Prophecy

Aster believed the only thing he needed to guard against was the possibility that the Fool, though able to read Roselle's Diary, harbored hostility toward others who could do the same. But he was quite experienced in concealing his intentions and forging documents.

Aster's slightly restless movements drew the attention of the others.

...What was wrong with Lovers? Why were his emotions fluctuating so wildly? Did he have some connection to Roselle?

Klein could never have imagined that Lovers was plotting to fool him with a fake Roselle's Diary.

Next came the members' free discussion time. The other members discussed quite a few things, such as the details of the Acting Method, information about certain secret organizations, and even the civil servant election system. Lovers, Aster, listened absentmindedly, his thoughts having long since drifted to how he could forge Roselle's Diary. He barely paid attention to their discussion.

The plot cutscenes of the previous Tarot Club gatherings had all been unskippable. The mysticism knowledge and related intelligence mentioned during this gathering were also things Aster already knew, so he truly had no interest in hearing them again.

Watching the calm and silent Lovers, Hanged Man Alger felt faintly disappointed. Lovers showed no reaction at all to the probing hidden within the information he had offered. Yet that also revealed something.

Mr. Fool had formally taught us the Acting Method, yet Lovers remained unmoved, as if he did not care in the slightest. This was within my expectations. After all, he had already mentioned some of the rules of the Acting Method at the previous Tarot Club gathering. Taken together, this meant he had certainly mastered the Acting Method...

He was indifferent toward most secret organizations. Perhaps his sights were too high, or perhaps the intelligence we exchanged was too shallow. In any case, he was equally uninterested. Yet his standing and knowledge clearly did not match. The horns of a Whispering Sheep were not particularly difficult high-level Beyonder materials to find. From certain details, he was at most Sequence 7, on the same level as me, but the things he could encounter and learn about were clearly more numerous than mine...

He had not voiced any opinions on Loen's internal affairs either. That was rather unusual. Even laborers doing hard work by the roadside liked to hold forth on current affairs, whether they truly understood politics or not... Lovers speaking Loenese could not prove anything. Perhaps... perhaps he was not even from Loen...

Hanged Man was also somewhat distracted and hastily ended the discussion. Just then, he heard Fool's calm, faintly smiling voice:

"I have a matter that requires your cooperation."

Klein, whose Spirit Vision had not yet been closed, immediately noticed obvious tension emanating from Hanged Man. Justice, who had previously been carefree, now showed a little more fear and caution. As for Lovers... his reaction was somewhat like a student caught sleeping in class by the teacher.

The Fool's commission was not difficult, but it sent huge waves crashing through the hearts of Justice and Hanged Man.

The ritual magic mentioned in the commission was not difficult to complete. What truly frightened them was the honorific name mentioned in the ritual magic incantation!

"The Fool who does not belong to this era... the mysterious ruler Above the Gray Fog... the King of Yellow and Black who commands good fortune..." Savoring that honorific name, Hanged Man trembled from the depths of his heart. This three-part honorific name contained no reliance on another existence's standing. It was a pure God-style honorific name!

Such a terrifying high-level existence could never have sprouted up like a mushroom... He was most likely some ancient and hidden existence, merely not appearing before us in His original form... The Hidden Sage? The Primordial Demoness? The dark side of the universe? Or that so-called True Creator... This could not be confirmed for the moment, and I do not dare investigate it. But one person probably knows something...

Alger Wilson slowly shifted his gaze to Lovers beside him.

Lovers merely leaned back slightly, expressing his astonishment, but Alger could sense that his emotional fluctuations were not great.

It seemed even this honorific name had been within Lovers's expectations... I seem to be able to guess his identity... Hanged Man felt as though he had grasped a clue.

Also noticing Lovers's excessively bland reaction by comparison, Fool Klein kept his Spirit Vision active and observed his aura. There was very little surprise in it; there was more of the blue that symbolized thought...

When I first announced the Fool's codename, he had not even shown any sign of thinking about the title, as though it were merely an ordinary name... Lovers had probably been mentally prepared to be pulled Above the Gray Fog by Fool!

Yes, many details of his behavior showed that he possessed a certain understanding of Above the Gray Fog! When he first arrived Above the Gray Fog, he had even lacked reverence toward me. That stood in stark contrast to the other two...

The more Klein thought about it, the more horrified he became. It was not because Lovers seemed to have anticipated Fool's existence, but because this so-called Fool... who exactly was he?

