Mystery: I Married the Queen of Mystery

The instant the starlight vanished, the surroundings didn't plunge into darkness. Instead, a layer of ghastly white light appeared on the ground.

Almost instantaneously, the wasteland transformed into a wide river.

The river wasn't deep, only reaching ankle height, but it was exceptionally cold.

Audiss was very familiar with this coldness; it was the great river that transported the souls of the dead from the real world to the underworld.

Previously, while conducting some research, he had coincidentally discovered a method to temporarily borrow this river.

The river's current was imperceptible, its surface eerily calm, but anyone who stepped into it would sense its flow.

It flowed towards death, relentlessly!

Immediately after, Audiss spotted several figures on the river's surface: his parents from this body, as well as other family members.

Audiss watched all this indifferently. A crucial reason he could utilize the great river with relative ease was his lack of emotional attachment to this body's family. Seeing them evoked almost no emotional turbulence.

However, facing death still brought a sense of indescribable powerlessness, leaving Audiss momentarily stunned, unwilling and unable to do anything.

Bernadette, standing beside him, saw her mother and younger brother, Charles. Unlike Audiss, she couldn't suppress her emotional fluctuations.

Bernadette slowly descended, and soon, her legs were submerged in the river below the knees.

At this moment, Audiss snapped back to his senses slightly and tugged at Bernadette.

Bernadette seemed to awaken abruptly from a dream. She slowly looked up, and a vine descended from the void. She grabbed the vine and slowly ascended from the river.

Upon returning to a normal position, she continued to rise. Bernadette reached out with her other hand and grabbed Audiss, and the two slowly escaped the river.

The further they distanced themselves from the river, the less the lethargic feeling brought about by the river's aura of death became, until they were in mid-air and their thoughts returned to normal.

"That was a close call," Audiss inhaled deeply. "If we had stayed in the river, we might have slowly died."

He thought to himself, *Luckily, I had a powerful figure with me. The river seemed to have a tremendous suction force, not something that could be escaped with 'Flight'.*

Bernadette didn't say anything, only quietly watching the river before them.

The previous wasteland was completely gone, replaced only by the calm surface of the water emitting a faint ghastly white light.

In front of the distant snow-capped mountains, a structure seemed to stand tall. Although its appearance was indiscernible, it gave off an impression of immense grandeur.

At this moment, Audiss and Bernadette were silent, both realizing that the way out lay within that structure.

However, now wasn't the right time to explore.

"We've walked a very, very long way..."

A hoarse voice suddenly came from behind them, startling them both, because even Bernadette's spirituality hadn't sensed anyone approaching.

However, neither of them turned around. The most taboo thing to do in such situations was to immediately turn around, as they might see something they shouldn't.

"We've walked a very, very long way, traversing one snow mountain after another, never expecting it to be a massive deception," the hoarse voice continued.

Audiss, cautiously and boldly, asked, "Why do you say it's a deception?"

"That's not His Majesty, the Underworld Emperor, at all! It's the tomb of an ancient death god!" The voice grew more agitated. "We've all been deceived. This is a meticulously designed prison, and we all came to this prison of our own accord."

Audiss pondered the other party's answer while asking, "Who deceived you?"

"The person who deceived us is..."

The other party seemed to say a name, but Audiss didn't hear it clearly. "Who?"

"It's..."

At this moment, Audiss noticed that his body was becoming somewhat transparent, eventually resembling a spirit floating in the real world, seemingly capable of passing through solid objects at any moment.

Bernadette suddenly said, "We can turn around now."

Audiss understood that his own transformation was a protection cast by Bernadette.

Together, they turned around and saw, not far behind them, a desiccated corpse. At this moment, a flame silently burned him, but he didn't seem to feel any pain and didn't even struggle.

"The one who designed this deception is..." He was the source of the hoarse voice, but Audiss clearly saw his mouth moving, yet couldn't hear any sound, nor could he discern who he was saying.

Soon, the desiccated corpse was burned to ashes.

