Audrey paled after hearing this, she glanced at Mr Fool and noticed that he didn't have any intention of adding to the conversation. She nodded in fear and disappointment and said, "I will heed to your advice Mr. Priestess and will approach them more naturally. Since that has been said and done, when can I digest the Spectator potion and stop acting? Is there a standard that indicates when I can? I'm almost at the point where I no longer feel frustrated, nor do I hear the constant murmuring anymore"
Alger looked at The Fool in the fog but saw that he didn't have any intention of speaking. He then deliberated before saying, "If you don't use the acting method, the typical rule of thumb is to wait three years and confirm that you no longer feel restless or receive any auditory or visual illusions. There is one simple test to determine when you can. That method is to exhaust your body to its limit. If you still don't hear any maniacal murmurings or see any strange things at that point, that would mean that you're ready to advance"
"With regards to the acting method, I have also just come into contact with it. It feels good, so I don't think it'll take three years"
That wasn't useful at all... Three years, that's too long...
Audrey criticized inwardly.
She had just thought about this when she heard an armrest being tapped.
Audrey froze, then turned her head in joy. She saw Mr Fool tapping on the edge of the long table.
Alger sat straighter, waiting for The Fool to speak.
Mr Fool replied casually, "For Low-Sequence Beyonders, as long as you strictly stick to acting, you should be able to digest the medicine in half a year. It's even possible to do it in a month"
He looked at Justice and added, "As for the signs of digestion, you'll know it when it comes. It doesn't need to be taught"
"One month... Great! Thank you, Mr. Fool!" Audrey exclaimed while brimming with joy.
"Half a year..." Alger repeated softly.
Audrey sensed joy, relief, and intense doubt in his tone.
What is he suspicious about? Audrey thought as she asked, "Mr. Fool, have you considered adding more members?"
Mr Fool leaned back casually and answered,
"This started as a trial, so I didn't spend much time thinking about extending our meetings.
But now, as a regular gathering, we must choose our members carefully. Secrecy is our motto"
Audrey nodded gently and said, "That is to say that we have to follow a process of observation, recommendation, and testing process. Yes, a process"
"You can interpret it that way" Mr Fool commented casually.
At that moment, realizing that Justice temporarily had nothing else to say, Alger took the initiative to speak,
"I've heard that a Listener from the Aurora Order is searching for traces of the True Creator, which is the holy residence they advocate"
"True Creator?" Audrey asked, puzzled.
"It is an ancient entity worshiped by numerous secret organizations and cults. They believe that the Creator hasn't completely perished. The Core he left behind is the True Creator" Alger gave a rough explanation.
"Since the Fifth Epoch, the True Creator has appeared in many forms, such as The Hanged Giant or the Eye behind the Shadow Curtains. Heh heh, many people believe that Emperor Roselle referenced the imagery of the True Creator when he was creating the tarot cards; hence, there exists the card of The Hanged Man"
At this point, he looked at Klein and said, "Mr. Fool, there's nothing with what I said, right?"
Is he trying to probe for my views on the True Creator?
Mr Fool chuckled and said, "I am more inclined to call him, the Fallen Creator"
"The Fallen Creator... Fallen..." Alger ruminated over The Fool's words and fell deep in thought.
However, what struck Alger the most was The Fool's relaxed, natural, and nonchalant attitude.
He acted as if they were equal!
If he hadn't experienced their previous ritual, Alger might have thought The Fool was merely bluffing, and building himself up to intimidate him and Justice. But now, he was of the opinion that even if The Fool was inferior to the True Creator, he was at least close to that level.
It's dangerous. It's also an opportunity... Alger muttered softly. He then spoke with a smile, "Mr. Fool, your description is indeed more appropriate. According to our observations, Beyonders who believed in the True Creator, no-the Fallen Creator, have a higher probability of losing control. The rest of them are mostly psychopaths"
Upon seeing The Fool remain silently engulfed in the thick gray fog, Audrey asked both wistfully and curiously, "That sounds scary. Mr. Hanged Man, could you share, in detail, information about each, and every mysterious organization? And also the matters regarding each secret cult? It's hard for me to come into contact with them during my daily life. I can only understand them through the both of you. I'm willing to pay for it. May I know what you'd like in return?"
Even though Alger had just gotten a hefty amount of money from 'The High Priestess' he still thought about getting some more. After all, no matter how much money you have, it's always good to have more. Alger thought for a moment before saying, "I need money, a thousand pounds. It'd be best if they weren't bills marked by a serial number. Or maybe gemstones that have just been unearthed. Price them according to the Backlund Jewelry Exchange's monthly average price"
Arthus had a smile on his face after noticing a change in Mr Fools state after hearing about money. I wonder what he is lampooning about in his head right now. Also, how greedy are you Mr Hanged Man? Didn't you get a big generous donation from me last week? Think about the poor Mr Fool! He looks like he's constipated! Arthus laughed in his heart.
