On a barren island in the Berserk Sea.
This place wasn't far from the Southern Continent, but it didn't belong there geographically. The reason why Klein had chosen this island as a place for himself to advance to Scholar of Yore was, firstly, because he wanted to avoid Amon and Zaratul to the best of his ability. He also didn't want to enter the region where the Mother Tree of Desire had a wide range of influence. Secondly, because the Berserk Sea was enveloped by the power left behind by Death, this was, in a way, a part of the Evernight Goddess's kingdom. If the ritual were to create a huge commotion, it was possible for some effective screening.
Furthermore, this place is very desolate. There aren't many creatures here, so there's no need to worry about any accidents affecting the innocent... Klein surveyed the area and began to set up a ritual. He brought the corresponding materials back from above the gray fog to the real world.
Following that, he flipped through the thick ancient history documents and pulled out some records that he couldn't be certain of. Those that couldn't be confirmed with divination were also removed.
Pa!
With a shake of his hand, the scarlet flames rose and devoured the stack of paper.
The supplementary ingredients needed for the Scholar of Yore potion were a large amount of real ancient historical records. Therefore, he didn't want to take the risk of using things he couldn't be sure of. He would rather have fewer of them.
After making his selection, he poured the Hound of Fulgrim's blood into a huge cauldron and placed the few White Frost Crystals that he had weighed beforehand into it.
The moment the two supplementary ingredients came into contact with each other, a thin mist immediately rose up. It enveloped the container and was about half the height of a person and an arm wide.
With a glance, Klein followed his spiritual intuition and temporarily gave up on adding the last supplementary material. He first got his marionette, Enuni, to grab the Demonic Wolf of Fog's transformed heart and threw the item that seemed condensed from white mist into the cauldron.
As white frost condensed across Enuni's arm, the mist that emanated from the vessel became extremely dense. It began to contract and expand, as though it was alive, like a slowly-beating heart.
Without any hesitation, Klein controlled his marionette, Enuni, to pick up the pair of eyes from the Hounds of Fulgrim. He stuffed the two dark red flame-like objects into the seemingly corporeal mist.
The mist's color quickly darkened, making it impossible for him to see the huge cauldron at its core.
He didn't panic. Instead, he calmly got his other marionette to throw page after page of the ancient historical records into the blob of thick, dark mist.
The thick mist slowly collapsed. After "digesting" the historical records, it finally fell back into the cauldron, like water vapor, turning into something that coexisted as both a liquid and a gas. Its color was dark red, almost the size of a baby's head.
Upon seeing this scene, Klein removed the spirit pendulum from his left wrist and used divination to determine if the potion was successfully concocted.
He received a revelation that it was rather dangerous, but one that he could barely withstand.
And this meant that the potion was successfully concocted.
Even if it were strictly concocted according to the formula, a Sequence 3 potion is equivalent to poison. If I can withstand it, I'll advance. Otherwise, I'll go crazy, lose control, or even die... After staring at the topaz pendant spinning rapidly in a counterclockwise direction for a few seconds, he pulled up the silver chain and wrapped it around his left wrist.
He cast his gaze at the potion floating in the cauldron as thoughts flashed across his mind:
A Bizarro Sorcerer's acting not only has the key terms of "fear," "horror," "directing," and "inexplicable," there's also some level of mystery, unknown, complicated, and unpredictable aspects of fate. The two aspects combine to form a complete Bizarro Sorcerer... This is a behavioral style, while the other is the attributes...
And to me, my origins are such a mystery that I haven't even figured out the truth. I've experienced so many complicated matters that I've already stopped a true god from descending, scared a King of Angels. Even my fate is so unpredictable that a Snake of Mercury is unable to discern. Therefore, I've already acted in advance and naturally digested that portion of the potion. There's no need to summarize the principles...
This truly reflects the single word "bizarro"...
Yes, the ritual requirements for Scholar of Yore requires me to be completely separated from reality for at least 300 years. Only after I become history and no longer belong to the present era do I consume the potion. My life while I was sealed within a cocoon and hung above the gray fog is more than enough. But after becoming Klein, I've experienced too many things in the past year. I've already left a mark in the present era. Would it affect the effects of the ritual?
It should be... Fortunately, it hasn't even been two years. The mark won't be too deep and can barely be accepted. After all, it's impossible for me to hang myself up for 300 years again before I consume the potion... There's another decade or so until the apocalypse!
Furthermore, the ancient history I grasp is definitely far superior to any Bizarro Sorcerer. It can be considered as me effectively acting ahead of time. I can definitely avoid many dangers...
As his thoughts raced, Klein took a deep breath and stopped thinking about it.
Wearing a silk top hat and a double-breasted coat, his skin suddenly turned transparent as maggots that contained three-dimensional symbols crawled out.
The transparent maggots were itching to move, as if they were going to crawl into the dense mist in the cauldron, leaving behind only empty clothes and hats.
Klein managed to barely control his state as he calmly extended his right hand and picked up the potion that was wrapped in mist.
The potion didn't seem to have any weight as it floated in front of his face.
Klein opened his mouth and took a deep breath.
The potion instantly transformed and extended into Klein's mouth, making him feel like he was devouring a dark red glow.
