The roar of thunder and waves crashed against the bow of an ancient, three-masted ship.
A sailor with dark blue hair and a sturdy build stood on the ship's deck, carrying a strange, cone-shaped glass bottle filled with snowflakes.
That sailor, Alger Wilson, had obtained the item from the captain of this ghost ship, a member of the Psychology Alchemists.
The mysterious object, its function unknown, made him both curious and afraid. Ever since he succeeded in seizing this ghost ship from the Tudor Dynasty, the weather had changed drastically, as if something was shifting and a mysterious existence was about to awaken from its long slumber.
Alger frowned as he set foot on the ship's bow, staring at the raging storm. With his Beyonder ability to predict the weather and find safe routes, he felt as if everything around him was suddenly shrouded in a faint veil of darkness.
As he prepared to change the ship's course, the bottle in his hand suddenly emitted a reddish glow. Before he could even throw it, the reddish light swallowed him in a flash, leaving nothing behind.
Backlund, Empress Borough, Hall Family's Mansion.
The noble girl with golden-blonde hair and brilliant green eyes stared at the mirror on her vanity table with a pout.
The girl, Audrey Hall, had inspected this antique mirror, brought by her father, inside and out. She even tried using various prayers and spells she knew to test if it had any effect.
"Father lied to me... Didn't he say this mirror was a treasure from the Dark Emperor of the Solomon Empire? There should be something mysterious about this mirror!"
Audrey refused to believe this antique mirror was just an ordinary object. She had heard that during the Fourth Epoch, especially when the Solomon Empire stood, the gods walked the material world, so a relic from the Fourth Epoch like a treasure from the Dark Emperor couldn't possibly be an ordinary item.
As she tried again to chant the spell to awaken the mirror, a reddish light suddenly burst from within the mirror and swallowed her before she could even react.
In a world of dense, gray fog, sat a black-robed figure shrouded in thick mist. The figure seemed to be asleep in its chair, having shown no movement for thousands of years.
However, when its humanity finally managed to prevail, if only for a moment, the figure opened its eyes.
The gray fog churned violently as if to welcome it, and an ancient palace from the era of giants was established for it.
A long table with twenty-two high-backed chairs materialized, resembling the meeting hall of the Rose Redemption.
The figure's eyes were black and completely dark, devoid of light. Tentacles beneath its robes moved in unison, flowing down under the table, while the thick fog concealed it.
It had been awakened by something calling it. Thus, it woke up earlier than it had planned.
The figure tapped the edge of the table leisurely, and one of the orbs of light came to it, showing who dared to summon it.
The orb of light crackled and then formed a viewing screen. On the screen, three humans were performing a summoning ritual.
The figure glanced briefly, then murmured, "Antigonus?"
Its voice sounded heavy and stiff, as if unused to speaking. However, to maintain the faint humanity that had surfaced, it had to act and feel like a human to form a critical balance with its divinity.
Otherwise, it would end up going mad again and be forced to seal itself away for a very long time.
The three humans finished the ritual, and then each, somehow, showed abnormalities.
The figure watched expressionlessly, not even looking interested at all.
If not for its spirituality telling it that this scene was important, it wouldn't have bothered to watch.
One of the humans left, taking Antigonus's notebook with him, and then handed it over to someone.
When the other two humans took action to end their lives, the figure finally showed a small reaction.
Its eyes flickered, and it tapped the table once more.
It turned out they were the ones who had awakened it with the ritual, but they ended up being influenced by Antigonus's notebook, which wanted to take their lives.
Although the figure did not want to interfere with the fate of human death, its human side showed a rare reaction.
Like a small spark of a firefly's light in the vast, dense darkness, the figure wanted to preserve that spark of emotion.
Just as it was about to stop the two people from ending their lives, its hand, which was about to tap the table, froze mid-air.
Its dark black eyes turned sharp, no longer empty, but filled with a focus and shock it had not felt in a long time.
