Chapter 182: Racing Against Time

Chapter 182: Racing Against Time

Mermaids?

Joy rose within Klein’s heart, bringing with it an excitement he had not felt for a long time.

After leaving Backlund for nearly four months and experiencing many things, he had finally reached the destination of this “journey” and fulfilled the final condition needed to advance to Sequence 5, Marionettist!

The impatience and agitation produced by waiting had already been growing continuously in his heart ever since he entered this sea. The various seemingly absurd and laughable, yet upon reflection exceptionally terrifying things that had happened aboard the Future, as well as the dangers and unknowns hidden respectively within the three states of night, noon, and dream inside this divine-war ruin, had kept his nerves tense the entire time. He had endured every hour and every minute in torment.

Now, those emotions and that pressure finally had a chance to be vented and released!

Phew… Klein slowly exhaled and returned directly to the cabin, entering his own room.

Without panic or loss of composure, he followed the predetermined process, taking out Azik’s copper whistle and Will Auceptin’s paper crane to interfere with any possible observation from the Queen of Mysteries.

After taking the remnant spirituality of an ancient wraith, the eye of a six-winged gargoyle, the bark of a dragon-patterned tree, and the metal bottle containing water from the golden spring of Sunya out of his suitcase and laying them on the desk, he entered the washroom, locked the door, and skillfully arranged the ritual for requesting bestowal.

Once that ritual was ready, he did not hurry to respond above the gray fog. Instead, he arranged another ritual as well—a ritual to summon himself!

Taking four steps counterclockwise and softly reciting the incantation, Klein arrived above the gray fog. He responded to the summoning ritual and, through it, entered the real world in spirit-body form, bringing the Fire Seed glove back to that mysterious space.

After completing the preparatory work, Klein did not relax. He arrived at The Fool’s seat, conjured paper and pen, and quickly wrote a divination statement:

“The ones singing ahead are mermaids.”

Removing the yellow crystal pendant, he used divination to confirm the situation:

The ones singing ahead of the Future were indeed mermaids!

After calming himself slightly, Klein beckoned, causing the iron cigar case to fly out from the junk pile and land on the mottled, ancient bronze long table.

With a snap, he opened the lid and saw the All-Black Eye, which had no pupils, still lying quietly inside. Extreme madness and danger could faintly be felt from it, yet it seemed to be sleeping.

After silently staring at it for two seconds, Klein picked up the Fire Seed glove and slowly put it onto his right palm.

Once all this was done, Klein hesitated no longer. He stretched his right palm forward and spread his five fingers.

In the scene before his eyes, all kinds of clusters of light abruptly surfaced. Gray-white, copper-green, deep red, and heavy black formed the basic tones of this mysterious space.

And within the All-Black Eye, steaming, clawing iron-black radiance was wrapped around all the remaining colors.

There was no need to rely on his spiritual intuition. Based purely on his understanding of the matter, Klein could clearly recognize that the iron-black light represented the True Creator’s mental corruption!

Highly guarded, he closed his five fingers, grabbed his target, then twisted his wrist.

That iron-black radiance was abruptly extracted and merged into the Fire Seed glove. At once, Klein heard illusory, evil, terrifying, familiar-yet-indescribable roars beside his ears.

They destroyed his thoughts, ground down his spirit, and brought a pain as though his head were about to burst apart. But very quickly, the power of the gray fog suppressed them, and all became completely calm.

Klein had no spare capacity to think. Following the…