I do feel ignored though. Maybe I'll try joining in the conversation if I can. Arthus thought to himself. He just doesn't know when to join in so he usually waits for them to finish talking before making his demands. I wish I could casually join in but it's hard. Not only that, he was also afraid of saying something wrong without thinking it through properly.
"A thousand pounds?" Audrey said, sounding shocked.
She then replied happily, "No problem, do I send it to the previous address?"
Inside Arthus was laughing. Hehehe! Look at the great Mr Fool! Miss Justice, you are so cruel. You just gave a big slap to Mr Fools face with your money. Hehehe! He was struggling to hold his laughter. Mr Fool probably lost quite a few years of his life from that sentence you just casually uttered Miss Justice. Aren't you supposed to be his therapist? You seem to be giving him mental health issues instead of curing them!
Alger was quiet for a good twenty seconds before he said, "Yes, send it to the Warrior & Sea Bar at Pelican Street, in the White Rose Borough of Pritz Harbor. Tell the boss, Williams, that it's what the 'Captain' wants"
"Alright" Audrey leaned back and posed in a Spectator-like manner. "Mr. Hanged Man, you can start now"
Alger looked at The Fool, deliberated for a moment before saying slowly, "Let's start from the Moses Ascetic Order. It is the earliest hidden organization. Of course, many think that the earliest hidden organizations are the Church of the Evernight Goddess, the Church of Mother Earth, and the Church of the God of Combat"
"These people must be from the Church of Lord of Storms, the Church of Eternal Blazing Sun, or the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom" Audrey refuted sulkily.
Alger smiled and said, "The truth is buried in ancient history. Only one thing is certain: no one has ever said that the Church of Lord of Storms, the Church of Eternal Blazing Sun, or the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom were once hidden organizations.
Alright, let's save some time and return to main topic. The Moses Ascetic Order was first established by a few humans that had read the Blasphemy Slate. They believed in an non-anthropomorphic god, called 'the Hidden Sage'
The description is that of a god, but it is more of an ideology, a natural law. For example, all objects are numeric. The Hidden Sage is an embodiment of Spirit Numerology. Or that knowledge is supreme, and the Hidden Sage is knowledge itself. Hence, the original Moses Ascetic Order was a very respectable organization, and it maintained a good relationship with the other major churches.
"The members of the organization led ascetic lives to resist losing control and to resolve the effects of the Remnant potion. They strictly kept their order's secrets, and they upheld moral and religious precepts. They believe that humans continuously reincarnate after death…
The Sequence 9 that they grasp is called Mystery Pryer... The word 'Warlock' was also spread from that organization"
Audrey listened to The Hanged Man's description carefully and asked sharply, "You said that the Moses Ascetic Order used to be a respectable organization.
Are they not one anymore?"
Alger nodded his head indiscernibly.
"Yes, they have fallen into corruption and are now an evil organization"
"Why? I find their beliefs very good and very normal" Audrey expressed her confusion.
Alger looked at the unfathomable Fool and tersely agreed.
"I am not sure of the real reason. It might be because it has been buried by history. However, I have heard one terrifying explanation.
In that story, the main reason why the Moses Ascetic Order fell into corruption was because the god that they believed in, the Hidden Sage, had come to life!
He became the personification of an evil god!"
"Came to life? This….. how?" Audrey found it unimaginable as she replied with an incredulous tone.
Without realizing it, she had exited from her Spectator state.
"I'm sorry, no one knows the answer" Alger had originally wanted to casually say, "Maybe Mr. Fool would know" but he held back the urge. Soon after he heard 'The High Priestess' begin to speak.
"Regarding this… I do know some things about the Hidden Sage. 'He' is not a true god but more of a King of Angels in my opinion.
'He' is very involved with the beyonders from the Mystery Pryer pathway and will test every beyonder from this pathway. 'He' will whisper knowledge into their ears constantly, especially during their sequence advancement.
This is most likely similar to the ravings you must have heard when you drank your beyonder potion as well but significantly worse. Anyway, this whispering will force the beyonder to assimilate the knowledge in it and failure to do so will result in either becoming a raving lunatic or losing control and becoming a mindless monster.
Now the reason I say that he is 'testing' the beyonders from the Mystery Pryer pathway and not corrupting them is this, the knowledge whispered by 'Him' is actually correct and orthodox, without any corruption or deception. If 'He' wanted too, 'He' could easily attach negative influences in the knowledge in 'His' ravings to corrupt the listener.
It's just that the way he delivers it is despicable. The sequence 2 of the Mystery Pryer is known as 'Sage' and gives the beyonder from that pathway an ability called 'Knowledge injection'. As you can guess from the name, it allows the person to forcefully inject a huge amount of useless knowledge into 'Their' targets which either results in their minds exploding or 'They' would be stunned trying to process all that information. I think the Hidden Sage uses this method.
Now the effects I've explained are experienced by 'Those' at the same sequence as 'Them'. You can only imagine the struggle of those from the lower sequences trying to advance to higher sequences. I would even say that this pathway is the hardest to advance in"