Chapter 74: The Overthinking Tarot Club

A heavy, oppressive silence fell over the table. An unknown pressure descended on everyone present.

The same feeling as before returned... The feeling of having heard something they shouldn't have.

'When the True Creator walked in the world? What does that mean? Was there a time when the gods could walk in our world?' Fors bit her lip and began to tremble, the desire to throw herself on her sofa almost unbearable.

Faced with such juicy but mysterious information, Justice Audrey quickly moved forward a few centimeters in her chair and asked with emotion.

"What does that mean, Mr. Chariot? That the True Creator walked the world?"

Alger looked at the woman somewhat surprised, 'You really don't realize what that means?'

As soon as he heard the man's words along with the mention of the Fourth Epoch, he couldn't help but think of the other name by which this Epoch was known...

A fleeting thought crossed his mind, an inevitable connection that made him tremble with astonishment and fear.

Tap Tap...

A soft tapping sound came from the top of the table, drawing the attention of all the members at the head, towards the cloaked figure of the leader of this meeting.

Lowering his hand slightly, The Fool smiled mysteriously at all those present.

"It is no exaggeration to call the Fourth Epoch the 'Epoch of the Gods.' Many interesting figures were moving around at that time."

Almost everyone at the Tarot Club understood what that meant.

Not only did the True Creator walk the world, but it is very likely that the rest of the orthodox Gods did too!

'When the True Creator had not yet fallen and was sane?' Alger felt he had reached enlightenment at this moment, the truth finally rising up in front of him.

If the Gods walked the world during that Epoch, that meant that an ancient being like The Fool, who they suspected was an Old God, interacted with 'Them'!

'In the ancient Fourth Epoch, 'He' also walked the world and was able to interact with that deity!

'That explains everything!

'The True Creator wasn't always mad! There was a point in history when 'He' was sane but something happened that caused him to fall!' Holding back the urge to swallow, the man lowered his head and looked at the table with trembling eyes.

'Was that why Mr. Fool preferred to call the True Creator the 'Fallen Creator'?

What this meant was shared by all the members of the club, who found it difficult to finish the sentence.

"Even Deities can go mad," Adryan calmly said the words nobody wanted to say.

Seeing that there was another opportunity to drink, the Fool Klein quickly nodded without much importance to the Chariot.

"And he was not the only one to fall into madness." With that said, Klein did not elaborate or explain.

Not only could explaining it damage his image as the Fool, but this was as far as his knowledge of the mysterious Fourth Epoch went.

It wasn't worth risking his mask to give the members a little more impact, but his lack of knowledge could be revealed extremely easily.

'I didn't think there was a point in history where the True Creator was sane... It's a good thing I was very ambiguous with my words...

'As far as I know, the Underworld Emperor, the Blood Emperor, and the True Creator are all gods who went mad in the Fourth Epoch. Of the three, I haven't the faintest idea what caused it... But it may be related to the War of the Four Emperors.

'In that war, Roselle wrote that the Underworld Emperor... I think it's more appropriate to call 'Him' Death... Yes... Death was the one who benefited the most, as well as the last to fall... How many gods took part in that war? Including the True Creator, that makes 5 Sequence 0 True Gods...'

As far as Klein knew, Death allied with the Primordial Demoness and brought a Pale Disaster to the Northern Continent after that war. What kind of disaster could two Sequence 0s bring with one of them crazy, Klein didn't want to imagine.

That Epoch was undoubtedly full of secrets, and where history had been most manipulated, the kinds of buried secrets could change the world if they were spread.

'I still need a lot of information...' Regretting his lack of knowledge a little, Klein could only put the subject aside.

"Even Gods can go mad... That is..." Audrey murmured incredulously, her lips trembling.

There was no way this information wasn't blasphemous...

"Mr. Fool, the information you have just revealed to us has been very valuable." Alger quickly interjected, "Please tell us what we need to pay you back."

"It's nothing. This is a simple thing." Fool Klein gently shook his head, barely moving it.

'If you could send me 5,000 sassem, I wouldn't complain...' The magician added in his heart.

'Something simple this one says...' Restraining the urge to roll his eyes, Adryan turned his attention back to Sun.

"What I'm trying to say, Little Sun, is that during the Fourth Epoch, the True Creator was still mostly sane, and although he was still a little crazy, he was still capable of sanity.

"On the Moonless Night of Backlund. The forces of the Rose School of Thought and those of the three churches were not the only participants.

