Chapter 168: Action

No. 2 King Avenue, Kingdom Museum; a shadow of a nearby building writhed, and Rekton stepped out of it.

He then took a roughly cut paper figure from his bosom, extended a finger and traced a symbol of concealment on the paper.

A dim light flickered over the rough paper figure, vanished in an instant, and the figure's presence seemed reduced to the extreme.

He gently tossed it, sending the paper figure into the spirit realm, where it drifted toward a pre‑set coordinate.

Upon arrival, the figure fell back from the spirit realm, landing precisely on the stack of Luoser's manuscripts.

It was a coordinate Rekton had left during his morning visit; the coordinate data was subtly hidden in the spirit‑realm sector corresponding to this exhibition hall, so the security staff never detected or cleared it.

The paper figure, upon landing, seemed to come alive, wiggled its limbs twice, then slowly stood up.

It is merely an ordinary paper figure, unable to bear much magic, thus cannot condense a form through illusion.

The symbol of the Peeking Eye on the figure pulsed with violet auras, eerily like a real eye.

Under Rekton's control, the little paper figure bobbed its head twice, raised a hand then a leg, as if adapting to its body.

In reality, Rekton found this first‑person manipulation of the paper figure amusing and couldn't resist playing longer.

After moving, the paper figure calmly leapt off the manuscript, turned, and prepared to retrieve the bookmark inside.

A lady's silhouette appeared in view as the paper figure turned.

She wore a ladies' shirt with a lace‑flower bow tie, a knee‑length gray skirt, long leather boots, and a soft hat with a draped fine‑grid black veil.

Startled, the paper figure stepped back a few paces, misjudged its distance from the desk edge, and nearly fell off.

"Did you see how surprised I made you?"

Beiernade's voice rang through the silent exhibition hall.

The paper figure did not answer Beiernade's question, but curiously surveyed the surroundings.

The Peeking Eye grafted onto the figure has limited power; Rekton cannot discern much, only vaguely sensing a spatial partition here.

Beiernade calmly stared at the wobbling paper figure before her, awaiting its reply.

The paper figure scratched its head in distress, as if wrestling with an excuse.

"You've become so obsessed with playing the paper figure that even your own personality is affected?"

Beiernade said, her tone unchanged.

"Uh, of course not; I just occasionally slow down my role and perspective, which is rather fun."

Rekton answered honestly.

Beiernade narrowed her eyes slightly and uttered a word stitched from Indist language:

"Role‑play?"

"Very apt description."

Rekton made the paper figure nod repeatedly, as if not catching Beiernade's probing.

Beiernade, who had been watching every move of the paper figure, turned her head toward the floor below.

The paper figure also glanced, then said in a giddy tone:

"A thief has arrived!"

Supporting the opened manuscript, the paper figure hopped back onto it.

"Aren't you the thief?"

Beiernade ignored the paper figure's actions; before her, the tiny figure could not stir a ripple.

"Uh, in that case, aren't you as well?"

The paper figure looked up at Beiernade and said.

Then, perhaps finding the upward gaze tiring, it simply lay down on Luoser's manuscript.

"Me?" Beiernade replied ambiguously, but did not finish the sentence.

Removing the Defilement Card before Beiernade is impossible; they can only watch Kelaien's next move.

Since the goal cannot be achieved, Rekton simply had the paper figure ask a question he was more curious about:

"Does the establishment of Elemental Dawn's opposition to the Moss Ascetic Society involve Steam's support and intent?"

"Why do you have that thought?"

Beiernade's eyes grew a bit stern as she looked at the paper figure.

The paper figure, brazenly crossing its legs, said:

"Some speculation."

"Elemental Dawn's clash with the Moss Ascetic Society may stem from differing philosophies, but the Moss Ascetic Society, as the earliest secret organization of the Fourth Era, means your rapid achievements must have other forces backing you; the most suspect is Steam."

Beiernade's expression shifted slightly, then quickly returned to calm.

Her calm gaze fixed on the paper figure made Rekton, hidden in a shadow outside the Kingdom Museum, slightly surprised; he felt her eyes pierced the obstacles and saw him.

"Do you think the Hidden Sage can outmaneuver Steam?"

Beiernade ultimately said only that.

Then she stared intently at the paper figure and at Rekton behind it.

