I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Richard opened his eyes.

The notebook on the table was open on a blank page, and the fountain pen lay horizontally beside it, its nib still wet.

He raised his hand and touched his chest.

The silver ring, suspended by a leather cord, felt completely cold.

He sat up and first glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.

It was 10:30 p.m. before I entered the dream, and now it's almost midnight.

According to the rules of the Divine Salon, the transaction is only settled on the spot.

The physical items need to be delivered by spirit messengers, so he has to wait.

He didn't think too much about those "high-ranking people" and that invisible chessboard.

Knowing too much will attract attention.

Don't take any unnecessary risks.

After lying in bed for a while, I heard some noise from the windowsill.

Inspiration precedes hearing, capturing the change in ether density in a corner of the room.

Richard looked up.

A wisp of grayish-white mist seeped in through the window crack and condensed on the floor into a gray-robed human figure whose features were indistinct.

It stretched out an arm with an empty sleeve and gently placed the two items on the table.

These were items he had obtained from Ares and Nemesis, which he had divided into two bundles.

The gray-robed figure took the spellbook from Richard's hand, so Richard no longer needed to worry about making two copies.

After finishing his work, the messenger bowed slightly and then vanished into the mist.

Richard looked at the two bundles on the table but didn't touch them at first.

He actually has another benefit from selling this [Moon Nail·Reflection].

Both Ares and Nemesis included three remote after-sales consultations.

In other words, from now on he has obtained two experimental subjects for free.

He has only tested the [Moon Nail - Reflection] technique on himself and Coleman so far.

The sample size is pitifully small.

Every time those two came for a consultation, they had to tell him in detail about their usage, circuit reactions, and the length of the recovery period, otherwise he couldn't give any advice.

These are all firsthand materials that Richard couldn't buy even with his own money and time.

Sell ​​one technique, charge twice, and include two long-term data sources.

Richard himself felt that this deal was incredibly worthwhile.

He suppressed his slight sense of smugness; he still had important business to attend to.

You still need to do your own divination.

He moved the Sphinx lamp next to the bed.

This is his signature artifact; to authenticate other things, you have to keep it at a distance.

After doing all that, he sat down at the table and first used the most basic method to probe the area.

The relatively safe bronze mirror was turned over first, and the shallow relief around the edge of the mirror was mostly covered by oxidized rust.

[博闻] The information was automatically retrieved. The intertwined arcs, with the beginning and end connected, are the "Line of Fate" pattern, belonging to the traditional weaving of nets.

The mirror was black and couldn't reflect anyone. Something moved very slowly deep inside the mirror, and he immediately looked away.

That ebony box was even more troublesome.

Ares's words were still ringing in his ears: he couldn't identify exactly what was inside, and he wouldn't take responsibility if anything went wrong.

Richard placed the box in the center of the table and first examined the temporary seal on Aresgar.

The knife work was swift and the finishing was hasty, indicating it was carved hastily on the way out of the ash zone.

Richard could understand this seal; it was very crude, and he could easily replicate it.

But outside Ares's crude seal, there was another layer covering it.

That belongs to Hecate.

After the items passed through her hands, she casually added a seal to each of the two suspected strange objects, and attached a tiny note with instructions on how to remove the seal.

Richard picked up the note and looked at it.

I could understand every word on the note, but the seal itself...

He used his spiritual vision to stick it on, trying to read the structure of the seal by following the instructions on the note.

His inspiration began to falter by the third stroke.

The inscriptions are written one after another, with turning points hidden in their shadows, overlapping several seals on the same surface.

The "stress fatigue" method used to break the Sphinx lamp was completely ineffective against this seal... He couldn't even find the turning point.

This seal is a complete black box.

Richard stared at it for a long time, then felt relieved.

Indeed, it's perfectly normal for Hecate to casually add a seal that she can't decipher at this stage.

But if you want points, you have to break the seal, even if it's just a little bit.

The problem now is whether I can handle taking that small piece of the burden.

Richard decided to do a divination first, so he took out the tarot cards.

Last time, Mrs. McNeil taught him how to read cards and casually gave him a set.

The card is brand new; the gold paint on the back hasn't even worn off yet.

When Mrs. McNeil gave him the cards, she said that new cards need to be broken in.

It doesn't recognize its owner, and its etheric imprint is completely blank. It needs the caster to nurture it again and again, allowing their ether to seep into the paper fibers little by little.

Only when the cards are recognized by the person can the readings be accurate.

Richard's hand of cards has been under development for a very short time and is still quite raw.

He first took out the bronze dish and placed it in the center of the table.

He poured out a small pinch of stardust and sprinkled it along the edge of the copper dish.

He doesn't have the means to make a sealing paper right now, so sprinkling some on the edge of the dish, using its "suspended" and "reflective" nature, is always a good idea to provide a foundation for the divination.

After doing all this, Richard placed the ebony box in the center of the bronze dish.

Start shuffling the cards.

The new cards feel stiff when shuffling, with a layer between them.

Richard followed Mrs. McNeil's advice and first thought the problem through thoroughly in his mind.

"Is there any danger in completely removing this seal?"

Then let the ether seep into your palm and into the cards little by little, following the rhythm of your fourfold breathing.

He stopped shuffling after the seventh time, cut the deck, and drew the first card from the center of the pile.

Turn it over.

Death Reversed

Richard's face immediately turned extremely ugly.

The skeleton knight riding a white horse holds a black flag painted with white roses.

But the card is upside down, with the knight's head facing down and the white horse, which should be moving forward, lying face up.

Richard's breathing slowed down.

The Death card upright signifies "ending" and "transformation"—a door closing, the old dying, and the new being born.

The reversed Death signifies "refusal to be transformed".

What should have ended hasn't ended, and what should have died is stubbornly refusing to die.

