Lynch felt a momentary sense of disorientation.
It was difficult for him to describe exactly what he had seen.
A long, green river flowed slowly, with no discernible beginning or end. Countless green flames bobbed and drifted upon its surface, flickering erratically. Faint, ethereal weeping and heart-wrenching screams emanated from the depths of the river. The eerie, long river seemed to possess an incomparable power of attraction, both terrifying and full of mystery, making one unknowingly want to cast themselves into it and merge with the flow.
He drifted aimlessly, and Lynch had no idea how much time had passed. Time had lost all meaning here; a second and a billion years were no different. Lynch wandered, his mind becoming increasingly numb and sluggish, until a sharp pain flared at the center of his brow.
"Hot, hot, hot."
Lynch jumped up with a yelp, rubbing his brow, which had been burned red by the pipe stem. Only then did he realize he had returned to the dim secret chamber. The red-haired lady was biting on her pipe, watching him from close range. A faint, musty scent of objects drifted into his nose along with her fiery red hair.
"Awake?" Madam Bessie’s eyes flickered as she stared into Lynch’s, holding up a finger. "How many is this?"
"...Fifteen?"
"Turned into a fool. It seems you need a thirty-pound ritual..."
"One, it’s one."
Pfft.
The red-haired lady gave a disdainful laugh, her expression suggesting she could easily handle him. "It seems your mind has recovered well enough; you weren't lost on the other shore. Not bad. But if you don't want to be left with permanent trauma, forget everything you just saw as soon as possible."
"What were those things?" The question slipped out before he realized she didn't know what he had seen. "I saw..."
"Stop. I don't want to know, thank you." Madam Bessie glared at Lynch, saying irritably, "You actually want to recount that to me? Why don't you describe the image of an evil god to me while you're at it? Are you annoyed that I didn't die completely last time, or do you think it's a pity that I've recovered?"
"Hm? You want to hear about the evil gods? What a coincidence, I happen to have some."
"I don't!" Madam Bessie’s pipe shifted, as if she were struggling to suppress the urge to knock it against Lynch’s head. Eventually, her heart softened, and she explained, "Theoretically, you should have glimpsed the River Styx, which flows on the boundary between the living world and the other shore, a strange river spanning life and death. It is not water that flows in the River Styx, but soul fire. All the dead must cross the river after death to wash away their soul fire, only then can the soul pass through and enter the kingdom of the god of death, returning to eternal slumber. If you had wandered into the river unconsciously just now, you would never have come back. Because even though the god of death has fallen, the operation of all things remains unaffected. Once you enter the river, you have stepped onto the path leading to the other shore."
"So there really is a god of death?" Lynch was stunned. "Then doesn't my death authority compete with his divine authority?"
"You shouldn't wonder why he is called the god of death and not the god of mortality. The divine authority he held exclusively should have been the Kingdom of the Departed, not death itself. The authority of death is scattered among several different deities. As far as I know, at least Gaia, the Lord of the Earth; Nyx, the Lord of the Black Night; Shilin, the Lord of the Oceans; Fiona, the Lord of Suffering; and the Lady of the Red Moon, Luna, whom you follow, all share a portion of the death authority. Oh, right, Tyr, the Lord of War, seems to share it too, but I'm not sure."
"What is exclusive divine authority, then?"
This was the first time a professional mystic had been willing to explain theological knowledge to Lynch. Crucially, it was explained clearly without the taboos held by followers of the major gods, so Lynch listened very carefully.
"Every major god has at least one exclusive major divine authority, usually their title. For example, the craft of the Lord of Fire and Crafts, the scorching sun of the Lord of the Sun, or the joy of the maiden of pleasure. Apart from the main authority, other authorities are shared with other gods."
"Hm? Then what if someone gathers all the shared authority of a certain aspect and turns it into a single, exclusive authority?"
"Impossible. No god can do such a thing, let alone an evil god or a human."
"I'm saying if, what if there is one?"
"That would mean the birth of a new god." The red-haired lady glanced at Lynch. "For example, you. If you gathered all the authority of greed into yourself, you would be the new Lord of Greed."
"Ha? Is there really a greed authority?"
"That is gathering and avarice, but you would first have to plunder the authority of another god conceptually. And not just one; you would be besieged by all the gods. Besides, you are only a mortal."
‘Neighbor, can it be done this way? Does this mean that if I continue like this, I have a chance to reach the supreme without occupying your divine authority?’
【Lynch, I said that you don't need to worry about where I am going; I have my own arrangements.】
‘Whether I worry about you or not is my business. What does it have to do with you? Keep watching your scenery and don't influence my choices.’
The voice in his mind vanished. He hoped she wasn't researching how to smash him to death with the Red Moon. Lynch stopped dwelling on the issue of divine authority and left the secret chamber with the impatient red-haired lady.
"Are you sure you learned it?"
Once back in the shop, the eerie atmosphere of the secret chamber was swept away, and even the dim light of the gas lamps felt much warmer. Hearing Madam Bessie’s question, Lynch remembered his business. He closed his eyes and felt quietly; outside the light orb representing the death authority in his soul manifestation, there were two additional points of light.
Death Omen, the ability triggered during the battle with the twisted one, and End Resonance, the new ability he had just learned.
Death Omen was a very good ability, instinctively foreseeing the position and time of the next fatal attack, but it was probabilistic, meaning it could only be treated as a surprise and could not be fully relied upon.
As for the ability End Resonance, given his experience just now, Lynch always felt that the point of light was filled with a chilling aura that made him shudder.