"Azulhod." The figure shook its head slowly; their fates were already sealed. Even if it wanted to change it, they would still die in various ways.
Speaking of fate...
The figure used to hate it the most...
But now, was there any remnant of its humanity left to be able to hate?
None.
It just felt no need to interfere, as it would lead to a worse end.
Its divination and spiritual intuition, which pierced through space-time, could sense the danger if it changed the fates of those humans.
Did that mean death was inevitable for those humans?
For some reason, a sense of discomfort, an emotion long lost to it, stirred.
Perhaps because the lingering traces of divinity from the former owner of the gray fog world had thinned, the figure had finally won the long war for a short time. It could not win forever, but it should be enough for it to save the world it cherished.
It once again remembered when it was still human, living in the modern world, and then...
Finally, becoming what it was now, with no way back. It had lost itself.
Its name was even almost forgotten...
The figure tapped the table again, and a yellowish parchment appeared with a name written on it.
Zhou Mingrui.
"I... am Zhou Mingrui." The figure tried to further strengthen its human side.
With some consideration and acceptance of the consequences of fate, it finally paid attention to the two—no, three—unfortunate humans again.
A fleeting thought and its will had already influenced the fate of that world.
The duo who were about to die suddenly stopped, as if they were puppets controlled by strings. Both of their souls were saved, and their memories of Antigonus's notebook were erased.
The figure turned its attention to the last human and waited.
This would be the first time since becoming a god that it could maintain its focus for a relatively long time. Usually, being able to maintain focus and not go mad for a few minutes was already good enough.
The figure wanted to maintain its current state and further affirmed its decision to influence fate. If it meant its humanity could survive, then it would bear the consequences of that fate.
As time passed in the real world and midnight approached, the last human finally took action. With a revolver to his temple, the human was about to pull the trigger when the crimson moonlight was suddenly veiled by a black curtain.
The human froze, and his empty eyes finally regained clarity. He looked at the revolver in his hand in horror, then gripped his own neck as if choking.
The figure in the gray fog world observed the human's actions calmly. If the human failed to hold onto his life after being given help, then the figure could do nothing more.
If the figure went further and saved him completely like the other two, its divinity would strengthen, and its remaining humanity could be eroded.
Perhaps it could also take over the human's body and continue its life as a human.
However, that was just a fleeting consideration that the figure would certainly not act upon. It had many ways to descend into the real world; there was no need to take over the body of an unfortunate human.
After an unknown amount of time, the unfortunate human managed to stop choking himself and stay alive, which was quite remarkable. Without hesitation and full of panic, the human ran outside towards the nearest church.
However, the distance was still too far just by running, so the figure generously grafted the path to the church onto the path the human was taking, allowing him to arrive faster.
After that, the screen stopped displaying anything, as the disturbance in fate that had called it was over. The rest could be left to Evernight to handle.
The figure, Zhou Mingrui, fell comfortably asleep in its chair once more.
....
The sound of a call emerged again, waking it up.
Zhou Mingrui tapped his table and pulled two crimson stars that emitted a bright, fluorescent glow.
Again, its spiritual intuition warned it that the two owners of the crimson stars were two important humans whose fates were intertwined with its own.
Simultaneously, two screens appeared, displaying two different humans who were holding "that" item.
Zhou Mingrui's lips quirked up, but no emotion was visible. It had been a long time since he had seen "those" items, which he had intentionally made for his former followers.
But somehow, "those" items were in the hands of those two humans.
No wonder its spirituality had warned it.
After observing them for a moment, Zhou Mingrui made a decision. He pressed on the two crimson stars and pulled their astral projections into this gray fog world.
***Audrey gasped and found herself in a mysterious place with thick gray fog. She saw the silhouette of a man across from her who also seemed to be searching around in confusion.
When they didn't know what to do, a soft tapping sound was heard. Then, the fog began to move and revealed a staircase leading up.
