Corruption from Underground and the Cosmos

"Boom..."

The Fog Sea was turbulent and surging with terrifying waves.

Even ordinary ships, which can withstand the powerful pounding of giant waves, will still experience violent rocking inside the cabin due to the intense turbulence. However, Luther was aboard the noble Black Throne, and no matter how rough the seas were outside, the Captain's Cabin remained perfectly stable, as if he were on land.

In this peaceful environment, Luther opened Roselle Gustav's diary and began to read:

"On July 23rd, I met a mother and daughter at today's dance..."

Jump over!

He suppressed his impatience, quickly flipped the page, and continued reading.

Fortunately, the information provided on the next page was useful enough to outweigh his earlier dissatisfaction.

On July 28th, I attended another gathering of that ancient Concealment organization. From the members' casual conversation, I noticed something: was it because my promotions were too rapid, leaving me with relatively little experience, that I hadn't even heard of many of the things they were talking about?

Just like the pollution they mentioned originating from the Astral World and underground, I only learned about its existence today for the first time...

Hmm? Pollution in the Astral World and underground...

Luther frowned slightly. He knew a little about pollution in the Astral World, but he had never heard of pollution underground before.

Wait, something feels familiar... Could this so-called Underground Corruption be related to that Tide?

He continued reading, still speculating.

Taking advantage of the opportunity for others to talk, I quietly asked the old man Hermes next to me, hoping to learn more about the pollution of the Astral World and the earth's interior. Hermes told me that this was knowledge beyond my current level, and even understanding it would pollute me!

"It's that scary? What could it be? I'm even more curious now."

"The old man then told me that the pollution originating from underground could be ignored, as it would naturally dissipate over time. In the distant past, during the era when the Ancient God were active, powerful beings attempted to completely resolve this problem, but instead made things more complicated and caused immense damage. Later, they abandoned their plan to directly influence it and instead opted for sealing and guarding it."

"From this point on, although accidents still occur occasionally, things have generally become stable. Today, even without the seal and without anyone guarding it, as long as no one approaches or tries to go deeper, there will be no contamination."

"Old Master Hermes mentioned the Astral World again, saying that the situation there is more complex, more interesting, and more dangerous than I imagined. He said that even Angel at Sequence 2 1 don't actually have enough knowledge about the Astral World, only a general understanding, and are unaware that besides danger, there are many, many other things there. If He hadn't once known a being skilled in traversing the starry Astral World and learned a lot from that person, He wouldn't be able to say these words now."

"I asked, with a mixture of curiosity and low expectation, who that being skilled at traversing the starry Astral World was."

"Old Mr. Hermes didn't hide anything, saying it was Mr. 'Door' Bethel Abraham."

Um...

Luther thoughtfully put down the page of the diary, his expression subtle. Firstly, the description of the Underground Corruption was very similar to what he had encountered before— the Bronze Door sealed beneath the Throne by one of the Ancient God, the "Dragon of Imagination," Ankewelt; the door beneath that once heavily guarded, now neglected, dilapidated castle...

So, is the essence of Underground Corruption simply the Tide within our own bodies?

Furthermore, there's another point worth noting about Hermes's words: the underground pollution will naturally fade over time... Why?

Luther recalled the ruthless will hidden deep within the Tide.

... Is it because that thing, which is suspected to be a remnant of the Creator of the City of Silver, will be completely worn away by time?

He guessed based on the information he had already gathered.

The pollution of the Astral World is even more dangerous, and it's also related to "Mr. Door" Bethel Abraham... Roselle was probably deceived by Mr. Door and ended up in the Astral World, where he suffered from the Concealment pollution...

Of course, it's also possible that Hermes thought Roselle was a fool and was just joking with him, but that's unlikely.

Luther took some time to process the diary entry, then lowered his head, turned to the next page, and continued reading.

The contents of the next page made his eyes narrow even more.

"December 31st, the end of the year, is the perfect day to make decisions and start a new story. I've already decided where to build eight secret Mausoleum, but I still don't have a clue about the last one."

"This one has to be even more secluded than the previous eight, otherwise it'll lose its purpose." "After much thought, I've come up with a place: the Nameless Island where Green is buried..."

It's confirmed, the last Mausoleum is on that island!

A surge of joy welled up in Luther's heart. With this news, he and the Queen Mystic Bernadette no longer needed to wander on the Fog Sea; they could head directly to that island!

With this joy, he continued reading.

"Writing this, I suddenly recalled that experience."

Because of my dream of Green, I took Edwards, Benjamin, and the others back to this Nameless Island, where we found those extraordinary creatures living in harmony, gathered together, performing Ritual, and Green, who had died, was among them.

"I was really startled at the time, and I felt a long-lost fear. Everything seemed extremely eerie."

"That time, William died, Peri died, only Edwards and Benjamin survived. If I hadn't become powerful enough to wield a Level 0 Sealed Artifact, everyone would have been buried."

"The power influencing those extraordinary creatures on that nameless island actually originates from the Astral World, and those who die from that pollution will return to its source after death."

"Luck, the power from the Astral World can only be projected into the Real World in a very small amount. I eventually solved the problem and made that Nameless Island my secret base."

"Now is the time for it to come in handy!"

This concludes the entire diary entry. Luther, who had initially been quite pleased, gradually became serious after reading the last line.

That island... something's not right.

According to Roselle's description, the island seemed to have been polluted by the Astral World, becoming eerie and dangerous... But for some reason, Roselle felt confident enough to believe he had completely cleansed the dangerous pollution, and proudly designated the island as his secret base, even choosing it as the location for his final Mausoleum...

It was as if someone was secretly manipulating Roselle's will, causing him to make this series of irrational moves...

The pollution of the Astral World has never been eliminated.