Mystery: The Witch of Desire

However, just as the Bloodthirsty Gloves were about to reach their destination...

Its surface suddenly burst forth with a deep red light, instantly enveloping Livre...

Above a gray mist, Livre regained her vision and nervously looked around. She noticed a man and a woman nearby doing similar things; their faces were blurred and their figures indistinct, and only their genders could be identified.

Immediately afterwards, the three of them noticed a mysterious figure shrouded in gray-white mist standing not far away.

"Sir, where is this?"

What do you want to do?

The man and woman spoke at the same time, and as they spoke, Livre raised her hand and waved it in front of her, trying to enter an invisible state.

Immediately, she was surprised to find that above this mist, she had lost the ability to actively communicate with the spiritual. However, the passive abilities of the extraordinary remained; she still possessed the emotional perception of an instigator and the rhetorical performance of an actor.

After a brief silence above the gray mist, the mysterious figure shrouded in gray-white mist chuckled and spoke:

"An attempt."

An attempt?

A wave of doubt washed over Livre. This mysterious person's attempt had transported her from the inn to this gray fog, and none of her belongings had come with her. Was she in a spirit form...? It was somewhat similar to her state in the mirror world. Anyone capable of such a miraculous feat must be extraordinary. Could he, like Chik, be a true god? However, he completely lacked the oppressive aura Chik possessed...

Liviel dared not be careless and tried her best to maintain a calm demeanor while listening to the conversations of the men and women and the mysterious person around her.

The woman, who appeared to be blonde, took a breath, gave a flawless, polite smile, and asked rather nervously:

"Sir, is the trial over? May we return now?"

Another man with dark blue hair simply watched in silence, without saying a word.

The mysterious man was silent for a few seconds, then looked at the blonde woman and chuckled softly:

"Of course, if you make a formal request, I can send you back right now."

The blonde woman seemed relieved upon hearing this, and instead of formally requesting to return, she said with some eagerness:

"This has been a wonderful experience... Hmm, I've always looked forward to something like this. I mean, I love these mysterious things. Um... I mean, Your Excellency, how can I become an Extraordinary?"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, even becoming somewhat incoherent, her previous fearful and apprehensive tone completely gone.

A young woman with a somewhat immature temperament, blonde hair, tall, and presumably quite beautiful, is not an extraordinary person. Interesting, how could that mysterious person bring ordinary people into this gray fog? What is his purpose?

Livre pondered quietly, awaiting the mysterious man's reply.

However, at that moment, the gray fog suddenly began to churn, and towering stone pillars appeared all around, covered by a wide dome.

The entire building is magnificent, grand, and imposing, just like the legendary palace of giants.

Directly beneath the dome, amidst the swirling gray mist, a long bronze table appeared, flanked by ten high-backed chairs on each side, with identical seats placed in front and behind. The backs of the chairs shimmered brilliantly, their deep red hues outlining strange constellations that did not correspond to reality.

The mysterious man sat at the head of the table, with the blonde girl and blue-haired man facing each other directly opposite each other. Liviel sat next to the blonde girl.

The blonde girl looked to her left, then to her right, and couldn't help but mutter to herself:

"That's amazing..."

At the head of the table, the mysterious man extended his right hand and lightly stroked the edge of the bronze table, his expression impassive. Livre noticed his subtle movements but couldn't discern his thoughts.

At that moment, the blue-haired man suddenly spoke, answering the blonde girl's question:

"You're from Ruen, aren't you?"

"To become extraordinary, join the Church of the Goddess of Night, the Church of the Lord of Storms, or the Church of the God of Steam and Machinery."

"Although most people never see an extraordinary being in their lifetime, leading them to suspect that the Church is in the same situation, and even some clergy within the major churches have similar thoughts, I can tell you clearly that extraordinary beings still exist in the Tribunal, the Inquisition, and the execution chambers, and are still fighting against the dangers growing in the darkness, only their numbers are much, much fewer than in the early Iron Age or before."

Listening to the blue-haired man's words, Liviel quickly concluded that he must be an extraordinary being with some understanding of the extraordinary world. The mysterious man, however, simply acted as if listening to a child's story, as if what the blue-haired man said were commonplace matters.

As for the "Iron Age" he mentioned, he was referring to the current era, the Fifth Age, which began 1,349 years ago. Livre does possess this basic historical knowledge.

