Clang! Clang! Clang! Continuous impacts echoed through the vast underground space, resonating as if coming from an ancient time far removed. Folshe's body tightened, her hands trembling involuntarily, her voice dropping to a near-whisper: "What lies behind the bronze doors?" "I don't know," Tho replied honestly, instinctively swallowing a lump in his throat. Her right hand, just lifted to grasp the triangular spike, now stood out with prominent joints and visible veins, clearly strained. Clang! Clang! Clang! The knocking came one after another, neither speeding up nor slowing down, maintaining a steady rhythm. Each sound struck directly upon Folshe and Tho's hearts, making their hair stand on end and their scalps tingle. "It probably won't open at all," Folshe reassured herself, slightly dry-mouthed. Tho nodded firmly: "Once the materials have taken shape, we'll leave immediately." In this setting, under this atmosphere, her curiosity could not overcome her innate fear. "Excellent!" Fothering cast her gaze toward the sites where the two ancient spirits had been purified, mentally chiding the information provided by "Moon" for being too vague—particularly for failing to mention the existence of such a remarkable portal deep within the castle's underground. At that moment, fine, faintly glowing dust, like scattered gems, continuously settled onto the ground, accumulating into two distinct heaps. Around them, residual spirits nearly imperceptible coalesced into seemingly ethereal crystalline formations. Accompanying the crystals and the dust were two distinct objects: one in the shape of a ring, fully transparent, as though eroded, and another resembling a crystal-encased eye, with a subtle black aura flowing within it. Seeing this, Vorth suddenly had a revelation: ancient spirit ghosts were a class of beings whose essence was a blend of extraordinary characteristics. Among them, the curse was intrinsically linked to a specific part of their bodies or a particular object from their lifetimes—this connection formed the very foundation of their existence. Because of this, the forms of curses exhibited by different ancient spirit ghosts varied, yet their essence remained the same. Dust, however, was a distinct characteristic, serving as the source of most of their abilities. The residual spirit energy was akin to the blood or other materials of a monster. She motioned for Thow to stay alert while crouching down and retrieving three square iron boxes she had prepared. After a moment's hesitation, Folshe turned to Thow and said, "These two ancient spirits have waited for each other too long. I think it would be fitting to divide portions of what they've left behind and bury them together... Well, then, I'll take one cursed object, you take a heap of dust, and the remaining essence we'll share equally—does that sound reasonable?" Thow nodded without hesitation, gently. "That's fine." Folshe exhaled softly, pressed her lips together, and flipped through "Leimanor's Travel Notes," her fingers gliding smoothly over one page. Suddenly, the five tips of her right fingers extended an extra length, sharp and tipped with black patterns and symbols—her "Corrosion Claws," a trait inherited from the bloodline. She glanced at the changes on her palm and then reached down, easily digging a shallow pit in the ground, leaving behind a trail of corrosion. Next, she placed the crystal-eyed curse object and a pile of dust into the hollow, then filled it with the bricks and soil she had just gathered. With a soft rustle of her fingernails, she lightly inscribed a epitaph on the smoothed ground: “For your return, for your protection, forever united.” As she finished, Folth was about to sigh when suddenly, a sharp thudding sound erupted from behind the bronze gates. Thud! Startled, she nearly leapt up, quickly placing the remaining dust, the ring-shaped curse object, and the residual spirit into separate square iron boxes. Then, she secured the boxes, straightened herself, and, side by side with Tho, walked steadily up the narrow, winding staircase. Thud! Thud! Thud! The thudding from behind the bronze gates grew increasingly intense. Folth and Tho instinctively clenched their teeth, hastening upward along the stairs. They were running faster and faster, until finally they were sprinting, completely indifferent to whether they would stumble or roll down the steps like wheels. Eventually, sunlight appeared before Forse and Hugh. It streamed in from outside, falling gently upon the steps ahead, bright, pure, and warm. At that moment, the distant, rhythmic thudding sound coming from beneath the ground ceased abruptly, as if silenced forever. Forse and Hugh exchanged a glance, slowed their pace, and made a few strides, returning to the upper levels of the abandoned castle. Without a word, they simply walked on, heading back toward the forest's edge. After walking for a while, Folshe gradually calmed down, pressing her lips together and saying, "It was truly terrifying. Although the thing behind the bronze gate didn't cause us any harm—indeed, it didn't even reveal itself—I still think it's more frightening than the ancient spirits, more terrifying than anything I've ever experienced before. In those few minutes, I kept imagining several gruesome ways to die, one more horrifying than the next, yet none of them quite as striking as the very sound of the pounding impacts." Hov turned his head slightly, nodded in agreement. "Yes, I felt like I was walking right on the edge of a cliff." Just as Folshe was about to say something more, she suddenly noticed two