"Actually, I prefer codenames like 'Justice' or 'Wheel of Fortune.'" As thoughts drifted, Leonard focused on the members introducing themselves in a certain order, evaluating each of them in his mind.
"Their identities are quite complex. There are noble ladies, sailors or crewmen, adventurers, some arrogant, some lazy…"
While Leonard's thoughts were still wandering, he saw the lady "The Hermit" sitting diagonally in front of him make a move. She faced the head of the bronze long table and bowed, saying, "Respected The Fool, I still haven't collected the Roselle diary this time."
"Normal. I guess there won't be any more in the future. Emperor Roselle has already stuck half a leg out of the grave. No, that's not right. Perhaps Bernadette will need a translator. After all, it's impossible for the Emperor to read the diary content to her himself."
Amidst a flurry of thoughts, Klein leaned back leisurely against the chair, his tone calm as he said, "That's normal. Her goal has already been achieved."
Hermit Cattleya was startled for a moment, then came back to her senses. She wanted to ask more, but found it difficult to speak, so she could only sit back down. The Queen's goal has been achieved? She found clues left by Emperor Roselle? Or has she already confirmed the information? When?
"She, who is she?" Leonard, the Star, who was attending the Tarot Club for the first time, was a bit confused about the relationships between the members, his thoughts wandering.
Without further response, Klein said leisurely, "You may begin."
Upon receiving the reminder from The Fool Klein, Chariot Anderson was the first to raise his hand, his gaze sweeping around as he spoke, "Does anyone here have the Iron-Blooded Knight potion formula?"
Klein glanced at the Red Priest card he had placed face down on the table, then manipulated The World to speak in a low voice, "I have it. Twenty thousand pounds."
"That cheap?"
"It can't be fake, or incomplete, can it?" Anderson wondered in his heart, but he didn't voice the latter part of his thought.
The World glared darkly at Chariot Anderson, saying with little change in tone, "Consider it a repayment for the help you provided earlier."
Anderson's eyes lit up, and he nodded without hesitation, "Okay, I'll need some time to raise the funds. Hmm, this week, I'll find you to trade this week."
"It feels great to get paid twice for one job, but it seems a bit against my moral standards. Never mind, moral standards can be flexible. At worst, I'll just give The World more money then."
Having made up his mind, Anderson fell silent, and the Tarot Club briefly entered a quiet period.
With Anderson's example, Leonard also followed suit, raising his right hand and then stating his need:
"I need a mystical item."
"What type?" "Justice" Audrey responded promptly, avoiding an awkward silence.
"Uh… I'm not sure…"
He paused, feeling a bit silly for answering that way, then Leonard quickly added, "I mean, the type isn't limited. It's best if it has strong offensive power, and is preferably used discreetly. It doesn't matter if the side effects are a bit strong."
"Anyway, the Old Man can just steal the negative effects from me. As long as they're not instant death effects, they won't affect me much."
The members of the Tarot Club, including Justice, Hanged Man, and Hermit, simultaneously turned their gazes, a hint of confusion flashing in their minds. "He doesn't care about negative effects? Does he have a very good way to avoid them? Or does he know an excellent Artisan who can re-forge mystical items?"
"This is a flexible use of the Old Man inside him..." Klein mused inwardly, then manipulated The World to say, "I will keep an eye out for you."
The other Tarot Club members also chimed in, and the trading session for the day concluded, with the members tacitly moving into free communication.
Chariot Anderson, who had been leaning lazily against the back of his chair, suddenly leaned forward, his tone like a boasting pirate in a bar, and with exaggerated gestures, he dramatically spoke:
"The Church on the Southern Continent, which believes in the True Creator, received an oracle. An additional phrase was added to His honorific name: 'Ruler of the Mind World.'"
"Ruler of the Mind World… This, this sounds like a description of the Spectator pathway. Did that True Creator encroach upon the authority of the adjacent Spectator pathway?"
As thoughts diverged, "Justice" Audrey instinctively turned her head to look at The Fool at the head of the mottled long table, pondering how to ask. This matter involved her own sequence pathway, making it impossible not to take seriously.
Leyton's gaze swept across the varied expressions on the faces of the Tarot Club members, and he calmly narrated, "Adam merged with the True Creator through self-sacrifice. The current True Creator is already a true god of two pathways."
