Chapter 965: Midnight

Lu Mi had seen in the data provided by the Major Arcana cards that Police Headquarters’ No. 1 Yagaci was modeled after the teacher of the “Magician” Lady—Duke of the Tudor Empire, the strongest Angel-King of the Fourth Era, Mr. Berthier Abraham of the “Door” Path.

And within this description, there was one very important speculation:

The dream symbol of the sole existence of the “Apprentice” Path.

Similarly, the Major Arcana cards deduced that the active Amon in the dream was a symbol of the sole existence of the “Thief” Path, yet often also the original body.

This was because Amon had once been the true god of the “Thief” Path, possessing its sole existence for thousands of years, leaving behind intense spiritual imprints within the corresponding sole existence—so much so that, for a long time prior, He was effectively the sole existence of the “Thief” Path.

Therefore, before Amon’s spiritual imprint within the “Thief” Path’s sole existence was completely worn away, Amon remained deeply connected to that sole existence, able to freely enter and exit this dream metropolis—even if discovered and expelled by the Heavenly Sovereign, He could re-enter without limit.

The sole existence of the “Thief” Path was part of this true dream, equivalent to Amon himself being part of it; to prevent Amon from re-entering or to fully restrict Him from acting at all, the Major Arcana cards deduced, only three methods existed:

First, remove the sole existence of the “Thief” Path and sever it; second, swiftly erase Amon’s spiritual imprint from that sole existence; third, reach an accord with Mr. “The Fool” to jointly exclude Amon.

Clearly, none of these three methods were viable—the second, seemingly the most feasible, required the Heavenly Sovereign to hold overwhelming advantage within the dream, nearly half-awake; otherwise, in a state of slumber, amid fierce conflict with Mr. “The Fool,” even as a Great Existence, He could not possibly erase Amon’s spiritual imprint from the “Thief” Path’s sole existence in a short time.

Of course, Amon still faced restrictions within the dream metropolis—though the nature of those restrictions was unknown to the Major Arcana cards, they could only infer from Amon’s behavior that He was not entirely unrestrained.

Likewise, a spiritual imprint of Mr. “The Door” remained within the sole existence of the “Apprentice” Path, forming the dream image of Yagaci.

—Though the sole existence of the “Apprentice” Path had once been contained by Amon, making Him a dual-path true god, Amon had remained at this level for too short a time to fully erase Mr. “The Door”’s spiritual imprint.

As soon as Lu Mi retracted his body, he vanished from his spot, shifting toward another mirror, leaving only a few black flames drifting silently downward, burning away any traces he might have left behind.

That was the symbol of the “Door” Path’s sole existence—it must have some control over the mirror world; staying any longer in this mirror would surely expose him!

One or two seconds later, Lu Mi relocated to his second target location.

The dream image of the “Apprentice” Path’s sole existence was Yagaci; the dream image of the “Thief” Path’s sole existence was Amon… the dream image of the “Fortune-Teller” Path’s sole existence was Zhou Mingrui—also the core of the struggle between Mr. “The Fool” and the Heavenly Sovereign? Lu Mi thought, as he concealed his form and hid within the darkness.

He waited patiently until he was certain no one was following, then approached the glass surface and peered outward.

Outside was another office, currently unoccupied.

This was Officer Deng En’s office.

Lu Mi pulled out a denunciation letter and made it “float.”

The letter immediately flew through the mirror and landed on Deng En’s desk.

The moment it touched the wooden surface, a streak of black flame erupted from the mirror, swiftly engulfing it and revealing the invisible spider silk tightly binding the letter.

The black flame enveloped the letter, burning away residual traces and some of the silk, while the remaining strands retracted behind the mirror.

Lu Mi shifted position again, moving to the third mirror.

Outside was another office, belonging to Officer Wang William.

He was a powerful officer, corresponding to William Augustus VI, the former king of the Rune Kingdom—a man already dead.

The Major Arcana cards were somewhat puzzled: Mr. “The Fool”’s worldly incarnations had no connection with William Augustus VI; why did this dead king have a corresponding image in the dream metropolis?

Similar cases existed: William Augustus I, Henry Augustus I, and other ancestors of the Augustus family were all “active” within the dream metropolis’s police headquarters or courts, bearing the surname Wang.

The Major Arcana cards could only assume Mr. “The Fool” had many very ancient incarnations.

Perhaps the officers were in a meeting or on duty; Wang William’s office was also empty. Lu Mi successfully placed the denunciation letter, then randomly moved through the mirror world to another office, dropped his final letter, and avoided returning to Yagaci.

