Chapter 127: Three Possibilities

Chapter 127: Three Possibilities

On the way back above the gray fog, Klein felt the chill within him rapidly ebb away. He no longer had the sensation that every single Worm of Spirit in his body was about to give birth to a brand-new consciousness.

In the next instant, the mottled bronze table appeared before his eyes. He saw the spirit bodies of Miss Justice and Leonard gradually take shape within the thin gray fog, though they still retained a certain haziness.

After the wisps of gray fog around them sank into the “ground,” Klein asked, “How do you feel now?”

He had instinctively used Gehrman Sparrow’s tone, only to immediately remember that, in that Hall of Honesty, his inner muttering, wandering thoughts, habitual analyses, and slanders against Leonard had all been laid bare. There was no way he could maintain his original image in front of Miss Justice anymore.

It’s all Leonard’s fault! Sigh, I’ll just take it as following the doctor’s advice. This time, not only did I take off the thick mask, I even stripped away the thin one… That thought flashed through Klein’s mind by reflex, but he immediately forced it to a halt and warily glanced left and right.

He had yet to free himself from the terror that his inner thoughts might be “spoken” aloud.

Fortunately, this was no longer the place he had named the Hall of Honesty. It no longer possessed that kind of “magic” that could not be resisted by normal means.

Clearly, Justice Audrey and The Star Leonard suffered from similar post-traumatic reactions. One suddenly pressed her lips together, while the other straightened his back with a swish, as though they had both instinctively thought of something just now.

After a few seconds of calming themselves, they finally remembered that The World Gehrman Sparrow had asked about their conditions and hurriedly pulled their attention back on track.

“It feels like something has been purified… Originally, I had the illusion that I might split off a second personality. No, not a second personality. It was more like some consciousness that didn’t belong to me was awakening inside my body. Mm, that feeling is gone now. Praise Mr. Fool!” Justice Audrey analyzed her own mental state with considerable professionalism, then expressed her thanks with sincerity.

This is a thanks I can accept with a clear conscience… What a dangerous thought. Thankfully, in the Hall of Honesty, neither Miss Justice nor Leonard’s thoughts turned toward The Fool. Otherwise, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from “joining in.” That would’ve been the end of me… My sense of shame would have made me lose control on the spot and collapse into a pile of Worms of Spirit… As these thoughts flickered through Klein’s mind, he replied solemnly, “Praise Mr. Fool!”

“…Praise Mr. Fool,” Leonard echoed after a brief hesitation. As a believer of the Evernight Goddess, he then swiftly changed the subject. “I don’t have any problems now either. Just now, I felt as though something behind that bronze door was calling to me. What about you?”

Seeing that Leonard had also confirmed his condition, Klein placed the Unshadowed Crucifix in his hand and the small metal bottle containing his blood on the mottled table before him.

“I had the same feeling,” he answered in affirmation.

“I did as well. It wasn’t an illusion. I analyzed my own psyche,” Justice Audrey said in a very certain tone.

The Star Leonard raised a hand and scratched his chin.

“What could that thing be?

“To think it required an ancient god to seal it behind His own throne…”

After everything that had happened, he felt he no longer had much of an image left in front of Miss Justice, and his posture became increasingly casual.

“We can try analyzing it…” Justice Audrey cautiously glanced at The World Gehrman Sparrow.

She was deeply impressed by this gentleman’s ability to combine information, make associations, and complete analyses and conjectures in a short period of time.

Klein thought for a moment and, without imposing any preconceived bias, said, “There are only three possibilities. First, it might be some powerful creature from the real world of the Second Epoch, at least close to Sequence 0, sealed by the Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt beneath the City of Miracles, Liveseyd, behind His own throne. However, I don’t think this possibility is very high. Since that ancient god created this travelogue, placed it inside Liveseyd, and used it to affect both the world within the book and the real world, He must have had His own scheme. He wouldn’t be likely to leave an unstable factor there for a long period of time.”

“Mm. Even we know to eliminate accidents, let alone an ancient god.” Audrey nodded slightly and earnestly discussed it with The World Gehrman.

At that moment, Leonard gave a soft heh.

“Perhaps the Dragon of Imagination, that ancient god, had already seen certain scenes in the distant future and believed the sealed thing would, to some extent, help Him realize His plans?”

“That’s why I said the possibility isn’t high, not that it’s impossible.” Klein responded calmly. “The second possibility is that the sealed object itself is the key to the Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt’s scheme. Once this travelogue meets 0-08, the seal will be released, and that thing will return to the real world and bring about some kind of change. I believe this is the most likely possibility.”

Within this, perhaps the true stance—or rather, the true intention—of the Dragon of Wisdom was also involved.

“What could it be? Mr. Fool once said that after Adam obtained 0-08, He drew even closer to godhood, and the era changed as a result. That should mean Adam has already gathered all the materials for the Visionary and only lacks a ritual… I wonder if my understanding is correct?” Justice Audrey offered her own view.

