Chapter 1278: A Change in Tier

Hearing The Fool's words, The Hanged Man Alger felt an inexplicable tremor in his heart, suddenly struck by a feeling reminiscent of when he prayed to the Lord of Storms on Palsu Island.

When he had greeted and bowed to The Fool moments earlier, he hadn't noticed any change in the other party—everything had seemed the same as always. But in this instant, he was certain that The Fool was different from before.

It was an experience of intuition. Alger couldn't articulate it precisely in words; he only felt that the figure wrapped within that layer of grayish-white mist now harbored thousands upon thousands of times more terror than before. A seemingly casual remark or a simple gesture could deliver absolute suppression in terms of spiritual tier.

The Fool had recovered even further... After The World had ventured into the Forsaken Land of the Gods and brought out the City of Silver, The Fool had recovered even further... Did He now possess the tier of a Sequence 0? If not for the Sailor Pathway's sensitivity toward higher-tier beings, I might never have noticed... The Hanged Man Alger had been about to speak, but at this moment he forgot what he had intended to say.

The Star Leonard looked around, saw that the other members were all maintaining silence, and cautiously spoke up: "According to the intelligence gathered so far, a god war did indeed take place previously. Among those confirmed to have appeared in the skies above Backlund were the Goddess of the Night, the God of War, and the Earth Mother. As for the outcome—I believe everyone here is quite clear on that. Do any of you have thoughts on this?"

At last week's Tarot gathering, Leonard had already brought up the relevant events and proactively asked The Fool what had actually happened.

Unfortunately, The Fool had only told him that "what He has been paying attention to lately is the Forsaken Land of the Gods," without giving a direct answer.

"I can't understand why that result came to pass. The Earth Mother and the God of War, this mother-and-son pair, joined forces—yet they were still defeated by the Goddess of the Night..." The Hermit Galadriely made no effort to conceal her puzzlement.

The Hanged Man Alger reined in his thoughts and said after careful consideration: "I received intelligence that the moment the god war ended, Feynapotter switched sides."

"That means..." Justice Audrey vaguely grasped something.

Just then, The Sun Derrick, following the example of the lady opposite him, raised his arm and said: "I think I know why."

"You?" The Moon Emlyn let out a skeptical sound. After all, The Sun had previously been cut off in the Forsaken Land of the Gods, and his understanding of the outside world relied entirely on what the other Tarot Club members had fed him. How could he possibly know more about the details of the god war than everyone present?

The Hanged Man Alger, knowing that The Sun was always honest, suppressed his curiosity and a trace of genuine excitement, and asked in a low voice: "Why?"

Derrick looked around the circle and said steadily: "You must promise before The Fool that you will not reveal what I am about to tell you."

"No problem," said The Hermit Galadriely, taking the lead.

After everyone made their promise under The Fool's witness, The Sun Derrick nodded: "The Earth Mother is not the Giant Queen Omibela. The real Omibela died long ago. Her remains are in the City of Silver."

The news landed like a bomb in the hearts of the other Tarot Club members, stirring up a violent storm that could shatter reason itself.

In that instant, The Hanged Man Alger, Justice Audrey, and the others were struck speechless, as though struck by lightning, each paralyzed in their seat like a stone statue.

After a long pause, The Star Leonard finally spoke up in disbelief: "Are you sure?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted asking such a question. If the City of Silver truly possessed the remains of the Giant King's Queen Omibela, then the credibility of the entire matter was extremely high.

Subconsciously, Justice Audrey, The Magician Fors, and Judgment Xio all turned their gazes toward the figure at the head of the mottled long table, only to find that Mr. Fool's eyes held a faint smile, his posture unchanged from before.

This indirectly confirmed that He had approved of little Sun's intelligence... Before Sun could answer The Star's doubts, Justice Audrey gave an almost imperceptible nod and said: "This explains a great many things, but if the Earth Mother isn't the Giant King's Queen, then why did the Angel of Fate Urovelus believe She was Omibela?

"Hmm, and why would the God of War seek Her cooperation? Who exactly is She?"

Hearing Miss Justice's barrage of questions, The Hanged Man Alger felt a sudden surge of emotion: The topics discussed by the Tarot Club had finally risen from Angel Kings to True Gods!

Before, while they had prevented the descent of evil gods and exchanged knowledge of hidden histories, they had rarely discussed the True Gods directly. It was a subconscious dread, a deep imprint left upon them by the current world.

And now, the members of the Tarot Club had unknowingly lost that reverence that originated from the depths of their souls.

The Hermit Cattleya hadn't noticed this, her focus entirely on the questions raised by Miss Justice. She pondered for a moment and said: "Perhaps that Earth Mother had been impersonating Omibela all along, deceiving both the Angel of Fate and the God of War..."

"That can't be..." Judgment Xio murmured instinctively.

The Magician Fors drew a soft breath and said: "Now that's a truly terrifying story."

At that moment, The World Gehrman Sparrow, who had remained silent all this time, spoke up: "Nothing is impossible.

"What if this deception had the help of the Goddess of the Night and other True Gods?"

"...A conspiracy lasting two or three thousand years..." The Hanged Man Alger's gaze froze slightly, and he instinctively drew his body inward, gripped by a soul-deep fear of the Goddess of the Night and the Earth Mother.

The Tarot Club members fell silent once more, until The Star Leonard repeated Miss Justice's final question: