The Secret Master

 The crimson moon high above hung quietly in the darkness, illuminating the gradually quieting "University City" of Tingen. Klein stood in front of his desk, looking down at the cold and deserted Narcissus Street through the bulging window, and heard the distant sound of a carriage speeding past without any noise. He picked up the silver-white pocket watch with the vine pattern, snapped it open with a click, glanced at it, then reached out and pulled the curtain closed, allowing the yellowish light from the gas lamp to reflect more on the bedroom. Klein turned around unhurriedly, locked the door, and closed the valve. The entire room was immediately enveloped in darkness, only a few faint red moonlight through the curtains brought color and the night scene that gave birth to many folk tales. In such an environment, Klein took out a silver knife obtained through application, in his mind drew a ball of light, preparing to enter a semi-meditative state in advance. He gathered his energy, following the previous practice, let the spirituality burst out through the tip of the knife, and let them follow its movement, combining with the environment in a wonderful way, sealing the room. He was guarding against possible abnormal fluctuations that might occur later, fearing that Benson and Melissa might be awakened as a result. Then, Klein put down the knife, walked counterclockwise four steps, each step accompanied by a spell from the earth. The constant shouting and murmuring came, the constant madness and pain enveloped him, he tried to control himself, enduring the most difficult and dangerous stage almost in a semi-dazed state. The grayish-white fog was boundless, the deep red "stars" were far or near, the majestic temple seemed like a dead giant standing there, everything in Klein's eyes was the same as before, without any change, the silence and ancientness accumulated over thousands or tens of thousands of years rushed towards him. No, there were still changes! Klein muttered to himself silently, his gaze fixed on a deep red "star" nearby. That was the star symbolizing "Justice!" This "star"'s deep red continuously contracted and expanded, not much in extent, but persistent. Klein carefully unfolded his own spirituality and spread it towards the deep red. Just as they touched, a buzzing sound suddenly came from his mind, he saw blurry and distorted images, heard vague and overlapping prayers: "Those fools not belonging to this era;" "You are the mysterious master above the fog;" "You are the yellow-black king in charge of good fortune." "I pray for your help." "I pray for your favor." "I pray that you let me have a good dream." ... "I pray that you will grant me a good dream." ... "I beseech you to grant me a good dream." ... The female voice kept echoing, layer upon layer, and Klein's spirit became agitated and chaotic, just like when he was about to fall asleep but suddenly heard someone upstairs banging on the table and stomping on the floor, arguing. He suppressed his emotions and used the method of meditation to calm down the impulse, carefully analyzing the blurry images that emerged before his eyes. That was a girl in a white robe, with smooth and bright blonde hair. She was standing in front of four flickering flames, respectfully bowing her head and constantly reciting. From the distorted image, Klein managed to recognize that this was "Justice" Miss. At this point, he was completely certain that the ritual incantation he had conceived could precisely point here, to him! This filled him with a sense of achievement, making him feel that his exploration from nothing to something was very effective. I won't boast about being so great... Klein's mood improved, and he felt that the pleading sounds fluttering around his ears became acceptable. His heart stirred, and he attempted to convey the "answer" he had sketched in his mind through the subtle connection to the "deep red" star: "I know." ...... The grey fog was thickly spreading before him, and a distorted and blurry figure stood at the very center. His eyes showed deep red hues as he spoke, his voice echoing continuously in the empty and featureless world: "I know." "I know." "I know." ... Audrey Hall suddenly woke up, sat up in bed, and her mind was filled with the images from her dream. She clearly knew that she had dreamed of the Fool, the mysterious Fool who resided above the mist! "Is this the response to my morning prayer?" Audrey, who quickly entered the "audience" state, analyzed calmly. Although she didn't understand why the Fool didn't respond immediately but waited until the night, she was still deeply impressed by the effectiveness of the ritual magic and the real usefulness of those several incantations. She had never received a response when she prayed to the Goddess of Night before! Mr. Fool, even if he wasn't a deity yet, should be quite similar... Audrey slowly inhaled and then slowly exhaled. Since the other party was an unstoppable powerful being, she quickly threw her worries aside and began to think about what to do next: "First, completely digest the 'audience' potion... My 'performance' was pretty good." "Second, look for the Psychological Alchemy Society." "Third, see if I can get the potion recipe for 'Reader' from Mr. Fool, or clues from the Psychological Alchemy Society." "However, every divine-like being has its own complete sequence chain, and they probably don't know the formulas for other sequence paths... This new extraordinary organization, the