Lord of Mysteries: Return of the Stars!

At this moment, a figure was already seated in the master's chair, looking at him with great interest.

Under the dome, the stars gathered, and endless starlight merged into that figure.

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A black shadow outlined a humanoid figure, as deep and lightless as the darkest void of the starry sky, with specks of stars within, like a fragment of the cosmos fused into its body.

It had a pair of pupils, but no other facial features. Were those pupils… deep black? Crimson gold? Amber orange? Azure blue?

Such things were hard to describe with mere shallow words.

A closer look revealed they were not pupils at all, but clusters of stars gathered and interwoven, as if an entire galaxy had been condensed into the size of a single pupil.

Its arms were slender; in its right palm it lightly toyed with a dark red planet, while its left rested naturally on the table, fingers rhythmically tapping the surface.

Merely sitting quietly on a chair, it naturally became the master of this place. The hall shone with brilliance because of its presence, and the stars seemed to offer praise to its existence.

The Son of Chaos stared for a long time before slowly speaking: "Which existence are you? A Forgotten Pillar?"

At their level, outer appearances meant nothing; to be precise, they never had fixed forms.

Though the figure before him did not resemble any Pillar he knew, it couldn't be ruled out that one had simply assumed a new identity to arrive here.

"What do you think?" Hastur's tone was calm, yet faintly tinged with a subtle chuckle.

"Heh, you are not a Pillar."

The Son of Chaos rejected the possibility outright.

"Not going to choose a seat?"

Hastur's tone remained light, yet carried an irresistible authority.

The Son of Chaos glanced at the five rows of seats on each side, then floated to the last chair on the left, keeping the greatest possible distance from Hastur.

His guard was fully raised.

He looked at the height between the chair and the long table, then suddenly grew several times larger. A pair of pale golden arms extended from both sides of his Magic Wishing Lamp, and only then did he slowly take his seat, arms resting on the table, body slightly leaning back, doing his best to appear relaxed.

After a moment of silence, seeing Hastur unwilling to speak first, the Son of Chaos took the initiative:

"This place carries the aura of rules and order, but it is not the main theme. The stars are the eternal theme here. I once remembered God Almighty bore the title of Lord of the Astral Realm, but you are not Him."

Only then did the Son of Chaos relax his guard slightly.

Here, there were powers of order and law, yet they were all beneath the stars. In other words, the authority mastered by this being intersected with his own but was not identical.

Just like the Mother Goddess of Depravity and the Mother Tree of Desire, both possessed the ability of reproduction, yet one represented all feminine forces of the universe, and the other held the authority of all desire.

Their authorities overlapped, yet were not the same.

"In your understanding, are the stars equivalent to the Astral Realm?" Hastur's tone remained calm, though with a hint of disdain.

In truth, even he himself did not understand the relationship between the Astral Realm and the stars, whether the stars existed within the Astral Realm, or the Astral Realm was merely a small world carved out of the starry void.

There was no helping it; the original work's explanation of the Astral Realm had always been vague.

It only mentioned the three-layered structure of mysticism: the physical world, the spirit world, and the Astral Realm.

God Almighty indeed held the title of Lord of the Astral Realm, yet along with Him stood the Lord of Mysteries and the Mother Goddess of Depravity as pillars.

This showed that the Astral Realm did not encompass everything; otherwise, both the Lord of Mysteries and the Mother Goddess of Depravity would be beneath God Almighty.

This question, naturally, he could not resolve, so he simply tossed it to the Son of Chaos, letting him explain, or fill in the blanks himself.

At least his own bearing must not drop.

"The Astral Realm is naturally not the same as the stars; I know at least that much," the Son of Chaos said, feeling slightly insulted, his tone tinged with irritation.

"The Astral Realm is a special world carved out from within the stars. Some Great Old Ones belong to the Astral Realm, yet there are also beings beyond its scope."

The Son of Chaos offered this explanation, making it clear he was not that ignorant.

"Impossible! You cannot be the Lord of the Stars!" the Son of Chaos's voice suddenly rose.

"The stars contain everything, all things; only the Original Creator could be called their master, you absolutely are not HIM!"

His tone was firm, yet Hastur could hear the nervousness and lack of confidence beneath it.

Clearly, the Son of Chaos himself was not as certain as he appeared to be.

Of course, the Original Creator was still alive, alive within everything. The stronger a being was, the more likely the Original Creator's consciousness within it would awaken.

Take the Son of Chaos, for instance: to say he was a fragment of the Original Creator was not wrong, only that he had birthed his own consciousness and recognized himself only as a child of chaos, not as the Original Creator.

God Almighty, the Lord of Mysteries, and the Mother Goddess of Depravity were all the same, they could all be called parts of the Original Creator.

Yet none of them wished to become the Original Creator.

"Your stupidity is quite memorable," Hastur said indifferently.

"…"

The Son of Chaos also realized he had been too loud just now, appearing rather unintelligent.

If the other party truly were the Original Creator, then by the instinct of aggregation, he would have already been devoured long ago, there would be no way he could still be sitting here, chatting so calmly.

Because the Original Creator at the beginning had little humanity, He only had the instinct to aggregate and split, gathering everything together, then splitting apart, over and over again, endlessly and without ceasing.

