The Lord who creates all things... the All-knowing, All-powerful God... Caine leaned back slightly, maintaining his lofty posture, silently repeating the key phrases from the young man of Silver City. He was familiar with the concept of "the Lord who creates all things"—the Creator mentioned in the *Book of Storms*, the *Apocalypse of Night*, and folk legends, as well as the "True Creator" venerated by secret organizations like the Aurora Circle. But "the All-knowing, All-powerful God"? He had never heard this title before in this world. Neither the Goddess of Night, nor the Lord of Storms, nor the Gods of Steam and Machinery claimed to be omniscient and omnipotent. If, if indeed Silver City lay in the "Land Abandoned by the Gods," and if that very land truly belonged to this world, then perhaps "the All-knowing, All-powerful God" was the title once bestowed upon the Creator by ancient beings... Caine gazed thoughtfully at the young man across from him, at the colors of sorrow and pain in his eyes. Derek felt the Fool's gaze and unconsciously lowered his head. Drawing upon the contents of the books and the legends his parents had told him, he spoke slowly and with a deep sense of sorrow: "When the sun disappeared from the sky, when the clouds were torn apart, when lightning and thunder became rulers, the monsters hidden in the depths of darkness suddenly emerged—so terrifying, so unimaginable—that one by one, the cities of the Silver Kingdom were destroyed... Humanity entered its 'Age of Deep Darkness.' " "The remaining strong ones gathered in the city of Silver, relying on their united strength and two miraculous artifacts, ultimately repelling the attacks of the 'Dark Beings' and gradually clearing out the areas within a single day's journey for ordinary humans, establishing city-states that sheltered the last flickers of human civilization." A textbook-style account... Caine couldn't help but silently evaluate it. Each description always made him feel as though the region where the city of Silver stood belonged to a world separate from the northern continent. Perhaps this is the special nature of the land forsaken by the gods. He thought it without any outward expression. Darien took a breath and continued: "In the first few decades, plants could not grow, and the city of Silverstar suffered a severe shortage of food. It had to rely on hunting flesh-bodied dark monsters and certain mutated animals to survive, leading to a rapid and uncontrollable decline in population. Fortunately, later on, the 'Black-Faced Grass' was discovered—it thrived in this environment and became our reliable and steady source of food." "It was regarded as the last divine favor bestowed by the great gods, enabling the city to endure generation after generation through the 'Deep Darkness Age,' lasting for 2,582 years." "This is the time recorded by the successive 'Chiefs.' The common citizens of Silverstar, however, measured their days by the frequency of lightning—days when lightning was frequent were considered daytime, and nights when lightning ceased were considered nighttime, alternating as one day. Because of the frequent disruptions, we have been unable to establish an accurate count of days." "What a strange place... Kline was glad he hadn't assumed it would be tomorrow and instead described it more vaguely as the next two days. After briefly recounting several notable events in the history of the City of Silver, Deric continued: "Once the population had recovered to a certain level, the number of extraordinary beings also increased. The 'Council of Six' began organizing elite teams to explore the darkness. Recently, and indeed today, we've explored our original territory and the neighboring city-states, now advancing deeper into the more profound and terrifying darkness. At the edges of this darkness, we've discovered several cities with unique architectural styles, yet all of them have been utterly destroyed. We suspect these were refuges established by the surviving humans. Unfortunately, they too were eventually consumed by the 'beings of darkness.' " The "beings of darkness" he described were likely various monsters hidden deep within the darkness—entities that ordinary people could hardly imagine... Kline gave a barely perceptible nod. "...The Kingdom of Silver once fell under the rule of the Giants' royal court, so the extraordinary chain we possess is precisely the 'Giants' path—also known to us as the 'Divine Blood Warrior' path. When we defeated certain monsters and explored the ruins of cities that had been destroyed, we acquired additional magic potion recipes from other sequences. However, the chain remains incomplete, with varying degrees of fragmentation." Deric began to describe the current state of the Silver City. Hearing this, Caine instantly became more alert—though his posture remained unchanged, his focus had clearly sharpened. I love learning about sequence-specific magic potions! The Giants' royal court... Silver City and the northern continent sharing the same historical timeline? Second Age history... Ah, do they drop potion recipes when defeating monsters? Is that just like playing a game? No—there's another possibility: perhaps those monsters were once humans, extraordinary beings themselves... Caine suddenly felt a sense of weight settle upon him. Derek saw the Fool make no response, so he bit his teeth and added carefully, "The potion formula