Both Alger and Audrey looked at each other; although they couldn't see the other clearly, they were both victims in this situation and wanted to cooperate.
They both nodded and carefully climbed the stairs to a magnificent, grand hall. The hall looked as if it was built for giants, with a high dome and a long table, as well as ten chairs on each side.
When they looked at the end of the long table, a black-robed figure, shrouded in much thicker fog, was observing them.
Alger's heart sank as his spiritual intuition screamed wildly that the robed figure was very, very dangerous. He stood frozen in place, not daring to move again.
Meanwhile, Audrey, despite her trembling and fearful body, strangely possessed a naive courage within her. She hadn't died immediately, but was in this mysterious place, and the robed figure was only observing her and hadn't harmed her directly, so there was still room to negotiate and save herself.
With that thought, Audrey asked as politely as possible, "Sir, where is this place? What do you intend to do to us?"
The robed figure replied after a few moments, "An attempt." Its voice was stiff and monotonous, without intonation.
An attempt?
Both Audrey and Alger were unsure what kind of attempt this was or why they were involved, but they knew for sure they must not offend the figure.
"Sir, is your attempt finished? May we return?" Audrey asked again, carefully and nervously.
A long time passed until the figure finally replied, "Sure, you can make a request to return at any time." This time, it wasn't a monotonous voice, but one that had a reassuring tone.
Alger let out a sigh of relief, though he was still trembling inside. He encouraged his very brave and naive companion to take a step forward.
Audrey's fear subsided because she felt the figure had no ill intentions at all, so she finally thought of her interest. The reason she was so captivated by mysticism, even bringing that antique mirror, was to find a way to become a Beyonder.
Could the robed figure give her a clue to becoming a Beyonder?
Before Audrey could ask again, the robed figure tapped the edge of the table and gestured to the two chairs nearest to it.
"Sit and talk here."
Alger and Audrey did not dare to refuse, so they immediately went to the designated seats, then sat down stiffly, not daring to look at the figure.
"There's no need to be so afraid, I will not kill you." The figure continued speaking, its tone strange, like a mixture of indifference and gentleness.
It felt odd because the figure indeed had no intention of harming them, but it also didn't really care about their fate. Like a god looking down on humans, granting blessings, but not caring about the ultimate fate of those humans.
As soon as that thought crossed Alger's mind, he shivered even more.
Only someone as naive and cheerful as Audrey could still talk to the figure.
"Sir, this is an extraordinary experience I'm having. No, what I mean is, I am looking for a way to become a Beyonder. Sir, how can I become a Beyonder?" Audrey voiced her desire.
The robed figure didn't seem to expect Audrey to be so cheerful and fearless, so its answer was delayed for a moment.
"That depends on which Pathway you want to choose," the figure replied, then turned to Alger.
"This companion of yours can tell you how. Relax, you can speak freely," the figure added, knowing Alger's fear.
Its gentle voice seemed to calm Alger slightly, so the sailor exhaled the breath he was holding and followed the figure's command to speak freely.
So, Alger answered the noble girl's question, "If you want to become a Beyonder, you can join one of the churches or establish a connection with the royal family."
Audrey looked disappointed to hear that. "I don't want to sacrifice my freedom." She was so bold as to complain in front of the robed figure.
Alger's eyelids twitched. "You can't become a Beyonder without sacrifice," he retorted, before continuing,
"Alternatively, you can find a noble family with a history of more than a thousand years and get a potion formula from them, or join a secret organization."
Audrey glanced at the robed figure briefly, then asked again, "Is there no other way?"
Alger glanced for a moment at the robed figure, his breath held, then responded, "I have two Sequence 9 potion formulas."
"Which Sequence 9?" Audrey's eyes sparkled, and her voice became even more cheerful.
Alger fell silent for a moment to consider if this was his chance to obtain what he needed. Would the robed figure approve?
