CHAPTER 39: LORD OF THE VOID

In the garden pavilion, Wayne lay on the bench with his eyes closed, meditating and becoming part of nature to capture more elemental particles.

Last night, Veronica called. Hearing the barely contained joy in her tone, he’d assumed that his father-in-law had dealt with the big shot, but that wasn’t the case. She told him to wait longer. Mr. Lando had been working hard on the matter but hadn’t made significant progress.

Soon, she said. It would be done in no time.

Wayne couldn’t do anything about that. He asked Veronica to pass along a message to Mr. Lando, thanking him for his generous help, and if Mr. Lando ever needed Wayne’s assistance, he would provide it in a heartbeat.

He didn’t ask her why she sounded so happy; it was most likely because she had graduated without another hiccup.

Damn geniuses. Yeah, laugh while you can. Once I catch up with you, you won’t be laughing anymore.

In Enrod, Wayne lived in a luxurious manor, ate meals made with the finest ingredients, took rides in expensive cars, and enjoyed the service of a professional butler and maids. He wasn’t really in a rush to return to Londan.

The only thoughts on his mind were meditation, meditation, and meditation!

Even without the threat to his life, his master's grounding magic prevented him from returning to Londan. It was better to put all his effort into training.

Moreover, it occurred to him that he’d been freeloading off the Lando family for quite some time, having his accommodation and meals provided by them and his trouble handled by them. Given how well Mr. Lando had been treating him, he couldn’t repay the man unless he became Mr. Lando’s son-in-law.

“Young Master Wayne, two detectives have come to see you. They introduced themselves as Wesley and Hood.” Veryl stopped right outside the pavilion and bowed.

He addressed Wayne as ‘young master’ because Silvia, the Lando family mistress, valued Wayne highly as an apprentice. That master-apprentice relationship alone wouldn’t have warranted the honorific, but Silvia had told him to treat Wayne respectively like he were a Lando.

The Lando family wasn’t extensive. Apart from distant relatives who mattered little, Master Lando, Mistress Lando, and Young Lady Veronica were the only family members of consequence. It made sense to call Wayne a young master.

Wayne had tried to make the butler change the address, but it didn’t work, so he gave up. Being the young master was fine; he wasn’t picky as long as Veryl didn’t call him ‘Master Wayne’.

“What do they want from me?” he stopped meditating and considered the possibilities. The only thing he could think of was the murder case yesterday.

“Should I dismiss them, Young Master Wayne?”

“It’s fine. Invite them in.”

He shook his head. He would bet on Do’s nose that the middle-aged man he picked out was the culprit. The thick smell clinging to the man was undeniable evidence.

Perhaps the method of killing didn’t match his deduction, and instead of hiding behind the door, the middle-aged man had hidden behind the curtain. The two detectives were probably here to tell him the truth and to exchange investigation techniques with an extraordinary detective like himself, hoping for a learning experience.

“Young Master Wayne, your two guests have arrived.” Veryl bowed and stepped back, instructing the maids to prepare black tea.

Wesley and Hood looked around at the manor and heard how the butler addressed Wayne, falling silent for a moment. People rarely found joy in the joy of others, and they suddenly found Wayne’s face disagreeable.

Damn rich boy!

Hood knew that the manor belonged to the Lando family, the biggest investor in Enrod and an esteemed family in Londan. Wesley came to the realization when he saw the Lando family emblem at the entrance, but he hadn’t expected Wayne to be part of the family.

Three hundred years ago, before the Kingdom of Windsor underwent a reformation into a constitutional monarchy, the royal family kept a direct army named the Tulip Legion, consisting entirely of noble knights. It was known as the living embodiment of grace and power.

Later, the Tulip Legion was disbanded, and its members became the fourteen families that settled down across Windsor, known as the Tulip Families.

The fourteen families’ emblem featured tulips as the main component, adorned with shields, swords, or staffs. In some cases, changes were made to the flowers. All in all, though, the style was consistent.

Rumor had it that no matter the rise or decline the fourteen families had gone through, no matter if there was only one family member left, they would unconditionally pledge their loyalty to the royal family, holding true to their duty as knights.

The Lando family was one of the Tulip Families and among the few that were active in their public life. They established a bank in Londan and worked with other banks to found the Londan Stock Exchange, monopolizing the stock trading market and exerting control over all small and medium-sized banks in Londan. Moreover, the Lando family invested in real estate, military manufacturing, and consumer goods, as well as maintaining trade with friendly foreign businesses.

The head of the family, Auston Lando, was once Londan’s chief financial officer. He owned several newspapers and radio stations and possessed incredible wealth. He was famous for his philanthropy, earning him great respect throughout Windsor.

So who was Young Master Wayne? Did Mr. Lando have an illegitimate son?

The thought seemed ridiculous, but it made sense. They suspected that they had discovered a great secret about the Lando family. Wesley was immediately convinced. He’d met Auston Lando at a wine party, and the man was never without female companions in public and in private.

That wasn’t the most convincing proof, though. The key point was that Auston Lando and Wayne shared the same hair and eye colors, suggesting they were likely related.

