The Spirit World.
A black castle stood silently and motionlessly. Reinette Tinekerr, as tall as the castle itself, wore an elaborate, magnificent, yet dark and gloomy black dress.
Originally, she had no head. There was a neat cut at her neck, while her lowered hands carried four identical heads with golden hair, red eyes, and strikingly beautiful features.
But at this moment, the four heads she had been carrying had already merged into one and had been accurately placed upon her neck.
Aside from her body still being as enormous as a castle, there was no longer any difference between her and an ordinary person.
When Hastur and Sharron entered the spirit world and arrived here, this was the sight they saw.
"Sharron..."
Upon seeing Sharron and Hastur suddenly arrive, Reinette Tinekerr slowly spoke Sharron's name. Compared to the last time they had met, the light in her eyes now held a little more wisdom.
"Teacher, h-have your injuries completely recovered?" Sharron moved closer in disbelief.
The last time she had seen her teacher, Reinette had still been carrying four heads, and her physical condition had been severely incomplete. There was simply no way she could have recovered in such a short period of time.
"A mysterious existence helped me." Reinette Tinekerr extended her palm, allowing Sharron to stand on it. She then drew her hand back and examined Sharron from up close.
"You've grown a lot."
"Teacher..."
Hearing her teacher's gentle voice, just as it had been in the past, Sharron's eyes reddened as she murmured. But remembering that Hastur was still watching from behind, she quickly steadied her surging emotions.
"Why have you come to the spirit world?"
"We're planning to travel through the spirit world to the Intis Republic, so we thought we'd stop by and see you along the way," Hastur, standing behind them, said as he raised his head and looked up at Reinette Tinekerr, who towered as high as a castle.
"It wasn't along the way," Sharron deliberately added.
She had specifically come here because she wanted to see how her teacher was doing.
"That's wonderful." Reinette Tinekerr smiled gently, then rapidly shrank until she took on the appearance of an ordinary human.
She looked slightly taller than Sharron, with beautiful golden hair that seemed as if it had been poured from molten gold. Her eyes had also changed from red to emerald green.
If one had to describe her, she was probably a strikingly beautiful, blonde-haired, green-eyed older sister?
"Since you've rarely come here, come inside and sit for a while." Reinette Tinekerr invited Sharron and Hastur into the castle.
"Mm, alright." Sharron responded and followed behind Reinette Tinekerr, while Hastur also entered the castle with them.
The long-sealed castle doors slowly opened, welcoming their owner, Reinette Tinekerr, back into her residence.
After entering the castle, Hastur was slightly surprised. He had thought there would be something unusual about this castle, but its overall structure and decorative style looked hardly any different from castles in the real world.
"When Sharron was little, she loved living in this castle the most." Reinette Tinekerr gestured for Hastur to sit on a sofa covered with red cushions, her gaze seemingly sinking into memories.
"Every morning when she woke up, she always liked having me call her Little Princess. Whenever I called her that, she could happily spend the entire day by herself."
"Teacher..." Hearing this, the thin-skinned Sharron could no longer quite maintain her composure, and the tips of her ears faintly reddened.
"Please continue. I really enjoy hearing this," Hastur replied with a smile, signaling Reinette Tinekerr to continue.
"Sharron, will you get angry?" Reinette Tinekerr deliberately asked, looking toward Sharron sitting beside her.
"..." Sharron didn't answer. She merely swept Hastur with a gaze as calm as still water, then took a deep breath, seeming to completely calm herself down.
Reinette Tinekerr gave Hastur a meaningful glance, then smiled faintly as she took Sharron's small hand and gently patted the back of it twice before continuing to tell stories about Sharron's childhood.
Hastur listened with great interest. With Reinette Tinekerr filling in the details, an image of what Sharron had been like as a child naturally formed in his mind.
Growing up with a teacher like Reinette Tinekerr, who had gently doted on her, while living in a castle like this, she had truly been raised as a genuine princess.
If not for the upheaval within the Rose School of Thought, Sharron might have grown into a woman like Audrey or Bernadette.
Hastur tried imagining it, but still felt that the Sharron before him now was cuter.
As if she had seen through Hastur's thoughts, Reinette Tinekerr casually asked, "Sharron is very cute now, isn't she?"
"Mm, very cute." Hastur naturally nodded in agreement.
Sharron, the subject at the center of their discussion, showed no particularly obvious expression. She merely looked calmly at the two of them.
"I've always hoped that someone could take my place and properly take care of Sharron..."
