Mystery: A Spark

"The rest of the area has been cleared."

"The temple is in the very center of the city."

The exploration team spread out slightly, but still maintained sufficient order and did not let their guard down.

After passing through one ruin after another, some long destroyed, and walking along streets so quiet it was almost maddening, Derrick finally came to see a wide, elevated platform entirely constructed by human hands.

On the high platform, there is a half-collapsed building that is remarkably similar to the temple in Silver City, with stone pillars supporting the dome and arches forming the gate.

Completely different in style from the other buildings here, it was indeed the "fallen creator" who later converted... Just as this thought flashed through Derrick's mind, all four lanterns in the group went out at the same time!

"Light!" Derrick reacted incredibly quickly, summoning a dazzling holy light the instant the lantern went out.

The dense darkness was dispelled, and light was restored, even brighter than it had been under the lanterns.

“Well done.” Colin nodded slightly to Derrick in approval, then said to the others, “Relight the lanterns, just in case.”

While "Summoning the Holy Light" is useful, it consumes spiritual energy, and Derrick's spiritual energy is not infinite.

Therefore, this lighting method can only be used in emergencies; lanterns are still needed in normal times.

Colin looked down at the half-collapsed temple on the high platform and said solemnly:

"From now on, everyone must be on high alert and remain vigilant."

"Yes." Everyone responded.

Next, the group headed towards the temple not far away.

Upon entering the temple, they saw a cracked altar and a huge cross, upon which hung a naked man upside down.

Derrick knew that this must be the idol of the true creator.

The ground floor of the temple didn't have much to offer, and the group quickly finished exploring it.

After preparing for battle, they headed to the underground area.

Here, they saw large murals depicting the true Creator enduring the vast majority of sins and suffering in order to save humanity, which led to the Creator's own corruption.

In addition, they saw a cluster of beautiful mushrooms growing outside a gate, mushrooms that could arouse a strong appetite.

"boom!!!"

The moment he saw the mushrooms and felt his appetite surge, Dalek didn't hesitate to summon beams of dazzling light and fire, which he then slammed into the mushrooms.

After entering the temple of the true creator, the best solution for anything that doesn't seem right is to destroy it directly, and the extraordinary abilities of the Solar Path are perfectly suited for doing this... Derrick's expression was cold and hard. He remembered Mr. Chariot's instructions during the last Tarot meeting and acted without hesitation.

At this moment, he looked quite like someone who had "explored" the tomb of Amun from the Steam Church.

Colin, with his azure eyes, watched this scene quietly without intervening.

The devil is a master of controlling desires, and his control over desires is entirely instinctive, so the alluring effects of these mushrooms have no effect on him at all.

"Hula~"

The mushrooms were instantly ignited, and under the scorching heat of the flames, they all returned to their original appearance.

It turns out that those tempting-looking mushrooms were actually made of flesh and hair! This made the extraordinary person, who had almost lost control of himself before, feel nauseous.

As the flames of light spread, all the flesh and hair of these evil creatures were burned away, leaving only large patches of charred black.

After a brief discussion about the origin of the flesh and hair, the group continued on their way and entered the gray door behind the mushrooms.

Here, they saw the altar, the upright black cross, and the upside-down "Fallen Creator".

In addition, they saw a living little boy who called himself "Jack".

……

7 Downsend Street, Queens, Backlund.

"You mean you recently met someone who could very well be a member of the Abraham family?" Arthur took out his drinks and placed them on the low table before sitting down on the sofa.

It has become a custom here to serve wine to men and cola to women.

“Yes, he was an old gentleman who claimed to be the brother of Mrs. Anlisa’s husband.” Fors picked up the Coke on the table, took two gulps, and burped. “My extraordinary ability was given to me by Mrs. Anlisa through her will before she passed away, and according to the old lady, her extraordinary ability came from her husband.”

Fors gently swirled the glass, watching the bubbles rise to the surface, and said somewhat absentmindedly:

“You once said that Mrs. Anlisa and her family were likely members of the now-declining Abraham family. Now that their relatives have come looking for us, I’m not sure how to face this old man.”

"Heh, what's so hard to face? You yourself said that your extraordinary qualities were a gift from old lady Anlisa. It was obtained through legitimate means, not stolen. No one can find fault with it. Just face it openly and honestly," Arthur said with a light laugh.

"But they are, after all, a secretive extraordinary family. What if they try to kill me and take back my extraordinary traits?" Fors asked hesitantly.

As a writer, she has a very rich imagination.

Therefore, she had already imagined tens of thousands of words in her mind about an extraordinary family discovering that an innocent girl had taken their precious items, and then launching a crazy pursuit and persecution against her.

During her escape, the innocent girl encountered a young man... Fors couldn't help but glance at Arthur with a complicated expression.

???

Arthur was baffled by Fors's gaze, wondering what this lazy lady was thinking.

