As the layers upon layers of illusory prayers entered his ears, Klein felt as if he now had a physical body. A sharp pain shot through the depths of his head, and he wished he could violently bang his head against the wall to relieve the pain.
The images of prayers from different people caused him an uncontrollable and terrifying dizziness, as if he were walking on the edge of Abyss and about to fall at any moment.
In other words, he had the " Black Emperor " card and the Azik Copper Whistle to strengthen his spirit, and he was used to being prayed for. If it Sequence any other non- Demigod, they would have already lost control, collapsed in pain, and either transformed into Monster or collapsed into flesh and blood.
All the Beyonder Characteristic here were combined with that snake fang to form Sealed Artifact, and the level of danger and negative effects far exceeded level "2"... Klein did not blindly move forward, but instead took a few steps back, leaving the area where the prayers were concentrated, to alleviate the pain and dizziness that could cause his spirit to collapse.
He stood beside Kavithua's mangled body, staring at the white scepter stuck in the half-fallen Pillar, pondering how to take it with him.
At the same time, he had already naturally given the Sealed Artifact a name in his mind:
" The Sea God Scepter!"
Hmm, judging from my feelings and reactions just now, I can barely get close to it and pull it off, but only for a few seconds. I can't carry or use it... But it's okay. As soon as I get it, I'll end the summoning and return to the Gray Fog. That place can effectively shield me from the thousands of prayers and the negative effects that I don't know yet, allowing me to conduct my research with peace of mind... Klein quickly came up with an idea.
There's no need to flip a coin anymore; in his Wraith state, he can instinctively communicate with the Spirit World and receive revelation.
His Spirituality intuition told him that there was little danger.
Having made his decision, Klein began cleaning up the mess, and while he was at it, he wondered what he could find in the ancient Elf ruins.
He first went to the corner, picked up the translucent " Biotoxin Bottle ", screwed on the cap, inserted it into his body, and then, when he turned around, he found that under the muddy remains of Kavithua, there was a half-hidden iron cigarette box.
"This... I thought it had been swallowed by Kavithua and had Corrosion into dust..." Klein clicked his tongue in amazement and quickly walked over.
Because he was somewhat numb from the electric currents emanating from the seawater, he raised his right hand slightly, causing the iron cigarette box to slowly float up and fall into his palm.
With a quick glance, Klein saw that the surface of the iron cigarette box was covered with Corrosion marks, but it was still barely usable. As for the other items that had been sucked away by the sea whirlpool, there was no trace of them.
"Was it the smell of the Gray Fog that made Kavithua uncomfortable and caused him to vomit on the spot, or did this iron cigarette case undergo some kind of mutation, slowing down the Corrosion and holding out until Kavithua died?" Klein wondered, as he casually put the cigarette case into his body, preparing to leave and study it later.
In this situation, every second counts, and there can be no delay, because Klein doesn't know when the Church of Storms and the Kingdom's military will find this place!
He walked around the half-fallen Pillar from a distance and entered the back of the almost completely collapsed hall.
There should have been many murals here, but they have all been broken and disappeared with the destruction of the walls. Klein flew all the way to the end and saw an exquisite and magnificent throne buried under stones and Pillar, with only about one-third of it exposed.
To the left of the throne, there is a remnant of half a mural depicting two figures facing off:
Looking down at the enemy from above was a man riding the waves, standing against the dark clouds and shrouded in the storm. He had a softer, more oriental profile, reminiscent of Klein's previous life. He held a spear made entirely of electric light, with the vast ocean engulfing everything in the background.
Below the man was a person wearing a simple white robe. His face was indistinct, and his age was difficult to discern; it could only be vaguely identified as a male.
The person in the white robe, exuding a classical air, had a halo behind their head that quietly radiated light, like a the Sun.
Beneath his feet was an illusory circle divided into twelve sections, each containing symbols representing different times.
Behind him lay a curtain of shadow, and within that shadow, an eye seemed to be silently watching the outside world.
Klein, with his solid foundation in occultism and extensive knowledge from various sources, quickly provided an interpretation:
Waves, storm, dark clouds, lightning... This must be the ancient god " Elf King " Soniathrym... Indeed, just like in the legends, Elf elves have rather soft facial features... This ancient " Lord of Storms " doesn't seem irritable at all; his appearance is surprisingly good. Heh, this is a mural in the Elf ruins; it's normal to beautify one's own deity...
A halo like the Sun, twelve circles symbolizing time... isn't this the father of Amon and Adam, known in the outside world as the Ancient The Sun God, and revered in City of Silver as the " Creator," God Almighty? Behind Him is a curtain of shadow, and behind the curtain is an eye... That's right, one of the images of the " True Creator " is "the eye behind the curtain of shadow"!
So, is this the " Creator " who reclaimed the authority of the ancient gods and has eight " Angel King " following him?
Is this mural depicting the story of " Elf King " Soniathrym's struggle against the " Creator "?
Klein looked away and began searching for other things of value.
Following his Spirituality intuition, he went to the throne, reached under the collapsed rocks and Pillar, and pulled out an item.
This is a flattened gold wine glass.
Its surface is engraved with intricate and delicate patterns, its high legs are bent, and there is a line of Elf script on the bottom:
" Calamity, Cohinem."
Was the original owner of this ruin a high Elf named Cohinem? He, or rather, His title was " Calamity "? Hmm... This matches the " Book of Calamity " discovered by Latiz and the others. Both ruins should belong to the Cohinem Elf, and there is a rather strange connection between them... Unfortunately, this golden goblet is just a simple goblet, possessing only a slight Spirituality because it is engraved with the high Elf's true name... If Cohinem had not yet perished, even just his true name would have given the goblet extraordinary abilities. Unfortunately... Klein initially judged that Cohinem was completely dead, because " Sea God " Kavithua was His successor.
However, Klein could not be certain, because even after hundreds or thousands of years, the Book of Calamity still possessed the quality to drive a high- Sequence Beyonder like Latiz insane and out of control.
"And this doesn't seem like something ' Sea God ' Kavithua could do... Could it be that the high Elf Cohinem possesses a secret technique to divide his Beyonder Characteristic, Kavithua only inherited a portion of it? Or is the majority the source of the characteristics from the Book of Calamity?"
"Is Cohinem still alive even after death?"
"Of course, when Kavithua absorbed Cohinem's Beyonder Characteristic, he was just a beast with little intelligence. No one knows what happened at that time. Perhaps some of his ability was lost and solidified into Sealed Artifact, which fell into the hands of the Church of Storms after Kavithua's defeat..."
"Hmm, next week's Tarot Club involve asking Little ' The Sun ' through 'The World.' He should know who Cohinem really is. Actually, there's no need to ask; he contributed two more pages of ancient mythology today, so perhaps next time we'll get a detailed description of the high Elf..."
Klein's mind raced, and he stuffed the wine glass into his body as well. After all, it was made of gold, and even if the high- Elf Cohinem was not dead and still had a certain connection with the wine glass, the Gray Fog could shield and isolate him.
After inspecting the area and finding nothing else, Klein quickly flew back outside, picked up the black hardwood cane, and cleaned up the traces left from the previous battle.
Then, he pulled out a paper figure, flicked it casually, and threw it out, letting it quickly rot in the seawater and turn into powder.
The earlier parts could interfere, but I won't have the time or opportunity to influence the rest... Fortunately, I'm currently dressed as the " Black Emperor "... The remains of Kavithua are worthless, and the bones are too heavy, which might affect my ability to wield the " Sea God Scepter "... Klein stabilized his state through Cogitation and quickly flew towards the white bone staff stuck in the half-fallen Pillar.
The illusory, layered sounds of prayer once again pierced his ears; the prayers—some devout, some weeping, some fanatical, some numb—blurred and filled his vision, and the throbbing pain and dizziness grew increasingly intense.
Klein, relying on his rich experience and the reinforcement of the " Black Emperor " card and Azik Copper Whistle, barely managed to hold on and finally reached the side of the " Sea God Scepter ".
He stretched out his right hand and grasped the middle of the bone scepter.
The moment the two made contact, the scene before Klein's eyes became clear, and the illusory buzzing in his ears instantly became real.
He saw the bald rebel leader Kalat, in a wheelchair, fall to the ground and crawl with difficulty toward the self-shattering statue of Kavithua, repeatedly chanting the name of the deity, his eyes filled with despair.
He saw Edmonton, with his blue sea serpent tattoo, prostrating himself before another eerily bleeding statue of Kavithua, repeatedly banging his head against the ground until it was a bloody mess.
He saw believers in the slums hiding in their homes, tears streaming down their faces, numbly making prayers.
Klein's full-body black armor could no longer hold on and collapsed rapidly.
At the same time, his solid muscles bulged, and with a forceful pull, amidst the echoing prayers and numerous clear images, he suddenly pulled up the white bone staff that symbolized the authority of the Sea God!
Whoosh!
The seawater around the entire ruins surged violently, sometimes swaying and sometimes collapsing into whirlpools.
Wearing a jet-black crown, Klein calmly grasped the " Sea God Scepter," and his figure vanished instantly, returning directly to the Gray Fog.
When the familiar, majestic palace came into view, the prayers in his ears and the hallucinatory scene before him vanished.
Klein sat in the high-backed chair belonging to the Fool, raised his right palm, and examined the " Sea God Scepter," which was inlaid with blue-green "gems" and tinged with a hint of darkness and Dawn.
Countless points of light Levitation around the Sealed Artifact, each seemingly corresponding to a praying believer, causing the scepter's milky-white body to shimmer with a mesmerizing yet sacred glow.
At that moment, Klein felt that the scepter was the very embodiment of the " Sea God"!
Note 1: See Chapter 93 of Part One