The sea in front of the sanctuary was shrouded in a thick fog.
Strangely, this sea fog only covered a circular area, neither expanding nor dissipating.
This was Aetheria, a rare fog island in the North Blue.
The islands in the Four Seas have vastly different climate conditions compared to the Grand Line, with few extreme weather phenomena.
Aetheria is a C-shaped volcanic island, forming a natural inner bay called the Lake of Destiny.
The active volcanic crater in the center of the island is thousands of meters in diameter.
The outer perimeter of the island is composed of dark black basalt, spiraling along the coastline and forming a somewhat eerie pattern with the crater.
Visually, the highest point of the entire island is only about one hundred meters high, yet the columnar joints formed by volcanic eruptions create a natural stargazing platform.
The thick fog surrounding the outer perimeter of the island is a peculiar phenomenon formed by the fusion of volcanic ash and sea fog.
Even more strangely, for one hour every day at noon, the fog completely dissipates, only to reform again in the afternoon, repeating this cycle.
Black brought the women off the ship, and as expected, they did not attract too much attention.
The most mischievous Perona held Stella's hand, though she could not hide her excitement and kept curiously looking around.
Although the others were not as obvious as she was, they were also quite curious about the island.
"Outsiders…"
At that moment, an old man walked toward them, chanting in a low voice.
"When the hot springs erupt in sync with the tides, your destiny will be revealed here."
After saying this, he did not wait for their reactions and simply turned around and left, leaving everyone confused.
Robin explained calmly.
"I checked the information before we got off the ship."
"The country on this island is called the Tarot Kingdom, which is not a member state of the World Government."
"Their supreme leader is the 'Great Prophet,' a hereditary position that is essentially the king."
Koala thought for a moment.
"So this is a very superstitious country."
Robin nodded and continued.
"Indeed. Whenever they have important decisions to make, they determine them through the 'Wheel of Fortune.'"
"Children's early education here usually includes memorizing Tarot cards, and their coming-of-age ceremony requires everyone to pass through the fog zone alone."
"What a strange island…"
Perona muttered quietly.
Black added from the side.
"Because the Tarot Kingdom believes so deeply in divination, they often make some very unexpected decisions. As a result, this island has never become particularly wealthy."
"They cannot afford the enormous Heavenly Tribute required to join the World Government."
"Normally, such non-member states are the places pirates love to visit the most."
As he spoke, he glanced at Mandy from the corner of his eye. Seeing that she remained expressionless, he continued.
"But the situation on Aetheria Island is special. The natural sea fog acts as a barrier."
"Ordinary ships find it very difficult to pass through the fog within the one hour when it clears at noon."
"This makes it extremely difficult for ordinary pirates to land on the island, while great pirates simply aren't interested in such a small place."
"Because of this, the Tarot Kingdom has remained relatively peaceful."
Everyone continued walking and looking around.
Soon, Perona noticed something strange about the reeds growing beside the roadside.
She ran closer and examined them curiously for a while. Then she reached out to pull one of the reeds out of the water.
However, she could not move it at all and nearly fell into the water.
Seeing this, Koala hurried over to help.
She held Perona with one hand while gently tugging the reed out of the water with the other.
Perona thanked her and curiously examined the reed.
Several faint patterns were carved into the reed. When combined together, they formed the image of a balance scale.
Everyone gathered around to look at it.
A resident of the island happened to pass by and noticed them.
"Are you outsiders?"
"Those growing by the roadside are unique reeds found only on our island. The one in that child's hand is called the 'Judgment Reed.'"
"In addition to that, there are 'Marriage Reeds' that symbolize love, and 'War Reeds' that symbolize war…"
Black asked curiously.
"Do you use these to judge criminals and decide whether to wage war?"
The man did not answer directly.
Instead, he said mysteriously.
"Everything is the arrangement of destiny."
Riddler, get out of Gotham!
The sudden appearance of the "Riddler" did not dampen everyone's spirits, and Black's group soon arrived at the central square.
A gigantic bronze wheel rotated slowly beneath the sunlight, casting constantly shifting shadows on the ground.
"Is this the legendary 'Wheel of Fortune'?"
Looking at the bronze wheel, which was nearly twenty meters in diameter, Robin murmured softly.
She gently placed her hand on the wheel.
The bronze wheel paused its rotation for a moment, then slowly revealed the image of a book.
"Congratulations, little sister. This is a sign that wisdom has awakened."
The soldier guarding the wheel stepped forward and said to Robin with a smile.
"You must be a very wise child."
Black raised an eyebrow when he heard this.
"This wheel is interesting. All of you should go try it."
Perona, who had already been eager to try, immediately stepped forward and placed her hand on the wheel.
The bronze wheel revealed a distorted and eerie figure, which was clearly a ghost.
"Ah!"
Perona shrieked and quickly withdrew her hand.
However, the soldier burst out laughing.
"You must be a mischievous little girl."
"You're talking nonsense!"
Perona immediately stomped her foot in protest.
"Lady Perona was clearly taking the divination very seriously!"
Everyone took turns trying it one after another.
Stella's image appeared as a priestess.
Mandy's image was a sword.
Koala's image was quite interesting a lion with a crystal ball resting on its head.
Only after asking the guarding soldier did they learn that this symbol represented wisdom and strength coexisting.
Finally, Black stepped forward.
Originally, he had been somewhat dismissive of the island's divination traditions.
After all, unless someone had eaten a Devil Fruit like a fortune-telling ability, how accurate could such predictions really be?
But now it seemed that the images reflected by this "Wheel of Fortune" were actually quite accurate.
Robin represented wisdom.
Perona represented mischief.
Stella represented gentleness.
Mandy represented martial strength.
Koala represented both wisdom and martial ability.
Black was quite curious.
What exactly was his own core nature?
When Black placed his palm on the bronze disk, the disk remained silent for a long time.
Just as he began to grow slightly impatient, a clear and distinct image suddenly appeared.
Against a dark red background, a man holding a scepter stood against the wind.
He wore magnificent robes, and his face carried a resolute and stern expression.
The figure was unmistakably Black himself.
"Is this… self?"
The soldier guarding the wheel scratched his head when he saw the image.
"I've never seen a result like this before. But sir, have you really never considered wearing clothes like those in the image? They seem to suit your temperament very well."
Without realizing it, he had already begun using honorifics.
Black smiled slightly but did not answer.
As he turned to leave, his gaze suddenly fell upon a boy who looked to be only eight or nine years old.
"It seems my luck is really good."
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