Bonova. Gustave... Klein's gaze slid over the young man's face and settled on the floating objects and the figure composed of metal parts around him. The figure had a strong postmodern flair... it seemed that certain physical laws here had undergone a noticeable shift. Klein nodded thoughtfully. "I'd like to take that 'magic mirror,'" he said with quiet assurance. Bonova showed no change in expression, as if he were merely another figure of porcelain. "Are you a servant of 'Night'?" "For now, yes," Klein replied with a smile. Bonova then nodded. "Then take it." Was I being asked to collect spoils on behalf of the Church of Night? Klein didn't explain. He simply removed his hat with polite grace and inclined slightly. "Thank you very much." As he spoke, Klein's form suddenly faded, vanishing from sight. He had come only as an image from a historical rift. Next, in the carriage where Ikonser and the member of the "Mechanical Heart" were, nothing at all had changed. Of course, they were merely witnessing a historical scene, and the true condition of the carriage had gradually been obscured. On the horse-drawn carriage some fifteen kilometers away,克莱恩 suddenly found himself holding a mirror in his hands. It was silver throughout, with an ancient and mysterious pattern etched along its back, and on either side of the front, decorative elements resembling eyes. "Do not speak,"克莱恩 instructed the mirror simply. "Yes, Most Exalted Lord," and a series of soft, silvery words floated gently from within the mirror's depths. Taking out a sheet of paper and a pen,克莱恩 placed the mirror as a writing surface and began to compose a letter. After a moment's thought, he wrote with a faint, gentle smile: "Dear Mr. Azk: "It has been some time now since I last wrote to you—I have been to the abandoned realm of the gods, and have undertaken a most extraordinary journey." The beings there fall into only two categories: living intelligent life forms and monsters. Among the intelligent species, either they carry curses or have shown clear deformities—more tragic than I had previously imagined. "I tried to help them—not merely for the ritual, not merely for the anchor, not merely to fulfill my sense of compassion. It was meaningful in itself. Setting aside the suffering, the condition of the entire land abandoned by the gods stands in stark contrast to the outside world, like a series of oil paintings dominated by deep shades of black. It was astonishing that the artificial Death God could exert limited influence over the immortals here. I didn't understand it at the time, but today I have a hunch—perhaps it has something to do with one of the Nine Primordial Substances, the 'River of Eternal Darkness.' This reminds me of the spiritual city of Caldrón, and of the golden immortal phoenix jewelry you once mentioned. It's said that the primordial phoenix and the Death God of the Fourth Age could both harness the 'River of Eternal Darkness' to some extent. Do you have any insights on this?" "The war that has lasted over a year at last comes to an end. The Goddess of Night secures her final victory, and the God of War falls. I believe, at your level and stature, you must understand what this means... Regardless, long-overdue peace has arrived, and people are gradually returning to their ordinary lives—this is the scene I cherish. Yet certain wounds may never fully heal... I do not know if the end of days will come on schedule, nor when you will awaken. All I can do is hope that everything unfolds in the best possible way. Finally, one small matter: I have been promoted to Rank 2 and now hold the title of 'Miracle Master.' This is both a curse and a hope. Wishing you well, your ever-devoted student, Caine Moretti." After writing this, Caine carefully reviewed the letter before folding it, then blew upon the Azk copper horn to summon the bone messenger. When the great messenger emerged from the ground, its bones trembled as if sensing the presence of the "Great Sovereign of the Spirit Realm." Kleyn chuckled, handed the letter to the messenger—whose identity he didn't know—watched it perform an awkward bow before dissolving into a fountain of white bones and sinking back into the earth. With this done, Kleyn turned his gaze to the "Magic Mirror" resting on his thigh. As the mirror registered his gaze, ripples of water shimmered across its surface, gradually forming one after another of pale silver words: "Great Sovereign, where shall we go next?" Where? Kleyn repeated the question in his mind, eager to simply "teleport" to the summit of the Hornachis Mountains, into the ancient palace situated between the realm of reality and the misty town, hoping to seize the most valuable "Card of Desecration" from the half-foolish member of the Antigonous family. With his current strength equivalent to nearly half of a Sequence 1, this is no impossible task—when they first encountered Chalatua at Sequence 2, they even managed to secure the primary material for the "Mysterious Servant" from a half-"Fool." Of course, all this hinges on the "Goddess of Night" maintaining her suppression and sealing of the ancestral lineage of Antigonus. Thus, the matter circles back once again, to the negotiation with the "Goddess of Night." Now, I am the master of "Yuanpu," and I can send a portion of my "spirit insects" to remain suspended in the gray mist, always ready to respond to calls. This