Klein once explored a Quaternary ruin with Miss Sharon, where they found a statue that appeared to be that of the Six Gods during the Quaternary period.
Just now, the "Hermit" mentioned the image of gods in ancient times, so he plans to show those images to "Justice" in exchange for "paying" the transaction fee.
Upon hearing this, Audrey, the "Justice" of the group, immediately replied, "Okay."
So "The World" pretended to consult "The Fool" Klein, and then showed him the six sculptures.
Klein first presented the image of the "Lord of the Storm," a majestic middle-aged man clad in black armor, standing on the waves, surrounded by storms, with lightning behind him, and wielding a trident.
Next is a young man dressed in a pure white robe, holding a book of contracts in one hand and the sun in the other; this is the sculpture of the "Eternal Sun".
Next is the sculpture of the "God of War," who sits on a throne, holding a long sword in front of him, his armor exuding an indescribable sense of decay.
There was also an old man carrying a book and the all-knowing eye, wearing a hood that only revealed his mouth and long beard; a plump lady with ears of wheat growing from the soles of her feet, surrounded by a spring; and a beautiful lady with a hazy face, wearing a layered classical dress that shimmered with starlight.
Upon seeing the images of these deities, the other members were stunned for a few seconds.
This also includes Odis. At this moment, he suddenly understood why the gods stopped using human forms. He had thought the "Goddess of Night" was very powerful and awesome, but when he suddenly saw her human form, he immediately realized that she was actually just bit sequence 0.
This should be the difference between a personified deity and an abstract deity.
Abstract deities rely entirely on people's imagination to support their image, making them seem omnipotent.
Once the image of the gods is personified, it seems to constantly remind people that their authority is limited to a certain area and that they are not omnipotent.
It also serves as a reminder to the extraordinary that even gods were once extraordinary, which is of no benefit to the extraordinary realm.
Alger, the "Hanged Man," was the first to react: "I never imagined that the gods had humanoid forms during the Fourth Age."
Then he asked, "Why did these gods later abandon these forms?"
Currently, the images of deities are replaced by sacred symbols, such as the "Symbol of Night" and the "Symbol of Machinery."
Odis thought back and realized that once the gods were represented purely by symbols, the faith in the anchor, that is, the function of the anchor, would directly point to abstract authority.
If there is a human figure, the image of the deity will be more concrete, and the anchor will point to the deity itself.
Many believers, when they worship gods or pray to gods, mix in a lot of human desires and distractions.
This would affect the state of the gods, so in the fifth age, they abandoned human form and made the anchors point directly to their authority. This way, they could stabilize their state with a large number of anchors and would not be corrupted by their desires and distractions.
However, he certainly wouldn't release such important information so easily.
Klein, manipulating the "world," said, "I haven't gotten the answer to that question either."
"The Magician" Fors asked with some confusion, "Why isn't there a god of steam and machinery?"
Audrey answered her question with a smile: "You may not have noticed the second question Mr. 'Moon' asked earlier."
"The Hermit said that a deity ascended to godhood in the late Quaternary period, which may be the God of Steam and Machinery."
Fors recalled that there had indeed been such a question and answer, but at that time she was shocked by Mr. Hermit's speculation about the process by which the Lord of Storms became the King of Angels.
"Thank you." After saying thank you, she didn't feel relieved.
Fors was a novice believer in the "God of Steam and Machinery," and for the first time, she felt that she was not so far away from the gods.
Although they are separated by more than an epoch, one is a god and the other is Sequence 9, and although the "distance" between them is still very, very far, Fors now knows exactly how far apart they are, unlike before when he had no concept of this "distance".
At this moment, "Sun" Derrick suddenly said, "'World', are these the gods you mentioned, such as the 'Goddess of Night' and the 'Lord of Storms'?"
Seeing the "Sun's" expression, Klein guessed that he seemed to know some information about the Six Gods, so he manipulated "The World" and said, "Yes, have you seen a similar image before?"
He thought to himself that even if he had seen them, he should only have seen the images of the three gods who became gods in the Second Age, including the "Goddess of Night".
Derrick seemed to think for a moment before saying, "I saw a similar image in the abandoned temple of the 'True Creator,' but it was only similar."
