Black Snow

East Borough, 8 Hawes Street.

Luther nestled on the sofa in the living room, flipping through a stack of manuscripts in his hands. The stack of manuscripts was entirely written in Chinese and arranged in chronological order; it was the Roselle's Diary that Klein had given him.

Due to his mental health issues, his facial expressions constantly changed, but his eyes remained focused on the diary, reading through each entry.

"Roselle's 'Savant' Pathway is connected to many prominent figures in the mysticism, such as Zaratul, the leader of the Secret Order, 'Mr. Door' who is trapped outside the world, and the Archbishop of the Church of Steam."

"He also joined a mysterious organization whose name cannot be mentioned, an organization that actually possessed the Second Blasphemy Slate."

"The Forsaken Land of the Gods: The War of the Four Emperors, Some Concealment Histories"

"Laws such as High Sequence permutation, the indestructibility of Beyonder Characteristic, and the conservation of similar Sequence."

"His three children made their own Card of Blasphemy."

After reading through all the diaries, Luther couldn't help but sigh that Emperor Roselle had indeed lived a very exciting life.

Besides Roselle's own account, the diary also contains some entries written by Klein. He carefully annotated some of the entries for Luther, and offered reminders for others. For example, he added his own interpretations to Roselle's historical accounts, while warning Luther to be careful of "Mr. Door" and the organization whose name could not even be mentioned, and to try not to mention them in reality.

--His colleague was really honest; the Roselle's Diary he received contained a lot of valuable information, and after reading it, he gained some understanding of advanced knowledge about many extraordinary worlds.

"Klein is indeed cautious. But he's right. My current state is already terrible. If I establish contact with other mysterious entities again, I might go completely insane."

Luther clutched the diary, thinking to himself.

That's right, his condition is still very serious, and it's even showing signs of worsening.

Even now, he was surrounded by countless illusions: Distortion limbs, frantic sounds, and desperate faces appearing one after another. In his mind, several voices rang out simultaneously, incessantly cursing him, giving him advice, and ordering him to act.

Luther pretended not to see or hear anything; only the tightly clenched edge of the paper revealed his inner turmoil.

Fortunately, this problem will be resolved soon.

"Clang, clang"

The melodious and grand chimes echoed from afar, reverberating through the streets of the East Borough, reminding people that the hour had arrived.

"Luther, isn't it about time?"

The sound of the bell drowned out the babbling in his head, Luther saw his sister's figure pass through the chaotic Illusion and come to him.

"Um."

He answered, calmly folding the diary in his hand and tucking it into his pocket to keep it safe.

The Psychology Alchemists has accepted his request and promised to send an expert to treat mental health issues. In return, he will need to pay a hefty fee of 1,500 pounds.

Fortunately, after arriving in Backlund, Luther went through a series of events and acquired a considerable amount of cash, enough to cover the expenses. He first gave a deposit of one-tenth, and then entrusted the remaining cash to Miss Audrey, a trusted intermediary, for her temporary safekeeping.

After that, the Psychology Alchemists provided an address and informed him that the expert would arrive promptly at four o'clock that afternoon.

The clock just struck twice, which means it's already 2 PM, and there are still two hours until the agreed time.

"Let's go first to Empress Borough to meet Miss Audrey, and then we'll go there."

Luther stood up from the sofa and said to his sister.

"Yes, that's great, Luther."

The black-haired girl looked very happy and stepped forward to support Luther's arm. The hope of curing Luther's madness was right in front of her, so it was no wonder she was so happy.

Seeing her happy face, Luther smiled slightly.

I hope the experts at the Psychology Alchemists are professional enough to cure my mental madness. Even just providing some relief would be good.

He thought to himself with great anticipation.

The landlord was still in school, so they locked the door after they left. The two walked to the street corner to hire a carriage.

The weather in Backlund was getting increasingly damp and cold. The overcast sky showed no sign of the Sun. You could feel the damp, cold air slowly seeping into your clothes as soon as you stepped out of your room. It was cold and sticky against your skin, stealing away your body heat.

Luther and his sister walked side by side, their feet sinking deep into the muddy streets of the East Borough.

Are you cold?

He asked.

"Fine."

The girl beside him had a slightly flushed face and small ears, and as she spoke, she exhaled white steam. The steam quickly dissipated, merging into the surrounding gray Fog. She held onto Luther's arm, looked down at the path, and helped him avoid the difficult parts. Her serious, flushed face was so adorable that Luther couldn't resist the urge to play a prank and put more of his weight on her.

But he forgot that his sister was already Sequence 8 Extraordinary. After Luther shifted his center of gravity, she only needed to adjust slightly to regain her balance.

"Stop fooling around, Luther."

"Well."

Luther gave a perfunctory reply.

Suddenly, the girl turned her head, her azure eyes looking intently at Luther through the white steam.

"Brother, will you be fully recovered after this treatment?"

She seemed to be trying to confirm something.

"I guess so."

Luther smiled slightly. Although he wasn't sure if it would work, he still used those words to comfort his sister.

"It will definitely get better!"

The girl clenched her fist and said, as if trying to encourage herself.

Sister, then I'll take your good wishes.

Luther couldn't help but chuckle. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly felt a cool sensation on his face, as if something had landed there. The substance melted quickly, leaving a slightly damp and chilly feeling.

He Consciousness looked up, his expression subtly changing.

"It's black because it's snowing?"

He saw countless black fluff particles falling from the sky, filling his field of vision.

The snowflakes, which should have been pure white, were soaked by pollution emitted from the factory, and ended up looking so Filth. It was as if, after a fire, countless ashes were swept into the sky by the hot wind, and then drifted down, landing on people's shoulders and on the already dirty streets.

"There really is black snow. Cecilia, let's hurry up, this stuff is filthy."

Luther sighed, quickened his pace with his sister, and arrived at the street corner, where they hired a carriage.

"To Empress Borough."

He spoke to the coachman. The latter, perhaps too cold to speak, lacked the enthusiasm of a typical coachman, merely nodded, and spurred the carriage forward.

The carriage carrying the two swayed and disappeared into the black snow.

Thank you to the reader "Psyduck Frowning" for the 100 Qidian coins.

Thank you to reader Shichimiya Satoshi's husband for the 100 reading coins.