Seeing Mr. Fool putting on an air of mystery, the corners of Ebner's mouth unconsciously curled up. However, after thinking for a moment, he still took the initiative to change the topic:
"I can provide a 'guide' for Silver City's exploration… when you return, you can ask your Chief whether he needs to hire him."
"A guide?" "Sun" Derrick showed a puzzled expression and asked, "What kind of guide?"
"A Giant from the Second Epoch," Ebner replied with a smile. "After the Tarot Club ends, before you return to the Land Forsaken by the Gods, I can take you to meet him."
Regarding Groselle the Giant, members like "Justice" Audrey, "Temperance" Sharon, and "World" Gehrman who had entered Groselle's Travels were already familiar, so they immediately guessed who Mr. "Tower" was referring to.
Although "Judgment" Xio and "Magician" Fors had not entered the world inside that book, they had seen Groselle himself hiding in the abandoned mine in Berdan, so they were not surprised either…
Only "Hermit," "Star," "Moon," and "Hanged Man" were quite shocked, completely not expecting that a Giant from the Second Epoch was still alive in the present era.
However, Ebner had no intention of explaining. After finishing this exchange, he obtained Mr. Fool's consent and manifested a bronze-green cross.
It was precisely the "Cross Without Darkness" that Xio had taken from Viscount Stratford… It had already been handed to Klein for divination of its origin, and the result was the same as in the original—
"It is a relic of the Creator worshiped by Silver City, that is, the Ancient Sun God," Ebner said as he glanced at "Sun" Derrick.
The Ancient Sun God? The Creator worshiped by Silver City? Th-this cross actually has such an origin? On a mere Sequence 5 Captain of the Royal Guards, there was actually a relic of the Ancient Sun God? "Judgment," Xio was unaware of this information, and upon hearing it, subconsciously looked toward Ebner.
Ebner returned her a look, indicating that some matters were only suitable to be discussed above the gray fog, then continued to explain its functions:
"Its level isn't too high, corresponding only to 'Unshadowed.' Its greatest function is to remove mental contamination within Beyonder characteristics, helping those who have consumed multiple potions to extract excess characteristics, allowing those unwilling to remain in the mystical world to return to being ordinary."
This ability is very similar to the method Mr. "Tower" used to help me gradually extract the Dreamwalker Beyonder characteristic… is this the ability of an 'Unshadowed'? "Justice" Audrey stared at the cross, thinking.
No wonder… it's truly an item that makes me feel uncomfortable all over… "Moon" Emlyn made his judgment, glancing sideways at a certain "Sun."
"Sun" Derrick, meanwhile, was both shocked and delighted, even feeling as though a dream had come true.
His ideal was to allow all residents of Silver City to break free from the curse, return under the sun, and no longer constantly endure madness, pain, and torment.
And if such an ideal could be realized through inheriting the relic of the Ancient Sun God—the Creator worshiped by Silver City—it truly carried a sense of destiny and inevitability.
The Chief will definitely welcome this item back… Thinking this, Derrick asked:
"Mr. 'Tower,' can I exchange for this item?"
"As long as you can provide an equivalent price." Ebner displayed it precisely for the purpose of trading it to Derrick—it was useless in his own hands.
And the reason he hadn't taken it out in reality was that he feared Adam might tamper with it, so he had kept it stored in "Sefirah Castle."
"That's wonderful! Thank you, Mr. 'Tower'!" Derrick said with sincere gratitude.
After some further exchanges, this week's Tarot Gathering came to an end. When only Klein and Ebner remained in the ancient palace, "World" handed over the pages of Roselle's diary he had obtained today to Ebner and asked:
"Who exactly are Sequence 1 angels serving? Is it really Above the Sequence?"
Ebner didn't look at the diary pages—after all, he had already obtained them from Bernadette. After considering for a moment, he replied:
"The answer to this question isn't very suitable to be discussed above the gray fog… how about this, after dinner tonight I'll come find you, and we'll go somewhere more appropriate to talk."
"Alright!" Klein agreed after a brief hesitation, but then he thought of something and asked somewhat uncertainly, "The 'appropriate place' you mentioned… it wouldn't be the 'Kingdom of Deep Darkness,' would it?"
"Of course not… it's actually a place you've been to before, and left a deep impression on you!"
…
Inside a dormitory room in Saint Samuel Cathedral, Leonard, who had returned to reality, lowered his voice and said:
"Old man, have you… ever seen the second 'Blasphemy Slate'?"
In his mind, Pallez Zoroast's somewhat aged voice sounded:
"No. The one who saw the second 'Blasphemy Slate' was my great-grandfather. Heh, who brought up this matter?
"The one who always asks me for 'Worms of Time'?"
Leonard did not answer his question. After a few seconds, he asked expectantly:
"Old man, then do you know the potion formula for 'Night Watcher'?"
Pallez Zoroast immediately let out a scoff:
"Naive! According to my great-grandfather, the situation back then was urgent and opportunities were limited. The 'Blasphemy Slate' could disappear on its own at any time. Any intelligent person knew that the best choice was to first grasp a complete Beyonder pathway before looking at others.
"Additionally, the knowledge on the 'Blasphemy Slate' is presented in essence rather than text. Each viewer needs time to interpret it. By the time the Slate was taken away, not everyone could even truly memorize one complete pathway—let alone others.
"I do have quite a few potion formulas from other pathways, but those were gradually collected by my family over a long period of time. Among them, high-sequence formulas are not many."
"I see…" Leonard chuckled dryly, then asked, "Ebner… no, your old friend Rhein—can he freely enter and leave the 'Kingdom of Deep Darkness'?"
Pallez Zoroast laughed meaningfully:
"As far as I know… yes!
"And not just the 'Kingdom of Deep Darkness'—the 'Realm of Bounty,' 'Thorn Castle,' 'Land of the End,' and others are all open for him to come and go as he pleases."
"The 'Realm of Bounty' is the divine kingdom of the Earth Mother—I know that. But what about the latter ones?" Leonard asked in surprise.
Pallez Zoroast gave an ambiguous chuckle:
"The latter are all 'prototypes' of divine kingdoms, representing the domains of Sequence 1 Archangels.
"'Thorn Castle' belongs to 'Tamara,' while the 'Land of the End' is the domain of 'Constantine.'"
(End of Chapter)