didn't matter at all to tell Esther: "Anyway, you must be prepared to attend a banquet."

Esther's face instantly became strange: "You're not still holding grudges because of that 'prom rejection' thing, are you?"

"...What I said is true. You will know when we walk to the main entrance at midnight. Besides, I'm not that stingy."

perhaps.

Benjamin silently added a word in his mind.