User:Demon of Knowledge/Lord of Mysteries

Lord of Mysteries (Chinese: 诡秘之主) is a Chinese Fantasy web novel written by Cuttlefish That Loves Diving. Originally published on April 1, 2018, on QiDian, it has since expanded to other languages across the world. On May 1, 2020, the novel finished its serialization with over 1,400 chapters.

Originally, this novel was called "Lord of the Mysteries." In April of 2021, WebNovel renamed the title from "Lord of the Mysteries" to "Lord of Mysteries".

Lord of Mysteries is the first book of the Mysteries Trilogy Series, followed by Circle of Inevitability. Coincidentally, the title Lord of Mysteries also refers to the Above the Sequence for the Door Pathway, Fool Pathway, and Error Pathway. By the end of the book, Klein becomes Half-Lord of Mysteries.

Plot
Zhou Mingrui wakes up to find himself in the body of the recently-deceased Klein Moretti in an alternate Victorian-era world with the ominous words "Everyone will die, including me." written in Klein's notebook.

Faced with a chain of mysteries behind his transmigration, he seeks answers. But soon he realizes this world contains elements of the supernatural with mysterious individuals called "Beyonders" possessing supernatural abilities.

Volume 1: Clown
""Everyone will die, including me.""

- Cuttlefish That Loves Diving

The first volume contains 213 chapters in total, consisting of chapters 1 to 213. It details the story of Klein Moretti as he first arrives in the world of Lord of the Mysteries, his becoming a Beyonder, and his adventures as a Nighthawk of Tingen City. It covers events from June 28th to September 16th in the year 1349.

The meaning of the title Clown refers both to Klein's promotion to Sequence 8 Clown, as well as his inability to withstand the vicissitudes, yet still smiling and continuing along anyway.

In this volume, a clown is established to mean those who cannot do anything about their fate, yet continue to smile at it. Despite the many deaths that occur, Klein and the rest of the Nighthawks continue to confront their fates without becoming despondent, fulfilling the meaning of Clown.

Volume 2: Faceless
""It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.""

- Charles Dickens

The second volume contains 269 chapters in total, consisting of chapters 214 to 482. It focuses on Klein in the identity of a private detective, Sherlock Moriarty, in the city of Backlund. It covers events from September 16th, 1349 to the new year of 1350.

The title Faceless refers not just to Klein's promotion to sequence 6 Faceless, but also to the faceless people who lived and died on East Backlund as some of the backbone members of society. Although their stories were rarely known, their contributions were invaluable. The spotlight on Old Kohler and Liz's family was the author's attempt at portraying just some of the stories of these faceless people.

Finally, the title also refers to Klein's changing identity, how he is not really Sherlock Moriarty, nor Klein Moretti, but Zhou Mingrui. He has a different mask for every situation, so in the end, his face does not capture his true self.

Volume 3: Traveler
""Every journey has its destinatoin.""

- Cuttlefish That Loves Diving

The third volume contains 250 chapters in total, consisting of chapters 483 to 732. It tells the story of Klein Moretti as he leaves Backlund and travels at sea under the identity of the crazy adventurer Gehrman Sparrow.

This time, the title does not refer to Klein's Pathway but is about Klein's travels as he moves from place to place in the sea. As a traveler, he gets involved with various people's lives and interacts with many things, but simultaneously, he keeps an aloof distance befitting that of a traveler. In addition, traveler also refers to how the idea of people traveling in search of home, sojourning, yet not having truly arrived. This can be seen with the characters in Groselle's Travels, as well as the souls stored in Creeping Hunger.

Volume 4: Undying
""A bestowment, or, a curse.""

- Cuttlefish That Loves Diving

The fourth volume contains 214 chapters in total, consisting of chapters 733 to 946. It depicts Klein's story in the identity of Dwayne Dantès as he attempts to enter the nobles' circle of the Loen Kingdom and his revenge on Ince Zangwill.

Undying, a bestowment or a curse, is the theme of Volume 4. It is manifested on many people in the story: Klein, Azik, Leonard, Anderson, etc. This theme reaches the peak when Klein saw the cocoons, the modern people inside, and the three broken ones. The horror, madness and darkness of this world is revealed once again. (paraphrased from the author's words at the end of Volume 4)

Volume 5: Red Priest
""Every drowning person will struggle.""

