Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Chapter 1157: Special Symbolism

The malevolent dragonʼs camel-like head, adorned with antler-like horns and covered in blood-red fur, lunged past the chaotic head and violently collided with Lumianʼs face, devouring it.

Lumian did not back down; he bit into the dragonʼs head, tearing at Its eyes, nose, and cheeks.

Iron-black scales began to protrude from Lumianʼs face and neck.

This was a symbolic manifestation of the struggle and merging of consciousness.

In such situations, creating calamities and causing severe disasters would inevitably lead to self-inflicted harm.

The dragonʼs other head and its snake-like, jade-white body entwined with the heads of Aurore and Jenna. They both Charmed and cursed one another, black flames-embodying destruction and ferocity-igniting and wrapping around them.

Having disrupted the malevolent dragonʼs consciousness twice and forcibly merged before it could fully recover, Lumian had finally reached an equal footing with his opponent.

But it still wasnʼt enough!

The malevolent dragonʼs consciousness would not remain weakened forever.

Amid their tearing and biting, Lumian clasped his two hands together, and a corresponding vision emerged in his mind.

Fuzzy, ethereal figures returned to the malevolent dragon from all directions, reintegrating into the once-unified consciousness.

They were the consciousnesses of the City of Calamityʼs Dao integrators that Lumian had previously separated.

Because they had been separated, they had avoided destruction in the earlier battle.

Now, Lumian used the power of a Visionary to reintegrate these separated consciousnesses back into the malevolent dragon, reuniting them and throwing Its consciousness into chaos. This stirred inclinations, emotions, and reactions within the dragon. ...

Thump! Thump!

The heartbeat deep within the blood-red full moonʼs Chaos Primogenitor continued to pound violently, causing the mountain-like Brood Hive to sink faster, now more than halfway submerged in crimson.

Thump! Thump!

The sound of the heartbeat resonated in a hidden corner of the World of Ruins on the Southern Continent.

Suah and Tirié, conducting Their ritual, seemed to have grown hearts of Their own, Their beats echoing the sound.

They watched as Beyonders and bestowed transformed into masses of flesh, merging into the Chained God Tolzna. The mummified figure wrapped in bandages, thorns, and roses rapidly sprouted into a tree of desire extending toward the astral world. ”The time has come!” ”The help from the Mother Goddess of Depravity has arrived!”

Excited, Suah and Tirié spread incomprehensible thoughts while merging into the tree atop the pyramid altar.

For these fervent beings, returning to the Motherʼs body was the highest honor!

The tree of desire grew rapidly, seemingly about to touch the astral worldʼs barrier and tear a large hole into it. Suddenly, it tilted and twisted, collapsing toward the symbols, concepts, and representations that formed Lord of Mysteries Klein.

This happened because the help from the Mother Goddess of Depravity had not arrived. Suah and Tirié had been deceived, misjudging the timing.

This was because They had been marked by Klein long ago!

When Lumian confronted the Primordial Demoness, the entire Tarot Club had mobilized to assist. But hidden within that action was an unknown purpose unbeknownst even to the Major Arcana card holders: to lure out the evil god Angels-Suah, Tirié, and others who had been hiding using the powers of the Mother Tree of Desire and the Mother Goddess of Depravity. At the time, Suah and Tirié had indeed escaped the entanglement of Angel of Time Pallez, Angel of the Holy Spirit Reinette, and Maʼam Hermit Cattleya. But unbeknownst to them, Klein, fully awakened as half a Great Old One, had silently followed, discovering the secret hiding place of the indulgence faction of the Rose School of Thought, other followers of the Mother Tree of Desire, and where Chained God Tolzna was.

If not for the fact that the Chained God had effectively perished and His Uniqueness had been deeply corrupted by the Mother Tree of Desire, which rendered purification impossible in the short term—as it would aid the Mother Tree of Desire establish a new, firm mystical connection with the Tenebrous World-Suah and Tirié would have long been Parasitized and controlled, leaving Them no chance of survival to this day.

However, Klein had taken precautions. The moment this area had any anomalies, he could sense it and respond accordingly.

Upon discovering that the Rose School of Thought was conducting a major ritual involving the Uniqueness to open the astral worldʼs barrier and create a passage, Klein had refrained from stopping Them outright. Instead, he applied Fooling and Deceit, causing Suah and Tirié to misjudge the timing and redirect the ritualʼs target toward himself instead of the Mother Tree of Desire.

The next second, the tree extending into the astral world rapidly collapsed toward Lord of Mysteries Kleinʼs location, instantly condensing into a bloody mass encapsulating the Chained Godʼs Uniqueness.

Klein immediately Grafted this mass onto an area above the gray fog. ...

Within the consciousness space, the malevolent dragon, destabilized by the returning Dao integratorsʼ consciousnesses of the City of Calamity, grew bewildered. Its madness subsided, and It no longer purely followed instinct.

Seizing the moment, Lumian activated another contract mark on his body-a new one acquired a month ago.

His eyes turned dark, and the clothing manifesting from his consciousness billowed.

The malevolent dragon froze as if It had forgotten It was devouring and merging with Lumianʼs six consciousnesses.

Fooled!

Using a Contracteeʼs power, Lumian had borrowed the Fooling ability from The Fool Klein. It could only be used twice!

If the malevolent dragon had remained purely instinct-driven, Fooling would not have been so effective-Deceit would have worked better. But Lumian had deliberately caused the City of Calamityʼs Dao integrators to return to the dragonʼs consciousness, blending seamlessly as a part of it.

Since they were already fused with the dragon, Its instincts harbored no resistance or rejection toward them.

Taking advantage of the malevolent dragon being Fooled, and Its consciousness still in a weakened state, Lumianʼs six arms worked in pairs to grasp the dragonʼs iron-black body, Its jade-white snake-like body, and the formless body supporting Its chaotic head.

Lumianʼs five faces twisted in unison. Manifesting as a colossal giant, he ripped the malevolent dragonʼs three bodies apart with an ear-splitting tear.

Crimson flame-like blood sprayed everywhere, splattering onto the staircase ascending infinitely high.

Lumianʼs central head opened wide and swallowed the dragonʼs iron-black body, including

Its head.

Two of his other arms pressed the malevolent dragonʼs jade-white body and beautiful head, forcefully shoving them between the closed eyes of Aurore and Jenna.

His chaotic vortex face then sucked in the majority of the malevolent dragonʼs chaotic head. The malevolent dragon resisted desperately, struggling against Lumianʼs merging attempt. It sought to create a calamity to destroy both Lumian and itself.

If successful, while Its-now, third-time-destroyed consciousness would enter a deep slumber within the City of Calamity, waiting centuries or more to reawaken or gradually revive, Its enemy would also die-completely and irreversibly.

At this moment, as Lumian devoured the dragon, he smiled, his thoughts echoing within the malevolent dragonʼs spirit: ”Itʼs useless. Even if I die, thereʼs Medici and the City of Calamityʼs current cultivators. Once youʼre in a deep sleep, you wonʼt be able to resist Their accommodation.” This was a lie. Neither Medici nor the current strongest cultivators of the City of Calamity were in a position to accommodate it anytime soon. But such a lie sufficed to deceive the dragon in its Fooled state.

The malevolent dragon hesitated.

Lumian followed with another thought, smiling. ”Iʼm not the first sacrifice, nor will I be the last! ”Youʼve seen my state. If you choose to merge with me, in a few minutes, when your consciousness fully recovers, I wonʼt be able to maintain balance-youʼll replace me!”

This was the truth. ...

Boom!

A thunderous heartbeat echoed from the depths of the blood-red moonʼs Chaos

Primogenitor.

Even with countless marionettes and avatars interfering, the mountain-shaped Brood Hive sank heavily, completely engulfed in crimson.

This was the extremely special heartbeat of the Chaos Primogenitor about to be born.

It was fundamentally different from earlier beats, symbolizing the Chaos Primogenitorʼs imminent entry into reality. This moment heralded the emergence of a new Original Creator, a being even the Mother Goddess of Depravity could only summon once every ”major month” ―or 2,160 years. Such a phenomenon could not be repeated without catastrophic consequences.

If She borrowed this special symbolism for less than 2,160 years, the Chaos Primogenitor would truly descend into the real world-a consequence the Mother Goddess of Depravity couldnʼt predict. All she knew was that it would be a devastating catastrophe for Her. Detecting the crisis, She instinctively ignored everything else and prioritized fully merging with the Brood Hive!

And afterward, even in a weakened state for centuries, she could still escape with the Brood

Hive, even if she failed to seize anything else.

Boom!

With the echo of that heartbeat and the manifestation of the special symbolism, the invisible barrier of the astral world began to undergo ominous changes.

The barrier, originating from the Original Creator, vanished entirely-disappearing into thin air as if its original master had recalled it!

Even Lord of Mysteries Klein was powerless to stop it.

The apocalypse had arrived.

And it came in this way.

At that moment, Klein performed two actions:

First, he extended slimy, eldritch tentacles into the thin gray fog and pulled the astral barrier back from history, placing it in front of entities like the Circle of Inevitability and other Great

Old Dominators.

Of course, the historical projection of the astral barrier lacked the Oldest Oneʼs status-much like the contradictions between historical projections and Uniquenesses. Without the Oldest Oneʼs status, this astral barrier could only hold for two or three seconds.

Second, Klein Grafted nearly all living beings and their corresponding environments from the Western Continent into the protected zones.