Chapter 129: First Gathering

Chapter 129: First Gathering.

Mo Fei pondered internally; he had to keep his own rules. ’What can I offer? I have nothing; I don’t even have money to give..."

Despite the sweating panic clawing at his inner thoughts, the physical manifestation of the Cosmic Jester remained absolutely terrifying. The mist surrounding them surged with heavy waves.

Mo Fei forced himself to speak and maintained his tone detached and cold. "Ah, continue, Mr. Courage."

Mr. Courage felt the gaze of the massive Divine Serpent behind the throne, which shifted slightly, its golden eyes narrowing as it locked onto his astral form. Silas swallowed, interpreting the deity’s chilling calm as a sign of supreme indifference, and the one who was waiting to answer showed him how much the words mattered.

To a primordial god who walked beyond the sun, a mid-Ordinal formula was probably nothing more than a childish toy, yet he still had to at least tell it since it was the only thing he had. "Yes, Mr. Mysteries."

Silas stammered and bowed his head lower. "The underground steam factions have discovered that the Bloodborne Sea’s tides react directly to a conceptual catalyst. The stolen notebook I possess details the needs to ignite an awakening ritual for any dormant artifact within those waters. It forces a sleeping item to align with the host’s current Ordinal path."

Silas stopped as he risked a brief glance toward the impenetrable cloud of mist.

Mo Fei, hidden behind the mist, stared at him, but he didn’t speak immediately and considered his words before continuing. "Ah, although they aren’t relevant to me, but they may strengthen our organizations. As for an equal exchange..."

He stopped and pondered while Silas waited for his next words. ’What can I give him... oh wait, he said that he has a stolen notebook... could it be that someone may have been after him? If I’m wrong, then I’d mess up badly.’ Finally, he spoke. "Mr. Courage, if I’m not wrong, you have stolen those books, right? I have a valuable thing, which is protection. Go to the entrance of the Ciradyl where the ship gathers, and you will meet someone there."

Mr. Courage put his hand on his chest and bowed slightly before stepping back to his seat. "That is more valuable, Mr. Mysteries, but..."

Mo Fei’s expression tensed as he heard the word, yet he spoke. "Continue."

"Honorable Mysteries. I only ask for a shred of guidance. A simple confirmation... is the Bloodborne Sea currently safe for someone of my status to enter?"

’He wants to know if the sea is safe.’ Mo Fei heaved a sigh of relief inwardly.

Bloodborne Sea wasn’t safe, of course he knew that the Midnight Wings had already warned him it was an extremely dangerous zone bound in absolute chaos, but well, of course as the supreme leader of the Lenormand Club, he couldn’t just give a simple, civilian answer.

He leaned his head back against the throne, letting out a low chuckle that resounded through the thirteen seats. "Mr. Courage... For a low Ordinal, entering those waters without a tether is an invitation to have your flesh peeled away by the cosmic beings. However... the formula you possess is indeed a valid key. The catalyst you mentioned will temporarily anchor the volatile conceptual domain around you. But heed my warning: the full moon is approaching. When the tides turn crimson, even the Mid Ordinals must run."

Silas trembled from the revelation. The deity hadn’t just answered his question; He had confirmed the timeline. "Thank you... Mysteries." Silas whispered, completely awed.

"Well then, now you may proceed to show the notebook. Focus on your thoughts and call them out."

Mr. Courage focused on his thoughts, projecting the layout of the stolen notebook directly into the space before him.

Mo Fei waved his hand as the notebook opened up, showing the texts about an Authority called the Threadbinder. He had heard it before; it was the ritual to become an Ascended of the Threadbinder.

Across the table, Miss Sage, who had been observing the transaction, thought.

’That ritual is different from the book my family bought for me... so that indeed was fake?’ She raised her hand to take the permission to speak. "The Mysteries, can I speak now?"

Mo Fei gave her permission as she spoke. "Mr. Courage, if you don’t mind, can I look at the page too? I’ll exchange its value in money terms."

"I accept the value, Miss Sage."

