To be safe, Klein decided to follow the sa procedure used when inducting new mbers into the Tarot Club. As for whether they would attend future weekly gatherings—well, that could be figured out later.
He tapped his left index finger on the bronze table, and the remaining tarot cards manifested across its surface.
"Little one," he said gently, "choose a card."
Lilith rose up on her hind legs and squatted upright, but she was still too short to reach the table. "What?"
Klein paused helplessly.
Looks like we'll have to update the Tarot Club's record for the shortest mber.
"You can jump onto the table to pick," he suggested.
"Okay~!"
Lilith didn't need a second invitation. She leapt nimbly onto the bronze tabletop and trotted over in her little feline steps to the spread of tarot cards. She pawed through them one by one with great concentration, then looked up with innocent eyes. "Miss Lilith doesn't understand what they an~"
Then what were you studying them so seriously for…?
"Just pick one that you like."
"Okay!"
Lilith dipped her head again and examined the cards closely. After a while, she hooked one out with a paw. "I want this one."
On the card's surface was a beautiful woman seated on an elegant, comfortable throne—completely at ease, exuding grace and tranquillity.
The Empress.
Klein couldn't help but press a hand to his forehead.
A little cat like you, and you picked the Empress? I was sure this card would go to the Queen Mystic…
Still, a choice was a choice. Perhaps this was so sort of fate.
"Very well, the Empress it is."
With his confirmation, the symbol of the Empress appeared on the back of Lilith's chair. At the sa ti, the card she held with her paw quietly vanished.
"Huh? It's gone?"
Lilith looked around in confusion, then up at Klein. "I picked it. Wasn't it supposed to be a gift?"
"…It was given to you—just in a different way. All right, you may return now."
Klein waved his hand gently, severing the connection. Lilith's figure faded away from above the grey fog.
Then, Klein's gaze shifted to the other crimson star still flickering in the distance. The smile on his face vanished.
The real trouble's...this one.
He flexed his fingers, then extended his spirituality once more. A figure appeared in the depths of the mist—a woman with long chestnut hair cascading freely down her back, clad in a uniquely styled outfit.
So… this is her. Bernadette Gustav. The Queen Mystic. Roselle's daughter. That "big shot" of the mystic world?
As Klein's spiritual force surged again and flooded into the star representing Bernadette, the entire palace began to tremble.
His spirituality felt like it was being siphoned by a high-power pump, rapidly draining him to the brink of collapse. A splitting pain began hamring at his skull.
No—this won't do. She hasn't even fully materialised, and I'm already on the verge of burnout. If she does appear, I'll be completely done for!
One hand clutching his forehead, the other gripping the edge of the bronze table, Klein's expression twisted in pain. But he didn't sever the connection.
Instead, he forced his spirituality to keep pouring forth.
"Just a bit more…Let try one last ti."
Gradually, Bernadette's figure began to flicker into place on one of the empty chairs at the bronze table—though her image pulsed in and out like a short-circuiting light.
For Bernadette, the transition was nearly seamless. One mont, she blinked—and the next, she found herself inside a vast palace shrouded in grey fog. Not far away, a mysterious and profound figure sat gazing upon her in silence.
Her instinct was to activate the "Eyes of Mystery Prying," but she stopped herself in ti.
You may not look directly at God.
As a long-established high-sequence Beyonder, Bernadette understood the importance of maintaining reverence toward the unknown. She imdiately lowered her head, not daring to look directly at Mr. Fool.
That was when she beca aware of sothing unusual. Her current state felt unstable, as if…this palace could not fully accommodate her.
Naturally, she didn't doubt the problem lay with Mr. Fool—so it had to be her.
Recalling Edward's warning that this ancient god might not respond to her, she quickly interpreted the sensation of being rejected as so sort of divine test.
She soon arrived at a conclusion.
If this place cannot contain my "complete" self, then I shall enter in an "incomplete" form.
That might have been impossible for others—but not for her.
Inside the tent, Bernadette suddenly moved. Under Edward's astonished gaze, she reached into her hidden compartnt in the Spirit World and retrieved a strange ornant: a vertical eye set in a crown of crystalline "diamonds"—The Sage Frontlet.
She placed it upon her forehead.
Almost instantly, her body and soul transford into a flow of information composed of pure knowledge and data. Every thread of information was part of her. Every piece of knowledge was part of her.
In this state, she could divide herself into countless fragnts—each a microcosm of her whole.
Two or three seconds later, Bernadette swiftly removed the Sage Frontlet and returned it to the hidden compartnt. Her physical form reverted to normal.
However, the portion of her that had reached the grey fog above remained active—now only a fraction of her full self, a splinter of her consciousness preserved in a semi-informational state.
The palace tremors ceased.
Her figure stabilised.
Klein instantly felt the change: the drain on his spirituality was now halved and had finally dropped to within manageable levels.
But why…did that suddenly work?
At that mont, Bernadette bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Greetings, Mr. Fool. May I ask…have I passed your test?"
Huh?