streaks of fresh red blood flowing from Hov's nose. "Hov, Hov! You're bleeding from your nose!" she quickly reminded her friend. Hov paused, his pupils dilating. "You're also bleeding from your nose!" "Ah?" Folshe looked puzzled, reached out, and wiped her nostril—only to feel it warm and slightly moist, with a somewhat thick liquid. She was momentarily stunned, quickly bringing her right hand to her eyes, where a vivid, bright red stain spread across the skin, strikingly prominent. "Must have been from being too tense earlier," thought Folshe, murmuring to herself. At that moment, she noticed a subtle patch of pale black appearing on her wrist—under the sunlight filtering through the trees, it was visibly growing. The spot spread rapidly, spreading toward her forearm and upper arm. "Ah!" Folshe gasped instinctively, lifting her gaze toward her companion, Thu. Instantly, she saw patches of black spreading across Thu's cheeks and neck. "This... this isn't normal!" Folshe exclaimed. Thu too had noticed the unusual changes in both himself and his friend, and recalled what the female spirit had said: "Remember what she said? 'She said the guards before us were eroded by the power seeping out from behind the bronze gate!' 'Do you think we might have been affected too?' Folshe paused for a moment, then nodded firmly: "It's very possible." She quickly produced the potion she had prepared earlier, dividing a portion to Xu and then opening her own bottle, gulping down two bottles in succession. Yet neither of them showed any improvement—the black spots kept multiplying until their vision began to blur. *Thump… thump…* Not long after, even Folshe, who had exhausted all her self-rescue efforts, could hear her own heartbeat, sensing her body growing weak. With no further ideas, she moved her lips slightly, bit her teeth, and suddenly turned around, stepping sideways a few paces to increase the distance between them. Then, she bowed her head and began chanting the noble name of the "Knight of the Fool." Within just a few seconds, a deep red glow surged before her, flooding her like a tide. A few gasps and murmurs faded in and out, and Folshe saw the familiar, weathered long table and the ten high-backed chairs across from it. She soon realized that the dizziness and blurred vision in her head had completely vanished, and there were no unusual black spots visible on her spirit form. "Thank you for your assistance." Vors quickly rose and bowed to the figure at the head of the bronze table, veiled in a thick gray mist. Then, she heard the gentleman known as "The Fool" speak in a calm tone: "Your spirit has been eroded by some force. It's now stable." Had she already been purified by the gentleman known as "The Fool"? A thought flashed through Fols' mind. She was about to ask how she could save Tho, when suddenly a bright red glow surged, followed by a surge of light. After a brief interval, she found herself back in the real world, back in the Drel forest—her black spots on her forearm and wrist rapidly fading, and the steady trickle of blood from her nose now stopped. Turning to see Tho, who was weakly leaning against a nearby tree, his face marked with patches of black spots that spread in a dreadful pattern, Fols' muscles on her neck tensed sharply, and her thoughts began to race. A few seconds later, she hurried over, pressed her hands firmly against Tho's shoulders, and spoke quickly: "I have a way to save you—but you must follow my instructions precisely!" "In ancient Hermes tongue, the Fool belongs not to this age..." Hew struggled to lift his swollen eyelids, gazing at Folshe for a few seconds before softly reciting: "The Fool belongs not to this age; The mysterious sovereign above the grey mist; The King of Yellow and Black, ruler of fortune..." As the words fell from his lips, Hew was suddenly struck by a deep crimson light emerging from nowhere, engulfing him. An indescribable roar lasted for a single moment, then faded into silence. She found herself inside a grand, ancient palace, seated at a weathered, emerald table, with endless grey-white mist beneath her feet, and a towering, majestic figure looming before her, gazing down. The scene was both unfamiliar and yet strangely familiar—she had once seen it in a dream, and since the exorcism, she had not recalled it again. The purification actually did nothing... Suddenly, Hui rose with a thought, and bowed to the figure shrouded in gray mist: "Are you the Great Yellow-Black King?" She didn't seem overly surprised or frightened, as though she had anticipated this. "You may call me simply 'The Fool,' sir. Please sit." The figure, whose presence was as vast as mountains and seas, responded calmly. Hui bowed again and sat down, confirming that she had recovered from her earlier discomfort. She glanced around, then thought for a moment: "Respected Mr. Fool, is there a seat for Vorth Wol in this gathering?" The figure shrouded in gray mist nodded gently. "Yes." Hui paused for a second, then spoke directly: "May I join her?" The Fool smiled lightly: "This is a gathering organized by them, convened by me. There are still seats available—so, you may join." "Draw a card—everyone here uses one of the Tarot major arcana as their designation." Without further question or comment, Hu nodded immediately: "Yes, the 'Fortune Teller'." Instantly, a set of Tarot cards appeared on the bronze table before her. Hu extended her right hand, solemnly cut the cards, and drew one, laying it face up on the table. The card depicted an angel holding a horn and a soul awaiting redemption. "The Judgment!"