By the time Leonard reacted, tall stone pillars had appeared before him, standing atop the boundless grayish-white fog, supporting a magnificent palace like the dwelling of giants.
With his green eyes blank, after a second of daze, Leonard realized he was sitting at the side of an ancient mottled bronze long table, with imposing high-backed chairs around and across from him.
At the head of the mottled long table, a figure shrouded in dense gray fog leaned back leisurely, as if overlooking everything in the world.
As soon as this figure came into Leonard's view, he felt as if he had boarded a passenger ship facing an endless, bottomless abyss of the sea, or left the city and came to the suburbs, looking up at towering mountains that pierced the clouds.
In an instant, thoughts flashed through Leonard's mind, and he had a rough guess of his situation. As a Beyonder of the Church and a believer who was convinced of the true existence of gods, he couldn't resist the feeling and subconsciously started to leave his seat to worship the being before him.
The might of a deity was like mountains and seas!
Just as Leonard began to stand up, he was pushed back by an invisible force, and a low, calm voice echoed in his ears:
"No such trouble."
"You may call me 'Mr. Fool'."
Fool... as expected... Leonard's heart, originally fearful of the unknown, immediately settled down. Although he still worried about what would happen next, he was no longer so anxious, no longer so restless and parched.
He half-rose, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed.
"Respected 'Mr. Fool', why have you summoned me?"
As a Nighthawk with many years of experience, a Red Glove who had participated in many major cases, Leonard knew how dangerous it was to establish a connection with a hidden existence, and understood that he had begun to slide down from the edge of the abyss, with no chance of salvation.
At the moment he decided to recite the honorific name of 'The Fool', he could foresee a tragic ending, but for revenge, he still made the choice regardless.
However, everyone has an instinct to survive. Thinking that Klein Moretti, who believed in 'The Fool', was not only still alive but had even become a demigod, Leonard couldn't help but have a sliver of expectation and a bit of hope.
At this time, he heard 'The Fool' shrouded in gray fog chuckle.
"Since you have prayed to me for help, according to the principle of equivalent exchange, you must pay something."
Leonard trembled, lowering his head further.
"What do you wish to obtain?"
After a brief pause, 'The Fool's voice sounded again.
"Don't rush. Perhaps in the future, I will have you do some things, provide some help to certain people."
"Sit down."
Leonard slowly exhaled, sat down, and looked around.
"Did he, Klein Moretti, also come here like me?"
'The Fool' in the gray fog said with little fluctuation in tone.
"A different way."
A different way... as expected. Klein didn't enter here by reciting honorific names; he became a follower of 'Mr. Fool' by being guided by Azik Eggers, the 'Death Consul'... Leonard couldn't help but look around again and found that there were twenty-two high-backed chairs around the mottled long table.
Corresponding to twenty-two Beyonder pathways, or twenty-two tarot cards... 'The Fool'... Just as Leonard began to speculate in his mind, he heard 'Mr. Fool' chuckle.
"Besides you, there are other beings who have been pulled here for various reasons."
"They begged me to convene regular gatherings to exchange information, buy and sell materials, trade formulas, and help each other, which can help them quickly advance and become high-sequence Beyonders."
This was a bit different from the secret organization I imagined with tarot cards as code names; it was looser... What purpose did 'Mr. Fool' have in agreeing to such a request? After arriving at this ancient palace above the gray fog, Leonard's spirit had been highly tense, making his thinking much quicker than usual, and he thought of many questions.
After