Chapter 312: Mr. Door

You've got to be kidding me. In the world of Lord of the Mysteries, the Moon represents an Outer God—Primordial Moon, or more accurately, the Fallen Pillar—Mother Goddess of Depravity.

And me? I'm just trying to get promoted to Sequence 5.

Why the hell am I being sent here?!

Me? Sequence 5? Soloing the Fallen Mother Goddess? The Sovereign of the Physical World?

Fortunately, the blood-red moon before him appeared to be no more than an illusion. After a brief moment, it vanished, replaced by a faint, misty light emerging from the void.

In the next second, the mist collapsed layer by layer, condensing into a shape—one that looked like a figure constructed from overlapping doors, formed by light-spheres on the verge of transformation. Its robe flowed like a tide of blood, and its body continuously shifted, flickering with visions of different planets and landscapes.

Even though this was Edward's first time seeing such a thing, he immediately knew:

This was Mr. Door.

Bethel Abraham.

A man with only a few appearances in the original novel, yet one who had earned the respect of nearly every reader.

But the problem was…

The man who garnered that respect—had been corrupted by the Fallen Mother Goddess.

A terrifying source of contamination.

One that could explode at any moment!

The two simply stared at each other.

Neither spoke.

Edward didn't know what to say—he didn't even understand the current situation.

As for Mr. Door, he was clearly struggling—resisting the invasion of the Mother Goddess's power, trying to hold onto what sanity he had left.

Another ten or so minutes passed.

The distorted figure of Mr. Door gradually stabilised.

He took the form of a middle-aged man: rigid features, hair the colour of void speckled with white, and eyes of deep blue layered with ripples. Draped in a blood-colored robe, he looked just like a vampire from old folklore.

"…Ah. It's not "Him"."

That was the first thing he said.

Edward blinked. Not "Him"?

Did Mr. Door think someone else was coming?

Mr. Door fixed his eyes on Edward.

"I thought…it was finally "Him"."

His tone was lucid—strangely lucid for someone meant to be hopelessly mad from corruption.

But that might just be a façade. After all, in the original story, the true Mr. Door was the mad one.

The sane version was, ironically, the contaminated one.

Edward hesitated, then asked, "You…You're Bethel Abraham? The ancestor of the Abraham family? Also known as Mr. Door?"

The man gave a slight nod.

"Yes. That's me."

"You just said 'it's not "Him"'… So you thought someone else was coming?"

"Yes," Mr. Door said.

"Can…Can I ask who you were expecting?"

He fell silent for a few seconds, then replied, "The True Creator…or Adam. Back then, I was still in a state of madness. I couldn't tell who was coming to see me."

The True Creator? Adam?!

Edward was stunned. Those two…they were the remnants of the ancient Sun God—one the divine aspect, the other the human aspect.

If Mr. Door was completely mad, it made some sense he couldn't tell the difference.

But still—why would either of them come see Mr. Door?

One's an insane Sequence 0.

The other isn't even at Sequence 0 yet.

How could they dare face someone corrupted by the Fallen Mother Goddess?

Also, Mr. Door had said "back then" he was mad…implying that now, he wasn't?

Suddenly, Mr. Door asked, "Who are you? What is your relationship to Adam…or the True Creator?"

"Uh…I have no connection to Adam. As for the True Creator, well…I'm loosely considered one of "His" favoured ones…"

"Just a favoured one?"

Mr. Door frowned slightly.

His gaze drifted past Edward and fell on the faintly glowing door floating behind him.

"Then why…is that with you?"

"That?"

Edward turned to look.

"What is it?"

"You don't know? Then why is it engraved into your body? And why did it lead you…to me?"

Engraved in my body?

Edward froze—then suddenly thought of something.

He looked down at the "tattoo" on his arm.

That doorway-like mark…Could Mr. Door be talking about the cheat that let him travel between worlds?

"What…What exactly is it?"

Mr. Door answered plainly:

"The Uniqueness of the Door Pathway."

"…???"

An unnatural chill poured over Edward like ice water dumped on his head. Goosebumps exploded over his arms and neck.

Impossible.

That was just supposed to be a standard cheat for a transmigrator!

[*]

No way.

No way it was the Uniqueness of the Door pathway!

Edward's first instinct was to call bullshit.

