When he saw the flesh of red light he knew that he would be part of the tarot club. Hector sometimes thought if he would be brought there or if he should initiate a connection later.
He even thought if he should bother to begin with but the connections that later can come from it were too good to pass.
------
“What’s with this situation?” Klein Moretti or more precisely Zhou Mingrui suddenly looked around him and then lowered his head down to discover that he was floating at the edge of an endless fog.
The fog was flowing like water and was dotted with a lot of crimson ‘stars.’ Some of them were enormous while others were tiny. There was a sense of them being hidden in the deep depths, while others floated over the surface of this water-like fog.
Looking at the seemingly holographic sight, Klein Moretti reached out his right hand in a half-confused, half-exploring manner to try to touch the crimson ‘star’ that was seemingly floating on the surface. He was trying to find a way to leave this place.
When his hand touched the surface of that star, a watermark suddenly appeared from within his body and agitated the stars into a “crimson” burst. It looked like a dreamlike burning of flames. Klein Moretti got a fright from it. He retracted his right hand in a panic but accidentally touched two more crimson stars.
As a result, three stars burst with splendid light as well. In turn, Klein Moretti felt his mind empty and his spirit dissipated.
-----
In the Loen Kingdom’s capital, Backlund. Inside a luxurious-looking villa in the royal district.
“Mirror, mirror, awaken…
“In the name of the Hall family, I command you to awaken!”
After more than 10 minutes, she finally chose to give up and pouted her lips in a grievance. She said in a soft murmur, “Father was indeed lying to me. He always tells me that this mirror was the treasure of the Roman Empire’s Dark Emperor, and that it is an extraordinary item…”
Her voice trailed off. The bronze mirror which rested on the dresser suddenly glowed with a crimson light that shrouded her completely.
------
In the Sonia Sea, a three-masted sailboat that looked like an obvious relic was navigating through a storm.
“We’re still short on the Ghost Shark’s blood…” Alger murmured.
Then at this moment, a crimson burst appeared in the space between the glass bottle and the surface of his palm. In an instant, it enveloped the surroundings as well.
-----
In the fog of gray mist, Audrey Hall regained her sight. She started reckoning the situation in a state of horror and confusion when she noticed the blurry image of people on the opposite side of her doing the same as well.
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Hector looked at the people before him and felt joy at the thought that he doesn't need to try to contact The Fool later on. But on the surface, he remained stoic but left his amazement to be shown.
And amazed he was. To see endless Grey fog was different than to read about it.
Then he heard a woman shrouded by the fog who Hector remembered was Audrey Hall speak "Sir, Where is this?" She spoke with a slightly trembling tone
Alger too was dumbfounded but spoke at the same time "What do you want to do?"
Hector wanted to yell 'He wants to probe you!' like Klein was some kind of alien but he held his tongue as acting weird wouldn't be best, but still funny.
Unfortunately because of the grey fog, he couldn't see his confused state.
There was a brief silence above the gray fog for a few seconds then Hector heard Klein speak "An attempt."
Hector was thinking about how should he act here. He didn't want to create some major butterfly effects. At the same time, he can't remain silent the whole time.
Audrey took a deep breath, revealing an impeccable, courteous smile while trying to hide her emotions. She asked in a somewhat perturbed way, “Sir, is the attempt over? Might you permit our return?”
Then Hector heard Kleins respond with a chuckle and spoke. "Of course, if you make a formal request, you can return this very moment.”
When I think about it then doesn't The Fool chuckle often when he speaks?
Hector could swear that Audry is even slightly shaking, but then she spoke in a tempted and anticipative manner "This is such a wonderful experience… Yes, I have always been hoping that something like this would happen. I mean—I like mysteries and supernatural miracles. No, my point is—what I mean is that, Sir, what can I do to become a Beyonder?”
When she spoke Hector could hear her voice getting more excited. And were filled with hope and expectations.
Then Hector saw a number of towering stone pillars had risen around them. Above them was a vast dome that encapsulated them.
This entire edifice looked magnificent, grand, and lofty, just like a legendary palace for giants. Directly under the dome where the gray fog gathered, a long, bronze table appeared with ten high-back chairs on either side in a symmetrical arrangement. The back of each chair dazzled and shone faintly with crimson red, drawing the outlines of weird constellations that differed from reality.
Audrey and Alger sat face-to-face, sitting next to the Seat of Honor, while Hector sat on Alger's right.
"Fascinating," Hector said while he was touching the table. To see it in person is so much better than reading about it.
"You are from Loen, right?" Hector heard Alger speak while looking at Audrey. “If you want to become a Beyonder, join the Churches of either the Evernight Goddess, the Lord of Storms, or the God of Steam and Machinery.
“The majority of us will not meet a Beyonder our entire lives. This has caused churches, and even some clergies within some of the biggest churches, to suspect the same. While this is the case, I am certain to tell you that Beyonders still exist in courts, tribunals, and executive agencies. They are still fighting against the dangers that grow in the dark, only that their numbers are much fewer as compared to before and during the early days of the Iron Age.”
If only you knew the truth about the world. Hector thought as he imagined how Earth looked in its golden age. He was from a different... reality... universe? He wasn't sure but from what he knew then when Zhou was still only Zhou Earth looked similar to his own.
Hector could see Audrey's disappointment as he sighted and spoke. "Mister, I know all about what you just said; I even know more than that, including the Nighthawks, the Mandated Punisher, and the Machinery Hivemind, but I don’t want to lose my freedom.”
Hector thought it was time to say something and hoped to not mess it up "There is nothing precious that you can get without sacrifices."
Alger looked at him and gave low-sounding laugh, "Yes that is correct. If you don’t consider joining churches and accepting their given challenges, you can only seek the royal families and the few nobles with family histories of more than a thousand years. If not, you can rely on your luck to search for clandestine evil organizations.”
While there were some movements by Audrey Hector could not see them because of the gray fog and only hear "Are there no other solutions?"