Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1342 Yes, that's right, I am...

Was Mr. Fool absent from the Tarot meeting he organized and convened? Was this meeting chaired by Ms. Queen?
All the members of the party were taken aback and subconsciously looked at the high-backed chair that originally belonged to the "Queen". They found that it was indeed empty and realized that the woman at the head of the long table was not a role that Mr. Fool had played as a joke.

Could it be that something has really happened to "The Fool" that makes him unable to preside over the regularly held tarot meetings? Then why not just announce the cancellation of the meetings, as He sometimes does?
Does He have something important that He wants to tell everyone, even if He is absent?

Thinking about this, several members of the Tarot Club, who were either well-informed or had special characteristics, recalled the unusual phenomena that had occurred a few days ago.

As early as when Mr. Fool informed them that something big might happen soon and that they should "reduce going out and pay attention to any unusual changes around them," everyone had secretly become more vigilant. Three days ago, various cities experienced suicide attacks by cult members, which caught local officials and extraordinary individuals off guard. Tarot Society members with official status, such as "Star" Leonard, "Moon" Emlin, and "Judgment" Hugh, also participated in the crackdown on the cult members.

As the chaos reached its peak, the sun in the sky suddenly went out, plunging the world into darkness illuminated only by the blood-red moonlight.

Of course, the darkness and the seemingly larger and rounder blood moon that was about to fall to the ground only lasted for a few seconds before the warm sunlight once again enveloped the earth, and the moonlight returned to its previous crimson and soft appearance, leading most people to believe that this was just a rare astronomical phenomenon.

Hugh Deercha, who works in military intelligence, learned from internal intelligence gathered from around the world that this "sun falling" phenomenon was observed simultaneously in all locations across the entire northern continent, from the southern edge of the Hagati Plains to the northern Antal Mountains. This phenomenon could not be explained by the "solar eclipse" as described by astronomy enthusiasts.

The Hermit, Cattleya, was even more deeply affected. Her Star Pirates had their own intelligence network in the Five Seas Islands and had taken over most of the resources after the high-ranking members of the Morse Penitentiary were wiped out. The intelligence she had indicated that tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions had occurred simultaneously in uninhabited seas and deserted islands, with an intensity far exceeding that of the disaster that had struck down the Primal Witch a few months earlier.

This led Cattleya, who had just been promoted to Sequence 3 "Master of Prophecy" with the help of the "mysterious queen" Bernadette, to make further speculations.

Not only her, but also "Magician" Fors and "Star" Leonard, either because of reminders from their new mentors or because of revelations from the parasites inside their bodies, both deciphered certain meanings from the strange phenomena of a few days ago.

Moreover, they were able to more keenly perceive another unusual phenomenon that occurred almost simultaneously with the outbreak of the disaster and the fall of the sun:
Everyone seemed to have forgotten what happened during that short period of time.

This made them wonder if a new god had been born.

But there seem to be very few "unclaimed" divine positions left... Could it be a "witch"?
All eyes were secretly drawn to "Queen" Angel.

Is this why the Queen chaired the meeting in place of Mr. Fool? At worst, she might have even killed or severely injured Mr. Fool after becoming a god, taking his place!
Feeling the gazes of the crowd, filled with speculation, wariness, and awe, Angel, hidden behind the gray fog, smiled. Without offering a direct explanation, he gestured for the people who had risen to greet him to sit down, and the gathering began.

Just like the usual process for every tarot session hosted by Klein.

This familiar gesture put the others at ease, and they all took their seats. They looked at each other, but no one dared to be the first to speak.

Meanwhile, Audrey, the "righteous" one, fell into deep thought as Angel changed seats and her seat became empty beside her.

She wasn't worried that the "Queen" had usurped the "Fool's" throne, since the process of pulling her into the gray fog at this gathering was exactly the same as before, clearly stemming from the will of that familiar being.

But why is the Queen qualified to preside over the meeting in place of Mr. Fool? Of course, she is of the highest rank, and if a temporary presiding member had to be chosen from the Tarot Club members, the Queen would be the most suitable. But is there no other reason? And what about Mr. World's reaction...? Taking advantage of the opportunity to look at each other like everyone else, Audrey glanced at the end of the long table, at the spot furthest from everyone else, and found Mr. World, also hidden behind the gray mist, sitting upright like a statue, without any reaction.

