As the steam train pulled away, Lorne's taut nerves gradually relaxed.
That Silver-Haired Woman told me to see her tomorrow evening. By then, the train should have reached its destination. Surely she won't be able to find me this far away? Lorne thought uncertainly.
I just wonder what will happen to Mrs. Griffin. She was so confident that she should be all right, shouldn't she?
"Meow!"
Seemingly sensing the unnatural movement around him, Orange Cat began struggling inside the bag.
"Quiet down. I'll let you out when we reach the station." Lorne soothed Orange Cat and stuffed the ham he had brought along as travel rations into the bag as well. Only then did the cat settle down.
After composing himself, Lorne took out the information he had paid dearly for that day and began studying it.
The first things Lorne took out were two pages of Roselle's Diary.
"December 16th. I once again made contact with that poor fellow trapped deep within the storms and lost in the darkness.
"He calls himself Mr. Door. He tried to teach me a complicated, difficult ritual so that I could help him return to the real world, promising to grant me three requests in exchange.
"Does he think I'm an idiot? Between my two lives, I've lived for over sixty years. Wouldn't I recognize the usual tricks of evil gods and devils?
"But some of the Fourth Epoch history he described really was fascinating."
There's quite a lot of information on this page. Mr. Door sounds pretty formidable. Going by the diary's description, was he sealed away?
But none of this information is any use to me! Isn't there anything more practical?
Although this page contained plenty of substantial information, the knowledge was still far too advanced for Lorne. He switched to the other page and began reading.
This page was very short, containing only two sentences.
"October 26th. Miss Solant made me feel young again."
"October 28th. I know Duke Lot was listening through the wall in the room next door. Frankly, it didn't feel half bad."
Was he really this shameless...? Lorne raised a hand to his forehead. Although Emperor Roselle's rampant plagiarism already showed that he was hardly a respectable man, Lorne had still held on to a few illusions about this fellow transmigrator who had come before him.
But now...
Surely there won't be anything even more outrageous, Lorne thought uncertainly.
Right, that earlier page said he regretted not choosing the Seer, Apprentice, or Marauder pathways. Is there something special about those three pathways?
Damn it, if only I'd read that diary page sooner. You can't change pathways once you've chosen one? What a rip-off. Lorne had already been dissatisfied with the Monster pathway, and reading Roselle's Diary only made him feel worse.
"I really was too hasty!" Lorne sighed.
Setting his unhappiness aside for the moment, Lorne took out the knowledge he had purchased from the Eye of Wisdom and began reading.
"Sequence 9 is the starting point of the extraordinary, the beginning of its corresponding pathway. Each subsequent advancement raises one's sequence by one.
"Once a pathway has been chosen, that choice cannot be undone. Consuming a potion from another pathway will lead to unimaginably horrifying consequences.
"Advancement must also proceed step by step. Consuming a potion while skipping a sequence will lead to losing control or even death.
"..."
Basic knowledge, but certainly practical, Lorne assessed inwardly.
There was more information about mysticism afterward, but Lorne did not read it. First, he needed to settle his mind and digest what was already in his head.
Since every advancement raises you by one sequence, there's Sequence 9 and Sequence 8. What happens if you keep going up?
Does it go all the way to Sequence 1? Or is there something beyond Sequence 1?
Becoming a god? Could gods be Beyonders too?
A blasphemous idea surfaced in Lorne's mind.
Let's make a bold assumption. What if the seven gods are Beyonders too?
Ha, what a crazy thought. If those fanatics found out, they'd probably beat me to death. Lorne gave a self-mocking smile.
No, I can't let this world's accepted values derail my thinking.
Based on that assumption, if Beyonders can become gods simply by continuing to advance... wouldn't gods be everywhere?
But that isn't the case, so there must be some restriction. Does it get harder the higher you go? Or can this world not sustain it? Like that so-called chain qi, perhaps the world's spiritual energy can only support so many people becoming gods?
And then there's the division into different pathways...
Could the materials become scarcer the higher you go, so that each pathway can only support a single god?
And there aren't that many Beyonders in this world. If I rule out the possibility that someone can control the number of Beyonders...
Yet humanity in this world hasn't developed into a civilization of powerful martial practitioners.
Lorne frowned, feeling as though he had discovered something.
Following that line of thought, perhaps the quantity of Beyonder materials is limited, or their production can't keep up with consumption.
But either way, given enough time, Beyonder powers would eventually be lost.
Of course, I can't rule out the possibility that High Sequence Beyonders live for a very long time. Living as long as the heavens isn't impossible.
But if a High Sequence Beyonder dies unexpectedly, and there are no more materials for that pathway, Low Sequence Beyonders won't be able to advance. Over time, that pathway would still disappear.
Unless... unless Beyonder powers can be inherited!
That way, even if there are no natural materials left, the pathway won't die out.
And the gods are quite different from the gods of my old world.
They all represent particular domains. For example, the Lord of Storms represents the sea, the Evernight Goddess represents tranquility, and the God of Steam and Machinery probably represents technology.
Could a god represent a concept itself?
And because that concept is unique, there can only be one.
As Lorne recalled what he knew, inspiration suddenly struck.
Wait. Historically, Roselle always had close ties with the Church of Steam and Machinery. That means his pathway was most likely one of theirs.
As a transmigrator, I don't believe he wouldn't have wanted to become a god. But he didn't. The seven gods never became eight.
Could that mean he couldn't advance any further while the God of Steam and Machinery existed?
And Roselle regretted not choosing the Seer, Apprentice, or Marauder pathways. Does that mean those three pathways don't have gods yet, giving him a chance to become one?
Doesn't that mean I lost out even more?
Following that line of thought, Lorne felt even more strongly that he had made a terrible choice.
Instead of choosing one of those three more promising pathways, he had chosen Monster.
It looks like you really can't go back once you've settled on a pathway. Even Roselle couldn't successfully change pathways. He was Emperor Caesar! Even with all those resources, he couldn't do it.
Lorne looked out the window, hoping the scenery would improve his mood. But the sight of the crimson moon did not soothe him. Instead, it made him even more irritable.
Everything was different from his original world: a different era, different scenery, a different moon.
Together with the blasphemous thoughts running through his head, it made Lorne feel that he really had become a monster-a monster utterly out of place in this world.
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