[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader":3,"chapter-lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-chapter-989":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Lord of Mysteries: Starting As A Reader",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1553366,2017,"Chapter 989: The Goddess’s Calculation","lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-chapter-989",989,"\u003Cp>Although theWild Huntmedal from the City of Dawn had formed naturally, I had already fully analyzed its structure through thePure White Eye, and the simulation in theWhite Towershowed no issues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So why didn’t it produce themythical formdirectly—and instead condensed the body ofDespair NightingalePanatia?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, this Panatia was stiff and lifeless, lacking the fluidity of ahistorical projection. She was like a puppet, moving only when controlled—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—but the problem was, my simulated \"spiritual threads\" couldn’t actually manipulate her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She belonged to a different system—one controlled through theLanguage of the Dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So where did I go wrong? Was it because the spirit lingering in theWild Hunthad some peculiarity from theDemon Hunter? Or was it something innate to Panatia herself?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After carefully studying theDespair Nightingaleand comparing both artifacts piece by piece, Ebner suddenly had a flash of insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Panatia... she was killed by thePale Flamebreathed out when theLord of the DeadVincente Miranda transformed into the Feathered Serpent...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ordinary souls of the dead go to theUnderworldas their final resting place—but those slain by Vincente’sPale Flamemight not.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Panatia’s soul may have been trapped deep beneath Calderon City, near a tributary of theRiver of Eternal Darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That means, while reproducing the artifact, every step of mine was correct—except when I reached the part that required contacting the remnant spirit of the corresponding dead soul within the Underworld...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because Panatia’s soul never returned to the Underworld!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In simpler terms—it’s like searching the Underworld’s database and getting no data entry back, only a broken hyperlink...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So the system couldn’t reverse-build the full ’mythical creature form,’ and instead only printed her soul’sshellbased on the basic template data.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But this shell is nearly useless!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"While it can perform extraordinary acts through external control, its intelligence is limited. TheLanguage of the Deadcan only express so much—it can’t execute complex functions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And since both the spirituality and divinity that power the shell come from me, she can’t transform into herIncomplete Mythical Form—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Unless I already possess the knowledge of the Demoness Pathway’s Incomplete Mythical Form myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But the very reason I wanted to trigger her transformation wasto learnthat knowledge in the first place...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That’s a complete paradox!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Letting out a sigh, Ebner was about to accept the experiment’s failure—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—when his gaze fell upon the black gemstone hanging over his chest, a gift from the Goddess. And suddenly, several daring, evenmadthoughts began surfacing in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Vincente Miranda, theDeath Archon, and Alwin Abraham, theWanderer, both had ties to the Goddess...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"These two ’me’s pathways are also connected to thePhoenix AncestorGregari.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Vincente’s mythical form—the Feathered Serpent—bears the traits of a Phoenix. I once speculated that he might have been a resurrection fallback for the Phoenix Ancestor, who was then used by theDeath GodSalinger as his own contingency... until I took that body for myself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But after learning much about the God of Luck from Yaloran, I no longer believe that was mere coincidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"After all, the teleportation tunnel beneath the Fragrant Manor implies that the God of Luck had a close relationship with the Phoenix Ancestor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And ’Count Silver Eye’ Rhine once collaborated with theEmperor of the Underworldon research as well...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So perhaps Vincente’s lifetime was actually part of a controlled transmigration experiment—and a successful one at that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Regardless, Vincente’s state is clearly special. From the fact that he slumbers deep beneath Calderon City, I suspect he’s connected to one of the River of Eternal Darkness’s tributaries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With the Goddess’s intellect—if she knows of my existence and of Vincente’s uniqueness—she couldn’t possibly resist scheming around it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She may have already meddled with the Death pathway, seizing some minor authority over a tributary of the River of Eternal Darkness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She must have found a way to hide it all from the God of War’s perception.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If my guess is right, and cross-referencing the events in the original timeline—the Goddess will soon leak that information ’accidentally’ to lure the God of War into her trap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then if I pray to her now, asking her to temporarily release Panatia’s soul—would she agree?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She would likely need to do it through Vincente’s body... and Vincente was slain by the God of War’s High Priest—the God of War cannot possibly ignore his movements.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That would be the perfect bait.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wait... when I entered the Land of Night, I happened to control Alwin once. By chance, I summoned Vincente’s historical projection—the one with the highest compatibility—and even used the Pale Flame to kill Panatia...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, I just happen to need her soul’s data.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could this all really have been arranged beforehand?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seems unlikely. Many of those decisions were my own will—choosing to study the Demoness pathway’s Incomplete Mythical Form, for instance. Panatia wasn’t my only possible target...