If he hadn't stood up with everyone just now, I would have suspected that it was just a fabricated illusion or a puppet... Audrey sighed, then thought of how the president of the "Psychological Alchemy Society" had changed his previous caution at yesterday's impromptu gathering and generously handed over the formula and materials for Sequence 3 "Dream Weaver" as a reward for finding the "Mind Dragon," and she began to have some guesses.

In a sense, I am both the representative of the Tarot Society to the Psychological Alchemy Society and the representative of the Psychological Alchemy Society to the Tarot Society. Does this mean that there is some kind of deal between "Daydreamer" Adam and Mr. "Fool," and that I am merely a "symbol" in their communication? Was the anomaly a result of their deal a few days ago?
But if that's the case, why would Mr. Fool be absent from this gathering?

As if to verify her guess, Alger, the "Hanged Man" sitting opposite her, looked around, made up his mind, and cautiously asked:
"Your Excellency 'Queen', may I ask why Mr. 'Fool' is absent from the gathering? I think this is something all members of the Tarot Club would like to know."

Alger deliberately paused on the phrase "all members," emphasizing it.

Even the slow-witted "Moon," "The Magician," and other members finally understood and nodded in agreement, showing their support for "The Hanged Man," before looking at Angel.

The latter glanced at Alger with some surprise.

I initially thought Audrey would ask the question first, since she always led the way in greeting Klein at every gathering… Of course, as a founding member, whether out of mutual benefit or personal feelings, her concern for the “Fool” should obviously be higher than for others… Angel muttered a few words to himself, then chuckled lightly, mimicking Klein’s rambling manner, and said:

"Three days ago, a battle broke out between 'The Fool' and 'The Wrong' Amon, who became a god and devoured the adjacent 'Gate' pathway."

A war of gods? Yet another war of gods?
Upon hearing this, everyone, including the "Hanged Man" who asked the question, felt their hearts leap into their throats.

Then they realized that if "wrong" Amon had won, the Queen would not be here speaking so calmly and gently... Wait, is it really impossible?

Amidst the crowd's shifting gazes from confusion to shock, and then to panic, the "Queen" picked up a single crystal monocle from beside her and held it to her right eye socket...

...It seemed the size wasn't quite right; the delicate monocle couldn't sit properly on her smooth, fair skin around her eyes. Angel reluctantly put it down and continued:

"'The Mistake' has fallen, and Mr. Fool has won a great victory, but will therefore fall into a period of slumber."

"I hope everyone will keep this matter confidential, so as not to attract the attention of certain beings. Of course, it doesn't need to be kept absolutely secret, after all, the gods should already know."

It turns out that Mr. Fool was the winner. I thought that Amon had seized control of this gray fog space and turned into Miss "Queen" to scare us... Alger, the "Hanged Man" who almost jumped out of his seat just now, relaxed all his tense muscles and quietly moved his body back to his original position.

Others, especially "Justice" and "The Sun" who knew how terrifying Amon was, had similar reactions. The most composed, apart from the motionless "World," was Leonard, who had been watching Angel's performance with a cold eye.

He already knew about the fall of "Evil" from Pales Zoroastrian, who was parasitizing him, and the angels who shared the same path naturally felt this most deeply.

Furthermore, he learned an important fact: after defeating "Mistake," "The Fool" seemed to have become half of a "Lord of Mysteries," and his status had surpassed that of ordinary Sequence 0, reaching a certain level above the sequence.

Of course, Pales didn't tell him the specifics, as that might attract the attention of terrifying beings at the same level. So, those strange occurrences three days ago were caused by the battle between the two gods? But if Mr. Fool really surpassed a true god, then that Klein guy… wasn't he Sequence 1? Which path did he take to reach Sequence 1…?

As he was speculating, wearing thick glasses, he finally dared to look up at the "hermit" Cattleya at the head of the long table and cautiously asked:

"Excuse me, were only these two gods involved in that 'war of the gods'?"

As a "master of prophecy," she sensed far more than that. In the instant the sun disappeared and the red moon pressed down on the ground, Cattleya even had the illusion that the end of the world had come.

The "mysterious queen" clearly knew something, but didn't tell her. Instead, she asked her to come to the tarot meeting to find out. This saddened Gadria, but also made her look forward to the tarot meeting.

She just didn't expect that she wouldn't even get to see Mr. Fool this time.

“Not only ‘Fool’ and ‘Mistake’,” Angel replied, suppressing a laugh, as he watched the “Hermit” cautiously raise his head like a startled quail. “A battle also broke out between ‘True Creator’ and ‘Eternal Sun’, and the latter fell.”

"The evil...deity that the Aurora Society worships?"

"The Magician" Fors, who had been staring blankly at Angel, blurted out.