"Two pathways? Can one person occupy multiple pathways? No, it should only be adjacent pathways…" Hanged Man Alger was stunned for a second, then quickly understood the key.
Audrey pursed her lips, looking at Leyton, and asked with some concern, "What impact will this have on the Spectator pathway? Will it become as dangerous as the Secrets Supplicant?"
Leyton slowly shook his head and explained, "No, He is already asleep, and with Adam's integration, He can now escape madness."
"I understand."
Audrey nodded lightly, then turned her head again to look at The Fool at the head of the mottled long table, organizing her words:
"The Fool, why was Adam able to merge with the True Creator? Wouldn't that cause mental splitting or even loss of control?"
The Fool Klein, whose figure was shrouded in dense gray fog, smiled leisurely, "Others would, but He won't. They have always been one person."
"One person! Adam and the True Creator are one person!"
The hearts of the Tarot Club members, excluding Leyton, echoed The Fool's words, their emotions fluctuating to varying degrees, as if they had heard an incredibly unbelievable secret.
Hermit Cattleya tilted her head slightly, glancing at Leyton. She recalled what Leyton had said earlier when introducing the president of the Psychology Alchemists. Then, she looked towards the head of the mottled long table as if seeking confirmation, her voice hesitant:
"Adam is a special identity separated through the Spectator pathway, just like the many identities possessed by the president of the Psychology Alchemists."
Beneath the gray fog, Klein nodded gently, his tone leisurely:
"Adam failed in His pursuit of becoming the last characteristic of a Visionary, so He chose another extreme."
"Helping the True Creator escape the Forsaken Land of the Gods, sacrificing Himself to fully merge with the other party."
"Don't the Seven Deities stop them?"
The Star Leonard instinctively pressed.
"They failed." The Fool Klein's tone was very calm. After a pause, he added, "Adam had already prepared the stage and written the script."
Anderson clicked his tongue, saying with considerable emotion, "The sky at that time was like a weak, easily trampled piece of white paper, sometimes starry, sometimes twilight, and sometimes brightly sunny."
"This description… it feels like Chariot is gradually revealing his true nature after adapting to the Tarot Club." Justice Audrey tilted her head to look at Anderson, who was still describing the scene he had witnessed, and her somewhat suppressed thoughts gradually became active.
The Star Leonard leaned back, slightly resting against the chair, recalling the scene he had witnessed and what Pallez had described to him afterward. He calmly added after Anderson:
"Those black fogs originated from the Dark Side of the Universe. The starlight is probably related to the Hidden Sage. This evil god is quite active in the Southern Continent, and His condition also seems to be improving."
"That twilight originated from the God of War. It was a manifestation of His struggle with one of the Seven Deities in the astral world. The subsequent lightning and sunlight came from the Lord of Storms and the Eternal Blazing Sun. According to the information I've gathered, either the Lord of Storms or the Eternal Blazing Sun personally descended into reality."
"It sounds like you were present."
Hanged Man Alger looked at Leonard with a heavy gaze, as if turbulent waves were surging in his azure eyes.
Leonard chuckled and shook his head, "Not really. The anomaly in the sky was huge at the time, almost covering the entire Northern State. Anyone nearby could see it."
"Justice" Audrey leaned slightly forward, her hands clasped on the edge of the table, listening with great interest. To know so many details, the Star's source of information is not simple. Either he holds a high enough position in the Orthodox Church, or he knows a truly important figure and learned these things from them.
"Figuring it out, I'm also someone who has been on the script written by Adam along with many true gods and evil gods." Klein, shrouded in gray fog, sighed to himself in amusement, then manipulated The World to speak:
"After leaving here, do not speak or write Adam's name, including His title, or any description that could point to Him. He possesses the characteristic of 'All that is spoken shall be known.' The more you know about Him, the more He will control you."
After a second's pause, he added, "Including the True Creator, any description pointing to both of Them will be perceived by Him, who has become whole again."
"With the support of the True God's God-level, this characteristic of 'All that is spoken shall be known' should be even more comprehensive and terrifying than Adam's before." Leonard made some conjectures in his mind. Unconsciously, he connected it to the Church's ambiguous attitude towards the Southern Continent, and also to the God of War, who seemed to have helped the True Creator at the time. A bold idea suddenly flashed in his mind.
Leonard turned to look at The World at the very bottom and directly stated his guess:
"Perhaps, after that one awakens, He will become the eighth Orthodox God in this world."