Sacrifice and Bestowment

He never expected this matter to spread to the Tarot Club. Thankfully, they didn't know that Mr. Tower was that detective…

Ebner was filled with relief and prayed the subject would pass quickly.

Perhaps the gods had truly blessed him, Alger quickly mentioned something else.

"For some reason, Admiral of Blood has been pursuing Vice Admiral Dusk with all his might, eliminating two of the latter's fleets. A head-on clash between them is probably inevitable."

Admiral of Blood Senor had indeed had a baffling conflict with Vice Admiral Dusk. In the end, both sides suffered…

With this in mind, Ebner suddenly recalled that at Enmat Harbor, Xio had come back to tell him after attending Mr. Z's gathering. Mr. Z seemed to be selling an important secret of Vice Admiral Dusk… Could the conflict between Admiral of Blood and Vice Admiral Dusk be related to this?

Why would the Aurora Order start a fight between two pirate admirals?

However, Ebner didn't think for long before he gave up thinking about it. How could an ordinary person figure out the thoughts of an Aurora Order Oracle?

"In addition, Admiral of Stars 'Future' appeared in the south of the Rorsted Archipelago, but its whereabouts are unknown," Alger continued.

The Future… South of the Rorsted Archipelago… Will Jane be there? I wonder if Queen Mystic's mission is easy.

As Ebner was thinking, Audrey, who was listening with relish, blinked and asked curiously,

"Mr. Hanged Man, can you introduce Admiral of Blood, Vice Admiral Dusk, and Admiral of Stars in detail? I've only heard of their names and nicknames, but I'm not sure what Beyonder powers they have."

Alger looked around and saw that The Fool didn't stop him, nor did Tower have any intention of speaking. Only then did he nod slightly and say,

"No problem."

"Admiral of Stars Cattleya once followed Queen Mystic, but the two sides nearly fell out a long time ago. Regarding this matter, the rumors at sea are that she joined a secret organization and angered Queen Mystic. And according to the information I received, this secret organization is the Moses Ascetic Order."

"Vice Admiral Dusk Blatov Ivan spends most of his time in the North Sea. He only occasionally comes to the Rorsted Archipelago. He's a Beyonder of the Warrior pathway. Many people speculate that he has the Church of the God of Combat backing him."

"Admiral of Blood Senor has a mysterious background, and he's also suspected to be an evil spirit. He doesn't look like a living person. Furthermore, his pirate fleet is extremely ferocious. Once merchant ships encounter them, very few will survive, so there isn't much information."

"Thank you for sharing. I'm beginning to yearn for the sea," Audrey said in anticipation. "I wonder when I'll be able to truly travel."

"No, Miss Justice, this is definitely not as good as you imagine. From my point of view, this is a combination of blood, chaos, killing, desire, and fear." Alger calmly splashed cold water on her.

Ebner nodded slightly when he heard that. The fact that Vice Admiral Dusk had the background of the Church of the God of Combat matched his previous speculation.

At this moment, the three people present heard the sound of a table being gently knocked.

Klein, who was in the thick gray fog, concealed the fatigue caused by his lack of spirituality as he chuckled.

"Let the gathering end here."

"Your will is our will." Audrey immediately stood up, lifted her skirt, and bowed. Alger and Ebner also answered in a similar language.

Klein waved his hand and severed the connection. He quietly watched as Miss Justice and company's blurry figures dissipated.

…

In Detective Isengard's office, Ebner opened his eyes. He activated his Spirit Vision and looked at the tree outside the window, but he didn't see the little bird with only silver illusory feathers.

However, this was within Ebner's expectations. After a few days of observation, he had figured out the movements of the small bird.

It was probably a specter and could only move freely at night. It could barely maintain itself by hiding under the shade of the trees in the morning, but it would return to the spirit world at noon and only come out when the sunset.

After activating the Eye of Pure White and carefully checking to ensure that there were no other surveillance cameras, Ebner came to his desk and found a piece of paper and a pen. He leaned over and traced the complicated and mysterious symbol given by The Fool.

With the excellent memory of a Reader, Ebner quickly completed the first step of the sacrificial ritual.

Right on the heels of that, he pulled open a drawer and took out a candle. He set it up according to the Second Elemental Technique. One was placed on the symbol formed by the combination of the Pupil-less Eye and the Twisted Threads. The other was placed in the middle, indicating the person who was offering it.

Then, he took out the spiritual materials he had prepared and placed them around him.

After doing all of this, Ebner used his spirituality to light the two candles. He took a few steps back under the dim yellow light before chanting in ancient Hermes,

"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;

"You are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog;

"You are the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."

"Your loyal servant prays for your attention;

"I pray that you will accept his offerings."

"I beg you to open the door to the kingdom."

