Spirit Channeling

During the last Tarot Club gathering, Aster had tried to use the Fool's power to dispel the contamination on him, but things had not gone as he wished.

In the game, players would automatically have all their debuffs dispelled every time they entered the Tarot Club, but this time, Aster had failed to use it to purify the contamination within him. The contamination from the True Creator was strange. It seemed to have been judged by Above the Gray Fog as part of Aster's spirit body and thus had not been removed.

This should count as part of the authority of Corruption... I'm afraid only the Fool personally taking action can purify it... Aster's expression darkened slightly. With the contributions he had accumulated so far, it was simply impossible to exchange them for a personal purification from the Fool.

Therefore, Aster could only work hard to accumulate contributions and request the Fool's help while investigating the Church of River and Sea and preparing to steal 1-27.

Azik tactfully took two steps to the side, indicating that he would not eavesdrop on their conversation—though this was actually pointless. If Azik truly wanted to know what Klein and Aster had said, he could hear them even while sitting in his office at Khoy University.

Watching Klein's expression, Aster nodded slightly. "Yes, I have indeed encountered some coincidences recently... They made me pay a rather painful price. Have you encountered coincidences as well?"

The moment Klein saw Aster's ugly expression, as though he had just been beaten up, he knew he had guessed correctly. He answered softly, "Many of the Beyonder incidents I've encountered involved coincidences... Mr. Azik reminded me last week to pay attention to the coincidences around me. The information I obtained through divination showed that there were indeed traces of Beyonder Abilities in those coincidental events around me."

This was Klein's usual conversational tactic. Every sentence was true, but when put together, they would make people think, "Azik used divination to determine that Beyonder factors were involved in the coincidences around Klein."

And Azik was a Demigod. It was perfectly reasonable for him to divine such a conclusion, and it would not expose Klein's own unusual qualities.

The Death Pathway was good at divination too? How come I didn't know that?

Aster shot Azik, who was standing some distance away, a suspicious look. If he had divined it, why had he not simply gone over and killed the bastard making moves behind the scenes? It couldn't be that he was unable to beat him, could it?

Then again, Azik had not joined their conversation. Perhaps that meant this matter was troublesome enough that even he could not conveniently interfere at the moment.

Without pressing too much on the subject of divination, Aster looked around and discovered that Azik was enjoying the night breeze nearby. He asked in a low voice, "Then, you brought this up because there's something you want my help with?"

"Yes..." Klein subconsciously touched his pocket. "Well, I only know one clue at the moment. The person behind the scenes who is manipulating our fate and creating coincidences should live in a house with a red chimney. If you need a portrait, I can go back and use ritual magic to make one for you..."

"There's no need for that." Aster interrupted Klein. As he removed the pendant from around his neck, he asked:

"Did you bring Holy Night Powder?"

"I did." Klein took a small bottle from a hidden pocket in his trench coat. He had started getting used to carrying some ritual materials with him. "But I didn't bring any ritual tools..."

"Use this." Aster handed the silver pendant to Klein. "Set up a Wall of Spirituality. I'm not very good at that sort of thing."

The modified Wall of Spirituality Aster used to seal Beyonder items was, in essence, more of a sealing-oriented Beyonder Ability than ritual magic.

"Alright." The moment Klein took the pendant, he shuddered. The silver pendant was as cold as ice.

Contrary to its temperature, his spirit body became much more active in that instant, and his entire body felt refreshed.

As he scattered Holy Night Powder and chanted something under his breath, Klein quickly set up a simple Wall of Spirituality around them.

"I intend to channel your spirit and directly obtain the appearance of that house. Are you willing? If it's inconvenient, I can use an undead under my control as an intermediary." Aster rolled his sleeves up to his forearms and brushed back his hair.

"I don't have a problem with that." Klein was still a little nervous, but thinking of Mr. Azik watching from nearby made him feel much calmer.

Besides, I can remain conscious during Spirit Channeling... Melvin probably won't notice anything... With thoughts racing through his mind, Klein agreed to Aster's request.

Placing a hand on Klein's shoulder, Aster stared into Klein's eyes and activated his Spirit Channeling ability.

The ability Aster used this time was not forceful Spirit Channeling, but it could not be called gentle either. His spirit quickly found the information he needed through its alignment with Klein's spirit body.

The instant he clearly saw the shape of the red chimney, Aster's spirit body was bounced out by something.