However, Arthur didn't delve into the details, after all, he wasn't a spectator, and simply said calmly:

"Your concerns are indeed possible in general, but we also need to consider the specific circumstances."

“You have experienced the horror of the Full Moon’s Talk. Even someone like you, who has only used magical artifacts left behind by the Abraham family, could hardly endure that intense pain. Do you think those Abrahams would have an easier time?”

“The Abraham family is now extremely weak, and the remaining members have all gone into seclusion. Some members even do not want to have anything to do with the Extraordinary World anymore, so your worries are unlikely to come true.”

"Is that so?" Fors's expression relaxed a little. "Then I feel more at ease."

"Well, you don't need to worry too much. Just deal with it with a calm mind. Sincerity is the best weapon."

"Of course, don't reveal that person's existence," Arthur added as a final reminder.

“I know that,” Fors nodded.

……

Monday afternoon, 15 Minsk Street, Joewood District.

For the past few days, Klein has been busy with a task assigned to him by Dr. Allen, a task involving a strange teenager named Will Unsetin.

That mission clearly contained many extraordinary elements, and it seemed to have a lot of inside information, which led Klein to ultimately suggest that Allen report the matter to the Church of the Night and let the Night Watchers handle it.

Of course, Klein was also secretly investigating the matter and had obtained a potentially problematic origami crane from Dr. Allen.

Yesterday, reporter Mike came to his door, inviting Klein to once again protect him as he went to the East End for an interview.

During this investigation, they learned that an organization called the Security Team in the East District had begun to help the girls who were harmed by Kapin.

This left Klein and journalist Mike with many thoughts.

During his conversation with the petite woman from the security team, Mike also expressed his desire to urge the Rune government to use the Capines' properties to establish a relief fund, using the annual income to steadily help the rescued girls, in his reporting on the Capines incident.

It also helps other people who have been harmed by Kapin, giving them the opportunity to escape their current predicament.

The sheriff expressed his support and gratitude, while Klein couldn't help but praise Mike's character.

By now, Klein had guessed that Carpin's safe had most likely been "taken" by this petite security captain.

However, he didn't have any other thoughts, because the security team was indeed doing good deeds.

Klein had already realized what kind of people the police in the East District were when he last came here.

Therefore, he felt that it was better for the stolen money to be taken by the security team than by the Rune police who cleaned up the scene later.

But I still feel so heartbroken. This stolen money must be a huge sum of money... Klein sighed with some regret, took four steps backward, and arrived above the gray fog.

……

The open-air campsite was always under guard, with flames burning.

Derek Berg leaned against a stone pillar, sleeping soundly to recover his strength.

Just then, he dreamed of boundless gray-white mist, an ancient chair at the very center and highest point, and an indifferent figure sitting in the chair, looking down on everything.

“'The Fool'…” Derrick chanted the name in his mind.

Immediately afterwards, he heard the voice of the "Fool":

"Preparing for the party."

Preparing for a party? A tarot reading is about to begin? But the timing seems a bit off... Derrick couldn't help but pause in surprise.

He took out his pocket watch and frowned immediately. The time displayed on the watch was clearly 8:10.

Derrick learned from the instruction manual Miss Justice had placed in the suitcase that a day in the outside world was divided into twenty-four hours, but the dial of the pocket watch only had twelve hours.

While the outside world experiences a normal day-night cycle, the Forsaken Land where Silver City is located has no day or night, making it difficult for them to determine whether those twelve hours are morning or afternoon.

But this didn't stump the people of Silver City; they came up with a way to use signs to indicate whether it was morning or afternoon.

The white side of the sign will be displayed in the morning, and the black side will be displayed in the afternoon.

However, due to the limited number of pocket watches, only a select few were equipped with them.

The leader of the exploration team will be equipped with one when going out, and will hand it in upon returning.

Of the expedition team, only Colin and Derrick had pocket watches.

While on the road, they would also use their own methods to record whether it was morning or afternoon.

At that moment, Derrick saw the time clearly as 8:10 PM.

But at this moment, Mr. Fool brought news of a Tarot meeting, which was very unusual!

Mr. Fool convenes Tarot meetings based on external time, and external time cannot be wrong, so… Derrick couldn’t help but lick his dry lips.

Derrick's hasty action of reaching for his pocket watch caught the attention of Colin, who was resting with his eyes closed.

He looked over with some confusion and found Derrick staring blankly at the pocket watch.

Colin frowned, realizing something was wrong, and took out his pocket watch to take a look.

"What time is it now?" Colin asked in a deep voice.

"It should be around three o'clock in the afternoon," Derrick replied truthfully.

Colin's pupils contracted slightly. He stood up and looked around, but found nothing wrong, so his brows furrowed even deeper.

At that moment, the two team members on duty noticed Colin's unusual behavior and looked over in confusion.

"Have you noticed anything amiss?" Colin walked over and asked in a low voice.