"Hello there, Old Zhou…the ti of our first eting turned out to be far earlier than I ever imagined."
Edward waved at him, greeting half in jest, half in awe.
"I wonder…if I were to release Zhou Mingrui from that cocoon right now, what would happen? Heh…that would make a real ss. A ss so bad, I wouldn't even know how to 'patch it' back together."
Best not to court death.
Edward circled around the hundreds of cocoons. Judging from the way the people inside were dressed, he could roughly estimate the era they ca from. The smartphones they clutched showed no epoch-defining changes either.
From that, he could infer when the last "world destruction" had occurred.
And its cause? rely a clash between two Pillars. The "apocalypse" that arrived a decade later was, in essence, much the sa.
Just thinking about it was enough to breed despair.
After his circuit, Edward returned to the entrance. He glanced at Zhou Mingrui.
"Klein—see you in two hundred years."
Back in the grand palace above the grey fog, Edward began summarising what entering the Sefirah Castle ant for him.
"Being able to enter the Castle is indeed a good thing. But if all I use it for is divination and spirit channelling with its high authority, isn't that…a little wasteful?"
Klein's greatest use of the Castle wasn't just divination—it was the Tarot Club. He gathered a group of people, acquired intelligence and knowledge, and that accelerated his growth trendously.
So…should I follow Klein's example, and gather a group of my own?
But Klein was still an ordinary man when he founded the Tarot Club—even weaker than most Beyonders. That was why it was so helpful to him. At Sequence 4, what kind of people could I gather that would actually benefit ?
Should I imitate the Ancient Sun God and form "Redemption Rose", full of angels of roughly equal strength?
Heh. That requires caution. Even if [Madman to the Right] is greatly empowered inside the Castle, I can only use it once a day.
"…Still, having people isn't without rit."
Not only could they help search for Lilith, but feigning mystery and profundity would be of great help in playing the Seer role.
Edward leaned back in the chair, propping his legs atop the bronze table.
"Of course, before that I need to resolve a problem: as the 'half-master' of the Castle, can I, like Klein, establish a three-part prayer formula for others to use when invoking ?"
First issue—my "divine na." I can't just carelessly use The Tower, can I? But none of the other Tarot card titles fit any better either…Ugh, why must I fixate on Tarot cards anyway?
After all, Klein's Fool, the Evernight Goddess, the Lord of Storms—their nas essentially corresponded to their pathway's Sequence 0 titles.
And I have…two paths.
One is the Door pathway. The other is…hm. I don't even know what it's properly called. Its Sequence 9 is Fool—so is it the Fool Pathway?
Ah! Kill now.
If I actually nad myself "The Fool"… then I'd truly be a fool.
So…I can only base it on the Door Pathway?
But Mr. Door, though not at Sequence 0, is undoubtedly the one closest to the Door's uniqueness. If I choose that direction, wouldn't it inevitably point back to him?
Besides, I don't even know his prayer incantation. If I did, I'd have summoned him long ago to ask about Lilith.
Edward scratched his head.
"So…what should I call myself?"
Hmm?
He suddenly recalled what Adam had told him, just before his "death"—keywords for the one who was ant to bear the uniqueness of the Door pathway:
"An outsider;
The source of the apocalypse;
The one who set everything in motion;
The saviour."
Edward frowned, deep in thought.
I certainly count as an outsider to the world of mysticism.
"The source of the apocalypse"…though its aning is unclear, when the Elven Queen heard ntion 'apocalypse,' she pointedly asked: Are you talking about yourself?
At the ti, I thought maybe it was because I was a "reader-traveller"—what Cuttlefish called a high-dinsional observer. But even so, that shouldn't make the apocalypse itself, much less the origin of all disasters. A high-dinsional observer is, at best, just another Outer God circling Earth—not even a Pillar.
Still, "outsider" does give so inspiration.
Compared to the Fool, who is "one who doesn't belong to this era," I truly am an outsider—both to this world of mysticism, and to this very age.
"…Then—'Guest Beyond the World and Ti'?"
Edward racked his brain.
"This should…probably be able to point to , right?"
"But the first line feels a little low-grade. Let think…beyond the world and ti…maybe I can phrase it differently. World ti together—that's…dinsion?"
"Yes! Beyond dinsions…no, above dinsions…a guest?"
He frowned. "That sounds awkward. If it's above dinsions, then how could it still just be a guest?"
Edward scratched his head. Suddenly, a phrase flashed through his mind: Ruler of Dinsions.
"Above dinsions…the Eternal...Sovereign."
