Lord of Mysteries 2: Circle of Inevitability

Chapter 1032: The Power of Many

Madam Justice didn't give up, once again weaving a new Gehrman Sparrow identity.

At this time, silhouettes appeared in the thin gray fog surrounding the dream city. They quickly swam towards the passage opened by Madam Magician, bringing violent tremors and self-contraction to the "door".

Madam Magician struggled against this, not letting the dream door close, not letting Madam Justice's attempt to weave Gehrman Sparrow's dream manifestation be ? interrupted.

Mr. Hanged Man, who had already put down his liquor turned his gaze towards this direction, his hand already holding a blasphemous card.

The Tyrant card!

Boom!

Thunder crashed, and layers of intertwining silvery- white lightning struck the black silhouettes in the thin gray fog, making them writhe and struggle before dissipating, unable to approach the passage opened by Madam Magician.

Madam Justice remained unaffected, continuing to weave Gehrman Sparrow's dream manifestation.

In the altar, once the Gehrman Sparrow image created by Mystical Re-enactment was temporarily stabilized po by countless anchors, Mr. Star, who had been standing by the window, walked step by step towards this area.

"Like a storm petrel, soaring without yield,

"Knowing the tempest, mastering the field,

"Compelling them to peace,

"Brewing calm into rich release[1]…"

As the poem echoed, the sunlight in the room suddenly dimmed, as if clouds had drifted in.

Gehrman Sparrow on the altar closed his eyes in response, entering a deep slumber.

Now, he too was dreaming.

It was a nightmare, but also hope.

Seeing this scene, Mr. Moon, who had been quietly enduring the scorching sunlight, let his black cloak rise up behind him, like a giant bat spreading its wings.

He flew to the starlight gate opened by Madam Magician, entered that illusory passage, and arrived outside the hole leading into the dream city.

He didn't try to enter again, but turned around, reached out his hands, and created an illusory, hazy door inscribed with numerous mystical symbols out of thin air.

This was the Door of Summoning. Door of Summoning from Sequence 3 High Summoner of the Moon pathway.

Mr. Moon wanted to summon Gehrman Sparrow, the current Gehrman Sparrow on the altar!

The next second, he opened his mouth and began to chant the corresponding honorific names and specific summoning incantations in ancient Hermes, "The Blessed of the spirit world and Sefirah Castle:

"The Mystery stemming from ancient times;

"The witness of an extended history;

"Angel who redeems mankind;

"Protector of all impoverished children;

"The great Gehrman Sparrow…"

In this kind of summoning directed at the false, the entire honorific name had to be recited.

As the subsequent incantations also echoed, that illusory, hazy door suddenly opened wide, revealing a boundless darkness dotted with stars and fluttering shadows.

But to Mr. Moon's slight disappointment, the Gehrman Sparrow image on the altar only turned to the side, with no other movement.

The power of reality seemed to be preventing this false event.

…

In the Yangdu High-Speed Rail Station, half in deep darkness.

Lumian looked at Zhou Mingrui and said to himself, "These all come from Mr. Fool's arrangements, all guided by fate.

"Since Mr. Fool sealed you, the Celestial Worthy, with this self-image of Zhou Mingrui, before he truly gains a significant advantage, awakening Mr. Fool would be equivalent to awakening you, the Celestial Worthy. So what we need is not awakening, but creating The World Gehrman Sparrow out of thin air in the dream.

"Only in this way will he not be a product of the merged consciousness of Mr. Fool and you, the Celestial Worthy, but pure and uncontaminated.

"His source is the believer anchors of Gehrman Sparrow, the cognition of Gehrman Sparrow by a large number of humans in the real world and the dream city, and the understanding of Mr. Fool by the Major Arcana card holders of the Tarot Club, not involving you, the Celestial Worthy.

"This is equivalent to Mr. Fool dragging you into slumber together, then creating a highly related identity that can stably exist with the help of others to wield authority on his behalf. The gradual strengthening of this identity will help him gain an advantage using the corresponding authority, ultimately truly sealing you and awakening himself.

"This is the correct interpretation of the prophecy 'The awakening of The World spells The Fool's return'.

"This is also what you've been wary of all along, which is why you replaced the dream manifestations related to Gehrman Sparrow and had your subordinates Infiltrate the Church of The Fool, trying to make the final formed Gehrman Sparrow point to you instead of Mr. Fool.

"In that case, it would become 'The awakening of The World spells the Celestial Worthy's return',"

Zhou Mingrui calmly laughed twice, "What if your judgment and choices are all wrong?"

Lumian shrugged and said, "If they're wrong, then they're wrong.

"I never thought I would succeed in everything I do. On the contrary, I've always considered myself a failure.

"Failure is not scary. The failures of the Major Arcana card holders have paved the way for us, and our failures will also eliminate wrong answers for the future lucky coin holders and point out the correct, direction. This attempt will certainly delay the time for you, the Celestial Worthy, to achieve victory.

