Upon hearing Caine's question, Dunn glanced toward the corridor leading to the "Charnes Gate," produced his pipe, filled it with tobacco and mint leaves, then placed it to his nose and inhaled deeply, his voice slightly wavering as he remarked, "Only at home can I fully savor the exquisite blend of tobacco and mint leaves... Caine, do you know the creation myths?" "Of course. When I was first introduced to reading at the church Sunday school, I learned words through the 'Book of Night Revelations,' where both the 'Book of Wisdom' and the 'Epistles of the Holy Ones' mention the creation myths." Klein slowed his pace as he recalled the fragmented memories of the original owner, "The Cosmogonist awoke from the Chaos, broke the deep darkness, and created the first ray of light. Then, He fully merged into the universe, becoming all things—His body became the land and the stars; one of His eyes became the Sun, the other the Red Moon; portions of His blood flowed into the seas and rivers, nourishing and nurturing life..." At this point, Klein paused naturally—partly because the memories that followed were becoming hazy, and partly because this creation myth bore a striking resemblance to the mythical tale of Pangu, the great eater, in the people of the great culinary nation. Indeed, there is a shared imagination across peoples of different worlds in their mythological traditions! Seeing Klein encounter difficulties, Dunn smiled and added: "His lungs evolved into elves; his heart into giants; his liver into treefolk; his head into dragons; his kidneys into feathered serpents; his hair into immortals; his ears into magical wolves; his mouth and teeth into strange beings; his remaining bodily fluids into sea monsters, among whom the nāga stands out as the essence; his stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and the parts of his body associated with evil evolved into demons, spirits, and various unknown forms of evil; his spirit became the eternal sun, the sovereign of storms, and the gods of knowledge and wisdom..." "From within His wisdom, humanity emerged—this is the First Age, the Age of Chaos." As Klein finished the last sentence, he found himself both amused and utterly absurd. As a folklorist of keyboards, he had never before encountered a creation myth so meticulously detailed—specifying in fine grain exactly which part of the Creator gave rise to each notable race. It truly felt like everyone sitting in a row, enjoying the fruits of the table. Moreover, not only did the texts of the Night Goddess describe this, but the churches of the Storm Sovereign and the Deities of Steam and Machinery also shared similar accounts—none of them elevating themselves above the others or diminishing the status of the others. Either the creation myths were genuine facts, or they subtly hinted that, prior to the Fifth Age, the major churches had, over a long period of struggle and compromise, finally reached a consensus. With these thoughts, Kline suddenly had another question, furrowing his brow: "I find this somewhat problematic—why did the Eternally Radiant Sun, the Storm Sovereign, and the Deities of Knowledge and Wisdom emerge directly from the spirit of the Creator, while the Goddesses did not?" In the prehistoric records of *The Revelation of Night*, the Goddess of Night only awoke toward the end of the Second Age, rising alongside the God of Storms, the Eternal Sun, and other deities to protect and assist humanity through the great catastrophe—commonly known as the Third Age, or the "Age of Catastrophe." The Earth Mother and the God of War also made their appearance at the same time. The God of Steam and Machinery, originally named the "God of Craft," emerged only in the Fourth Age. Thus, the hierarchy among the gods appears clearly established: the older a deity, the more legitimate and rightful—unquestionably so. This has caused certain concerns among the followers of the Goddess of Night. Duan Smith, holding his pipe in one hand, remained silent and instead asked: "Could you recite the full name of the goddess?" Klein suddenly felt as though he had stabbed himself in the heart, and hurried to strain his memory, recalling as clearly as he could: "She is the night goddess more exalted than the stars, more enduring than eternity—Queen of the Crimson, Mother of the Hidden, Sovereign of Trials and Fear, and Lady of Slumber and Stillness." Fortunately, fortunately, Klein's mother was a devoted follower of the Night Goddess. Every evening and during meals, she would recite her prayers, and even though the original memories had fragmented over time, they had not entirely faded away. "What does the title 'Queen of the Crimson' symbolize?" Dune asked in a guiding tone. "The Crimson Moon," Klein replied, as if suddenly grasping the meaning. "And what part of the Creator evolved into the Crimson Moon?" Dune smiled and asked again. "A single eye!" Klein and Dune exchanged a warm smile. This was no less impressive than the Storm Lords formed when the Creator's spirit divided into three! As for the churches of the Earth Mother and the War God, they likely also have similar accounts—only the Church of the Gods of Steam and Machinery "came into being" too late, lacking a compelling reason. For centuries prior, their churches remained weak and marginalized, only gaining true footing and standing alongside the others after the invention of the steam engine. Dunning stroked his pipe. "Humans emerged from the wisdom of the Creator, thus possessing intelligent, extraordinary minds, though lacking other miraculous abilities. Yet from the creation myths, we derive a clear and straightforward conclusion: all things originate from a common source." "Originating from a common source..." Caine repeated the final words. "Based on this conclusion, under the divine protection, humans gradually developed methods to acquire extraordinary powers by counteracting giants, demons, and other beings—specifically, by preparing potions using corresponding parts of evil spirits, dragons, monsters, magical trees, flowers, or crystals, combined with other materials, then consuming and absorbing them to master distinct abilities. This is common ground across all mystical traditions." Dunning offered only a brief