When Selina felt a slight pain from her head and the gradual disorientation of her vision. She quickly left the dreamworld before the ache gets progressively intense. Waking up to be greeted with a casting crimson glow from the thin veils of the curtains.
Although she didn't expended herself from prolonging her stay in the dreamworld. The time within and the outside are still dependent to each other, thus requiring her to set when she would visit again.
After tidying up the items contained in the paper bags she had brought. Selina took the one with her purchased clothes and turned for the short hall.
It was eight in the evening, Selina checked the time before muttering to herself, There's still time, today I'll finish Mr. Fool's task...
She went upstairs, took her towel from the bedroom, stored her revolver and headed for the sink. Throwing her purchased clothes into the washing bin then undressed for a quick shower.
Gushes of water streamed its noise throughout the empty hall. Echoing the presence of an inhabitant in this mundane residence.
Selina felt invigorated after a long day of navigating the streets. Not to mention her exhausted mind even after a nap, the shower refreshed the lady's spirit.
After entering her bedroom, dressing herself to her usual night gown. She quickly drew each curtains in the room and repositioned a table from the side toward the center.
Once this is done, Selina rushed to bring a three candled stand on to the table along with the remaining essential oil.
She stayed at the center and began recalling the contents of the document she had read and committed into memory.
Of course, she did not forget to translate the remaining description, Mr. Fool had provided them. Writing them into a piece of torn paper before burning it into the plumes of a wall-lamp.
She took one look at the coursing light from the outside then retracted her gaze back to the table.
I have no silver dagger in the house... Perhaps I can substitute with a knife? Yes, Mr. Fool did mention a silver knife, she muttered.
The entry tells a silver dagger used for rituals to prepare a wall of spirituality. However, she did not know this before visiting the market. Since she opted to finish the task today, all she could do now was to find alternative methods for the ritual.
Ah... I almost forgot, a crucial variable struck Selina's mind that she hurriedly went downstairs and back to the kitchen.
Sounds of a sizzling water and aromatic scent drifted across the short hallway as she prepares a supper of one loaf of white bread, a bowl of Feynapotter noodles and Paella dish that she did not experience any difficulties making.
After about an hour and a half later, Selina returned upstairs with two plates, one of which was under the bowl of Feynapotter noodle and the Desi Pie that she had bought earlier on the plate above it. This additional plate was for the white bread she have on her mouth.
In fear of an accident happening for the white bread if she placed it above the Desi Pie, she decided to secure it with her mouth instead.
Mr. Fool wouldn't mind a bitten bread right? I don't wear lipsticks so perhaps he won't notice... Selina muttered softly as she placed each meal on the table.
With the preparations in place, she recounted Mr. Fool's instruction in her mind: "Put four brand new candles on an altar, placed on four corners respectively. It's best if they are candles with a sandalwood scent. Put a loaf of white bread near the candle on the top left corner, a bowl of Feynapotter noodles near the candle on the top right corner, paella by the candle on the bottom left corner, and a Desi pie by the candle on the bottom right corner..."
Following this, Selina accurately placed each meal as per instruction. Her candles were also sandalwood scented, giving her a choice whether or not to buy another set earlier.
Of course, she chose the latter.
Once everything is in place, she reviewed the entry from the mysterious dreamworld and pierced a bag of salt with a knife she brought along with the meals.
Selina drew a rather small circle with the salt, only encompassing the table with a few meter distance away from the center.
Now with the knife, she held it with both hands and pressed it to the level of her chest.
The entry specifically told the practitioner to enter cogitation, often mentioned by the previous rituals she had read before the current one.
She closed her eyes and pictured the images she used during Klein's guidance in entering cogitation. These images transitioned into a pure light that had different shapes, stacked onto one another that only her can picture.
Once again, she felt herself floating into a space above a world of blended colors. Her spirituality gradually succumbing into the knife held by her hands.
Like what the entry had told, she simulated a possible sensation of a gushing waterfall. The droplets were the spirituality and the end is the pointy knife.
The surrounding suddenly shifted.
It became colder, more mysterious. The temperature had dropped and the distant sounds of carriages, crickets and voices from the neighborhood have drastically lessened.
When Selina opened her eyes, she maintained the feeling of cogitation and finally put the knife aside.
Her hand reached for the box of matches at the table and lit the candle stand in this succession; first the upper candle representing the deity, then the right symbolizing the spirit world and the deity's connection and finally the left representing the 'her'.
After doing all of this, without disrupting her focus of cogitation, she recalled the translated note she had burned, containing Mr. Fool's description and prayer.
Selina drew a light breath, clasped her hands together beneath her chin and began with the first line in practiced Hermes, "The Fool that doesn't belong with this era;
"You are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog;
"You are the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."
She paused for a moment and thought of the things she wanted pray.
To be met with quite a few things as of now, it didn't took her long to decide and resume: "I pray for hope...
"I pray for safety...
"I pray for your guidance...