Something that should have rested in its natural place has been forcibly kept.

Without giving it much thought, he drew the second card and asked, "Where does the danger come from?"

Turn it over.

[The Moon - Reversed]

It's this card again.

In Whitcomb, behind that carding machine in Holbrook, on that night after the Battle of the Unforgivable, the Monthly Post was brought up again and again.

An inverted moon hangs between two towers, dogs and wolves bark at it, and a chelicerae peeks out from the water.

The reversed Moon is an illusion within an illusion, and also self-deception.

You think you've seen it clearly, but what you're actually seeing is just the layer it wants you to see.

The ring of star-shaped sand inside the bronze dish moved very slightly at that moment.

Richard caught a glimpse of the sand scattered around the edge of the dish, which had somehow gathered towards the side of the box, forming an arc that pointed towards the center of the box.

The sand didn't move on its own; it was something inside the box that "lured" the sand through two layers of seals.

Richard's fingertips stopped on the back of the card.

Lady Mary's famous saying still rings in my ears: The fortune teller is a detective; the evidence doesn't speak for itself, you have to infer it.

Death reversed, inside is something that "refuses to rest".

The Moon reversed indicates that it will deceive you with illusions, making you think that unlocking it is safe and worthwhile.

He took a deep breath, drew the third card, and asked the most direct question:

"What would happen if I completely broke the seal?"

Turn it over.

The Tower (upright position).

It's the Tower again. The person who drew the Tower last time hasn't responded yet, their inspiration seems to have been stifled.

Richard looked at the card and felt a tightness in his chest.

The Tower card is the most merciless card in the entire Tarot deck.

It represents a sudden and irreversible collapse.

Place it in the answer section for the question "Completely Unsealed"...

Reading the three cards together, a logical chain formed automatically in Richard's mind.

Inside the box, sealed is something that refuses to rest (Death reversed);

It will use illusions to lure you into releasing it (Moon reversed);

Once you have truly broken all the seals, everything will be over (The Tower, upright).

The arc of star-shaped sand converging towards the center of the box inside the bronze dish moved forward a tiny bit more.

Richard placed his hand on the edge of the table, refraining from drawing a fourth card to touch what lay deeper behind that "tower".

Mrs. McNeil was about to reach behind the head of the respondent to pull out the fourth bill when she was almost pulled away by an eye without pupils.

He remembered that lesson: when it came to higher levels of authority, divination would immediately backfire... He drew a very clear line for himself.

The warning that complete removal poses a great danger is clearly stated.

But he still had one question left unasked.

He put away the two cards that represented "danger," leaving only the box in the brass dish, and then shuffled the cards again.

This time, he changed the angle of the problem.

Instead of asking "Can we dismantle everything?", ask "Can we take it slowly?"

Apply the experience from the Sphinx lamp incident to this.

He didn't dare to break the seal on that lamp all at once; instead, he repeatedly applied stress to gradually tire the pivot point.

Finally, a crack appeared, slowly drawing out the ether little by little.

In batches, to prevent leakage, and not to open the lid all at once.

He thoroughly thought out the method in his mind, imbued it into the cards, shuffled them seven times, and then drew the cards.

After flipping it over, Richard's expression softened a little.

Temperance, in its proper place.

The angel had one foot in the water and one foot on the shore, holding a cup in each hand.

Water was poured back and forth between the two glasses, not too much and not too little.

Moderation, harmony, and patience are key to achieving balance between the two things little by little, without rushing or being impatient.

The second card is flipped over: [The Star - Upright].

Richard's eyes lit up.

The Star Card represents hope and guidance, like a pool of fresh water that has been refilled after the water has dried up.

It appeared in the answer section of the question "phased release".

Richard stared at the jug of water the woman was pouring back into the river, and remembered that when he had his manuscript read for publication last time, he had also drawn this same star card.

That time, after the woman poured the water back into the river, her hands were empty.

Success is possible, but it comes at a price.

Disassembling this box in batches comes at the cost of time and patience; it involves applying stress again and again, and taking breaks repeatedly. One must not be greedy.

Inside the bronze dish, the arc of sand that had been converging towards the center of the box slowly dissipated and receded back to the edge of the dish after the cards "Temperance" and "Star" were turned over.

Richard let out a long sigh of relief.

The imagery is presented fairly clearly.

When this box is fully opened, it reveals a tower, a collapse, and a dead end.

But if we learn from how we dealt with the Sphinx lamp, we can do it in batches, slowly, leaving most of it sealed and only letting it seep out bit by bit.

The options given are "Temperance" and "Star," which are feasible, but require patience; you can't rush it.

As for the bronze mirror... he put the box aside, replaced it with the bronze mirror, and went through the process again.

The cards drawn from the bronze mirror were much gentler.

There is no Grim Reaper, nor is there a Tower.

The first image is of the High Priestess in the upright position.

The priestess sat between two black and white pillars, with a half-covered book of law spread out on her lap.

The second card is the Moon in upright position.

The moon is full this time, indicating that this is a fog that awaits exploration but is currently harmless.

A bronze mirror is much safer than a box.

Richard carefully gathered the tarot cards back together and put them back in the box.

I've only had this new card for about half a month, and this is the first time I've used it for something so important.

The cards were presented so clearly that even he himself was a little surprised.

Perhaps it was due to the hanging star sand, or perhaps this deck of cards was gradually recognizing him as its owner.

He carefully put away the ring of stardust from the copper dish as well.

This thing is precious and should be kept separately.

By the time all this was done, it was already very late.

Richard carefully put away the ebony box and the bronze mirror.

Once my divination skills are more refined, I'll pry it open bit by bit.

He blew out the gas wall lamp.

A light snow began to fall outside the window, landing silently on the glass.