The tiny words hidden on Audrey's fair skin distorted slightly, then gradually disappeared until they vanished without a trace. But she seemed oblivious, gazing at the fool with innocent, inquisitive eyes.
Klein stared at the painting, speechless for a long time. He opened his mouth, but didn't say anything. His eyes were filled with complex emotions. He had been here for some time and had almost gotten used to the red moon here. But the "bright moon" that appeared before him now awakened his homesickness, plunging him into silence for a moment.
Klein stared at the painting in Audrey's hands, but Audrey and Alger, mistaking the great ruler behind the gray fog for someone watching them, held their breath in shock. After a long while, Klein finally came to his senses. Looking at the two tense figures, he paused, realizing they had misunderstood him. He leaned back slightly, adopting a relaxed posture, and said calmly:
"This is not something you should know."
"I apologize, I overstepped my bounds," Audrey said softly, bowing her head as she apologized to the enigmatic "Fool." But at that moment, she heard the Fool, high above the gray mist, say in a calm voice, "However, this painter is indeed quite talented, able to paint the moon's 'most harmonious' colors based solely on his intuition."
"Please, Miss Justice! You absolutely must understand the subtext of my words! At least tell me if the person who painted this is my fellow countryman..." Klein prayed silently, awaiting Audrey's answer. Audrey, being born into an aristocratic family, quickly grasped the hidden meaning in Klein's words after staring blankly at the Fool, and nodded slightly.
"This painter's name is Gavin Abraham, a nobleman from Backlund. Um... the recipe for the 'Actor' potion that I mentioned earlier also came from him."
As expected… Klein's pupils contracted slightly. To be able to join the Aurora Society, it seems Gaowei possesses at least two pathways to low-sequence potions, no, perhaps even more… After all, he was already a nobleman when he transmigrated, his circumstances can't compare to mine…
Damn it! Why is it that Roselle became emperor, the High Dimensions are nobles, and even the True Creator runs the Aurora Society... why am I the poorest? Klein thought resentfully to himself.
After a few more casual words, Klein, who had successfully impressed Audrey by replying to her question about whether he could increase the number of party members, said, "No one may utter my name without my permission." Satisfied, Klein ended the party he had gained quite a bit from this gathering, learning some information about higher dimensions and also getting some free knowledge from Alger.
After the Tarot gathering concluded, Klein sat silently on his throne, gazing at the empty hall. The seemingly unchanging gray mist surrounding him offered no solace; instead, it amplified the loneliness of the place. Klein retrieved the slip of paper left to him by the higher dimensions, glancing at the True Creator. Just as he was about to recite the second name on it, he cleared his throat, but his voice abruptly stopped.
He pondered: Could the higher dimension capable of depicting that scene of Earth be his enemy? Does the friendliness of the true creator come at a price? Is the higher dimension merely a disguise, like himself, using a "golden finger," or is there truly an unknown deity behind it all? Is it as friendly as it appears, or has everything so far been a sophisticated disguise?
Klein knew that his best option at this moment was to ignore the High Dimension and not recite the unknown name. This would ensure his safety first. But putting aside the fact that the High Dimension had already established contact with his family, Klein wasn't sure if he would harm Benson and Melissa if he angered him; the sincerity he had shown before, and the loneliness of an earthly wanderer conveyed in the painting, were enough to shake his rationality and make him inclined to believe the High Dimension.
After much hesitation, Klein took a pendulum from his pocket, silently recited a few words, and attempted to divine the consequences of chanting the name of the revered deity. He opened his eyes and, seeing the pendulum indicate "a little danger, but very little danger," he felt somewhat relieved. He closed his eyes and began to chant the name:
"The eyes beyond the realm, the throat of silence; the creator of the hollow shell; you are the final curtain of separation."
Klein thought to himself: if the being corresponding to this name really is hostile, then this patch of gray mist might be able to help him block it!
Within the Forsaken Land, the High Dimensional Overlord opened his eyes and smiled. The True Creator and the Goddess of Night watched him, seemingly monitoring his every move.
"Don't forget your promise, High Dimension Overlord," the True Creator said in a deep voice.
"Don't worry... don't you trust me?" said the avatar of the higher-dimensional observer. "I will help you solve your problems of lacking an anchor, the separation of divinity and humanity, and your madness."
"Don't play dumb." The darkness around the True Creator rippled, seemingly transforming into an invisible barrier: "If you want to destroy the chance for the Lord of Mysteries to appear, the pollution you leave on Earth will never be able to leave the Forsaken Land again. I know that even for the Ancients, it is not easy to pollute the source matter. If you really break the agreement, then, Amanisis will spare no effort to awaken the Heavenly Venerable of Fortune and Profound Yellow through Antigonus."
"Even if the price is that you can never escape madness again?" The higher-dimensional observer raised an eyebrow.
"That's right," the True Creator said solemnly. "I will not believe in Outer Gods, even if you were originally human; I will not betray Earth, even if I was once devoured by the gods."
The goddess of night stood silently beside the true creator, but her actions proved that she was equally determined: stars emerged from the surrounding darkness, seemingly sealing off all spirituality in the vicinity.
The higher-dimensional observer burst into laughter, delighted, as if he had witnessed something amusing. He carefully examined the true creator before him, a cold smile playing on his lips:
"Fine, I agree to your conditions. However, True Creator and Amanisis, you two must not disappoint me. Since you are so determined, in exchange, you must not interfere with my actions against the Lord of Storms within the Kingdom of Rune."
