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

On either side of the mottled, ancient bronze table, blurry figures stretched and lengthened within a cluster of deep red light, then settled into place. The surroundings remained as quiet and empty as ever, as if no living being had ever entered them for millennia.

Good afternoon, Mr. Fool.

"Justice!" Audrey's light and cheerful voice quickly echoed within the magnificent palace supported by its stone pillars. Her gaze soon fell upon the "extra" figure opposite her, her eyes brightening slightly as she smiled faintly:

"Welcome back, Mr. 'Lover'."

Klein smiled and nodded, watching as the members exchanged simple greetings under the guidance of Miss Justice.

"'Lovers'?"

The Hermit, Cattleya, had been keeping her head down and remaining silent, not even noticing that there was an extra person in the Tarot room. It wasn't until she heard Miss Justice greet the Lover that she looked up in surprise and examined the new member.

She had been a member of the Tarot Club for some time and had heard other members talk about "lovers" before, but this was the first time she had met the other person.

The Hermit, Cattleya, suppressed her unease, slightly raised her head, and subtly observed the Lover beneath the thick gray fog.

Her dark eyes held a deep purple hue, shimmering with a mysterious aura. They pierced through the gray mist and saw the 'flame'!

Suddenly, Cattleya's eyes stung, and illusory blood flowed from them. Her senses were instantly overwhelmed by extreme pain, as if she were being burned by endless flames. Her body convulsed and trembled uncontrollably, and she fell off the bench, curling up in agony.

On her face, the back of her hands, and the areas not covered by her clothes, cracks soon appeared, revealing flesh and blood. Black worms and white moths wriggled inside, soon forming indescribable eyes.

Cattleya's screams and groans echoed above the gray mist, causing Audrey "Justice," Alger "The Hanged Man," Emlyn "The Moon," Fors "The Magician," and others to exchange bewildered glances, seemingly able to directly sense the pain the other was enduring.

At the same time, the blurry images became clearer, and the gray mist around Cattleya seemed to be 'dispelled' by something unseen, allowing them to see clearly the 'Hermit's' physical transformation.

The disgusting and grotesque scene terrified Audrey, who immediately averted her gaze, straightened her back, stared straight ahead, and dared not move.

Others' reactions, while not as exaggerated, carried the same implication.

"This is bad!"

Klein's expression changed slightly, and he gently patted his palms together.

The gray mist silently filled the void that had been 'dispelled,' enveloping the 'Hermit' once again and calming the strange changes within her.

The trembling of the 'Hermit' began to subside at a visible speed, the cracks in his flesh gradually closed, his thoughts slowly returned, and he once again sensed everything around him.

Klein breathed a quiet sigh of relief; thankfully, nothing bad had happened.

Otherwise, if the Hermit dies in the gray mist, the other members will definitely harbor resentment towards the Tarot Club.

"What's going on?"

Emlyn, the Moon, looked completely bewildered, utterly confused as to what had happened.

From his perspective, the 'Hermit' only glanced at the 'Lover' before suddenly screaming in agony, as if enduring immense torment, his body uncontrollably curling into a ball.

If it weren't for Mr. Fool's timely intervention, the other party would probably have died on the spot.

Not only the 'moon', but everyone else was equally baffled, not knowing why things had turned out this way.

Meanwhile, the 'Hermit' Cattleya finally recovered and struggled to crawl back to her position. This time, however, she didn't dare open her eyes again, keeping them tightly shut, and explained breathlessly:

"My 'Eye of Secrets' is an instinct; it can only be strengthened, not shut down. It must be sealed with a magical item..."

But it's not here.

Klein nodded slightly and said:

"You can materialize a pair of glasses."

"Yes, Mr. Fool."

As instructed, Cattleya materialized the glasses.

During this process, Klein subtly manipulated the power above the gray fog, incorporating it into the glasses.

When Cattleya put it on, she unsurprisingly discovered that the "Eye of Secrets" had been sealed.

It was only then that the others understood why the "Hermit" had suddenly suffered such a severe blow: her "Prying Eyes" had allowed her to see the essence that many others could not.

The question is, what exactly did she see that caused such a severe backlash?

