Above the eternal gray fog.
Six blurred figures tinged with faint crimson gathered before the ancient bronze table. A new round of the Tarot Club had begun.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool. Good afternoon, Mr. Hanged Man..."
[Justice] Audrey rose according to custom to greet everyone, her eyes sweeping over each member.
The Tarot Club's membership was growing. At the very beginning, there were only her and [The Hanged Man].
After that, [The Sun] joined the gathering, coming from a strange place beyond her knowledge, the "Forsaken Land of the Gods," a place without sunlight, illuminated only by constantly flickering lightning.
Next to join the Tarot Club was a Beyonder Audrey knew in reality, [The Magician] Fors.
The latter didn't know she'd been introduced by Audrey, and naturally didn't know that [Justice] was Audrey.
The newest addition was the coldly responsive [The World].
Unlike the others, he didn't sit on one side of the bronze table but at the far end of the table, facing Mr. Fool.
Before this, Mr. Fool had arranged the members on both sides of the table according to gender, with men sitting on one side and women on the other.
So why does Mr. World sit on the opposite end of the table? Could it be because he happens to be the last card in the Tarot deck...
Audrey casually speculated as she concluded the customary greeting segment.
Leaning back against the bronze chair, she felt a relaxation she hadn't experienced in a long time.
Her house arrest period had passed, and after the Tarot Club ended, she would go find Fors and Xio in reality and hire them as her bodyguards.
That way, she'd have an explanation for her mother.
The gathering officially began.
According to custom, Mr. Fool's reading time came first.
Everyone would present Roselle's diary entries to this mysterious and powerful gathering organizer for him to read. As compensation, Mr. Fool would provide help or answer questions.
"Respected Mr. Fool, this time it's still six pages."
[The Hanged Man] Alger Wilson, wearing the robes of the Church of Storms, humbly bowed to the Fool and said respectfully.
"That's fine."
Mr. Fool, the master of the gray fog Klein, nodded slightly, watching as the other party materialized six pieces of parchment covered in Roselle's writing. With a thought, the six pages immediately disappeared, transported to his hands.
Klein looked down to read through these diary entries.
The six pages of Roselle's diary contained a lot of information. The first page mentioned his two sons and one daughter.
His eldest son Charles and second son Bonova had both received his Beyonder characteristics, making them Beyonders of the same pathway as him from birth.
His eldest daughter Bernadette was more fortunate.
Since her parents were lower sequences at her birth, she didn't inherit any characteristics and could freely choose her pathway.
Zaratul, a high-sequence powerhouse of the Seer pathway, had prophesied that his daughter would become an important figure in the mystical world.
The subsequent pages recorded important information Roselle had obtained in the mystical world, including learning about some extraordinary families with thousand-year legacies, attending a gathering whose name couldn't even be mentioned, and matters related to his creation of the "Blasphemy Cards."
"Blasphemy Cards"?
As Klein read Roselle's diary, he couldn't help but feel fascinated.
It turned out that this senior transmigrator's gathering possessed the "Blasphemy Slate" which contained knowledge of all pathways.
As a member, Roselle naturally learned the potion formulas and rituals of various pathways.
To counter an unknown force, Roselle had created twenty-two "Blasphemy Cards," hiding the secrets of all pathways within them.
And the greatest secret on the Blasphemy Cards was that above the sequences was Sequence 0, that is, true gods!
Mortals could also become gods. This was the greatest blasphemy!
"You may begin."
Having finished reading the six diary pages, Klein, shaken by the information contained within, worked hard to maintain his composure and initiated the subsequent flow of the gathering.
During the trading segment, everyone sought to purchase potion formulas and materials for their sequences, including Klein, who manipulated [The World] puppet to request "Magician" potion materials.
Although he hadn't saved enough money yet, he was tentatively putting the purchase on the agenda, asking everyone to keep an eye out for him.
"Additionally, I also plan to sell a Sequence 8 'Sheriff' Beyonder characteristic."
After this, he spoke again.
A Beyonder characteristic?
Right, Miss [Justice] told me about this before. It's equivalent to the main ingredient for the corresponding sequence potion... Wait, "Sheriff"? Isn't that exactly what Xio has been looking for!
[The Magician] Fors first recalled the definition of Beyonder materials, then was quickly attracted by the more critical term.
"How much are you planning to sell it for?"
She asked aloud.
"600 pounds."
After brief consideration, Klein decided not to raise the price and would sell at the normal rate.
"I'll buy it."
Hearing the reasonable price, Fors immediately agreed.
"Um, but I don't have enough cash at the moment. I hope you can wait for me a while."
Actually, she needed to discuss it with Xio first before making the purchase.
"That's fine. When you have the money, just ask Mr. Fool to help," Klein said, manipulating [The World] to nod.
While they were trading, [Justice] Audrey and [The Hanged Man] Alger simultaneously noticed something unusual.
"Sheriff"? Isn't that the "Arbiter" pathway?
Audrey thought.
This pathway was firmly controlled by royal family members, ancient nobles, and the military.
How did Mr. World obtain it? Could it be that he killed the related Beyonder...
Alger had similar thoughts. He observed the mysterious Mr. World without giving anything away, trying to detect some clue from him.
It doesn't matter if they've noticed something amiss.
They won't go around talking about it, and even if they do, they can't trace it back to me through the gray fog.
Sensing their gazes, Klein thought to himself.
After the trading segment ended came the free exchange segment.
"Everyone, something major recently happened in Backlund."
[Justice] Audrey looked around at everyone and spoke first. "A notorious kidnapper named Capim was killed.
In many rumors, he's identified as Backlund's biggest human trafficker, and he frequently used abducted girls to entertain certain corrupt high officials in order to gain their protection."
"At a banquet in Capim Villa attended by many guests, someone quietly infiltrated and created a sensational mass killing incident, rescuing all the victimized girls.
Over a hundred people in the villa died as a result. They died completely clean, without leaving a single trace behind."
Audrey's clear voice echoed above the gray fog. Everyone remained silent, obviously shocked by the severity of the incident.
"According to the newspapers, they only said people went missing."
Alger said in a low voice.
"That's because no bodies were found."
Audrey answered. "According to the insider information I obtained, a large amount of fresh blood appeared in the villa at the time, flowing like a river."
"It sounds like the ability of a 'Rose Bishop.'"
[The Sun] Derrick said without much confidence.
"The Aurora Order? No, the Aurora Order wouldn't do this kind of thing to save people.
They would only kill everyone or convert them into believers of the True Creator."
Alger frowned slightly.
He suddenly recalled that recently in the southern seas he'd been paying attention to, there was an incident where an entire island's indigenous population had disappeared.
It was also human trafficking. Could there be a connection between the two?
---
In the original work, [The World] joined the Tarot Club first, then [The Magician]. Because the plot development in this book is different, it's been changed to [The Magician] first, then [The World].
Also, this chapter adds some plot from the original work. It's really not filler.
These are background details that must be written. Plus, writing them makes the plot flow smoothly and better connects the preceding and following text.