"Sequence 9 Sailor and Sequence 9 Spectator. If you want one of them, you can exchange it for 100 milliliters of Ghost Shark blood. With the mysterious gentleman as a witness, I'm sure you don't need to worry about the guarantee for this transaction."
Alger turned to the robed figure and offered, "Sir, are you willing to be a witness for our transaction?"
Audrey nodded and asked the same question hopefully.
The robed figure seemed rather interested in them, because although it hadn't said anything since they started the transaction, it also hadn't stopped them.
Audrey only then realized she was being very impolite. From the beginning, she didn't know what to call the figure. Even Alger had only called the figure 'mysterious gentleman'. That was very disrespectful.
With a slight sense of panic, Audrey asked hurriedly, "Sir, please forgive us, but may we know what to call you?"
Alger also just realized and echoed her.
The robed figure's fingertips tapped the table several times, apparently a habit of its, before giving an answer, "You can call me 'The Fool'."
The Fool? The Major Arcana Tarot card?
Audrey was surprised by the figure's way of speaking, which seemed playful. However, it was clear that this was indeed what to call him.
Audrey stood up and gave a noble's curtsy.
Alger also stood and placed his right hand on his left chest, bowing slightly to the figure.
"Mr. Fool, are you willing to be a witness for our transaction?" Audrey began.
After a moment's pause, The Fool replied,
"Sure, you can continue."
Zhou Mingrui was actually just a little curious, so he had pulled the two humans into Sefirah Castle for a closer look.
However, he didn't expect one of them to be so naive and brave. That was rather interesting.
So, he changed his mind, from his original plan of just observing them and sending them back, to listening to their chat and becoming a witness to their transaction.
Zhou Mingrui actually hadn't spoken to humans in a long time, and it felt refreshing. It reminded him of the remnants of his memories as a human in the modern world.
His expression relaxed, and a slight ripple of emotion appeared in his empty eyes.
While observing the noble girl, Zhou Mingrui wondered how such a naive human could have survived until now?
The noble girl must have been well-protected from everything.
However, with all that protection, the girl chose to walk her path into the abyss of darkness. How very ironic.
Zhou Mingrui smiled faintly as he continued to listen to them chat.
After the transaction was decided and upon their persuasion, Zhou Mingrui agreed to hold another gathering at the same time. Coincidentally, today was Monday at three in the afternoon. So the next gathering was set for next week.
Zhou Mingrui wanted to see how far humans like them could step into this abyss of darkness. Would they lose themselves, just like him?
After they left, peace was restored, and the palace was empty once more.
There were no more disturbances, so Zhou Mingrui fell asleep again to conserve his energy in maintaining his human side.
***
Notes:the Astral World, amidst a sea of blue moonflowers, the entity bearing the symbols of the crimson moon and silence faced the spirit world, as if sensing something.
"He is awake."
That entity, Evernight, cast her voice into the void, letting it reach the ears of "Him" who had been waiting for this moment.
Zhou Mingrui woke up again for the next Tarot Club gathering.
The two humans had designated the gathering as the "Tarot Club," and had even given themselves codenames: Justice and The Hanged Man.
Zhou Mingrui was impressed by their enthusiasm and didn't mind such trivial matters. He was actually more curious about the talk surrounding Roselle Gustav.
During his battle, it seemed Celestial Worthy had tried to revive using Roselle, who had been freed from a cocoon, but Zhou Mingrui ultimately managed to prevent it and continue the fight in the subconscious realm.
Meanwhile, he didn't know what Roselle's fate was after being freed and what his life had become.
After waking up some time ago and getting a glimpse of information from the spirit world, Zhou Mingrui could roughly guess the tragic end Roselle had met.
His fellow countryman had likely thought of himself as the protagonist of a story, eagerly digging into secrets until he was finally killed by his enemies. However, that was only on the surface.
As the ruler of the spirit world, Zhou Mingrui could seek deeper information, bypassing anti-divination and anti-tracking abilities. He used his authority to find loopholes and discover the truth.
