Opening his eyes, Adryan softly stroked Flora's head again, who grunted a little.
Sighing faintly, the redhead calmly and gently slid off the couch, taking extreme care not to disturb his companion too much.
After a few moments of pausing to separate the woman's arms from his waist, Adryan stood victoriously at the side of the couch.
Using his threads, he flew the pillow from one of the extra couches to his open hand.
Extending the offering to the woman, he watched as something moved under the blanket. The next moment, the pillow disappeared from his grasp.
"...What time is it?" Flora lazily opened one gray eye, settling the pillow under her head.
"Lunch time." Laughing a little, Adryan covered her better with the blanket, "I'll be back in a bit. Get some more sleep."
"I was already planning on that." Closing her eye again, the Jacob exhaled complacently.
"Don't take too long. I'm hungry."
Rolling his eyes in amusement, Adryan stood up and, with nothing else to do, walked with a leisurely pace back to his room.
The rain outside was still bathing the city with envious constancy, as if it was trying to drown her.
'I wonder what winter will be like here. As far as I know, it snows here...' Adryan noted a little absent-mindedly.
He wanted to see snow.
While this body had memories of snow and the like, he himself had never personally experienced it.
Paraguay was a country with a tropical climate, so the mythical white flakes did not fall there. This would be the first time he would experience it.
Shaking his head and putting aside those childish thoughts, Adryan entered the bedroom and closed the door behind him. Pausing for a few moments to look at his already naturally messy bed, he passed it and entered his bathroom.
Locking the door again, he opened the drawer under the sink and pulled out various materials. Red poppies, red candles and white candles, and various papers.
With the materials ready, he prepared two altars. One with the white candles a two candle altar with the Fool symbol on the papers. The other with red candles and red poppies, with the symbol of the Scarlet Monarch.
The two altars of the 'gods' were separated by eight steps. This in no way affected the efficiency and effect of the altar; it was only to show his respect by not placing the altars next to each other.
Finishing forming the wall of spirituality in the bath and an extra one around each altar, Adryan knelt in front of the altar belonging to the Fool and, taking a prayer posture, closed his eyes.
Not a moment later, Ancient Hermes sounded in the bathroom.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era; The Mysterious Ruler above the gray fog; The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck....
"I pray for your attention...
"I pray for you to listen...
"Mr Fool, I am ready to receive Little Sun's materials."
...
"Mmm..." Klein, who was counting out several ten-pound bills, sighed, feeling calmer than before.
The quantity of bills was such that it had a satisfying weight and smell that cleansed the soul.
The uncomfortable and painful revelation of a few minutes ago seemed much more distant than it was, thanks to these. The beautiful paper in his hands embraced him, and the face of William Augustus I seemed to smile at him.
It was a consolation. But one that he received well.
Finishing his third count of the 3,300 pounds, Klein neatly stuffed the money into the bag and released it into the air.
An invisible force grabbed the bag and carried it carefully through the air to a large pile at the back of the Hall, one that was filled with clothes, mystical materials, and another pile of yellow bills.
Covering his junk pile with the gray mist concealing it back, Klein sank a little deeper into his chair of honor, his brow furrowed in deep thought.
"The Lord of the City of Silver, the Ancient Sun God, is the True Creator that the Aurora Order worships... Lanevus....
"To become a vessel... That is a fate worse than death..."
Honestly, the most he planned to do to him was to kill him. But, knowing now that fate was merciful to what ended up happening to him, Klein didn't feel the slightest hint of pity.
Lanevus was willing to risk and kill the innocent lives of an entire city by assisting in the ritual.
That he would suffer the fate of losing his autonomy and life for the same was poetry in itself.
Klein closed his eyes and let out a slow sigh. Opening them slightly, he gazed into the endless gray mist around him.
After a few seconds, he nodded and recited emotionlessly;
"If you play with fire, you're going to get burned. Just as if you play with Evil Gods, you are destined to doom yourself."
Megose could rest a little easier knowing that one of the culprits of her suffering met an end worse than death.
Yet, there was still one culprit left to punish....
Sighing, the Tarot Club leader rested his cheek in his palm and silently tapped the edge of the bronze table. His mind replayed the meeting of a few moments ago.
He wasn't worried that he had shown Joa that he knew nothing about the swindler's condition, but his Lord had, and He hadn't told him about it.
Even if he was the Fool's blessed, that wouldn't save him from his God withholding information from him. The same was true of Joa and the Scarlet Monarch.
"Next tarot club, I'll ask him why the Emperor says the Red Priest has more interchangeable paths besides the Demoness. And why didn't he mention it. Joa showed no surprise or any emotion at that, so he already knew... Is there a problem with switching to one of these paths?'
At that moment, the lone crimson-stained flame pulsed, a familiar male voice coming from it.
Already accustomed to this point, Klein closed his eyes and lowered his head. That done, he extended his hand as well as his spirituality to this flame.
