As he returned to the world above the gray fog, Klein felt the coldness in his body rapidly dissipate. There were no more Worms of Spirit trying to give birth to new consciousnesses.
A moment later, the mottled long bronze table appeared in front of him. He saw that Miss Justice and Leonard's Spirit Bodies were gradually becoming clearer amidst the thin gray fog, although they still maintained a certain blurriness to them.
After the gray fog swirled around them and sank into the "ground," Klein asked, "How are you feeling now?"
He used Gehrman Sparrow's usual tone, but he immediately recalled how his inner grumblings, inner thoughts, habitual analysis, and him dissing Leonard had been exposed. He was no longer able to maintain his image in front of Miss Justice.
It's all Leonard's fault! Sigh, as per the doctor's advice, not only did I not wear a thick mask this time, but I even removed the thin kind... This thought flashed in his mind unconsciously as he cut off his thoughts and warily glanced around.
He still hadn't gotten rid of the fear of having his thoughts "spoken" out loud.
Luckily, this was no longer the place that he had named "the Hall of Truth." There were no more "magical" powers that he couldn't defend again via normal means.
It was obvious that Audrey and Leonard also had a similar trauma due to their post-traumatic stress. One of them suddenly pursed her lips, while the other sat up straight, as though they had instinctively thought of something.
After a few seconds of silence, they then remembered that The World had asked about their situation, so they quickly turned their attention back on the right track.
"I feel like something was being purified... I had the illusion that I would dissociate into a second personality—no, it wasn't a second personality—it seemed like a consciousness that didn't belong to me was awakening inside my body. Yes, it's now gone. Praise be to Mr. Fool!" Audrey rather professionally did a psychoanalysis on herself before sincerely expressing her gratitude.
I can openly accept such gratitude... That was a dangerous thought. Thankfully, Miss Justice's and Leonard's thoughts didn't steer towards The Fool while inside the Hall of Truth. Otherwise, I'd definitely not be able to resist the urge to "reply." That'd spell the end of me... My sense of shame will cause me to lose control on the spot, breaking down into a clump of Worms of Spirit... Klein's thought flashed as he seriously replied, "Praise be to Mr. Fool!"
"...Praise be to Mr. Fool." As a believer of the Evernight Goddess, Leonard hesitantly echoed and quickly changed the topic. "There's nothing wrong with me too. Just now, I felt something calling me from behind the bronze door. What about you?"
Seeing that Leonard had confirmed his condition, Klein placed the Unshadowed Crucifix and the metal bottle containing his blood onto the long, mottled table in front of him.
"I felt the same way too," he answered with certainty.
"Me too. It wasn't an illusion. I did an analysis on my own mind," Audrey said in a very clear and certain tone.
Leonard held his chin and said, "What could that be?
"It actually needed an ancient god to seal it behind ‘His' throne..."
After what had happened before, he felt that he no longer had much of an image in front of Miss Justice, so his posture became more casual.
"We can try analyzing this..." Audrey carefully glanced at The World.
She had a deep impression of this gentleman's ability to gather information, make connections, complete an analysis, and infer the information in a short period of time.
Klein thought for a moment and said without any inclinations, "There are only three possibilities. One, it's a powerful creature from the Second Epoch of the real world. It's at least close to Sequence 0, and the Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt had sealed it behind ‘His' throne and beneath the City of Miracles Liveseyd. However, I don't think that's very likely. This is because that ancient god definitely had ‘His* reasons for creating this book and stuffing Liveseyd into it while affecting the book world and the real world. It's unlikely ‘He' would place an unpredictable element in here for prolonged periods of time."
"Yeah, we all know that we have to eliminate possible accidents, what's more, an ancient god." Audrey nodded slightly and began to discuss seriously with The World Gehrman.
At this moment, Leonard chuckled and said, "Perhaps an ancient god like the Dragon of Imagination had seen certain scenes of the distant future and believes that the sealed item will help ‘Him' achieve ‘His' goals?"
"That's why I said that it's not impossible, but it's highly improbable," Klein replied calmly. "The second possibility is that the sealed item is key to the Dragon of Imagination Ankewelt's ploy. Once this book and 0-08 meet, the seal will be released and that object will return to the real world and bring about certain changes. I believe that this theory has the highest possibility."
Amongst them, perhaps it also involves the Dragon of Wisdom's true attitude or intent.
"Then what could it be? Mr. Fool once said that, after Adam obtained 0-08, ‘He' is even closer to being divine. The times have changed as a result. Does this mean that Adam has gathered all the ingredients for Visionary and is just short of the ritual... Is there anything wrong with my understanding?" Audrey shared her point of view.