Because she had previously paid attention to the two members who betrayed the Abraham family and joined the Aurora Society, she had a deep impression of this secretive organization that had been doing evil for a long time but whose reputation had improved in the past year.

"Specifically, the 'True Creator' has merged with the 'Dreamer' Adam, becoming one with him. Of course, the former is the dominant one," Angel explained patiently, unlike the taciturn "Fool." He believed this was information that Tarot Club members needed to know. "You can guess why."

The reason... just as everyone was beginning to ponder, the "Hanged Man" frowned and thoughtfully replied:

"Because of adjacent paths?"

"That's not the only reason, but it's basically the same way to understand it."

Angel nodded.

She had no intention of telling these newly promoted saints the truth that the "Ancient Sun God" had been revived and was actually the "True Creator" whose humanity had been combined with the divinity of "Adam." After all, some knowledge, even if known, could bring pollution or more direct danger.

The direct hostility between the true gods on adjacent paths is "old knowledge" that the Tarot community already knew.

The adjacent pathways... are "The Hanged Man," "The Dreamer," "The Sun," "The Storm," and "The White Tower"... No wonder "The Eternal Sun" waged a divine war against the true creator who merged two pathways. They became enemies because their pathways were adjacent, and it sounds like these five pathways could be directly merged to become a multi-path true god.
So, what about Mr. Fool and Mr. Mistake?
The former has now won and is now asleep because it has gained greater power. When it awakens, it will become an even more powerful god, or even an existence above Sequence 0.
With Alger's prompting, everyone deduced to this point, their gazes toward the "Queen" seat on the "Fool's" throne growing even more intense.

Only "The Sun" Derrick was somewhat saddened. He sensed the disappearance of this being at the pinnacle of the pathway when "Eternal Sun" fell, and experienced extreme physical and mental discomfort, as if a most important part of his heart was missing.

This has nothing to do with faith or cognition. All extraordinary individuals of the "Sun" pathway will establish a worship of the abstract concept of the "Sun" starting from Sequence 9 "Singer" and strengthen this tendency at Sequence 4. Even if Derrick believes in the Fool and longs for the warm sunshine of the real world and the bright future of the Silver City, he will still have a far greater perception of the fall of that Sequence 0 Sun than other pathways.

But this void was quickly filled, and the fallen sun returned to the sky a few seconds later, which puzzled him greatly.

As if noticing Derrick's confusion, the "Queen" turned to look at this youngest member of the Tarot Club, who had actually just turned 17 but was always overlooked because of his size, and said with a smile:

"But you don't need to worry, the 'sun' has returned to its original position, shining on the world and your hearts."

"The sun" is still there... Derrick was in a daze, and although he was doubtful, he believed in the other party from the bottom of his heart.

He immediately realized that after the "True Creator" defeated the "Eternal Sun," He would seize the other's authority and faith, becoming the true God through the three paths of "The Hanged Man," "The Dreamer," and "The Sun." The new sun in the sky was also proof that He was still shining on the earth and fulfilling His divine duties.

The "Fallen Creator," initially regarded as an evil god by Silver City, has actually merged with the "Sun," which everyone most desires to see... Derrick was speechless for a moment, thinking of the devout believer Lovia, who had recently become radiant and seemed to have become several years younger.

Unlike him, whose mind was filled with countless thoughts, "The Hermit" Cattleya had a more pressing question. She adjusted her thick glasses, confirming that the magical artifact bestowed upon her by the Fool—which could to some extent block the backlash caused by peeping at the gods—was still in its place. Only then did she cautiously look at Angel and ask:

"And what about you?"

"I mean, the catastrophe that swept the world when the 'Primal Witch' fell has reappeared, and is even more severe, but it is confined to uninhabited areas and has not harmed ordinary people..."

"Is this an effect you caused?"

She tactfully stated her problem.

Among the members present, the meticulous members such as "The Hanged Man" and "Justice" reacted almost instantly and looked at Angel, while members such as "The Moon" Emlyn and "The Magician" Fors still looked confused.

Seeing the different reactions from the crowd, Angel sat up slightly, mimicking Klein's manner with a barely perceptible laugh. Once all eyes were on her, she spoke casually:

"That's right, that's the effect of me containing the last bit of 'doomsday' properties."

“I am now the new ‘Primal Witch’.”

P.S.: I was so busy today that I only just finished this chapter. There might not be one tomorrow. If I post it at 7 PM tonight, then it's there; if I don't, then it might be gone...

(End of this chapter)