"Hiss… my head hurts so much, like a tire pressed me onto the road and ran me over…"
Under the flickering candlelight, a person with a face covered in dried blood sat up from a pile of mirror fragments. He looked around at the strange yet inexplicably familiar room and fell silent.
"This… when did my home become so dilapidated?"
"Hiss… ah…"
No sooner had he spoken than his head suddenly throbbed with pain. Fragments of memories flooded his mind, hurting him so much that he almost collapsed back onto the floor.
Sirayne Grei… a student in Backlund University's History Department, set to graduate in a month… a member of the World Truth Society… a believer in the God of Steam and Machinery… an occult enthusiast who dreamed of becoming a great artist.
His family life was quite good, with open-minded parents, a highly talented twin brother, and an already-married older sister.
"Wait… Backlund University? Backlund! The Backlund in Loen? The disaster-prone Backlund?"
"And the faith in the God of Steam and Machinery… it's confirmed. This is that transmigration-unfriendly, top-three-ranked world of Mysteries."
"How can this be so absurd? I'm a loyal reader. I don't criticize or badmouth it. Why would I suddenly transmigrate here?"
"My young, handsome, and wealthy life! More importantly, I had just graduated and was about to start enjoying it!"
The young man sitting on the ground suddenly stopped complaining, his eyes staring numbly at the ceiling above.
The dried blood on his face began to flow again. In the span of a single breath, he had turned into a freshly bleeding figure.
He was completely unaware of it.
His eyes remained hollow and fixed on the ceiling, where a constantly twisting and changing Cosmos was eerily reflected.
He saw an eye.
An eye overlooking the mortal world.
It—no, He—was staring at him with anger, doubt, and greed.
He wanted to devour him.
A sudden, unprovoked fear snapped the "blood-covered man" back to reality. He stiffly withdrew his gaze, not daring to look up again. However, that could not stop the gaze from the "eye overlooking the mortal world."
He and He were still staring at each other.
No… this couldn't continue.
He needed help. He absolutely needed to ask for help from the deities of this world.
As the thought of seeking help flashed through his mind, his body instinctively tapped his chest three times. He began to recite a familiar honorific name:
"Great God of Steam and Machinery, You are the embodiment of essence. You are the protector of artisans. You are the radiance of technology."
"Great God of Steam and Machinery…"
After repeating it twice, he finally managed to suppress this body's instinct to pray to its own faith. He began to recite the honorific names of other great existences instead.
"The Fool who does not belong to this era, the mysterious ruler above the gray fog, the King of Yellow and Black who controls good luck."
"Evernight Goddess, more exalted than the Cosmos, more ancient than eternity. You are the Lord of Crimson, the Mother of Concealment. You are the Empress of Misfortune and Terror, the Lord of Slumber and Silence."
"Adam!"
"I am."
The air suddenly became quiet.
All anomalies disappeared—the eye overlooking the mortal world, the abstract and distorted Cosmos, the boiling sounds in his mind, and the knowledge that had been trying to burst out of his head.
The bloodstains on the "blood-covered man" suddenly vanished, revealing a somewhat youthful and handsome face beneath. His eyes regained their clarity, becoming calm and peaceful, as if he had undergone a spiritual baptism.
He turned, somewhat relaxed yet still wary, and nodded in greeting to the golden-haired priest standing behind him with a gentle smile.
"Good evening, Mr. Adam."
The priest, dressed in a simple white robe, had a thick light-gold beard covering the lower half of his face. His clear, pure golden eyes were like those of an infant.
He smiled gently and nodded back, his tone warm and inspiring neither hostility nor wariness.
"Good evening, Mr. Sirayne… or Mr. Lin?"
The man who had been covered in blood earlier fell silent for a moment. Then he exhaled deeply.
"Just call me Sirayne. Although Lin is not Sirayne, in this world, I am him."
"A reasonable choice."
The golden-haired priest nodded with a smile. Then his tone suddenly became serious.
"How do you view this world?"
"A book? A story? A grand and magnificent theatrical performance? Or a low-dimensional, despair-filled, peculiar world?"
Sirayne tried to formulate appropriate words in his mind. However, when he saw those clear golden eyes that resembled an infant's, he suddenly gave up.
He did not want to lie in front of the other party.
He should not deceive a benefactor who had just saved him, even if the answer to this question might determine his fate.
After a brief internal struggle, the little white figure representing honesty on his shoulder kicked the little black figure representing self-interest away.
He finally calmed down and answered sincerely.
"To me before today, this was a wonderful story."
"To me now, this should be a real world—a transmigration that is neither beautiful nor exciting."
"And to me in the future… it will probably be a long journey to find my way home."
"Well… that is, if I can survive in this world surrounded by evil gods and Outer Deities."
Adam nodded gently. His smile remained unchanged, and his voice stayed calm and warm.
"You possess an essence higher than this world—an essence that approaches, or perhaps even surpasses, that of an Outer Deity. As long as the initial barrier remains unbroken, it will not be difficult for you to live in this world."
"Your essence allows you to ignore most of the mystical contamination in this world. You also have a warm and harmonious family, which can ensure that you live a normal life."
After hearing Adam's words, Sirayne gave a bitter smile.
"So… what I just encountered was part of that very small portion?"
Adam nodded slightly.
"You are a high-dimensional visitor. You shook His Outer Deity essence. You brought Him an opportunity for further advancement."
Sirayne was stunned.
He suddenly remembered a topic he had once seen before: readers like them were "high-dimensional overseers" to the world described in the novel.
So… I am now a high-dimensional overseer without power or authority?
He then thought of the eye overlooking the mortal world that he had just seen. Pieces of information, as if attracted, suddenly appeared in his mind.
"High-dimensional overseer… Lord of Dimensions… all fantasies…"
"Stop."
A voice filled with majesty and oppressive power interrupted his murmuring.
Sirayne snapped back to reality and looked at Adam, who was watching him with a slightly troubled expression.
"Thank you again for your help, Mr. Adam."
Adam nodded, his expression unchanged.
"Due to symbolism and essence, your connection with Him is very close. Even with the initial barrier, a connection can still be established if both parties agree."
I didn't agree…
Although he wanted to complain, as a loyal reader of Lord of the Mysteries, Sirayne understood that at the level of an Outer Deity, even thinking about something could be perceived by the other party.
Looking at Adam, whose expression had remained unchanged the entire time, Sirayne hesitated for a moment before asking:
"Mr. Adam… what should I do?"
Adam answered gently:
"Grow as strong as possible before the initial barrier breaks."
"This universe can only have one 'high-dimensional overseer.' Your meeting and clash can only be delayed—not avoided."
Sirayne: (⊙_⊙;)
Although I haven't finished the second book, I probably know that the cracked barrier above my head won't last until the predicted doomsday. And… I'm not Klein. Becoming a deity in three years and an Outer Deity in ten years… I can't do that.