The blonde girl listened quietly, then let out a soft sigh and said:

“Sir, I actually know all of these things you’re talking about, and even more, such as the Night Watchers, the Punishers, and the Mechanical Heart. But I don’t want to lose my freedom.”

How could someone who isn't an Extraordinary being know about the Extraordinary organizations of various churches? She must be an aristocrat, with powerful parents, to have the opportunity to come into contact with these things as an ordinary person.

Livre felt she had gained a deeper understanding of the blonde girl.

The blue-haired man chuckled softly and said somewhat indistinctly:

"Who can become an extraordinary person without paying a price? If you don't want to join the church and take on responsibilities, then you can only go to the royal family, to those noble families with a history of over a thousand years, or, by luck, find those evil organizations that are hiding in the shadows."

The blonde girl subconsciously puffed out her cheeks, then seemed to realize her action was inappropriate. She looked left and right in a fluster, hesitated for a moment, and then asked:

"Is there no other way?"

The blue-haired man fell silent. After a few seconds, he turned to look at the mysterious man who was silently observing without saying a word.

The mysterious person didn't say anything, and the blue-haired man then looked back at the blonde girl, carefully saying:

“I actually have two Sequence 9 potion recipes.”

"Really? Which two?"

The blonde girl clearly understood what a Sequence 9 potion recipe represented.

The blue-haired man leaned back slightly and began to explain some basic facts about the twenty-two divine pathways and potions in a measured tone. He then introduced the two Sequence 9 potions he possessed:

“A suit called ‘Sailor’ will give you excellent balance, allowing you to move freely like on land, even on a ship shrouded in a storm. You will also gain extraordinary strength and phantom scales hidden under your skin, making you as hard to catch as a fish and as agile as a sea creature in the water. You can easily dive for at least ten minutes without any equipment.”

"The second Sequence 9 recipe is called 'The Audience.' This potion will give you exceptional mental and keen observation skills. I believe you have seen operas and plays and can understand what 'The Audience' means. Like an observer, you can examine the 'actors' in the secular world and glimpse their true thoughts from their expressions, their mannerisms, their verbal tics, and their unseen actions."

Sailors are part of the Storm Church's pathway. Is this blue-haired man a member of the Storm Church? Not necessarily. The blue-haired man also possesses potion recipes from the Audience pathway, so he might be a wild Beyonder. He could also be an Beyonder from another church, but hasn't revealed his own church's potion recipes.

The blonde girl's eyes lit up, and it took her a while to say:

"Audience, this sounds really good, what should I do..."

Before she could finish speaking, the blonde girl suddenly stopped, like a girl who remembered her mother's teaching to compare prices, and turned to look at Livia, who was sitting to her right and had not said a word.

"Miss, do you have a Sequence 9 potion recipe?"

The blonde girl then looked at the blue-haired man and explained very politely:

"I'm sorry, sir, as you said, choosing a potion is a very serious matter, so I would like to learn as much as possible about the options."

Although the blue-haired man looked somewhat displeased, he still nodded in understanding.

Upon hearing this, Livre hesitated.

She had been trying to keep a low profile since the beginning, but now she's still been dragged into the discussion.

She wasn't sure how much the mysterious man knew about her. Did he know she was an Extraordinary? Did he know her Sequence number? Did he know she was corrupted by an evil god? Or even, did he know she was a transmigrator?

While pondering, Livre decided to test the waters, but this test had to be tactful enough not to offend the mysterious man.

She looked at the blonde girl and calmly said:

“Miss, I don’t think I know more about potion recipes than this gentleman, but I have heard of a path that is separate from the 22 divine paths. If you would like to know, I can tell you about it to enrich your choices.”

"A path other than the divine path?"

The blonde girl let out a surprised gasp, while the blue-haired man was also slightly taken aback, clearly shocked.

“Miss, there are only 22 paths to God. This has been common knowledge in the Church for a long time. Where does this 23rd path you mentioned come from?”

The blonde girl asked with some confusion, while the blue-haired man remained silent, though his back was slightly straighter than before, clearly taking Liviel's 23rd path very seriously. The mysterious figure remained seated at the head of the table, shrouded in thick mist, his origins unknown.

Liviel stood up, bowed to the mysterious man seated at the head of the table, and respectfully asked:

"Your Excellency, would you allow me to introduce this 23rd path to them here? If you do, I humbly request that you grant us the power of secrecy so that our conversation may not be overheard by that being."