Detectives, as experts in deduction, were prone to being overly imaginative. Wesley and Hood shared a glance and reconsidered their plan. Young Master Wayne was obviously wealthy, extremely so. He would inherit riches beyond imagination by doing nothing; inviting someone like him to join a dangerous investigation would likely be met with refusal.

Rich people valued their lives.

“Make yourselves at home. I’m as much a guest here as you are. Is this about the poisoning case yesterday? Was my deduction wrong?”

Wayne’s reaction seemed typical for illegitimate children. They couldn’t reveal their identities outright.

Wesley nodded and said, “Yes, it was about yesterday’s murder, but you’re an extraordinary detective, Mr. Wayne. Your attention to detail put Hood and me to shame. We visited today for something else.”

“Please, go on.”

“Have you heard about the Geocentrism Sect?”

Wayne had never heard of the Geocentrism Sect, but he had heard of geocentrism, which caused the conflict between Copernicus and the Pope. He pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “It’s my first time hearing about them. Is it a conservative sect in Windsor?”

“It’s a sect currently rising in popularity. Not only do they believe Earth to be the center of the universe, but they also believe there to be a massive continent inside Earth, where human civilizations originated...”

“They claim that there’s a channel between Earth’s surface and core, with the north and south poles being the biggest entrances to the inner world, home to numerous extinct prehistoric creatures. They wanted Professor Vincent to conduct a study and publish an academic paper to attract more followers.”

“Now, the professor is dead, poisoned by his own student. The culprit claimed that it was a crime of passion.”

Crime of passion? What, did the professor hook up with the student? Did he bed the student’s girlfriend? Or did the student sleep with the professor’s wife?

Can you go into more detail? My friends would like to know the juicy bits.

Wayne was even more confused after the explanation. “Gentlemen, you still haven’t touched on why you sought me out. Would you just give me a straight answer?”

“We’ve reached an impasse in our investigation of the Geocentrism Sect and would like your help, Mr. Wayne. You’re far more capable than we are,” Wesley said with increasing awkwardness. That had been their plan, but they dismissed the idea as unrealistic when they learned that Wayne was an illegitimate child of the Lando family.

As expected, Wayne shook his head and rejected them politely, “It is an honor to have earned recognition from fellow detectives. However, I have more pressing matters to attend to. I’m afraid I can’t help you.”

Wesley and Hood weren’t disappointed. They had expected the rejection. After exchanging pleasantries, they rose to leave.

“By the way, if you ever encounter a member of the Geocentrism Sect, please don’t believe their lies...” Wesley looked around and whispered, “The one who commissioned me to look into the Geocentrism Sect is no ordinary person, but someone from the official intelligence agency in Londan. I can’t give you the details, but know that the Geocentrism Sect is no legitimate religious sect.”

Wayne nodded. He didn’t even believe much in the deities of the legitimate sects, let alone a cult with contradictory beliefs. Before seeing the two detectives off, he asked, “Mr. Wesley, do you know which god the sect follows? The Earth Core God?”

“Quite the contrary. The god they follow does not reside underground, but above.” Wesley shrugged. “Their god is from the cosmos, known as the Lord of the Void.”

“Lord of the Void...”

Wayne murmured the name. For some reason, he always found the Chosen Land odd in an indefinable way—Lovecraftian, one could say. Knowledge drove people mad, and once they entered the Gate of Truth, they lost their sanity gradually until it killed them. The more he thought about it, the more insidious it felt to him.

If the universe were as he suspected, perhaps the Lord of the Void, the deity the Geocentrism Sect followed, would turn out to be a cosmic-level god—one who generously dispensed knowledge in exchange for sacrifice. To attract the attention of such a great being and acquire power from Them, the difficulty and scale of the sacrifice required would be astronomical.

Wayne understood why the Geocentrism Sect was so eager to recruit followers: they needed sacrifices.

Before Hood and Wesley left, Wayne asked Veryl to give each of them a name card. If they ever encountered something strange, he would lend them a hand. He might not be able to prevent a disaster of that magnitude, but his master, Silvia, could.

“Geocentrism Sect...”

“Lord of the Void...”

He returned to the garden pavilion and wished the two detectives—no, investigators—good luck. It would be nice if they returned as legendary investigators[1]. It would be even better if they returned with forbidden items like the Necronomicon.

He knew he wouldn’t be bold enough to read such a thing; he valued his life too much to risk becoming mentally challenged in his youth. If a forbidden book like that got unearthed, though, it would give him a more concrete understanding of the world.

He lay down and took a pill to clear his head, focusing his mind to meditate.

Earth elements continued to strengthen his bones, muscles, and organs. He could feel himself growing stronger. The power was intoxicating, and the process of acquiring power was exciting in itself. He was becoming addicted, feeling the urge to continue indefinitely.

On March 24th, he captured a total of five thousand elemental particles and still didn’t sense the limit of his life essence.

“I don’t think three months will be enough. My meditation is too inefficient. Master was holding back and didn’t tell me the truth. She’s too nice!”

1. In the tabletop game Call of Cthulhu, players are called investigators. ☜