“I’m not certain either. After this, I’ll pray to Mr. Fool and see if I can obtain a clearer revelation,” Klein said, leaving the matter open.

Unfortunately, Old Man is an angel from the Fourth Epoch and doesn’t have a deep understanding of the Second Epoch. However, He won’t be unfamiliar with Adam… The Star Leonard spoke thoughtfully.

“I’ll try…”

He had originally wanted to say he would try investigating it, but then he remembered that both people present knew his secret. He gave up struggling and said directly, “…I’ll try asking the old man.”

“Thank you for the trouble.” Audrey thanked him sincerely.

In her view, this was a matter concerning the Spectator pathway, and the person who undoubtedly cared about it most was herself. The others were mostly offering assistance.

Immediately after, she took the initiative and said, “The third possibility is that what is sealed there is some item or monster from the world inside the book?”

“Correct. It might be closely tied to the world inside the book. Destroying it could cause that world to collapse, so Ankewelt, that ancient god, could only seal it.” Klein voiced his speculation.

Justice Audrey pondered for a while before saying, “Regarding this possibility, I have an idea.”

Seeing both Mr. World and Mr. Star look at her, waiting for her answer, she slowed her speech and said, “I’m considering it from a psychological angle.

“Since the world inside the book was ‘imagined’ by Ankewelt, the collective subconscious sea there must have originated from Him and contain sedimented imprints of His spirit, emotions, and feelings.

“Perhaps what the City of Miracles, Liveseyd, has sealed away are the most extreme of these things—certain shadows in the Dragon of Imagination’s heart, certain fears, or perhaps the imprints cast into His consciousness by something extremely terrifying. As long as He Himself had not truly defeated them, as long as He had not eradicated them in reality, the things within the collective subconscious of the book world could not be destroyed. They could only be sealed. If left alone, they would gradually contaminate that ‘sea’ and cause the development of history to deviate from its intended path.”

Leonard was even more focused than when he attended internal meetings of the Nighthawks or the Red Gloves. After listening, he couldn’t help saying, “As an ancient god who ruled the sky and the mind, what could possibly have left an indelible shadow on Him and produced such intense fear?”

“I don’t know.” Audrey shook her head frankly. “If we analyze it purely through psychology, since it is sealed beneath the throne, at the bottom of the City of Miracles, and since there is a passage extending all the way downward, that indicates the source of the shadow and fear may have originally come from underground. That is why the Dragon of Imagination would have the psychological projection of sealing it—no, cutting it off—beneath the earth. Otherwise, why wasn’t it beside the throne, in the depths of the hall, inside a specially built prison, or somewhere else?”

As Klein listened to Miss Justice’s words, he immediately thought of what Miss Magician and Miss Judgment had encountered.

Following information provided by the Sanguine, they had discovered an ancient castle whose era could not be determined. At the bottom of that castle was a bronze door that seemed to seal away some terrifying thing from underground. Once one approached the door, or stayed in its vicinity too long, one would suffer corruption and die miserably.

That was a castle built to defend against something unknown, originally guarded by humans from an unknown era… After the Sanguine discovered this place, none of them dared to venture deeper… At the time, I believed it might be related to devils, and that only a demigod would be qualified to explore it… Could this be connected in some way to the seal in the City of Miracles, Liveseyd? Klein’s thoughts spread rapidly. He quickly dug out another similar piece of information from his memory.

When he had been aboard Cattleya’s Future on the way to the ruins of the battle of gods, they had encountered a so-called “Deep Sea Giant Well.”

At that time, Nina, the boatswain of the Future, had dived to the seabed and investigated it. She said it wasn’t a giant well at all, but merely a narrow, pitch-black shaft that even a human child could not enter, one whose bottom could not be seen. Its inner walls bore strange honeycomb-like marks of corrosion, and collapsed steel structures surrounded it.

In a sense, that is also a “passage” leading deep underground… Klein looked left and right, weighed his words, and said, “Do you remember something Miss Magician once mentioned? Beneath the abandoned castle in Delaire Forest, there is a door sealing a powerful corrupted force.”

“Ah, yes!” Justice Audrey immediately recalled that past matter. “Could it be that in the early Second Epoch, in those ancient times, transcendent creatures had some common, terrifying enemy that came from underground?”

“Perhaps.” Klein couldn’t give a definite answer. He then took the opportunity to add, “It’s also possible, as many apocalypse prophecies say, that the danger comes from the cosmos.”

“Mm.” Audrey and Leonard didn’t know much and couldn’t discuss the question in depth.

“Let’s end here for today. Once we have a preliminary understanding of the situation, we’ll try the mural experiment. Also, remember to keep this secret.” Klein glanced at Leonard and said, “Mm. After we return, we’ll immediately pray to Mr. Fool and ask Him to witness our oath not to reveal each other’s secrets.”

Justice Audrey did not object. She even added, “There are some matters I’ll first ‘hypnotize’ myself into forgetting here, so I won’t constantly recall them after returning.”