Volume 2 is about 850,000 words, making it an extremely long volume within the story's structure. As far as I remember, only the third and fourth volumes of the first book surpass it in length. Every day I think, every day I write. Although it's very enjoyable, it's also incredibly tiring. Especially in the last month, with the addition of working out, I barely had any time left to even read novels.
The name of this volume is "Faceless". It was intended to have three layers of meaning. Pay close attention—the following is the correct answer for reading comprehension.
First, it refers to the advancement to "Faceless". This is the simplest and most obvious meaning.
Second, it represents Klein's state of existence in Backlund. Using a fake face, a fake name, a fake identity, he meets people, handles affairs, and gets caught up in storms. But when he returns home, he is still lonely and desolate.
Third, it refers to the people in a great era who are either ground to dust or rushed forward in a hurry. In history books, they have no names, no faces, no past, no lives. They only exist in simple numbers or descriptions. In a sense, isn't this the "Faceless"? The simplest extras, the most inconspicuous cannon fodder. Who cares what their faces look like?
Like that phrase: "In a year of great famine, people eat each other." These simple six words contain so much sorrow, pain, cruelty, bloodshed, and despair. How many living, breathing people without faces or names are condensed within them? Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions!
Therefore, I tried to give some descriptions to Old Kohler, Liv, and Freya, who were swept up by the tides of the era. I tried to restore the hopes, hardships, and tragedies of these "Faceless" ones, making them seem like people rather than numbers. Although this is a major reason for the scattered nature of the second volume, it is the hidden main thread.
With their passing, more people like them surge in. The "Faceless" always exist. They are the stepping stones of the era, also the pioneers of the era, and even more so, the indispensable, real, and profound roles of the entire story.
Considering this, I abandoned a sadder and more shocking ending. After all, this volume is called "Faceless". The echo of the reversed "worst of times" and "best of times" can perfectly and powerfully express what I want to convey. The era advances, ruthless and helpless, but beneath it lie countless Faceless people who support and crowd around.
The title of the third volume won't have as much symbolic meaning, because the main thread is very clear and direct. Uh, the title of the third volume is "Traveler".
Just by looking at the name, everyone should be able to imagine some things. However, let's focus back on the second volume. Backlund actually has many loose threads that haven't been concluded yet, such as the Serpent of Mercury thread, the underground evil spirit thread, the true schemes of the royal family, the 0-17 thread, the vampire thread, and the Psychology Alchemists thread. This is partly because I need to give Audrey, Fors, Xio, and Emlyn in Backlund a chance to shine, and partly because Backlund is the most important stage in the entire novel. Klein will definitely return and stay for a long time.
Speaking of the second volume being scattered, actually, once many things are strung together in the end, it's not so bad. For me, being scattered but written attractively is also good. The real problem, actually, is another point: the story's rhythm has been quite tight and tense the whole time, never really letting up. In other words, it's constantly encountering events and constantly solving problems, lacking a sufficiently long and relaxed transition in between. It can be a bit tiring and irritating to read. Although this is partly due to introducing the Beyonder characteristic convergence effect, there are indeed some issues stemming from the setting itself.
This problem is that the Tarot Club meets once a week. As a result, the timeline is segmented into week-by-week states, easily creating a repetitive and rigid feeling. I also have to make sure something happens every week, so the pace of supernatural events is a bit tight. The solution I'm currently considering is to simply skip some less important Tarot Club meetings, giving myself more freedom in time management.
Of course, the Tarot Club itself is a main component and definitely won't be lacking. For example, the first meeting after Emlyn joined—I haven't forgotten it. There are also various things mentioned by many friends, like the Church's reaction and another copper whistle. I remember them all, but I deliberately held back on writing them, planning to leave them for the beginning of the third volume.
I didn't want trivial details to dilute or disrupt the overall picture and emotional progression of the final concluding chapters, so I had to do some technical handling.
After finishing the second volume, I am very happy to have established one character after another, making everyone quite like them. Using 0-17 for a violent conclusion wasn't impossible. On one hand, it sketched out that the Church is still very formidable, able to be the ruling class for so long for good reason. On the other hand, this itself is not an ending, but a continuation, a link between the past and the future, pointing to subsequent things. I won't mention the specifics to avoid spoilers.
Finally, let's talk about writing style. Writing one novel after another, I increasingly pursue simplicity and piercing through. That is, if I can accurately describe something with the most simple and plain vocabulary, I try to avoid lengthy discussions and elaborate embellishments. I use the coldest, most objective plain description to accumulate emotions step by step. At the most suitable moment, I use the most precise and concise language to pierce through the barrier in one go, hitting the softest place in the heart.
Looking at it now, although there are still many problems, I've barely managed to get on the right track.
Of course, the nature of web novel writing means I can only do this in the most important and necessary chapters. I can't write every chapter this way. Many things can only be revised later when I'm old and free. In my normal state, my vocabulary is actually quite large, but it's all pretty rusty, accumulated step by step later and rarely used. In other words, when typing, I habitually use the words from my brain's frequently used list, so I inevitably have the problem of word repetition.
Also, problems like misusing certain adjectives stem from my hope to present the image in my mind most clearly, intuitively, and focused on the key points. So I try to be creative with the text, but it still needs exploration and improvement.
The above is the technical summary of the second volume.
Writing is a very hard and torturous thing, but when it's written and receives praise and compliments, it's exceptionally pleasant and satisfying. Recently, your compliments have made my heart blossom.
My friends, I love writing novels!
I love telling you stories!
I love creating lively characters!
I love presenting an interesting and novel world to you!
Writing novels is truly a joyful thing!
Well, as for *Lord of the Mysteries*, today, the high-order subscription count on the pure Qidian platform is only 53,000, but the average subscription has already passed 41,000. The 24-hour following subscription was originally around 27,000 or 28,000, and the final seven or eight chapters officially broke through 31,000. This shows a high retention rate; it shows that the vast majority of people who have read it are following it; it shows your abundant love!
Also, recommendation votes have always been in the top 15, and monthly votes have always been in the top 5. I am a very lazy person, too lazy to have the mental energy to fabricate any data. So, every vote, every tip, every subscription is your abundant love!
My friends, the second volume is over! I want to ask for your praise, and I want to ask for your monthly tickets!
I WANT MONTHLY TICKETS! AAAAAHHH~ (Marmot's shriek)
Finally, as per usual, I will rest for two days, which are Monday and Tuesday. I will resume updates on Wednesday at 12:30 PM, same old time.
What? You say this half of Sunday? I didn't hear that... I didn't hear that... Okay, just kidding. A volume this long is over, I'll rest for an extra half day.
The third volume, "Traveler", please look forward to it.
(End of this chapter)