Secrets: Priestess

Chapter 30 Infiltration
There was a sharp pain in the head.

Spirituality is consuming.

The gray fog swirled and twisted like an indescribable monster, crawling over Claire's body bit by bit like rotten black mud.

The spirit is being extracted by the invisible existence.

Claire couldn't help but groan at the tingling pain all over her body.

An indistinguishable voice whispered in my ear.

Claire rarely felt fear, but at this moment, the uncontrollable fear that came from nowhere overwhelmed her will like a tide. Despair, jealousy, inferiority, and other negative emotions surged up all at once, as if a dark side of her was gradually replacing her.

Claire tried her best to stay conscious, but her mind was like a small boat tottering in a turbulent whirlpool of filth.

Claire wanted to place her hand over her heart and call out the goddess's name, but the holy object was as silent as a truly dead object.

"here it is……"

"Damn it!"

"grass……"

"roll!"

Just as Claire was struggling, one of the bright and deep red stars burst into a dazzling color!

That is?

Without time to think, Claire gritted her teeth and tried her best to touch the unusually bright "deep red" star from a distance.

As Claire thought this, her soul, which had been pierced by needles and riddled with holes, became closely connected with the crimson star.

This twinkling bright star made Claire feel extremely familiar.

The water drop marks on the back of the hand flow with crystal colors.

As if receiving some kind of validation, the gray fog receded like the tide.

Along with it, the stinging pain all over the body and all kinds of dirty negative emotions also faded away.

Claire's consciousness slightly recovered at this moment, and what she saw in the crimson star she pointed at was—

It turned out to be her own room.

And the blurry figure sitting quietly in the room.

That figure...

It was her body sitting stiffly, relying on a trace of remaining spirituality.

At this moment, Claire was completely awake.

Like a drowning person pulled from the bottom of the sea, Claire crawled onto the bronze-mottled table, gasping for breath.

Taking deep breaths, Claire, who was experienced in pain, finally adapted to the current situation.

Looking up, she saw the familiar gathering place.

A long bronze table in a magnificent and mysterious palace.

She was slumped over her seat.

The only difference from the party was that she was the only one in the empty palace.

There is no Justice or the Hanged Man, not even Mr. Fool.

Claire supported herself on the table, using the force to turn around and look around. She saw deep red stars that were sometimes bright and sometimes dim in the gray fog not far away.

The star that belonged to her was slightly dim at this moment.

Recalling the scene she had just seen from the crimson star, Claire nodded again from a distance.

Same as what I saw just now, but the spiritual energy is rapidly depleting!
Claire quickly withdrew from the crimson star.

Leaning back in her chair, Claire took a moment to relax.

"This place is so evil..."

Muttering, Claire thought for a moment, and then began to shout, "Mr. Fool, Mr. Fool, respected Mr. Fool!"

But there was no answer at all.

Claire gave up the attempt and wanted to get up and walk around, but she could only stand up and couldn't move out of her seat.

It was like there was some kind of restriction that prevented her from moving around.

Mr. Fool is not here, and neither are the others.

Claire hesitated and tried to contact the other crimson stars, but none of them responded, like decorations hanging in the gray fog.

Everyone is not here...

Then why am I here?
Were those four spells what brought me back here?
Was the terrifying experience just now an anti-theft measure in this gray foggy space?

Then why did you let me go in the end?

What is the relationship between those four mantras and the Fool?
Why do I remember those four mantras?
Gray fog space, four spells, the fool and himself...

Claire was confused for a moment, and all kinds of possibilities flashed through her mind.

But she couldn't figure it out at the moment. Claire could only suppress all her doubts for the time being and observe this gray foggy space more carefully.

When the fool is around, she dares not act rashly.

The Fool was gone at this moment. Claire looked around carefully and seriously—except for the bronze table, everything was filled with gray fog!
I didn't find anything new here, but I did find that my inspiration had greatly improved.

Then, Claire gritted her teeth and opened the Eye of Prying Secrets. However, to her disappointment, all she saw was gray fog!
But this gray fog is no longer as terrifying as before.

Furthermore, Claire realized that she could cut off her connection with this gray foggy space at any time!
Does that mean she can leave?
After taking a deep breath, Claire didn't choose to leave immediately. Instead, she mustered up the courage to try something else.

She tried to move the chair, tried to cross the long bronze table, tried to use her spiritual power to drive the gray fog...

These attempts failed one by one.

Just as Claire was trying to materialize something, the gray fog seemed to tremble in response.

"Huh? Is there any movement?"

Claire tried to conjure a chair, but failed.

After thinking for a while, Claire tried to materialize the book again.

A book she had read slowly gathered before her eyes.

"Lune Cookbook".

"It really worked?!"

Claire couldn't help but marvel at herself.

She flipped through it and found it was exactly the same as what she had seen.

She found that the things she could materialize were very small, and a book was the limit.

Then Claire tried to materialize paper and a pen, and tried to materialize the words she wanted to write on the paper.

It succeeded again very smoothly!

Looking at the Chinese-written diary of Roselle in front of her, Claire felt a little excited.

This phenomenon proves that she seems to be able to grasp the authority here like the Fool, although only a little bit?

But why?

Was it given to her by the Fool?

Claire keenly sensed that it wasn't quite like that.

She continued with other experiments until she became spiritually exhausted, but Claire made no new discoveries.

From the moment I woke up until this moment, the tingling sensation has been getting stronger and stronger.

The unbearable pain now made it difficult for Claire to maintain contact with this gray foggy space.

Claire gave up and felt her consciousness falling.

Like drowning.

Just as she was about to suffocate, Claire woke up from reality.

"It's not a dream."

Although the sun had not yet set outside the window, although she had just woken up, although she possessed the gift of the goddess, and although the whispers in her ears were crazy, Claire barely managed to walk to the bed and fell headfirst onto it.

She was so sleepy.

When she woke up, Jessica was playing with her hair by the bed.

"Are you awake?"

"Aunt Jessica."

The terrifying and bizarre experience before sleep seemed unreal, but Claire clearly sensed that it was not an illusion. She had a vague connection with the gray fog on a deeper level.

Claire sat up, her clothes a little disheveled from the weight.

Jessica complained distressedly:

"I don't even take off my clothes when I sleep."

"Look at what kind of job you have. You're never home. Just quit. I'll support you."

Claire put the gray foggy space aside for the moment and smiled at Jessica. "Aunt, you're joking. I don't earn money from this job. I earn my life."

Jessica began rubbing Claire's face again. "You, you might have just gone to the Nighthawks to work as a clerical worker, but you actually managed to become a Beyonder. Can you fly or set off fireworks now? Come on, show me a magic trick."

"Aunt Jessica!"

"It's just a joke...but Auntie is really worried about you. Worried that you'll suffer outside, worried that you'll get hurt."

Jessica looked lonely, and her voice became smaller and smaller.

Claire hesitated for a moment, but finally stretched out her arms and hugged Jessica.

Jessica was stunned for a moment, then smiled brightly. "It seems my Claire has really grown up and knows how to care for others. Well, her development is almost catching up with mine."

Claire pushed Jessica away, feeling embarrassed and angry. "Auntie Jessica!"

Jessica smiled happily and stood up from the bed: "Okay, you seem to have slept all afternoon, what do you want to eat? Auntie, I will make it for you."

Claire also got out of bed and said to Jessica, "Let me do dinner this time."

"You can?" Jessica looked at Claire suspiciously. She had never heard that her niece could cook.

Claire smiled confidently and said, "Let me show you, a Beyonder who can't fly or set off fireworks can actually cook delicious meals."

(End of this chapter)