Test? ?
Oh! Yes, yes. That was all my test! Totally on purpose!
Klein quickly pieced everything together. Resting his chin on one hand, he smiled in a satisfied tone and said, "Not bad."
Ah, Queen Mystic…Last ti we t at the Roselle Exhibition, I was the one fleeing in panic under your pursuit. And now—well, it seems the tables have turned. You've finally landed in my hands, haven't you?
Hand over Emperor Roselle's diaries, all of them! Give them to your Uncle Zhou!
Of course, Klein only thought these things inwardly. Outwardly, he remained calm and composed.
"You're the daughter of Roselle Gustav?"
"Yes. My na is Bernadette Gustav," she replied, then hesitated for a few seconds before asking, "Mr. Fool, do you know my father?"
Klein shook his head with a hint of regret. "Such an interesting person…I would've loved to et him. But unfortunately, by the ti I awoke, he had already passed."
He paused, then asked, "You seem to believe that your father isn't truly dead?"
Bernadette nodded emphatically. "Yes. I believe he's still alive sowhere in this world. I will find him."
"Then I look forward to the day I et him," Klein said with a gentle smile. He once again manifested the remaining tarot cards upon the table.
"Choose a card that suits you."
Her eyes swiftly scanned the spread of tarot cards, lingering on The Hermit for a few seconds before moving on. At last, she spoke calmly, "Strength."
"Very well."
Monts later, Klein severed the connection with Bernadette. Only then did he allow himself to relax—his tension slowly easing.
"Thank goodness…Bernadette and Mr. Hanged Man must have a lot in common. No wonder they're both free-spirited pirates—they're naturals at overthinking."
And that's the beauty of overthinking…One round of internal speculation from them saves from countless performances.
"Whew."
Now, the final task: getting Edward and the others out of the Forsaken Land of the Gods and back into the outside world.
———
[Forsaken Land of the Gods—Afternoon Town, inside the tent]
Edward had been watching Bernadette the whole ti. From the mont Klein began pulling her consciousness toward the grey fog, her state had clearly beco unstable.
He imdiately recognised the cause—Klein's insufficient spirituality.
He originally assud Klein would give up once he hit his limit, but to his surprise, Klein had gritted his teeth and continued dragging Bernadette up to the grey fog.
Edward knew full well that Klein was pushing himself this far out of consideration for him, and though he was deeply moved, he also couldn't help but worry.
Just then, he saw Bernadette take out a Sealed Artifact from the secret compartnt—putting it on her forehead and then removing it again shortly after. Incredibly, her unstable state imdiately stabilised.
Two minutes later, Bernadette opened her eyes. "It's done."
Though Edward was curious how she managed to enter the grey fog despite Klein's limitations, he couldn't exactly press for details. So instead, he casually asked, "Did you speak with Mr. Fool?"
She gave a small nod, her expression a little forlorn. "I asked if "He" knew my father. "He" said "He" had only recently awakened and didn't."
Lilith chid in proudly, "He called a cute little creature~!"
Edward patted her head. "Yes, yes. You're the cutest, okay?"
"That's right!"
But then her expression changed to one of indignation. "But "He" made pick a card! I spent so long choosing one, and then it just disappeared! He didn't even give it to ! Cheater! Lied to a kitty!"
"…"
Edward turned back to Bernadette. "You will find Emperor Roselle one day."
Bernadette glanced at him, puzzled. "Why do you sound so certain?"
"Uh…"
Wasn't that just a generic word of encouragent?
Thankfully, she didn't pursue the question. "We can proceed with the sacrifice now."
She beckoned to Lilith, then re-entered the suitcase.
Edward couldn't quite figure out what was going through her mind.
Won…no matter how old they get, they're still won. Their thoughts are forever a mystery.
He shook his head and began preparing the ritual again:
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era…Your faithful servant beseeches your gaze…prays that you open the gates to your kingdom…"
A sudden gust of wind erupted once more. The symbolic candle fla of the Fool expanded and tore open a phantasmal gate. Edward wasted no ti diving into the suitcase.
That now-familiar sensation swept over him—the grey fog rushing into the suitcase, wrapping around the two people and one cat inside. He knew the suitcase had once again been pulled to the space above the grey fog.
——
Above the grey fog.
This ti, the suitcase was successfully sacrificed to the grey fog.
Klein imdiately extended his spirituality toward Justice's crimson star, instructing her to perform a ritual to receive the suitcase into the material world.
But just then—the palace trembled again.
And this ti, the tremor was even more violent than before. In the blink of an eye, Klein's spirituality was completely drained, bringing him to the verge of unconsciousness.
A long-forgotten thought abruptly resurfaced in his mind:
Just now, rely pulling the Queen Mystic's consciousness into the grey fog nearly exhausted .
And now, I'm trying to pull her consciousness physical body into this place—
along with Edward and Lilith as well.
Where in the world did I get the confidence to think I could handle that?
And most terrifying of all—
How…how did I forget such a crucial detail until now?
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps motivated.
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