Lord of Mysteries: Yao Guang

"That explains a lot of things."

The Fool sat back in his high-back chair, and his slightly frowned brows soon relaxed.

He should have known that Esther would not bring good news. If it was good news, she would not have to tell him - because the beneficiary would eventually know what happened.

But Klein was just casual on the surface. His spirituality was still scattered throughout the hall, holding a few secret dolls hidden behind the gray fog, ready to quickly switch his position with the secret dolls when his spiritual intuition was triggered.

The light ball re-suspended on the long bronze table, keeping a height parallel to Klein's line of sight, and it floated closer to the end of the table. The sound from the ball became vague again, with a buzzing sound like a murmur:

"We are the bridge connecting the past and the present, the common fulcrum and rhythm, and the will to weave the thread of the long river of fate."

Klein's fingers gently tapped the edge of the table without making any sound. His silence revealed an obvious disdain.

It was hard for him to say what he was feeling now. Arrodes' words came true one by one. "Light" was indeed his hidden enemy, with such a tendency to betray. When he thought that Norns was still in reality, and was probably squatting on his shoulder or the secret doll to take a nap, Klein felt a slight chill.

But he was not surprised by this. He had figured it out a long time ago. Norns was also monitoring him by his side. It was just that Klein's idea was somewhat different from the facts. Norns was not Esther's "eyes", but belonged to the other party.

"You are not her."

"She used to be me until she completely merged with 'Lixing'. We are each other's twin sisters, and also reflections of the split due to fate."

For some reason, after getting such an answer, Klein's long-standing stone in his heart was put down, as if he could finally find an excuse for Esther to explain her actions all along - even if there was a self-deception in this idea.

Klein stopped tapping the long table with his finger and spread it towards the light ball: "Is this your 'test' of me?"

This time, the light ball did not change in any other way. Instead, it returned to its usual obedience to his orders and floated into Klein's palm: "It's a deterrent."

This was so straightforward that Klein didn't know what to say: "Okay, but you have other ideas."

"Like I said before."

"Trade?" Klein smiled and shook his head, "You've said it many times, but my answer has always been the same, and I don't think it will change in the future."

After a pause, the voice in the light ball was obviously lower: "Why? Because of distrust?"

"Because of the way you used me, or because of 'Li Xing', she made me feel... you don't deserve this opportunity to trust."

There was a hint of alienation and indifference under Klein's calm eyes. Perhaps he thought of the ending of "Li Xing" and the group of "cocoon people" who were still hanging. He saw his own fate in such an ending where he had no choice.

Even though he knew that the deal with the ball of light might be beneficial to him now, Klein didn't want to compromise. To put it simply, he didn't want to be a "puppet of fate."

"But Li Xing has become a part of us. If she realizes this, she will understand that this is an honor."

Klein raised the ball of light, which looked like it would fall from his fingertips at any time. He had the urge to smash it:

"Did you give her a chance to choose?"

Of course not, he thought silently in his heart.

The gray fog was silent for a moment, and the scattered light in the sphere flickered for a moment, then shrank inward and fell silent: "We are just opportunities for the Lord of Mysteries, not anyone else."

"Just?"

The silence lasted for a few seconds, and Klein's question was not explained, so he shook the light ball in his hand: "I can guess what you want, because this has been clearly shown in Esther. You want to leave here and get rid of the connection with this gray fog hall... but the 'Lord of Mysteries' will not allow it."

"Yes."

Klein couldn't help it, but his smile was filled with a kind of overlooking and distant pity:

"Freedom is too expensive for a prisoner."

Although the tone did not change, the frequency of the light ball flickered faster: "We just want to return to our destiny and fill the cracks that led to the divergence."

Klein certainly knew what it meant. The erosion of reality by the "dreamland" might deepen over time, and might even become part of the end of the world - of course, the last point was just his diffuse worry. As for the "filling the cracks" mentioned by the light ball, Klein did not completely believe it.

His answer was very quick: "I still think the same. I won't make any deal with you."

The light ball seemed to hesitate for a moment. After re-evaluating Klein's determination, it lowered its posture and was no longer as vague as before: "If you don't want to make a deal, you can just leave a promise, which can be the price of my helping you in the future."

"A deal is not a promise. There is a big difference between them."

"Such a difference is more beneficial to you. It is not a bad thing for you to let me be free. Only after I disappear, the real power here can be unlocked."

Does the door with the hanging light cocoon really need a key?

Although he had a direction in his heart instantly, Klein did not buy into such a condition: "But you don't necessarily need me, and I have tried many methods - Esther and I are just one of them. It’s just planting.”

"Zoya and Esther are, but 'Cline Moretti' is not."

"Am I anything special? I thought that as long as you wanted to, according to the plans Esther mentioned, anyone could become the 'Lord of Mysteries' with your help."

"In order to prevent fate from continuing to go astray, we have only one candidate."

Klein quickly checked the inconsistencies between the two statements and realized that he was never the only one who was kept in the dark: "Is there some reason behind this that Esther doesn't know about?"

"The bets of this world have never fallen on 'Lixing', but you can find the answer yourself."

After these words, the ball of light went completely silent, and no matter what Klein said, it did not react - as if it had returned to a completely closed state.

For people who can bet on the world, Klein naturally first thinks of the many true gods and ancient gods, followed by those more lofty gods.

He looked around and saw that he was the only one at the empty long table.

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