Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 123: The Ouroboros

At noon, the world outside looked like molten gold.

Bedsheet Archdemon carried Brief close to the base of the walls, flying swiftly while Brief clutched the magical thread Myss had given him. Whenever shadows covered them, they looked like a mouse darting at full speed. A stray cat instinctively pounced at them, only to recoil in terror and puff up into a ball of fur.

“Turn right ahead.” Brief poked Bedsheet Archdemon’s soft body.

Bedsheet Archdemon made a muffled sound and smoothly rounded the corner, then grumbled in displeasure for several seconds.

“Sorry, sorry. I wasn’t doubting your memory,” Brief hurriedly apologized. “I just… Huh? Aren’t those Mr. Kalen and Mr. Earl?”

Bedsheet Archdemon came to an abrupt stop and tilted its head in confusion, nearly flinging tiny Brief off its back.

Outside a nearby tavern sat Father Kalen and Earl.

Taverns in the Crimson Marsh were different from those in other countries. They served only low-alcohol fruit wines, while all kinds of mixed fruit juices were far more popular. They also offered light meals made primarily from fruit.

In front of both Father Kalen and Earl sat plates folded from broad leaves. Each plate held boiled yellow fruit, roasted meat with fruit preserves, and little white rolls made from vine-tuber flour. They had also ordered layered golden-red fruit juices.

“Mr. Earl, may I ask why you specifically invited me out?” Father Kalen asked.

He had already changed clothes. He now wore loose local menswear, though there were no gemstone fragments embedded in it.

“Oh, I only wanted someone to have a drink with.”

Earl smiled pleasantly. “Kendrick and Myss are obviously a couple. I didn’t want to intrude, so I had no choice but to invite my roommate.”

The “sheet” atop Bedsheet Archdemon’s head immediately puffed up into two protruding animal ears.

“Bedsheet, we still have important work to do.”

Brief reached up to press the two ears down. The moment he flattened them, they sprang upright again with a flap. When Brief held them down, another pair appeared somewhere else and swayed tauntingly.

At the same time, Bedsheet Archdemon remained firmly suspended in midair, refusing to move.

“Woo woo woo,” it said profoundly, its ears swaying again.

“All right, we’ll only watch for a little while,” Brief said helplessly.

They had been trapped in the stick-figure world for too long and were extremely curious about the outside world. Bedsheet Archdemon was even more curious than Brief and refused to miss any excitement.

When they had gone out to investigate the night before, they had happened across a couple arguing by the roadside. Bedsheet Archdemon had been so captivated that it couldn’t fly away. Brief had tugged at it for ages before finally dragging it away.

Now that they had encountered people they knew, Bedsheet Archdemon was even less willing to abandon its desire to eavesdrop.

Whatever. They still had time.

Brief scratched the base of the Archdemon’s ears and pointed toward a nearby flowerpot.

Only then did Bedsheet Archdemon move, carrying Brief to the flowerpot. The two pressed themselves tightly against it, nearly blending into its complicated painted patterns.

A few steps away, Kalen and Earl noticed nothing. Their conversation continued.

“…I’m not very good at casual conversation,” Father Kalen said awkwardly.

“Haha, don’t worry about it.” Earl was still smiling, apparently finding Kalen’s nervousness amusing. “Relax. I won’t ask you about Kendrick and Myss. I know that would put you in a difficult position.”

“Why don’t we talk about something else? For example, the Eye-Opening Ceremony that’s about to begin. Aren’t you curious what will happen?”

Father Kalen immediately sat straighter.

He wasn’t particularly curious about the gods of other faiths. But he knew that since they had decided to attend as witnesses, this was essential information.

“I once read about it in an ancient book. Once the sacrifices are chosen, they must be taken to the underground church to bathe, receive blessings, and change into ceremonial clothing. Then they are paraded around the city in woven carriages to receive the people’s blessings. At the end of the procession, they return to the underground church.”

Earl took a sip of juice, then picked up the straw made from a vine tube and stirred the gold and red layers together until they became a vivid orange-yellow.

“The author didn’t know what happened after that. He had only heard the locals say that the male and female sacrifices must undergo some kind of ritual in a chamber as deep as a tomb, where they become the Blind God’s left and right eyes.”

“When the ritual ends and they return aboveground, flowers of every color grow across the floor of the Root Church, while a rare circular rainbow appears in the sky. It is said to be the most beautiful sight one can witness in the Crimson Marsh.”

Father Kalen’s brows moved slightly.

From the sound of it, the Eye-Opening Ceremony sounded like a surprisingly benign sacrificial festival. His ominous divination had also revealed no problem for the time being.

Even so, something weighed heavily on his heart, as though a storm were approaching.

“If the sacrifices aren’t harmed, why are they called ‘sacrifices’?” he asked instinctively.

“That’s how it was written in the book. Perhaps it’s some kind of cultural difference.”

Earl held the straw between his lips and drank nearly half the juice.

“I want to see the flowers and the rainbow. I imagine Kendrick and the others wouldn’t object either. It must be a perfect scene for a date.”

“I only hope it won’t delay us for too long,” Kalen replied dryly.

“You should relax a little, Father.”

Earl’s tone was smooth, carrying an indescribably sticky quality.

“Proper rest is necessary, don’t you agree?”

That subtle feeling grew even stronger. Kalen slightly furrowed his brows.

Earl Nebula had clearly had no previous connection to them, yet the way he spoke always gave Kalen the feeling that he was someone familiar.

And the way he said “Father” was far too intimate. Rather than a clerical title, his tone made it sound almost as though he were calling Kalen his own father.

So Kalen didn’t answer and simply lowered his head to drink his juice.

“Since we have time, why don’t I perform a divination for you?”

