Standing amidst the cosmic void, beneath his feet spun a magnificent galaxy slowly rotating, while behind the drifting nebulae, countless billions of stars twinkled with faint light.
As far as the eye could see, only a towering stone throne stood like a mountain. Surrounding the throne were countless stone pedestals, each floating with an unknown object whose surface was covered in a fabric of indiscernible texture, enveloping the items in haze.
Upon the ancient and solemn stone throne, the Ancient One floated quietly.
Distance seemed to have lost all meaning here. Millions of light-years appeared to stretch between them, yet it felt as if they were right next to each other within arm's reach. Though seemingly impossibly distant, Lynch could clearly behold the entity's form and hear its voice.
It was an immensely vast humanoid figure—so huge that physical dimensions ceased to hold any evaluation value. Its body was draped in the same fabric that covered the objects on the pedestals, resembling a simple robe wrapped around it.
Over its head, a light gray veil shimmered faintly, obscuring its face. The veil was paper-thin, seemingly transparent at a glance, yet even straining one's sight to the limit yielded not the slightest glimpse of the countenance behind it.
Around the giant, soft whispers and quiet murmurs drifted continually. They seemed to encompass everything in existence, yet remained completely beyond human comprehension.
Lynch let out a gentle breath.
The moment he saw the entity, Lynch already knew its identity.
In distant space and time, upon a stone throne beyond the universe, the ancient Tawil at'Umr floated in silence, waiting for living beings who crossed through the Gate of the Silver Key. He guided them through the Ultimate Gate into the Ultimate Abyss, to witness the secrets of the world's origin and touch the eternal truths of all things in the cosmos.
This was truly an evil god among evil gods. Yog-Sothoth was an existence he could not yet dare to peer upon, and though this was merely his avatar, there was likely little difference in presence.
Oddly enough, after meeting the entity, Lynch felt no discomfort beyond a strange, subtle sensation—as if he were simply standing before a normal person.
Still, he felt a bit nervous. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Lynch managed a composed smile as much as he could and walked toward the figure.
With a single step, he inexplicably traversed infinite space.
In the next moment, Lynch was standing before the stone throne, looking up at the humanoid figure floating in front of it.
However large the figure had appeared earlier, it remained the exact same size now. Its scale did not change with distance at all, completely defying all laws of physics and giving Lynch an incomprehensibly miraculous sensation.
Perhaps this is what a god truly is. Rules exist only for mortals; gods themselves are the rules, naturally unbound by them.
As he gazed at the entity, Lynch “heard” its words.
It was a bizarre sensation. There were no audible sounds, no visible text, and not even direct mental communication. The entire process of exchange was bypassed, yet the result was instantly delivered—Lynch understood precisely what the figure conveyed.
“Welcome, Awakened under the crimson moonlight.”
Hmm? Awakened?
The familiar address made Lynch's heart skip a beat.
Back when he had just transmigrated, the neighbor had called him that as well. Was it merely a coincidence? Impossible. There had to be a connection.
But having promised his neighbor not to pry into it, Lynch abandoned his analysis and simply nodded with a polite smile.
“As a follower of the Crimson Lady, I pay my respects to the Supreme One—purely on behalf of myself.”
As he spoke, he observed the entity closely.
His earlier impression had indeed not been an illusion. Looking at the entity felt no different from facing an ordinary human, save for one detail: the veil-shrouded face possessed an intoxicating allure, stoking an increasingly uncontrollable curiosity that urged him to lift the veil and peer beneath.
Restrain your curiosity, and do not peek at things you shouldn't see.
The Yithian's parting advice flashed through his mind. Lynch instantly realized that it had been referring to this exact situation. This intense urge wasn't unique to him; it was an innate temptation emanating from the true visage behind the veil.
Fortunately, thanks to the Yithian's warning, Lynch caught himself in time, quickly averting his gaze to push down the thought of lifting the veil...