But his spirituality screamed that Mr. Door was telling the truth.

Suddenly, a flash of memory surfaced in Edward's mind.

It all started to make sense.

"That's…what it was all about…"

He remembered the night he drank the Apprentice potion for the first time.

It wasn't a full moon.

It wasn't a blood moon.

He had no Abraham bloodline.

And yet…that night…he heard Mr. Door's rambling whispers.

He nearly lost control because of it.

If the Door's Uniqueness was inside him, wouldn't that explain everything?

Originally, it belonged to Mr. Door.

But for unknown reasons, it became his "cheat."

And when he became an Apprentice, the Uniqueness somehow reconnected to Mr. Door, triggering that horrific night.

Then there was his strange encounter with Fors upon arriving in this world…

Then Klein…

Then Sefirah Castle…

Then Christine, Botis the Saint of Secrets, Verdu, the Marauder demigod…

Weren't these all part of the Beyonder characteristic convergence law?

In that moment, Edward felt as if a fog had lifted.

So that's why everything happened the way it did.

So that's why all this chaos kept coming for me.

So that's why even the Rose School of Thought took an interest in me.

So that's why I keep being targeted everywhere I go…

All because—directly or indirectly—he was affected by the law of Beyonder convergence.

Wait a second—

If the Uniqueness of the Door pathway was with him…

Then Mr. Door only had 3 out of 4 Beyonder characteristics.

He couldn't become a Sequence 0 true god.

And that meant…

Amon also couldn't replace him to ascend.

Which also meant…

Klein couldn't become the…the Lord of the Mysteries?!

Holy sh*t.

This was a huge problem.

In another world, Edward might've started thinking:

"Why shouldn't I become Lord of the Mysteries?"

But in this world?

Becoming Lord of the Mysteries meant facing the revival of "His" consciousness.

It meant fighting the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for control of his body.

It meant fusing with the indestructible psyche of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth, even IF he somehow won.

And Edward knew damn well he did not have what it took for that.

Let Klein handle it.

He's the chosen one, not me.

At worst, he'd just…hand over the Door's Uniqueness when the time came.

But wait—if I've already fully integrated the Uniqueness into myself, how am I supposed to extract it?

Mr. Door simply stood there, gazing quietly at Edward. His layered, ripple-like blue eyes revealed nothing of his thoughts.

After a long pause, Edward finally calmed himself and asked in a soft voice, "Mr. Door…Based on what you just said, you handed over the Door Pathway's Uniqueness to either the True Creator or Adam…is that right?"

Mr. Door nodded.

"Yes."

Edward asked again, "But…why?"

His tone was still flat, "In exchange for removing the madness and loss of control brought about by the Outer God's corruption, I gave up the Uniqueness."

"!!!"

Edward was stunned.

"Then…you've broken free of the Outer God's…?"

"No. I'm still deeply corrupted," Mr. Door replied calmly. "But I no longer suffer madness, loss of control, or the risk of having my personality consumed by the evil influence."

That explained it.

No wonder the whispers he had heard before were all "Don't save me, don't save me"—not the frantic "Save me, save me" from the original story.

Edward hesitated, then asked, "Did Adam or the True Creator say…what they planned to do with the Door's Uniqueness?"

Mr. Door shook his head.

"I don't know. Maybe they said, maybe they didn't. I was still lost in madness at the time—I can't remember clearly."

"Then…how exactly did they cleanse the corruption of the 'Pillar' that had invaded you?"

Even if Adam and the True Creator had fused into one, even with the added power of the Chaos Sea…did they really have that kind of power?

Mr. Door seemed to think for a moment.

"They extracted part of the corruption from my body—along with the Uniqueness. That allowed the Outer God's influence to remain at a level I could endure."

Edward froze.

So the Uniqueness of the Door Pathway—tainted by the Fallen Mother Goddess—was passed on to me…

Is that why I've been able to endure the higher-level corruption without going mad?

But he quickly shook his head.

No, if that were true, the limit of what I could endure should still cap at the level of the Fallen Mother Goddess's corruption.

But I've been chatting face-to-face with Mr. Door—who's literally soaked in that corruption—and I still feel fine.

"Be careful…of the pollution."

Once again, Edward recalled the cryptic warning left by the version of himself that had emerged from the Mirror of Erised.

