In the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom on the north bank of the Paz River Valley in the Southern Continent, Lucca Brewster, who had successfully advanced to Dream Weaver, returned to his post.
He wore a plain white robe with brass threads, his graying hair was neatly groomed, and his eyes, a grayish-green with a hint of pale gold, were very bright, like a calm lake, capable of easily seeing through people's hearts.
In the Bishop's lounge, at the desk, Leyton enthusiastically rose from his chair and congratulated Bishop Luca:
"Congratulations, Mr. Dream Weaver."
Lucca Brewster smiled and nodded, a hint of helplessness flashing in his grayish-green eyes as he said:
"Although I can tell that what makes you happier is finally not having to deal with church affairs, I still appreciate your blessing."
"This Dream Weaver characteristic does not include prerequisite sequences, which means that the Beyonder abilities I already possess haven't changed much, and I don't have to worry about adapting to the potion."
After a two-second pause, Lucca Brewster walked to the stained-glass window of the lounge, looked at the sunny sky outside, and mused:
"Although the advancement was smooth, I still saw some scenes during the process, some scenes I had never seen before. For a moment, I found it difficult to understand the meaning of those scenes. They seemed to be related to certain existences before the Great Cataclysm."
Seeing some scenes from before the Great Cataclysm during advancement... Is it because the True Creator's mind, which is dormant deep within the spiritual world here, has recovered the Visionary pathway characteristics, and some of His memories or thoughts have diffused out, being captured by Bishop Luca, who was coincidentally in the state of advancement?
As thoughts flickered, Leyton asked curiously, "What kind of scenes were they?"
Lucca Brewster briefly fell into recollection, then slowly exhaled, describing in a calm tone:
"The scenes in the dream were not continuous, with intense colors and abstract lines, more like magnificent murals carved on walls."
"In the very center, occupying most of the space, was a towering mountain, surrounded by pure white light, like holy radiance sprinkled from the sky. Around the mountain were grayish-white steps spiraling upwards, reaching the peak, where a giant cross stood, and the light on both sides emanated from this giant cross."
"Around the mountain, there were many angels with wings on their backs. Further away, giant dragons bore shackles, roaring on the ground, and giants struggled in the bonds of chains and boulders. On the dark sea, tentacles with bird-like feathers unfurled, and in the shadows of the mural, in the darkness, sinister, malicious eyes watched the mountain surrounded by light and angels."
"These are all the scenes. It's more akin to a dream with a revelatory meaning, but it's clearly different."
Leyton listened in silence, his brows furrowing slightly, then quickly relaxing. He pointed to the files piled on the desk and chuckled softly:
"Regarding the interpretation of the scenes, as a Dream Weaver, you should be better at it than I am. I won't offer much interpretation."
"As for the reason you saw those scenes during advancement, you'll know once you've dealt with these files."
Lucca Brewster paused, then sighed: "It seems a lot has happened in the Paz River Valley recently."
Leyton nodded calmly:
"Indeed, recently Mesagnes has been preparing to incorporate the Northern State into his rule, and he has come to see you several times."
"It seems my advancement to Dream Weaver was a wise choice. The affairs here have made me wonder if even an avatar can handle them."
Lucca Brewster sighed with emotion. In front of him, a phantom, transparent figure slowly appeared, as if looking into a mirror.
This figure, appearing out of thin air, quickly became clear. He wore a Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom priest's robe woven with book and eye patterns, his eyes were grayish-green, and his face was identical to Lucca Brewster's, but he looked younger, with gold-rimmed glasses on his face, and his demeanor, compared to a church bishop, was more like a wise man refined by knowledge.
"Fortunately, I have a surplus Polymath characteristic, and this identity can quickly handle the accumulated affairs from this period."
Lucca Brewster chuckled and sighed, then gently nodded to the identity he had separated:
"I'll leave the accumulated church affairs to you. I'm going to see Mesagnes."
After receiving a response from his avatar, Lucca Brewster nodded gently to Leyton, bid farewell, and turned to step backward. Layers of light and shadow undulated around him, quickly engulfing his figure and making him disappear from the room.
The Dream Weaver's level of "Conscious Wander" allows the physical body to also enter and roam the collective subconscious sea.