Both the blonde girl and the blue-haired man turned their heads to look at the mysterious figure above. The blonde girl's anticipation was palpable, as if she couldn't wait to hear about the 23rd pathway.

The mysterious man paused for a few seconds, then spoke in a slightly authoritative tone:

“I will not provide you with any additional shelter; you need to be responsible for your own actions.”

Livre's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly bowed:

"I apologize for my abrupt request."

Immediately, she spoke to the blonde girl:

"I'm sorry, miss, I can't introduce that route to you."

Without the protection of a hidden power, Livre dared not speak of anything about that being, lest she be watched by Him again.

As for why the mysterious person did not offer protection, Liviel guessed there were two possibilities: first, he was already fully aware of the evil god's path and was unwilling to waste his energy listening to Liviel's reiteration; second, he could not shield the being from his gaze and therefore could not offer protection.

If it's the second scenario, it means his rank is below that of a true god. However, being able to pull three different people into another dimension suggests his rank isn't too low.

The blonde girl was disappointed for a moment, but quickly recovered and continued to question the blue-haired man:

"Sir, how can I obtain the 'audience' formula? What can I offer in exchange?"

The blue-haired man replied in a deep voice:

"I need at least 100 milliliters of ghost shark blood."

The blonde girl nodded excitedly at first, seemingly without any worry about whether she could obtain the Ghost Shark Blood. Then, as if remembering something, she asked with some concern:

"But how can I give you the Ghost Shark Blood after I get it? And how can I guarantee that you will give me the potion recipe after you get the Ghost Shark Blood, and that the recipe is genuine?"

The blue-haired man said in a calm tone:

"I will give you an address. Once I receive the Ghost Shark Blood, I will send you the recipe back, or I can tell you directly here."

"As for guarantees, I think with this gentleman as a witness, both you and I will be reassured enough."

As he said this, he turned his gaze to the mysterious man seated at the head of the table:

“Your Excellency, you possess unimaginable power to bring us here. Neither I nor she would dare to disobey your testimony.”

"Correct!"

The blonde girl's eyes lit up, and she excitedly expressed her agreement.

She turned halfway to look at the mysterious man and said sincerely:

"Your Excellency, we humbly request that you witness our transaction."

After saying that, she paused visibly, then asked, somewhat flustered:

"Sir, how should we address you?"

The blue-haired man nodded slightly, then solemnly asked:

"Sir, how should we address you?"

Upon hearing this, the mysterious man slowly leaned back in his seat, withdrew his right hand, interlaced his fingers and rested them on his chin. Through the hazy mist, his smiling face could be vaguely seen.

He spoke in a soft and calm tone:

“You may call me…the Fool.”

The brief answer quickly vanished into the magnificent temple and the pervasive mist, echoing in everyone's hearts, revealing a sense of mystery, power, and eeriness.

The Fool, the number 0 card in the Tarot... Is there a deeper meaning behind this mysterious person's name?

Liviel fell into deep thought. After a few seconds of silence, the blonde girl stood up, lifted her skirt slightly, bent her knees, and bowed to the mysterious man who called himself 'The Fool'.

"Dear Mr. Fool, please allow me to make this bold request: could you be a witness to our transaction?"

"It was a small thing."

Mr. Fool said nonchalantly, his tone completely indifferent.

"It is our honor, Mr. Fool."

The blue-haired man also stood up, placed his right hand on his chest, and bowed in greeting.

Livre also stood up and bowed to Mr. Fool. Although this transaction had nothing to do with her, she felt a little embarrassed to remain seated while the other two stood up, so she decided to just be there to liven things up.

Moreover, the Fool agreed to witness the transaction for the two, but did not agree to hide the gaze of the evil god, which made Livre more inclined to the second possibility: Mr. Fool's position is below Sequence 0.

Mr. Fool gestured with his right hand, smiled, and said:

"You may continue."

The blue-haired man nodded, sat down again, and looked at the blonde girl:

“If you can get Ghost Shark Blood, have someone deliver it to the ‘Warrior and Sea’ bar on Pelican Street in the White Rose District of Pritzker Harbor and tell the owner, Williams, that this is what ‘Captain’ wants.”

"After I confirm, you can give me your address and I will send you the potion recipe, or I can tell you directly here."

Claiming to be a captain, operating within coastal areas, possessing magical potions obtained through the sailor's route, requiring ghost shark blood, and having dark blue hair... he is likely a person who makes a living at sea, and there is a considerable probability that he is an extraordinary member of the Storm Church.