Nim, the High Priest standing at the very front, took the beast-hide lantern from the hunched young man beside him and nervously moved closer, stopping less than five meters from Leyton.
Perhaps due to his advanced age, or constant consumption of corrupted food, his eyesight wasn't very good. After examining Leyton from various angles for a while, he spoke in a somewhat nervous voice:
"I am very sorry, we did not intend to discuss you. This is our first time seeing humans other than ourselves, please forgive us."
"There's no need to be so polite," Leyton replied with a faint nod.
Nim seemed to have finally confirmed something, and he spoke with a hint of curiosity:
"You don't seem to be from around here, or rather, not from this continent. The language you speak is very strange. Although I can understand its meaning, this must be due to a magical effect you've cast; it doesn't belong to any language I know."
Leyton nodded slightly and said:
"This is Highlander, the language used in a country outside the Forsaken Land of the Gods."
"Forsaken Land of the Gods?" Nim murmured with a complex expression, as if he had aged considerably in an instant.
After a pause, he seemed to pluck up his courage and asked:
"May I ask if you know how to leave this Forsaken Land of the Gods? What price do we need to pay for it?"
"Heh, no price is needed, because you simply can't do it," Leyton said with a light chuckle. After two seconds, he continued:
"From here, heading west, you need to cross the entire continent. The Giant King's Court there is the passage to leave the Forsaken Land of the Gods."
"Giant King's Court... I know that place..." High Priest Nim lowered his head, murmuring softly, his voice growing fainter and fainter until it was silent.
The scene was quiet for a moment. He then raised his head again, revealing a bitter smile to Leyton.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Leyton interrupted him:
"You don't need to ask me for anything; your destiny is not with me."
"Wait. One year from now, someone will come here again. He will bring divine revelation and hope. That will be your opportunity to leave here."
"This is a prophecy."
As the last sentence fell, Leyton's figure suddenly became transparent and ethereal, decomposing into complex knowledge, transforming into a pure stream of information, surging like a torrent and moving away into the distance.
Nim stood rooted to the spot, staring at the place where Leyton had disappeared, a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
Taking a deep breath and composing himself, he carried the beast-hide lantern and retreated back into the Moon city's crowd.
As soon as he approached, the Moon city residents, who had been anxiously watching from the side, eagerly asked:
"High Priest, what did that person say in the end? Is he really a human from the outside world?"
Nim looked at the complex expressions of the people before him and slowly said:
"A prophecy."
After leaving Moon city, Leyton traveled a distance west, arriving at a collapsed, abandoned temple.
In the Darkness, scarlet gazes lit up deep within the temple, and a gust of wind carrying a hint of stench howled and rushed towards him.
Thick, greenish vines descended from above, covering the surrounding area like a downpour, completely enveloping Leyton's figure, and in a blink of an eye, he vanished from his original spot.
Only a few indistinct figures in the Darkness crashed against the temple walls and ground, causing a sound of falling and breaking bricks, making the already half-collapsed temple even more dilapidated.
In a dimension isolated from reality, greenish vines intertwined and woven together, quickly forming a vast, lush green forest, layer upon layer, reaching so high that the top was invisible.
Under Leyton's deliberate manipulation, some of the greenish vines wove together around him to form a set of green table and chairs.
He placed the lantern he was holding on the table, leaned back lazily on the vine-woven long chair, and closed his eyes for a nap.
After a few minutes, thick Gray Fog suddenly surged from his eyes, and Klein's somewhat ethereal and distant voice echoed in his ears:
"Prepare for the gathering."
Unlike before, this time he grasped some of Sefirah Castle's aura. His gaze, profound, looked up towards the top, as if crossing space and making eye contact with Klein.
Above the Gray Fog, Klein's heart inexplicably beat two faster. He unnaturally averted his gaze from Leyton's.
After two seconds, he curiously looked back again, but Leyton had already withdrawn his gaze.
"How strange, what happened to him? Even above the Gray Fog, I actually felt a sense of danger. He seems to possess some quality that can shake this Gray Fog?"
After muttering to himself for a while, Klein decided to perform a divination. He skillfully materialized the frequently used topaz pendant, closed his eyes, and silently chanted the divination phrases.
