Mystery: The Undead Don't Die from Linking the Fire

Chapter 181 Tarot Meeting

Monday afternoon, January 3, 1350.

The sky outside the window was overcast, but there was no fog that Klein was familiar with. Waves came in, blowing away all the haze and allowing the clouds in the sky to roll and arrange themselves into various shapes, reflecting the golden-red sunlight.

This is Prydz Harbor, the largest and busiest port in the Kingdom of Loen.

Klein, dressed in a light-colored vest and white shirt, stood by the window, gazing outside for a while, until his pocket watch urged him on, before returning to the mahogany table. By the warm fireplace, he picked up his dark, round-bellied fountain pen, unfolded a sheet of paper, and slowly wrote a letter to Mr. Azik.

On the table was a light yellow identification document, a necessary item for purchasing ocean-going tickets through legitimate channels.

To this end, he specifically sought out Sharon and, through her connections, obtained a new identity. This identity belonged to a bounty hunter, a madman who wanted to go on an adventure at sea in search of sudden wealth; according to Klein, his name was Gehrman Sparrow.

After finishing the letter, Klein immediately drew the curtains, took four steps backward, and entered the gray fog.

There was still some time before the Tarot gathering, so Klein quickly pulled out "The Wriggling Hunger" and tried to release the "Faceless Man" imprisoned by it.

It was both to fulfill the promise he made to these imprisoned, innocent souls and to obtain some information, such as that about the mermaid.

Unfortunately, the answer given by the "Faceless Man" was exactly the same as the information he had obtained from other sources—aside from those kept by the Church of the Goddess of Night, only those that sailed from the Gargas Islands into the depths of the Sunia Sea for at least a week.

This unfortunate "Faceless Man" risked his life to go out to sea in pursuit of a mermaid, but ultimately died at the hands of "Hurricane Admiral" Zillingus.

"The Church of the Night."

Klein tapped his fingers lightly on the table, but after a long while, he gave up on this tempting option.

Although contacting the Church of the Night wouldn't require the trouble of making a special voyage, and with Ember acting as a go-between, the Church of the Night probably wouldn't refuse, he still didn't want to owe Ember another favor. Furthermore, there was one thing Klein couldn't quite understand: what role did the Church of the Night play in the "Black Emperor" incident?

On the other hand, judging from Ember's attitude, he himself doesn't really trust the Church of the Night. And Klein, having personally experienced the goddess's invasion of the Gray Mist, has always been wary of the Church of the Night.

The Church of Tranquility is the headquarters of the Church of the Night! If this "cult leader" goes there, isn't he just walking into a trap?

While finding mermaids overseas requires searching on your own, at least you have relatively precise targets and locations, so it might not be too difficult.

The only problem is that I, the "Fool," seem to have been exposed to many beings. Who knows if they will suddenly come knocking on my door?

Let's take it one step at a time.

Klein's eye twitched, he sighed, took out his pocket watch, and glanced at it.

Seeing that it was almost time, he first sent a message to the little "sun" who was in a place abandoned by God and could not accurately tell the time, to prepare for the gathering.

However, at that moment, his gaze fell upon a deep red star that was contracting and expanding repeatedly, albeit slightly, but persistently.

Klein hesitated for a moment, somewhat unsure.

As a newly born "god", his "existence" is actually quite secretive.

The original members, "Justice," "The Hanged Man," and "The Sun," were all unintentionally pulled into the gray fog by him. Only Ember was someone he actively contacted. The remaining members, "Judgment" and "The Magician," were introduced by Ember, which is why his reputation has always been spread only within a small circle.

Klein himself also strives to keep a low profile, not wanting this "cult" to be exposed to the eyes of major churches. Therefore, he has never actively asked members of the Tarot Society to spread his faith.

However, because the little "Sun" performed a sacrificial ritual and recited the name of the "Fool" when he interacted with the members of the exploration team who were corrupted by the "True Creator," this name has been exposed to "Amon" and the "True Creator."

Up to this point, everything was still normal, and the spread was not yet widespread.

However, for some unknown reason, the madmen of the Aurora Society used the name of the Fool as a clue to search for the Fool's whereabouts. As a result, this name was no longer a secret in Backlund's secret circle. Almost everyone knew about it, including the extraordinary beings of the three major churches.