"... Mr Fool, I am ready to receive Little Sun's materials."
"You were already taking your time. What were you doing?" Sighing, Klein cut off the supply of spirituality, returning the flame to its original size.
Creating and editing the prayer as usual, Klein sent the censored version to the star representing the Sun.
...
City of Silver, Derrick's household.
Derrick was sitting alone at the table with a book in his hand, reading it, but his leg was twitching uneasily.
He was finding it difficult to focus on the words in the book, written in black ink on yellowed pages. Several lamps illuminated the place, repelling the deadly darkness and reassuring the young man.
Suddenly, his vision became blurred, and a gray mist covered everything. In the grayness, something moved.
Soon it cleared, allowing him to see a strange yellow room, with a man with long red hair kneeling in front of an altar.
A voice then reached his ears, illusory and etheric but still recognizable.
'...I am ready to receive Little Sun's materials.'
'Mr Chariot!' His heart skipped a beat, but Derrick quickly controlled himself, not letting it show.
Rising from his seat, Derrick closed the book he was reading, leaving it on the table. With quiet steps, he walked to his room and closed the door.
He grabbed two bags set aside beside his bed and placed them in the middle of the room.
After that, he took a candle he had prepared in advance and placed it in front of these bags.
This was a simple candle, almost identical to the others. The only thing that differentiated them was that this one had a symbol carved on its body—a pupil-less eye with contorted lines, the sacred emblem of the Fool.
This was a simplified ritual, and due to its nature, it could not have a wall of spirituality around it.
Grasping the candle's cord, he rubbed his fingers together as he poured out his spirituality. In a moment, the candle ignited into an illusory flame.
Clasping his hands together faithfully, Derrick closed his eyes and prayed.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era..."
The incantation was completed, and soon the mysterious existence illusory gate of light manifested.
With a creaking sound, the illusory door that had many strange patterns on it opened a tiny crack.
Behind the crack was a deep darkness in which countless transparent and indescribable shadows resided.
High above these shadows were seven pure lights of different colors that contained endless knowledge. Above the brilliance was an endless grayish-white fog, and above it was an ancient palace that overlooked the gray fog.
In the palace, a bronze table could be seen. Multiple seats on either side of it, empty. And on the seat of honor, a figure surrounded by gray fog sat...
A great suction force appeared, just taking the bags and pulling them into the door. Once they were through the door, it closed with a clang! and quickly vanished.
With that done, Derrick cleaned up everything he had used a moment ago. He took the candle that had barely burned out and, with his fingernail, erased the sacred emblem of the Fool. Placing the candle back where it was, Derrick left his room as if nothing had happened.
In another part of the City of Silver...
Black grasses and ivy climbed ancient stone walls, their appearance resembling more like human hairs that danced ominously in the wind.
These grasses of human hairs moved and danced with no apparent direction but with a grim purpose, seeking an embrace that never came.
Suddenly, all these hairs tensed. As if an electric current had passed through them.
But this lasted only a few seconds. In a few moments, they returned to their dark dance that had no music to accompany it.
...
Lenburg, Azshara. Elysian District.
Wearing thick robes of dark red and black with the hood down, Serena Williams was kneeling in the middle of her room, eyes closed.
The curtains were closed, and a wall of spirituality sealed this place. The only thing illuminating and repelling the darkness of her room was the lit red candles on the altar in front of her.
And, on top of this altar, at the tip of the drawn spear of the Scarlet Monarch's emblem, several objects rested. The one that stood out the most was a dark brown stone, much like dried blood, and its surface appeared to have multiple mouths whispering incessantly.
'Listener's characteristics...' Serena observed, her eyes narrowed slightly.
"It's going to be a heavy few days.When you're ready."
The Monarch's voice rang in her mind, accompanied by the Listener's potion formula.
Her hand moved, grasping the small pot at her side and placing it in front of the altar, ready to receive the life-giving substance.
Inhaling slowly, Serena grabbed the holy water she had prepared in advance and poured it into the pot. Next, she threw in the five grams of white gold, seven grams of copper, and the four claws of the white raven.
The holy water kept its clarity and purity, and the various minerals and claws sank to the bottom of the pot. The small amount of liquid in the pot made it look like stagnant water.
Looking at the characteristics that still remained on the altar, Serena was not embarrassed even for a moment as she grabbed the second thing she had prepared in advance. Instantly, the metal reflected the candlelight...
It was a spatula.
Carefully, she used the kitchen utensil and separated the dark brown stone from the altar. She lifted it into the pot and threw it in. The whole process was quicker and cleaner than separating a fried egg from a pan with too much oil.
The moment the stone hit the holy water, a horrible pshiii! resounded loudly. Serena couldn't help but grimace at the volume.
'If the wall of spirituality wasn't there, that would reach all the way to the front door...' The woman blinked somewhat dazedly as she watched the stone melt unnaturally fast.