The Hanged Man seemed to realize something; he and the Lover had worked together before.

Therefore, he knew very well that the 'Lover's' strength must be above Sequence 4, or at least a Sequence 3 demigod. And judging from the 'Hermit's' reaction, the 'Lover' was probably at least a Sequence 2 'Angel'!

After all, if he were just a demigod, he wouldn't have caused the 'Hermit' to nearly lose control with just a glance.

Moreover, this is above the gray fog, in Mr. Fool's divine kingdom!

Only angels can prevent even a true god from completely concealing their true nature!

"An angel..."

The Hanged Man's mood suddenly turned to surprise and excitement. Even though this angel was not himself, the mere fact that the other party was a member of the Tarot Club was enough to make the Hanged Man ecstatic!

It should be noted that even in the Church of Storms, and even in the major righteous churches, only those with the Triple Crown are at this level!

An angel is someone who can stand on equal footing with these triple crowned beings!

He was able to be in the same organization as an angel, and even work and collaborate with him.

Doesn't this mean he's on equal footing with angels?

If we do the math again, doesn't that mean he's on par with the Triple Crowned Ones of the major orthodox churches?!

"Not an earl, not a marquis, but a duke?"

Emlyn, the "Moon," also guessed that the "lover" might be an angel, which she found somewhat unbelievable, and her mood inexplicably became reserved.

He had previously assumed that "Lover" was a powerful demigod, and while he felt awe towards him, he didn't think he was anything special. After all, the vampire race wasn't lacking in demigods; there were more than a dozen vampires at the earl and marquis level, just the one he was referring to.

But angels are different!

Even among vampires, there are only three dukes. And the reason they have three is due to the accumulation of power over thousands of years. It's no exaggeration to say that most righteous churches don't even have as many angels as the vampires!

And right now, an angel is sitting right next to him...

The moon's breathing became rapid, and its mood suddenly became somewhat excited.

In reality, Duke Olmer personally looked after him.

Even while he's sleeping, he can enter another angel's dream, gaining the opportunity to digest the magic potion and challenge himself.

Today, in Tarot Clubs, there is also an angel as one's "colleague".

Three angels serve me alone; isn't that a great blessing?

"I really am the chosen one!"

The Moon became extremely happy and increasingly convinced that it was the savior prophesied by the progenitor!

Compared to them, 'The Sun's' gaze was somewhat complicated, and he hesitated several times as if he wanted to speak, as if he knew it was not the right time for him to speak.

"Justice," "Judgment," and "Magician," on the other hand, appeared more composed.

The former is because she was closer to Ember, and even knew exactly how George III, the King of Angels, died, so there was nothing surprising about it.

The latter two, due to their own experiences, had the greatest trust in Yu Jin, so no matter how strong he was, they didn't think it was an exaggeration, but only thought, "Just as I expected."

"..."

Even though the 'Eye of Secrets' had been sealed, the 'Hermit' Cattleya still didn't dare to look up, only secretly glancing at her 'lover' out of the corner of her eye.

The other person looked quite ordinary, except that his face was hidden by gray mist. He was unremarkable in both height and build, and Cattleya couldn't find any 'features' about him!

This is unique, even in the Tarot Club!

Miss Justice is a noblewoman, Miss Judgment is a short knight, Miss Magician has a languid air, Miss Sun is a sunny and earnest young man, Miss Moon is proud but not arrogant, Miss Hanged Man appears rough but is actually very cunning, and Mr. Fool is mysterious and powerful...

Everyone has their own unique characteristics and personality, which can be seen at a glance.

But the "lover" was different; he seemed utterly ordinary. If the "hermit" were to summarize him, she could only conclude that he was an "ordinary person."

Yet this seemingly ordinary person made the hermit show fear.

She saw His true nature, saw the flames that were frantically devouring the surrounding gray mist, expanding outwards and engulfing the entire gray mist!

She definitely didn't see wrong!

This Mr. "Lover" is gradually devouring the divine kingdom that belongs to Mr. "Fool"!

This terrified the "Hermit," terrified of the "truth" she had learned, terrified of her current situation, and terrified that she would be killed to silence her for witnessing all of this!

