The Meeting

"One of my informants told me that you were looking for me, Mr. Caster. So, could you please tell me why you were after me?"

A short-haired blonde woman almost 5 feet in height gazed at an albino and asked in a curious tone.

This was Xio Derecha better known as Judgement. A Major Arcana member of the future Tarot Club.

Caster had inquired about her whereabouts over the past few days and was finally able to arrange a meeting with her. Caster had wanted to establish contact with her for a few reasons — one was that she would be a future Tarot Club member and the other was that she was friends with the salted fish Fors Walls.

Fors would later become a Major Arcana member and would have contacts with the Abraham Family, which Caster wanted to take advantage of.

But right now he had mainly contacted her to find out the location of Mr. A's gathering. While the Eye of Wisdom's gathering was satisfactory it was still a gathering for Low-Sequence Beyonder's under Sequence 7. While Mr. A's gatherings held Beyonders at a higher level who would be able to provide him with much better resources.

"It is quite simple Miss Xio —" before Caster could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Xio. "Call me Derecha Mr. Caster"

Caster seemed unfazed by this and cleared his throat. "I understand Miss Derecha, the reason I contacted you is because I want you to introduce me to one specific extraordinary gathering — Mr. A's. Don't be surprised I know that you're an extraordinary Miss Derecha, I'll also pay a suitable sum for this information."

Xio seemed surprised at Caster's words and put her hand on her triangle sword — seemingly worried about his intentions. Caster waved his hands without a care in the world.

He was sure that in a fight between Xio and him, he would completely dominate her. This did not stem from pure confidence but his abilities — before coming to the meeting with Xio, Caster had prepared a few assurances so as to say.

This included a few grenades, a C4 bomb which was connected with his spirituality and could be activated with just a single word — Blast. This wouldn't have made normally made Caster feel safe as Xio had been an Arbiter for years and had combat experience that Caster could not match.

But, his abilities that stemmed from his pathway which was enhanced by that wolf reassured Caster, specifically the ability to chain an opponent for a few moments. Caster had experimented with this ability and found out that animals could be imprisoned for 10 seconds while normal human beings could be chained for 5.

With a few calculations he could find that Beyonders at Sequence 9 could be chained for 2.5 seconds. This might not seem like a huge number but in a battle to the death a single second would be enough to absolutely destroy the opponent. In this case, with 2.5 seconds Caster could seemingly yell out Blast in Ancient Hermes and end Xio's life.

Caster wouldn't feel all that bad for ending Xio's life as it would be either her or him and Caster would always choose himself. He didn't care that Xio would be a member of the Major Arcana of the Tarot Club as Klein could always find another replacement in that sea of crimson blobs.

"You should put away your weapons Miss Derecha, I come in peace and if I really wanted to hurt you you would not be able to resist" Caster said slyly.

Xio released her grip on the sword and scoffed at his words. "My patience is running out Mr. Caster, speak fast"

"In exchange for your cooperation I can offer you several things — money, the ancient history, mysticism knowledge and Beyonder potions and information about Beyonder's."

Xio seemed deep in thought, after a few moments she spoke in a clear and concise voice. "Do you know anything about ravings Beyonder's hear under a full moon?"

Caster nodded as he laughed with excitement inwardly. "As a matter of fact I do."

Xio's eyes lit up before her face twisted into an indifferent expression. "I'm interested in what you have to offer"

Caster smiled mischievously. "Certain Beyonder's in the Apprentice Pathway hear ravings under a full moon and a blood moon. These ravings will make those Beyonders lose control little by little becoming a monster, flesh blob or someone's advancement material in the end"

Caster's voice seemed to resound in Xio's mind as she turned pale. "Do you have any more information on this?"

Caster nodded. "I do but first you have to complete your side of the deal"

Xio was quiet for a few minutes before she spoke up. "Meet me here in three hours and I'll take you to the party. You need to bring a mask or something to hide yourself with, is that okay with you?"

Caster nodded happily. "Well, see you later Miss Xio!"

Caster soon put on his double-breasted frock coat and picked up his walking stick; it had a black tone with a derby head handle and walked out of the bar.

…..

After reaching his home, Caster started the ritual to go to the Tenebrous World.

"Temperance that has been Imprisoned to this Era,

The Warden of The World swallowed by Darkness, The One Above Omniscience,

The Supreme Lord of Transformation, Metamorphosis and Change."

Caster soon saw the familiar layout of his Sefirot. A large hall was present in the midst of a clearing in the forest. It had majestic purple stone pillars with chains wrapped around it.

A cracked and aged stone long table was located at the centre made up of clear cut black marble which seemed to be drowned in the underworld's abyss itself from how it absorbed all the light and emanated a deep darkness which no other material could match.

The long table seemed to be imprisoned to the hall as the legs of it were covered in chains. Aside from the head chair there were nine other white marbled chairs, a stark contrast to the previous dark aura that the hall emanated.

A huge dome encapsulated the hall, at its peak were stained glass which depicted different scenes. One depicted an aged figure chained to a bronze chair, the figure overlooked all and had a beard which stretched to the deepest part of the endless darkness. The figure seemed to look at a blueish grey barrier with amusement.

The figure was shrouded in shadows but his features could be made out. It had a gruff face and eyes that seemed to have no material desires — a child's eyes one might say.

The following scene depicted a red-haired woman with pitch black skin and horns bowing to the previous figure.

The neighbouring scene saw a drastic change as the red-haired woman attacked the figure bound to the figure on the chair who looked at her with amusement.

The subsequent stained glass saw the woman emerging from the ferocious fight with grievous injuries but she seemed to disregard her state as she started eating the fallen corpse.

The last scene showed an illusory chain connecting the woman to the blueish-grey barrier and a piece of the original figures will falling towards the barrier.

These stained glasses were soon covered with pitch darkness the second Caster entered. Caster then went to head chair and rested for a bit as he soon began to ponder a serious question.

His mind wandered to the reason he chose the Prisoner Pathway. I had the formulas for the Lawyer, Spectator, Sailor, Seer and Marauder pathway. Which are ten times better than the Prisoner pathway, so why did I choose it?.

I understand the Seer and Marauder pathway as that puts me against Klein which is an unfavorable outcome. But why didn't I choose the other's?, did someone influence my thoughts on this decision?. The Mother Tree of Desire could do this but what would she get from it.

Hmm, the Sefirot could have also influenced me as the seal placed on the Western Continent has started to weaken. This is discombobulating, the only way to answer all my questions is to ascend the sequences and I have to do it fast!.

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A/N - Late Chapter but I have no excuses, I just lazy lol. Also there's a bit of honorific name change because I well thought it was better than old one