The boundless Gray Fog boiled up, and the ancient and majestic palaces were burning everywhere.
The blazing flames coalesced into a ball, seemingly rising as a bright, white the Sun within this mysterious space.
The howling hurricane overturned the mottled long table, snapped the thick stone pillars, and caused half of the palace to collapse with a roar.
Klein, sitting in the " The Fool's " position, first had his head boiling, then it exploded with many holes, and charred worms crawled out of the fractured surface.
He did not die; in fact, he calmly extended his right palm and lightly tapped the armrest of the high-backed chair.
The mysterious space above the Gray Fog trembled noticeably, with power surging forth layer upon layer, calming the hurricane, extinguishing the flames, and causing the blazing the Sun to dissipate inch by inch.
The massive stone pillars stood tall again, the weathered long table returned to its original state, and the magnificent and sacred palace seemed never to have collapsed or been damaged.
Klein's head instantly regenerated, and the worms that had crawled out lost their charred color, returned to transparency, and then crawled back in.
"Indeed, he's stronger than ' Dragon of Imagination ' Ankewelt..." Klein muttered to himself, his expression Distortion uncontrollably as he rubbed his forehead. "It hurts... and the pain is noticeably stronger..."
As he whispered, he lightly tapped the edge of the mottled long table, causing the mysterious space above the Gray Fog to tremble once more.
Amidst the tremors, a thick, dark shadow suddenly appeared on the palace floor.
The shadow Distortion and struggled, but was ultimately swept away completely by the power of the Gray Fog, leaving no trace.
Several dozen seconds passed before Klein finally calmed down and recalled what he had just seen:
"That must be the Ancient The Sun God, the Creator City of Silver, and the father of Amon and Adam..."
"Judging from the cross he wore and the phrase 'Let there be light,' he was very likely the first time traveler, perhaps of European or American origin, and possibly with a church background..."
"He speaks a language that can manipulate the forces of nature, similar to the Jotun, yet different, and not belonging to Elvish, Dragonese, or Ancient Hermes... Hmm, it shares similarities with the Ancient Feysac of the Northern Continent and the Dutanese of the Southern Continent, to the point that although I haven't mastered this language, I can barely understand what He is saying... Is this the language He mastered within that strange gray-white building?"
"Did He travel there and inherit a vast fortune?"
"The second scene depicts Him being betrayed and devoured by the three Angel King— the Pure White, the Wisdom, and the King of Wind?"
"For a god who claims to be the Creator, such tangible pain and Distortion could probably only occur in this state..."
"Yes, the divine blood that dripped from Him before His fall merged with the silver cross, changing its form and making it Sealed Artifact of considerable quality."
"From this perspective, the ' Unshadowed Crucifix ' either came into the possession of one of the three Angel King the Pure White, the Wisdom, and the King of the Wind—or it fell into the hands of Amon or Adam, who considered it an important relic of their Father."
"The former might not be too high-ranking. This cross has both positive and negative effects, and its origin is a secret that must be concealed. No one would give it to the Augustus Family... So, it really was arranged by Adam?"
Why did He so naturally and logically bestow the ' Unshadowed Crucifix ' upon the ' Magician ' or the ' Judgement '?
"Has He, through certain observations, discovered that the two young ladies believed in ' the Fool '?"
Is this cross for the ' The Fool ' who don't belong to this era?
He wanted to know where his father, who also didn't belong to that era, came from. But the problem was, how did he plan to ask the question, and how did he expect to get the answer?
"That Creator of City of Silver is truly of a high rank. Even across the vast expanse of history, he sensed my 'spying,' casting his gaze upon the Gray Fog and upon this mysterious space. Moreover, the impact wasn't just overt destruction, but also covert erosion, creating a peculiar shadow that almost allowed it to lurk..."
Does this mean that after gaining power in multiple areas, the status of a deity will undergo a qualitative change?
"What did that whispered word ' Mysteries ' mean? Did it refer to me, or to the original owner of this mysterious space?"
A series of questions flashed through Klein's mind, leading to numerous guesses, but he struggled to arrive at a final answer.
Based on his fear of Adam, he felt it was better for the " Unshadowed Crucifix " to be shattered by the City of Silver's divine Sealed Artifact and Reorganization into a pure Beyonder Characteristic.
Gathering his thoughts and suppressing his questions, Klein conjured new paper and pen, and wrote down the knowledge he had gained from directly gazing at the Creator City of Silver:
Sequence 4: The Unshadowed.
Main materials: one drop of the blood of the ' The Sun ' god, or three tail feathers of an adult the Sun God Bird plus one piece of Holy Radiant Stone.
"Auxiliary materials: 60 ml of the Sun God Bird's blood, 30 ml of Holy Radiant Stone Companion Liquid, 7 drops of Mutant Golden Hand Citron Juice, 10 g of Magma Heart Powder."
