Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 273 The First Tarot Meeting

Lu Ze just felt a throbbing pain in his head.

"Sizzle!"

Amidst the intense pain, Lu Ze heard a phantom tearing sound. Along with this sound, he experienced a strange sensation, as if a small fragment of his consciousness had detached from his body, broken away, and been reshaped by an unseen force.
Has the virtual persona been successfully established?

He asked subconsciously:
"Ok?"

"Ok?"

Another voice simultaneously echoed in my mind.

It was an indescribable experience. Lu Ze was surprised to feel as if there was an illusory face staring back at him, equally astonished.

"Damn, so I was the virtual personality all along."

As if just realizing the situation, the voice asked in surprise.

That's exactly what I would say.
Lu Ze thought to himself, then looked at M.

"It seems to be a success."

M said with a smile, freeing his hands.

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.

The next day, Monday afternoon.

Lu Ze sat on the sofa in the bedroom, watching the clock on the wall gradually move toward the three o'clock position.

At this moment, the created virtual personality is enveloping Luze's mind and deeply merging with his ethereal body.

M stood beside him, maintaining his posture.

"Tap, tap"

The mechanical hands ticked away, their echoes reverberating in his mind as two distinct sounds.

Lu Ze felt his head was spinning, and everything he saw was blurry. He didn't even dare to have any extra thoughts, because the intertwined thoughts would keep spreading, making him dizzy and confused.

Fortunately, he no longer had to endure it. The next moment, a deep red and illusory light burst forth from all around him and from within his body, engulfing him!
Above the gray fog, in a magnificent and ancient palace.

On either side of the bronze table, crimson light burst forth in succession, rising and falling like fountains, surging and filling the high-backed chairs. The crimson light outlined blurry human figures, filling the chairs one by one and extending downwards.

At the head of the long table, Klein, the Fool, shrouded in gray mist, calmly faced the scene. He saw a new figure appear to his right, beneath the Sun.

As the figure appeared, the high-backed chair it was on also changed. The glittering stars on the chair back rapidly coalesced, taking shape, and finally transforming into a peculiar pattern—

Abundant and eerie rose petals surround an inverted cross.

In mysticism, this is a symbol of the "Hanged Man"!

The summoning was successful.
Klein watched Luze appear successfully and felt a sense of relief.

As he tried to gather his members and touch the crimson star corresponding to Luze, for some reason, a faint and fragile connection came from Luze's side, almost impossible to maintain. Fortunately, Klein had already advanced to become a magician, and his spirituality was much stronger, allowing him to re-establish the connection and successfully make the other party appear above the gray mist.

This may be the way Luze shields the ocean tides.
He guessed that way.

Good afternoon, Mr. Fool.

After all the members had gathered, Audrey habitually greeted each one. Suddenly, her "spectator" instincts alerted her to notice that there was one more person attending the gathering today. The mysterious environment above the gray fog blurred everyone's figures, and through the fog, she could only make out that the man had black hair and azure eyes, and was wearing a crimson robe.

It's quite rare to see a man dressed so brightly. He looked around, seemingly surprised.
Audrey observed the other person, and then, in front of everyone, she naturally expressed her curiosity:

"Respected Fool, who is this gentleman?"

"This is the newest member, Mr. Temperance."

She heard the Fool calmly introduce himself from behind the gray fog.

"Hello everyone."

"[Temperance]" Luze, or rather, Luze's clone, greeted the crowd in a calm tone.

Actually, when he first saw himself appearing above the gray fog, he was also stunned for a moment.

Why is it me? Shouldn't it be my virtual persona that's being pulled up?
And even though I had already been pulled up, why didn't that tide stop me?

A moment later, he suddenly realized what was happening.

Oh, so I am a virtual persona.

Although what was being pulled up at this moment was indeed a virtual personality, since its personality, memories, and original body were exactly the same, and it would merge with the original body after returning, he simply treated himself as Lu Ze.

Just as he had figured this out, he heard a woman's slightly distorted voice, and then the Fool began to introduce himself, so he took the opportunity to greet everyone.

Good afternoon, Mr. Temperance.

Audrey was delighted that the Tarot Club had grown once again. After greeting the gentleman, she continued her custom of greeting each member. This process was essentially a self-introduction for the members, allowing Luze to quickly learn each member's code name and appearance.

Just as she expected, Lu Ze followed his introduction, looking at each person in turn and quickly forming an initial impression of them:

The Hanged Man, sullen and seemingly very calculating;
[Sun] is very tall and big, but he seems a bit restless, like a child.
[Magician], female, nothing particularly special;
[World], what a gloomy place.
After looking at all these people, he turned his attention to [Justice].

She was well-mannered and had a dignified demeanor, like a young lady from a noble family.

The entire organization, including himself, consisted of only six people.

It feels a bit different from the mysterious organization I imagined.
Lu Ze had initially assumed that those who could participate in the gathering before the gods must be extraordinary powerhouses. However, the demeanor of these individuals didn't seem particularly special, which made him suspicious.

No, I shouldn't have been so prejudiced. Maybe they're just hiding their special qualities.
As he was thinking this, he saw that Miss Justice had already stood up and bowed to the Fool at the head of the table. "Dear Mr. Fool, I have collected two more pages of Russell's diary this time."

Russell's Diary?!

Upon hearing this, Lu Ze was slightly taken aback.

Does Mr. Fool know about Russell's diary and even have members of the Tarot Society collect it?
His heart trembled as he watched the blonde, blue-eyed woman materialize two parchments. The Fool teleported them to the table before him, picked them up, and began to read.

I started reading!

Does Mr. Fool know Chinese characters?
Could He be a time traveler too? No, He's a god, and gods sometimes represent knowledge itself. Mastering an encrypted language might not be particularly difficult for Him.

Corresponding ideas flashed through his mind quickly.

Meanwhile, across the towering [Sun] Derrick, [The Hanged Man] Alger had already observed his subtle movements.

(End of this chapter)