explanation. "During this process, our ancestors, through painful experiences, discovered that directly consuming high-tier or exceptionally potent potions often led to tragic outcomes. In such cases, only three possible outcomes emerged." "What three?" Kline inquired with curiosity. "First, spiritual death, the body collapses, every bit of flesh transforming into a terrifying monster. Second, the personality is instantly altered by the power contained within the potion—becoming cold, sensitive, irritable, cruel, and indifferent to everything. Third..." Duan set down his pipe, picked up the porcelain cup beside it, took a sip, and said, "Fermer coffee from the Pas Valley—bitter but also aromatic, with a wonderful aftertaste. Would you like a cup?" "I prefer the highland coffee from Feneport, though I've only had it a few times at the Welches'." Cline politely declined, "What exactly is the third?" "Complete mental breakdown, going berserk on the spot—more demonic than a demon itself. That's what I mean by 'loss of control.'" Duan emphasized the word "loss of control." Before Kline could speak, he set down his coffee cup and continued: "Through years of experimentation and exploration, coupled with the emergence of the 'Tablet of Desecration,' humanity has finally refined the alchemical system, establishing well-defined, steadily progressing sequences—lower sequence numbers indicate higher alchemical grades. Today, each of the seven churches holds at least one complete sequence, in addition to several fragmented pathways collected over the past few centuries and millennia." "What is the 'Tablet of Desecration'?" Kline敏锐ly picked up on this term. During the 'Gathering,' the 'Emperor of the Hanging Man' had also mentioned it! According to the 'Emperor of the Hanging Man,' the Tablet of Desecration is the most crucial factor in the formation and completion of the alchemical system—this differs from what Dunning had just said. "This is something created by some of the aberrant deities. The exact era in which it first appeared, the specific details recorded, and its unique characteristics—I'm not entirely clear on those. If you discover any clues, you must report them to me immediately; it holds the highest response priority." Duan explained vaguely. "I mentioned one instance of instability just now. Now, let me go over the remaining four." "Understood." Kline set aside the issue of the 'Sacred Stone Tablet' and focused intently on listening. "Though humans are only known for their intelligence and lack other extraordinary abilities, this isn't absolute. There are always a few fortunate—or perhaps unfortunate—individuals born with a naturally heightened sense of inspiration, that is, an innate sensitivity to the spiritual realm. They can hear sounds others cannot, see things invisible to others, and possess certain partial extraordinary traits." As Dunne spoke, he glanced around at the empty space, making Caine feel a deep chill. "In other words, they're effectively half of the Sequence 9 extraordinary beings—endowed with fixed traits. After all, Sequence 9 is the lowest rank within the 'Chain' hierarchy. Essentially, they can only choose the corresponding, fixed Sequence pathways. If they consume a different magical potion, they'll experience mild mental disturbances; in more serious cases, they lose control; and in the most severe cases, they die outright." "Understood," Caine nodded slowly. "The third type of instability is similar to the second. Once you've chosen a Sequence Chain, you're bound to follow that specific 'path'—you can never backtrack. If you consume a magical potion suited to a different path, even if it's likely to grant you blended, unusual, or distorted abilities, you're almost certainly going to end up in a semi-mad state, or become sensitive and irritable, or cruel and bloodthirsty, or withdrawn and melancholic." "Such an opportunity comes only once. After that, whether one takes the original 'path' potion or the current sequence's potion, the only outcome is collapse—either mental death, physical disintegration into a monster, or transformation into a malevolent spirit." Duan said, lifting his coffee cup and taking a sip. Clay, listening with growing apprehension, remained silent for a few seconds before asking: "What about the fourth kind of collapse?" "The fourth one, ah, this is actually one of the most common issues. When we consume the potion to gain the innate abilities of the transcendent beings, we undergo an unnatural transformation. As a result, we inevitably carry residual psychological influences—perhaps without any noticeable symptoms, so that outsiders remain unaware. Yet within, there's always a hidden presence. Until we fully master the extraordinary powers conferred by the potion and eliminate these subtle traces, we cannot safely proceed to take the next higher-sequence corresponding potion. Otherwise, the cumulative effect of these influences will eventually lead to madness and complete collapse..." Duan suddenly fell silent. After a brief pause, he sighed, "Our internal regulations stipulate that even if a team member achieves significant accomplishments, they must consume the previous potion for three years and pass corresponding evaluations before being promoted—yet even under such conditions, many still lose control each year." That's truly frightening... Kline breathed out. "What about the last one?" Dun's lips curled, though no warmth lingered in his expression: "The fifth is also a common cause of loss of control. For extraordinary individuals, inspiration tends to increase—those with lower sequence numbers experience greater gains. As a result, they hear sounds others cannot, see things others cannot, encounter events others never do, and are constantly drawn by mysterious allurements and illusions. Once another stimulus arises or a desire for greed emerges, they gradually spiral toward loss of control." As he spoke, Dun turned fully to meet Kline's gaze, his gray eyes reflecting his silhouette. His tone grew somber: "The Archbishop Charnes, the founder of the modern night-watch system, once said: 'We are the guardians, yet also a group of pitiful beings constantly battling against danger and madness.'" PS: 2/7, kindly vote for me!