Above the still, gray-white mist, Klein sat quietly at the head of the mottled long table, like a stone statue that had existed here for hundreds or thousands of years.
He felt a deep sense of horror at what he had just discovered. He felt a chill run down his spine and spread throughout his body, bringing a subtle but real shiver.
It was as if he watched a familiar friend suddenly become a stranger, behaving strangely, as if someone had impersonated them.
Of course, there is an even clearer and more intuitive analogy in this regard, which is when Leonard Mitchell visited Klein to discuss the matter of Pallez Zoroast, he suddenly took out a monocle and put it on.
Could it be that after the Emperor ascended to the Red Moon, he was unknowingly infected without realizing it, and usually showed no abnormalities, only exhibiting subtle signs when recalling the past through his diary, analyzing his inner self, and having a dialogue with himself? Or was this Adam's Hypnosis? But at this point, Roselle was at least Sequence 1... Klein couldn't help but look down at himself, imagining that there was another unknown entity within him, completely unknown, and unclear whether it could be called "human."
This was truly an extreme form of terror... Klein took a slow breath, forcing himself to focus his attention back on Emperor Roselle's diaries.
Soon, he discovered more content worth reading carefully:
On July 28th, I attended another gathering of that ancient Concealment organization.
"From the members' casual conversation, I noticed a problem:"
"Is it because I was promoted too quickly, resulting in relatively limited experience, and there are many things I've never even heard of?"
"Just like the pollution they mentioned originating from the Starry Sky and underground, I only learned about its existence today for the first time!"
"Hehe, I wonder how many of them are like Him. Apart from a very few members, the vast majority don't like others to know their current level."
"While others were talking, I quietly asked Mr. Hermes next to me, hoping to learn more about the pollution of the Starry Sky and the underground."
Hermes told me that this was not knowledge I could access at my current level, and that merely understanding it would corrupt me!
"Is it really that scary? What could it be? I'm even more curious now."
"The old man then told me that the pollution originating from the earth could be ignored because it would naturally dissipate over time. In the distant past, during the era when the ancient gods were active, powerful beings tried to completely solve this problem, but it only made things more complicated and caused great losses. Later, they abandoned their plan to directly influence it and instead sealed and guarded it."
"From this point on, although accidents still happen occasionally, things have become generally stable. Today, even without a seal or guards, as long as no one gets close or tries to go deep inside, there will be no contamination."
"This is a rather unexpected situation for me; it seems that it's not necessary for the protagonist of my era to solve this problem."
"Old Master Hermes mentioned the Starry Sky again, saying that the situation there was more complex, more interesting, and more dangerous than I had imagined. He said that even Angel of Sequence 2 1 did not have enough knowledge about the Starry Sky, only a general understanding. They were unaware that there were many other things there besides danger. If He had not once known a being who was skilled at Roaming Starry Sky and learned a lot from that person, He would not have been able to say these words now."
"I asked, with a mixture of curiosity and low expectation, who that being skilled at Roaming the Starry Sky was."
"Old Mr. Hermes did not hide anything and said it was Mr. 'Door' Bethel Abraham."
"Mr. 'Door'... I pretended not to know anything and casually asked about his status."
Hermes did not answer directly, only saying that in the Fourth Age, even Angel Demigod addressed each other by their first names in private. Apart from gods such as the Evernight, Storm, and Earth, only a few, such as Mr. Door, were allowed to be addressed by their titles.
"I see... Mr. 'Door' is certainly not of low status."
"Will the pollution originating from underground naturally dissipate over time?" said the " Magic Mirror " Arrodes. The Gray Fog gave it a feeling similar to things underground... It wanted me to return to the throne before exploring the underground, but Luca Brewster stated definitively that the higher the Sequence, the greater the danger posed by things underground... Klein tapped the edge of the mottled long table with his fingers, becoming increasingly confused about what the underground was really like.
Fortunately, Hermes ' description, the state of the abandoned castle, and the attitude of the " Evernight Goddess " all seem to suggest that the pollution originating from underground will indeed dissipate naturally, and ignoring it is the best solution.
Whew, then let's put aside our worries about the underground for now... Hermes ' words and the bronze gate deep within the " City of Miracles," Liveseyd, seem to confirm each other. The " Dragon of Imagination," Ankewelt, really did try to solve the problem underground, but only left behind fear and shadows... It seems that the most likely cause of the Apocalypse is the Starry Sky, and my current Sequence isn't even qualified to understand... Amidst a jumble of thoughts, Klein continued flipping through his diary with a slight sigh.
