Xio was reading a borrowed book at home alone when he found a piece of paper in the interlayer.
She flipped through it and subconsciously said to herself in her heart, looking at the page with ancient Hermes writing:
A fool who does not belong to this era...
After reading it, Xio was stunned for a few seconds, then suddenly sat up straight.
This seems to be the real name of a certain mysterious being!]
Seeing the familiar scene, Xio covered her face and lowered her head.
How could I have been so foolish back then, casually reciting something I didn't understand, the ancient Hermetic text. Now everyone knows about it, and they'll all think I'm clumsy and simple-minded…
Fors wanted to reach out and pat her friend's shoulder to comfort her, but Benson and Melissa were between them, so she couldn't reach him.
Alger recalled that this was Mr. Fool's instruction after Justice said he would recommend the two men for membership: to reveal his name in a covert way and arouse their interest so that he could conduct an investigation.
The audience's abilities were truly useful. The examination began already? This reckless personality didn't seem right... So the two of them began the examination together, but was it the "magician" who was chosen to join the Tarot Club first? Alger quickly sorted out the whole story.
Cattleya was very impressed with Judgment's intelligence-gathering abilities and had always considered her a reliable girl, until she did something so foolish. If Mr. Fool hadn't been such a kind god, he would have killed her long ago.
It seems I'm not the only one with a dark history. Leonard's feelings resonated with Danitz.
In a room that was clearly a gathering of wild Beyonders, Xio wrote, "Suspected of being possessed by an evil spirit, requesting help from a friend who is skilled in exorcism, and handed the note over.
Soon, they entered a separate room with a follower of the Sun and were purified.
As bright light fell on the two of them, the scene changed, and Sherlock was crowded on a bench in the police station with a group of thieves and drunks.
Why do I suddenly feel so warm…
The great detective, in a rather embarrassing situation, looked puzzled.]
Fors and Xio had actually mistaken Mr. Fool for an evil spirit and even tried to purify him? Audrey was filled with disbelief. Praise be to Mr. Fool for his mercy! He hadn't brought down divine punishment on these two who had offended him.
He was capable of such a thing... But why did Sherlock feel that way? It was as if he was the one being purified... I didn't expect him to be so embarrassed, actually squatting in the police station. Emlyn sneered in his heart and then put these thoughts behind him.
While Alger was surprised by their behavior, he also had doubts: their purification should be aimed at the gaze of the "Fool", so why did it affect the followers?
He looked at Merlin and found that he was also frowning with a puzzled look on his face.
It seems this isn't due to the Favored One, but rather the unique nature of the World itself. Could it be that the connection between The Fool and The World is even closer than we thought? So much so that The Fool's changes can affect The World itself! That's probably the case.
I remember that every time The Fool's revival progressed, The World would benefit and advance.
Perhaps the state of The World could also affect The Fool to some extent!
Alger felt his heartbeat quicken significantly, as if he had glimpsed the secrets of the gods.
No, if my guess is correct, this is the secret of the gods!
Seeing this scene, Azik couldn't help but think of his own experience: as a direct descendant of the God of Death, he was used as a pawn for resurrection. Could it be that Klein's relationship with The Fool was similar? Was everything about him arranged by The Fool for his true resurrection and return to the human world?
In this case, Klein's uniqueness and The Fool's attitude towards him all make sense! Who knows, one day, Klein might be replaced by The Fool!
Azik couldn't help but worry about his student's future. He had ultimately avoided losing himself, but what about Klein? Who could help him?
Faced with the gods' plan, Azik was powerless.
When Cattleya saw Sherlock's reaction, she immediately looked at the Queen beside her. It wasn't that she couldn't think, but when Bernadette was around, she wanted to lean on her more. But when she turned around, she saw only a solemn face, and received no explanation.
*Your former colleague's relationship with The Fool is even closer than I thought. Be prepared." Pallez's voice echoed in Leonard's mind, making his heart tighten. He wanted to ask for details, but was afraid of hearing something he wouldn't accept.
Klein was truly confused.
If the previous "Truth or Dare" incident was due to Leonard and Miss Justice being present, and this space had to broadcast it as it was to avoid suspicion, then why is it being deliberately aired now? What happened to the promise to conceal my identity? I sensed it as soon as Miss Judgment purified me, and I don't even believe that I have no connection to The Fool.
Although there is indeed some connection, I am a follower, but what follower can feel warm because the god he believes in is purified?