Looking at Lucca Brewster, who was already flipping through the files piled on the desk in the room, Leyton awkwardly touched his nose. During the time he had substituted for the other party's position, only these two days had he truly been handling church affairs.
After bidding farewell to the other party, he directly left the church, found a quiet place, and waited for this week's Tarot Club to convene.
Time quickly reached three in the afternoon. Leyton, who was discussing with Roselle the feasibility of improving the second-generation difference engine into a computer, suddenly stopped.
Ignoring Roselle's curious gaze, green vines draped down from around him, quickly obscuring his body and weaving a space isolated from reality around him.
"This bad habit of slipping away mid-sentence."
Roselle looked at the empty seat opposite him, muttered softly, then also got up and left the room.
Above the Gray Fog, in that ancient palace, streaks of crimson light surged, quickly coalescing into vague figures on either side of the mottled long table.
After a brief observation of her surroundings, confirming that no new members had joined this week, "Justice" Audrey immediately rose and bowed to the head of the mottled long table:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool~"
During this process, "Justice" Audrey suddenly noticed that there was another face-down card on the table in front of Mr. Fool.
Are there new blasphemy cards again? Is this efficiency a bit too high? While sighing inwardly, Audrey also began to guess which pathway this new Card of Blasphemy represented.
Following "Justice" Audrey's lead, everyone rose and bowed, then nodded to each other before taking their seats.
Subsequently, most of the people at the Tarot Club looked towards The Hermit, Cattleya, seemingly curious if she would provide Roselle's diary today.
Ignoring the curious gazes from around her, Cattleya turned to the head of the mottled long table and bowed her head, saying:
"Respected Mr. Fool, I still haven't collected any of Roselle's diary this week."
As expected, it seems I won't be able to get the diary from Bernadette anymore. No, the diary is no longer important to me. If I have questions, I can just ask Emperor Roselle myself. So much has happened recently that I forgot to mention this.
As thoughts flickered, Klein leaned leisurely against the back of his chair, his voice calm:
"It's fine. You don't need to collect the diary anymore. I have already obtained the information I need."
He paused, then added:
"You can still obtain some knowledge or help from me, but the payment will no longer be the diary. It can be any other form of thing, for example, some Concealment but true information, some items with magical effects."
This... Mr. Fool no longer needs to collect Roselle's diary. What news did He obtain from the diary? But no one submitted a diary last week, right? Was it a diary provided by Mr. Fool's dependents or some forces directly under Him? At this thought, "Justice" Audrey subconsciously turned her head to look at The World at the very end of the mottled long table.
The Hermit, Hanged Man, and Chariot also made the same gesture.
Sun Derrick looked curiously at the head of the mottled long table. He was very interested in the news Mr. Fool obtained from Roselle's diary... He wondered what kind of news it was that needed to be hidden in a diary no one could understand, and that Mr. Fool had to personally collect.
One thought after another flashed through Derrick's mind. He bowed to the figure at the head of the mottled long table:
"As you wish!"
The rest of the Tarot Club members quickly came to their senses and, with great tacit agreement, followed Sun Derrick in bowing:
"As you wish!"
The Fool, Klein, leaned back in his chair and nodded gently: "You may begin."
As his voice fell, he seamlessly manipulated his alternate account, The World, and raised a hand, saying:
"Everyone, I have some mystical items for sale."
Some? Klein's family fortune is quite substantial. Well, yes, he hunted down many pirates and Pirate admirals during his time as Gehrman Sparrow... As thoughts floated through his mind, Leonard looked at The World at the very end of the mottled long table with interest, hoping that the mystical items he was selling would include something that met his needs.
With The World, Gehrman Sparrow's introduction, several mystical items he put up for sale were quickly bought by Justice and Hanged Man.
The transaction phase quickly passed. Moon Emlyn's gaze swept around, then he spoke first:
"Everyone, I have already met that important figure of our Sanguine. He thinks highly of me and has given me some trials. If I pass the trials, I will then represent the three Dukes to conduct some cooperation with the Sanguine's allies."
Allies of the Sanguine, is this guy going to be thrown into the Southern Continent? As a gathering place for Primordial Moon believers, the Sanguine is indeed more likely to advance there in the Southern Continent, but they could also become Beyonder ingredients, helping others advance.
As thoughts flickered, Leyton nodded gently to Emlyn:
"Congratulations."