The crimson moon in the high sky hung quietly in the darkness, shining upon the gradually calming "university city" of Tingen.
Klein stood before his desk, looking down through the bay window at the quiet, empty Daffodil Street, hearing the sound of carriages rushing past in the distance without much noise.
He picked up the silver-white pocket watch with vine patterns, snapped it open with a click, took a look, and then reached out to draw the curtains, letting the slightly yellow light of the gas lamp reflect more within the bedroom.
Klein turned around unhurriedly, locked the door, and closed the valve.
The whole room was instantly shrouded in darkness, with only a faint reddish moonlight filtering through the curtains bringing color, creating a late-night scene that spawned many folk tales.
In this environment, Klein took out an applied-for silver pocket knife, conjured a ball of light in his mind, and entered a half-meditative state in advance.
He mustered his spirit and, following his previous practice, let his spirituality burst out through the tip of the knife, letting it follow his movements, magically combining with the environment to seal the room.
He was guarding against any abnormal fluctuations that might appear later, afraid that Benson and Melissa might be woken up because of it.
Next, Klein put down the knife, took four steps counterclockwise, each step accompanied by a chant from Earth.
The unchanging screams and murmurs assailed him, the unchanging madness and pain overwhelmed him. He tried his best to control himself, enduring the most difficult and dangerous stage in an almost half-delirious state.
The greyish-white mist stretched endlessly, the deep crimson "stars" were either far or near, the majestic palace stood like a dead giant, everything before Klein's eyes was no different from before, the accumulated silence and ancientness of thousands of years washing over him.
No, there was still a change!
It was the crimson star symbolizing "Justice"!
The deep red of this "star" contracted and expanded in succession, not by much, but persistently.
Klein carefully extended his own spirituality, spreading it towards that crimson glow.
The moment they touched, his mind buzzed, and he saw blurry, distorted images and heard ethereal, overlapping prayers:
"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 wields good fortune." "I pray for your help." "I pray for your blessing." "I pray that you grant me a good dream." ... "I pray that you grant me a good dream." ... "I pray that you grant me a good dream." ...
The woman's voice echoed continuously, layers intertwining, making Klein's spirit feel irritated and chaotic, like just about to fall asleep only to hear neighbors upstairs arguing and banging on tables and the floor.
He suppressed his emotions and calmed the impulse through meditation, carefully identifying the blurry images that appeared before him.
It was a girl in a white robe, with soft and beautiful blonde hair. She was standing before four flickering flames, bowing her head respectfully, reciting continuously.
From the distorted image, Klein barely recognized this was Miss "Justice."
At this point, he was completely sure that the ritual incantation he had conceived could precisely point here, to himself!
This filled him with a sense of achievement, feeling that his groping from nothing to something had been very effective.
I won't praise myself for being amazing... Klein's mood improved, and even the nagging prayers hovering around his ears became acceptable.
His heart stirred, and he tried to transmit the "response" he had envisioned in his mind to the crimson star through that subtle connection:
"I know."
...
Before him, layers of gray fog spread, and a twisted, blurry figure stood in the deepest part.
Deep crimson flowed in its eyes, and its voice echoed through the empty world:
"I know." "I know." "I know."
...
Audrey Hall suddenly woke up, sitting up with the blanket clutched around her, her mind filled with the scene she had just dreamt.
She clearly and definitely knew that she had dreamt of The Fool, that mysterious Fool who sits high above the gray fog!
"Is this a response to my morning prayer?" Quickly entering her "Spectator" state, Audrey analyzed calmly.
Although she didn't understand why The Fool hadn't responded on the spot and had to wait until night, she was still deeply shocked that the ritual magic was effective and that those incantations actually worked.
In the past, she had prayed to the Evernight Goddess, but had never received a response!