Roselle had apparently swapped Pathways to become the Dark Emperor and had built a Mausoleum on an island. However, it seemed his case was that Roselle was enduring a corruption that couldn't be eliminated just by switching Pathways.
Zhou Mingrui considered whether he should help him or not, but ultimately decided against it, as his current condition didn't allow for it.
If he confronted the Goddess of Depravity to eliminate the corruption afflicting Roselle, he would have to sacrifice his remaining humanity and lose control again.
Until Zhou Mingrui could find a way to stabilize his human side and achieve a limited balance, he would not do anything to provoke an Outer God.
At this stage, Zhou Mingrui was still quite rational. He had finally managed to pull himself back from the madness of convergence and the instinctual cruelty for spiritual sacrifices. So, how could he miss the chance to strengthen his consciousness?
Zhou Mingrui had always been cautious, ensuring nothing caused trouble even while he was experiencing madness. He had pushed his former followers to forget him and leave so they wouldn't be affected by him and die because of him.
That was why his anchors were gone, but it was better this way, as Zhou Mingrui didn't have to worry about his unstable divinity being influenced by his anchors.
After a long contemplation regarding Roselle's fate, Zhou Mingrui looked over at the cluster of untouched light cocoons.
Well, he didn't know what to do with them.
Release them just like that, as he had Roselle?
How much chaos might ensue?
Zhou Mingrui divined that great chaos would surely occur, as not all of those chosen had the intention of protecting this world.
At a glance, he knew several of them were problematic, so he had intentionally kept them all there.
Perhaps Roselle was the only one who had managed to escape cleanly and ultimately almost succeeded in becoming a god.
Roselle would have to wait for him, and perhaps they could have tea together one day.
Zhou Mingrui recalled some memories of the modern world once again. Every time they were triggered, his human side grew stronger.
He had to be patient and not rush, ensuring everything was done correctly.
His gaze shifted to the two crimson stars symbolizing Justice and The Hanged Man.
At the thought of being able to chat with them again, a spark of emotion reappeared.
While pulling out a pocket watch from a historical projection and adjusting it to Backlund time, Zhou Mingrui decided that he needed to be more active in interacting to suppress his divinity.
At exactly three o'clock in the afternoon, the two crimson stars lit up and launched projections into their respective seats. Justice Audrey and The Hanged Man Alger stood to pay their respects.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool." Miss Justice always radiated cheerfulness, regardless of whether the situation was dangerous or not.
Zhou Mingrui smiled and nodded at her, and then at The Hanged Man, who also offered a stiff greeting.
They both returned to their seats and chatted about their transaction, which was then followed by the exchange of the Spectator potion formula that Miss Justice had chosen.
Zhou Mingrui had no intention of interrupting the formula exchange, but he silently confirmed that the formula was correct.
Resting his chin on his hand and tilting his head, Zhou Mingrui recalled memories of classroom discussions from when he was in high school.
When their conversation turned to how to become a true Spectator, Zhou Mingrui felt something was wrong.
Why didn't they know about the acting method?
Even in the time of giants, the acting method was fundamental knowledge.
With curiosity, Zhou Mingrui tapped the edge of the table to draw their attention.
Justice and The Hanged Man immediately turned to him.
"It's not controlling the potion's power, but 'digesting' it. Not discovering its mysteries, but rather 'acting' to digest it. The potion name is not just a symbol, but also the key to the 'acting' role you must play to digest it." Zhou Mingrui provided the fundamental teaching in a deep voice, like a teacher instructing his students.
Justice and The Hanged Man froze, not expecting to receive such profound knowledge.
Especially The Hanged Man, who looked as if he'd been struck by lightning, continuously muttering "acting" and "digesting" over and over before finally reaching an understanding.
Zhou Mingrui knew that neither of them fully understood yet, so he added a warning, "Remember that you are only 'acting,' and do not lose yourselves in that 'acting'."
