In the north of the Kingdom of Loen, the cool September wind carried a hint of chill, which intensified as it passed through the cemetery.
Klein was startled by the gust of wind, then suddenly came to his senses, and muttered to himself with a wry smile:
"This time travel really does hold some secrets..."
"But it looks like I can only 'revive' twice more at most... I wonder if this normally non-existent regenerative ability will still be useful if I'm chopped into mincemeat..."
After calming down for a few dozen seconds, Klein buttoned up his shirt and found that he was wearing the newest shirt and tuxedo, but both were now covered in dirt.
... Benson, Melissa really doesn't know how to save money... This thought popped into his head subconsciously. He pushed himself up with his hands, flipped himself up, and found that the " Clown's" power had not disappeared.
"Best brother... best younger brother... best colleague..." Klein looked at the tombstone and silently read the inscription. Suddenly, he felt a pang of sadness, as if he understood the grief that Melissa and Benson felt.
This might be even more painful than witnessing the captain's death... He sighed, looked away, squatted down, and closed the coffin lid again.
Although his thoughts were still somewhat scattered, Klein knew he had to deal with the scene as quickly as possible and prevent anyone from finding out.
Being brought back to life is not something a normal person can do!
If the Nighthawks, the Mandated Punishers, or the Machinery Hivemind knew, Klein believed he wouldn't have a good ending. Of course, if this were Earth, and he had taken the " Lawyer " or " Cryptologist " Potion, he could be fooled into believing he was " God's Grace " or "a redeemer." But this world has a true God, a true God who responds to rituals!
After filling the hole with soil again and covering it with the stone slab, Klein clapped his hands and stood up again.
In this situation, nothing was unusual; he was just like a gentleman visiting a friend's grave late at night. The only odd thing was that the person in the photo on the tombstone looked exactly like him.
During the process just now, his Spirit Intuition detected the existence of the " Azik Copper Whistle," so he dug it out and cleaned it thoroughly.
However, Klein did not intend to summon the messenger immediately; he decided to first figure out the current situation.
Raising his left hand, Klein saw the citrine pendant still wrapped around his wrist.
"This could be considered a burial item, right?" He chuckled self-deprecatingly, untied his pendulum, looked around, and his expression gradually turned solemn. "... The captain should also be buried in this cemetery..."
He tried two different directions and finally used a pendulum to pinpoint the location of Dunn's grave.
Walking and searching by Moonlight, Klein saw the captain's black and white photo after more than ten minutes: his expression was gentle, his hairline was high, and the gray in his eyes was faintly visible, not much different from usual.
Below the photograph are Dunn's name, date of birth, date of death, and epitaph:
"The true Guardian;"
"The most trustworthy companion;"
"The eternal captain."
Klein stared blankly, his vision blurring again for some reason, vaguely returning to that day when he saw the captain turn his head, wink at him with his left eye, and say in a deep, easy voice:
"We saved Tingen."
"Captain... "Klein called out silently.
He stood there like a statue for several minutes, then suddenly smiled and said:
"Captain, you weren't in a good mental state that day. You even said that if Old Neil hadn't lost control, you could have 'brought' him into the Dream Divination. He's the ' Mystery Pryer,' and you're the ' Nightmare.' You simply can't take advantage of his Beyonder Characteristic. Hmm... you didn't even ask me what powerful attack methods I had. Did you trust me, or did you forget about this...? But you must have guessed something... I only took one Sealed Artifact, saying it was for Leonard. You should be able to figure out with your toes that I have additional, powerful attack methods."
After rambling on for a moment, Klein paused, shook his head, and sighed:
"I don't know what I am now, maybe just an Evil Spirit that crawled out of Hell, seeking revenge..."
As he spoke, he suddenly couldn't continue. Tears streamed down his face, and finally, he choked out a soft cry:
"Captain... we'll miss you too!"
Feeling the cold, damp wind blowing past, Klein raised his hand to wipe his eyes and rubbed his nose.
He resumed his silence, found a secluded spot nearby, took four steps in reverse, and entered the Gray Fog.
He wants to use Divination to find out who killed him that day and the real culprit behind all these events!
Now that it has appeared before me, I can certainly Divination glean some information... Klein pursed his lips, seeing that the majestic palace and the ancient, mottled long table remained unchanged.
He sat in the seat designated for the " The Fool," before whom appeared a brown parchment and a round-bellied fountain pen.
Since his body was barely protected, Klein didn't delay and wrote down the Divination statement after a moment's thought:
"The one who killed me."
He silently repeated it seven times, leaned back in his chair, and entered a dream through Cogitation.
In a hazy, gray world, countless points of light danced and gathered, eventually merging into a single image:
A pair of gleaming leather boots, a slightly pale hand, and the urn containing Saint Selena's ashes held in the former's hand.
Klein's gaze gradually moved upwards, and he saw a middle-aged man with short, dark gold hair.
He was wearing a black double-breasted long suit, and was clearly blind in one eye. His eyes were deep blue, almost black, and his facial features were sculpted without a single wrinkle.
The scene shattered, and Klein woke up from his dream, frowning slightly as he felt that the murderer who killed him looked familiar.
As Seer, he quickly realized why the person looked familiar: he had seen the photo and description of their appearance on the wanted poster!
The murderer is Ince Zangwill! The former Archbishop of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, who defected with the Sealed Artifact "0-08," and a " Gatekeeper " who failed his ascension!
