"If you only had one day left to live, what would you do?"
...
Pain!
So much pain!
My head hurts so much!
Just like Klein in Chapter 1 of "Lord of the Mysteries" when his temple took a bullet!
Sunlight gently streamed through the villa's windows into the room, falling upon a study decorated in distinctly Ruen style. The figure seated behind the desk held his forehead with his hand, sweat dripping profusely from his head.
A figure draped in a black robe stood before the desk. He seemed completely unsurprised by the actions of the person behind the desk, simply waiting quietly for the man to slowly raise his head before speaking:
"We have discussed this question many times, Mr. L. Even if today were the last day of my life, I would use every last bit of my strength to praise the Lord's glory."
The person called "Mr. L" fell silent for a moment, then nodded gently:
"...You're right. I think so too, Mr. Z. I've heard the Lord's voice again—perhaps in just a short time, I will be blessed to go to the Lord's side."
Hearing these words, a flash of wariness and scrutiny passed through Mr. Z's eyes. He quietly observed the "Mr. L" before him. After a long moment, he slowly spoke:
"Thunder and rain are all the Lord's will. Mr. L, I need to go confirm the status of the Lord's divine descent plan again."
As he spoke, Mr. Z slowly turned his head, his voice carrying both advice and warning as he addressed "Mr. L":
"—I hope you will not betray the Lord's glory."
"I understand. Thank you for your trouble."
Mr. L watched as Mr. Z turned and left. Only after confirming that this mid-sequence Beyonder of the "Secret Suppliant" pathway had completely departed, and that even a "Listener's" abilities couldn't hear his voice, did he slowly breathe a sigh of relief:
"Finally managed to fool that fanatic!"
"Just now, I had that dream again, that dream filled with gray fog..."
"Ever since transmigrating to this world, every time I fall asleep, I dream of this gray fog, or rather, the scene of the 'Sefirah Castle'... it always ends with severe headaches..."
The person called "Mr. L"—Nimrod—leaned back in his chair, his mind recalling the experiences of this period:
"When I transmigrated into the world of 'Lord of the Mysteries' and realized I hadn't died from the knowledge in my brain, I knew my transmigration wasn't quite right."
"But aren't there too many things that aren't right?"
As he spoke, Nimrod raised his head and looked toward the mirror across from the desk. The mirror clearly reflected a somewhat familiar face:
Black curly hair, black eyes, broad forehead, thin face.
At the edge of what the mirror reflected, on Nimrod's desk lay a monocle made of crystal.
Although anyone familiar with "Lord of the Mysteries" could call out the original owner's name upon seeing Nimrod's current appearance, even after two days, Nimrod's tone still carried surprise when discussing this matter:
"I actually transmigrated into one of 'Amon's' avatars..."
"Moreover, a constantly flowing countdown made of gray mist appeared on the back of my hand..."
"Fortunately, I didn't inherit Amon's identity or feel Amon's main body controlling this avatar, or it would truly be a hellish start!"
Nimrod lowered his eyelids, directing his gaze to the back of his hand. There, a countdown composed of gray mist was jumping second by second.
Six days ago, Nimrod had awakened to find himself in the world of "Lord of the Mysteries," a novel he frequently read before transmigrating, occupying the body of one of Amon's avatars.
Because he dreamed of the characteristic gray-white mist of "Sefirah Castle" while sleeping, Nimrod had tried many methods from the original work to communicate with "Sefirah Castle" during that day, but all ended in failure. Only the countdown on the back of his hand steadily decreased.
[9:17:12] [9:17:11] [9:17:10]
Time flowed second by second, and now there was only half a day left before the gray mist countdown on his hand would reach zero.
Nimrod didn't know what would happen when the countdown reached zero. If he could return to his own world, that would be the best outcome, but Nimrod understood this probably wasn't possible.
"Although the best result I envisioned is that when the countdown reaches zero, I could directly return to the real world, but, heh, I already have the answer in my heart—I just don't dare believe it."
"So I still need to play the role of this 'Mr. L' well now, to prevent some uncontrollable and unpredictable things from happening after the countdown ends, being identified as blasphemous by the True Creator's fanatics and killed on the spot..."
"But to some extent, my current identity can also bring me some convenience. So regardless of what happens when the countdown on my hand reaches zero, I can't just sit and wait for death!"
As he spoke, he suddenly stood up, his face reflected in the mirror showing some gravity:
"...What's that sound?"
At this moment, Nimrod felt a slight ringing in his ears, as if sounds were slowly emerging near his ears. This sound grew louder and eventually became clear in his ears:
"...The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings; The Sky Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings; The Exalted Thearch of Heaven and Earth for Blessings;, The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings ."
Nimrod's pupils contracted slightly. As this voice rang in his ears, deep red light slowly occupied his vision, followed by the endless gray mist he had dreamed of in his dreams!
The mist of "Sefirah Castle"!
Before the gray mist completely covered his entire field of vision, he barely controlled his arm, nimbly taking out a pocket watch from his clothing pocket and opening it with a "click":
The hands on the pocket watch pointed directly to three o'clock.
"Three o'clock, this is when the Tarot Club convenes... So the reason my attempts to enter 'Sefirah Castle' during this time all failed is because 'Sefirah Castle' already has a master?"
"So when Klein held this Tarot Club meeting, I was pulled up without his awareness?"
"I don't remember too clearly—has Klein not become an Beyonder yet, or has he just become one? Alger seems to only be Sequence Seven... so am I now the highest-sequence Beyonder in the Tarot Club?"
"But the body I'm occupying is one of Amon's avatars. Won't this let Amon sense the Tarot Club and then catch all the future Major Arcana cards in one net?"
Things had reached this point, and Nimrod had no way to shield against risks. The fact was, he had seized one of Amon's avatars and gotten involved with Sefirah Castle.
However, Nimrod believed that even if Amon knew He had lost an avatar, He wouldn't be able to find him temporarily.
After all, as Amon who had become one with His uniqueness, He definitely wouldn't let go of someone contaminated by gray mist, and since He hadn't knocked on his door now, either He couldn't find him, or He wasn't aware of his existence at all.
With the power of "Sefirah Castle" shielding him, the latter possibility was far greater than the former!
These thoughts flashed through Nimrod's mind in an instant. The next moment, gray mist and deep red starlight occupied his eyes, making his heart beat with slight excitement.
He was even somewhat looking forward to Klein's expression when he discovered he had "accidentally" pulled up one extra person.
The gray mist before his eyes dispersed, and Nimrod's surroundings suddenly became hazy, as if shrouded by an indelible layer of mist.
The first thing he did after entering "Sefirah Castle" was to excitedly roll his eyes, looking around himself.
—However, he didn't see Mr. Fool's stone table.
He only saw cocoons of light, seemingly woven from nearly transparent radiance, quietly suspended around him by black threads.
He looked up toward the front. In the extreme distance of his vision, below this gray mist, a long table that seemed to have existed since ancient times appeared hazily there, and beside the long table were three equally blurry figures appearing at the table's edge after deep red blossomed.
It was the Tarot Club.
But the distance was somewhat far.
Nimrod: "..."
He couldn't help but speak up:
"So?"
"What am I doing here? Is this still Sefirah Castle?"
"Having a Tarot Club meeting without me?"