means that, aside from a certain vulnerability in my mental state, I gain numerous advantages—on one hand, I can provide timely support to my physical form, and on the other, I have an additional means of resurrection. Even if my physical body is completely destroyed, I can reassemble my consciousness and form through the "spirit insects" lingering in the mist. However, if the part of me that exists in the real world is severed and disconnected from "Yuanpu," the remaining "spirit insects" will lose control and spiral into chaos, transforming into monsters—just as Chalatu did at the beginning. Kline swiftly analyzed the situation and concluded that, with his current strength, he should not yet venture deeply into the city of spirits, Caldrun. Even if he seeks clues about the "River of Eternal Darkness," he must wait until he fulfills a number of aspirations and achieves the true standard of a "miracle master." Thinking of this, Caine tapped the "magic mirror" and smiled, saying, "From now on, let's go wandering together. Where would you like to go?" "Trier? No, wherever you'd like to go, that's where I'll go," Ardoes replied humbly, in words. Caine chuckled, then leapt down from the carriage and headed toward the nearest city. After moving a few meters farther, the carriage gradually faded, inch by inch, blending back into the historical mist. At the same time, Caine's windbreaker transformed into a black robe, and his hat took on a more classical form, giving him the air of a seasoned itinerant magician moving through the streets and alleys. ........ In Beckland, within a still fairly intact house, the "immortal woman" Katrinas, dressed in her saintly white robe and graceful, serene, stepped aside from the mirror she had been holding, and turned her head to the young man gently swaying in the armchair beside her. "The war is over, and finally, they've decided to call me back to headquarters." "Today, I've waited far too long," the young man said, exhaled softly while sitting in the armchair. Dressed in a long robe of black with red patterns, he had a gentle face with a slightly brown, pale complexion—exactly the guardian who had been afflicted by the "Red Angel" spirit. Katharina pressed her hands down onto the table and sat, her lips slightly curved as she replied, "You don't seem at all eager." "When you've been trapped underground with two particularly bothersome companions for a few thousand years and still can't escape, you'll find that waiting just a few years is nothing short of relaxing. I'm not in a rush at all," chuckled the "Red Angel" spirit. "Once this matter is settled, if you're curious, I'll have you experience it firsthand—though I'll certainly remember to send you two male companions along. As for how long they'll stay, that depends entirely on your level of restraint." "As he spoke, the face of the 'Red Angel' spirit did not display the two mouths challenging—because, to them, this was simply the truth: they had been trapped beneath the earth for a few thousand years, unable to escape together with those two troublesome beings. Hearing this response, Caterina's eyes flickered slightly, and with a gentle smile, she asked, 'Don't you worry that, once we reach your headquarters, the Primordials will discover us?' 'What's the difference? Risk is always part of the journey. And in the worst case, we merge with them—right now, I'm already a triune entity; becoming a quadrum is no problem at all,' said Solon Einhoven Medici, speaking with complete indifference. 'Then let's go,' Caterina said lightly, stepping gracefully off the table. As soon as she finished speaking, her eyes reflected the image of a red-haired man bearing a banner-like mark on his forehead. The black-and-red-draped 'Gatekeeper' instantly lost his breath, his skin and flesh rapidly decaying into a yellow-green pus." In just a few seconds, the armchair was left with only a white skeleton and the remarkable properties that had seeped out. Katrinas extended her hand, and with an invisible thread, drew the properties into her palm. Instantly, her own body lost solidity, and she plunged suddenly into the mirror she had previously used. Before her, a dark, ethereal, and slightly unreal path emerged, weaving intricately with similar elements in the surrounding area to form a complex, mysterious web—a strange, otherworldly realm distinct from reality. Katrinas swiftly moved through this "world within the mirror," drawing closer to her destination. At that moment, she felt a powerful pull, unable to resist, drifting away from the path and toward a dense, dim, hazy mist—what in the real world represented a mirror. In an instant, Katrinas, along with the "Red Angel" spirit, detached from the mirror and found themselves in a foreign room carpeted with rugs. By the edge of the room, a young man with ordinary features, dressed in common attire, leaned against the stair railing, smiling gently at this "White Witch." In his left hand, he continuously tossed and swayed an unusual crown stained with rust and blood. Before Katrinna could react, the young man produced a single lens made of crystal and placed it on his left eye. "Hah..." Katrinna immediately heard the scornful laugh of the "Red Angel" spirit echoing in her mind. The very next second, he removed the lens and transferred it to his right eye, then smiled more clearly and said, "Sorry, I misplaced it earlier."