"He couldn't possibly have already covered up my identity as Merlin with an original plot, and then deliberately revealed my identity as the Fool? This was completely unnecessary, and there were plenty of opportunities to expose me before. Even just randomly capturing my thoughts about the Fool and posting them would have been better than doing this here."
If it wasn't to reveal my identity, then this scene had some other purpose, perhaps to create some kind of misleading impression? First, to make everyone think Klein and the Fool have a closer connection, and then later to cover up the flaws I accidentally revealed?
Klein had to admit that after everyone present shared their knowledge, his facade was in jeopardy, as there were many unclear points, especially in the early days when he wasn't so proficient. Since the owner of this space seemed to be quite insightful, he could just quietly admire him.
After all, Merlin couldn't possibly know anything about Klein, so my surprise and confusion were normal.
[Xiu squeezed into the chaotic tavern and knocked hard on the bar a few times. The hooligans and drunks attracted by the noise turned their heads away guiltily after facing the gaze of the "arbitrator".
Williams, with his name on his head, raised the drink in his hand and gestured to Xio: "Want a drink?"
"Are you sure?" Quinn raised an eyebrow.
"No, he doesn't want to!" the bartender answered quickly.
The last time she got drunk, she used her fists to persuade everyone to quit drinking and even threw everyone out!]
Williams... Xio sighed inwardly. She had never imagined that a simple investigation mission would cost someone their life. Fortunately, Lanevus died in the end, and it was The World who killed him. Now that she was also a member of the Tarot Club, she could be considered to have avenged him.
I didn't realize Miss Judgment was quite fierce. Is this a characteristic of the Arbitrator's path? Klein took in her appearance and inexplicably remembered a joke.
He is only 1.5 meters tall but has the aura of 5.1 meters!
It's dangerous when she's drunk, so I should let her drink less... Cattleya. realized something was wrong halfway through her thought.
This is not my crew member, I don't even have the chance to drink with her. Even if she is not a good drinker, it is not my concern. The one who should worry is the "magician" lady who lives with her.
Danitz secretly curled his lips. There was no way such a person could survive at sea. Who doesn't drink at sea? Life would be meaningless without drinking!
[In the chaotic dock area, Hugh is wearing patched clothes and sitting with the homeless people.
She curled up in the cold wind, but her eyes were extremely sharp as she monitored the dock workers' union and the surrounding situation.
The picture was fast-forwarded, the figures of the pedestrians almost flashed by, and the noisy sounds in the background gradually disappeared. Only Xio remained there.
After a wait that felt eternity even with acceleration, the screen suddenly froze. Following Xio's gaze, a man with "Laneveus" branded on his face filled the screen.
Although several people present hated Lanevus to the core, their hatred was diluted by this humorous scene.
It does feel a lot better not being able to see that face.
Leonard even felt emotional.
It wasn't until much later that he learned that Klein had killed Lanevus. However, to investigate Sherlock, he reread the files several times. He remembered that the person who reported the case was a bounty hunter, and now it seemed to be Miss Judgment.
Furthermore, the person reported the incident directly to the Church of the Evernight Goddess, apparently at Klein's behest…
What kind of grudge? A close-up with the face hidden? Anderson marveled at the image.
Lanevus... Star had mentioned it before, that it was the World who had participated in this under the identity of Sherlock, involving the True Creator. Cattleya recalled the relevant events.
Klein felt a strange sense of venting anger from this scene. Did the owner of this space also have a grudge against Lanevus? That shouldn't be the case. If "He" truly hated Lanevus, with his current abilities, he would have been able to deal with him long ago. Why would he vent his anger in this way?
Xio was inquiring in the tavern about other bounties when the screen suddenly turned crimson. An indistinct figure begged The Fool for an impromptu meeting to discuss the details of the upcoming joint operation.
The praying image disappeared along with the red. Xio didn't seem to be affected at all. After leaving the tavern, he quickly returned home and saw that Fors was also ready.
Above the gray fog, The Moon, Judgment, The Magician, The Star, Justice, and The Hanged Man appeared in their seats. Everyone else, including The Fool, was gone.
Moon spoke first, "I've received intelligence about Ernes Boyar. I'll ensure Miss Judgment receives the largest share of the bounty."
Judgment said calmly, "I hope what I did was helpful to you."
Next, everyone consulted the intelligence provided by "Moon' and "Judgment, combined with everyone's abilities, and finalized the plan to lure a certain vampire into the Harvest Church.
Is this how the Tarot Club communicates every day?! Those who had never seen this kind of thing were surprised.
They hadn't expected them to have regular meetings before the gods, and to be able to request private meetings at any time, all with the help of the gods! No wonder they've done so much, yet no one has ever been able to find out about it. Who could have imagined this?
