Protect the spirits with the "dreams," delaying the erosion of the perilous nights... This is just like in the "Divine War Ruins," where one must sleep when night falls. Moreover, the power of the "Abandoned Lands" seems to be beyond the control of the goddess; once it vanishes into the darkness there, it will surely not reach the misty village. So where does this lead? Or does it mean that the spirits remain in place, severed from their companions and the real world, until they starve or grow old? After hearing Arordes' answer from the "Magic Mirror," Caine gained a clear understanding and grasped the essence of the matter. Yet, he doubted its practical value, because the "Sun" seeks pure darkness not merely to endure it, but to be buried within ice that normally wouldn't melt, so as to consume the "Sacred Light" potion. Once immersed in the dream state, however, it loses control over its own body and cannot complete this crucial step—thus, no matter how long it endures in the darkness, the effort proves futile. Well, after the junior "Sun" has consulted with the head of Silver City and after considering the specific plan based on his response... of course, first I need to secure the relevant method from Leonard, so I understand exactly how to create temporary darkness within the dream world... Klein gave a slight nod, affirming the answer provided by the "Magic Mirror." As for the first method—actively accepting pollution and transforming into a monster in darkness—he didn't even consider it; in the transcendent realm, this amounted to suicide, and recovery was nearly impossible. Thinking of another issue still unresolved, Klein pondered and asked: "Where can I obtain the potion formula for the 'Seer' path, sequence 3, 'Ancient Scholar'?" Yet this time, deep within the hall, there was no longer that indistinct, immense worm-like presence. As Caine's pupils slightly widened, one after another, silver words emerged clearly beneath the scene: "Great Lord, Zarathustra has vanished! 'I cannot see Him!'” Vanished... Caine almost forgot to breathe. Though he had long known that Zarathustra had returned—this being a direct consequence of the chain reaction triggered by opening the gate to the misty town—he had not expected the great figure to have quietly departed from his hall and disappeared without a trace! Even the "Magic Mirror," Arodos, could not locate His whereabouts. What was He planning now? The more Caine pondered, the colder his spine grew. He has already ascended to the rank of Sequence 4 Half-God. One thing he can currently confirm is that his control over the mysterious space above the gray mist is still insufficient. For now, he can only suppress the unique attributes that seep into and manifest within his body, making them less visible to extraordinary beings through the respective pathways—yet he still cannot counteract the law of aggregation of extraordinary traits. Time and again, that very gray mist demonstrates an invisible, drawing power over extraordinary beings or sealed entities belonging to the "Seer," "Apprentice," and "Thief" pathways, with the "Seer" pathway showing the most pronounced effect. Moreover, as a Sequence 4 "Mystic" myself with a strong inherent attraction, it's not inconceivable that Charathu might suddenly arrive in Beckland one day. Keen maintains a steady expression, addressing the full-length mirror currently changing scenes: "I understand now." The next scene presented by the mirror, "The Magic Mirror" Arodos, is one that Keen is already familiar with—it depicts the Antigonous family's "Treasure" at the summit of the Honachis Mountains. Below the scene, a row of silver words appeared swiftly: "Great Lord, there is another possibility, though I cannot yet see what it is—only that it will be slightly easier than the two that came before." Was the notebook from the Antigonos family missing this time? Indeed, it would guide the holder to the summit of the Honaquis Mountains to seek the Antigonos family's treasure—an option that could naturally merge with the one previously presented. So, what could be the possibility that even the magical mirror, Arodos, could not perceive? Drawing upon my understanding of the forces associated with the "Seer" path, I now believe it refers to making a direct appeal to the goddess. The goddess is the "Mother of the Hidden," so if she wishes Arodos to see the answer, he will; if she does not, then he will see nothing at all. Klein's thoughts flowed freely, and soon took shape. Of course, he did not believe that a direct appeal to the goddess would yield the formula of the "Ancient Scholar" magic potion—such a notion seemed utterly absurd, much like a child attempting a game. Starting from the experiences of the night-watchers, he suspected that one might need to accumulate sufficient contributions in order to pass through the ritual and receive the magical recipe of the "Ancient Scholar" from the "Goddess of Night." Accumulating merits—how familiar that phrase sounds... Claein sighed silently, already forming thoughts: Clearly, there are hints as to how to accumulate merits—namely, by resolving the issues within the Synod of the Artificial Deities! Yet, Claein doubted that the "Prophets" pathway for the magical recipe offered by the Goddess might only reach the rank of "Ancient Scholar," without extending further into the ranks of the Angels. After all, the Angel from the Antigonus family had not directly fallen but had instead fled to the hidden palace, where he had become a monster and remained in a semi-sealed state, and the "Fool" card was also there, never removed. At that moment, Klein had