Lawrence sat in a booth in the coffee shop and couldn't help but think of the hardships the House of Abraham had suffered over the years.
Ever since they were split into small families and scattered across the country, the Elders Council's control over the family members had fallen to the lowest point. In order to avoid the effects of the curse, a large number of Abrahams were unwilling to advance and remained at Sequence 8 or 9. They didn't even attempt to become Beyonders. They only wanted to be ordinary people with a certain amount of knowledge and wealth, living a peaceful and beautiful life.
The Elders Council believed that this was an act of forgetting the honor of the family, but they couldn't deal with it strictly because it was equivalent to self-annihilation.
In such a situation, the upper echelons of the House of Abraham began to have thoughts of reform. They imitated the master-disciple inheritance system of the Life School of Thought and nurtured non-family members, hoping that after they advanced to High-Sequence Beyonders, they could help the Abrahams resolve the curse that had existed for fifteen hundred years and find their ancestor, Bethel Abraham, who had disappeared in the War of the Four Emperors.
This plan went very smoothly in the beginning. The apprentices, who didn't need to worry about the curse, quickly became stronger and advanced under the careful nurturing of the House of Abraham. In just ten years, there were several Sequence 5 Beyonders among them, and there wasn't a single Sequence 6 among the direct Beyonders of the House of Abraham.
The main branch was too weak, and the branches were too strong. The seeds of tragedy were planted, and the ambitious disciples set their sights on the few powerful Sealed Artifacts that the House of Abraham possessed.
Their plot failed, but it also brought about serious repercussions. All the Sequence 6 and Sequence 5 Beyonders who weren't members of the family believed that their status in the House of Abraham didn't match their own strength. Furthermore, they weren't trusted and were unable to obtain control over certain Sealed Artifacts.
Amidst the back-and-forth, arduous negotiations, and the process of mutual compromise, an accident happened. One of the Sequence 5 Traveler named Botis was tempted by the True Creator and joined the Aurora Order, causing a terrifying disaster.
In this disaster, the upper echelons of the House of Abraham were nearly wiped out. More than half of the few powerful Sealed Artifacts were lost, leaving only three. Lawrence's half-brother, Richard, died as a result.
Boutis had received great benefits. Not only had he gathered all the Beyonder ingredients he needed, but with the help of the True Creator, he had also successfully overcome all obstacles and stepped into the demigod Sequence, becoming one of the five saints of the Aurora Order, the Saint of Secrets.
After the disaster, the Elders Council of the House of Abraham, which had been rebuilt, reflected on their actions over the past years, but they could not find a solution to the problem. Negative, depressed, and desperate emotions shrouded the hearts of the few remaining family members.
Lawrence didn't want to be in such an environment, and he didn't want to face the sighs and depressing atmosphere every day. He found an excuse to leave the Elder Council and come to Baekeland to find his other half-brother, Laubero, and half-brother, Sam.
Now, he suddenly realized that he was the only one left from his father's branch.
He himself was nearly eighty years old, and all of his children had died in the disaster brought about by Boutis.
Just thinking about this made him feel an indescribable sense of sorrow.
What pained him the most was that he couldn't see any hope of revenge, nor could he see the dawn of his family's glory returning.
I'm already very old, and I was previously injured. I don't dare to use Beyonder powers unless it's absolutely necessary. It will cause me to lose control or cause a curse to descend … What's the future of the House of Abraham? Lawrence took a sip of Fermo coffee and fell into a long silence.
…
After returning to her rented apartment, Fors immediately entered her bedroom and locked the wooden door.
She sat on the edge of the bed, adjusted her state, and softly recited the honorific name that represented hope and future.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era.
"You are the mysterious ruler above the gray fog.
"You are the King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck.
"I wish to pray to you and tell you what happened to me today.
"I met the elder brother of the husband of the old lady who made me an Apprentice. He's suspected to be a member of a certain family …
"I hid the matters related to mysticism, but I'm worried that he has extremely powerful divination abilities and can find out the complete truth …"
…
At this moment, Klein happened to be above the gray fog.
He saw the crimson star representing Magicians expand outwards, causing ripples. He heard layers of pleas constantly spread out.
After figuring out the details, Klein tapped the edge of the long ancient table with his finger and muttered to himself, Very cautious.
You know to seek help from The Fool.
"Furthermore, your guess is correct. The corresponding Sequence 7 of Apprentice is Astrologer …"
Recently, he had been studying the Book of Secrets and quickly came up with a plan that could help the other party interfere with divination through a ritual.
