Chapter 751: Night Country

After everyone took turns sharing some of their observations, it was soon "Xingxing" Leonard's turn to speak.

He first let out a long sigh, then leaned back against the chair, looked down at the lowest‑ranked "World", and said in a deep tone: "A Meng has become 'Error'."

"Error?" "Justice" Audrey asked the question that most people shared.

"This is the name of Path Sequence 0 of the 'Thief', and besides 'Error', A Meng may also have seized the authority of the 'Gate' path; He will become a true god who occupies two paths."

"World" German Spalo spoke up to answer everyone's doubts.

The tarot meeting fell silent again, so quiet that even the sound of someone swallowing nearby could be heard.

After the wordless silence, Clayne, manipulating the minor role "World", continued speaking:

"You needn't worry too much; before He achieves His goal, He will hardly do anything conspicuous that would affect your lives, just like the former Seven Gods, who merely existed."

Does that mean that after achieving His purpose, A Meng might do things that affect our lives? The members of the tarot meeting exchanged glances for a moment, trying to digest the news that A Meng would become a true god of two paths.

After a pause, "Chariot" Anderson was the first to speak, sighing in a joking tone:

"The past week was truly spectacular, but unfortunately, the vast majority of us couldn't even get into the audience seats."

"World" German Spalo replied with a sigh, "It's not a bad thing; the more you know, the more you bear, the more danger there is."

"Chariot" Anderson shook his head, "At least we know why we live and why we die, instead of falling in a suddenly erupting war or a disaster whose cause we don't know."

"Since becoming an 'Ironblood Knight', I've suddenly had many feelings I've never had before; I find that I seem always to be involved, either actively or passively, in chaos and conflict, and thus have seen many innocents fall in the turmoil."

Leikton turned his head to glance at Anderson, noticing his expression was somewhat solemn, as if his sigh and doubt were truly heartfelt.

After a moment of thought, he continued:

"This is inevitable; the 'Red Priest' path represents chaos, calamity, and war. As the sequence rises, you inevitably gravitate toward this direction, attracting disaster while being drawn to it."

"Frequent exposure to war and various calamities easily leaves lingering effects; perhaps you need a psychologist's guidance."

"Justice" Audrey continued Leikton's words, "Mr. 'White Tower' is right, especially in this world that possesses various extraordinary powers; battlefields are perfect venues for brewing a 'Spiritual Plague',"

As a "Manipulator", she naturally could sense the issues appearing on "Chariot" Anderson; being a fellow tarot member, she hoped he would take it seriously and promptly find a qualified psychologist to address the hidden mental problems.

Anderson lightly nodded, sighing slightly, "I understand. Once I finish reading the books in my room, I'll go find the archbishop I know to give me some psychological counseling."

Audrey was a bit puzzled, not seeing the connection between reading books and seeking help for mental issues, but seeing Anderson's resigned yet calm expression, she didn't raise her question.

After a round of discussion, this week's tarot meeting drew to a close; after everyone rose and bowed, strands of deep crimson light rose, dissolving the vague silhouettes within the palace, leaving only Clayne and the projection he had pulled from a historical fissure.

At that moment, Clayne's figure suddenly changed; a thin gray mist again enveloped his body, as if he were draped in a jet‑black classical robe, appearing mysterious and eerie.

Thin, transparent, slick tendrils emerged from beneath the robe, flailing wildly around.

Leikton and Russell exchanged a glance, said nothing, and sat silently in their seats, their bodies inexplicably becoming ethereal, as if they did not exist, untouched by the tendrils.

After about ten seconds, all the anomalies vanished; the gray mist around Clayne and the black classical robe that had extended from his body disappeared, and the erratically flailing slick tendrils turned into spirit insects, returning to his body.

He let out another long sigh and said to Leikton and Russell:

"The 'Mysterious Secret Servant' trait aggregated by the 'Source Fortress' has some issues; the spiritual imprint of the Celestial Venerable inside it is unusually active."

"If I hadn't been prepared—if, the moment I became a 'Mysterious Secret Servant', I hadn't immediately reclaimed Charatu's traits and retained His spiritual imprint, and if the 'World' German Spalo identity hadn't continuously played the role of a 'Mysterious Secret Servant'—I would have lost control as I ascended."

