"It seems brighter than before…"
At the God War Ruins Sea, Klein stared at the floating city in the sky that looked like a second sun. Countless guesses flashed across his mind, and he quickly connected the exploration of Afternoon Town by the Little Sun, the mysterious appearance of Mr. Tower in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, and what he was seeing now.
"The night here is dangerous. If a living being doesn't fall asleep, they will vanish and disappear completely.
"The Forsaken Land of the Gods, including the darkness of Silver City, is equally dangerous. Without light to dispel the darkness, humans could vanish completely in less than five seconds.
"The palaces here seem to be projections of the Giant King's Court, and Afternoon Town is the gateway between reality and myth, the node linking the Silver City area with the Giant King's Court…
"Adding to that the floating city ruins outside Afternoon Town, and the changes to this dream's floating city…
"With so many similar 'coincidences,' perhaps the changes to this floating city are really connected to Mr. Tower's actions!"
Klein shook his head and shifted his attention back to the starting point of his dream this time— a stairwell with floor-to-ceiling windows.
Twilight's glow and the sunlike brilliance of the floating city shone together through panes of stained glass, making the spiraling black staircase, carved with reliefs, appear extraordinarily magnificent.
Klein instinctively turned to the side and, sure enough, saw the "Mystery Queen" standing at the staircase leading upward.
This chestnut-haired lady was no longer wearing the skirt with the front slit. Instead, she had on a white blouse decorated with lace and ribbons, paired with a simple deep-blue coat. Her lower half was still beige trousers and black boots, though Klein believed she probably had a whole wardrobe—or even a room—full of trousers and boots of similar style.
Of course, if Ebner were here, he would definitely complain about why I always paid so much attention to a lady's feet and boots. And… maybe Bernadette even had a factory under her name dedicated to producing shoes for her.
After mocking himself with that thought, Klein retracted his gaze and asked first, "What else do you want to say?"
The Mystery Queen stroked the banister with her right hand, slowly descending as she said,
"You should remind Cattleya to be more careful of Frank Lee.
"His origins may not be normal."
Klein frowned slightly at her words, but quickly restrained himself. Though he had only known Frank for a few days, he hadn't noticed any problems aside from the man's peculiar thought process. "I don't understand what you mean."
"His origins may be quite special…" Bernadette emphasized again, then continued, "When Cattleya and Jane obtained the 'Death' card, they didn't dare use a messenger to deliver that Blasphemy Card to me, lest they attract powerful undead in the spirit world. So they sent him to find me…
"That shouldn't have been an issue. After all, in reality, the card was spiritually sealed, so the danger wasn't great.
"But not only did he attract several terrifying monsters, it was only after he handed me the card that those monsters attacked me.
"Do you understand what this means?"
"Those monsters feared him, so while the card was in his hands, they didn't dare make a move?" Klein quickly grasped the implication of the Mystery Queen's words.
Bernadette nodded.
"Under normal circumstances, he might not pose much danger. But in this sea area, where remnants of the Earth Mother's power linger, it's very likely to trigger some kind of 'detonation' hidden inside him…
"Moreover, the whispers here originate from the True Creator. The sealed artifact Cattleya gave to Heath Doyle won't be of much use. All of this is a source of danger."
I understand the reasoning, but why are you telling me this? What does it have to do with me? Klein felt puzzled. Considering Gehrman's personality, he asked directly, "Why must I be the one to tell her?"
"Aren't you two…?" Bernadette paused midway, then seemed to realize something. She shook her head and said, "It's nothing. I just think you're more suitable."
But inwardly, she was muttering about how unreliable Jane's words had been.
Not what? Not fellow members of the Tarot Club? So this 'Hermit' really wasn't being honest and dared to reveal matters concerning The Fool to outsiders.
I'll need to knock some sense into her. Even Mr. Tower only revealed The Fool's honorable name to Justice and The Magician after getting my permission.
As for Frank's peculiarity… is it related to the Earth Mother? I wonder if Mr. Tower knows. After all, his relationship with the Earth Mother isn't ordinary either.
Thinking of this, Klein, recalling the principle of equivalent information exchange from last time, probed,
"Do you know the incantation to activate the 'Black Emperor' card?"
The Mystery Queen was silent for a few seconds, then shook her head.
"Bernadette," Klein said.
The entire corridor fell into a silence so deep it seemed even breathing vanished. The Mystery Queen, Bernadette, parted her lips slightly before pressing them back together.
Klein seized the moment to ask, "What exactly is peculiar about Frank? Or rather, who does it come from?"
Upon hearing this, Bernadette's blue eyes briefly lost focus before regaining their depth. After a moment of thought, she answered,
"I don't know what it is. I can only tell… it's the mark of a certain great existence."
…..
Afternoon Town.
After Derrick reappeared in reality, Demon Hunter Colin only asked him a few simple questions before accepting his explanation.
