Lord of the Mysteries

Light suddenly faded from where Ince Zangwill disappeared, staining the area with the richest and deepest darkness.

In the darkness, the sounds of melodic chanting could be heard. It was quiet and tranquil, hypnotic even. Even the countless pale arms flailing upwards underneath the pitch-black water seemed to slow down, no longer as frenzied as before, as if they had won redemption for their souls.

In such a “dark night,” a figure walked out. It was none other than Ince Zangwill who had just been dragged into the spirit world.

Compared to before, he had lost the bonnet on his head. The clothes on his left shoulder were tattered, and a piece of flesh had been torn off. Faint yellow pus bubbled out one after another.

His eyes were no longer indifferent, but filled with pain, as if he was suffering some unimaginable torment.

The 0-08 quill continued writing.

“Some might feel regret, while others might rejoice. Ince Zangwill had the umbilical cord of the evil god which came from the baby in Megose’s womb. It was from the True Creator, and through the umbilical cord, he successfully escaped from the restraints of the unknown existence and forcefully returned to the real world, but as a result, he had lost that mystical item. In addition, he would suffer the ire of the evil god’s spawn from having failed to descend for a short period of time.

“This made his strength appear like some kind of commodity in a department store during a change of seasons, with only 55% left. Yes, this number is extremely accurate.”

…

In a street in the depths of East Borough.

Old Kohler hurried back to his rented apartment, carrying some ham in a paper bag.

He looked around warily, afraid that those ravenous wolves around him would pounce on him and steal his New Year’s gift.

He had seen wolves back when he was still in the countryside, but to his surprise, he was able to experience that familiar feeling in Backlund.

It’s still too expensive. I can only split the cost with someone else and cut it into pieces… This is enough for the new year holiday. I can eat two slices of ham for every meal. Three slices, no—at least five slices of ham. I can cut some of them off and stew them together with the potatoes. I don’t even need to add salt… With this in mind, Old Kohler looked at the ham in his arms, seeing the white spots mixed in with the red meat, his throat couldn’t help but twitch and he swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

As he walked, he felt the fog around him grow thicker. The cathedral’s clock tower that was still relatively clear in the distance was gradually swallowed by a mixture of iron-black and pale yellow colors. Even the pedestrians around him were reduced to blurry shadows once they were ten steps away.

Old Kohler suddenly felt like he has been forgotten by the world as he raised his palm to cover his nose.

“Why does the fog smell so bad today?” he muttered, and he quickened his pace.

One step, two steps, three steps. Old Kohler felt his face heat up and his forehead start to burn.

His chest tightened, his throat felt uncomfortable, and soon he was experiencing difficulty breathing.

Have I fallen ill? Damn it, I still want to have a good new year’s, and now I can only send my savings to the clinic or hospital… No, perhaps I’ll be fine with some sleep. I’ll be fine sleeping with a blanket over me! Old Kohler silently muttered to himself as his head grew hotter and hotter and his senses became more and more muddled.

Gasp. Gasp. Gasp. He heard his own labored breathing, and his hands went limp as the bag of ham fell heavily to the ground.

Old Kohler instinctively bent down to pick it up, but he ended up falling to the ground.

He held the bag of ham and tried to keep it in his arms.

thick phlegm rushing up his throat, blocking it,

a few steps away, someone else had also fallen and was gasping for breath. He was about the same age as him, in his fifties,

that he was about

like

the time when he had been hospitalized. The patients in the same room were still chatting and laughing that night, but they would be sent to the morgue early the next

until they were found

days when he was still a decent worker, when the neighbors in the neighborhood would suddenly die like this. Some of them died from headaches, some of them died from accidentally falling into molten steel, some of them died

from a drunk in the bar

ground, falling when the wind blows. It’s even possible to

Old Kohler suddenly had such

ham tightly as he groped the pocket of his old jacket

why his healthy body would suddenly become ill. It wasn’t like he had never experienced such a

suddenly collapsing just as his life was back on track, moving in a direction that was sufficiently nice for him. Furthermore, he had been paid in advance by Detective Moriarty

that crumpled cigarette, but he no longer had the strength to lift his arms

building up inside of him, but he could only let the frail

heard his last

heard himself ask,

…

the edge

last piece of clothing she had

somewhat unsure of the time due

it’s still early, and we’ve already done the laundry…”

thing to finish work too early. This meant that they could rest, but it also meant that they didn’t have

deep breath, turned around, and looked at her eldest daughter, Freja, who was wiping her hands

of our clients have left Backlund and have gone on vacation elsewhere. We can’t go on like this.

she walked towards

host banquets one after another. They definitely won’t have enough servants and might hire temporary kitchen cleaners. I plan on inquiring. Freja, you stay at

East Borough, every woman, who didn’t work in the factories, had to be skilled or aggressive enough

Freja answered briskly, “Alright.”

was already on the desk and

opened the door when she

her face flushed red, with every joint

ran over in panic and squatted beside

you? Mother,

Liv began to find it harder to

to the hospital immediately!” Freja

expensive, too… expensive. Cough—Let’s go to a charity hospital. A charity hospital, I can wait. It’s n-not a

and her

and her body went limp as she fell to the ground with

shouted anxiously. “There’s money, cough—in the closet, cough—in the hole in the wall. You have to be quick. Go to the hospital! Get a good—a

but not a sound came out from her mouth. Her eyes slanted up

top of it was her favorite table and her vocabulary

body suddenly began to