"Yes, indeed. The eight pounds were certainly not wasted."
"Of course, I never sell fakes."
"Hm? What about that statue earlier?"
"Oh, I generally don't sell fakes." The red-haired lady corrected herself righteously, exhaling a plume of smoke at Lynch and saying lazily, "Is there anything else you want to spend money on?"
This reminded Lynch. "Do you have soul-returning grass here? I want to buy some as a backup."
He then noticed the red-haired lady looking at him with an expression one might reserve for an evil god.
What was going on? Did she not sell that?
Madam Bessie asked with a look of admiration, "Do you know what that is?"
"An herb to stabilize the will against filth, right?"
"That stuff comes from the New Lande continent and only grows on the barren wilderness of souls. Its effect is indeed good, but the annual yield is too low. Because of that stuff, the wilderness of souls has become the place where the seven great nations compete most fiercely for exploration teams. Large-scale armed conflicts break out there every year as they seek to occupy larger areas of soul-returning grass production. Actually, it's not considered expensive, just twenty pounds."
"Per kilogram or per pound?"
"...Per gram. And this price is just a number; it has no meaning because it is very hard to find a source. Anyway, I can't find any here. To have one gram in reserve is a strategic life-saving material; how could I possibly sell it?"
Lynch’s mouth twitched. He realized he really was getting ahead of himself, actually attempting to try the things Miss Valente used daily.
"You don't need to have that expression. There is a lower substitute for it, calming grass. Normal people use this; it's relatively cheap, only five pounds for one hundred grams."
"Do you have some misunderstanding of the word cheap?" Lynch felt cold sweat breaking out.
"Do you have some misunderstanding of mystery materials?"
"Uh, I guess so."
He was heartbroken, but the money had to be spent. However, when he saw the one hundred grams of calming grass packaged into a large, full bag like loose tobacco, the sight filled Lynch with satisfaction. But just as Madam Bessie was about to hand it over, she pulled her hand back.
"The stronger your willpower, the more effective this is. That is why most Soul Severers don't use it much, as it is very ineffective for them, and they often suffer a mental collapse before they can use it. If you think this is useful, it means your willpower is good, so I will recommend a matching mystery relic."
Saying this, she took an old and simple-looking pipe from the counter.
It was not the long lady’s pipe that Madam Bessie used, but a male-style pipe similar to those used by some detectives. The surface was brownish-yellow and shimmered with a mysterious luster.
【Lawrence's Pipe: The legendary investigator Lawrence smoked this pipe, facing evil gods time and time again and returning safely, until lung disease took his life.】
"Your inspiration is really exaggerated. Yes, Lawrence’s Pipe, a fear grade mystery relic. Burning various mystery materials with it will increase the effect by fifty percent, and it comes with built-in clarity and calming functions, which can help the user think calmly and escape the fear brought by filth. The containment method is also very simple: maintain it with essential oil once a day, otherwise it will lose control, causing everyone around to suffer from insomnia for at least a month."
Hiss, this was good stuff. Lynch was immediately tempted.
The effect was indeed tempting, but that was not the most critical point. The most critical point was that it was cool. It was both cool and highly effective, simply perfect, but this had been recommended by the profiteer in front of him. Lynch was filled with a sense of foreboding.
"It's cheap. I only sell low-priced goods here, don't worry." The red-haired lady’s eyes were almost squinted into a line. "Including the calming grass, I'll count it as twenty pounds. Ah, I'll also give you five grams each of cold incense grass to calm emotions, clearing-heart grass to improve focus, and dream-leaf to help the mind drift and willpower blur. If the effects are good, remember to stock up from me next time."
As she spoke, without waiting for Lynch to refuse, she had already skillfully packed everything up, smiled, and pushed it across the counter to him.
Wait, did something go wrong?
Twenty pounds for the mystery relic and herbs, eight pounds for the ritual materials, and ten and a half pounds for the mystery documents. Lynch counted on his fingers for a long time and realized that after a stroll, the fifty pounds that had made him feel so proud were now only a little over ten pounds left.
At this moment, Lynch felt that the smile on the red-haired lady’s face was truly evil. His heart ached so much that he dropped the twenty-pound banknote, grabbed his package, and ran, leaving a leisurely "Thanks for your patronage" behind him.
Too ruthless. He must never come back when he has no money.
However, it was worth the price. Lynch touched the paper package, which emitted the scent of fresh grass, and revealed a satisfied smile. Before nightfall, he hurried back to 221 Villa Avenue, ready to enjoy his luxury purchases.
As soon as he entered, he saw Mrs. Maggie in an apron, followed by a little sidekick. The mother and daughter were busy inside and outside the kitchen preparing dinner. Seeing Lynch, Mrs. Maggie immediately showed a warm smile.
"Is your leg okay? Heh, that's good. Dinner will be ready soon; you go upstairs and rest for a while. By the way, Natalie came to look for you earlier. She seemed quite serious. Hearing that you hadn't returned yet, she seemed a bit disappointed and left."
Hm?
"Did she say anything else? Did she say when I should go find her?"
"No, she didn't say anything. She just said she understood, and then she left."
Something was wrong.
Lynch’s heart immediately tightened.
They had just parted ways, and she had come to his door immediately, but she couldn't wait and left right away. She had been very serious, so there must have been some urgent matter, and it must have been important.
But why didn't she leave a message? Was she hesitating about whether to continue asking for his help?
Things were abnormal, and there must be a problem.
The more Lynch thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. He frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned and walked away.
"I'm going to the station square; don't wait for me for dinner."
Rate on N.U.
