Luke shifted his entire attention to Mr. Hanged Man as he began speaking about Conformity and Singularity.
Of course, The Hanged Man directed his words toward all, not only Luke.
"What do we know about these two existences until now?" he began. "From Mr. Devil's enthusiastic way of gathering data on them, a few things can be summarized.
"First, Conformity and Singularity can indeed materialize upon calling Their names. However, we can also confirm that just saying the names out loud doesn't bring any Corruption, or any adverse effect."
Everyone nodded at his words, including Luke.
He had called out Conformity enough times without using the Wall of Spirituality. Yet, it didn't affect him at all.
It could have been a deliberate attempt to delude his senses, Luke knew. However, what The Hanged Man said was also true.
Just saying the name out loud didn't guarantee instant corruption.
"Second," The Hanged Man continued, "unlike mindless monsters like Nomus, They cannot fully control a rational person, or a Quirk user if we stick to the official terms, but only influence them superficially.
"If the will is strong, a person can resist the said influence to a certain degree, as clear from the Hero Killer Stain's case."
Luke had to agree with this as well.
He clearly remembered how Stain had resisted the kill order from Conformity, despite looking as if he was completely controlled by It.
The Hanged Man looked at Luke this time.
"Third, even if They are controlling someone, They cannot extend the same control to a second party, while controlling the active one."
"But Conformity influenced Stain while still controlling the Nomu?"
Luke looked at the asker. The Sun.
It was the first time he was hearing something from this man.
"It did," The Hanged Man admitted, "but only after losing the body. Why didn't It bring Stain out, when It clearly wanted to kill Mr. Devil right there and then? The answer is obvious. It couldn't."
Luke's mouth opened slightly.
He hadn't thought about it with the same reasoning.
As he had come here right after the battle, if he had had enough time, he might have reached the same conclusion. But The Hanged Man had also heard everything the first time as well.
For an instant, Luke contemplated asking one more System based on The Hanged Man…
"Fourth, and this is the wildest conjecture, but," The Hanged Man continued, "both Conformity and Singularity seem incapable of fully materializing in the world, i.e., They lack a material form.
"Fifth, and the last, despite Their ability to act against each other, and with each other, Conformity and Singularity prefer to act alone and don't interfere with Their workings… Of course, as long as it's not a matter of Quirk Conformity and Quirk Singularity…"
Luke was just one breath away from saying WOW.
He looked around and realized it must be the norm here.
The Hanged Man seemed to have a greater guiding role in this Tarot Club.
He must be the senior-most member, Luke guessed. No wonder he's seated next to Mr. Fool's chair…
"Now that we have listed these things," The Hanged Man said, "we can confirm a few things through them.
"First, Conformity and Singularity have distinct goals. In my opinion, it can be fully manifesting oneself in the Material World. It would hint why They act against each other, as neither wants the other to succeed first."
As he heard this, Luke suddenly remembered two distinct facts.
One was about the different Quirks in one single person, resulting in uncontrolled mutation.
The other was about the evolution of the Quirks across generations until it became too powerful to be controlled by an individual.
Too stunned to speak, Luke kept listening to The Hanged Man.
"Second, from Their actions, behavior, and influence," he said, "we can confirm that Conformity and Singularity, in our terms, may just be remnant forms of Angel-level figures."
This time, Luke's brows shot up. "Angels? Not Gods?"
Luke had always believed those two to be on the same level of Mr. Fool.
"Hmm…" Miss Hermit took over, nudging her glasses. "That would make sense. To understand better, let's take Conformity and Singularity as Sequence 1 Angels of two neighboring Pathways. This way, we can explain almost all guesses put forward by The Hanged Man."
"So just like the way Beyonders from neighboring Pathways tend to oppose each other," Miss Judgment said, "the confrontation between Conformity and Singularity exists because of something similar?"
"Indeed," Mr. Star nodded, sounding thoughtful as well. "Perhaps, materializing oneself in the Material World is kind of like finishing a Ritual that would take them a step beyond…"
"Exactly," The Hanged Man said, looking at Luke. "I will go on to say that Conformity and Singularity are nothing but two parts of a bigger, grander picture, Mr. Devil. And, from the two missions assigned to you by Mr. Fool, I can say with confidence that Their existence is linked to the absence of the Spiritual Plane on your side."
For a while, even Luke sat there as he absorbed this stupendous information.
He had always believed that there were untold reasons behind Mr. Fool's Spirit World-related mission.
Mr. Fool had said that He was interested in a world that functioned without the Spirit World.
But, perhaps, He was also interested in what happened to the Spirit World after it… disappeared.
Suddenly, the gray fog around them began stirring, as if a massive earthquake had rocked some distant land.
"I think it's time," The Hanged Man said, looking at Mr. Fool's chair.
Luke took a deep breath and looked at everyone. "Thank you," he said. "I will try my best to gather more data…"
Miss Hermit shook her head. "Now that Conformity knows about Corruption within you from a foreign God," she said seriously, "It will come after you by Itself. I would advise lying low and not go after Them until you are Sequence 5 at least."
Everyone nodded.
"Even if you have three different Sequences," Miss Justice said, "they still are quite low to contend against these forces. Wait. Gather strength. You can focus on spreading Mr. Fool's faith, instead of wildly chasing after…"
"Yes," The Hanged Man agreed. "If I were you, I would start with getting a foothold first. Start by forming an Organization. You don't need to deal with everything by yourself."
Form an Organization… Luke repeated the words. "Like Tarot Club…"
At the name, a smile crept on everyone's faces.
Then, as their appearances began blurring, Miss Justice stood up.
"I am already looking forward to our next meeting," she said cheerfully before looking toward Mr. Fool's chair, bowing. "We await your return —
"— Praise be to Mr. Fool."
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