When Kalen remained silent, Earl continued on his own.

“It’s just a little hobby of mine. Everyone says I’m fairly accurate.”

At the word “divination,” Kalen instinctively raised his head.

Earl produced five thin wooden cards as though performing a magic trick. He shuffled them between his hands, then spread them into a fan and held them beneath Father Kalen’s nose.

“What are these?”

“Divination cards based on ancient alchemy, of my own invention. The four elements, plus one Ouroboros card,” Earl said lightly. “Go ahead. Draw one.”

With the wooden cards pushed directly under his nose, Father Kalen had no choice but to reach out and choose one at random.

The craftsmanship was poorer than he had expected, though the card was light, thin, and surprisingly flexible.

Kalen turned it over and saw a silver snake biting its own tail, forming a perfect circle.

Whether the artist’s skill was simply terrible or the effect was intentional, the silver snake’s eye had been drawn as a pitch-black hole, creating an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

“Ah, the Ouroboros.”

Earl withdrew the remaining cards and propped his chin on one hand.

“It appears you have encountered an extremely complicated problem. It is too vast and too chaotic, leaving you unable to act.”

“You don’t know how long solving it will take, so you are unwilling to ‘waste time’ here. You fear that while you remain lost and uncertain, something important will be delayed.”

Kalen: “…”

Earl rose with a smile. He bent slightly and slowly, forcefully pulled the card from Father Kalen’s hand.

Kalen looked up. The sun hung directly behind Earl’s head, casting an unusually sharp shadow.

Perhaps it was because of the posture, but although Earl was neither as tall nor as broad as Father Kalen, he gave off a strange sense of pressure.

Earl waved the Ouroboros card.

“Am I wrong?”

“A loved one of mine has gone missing,” Father Kalen said concisely, lowering his eyes. “The information I have is indeed somewhat chaotic, but I don’t wish to discuss it.”

Hermit’s irregular letter from V.O.R. Hermit’s strange instruction to “find the journal.” The mysterious religion called the Order of Shadows that Hermit had brought him into.

Without those fragmented and uncanny clues, Kalen should currently have been devoting himself entirely to finding his missing brother.

Instead, they had forced him to focus on V.O.R, which in turn had led him to notice the abnormalities within the Order of Shadows…

Kalen truly was confused.

There had even been several moments when he had begun to suspect that this was a scheme laid out by Hermit himself, guiding Kalen forward one step at a time.

He could understand “investigating V.O.R.” But what meaning did “investigating the Order of Shadows” hold for them?

Father Kalen couldn’t understand. For now, he could only follow Salaar’s arrangements and take things one step at a time.

“…I see. You don’t want to discuss it in detail.”

Earl showed no anger at his attitude. Instead, he smiled.

“Then I can only give you a very vague hint.”

“Long ago, people firmly believed that the sun revolved around this land. To explain the phenomena they observed, they had to invent one complicated theory after another.”

“But if this land revolves around the sun, then many phenomena have much simpler explanations.”

Kalen froze for a moment; a cold thought pierced through him.

Investigating V.O.R, traveling to the Royal Library, investigating the Order of Shadows… If the central goal was “finding Hermit,” then these matters truly were strangely disconnected.

But what if he changed the center of the circle?

He had investigated V.O.R, and as a result, he had begun traveling with Salaar and Myss.

At the Royal Library, Salaar and Myss had discovered abnormalities in the Sea of Concepts.

Investigating the Order of Shadows was, in essence, using the Order to investigate the mystery of how the “Celestial Canopy” had disappeared all those years ago.

Those fragmented clues had pinned him firmly to Myss and Salaar’s side.

“No.”

Kalen drew a deep breath and rejected the thought aloud.

It couldn’t be that.

If all of this was meant to make him follow Myss and Salaar, why would Hermit deliberately deceive him?

All Hermit had to do was ask, and Kalen would gladly have assisted Salaar. They could have traveled together from the start.

He had to be mistaken.

In the end, this was only an insignificant guess. It might explain the current circumstances, but it couldn’t explain Hermit’s attitude.

Slurp.

Earl finished the juice in his cup.

The sound startled Kalen so badly that his body jerked, finally bringing him back to his senses.

“I was only offering a hint based on the card.” Earl put down the straw and smiled at him again. “It was merely a general suggestion. Don’t take it too seriously.”

Kalen: “…Mm.”

“However.” Earl paused, then continued meaningfully, “Since your loved one has disappeared, the best way to find him quickly would be to better understand the missing person’s thoughts.”

“Oh, and since I was the one who invited you out, this meal is on me.”

Without waiting for Kalen’s response, Earl stood and went inside to pay.

Kalen silently picked up his straw and stirred the juice without realizing it.

More than half remained in the cup. Brilliant gold and blood red swirled together beneath his hand, mixing like smoke.

No matter what, he had to prioritize the imminent Eye-Opening Ceremony.

As for that absurd speculation, he would find a way to verify it after leaving the Crimson Marsh.

Not far away—

Bedsheet Archdemon: “Grr?”

“You’re asking about the ‘Ouroboros’?” Brief scratched his head and tried to remember. “I think it’s something from ancient alchemy. If you’re curious, we can ask Salaar when we get back.”

“Woo, woo… woo!”

“I know, we need to hurry and finish our work. Let’s go!”

Inside the tavern.

Earl paid the bill with a gemstone. From the corner of his eye, he looked through the window toward the flowerpot nearby. Something shifted in its shadow, then shot away with a whoosh.

The corner of his mouth curled upward as he withdrew his gaze and pretended he had seen nothing.

“Mr. Kalen, let’s go home,” he said with a smile.

---

The author has something to say:

A little divination vs divination. [dog head]

Good Kalen, bad Earl. (???

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>