The faint text hidden on Audrey's fair skin twisted, then vanished without a trace. Unaware, she gazed at the Fool with innocent, knowledge-hungry eyes.Klein stared at the painting, silent for a long time. He opened his mouth but couldn't voice his thoughts. His eyes held a complex mix of emotions. After some time in this world, he'd nearly grown accustomed to its red moon.
The "white moon" before him stirred homesickness, plunging him into silence.
Klein focused on Audrey's painting, but Audrey and Alger mistook his gaze as directed at them, holding their breath. After a while, Klein snapped back, noticing their tension and misunderstanding. Leaning back lightly, he adopted a casual tone, saying, "This isn't something you should know yet."
"My apologies, I overstepped," Audrey said softly, bowing to the enigmatic Fool. But then, the Fool, perched beyond the gray fog, spoke calmly, "However, this painter's talent is remarkable, capturing the moon's 'most harmonious' color through intuition alone."
Come on, Miss Justice! Please catch the hint in my words! At least tell me if the painter is my hometown buddy… Klein prayed inwardly, awaiting Audrey's response. Befitting her noble upbringing, Audrey quickly grasped the subtext in the Fool's gaze, nodding slightly, "The painter is Adrian Abraham, a Backlund noble. Um… the 'Actor' potion formula I mentioned earlier also came from him."
As expected… Klein's pupils contracted.
Tied to the Aurora Order, Adrian likely controls at least two low-Sequence potion pathways, maybe more… He arrived as a noble, unlike my starting conditions…
Damn it! Why did Roselle become an emperor, Adrian a noble, and even the True Creator run the Aurora Order… while I'm the poorest?* Klein fumed inwardly.
After some casual chat, Klein rebuffed Audrey's query about adding Tarot Club members with, "None may recite my name without my permission," nailing a grand pose. Satisfied, he ended the meeting—a fruitful one, yielding Adrian's info and free knowledge from Alger.
Post-Tarot Club, Klein sat silently on his throne in the empty hall. The ever-present gray fog swirled around him, offering no comfort, only accentuating the place's loneliness. He pulled out Adrian's note, skipping the True Creator's honorific name, preparing to recite the second. Clearing his throat, his voice halted.
He pondered: Could Adrian, who painted Earth's scenery, be an enemy? Was the True Creator's kindness conditional? Was Adrian, like him, faking divinity with a "cheat," or did a real unknown god back him? Was his friendliness genuine or an elaborate ruse?
Klein knew the safest choice was to ignore Adrian and avoid chanting the unknown honorific name. But Adrian had already connected with his family—angering him might endanger Benson and Melissa. Plus, Adrian's sincerity and the painting's lonely Earthly vibe shook Klein's resolve, tilting him toward trust.
After much hesitation, Klein drew a pendulum from his pocket, muttering incantations to divine the outcome of chanting the name. Opening his eyes, he saw the pendulum indicate "slight danger, but very low risk." Reassured, he closed his eyes and recited:
"The Lord of Dimensions;
The Eye Overlooking the Mortal Realm; The Source of All Illusions; The Creator of the Painting World
The Source of all Fantacies"
Klein reasoned: If this entity is hostile, maybe this gray fog can shield me!*
In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, the High-Dimensional Overseer opened His eye, a smile flickering. The True Creator and Evernight Goddess watched Him, as if monitoring His every move.
"Don't forget your promise, High-Dimensional Overseer," the True Creator said gravely.
"Relax… Don't you trust me?" theHigh-Dimensional Overseer's avatar replied. "I'll help fix your anchor shortage and the madness from your divine-human split."
"Don't play dumb," the True Creator said, darkness rippling around Him, forming an invisible barrier. "If you sabotage the Lord of Mysteries' emergence, your Earthly pollution will never leave the Forsaken Land. Even for an Old One, polluting a Source of Uniqueness isn't easy. Break our deal, and Amanises will awaken the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth through Antigonus at all costs."
"Even if it traps you in eternal madness?" the High-Dimensional Overseer raised a "brow."
"Even if it traps you in eternal madness," the True Creator affirmed. "I won't trust an Outer God, even if your essence was once human. I won't betray Earth, despite being devoured by gods."
The Evernight Goddess stood silently beside the True Creator, her resolve clear: stars emerged in the surrounding darkness, sealing all spirituality.
The High-Dimensional Overseer laughed, delighted, as if witnessing something amusing. Studying the True Creator, He smirked coldly, "Fine, I accept your terms. But, True Creator, Amanises, don't disappoint me. With such resolve, in exchange, stay out of my moves against the Lord of the Storm in Loen."