He paused, then curiously asked, "You must also have moments of uncontrollable madness; how do you usually get through them?"

Leikton's ethereal form re‑solidified as he replied offhand, "As an information entity, I can merge with the world's data; even if I go mad, no one notices, and I have ample data backups to restore my state instantly."

"However, from a certain perspective, I'm constantly going mad; it's just that the insane portion of information is suppressed and hard to surface."

"This is a peculiarity of information entities; the side effect is that my condition remains perpetually middling."

Russell shrugged, then said, "Going mad locked inside the divine realm, at least I won't go crazy in front of others like you; that would make me feel socially dead."

".": Clayne expressed his speechlessness with his expression.

After two seconds of wordless silence, he casually picked a topic and asked Russell, "Is attending the tarot meeting fun?"

The latter, leaning back in his chair, rubbed his chin with one hand and said, "Hmm, it's somewhat similar to Adam's Dusk Hermit gathering, but the atmosphere is more relaxed."

You also made a snarky comment; Clayne cleared his throat and steered the topic back: "What methods do you have for locating Antigonus?"

"There's no way," Leikton shook his head, then added, "If He is an angel of another path, or hasn't yet attained uniqueness, I could locate Him by sifting through all the world's data, but having already secured the 'Mysterious Secret Servant' with the Fool's uniqueness, I cannot find Him through data filtering."

Russell nodded in agreement, saying, "Likewise, He can deceive the rules, traversing all sorts of real or conceptual gaps; I cannot locate Him by twisting or exploiting the rules, unless I can master the 'Country of Disorder' and become the embodiment of all order."

Clayne sighed; although these answers were within his expectations, he still felt a bit helpless upon hearing them.

"I tried to locate Him using the aggregating effect of the 'Source Fortress' on this path, but likewise found no clues."

After a moment of thought, Leikton spoke up to remind:

"Perhaps you could try looking into the historical mists, the Night Country of the Fourth or even the Third Era, the age when the Second Era's ancient gods were active."

"This era no longer has the people and things He cherished, nor any anchor; as an 'Ancient Scholar', revisiting pleasant memories in history is also a way to strengthen one's own humanity."

Clayne's eyes lit up; empathizing, he thought it very plausible—just as when he became an 'Ancient Scholar' and, after gaining abundant spirituality, immediately ventured to the pre‑First Era's old times.

In the western district of Beckland, beneath St. Samuel's Cathedral, Leonard sat in his office, recounting to the parasite Pales inside his body the news he had heard at the tarot meeting.

He paused for a while before Pales finally sighed,

"I think I understand; after the previous 'Fool' regained power close to true‑god level, He directly sought Charatu and took the traits from Him."

"At the same time, A Meng beat Him to the Honnachis Mountains, either awakening or directly slaying Antigonus, and Antigonus, relying on his resurrection ability, escaped his madness and broke free from the Night Country sealed by 'Night'."

"This era no longer has an anchor belonging to Antigonus; relying solely on the secret counterpart will inevitably cause problems, and soon Antigonus may go mad again and then reveal himself."

"By then, the conflict between the 'Fool' and A Meng will erupt into the fiercest clash."

Leonard's expression was bewildered; before the old man explained, he hadn't imagined so many things.

After a moment of silence, he murmured, "Did A Meng help Antigonus to stop Mr. Fool from reclaiming the traits and authority? Who do you think will win the current struggle between Him and Mr. Fool?"

Pales snorted irritably, saying,

"Or what? He's already seized the 'Gate' authority; attempting to also take the Fool's authority would only cause a loss of control the instant he succeeds."

"As for which of them will become the ultimate victor, no one knows until the outcome appears; it's not just a battle between them, perhaps also a clash between the Astral Deities and the True Creator."

A fragment of Third Era history, Clayne, using the authentic history obtained from the "Night Goddess", finally illuminated the area, passed through the dense historical mist, and arrived in the Night Country of the Third Season.

Upon entering, he immediately saw the offspring of the "Destruction Demon Wolf", now the half‑Fool, Antigonus.

They sat quietly on a massive stone, like a passerby, a bystander, silently watching the frozen bits and pieces within this flash of history.

(End of chapter)