The scene quieted for a moment, and the Son of Chaos seemed somewhat embarrassed. After a while, he took the initiative to change the subject.

"You are an Outer God who has only recently descended upon this starry sky?"

The Son of Chaos had a new guess. He basically recognized all the Outer Gods and Old Ones entrenched outside the barrier.

But the hall before him, which contained the power of the stars, was completely unfamiliar to him.

Then the other party's identity should be that of a new Outer God who had rushed here from the distant edge of the universe after he himself had been mysteriously sealed.

This hall's status was definitely not low. Although he did not want to admit it, in terms of status, he probably could not compare to the other party.

"These doomsday prophecies here are quite interesting."

Hastur did not directly answer the Son of Chaos's question. He himself did not know the origins of the Hall of Stars, and even if he did, he would never directly tell the Son of Chaos.

So rather than follow the Son of Chaos's words, it was better to take the initiative, which also made him appear more mysterious.

"Indeed interesting, and it's almost upon us," the Son of Chaos did not continue the previous topic.

"When the end arrives, what kind of outcome will an incomplete you have? That is also something worth looking forward to."

"..."

For a moment, the Son of Chaos did not know what to say.

The reason he was trying so hard to return to the starry sky before the end times was to avoid the worst situation.

When the barrier breaks and doomsday comes, if he still cannot break free from the seal, then the rushing swarm of Outer Gods and Old Ones would surely have someone casually devour him.

Even though he and they walked different paths.

Because that group of starving predators outside had been waiting for countless ages and would certainly not mind having a dessert first to whet their appetite.

As for the ensuing chaos and madness after devouring?

Even if they did not devour, how much sanity could they still retain?

Aggregation was instinct, and not all beings could resist such an instinct.

"I know you have the power to help me break free from the seal. Just say it, what kind of deal do you want to make with me?"

The Son of Chaos stopped pretending and directly laid his cards on the table.

'No, I don't have the ability to help you break the seal.'

Hastur silently muttered in his heart. His understanding of the Hall of Stars was actually minimal, and he was only Sequence 8. Even with the help of the Hall of Stars, he could not help the Son of Chaos undo the seal set by the Lord of Mysteries using the Magic Wishing Lamp.

Even if he had the ability, he would not help the Son of Chaos break free early. Better for him to obediently wait until the time of doomsday.

"Do you still have any abilities worth using now?" His tone was faint, with a trace of contempt.

The Son of Chaos snorted coldly: "If you don't value my abilities, why bother expending so much effort to drag me into this hall?"

'So much effort?'

'Did that refer to whipping him every night?'

From the Son of Chaos's perspective, such speculation was reasonable.

But why was he whipping the Son of Chaos every night in the first place?

Hastur himself could not recall what kind of mindset he had when he started whipping the Son of Chaos.

Purely to test him? No, there was some mischief behind it.

Like a commoner who obtains a whip that lets him enter the king's dreams every night to lash the king, such temptation would surely be irresistible.

Even whipping while shouting: "So what if you're the king? So mighty during the day, yet still pinned down and whipped by me now!"

'Challenging authority? Rebelling against the superior? Or perhaps just seeking some sort of thrill?'

'Whipping… thrill…'

Hastur quickly stopped that thought, but he did not answer the Son of Chaos's question, instead waiting silently for him to make his own assumptions.

"Heh, even though I am down and sealed, that does not mean you are my only hope. There are limits to bargaining."

"Fair enough, then just keep waiting."

"..."

The Son of Chaos was stunned for a while. His earlier words were only meant to remind the other party not to make an excessive deal, yet unexpectedly the other side simply ended negotiations!

Heh, was this meant to start a tug-of-war with him?

To wait until he actively sought out the deal, thus giving the other party the dominant position?

The Son of Chaos had his suspicions, yet found it strange. Usually, beings of their kind were straightforward and rarely played such mind games.

This reminded him of the Lord of Mysteries.

So cunning, taking advantage of his simplicity!

Using deceit and trickery, He had directly tricked him into the Magic Wishing Lamp, sealing him ever since.

Thinking of this, the Son of Chaos immediately became alert. He must not escape one wolf's den only to fall into another tiger's lair.

"I only accept equivalent exchange!" The Son of Chaos's tone was stiff and resolute.

"I'm not in a hurry," Hastur replied calmly.

"Heh, who knows?"

The Son of Chaos snorted, silently thinking: "If you're not in a hurry, why have you been harassing me for over a month?"

Seeing that this deal was hopeless, the Son of Chaos had no intention of speaking further. He decided he had to maintain composure and not appear desperate, or he would definitely be manipulated.

Of course, it was acceptable to show some value so that the other party might offer better terms.

The Son of Chaos would not speak, and Hastur had even less intention of lowering his own standing. So they both just stayed silent.

After a long quiet moment, Hastur glanced at the Son of Chaos and said faintly, "Meeting adjourned."

"..."

The Son of Chaos was dumbfounded. He had kept up appearances for so long, only to receive such a sentence?

"Next meeting, fifteen days later."

After speaking, Hastur did not wait for the Son of Chaos's response.

Behind him, a chain of order radiated starlight, carving out a patch of the starry sky and sending this fragment of the Son of Chaos back into the Magic Wishing Lamp.