As he returned above the Gray Fog, Klein felt the chill within his body rapidly dissipate, and he no longer felt the sensation that each " Worm of Spirit " would give birth to a new consciousness.
A moment later, the mottled bronze table appeared before his eyes, and he saw Miss Justice and Leonard's spirits gradually become clearer from the thin Gray Fog, yet still retain a certain degree of blurriness.
Once the Gray Fog that swirled around them sank into the "ground," Klein asked:
How are you feeling now?
He habitually used Gehrman Sparrow's tone, but immediately recalled how, in that " Hall of Honesty," his inner turmoil, his divergent thoughts, his habitual analysis, and his slander of Leonard were all exposed, making it impossible for him to maintain his original image in front of "Miss Justice."
"It's all Leonard's fault! Sigh, I'll just have to follow the doctor's orders. This time, I not only didn't wear the thick mask, but I even took off the thin one..." Klein subconsciously had this thought, then forcibly interrupted his thoughts and looked around warily.
He hasn't yet overcome the fear of having his inner thoughts spoken aloud.
Fortunately, this was no longer the place he had named " Hall of Honesty," and the "magic" that was impossible to overcome with normal abilities was gone.
It was clear that " Justice " Audrey and " The Star " Leonard also had similar post-traumatic stress disorder; one suddenly pursed her lips, and the other sat up straight, as if they had both instinctively thought of something just now.
After a few seconds of calm, they remembered that "The World" Gehrman Sparrow had just asked about their condition, and quickly brought their attention back to the present.
"I feel like something has been Purification... I had this illusion that I was going to split into a second personality, no, not a second personality, it's like some consciousness that doesn't belong to me is awakening inside me, um, it's gone now, praise to Mr. ' The Fool '! Justice!" Audrey performed a self -Psychoanalysis quite professionally, and then sincerely expressed her gratitude.
I'm grateful I could accept... dangerous thoughts so readily. Thankfully, in the " Hall of Honesty," Miss Justice and Leonard's thoughts didn't drift towards the " The Fool," otherwise I definitely wouldn't have been able to resist "interrupting," and that would have been disastrous... My shame would have made me lose control on the spot, collapsing into a pile of " Worm of Spirit "... Klein's thoughts flickered as he earnestly replied:
Praise be to Mr. The Fool!
"... Praise be to Mr. ' The Fool '." As a follower of the " Evernight Goddess," Leonard hesitated before echoing, then quickly changed the subject, "I'm fine now. Just now, I felt something calling to me from behind that bronze door. What about you?"
Seeing that Leonard had also confirmed his condition, Klein placed the " Unshadowed Crucifix " and the small metal vial containing his blood on the mottled long table in front of him.
"I feel that way too," he replied affirmatively.
"Me too, this isn't a hallucination, I've analyzed my own mind. Justice," Audrey said in a rather clear tone.
" The Star " Leonard raised his hand and scratched his chin, saying:
What could that be?
"It actually requires an ancient god to be sealed behind his throne..."
After what had happened, he felt he had lost all semblance of dignity in front of "Miss Justice," and his demeanor became increasingly casual.
"We can try to do some analysis... Justice," Audrey glanced cautiously at "the world," Gehrman Sparrow.
She was impressed by the man's ability to quickly gather information, make connections, and complete analysis and speculation.
Klein thought for a moment and said without any preconceived notions:
"There are only three possibilities. One is that some powerful creature in the Second Era's real world, at least close to Sequence 0, was sealed by the ' Dragon of Imagination ' Ankewelt at the bottom of the ' City of Miracles ' Liveseyd, behind his own throne. However, I don't think this possibility is very high, because the ancient god who created this travelogue and placed it in Liveseyd, simultaneously influencing both the world in the book and the real world, must have had his own motives. He wouldn't leave an unstable factor there for long."
"Yes, we all know we need to rule out any accidents, especially with an ancient god." Audrey nodded slightly and began a serious discussion with "The World" Gehrman.
At this moment, Leonard chuckled and said:
"Perhaps the ancient god ' Dragon of Imagination ' has already glimpsed certain scenarios in the distant future, believing that the sealed things will, to some extent, help him achieve his plans?"
"That's why I said it's unlikely, not impossible," Klein calmly replied. "The second possibility is that the sealed object itself is the key to ' Dragon of Imagination ' Ankewelt's scheme. When this travelogue meets '008,' the seal will be broken, and that object will return to the real world, bringing about some kind of change. I think this is the most likely possibility."
This may also involve the true stance or intentions of the " Dragon of Wisdom ".
"What could that be? Mr. The Fool said that after Adam got '008,' he was closer to Godhood, and the era changed as a result. This means that Adam has gathered all the materials for ' The Visionary, ' and only needs a ritual... I wonder if my understanding is correct? Justice," Audrey offered her opinion.
