Lawrence sat in the café booth, unable to suppress his thoughts about the Abraham family's suffering over the years.
Since splitting into smaller families and scattering across various places, the Elder Council's control over family members had dropped to its lowest point. Many Abrahams, unwilling to advance due to the curse's influence, remained at Sequence 8 or Sequence 9, or didn't even try to become Beyonders, wishing only to live as ordinary people with some knowledge and wealth, peacefully and happily for the rest of their lives.
The Elder Council considered this a forgetting of family honor, but they couldn't strictly deal with it, as it would amount to self-extinction.
In this situation, reformist thoughts emerged among the upper echelons of the Abraham family. They imitated the Life School of Thought's master-apprentice inheritance system, cultivating non-family members, hoping that after they advanced to higher sequences, they would in turn help the Abrahams resolve the curse that had existed for fifteen to sixteen hundred years and retrieve their ancestor Bethel Abraham, who had gone missing during the War of the Four Emperors.
This plan initially went very smoothly. The apprentices, who didn't need to worry about the curse, quickly grew stronger and advanced under the careful cultivation of the Abraham family. Within a mere ten years, several Sequence 5 Beyonders emerged among them, while not a single Sequence 6 existed among the direct-line Beyonders of the Abraham family.
The trunk was too weak, the branches too strong, thus planting the seeds of tragedy. The ambitious ones among the disciples turned their gaze towards the few powerful Sealed Artifacts owned by the Abraham family.
Their plot failed, but it also brought severe consequences. All Sequence 6 and Sequence 5 Beyonders who were not family members believed that their status within the Abraham family did not match their actual strength, and that they were not trusted enough to control certain Sealed Artifacts.
During the process of back-and-forth struggles, arduous negotiations, and mutual compromises, an accident occurred. One of the Sequence 5 "Travelers" named Boutis was seduced by the "True Creator" and joined the Aurora Order, attracting a terrible disaster.
In this disaster, the upper echelons of the Abraham family were nearly wiped out, and more than half of their already scarce powerful Sealed Artifacts were lost, leaving only three. Lawrence's full brother Richard died because of this.
Boutis, on the other hand, gained great benefits. Not only did he collect the needed Beyonder materials, but with the help of the "True Creator," he successfully overcame obstacles, entered the Demigod sequence, and became one of the five great Saints of the Aurora Order, the "Secret Saint."
After the disaster, the rebuilt Abraham family's Elder Council reflected on their past actions but found no solution to the problem. Emotions of passivity, dejection, and despair settled in the hearts of the remaining family members.
Lawrence didn't want to be in such an environment, didn't want to face sighs and oppressive atmosphere every day. He found an excuse to leave the Elder Council's location and came to Backlund to seek out his other full brother Robor and half-brother Sam.
Now, he suddenly realized that his father's line seemed to have only himself left.
And he himself was nearly eighty years old, with all his children having died in the disaster brought by Boutis.
Just thinking about this, he was overwhelmed with grief that wouldn't end.
What pained him most was that he saw no hope for revenge, no dawn of the family's glory being restored.
"I am already very old, and previously I was injured, so unless necessary, I dare not use my Beyonder abilities, as it would lead to loss of control or the curse descending... Where exactly is the future of the Abraham family?" Lawrence took a sip of Fier Mer coffee and fell into a long silence.
........
Returning to her rented house, Fors immediately entered the bedroom and locked the wooden door.
She sat on the edge of the bed, adjusted her state, and began to recite the honorific name that represented hope and future:
"The Fool who does not belong to this era;"
"You are the Mysterious Ruler above the gray fog;"
"You are the Yellow and Black King who controls good luck."
"I wish to pray to you, to recount my encounters today."
"I encountered the elder brother of the husband of the old lady who made me an 'Apprentice.' He is suspected to be a member of some family..."
"I concealed matters related to the mystical realm, but I worry that he has powerful divination abilities and can uncover the complete truth..."
...
At this time, Klein was on the gray fog.
He saw the crimson star representing "The Magician" expand and ripple, hearing layered prayers spreading.
After understanding the specific details, Klein tapped his fingers on the edge of the ancient long table and silently murmured:
"Very cautious, knowing to seek help from The Fool."
"Also, your guess is correct. The Sequence 7 corresponding to 'Apprentice' is called 'Astrologer'..."