names along the 'Giant's Path' are, in sequence: Sequence 9, 'Outstanding Warrior'; Sequence 8, 'Gladiator'; Sequence 7, 'Weapon Master'; Sequence 6, 'Dawn Knight'; Sequence 5, 'Guardian'; and Sequence 4, 'Hunter of Monsters.' The names of higher sequences are known only to the elders of the Six Council Members." Sequence 4, 'Hunter of Monsters'... That's how the high-sequence potion formulas are named? I've never heard anything like this before! Klein felt a sense of satisfaction at finally securing a title recognized by a high-sequence strongholder, yet he suspected this might be an ancient designation, different from the current descriptions of the North Continent—much like the distinction between 'Storm Cleric' and 'Seafarer.' Hmm, 'Outstanding Warrior,' 'Gladiator,' 'Weapon Master'... these sound familiar. Ah! The complete sequence held by the War God Church is very similar. Sequence 9: "Warrior," Sequence 8: "Fighter," Sequence 7: "Weapon Master!" Due to confidentiality restrictions, Caine only knows the names of the first three formulas in the complete sequence of the War God's Church, yet this does not prevent him from equating the two. In essence, they are fundamentally aligned. The complete sequence that the War God's Church possesses appears to be the so-called "Giants' Path." Did this deity, said to have emerged only in the Third Age—the Age of Catastrophe—inherit the legacy of the Giants' Court? Or is the deity itself an ancient Giant? While Caine makes his analysis and judgments, he maintains a composed, detached gaze. Deric then adds: "After overcoming its initial challenges, the Silver City has been ruled by the 'Council of Six.' The senior elder at the head of this council is honored as the 'Chief,' while the other five elders hold equal status. The current 'Council of Six' consists of three 'Beast-Hunters,' two of the most promising 'Guardians,' and one 'Shepherd.' "Whoa, three high-tier strongholds in the City of Silver! Strongholds who are half-gods, half-people! Just one of them alone could wipe out the Tarot Society hundreds of times over... Kline felt a bit uneasy listening to this. He'd never managed to 'pull someone' under the watchful eyes of such high-tier strongholds before. But considering the young man across from him was still just an ordinary person—no sequence 9 yet—and wouldn't likely attract the attention of the high-ranking figures for a long time, he settled back with renewed confidence. "The Shepherd"—is that one from among the incomplete sequences? It sounds so much like the Tarot Society's style. Ah, yes—the member of the Tarot Society whose name I've forgotten, who wrote letters to Mr. Z—repeatedly mentioned 'the Lamb of the Lord' throughout. Kline maintained his relaxed demeanor, casually asking, "The Shepherd?" "Yes, this is the sequence pathway we found in the cities destroyed by the 'Dark Thing,' up to Sequence 5, 'The Shepherd.' But, but Elder Loviya is incredibly powerful, strangely so, and terrifying—supposedly, she once faced off against spirits of high sequence without sustaining any injury. Therefore, after the vacancy arose in the 'Six-Member Council,' she became an Elder by exception." Darien replied, somewhat fearful. "Sequence 8: The Whisperer, Sequence 7: The Hermit, Sequence 6: The Rose Cleric, Sequence 5: The Shepherd." Derek recounted everything he knew in full. The Whisperer, the Listener—well, actually, I know more about the Watchers of the Tinggen Branch than their records suggest... Kaine, pleased, gestured for Derek to continue. Derek then gave a general overview of the current state of the City of Silver, and finally added, "We suffer from a curse of fate—whether ordinary people or extraordinary ones—after death, they become malevolent spirits. The spirits of the extraordinary are more eerie, more terrifying, and harder to deal with. Historically, this curse has nearly destroyed the City of Silver on several occasions. The only solution is for someone of the same bloodline to personally end the life of the deceased." "It's truly a cruel fate. I hope you grow strong and find a way to lift this curse from the people of the City of Silver." The "naive" Kline, merely a hollow figure, could only offer the other free, insubstantial platitudes. "So, I want to become the sun, become the sun... As long as the sun still shines upon the earth, we have not faced any curse," Drik said, struggling and painfully whispering. Kline nodded slightly: "You'll have your chance. Remember, over the next two days, I'll pull you back here at any time—try to avoid spending time with others." "Understood," Drik replied in a steady voice. "Until then, you need to establish your designation." Kline smiled and pointed to the bronze long table's surface, where a Tarot deck had already materialized. He assumed the other had never encountered such a thing, so he briefly explained: "Choose one card as your designation—excluding the Fool, Justice, and the Hanged Man." Drik stepped forward, flipped through the Tarot cards, and with little hesitation said: "The Sun. I choose the Sun." "Remember your choice—it will accompany you for life." Kline said with practiced sage-like grace. At the same time, he extended his hand, deliberately cutting off the connection, and watched the deep red glow recede, observing the young boy fade into a silhouette and gradually vanish. PS: Third chapter uploaded, please support with a monthly subscription!