So she was still hesitating, wondering whether she should tell Mr. Fool everything she had seen.

The Fool seemed to see through her inner struggle and suddenly asked with a smile:

"What did you see?"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of "Justice" and the others all turned to "The Hermit," because they also wanted to ask the same question and find out the answer. However, since it involved "The Fool" and "The Lovers," they hesitated to speak.

But now that it is Mr. Fool who has asked the question, they no longer need to hide their curiosity.

The Hermit, Cattleya, hesitated for a moment, her voice trembling slightly:

"Mr. Fool, I... I saw flames, flames spreading outwards..."

"flame?"

Klein understood; the 'First Flame' was the essence of the embers.

Is the 'expansion' because the 'Primordial Flame' is constantly growing stronger? Or is the 'flame' devouring the ash mist?

Is she implying something to me?

Klein chuckled to himself; Miss 'Hermit' was certainly being kind.

However, this was exactly what he had expected.

The King's Soul has merged into the gray mist, and the expansion of the 'flame' will be a continuous process—until the entire 'above the gray mist' takes on the shape of the King's Soul.

From the perspective of the 'Hermit,' she probably believes that the 'Lover' couldn't wait to secretly erode the 'Fool's' divine kingdom as soon as he returned...

Yes, this kind of behavior can almost be described as having wolfish ambitions.

Unfortunately, Klein didn't care.

He can only be considered half the master of the 'Source Castle'; the 'Celestial Venerable' is the true master and is even thinking of possessing him!

Klein's current mentality seems a bit like "selling his grandfather's land without a care," but he is not the "son," and the Celestial Venerable is not Klein's "grandfather," but his greatest enemy!

Klein couldn't wait for the King Soul to devour the 'Source Castle' as soon as possible, and even better, for the 'Celestial Venerable' hidden deep within the 'Source Castle' who was always thinking of possessing him to be completely annihilated!

"Flames?"

"Justice" Audrey seemed to understand something.

Karula once said that she possessed a royal soul, which was given to her by the embers.

Besides the one she held, there were eight other shares in the hands of others.

These King Souls were all voluntarily separated by the Embers, though their purpose remains unknown.

But considering Karula's attitude and what he saw and heard in his dream.

Audrey has pieced together part of the truth—

Ember once risked everything to rekindle the fire, until he himself became fire.

Now, perhaps in defiance of this fate, he has divided the King's Soul into nine parts...

Ember stared at the 'Hermit' for a long time, then suddenly spoke:

"Your eyes are somewhat special."

The Hermit trembled slightly. Although the other party appeared ordinary, she seemed to see a ball of flame that would devour everything. The pain of her body being burned by the flames was still vivid in her mind. Even though Mr. Fool had healed her injuries, her body still ached faintly.

"special?"

Klein found it odd. The 'Eye of Secrets' clearly belonged to the 'Secret Seeker' pathway, perhaps the extraordinary ability possessed by Sequence 5. But even so, the 'Hermit' was only Sequence 5, not deserving the title of "special"...

Klein's expression shifted slightly; he suddenly noticed something strange. If she was only Sequence 5, how did she see through all of this?

This is above the gray fog! The 'Source Castle', which even gods cannot easily invade!

How does a Sequence 5 see the essence of the embers through the gray fog?

This is definitely not something a Sequence 5 could do. Is someone helping her behind the scenes? Or did she borrow someone's power?

Klein immediately thought of the "mysterious queen." Could it be her?

The Hermit's loss of control was undoubtedly an exception. Her eyes were clearly aimed at him, but her first glance fell on the Ember. This made Klein inexplicably wary. If the Hermit hadn't seen the Ember first, he, completely unguarded beneath the gray mist, might have been exposed!

But isn't the 'Mysterious Queen' afraid that this will anger the 'Hermit' and the 'Fool'?

By testing the authority of a god, isn't she afraid that Cattleya will be killed as a result?

Klein frowned. So this was the mysterious queen?

After a moment's thought, the 'Fool' tapped his finger on the table, drawing the attention of the others, and said calmly:

Bernadette.