Part 2 The Faceless Man Chapter 8 The Higher Levels of the Tarot Society

　　Above the undulating waves of the Sunyan Sea, the “Blue Avenger” was like a leaf, sometimes thrown up, sometimes rolled down, but without the slightest sign of capsizing.

　　Alger Wilson stood in the captain’s cabin, his back to the shelves of red and white wine, pacing mindlessly for a few steps.

　　Finally, he gritted his teeth, returned to the mahogany desk with a grim expression, took away the brass-colored sextant, found paper and a pen, and leaned over to draw the complex, mysterious symbol given by the “Fool”.

　　With his mariner’s memory, Alger quickly completed the first step of the ritual.

　　Immediately after, he opened a drawer and took out candles, which he arranged according to the “duality” method, one on top of the symbol made of the “pupil-less eye” and the “twisted thread”, and one in the center, indicating the sacrificer. One was placed in the center, indicating the sacrificer.

　　After clearing away the debris on the desk, Alger the Hanged Man gathered water in his palm and wiped the altar, and with the help of the ritual silver dagger, he barely managed to create an airtight wall around the desk.

　　With that done, he used his spirit to light the two candles and took a few steps back in the dim light.

　　Taking an instinctive breath, Alger lowered his head and chanted in ancient Hermetic:

　　”O fool not of this age;”

　　”You are the mysterious lord above the gray mist;”

　　”You are the Yellow and Black King who reigns over good fortune.”

　　”Thy faithful servant prays for Thy watchful eye;”

　　”Praying that You will accept his devotion;”

　　”Pray that You will open the gates of the kingdom.”

　　……

　　This ancient incantation echoes within the walls of spirituality, stirring up swirling gale winds and bringing forth tremors of natural power.

　　It was the oldest ritual language created by extraordinary human beings, and held many mysteries in itself, but lacked sufficient protection for its users.

　　Enduring the pain as if his skin had been scraped by a knife, Alger took out a dark brown glass vial from his coat pocket, unscrewed the lid, and poured out a number of particles shaped like sesame seeds.

　　These particles flowed with a metallic luster and had an unspeakable beauty.

　　”Inverted Hanging Man” Alger spilled these granules into the wind.

　　Whoosh!

　　The wind became more and more agitated, but it was no longer cool, and it was dyed with two colors, silver-white and deep black respectively.

　　Between the constant collision and fusion, these two different colors of the wind into the symbol of the “fool” of the candle flame, expanding and tearing out a normal-sized illusory door, its surface inscribed with the symbols of Alger just depicted that.

　　At this moment, above the gray fog, Klein is witnessing the appearance of the hazy door behind the high-backed chair, which he has seen before, and feels the spiritual power in a wave, stimulating this mysterious space.

　　As if he could …… Klein suddenly had a premonition, and immediately spread out his own spirituality, joining the vibrations and stimulation.

　　Clunk!

　　In a sound that wasn’t real enough, the hazy door slowly opened!

　　Alger inside the captain’s room suddenly saw the illusory door made of wind and light open up, and behind it was deep darkness, countless indescribable and nearly invisible shadows, a bright and clear light containing vast knowledge, a thick gray fog located above them, and an ancient palace overlooking the real world.

　　In such a scene, Alger could not control himself to start trembling, it was profound awe, it was inexplicable excitement.

　　He was busy picking up the colorful lizard dragon pituitary gland that he had prepared long ago, and in a posture of holding his head with both hands and hanging low, he handed this palm-sized thing that was constantly changing color and hue and had a soft surface with a sense of hills and valleys in front of the illusory door.

　　In the suction that suddenly appeared and instantly disappeared, Alger’s hands became lighter and lost the slight stinging sensation from the pituitary gland of the seven-colored lizard dragon.

　　He didn’t dare look up until the low voice of the Fool rang in his ears:

　　”Well done.”

　　”It was an honor.” Alger replied without hesitation.

　　He looked ahead again, only to see the illusory gate disappear, the gale stop, and the candle flame return to its original state.

　　After extinguishing the candles and ending the ceremony according to the normal procedure, “Inverted Hanging Man” Alger sat down with a complicated expression and muttered silently to himself:

　　”At first, I could only pull people into the world above the gray mist …… After a while, I could listen to prayers and respond …… Now I can accept sacrifices to give… …Step by step, Mr. ‘Fool’ is getting out of his predicament, and little by little, he’s delving deeper into the real world?”

　　This speculation this conclusion made Alger scared and worried, and a little bit of thankful-like anticipation.

　　At least I’m a member of the Tarot Society, the earliest members …… He exhaled with a sigh.

　　……

　　In the magnificent palace above the gray mist, Klein was playing with the pituitary gland of a seven-colored lizard dragon, his face reflected in a variety of colors that alternated constantly.

　　A slightly tingling and numbing touch came from his palm, and a strong sense of accomplishment filled his heart, causing him to reveal a genuine smile.

　　”In the future, the Tarot Club will be even more ‘magical’……” lamented Klein, extending his spirituality and transmitting his own intentions to the symbol of “justice “Ms. crimson star.

　　After returning to the bedroom, Audrey could no longer sit quietly on the edge of the bed, she sometimes flipped through the books next to the pillow, and sometimes her eyes were not focused enough to look at herself in an eyeglass.