just intended to ask about the Amun's duplicate, but then suddenly remembered—within the memory of the Mouse Half-Deity, it was precisely a mirror that had recorded the incident where the "Theft-Seeker" pathway angel had warned Amun of him! The thought flashed through his mind like lightning. Klein's eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at the full-length mirror and nodded. "Alright," he said, "that's all for today. Return now. Should there be any further matters, I'll summon you." "Yes, Master! Goodbye, Master~ My faithful and humble servant, Arodes, awaits to return to your side at all times!" On the mirror, streams of light gathered, forming words or evolving into a simple sketch of a waving figure. When everything had settled into stillness, Klein turned around, picked up the sheet of paper on which he had previously drawn symbols, and snapped his fingers—sending it blazing into a vibrant red flame. As the ashes drifted gently downward, he spread his left hand, and in the palm lay two translucent, wriggling worms, each glowing with three-dimensional, mysterious symbols. Those two worms gently writhed, possessing their own vitality, infusing the entire bedroom with a frenzy and an eerie sense of transformation—light and shadow flickered and dimmed in an irregular, unpredictable rhythm, precisely the "spirit worms" separated by Caine. Suddenly, Caine extended his right palm and firmly pressed it against the two translucent worms. Instantly, his palm halted, precisely at the point of contact with the "spirit worms." He raised his hand, then lowered it; lowered it again, then paused; paused once more, then raised it—repeating this sequence several times before Caine, expressionless, suddenly exerted a powerful force. A silent, ethereal sound of rupture rippled through him, and a sharp, piercing pain surged in his head—so intense that it felt as though his soul had been torn apart, more agonizing than the sensation of being struck by a blade or pierced by a sword. Klein used the "Jester's" ability to steady the twitching muscles of his face, pausing a few seconds before lifting his right hand to rub his temple, murmuring to himself: "Indeed, each death of a 'Spirit Worm' inflicts damage upon the spirit body. My current limit should be six. For now, I'll refrain from pushing it—let's see how long it takes to recover. Good thing this is a type that's tolerable; otherwise, during intense combat, if the secret figure is destroyed and the 'Spirit Worm' isn't recovered in time, it would be dangerous... Ah, unlike Amun's 'Time Worm' duplicates, the 'Spirit Worms' of the 'Witch of Mysteries' don't necessarily die when the secret figure is eliminated. Most of the time, the 'Witch of Mysteries' manages to recover them in time, since the distance between the body and the secret figure isn't particularly great." Once he confirmed everything was stable and the extraordinary properties within the 'Spirit Worms' had returned to the body, Klein retrieved the materials once more, set up the ritual, and turned to the 'Fool' for prayer. After a series of delicate manipulations, Caine crafted two silver-black bullets using the residual bodies of the two "spirit insects," two thin silver plates, and a portion of the intricate, three-dimensional symbols he had previously copied—symbols originally inscribed on the item bestowed upon "Mercury's Serpent" Will Aunseit. The surface of each bullet bore an indescribably strange pattern that extended inward, converging at a central point, radiating a deep, luminous glow that never seemed dim. Simply gazing upon them was enough to induce a sense of mental sluggishness. "This goes beyond the scope of my own capabilities—of course, assuming I can hit it. This stems from the enhancement provided by the gray mist's power... These two bullets and the 'Thief of Movements' talisman should be on the same level. Though my 'spirit insects' still fall short of Amun and Palis's 'time insects,' the mysterious spatial powers I've been able to summon from the gray mist have clearly evolved since before. Let's just call them, then, 'spirit-controlling bullets'..." Kline removed the 'Hourglass' pistol from his armpit holster, shook the cylinder to settle it, and inserted the two silver-black 'spirit-controlling bullets' inside. Then, beside the altar, he unfolded the letter and began writing: "...Your next task is to seek out higher-tier talismans or extraordinary bullets. May the gods be with you. The one who proposed these three requests is someone named Patrick Bryan." This letter was addressed to Patrick Bryan, the representative of the Artificial Death God faction within the Spirit Church. Why would you not use someone if you didn't need them? That would be a waste. Klein mumbled as he folded the letter, summoning Patrick Brian’s messenger right at the altar he had just used. A dark flame began to rise subtly from the surface of his desk, quickly coalescing into a semi-transparent bird with dull feathers. The spirit creature glanced at Klein, lowered its head slowly, and picked up the letter. As it vanished, Klein nodded slightly, murmuring to himself, “Patrick’s contractual companion must be quite accomplished as well…” He soon settled his thoughts, drew out another sheet of paper, and wrote smoothly: “…I’ve received secret authorization allowing you to begin gathering items from the semi-divine level of the ‘Theft Path.’ Additionally, I’ve discovered a method to detect and counteract the theft and substitution of destinies—there’s no need for you to rush. …Do you understand how to create a world of temporary dreams, one shrouded in darkness?”