The flames disappeared, and the ashes scattered into the river below.

Although the other party hadn't said it, Audiss understood that he was about to say "The Goddess of the Night."

"The Goddess of the Night" held the authority of "Secrecy." Her name represented "Secrecy." When She didn't want certain people to mention Her, those people would trigger divine punishment as soon as they mentioned Her.

Audiss glanced back at the distant structure. "So that's the tomb of an 'Ancient Death God'."

Bernadette didn't express any opinion, as she also guessed that what the desiccated corpse had been about to say was "The Goddess of the Night's" deception. Within "The Goddess of the Night's" prison, the consequences of accidentally saying the wrong thing were severe.

Evidently, "The Goddess of the Night" used the tomb of the Ancient Death God to attract a large number of Beyonders of the "Death" pathway and permanently trap them here.

Audiss didn't feel anything in particular. This matched his impression of this "fellow countryman." To put it bluntly, it was insidious and cunning; to put it nicely, it was extremely intelligent.

At this moment, the scene in mid-air underwent some changes again. One desiccated corpse after another emerged from the void, slowly drifting toward the snow mountain, as if, even in death, they were still advancing in that direction.

Audiss quickly discovered that among the desiccated corpses were also several giant birds. They had pale white feathers, with some ancient and mysterious symbols on their long feathers.

Bernadette said, "Undying Birds."

Audiss smiled. It seemed "The Goddess of the Night" not only tricked the subordinates of the "Underworld Emperor" but also tricked several Undying Birds! No wonder there were many Beyonders of the "Death" pathway in the Church of the Goddess of the Night. It turned out the "Goddess" had a means of "generating revenue," a place where Extraordinary characteristics could be continuously obtained.

Bernadette once again pulled the vine in her hand, and the two's position rose again, avoiding the desiccated corpses.

Just as they stopped, a vicissitudinous voice suddenly rang in their ears: "You make me feel very familiar. This lady has something that originally belonged to me, and this young man has a familiar aura. Where should I have seen you!"

The two looked around, but this time there was nothing around, not even a corpse.

Audiss then asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Salinger."

Audiss took a deep breath. "The Underworld Emperor!"

Strange, didn't the desiccated corpse just say that no "Underworld Emperor" was found here?

"It seems the outside world hasn't changed much; there are still people who remember my name," the voice continued.

Bernadette quietly listened to the conversation between the two, intentionally or unintentionally looking toward the structure beneath the snow mountain. At this point, she was no longer surprised that Audiss knew the Underworld Emperor's true name, and she was temporarily not interested in the secrets he held.

However, the Underworld Emperor's words that Audiss's aura made Him feel familiar, that He seemed to have seen Audiss somewhere, she kept in her heart.

Audiss thought for a moment and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Of course, I'm imprisoned here," the other party didn't seem to be as insane as the legends said. Apart from the somewhat cold tone, there was no difference from a normal person.

He suddenly asked, "Did you think 'Death Gods' could die? Heh heh, I am Death!"

Audiss pondered for a moment before asking, "Are you saying that you didn't fall back then, but were actually imprisoned here?"

"No, I fell," the voice claiming to be Salinger said, "But for me, 'falling' isn't the same as 'death'. Before a new Death God appears, I still represent death itself."

Audiss nodded, roughly understanding, "In other words, you have the possibility of resurrection until the next Death God appears."

"Very clever young man," although the other party's tone was cold, the words spoken were very amiable: "Someone doesn't want me to resurrect, so they imprisoned me here."

Clearly, that "someone" was "The Goddess of the Night."

Without error, first, one by one, contained inside, at a glance!

"You were able to come here and not die immediately after seeing this snow mountain, which shows that you are the chosen ones," the voice continued, "I've waited so many years, and finally, I've waited for you."

"Release me from here, and in return, I can give you an Sealed Artifact at the Angel level, and also, pardon you, so that you never have to face the threat of death."

Audiss smiled, "That sounds very tempting."