After repeating it a few times, he opened his eyes and looked at the topaz pendant slowly rotating counter-clockwise in his hand, feeling a little more relaxed:
"Fortunately, the changes in him will not pose a danger to me. However, what exactly happened to him? His entire being has undergone significant, inscrutable changes."
Time quickly reached three in the afternoon. Leyton looked at the grayish-white fog and deep Red Light that reappeared before him. It seemed as if with just a slight squeeze, he could sever his connection with the Gray Fog and easily refuse Klein's attempt to pull him in.
Resisting the urge to try, he used meditation to maintain his composure, allowing his Spirit Body to follow the pulling force created by Klein into the space above the Gray Fog.
Above the Gray Fog, inside the palace with its soaring dome.
Streaks of deep Red Light rose, then quickly retracted inwards, condensing into blurry figures on both sides of the mottled long table.
Klein carefully and covertly activated his Spirit Vision, observing everyone. The spirituality of "Justice" Audrey and "Magician" Fors had not yet fully converged, indicating they had both completed their advancement last week.
His gaze didn't linger. He turned his head to look at the other side of the mottled long table, and at that very instant, a strong premonition of warning suddenly arose in his heart, causing him to instinctively withdraw his gaze.
Cannot look, cannot look!
Who is it I can't look at? Al? Did he advance to Sage in the Forsaken Land of the Gods?
As thoughts surged in Klein's mind, he closed his Spirit Vision. Relying on the Gray Fog's concealment, he calmly looked at Leyton, who was sitting somewhat lazily on a high-backed chair at one side of the mottled long table.
No changes were apparent, only a vague sense that he seemed calmer and more rational.
As his thoughts turned, he heard "Justice" Audrey's greeting.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
"Justice" Audrey gracefully and skillfully rose, slightly lifting her skirt, and bowed to The Fool Klein at the head of the mottled long table.
Following "Justice" Audrey's lead, the other members of the Tarot Club also began to rise and bow, then nodded to each other in greeting.
"Chariot" Anderson, who had already experienced two Tarot Club meetings, gradually became more accustomed. His sitting posture had changed from the uprightness of a student in class to that of a wild and unrestrained adventurer.
Withdrawing his gaze from surveying the others, Klein tapped the table with a finger before "Hermit" Cattleya, who was about to materialize the diary, and spoke with a leisurely, admiring tone:
"Let us first congratulate our Hypnotist and Scribe on their successful advancement, and of course, our newly born Sage!"
"Justice" Audrey and "Magician" Fors, both surprised and delighted, turned sideways and bowed slightly to The Fool Klein at the head of the mottled long table.
At the same time, they inwardly speculated on what Sequence "Sage" belonged to.
Newly born Sage... Mr. Tower has already advanced to Sage? This speed is too fast, abnormally fast! "Hermit" Cattleya, who understood "Sage" the most, couldn't control her expression, turning to look at Leyton, who was sitting diagonally in front of her, with a look of astonishment and excitement.
The Queen stayed at Sequence 3 Clairvoyant for so long and couldn't find an opportunity to advance, yet he advanced so quickly and easily. This is absolutely not normal!
Thinking of this, she asked, both curious and concerned:
"How did you advance to Sage?"
Leyton shifted his body slightly, looking at Cattleya across from him, and chuckled softly:
"I've always had a 'Sage' Characteristic within me. When it fully integrated with me, I naturally advanced."
This, a natural born Angel? The only one on this Pathway who could achieve this is the Hidden Sage, no wonder... Cattleya was momentarily stunned, but quickly reacted. She swiftly reined in her exposed emotions and calmly said:
"You need to pay attention to the balance between your divinity and humanity. Your situation is more dangerous than that of an ordinary Angel."
Angel? Sage is a Sequence 2 Angel! No wonder Mr. Fool mentioned our advancement before the gathering began; it turns out he saw that Mr. Tower had already advanced to an Angel... "Justice" Audrey's gaze, unable to hide her curiosity, looked at Leyton, who was lazily sitting on the high-backed chair.
Angel! Is this guy even human? This advancement speed is simply too shocking... "Moon" Emlyn and "Chariot" Anderson's thoughts were surprisingly consistent.