Chapter 83: “Door”

Chapter 83: “Door”

After Bernadette’s prayer received no response, she took the Wishing Lamp and walked to the window of the captain’s cabin, gazing out at the deep-blue sea.

She did not grow anxious. She did not try to use her power of “prophecy.” She simply waited, patient and composed, for events to develop.

Several minutes later, a layer of grayish-white fog suddenly appeared before her eyes.

Immediately afterward, the fog was dyed gold, as if coated with a thick layer of syrup.

Bernadette lowered her head at once and looked at the Wishing Lamp in her hand. She saw the wick at the mouth of the lamp ignite on its own.

Above the gray fog, within the ancient palace, beside The Fool’s seat, the “prayer point of light,” swollen to the size of a human head, was instantly occupied by a twisted and blurry pale-gold figure.

The figure’s gaze pierced through the prayer point of light, pierced through the grayish-white fog, and fell upon the vortex of worms that was attempting to destroy everything around it.

His voice rang through Sefirah Castle, majestic and vast:

“You actually lost control?”

The Lamp Genie’s tone carried obvious mockery, and He paid no mind to whether the mad Worms of Spirit could understand Him.

At that moment, above the already-collapsed Fool’s chair, a strange door of light made from countless spheres of radiance emerged.

It flickered in and out of existence, scattering brilliance as it outlined a complex symbol in midair.

That symbol had originally existed behind The Fool’s seat, formed from half of a Pupil-less Eye and half of a Twisted Line.

As the symbol took shape, the strange light grew paler and paler, until it finally merged completely into this space.

The next second, Klein’s voice sounded from within the symbol representing The Fool.

“Genie, I would like to make a deal with you.”

The blurry, distorted, pale-gold figure immediately laughed aloud.

“Haha. I told you that you would agree eventually.”

After laughing for a few seconds, the Lamp Genie calmed down and said, “Just now, I was wondering how someone who could become the new owner of Sefirah Castle could possibly lose control so easily.”

“This is a contingency I prepared for the worst-case scenario.” The voice coming from The Fool’s symbol showed not the slightest trace of panic.

The Lamp Genie chuckled twice.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll raise the price at the last moment?”

Klein’s voice replied at a measured pace, “To me, this is only one of my preparations. But to you, it may be the only opportunity you will have for many years.”

The Lamp Genie’s pale-gold figure swayed as if blown by a gust of wind. His magnificent voice then resounded.

“My conditions are the same as last time. As long as you can undo the seal and release me, I will take the portion that belongs to me and return to the cosmos. Everything else will be left to you, and I will grant you three wishes.

“Of course, judging from the present situation, you seem to require an advance on the payment.”

Klein’s voice once again emerged from The Fool’s symbol.

“The promise I offer is this: before the end of the current epoch’s year 1368, I will send this Wishing Lamp into the cosmos. As for how you free yourself afterward, that is your own affair. My request is far simpler. I need only two wishes.

“This is the deal I am proposing. Whether you agree is up to you.”

The year 1368 was the year the Original Barrier would vanish. It was also the year prophets of this world universally acknowledged as the apocalypse.

The blurry and distorted pale-gold figure fell silent for several seconds before saying, “If the seal is not undone, the wishes I can fulfill are extremely limited. Once they exceed a certain level, they will be realized in a highly distorted fashion.”

From within the glowing symbol of The Fool, Klein’s voice calmly replied, “The two wishes I require can be fulfilled by you as you are now.”

The Lamp Genie fell silent once more and did not speak for a long…