Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 1444 Tarot Meeting (End of Extra Chapter)
Upon hearing Dorothy's question, Klein shifted his position on the sofa before smiling and asking in return:

"What do you think?"

Looking at her father's smiling face, which was clearly testing her thinking, Dorothy couldn't help but feel a little nervous. She swallowed, focused her somewhat scattered attention, and carefully answered:
"First, during today's journey, Tina and I inquired about the Mirror of Arodes, which is the magic mirror we found in the basement."

She took out the antique-looking silver mirror with eye decorations on both sides from her pocket and placed the unactivated seal on the coffee table.

“Since you are angels… or beings of higher rank, then Arodes must have been handed over to me beforehand to ensure our safety on today’s journey. This means he is unlikely to lie, otherwise deceiving us would lead to many dangers.”

"And Arodes denied that you are extraordinary beings, and the possibility of gods."

"Of course, the 'Wishing Lamp' also serves as another living sealed artifact, reminding us that 'the Great Being is not the Extraordinary One,' but at the time, Tina and I both thought that the Great Being represented a Sequence 0 deity, and thus missed this crucial information."

Klein nodded repeatedly as he listened to Dorothy's clear and logical words, but made no comment, as if he were just a listener attentively.

Seeing that he didn't respond, Dorothy continued:

"Then came Lady Christina's reminder that 'Great Beings' are another person above the gods, confirming that they too do not belong to the Extraordinary, which gave me a guess..."

“You who are not extraordinary beings from Sequence 9 to Sequence 1, nor gods, nor ordinary people... could you be ‘great beings’?”
“Although Tina had another guess, believing that you were once angels, but eventually became ordinary people for some reason and lived in seclusion in Tingen City. This could explain why many angels knew you, knew Tina who looked almost exactly like your mother, and also had '0' level sealed artifacts in their home, and also met Arodes's answer... But I thought about it a little deeper.”

At this point, she stared intently at Klein, awaiting his reply.

Unexpectedly, the latter did not argue, make excuses, or deny it forcefully, but instead nodded slowly.

"You're right."

He said this, then looked up behind Dorothy, and at the end of his line of sight, Angel was walking down the stairs back to the living room.

“See, I told you she inherited my... I mean our intelligence.”

After being glared at, Klein quickly changed his tune.

"They're an old couple..." Dorothy muttered silently, pressing on relentlessly:
"So, you are all 'great beings'? Or is it only Mom who is?"

From the perspective of family status, if there were only one "great being," Dorothy would say it would definitely be her mother!

“Of course, both,” Angel said, unusually not sitting in the armchair, but instead sitting down next to Dorothy, close to his daughter. “I am the ‘Cataclysm,’ and he is the ‘Lord of Mysteries.’ Or, to use a name you are more familiar with, the ‘Goddess of Calamity’ and the ‘Fool.’”

"As for the other great beings who protect the Earth, you have seen them all, but you have probably forgotten them... When you were born, apart from those who were in unstable condition or whose battles had not yet been decided, the Goddess of Night, the Sun God, and the Yellow Emperor all held you."

The goddess of the Church of Eternal Darkness and the sun god of the Eastern Continent were both "great beings," and there was also the emperor who was said to have preached in the Western Continent and established a golden throne on the highest plateau... Dorothy's expression became blank, as if the myths and legends had pushed open the door and entered her home, and all the mystery was gone.

And my parents were among them. I was actually the daughter of a god, no, a great being... No wonder most of the angels and saints were so respectful and responsive to my every request. It wasn't because Tina and I were cute, but because of our parents... Her mind was in chaos. Her previous guesses had come true, which made her feel even more disoriented.

Seeing this, Angel reached out and ruffled her hair, explaining softly:
"I didn't tell you and Tina at first because I was worried that you would be under too much psychological pressure, or that you would think that you were superior to others, that your status and power were extraordinary, and that you would lose your most basic humanity and become a born mythical creature... There are too many lessons in history about this."

For example, Christina, who personally appeared to explain humanity and divinity... Dorothy nodded.

Along the way, she had seen many things clearly, transforming the vague mystical knowledge in her mind into tangible examples that she could absorb and understand. She naturally grasped these principles, but…

"...But why is Tina a little different?"

She turned her head to look at her mother and asked in confusion.

