As his mind gradually calmed down, memory fragments suddenly jumped out, slowly presenting themselves in his consciousness!
Zhou Mingrui, whose head was throbbing with pain, had to close his eyes and sit back down, absorbing the memories that had belonged to this body.
In the gaps between worlds, Nimrod watched all of this unfold with a rising smile at the corner of his mouth before disappearing from his location.
Tap tap tap, crack!
A cluster of flames ignited, quickly growing larger. Bright light first occupied the interior of the wall lamp, then passed through the transparent glass, bathing the room in warm colors.
In the study, Zhou Mingrui had cleaned up the gunshot wound in his head and initially merged with the original owner's memories. He inserted a penny into the gas meter and turned on the gas lamp in the room.
As darkness retreated and the crimson moonlight withdrew from the window, Zhou Mingrui, who had been splashed with cold water in the public washroom and blown by the cold wind outside, suddenly felt his head pain diminish considerably, and his entire being completely calmed down.
After a moment of contemplation, Zhou Mingrui closed the window and sat back in his chair, thinking about more important matters after cleaning up the suicide scene.
The transmigration, the original owner's death, that strange notebook, and the passage written in ancient Hermes script - "Everyone will die, including me" - weren't what he wanted to figure out right now.
What he wanted to understand now was why he had transmigrated, and whether he could transmigrate back!
Whether passive or active, Zhou Mingrui was unwilling to transmigrate.
Recalling his experiences before transmigration, a flash of lightning crossed Zhou Mingrui's mind, illuminating his memories shrouded in fog.
"That fortune-turning ritual?"
Thinking of the fortune-turning ritual he had performed before dinner today, Zhou Mingrui became increasingly certain it was the problem.
"There's a definite possibility it was that fortune-turning ritual... Hmm, I'll try it here tomorrow. If it really was because of that, then I have hope of transmigrating back!"
Thinking of this, Klein's face showed a hint of a smile, because the requirements for performing that fortune-turning ritual were very simple - something he could manage now.
The ritual only required taking four portions of the local staple food and placing them in the four corners of the room - they could be on tables, cabinets, or other places. Then he would stand in the center of the room and walk counterclockwise in a square pattern in four steps.
With each step, he would recite a portion of a true name. After completing the walk, he would close his eyes and wait in place for five minutes, and the ritual would be complete.
Having determined his plan, Klein immediately felt more secure. Panic, wandering, and insecurity all retreated to the corners, no longer able to control his exhaustion. He fell asleep sprawled across the desk.
"Thud thud thud" - heavy footsteps echoed. Klein suddenly awakened from his sleep, opening his eyes somewhat groggily.
As his still-fuzzy mind completely cleared, Klein discovered he was no longer in the study from before, but had arrived in a space wrapped in strange gray fog where he couldn't distinguish direction or size.
Just as he was surprised and terrified, those heavy footsteps gradually became clearer, and a figure suddenly emerged from the drifting gray mist.
It was a young man with eight pairs of pure white wings on his back, wearing white robes - his entire appearance resembled an angel from the mythological legends of his previous life.
Before Klein could react, he saw this angel-like young man place his right hand on his chest and speak in a respectful tone:
"Congratulations on your rebirth, inheritor of the great existence..."
Seeing this scene, Klein suddenly had an ominous premonition.
He seemed to have been mistaken by this angel-like young man for some kind of inheritor...
This scenario and situation immediately reminded him of fishermen and demons.
Thinking of this, Klein didn't panic. Instead, he asked calmly:
"Who are you?"
"I am Hermes, the Angel of Time and Space, serving the great ruler, the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth."
"Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth?"
Hearing the other party's response, Klein was shocked, because that phrase "Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth" was actually spoken in Chinese!
"Indeed, my transmigration is related to that fortune-turning ritual!
My thinking was correct. This strange space and this strange fellow are proof."
Taking a deep breath, Klein forced himself to calm down and asked hesitantly:
"The one you serve is the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth... what does that have to do with me?"
Hearing Klein's question, the respectfully standing Hermes smiled and replied:
"Because He has fallen, and you are His chosen inheritor."
"Fallen? Uh... this should mean dead, right?
You say I'm his inheritor? But how do I know nothing about this?"
Hearing Hermes's answer, Klein felt very surprised. He didn't understand when he had become the inheritor of some Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth.
"Inheritor of the great existence, don't you remember the fortune-turning ritual you performed?
The moment that ritual ended, you had already become His inheritor."
"That ritual might have been performed by others too. Why didn't they become the inheritor you speak of?"
Thinking of the damned ritual he had impulsively performed, Klein felt his head start throbbing again.
"I'm not certain. Perhaps it's because of your own special nature, inheritor."
With thoughts racing, Klein let out a long sigh.
Then, suppressing his emotions, he asked Hermes in a calm voice:
"Since you know I performed the fortune-turning ritual, you must know I don't belong to this world. Can you send me back to my original world?"
Hearing Klein's words, Hermes (Nimrod in disguise) fell silent for a moment, then responded with a helpless tone:
"I don't have that ability."
Klein, who seemed to have anticipated this answer, wasn't disappointed and continued asking:
"Then who has this ability? That Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth?
But you just said He has fallen. Unless He resurrects, I can't go back at all."
Then he seemed to think of something and asked with certainty:
"The purpose of me being chosen as inheritor - is it to resurrect Him?"
"I cannot answer this question for you. However, as His inheritor, you can choose to find His extraordinary characteristics scattered outside and resurrect Him.
As for whether He will help you return to your original world after resurrection, I'm not certain. But based on my understanding...
He is a cunning, evil, cruel deity who enjoys deception and fooling others, completely lacking in humanity. Your choice to resurrect him would not be rational.
Of course, I cannot interfere with your decision, since you are the inheritor of that great existence, while I am merely an activated extraordinary characteristic He left behind - an assistant who trusts the inheritor.
However, besides resurrecting that Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth, you could also choose to replace Him, become a new deity, and let Him die completely. Perhaps that way you could also return to your original world."
Hearing Hermes's words, Klein had already abandoned any plan to resurrect the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth.
If even his former servant had this impression, he couldn't imagine what kind of existence the living Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth would be. Resurrecting Him would definitely not be a good decision.
"Wait, what's the situation with deities and extraordinary characteristics?
The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth was a deity?"
Reflecting on what Hermes had just said, Klein discovered some things he didn't know.