Then he returned to Star Dream Grocery, emerging from behind the mirror corresponding to the Magic Mirror Arloes.

“Could I borrow paper and a pen again?” Lu Mi asked politely as he approached the counter.

The shopkeeper placed the same paper and pen used earlier onto the counter.

Lu Mi began writing a letter to the Major Arcana cards, containing three main points:

First, remind them to watch over Rosan in reality and provide necessary protection; second, ask them to confirm Anderson Hood’s real-world condition; third, inform them that Li Keji had been arrested.

After mailing the letter and thanking them, Lu Mi returned to the gray sedan.

Anthony and Ludwig had already returned.

While Anthony had not yet started the car, Lu Mi briefly explained Stiano’s possible identity.

Anthony fell silent for a moment, then, as he started the car, remarked:

“Even gods were once weak; even gods once passed through stages like ours… This truly is the Path of the Divine—it makes the divine feel less distant, no longer inherently noble, no longer naturally divine…”

“Disenchantment?” Lu Mi asked, using his newly learned term.

Anthony steered the wheel and said:

“Yet they do indeed fight against evil gods and protect the people…”

“I remember in the industrial cities along the West Sea, the robed clergy regularly held ceremonies in factories; now it seems these were merely disguises for factory overhauls, the official commissioning of new machinery, and clergy getting close to frontline equipment…”

Anthony went on, recounting childhood religious tales and adult experiences with religious rituals; Lu Mi listened quietly, occasionally murmuring in agreement.

…………

Dechuang Garden, Building 5, Unit 1502.

Rosan was delighted to find Franca had returned to normal.

She asked curiously:

“What did you feel at the time?”

“Like a fish pulled from water, like a person kicked out of this world,” Franca described simply, avoiding any details that might make Rosan think of dreams.

Jianna then said:

“You need to be careful. The claws of evil forces are also trying to approach Zhou Mingrui and target those who have directly or indirectly aided him—we fear they may fixate on you.”

“Mm-hmm,” Rosan pointed to the new oil painting and sketches on the wall. “I’ve turned my room into a fortress—they’ll guard me while I sleep.”

Franca and Jianna followed Rosan’s finger and saw an oil painting of a colorful parrot.

Around the parrot were abstract, mottled color patches; when Franca and the others looked, the parrot’s eyes deliberately turned, as if saying, “Hey, I’m alive!”

After viewing the paintings in the living room and bedroom, Jianna nodded:

“The painter’s ability is truly extraordinary.”

“But if you trust us, we can provide you with a final layer of protection.”

“How?” Rosan asked.

Jianna did not hide it:

“Give us a bit of your blood and hair; we’ll make you a mirror double. Our two rooms’ straight-line distance is barely within the ability’s range, and we can pull our distances closer within your shamanic space to ensure effectiveness.”

“But this also means we can use that mirror double to easily and accurately curse you, kill you.”

Rosan fell silent.

After a long pause, she smiled:

“Let’s try it. If you really wanted to kill me, you had many chances these past few days.”

Near midnight, Rosan, already washed and ready, checked the doors, windows, and paintings, then lay on her bed and turned off the light.

In deep darkness, Rosan quickly fell asleep, continuing to guard the semi-transparent barrier.

As seconds passed, the mottled color patches on the parrot painting in the living room suddenly began to wriggle.

The colorful parrot sensed the change and opened its beak to cry out—but the patches surged forward, covering its mouth and pinning its wings.

Soon, the parrot was submerged and dissolved, becoming part of the patches.

The patches flowed like water out of the painting, leaving the canvas empty.

In the quiet night, they surged toward the bedroom, slipping through the door crack to reach Rosan’s bed.

Suddenly, the flow of patches rose upward, forming a human shape.

The mottled figure silently watched Rosan sleep for twenty to thirty seconds.

Finally, it reverted to the flow of patches, retracing its path back to the oil painting in the living room.

The patches wriggled, reconstructing the colorful parrot and its background.

The parrot was identical to before, its eyes still lively.

The next morning, Rosan woke up.

She first picked up her phone, checked her messages, then slowly rose to inspect her bedroom and living room.

“No problems,” Rosan sighed, heading toward the bathroom.

…………

After parting from Rosan and Franca, Jianna went out to observe the dream characters closest to Zhou Mingrui.

This was her and Anthony’s recent mission.

Of course, she had already submitted her resume to Hol Film Company, posing as an art student in performance.

Today, one of her or Anthony would contact Peng Deng, a very special dream figure.

(End of Chapter)