From Audrey's point of view, Mr. World's current situation wasn't him suffering from a mental illness, nor was it close to pushing him to the state of losing control. It was because his goal in life and the meaning to his existence had been destroyed. It left him with a psychological barrier that just needed some guidance. Once she helped him set up a short-term goal, allowing him to find meaning in life, the problem would slowly be resolved.
In the serene and silent darkness, Audrey heard Gehrman Sparrow answer in a deep voice across the wall, "No."
As expected... Audrey wasn't surprised as she asked, "Then did he search for his family's last words? Did he search for their grave? Did he try to figure out the reason for the deep sleep?"
The Spirit Body behind the wall seemed to vanish for a few seconds as there wasn't a single sound. After a moment, the hoarse voice continued:
"No, not yet."
Not yet... That means that it's a possibility in the future? Audrey felt relieved as she clearly felt that Gehrman Sparrow's emotional state wasn't as heavy and gloomy as before, without any interest in anything. He had a certain level of drive and a tiny sense of urgency. He was just still in a state of confusion.
Taking this opportunity, Audrey cast Placate again. The effects were much better than before. At the very least, she believed that Mr. World had used this impetus to escape from the abyss of gloominess and depression, returning to a normal person's disheartened state.
Following that, Audrey didn't press on regarding how he could find clues or investigate, because this could bring about some resistance. She nodded in the dark room in a natural manner and said, "Yes, there are many things to do, and many things that need amending! Perhaps you will have the chance of meeting someone from the same bloodline? Perhaps a family member of his hasn't died from age, or had ended up living to this day due to some reason? The reason why there's meaning to life is because of its infinite possibilities.
"In the process of searching, make sure to not miss out on your surroundings. Life isn't just a one-way street. There are many branches and alleys. If only the former exists, how boring would it be. You should know how to approach it, to broaden your horizons, and to discover..."
Trying hard to recall all the suitable words she read in books, Audrey suddenly thought of something as her voice softened significantly.
"Also, don't wear that thick mask."
The thinner and transparent ones don't matter because everyone wears a mask when interacting with others. No one likes to directly express one's relatively private secrets to others. It's both a way to protect oneself and also a way to respect others... When Mr. World has a certain number of friends, a new meaning in life will naturally be formed... Audrey added inwardly, but she ultimately didn't say it out loud. She believed that it might even backfire.
Unsurprisingly, Gehrman Sparrow fell silent again, seemingly still in confusion.
After a few seconds, a voice that wasn't that hoarse sounded again:
"Thank you for straightening me out, and for your treatment."
"No, this is all a result of the strength inside you," Audrey replied seriously.
She cast a final Placate to confirm that Mr. World's mental state was back to normal and that it wouldn't relapse.
She then heard Gehrman Sparrow say, "Let's end it here for today, okay?"
Audrey adjusted her tone and briskly replied, "Of course. It's not a serious problem. I can do another follow-up whenever you're free next week.
"Also, if it's possible, make some medicine to stabilize your mental state. Take it for seven consecutive days. The ingredients are 10 grams of chamomile powder, 5 grams of rosemary powder, 10 milliliters of lemon balm extract... During this period, don't reduce your consumption of desserts, and try to relax yourself in an appropriate manner..."
In the dark and silent room, she propped herself against the wall with her hands and slowly stood up.
At this moment, Gehrman Sparrow's voice passed through the wall:
"What's the consultation fee?"
Audrey held one hand to the wall and turned her head in thought.
"Wait till I get the potion formula for Sequence 5 of the Spectator pathway. I might need you to help me find the ingredients.
"If the Psychology Alchemists provides me with the ingredients, hmm..."
She curled the ends of her lips and said, "When you return from the Southern Continent to Backlund, remember to bring me some of the local produce as a
gift."
A super luxurious and light transportation coffin that's carried by eight people? On the other side of the wall, Klein had the inexplicable urge to lampoon. He then stood up while clinging to the wall and sent Miss Justice back to the real world.
With a wave of his hand, the room vanished. He returned to the seat of honor at the long bronze table and sat at the seat belonging to The Fool.
In front of him, there were the Black Emperor, Tyrant, and Red Priest Cards of Blasphemy on the right. On the left, there was the Creeping Hunger, which Leonard Mitchell had sent back via Miss Messenger Reinette Tinekerr.
"I owe Miss Messenger 10,000 gold coins again..." Klein retracted his gaze and raised his right hand to rub his temples.
To prevent Ince Zangwill from escaping through the spirit world, he had already communicated with Reinette Tinekerr before he made plans for the murder. She was in charge of chasing away all the spirit world creatures around Revival Square, in exchange for that very same 10,000 gold coins.
