"What description should I use to refer to the Pure White Eye?"
Ebner pondered for a while and tentatively wrote a line on paper:
"Pure White Eye from an alternate dimension."
Unlike Klein, he didn't need to share his prayer incantation with others, so even if this wording exposed his origin from another world, it was of no consequence—he'd be the only one using it.
"Typically, a high-rank entity requires three lines of description. The last two lines should elaborate or supplement the first…" Ebner furrowed his brows, carefully considering his next lines. After a full minute, he crafted the remaining phrases to reflect the Pure White Eye's purpose:
"You are the embodiment of all truth, the analyzer of the universe and its secrets."
Since he wasn't sure of the Eye's exact rank, he avoided using terms like "Lord" or "King" as Klein had when he crafted the Fool's title.
"Next, I'll transcribe this in ancient Hermes, then analyze it with the Pure White Eye. Ancient Hermes has inherent 'power' in its words, so even without speaking aloud, I should be able to see if it connects with the Eye."
As he thought this, Ebner carefully transcribed the phrases while activating the Pure White Eye.
Yet after a second of analysis, his brows drew tighter.
"Hm? No connection… And according to the analysis, the issue lies with the first line…"
Ebner narrowed his eyes, trying several alternative phrases, but none established a connection with the Pure White Eye.
"Maybe…I need to think even bolder." Determined, he rapidly tried ten different phrase variants, only to find that referring to the God of Knowledge, high Sequences in the White Tower pathway, or even Knowledge itself did not resonate with the Eye. Surprisingly, when he wrote "Pure White Eye from the Unknown," he felt a faint response.
He quickly burned the other notes in a nearby brazier, then gazed thoughtfully at the single remaining slip that read, "Pure White Eye from the Unknown."
"From the Unknown? But what's the difference between that and an alternate dimension? Aren't alternate dimensions also unknown realms?"
"No… 'Unknown' seems to be the key! Perhaps I should dare to speculate even further… Could I have misunderstood something essential? What if the Pure White Eye isn't the actual source of that bug-level analysis ability but rather an 'interface'? Perhaps it's simply a 'mask'…"
With a theory forming, Ebner immediately began testing it. He rewrote his incantation to say:
"Oh, unknown realm connected to the Pure White Eye,
You are the embodiment of all truth,
You are the analyzer of the universe and its secrets."
This time, the Pure White Eye's response was far more intense; he almost felt a faint sense of a misty expanse within his vision. However, with his current capabilities, he could only just perceive it, unable to see clearly or establish direct contact. Attempting anything further would be beyond him.
"As expected… It turns out the Pure White Eye is just a mask or interface—a passageway. It's that unknown realm it connects to that is the true source of its power. This also explains why my status elevates each time I activate the Pure White Eye! If the Eye itself held an intrinsic high rank, its rank would remain constant regardless of activation."
Of course, this was only hindsight—Ebner had never suspected such a thing before.
"As for that unknown realm… all I know is it's not the Spirit World. Otherwise, the initial wording would've facilitated at least a slight connection through spirit contact."
"Nor does it seem to be the Astral World; several earlier wordings clearly pointed to that."
"So it really does seem like an utterly unknown place—a true unknown of this universe."
After thinking about it for a long time without any further insights, Ebner set it aside. He destroyed all the notes he'd written and, by then, noticed the sky was already brightening. It was now 6:00 a.m. on July 13.
Feeling the familiar pangs of hunger, he decided to invite Xio to breakfast in the ship's dining room. With such amenities available, they didn't need to rely solely on dry rations.
Since it was still early, few people were in the dining room. As soon as they entered, Ebner and Xio spotted Aetris dining with his employer's family at a nearby table.
Seeing Aetris busy with "work," Ebner hadn't intended to greet him, but his employer, a man in a double-breasted suit, noticed the pair's refined demeanor and sharp dress, sparking his interest in acquaintance.