"Teacher!" Sharron, who had remained silent all this time, finally couldn't help interrupting what Reinette Tinekerr was about to say.
"Sigh, little Sharron is angry." Reinette Tinekerr sighed, her tone carrying a trace of grievance, as if lamenting that the precious little girl she had doted on since childhood was beginning to turn against her.
"..."
Sharron couldn't bring herself to speak harshly to her teacher, so she turned her gaze toward Hastur, who was smiling as he watched her, signaling for him to help change the subject.
Hastur said very seriously, "I'll work hard to do that."
"Very good." Reinette Tinekerr nodded in considerable satisfaction.
"..." Sharron maintained an expressionless face and calmly said, "You two talk."
With that, she ignored Reinette Tinekerr and Hastur, stood up on her own, left the first-floor hall, and went upstairs.
Reinette Tinekerr watched with a smile and gestured for Hastur to remain for a while.
"I know you're hiding many secrets. I only hope that, in the future, you won't hurt Sharron." Reinette Tinekerr's smile faded as she continued, "Humanity is the pillar that resists chaos and corruption. I hope you will never lose yourself."
...
When Sharron came downstairs from the room on the second floor where she had lived as a child, Hastur was already nowhere to be seen in the first-floor hall. Only her teacher remained. She calmly asked, "Where is he?"
"He said he was going to meet an old friend and asked you to wait here for a while."
Sharron walked over and sat beside Reinette Tinekerr, remaining silent.
"Do you want to know what Teacher said to him at the end just now?"
"No." Sharron's answer was decisive.
"I thought you'd want to know." Reinette Tinekerr smiled and reached out to gently stroke Sharron's head.
Sharron's body stiffened at first, then she leaned against Reinette Tinekerr's shoulder, seemingly reliving the days of the past.
After traveling some distance away from Reinette Tinekerr's castle, Hastur began summoning Gregrace.
A gigantic undead bird soared through the spirit world with a piercing cry, causing every nearby spirit world creature to tremble in fear.
At present, while the Mysteries had yet to awaken, She was the ruler of the spirit world.
When She was about to reach Hastur, She transformed into a miniature little firebird and gently landed on his shoulder.
"Judging from how you look, you've been doing pretty well lately, haven't you?"
"Chirp." Gregrace responded cheerfully.
Perhaps because the apocalypse was gradually approaching, Her recovery had recently become much faster than before.
"I want to go somewhere, and I need you to accompany me."
"Chirp!" Gregrace patted Her chest with Her right wing, indicating that She could go wherever She pleased in the spirit world.
"Is that so?" A smile appeared at the corners of Hastur's lips as he raised his head and looked toward the Seven Lights of the Spirit World.
He had previously been thinking of coming to have a chat with The Fool. Since he was passing through the spirit world now, this was the perfect opportunity.
With Gregrace present, neither the Seven Lights nor the Hounds of Fulgrim could stop him from approaching the gray fog and reaching the gates of Sefirah Castle.
To avoid triggering Sefirah Castle's automatic defenses, Hastur merely intended to knock on the door of Mr. Fool's divine kingdom.
It should be quite interesting to see how Mr. Fool would react. Thinking of the amusing scene that might unfold, Hastur's mood brightened considerably.
Gregrace gazed toward the space above the Seven Lights and fell into a brief contemplation.
Back then, She had also tried approaching that place, but in the end, She hadn't even been able to enter through the gates.
It was a fortress inhabited by a Pillar. Only those invited by Him had a chance to enter.
Otherwise, even if countless True Gods came here, they would still be unable to pass through the fortress gates.
She had also once spoken with the Seven Lights of the Spirit World and knew that this Pillar was called the Lord of Mysteries, also known as the King of Space-Time, Beacon of Destiny, Embodiment of Sefirah Castle, and Dominator of the Spirit World.
At present, He seemed to be in a deep slumber, but recently, especially over the past few days, the gray fog shrouding that place seemed to have begun stirring.
Could the Lord of Mysteries have already awakened?
"Looks like you already know where I want to go."
"Chirp." Gregrace responded, and Her body abruptly enlarged, transforming into an undead bird with enormous wings. She gestured for Hastur to sit on Her back.
"Remember to be polite later," Hastur reminded Her as he floated onto the undead bird's broad, soft back and sat down.
"Chirp." Gregrace let out a long cry and flapped Her sky-covering wings, carrying Hastur straight toward the Seven Lights of the Spirit World.
The seven pure lights that had originally stood upright within the spirit world now began to show signs of instability, as if they were fearfully guarding against something.