Was it himself, or someone else?

The Fool card that Tarot divination had revealed on his first day after transmigrating, the brilliantly smiling Fool card in the Antigonus Notebook, and the Fool title he had improvised in a moment of urgency and claimed instinctively...

Had I replaced that Fool...? After describing the ritual magic required for the commission, Klein fell silent. His thoughts were in utter chaos.

Although Hanged Man before him began talking again about the revival of secret organizations, Klein's mind was such a mess that he barely had the energy to listen. A terrifying conjecture had already formed in his heart:

There truly was an existence known as Fool, and Lovers, or the organization behind Lovers, wanted to contact that Fool...

"Just as you mentioned last time, over the past few decades, the activities of various secret organizations have been increasing. Several newly formed, large-scale organizations with a certain degree of Beyonder power have even appeared." Alger looked toward Aster and spoke after choosing his words carefully.

"Yes, after all, there is that prophecy." Aster glanced at him and bluntly took Hanged Man's bait.

A prophecy? He really does know something... Delighted inwardly, Hanged Man deliberately asked in a rash manner, "Mr. Lovers, what prophecy is it exactly?"

"When you become a high-ranking member of the Church of Storms in the future, you will naturally know." Aster shrugged and dealt Hanged Man a fierce counterblow.

So Mr. Hanged Man truly is a member of the Church of Storms... Justice Audrey looked at Alger curiously, then noticed that his body movements were somewhat stiff. Instinctively entering the Spectator state, Audrey quickly found the reason:

Mr. Hanged Man had repeatedly probed Mr. Lovers just now, which displeased him. So he directly exposed the organization behind Mr. Hanged Man as retaliation? But was that retaliation not a little too forceful...

In truth, though, Aster was merely growing tired of Alger Wilson always probing this and probing that, so he deliberately reacted a little too strongly to teach him a lesson and stop him from setting so many traps in his words.

He conveyed only one message: Stop probing me!

With a bitter smile, Alger sighed. "Sorry for the trouble. If I want to know that prophecy now, what price must I pay?"

He truly had not expected Lovers, who seemed easygoing and unconcerned with profit, to suddenly expose his identity over a simple probe. Moreover, Alger was even more puzzled about why he knew that Alger was a Beyonder affiliated with the Church of Storms.

At sea, there were a great many pirates of the Sailor Pathway!

"I said that you should know in the future. Knowing the reason too early will not benefit you." Aster answered calmly. That prophecy was naturally one of the promotional lines for Sequence Wars: In 1368, the Apocalypse descends.

Any Demigod with prophecy abilities, as well as Beyonders who held even a little status within the major organizations, knew this prophecy.

One reason Aster did not say it himself was that it would be difficult for him to earn the trust of a suspicious fellow like Alger. By comparison, conclusions Hanged Man reached through his own investigation would be more credible. Moreover, he worried that Alger might give up on himself and completely lose control if he learned the prophecy too early.

The end of the world... In a few decades, the world would end.

Such heavy words made even Aster feel somewhat oppressed whenever he recalled them, let alone these more fragile native NPCs who had been born and raised here.

Even by the time Aster transmigrated, the game version had not updated to the arrival of that "end of the world." It seemed to exist only within the game's setting, but precisely because of that, a trace of fear rarely surfaced in Aster's heart.

The unknown was the most terrifying thing of all.

Knowing too early would not benefit me... After asking Justice and Fool not to reveal his identity, Alger finally began considering Lovers's words.

I can learn it once I become a high-ranking member of the Church. Does that mean only high-sequence Beyonders can know? No, Lovers cannot possibly be a high-sequence powerhouse. Is it a matter of information channels, or can only members who earn sufficient trust know... If my guess is right, this is probably not a positive prophecy... The secrecy is because the Church's higher-ups fear it will cause chaos?

Alger's mind was quite agile, and he soon vaguely guessed something. But a guess was ultimately only a guess. Before receiving definite information, he would not treat it as fact.

Lovers's somewhat lofty attitude stung him, while his desire for the truth fueled Hanged Man's already intense ambition.

I must become a high-ranking member of the Church... Alger gritted his teeth inwardly.

After watching for several seconds, Justice observed the two gentlemen who had both fallen silent. She thought for a few seconds, then asked tentatively, "Mr. Lovers, do you know which Beyonder organizations have recently become active? If I want an answer to that question, what price should I pay?"