Mr. Witch Was Deeply Torn

Every gift fate bestowed had already been secretly marked with a price.

Perhaps Trissy did not know that saying, but as a Sequence Seven, everything she had experienced since becoming a Beyonder had carved that principle into her instincts.

No one helped you for no reason. Giving more than one received usually only meant the other party stood to gain even more.

Looking into Trissy's alluring eyes, the Black Cat suddenly stood upright, spread its front paws, and said helplessly:

"It's not that I can't tell you, but before that, I think you should understand this: if you know nothing, then we are merely conducting a transaction. Perhaps I'll gain a 'favor' by giving you returns greater than what you put in, but that would only mean asking you to do a few things when necessary—things that do not touch upon your fundamental interests. There may be some risk, but once they are done, you will no longer owe me anything.

"But once you know the reason behind it, you will no longer be a chess piece that can leave the board after a single game. Whether you wish it or not, until the day you die completely, you will be dragged onto new boards again and again, staking your life each time.

"So, are you sure you want to know why?"

"Gulp..."

Trissy swallowed involuntarily, suddenly regretting asking so much. If she had not asked about that damned "freebie" earlier, would she not have to face such a choice now?

Under the Black Cat's burning gaze, Trissy felt as though her heart were violently convulsing.

Would she remain a chess piece, unknowingly placed upon the board when her role was needed and quietly dismissed when the game ended, or learn everything and bear the risks that only a player should bear?

She was only Sequence Seven!

In a matter that could casually involve true Gods, what right did she have to be a player?

Seeing Trissy fall silent, the Black Cat did not urge her. Instead, it kept rubbing against the box containing the extraordinary materials. Only after an image of a single eye with an ∞ symbol as its pupil had been carved onto it did it stop and say nonchalantly:

"You don't need to answer so quickly. We'll be spending a long time together."

"..." Trissy took several deep breaths to calm herself. She truly needed to think this through carefully.

But when she looked at the little kitten before her and the box several times larger than its body, she suddenly remembered why she had prepared all this and asked:

"How do you plan to take the things away? Do you need me to see you off?"

"Just help me seal the room." The Black Cat rolled its eyes at Trissy, then assumed a praying posture and chanted in Ancient Hermes:

"O Traveler from Distant Time and Space;"

"You are the contradictory spiral of logic and wisdom;"

"You are the reflection of knowledge, the reverse side of truth."

"Your faithful servant begs for Your gaze;"

"Begs You to accept his offering;"

"Begs You to open the gate to Your kingdom."

The ancient incantation echoed within the Wall of Spirituality Trissy had set up anew, gradually gathering a violent wind.

"No spirituality material?" Trissy's Witch potion had granted her considerable ritual knowledge. That was precisely why she immediately recognized this as a Sacrifice Ritual—and realized just how incomplete it was.

There were no candles representing oneself and the God, no offerings meant to please the God, and no spirituality material used to communicate with the Divine Kingdom.

Apart from the three-part honorific name representing the status of a true God, the only thing used as a lock-on was that one-eyed symbol with an ∞ pupil.

Yet this crude ritual had already begun to take effect.

Under her dumbfounded gaze, an illusory door formed from white clouds and mist emerged beside her bed. Upon that door was the symbol of the one-eyed double pupil.

Creak—

Though there was no tangible sound, Trissy seemed to hear an ancient door opening. The illusory gate of clouds and mist slowly opened, revealing the indescribably vast sea of clouds beyond.

"Don't just stand there! Send the box in!" The Black Cat suddenly turned and glared at Trissy. Trissy was instantly at a loss, but intimidated by the terrifying pressure spilling from the cloud-and-mist gate, she still instinctively lifted the box with both hands and presented it before the door.

A pulling force abruptly appeared at that moment, then quietly vanished. The only change in the room was that the box had disappeared without a trace.

The gate formed of clouds and mist quietly dispersed, and Trissy finally let out a breath.

It had ignored so many conditions and still completed the sacrifice—and all for the sake of transporting the raw materials for a mere bottle of Sequence Nine potion. This cat... or rather, the person behind this cat, was probably a Blessed who enjoyed immense favor.

At this point, Trissy no longer doubted that a "true God" stood behind the cat. Even if it was not a true God, any great existence able to use a three-part honorific name had to be close to the status of a true God.

Seeing Trissy's frightened expression, the Black Cat revealed a humanlike smile, darted onto the windowsill in a few leaps, and turned its head to say:

"The transaction is complete. If there's anything, I'll come find you again. As for you, if something comes up, you can pray to my Lord."

With that, the Black Cat jumped down from the windowsill and slipped into the city's shadows.

Pray? Trissy recalled the honorific name the Black Cat had told her and fell into a slight daze. She did not set some flag like, "Even if I, Trissy, die, die out there..." because she knew very well that she was not praying now only because she had yet to encounter a crisis that left her no choice.

Compared to sliding into the Abyss in the future, dying immediately was far less acceptable.

In a guest room on the second floor of the Fragrant Tree Inn in Tingen City, Sno endured the whispers echoing in his mind as he opened the Summoning Gate.

Thanks to A Foot of Rod's nearly limitless spiritual output, he could lavishly sustain any ability whose instantaneous consumption did not exceed one quarter of his total spirituality for extended periods.

Although most of the time, he had to ensure he could activate Concept Swap at any moment to avoid active probing by certain Spectator pathway Beyonders, he still had more than enough room to open the Summoning Gate like this.

In fact, if he wanted to, he could even use the Summoning Gate as a teleportation ability. The only problem was that Lily did not have enough spirituality to open the Summoning Gate herself.

But now, the spirituality had arrived.

Sno opened the box and began mixing the potion using the inn's teapot and cups. As a bottle of black potion as gorgeous as the Starry Sky appeared in the cup, Lily's figure also appeared outside the window.

"My ability to calculate time seems to have improved again." Sno smiled softly, withdrew the consciousness attached to Lily, and handed the cup of potion to her—

"Drink it. This is meow's destiny."

Irresponsible aside: You never know what an inn's teapot has actually brewed...

P.S. Come to think of it, some people didn't get the point at the end of the previous chapter. What Feng Xue meant by his final words was that the sentence, "I take transactions very seriously," was itself not worth as much as the potion...