Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 123: Whispering Words: Unpredictable Life and Death
Monday, September 10th.

Claire sensed the unusual movement in the gray foggy world and leaned back on the sofa, her gaze piercing through the thick gray fog.

She saw the Fool sitting upright above the gray mist. He raised his hand, connected with the crimson star belonging to the "Sun," and said, "Prepare for the gathering."

The timekeeping method in the Sun's location was different from that in the northern and southern continents. Claire knew that this was the Fool reminding the Sun to join the party.

When the clock hands reached three o'clock, Claire saw figures taking seats one after another.

Audrey's voice was no longer cheerful. Having experienced many things this week, she said in a somewhat depressed tone, "Good afternoon, Mr. Fool. Good afternoon, everyone in the Tarot Club."

In contrast to Audrey, the Hanged Man was in high spirits this time, yet humbly praised the Fool in the upper seat, "Dear Mr. Fool! Thank you for sending your followers to help me get rid of Qilingos!"

Was the mysterious and powerful being who killed Qilingos the Fool's Favored One? Claire was puzzled, wondering how the Hanged Man had come to this conclusion.

"Or perhaps... that is indeed a Blessed One, the Blessed One of the original owner of the Gray Mist World. And the Fool can disguise himself as a god and command that mysterious and powerful being." Claire speculated.

"That's possible... If that's the case, the power the Fool can mobilize is beyond my imagination. I still have to hide behind the scenes and can't casually ascend the gray fog..."

"Hopefully it's just a false alarm."

Claire calmed down and read the diary of Russell that The Hanged Man presented to The Fool.

The diary was very long, mentioning the mysterious and powerful Mr. "Gate" and the history of the Fourth Era. These records were very fascinating to Claire, but what made Claire ponder the most was Emperor Roselle's explicit mention of the "Law of Immortality of Beyonder Characteristics" and the "Law of Conservation of Beyonder Characteristics within Similar Sequences" in the diary.

The diary didn't describe the concepts of these two laws in detail, but Claire saw a sentence that seemed to interpret them:

"Within the same pathway, if there are more high-order sequences, there will be fewer low-order sequences, and vice versa."

"The total number of extraordinary characteristics is fixed from the source, and it will not increase or decrease. Does this mean that there really is a Lord who created everything, an omniscient and omnipotent God, and that everything originates from Him?"

Seeing this, Claire thought about a lot of things. Her previously vague understanding was also confirmed at this moment:
"In other words, the total amount of power in this world is actually constant! No wonder the Church of the Seven Gods is concealing the existence of Beyonders, no wonder the Church restricts the spread of 'Acting Method', and no wonder they can use Beyonder characteristics left behind by the deceased as potions..."

Thoughts kept rising in her mind. Thinking about the previously known rule that "high-sequence characteristics attract low-sequence characteristics to aggregate," Claire couldn't help but feel her scalp tingling.

Such a power system, such a way of promotion... Claire actually read the word "cannibalism" from the gaps between these words.

"What about the gods? What are the gods... the 'Him' who is the origin of everything? The creation myth?"

An even more terrifying thought emerged in Claire's mind: "What if the gods are also included in this power system..."

Claire had once been thrilled by the twenty-two paths to godhood, but now she felt a sense of fear in her heart. If even gods were included in the potion system, then the potion system would be more than just a path to godhood...

This is a road to killing God!

Claire sighed deeply and returned to reading the history of the "Four Emperors' War" recorded in the diary.

"The Four Emperors are... the 'Black Emperor' of the Solomon Empire, the half-mad 'Blood Emperor' of the Tudor Dynasty, the 'Night Emperor' of the Trunsost Empire, and the 'Underworld Emperor' of the Southern Continent, also known as the God of Death."

"According to Mr. Men's description, in this war that changed the entire world, the Black Emperor, Blood Emperor, and Night Emperor fell one after another, and the Underworld Emperor gained the greatest benefit."

"...After more than a hundred years of digestion, the God of Death went mad, but also became stronger. So he joined forces with the Original Witch and brought a 'Pale Disaster' to the Northern Continent!" Claire knew that the "Original Witch" was the deity that the Witch Cult wanted to get close to, and the fact that the "God of Death" was qualified to join forces with a deity showed that the status of the "God of Death" was very likely close to that of a god.

The "God of Death" is so powerful, what about the "Black Emperor", "Blood Emperor" and "Night Emperor" who are also the Four Emperors?

"Are the Four Emperors truly attempting to become gods? Is establishing an empire the way for mortals to become gods?"

This diary, which contained a lot of information, made Claire understand a lot, but it also gave rise to more doubts, just like the saying "the broader your horizons, the more insignificant you feel."

Claire was lost in her thoughts for a long time, unable to extricate herself. Finally, the conversation at the Tarot Club brought her back to her senses.

Claire firmly believes that no matter what the future holds, she must keep moving forward with her feet on the ground.

She suppressed her conflicting thoughts and emotions and listened to the conversations between the Tarot Club members.

“Mr. Fool, do you have any plans to add new members?” Audrey was carefully considering her words when she asked the Fool.

The Fool responded affirmatively: "...members must be strictly selected, and secrecy is our principle."

The Fool shows an attitude of not rejecting new members.

This made the Hanged Man's heart skip a beat.

"Ms. Justice, since you've proposed this idea, do you have someone in mind you'd like to invite to join?"

The Hanged Man couldn't help but speak. He darkly guessed that Justice, after further realizing the power of the Fool, wanted to recruit new members to gain more say in the Tarot Club.

Audrey keenly sensed the Hanged Man's fear and wariness of her, and said with a smile, "I just had this initial thought, so I wanted to confirm it with Mr. Fool in advance."

While communicating with the Hanged Man, Audrey wanted to observe more details of the Hanged Man's unique habits. She still remembered the blue-haired storm believer that Galadria had met.

Who knows, this might be enough to confirm the real identity of the "Hanged Man".

Audrey coughed lightly and said to the Queen, "Madam Queen, I've received intelligence that the Church of Evernight is planning to recover Claire's remains. This is the result of my instigation after a series of events."

The Queen, shrouded in gray mist, was abnormally agitated. However, even in this state, she remained rational. "But I can't rule out the possibility that this was the Church of Evernight's bait to lure me into their trap."

"Bait?" Audrey, who had been feeling somewhat smug, calmed down and fell into deep thought.

At this moment, the Queen took the initiative to ask Audrey, "Justice, how did you trick them into revealing... Claire's body?"

Audrey asked the Fool for permission to communicate privately with the Queen and told her about the recent situation of Jessica, the Priestess's relative.

"Beth Lyonesse."

Tessa whispered the name softly, murderous intent lingering in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)