The Evernight Goddess nodded lightly, agreeing. After this tentative pact, the High-Dimensional Overseer's avatar exploded, His spirituality manifesting externally. The shell He left began to pulse with new spirituality, as if birthing a life ready to hatch.
"I'm off, Creator," Amanises said, bowing slightly. "I've been gone too long; the Lord of the Storm will grow uneasy. If He learns I visited you, He might ally with Wisdom and Sun to disrupt our plans."
Her figure vanished into the darkness. Sighing, the True Creator watched the High-Dimensional Overseer's shell—or rather, kept vigil. He knew, post-operation, a certain frivolous, "overly human" Outer God would linger, acting annoyingly human.
Assuming, of course, the High-Dimensional Overseer honored their deal.
...
Viscount Glaint finished preparing his potion, nodding with satisfaction. Entranced by the potion's beauty, he admired its tuberose-like scent and pale blue liquid, where countless light specks floated. In sunlight, they refracted rainbows; in a dark chamber, they glowed, forming a shifting starry sky within.
Glaint brought the bottle to his lips, downing it in one gulp. He felt an unprecedented power seep into him, a profound fulfillment. As the potion's energy absorbed, he slipped into a deep sleep. In his long dream, he found rare comfort, as if in the Evernight Goddess's divine kingdom—calm, serene.
Opening his eyes, he saw vague silhouettes. A massive shell enveloped him, granting unparalleled safety. But the next moment, he was back in reality, as if it were all a dream. Disappointed, Glaint stood, brushed off dust, and rushed to test his new abilities.
Yet, after that ultimate safety, his heart held only emptiness and desolation.
...
Above the gray fog, Klein gaped as a giant eye appeared in the air. The fog tore, forming a vast void. A curtain rose before the eye, as if to veil its true form. The eye, puzzled, scanned around, finally locking onto Klein on his throne. Adrian, materializing in the fog, seemed to recognize the Fool. Smiling "awkwardly," he said, "Well, damn, you've got one of these too? I thought I was the only one bold enough to pose as a god!"
Adrian's acting was flawless, being a true god, while Klein squirmed, grateful for the fog hiding his mortified expression. Chuckling dryly, he said, "Haha, yeah… Quite a coincidence…"
Help! Why are our transmigrators so bold? I thought I was this era's only transmigrator, so I dared pose as a god. Why are all transmigrators such divine con artists? Roselle called himself Caesar, I'm the Fool, Adrian's… a big eyeball? Ugh, waiting online, urgent!
These thoughts raced through Klein's mind as he and Adrian stared at each other. After a brief silence, Adrian, ever the performer, broke it: "Now you trust me, right, Klein? I'm a transmigrator, and I'm not swayed by the True Creator."
Klein nodded, covering his face in shame. His mask had slipped spectacularly—or rather, both had unmasked, and now it was a contest of who'd cringe more. Klein, no match for Adrian's hours-long real-world bluffing, felt profound embarrassment.
"So, you use this place for gatherings? Hmm… looks like we're on the same page, milking our cheats… Uh, Klein, you okay?" Adrian said, strolling around. Noticing Klein's silence and the thickening fog, he paused.
"No… Doesn't this embarrass you? We posed as gods, and yesterday we were outsmarting thin air…" Klein stammered, still reeling from social death. But Adrian's laughter cut through: "Klein, it's normal. In this world, gods were once human too."
Normal, my foot! Klein screamed inwardly.
"How about this: treat it like you've booked this divine slot early? Only we know this secret. No god can pierce your fog or my 'courtyard.' Join me as the Fool's ally in these gatherings. That way, you'll trust I won't spill, right?"
What a load… Far in the Forsaken Land and Deep Dark Heaven, the True Creator and
Evernight Goddess silently scoffed, watching the High-Dimensional Overseer's shared vision.
"Deal," Klein said, throwing caution to the wind. His brain overloaded, he dragged Adrian into the mess—Adrian seemed harmless, so if they were to crash, they'd crash together!
"Done," Adrian said, smiling.
The Fool was hooked.
As the gray fog dissipated, a cryptic smile crossed Adrian's face. He lowered his paintbrush, adding the final stroke to his oil painting.
It depicted chairs hidden in gray fog, a majestic figure on the central throne. Beside it, a giant eye symbol was etched. Shaking his head, Adrian summoned the fully corrupted Hidden Sage to deliver a letter to Klein.
Within the letter lay a single tarot card.
On the finely crafted card, a crumbling sky-high tower loomed.
It was the Tarot Card... The Tower.
(End of Chapter)