After reading several pages, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he focused on one of them:
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 mausoleums, but I still don't have a clue about the last one."
"This one must be even more secluded than the previous eight, otherwise it would lose its purpose."
"After much thought, I came up with a place: the nameless island where Green is buried."
"Of course, the Abyss is also an option, but in the area I can currently access, I can't find a single living Devil, so I can't tame them and make them my people to help me build my mausoleum. Ordinary humans simply can't survive there, and even powerful Beyonder find it difficult to resist the corruption inherent in the Abyss itself."
"Regardless, the living environment on that nameless island seems to be quite good for now."
"Ha, the ' Prince of Abolition of the Fourth Epoch' have such a narrow understanding of the people. The 'Emperor' rules over not only humans and humanoid creatures, but all living beings should be my subjects!"
"And on that nameless island there are many extraordinary creatures with little Wisdom. They have long believed in me and followed me. I can easily command them to build a secret mausoleum."
"As I write this, I suddenly recall that experience. Because of my dream about Green, I took Edwards, Benjamin and the others back to this nameless island, where we found those extraordinary creatures living in harmony, gathered together, and performing a ritual, with the dead Green among them."
"I was really startled at the time, and I felt a long-lost fear. Everything seemed extremely eerie."
"That time, William died, Pally died, only Edwards and Benjamin survived. If I hadn't become powerful and taken control of the '0' level Sealed Artifact, everyone would have been buried."
"The power influencing those extraordinary creatures on that nameless island actually comes from the Starry Sky, and those who die from that pollution will return to the source after death."
"Fortunately, fortunately, the power from the Starry Sky can only be projected into the real world in a very small part. I eventually solved the problem and made that nameless island my secret base."
"Now is the time for it to come in handy!"
After reading the diary entry, Klein was not pleased that he had guessed the location of Emperor Roselle's last tomb; instead, he frowned slightly.
This was partly because the pollution from the Starry Sky was truly before him, and partly because the nameless island wasn't actually that Concealment; besides the Emperor, Edwards and Benjamin, two other survivors, clearly knew about it, which didn't meet Roselle's requirements.
Had Edwards and Benjamin already died naturally before this, thus preventing the secret from being revealed? Or did Roselle intend to leave these two subordinates on the island forever after the mausoleum was completed, and resolve the issue of Spirit Channeling? Of course, if Roselle possessed the corresponding Sealed Artifact or extraordinary abilities, he could also make Edwards and Benjamin completely lose that memory... Klein remained silent for a moment, then flipped through the diary again, searching for the coordinates of that nameless island.
However, he didn't find the corresponding content on the last page, but there was a diary entry that vaguely revealed some of Roselle's thoughts in his later years:
"On December 27th, I've been feeling restless lately because I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen next."
"I no longer crave help; I'll be content if they remain neutral."
"I put myself in a most dangerous situation, which was both a proactive act and a choice I had no other option to make."
Sometimes I'm confused about why I've ended up in this situation.
Am I being too extreme, or is this the only way?
"No, at this point, I can't afford to be confused anymore. It would only affect my mindset and make my already slim hope even more distant, which would be pointless."
"Having come this far, we can only keep going. Success will naturally bring sunshine."
"Hehe, all my hopes are pinned on one sentence:"
"Put yourself in a desperate situation, and you will survive!"
So it seems the Emperor really did choose the path of dying first and then being resurrected to escape madness and corruption... This is simply insane, like playing a game of Russian roulette with six bullets and hoping one of them will misfire... Only someone who loves extremes and is good at coming up with sudden ideas would consider this possibility... Perhaps it was precisely because the enemies couldn't guess that the Emperor had a sliver of hope... Klein leaned back in his chair and sat silently in the ancient palace for a long time.
Once his wandering thoughts slowly returned to him, he began to consider how to find the nameless island:
"I remember Benjamin, who visited the nameless island, seems to be from the Abraham Family. We can ask Miss ' The Magician ' about that... Hmm, we'll be meeting her soon. No need to have ' The Fool ' relay the message..."
"It would be more appropriate for the ' Mystery Queen ' to inquire about the descendants of Edwards, William, and Pally..."
Having made up his mind, Klein looked around, sighed, and disappeared into the Gray Fog.
P. S.: I recommend a book, "Men Are All Children," a work that reflects the growth of little boys and big boys into mature men from a male perspective.