"I pray for one day to return...
...
"I pray for happiness for the people around me...
"I pray..."
...
Klein heard stacks of illusory voices emanating around his ear. These voices abruptly woke him up, sat upright on his bed.
He pondered, "Could it be Miss Lovers this time?"
Although he was tired from the constant physical work pushed to him by Mr. Gawain. He still forced his body stand and reluctantly performed a counterclockwise rotation.
He immediately arrived above the gray fog after a series of murmurs from the distant fog. He sat back to his seat of honor and inspected any sort of changes within the space.
Just like what occurred when Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man had prayed to him. An illusory crimson light glowed in front of him.
This star represents one of the members of the tarot club: Miss Lovers.
When Klein reached toward this pulsing light and injected his spirituality into the star, a scene formed from the fog that cloaked his surrounding.
It shows a blurry figure of a woman with white-silverly hair, coiled into a bun that had multiple loose strands at the ends. She wore a simple and elegant white gown, not too elaborate with the design.
The room is also quite vivid, being mostly obscured by the fog. However he can at least picture a bed from behind the woman. A dresser on the side followed by the placement of a veiled window just before the cabinet across.
"It's Miss Lovers", said Klein who didn't quickly recognized the woman with a coiled silver hair.
Although the scene was heavily cloaked and could only display a hazy image, the woman's visage is able to effectively help Klein in picturing the lady behind the gray fog.
Just like Miss Justice, Miss Lovers is also exceptionally beautiful... His hand repositioned from the armchair as he suddenly recall Ms. Roy's appearance.
"I pray for your guidance...
"I pray...
During Miss Lover's prayer, Klein instinctively crossed the two ladies, Miss Lovers and Selina Roy, with the criteria of their looks.
One exhibits a very beautiful image even amidst the gray fog that can contend when using Miss Justice as the standard of beauty. The other do stand out from the crowd, however her beauty caught one's sense of guardianship rather than elaboration.
Ms. Roy is quite composed but seeing through her emotions makes one second guess this impression. That can also be a variable when valuing beauty... However, at that time... Klein recalled certain things back in the alchemy room.
"I pray... "
Toward the ending of the prayer, he took his time sending off a response, just to remind that him as Mr. Fool has successfully received the prayer.
After doing this, Klein didn't immediately left the space. With a pendant and a piece of goatskin parchment laid over the bronze table, he made another divination.
He planned on making one divination to end the day. This was due to the response Old Neil had given after Ms. Roy had left the alchemy room. During that time, he answered with a calm and dismissive tone that Ms. Roy looked fine.
For Klein, it wasn't that he couldn't get rid of Ms. Roy's image in his mind but the familiarity still hadn't fade from his perception.
The goatskin parchment had a line written in Hermes: "Miss Roy's appearance is an alteration made by an unknown force."
He repeated this sentence within his mind while entering cogitation. After the seventh repetition, the topaz pendant suddenly began moving autonomously.
The motion, the rotation was circling in a clockwise motion. Indicating a positive result!
Klein's back became colder from the revelation. He did not expect that Ms. Roy had more than what's on the surface of her composure.
So you mean... She's not what she looks at all? he said silently in horror.
Determined to delve deeper into the matter, he performed another divination. This time, using a dream divination to precisely get the full scope of the revelation.
On another piece of goat parchment was written with the lines: "The force behind Miss Roy's alteration."
He took this parchment, then leaned and relaxed onto his seat. He closed his eyes and immediately entered cogitation, repeating the lines seven times in his mind. His consciousness began drifting.
What appeared before Klein made all his hair stand on ends. He saw a lady, her hair was silver, her skin reflects the crimson moonlight above with its paleness.
The lady's left arm was cut off, she laid lifeless onto the cold floor as a series of dark, scaly tentacles and black whipping hair strands lashed the whole scene in a frenzy.
When the lady's hair slowly begins to form scarlet hue so vividly, a hand reached out of the darkness. It was long, slender, it grabbed the lady's hair then scooped a handful of blood from the puddle.
The frenzied tentacles suddenly disappeared along with the entrance of this mysterious hand.
The scene immediately turned black...
At that moment, Klein, who was resting soundlessly on the Seat of Honor abruptly woke up. His eyes were wide open and he couldn't believe what he had witnessed.
His heart raced along with his breathing. It took him awhile to adjust and after that mumbled to himself, "A hand, the crimson moon reflecting from the lady's skin and multiple whip-like strands of hair and tentacles...
"The lady seems to be Ms. Roy. The hand doesn't seem to belong to anyone I know..." he concluded, setting every thing to a reason he could think of.
"This can symbolizes the fate of Ms. Roy. The hand can represent the force responsible for the subtle alteration of her appearance, the whipping lashes can be seen as the impact from the force and the hand scooping Ms. Roy's blood...
At that moment, Klein felt an abnormal foreboding from his revelation as he muttered gravely:
"Selina Roy is in danger."