Chapter 434: Cattleya: I Saw the Stars, and I Saw the Fool

Chapter 434: Cattleya: I Saw the Stars, and I Saw the Fool

Bernadette ignored the Lamp God's mockery of the Fallen Goddess, calmly reading the letter Cattleya had sent.

In the letter, Cattleya mentioned that someone had seemingly found the island with the black mausoleum and was asking if she wanted to go see it together.

After reading the letter and pondering for a moment, Bernadette went to her desk to write a reply to Cattleya. She intended to recall Cattleya from that sea area, instructing her to return to the waters between the Loen Kingdom and the Southern Continent, keeping her away from this incident.

Although she knew Cattleya would be silent and resistant to this, Bernadette was confident she would ultimately follow her orders.

"Tsk, you're being too cruel. That girl is wholeheartedly devoted to you, working tirelessly for your cause," the Lamp God remarked with a hint of regret.

Bernadette ignored him. In her view, freedom and life were far more important than loyalty.

After finishing the letter, Bernadette had Cattleya's spirit world messenger take it back. She then left the captain's cabin and ordered the second mate to sail the Dawn toward the sea area Cattleya had mentioned.

The light of dawn gradually brewed in the depths of the sea, slowly encroaching on the azure waters, turning them golden, before finally leaving the surface to rise high above.

When Cattleya of the Future silently finished reading the Mysterious Queen's reply, the world that had just brightened before her eyes dimmed once again.

This time, however, she did not strongly protest her dissatisfaction to the Queen. Instead, she quietly followed the Queen's will, leaving for safer waters.

Yet in her heart, a strong desire for power and knowledge surged. If she could become stronger, perhaps the Queen wouldn't worry about her safety and would trust her with dangerous missions.

As this wish intensified in her heart, her eyes seemed to see a flood of knowledge transformed into a grayish-brown torrent, rushing to engulf her.

This sight instantly reminded her of being pursued by knowledge in the past, when the Queen had given her a pair of glasses that could seal the Eye of Mystery, helping her avoid the pursuit of knowledge.

These glasses were still on her eyes, so unfamiliar knowledge shouldn't have been able to find her all at once.

Unless someone was manipulating knowledge from behind the scenes, forming a torrent to devour her.

Cattleya didn't let herself dwell on this thought. Instead, she summoned the mysterious astrolabe on her desk. As she activated it, the surrounding stars shifted, as if a starry sky had descended to protect her.

The pursuing knowledge halted when it encountered this starry expanse, even seeming to want to flee. But as if possessing sentience, it quietly sensed for a moment, apparently ruling out some erroneous option, and the drifting knowledge began to converge into a torrent once more, washing over her.

The starry sky formed by the astrolabe was not the true starry sky, nor was it the fearsome starry sky.

The flood of knowledge broke through the starry expanse. Countless bits of knowledge transformed into mysterious and lively symbols, like knowledge sprites, rushing into Cattleya's mind, as if wanting her to taste the forbidden mysterious knowledge as soon as possible.

Cattleya's face turned pale as she stumbled backward, knocking over the table. The astrolabe in her hand made a cracking sound, unable to bear the burden, before shattering.

As the astrolabe broke, a new point of light blossomed above the gray fog. Simultaneously, in the Hall of Stars, a small point of light rose next to Bernadette's.

But Cattleya knew nothing of this. She was now being contaminated by knowledge beyond her ability to comprehend.

Among this knowledge were secret events from the ancient era of the Sun God, forbidden knowledge from beyond the stars, as well as some knowledge she had always craved, such as how to advance to higher sequences.

The vast, endless sea of knowledge gradually spread through Cattleya's mind, threatening to drag her completely into the abyss of knowledge.

Out at sea, Klein, who was hunting a pirate worth 2,000 pounds, suddenly sensed subtle changes occurring above the gray fog.

He removed the head that represented the pirate's identity, then found an empty washroom. He walked four steps counterclockwise and entered the space above the gray fog.

A new point of light had appeared near the lights of Miss Justice, Mr. Hanged Man, and the others. This meant that a new member had, through various coincidences, opened a connection with the gray fog.

If he wished, he could bring this person to the gray fog to participate in the Tarot Club and become a member.

It had been a long time since a new member had joined the Tarot Club. Klein quickly turned his attention to this new light, which was in a ship's captain's cabin.

Having recently hunted various pirate captains, he was as familiar with the layout of captain's cabins as he was with washrooms.

It was a lady, surrounded by shattered starlight, clutching her head. She looked to be in great pain, as if experiencing some kind of crisis.