Audrey asked curiously, "Could you show us?"
"Alright." Derrick then obtained the "Fool's" consent and displayed the image of the evil god depicted in the murals of the Temple of the "True Creator."
First, he presented a woman dressed in a long, classic black dress, her clothes studded with starlight. Her face was indistinct, seemingly wearing a mask without features. Around her, darkness surged, and eerie eyes appeared and disappeared.
Upon seeing this image, Audrey immediately exclaimed, "This is blasphemy against the gods!"
She had already recognized that this was the "Goddess of the Night," but a "darkened" version of the goddess.
This almost made Audrey lose her composure as an "audience member," and she desperately wanted to ask the "sun" to help her scrape down the murals depicting the goddess.
Although "justice" speaks for everyone, no one agrees with her or makes any comments now, because everyone is watching to see how she will be perceived.
The following images are: a young man wearing a pure white robe, whose face has grown ugly beards made of rays of light;
A monster wielding a trident, with an octopus-like head, treading on dark waves;
An old man with a sinister smile, wearing a hood, and whose face is not human;
A graceful lady holding an infant with a rotting face, with black wheat ears at her feet;
A one-eyed warrior wearing tattered armor and wielding a longsword.
Alger's eyes were fixed on the octopus-headed monster: "This...this is..."
This is the smeared image of the "Lord of Storms". If it were before, he wouldn't have taken it too seriously. However, during the recent transaction, the "Hermit" even speculated that the "Lord of Storms" might have been a subordinate of the "Elf King" and might even be a sea monster.
Seeing this image again now, he felt it seemed to be evidence of the "hermit's" conjecture.
Klein also felt that the sculptures he saw in the Quaternary ruins were sculptures that the gods themselves approved of, so of course they would appear in a positive image.
The murals displayed by "Little Sun" represent the "true creator's" view of the "true gods," which is considered "the insults of the enemy," and of course, they will mercilessly expose the shortcomings.
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that this is just a smear campaign against these gods.
"We don't need to be too serious about the images of the gods," Odis suddenly broke the silence in the hall. "These images are the work of followers of evil gods, and they were all banished to the 'Forsaken Land' by the 'Six Gods,' so of course they wouldn't praise the orthodox gods."
He paused and then said, "Regardless of the image of the true gods or what they have done in the past, one fact remains: throughout the Fifth Age, they have been blocking the evil gods who wish to enter the real world."
"At the same time, it was the existence of the seven major righteous churches that ensured the basic order of the extraordinary world throughout the Fifth Epoch."
"Whatever their purpose or their plans, these are indelible achievements."
Upon hearing these words, everyone was taken aback and realized that they had indeed been stuck in some kind of mental block.
Reminded by the "hermit," they immediately seemed to have emerged from a mental maze: no matter what form the seven gods took, they were still the seven gods.
Having concluded the intelligence transaction, Alger then inquired, "Ladies and gentlemen, does anyone have a method or item that can simultaneously put everyone on the ship to sleep?"
The reason Alger hasn't gone to that primitive island to hunt the Blue Shadow Falcon yet is because he hasn't figured out how to leave the "Azure Avenger" without arousing suspicion.
"Moon" Emlyn thought for a moment and said, "I can ask around for you. I remember there are similar drugs."
Alger smiled and nodded: "Thank you for your help."
Klein then manipulated the "world" to make a new demand: "Everyone, help me keep an eye out for the remnants of the ancient vengeful spirit and the eyes of the six-winged gargoyles."
These are two auxiliary materials for Sequence 5 potions. Although they are auxiliary materials, they are not cheap.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Because he possesses the extraordinary trait of "Master of Mystic Puppetry," he only needs to prepare the ritual and auxiliary materials when he is promoted.
Everyone promised to keep an eye out for "the world." After Odis traded three extraordinary materials of Sequence 9 with "Little Sun," the trading session of the gathering ended, and the free exchange session began.
Audrey stood up first and bowed to the head of the bronze table: "Honorable Mr. Fool, I would like to know the truth about last week's events concerning the awakening of the 'Primal Witch' and the descent of the 'True Creator'."
"Is this purely due to the madness of cultists? Why would Prince Edsack choose to cooperate with them?"