After all, Colin was well aware that this child was under the protection of a great being.
But soon, they saw candles flickering one after another inside the houses along the street. The dead city suddenly came alive, and Derrick and the others felt as if they had fallen into a nightmare. Their nerves tensed instantly.
Colin observed for a few moments before saying gravely,
"We're still in the real Afternoon Town.
"But the strange Afternoon Town Derrick mentioned has invaded this place.
"We must regroup with the other scattered teams immediately!"
…..
Inside the central tower of Morning Star City.
Before the altar, Ebner, having largely pieced together the causes and effects, opened his eyes. He reached out his hand and picked up the Mechanical Bible resting in the groove.
Yet oddly, another identical Gear Book still lay inside the groove.
This was a counterfeit he had just created using his Mimicry ability. But thanks to borrowing the power of the Pure White Eye, this replica could persist inside the nightmare floating city for a long time, even replicating much of the Mechanical Bible's functionality—such as supplying energy to Morning Star City.
As for the real Mechanical Bible, Ebner intended to take it back and place it upon the floating city in Nas. This was, in fact, one of the keys to the eventual overlap of the two cities and their entry into reality.
After finishing, Ebner slowly descended to the ground. He looked at the anxiously waiting Olmos and Elinor, as well as Annik who had rushed over after calming the citizens, and said with a smile,
"My task is complete. Morning Star City will not lack energy for a long time to come."
Then his expression turned serious. With the Pure White Eye sweeping over the three of them, he said solemnly, "Now, I will deliver an oracle."
The three Alchemists first expressed their gratitude to Ebner. But upon hearing that he was about to deliver an oracle, each of them felt a moment of daze.
For when this divine messenger's gaze fell upon them, they truly felt the same oppressive aura as when the Great Emperor himself had once stood before them.
Of them, Annik was the most moved. Having once been a student of the Mechanical Emperor, he knew his teacher's aura better than anyone. At this moment, if not for his eyes having long been mechanically altered, tears would surely have flowed.
Elinor and Olmos, too, had once studied under the Mechanical Emperor in their youth. Though their feelings were not as profound as Annik's, they no longer had any doubts in their hearts.
What they didn't know was that after receiving the information stored in the Mechanical Bible, Ebner had resonated with the imprint spot belonging to the Mechanical Emperor in the Unknown Land. Only thus could he temporarily simulate Ivans' aura.
Of course, as his Prophet digestion progressed further, he would soon be able to truly touch Ivans' imprint spot and reclaim that fragment of memory. After all, the Emperor's death was only just over two hundred years ago, so his location in the Unknown Land was not too distant.
"This is a true divine messenger!" The three of them released the same signal simultaneously. Then they all saluted in unison, waiting expectantly for Ebner's decree.
—In Morning Star City, there was no kneeling ritual. The highest etiquette was this salute identical to a military salute. It was the "supreme etiquette" reserved only for paying respects to the Emperor.
Seeing this, Ebner coughed lightly, cleared his throat, and began improvising the oracle:
"The great Pure White Eye, Lord of Fate, Emperor of Knowledge and Machinery, is about to return.
"When He returns, the faithful of Morning Star City shall recite His name…"
Since he had decided to shoulder the responsibility of altering Morning Star City's fate, he couldn't do good deeds without leaving his name. Benefits like gathering believers and anchors had to be claimed.
"Praise the great Pure White Eye, Lord of Fate, Emperor of Knowledge and Machinery. We shall obey Your decree," the three Alchemists responded respectfully with bowed heads.
"The great Pure White Eye, Lord of Fate, Emperor of Knowledge and Machinery, is about to return.
"When He returns, He will lead Morning Star City out of darkness and into a world of light…
"And the darkness before the dawn is the most terrifying. Be cautious in hiding yourselves and stay away from calamity."
These words Ebner nearly copied verbatim from the Mechanical Emperor's prophecy, but added a final warning. After all, once he returned, he would need to perfect the ritual technique developed across his lifetimes, revive Alvin as his avatar, and prepare the necessary Miracle. That would take at least half a year. Meanwhile, Silver City's people would continue exploring here. If they were discovered and drew the True Creator's gaze, the consequences would be disastrous.
"Praise the great Pure White Eye, Lord of Fate, Emperor of Knowledge and Machinery. We shall obey Your decree!" the three of them responded again in unison.
Only the girl-like Elinor, seeing that the divine messenger had no further oracle, curiously asked, "Divine Messenger… what is the world of light like?"
Good question! Ebner's spirit lifted. He retrieved a projector from a card and smiled as he replied,
"Here are records of the world of light… You should understand them, since the people there speak Vernacular."
As he set up a screen to play it, he casually asked, "How many high-grade sealed artifacts does Morning Star City have?"
(End of Chapter)