Using the power of the gray fog, Klein clearly saw the true nature of the countless points of knowledge surrounding the lady.

Behind those points of knowledge, he saw a pair of hidden pupils. They were using the power of the knowledge torrent to observe the suffering lady before them.

This was at least the work of a Sequence 2 angel!

Klein could only roughly guess the sequence level of the owner of those eyes, unable to determine whose eyes they were.

But given the connection to the knowledge torrent and the at least Sequence 2 angel level, the range of possibilities was greatly narrowed.

Observing pupils—could it be from the Spectator pathway?

Then this lady should be a Sequence 5 Astrologer.

This was a high-sequence extraordinary person suppressing a lower-sequence one.

Klein saw more clearly but didn't immediately pull the lady into the gray fog.

He currently had no effective way to deal with a being of at least Sequence 2 angel level, even if they were only casting a glance.

He needed to make some preparations before trying to help this lady pursued by knowledge. For now, he could only let her endure the pain a little longer.

Just then, Klein saw the dim, shattered starry sky around the lady shine brightly again. In an instant, the brilliant starlight purified the erosion from the knowledge torrent. The pair of pupils hidden behind the points of knowledge hastily retreated the moment the starry sky relit, not lingering for even a moment.

Had this lady relied on her own power to turn the tables and resolve the trouble plaguing her?

As expected of a Sequence 5 Astrologer, she indeed possessed mysterious powers capable of reversing the situation. Even the starry sky could become her ally.

Klein observed for a while longer and, seeing no further anomalies, even divined once before attempting to contact this lady and guide her to the gray fog.

Cattleya stared blankly at the bronze long table before her, looking at the Fool above the gray fog with utter shock.

After a long while, she finally trembled and asked, "Where is this place?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she couldn't help but shudder.

The events of today had been far too strange.

The knowledge torrent she should have avoided suddenly found her. Just as she was about to fall into the abyss of knowledge, a starry sky replaced her own, scaring away the knowledge torrent that had been entangling her.

In that instant, she saw a majestic and mysterious Hall of Stars. She saw a mysterious figure whose face she couldn't clearly see, seated atop the Hall of Stars. All the stars in the sky converged their light upon that figure.

Although she had never seen it before, she quickly understood the identity of the other party. Stars, hall—this was the Cosmos!

It was the Cosmos that the Queen believed in!

Because of the Queen, the Cosmos's radiance had extended a bit of its protection to her as well.

But the Cosmos that had solved her problem had no intention of conversing with her and quickly vanished.

While she was still in a daze, she was brought to this world of gray fog, where she saw the bronze long table and the different mysterious figure seated at the head.

This was not the Cosmos, but another ancient being.

The various changes in the situation nearly caused her mind to crash on the spot.

"This is a gathering place for those who, like you, have arrived here through fate and chance," Klein patiently explained. "You may call me the Fool."

"The Fool? You're the Fool of the Tarot Club!" Cattleya was shocked once again. She had just encountered the Cosmos, and now she was brought to this mysterious place by the Fool.

When had she become such a hot commodity?

Klein merely smiled at this shocked lady. After her emotions had somewhat normalized, he spoke, "If you're willing, you can join the Tarot Club and become a new member."

Currently in the Tarot Club, apart from himself who was about to advance to Sequence 5 Marionettist, the fastest-progressing members, Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man, had only recently entered Sequence 6.

The addition of a Sequence 5 Astrologer from the Spectator pathway would further enhance the overall strength of the Tarot Club.

More importantly, he had already recognized this lady's background. A Sequence 5 Astrologer who was also a ship's captain, along with her general appearance—there was only one person in the entire sea who fit this description: Cattleya, the Star Admiral and captain of the Future from the Mandated Punishers.

Her relationship with Bernadette was also an important reason for her to join the Tarot Club.

After all, the non-beyonder knowledge and assistance that Mr. Hanged Man could currently provide were gradually falling behind the overall progress of the Tarot Club members.

The addition of this Star Admiral would perfectly fill this gap.

Cattleya remained silent, deep in thought. After a long deliberation, she decided to join the Tarot Club and participate in its gatherings.

The Fool was as mysterious as the Cosmos. Since the Queen was already a believer of the Cosmos, she could help the Queen by eavesdropping on the Fool's side.

This way, she would be more useful to the Queen.

"Choose a Tarot card to represent your identity," Klein said.

"I choose the Hermit," Cattleya replied.

"I will summon you again before the next Tarot Club meeting."