…

The ancient incantation echoed within the wall of spirituality, stirring up a strong wind that stirred up the vibrations of natural forces.

It was the oldest sacrificial language created by human Beyonders. It contained many mysteries, but it lacked sufficient protection for the user.

The intense vibrations quickly swept the spiritual materials around it, turning them into a part of the whirlwind.

Wu!

The violent winds grew more violent, but they weren't ferocious any longer. They were respectively dyed silver, dark black, crimson red, orange yellow, and indigo blue.

As they constantly collided and fused, the different colors of the wind were thrown into the candle flame that symbolized The Fool. It expanded and tore open an illusory door of normal size. The symbol engraved on its surface was the one that Ebner had just drawn.

At that moment, Klein, who was above the gray fog, saw the hazy door that he had seen appear behind the high-back chair. He also felt the spirituality's power rippling out, stimulating the mysterious space.

It really succeeded… Klein suddenly had a premonition as he immediately spread out his spirituality and added shock and stimulation.

Clang!

Amidst the surreal sounds, the blurry door slowly opened!

Ebner, who was in his room, suddenly saw the illusory door made of wind and light open. Behind it was deep darkness, countless indescribable, nearly invisible shadows. They were bright lights that contained immense knowledge, a thick gray fog above them, and an ancient palace that overlooked the real world.

The delivery experiment was finally successful!

Ebner held back his excitement as he handed the Clown Mask and two brass charms that he had long prepared to the illusory door.

At this moment, he heard The Fool's deep voice ringing in his ears.

"Well done."

"It would be my pleasure," Ebner replied with a smirk.

He looked ahead again and saw that the illusory door had disappeared. The fierce wind had stopped, and the candle flame had returned to its original state.

…

In the magnificent palace above the gray fog, Klein was playing with the Clown Mask that Ebner had sacrificed.

Although he had yet to communicate with the Sealed Artifact, Klein could vaguely sense that the mask was trying to "please" him. This made him subconsciously smile.

Putting down the mask, Klein divined the effects of the two charms. After confirming that there was no danger, he shook his head and sighed. "Mr. Tower didn't give me any instructions on how to use them. I still have to make it up for him." With that said, he extended his spirituality and transmitted his thoughts to the two crimson stars that represented Miss Justice and Mr. Hanged Man.

…

Backlund. After Audrey returned from the gray fog, she was no longer able to sit quietly by the bed. She would occasionally flip through the book beside her pillow, and at other times, her gaze would be unfocused as she observed her reflection in her glasses.

She was looking forward to the completion of the sacrificial ritual of the Tower, but she was also worried that the outcome of the attempt wasn't ideal.

After an unknown period of time, a thick gray fog suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. And deep in the gray fog, there was a high chair.

The Fool sat there and smiled.

"Miss Justice, the attempt has succeeded. Have you prepared the materials that contain spirituality?"

Great! As expected of Mr. Fool! Audrey held back her excitement and said,

"Yes, I've always had similar materials around me."

Even before joining the Tarot Club, Audrey was the same, but back then, she didn't know which ingredients were considered to have spirituality. All she did was carry them from her family's treasury according to the various smoked essential oil formulas she had collected.

Klein nodded slightly and said,

"When do you want to hold the ceremony?"

"The premise is to confirm that there are no Beyonders around."

Does a Beyonder dog count… Audrey looked guiltily at the closed door.

"I can do it now."

Klein tersely acknowledged.

"The ritual's process is the same as what I described previously. I just need to change the prayer sentence to:

"Your loyal servant prays for your attention;

"I pray that you will open the door to the kingdom."

"I pray for your power."

"In addition, use the binary ritual method."

Audrey recalled and resisted the urge to nod as she began preparing the ritual.

When the illusory door opened and the scene that was even more dreamy than the cosmos appeared, Audrey felt her body and heart intoxicated.

This is the mysterious world that I've always been pursuing. This is the feeling I've always wanted! She sincerely praised Mr. Fool.

Faith to the Goddess, worship Mr. Fool… Audrey silently defended herself.

Right on the heels of that, she was surprised to see an item appear on the altar. It was a beautiful brass card with complicated mysterious patterns engraved on it.

"A charm!" Audrey was delighted as her eyes lit up. She was about to take it from him.

However, her etiquette habit immediately restrained her. Audrey once again sincerely praised Mr. Fool.

After ending the ritual, she eagerly walked forward and carefully observed the brass charm several times.

Our Tarot Club is one level higher than all the secret organizations… Audrey secretly felt smug, but she immediately had a new question. How do I use this charm? What's the effect?

However, when she truly held the brass charm in her hand, she heard Mr. Fool's voice again.

"Activate the incantation, Fool. Recite it in ancient Hermes. Effect: You can freely traverse places with doors."