Recalling that his bodyguard had conversed with them shortly after boarding, he turned to Aetris and asked, "Are they your friends?"
"Yes, Mr. Furnal," Aetris replied with a nod.
"They seem like remarkable young people. Go on and invite them to join us," Mr. Furnal said with a warm smile.
"Very well, sir." Aetris, seeing no issue, agreed readily and approached Ebner.
"An invitation to breakfast?" Ebner was somewhat surprised upon learning their purpose, but a free breakfast was nothing to refuse.
He accepted gladly, though Xio sighed beside him. As a former noble, she found Ebner's lack of reserve a bit hard to get used to.
First Fors, now Ebner… Why are all my friends so reliable in big matters but such eccentric personalities otherwise? Xio thought to herself, quietly bemused.
"Thank you for the hospitality, sir. I'm Ebner, a detective. And this is Miss Xio." As they sat down, Ebner introduced himself. While he hadn't used an alias, "Ebner" and "Xio" were common enough names to offer without worry.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Ebner. I am Konse Furnal, an archaeologist." Mr. Furnal introduced himself in a gentle tone and then gestured toward his family. "This is my wife, Katrina; my son, Lott; and my two little angels, Alina and Phyllis."
Katrina was a fair-featured woman with a graceful figure, bearing a faint resemblance to Feysac lineage. She inclined her head slightly in acknowledgment when introduced.
Lott, who looked around ten, stood up and performed a dignified greeting like a little adult. The twin girls were too young to heed the adults, focused only on the food before them.
"An archaeologist? Then you must be quite the scholar," Ebner said with interest, offering a few courteous compliments before steering the conversation toward the ruins Mr. Furnal had previously explored. Having read several historical records from Detective Isengard's library, he easily kept up in the discussion, making Mr. Furnal feel delightfully at ease as he shared his knowledge.
Mr. Furnal hadn't expected such an engaging conversation with a random acquaintance and, delighted, revealed much about his work. Eventually, he even disclosed that his recent return from overseas was because a student had discovered interesting ruins in the mountains of Sivellaus County. The ruins likely belonged to Fourth Epoch inhabitants, and the student had invited him to lead an excavation.
"Sivellaus County… the Hornacis Mountain Range?" Ebner recalled the Loen Kingdom's map, recognizing the mountain range.
"You've got it! According to Hoy University lecturer Azik Eggers's Studies in the Private Histories of Sivellaus County, during a period we can't yet fully date, the Solomon Empire and Tudor Dynasty coexisted in the northern continent, and their border likely fell along the Hornacis Mountains and the Feynapotter Highlands."
"In that mysterious stretch of history we barely understand, some inhabitants may have fled their cities to escape the turmoil, entering the mountains to form isolated tribal communities within the Hornacis Mountains."
Mr. Furnal spoke with excitement, unaware that Ebner had already begun mentally praying for him, hoping some benevolent deity would watch over him so he wouldn't uncover anything lethal on his next dig.
For mortals to settle within the Hornacis Mountains during the time when gods walked the earth… Ebner shuddered at the implications.
After breakfast, Ebner took Aetris aside and advised, "Once you've escorted Mr. Furnal to Emmat Port, it might be best to quit this job. And if you can, persuade him to avoid digging into the Hornacis Mountains…"
"Is it really that dangerous?" Aetris asked, mulling it over.
"Extremely. If he's lucky, there'll be no findings… but if he does unearth something…" Ebner shook his head, unwilling to imagine the potential consequences.
"I understand." Aetris nodded gravely. After a pause, he hesitated and added, "Ebner, can I trust that Anderson fellow?"
Did Anderson approach Aetris? Ebner's suspicions flared but didn't lead him to stop it. After a brief thought, he replied, "From what I know, Anderson may not have the best reputation, and he has a bit of a sharp tongue. But he's generally reliable in serious matters and treats friends fairly well."
Aetris furrowed his brows, nodding thoughtfully before saying goodbye and catching up with his employer.