The only thing that caught him by surprise was that 0-08 was more terrifying than he imagined. With Ince Zangwill suffering from Deity's Curse, and with King of Angels Adam having drained it, its first attempt was able to "attract" an unknown creature which could pass through Reinette Tinekerr's seal. If not for Daly Simone's forceful spirit channeling and signing a pact, Ince Zangwill might very well have escaped.
Of course, while under Deity's Curse, even if Ince Zangwill were to successfully escape, there was a high chance of him encountering other misfortunes, such as being thrown by the unknown creature to somewhere more dangerous or having it directly cause him harm. However, that wasn't within Klein's control.
At the thought that he was 10,000 gold coins in debt again, Klein felt a headache, but his mental state was a lot better.
After seeing the cocoon above the gray cloud, and the door of light beyond the staircase of light, he had suffered a shock that was as though a river had broken through its banks. He felt that all his expectations had been shattered. His mature world view, outlook on life, and values had crumbled as a result, causing his entire being to fall into a turbid state, as though he were a walking zombie.
Thankfully, he still had the innate desire to live and had sought out his private psychiatrist, Miss Justice Audrey, in time for treatment.
Phew... Klein exhaled and forced himself to turn his thoughts towards the cocoons. And from the scene he saw, his first reaction was:
An extremely high-level existence or Sealed Artifact had used different means to grab a large group of people from Earth at the same moment in time. Here, there were people who used the luck enhancement ritual, others bought strange silver plates, or had their phones hit by some strange virus...
Then, these transmigrators had their souls sealed inside the cocoon and were left hanging above the door of light, awaiting a particular opportunity before being sent to the real world.
Based on Klein's observation, the door of light didn't have any intelligence. It was operating based on pure instinct. This also meant that as long as the conditions were met, it would catalyze a cocoon and deliver the soul inside to a specific target's body.
Based on the current circumstances, Klein guessed that there were probably two conditions that needed to be met.
First, there mustn't be any other transmigrators prior, or the transmigrator had already been deemed to have failed or died. Second, the "calling out" of a certain object, item, or ritual. For instance, Klein Moretti had followed the Antigonus family's notebook to perform that dark divination.
As for the rest, it's impossible to know. Unless I can find the corresponding content in Emperor Roselle's diary... Putting together everything that I know, my current theory should be very close to the truth. This will make it easy to explain why, despite being from the same era as the emperor on Earth with less than a year in between us, our entry into the real world was separated by slightly more than two hundred years... It's because we transmigrated at the same time, but we were "released" in different eras! Before entering the real world, who knows how long we've been asleep for... A brother from next door? Klein leaned back into his chair as his eyes shimmered before turning gloomy again.
This was a hypothesis he came up with based on the conditions of the door of light, his situation, and the emperor's diary.
Of course, this didn't mean that there weren't other possibilities. At present, Klein was just unable to find evidence to support them. For example, a cocoon might represent the life of a transmigrator, but this was in contradiction with Klein's own recovery or the lack of change in his Spirit Body.
And if his hypothesis wasn't too different from the truth, it meant that he had left Earth, transmigrating over for at least two hundred years or even thousands of years. Even if he found the way and method to go back to Earth, he was unable to return to the place he called home.
Compared to the gap in distance, the barrier of time left him in greater despair.
This was the reason why it caused Klein's mental state to instantly collapse. "Returning home" was always his ultimate goal.
Miss Justice is right. There are still many questions to resolve and to probe... What's the meaning behind hanging so many transmigrators behind the door of light? What goal does it have? Who set up everything back then? How many people were pulled in here? Where has the other person gone to? The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth? Klein tried hard to engross himself in thinking, so as to find a new goal for the future.
Unfortunately, he was only able to approach the door of light and not touch it. He was unable to touch it, grasp it, or even carefully inspect it. He had no means to do any studies to receive any direct information.
I should consider finding clues from the real world... Also, since reaching Sequence 4 allows me to reach that gray cloud and see the door of light, will there be another qualitative change at Sequence 2? Will I be able to gain control over the door of light when that happens, allowing me to figure out the truth?
Heh heh, I was affected by the Seven Lights, the Goddess, and Arrodes's attitude. I almost imagined myself to be the real owner of the gray fog, and believe that I'm some great master above the spirit world. Now, from the looks of it, I'm just a "test subject" that was randomly thrown down. Once I fail, the next transmigrator will appear... Klein thought as he tapped the edge of the long bronze table.
He was rather curious of another point. Three broken "cocoons," with one representing himself, and another representing the emperor, so who was the third one?
