After turning a few corners along the way, they finally stopped in front of a paint-black door carved with mysterious patterns.
Duke Lunka reached out, pushed open the door, and walked in, then turned back to signal Eros to follow.
The door slowly closed, and Eros curiously surveyed the room.
The room was large but had few furnishings—just a table and a few chairs. The largest object was a bookshelf placed against the wall.
Just as he was about to see what books were on the shelf, he found that the titles of the books suddenly transformed into strange, twisted tentacles.
They began to wriggle incessantly, accompanied by a series of chilling whispers that echoed in his ears.
Eros swallowed, barely suppressing a scream, and just then, a soft cough came from beside him.
Instantly! The whispers that had been in his ears immediately vanished.
Looking back at the bookshelf, books of various colors were neatly arranged on it, as if those strange, twisted tentacles had merely been his hallucination.
Eros was certain he hadn't seen or heard wrong just now, but what was going on now?
He looked up at his father, hoping he could explain.
Duke Lunka cleared his throat: "You didn't see or hear wrong just now. These are the forbidden knowledges hidden beneath civilization that I'm about to tell you about…"
As his father narrated, Eros gradually began to grasp a general understanding of the mysterious side of this world.
Indeed, gods truly existed in this world, and there was more than one.
The Nine Great Churches, which had dominated the Croatia Continent for several epochs, each worshipped a truly existing deity. They proclaimed themselves as True Gods, sitting high on their thrones in the Kingdom of Heaven, looking down upon the nations of the mortal realm.
In addition, there were many gods of smaller churches who also truly existed, but their status was not as high as the Nine True Gods.
Sometimes, they were even called False Gods by the people of the Nine Great Churches, and their followers would be purged as heretics, their plight extremely miserable.
But as he listened, Eros felt something was off. His father seemed to disdain those True Gods, even to the point of hostility.
This made him a bit puzzled. Wasn't his Family a loyal follower of the God of Death and Reincarnation?
Not only did they donate a large sum of wealth to the church every year, but they also held sacrificial ceremonies during certain festivals to praise the deity. Could all of this just be for show?
He pondered his words carefully before speaking: "Father, it seems you don't show much respect for those deities."
He couldn't help but be curious, after all, in this world where imperial power was divinely granted, disrespecting those True Gods, if discovered, would lead to being arrested and 'educated,' let alone outright hostility.
Hearing Eros's question, Duke Lunka's tone was somewhat mocking: "They are merely a group of traitors, yet they still claim to be True Gods."
Gossip?
Eros immediately seized on the key point: "Traitors? Why do you say they are traitors? Who did they betray?"
"Our ancestor, the Night Goddess, was once their companion, and two of them were even her students."
"But they betrayed our ancestor, using dirty schemes and tricks to kill her, and devoured her Origin. That is how they became the most powerful gods in this world."
"However, our ancestor was a Great One after all; she would not be so easily completely killed. Before her death, she left a prophecy, stating that she would eventually return."
"And when those traitors learned of this prophecy, they became afraid. So they slandered our ancestor as an Evil God and frantically slaughtered her followers and Bloodline, attempting to extinguish her faith to completely prevent her return."
At this point, Duke Lunka's tone shifted from anger to solemnity, and Eros was already stunned.
Duke Lunka composed himself and continued:
"For tens of thousands of years, we have been hiding, our Bloodline, once the most sacred and noble in this world, now called Black Night Remnant, like rats scurrying across the street."
Eros felt sweat on his forehead. So, he had just started the game with an enmity against the nine strongest forces in this world.
Tens of thousands of years of slaughter, this hatred and resentment were irreconcilable. What kind of Hell mode was this? He was a little panicked now. Was it still too late to reincarnate?
Of course, that last sentence was just a self-deprecating joke he made in his mind.
As if noticing his son secretly wiping cold sweat, Duke Lunka comforted him:
"Don't worry, we are very safe now. Three hundred years ago, our ancestor made a decision to split the Family into two. One part voluntarily sacrificed themselves to gain the opportunity for the other part to join a certain church."
"Now the plan is very successful. Even the Nine Great Churches probably wouldn't imagine that we would join a church and become a Family force under it."
This reverse operation was brilliant! It seemed that ancestor deeply understood that the most dangerous place was the safest.
The church probably wouldn't imagine that enemies with such deep-seated hatred would be hiding right under their noses.
Not only did they donate huge amounts of resources every year, but they also held ceremonies during festivals. This was simply a model follower, wasn't it?
However, he was still curious, didn't the church have other ways to find people?
After all, this was a world of mystery, where gods truly existed. How could there not be some strange abilities to find people?
He immediately asked this question, and Duke Lunka quickly provided an explanation:
"Our ancestor held the authority of Mystery. Our Bloodline, as long as it undergoes the Baptism, will definitely Awaken an ability called Servant of Mystery."
"Coupled with the Divine Artifact left by our ancestor, as long as we don't actively expose ourselves, it's very difficult for the church to discover our identity. This is also why we have been able to hide for tens of thousands of years."
"Bloodline Baptism?" Eros continued to grasp the key point.
"Yes, only by undergoing the Baptism can you truly step through the door of the mysterious side. This is also why I brought you here today."
"This is a world refined by our ancestor, covered by her authority. Even speaking the honored names of those traitors here will not be detected by them, let alone just performing a Baptism." Duke Lunka's expression was calm, his tone slightly proud.
"Will it be enough after the Baptism?"
Duke Lunka shook his head and walked out of the room, motioning for them to talk as they walked:
"After the Baptism, you can only become Sequence 9—Mystic Seeker. If you want to advance to Sequence 8—Listener, or Sequence 7—Light Chaser, you will need to accommodate more spirit on your own."
"How many Sequences are there in total?"
"There are ten Sequences in total, but even the imperial Family of the Chris Empire only possesses the promotion methods from Sequence 9 to Sequence 4."
"The only ones who have complete promotion pathways, besides the churches with existing gods, are us."
Well, isn't this a rat scurrying across the street holding a gold brick? He felt his future was even more precarious.