Monday afternoon, 2:45 PM.
Klein opened his pocket watch, confirming the time. Since it was still early, he pondered for a moment and decided on a "mailbox number" above the gray fog, so that members of the Tarot Club could reach him when needed.
"The cowardly god not belonging to this era, the impoverished ruler above the washroom, the reporting king who governs sweet iced tea."
"You're sure that's the Fool's honorific?" Stelle asked in disbelief.
"Of course." Sairuis swore solemnly.
Clang, clang, clang.
Gornes came upstairs to the second floor, knocking the railing to draw their attention.
"What is it?" Sairuis asked, puzzled.
"You two need to tone it down," Gornes rubbed his forehead. "Recently people keep complaining that you're always messing around with trash cans. The neighbors are sick of it. Can't you two cut down on the trash can nonsense? Huh?"
"People are complaining to you?" Stelle was shocked that anyone could dislike trash cans.
"Yeah, quite a few, actually."
Hearing this, Sairuis fell silent. He stared at the trash-can doll in his hand, closed his eyes, and a single tear slid down his cheek. With heavy reluctance, he whispered:
"Since complaints have been made, we can't just keep being self-willed. If so, let me be the villain here."
Saying this, he produced a cicada—its head and abdomen a mottled brown, its surface marked with tree-ring-like patterns, as if bearing witness to the passage of years.
Spring Autumn Cicada!
"I will return to the past, and never again touch trash cans. Spring Autumn Cicada, walk with me once more down the river of time!" He clenched his jaw, decision made.
Stelle slammed the table and roared: "Stop! Sairuis, what are you doing! Without trash cans, how can we pursue the abstract?"
Suddenly, the Spring Autumn Cicada gave a soft cry:
"It's simple. I'll just ascend to Venereble, won't I?"
Sairuis: "?"Stelle: "?"Gornes: "?"
Its aura no longer hidden, it revealed itself—a rank 9 cultivation base! In an instant, silence fell again, everyone stunned.
The cicada smiled faintly, then cried:
Zhi liao, zhi liao, zhi liao zhi liao...
Over and over again.
Stelle reached out and seized the cicada. Coldly, she sneered: "You think to ascend without reciting poetry?"
With a crisp crack, she crushed the Spring Autumn Cicada into fragments.
The Spring Autumn Cicada—destroyed!
"What!" Everyone gasped in horror. "How could you destroy it?"
Stelle only chuckled, pulling out another item—an oval smiley face, forehead wide, chin square, wearing full-frame black-lined glasses.
The Net Purifier Gu!
The Spring Autumn Cicada tried to retreat up the river of time. Stelle turned sideways, extending her left hand downward. The Net Purifier Gu hovered beneath her palm, spinning, rising and falling with her arm's faint movements.
Supremacy!
Under their stunned gazes, she casually tossed the Gu aside, walked to the window, and clasped her hands behind her back. Standing tall, she softly spoke:
"I know clearly that the paths between people can never be copied. I walk my own path. Even if storms block my steps, even if thorns scar me head to toe—I will still laugh foolishly, still savor the taste of it all."
She laughed aloud: "I believe that one day, the lone wandering little trash can will see both banks lush and green, trash birds singing in chorus."
The shattered cicada, with only its head intact, gasped its last words:
"Indeed, heroes fill this world like fish crossing a river. Great Love Immortal Venerable—what a Great Love !"
"Truly magnificent!" Sairuis clapped. "Brilliant, simply brilliant!"
…
After this bout of madness, Sairuis stretched in satisfaction, intending to return to his room for rest—when he felt a pull.
He remembered it was Monday. Transforming himself into a memetic body, he followed the pull up to the Source Castle.
Above the gray fog, within the vast and ancient palace, the bronze long table loomed.
Audrey Hall's figure had only just begun to appear when Klein, with Spirit Vision already open, looked her way. As expected, the colors deep in her aura had blended into one, pure and tranquil like a lake reflecting reality.
She had indeed become a Beyonder… Klein was about to look away when he suddenly noticed a change on "Justice"'s high-backed chair.
The stars upon its backrest shifted rapidly, forming an unreal constellation not belonging to reality.
To Klein, it was familiar—it was a symbol from mysticism.
The symbol of the Dragon!
Old Neil had once taught him: dragons were experts in the domain of the mind. Linking this to what Mr. Devil had mentioned—the "Telepathist" and "Psychiatrist" following the Audience pathway—Klein guessed that most dragons must belong to the Audience sequence.
Spectator… Dragon… Klein resisted shaking his head and turned his gaze toward the
"Hanged Man's" high-backed chair.
From his angle he should not have been able to see the backrest, yet here in his domain everything appeared at his will.
The constellation there remained unchanged, but Klein, now more versed in mysticism, recognized it as the Storm symbol.
Sailor… Sea Affinity… Storm. That fit.
The colors deep within the Hanged Man's aura had also grown purer… he'd advanced?
What about Mr. Devil?
The scene shifted again, revealing the pattern behind Sairuis.
It was no symbol Klein had studied, but he had seen it before—on the flyer for the "End of the World" tavern.
A goblet, above which shone a diamond-shaped star, flanked by wing-like or smile-like markings.
What did it mean? Klein wasn't sure.
A Holy Grail? Something else? His thoughts wandered.
Then—what symbol lay behind his own chair?
For some reason, he could not see his own back as he could the others'.
Suppressing the urge to turn, Klein tapped the table three times and smiled: "Congratulations, Miss Justice. You have become a Beyonder."
Audrey was briefly startled, but then smiled: "Thank you, Mr. Fool. And thank you, Mr. Hanged Man and Mr. Devil."
"Faster than I expected," Alger Wilson admitted calmly.
Sairuis only smiled, saying nothing, and waved a hand.
Klein did not dwell on the matter. Tapping his brow, he asked with a smile: "Ladies, gentlemen, have you found Emperor Roselle's diaries?"
Audrey did not rush to answer as before. Instead, her crystalline eyes scrutinized the Hanged Man and Demon one by one.
Sairuis showed his body language openly, while Alger unconsciously restrained his.
After a brief silence, Alger said: "I found two pages of Emperor Roselle's diary and memorized them."
"I have one," Audrey said, her tone detached through the gray fog.
"I have two pages," Sairuis declared, already prepared with "Roselle's" diary.
"Very good." Klein kept his voice free of the joy and disappointment within.
He was glad they had five pages, yet disappointed it was only five—since the first harvest would naturally be easier, drawing upon their existing resources. Later, it would only grow harder, involving more factors.
"Shall we present them now?" Audrey asked calmly.
"Yes," Klein replied simply.
(End of Chapter)