It was precisely because Zhou Mingrui had lost himself, with only a little of his humanity remaining, that he gave this warning. As long as someone desperately held onto their original identity and personality, they would succeed in surviving the potion's influence.
Those were also words for himself.
The Hanged Man stood and bowed to him, far more respectfully than before.
He said, "Mr. Fool, I have received knowledge that is invaluable to my life. What can I do for you?"
The Hanged Man was convinced that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, so he was prepared to accept any request from this mysterious being, as long as he could fulfill it.
Justice, who was still confused, saw The Hanged Man's action and hurriedly followed suit. Even if she didn't fully understand, she knew this must be incredibly valuable knowledge, and she had to do something to pay for it.
Zhou Mingrui blinked once, and for the first time in a long time, he felt a sense of confusion.
Right, what could he ask of them?
He lacked nothing; besides, he didn't need anything they could provide.
He wasn't going to ask them to help him maintain his humanity, was he?
That would scare them, and it wasn't yet time to reveal such a high-level secret.
Zhou Mingrui suddenly remembered Roselle Gustav, the protagonist of an era whose life story he was curious about.
Although he could learn it directly from the spirit world, reading Roselle's diaries directly would surely be more interesting.
Until his divinity stabilized, Zhou Mingrui couldn't descend to the material world, so he could ask them to collect Roselle's diaries for him to read.
With a thought that took no more than a few seconds, Zhou Mingrui gave his answer, "Collect Roselle's diaries as payment."
The Hanged Man and Justice were surprised, confused as to what "Roselle's diaries" meant.
Justice asked hesitantly, "Mr. Fool, do you mean Emperor Roselle's notebooks, the ones written in unknown symbols?"
Zhou Mingrui nodded. "Correct, let's just consider them diaries. You can memorize the symbols and represent them here. Like this, for example: try to hold that pen and channel your emotions to write whatever you are thinking. This isn't mind-reading, but just a simplification of the writing process, no need to be afraid."
Zhou Mingrui guided them to try representing an example with parchment and a pen conjured from the void. Both followed his directions well and seemed relieved by his last explanation.
"This will be an equal exchange, so you only need to collect two pages of Roselle's diary each for the knowledge about 'acting'. If there is other knowledge you wish to know, you can pay for it in a similar manner," he explained, showing that he didn't plan to have them bring all of Roselle's diaries from around the world to him.
That was too unreasonable, and Zhou Mingrui didn't like it. It was better to make it a safe and attainable transaction, and he wouldn't have to be confused anymore about what he could ask of them.
"Mr. Fool, you are a very generous person." The Hanged Man and Justice paid their respects again, feeling much more relieved.
They didn't expect the mysterious figure to be more humane than they had thought.
The gathering continued with free chatter.
Zhou Mingrui felt like he was in a discussion with his classmates, so he actually enjoyed their every conversation.
When the talk turned to complaints about the governmental structure of the Loen Kingdom, it triggered Zhou Mingrui's curiosity.
Wasn't Roselle the type to create an ideal government structure?
Why had the existing structure not yet implemented standard operating procedures?
Apparently, there were some things Roselle couldn't change.
He tapped the table once more and gave his suggestion about holding examinations to select people who were experts in their fields.
"Mr. Fool, you are a wise and knowledgeable figure." Miss Justice didn't miss the chance to offer her sincere praise.
Zhou Mingrui felt something flash by and suppress his divinity. It was a bit surprising, as his spiritual intuition told him he had done something that would change the era.
Was this a way to maintain his humanity?
With more interaction, more influence on the material world, and saving people, would that allow him to successfully stabilize himself?
This was different from the faith of followers; this was more like the world's acknowledgment of him.
Zhou Mingrui smiled at them and said in a softer voice, "Very well, let's end it here. Look forward to the next gathering."
The Hanged Man and Justice stood and replied, "As you wish."
Both of their figures immediately dissolved into reddish light and were sent back to the real world.
Notes: