"Beep, beep-!"
"Bang!"
That was Xu Zhe's last memory before he died.
"Ten thousand tons... king..."
"Key of Light..."
"Endless chaos..."
"Embodiment of fate..."
Layers upon layers of murmurs rang through Xu Zhe's consciousness, and he saw a pure, transcendent halo.
"Buddhas!"
"So many Buddhas!"
They weren't the only ones. Within the halo, he also saw bodhisattvas, Guanyin, arhats...
As his consciousness continued to fall, a vast temple complex came into view. Ethereal clouds floated beneath the buildings, and above them was a sky illuminated by the setting sun.
"Great Thunderclap Monastery!"
"Boom!!!" At the sight of those four characters, Xu Zhe's consciousness instantly exploded into countless fragments.
On a primitive, deserted island in the southern Rorsted Archipelago of the Northern Continent.
"Huff, huff!!"
A black-haired, brown-eyed man woke in the cave ruins, clutching his chest.
"Aaah!!!"
Countless chaotic memories that did not belong to him burst into his mind. The man let out a scream and rolled around on the ground, clutching his head.
Five minutes later, Xu Zhe rose from the ground, his face pale. After absorbing all the memories, he muttered weakly to himself:
"I actually transmigrated into the world of Lord of the Mysteries, and I'm even one of Amon's avatars!"
The body Xu Zhe had transmigrated into belonged to Wilt Mirage, a resident of the Rorsted Archipelago. His parents had moved there from the Loen Kingdom, but both had died of a plague when Wilt was eight.
From then on, Wilt had made a living by stealing. By chance, he had looted a Marauder characteristic from a corpse and eaten it, officially becoming a Beyonder.
Wilt had then spent ten years earning enough money to buy the Swindler Potion formula and its ingredients. After advancing to Sequence 8, he had luckily picked up a Beyonder item of the Marauder Pathway.
Then Wilt had been "Amoned," and had gloriously become a member of the Amon Family.
Four years after he became Amon's avatar, earlier that year, Amon's avatars in the Rorsted Archipelago had held a vote concerning an ancient ruin, intending to choose someone to scout it out.
Wilt had won by an overwhelming margin, becoming the unlucky one.
Wilt had then been sent inside, ultimately dying during the exploration, and Xu Zhe had transmigrated into his body.
"What a deadly start!"
Xu Zhe instinctively pinched the monocle over his right eye. The thought of Amon's avatars outside made him somewhat apprehensive.
"No, I have to pretend to be Wilt... no, from now on, I am Wilt!"
"I absolutely can't show any fear or hesitation, or Amon will definitely notice. When that happens, even death will be something to wish for."
Xu Zhe-no, Wilt-took several deep breaths to calm himself.
"If I remember right, the original owner really did find something in the ruins, and that was why he died."
Wilt began searching the ground.
"Found it!"
He spotted a round object in a corner:
"Is this a sarira?"
Looking at the object in his hand, plain and unadorned on the outside but containing a swastika symbol that gave off a golden glow, Wilt's eyes flashed with surprise.
"Why would there be a sarira on the Northern Continent?"
"No, this isn't the time to think about that." Wilt quickly shook his head.
"The most urgent thing is to deal with Amon's avatars and get through this crisis."
Wilt recalled the original owner's experiences as Amon's avatar, not letting a single detail slip by.
Only after going over them ten full times did Wilt straighten his clothes, adjust the monocle over his right eye, and walk toward the exit of the ruins.
"Tap, tap, tap!" Wilt made his way toward the cave entrance, and before he had even stepped outside, he heard people talking:
"Listen, footsteps!"
"That guy Wilt actually made it out alive!"
"Everyone, be careful. What comes out might be a monster!"
"Tap!" Wilt stepped out of the cave.
"Oh, you're out," a teasing voice called.
Ahead, he saw a black-haired, brown-eyed man wearing a classical black robe and a soft, pointed hat of the same color. A monocle carved from crystal covered his right eye.
Besides this man, Wilt saw all sorts of other people. There were men and women, adventurers, pirates, officials, doctors, cooks...
They looked at Wilt with varying expressions, their eyes showing surprise, curiosity, suspicion...
The only thing they had in common was that they all wore a crystal monocle over their right eye.
Wilt made a rough count and found that there were more than a hundred of Amon's avatars around him. Even though he had prepared himself thoroughly, he couldn't help feeling a little reluctant to go on.
