Colin slowly straightened up, expressionless, as he looked at the shattered Beyonder characteristics scattered all over the ground.
The Beyonder characteristic had been directly crushed.
Though his face appeared calm, his eyes hid a deep shock. He sheathed the greatsword on his back, bent his right arm and raised his palm before his chest, lowering his gaze to look at his right hand, which glowed with an amber light, the same amber armor spreading from it to cover his entire body.
With just a thought, the armor rapidly faded away—but his right hand did not change in the slightest. It was as if he were wearing a glove that could never be removed.
Taking a deep breath, he whispered softly: "Path… Preservation… Qlipoth…"
From that place called the Cleft of Fate, he had learned many things. About Aeons, about Paths, about Emenators.
Was he an Emenator now? It seemed not.
Not all who received the blessing of an Aeon became Emenators. The Type-C Fu Xuan of the Luofu Xianzhou—"small in stature but with strength at the very peak"—was such an example. The third eye on her forehead was not innate, but a gift from the Omniscient and Omnipresent, Aeon Of Erudition.
"Two thousand five hundred and eighty-two years…"
Colin's right hand slowly clenched into a fist, gripping tightly.
The other five gathered around him. The Rat couldn't help but cry out:
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Chief, just now you were… you were just…"He stammered, unable to find the words.
"Klas (Клас)."At last, he chose a legendary word of praise left behind by the Creator, though its true meaning was unknown.
Colin nodded slightly, his gaze passing over where the Rat's right arm should have been, then forcing himself to naturally glance at Styiak, whose skin had cracked and dried.
He showed no sorrow or pity, because he knew they would never want such feelings.
Finally, Colin's gaze stopped on Berg. Berg's skin now looked as if it had been soaked in water for a long time—wrinkled, split with countless cracks, and bulging with lifeless eyes that protruded blankly outward.
Colin squeezed his eyes shut. In the end, he still couldn't look upon it with true calm, even if such things happened almost every day.
Berg, however, seemed carefree. He chuckled and said to Colin:
"When we get back, I'll put in my retirement request. I'll be enjoying life before the rest of you."
Though Silver City was harsh, it wasn't like the neighboring Warhammer Human Empire. At least here, the word "retirement" still existed.
Then he joked:
"Of course, the honorable Chief could just approve it for me right now. I'm sure none of the others in the council would dare object to your opinion."
Everyone laughed along with him. Then, with Berg on Annice's back, the group left the ruins.
...…
The Kingdom of Loen, Tingen City.The black market behind the Evil Dragon Bar.
Today, Old Neil had brought Klein to visit this rough underground black market.
While chatting with Old Neil, Klein suddenly felt his spirituality stir. He sensed something unusual to his left.
It was as if something lurked there, whispering, murmuring.
Klein turned his head and saw a pale-faced young man. He wore a shabby linen shirt and the bluish-grey trousers typical of laborers. His eyes were vacant yet filled with madness, muttering incessantly.
Klein felt it for a moment and concluded: it was the other's inspiration that had triggered his spirituality.
Normally, inspiration brought about perceptions that interacted; they could hardly escape the notice of skilled individuals. For example, a "Spirit Medium" casting abilities, or someone with similar talents. A little fledgling like Klein should almost never have noticed.
He understood clearly his current weakness. Only if the other's inspiration was unusually strong, or twisted abnormally, could he sense it.
Their eyes met. The pale young man with messy black hair stepped forward with a half-sleepwalking, half-mad expression.
He stopped before Klein, staring dazedly at him. Just as his mouth curved upward to say something, two hands suddenly rested on his shoulders, turning him around so that he faced the wall.
The youth stood blankly, staring at the wall in a daze. Then he reached out to pry at the cracks in the bricks, as though he had forgotten Klein's existence entirely.
Klein's gaze fell to the mask hanging at the newcomer's waist.
The Devil of the Tarot Club—Sairuis.
"Mr. Neil, you're here to pay the balance, right?" Sairuis greeted Old Neil without even glancing at Klein.
"Oh, yes. I remember you, Mr. Bruce. Thanks for the gold and stardust crystals." Old Neil chuckled, handing him a paper bag. "Here, count it."
Sairus waved dismissively, stuffing it straight into his pocket.
"You're an official member of the Church. That's credibility right there." He gave a thumbs-up.
Old Neil gestured to the man still clawing at the wall.
"What's with him?"
Sairuis bared his teeth:"You know how he is. His inspiration is high, he keeps accidentally seeing things he shouldn't, hearing things he shouldn't."
He pointed at the man.
"Letting him play by himself is fine."
Old Neil gave Sairuis a thoughtful look, then shrugged."Alright."
Sairus, as if among old friends, threw an arm around Neil's shoulders."Drop by my tavern sometime. I'll give you a discount."
"Oh?" Old Neil raised his brows. "You'd better not go back on that."
"How could I?" Sairus slapped his back heartily.
Then he pulled a small vial from his pocket."Here, try this."
"What's this? Let me make it clear, I don't touch addictive stuff." Old Neil accepted it with suspicion.
"You can always have it appraised, or divine it." Sairus waved off the doubt."This is Dream Syrup. A drink made by extracting [Sweet Dreams] with Nightmare powers."
Sairus spoke nonsense with a straight face. Old Neil, however, actually pondered the possibility.
"Hm. If that's true, its taste must be extraordinary."
"Obviously! If it didn't taste good, would I use it for promotion?" Sairus slapped his back again.
"Alright, alright, stop slapping me. These old bones can't take it."
Klein stopped paying attention to them and went browsing through the stalls. He realized that although it was a black market, not everyone there was a Beyonder—many were just ordinary people.
He casually picked up a talisman from a booth and glanced at it.
Fake.
Later, he ran into a young girl also looking for talismans. Klein explained some mysticism knowledge about talismans and helped her pick one.
"This was a sweet encounter. Klein and the young girl conversed happily. They explored the mysteries of mysticism together. Step by step, they grew closer, their feelings deepening."
"In the end, they married and lived happily ever after."
"What on earth are you babbling about?!" Klein couldn't help but snap at Sairuis, who had inserted himself.
[Naturally that's impossible. Even those merely tainted by Klein's aura in the Tarot Club remain single. As the source of the Lone Dog Curse, how could Klein possibly escape the fate of solitude?]
Author's Note:
PS: I'm a transmigrator. Here comes a Honkai: Star Rail 3.0 plot leak… Did I pull Chongyun? Nope, I skipped.
(End of Chapter)