Although most people know they shouldn't pray to unfamiliar gods, there are always a few fearless individuals who insist on doing so. This has led to Klein hearing prayers much more frequently lately. To avoid missing the prayers of those advocating "justice," Klein has had to travel above the gray fog to listen each time. Most of the time, however, it's just trivial matters, which undoubtedly annoys Klein considerably.

Klein sighed again, cautiously extending his spiritual power towards the crimson. The moment they made contact, his mind went blank, and he saw a blurry, distorted image—

The boy with brownish-yellow hair was kneeling on the ground, wearing black bodysuits that were completely different from the fashion trends in the Kingdom of Rune, and also quite different from the traditional clothing of foreign countries such as the Fusak Empire and the Republic of Intis that Klein had seen in magazines.

His surroundings were dim, the tables and chairs old, occasionally illuminated by flashes of light, but Klein could not hear the thunder or the sound of raindrops.

In the scene, the boy clasped his hands against his forehead, his body hunched forward, constantly pleading, his deep voice booming in Klein's ears:

"A fool who doesn't belong to this era;"

"You are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog;"

"You are the king of yellow and black who holds the key to good fortune."

"I am your loyal servant, and I beg you to listen: there are treacherous villains plotting to harm you!"

-

In a quiet room at St. Samuel's Church in the North District of Backlund.

Saint Anthony Stevenson, one of the thirteen archbishops of the Church of the Goddess of Night and the head of the Backlund diocese, looked at the figure that suddenly appeared before him and a smile gradually appeared on his face, seemingly not surprised by his appearance.

Yu Jin looked at the clean-shaven old man before him, whose eyes were deep yet whose face wore a gentle smile, and asked in a calm tone:

"The Black Emperor is dead. Does the Goddess have any new instructions?"

Archbishop Anthony shook his head slightly:

"Your Excellency, in truth, I haven't received any divine pronouncements from the Goddess for a long time. All pronouncements are conveyed by Princess Ariana. As for the Black Emperor, he was never an instruction to you, but merely a hint. If you feel lost about the direction you should take next, I might be able to offer you some advice."

Anthony paused for a moment, then slowly said, "If Your Excellency has already chosen this path, then regardless of whether it is right or wrong, the best choice is to persevere and see what lies at the end of the road."

-

"Traitor..."

A famous quote subconsciously popped into Klein's mind:

There are always treacherous subjects trying to harm me!

Klein's eye twitched slightly, finding it quite absurd, because the scene of prayer before him was all too familiar to him!

Isn't this exactly the scene when the little 'sun' prayed to him?

Both the clothes the other person was wearing and the environment they were in proved that the other person was in Silver City. Even the boy's age and hair color were almost exactly the same as Little Sun's!

But here's the problem: the crimson star represented by the little sun isn't this one at all!

He just communicated with Little Sun; there's no way he could be mistaken.

The problem is, even Little Sun's prayer was just an accident, so how did this boy in front of me find him?

Although Little Sun is naive, it doesn't mean he's unintelligent. With his honest nature, he would never casually reveal his name!

Even if the boy in front of him were Little Sun's twin brother, Little Sun would definitely ask 'The Fool' for his opinion first.

Moreover, Little Sun doesn't have any twin brothers, and his parents have already passed away.

So here's the question: where did the boy who was praying to him learn the name "Fool"?

This is not a difficult question to deduce. Given that the Little Sun would not have revealed it on its own initiative, only two people in the "Forsaken Land" know this name—one is Amon, and the other is the true creator.

The true Creator has spread his name far and wide throughout Backlund, yet no one who has ever been a follower of the true Creator has ever prayed to him. This suggests that this evil god is quite discerning, and that what is happening now is clearly not his doing.

Therefore, only one possibility remains:

Amon.

"So, Amon found someone who looks exactly like Little Sun—from hair color and style to build and age—to pray to me? Does he think I'll mistake that person for Little Sun and drag him into the gray fog?"

"If I really do that, then Amon can use this boy as a springboard to invade the Gray Fog again."

Klein's expression twitched slightly. Was he, the dignified "Fool," really such a fool in Amon's eyes?

If he can even mistake the Little Sun, then he deserves to be invaded by Amon.