The Goddess of Night nodded gently, indicating her agreement to the higher dimension's request. After reaching an initial cooperation, the avatar of the higher-dimensional observer suddenly exploded, allowing its spirituality to manifest in the outside world. Within the shell it had previously left behind, new spirituality began to surge, as if a life was being nurtured, preparing to break free.
"I'm leaving now, Creator." Amanisis bowed slightly. "If I'm gone for too long, the Lord of Storms will be uneasy; if He knows that I've come to you, He might join forces with Wisdom and the Sun to sabotage our plans."
Having said that, Amanises vanished into the darkness. Watching the goddess of night gradually disappear, the True Creator sighed, continuing to watch—or rather, monitor—the body left behind by the higher-dimensional observer. He knew that after this operation ended, some idle, "humanly" Outer God would reappear beside Him, continuing to act like a scoundrel.
Of course, this is on the premise that the higher-dimensional observers are sincere in cooperating with them.
Viscount Grelint finished concocting his potion and nodded in satisfaction. He gazed at the beautiful vial, momentarily mesmerized: it emitted a delicate, alluring fragrance, and countless points of light floated within the pale blue liquid. These points of light refracted the sunlight, displaying a dazzling array of colors. When he brought the potion into a dark chamber, these points of light emitted a strange glow, as if forming a shifting starry sky within the potion.
Grelint brought the bottle to his lips and drank the potion in one gulp. He felt a power he had never felt before gradually seeping into his body, a feeling of unprecedented fullness. As he absorbed the potion's power, Grelint gradually drifted into a dream. In his long dream, he felt a long-lost comfort, as if he had entered the divine kingdom of the goddess of night, serene and peaceful.
He opened his eyes and saw a series of indistinct, illusory figures. Enveloping his body was an enormous shell, giving him an unparalleled sense of security. However, in the next instant, he was back in reality, as if everything he had seen before was a dream. Somewhat dejected, Grelint stood up, brushed the dust off his clothes, and quickly went to test his newfound abilities.
I just don't know why, after that ultimate sense of security, all that remains in my heart is emptiness and desolation.
Above the gray mist, Klein stared wide-eyed as a gigantic eye appeared in the air. The gray mist was torn apart, forming a massive hole. A veil appeared before the enormous eye, seemingly to conceal its true form. The eye looked puzzled, glancing left and right before finally fixing its gaze on Klein, who sat in a chair. High Dimension landed within the gray mist, seemingly recognizing the Fool, and gave Klein an "awkward" smile.
"Wow, you actually have one of these? I thought I was the only one who dared to pretend to be a god."
Gao Wei's acting was genuine, after all, he truly was a god; while Klein was so embarrassed he was practically crawling on the ground. He was now somewhat thankful that the gray mist concealed his face, otherwise, judging by his current expression, he would only feel even more awkward… He chuckled dryly and said to Gao Wei:
"Haha, it's like this... What a coincidence..."
I have a question: what should I do about all the time travelers in my family being so full of martial virtue? I thought I was the only time traveler in this era, which is why I dared to pretend to be a god speaking of which, why are all time travelers so good at pretending to be gods and ghosts? Roselle calls himself Caesar, I call myself Fool, I don't know about the higher dimensions, but it looks like a big eyeball... Sigh, I'm waiting online, it's quite urgent.
These thoughts flashed through Klein's mind as he exchanged glances with Wei Gao. After a brief silence, Gaowei, who was only putting on an act, broke the silence first: "Now you can believe me, right, Klein? I really am a time traveler, and I haven't been influenced by the true creator."
Klein nodded, then covered his head in shame. He'd been completely exposed... or rather, both of them had been exposed, and now it was a matter of who had the thinner skin and was embarrassed. But Klein didn't consider himself as thick-skinned as Wei Gao, who had managed to fool him for over an hour, so he felt an indescribable sense of shame.
"So, you're using this place as a gathering space? Hmm... looks like we're on the same page, both wanting to utilize our special abilities... Hmm? Klein, what's wrong?" Wei Gao said, pacing around. He paused, noticing Klein's lack of response and the thickening gray mist around him.
"No…aren't you embarrassed? We were pretending to be gods, and yesterday we were even outwitting thin air…" Klein said somewhat awkwardly, seemingly still feeling awkward. But then he heard Wei Gao's laughter: "Klein, actually, this is all quite normal. After all, in this world, even gods were originally human."
"This is normal my foot!" Klein cursed inwardly.
"Or, why don't you just consider this a pre-booked spot? You see, right now only the two of us know this secret. Even other gods can't peek through your gray mist and my 'courtyard' to get here. Or, how about this: you let me join this gathering as an ally of the 'Fool.' That way, you can trust that I won't lie, right?"
"What utter nonsense..." The true creators and the Goddess of Night, far away in the Forsaken Land and the Dark Kingdom, silently scoffed as they looked at the vision shared with them by the higher-dimensional observers.
"Deal." Klein was desperate. His brain was a bit overloaded, so he decided to drag Wei Gao down with him since his fellow countryman didn't seem to have any ill intentions, if they were going to die, they might as well die together!
"It's a deal," Wei Gao said with a smile.
The fool took the bait.
As the gray mist gradually dissipated before him, a mysterious smile appeared on Wei Gao's face. He put down his paintbrush and added the final stroke to the oil painting in front of him.
These were seats hidden behind the gray mist, with a majestic figure seated at the head. Beside this seat, a huge eye symbol was etched. Wei Gao shook his head, summoning the Hidden Sage, now completely corrupted by his own power, and instructing Him to deliver the letter to Klein.
Inside this letter, a tarot card lay quietly.
On this exquisitely crafted tarot card, a towering structure about to crumble is prominently depicted.