"The Aurora Order also participated, but their role was much smaller…" Pausing for a moment, Adryan continued.

"I can't reveal much. I'll just say that their work improved the True Creator's state."

"Another one of those cases?" Audrey asked from the side, to which Chariot nodded calmly.

The message was understood, no one questioned it or tried to delve deeper into his words.

The more you know about something, the more infected you become...

Adryan closed his eyes for a moment and gathered his thoughts.

He started to consider this as soon as he discovered the Rapper vessel's existence, and his thoughts were finally confirmed when Sun revealed Elder Lovia's condition.

The True Creator had been sealed in the Forsaken Land of the Gods by the seven Orthodox Gods in the Fourth Epoch, which Adryan was sure had worsened his condition.

Prayers were not able to reach that place just as they could not leave it; in other words, once you went in there, you would lose your anchors.

Only a Sefirot had the requirements to overcome the specialties that prevent that.

Although the True Creator controlled part of the authority of what sealed the Forsaken Lands of the Gods, that did not mean it was enough to overcome the limitations.

After all, it was the fall of the 'Almighty' that ruined that continent—someone whose authority far exceeds that of the True Creator.

Therefore, although he could partly receive prayers, that was not enough to keep madness at bay. Something that was much greater being that he is pure humanity...

But, the situation changed with the arrival of the Moonless Night and the successful creation of the Vessel of Descent.

The True Creator had finally freed himself from the seal of the seven deities, so now that he could receive prayers much more directly, his condition would undoubtedly improve.

This was proven by the improvement in Elder Lovia's condition, which was in line with the timeline of the creation of the Vessel.

'The changes are not so obvious in the members of the Aurora Order, as they always surround themselves with lunatics; their improved state will not be noticed until they are really separated...'

After a moment of silence, Justice spoke again.

"But, Mr Chariot. Although the True Creator's improved state means that the dangers are less than we thought. 'He' is still an Evil God. Can Elder Lovia really be trusted?"

Magician nodded in agreement while Hanged Man just looked on without saying anything.

Sun, on the other hand, had a somewhat lost look on his face.

'Miss Justice, I'm sure you find this difficult to understand... I don't blame you; you were brought up all your life that Evil Gods = Death, to find that it's not really like that clashes with everything you know...' Klein judged the woman's thoughts a little and couldn't help but empathize with her.

Even a part of him refused to accept this. After all, he had already faced that God and paid with his life.

Adryan did not answer immediately; he turned his head and looked at Sun, then at Fool.

After such an obvious move, he returned his attention to Justice.

"Miss Justice, I'm going to ask you a question. I want you to think very carefully about the answer."

Her eyelashes trembled a little more, and the young woman nodded slowly. ''What is it, Mr. Chariot?"

The question hit the drums like a war hammer.

''Comparing the case of Elder Lovia and Little Sun...

''Is there really any difference between Mr. Fool and the True Creator?

''...''

Nobody said anything. They didn't even dare breathe.

'Blasphemy!' Audrey trembled violently and looked in disbelief at the man in the robe.

How dare he compare the merciful Mr. Fool to the wicked and cruel True Creator?!

This thought was shared by all the members, who could not believe that Chariot was crazy enough to do that.

But then, after a few seconds, Divine Retribution did not fall upon the man. Everyone turned to look at the top of the table, at the impassive figure of the Fool.

The Fool had not changed his posture at all. He continued to look at what was happening indifferently and did not seem to care what had been said.

A heavy sigh was heard, and their attention returned to a disappointed Chariot.

"I will answer the question since you don't seem to understand. Sigh..."

Shaking his head, Adryan looked at the rest of the members.

"It makes no difference. Both situations are the same.

"Both prayed to unknown beings, and both got answers. Neither of these beings seeks to harm the City of Silver, and they even seem to want to help save it, empowering those who prayed to them and hoping that they would guide the people."

Looking at the figure at the top of the table, Adryan placed a hand on his chest and bowed deeply.

"In the eyes of the City of Silver. Mr. Fool and the True Creator are the same thing...

"Both are symbols of hope."

'At first, I thought you were just a lunatic, but now I know the truth... That term doesn't even come close to half how crazy you are Adryan Kenway...' Fors stared frozen at what had just happened, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide.

Even the not-very-expressive Hanged Man looked in complete shock.

'You're completely mad, you know that, don't you? I didn't think you'd do it, but you seriously did it, you crazy bastard. Aren't you afraid of death? Are you so confident in your Lord's ally that he won't pulverize you with divine punishment?" With one eyebrow trembling violently under the thick gray fog, Klein was barely able to keep up his act as the Fool.