This question arises not only because Tina is almost a carbon copy of Angel, but also because she and Dorothy are quite different due to the fusion of their characteristics, but also because the attitude of the genie and many angels towards her today is quite different from their attitude towards Dorothy.

Moreover, Dorothy had already realized that today's entire journey was like a "test" for her sister.

Thinking about Christina's relationship with her parents and her ultimate fate, she felt a little scared.

“Tina, like you, did not inherit our extraordinary traits, but she does have some special qualities,” Angel said, looking directly into Dorothy’s eyes with a serious expression. “But she is first and foremost our child, your sister, and only secondly the special one.”

Hearing this answer, Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and repeated with a smile:
"Of course she's my sister, so I won't listen to the secrets that follow, lest my attitude towards her change later."

Angel and Klein exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and amusement on each other's faces.

“But I have other questions…” Dorothy’s eyes darted around as she leaned against her mother’s chest and looked at her father. “For example, is it really because the house is so clean every day that the rats in the sewers come out at night to clean it?”

Klein's expression stiffened instantly, and he involuntarily sat up straight, shaking his head in denial:

"Actually, those things that look like mice are actually rabbits I caught from the fog of history..."

The three of them laughed together.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

In the magnificent palace above the gray fog, around a long bronze table with twenty-two high-backed chairs, figures appeared simultaneously.

Another tarot session has begun.

This regular meeting is still held once a month, and at its peak, all twenty-two chairs are full. However, this is not the norm. Some members travel and explore other planets, while others have accepted missions and are working towards them. But most members make time for this pre-divine meeting at 3 p.m. on the first Monday of each month in Backlund time.

This time, seventeen members were present.

As soon as the long table shrouded in gray mist appeared before Audrey, she quickly looked around and confirmed it.

Besides her, Mr. Fool sat at the head of the long table, and Miss Queen sat to her right. The earliest members, Alger the Hanged Man, Derrick the Sun, Fors the Magician, Emlyn the Moon, Cattleya the Hermit, Leonard the Star, Hugh the Judge, and Grey the Chariot were all present.

Others who gradually joined the Tarot Club after the Doomsday War, filling the remaining high-backed chairs in turn, include Sharon "Temperance", Azik "Death", Anne "The Emperor", Gerdruf "The Lovers", Bonova "The High Priestess", and Lilith "The World".

The five members, "Tower," "Demon," "Power," "Pope," and "Wheel of Fortune," did not attend the gathering today.

Some of these people Audrey had met and worked with during the war, and some she had known for a long time. But even so, she was still shocked when she learned the true identities of all the members.

For example, Mr. "Lovers" is actually Amon, an archangel who once became a god but quickly fell and has now moved to the Outer God path, leaving behind a clone on Earth. "Wheel of Fortune" is Will Onsetin, the "Serpent of Fortune," who failed to compete for a godhood but luckily retained the Sequence 1 characteristics. Ms. "Devil" comes from the Western Continent and is the heir of a certain mystical school, apprenticed to the newly born "Mother Tree of Desire"... And the "World" card that Mr. Fool has given up belongs to Lilith, the Earth Mother Goddess who fell to protect the world and was reborn, and is currently only the Sequence 1 "Goddess of Beauty."

Apart from the two great beings, "The Fool" and "The Queen," the remaining twenty members of the Tarot Club all have their own forces behind them, or are followers of other great beings. The messages transmitted on this bronze table can reach wherever they need to.

There are rumors circulating that the Tarot has twenty-two angels. I need to clarify, this isn't a rumor, and the reality is even more exaggerated than imagined… Audrey muttered to herself, then quickly composed herself and, as she had done for the past twenty years, led the way in standing up, facing the organizers of the gathering, and bowing:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fool."

She did not bother to pay her respects to the "Queen," because this was the Fool's kingdom, and the "Goddess of Calamity" regarded herself as just an ordinary member of the gathering.

Now, "Queen" Angel stood up along with the other members to greet the "Fool".

After everyone was seated again, Audrey looked around excitedly, finally glancing at the head of the long table and saying:

"Mr. Fool, how did the operation four days ago go?" Four days ago was June 28th, the day of the "joint operation" in which most of the Tarot Club members participated. Although Audrey's spirituality gave her a strong response that day, letting her know that her script and her "story" were being performed smoothly, she still wanted to get the initiator of the operation, Mr. Fool, to admit it personally.

