Upon hearing Klein's question, Dunn glanced toward the hallway leading to "Chanis Gate," pulled out his pipe, packed it with tobacco and mint leaves, and took a deep, appreciative sniff. His voice turned somewhat wistful as he began:
"It's only at home that I can fully indulge in the exquisite blend of tobacco and mint... Klein, you're familiar with the creation myth, aren't you?"
"Of course," Klein replied, slowing his pace as he tapped into fragmented memories. "During my initiation at the church's Sunday school, I learned to read from the *Night Revelation*. In the chapters *Book of Wisdom* and *Epistles of the Saints*, the creation myth was mentioned. It says that the Creator awoke from the chaos, broke through the darkness, and created the first light, only to then merge wholly with the cosmos, becoming everything. His body formed the earth and stars, one of His eyes became the sun, the other the red moon. Part of His blood transformed into oceans and rivers, nourishing and giving life..."
Klein paused briefly, partly due to the fragmented nature of his recollection and partly because the creation myth felt oddly reminiscent of an origin tale from his previous world.
It seems that people's imaginations about creation share common threads across different worlds.
Seeing Klein hesitate, Dunn smiled and helped him continue, "His lungs gave rise to elves; His heart to giants; His liver to treants; His brain to dragons; His kidneys to feathered serpents; His hair to phoenixes; His ears to demon wolves; His mouth and teeth to twisted creatures; the remaining body fluids to sea monsters, with the naga as their essence. His stomach, intestines, and the darker parts of His being birthed demons, spirits, and countless evil entities. His mind became the Evernight Goddess, the Lord of Storms, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom..."
"And humanity emerged from His wisdom. This was the First Epoch, the Era of Chaos," Klein finished with a slight smile, feeling both amused and bewildered.
As a casual "folklore enthusiast," this was his first encounter with such a detailed creation myth. It meticulously described the origins of each notable race, derived from specific parts of the Creator's body.
It felt almost like an elaborate seating arrangement, each creation carefully assigned its place.
Interestingly, not only did the Evernight Goddess's scriptures describe it this way, but the texts of the Lord of Storms and the God of Steam and Machinery also echoed similar narratives, neither elevating their own deity above the others nor disparaging any.
This could either indicate that the myth truly reflects history, or it hints that the major churches, before the Fifth Epoch, had endured a long period of conflict and compromise, ultimately reaching a shared understanding.
Reflecting on this, Klein suddenly had a pressing question and furrowed his brow.
"I feel like there's something off. Why did the Sun God, the Lord of Storms, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom emerge directly from the Creator's mind, while the Goddess did not?"
In the *Night Revelation's* ancient records, the Evernight Goddess only awoke near the end of the Second Epoch. Alongside the Lord of Storms, the Eternal Sun, and others, she safeguarded humanity through the Great Catastrophe, which marked the Third Epoch, also known as the "Epoch of Calamities."
It was also during this time that the Mother Earth and the God of War first appeared. The "God of Steam and Machinery," originally called the "God of Artisans," wouldn't emerge until the Fourth Epoch.
This hierarchy among the gods seems self-evident—whoever existed first and has been worshipped the longest would naturally hold the highest rank.
This notion has indeed troubled the followers of the Evernight Goddess.
Dunn Smith held his pipe in his other hand and asked instead of answering:
"Recite the full honorifics of the Goddess."
Klein suddenly felt like he'd set himself up for a hard task, but he strained his memory and managed to recall:
"She is the Evernight Goddess, higher than the stars, older than eternity. She is also the Crimson Lord, Mother of Secrets, Queen of Calamity and Terror, Lady of Peaceful Sleep and Tranquility."
Luckily, Klein's mother had been a devout follower of the Evernight Goddess. She would recite these titles every evening before dinner, so even the fragmented memories Klein had retained covered this part.
"And what does the title 'Crimson Lord' signify?" Dunn guided him further.
"The Red Moon," Klein answered, almost understanding now.
"And which part of the Creator did the Red Moon originate from?" Dunn continued with a smile.
"One of His eyes!" Klein returned Dunn's smile.
This origin certainly wasn't any less impressive than the gods who had emerged from the Creator's mind, like the Lord of Storms.
The Church of the Mother Earth and the God of War likely had similar reasoning, though it was trickier for the Church of Steam and Machinery since their god had emerged much later. For a long time, they were a weaker church until the invention of the steam engine, which gave them a strategic advantage, finally allowing them to stand alongside the other churches.
Dunn rubbed his pipe thoughtfully.
"Humans were born from the Creator's wisdom," he said. "So we were given intelligence and extraordinary minds, though we lack other supernatural abilities. But from the creation myth, we draw a straightforward conclusion: all things share a common origin."
"Common origin..." Klein echoed the final words.
"According to this belief," Dunn explained, "humanity, under the protection of the gods, gradually discovered a way to attain supernatural abilities: by using parts from spirits, dragons, monsters, magical trees, flowers, or crystals, and combining these with other materials to create potions. When consumed, these potions imparted different powers. This is a universal truth across all mysticism."