- Cuttlefish That Loves Diving

The fifth volume contains 204 chapters in total, consisting of chapters 947 to 1150. It portrays of Klein's investigation of Great Smog of Backlund and the beginning of the world war at the end of 1350.

Red Priest means war. Although there isn't much direct description of war, it is the overlying theme of the whole volume. The war underlines the struggle of all the "drowning" characters, such as Klein and Trissy. When Trissy finally falls into the mausoleum, when Amon puts on his monocle in front of Klein, readers can truly feel that the drowning people finally sank into the water, no matter how they struggled.

Volume 6: Lightseeker
""Light was the meaning to everything.""

- Cuttlefish That Loves Diving

The sixth volume contains 116 chapters in total, consisting of chapters 1151 to 1266. It tells the story of Klein's journey in the Forsaken Land of the Gods.

This volume focused on the idea that humans were small and powerless in front of gods, yet they would still pursue the light. The meaning behind Lightseeker was somewhat similar to Icarus's story; He flew too close to the sun and fell into the sea where he drowned. In this volume, it referred to those who had given their lives to achieve the goal, such as Colin Iliad, Lovia, Ancient Sun God, and many more who were willing to give their lives for what they seek.

Volume 7: The Hanged Man
""Every being has divinity.""

- Cuttlefish That Loves Diving

The seventh volume contains 87 chapters in total, consisting of chapters 1267 to 1353.

Its main meaning comes from the interpretation of the Tarot card, and the Author endows it with two relatively obvious meanings: First, take the initiative to sacrifice yourself or pay the price; The second is that when you are in a dilemma, do not struggle in vain, but look at the problem from another angle, look at yourself calmly, think about the future, and wait patiently for something to happen.

Since the seventh volume, the sacrifices have been made by Roselle, Mr. Door, the Ancient Sun God who decided to give up important things. Those who paid the price included Alger, Klein, True Creator and Adam.

Volume 8: Fool
""There are always some things that are more important than others.""

- Cuttlefish That Loves Diving

The eighth and final volume contains 41 chapters in total, consisting of chapters 1354 to 1394.

In many esoteric systems of tarot card interpretation, the Fool is interpreted as the protagonist of a story, and the Major Arcana is the path the Fool takes through the great mysteries of life. This path is known traditionally in cartomancy as the "Fool's Journey".

As a title of final volume, it was a conclusion of Klein Moretti's journey and legend to becomes the Sequence 0: The Fool.

An Ordinary Person's Daily Life
The first side story takes place after the final volume. It has 8 chapters in total. It was about Barton, an ordinary man who works in the Loen Relic Search and Preservation Foundation.

In Modern Day
The second side story takes place after the final volume, about a Chinese man found a strange soft drink from a weird vending machine which gave him an Assassin ability.

It was revealed later that this side story is about Klein's dream while struggling for control against The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth.

That Corner
A bonus chapter after the end of series. A chapter is divided into 2 parts, consisting of chapters 1431 to 1432.

Awards and Recognitions
Ever since its release, the series has achieved wide critical acclaim. In 2020, the series earned the honor of being one of the first 100 Chinese Web Novels to enter into the "Web Novel Category" Collection of the National Library of China.

On September 16, 2021, "The Lord of Mysteries" was included in the "China Internet Literature Influence List: Overseas Influence List" by The Chinese Writers Association, along with 《Dragon Prince Yuan》, 《Tales of Demons and Gods》, and 《The Legendary Mechanic》.

On September 5, 2022, it won winning Best Special award of "Top Ten Annual National IP Selection in 2021" for the Fantasy Creative category. As a phenomenon-level fantasy web novel that leads the new trend of "phenomenal" web novel creation.

On July 11, 2023, "The Lord of Mysteries" was selected for the second "Tianma Literature Award" sponsored by the Shanghai Writers Association and the Publicity Department of the CPC Shanghai Hongkou District Committee, under the guidance of the China Writers Association Internet Literature Center and with the support of the Shanghai Press and Publication Bureau.