Chapter 34: The Fourth Person

Chapter 34: The Fourth Person

Bernadette gazed at those outlines for a long time, until, as the Dawn approached, they gradually grew clearer and sketched out an island of considerable size.

On the island, enormous trees of deep green, almost black, rose one after another, covering the ground and blocking the mountains.

Although Bernadette still could not be certain that this was the primitive island her father had once visited, the intuition of a Prophet told her that this was very likely the place she had been pursuing.

As the coastline entered her eyes, she pursed her lips, lowered her head, and recited an honorific name:

“The Fool that doesn’t belong to this era, the Mysterious Ruler above the gray fog, the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck…”

Immediately afterward, the Queen of Mysteries, Bernadette, raised her hand slightly, making the crewless Dawn stop near the coast without approaching the shore.

At the same time, inside the empty cabins, the sounds of piano, violin, cello, flute, and other instruments rang out, weaving together a warm and lively melody.

As the music echoed, toast, steak, mashed potatoes, pan-fried mushrooms, and other foods laid on plates leapt up one after another, returning to the oven as though dancing, or throwing themselves into the trash can.

Red wine bottles, white tablecloths, and other objects also returned to their original positions. Some corked themselves again, while others folded themselves repeatedly, becoming neat and orderly.

Then Bernadette lightly tossed out a bright, somewhat unreal ball of yarn with her right hand.

The yarn ball rolled into the void, leaving behind a strand of yarn. Following it, Bernadette strolled through the spirit world and arrived at the edge of that nameless island.

The Queen of Mysteries did not hurry deeper in to search for the possibly existing Black Emperor mausoleum. Cautiously, she let her sea-blue eyes turn profound, briefly losing focus, as though peering into that river of fate.

Several seconds later, Bernadette’s eyes returned to normal. She instinctively raised her head and looked high into the sky.

She felt that a certain existence was watching her.

Of course, this was within her expectations, because she had actively recited Mr. Fool’s honorific name.

Above the gray fog, inside the ancient palace, Klein had accommodated The Fool card, draped himself in the “curtain,” and held the Staff of the Stars. Through the Queen of Mysteries’ prayer light, he was examining the island’s condition.

In his true vision, the island was shrouded in a faint, twisted layer of blackness, preventing him from directly seeing the situation inside. He could only obtain Bernadette’s perspective.

Even if this is not the primitive island Emperor Roselle discovered, this place is still not simple… Klein nodded so faintly it was almost imperceptible, waiting for the Queen of Mysteries to conduct further exploration.

Bernadette did not use the yarn ball again, because she had a premonition that doing so would lead her into a dangerous abyss she could not resist.

She took out an illusory hat and put it on her head.

Her captain-like figure vanished, all traces of her hidden away.

This, too, was one of the fairy-tale magics from Mystical Re-enactment. Its core was a “hat” that could make one invisible.

Then Bernadette followed a road that seemed to have been opened by humans and entered the forest formed from enormous trees.

There were no birdsongs here, no roars of beasts, and no sounds of crawling insects. It was as peaceful as if time itself had frozen, as deathly still as though no living creature existed.

From what Bernadette understood, this place should have had many supernatural creatures that had already gone extinct in the outside world. Normally, it should have been quite lively. But now, she felt as though she were walking through an uninhabited graveyard, with every giant tree a tombstone.

Had it been a Beyonder with a fragile mind, they would already have tensed their spirit, shouldered a heavy pressure, and gradually approached the edge of losing control. But Bernadette’s expression did not change in the slightest, as though she had long grown accustomed to walking through danger and strangeness.

After walking for nearly half an hour, she still had not seen any living creature. She had not even sensed the existence of wind.

Suddenly, her view opened up, because the enormous trees ahead had abruptly become sparse.

Bernadette felt no joy at all. Instead, she slowed her steps, raised her hand, and touched the space between her brows.

Before her, a pair of eyelashless, exceptionally cold, nearly transparent eyes appeared.

Then those Eyes of Mystery Prying were held by invisible hands and placed upon the face of a transparent person.

This was Bernadette’s Invisible Servant.

The Invisible Servant carried the Eyes of Mystery Prying and quickly passed through the remaining road, arriving at the open woodland.

During this process, its vision gradually grew clearer, as though it was no longer affected by the faint blackness permeating the air.

Finally, the Invisible Servant reached the edge of the open area and transmitted the situation there back into Bernadette’s vision through the Eyes of Mystery Prying.

Beyond the sparse forest was a large clearing. Crawling upon it were countless creatures.

Among them were red dragons whose skin flowed with flames; treants whose wooden tumors served as eyes and cracks as mouths; eight-legged demonic wolves; giants with abnormally long limbs; feathered serpents with gloomy green scales and greasy feathers, merely coiled there like small hills; and all kinds of creatures that seemed to be mixtures of humans and beasts.

