The next day, on Monday morning.
Cline, who was on leave, didn't go out. Instead, he handed over the letter to his mentor, Cohen Quentin, and the extra postage to Melissa, entrusting her to deliver it to the post office near the Technological School in Tingen.
After finishing his breakfast, he leisurely made up for the sleep he missed during his "working hours" until it was close to noon, when his stomach grumbled, and he got up again.
He reheated the leftovers from the previous night, ate a piece of oat bread, and with a newspaper in hand, entered the bathroom on the second floor of the washroom.
Whenever this happened, he couldn't help sighing about not having a mobile phone.
After about seven or eight minutes, he came out refreshed, washed his hands, returned to his bedroom, and locked the door.
Then, Cline drew the curtains, lit the gas lamp, meditated for half an hour, practiced for half an hour with clairvoyance, divination with a pendulum, and reviewed one hour of esoteric knowledge in the form of memory.
After doing all these things, he tore the old newspaper into about a dozen pieces, writing the names of the materials such as "Moonflower Candle" and "Full Moon Essential Oil" on each, and followed the steps of the ritual magic to simulate the process, in order to master the details - he didn't plan to rashly attempt ritual magic before truly mastering and learning more, because it would waste materials and be prone to danger.
Over and over again, Cline picked up the silver-white watch with the vine pattern, looked at it, and found that the time was just past two forty.
He considered for a few seconds and took the old newspaper to the kitchen on the first floor to burn it, while using this opportunity to adjust his state and prepare for the Tarot gathering.
After locking the bedroom door again, Cline didn't wait for three o'clock to arrive and planned to enter the mist above earlier.
He wanted to take this opportunity to explore that place thoroughly!
Just as Cline stood in the empty space of the room, about to start walking counterclockwise, he suddenly thought of something from worrying about whether "Justice" and "The Hangman" had entered the right environment and would be disturbed or discovered by others:
He said that if "Justice" and "The Hangman" really couldn't escape or encountered some other situation, they could "take a leave" and miss the gathering in advance.
For the previous Cline, this was an almost unsolvable problem. He couldn't possibly manually create an instant communication network in another world, and the wired telegraph would expose himself.
Now, he found inspiration from ritual magic:
"Ritual magic that relies on external forces all seek help from different beings. Similar incantations will definitely have clear indications at the beginning, such as the God of Night, the Lord of Scarlet, or descriptions of those unknown and secret beings."
"Then can I modify the incantation to have the beginning's description point to me?"
"Point to me..."
"Thus, even if 'Justice' and 'The Hangman' hold the ritual in a foreign country, I can obtain the corresponding information."
Cline's spirit suddenly perked up and began to analyze the feasibility of this method:
"There are two difficulties. First, I'm not powerful enough to be a high-level sequenceer. Even if the description in the incantation does point to me, I'm unlikely to receive the 'request'."
"Second, how to ensure that the description in the incantation can precisely point to me, so as not to stray or go astray and hit other unknown beings that fit the description. That would bring great danger."
Cline paced back and forth, thinking of possible solutions.
His footsteps were silent. He walked around and around, naturally connecting this matter with the mysterious world above the mist.
"I can't receive the 'request', which doesn't mean that the mist is bad. Its combination with the deep red star can directly 'pull' a person into space, ignoring distance."
"Consider associating and binding me with that mysterious space when making the directional description..."
"Following this logic, although I can't receive the 'request' immediately when the other party is conducting the ceremony, as long as I enter the mist, I can see the corresponding information."
"Put simply, it's the difference between online and offline messages on QQ."
Clay
The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, feeling that this idea could be tried.
"Well, then, how should I describe it precisely to point to me, to that world above the mist?" He began to consider the specific details.
In fact, he had a certain sure-fire incantation, which was the pure Ruan language translation of "Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun", but the problem was that this would cause him to lose control over the mist above and lose his dominant position. It had to be ruled out. "... 'From another world, a fool?' No, that's quite precise. There wouldn't be any other existence that fits the criteria, but it would expose my greatest secret... "Klein thought of one after another incantation, but each one he negated himself.
After about seven or eight minutes, he finally settled on the first directional description in the incantation:
"Not belonging to this era's fools."
This is obviously not precise enough. Klein quickly added another paragraph:
"The mysterious ruler above the mist."
Combining the two, it should be able to limit it to him, and tie the mist to him as well.
"Still a little short. It's not ruled out that there are multiple spaces and multiple rulers above the mist. It's also not ruled out that this description points to the spiritual realm..." Klein furrowed his eyebrows and planned to add another layer of insurance. Um... He pondered for a full minute before finally coming up with the last description:
"Master of Good Fortune, the Yellow and Black King!"