"Ritual: Extract the strongest and most unwilling emotions, then ingest Potion, and in the process, reintroduce these emotions."
" Sequence 3: Mentor of Justice..."
" Sequence 4: The Black Knight..."
" Sequence 3: The Three-Headed Holy Cathedral..."
After finishing these tasks, Klein picked up the verdigris cross again and examined it with a solemn expression for a while.
Then, he threw the " Unshadowed Crucifix " into the pile of junk and used the power of the mysterious space above the Gray Fog to suppress it, so that when he came up again next time, the paper figures he had cut out would already be praising the Sun.
In front of an ordinary house in the Cherwood Borough.
The postman on his bicycle squeezed the brakes and stopped at the door.
He then parked the car, took a letter from the mailbag in the back seat, and glanced at it to see if the address was correct.
"This is for Hugh..." The postman quickly went to the mailbox, dropped the letter in, and then got back on his vehicle without delay and pedaled away.
After a while, a layer of black flames suddenly rose from the mailbox slot.
The flame burned quietly, then quickly disappeared.
Inside the Hall family's luxurious villa in Queens Borough.
Audrey, who had just returned to the hall after leading Susie for a walk in the garden, saw her father, Earl Hall, enter from outside. He took off his hat and scarf and handed them to his personal valet, while frowning slightly, seemingly deep in thought.
"Dad, what happened?" Audrey asked with concern.
This is the most basic observation; she doesn't need to hide anything.
Earl Hall suppressed his annoyance and smiled, saying:
"It's nothing too important, I just didn't expect Herabergen Rambis to be a cult member."
"Is he a member of a cult?" Audrey aptly expressed her surprise.
She knew that Herabergen Rambis was indeed a high-ranking member of the Concealment organization, the Psychology Alchemists, but she couldn't understand how this matter had suddenly been exposed.
Earl Hall nodded solemnly and said:
"Yes, he is wanted by the three major churches. I don't know which cult he's involved with yet."
"... Was he caught?" Audrey asked curiously, her eyes darting around.
"No, he had already disappeared before he was wanted." Earl Hall sighed. "It's really hard to imagine he was a cultist. He was exceptionally refined, knowledgeable, and his insights on all matters were rational, fair, and full of Wisdom."
That's just the side he wants you to see... Audrey muttered to herself, and then, as usual, went into the small prayer room in the house before dinner, faced the emblem of the " Evernight Goddess," and assumed a prayerful posture.
However, what she murmured was:
" The Fool That Doesn't Belong to This Era..."
After reading the honored name, Audrey reported succinctly:
Herabergen Rambis has disappeared.
He has been labeled a cult member and is wanted by the three major churches...
After telling this story, Audrey was about to turn and earnestly pray to the goddess when suddenly large swaths of grayish-white mist appeared before her eyes.
In the center of the grayish-white mist, a blurry figure sat in a chair, looking down at the viewer with a slight nod.
"I see."
As soon as the Concealment being finished speaking, the scene before Audrey's eyes suddenly changed, revealing a figure intently praying:
"Great ' The Fool,' the Church of Evernight has received intelligence from Qonas Kilgor that confirms King George III harbors a great secret. For the sake of the ' Blood Emperor's' ruins in the Sterling section of the Tussock River, he colluded with the Demoness Sect and the Psychology Alchemists to traffic people and fabricate disappearances, leading to the Great Smog of Backlund Massacre..."
" The Demoness Sect's representatives in the early stages were ' Despair Nightingale ' Panatiya, and later ' Saintess of White ' Katarina; the Psychology Alchemists was represented by Herabergen Rambis..."
"Please remind Miss ' Justice ' to be careful whenever she encounters Herabergen Rambis again, and to be prepared to ask for help at any time."
Your Majesty... Audrey's eyes widened slightly, her heart surging with emotion, unable to contain herself.
This was partly because the news was too shocking for her as a noblewoman, and partly because the " Lies " accessory she was wearing amplified her emotions.
Almost simultaneously, a news report flashed through Audrey's mind, a report that had left a very deep impression on her:
"... According to preliminary statistics, more than 21,000 people died directly from the smog, and the subsequent spread of the epidemic claimed nearly 40,000 lives, including young children and healthy young men and women..."
So that's how it is... What exactly is the King plotting... The three major churches probably haven't obtained any real evidence, otherwise Dad wouldn't only have the level of trouble he was just experiencing... Audrey felt inexplicably angry and sad, as if a principle she had always adhered to had been ruthlessly trampled upon, as if a value she had long upheld had silently collapsed.
She instinctively lowered her head and closed her eyes.
Then, she took a light breath and said softly:
"Thank you, Mr. ' The Fool,' and please convey my gratitude to Mr. 'World.'"
After the prayer, Audrey sat in the quiet darkness, motionless for a long time.