As soon as it reached the middle, the illusory mouths on the outside of it unnaturally opened and began to spew out a thick, dirty, red-brown, honey-like liquid that was stained with blood.
"aaahhhh..." A spectral murmur was the last thing the mouths expelled before the stone dissolved completely.
None of the ores and claws could be seen now. All that remained in the pot was a multicolored liquid of gray and red with a dark core, churning together, but never mixing.
"Drink me... drink me... drink me... drink me..."
Mysterious, spectral voices began to reach her ears. At the same time, her spirituality as Secret Supplicant began to 'jingle,' detecting great value from this brew and tempting her to drink it.
Ignoring the sensation, Serena clasped her hands together in prayer and pressed them to her forehead. Praying with emotion and control, "Oh Scarlet Monarch, give me strength to withstand the temptations of this world..."
While that short prayer was not said in any language that moved nature, Serena could feel her resolve and will strengthening. The annoying murmurs and tinklings disappearing.
That was all she needed.
Grabbing the small pot, Serena lifted it to her lips and drank.
The potion went down extremely slowly, passing from pot to her lips more like a mass, not being worthy of being called a liquid.
It was so thick and dense, that once it was in her mouth, she had to chew to even try to swallow it.
The taste was curious. It was the coppery taste of blood, but it bordered on extremely sweet.
Surprisingly, it was delicious.
Gulp... gulp... gulp...
The gulps were slow and labored, but this did not bother her at all, but only excited her. Her heart quickened and rejoiced with each gulp.
Serena felt as if her eyes wanted to pop out of her head and start dancing, still connected to her. The same with her hair that felt like it was shaking and laughing, this was so with every hair, fiber, flesh, and bone of her being.
"... Далеко за холмами и текущими реками,В золотом свете прекрасного утра..."
A strange language began to ring in her ears, a chorus of voices of men and women whose echoes reached deep into her spirit.
She didn't recognize the language at all, nor what was being spoken, but she could feel the deep emotions in them.
Her whole body wanted to dance, to abandon her attempt at cogitation since taking the potion, and join in singing.
She clenched her jaw. Serena closed her eyes and went into cogitation as fast as she could.
Huff Huff
"...Стоял храбрый и благогородный ангел..."
The voices were slowly drifting away, but the effect of the chant still lingered.
"... М...икаэль..."
With saliva spilling out of her mouth, Serena held the voices at bay as best she could and quickly prayed.
"The Scarlet Monarch who burns depravity...The Calamity forgotten by time...The Stranger who comes from the unknown..."
As soon as she finished the last line of the prayer, a small chuckle rang out, completely drowning out the voices. It was soft yet powerful, not drowning, soothing, and calming.
"You were taking your time." The Monarch's voice bathed her, welcoming her into a protective embrace.
Suddenly, all the noise in her ears stopped. Pure nothingness. As if she had suddenly gone deaf.
Knowing and understanding what was going on, Serena focused all of herself on finishing the cogitation.
The potion that she could now feel was stuck in her chest began to go down again, going down at a slow speed, but at least it was moving.
Serena, while a bit excited by this, did not at any point let it affect or ruin her efforts.
...
After a few minutes. Serena opened her eyes again. Looking around, she noticed slightly dazedly how she could see much better.
Even though the only thing illuminating her room was the candles on the altar, that didn't affect at all how everything was clear in the darkness.
'I... I'm already a Sequence 8...' Her dazed expression quickly broke with this realization. Her cheeks were hurting from how big she was smiling.
"Congratulations on becoming a Listener, Serena." The Monarch spoke with a deep tone, the pride in the voice clear.
Blinking, wiping away as best she could her sudden wet vision, the now Listener clasped her hands together and praised wholeheartedly.
"Praise the Monarch!" Pressing her lips together, Serena took a breath and nodded energetically, "I am ready, I can start now."
This was the Sequence where the real mysticism lessons would begin. As well as an extremely dangerous one.
While advancing to Listener, everything that she already had was enhanced, whether it was her knowledge of rituals and how to pray to hidden existences. This sequence came with a powerful but lethal ability.
She could now listen to the whispers of hidden existences and gain not only information, but powerful and unique abilities. While powerful, there was a severe drawback.
Listening was always active, having no way to deactivate this ability in this sequence. So sooner rather than later, she would find herself in contact with information from powerful, distorted, and unique existences.
If it wasn't for the fact that the Monarch was speaking and she was focusing all her attention on His voice that seemed to be coming from nowhere, Serena would be listening not only to the people outside her house, but also to any existence in the area.
Now she couldn't waste her time crying and celebrating the fact that she had advanced!
She had to digest the potion as quickly as possible and advance to Sequence 7!
"Fufu~ Again, Adryan knows how to choose." Chuckling softly, Serena couldn't help but imagine how the God was shaking His head in amusement.
"Very well.Let's start from the basics... Hermes "