I have to say, after advancing to Sequence 7 and obtaining the Book of Secrets, I'm becoming more and more like a true deity above the gray fog. Of course, it's still an empty shell for now …
Speaking of which, I've performed in front of Miss Justice and Mr. The Hanging Man many times, perfectly fooling them. Why didn't I receive the corresponding spirituality feedback? The progress of the potion didn't speed up either. Does it have to be in the real World? Hmm, it could also be that the "cheers" of the audience are blocked by the gray fog, preventing them from directly affecting me. It's just like how the Eternal Blazing Sun and the True Creator are unable to penetrate the gray fog and find this mysterious space …
From the looks of it, the reaction of the gray fog and this mysterious space is very mechanical. It's not agile enough and lacks intelligence … However, to me, this is actually a good thing …
Amidst his thoughts, Klein conjured the corresponding knowledge into an ancient goatskin parchment and threw it into the crimson star representing Magicians.
Suddenly, an endless grayish-white fog appeared in front of Fors, and an illusory yellowish-brown goatskin descended from the sky.
She saw the knowledge written on it, and her heart calmed down.
With Mr. Fool taking action, that Mr. Lawrence definitely wouldn't be able to obtain the correct revelation from his divination! Fors sincerely expressed her gratitude and busied herself preparing for the ritual.
She had seen many evil spirits harm people, so she didn't really trust The Fool that much. However, the curse of the full moon made her rely on him.
At worst, I'll just lose my life. Without Mr. Fool's help, I would've already lost control and become a monster during the last Blood Moon … Every day I live is one more day of gain. This is all bestowed by Mr. Fool. He can take it back whenever he wants … Uh, it's best not to take it back … Fors took a deep breath and lit the two candles that symbolized The Fool.
The initial steps of the ritual were no different from what she had previously mastered. When the candles were lit, essential oils, extract, herbal powder, and other items were thrown into the fire.
When a clear and ethereal fragrance filled the room and a thin, illusory fog enveloped the entire altar, Fors quickly adjusted her body and mind according to the contents recorded on the goatskin. She entered Cogitation and silently chanted the corresponding honorific name of The Fool over and over again.
Such monotonous and repetitive actions made Fors, who had already calmed down from her visualization, slowly enter a state of deep sleep and spirituality. She was in a daze, but she also maintained a strange lucidity. She felt that her mind was drifting and constantly rising.
This was somewhat similar to the process of using external objects to form a secret deed, but there were many differences. This was a technique of mediumship, used to communicate with spirits of a higher level. At its peak, it could even allow Beyonders to roam the spirit world while maintaining a strange lucidity.
Some Beyonders who were good at influencing the mind called it artificial sleepwalking. They could use hypnosis and other techniques to make ordinary people enter such a state.
That way, ordinary people would appear to be asleep, but they would be able to answer questions. They would appear to have their eyes and mouth closed, but they would be able to discover the various Spirit Bodies around them and complete a certain level of communication.
The reason why Klein didn't allow Fors to use the secret deed ritual was that it could only give knowledge, direct effects such as purification or erosion, allowing the other party's mind to obtain a wondrous experience. It couldn't interfere with another person's divination or other matters.
To put it simply, the secret deed ritual directly affected the target's Soul Body, Astral Projection, Body of Heart and Mind, and Ether Body. Any positive or negative states related to them would be eliminated. The ritual under artificial sleepwalking could allow Klein to do some indirect things to deal with the intrusions from the outside world.
In a daze, Fors felt that she had drifted back to the towering ancient palace above the gray fog. She saw Mr. Fool sitting high above, looking down at everything.
Klein looked at the Magicians's illusory figure outlined by the crimson starlight and calmly picked up a paper figurine that he had found in the junk pile in the corner.
As a Seer who had advanced twice, he had many ways to interfere with the divination of others without the help of mystical items.
At that moment, due to the ritual's influence, the mysterious space above the gray fog trembled slightly, and some of its power flowed due to it being pried open.
Klein pressed his left hand on the Dark Emperor card on the surface of the long bronze table, allowing it to connect with his Spirit Body and raise his level. It was just like how he had used the Flaring Sun Charm and Aztec's copper whistle to strengthen his Spirit Body and raise his level.
Right on the heels of that, with a flick of his right wrist, he threw the paper figurine out.
The paper figurine suddenly enlarged, and twelve pairs of black angel wings that were cut out of paper grew out of its back. The feathers were lifelike.
The paper "angel" quickly pierced through the crimson light and overlapped with the illusory figure of the Magicians.
Without a sound, it began to burn and completely disappeared.
The half-awake Fors seemed to see a dignified and solemn angel. She saw the other party using many pairs of pitch-black wings to wrap around her!
After an unknown period of time, Fors suddenly woke up from her "artificial sleepwalking" state. In front of her were the three candles burning quietly on the altar and the fog that permeated the entire room. Her nose was filled with the familiar fragrance of tranquility and ethereal.
Angel … Fors fell into a daze and momentarily forgot to end the ritual.
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