He even temporarily lost control of The World, but he doubted anyone had noticed. Everyone was much more focused on the madness that had just happened.

Without waiting for everyone to collect their thoughts, Adryan turned his attention back to Sun.

"Little Sun, while it's not wrong to distrust Elder Lovia, you're both looking for the same thing. A little cooperation won't do much harm.

"Of course, I'm not saying you should go to her and tell her about your situation. You do have to hide that; just don't be so distrustful of her actions regarding the safety and well-being of the City."

"Ah, I... I..." Opening and closing his mouth in shock, Derrick lowered his head.

After a few seconds of silence, the young boy raised his head and looked seriously at the redhead, his eyes shining like suns.

"I will carry your words in my heart, Mr. Chariot. I will not forget this as long as I live."

"Atta Boy~" Laughing amusedly, Adryan nodded in appreciation and sank back in his chair in relaxation.

"Just be careful, okay?"

Sun Derrick nodded energetically. "I will."

That said, he looked at the rest of the Tarot Club, who seemed to have recovered from their episodes.

"I know the trading hour is over, but I would like to make an offer.

"I want all the information you can give me about the gods you are talking about and the organizations of the World of Light, evil or not, along with your history.

"Also, if possible, any information you can get about the True Creator.

"The payment will be a complete list of materials the City of Silver has. If anything is missing, we can discuss it in private."

'Is this explosive maturity?' Audrey found it challenging to recognize the young boy in front of her.

It was as if the wolf cub had suddenly grown its fangs and was no longer a cub.

"I'll prepare what I have and deliver it to you at the next Tarot Club." The sudden voice of Hanged Man brought Justice back to the present, and she was quick to join the deal.

A smiling Chariot joined, as well as a silent World. The Magician was a little slower but also joined the deal.

With the last deal of the meeting done, the Fool Klein marked the end of the gathering.

Saying goodbye, the members disappeared from the bronze table...

All except for two.

Looking around at the sudden change of scenery, Adryan just smiled internaly.

He was now in a modern room. The walls were painted white, and a Plexiglas balcony overlooked the skyscrapers in the distance.

A television hung on the opposite wall, showing the day's news program. The reporter's language and appearance were Chinese.

Underneath it was a big PlayStation 4.

A young man with black hair and brown eyes sat on the sofa in front of this TV.

His appearance was clear and not blurred as it had been before.

Adryan looked at himself for a moment and noticed that it was the same with him.

Smiling at this, he looked up at the man on the sofa.

Scarlet clashed with brown.

The two men looked at each other in silence...

...

Backlun. Empress Borough, Hall Villa.

Opening her eyes back up in her room, Audrey didn't rush to open the door of her room and warn Susie that there was no need to keep watch anymore, she just sat there staring at nothingness itself, her gaze wholly lost.

The words spoken by Chariot repeated themselves incessantly in her mind.

'In the eyes of the City of Silver... Mr Fool and the True Creator are the same thing...'

She would no doubt be thinking about this all week...

....

Blue Avenger.

Looking at the horizon from the bow, Alger Wilson thought about everything that had happened and been revealed at the Tarot Club.

'Gods walk the world again, and Gods who fell into madness rise with 'Their' sanity restored... Ancient and forgotten existences present themselves again in the present...'

The pirate couldn't help but think about the meaning of such events.

While each existence had grandiose plans and mysterious objectives, it was clear what this meant.

'Without a doubt, times are changing. Great things are coming, and those who are not ready will be swept away by the tide of the footsteps of the giants who will change history...'

For a moment, the captain closed his eyes and let the smell of the sea and the salty wind calm his anxiety.

...

Opening her eyes back in her room, Fors wasted no time grabbing her hair and pulling at it hard.

'WHY DID I HAVE TO AGREE TO FOLLOW THAT FUCKING MADMAN?!!!'

Shaking violently on the sofa, the writer turned around and, grabbing the nearest pillow, she buried her face in it and screamed.

"MMMMM!!!!"

Watching her best friend squirm like a fish in oil, Xio Derecha raised her cup and sipped her tea.

'It seems Kenway did something... I'm not even going to ask.'

 Knowing that only one person could make Fors like that, the Sheriff closed her eyes and enjoyed her tea in silence. Ignoring the muffled cries of the writer, who continued to shake violently on the sofa.

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