This mode of operation was also novel. Though they knew each other's identities, they were able to maximize their abilities. They didn't need to meet during the entire operation; they simply had to complete their respective tasks. And so, a Sequence 5, secretly watched by a powerful individual, was clearly arranged.
[Outside a warehouse, Xio and Fors hid in the shadows.
At this moment, on the ground in front of them, dark flames outlined a line of rune text: "The opportunity you long for has arrived."
Realizing the danger, the two of them had a brief discussion and decided to leave separately. But when Xio secretly looked back, he found that Fors had also returned.
Sherman... No, Shermane....
The sadness of his friend's death had faded over time, and in the world of Extraordinary people, this was a very common thing. Xio no longer dwelled too much in the past.
Many people were surprised by Xio and Fors's friendship. Aside from official Beyonders like Leonard, who often collaborated with teammates, wild Beyonders were mostly solitary. They constantly teetered on the edge of losing control, and most didn't trust anyone. Relationships like theirs were extremely rare and precious.
Klein subconsciously glanced at Sharon and Maric. In his impression, the two were always inseparable, always working together on everything. Unfortunately, they were so good at suppressing their emotions that it was impossible to tell whether they were moved by Fors and Xio's friendship.the palace above the gray fog, the Hermit materializes a page of a diary and hands it to the Fool.
The screen focused on the diary again, and the symbols unique to Russell blurred and transformed:
"It's been over a week since I came to this world. I have to write something and get some things out, otherwise I'll go crazy."
"I wrote it in simplified Chinese, so no one will be able to decipher it."
"I am now Russell Gustav, but I will never forget my real name: Huang Tao!"
There are no corresponding translations for "Chinese" and "Huang Tao", and they are simply presented in their original form.
Bernadette sat up straight abruptly, her face showing confusion and realization.
Although I don't quite understand what time travel means, the meaning of this passage is very clear. Russell is not originally from this world! And the words he uses to write in his diary are the words that belong to his world!
Bernadette didn't mind this too much, because she was certain that her father had always been the same person.
Even if he came from another world and had another name, it couldn't change that fact. But now she truly understood the phrase her father wanted her to remember and knew what it meant. That is his hometown, the home of his spirit and soul, and also the place he can never return to.
Seeing that Bernadette wasn't so excited anymore, Cattleya relaxed and began to think about other questions: If Russell came from another world, how did he get here? And the words he used also belonged to another world, so why could "The Fool" understand them?
Countless thoughts swirled in Alger's mind, but none of them seemed right.
Did The Fool and Emperor Roselle come from the same world? Was he a deity from that world? But his aura, his words, his actions, all sounded more like an ancient god from our own world. And why would he come to this world? The apocalypse was only a dozen years away, and even gods wouldn't be able to escape... Could it be that his original world had already experienced an apocalypse, and he had fled here? If that were the case, he wouldn't be the only one here, and he wouldn't have to wait so long…
Or has The Fool always been a deity in our world, and can read the diary because he obtained it from Russell? If he could do that, why wouldn't he have awakened now and collected the diary? Furthermore, judging by Russell's behavior, it's clear he knows nothing about this. So, why did The Fool allow Russell to come to this world?
Or maybe The Fool has nothing to do with Russell, and He can understand those words only because of some divine ability that we cannot understand?
Or maybe Russell was mistaken, and he wasn't a so-called time traveler, but rather belonged to this world?
Alger rubbed his temples and gave up thinking. He felt that there was still some key information missing, so all speculation was useless. Instead of overthinking it, he might as well wait and see what happened next.
The Emperor said he started keeping a diary a week after arriving in this world. I remember he started keeping a diary when he was young. Does that mean that before then, this identity belonged to the real Russell Gustav? But his talents and achievements were only revealed later, and they belong to this unknown person... For some reason, this person took over Russell's identity and lived his entire life as it?
Audrey found this situation somewhat similar to parasitism, but that was active and purposeful behavior. The Emperor's situation seemed more like he had encountered some kind of accident and was forced to accept this identity…
Derrick didn't quite understand what Russell meant, but he felt his situation was very similar. When he first joined the Tarot Club, he felt like he was in a different world from everyone else, but he eventually realized it was simply because his place was unique, completely different from the outside world. Since his own God-forsaken Land was unknown to outsiders, perhaps Russell was in a similar situation, but no one had yet found his original home.
What was going on? Leonard felt his brain was running out of steam. The contents of the diary were beyond his comprehension.
