"I should speed things up as well."
Inside the study, Hastur held Ariella in his arms as he gazed toward Backlund.
To advance to Sequence 5, Mentor of Disorder, besides the required potion, he also needed a ritual.
For example, when Klein advanced to Marionettist, he had to consume the potion amidst the singing of mermaids. Hastur likewise needed a corresponding ritual.
He had to go to a place where order and chaos were densely intertwined and consume the potion under the gaze and recognition of many people.
Backlund was the ideal place. Long before he had completely digested his potion, he had already written several letters and sent them back to Backlund.
One of them was addressed to the King of Loen.
Its general content was that he had been away from Backlund for half a year and greatly missed life there. He also needed to report to the King regarding the latest pirate suppression efforts and coastal defenses.
Another letter was sent to Earl Hall's family, another to Glaint, asking them to help arrange for his early return to Backlund.
The remaining letters were sent to Susie, Audrey, Professor Wayne, Butler Neil, and others.
Judging by the time, replies from Backlund should already be on their way.
If the King refused to allow him to return to Backlund, then he would have no choice but to sneak back.
However, that would make advancing to Mentor of Disorder much more difficult.
Receiving recognition from the order represented by the King of Loen, and acknowledgment from the people living under that order, would help him resist the immense chaos generated during the advancement to Mentor of Disorder.
Otherwise, it would be easy for him to suffer mental collapse, or worse, lose his sanity completely and become a genuine monster.
"Meow?"
"You don't want to go back?"
"Meow."
"So even you understand the hardship of traveling?"
Ariella buried herself in Hastur's arms without saying anything. She was simply lazy, moving was too troublesome.
Besides, while her master was away, she could secretly eat more dried fish. Recently, she had almost starved herself thin.
After waiting only two days, the letters from Backlund finally arrived.
Hastur had already packed everything. The day after reading the letters, he set off for Backlund.
Sharron did not return with him, instead staying behind in the ancient castle to keep Ariella company.
According to her, it was easier to act as a dust-covered puppet in the castle.
...
June 1.
The steam train traveling from Southwille County to Backlund rumbled steadily forward.
Inside the luxurious private compartment, Hastur lay on the bed and entered the Hall of Stars.
The Son of Chaos seemed to be in a very good mood. He had probably gotten along well with Bernadette during this period.
Following the Stars' advice, He had stopped causing unnecessary trouble and instead seriously helped Bernadette. Although she still remained wary of Him, He was occasionally allowed to come out and say a few words.
The Mother Tree of Desire and the Supernova Dominator remained rather silent, likely still troubled by matters concerning Their followers such as the Abomination, Suah.
As soon as the High-Dimensional Overseer arrived, He attracted the Son of Chaos's attention.
The Son of Chaos mocked, "I never expected you to suffer a loss at the hands of the Lord of Storms."
"Has your mouth finally become useful?" The High-Dimensional Overseer's words were razor-sharp, causing the Son of Chaos to snort and fall silent.
The Mother Tree of Desire looked over.
"Given your style of doing things, there must be more to the Bansy Harbor incident than we know."
"Smart." The High-Dimensional Overseer smiled.
"Your brain works far better than certain people. Unlike theirs, which are nothing more than empty decorations."
"Hmph. Yet you still got beaten by the Lord of Storms, and even the pirate fleets following you are nearly wiped out by the Church of Storms." The Son of Chaos couldn't tolerate the High-Dimensional Overseer's sarcasm.
The High-Dimensional Overseer merely glanced at Him before calmly saying,
"I sensed the aura of the City of Calamity."
"What?!"
The Son of Chaos instantly became excited, His voice rising several degrees.
If the City of Calamity had appeared, then did that mean His Nation of Disorder was also about to reappear?
Even the Mother Tree of Desire's gaze grew more passionate. She was equally concerned about the whereabouts of Her own sefirah, the Shadow World.
Only the complete Supernova Dominator asked in confusion,
"Aside from God Almighty's Chaos Sea and the Celestial Worthy's Sefirah Castle, all the other sefirot are sealed within the Western Continent. It's not yet time for those seals to be lifted."
The High-Dimensional Overseer deliberately put on airs, refusing to continue discussing the City of Calamity. Instead, He began talking with the Supernova Dominator about the past of God Almighty and the Celestial Worthy.
The Son of Chaos, who desperately wanted to hear more, was so irritated that His teeth itched. Yet He knew the High-Dimensional Overseer was deliberately provoking Him in order to make Him yield.
Left with no choice, He reluctantly gave in and quietly asked what exactly had happened at Bansy Harbor.
In an excellent mood, the High-Dimensional Overseer slowly explained, "Bansy Harbor was affected by the power of the City of Calamity. Unfortunately, the Lord of Storms erased it in time."
"And then?"
"And then Bansy Harbor disappeared. The influence and traces of the City of Calamity were completely erased as well."
"That's all?" The Son of Chaos suppressed His anger.