"Based on the principle of equivalent exchange you established, what do I need to give in order to obtain the corresponding information?"
Klein thought to himself: If I had known, things would be resolved by now.
However, he remained calm and said in a relaxed sitting posture, "No need."
"The root of the problem has not yet been discovered, but there are enough clues. Hopefully, the people of the three major churches will not be too foolish."
Audrey's attention was immediately diverted: the root of the problem had not yet been discovered? The matter had not yet been completely resolved?
Taking a deep breath quietly, Audrey said sincerely, "Thank you for your answer."
Odis leaned back in her chair: What did this guy just say? It seemed like he said something, but it also seemed like he didn't say anything at all. What's there to thank him for?
At this moment, "World" suddenly asked "Justice": "You just said that someone stopped the 'Witch of Despair', could you elaborate?"
"No problem." Audrey sat down and said, "However, my information is limited. All I know is that the 'Witch of Despair' wants to spread a disaster in the East District."
"The specific approach appears to be to make the fog even thicker and allow the extraordinary virus to spread along with the fog."
"But that extraordinary individual used some method to create a strong wind throughout the East District, dispelling the fog and ruining the 'Witch of Despair's' plan."
"However, the extraordinary virus produced by the 'Despair Witch' also caused a large-scale flu epidemic, with hundreds of people dying that day. After the New Year, the number seems to have risen to two thousand."
"But the people of the East District are very lucky, because if the 'Witch of Despair' had not been stopped in time, at least tens of thousands of people would have lost their lives!"
"The World" nodded and asked again, "Do you know how that extraordinary individual achieved their status? And where did that demigod come from? Was they an official extraordinary individual?"
Audrey shook her head: "I don't know."
"I know," Odis smiled. "That was not an official extraordinary being, and that demigod was not a member of the Church."
Fors asked, somewhat puzzled, "Not an official? Then who is it?"
"A kind man from Backlund, and his demigod friend," Odis said with a smile.
He has already left Backlund, so these things can be discussed.
Audrey judged from the "Hermit's" tone and expression that the "kind man from Backlund" was Mr. "Hermit"!
Then she asked, "Mr. Hermit, you... um, I mean, that 'kind person from Backlund,' how did you stop the 'Witch of Despair'?"
She inquired several times but couldn't get any detailed information.
"A powerful magic circle," Odis said. "A magic circle that can generate hurricanes."
Klein thought to himself: That must be the "Hermit," who is an expert in occult symbols and magic circles.
However, he discovered a problem and then manipulated "the world" to ask: "How did that 'kind person from Backlund' get advance information that the 'Witch of Despair' was going to cause disaster in the East District?"
Since a magic circle was used, it needed to be drawn in advance, so we must have received the relevant information several hours beforehand.
He recalled that during the conversation between "Lady Despair" and Mr. A, their plans seemed to have been suddenly brought forward, so it was very rushed.
Odis smiled vaguely and said, "We received the news in advance through a special channel."
Seeing that the "Hermit" didn't elaborate, Klein didn't ask any further questions. However, he suddenly felt that the "Hermit" seemed more mysterious than he had imagined.
Alger, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked, "How did the official Beyonders resolve this matter later? Did that 'kind person from Backlund' receive any reward?"
The reason he hadn't spoken earlier was because he had noticed the "Hermit's" "demigod friend," which made him guess that the "Hermit" must come from some extraordinary organization, and one that was inclined to collect ancient history.
Otherwise, it would be impossible for a mere Sequence 7 like "The Hermit" to have discovered so many hidden ancient histories.
"The official extraordinary beings noticed the royal family's unusual behavior and realized that Prince Edsac was just a scapegoat," Odis smiled. "There was another very crucial figure at the time who disrupted the ritual for the descent of the 'True Creator'."
As he said this, Odis smiled and looked at the "world".
Audrey immediately sat up straight: That man is Mr. "The World"! The two key figures in this incident are Mr. "The World" and Mr. "The Hermit" from the Tarot Society.
This excited her greatly, as she believed it was a joint action by members of the Tarot Club.
"As for the reward," Odis laughed, "the key figure and the 'good Samaritan of Backlund' were forced to leave Backlund, and that was their reward."
Sorry, it's a bit late today.