Russell isn't from our world? I've never heard of this before! Is this a mistake?
Does this mean there's a completely new kind of writing in Russell's diary?
Edwina's eyes lit up.
Klein's first reaction was: This isn't the page that I was looking at, this space is messed up again!
Klein's first reaction was: This isn't the page I was looking at, this space is messed up again!
Only then did he realize the problems that would arise from exposing this information, and also, whether Merlin should know this truth... Klein fell into deep thought.
However, no one asked Klein any related questions for the time being, and everyone was thinking about various possibilities on their own.
[ "The World" tells about George III' s plot, and "The Trial" takes the initiative and tells about Shermane.
When the conversation ended, the gray-white fog suddenly became so thick that it filled the entire scene before dissipating. Xio and Fors had already returned to their rented house.
"I didn't expect Mr. 'World' was also paying attention to this matter. I should have asked him for help before we took action." Xio looked a little annoyed.
Fors agreed, "Yes, if he were here, things would be easily resolved. But who would have thought that your investigation would attract that person's attention?"
"I'm still too weak..." Xio lowered her head.
The king, the church, the witch sect, the Psychological Alchemy Society, all the things they had heard of and hadn't heard of before made Benson and Melissa confused.
Although they had long known that Klein had been involved in various dangerous activities, learning the details so specifically for the first time made them find it difficult to even comprehend. They knew what Klein was talking about, but the deeper meaning behind it was completely lost. They could only vaguely guess that George III's sudden death during a speech was related to these events.
Then there were Xio and Fors, sitting next to him. They had just been asking about Klein. They looked like friendly, ordinary people, but they had once teamed up to kill a Sequence 5 Viscount! And from their discussion, it seemed that Klein was more powerful within the organization, and was involved at a higher level. This Viscount was merely a peripheral member of the incident he was investigating!
Melissa and Benson exchanged a glance, each seeing the bitterness on the other's face. This feeling of worrying about loved ones while being unable to do anything wasn't pleasant at all. They didn't even know what to worry about. Was this why Klein didn't want to recognize them?
Xio's eyes dimmed. She had always been too weak. It had been like this during her time with Lanevus, it had been like this during her time with Sherman, and even now, her strength was never truly effective, and her improvement couldn't keep up with the pace of events.
After taking a deep breath, Xio's gaze became firm again. Even if she didn't seem strong enough right now, she still had time to improve herself. She wouldn't give up until the very last moment. She didn't believe she was still incapable of doing anything!
Azik was lost in thought. Although he had only heard Leonard mention that King George III was prevented from becoming a god during their conversation, he could already roughly guess the situation based on the information revealed in the video. He just didn't know what Klein had done specifically.
The picture suddenly disappeared, but the white did not appear.
Everyone was still confused when the voice sounded in time: "Everyone adjust your mood, and you will go directly to the next part of the movie in ten minutes."
Adjust your mood? Does this mean they don't want us to carry our current emotions into the movie later? Audrey, who is very sensitive to psychological issues, subconsciously analyzed the meaning of this sentence.
The next viewing session might be special. This space doesn't want us to be distracted by other factors, even inappropriate emotional fluctuations. It should reveal important information, requiring our careful observation and reflection…
According to previous patterns, another protagonist will be replaced, but whose experience can allow Him to specifically remind these... Mr. "World"?!
Audrey subconsciously looked at Benson and Melissa.
If she guessed correctly, the images of Mr. "Star" and Xio were played in chronological order, but the content about Mr. "World" started with Gehrman's experience. Could it be that there would be a special part about Sherlock and Klein next?
Many people present guessed the next protagonist based on this special treatment, and followed the instructions to suppress the unnecessary emotions in their minds and wait quietly for time to pass.
The black space often makes people ignore the passage of time, as if a new picture appears on the screen as soon as they adjust their mentality.
[Under the kerosene lamp, a young man was leaning over the desk, writing something.
He quickly raised his head. His face was ordinary, with a touch of scholarly air, but his eyes were empty, as if his movements were being controlled by something. He picked up the revolver next to him and placed the muzzle against his temple.
"Klein?" Melissa couldn't hold back her voice. The scene was so bizarre that it filled her with intense panic.
Leonard frowned, probably guessing when this happened.
Klein watched quietly, wondering if this space would expose his identity as Zhou Mingrui.
Is this what Klein is? Gehrman truly looked like? The others should have been surprised by the difference between his real appearance and their imagination, but this image made them feel nothing but solemnity.
Thinking of the voice's reminder, everyone knew that the highlight was coming.