"I'm not sure either. I'll pray to Mr. ' The Fool ' later to see if I can get a clearer revelation," Klein said, leaving the question open-ended.
Unfortunately, the Old Man is Angel from the Fourth Age and doesn't have much in-depth knowledge of the Second Age, but he's certainly familiar with Adam... " The Star," Leonard said thoughtfully.
I will try...
He initially considered trying to investigate, but then realized that both of them knew his secret, so he gave up and said directly:
"... Try asking the Old Man."
"Thank you for your help," Audrey said sincerely.
In her view, this is a matter for the " Spectator " to understand; the person who cares most about it is undoubtedly herself, and others are more about offering help.
Then, she took the initiative to say:
"A third possibility is that something from the world of the book is sealed there, or perhaps a Monster?"
"Yes, it might be closely related to the world in the book. Destroying it would cause the world in the book to collapse, so the ancient god Ankewelt can only be sealed away," Klein offered his guess.
" Justice," Audrey pondered for a moment and said:
"I have an idea about this possibility."
Seeing that both Mr. World and Mr. The Star were looking at her, waiting for an answer, she slowed her speech and said:
"I'm considering this from a psychological perspective."
"Since the world in that book was ' Envisioning ' by Ankewelt, the Sea of Collective Subconscious there must have originated from it, with imprints of spirit, emotion, and feeling."
"Perhaps what the ' City of Miracles ' Liveseyd sealed away were the most extreme of these things, certain shadows, fears, or the imprints of extremely terrifying things projected into the consciousness of the ' Dragon of Imagination.' As long as one has not truly defeated them and eradicated them in reality, those things in the collective unconscious of the world in the book cannot be eliminated, only sealed away. If left unattended, they will gradually pollute that 'ocean,' causing the course of history to deviate from its predetermined trajectory."
Leonard was more focused than when attending internal meetings of the " Nighthawks " or even the " Red Gloves " team, and after listening, he couldn't help but remark:
"What could an ancient god, who rules the sky and the mind, possibly leave behind an indelible shadow and instill such intense fear?"
"I don't know." Audrey shook her head frankly. "If we analyze it purely from a psychological perspective, since it's sealed beneath the throne, at the bottom of the ' City of Miracles,' and there's a passage extending downwards, it suggests that the source of the shadow and fear may have the Original come from underground. Therefore, the ' Dragon of Imagination ' would have a psychological projection of sealing it—no, blocking it—underground. Otherwise, why wouldn't it be on the side of the throne, deep within the hall, in a specially made prison, or somewhere else?"
Hearing Miss " Justice's" words, Klein immediately thought of the experiences of Misses " Magician " and " Judgement ":
Following the information provided by the Sanguine, they discovered an ancient castle of unknown age. At the bottom of the castle was a bronze door that seemed to seal something terrible from the earth. Anyone who got close to that door or stayed in the vicinity for too long would be corrupted and die a miserable death!
It was an ancient castle, its purpose unknown, the Original guarded by humans from an unknown era... After the Sanguine discovered it, no one dared to venture deep inside... I thought at the time it might be related to Devil, and only Demigod would be qualified to explore it... Could this be related to the seal on the " City of Miracles," Liveseyd? Klein's thoughts raced, quickly retrieving a similar piece of information from his memory:
On his way to the Ruins of the Gods' Battle aboard Cattleya's " Future," he encountered what was known as a "giant deep-sea well."
At the time, Nina, the Sailor of the " Future," dived to the seabed and conducted an investigation. She said that it was not a giant well at all, but a dark, narrow, deep well that even a human child could not enter, with no bottom in sight. The inner walls had strange honeycomb-like Corrosion marks, and there were collapsed steel structures around it.
In a sense, this is also a "passage" deep underground... Klein glanced around, carefully considering his words before speaking:
"Do you remember what Miss ' The Magician ' mentioned? Beneath the abandoned castle in the Delaire Forest, there's a door sealed with powerful Depravity forces."
"Ah, right! Justice!" Audrey suddenly recalled this incident. "Could it be that in the early Second Age, in ancient times, the extraordinary beings had some common, terrifying enemies that came from underground?"
"Perhaps," Klein couldn't give a definite answer, then seized the opportunity to add, "It could also be like many Apocalypse prophecies say, the danger comes from the Starry Sky."
"Hmm." Audrey and Leonard didn't know each other well enough to discuss this issue in depth.
"Let's wrap this up for today. Once we have a basic understanding of the situation, we'll try to conduct the mural experiment again. Also, remember to keep it a secret." Klein glanced at Leonard and said, "Yes, when we get back, we'll immediately pray to Mr. ' The Fool ' and ask him to witness our vow not to reveal each other's secrets."
" Justice " Audrey did not object, and even added:
"There are some things I'll ' Hypnosis ' myself here to forget, so I won't keep thinking about them when I get back."