No, doing this makes me want to lift it even more.
It was like placing an unidentified button on a wall: if left alone, few might press it, but if labeled “DO NOT PRESS,” countless people wouldn't be able to resist their itchy fingers.
Fortunately, the message he “heard” next distracted his curiosity:
“I am the guide to the Ultimate Abyss. From the beginning to the end, I watch over this place eternally, waiting for living beings who seek truth. Whatever your reason, having passed through the Gate of the Silver Key grants you the qualification to face the trial, step into the Ultimate Abyss, witness the light of truth, and receive the gift of Yog-Sothoth.”
As Lynch comprehended the message, a massive rift spanning almost the entire realm materialized behind the stone throne. The interior of the rift was bottomless and pitch-black, obscuring everything within.
“Yog-Sothoth lingers here, dwelling together with truth.”
“Is this the legendary Gate of Truth behind the Gate of the Silver Key?” Lynch stared into the abyss for a long while before speaking softly. “So, what is the price?”
“The price depends on the strength of your resolve to pursue truth, as well as the steadfastness of your willpower.”
“Be willing to sacrifice one's life for truth?” The corners of Lynch's mouth twitched slightly as he shook his head. “I'm a bit curious—from antiquity to the present, has anyone actually reached this place, witnessed the light of truth, and successfully left alive as a normal person?”
“There are. Up to your present time, a total of seventy-two individuals have crossed through the Gate of the Silver Key. Among them, eighteen passed the trial and witnessed truth.”
“And those who survived witnessing truth? Do any exist?”
“One. He witnessed the world's origin and ascended from a mortal to the ranks of the Supreme.”
There's actually someone like that? There's no record of this in history... Did I really forget everything I learned in school?
“He indeed exists. History may not record it, but time will never forget. So, will you try to become the second?”
Lynch gave a faint laugh and shook his head without the slightest hesitation. “I've never been one to get to the bottom of things. I don't have the faintest interest in truth.”
A faint, melancholy sigh seemed to echo across the deep void.
“Heh, I prefer seizing reality. To me, that's what true reality is.” Lynch bowed slightly in apology. “So I appreciate the offer, but please forgive my refusal. My sole purpose here, per our agreement, is to retrieve the mystery relic—the Torch of Light—entrusted to you by the Milt siblings.”
“So be it.”
As the thought was conveyed, the surrounding stone pedestals vanished one by one until only a single one remained before Lynch. Beneath the fabric cover, Lynch felt no discomfort from mysterious filth.
“The Necronomicon you found was of great help to us. In accordance with our agreement, the Torch of Light shall belong to you forever, until the next time it coalesces anew.”
“Tsk, so you're defaulting to the assumption that I'll definitely break it?”
“...However, before handing it to you, custom dictates that you undergo a trial. You must answer three questions. Answer them correctly, and you may take the Torch of Light.”
“And if I can't answer them?”
“Then we shall watch over you continuously, until you are able to answer.”
“Wait a minute... Why do I feel like that was your real goal all along? You didn't intend for me to be able to answer from the start, did you?”
Lynch felt the muscle at the corner of his eye twitch, realizing he might have crossed paths with yet another voyeur who wanted to watch him every single day.
Huh? Why did I say 'yet another'?
【...】
“Whatever, ask away.”
Lynch sighed, giving up his struggle.
“Who are you? Where do you come from? Where are you going?” The cliché questions drifted into his mind, followed immediately by an addition: “This is not a philosophical game played by mortals. These are substantive questions. Think carefully before answering.”
Lynch pursed his lips, realizing these three questions were far from simple, as he himself had been troubled by them not long ago.
What am I really? Am I truly a transmigrated soul? Why did I appear in this world? What am I ultimately going to do?
These doubts were precisely the three questions posed by the Ancient One.
For a moment, Lynch froze completely, tongue-tied, not knowing how to answer.
Rate on N.U.