That does sound much more impressive. But…does the word Sovereign really point to ?
Then what about the second line?
Klein has "The Mysterious Ruler Above the Grey Fog," which makes the invocation very precise. What about ?
What description would most accurately point toward ?
Maybe…I can draw from my other "Fool" pathway.
Back at Sequence 6 as a Bookworm, I gained the ability of the Bookworm—to consu mystical texts and gain supernatural power. That was, at least in the early and mid-sequence, one of my core abilities.
Put simply, I can draw strength from stories and words.
"So… the second line could be: The Recorder of Stories and Words? No, that's too bland."
Edward shook his head.
"Then…The Creator of Stories? No, that's not right. I don't create stories."
He scratched his head harder. What, then?…Wait, my Sequence 3 is Deconstruction Scholar, and the ritual for ascending to Sequence 3 is to 'deconstruct a story, and bring it into reality.'
"So, the second line could be…The Deconstructor of Stories. Add a powerful prefix…The Deconstructor of Endless Stories. Yes, let's go with that for now."
That left only the final line. But this ti, clarity struck at once.
"I ca from the future into nearly two hundred years ago. I exist in both the past and the future, without being bound by ti as mortals and even gods are. So the third line should be…The Transcender of Past and Future."
Edward smiled. When combined, the three phrases beca:
The Eternal Sovereign Above Dinsions;
The Deconstructor of Endless Stories;
The Transcender of Past and Future.
He snapped his fingers, and the sound echoed across the empty palace.
"Yes! That's it."
Lowering his legs from the bronze table, he sat upright.
"Next step—find a 'lucky audience' and test whether this three-part invocation can really direct prayers to ."
He stroked his chin.
"Now…who should I try it on?"
———
Achoo! Achoo! Achoo!
Bernadette sneezed several tis in a row. Rubbing her nose, she continued eating.
Her mother, Matilda, imdiately touched her forehead. "Are you sick, Bernadette?"
"Nope~"
She shook her head. "My nose just got itchy all of a sudden. It's nothing."
But no sooner had she spoken than her right eye twitched inexplicably. A strange feeling welled up inside her.
"Why do I suddenly feel…like sothing bad is about to happen?"
It must be an illusion!
She grasped her little knife and fork, cutting with great effort into a thick slice of steak. Satisfied, she nodded at the neatly carved piece and was about to spear it with her fork when—
"Ha!"
The sudden shout from behind startled her. She whirled around—just in ti to see her father, Roselle, lean forward and gulp down the piece of beef she had painstakingly cut.
"Mmm~ delicious. As expected of sothing cut by my precious daughter just for her dad."
"!!!"
Bernadette was furious. "Daddy, you're so sneaky!"
"I call it wisdom~" Roselle smugly chewed the beef, sat down in his seat, and with a yawn grabbed a glass of iced sweet tea, draining it in one long gulp before letting out a contented sigh.
Bernadette huffed. "Did you go to another banquet at noon?"
"Nope."
"Your nose just grew longer!"
"Really, I didn't. Ask your mother if you don't believe ."
Matilda smiled gently. She had always been a simple, pure-hearted woman. She knew very well what sort of person her husband usually was, but as long as the whole family could sit together for a al, she felt satisfied and happy.
This ti, Roselle truly wasn't lying. He had no mood for any banquets.
After discovering signs of a possible "traveller" last night, he hadn't slept at all. First thing in the morning, he posted that bounty in the newspaper, then sat in his study waiting for the traveller to make contact.
Unfortunately, the whole day passed without the slightest shadow of that person.
Only when night fell did he rember he hadn't eaten anything. Driven by hunger and the sll of food, he finally ca to the dining room.
With a steak and roast chicken in his stomach, warmth and satisfaction quickly restored his energy, and he once again began pondering the matter of the mysterious traveller.
Their absence left him both disappointed and relieved.
Disappointed, because in this strange world, he was still alone.
Relieved, because if another traveller really had appeared—and turned out to have a rotten character—then…
So-called countryn eting abroad, and stabbing each other in the back.
"Bernadette."
Roselle turned toward his daughter. "Did your Uncle Grimm co looking for you today?"
"…"
Bernadette raised her head, giving her father a strange look. By now, she was quite certain—the one who gave her Pinocchio and The Little rmaid hadn't been Uncle Grimm at all.
But her father seed determined to play dumb. No—that wasn't it.
He was calling a deer a horse!
She bit down on her fork, hesitating inwardly.
Should she…tell her father about the mysterious man?
———
[Note]: Don't forget to VOTE. It keeps motivated.
Reviews
All reviews (0)