"What else were you expecting to hear? The seal hasn't been lifted. That was merely a tiny amount of power leaking out from the City of Calamity."
Having failed to hear what He truly cared about, the Son of Chaos snorted coldly. His previously good mood completely vanished.
The High-Dimensional Overseer clicked His tongue, as if saying, Look how hopeless you are.
"If you can find a crack through which the power of the Nation of Disorder is leaking, perhaps you can escape the seal of the Magic Wishing Lamp without returning to the cosmos."
Hearing this, the Son of Chaos became interested again.
"You found such a place?"
"No."
"..." The High-Dimensional Overseer's decisive answer poured cold water over the Son of Chaos's renewed hope.
Hastur added another bucket of cold water.
"Not every sealed sefirah can leak its power through cracks."
"..."
The Son of Chaos's hopes were completely crushed.
After all that, He still had only one path left, returning to the cosmos.
Putting that matter aside, the Mother Tree of Desire brought up the latest movements of the Churches of the Seven Gods.
Had it not been for the High-Dimensional Overseer's warning last time, Her few remaining followers would have almost been completely surrounded.
When it came to hunting down the Rose School of Thought, the Churches of the Seven Gods were exceptionally united. Last time, they had nearly provoked the descent of both the Evernight Goddess and the God of Steam and Machinery.
Fortunately, They had withdrawn in advance, preventing a major disaster.
The High-Dimensional Overseer smiled.
"They've already begun paying attention to us. However, their primary focus remains on the Fool and the Stars."
As He spoke, His gaze fell upon Hastur, though He said nothing further.
At present, the Rose School of Thought, influenced by the Mother Tree of Desire and the Supernova Dominator, was the most worthy target of the Churches of the Seven Gods.
Yet what truly worried them were the hidden Stars and the Fool.
His intelligence network had always been excellent. Unless it involved revelations directly from the Seven Gods, He could spy on almost any other information whenever He wished.
Hastur calmly said, "There's no need to care."
The Son of Chaos asked with some confusion,
"Who is this Fool?"
The High-Dimensional Overseer gave Him a strange look.
"It seems you've been locked away quite thoroughly."
"..."
The Son of Chaos had just been about to retort when realization struck Him.
"The Fool... has something to do with the Lord of Mysteries?"
The Lord of Mysteries was an Outer Deity of three pathways, while the Fool was merely the Sequence 0 of one of those pathways. For a moment, He had failed to connect the two.
Thinking carefully, there hadn't been a single Sequence 0 in the Lord of Mysteries' three pathways for all these years. The closest to becoming a true god, Mr. Door, had fallen into the hands of the Mother Goddess of Depravity.
He had always believed it was God Almighty's existence that suppressed the awakening of the Lord of Mysteries.
Even giving birth to Amon had been done to restrain the Lord of Mysteries' awakening. That was why Amon had still not advanced to Sequence 0.
After pondering a bit more, the Son of Chaos said, "Has the Fool been born? That half-Fool from the Antigonus family should still be alive."
Leaning back against His chair, the Son of Chaos continued, "Shouldn't you know the most about matters concerning the Lord of Mysteries?"
"Heh. Right now, there isn't any Fool at all!"
This time, the Son of Chaos spoke with complete certainty.
He was convinced that the half-Fool of the Antigonus family was still alive.
As long as that person lived, the Fool could never appear.
The Churches of the Seven Gods understood this principle even better than He did, for after all, it had been the Evernight Goddess's handiwork.
That left only one explanation. The so-called Fool... was the Lord of Mysteries!
A cold smile appeared on the Son of Chaos's face.
"So He has finally appeared. I thought He would never awaken again."
"Tsk. Trapped inside the Magic Wishing Lamp, what can you actually do?"
The High-Dimensional Overseer's teasing left the Son of Chaos silent once again.
Ever since Bernadette advanced to Sequence 2, her control over the Magic Wishing Lamp had grown much stronger. He could no longer clearly sense what was happening in the outside world as He once could.
He hadn't even noticed the Lord of Mysteries returning under the identity of the Fool.
For someone who had always wanted to compete with the Lord of Mysteries once again, this was no small blow.
Especially when He thought about how the Lord of Mysteries was steadily awakening while He remained trapped inside the Magic Wishing Lamp, His emotions became even more complicated.
He couldn't help but cast a resentful glance toward Hastur. If only the Stars were willing to help, He could already have returned to the cosmos.
"Before the apocalypse descends, you will naturally return to the cosmos."
Faced with the Son of Chaos's gaze, Hastur could only repeat the prophecy regarding His future.
This was the first time Hastur had foretold the Son of Chaos's future in front of the others, immediately drawing the attention of the Mother Tree of Desire, the Supernova Dominator, and the High-Dimensional Overseer.
The Supernova Dominator sneered.
"What a pity."
The High-Dimensional Overseer nodded.
"For once, I share the same sentiment."
Faced with Their mockery, the Son of Chaos's mood instead improved considerably.