Psychological Alchemy Society, may not be qualified to receive the attention of Mr. Fool..." ...... Breaking away from the contact, Klein sat down comfortably at the very front of the bronze long table. He was completely enveloped in a grey fog, leaning back against the chair back, his hands clenched and pressed against his mouth, recalling and scrutinizing the process that just occurred. At this moment, in this grey fog world, there was only him as a living being. Everything else was silent. "It seems that only information can be passed from here, and it's impossible to mobilize the power here through this... It seems that my previous ingenious idea won't work." Klein kept gently tapping his mouth, silently summarizing. His original plan was that if the designed incantation and ritual were effective, then he would try to see if he could bind himself to this grey fog world in this way, thereby leveraging the power of this mysterious space. At that time, he could pray to himself, ingeniously bypassing the restrictions, mysteries and dangers, and making full use of the grey fog world. For example, he could first hold a ritual and pray to "himself" for the granting of magic, then enter above the grey fog and respond to this prayer, bestowing the gift. "It seems that I still thought too highly of it... My understanding and mastery of this grey fog world are far from that level..." Klein shook his head and self-mockingly prepared to leave. Just then, he saw the deep red "star" symbolizing the "Hangman" also began to contract and expand, and heard the ethereal and intangible voice spreading in circles. "Just happened to encounter the 'Hangman' holding a ritual?" Klein nodded thoughtfully. He was sitting at the very front of the bronze long table, extending his hand to gently tap the "star". Spiritual energy spread out, touching the constantly contracting and expanding deep red. He heard the low and overlapping prayers of the "Hangman", and saw blurry images. In the image, the "Hangman" was wearing a pure black robe, standing in front of four flames, with spiritual energy forming walls around him, blocking the influence from the outside. Klein didn't respond immediately. He just sat there quietly, listening quietly. "... "You are the yellow and black king who holds the power of good fortune." "I beseech your assistance." ... After the "Hangman" finished his prayer, he waited for a moment. Seeing no response, he began to dismantle the spiritual barrier, extinguish the flames, and tidy up the altar. In the end, he reached out and wiped his hand, and a mist of water spread everywhere. The table serving as the altar immediately took on a brand new look. "Water magic... The gift of the storm... The 'Hangman' is indeed, at least, the 'Navigator'..." Klein nodded slightly. Before the image disappeared, he transmitted the "response" in the desired way into that deep red mass. ...... Alger Wilson was in the capital of the Rothed Islands, "The Generous City". He didn't go with the crew to the famous "Red Theatre" here, but stayed in the inn, closing the doors and windows tightly, and attempting the ritual described by the Fool. With practiced ease, he completed the prayer, then waited patiently for a while, but received no response. "It seems this attempt wasn't successful... Mr. Fool needs to find another way... " he thought, feeling both relieved and slightly disappointed. Finishing the aftermath, Alger decided to go downstairs to get a "Liranzi" - alcohol helps enhance the abilities of the "Furious People", so the "Lord of the Storms'" substitutes all enjoy this "drink". Opening the door of the room, Alger was about to step out when suddenly his vision blurred, and he saw the corridor filled with illusory and boundless gray fog, and a blurry figure sitting in the farthest part, as if sitting on a high and lofty throne. "I know it." A familiar and deep voice echoed in his ears, making him stand still, with a slight headache in his head. Alger's eyes suddenly deepened, and when he looked around, he found that everything was still the same as before, still the creaking floor when stepped on, still the old wall candlesticks, still the not very clean corridor. I know it... There seemed to be voices echoing in his ears again. His face turned dark, he lightly pounded his chest with his fist, but failed to utter the respectful words to the Lord of the Storms. After a long silence, Alger's expression returned to normal, but his gaze became even deeper. ...... Above the grey fog, Klein didn't waste any time. Once the remaining sounds had all subsided into silence, he wrapped himself in spirituality and plunged into the fog, into the material world. The light and shadow flickered rapidly before his eyes, like scenes played at a speed dozens of times faster than normal. After a moment of dizziness in his head, Klein saw the curtains illuminated by crimson moonlight, and the blurry outlines of the desk and bookshelves. He picked up the silver knife again and removed the spiritual barrier of the room. Then, in a sudden gust of wind, he quietly opened the door and glanced at the corridor. Seeing that there was no movement in his brother Benson's room and his sister Melissa's room, he finally relaxed completely. "This 'reversal ritual' is simply essential for a home trip... It's both covert and magical..." Klein murmured silently, closed the door again, and walked towards the bed. His "task" for tomorrow is to go to the underground trading market for extraordinary items with Old Neil.