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.

thought there was thick phlegm rushing up his throat,

also fallen and was gasping for breath. He was about

he understood that he was

him of his own wife and children, who, like him, suddenly got infected with

hospitalized. The patients in the same room were still chatting and laughing that night, but

tramp, many of which had disappeared over the course of the winter until they were found stiff under a bridge or some spot which was sheltered from the wind.

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

reminded him of what he had heard from a drunk in the

falling when the wind blows. It’s even possible

is coming… Old Kohler suddenly

groped the pocket of his old jacket for the crumpled cigarette

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

was the reason for him suddenly collapsing just as his life was back on track, moving in a direction that was sufficiently nice for him. Furthermore, he

Kohler fished out that crumpled cigarette, but he no longer had the strength to lift his arms again as they slammed heavily

shout out the words that had been building up inside of him, but he could only let the frail words linger at his mouth without producing

heard his last

himself

…

the edge of East

of clothing she

of the time due to

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

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

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

Year’s. Most of our clients have left Backlund and have gone on vacation elsewhere. We can’t go on like this. We have to find new

she walked towards the

you stay at home and pick up Daisy when the time comes. We need income, but so

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

Freja answered briskly, “Alright.”

mind was already on the desk

the door when she stumbled

Cough! She broke into a violent coughing fit as her face flushed red, with every joint

ran over in panic

you? Mother, what’s

Cough, I’m fine.” Liv began to find

hospital

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

burst into tears and

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

You’re sick too?” Liv shouted anxiously. “There’s money, cough—in the closet, cough—in the hole in the wall.

say something, but not a sound came out from her mouth. Her eyes slanted up to the door beside

their bunk beds. On top of it was her

suddenly began to