This is an approximate paraphrase of "The God of Prosperity and the Celestial Yellow and Black". If it were only this, it might go astray and cause unknown dangers. But with the previous two limitations and the example of the object entering the mist through similar incantations, the target of the description can be completely locked down.
Carrying out the ritual magic according to these three descriptions, Klein doesn't know if it will have any effect, but he is certain that it won't attract the attention of other beings and won't put "Justice" and "The Hangman" in danger.
Klein let out a long breath, silently recited the incantation he had prepared:
"Unaware fool of this era, you are the mysterious master above the mist, you are the Yellow and Black King who holds good fortune..."
He gave a barely visible nod, took out the pocket watch from his pocket, and confirmed the time.
"Two eight... " Klein didn't think much more and put away the watch, entered meditation, and with each incantation, walked counterclockwise four steps, forming a square.
The most intense noise and the most heart-rending screams echoed again, and he felt a headache even more unbearable than taking the "Diviner's" potion.
This was different from the intense pain of having a hole pierced in the head; it was a manic, irrational, and disorienting throbbing pain.
Klein controlled himself through meditation, trying not to listen.
The murmurs and whispers receded like a tide, his body became lighter, his spirituality became lighter, and everything floated away.
The boundless mist appeared in his vision, red stars far or near, as if they were eyes.
Above the mist, the majestic palace, like a giant's dwelling, still stood, seemingly existing here for millions of years.
Klein's mind stirred, and his figure vanished at the spot, sitting at the head of the bronze long table with twenty-two high-backed chairs.
"The ritual effect has indeed been fixed... " He murmured, lightly tapping his brow, allowing the grayish-white mist to envelop him, making it even denser than before - according to the description of "The Hangman", if "Justice" became the audience, it would be best not to show her any gestures or movements.
There was no time to investigate. Klein extended his right hand, constructed an intangible connection, communicating with the two familiar deep red stars. ...
In the deep blue sea of the Sunia Ocean, an old sailing ship was sailing with the wind.
Alger Wilson locked himself in the captain's cabin and gave the ghost ship the highest level of protection.
The pocket watch in front of him lay open, ticking away beside the brass sextant, not very cheerful, but full of tension.
As soon as the hour, minute, and second hands pointed to the correct positions, a deep red burst before Alger Wilson's eyes, ignoring all the layers of protection.
Ah... His sigh echoed in the captain's cabin. ...
Beckland, Queens.
Audrey Hall leaned back on the velvet pillow and read through the yellowish paper in her hand once more. Her gem-like eyes seemed to hold two slowly rotating soul vortices.
Her gaze was calm and cold, as if she was waiting for a drama to unfold.
The deep red burst forth, and she "looked down" at herself as if being swallowed up. ...
Above the grey mist, within the grand palace, the bronze long table was mottled and ancient.
As Audrey Hall's figure began to appear, Klein, who had already activated his clairvoyance, looked over. To no surprise, he saw that the color in the other person's aura had merged into one, becoming pure and serene, like a lake that clearly reflected the things.
She truly became an extraordinary person... Klein was about to look away when suddenly he noticed that the high-backed chair belonging to "Justice" had changed.
The brilliant stars on the chair back moved rapidly, forming an illusionary constellation that did not belong to reality.
In Klein's eyes, this constellation was so familiar because it was a symbolic symbol in mysticism.
The symbol of "Dragon"!
The audience... The dragon... Klein controlled himself and did not shake his head, and inquisitively looked at the high-backed chair of the "Hangman".
Normally, from his perspective, he would definitely not be able to see the situation on the chair back, but this belonged to his territory, and everything was presented according to his will.
The constellation behind the chair did not change, but Klein, who had already entered the realm of mysticism, was no longer as ignorant as before. He recognized it as the symbol of "Storm".
Sailor... Sea lover... Storm... This was no problem... The color in the aura deep inside the "Hangman" had become even purer... He has risen? Right, what is the symbol behind my chair?
Klein suppressed his impulse and, as before, lightly tapped the edge of the long table with his fingers, smiling and saying:
"Congratulations, 'Justice' Miss, you are now an extraordinary person."
He could tell directly? Audrey was stunned for a moment, and smiled faintly:
"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Fool, Mr. Hangman."
"Much faster than I imagined." Alger Wilson said calmly.
Klein did not continue this topic. He tapped his brow and smiled, saying:
"Ladies and gentlemen, have you found Rosser's diary?"