After all, this was related to her ritual to advance to Sequence 1. The requirement of the "Writer" potion was to write a novel with real people as the characters, let the actual fates of these characters develop according to the plot of the novel, and leave corresponding marks in the spirit world and the river of fate.

Indeed, the entire itinerary of Mr. Fool and Miss Queen's two daughters, Dorothy and Christina, was arranged by Audrey "Justice" on that day. In addition to the two great beings, there were more than ten angels, both in the light and in the dark, who participated. This gave her script, which could only be considered a short story, far more feedback than was required for a normal Sequence 2 angel's ascension. It was as if the ritual was completed ahead of schedule, and she performed a considerable amount of acting.

Now, everything is ready; all that's left for her is that predetermined "writer" characteristic.

Hearing her question, Mr. Fool smiled and nodded, then looked around at the angels who had participated in the activity and all benefited, and said in a low but gentle tone:
"Thank you all for your hard work. The operation was a complete success. Some of you have already received your payment, while others will have to wait a little longer."

His gaze finally settled on Lilith, the "Goddess of Beauty," who was directly opposite him.

The Earth Mother Goddess, who sacrificed herself in the final battle, has regained life through the Sequence 1 characteristic of the "Moon" pathway, which bears her mark, and is plotting to ascend to godhood again and become the moon of this world.

Of course, the key to this, besides the characteristics and uniqueness preserved for Him by the great beings, also requires the blood of the Children of the Old Ones or the Children of the Source, and at present, only Tina and Dorothy possess this "identity".

The original Omibella, the Omibella whose identity was not replaced by Lilith, and her brother Giddas also possessed this aptitude. This may be the reason why the siblings once hated each other. But now, with Klein and Angel's permission and with the help of pillar-level power, Lilith can obtain this blood without actually hurting Dorothy and Tina. She only needs to meet them once.

The Sequence 1 "Writer" trait originally promised to Miss "Justice" will likely have to wait a while. Glad Soren still hasn't found Medici, who is hiding and seemingly under the protection of some ancient being. Grisha Adam will only hand over the extra Writer trait after Medici accepts "The End."

This could be considered a kind of "cross-shareholding" among the old... Everyone sheds their excess characteristics, allowing Earth to have more archangels, and also reducing the pressure on themselves to fight against the original spiritual imprint and "God," "Celestial Being," and other old consciousnesses. It's just that Medici will probably have to change her name to Medici, and Tina and Dorothy's beloved red-haired uncle will become a red-haired aunt... Klein pondered jokingly, seeing that the Tarot Club members were still waiting for his speech, he continued:

"In addition, Miss 'Queen' will be absent from the gathering for some time, from one year to ten years. Of course, if you want to find her, you can pray to her, and she may respond."

Everyone present knew that this member was actually the "Goddess of Calamity," so they all looked at her with surprise.

How serious is the fact that the "Cataclysmic Destruction" has been absent for ten years, given the need for this Great Old One? Is a supercluster of galaxies in the universe about to be destroyed?

Fors, a "magician" who frequently travels through the stars and is currently staying on a planet where the inhabitants look like curly-haired baboons but have developed highly advanced technology, can't help but wonder.

Immediately, she remembered something important.

After the fall of "Superstar Overlord," one of the Outer Gods that besieged Earth, it seems that the source essence and its corresponding uniqueness and extraordinary characteristics have not yet given birth to a new Old Day.

Perhaps the "Queen," whose power and symbolism overlap with this, is already prepared to accept this source essence?
After a brief moment of surprise, the other members also realized this and understood that it was tantamount to a notification from "The Fool" and "The Goddess of Calamity" to the forces behind them and other great beings.

Fortunately, the apocalypse is over. Even though Earth has temporarily lost one of the Great Old Ones, the remaining power is enough to fight against the Outer Gods who have not yet been punished. Therefore, everyone adjusted their mindset and began to speak one by one according to the procedure of each gathering, telling about their actions over the past month and sharing some interesting experiences.

Of course, their remarks all leaned towards Miss "Queen".

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

As streaks of deep red light flashed, only Angel and Klein remained in the palace above the gray mist.