"It's him!" Countless images flashed through Klein's mind, finally settling on the scene of the other person picking up Saint Selena's urn.
Tap, tap, tap, he reached out and lightly tapped the edge of the bronze table, feeling that he had figured out quite a few things:
"The captain said that Beyonder who die of natural causes also leave behind Beyonder Characteristic. When these characteristics are gathered together, they are roughly equivalent to Potion without any auxiliary ingredients."
"In other words, as long as you know the corresponding auxiliary materials, you can advance through 'relics.' Of course, you can't consume them beyond your level, or you'll easily lose control or go insane."
"Hmm... Advancing to High-Sequence powerhouse requires a special ritual, something mentioned in the incomplete recipe for the ' Unshadowed '... Subsequent advancements may also require rituals..."
" Ince Zangwill is Sequence 5 ' Gatekeeper ' of the ' Death ' pathway. He wants to become High-Sequence powerhouse, a Demigod. Based on the actual situation of Sequence swapping, he has three choices: first, his original Sequence 4 of the ' Death ' pathway; second, Sequence 4 of the ' Sleepless ' pathway; and third, Sequence 4 ' Demon Hunter ' of the 'God of God of Combat ' pathway."
" Saint Selena is Saint, either Sequence 4 or Sequence 3, and her ashes correspond to one of the Potion of those two Sequence... As the former archbishop, Ince Zangwill certainly knows exactly which one it is, and he certainly knows what the auxiliary materials are..."
"His true purpose in plotting all this was to obtain Saint Selena's ashes, thereby advancing to Sequence 4 of the ' Sleepless ' pathway?"
"Hmm, the skull of a descendant of the Death Reaper might be the material needed for a special ritual, after all, it originally came from the ' Death ' pathway."
"So it seems his target was more the captain than me... He really is the mastermind..."
Having figured this out, Klein wrote down the corresponding Divination statement, picked up the pendulum, and let the citrine pendant hang almost touching the surface of the paper.
After silently reciting the mantra, he opened his eyes and saw the citrine pendant rotating clockwise.
This indicates that there was sufficient prior information, Divination was successful!
This shows that Ince Zangwill did indeed orchestrate this series of events for the sake of Saint Selena's ashes and in order to advance to Sequence 4!
Klein tapped the edge of the table again, pondering another question:
" Zangwill is merely the ' Gatekeeper ' of Sequence 5. It's impossible for him alone to create so many coincidences that ensured Megose visited the Nighthawks squad at the right time, according to the 'arrangement'."
"So, it's the power of that Sealed Artifact '0-08'?"
"It looks like an ordinary quill pen... Its purpose is to ensure that what is written down will come true?"
"No, it can't be that simple... Otherwise, Ince Zangwill could simply write ' Saint Selena's ashes sprouted wings and flew to Ince Zangwill's hands,' and then sit at home and wait..."
"This must have certain limitations..."
"'0-08' likely lacks direct offensive capabilities, otherwise Ince Zangwill would have already stormed the Chanis Gate in Tingen City..."
"This item, located at the very top of all the Sealed Artifact, can make people unconsciously act according to its description? Is that the reason for all those coincidences?"
"If that's really the case, '0-08' is truly terrifying. Even Megose, who was pregnant with the offspring of an evil god, followed its arrangements... No wonder '0' level Sealed Artifact are extremely dangerous, possessing the highest level of importance and confidentiality, and cannot be inquired about, divulged, described, or spied upon..."
Klein stopped tapping the edge of the table and tried to perform a Divination to confirm his earlier guess, but unfortunately, the information was incomplete and he failed.
Seeing that several minutes had passed, he decided to return to the real world as soon as possible, so he stopped letting his thoughts wander and wrote down the second-to-last " Divination statement":
"The city where Ince Zangwill is currently located."
Because of the existence of the Sealed Artifact "0-08," and because Ince Zangwill should have become Demigod, Klein couldn't directly Divination the other party's exact location; he could only broaden the scope and make a vague "inquiry."
Of course, without the mysterious space above the Gray Fog to eliminate interference, even a vague "inquiry" would certainly result in a failed Divination and no answer.
Leaning back in the high-backed chair, Klein silently recited the Divination phrase seven times Dream Divination once more, into that hazy, gray world.
The gray world suddenly cracked open, revealing a rushing, wide, and slightly turbid river.
A magnificent bridge spans the great river, and docks line both banks, bustling with goods and numerous workers.
On the northeast bank of the great river, there are rows of houses, most of which have the characteristics of the current architecture of the Kingdom of Loen: polygonal hipped roofs, domed windows, and no verandas facing the street. In addition, there are also many Gothic buildings.
The streets here are bustling with people, horse-drawn carriages come and go, and strange machines can be seen from time to time.
The further east you go, the more chimneys there are, and the thicker the smoke becomes. The further west you go, the higher the terrain becomes, with houses of various shades of gray-blue, beige, or light yellow spiraling upwards, surrounding a magnificent palace and a towering Gothic clock tower.
when!
The bells tolled, Klein awoke, realizing which city he had just seen.
" Land of Hope ", " Capital of Capitals ", Backlund!
P. S.: Oh no, how come that long post I made at noon disappeared? Well, it was mainly about everyone guessing "0-08's" abilities and limitations. I'll release some information after the first part ends, let's see how many you can guess correctly, all of which can be inferred from the previous content.