At that moment, they all faced one direction, prostrating their upper bodies or heads as though worshipping some unknown existence. Not one of them made a sound.

Among them were even several humans.

One, two, three, four, five… As Bernadette silently counted the humanoid creatures, her blue pupils suddenly widened slightly.

From Admiral of Stars Cattleya, she knew that the primitive island her father had discovered had once possessed a strange contamination. It could cause creatures that died because of it, regardless of where their bodies were, to return here, to return to the source.

Among the “knights” who had once followed Emperor Roselle, Green had first died because of it. After him came William and Poli. Aside from those three, no one else had perished in the corresponding incident. Yet now, among these supernatural or mutated creatures, there were a total of five humans.

In addition, Bernadette also knew that her father had ultimately resolved the contamination problem and turned this primitive island into his secret base.

Could it be a different island? Through the Eyes of Mystery Prying, the Queen of Mysteries examined those five humans one by one.

They were all dressed in luxurious clothing from Roselle’s era. Their side profiles were bluish-white, and their skin was shriveled. They looked more like living corpses than humans.

Because all five were prostrating on the ground, Bernadette temporarily could not see their faces and could only patiently wait for the “prayer” to end.

Several minutes later, those creatures straightened their bodies at the same time, and the entire primitive forest suddenly came alive.

Seizing this opportunity, Bernadette saw the faces of those five people and compared them with her memories and the portraits she possessed.

“Green. It really is Green. This is that primitive island…

“This is Uncle William. I remember what he looked like. He once taught me swordsmanship…

“Uncle Poli…”

When she recognized the fourth person, rare emotion appeared on Bernadette’s face, one that was difficult to conceal.

That person was:

Edwards!

In Bernadette’s memory, this knight had lived until after her father’s fall, then moved his entire family to Lenburg. He had never died on this primitive island.

And according to the intelligence she had obtained from Vice Admiral Iceberg Edwina, Edwards had lived to nearly one hundred years old and passed away peacefully. He was buried in a cemetery on the outskirts of Lenburg.

Uncle Edwards also returned to this island… But did he not avoid the contamination? Did he not die because of it… One thought after another flashed through Bernadette’s mind, causing the Eyes of Mystery Prying placed on the Invisible Servant’s face to keep watching the human suspected to be Edwards.

That “gentleman” had an aged appearance, his hair already entirely white, matching the portrait of her ancestor in old age that Edwina Edwards had shown her. From his features and facial contours, Bernadette could also see what he had looked like in the prime of his life.

Back then, Edwards had served as her riding instructor.

Suddenly, the human suspected to be Edwards turned his head and looked, with cold, wooden eyes, toward the place where the Invisible Servant stood.

Although Bernadette had inherited no small amount of Emperor Roselle’s legacy, the reason she had been able to climb step by step to her current position in the mysterious world was absolutely not merely because of items. In that instant, she made a decisive choice. She directly dispersed the Eyes of Mystery Prying and had the Invisible Servant return to the spirit world.

Immediately afterward, she silently changed her position while remaining invisible.

At the same time, above the gray fog, Klein lightly tapped the edge of the mottled long table, increasing the probability that Bernadette would not be discovered.

Only after the human suspected to be Edwards withdrew his wooden gaze and walked together with the surrounding creatures toward different parts of the primitive forest did Klein faintly frown and mutter in a low voice,

“What kind of mutation happened here?”

He remembered that the Emperor had already resolved the starry-sky contamination on this primitive island while he had still been alive. Yet now, these creatures were still worshipping some unknown existence and conducting a mysterious ritual, resembling the earliest description in the diary.

Did some being from the starry sky corrode this place again after the Emperor’s fall, or are they actually worshipping some symbol left behind by the Emperor? Who are the two extra people? They look like Edwards and Benjamin Abraham from historical fragments… Temporarily interfered with by the island’s faint blackness, Klein could not see what was being worshipped. He could only follow Bernadette’s eyes and observe the surroundings.

After a while, Bernadette, who was proficient in prophecy, finally confirmed that no living creatures remained in the open clearing. She once again summoned the Invisible Servant and handed it the Eyes of Mystery Prying.

The Invisible Servant passed through the sparse parts of the forest and the completely open zone, cautiously arriving at the place where those creatures had worshipped earlier.

There was a large rock there. On it stood a crude shrine made of dark-red wood.

The Invisible Servant circled halfway around it and arrived in front of the shrine, discovering that it was empty inside. There was no divine statue, no emblem composed of symbolic marks, and no other object.

The creatures on this island seemed to be worshipping something that did not exist.