Without dwelling too much on specifics, Dunn gave a brief overview:
"In this process, our ancestors painfully learned that directly consuming high-grade, extraordinary potions often led to tragic outcomes, with only three possible results."
"What are the three outcomes?" Klein asked curiously.
"First," Dunn began, "mental death, where the body collapses and each fragment of flesh transforms into a terrifying creature. Second, the potion's inherent power immediately alters the personality, making the person cold, irritable, ruthless, and indifferent. And third…" Dunn paused, setting his pipe aside and picking up a porcelain cup to take a sip, "Felmer coffee from the Pass Valley—very bitter, but fragrant, with a lingering taste. Would you like a cup?"
"I prefer the Highland coffee from Fenepot, though I've only had it a few times at Welch's place," Klein replied politely, declining the offer. "What's the third?"
"Complete insanity, losing control on the spot, becoming more monstrous than a demon," Dunn said, emphasizing the term "losing control."
Before Klein could respond, Dunn set his coffee cup down and continued:
"After centuries of experimentation and exploration, along with the discovery of the Blasphemy Slate, humanity finally refined the potion system, creating stable, sequential chains of advancement. The lower the sequence number, the higher the potion's rank. Today, each of the seven major churches holds at least one complete sequence chain, along with various partial paths gathered over the past few hundred or thousand years."
"The Blasphemy Slate?" Klein latched onto the term immediately.
In the "gathering," the Hanged Man had also mentioned it!
According to him, the Blasphemy Slate was the essential factor in developing and perfecting the potion system.
This seemed to differ slightly from Dunn's current explanation.
"It's something created by certain evil gods," Dunn offered vaguely. "Its exact origins, content, and particular qualities—I don't know the details. But if you uncover any leads about it, report to me immediately. It has the highest alert level." Then, changing the topic, he added, "I mentioned one kind of loss of control. Let's go over the remaining four."
"Alright," Klein said, setting aside his questions about the Blasphemy Slate to listen attentively.
"Humans, though limited to possessing only an intelligent mind, are not entirely devoid of extraordinary abilities. Some are born with heightened sensitivity, or in other words, a natural intuition for spirits. They can hear sounds others can't, see things others can't, and exhibit minor supernatural traits," Dunn explained.
As he spoke, he glanced around the empty room, which sent a chill down Klein's spine. "In other words, these people are like half a Sequence 9 Beyonder—they have specific traits. Uh, Sequence 9 is the lowest rank in the chain... Anyway, they can only choose a sequence corresponding to their natural path. If they consume potions outside of that, they risk mild mental abnormalities, severe loss of control, or even instant death."
"I understand," Klein nodded slowly.
"The third type of loss of control is similar to the second," Dunn continued. "Once you select a sequence chain, you're bound to that path—you can't turn back. If you consume potions from a different path, even if the sequence is suitable, you'll likely gain strange, twisted abilities, but you'll almost certainly fall into a semi-mad state: irritable, bloodthirsty, or withdrawn and melancholic."
"And this risk is a one-time chance. Beyond that, whether you take potions from your original path or your new sequence, the only result is loss of control—either mental death, physical collapse into a monstrous form, or transformation into a spirit." Dunn took another sip from his coffee cup as he spoke.
Klein, feeling somewhat unsettled, paused for a moment before asking, "What about the fourth type of loss of control?"
"The fourth type," Dunn said with a wry smile, "is one of the most common issues. By consuming potions, we acquire abilities that originally belonged to extraordinary beings—an unnatural transformation. This change leaves traces of the original spirit's influence. These effects may not be obvious, and outsiders might not notice anything, but they linger internally. Unless we fully master the extraordinary powers granted by the potion and eliminate those subtle imprints, consuming a potion from a higher sequence prematurely will lead to an accumulation of madness, culminating in loss of control…" Dunn fell silent.
After a moment, he sighed, "Within the Night Watchers, even if a member accomplishes great deeds, they're only allowed to advance after three years of stabilization and an assessment following their last potion. Despite these precautions, we still lose people every year to this form of loss of control."
"That's truly terrifying…" Klein murmured, taking a deep breath. "And the last type?"
Dunn's lips curved slightly, though without humor. "The fifth type of loss of control is also quite common. For Beyonders, heightened intuition is nearly inevitable. The lower the sequence number, the sharper this sensitivity becomes. As a result, Beyonders can hear sounds others can't, see things others can't, and encounter experiences beyond the ordinary, constantly lured by mysteries and tempted by illusions. Once they're subjected to a particular stimulus or desire arises, they can find themselves spiraling toward loss of control."
Dunn shifted his gaze to Klein, his gray eyes reflecting Klein's figure.
In a quiet, somber tone, he continued, "Channis, the archbishop who founded the modern Night Watcher system, once said:"
"We are guardians, but we are also a pitiful bunch, forever locked in a battle against danger and madness."