But whatever he thought, Wilt remained outwardly composed, showing not the slightest trace of fear.
He pinched his monocle, a smile slowly curling at the corners of his mouth. "What, are you a little disappointed I didn't die in there?"
Amon's avatar across from him pinched his monocle, a glint flashing in his eyes. Only after confirming that nothing was wrong did he smile and say:
"You were gone so long without coming back that I thought you'd run into some trouble. I was just about to send someone in to rescue you."
"Oh, that's certainly an interesting way to put it." Wilt didn't believe a word of his nonsense.
"Of course!" Amon's avatar chuckled.
"After all, our family's principle is to leave no one behind and give up on no one."
"Even if you're only a Sequence 8 avatar, we'll do everything we can to rescue you."
"I'm very happy to see you come out of there."
Then he changed the subject and asked:
"So, did you find anything in the ruins?"
"Here!" Wilt tossed the sarira in his hand to Amon's avatar. He had never intended to hide it, nor could he have done so.
"It was the only object I found in there."
"Smack!" The avatar caught it and examined it curiously.
"What is this thing?"
"How should I know?" Wilt shook his head helplessly.
"But it was the only thing in the ruins, and it nearly killed me. If you don't believe me, you can go in and see for yourselves."
Amon's avatar put the sarira away, planning to study it after he returned. He continued speaking to Wilt:
"I haven't found anything unusual about you, but to be safe, I still need to check your memories."
"Would you agree to that?"
Just as I thought! Wilt knew the hardest hurdle had arrived: having his memories stolen by a demigod of the Marauder Pathway.
"Can I refuse?"
"I'm sorry, you don't have the right to refuse." Amon's demigod avatar pointed his palm at Wilt, then gently closed his hand.
In that case, don't blame me for what happens! Wilt steeled himself and imagined the Key of Light's Honorific Name in his mind.
"Boom!!!" The demigod avatar instantly exploded into pieces.
The other avatars were shocked at the sight.
"What happened?"
"A demigod just exploded like that. There really is something wrong with Wilt!"
"Quick, everyone, take him down together!"
All kinds of weapons and Beyonder Abilities were aimed at Wilt at once.
"Listen to me explain!"
Just as Wilt was about to say something-
"Buzz!!!"
The sarira floated into the air on its own, radiating golden light.
"Boom."
"Boom!!"
"Boom!!!"
Every one of Amon's avatars touched by the golden light exploded. In the blink of an eye, all the avatars were dead.
"Whoosh!" Finally, the golden sarira flew toward Wilt.
"Don't come near me!"
Wilt was instantly alarmed and hurriedly dodged to the side, but it was no use.
"Bang!"
The golden sarira entered Wilt's body, and his whole body radiated golden light.
Just then, day suddenly turned to night, and the starry sky came alive.
The stars opened their eyes one after another, casting cold, merciless, and greedy gazes upon Wilt.
"Pfft!"
"Pfft!"
"Pfft."
Long, narrow wounds appeared one after another on Wilt's body and split open. Inside were countless indifferent eyes, staring back at the starry sky.
"Pfft, cough, cough!!" He spat out a large amount of blood.
In the blink of an eye, Wilt had suffered grievous injuries. His life was in danger, his spirit was at its lowest ebb, and he could die at any moment.
I'm going to die!
I'm definitely going to die!
I don't want to die. I still want to live!
Think of something, quickly!!!
At that critical moment, Wilt's mind raced. Soon, an idea flashed through his mind, and he thought of a method.
"Key of... Light..." He struggled to recite the Sefirah's Honorific Name.
"Endless... chaos... pfft!" He spat out another mouthful of blood.
"Embodiment... of... fate..."
"Pfft, cough, cough!"
"Save..."
"Save me!!!"
"Buzz!!!!" Golden light poured from Wilt's body, thousands upon thousands of times stronger than before.
Healed by the golden light, the eyes on his body began to close, and the wounds faded away.
It really worked! Wilt breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Just as he thought it was finally about to end-
"Boom!" A pillar of light descended from the sky.
It came from the starry sky, crossing the Astral World's barrier and an infinite distance to fall upon Wilt in an instant.
Within the pillar of light, Wilt saw a ring formed from silver-black giants, each with three heads, three bodies, and six arms.
Layers upon layers of murmurs rang out in his mind once more:
"Eternal cycle..."
"Predestined fate..."
"Embodiment of cause, effect, and process..."
"Symbol of past, present, and future..."
"Great Circle of Inevitability!"