He thought to himself, *That sounds unreliable. I'm afraid as soon as you come out, 'The Goddess of the Night' will descend and kick you back in.*

Audiss asked calmly, "How do I release you?"

"It's very simple, destroy that damned array," the voice claiming to be Salinger said, "You only need to destroy a few symbols on the tomb, and I can get out."

Audiss nodded, "I'll go take a look at the tomb in a while."

Clearly, that structure was a tomb.

"Alright, the power of the seal is starting to get stronger again. I'll wait for you here," the other party said.

As soon as these words were spoken, the stars in the sky began to appear one by one again, once again emitting brilliant starlight.

The river on the ground quickly disappeared, revealing the original desert.

Bernadette, gripping the vines, slowly descended to the ground. "That voice just now was likely only a remnant of the 'Nether King's' consciousness, its power extremely weak."

"Moreover, if He were truly freed from the seal, the first thing He would do would definitely be to snatch my 'Pale Death'."

Audace, looking in the direction of the snow mountain, smiled and said, "I know."

He stretched languidly. "I wouldn't be foolish enough to release His seal."

Furthermore, Audace guessed that since there was a sealing array there, the reason the "Night Goddess" had brought them in was likely to have them strengthen the array.

After all, Audace was very proficient in arrays.

But how the Night Goddess knew he was skilled in arrays was unknown.

It was possible that the "Night Goddess" had received the news from the "Night Watchers" who participated in the sealing of the "Unextinguished Murmur."

Or perhaps from somewhere else.

For Audace, "when debts are numerous, one ceases to worry." He was already being targeted by the "God of Steam and Machinery" and the "Hidden Sage," so what did it matter if the "Night Goddess" was added to the list?

Besides, since he was helping the "Night Goddess," if he failed to escape and the "Mechanical Heart" discovered his whereabouts, he could seek the protection of the Church of the Night Goddess.

The Church of the Night Goddess was at least a little safer than the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery. At least the "Night Goddess" wouldn't be constantly coveting the "Wilderness of Knowledge" within him.

At this moment, the structure in front of the snow mountain seemed to become very distant again, and the snow mountain once again became very tall.

Audace said, "Since it's unavoidable, let's take the initiative to explore it."

Bernadette nodded. "Alright."

She paused and added, "Be careful. It's better to find no clues at all than to be reckless."

Audace solemnly said, "Of course."

After the two unified their "exploration strategy," Bernadette reached out and pushed Audace's back, taking a step forward, and the two had already advanced a great distance.

Bernadette took another step forward, and she could already see the building clearly.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't a building at all, merely a simple structure made up of three huge stone slabs.

Those stone slabs were thick and ancient, as if they had experienced the vicissitudes of time.

Upon reaching this point, both of them felt the taste of death, a feeling that made their hearts palpitate, tinged with helplessness and sorrow.

Bernadette didn't continue forward. She took out the wooden box containing the "Pale Death" from her pocket.

At this moment, the mystical symbols around the wooden box were emitting a faint light, and the entire box was trembling violently.

Bernadette said, "If we go any further, the seal on the 'Pale Death' might become ineffective."

"I could wear this sealed item to suppress this power of death."

"But if worn for too long, its negative effects are also quite terrifying."

She might not want to take it off after wearing it, and would become a living corpse, a puppet of the mask.

"So it can only be worn at critical moments." Audace pondered for a moment before saying, "I'll go take a look. If there's any danger, use the sealed item to cover me."

Otherwise, he couldn't just leave this Level 0 sealed item here, right?

This was a god-level sealed item, not a cabbage. If it was left on the ground, who knew what kind of existence it would attract.

Bernadette nodded and said, "Alright."

So Audace began to move forward alone. The further he went, the denser the aura of death became. He felt that the joints throughout his body were beginning to stiffen, but it was still within an acceptable range.

Further ahead, he saw the array, and outside the array, he saw a corpse wearing the divine robe of the Church of the Night Goddess.