They preferred face-to-face conversations to communication in the astral plane, and staying at No. 6 Narcissus Street meant worrying about their two daughters, so the Gray Mist, much like when the Fool's identity was first revealed, became their chat room.

“There shouldn’t be any problems with Tina. Dorothy might keep it a secret for a while, but given her personality, she probably won’t be able to keep it up for long. She’ll tell her sister about us soon…” Half-reclining on the soft single sofa, Angel stretched lazily and continued, “Tina probably had some suspicions before, but she didn’t dare to think that far ahead, so she still treated us as angels.”

"I suspect Dorothy will tell her tonight... And isn't Tina just like you used to be? First she thought I was a follower of 'The Fool,' then she guessed I was His resurrection plan, and finally she thought there was only the Fool and never me..."

Klein said, suppressing a laugh.

“I didn’t!” Angel retorted indignantly. “Besides, all three answers are clearly correct. Gehrman is indeed a follower of the Fool, you were the resurrected contingency plan of that ‘Celestial Being,’ and there has only ever been the Fool…”

The two joked and reminisced about the past, filling the gray fog with a cheerful atmosphere.

Gradually, the laughter subsided.

"In short, everything is ready, and I will accommodate the source matter left behind by the 'Super Star Overlord' as soon as possible, the 'Well of Stars'."

Angel's expression turned serious again, and he spoke slowly.

Of course, this source matter originally had no name, because it had never existed alone. Since the birth of the universe, after the first creator and the "fallen mother goddess" gave birth to the "superstar overlord", it has always been contained by Him. This name was just arbitrarily given by Angel based on the form of the source matter, the authority involved and the symbolism.

After absorbing it, Angel will gain realistic symbols and concepts such as basic power, spacetime, star order and law, becoming an extremely aggressive dual-source ancient, plus the position of the positive side of the creator in the mirror still sealed in her body, her strength is infinitely close to that of the three pillars.

With her presence, it would be even more difficult for "Celestial Venerable" and "Primordial God" to be resurrected directly within the current Lord of Mysteries and God, because whoever shows signs of resurrection first may face her joining forces with the other pillar, which would break the balance between the two pillars who were originally evenly matched, forcing them to continue to endure.

Perhaps a million years from now, the current "Lord of Mysteries" and "God" will gradually lose their humanity, retaining only the most fervent emotions in their hearts, and gradually merge with the Celestials and God who exist eternally in the Source and Extraordinary Characteristics. In their view, this may also be a kind of resurrection.

But Klein and Grisha will also try their best to take the lead, making the "Celestial Venerable" and "God" of the past ten thousand years an insignificant part of their long lives.

Of course, what happens a million years from now is not what Angel is concerned about now. Her biggest problem is that there is no precedent to refer to for the "dual source matter" state. The two pillars that tried to contain multiple source matter have already fallen because of this. Even the omniscient and omnipotent new "God" cannot deduce the perfect steps.

Therefore, in addition to eliminating unnecessary traits and establishing a church to gain an anchor of faith, Angel also led Tina into the world of mysticism, making many inferences based on the personification of the "creator in the mirror".

In accommodating the "Well of Stars," she will also continue to accompany this daughter in her alternate form, accompanying her most important anchor.

“Don’t worry, you will definitely succeed.” Looking at the somewhat anxious Angel, Klein walked to the armchair, leaned down and pressed his forehead against Angel’s. “This is the promise of the ‘Beacon of Destiny’.”

"is it?"

Angel's lips suddenly curled up, and he stood up and grasped the signpost of fate.

"Before that, do we have a little time?"

Within the gray fog, the writhing spirit worms and the menacing snake hairs quickly became entangled.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Late at night at No. 6 Narcissus Street, Dorothy sneaked into Tina's bedroom. By the bright moonlight streaming through the window, she discovered that her sister had woken up and was lying on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling.

When she saw her come in, Tina pouted and patted the spot on the bed that was reserved for her.

Dorothy, clutching the silver mirror, slipped under the thin blanket and lay down next to Tina, turning her head to look at her with a mysterious expression.

"I have a secret to tell you..."

She said in a low voice.

(The End of Little Tina's Bizarre Adventure)

P.S.: I'll have some thoughts and new colored illustrations coming up later! (づ￣ 3￣)づ~☆

(End of this chapter)