Klein decisively withdrew his spirituality and cut off the prayer image without hesitation.

No matter what Amon wants to do, he absolutely cannot let the other party succeed.

As for the person whom Amon labeled a "traitor," it's not hard to guess; it's undoubtedly Yu Jin.

Of course, Klein completely ignored this baseless slander. In Klein's mind, Amon was the greatest traitor, constantly plotting to invade the Gray Mist. The purpose of this prayer was thus obvious—Amon wanted to sow discord between him and the Ember.

Although the embers have wanted to burn themselves for a long time, they haven't burned yet, have they?

Klein felt he was still quite open-minded; as long as the embers didn't actually burn him, they would remain good friends.

Well, although the embers might not accept "The Fool" as a friend...

Shaking his head, Klein put all these thoughts out of his mind and officially began to gather members to start this Tarot meeting.

The figures of the Tarot Club members appeared one after another, and a girl's clear greeting rang in their ears:

Good afternoon, Mr. Fool.

Neither the "Hanged Man" nor Fors was surprised by this; it had become their custom at the Tarot gatherings for "Justice" to greet guests in a manner reciting a menu. The first person would invariably be the Tarot gathering's host, "The Fool," and the second would inevitably be "The Lovers."

But unexpectedly, something went wrong this time.

Audrey didn't rush to greet her 'lover,' but instead solemnly bowed to the 'world':

"Good afternoon, Mr. World. Thank you for your help. If it weren't for your intelligence, we might not have been able to stop this disaster in time, which would have resulted in the deaths of at least hundreds of thousands of people in Backlund! Of course, thank you for your help as well, Mr. Fool."

"In fact, this also saved me," Klein chuckled hoarsely as he manipulated "the world."

Aside from the person involved, everyone else in the Tarot Club was somewhat confused and full of questions:

"Who am I? Where am I? What happened in Backlund? What are they talking about?"

"Miss."

Emlyn White, who had just joined the Tarot Club, couldn't help but ask, "What are you talking about? What disaster? What do you mean by hundreds of thousands of people dying?"

He had always lived in Backlund, but he had no idea that anything major had happened there!

The Fool smiled and introduced:

"This is the newest member, Mr. Moon."

"This is Miss Justice."

I thought the person who chose the moon card would be a lady… Audrey said politely, her mood somewhat relieved as she pondered:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Moon. Please ask your questions later; it is Mr. Fool's time now."

She turned to the 'Fool' and added:

"Mr. Fool, I'm sorry, but because the three major churches and the military are purging Backlund, I haven't been able to get the rest of Roselle's Diary. Please wait another week."

Hearing their conversation, Fors was startled awake and quickly looked towards the head of the bronze table, saying:

"Dear Mr. Fool, I have received three pages of Russell's diary."

Without a doubt, Miss "Magician," backed by the Abraham family, has surpassed her master, replacing Miss "Justice" as his most stable provider of Roselle's diary. Excellent! Klein was in a very good mood and nodded slightly.

"very good."

Russell's Diary? Emlyn, the "Moon," felt as if he had heard something extraordinary again.

Under his questioning gaze, Fors materialized three pages of a diary and passed them on to Mr. Fool.

The first page contained little information, but it did teach Klein that the "Hunter" pathway was at Sequence 4, where women could transform into men—the exact opposite of the Witch pathway, except that one involved transformation at Sequence 7 and the other at Sequence 4.

Klein, lost in thought, turned to the second page of his diary:

"On May 5th, the unspeakable organization once again convened a meeting of its members."

"I am always amazed by the way they recruit members; it's a miracle, no, a divine intervention."

"Based on my previous observations, I raised some questions at this gathering. For example, all the names of Sequence 0 on the blasphemous stone tablet are of sufficient rank, except for the Red Priest, which seems unique and not high-class enough. The old gentleman sitting next to me told me that Red refers to the Red of War, and the priest can be understood as a priest of the essence of power."

"Some people oppose him, believing that the priests of the Red Priest refer to the priests of the original Creator."

"I leaned toward the former, so I quietly asked the old man for his name. I didn't know the identity of each member here; to put it bluntly, I only knew a part of them."

The old gentleman smiled and answered me, saying his name was Hermes.

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(End of this chapter)