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with so many coincidences stacked together, it’s hard not to suspect something more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this truly is the Goddess’s calculation—how far does her understanding of me go? How deeply does she know me—to predict every one of my choices so precisely?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I need to confirm this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After much hesitation, Ebner finally made up his mind. He began arranging a ritual and offered his prayer:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"O Goddess of the Evernight, higher than the stars, older than eternity,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I beseech Your gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I beseech the power of crimson,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I beseech the power of calamity and terror,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I beseech the power of darkness and death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I pray You free Panatia’s soul—let her briefly escape the grasp of endless night.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep beneathCalderon City, within the colossal underground hall supported by towering bone-carved pillars and adorned with fragments of corpses, a figure lying inside a stone coffin suddenly trembled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moments later, ripples spread across the illusory river flowing in the depths below, and a woman wandering along its bank split—an identical copy of herself formed in an instant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The \"copy\" vanished swiftly, while the original continued to linger by the shore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Feysac, within the Dusk Cathedral outside St. Millon City—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A high-ranking archbishop who had been preaching suddenly paused for several seconds. Then he bowed deeply toward the holy emblem of the God of War and intoned reverently:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Thy will be done.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He immediately summoned a senior deacon and instructed solemnly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gather all our brethren of the Sleepless and Corpse Collector pathways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Send forth their spirits to locate Calderon City—and capture every extraordinary being who approaches it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is the will of God.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>May the Glory of Dusk ever shine.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"May the Glory of Dusk ever shine,\" the deacon echoed, bowing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After finalizing the details, he left the cathedral and returned to the Demon Hunter office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There, a stack of new documents awaited him—transfer orders and employment papers for the Forger couple, recently reassigned from Upor to St. Millon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Flipping through the files, the deacon noted that one of them was from the Sleepless pathway and the other from the Corpse Collector pathway—both mid-sequence, powerful Sequence 5s.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After brief thought, he wrote a new line on the document:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Transfer revised—Forger couple to be placed in the Special Operations Unit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the docks of Bayam, the \"City of Generosity,\" Dunn and Daly had just arrived by ship. Receiving their infiltration documents, they read the assigned aliases aloud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Forger couple...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Code name...Dusk?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>.....\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in Backlund, within Mr. Surrey’s old workshop—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the ritual concluded, the shell of theDespair Nightingalevisibly came alive. Her eyes turned vibrant, her gaze toward Ebner growing increasingly dangerous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ebner, without hesitation, resealed the artifact he had created. Panatia’s form faded away, leaving only agitated, furious emotions echoing from within the medal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It really worked... The Goddess trulyhastouched the Death pathway!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besides Vincente, she probably holds the Phoenix Ancestor’s special soul stone too... Her ability to influence the River of Eternal Darkness might rely on those relics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And since she responded to my plea—either I’ve become important enough in her eyes, or her game against the God of War has officially begun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Or perhaps... both.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ebner frowned slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If everything is within the Goddess’s calculations... then justhow welldoes she know me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To know me this deeply—can that truly be harmless? After all,Iam not ordinary; the more you know, the stronger the pollution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even with my permission suppressing the backlash—doesn’t she worry about the risk?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Honestly, seeing Flora’s state—utterly lost in devotion—it scaresme.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a moment of silent thought, Ebner sighed and looked down at the imitation medal before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sensing the emotions emanating from it, he murmured to himself:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With Panatia’s soul within, this is no different from a living sealed artifact now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If I release her, she should be able to manifest her Incomplete Mythical Form.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"She’s just a little... disobedient.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A faint, mischievous smile tugged at his lips.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But that’s fine. I’m very good at—negotiatingwith living sealed artifacts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And as that wicked grin deepened, the workshop fell into a hush, the black gemstone at his chest gleaming faintly under the dim light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1470,"2026-06-06T07:27:22.126Z",1,"novelbin.me","024cf8ea85a9886925a0a69d495d4f2852c4d40bb7415493ab2e3515a921dcd0","lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-chapter-990","lord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-chapter-988",1326,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Flord-of-mysteries-starting-as-a-reader-cover.jpg"]