What exactly was I supposed to be careful of?

He thought a moment and asked, "Do you remember what state Adam—or the True Creator—was in when they came to see you? Even though you've been trapped in the star realm, you should have some awareness of the current world, right? After the Four Emperors War, the True Creator lost most of "His" anchor points. Right now, "He's" basically insane."

Mr. Door fell silent for a few seconds.

"I'm certain…they were sane when they came to see me."

So…it was Adam who came?

But the strange kindness the True Creator showed me when I met "His" Son the first time…That seemed more in line with someone linked to the Door's Uniqueness.

And that "response" from the Twilight Hermit Order—could that have been a token of goodwill from Adam?

Right now, the real question was—why did the Door's Uniqueness end up with me?

If this was yet another "arrangement", then what was the goal?

Also…how could the Uniqueness of the Door Pathway enable me to travel between two worlds?

If he remembered correctly—even the Pre-Split "Oldest One," a being on the level of a solo-universe god, couldn't just break through the barriers between worlds and travel to other universes.

Wait—if my "cheat" came from Adam or the True Creator, that must mean…

They already know I came from another world?!

Edward's heart suddenly filled with chaotic emotions.

"Ah—"

Just then, Mr. Door let out a sigh.

"When "He" took the Uniqueness, "He" said the next time we met…"He'd" be able to cleanse the Outer God's corruption completely, so I could finally…return home."

He looked directly at Edward.

"Can you…do that for me?"

Edward slowly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Door. I don't think I have that power."

"I see…"

Mr. Door muttered to himself, "Yes…"He" must've run into some kind of unexpected delay. Otherwise, it shouldn't have been you who came today. Never mind. I've already waited long enough. At most…it'll be another decade or two before everything is decided."

A faint smile crossed Mr. Door's face.

"But, as a certain little fellow who once chatted with me put it…I think I'm still salvageable. If…if possible—when we meet again, I hope you'll help me…return home."

…Was he talking about Emperor Roselle?

"By the way, do you know the current state of the Uniqueness inside me? I'm only Sequence 6—or, well, Sequence 5 now. There's no way I should be able to accommodate a Uniqueness. If I want to expel it, how do I do that?"

Mr. Door thought for a moment.

"When you truly master and integrate the Uniqueness, you'll naturally know how to separate it. Of course…you can ask someone else to help extract it, but at your current Sequence…you'll die."

So in other words—I haven't really integrated the Uniqueness.

It was just forcibly implanted in me by someone.

And its primary function…is to allow me to travel between worlds?

But could the Door's Uniqueness really be that powerful?

…Or could it be that everything Mr. Door just told me is total nonsense?

What if he's been lying since the moment we met?

What if he's still under the Fallen Mother Goddess's control—and this version of him is just the mad, corrupted one?

After all, if I really had the Uniqueness of the Door Pathway, wouldn't someone have noticed by now?

Surely the Evernight Goddess would have noticed—

Or did "She" see it…and simply chose not to say anything?

So many unanswered questions.

"All right, little one…I can't hold on much longer. If fate permits, we'll meet again."

As he spoke, Mr. Door's figure began to blur and twist again, transforming into a light-and-shadow silhouette of overlapping doors.

And then—he vanished.

Edward suddenly snapped out of his daze.

"Ah—wait! Mr. Door, could you give me the formulas for Sequence 3 to Sequence 0 of the Door Pathway?!"

His voice echoed into the boundless starry void.

A few seconds later, Mr. Door's reply came faintly:

"Seek out the descendants of Abraham Family."

Before Edward could say another word, an overwhelming force pushed in from all sides.

His body was yanked backwards, thrown through the faintly glowing door and back into the previous starry sky.

In the next instant, the door shattered into countless stars, scattering toward him and merging into his body.

His consciousness blurred, and he once again experienced that feeling—where time and space ceased to exist.

Suddenly, he knew.

He felt it.

A new power had awakened—one that allowed him to shatter spatial barriers, to go anywhere, anytime.

Then, as his awareness again…

He realised he had successfully advanced—

To Sequence 5.

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[*] [DO NOT READ IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS]

(Author's note: The protagonist wasn't sent here by Adam or anyone else, nor is he a puppet being manipulated. Full truth to be revealed later...)

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