Rekton had the paper figure act as a riddler:

"Steam's luck is great—perhaps too great—but every gift destiny bestows has already been secretly priced!"

Beiernade's brows furrowed, her gaze growing weighty:

"What do you know?"

The paper figure rolled over without speaking; Kelaien had arrived, and a faint, almost invisible human face outline suddenly emerged on the ceiling above.

The eerie face looked down on the hall, entirely missing the Beiernade and paper figure conversing below, as if they were in different dimensions.

Kelaien's spirit body descended swiftly, extending two hands toward different bookmarks; one hand grasped the bookmark within Luoser's manuscript where the paper figure stood.

Kelaien's motion could not deceive Beiernade; Rekton had to make the paper figure utter information that would draw Beiernade's attention, at least to let Kelaien's spirit touch the Defilement Card.

"The apocalypse is coming; everyone and non-humans must make final preparations, even the gods are no exception."

"Wah! Wah! Wah!"

"A shrill infant's cry suddenly rang out, echoing within the exhibition hall."

"The paper figurine's body instantly became covered in crack after crack, and Leikdun's control over it became intermittent, as if the connection could be lost at any moment."

"Kelaisen, in a spiritual state, seemed frozen, unable to make any movement."

"Black fine cracks split in the void, and eyeballs threaded with blood vessels shot out."

"With the appearance of these eyeballs, everything around solidified; even illusory spirits could not penetrate."

"\"Why did you only take the bookmark? \""

"Beiernadai stared at Kelaisen's spirit without emotion."

"It seemed that if she did not receive a satisfactory answer, this fragile spirit before her could be torn apart at any moment."

"Pap!"

"Outside the Kingdom Museum, Leikdun, hidden in a shadow, snapped his fingers."

"In the exhibition hall, the paper figurine covered in cracks suddenly burst into flames and exploded before Beiernadai could throw it out."

"But it caused little disturbance; the paper figurine's self-destruction was guided by Beiernadai into the Spirit World, leaving only a flicker of golden-yellow light."

"Kelaisen's spirit seized the opportunity, taking the two bookmarks just wrapped within it, and returned to Above the Grey Fog."

"The nearly transparent illusory spirit vanished instantly from Beiernadai's sight."

"Beiernadai's eyes showed no emotion; she merely stared quietly at the spot where Leikdun's self-detonation had occurred."

"Before the members of the Mechanical Heart arrived to investigate, Beiernadai's figure disappeared within the exhibition hall."

"Outside the Kingdom Museum, the shadow concealing Leikdun's form writhed for a moment, then returned to calm, but there was no one there."

"By drifting through the shadows, Leikdun quickly drifted away from Kingdom Avenue."

"Only then did he emerge from the shadows, glance at the Crimson Moon overhead, and Leikdun sighed helplessly:"

"\"Beiernadai probably thinks I'm in league with that strange spirit! \""

"\"The Blasphemy Sigil was taken by Kelaisen, but Beiernadai's attention fell on me. \""

"Leikdun shook his head helplessly; he knew Beiernadai would appear at the museum, but he hadn't expected that, as he passed by, he would happen to fall right before her eyes."

"\"Perhaps she had already foreseen this scene! \""

"\"She is a true master of prophecy! \""

"Leikdun muttered a couple of words under his breath, wandering aimlessly down the empty street."

"While divining Kelaisen's position, he discovered that Kelaisen was on the move."

"\"Tsk~ I don't know if Kelaisen can meet him. I can wait for him to come to my door so I can teleport over and harvest his traits! \""

"Leikdun stepped into the Spirit World and then swiftly pursued Kelaisen's location."

"In a certain house, Kelaisen held a Yellow Crystal Pendant in one hand and gripped the Universal Key in the other."

"He had to perform a divination before touching each door to decide whether to enter."

"He also constantly used divination to discern direction, ensuring he wouldn't get lost and end up back in the Kingdom Library."

"Kelaisen pressed the antiquated Universal Key against the wall, turned it slightly, and an invisible ripple spread outward."

"He did not enter immediately, but first took the Yellow Crystal Pendant in hand to perform a quick divination."

"This is the aftereffect of having been tricked several times by the Universal Key."

"If it weren't to minimize suspicion and avoid the Mechanical Heart tracking him through checks on nighttime pedestrians, Kelaisen would not want to use this miraculous item with outrageous side effects at all."

"(End of Chapter)"