Avrill purred as she finally got the true page for the Ascension. She closed her eyes and hummed inwardly before reaching her hand toward the page and pulling the value through her mind.

She bowed down after exchanging the items.

Zhuo, however, sat in silence, his young mind absorbing every terrifying piece of information. To his left sat a man who had formulas for awakening an artifact, and to his right sat a woman who seemed to be a royal.

Mo Fei’s gaze locked on the text of the next page of the book. ’Hm... the shadow eaters, so they are the ones standing there.’

Just then, the Mirror of Truth spoke first. "Mr. Mysteries. You may have to stop this meeting now, there is something important."

Hearing that feminine voice, Mr. Courage leaned against his chair as he stared at the artifact resting near the Mysterious deity’s throne. It was a grade 0 artifact...

’It has consciousness... it is a grade... 0 artifact. Just what Mr. Mysteries are true.’ He looked at the Divine mist with wide eyes as the dark outlines hid his identity and the shadow of the Mysteries stretched long, reaching toward the endless realm.

’He has grade 0 artifacts; maybe he has more... and I gave him a mere mid-grade artifact formula..."

Mo Fei knew he had to cut this meeting short before his astral form dissolved. He slowly rose from his throne, and the Divine Serpent let out a hiss that signaled the end of the audience. The surrounding twelve cards on the table dissolved back into the stone.

In place of Mo Fei, the Divine Serpent spoke. "The stage for today is closed. The next meeting will occur at midnight next Sunday, so be prepared." The Serpent’s commanding voice echoed through the realm, mixed with the ancient tone.

"Return to your paths. When the fog calls again, the Lenormand Club shall gather once more." Mo Fei spoke, and with a sudden wave of his hand, the crimson pillars of light erupted once more.

Flash! Flash!

Silas and Avrill vanished instantly first; their astral forms snapped violently back to their physical bodies. Finally, he severed the connection with Zhuo before a final glance at him.

Flash!

Zhuo’s consciousness returned, leaving Mo Fei entirely alone in the collapsing, silent grey void as his own soul hurtled back down toward his burning, blood-soaked room in Ciradyl.

***

Silas lay on the floor of the ship as he opened his slowly. In the room, a few people were scattered around, searching for something.

His gaze lay on a knife nearby; all of them had believed Silas had died.

One of their gazes stopped near Silas, who was still on the ground.

The man slowly moved toward him when he noticed a stir in the dead body as his hand reached toward its shoulder, but Silas quickly moved first.

He surged upward from the floorboards and slammed his palm into the stranger’s throat. The man gasped, then stumbled backward into the arms of his companions. Silas spun, grabbing the fallen knife from the floor as his dark brown eyes scanned the room with the feral alertness of a cornered animal.

There were four men who were all armed, staring at him like he had risen from the dead. Which, Silas realized, was precisely what they believed.

"I told you he was still breathing." One of them muttered, his hand resting on a flintlock pistol at his belt. "The captain said to confirm the body before we dumped it."

Silas’s mind raced. The notebook was still hidden inside his coat. The formula. The Bloodborne Sea. Mr. Mysteries had given him protection—but the protection had not yet arrived. He needed to survive the next few minutes first, just then he quickly slammed the knife into the man’s head.

"You didn’t confirm it hard enough." Silas spoke in his deep, hoarse tone and lunged toward them.

The first man went down with a knife to the temple. The second fired his pistol, but Silas ducked low and drove his shoulder into the man’s gut and crashed him against a crate of stolen goods, the wood splintering beneath them before grabbing the gun and shooting the man in his throat.

The third man drew his cutlass and rushed, but Silas caught his wrist and pulled the knife from the first man and stabbed him too.

The fourth man had already run away by then.

Silas stood over them, breathing hard as his hand turned bloody. He touched his chest, feeling the reassuring weight of the notebook still hidden beneath his shirt.

Then he heard a whistle from the docks and looked outside through the window as he noticed that the ship had almost arrived at Atlasia and would only take six days before it arrived at Ciradyl, where the protection might have been waiting.

He grabbed his new purple coat and slipped out the back of the ship, disappearing into the night to wait for it to arrive.