　　She was looking forward to the completion of the ritual of the “inverted man”, but also afraid that the result would be a failure.

　　Rossel the Great said that when it comes to important things, you have to be calm …… Audrey, come on, take a deep breath …… or go and tease the dog? However, Susie can talk and think, belonging to the creatures with self-respect, can not be casually teased …… Audrey rambled and scattered thoughts, unconsciously rubbing a delicately crafted and gorgeously dressed muppet in her hands.

　　I don’t know how long, she suddenly came out in front of the thick gray fog, and the depths of the gray fog there is a high chair.

　　”The Fool” sat there, smiling:

　　”Ms. ‘Justice’, the attempt has been successful, are you ready for the materials containing spirituality?”

　　Awesome! Not bad for Mr. “Fool”! Audrey tossed the Inverted Man aside and contained her excitement:

　　”Yes, I’ve always had similar materials around.”

　　Even before joining the Tarot Club, Audrey was also like this, but at that time, she did not know which materials were considered to be of the spiritual variety, and just kept carrying them from the family treasury according to the various essential oil recipes she had collected.

　　Klein nodded gently:

　　”When would you like the ceremony to take place?”

　　”Provided that it is confirmed that there are no extraordinary people around.”

　　Do extraordinary dogs count …… Audrey looked sheepishly at the closed door of the room:

　　”I can do it now.”

　　Klein let out a “hmm”:

　　”The ceremony goes as I described before, except that the prayer statement needs to be changed to read.”

　　”Your faithful servant prays for your watchful eye;”

　　”Pray that you open the gates of the kingdom;”

　　”Praying for Your power.”

　　”Also, use the binary ritual method.”

　　Audrey thought back, restrained the urge to nod frequently, and began to prepare the ritual.

　　By the time the illusory door opened, by the time the scene, which was even more fantastic than the starry sky, was presented, Audrey only felt that her body and heart were intoxicated.

　　This is the mysterious world I’ve been chasing after, this is the kind of feeling I’ve always wanted! She praised Mr. Fool from the bottom of her heart.

　　To the goddess is faith, to Mr. “Fool” is worship …… Audrey in her heart silently defended herself.

　　Immediately after, she was shocked to see that there was one more thing on the “altar”, a soft thing that constantly changed color and was covered with mounds and valleys.

　　”The pituitary gland of a seven-colored lizard dragon!” Audrey’s heart was delighted, her eyes glowing, and she was about to go forward to take it.

　　But her etiquette got the better of her, and Audrey once again praised Mr. Fool sincerely.

　　Finishing the ceremony, she eagerly stepped forward and examined the extraordinary material five times.

　　”We’re a step above all the secretive organizations in the Tarot Society ……,” Audrey said, smugly.

　　Then she glanced warily at the door, as if afraid that Susie would burst in.

　　She was going to build on her efforts and immediately concoct a magic potion to complete her promotion!

　　A few minutes later, Audrey had an extra bottle of liquid in her hand whose luster constantly changed and seemed to shine into everyone’s heart.

　　She confidently drank this bottle of “Mind Reader” magic potion, and smoothly passed the stage of integration of extraordinary characteristics, obtaining the promotion.

　　What she saw in front of her eyes seemed to be much clearer, and much more, Audrey skillfully used the meditation to collect the scattered spirituality.

　　Waiting for the sequence to stabilize, a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she walked briskly towards the door, releasing the large golden retriever and seeing the obvious expression of suspicion on Suzie’s doggy face.

　　”You’re taking longer than ever.” Susie didn’t hide her thoughts.

　　Audrey sat down on the soft stool, laughed dryly, and changed the subject:

　　”Susie, what do you say, how do I tell Hugh and Furth about something in a covert way that doesn’t reveal itself and get them interested in it?”

　　Before she had finished speaking, Audrey herself began to think seriously about the task which Mr. Fool had entrusted to her.

　　Then she looked at Susie, and Susie looked at her, and both dog and man were lost in thought.

　　……

　　Having accomplished his goal, Klein returned to reality, slept for an hour and rushed out again, spending a pound on gold-rimmed glasses, a wig and a variety of whiskers that could be attached and removed, which he would need for his subsequent disguises.

　　In time for dinner, he made another trip to the East End, the most disorderly and populous district, and rented a one-bedroomed house for four sousl and three pence a week, paying two weeks’ rent in one lump sum, as well as an equal deposit, amounting to seventeen sousl.

　　Up to this time Klein had not been primed and prepared, and he was impressed by the East End, which was for the most part the same as the lower streets of Tingen, but occupied an area many times wider.

　　The residents here were considered more than decent in their outdated clothing, and many were ragged and thin, seemingly ready to turn into beasts from starvation and poverty, and so, in the East End, gangs were rampant and cases were common.

　　By the time he returned to the Jorwood district, Klein felt like he had gone from hell to heaven.

　　For the next two days, he experimented with performing rituals and making charms using only his own spirituality, no longer praying to the goddess, while waiting for the effects of the small advertisements to fester and commissions to come in.

　　On Thursday morning, Klein finally heard the doorbell being pulled.