"In the time to come, there will be batch after batch of lucky coin holders arriving, standing on our shoulders, continuing to climb, looking further, until the true apocalypse arrives."

At this point, Lumian smiled at Zhou Mingrui, "This is very similar to a saying I learned in the dream city.

"Success doesn't have to be achieved by me, but I must contribute to its achievement!"

Zhou Mingrui fell silent.

…

In Trier, inside the luxurious villa, in Franca's bedroom.

As Madam Justice suffered another failure and began weaving Gehrman Sparrow's dream manifestation for the third time, while Mr. Hanged Man continued using lightning to prevent those black shadows in the gray fog from approaching the "door", Mr. Moon repeated the summoning incantation once more.

The Gehrman Sparrow on the altar, with his eyes closed, swayed, wanting to respond to the summoning in his dream, but unable to overcome the power of reality.

At this moment, around Mr. Star's emerald eyes, transparent worms seemingly with twelve segments crawled out.

They quickly formed a complex mystical symbol.

The symbol representing deception!

Almost simultaneously, Madam Judgment approached the altar and said in ancient Hermes, "Truth recedes here, while illusion grows stronger!"

Suddenly, the air in the bedroom solidified.

Gehrman Sparrow's figure first disappeared from the altar, then crossed that mysterious hazy summoning door, appearing in front of Mr. Moon, appearing in the passage opened by Madam Magician, appearing outside the hole leading into the dream city.

Then, Gehrman Sparrow's destination was also "deceived".

This character image created jointly by Mystical Reenactment, numerous anchors, and nightmare power flickered as it flew towards the dream city.

Suddenly, in the dark void outside the gray fog. silhouettes of people emerged.

They bypassed the lightning storm, charging one after another towards the "door" opened by Madam Magician, towards Gehrman Sparrow.

At this critical moment, no Major Arcana card holder could spare a hand or stop them in time.

Madam Judgment couldn't help but look out the window.

Madam Tinekerr and Madam Sharron had also arrived, guarding against accidents. Would They be able to act in time?

A moment later, Madam Magician saw a lighter-colored mist spreading outside the gray fog. Within the mist, there seemed to be a wilderness, a river.

Those figures flying towards Gehrman Sparrow crashed into the mist and suddenly disappeared.

Finally, Gehrman Sparrow, carrying numerous anchors, arrived inside the movie theater in the dream city.

At this time, Madam Justice had woven Gehrman Sparrow's dream manifestation for the third time.

The two Gehrman Sparrows attracted each other and merged together.

"Gehrman Sparrow!

"Gehrman Sparrow!"

The audience in the movie theater started shouting loudly.

With these shouts, the newly appeared Gehrman Sparrow became clearer, noticeably more stable.

But he still kept his eyes tightly closed, as if he didn't have a soul yet.

The repulsive force of the dream descended.

At this moment, Franca, pulling the Gehrman Sparrow from the movie, ran out of the screen.

Then, she saw another Gehrman Sparrow in front of her, also wearing a silk top hat and long black coat.

This is... Franca had no time to think about anything else, as she caught a glimpse of the Gehrman Sparrow behind her starting to rapidly dissipate.

She gritted her teeth and, following the guidance of her Demoness of Despair spiritual intuition, pulled the Gehrman Sparrow from the movie towards the one in front.

The next second, she let go of the arm of the Gehrman Sparrow from the movie, watching as he was attracted and drawn by mystical forces, actively approaching the other Gehrman Sparrow and merging into him.

Rumble!

Terrifying noises came from midair again.

This time, it didn't sound like thunder rumbling, but closer to the collapse of the dream.

"Oh…" Franca suddenly made a surprised sound.

…

Inside Yangdu High-Speed Rail Station, the collapsed half remained in deep darkness.

Lumian looked up at the rumbling sky, then smiled at Zhou Mingrui, who was standing at the edge, just one step away from falling into darkness.

"Their attempt seems to have succeeded.

"Using countless anchors, Mystery Pryer powers, and Nightmare powers to create a Gehrman Sparrow image in reality, then finding a way to send him into the dream city to combine with the Gehrman Sparrow dream manifestation woven by the Dreamweaver wasn't a plan I came up with. It was a plan the Major Arcana card holders, had long ago, but hadn't had the chance to implement.

"My contribution was to suggest that the Gehrman Sparrow manifestation from the movie was the earliest to appear, produced out of thin air, and that a Demoness of Despair could bring him out of the screen. Why not try combining all three?

"Well, I had another contribution: creating such an opportunity."

Zhou Mingrui listened calmly, without any emotional change.

Suddenly, Lumian's smile became radiant, and he said softly to Zhou Mingrui, "My Despair potion has been fully digested."

[1] The last two lines are adapted from Rilke's "Day in Autumn"