The transparent maggots swarmed back into his body, tearing down the parts of the potion and swallowing them.
As his Mythical Creature form was special—both a full body and also separated into many small parts—Klein could only consume the potion in such a manner.
Of course, if he could control his incomplete Mythical Creature form, it would be much simpler.
Without a sound, he felt a cold feeling spread through every Worm of Spirit, with a searing pain.
A familiar, boundless grayish-white fog appeared in front of him. It enveloped the entire world, revealing some of his past experiences.
This included the terrifying legends he created, his conversation with the Red Angel evil spirit; the treatment of the demigod, Lucca, with the help of Miss Justice; hunting Hvin Rambis; dealing with Amon's avatars; revenge on Ince Zangwill; exploring Calderón City; infiltrating Saint Samuel Cathedral; dominating the seas; stopping the True Creator's descent; saving Tingen; and various other details of his daily life.
They made conflicts with different people and things, becoming extremely complicated as they merged into a sea. As he "flew" through it, he was unable to find a clear and accurate sense of self. He felt like he was about to be lost in this area. The cold, burning pain constantly drove him forward, so as to expel the influence on him. This made it difficult to return to the real world.
With great difficulty, Klein managed to control this feeling. As he gradually lost consciousness and his body slowly descended, he tried his best to find something that could confirm his identity.
Finally, he saw the deep depths of the gray fog. At the end of the sea was a shattered spot of light. With a thought, he followed his intuition and flew over in a manner that seemed to travel the cosmos.
There was a figure hanging from the blurry door of light in the spot of light. He was stored in a transparent cocoon as he swayed gently. He looked like the original Zhou Mingrui. This had nothing to do with his surroundings. He was alone and easily grasped.
I couldn't see this before when I used the Yesterday Once More charm, but I can actually do so now... In other words, during the advancement process, I can indirectly influence the Sefirah Castle above the gray fog? Wait, my ability to think has been restored... Klein's consciousness instantly cleared up as he finally understood the essence of the ritual.
By eliminating the interference, he could provide a clear definition of himself to become a Scholar of Yore. This prevented him from getting lost!
Following a similar spot of light, Klein began to fly deeper into the grayish-white fog. Along the way, he discovered that the surrounding fog was scattered with fragments of light. They had colonial phases, times when Roselle ruled, the Battle of the Violated Oath, the White Rose War, the Twenty Year War... These were all bits of history that Klein knew of the Fifth Epoch.
As he passed through them, he naturally split his consciousness and completed an invisible connection, making his definition of his own identity even clearer.
In the Pale Era, during the War of the Four Emperors, the Trunsoest Empire, the Tudor Dynasty, the United Empire, Solomon's first and second Empire, the fall of Red Angel, the Blood Emperor's apotheosis, the Black Emperor's return, and other historical fragments continued to surface as Klein kept rushing forward. They appeared in different spots in the endless gray fog, like the stars in the night sky, they illuminated the path to return.
In such a manner, Klein felt that he was becoming more and more lucid. Every Worm of Spirit's coldness and burning sensation became milder.
He could've turned around a long time ago and returned to the real world. However, he didn't stop and continued flying forward.
Scenes of the fatal attack of the Rose Redemption; the three great angels, White, Storm, Wisdom sharing in the body of the ancient sun god; and the plotting in the Giant King's Court with the Church of Evernight, Earth, and Combat hiding as secret organizations flashed across the grayish-white fog. The more he proceeded forward, the more relaxed he felt. He felt like he was about to fly up from running down a runway.
At some point in time, a group of terrifying canine-like creatures with dark red eye sockets appeared beside him. They ran around the indiscernible bottom of the gray fog as they followed him by his side as if they were accompanying and guarding him.
Among them, two of them only had one eye.
Klein looked around and smiled. He didn't stop and continued proceeding deeper into the gray fog.
The history of the Dual Era and the Early Era of Fire swept past him from behind, pointing out the path that led forward. Finally, Klein stopped in front of a lonely fragment of light. Inside was a withered forest and a normal-sized tomb.
He went forward and saw that the grayish-white fog was silently enveloping everything. It was unknown where the other fragments of light were floating.
Feeling his spirituality depleting, Klein didn't continue the search. He connected his consciousness to his origin, and he suddenly plummeted.
As the gray fog rapidly faded away, Klein felt his body and saw the cauldron in front of him.
He didn't care about his current state, and he subconsciously looked up into the sky.
He directly saw the gray fog and the ancient majestic palace above the gray fog.
The mysterious space was trembling slightly.
...
In Backlund, a postman who was riding a bicycle stopped. He turned his head slightly and adjusted the monocle on his right eye.
He then muttered to himself, "Sefirah Castle..."
After a few seconds of hesitation, the thin-faced young man curled his lips and laughed. His expression was filled with anticipation.
In a rental apartment at East Borough of the same city, figures hanging in the air swayed gently. At the same time, they simultaneously made a sound:
"Sefirah Castle..."
In the basement of Saint Samuel Cathedral, Leonard Mitchell, who was assigning missions to his team, suddenly heard an elderly voice in his mind:
"Sefirah Castle..."