"Was my Spirit Channeling just rejected..." Frowning, Aster looked at Klein as he slowly opened his eyes, feeling uncertain for a moment.

Looks like this guy really does have secrets. He's not such a simple NPC... But if I want to investigate, it will have to wait until I complete the True Creator's mission.

Careful not to ask about the details of what had just happened during the Spirit Channeling, Aster closed his eyes. The red chimney was clearly visible in his mind.

After confirming the appearance of the red chimney in his mind with Klein, Aster and Klein quickly settled on a reconnaissance strategy.

During this period, Aster would investigate Tingen City from east to west. After Klein obtained the materials provided by the Detective, he would give Aster a copy as well. Then, Klein would investigate from west to east, striving to find that person as quickly as possible.

After finalizing their plan of action, Aster prepared to leave. Before departing, he reminded Klein, "Be careful of the True Creator and the Aurora Order. I suspect they are involved in this matter."

It was precisely because of these coincidences that Aster had been contaminated by the True Creator. At first, he had thought that the coincidences around him were merely the True Creator's attempt to let him obtain the divine contamination inside Lanevus, using it to scheme for 1-27... But Klein's experience told him that the person behind the scenes appeared to have other motives. Their goal was not as simple as he had imagined.

"The True Creator..." Klein fell into thought. He thought of the wanted Megose. It was said that she was carrying the True Creator's child... Lanevus was suspected of colluding with the Aurora Order...

Something in his mind was faintly about to connect, but it failed due to the lack of an important clue.

"I should head back as well. If you obtain any new information, you can pass it on to me through Swain."

Aster turned and left, leaving Klein standing where he was.

His expression gradually turned puzzled, clearly indicating that he was thinking about something.

When Melvin had just channeled Klein's spirit, Klein himself had remained conscious. That was why the other party had been able to swiftly find the appearance of the red chimney in his memories without obtaining any other information—because Klein had consciously pushed the relevant information toward Melvin's spirit.

But Spirit Channeling was dangerous precisely because of its two-way nature of communication.

During the Spirit Channeling just now, Klein had likewise subconsciously tried to peer into Melvin's spirit body, but he had failed.

Klein saw only a pair of cold silver eyes. Immediately afterward, the image he had glimpsed shattered.

What exactly did silver eyes signify?

Klein was certain that Melvin's silver eyes had something special about them. They were definitely not as ordinary as he had claimed, "just hereditary."

But that was all Klein knew. Judging from Melvin's reaction, even Melvin himself might not understand the meaning symbolized by silver eyes... As Klein contemplated those silver eyes, Azik had already come up behind him. "Are you two done talking?"

"Ah, yes, Mr. Azik." Klein looked at Azik. "Mr. Azik, have you remembered anything about your past?"

"I have indeed recalled quite a few things." Azik rubbed his temples, his voice mellow. "For example, matters concerning Beyonder Pathways, and the 'Undying'... But unfortunately, I still haven't recalled the part concerning my identity."

"I hope you can recover the truth of those days soon." Klein sincerely offered a blessing.

Azik smiled and shook his head. "I have a feeling that the process of recovering my memories may not be so easy... In any case, your friend helped me out."

"By the way, Mr. Azik." Mentioning Melvin reminded Klein of what he had seen during the Spirit Channeling. He asked with concealed concern:

"Regarding Melvin's silver eyes... Do you know which Pathway might cause that eye color to appear?"

"Silver eyes..." Azik sighed softly.

Seeing this, Klein became even more curious. "Mr. Azik, could silver eyes be some kind of taboo?"

"No, it isn't like that." Azik gently shook his head. "According to what I know, some Beyonders of the Fate Pathway may display the characteristic of silver eyes. However, Mr. Melvin does not belong to the Fate Pathway. Both what he himself has claimed and what I have sensed indicate that he belongs to the Death Pathway. This also matches some of the secret knowledge I have recalled."

Azik raised a hand and slightly covered his eyes. By the Khoy River at night, Klein could clearly see Azik's eye color gradually change from brown to pure, translucent silver—the beautiful silver eyes even glimmered faintly in the darkness.

"Silver eyes are also a characteristic of some Beyonders of the Death Pathway." Klein's dumbfounded face was reflected in those silver eyes as Azik spoke slowly.

"Besides that, there is another term that may be related to my family." He suddenly gave a bitter smile.

"What is it?" Klein asked somewhat urgently. He had seemingly been contaminated by silver eyes before, so he was quite concerned about this matter.