"I'm not sure either. I'll pray to Mr. Fool and see if I can get a clearer revelation." Klein didn't want to say give a firm answer.
Unfortunately, Old Man is an angel from the Fourth Epoch and doesn't know much about the Second Epoch, but "He" isn't unfamiliar with Adam... The Star Leonard thoughtfully said, "I'll try..."
He wanted to say that he would try investigating, but upon recalling that the two knew his secret, he gave up such thoughts and directly said, "...try asking Old Man."
"Sorry to trouble you," Audrey sincerely thanked him.
From her point of view, this was a matter regarding the Spectator pathway. The person most concerned about this was undoubtedly herself, while others were merely providing help.
Then she said, "The third possibility is that there is some sort of object or monster sealed inside the book world?"
"Yes, it might be closely related to the book world, and destroying it might cause the book world to collapse. Therefore, all Ankewelt did was seal it." Klein shared his theory.
Audrey thought for a while before saying, "I have an idea regarding this possibility."
Seeing Mr. World and Mr. Star cast their gazes over, awaiting an answer, she slowed down her pace and said, "I'm considering it from a psychological perspective.
"Since that book world was created by Ankewelt's ‘envisioning' it, the sea of collective subconscious there would definitely be formed as a result of ‘Him.' It would have ‘His' psyche, emotions, and feelings branded into it.
"Perhaps the City of Miracles, Liveseyd, seals the most extreme parts of these things. They're the trauma or fears of the Dragon of Imagination. Some terrifying matters from ‘His1 consciousness might be projected onto this brand. As long as ‘He' cannot defeat them, and if it hasn't been dealt with in the real world, the book world's sea of collective subconscious cannot be destroyed and can only be sealed. If it's ignored, they will slowly contaminate the sea of collective subconscious and make the development of history deviate from its intended path."
Leonard was more focused than when he attended Red Gloves meetings. He couldn't help but mention when he had heard that:
"As an ancient god that ruled the sky and the mind, what could've left an irremovable trauma and create such an intense sense of fear?"
"I don't know." Audrey shook her head frankly. "If it's just a psychological analysis, since it's sealed under the throne and at the bottom of the City of Miracles, and is reached by a tunnel, it means that the source of the trauma and fear comes from underground. Therefore, the Dragon of Imagination sealed it—no, ‘He' isolated the mental projection coming from underground. Otherwise, why wouldn't it be beside the throne, in the depths of the hall, in a specially created jail, or somewhere else?"
Upon hearing Miss Justice's words, Klein instantly thought of what had happened to Miss Magician and Miss Judgment.
According to the information provided by the Sanguine, they found an ancient castle of unknown age. At the bottom of the castle was a bronze door that seemed to seal something terrifying that came from underground. Once they approached the door or stayed in its vicinity for too long, they would be corrupted, dying a tragic death!
It was an ancient castle that was built to defend against something unknown. It was originally guarded by humans from an unknown era... After the Sanguine discovered it, no one dared to enter... Back then, I thought that it might be related to Devils and that one needed to be a demigod in order to explore it... Could this be related to the seal in Liveseyd? Klein's thoughts wandered as he quickly found the relevant information from his memories.
On the way to the ruins of the battle of the gods on Cattleya's Future, he met a so-called "deep-sea well."
At that time, the Future's sailor, Nina, had dived to the bottom of the sea and did a series of investigations. She said that it wasn't a giant well. It was deep and dark, impossible for a human child to enter. The bottom couldn't be seen, and there were strange honeycombed signs of corrosion along the inner walls. Surrounding it were collapsed iron buildings.
In a sense, this is also a "tunnel" that goes deep underground... Klein looked around and deliberated before saying, "Do you remember the matter Miss Magician mentioned? Under an abandoned castle in Delaire Forest, there is a pair of doors that seals a powerful corruptive force."
"Ah, right!" Audrey instantly recalled the past. "Could it be that in the early days of the Second Epoch—in that ancient era—supernatural beings had some common, terrifying enemy that came from underground?"
"Perhaps." Klein couldn't give an affirmative answer, so he took the opportunity to say, "It might also be like the many predictions of the apocalypse which state that the danger comes from the cosmos."
"Yeah." Audrey and Leonard didn't know much about such matters, so they couldn't discuss this matter too deeply.
"Let's end it here for today. After we have a preliminary understanding of the situation, we will try to experiment on the murals. Also, remember to keep this a secret." Klein shot a look at Leonard and said, "Oh, after you return, pray to Mr. Fool and request that ‘He' be the witness to our vows to not divulge each other's secrets."
Audrey didn't object and added, "I'll use Hypnosis here to forget certain matters here to prevent myself from remembering it when I return."