Afterward, Xio went off to gather more intel from Captain Elland, hoping to pry further information from him.
As for Ebner, he returned to his cabin, sealed the room with a spiritual wall, and set up a ritual altar. Finally, he placed an intricately engraved fountain pen on the altar.
Since he now had an incantation that could connect to the Pure White Eye, or rather, the unknown power behind it, it was time to craft an item linked to Sefirah Castle!
"Oh, unknown realm connected to the Pure White Eye,
You are the embodiment of all truth,
You are the analyzer of the universe and its secrets.
"I pray for the power to reach the spirit world.
I pray for the wisdom of the gray fog,
I pray for the blessing of the unknown.
"Grant this pen the ability to connect to the red star in the fog…"
(End of Chapter)
new edit
Wearing his usual inexpensive suit and carrying a black cane with silver accents, Klein climbed the steps to the Blackthorn Security Company—the tailcoat he'd worn for the battle with the Clown had been damaged and sent to the hat shop for repairs. Just as he was about to greet Rozanne, Captain Dunn stepped out from the partition.
"Good morning, Klein. Did you sleep well last night?" Dunn asked, concerned. After all, Klein had taken a life with his own hands during the pursuit of Ray Bieber the previous evening.
Klein answered truthfully, "Better than I'd expected. I didn't have nightmares, but thinking back, it's still a bit heavy…a bit nauseating."
"Good. That's reassuring." Dunn nodded with a slight smile.
At that moment, Klein suddenly sensed his spirituality being stirred by something, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what.
"Could it be that Miss Justice or Mr. Hanged Man is praying to the Fool again?"
With this thought, he noticed Dunn was trying to fill the silence with some small talk, so Klein mentioned, "Captain, I'd like to head to the washroom."
Dunn blinked in slight surprise, then donned his hat and nonchalantly gestured toward the door. "Go ahead. I also need to patrol Raphael Cemetery later… Oh, and one more thing: Leonard and the police department made some progress in their investigation of the Secret Order. They located the carriage driver who transported some members, pinpointed a temporary residence in Tingen, but those cultists were quite cautious and left no substantial clues."
"As expected of an ancient, secret organization." Klein agreed thoughtfully, turning to leave.
But Dunn, just as he reached the door, paused and turned back. "Also, your formal membership application may take another two to three days for approval. Heh, unlike the Antigonus family diary case, this is handled by a different department, and their efficiency is… well, different."
"Understood." Klein responded sincerely.
After watching Dunn leave, Klein avoided the company washroom, given that this was the Nighthawks' headquarters, and instead waited until Dunn was out of sight before stepping outside to Old Will's restaurant, which catered to the company's lunch orders.
Securing himself inside one of the washrooms, Klein locked the door, closed the valves, and, gripping the small silver knife he'd borrowed, brought a glowing orb to mind and slipped into a semi-meditative state.
He gathered his will, recalling his training to expel spirituality from the blade's tip, moving it in rhythm with his body to seal the washroom in an intricate connection with his environment.
Then, he laid down the knife, turned counterclockwise, and took four steps.
The familiar sounds of screams and whispers swarmed around him, overwhelming him with madness and torment, but he clung to control, enduring the most harrowing moments with barely a clear mind.
Boundless gray mist stretched endlessly around him, the distant orbs of red stars scattered close and far, and the grand temple loomed like a long-dead titan, unchanged, ancient, with centuries of accumulated silence that pressed upon him.
Glancing down, he noticed the nearest red stars belonging to "Justice" and "The Hanged Man," but they showed no signs of swelling or shrinking, leaving him puzzled.
"No prayer… then what was it?"
Klein scanned his surroundings but found nothing unusual, so he summoned pen and paper and wrote out a divination statement:
"The reason my spirituality was stirred."
In the hazy, dreamlike trance, Klein saw the towering temple again and the red star that flickered amidst the endless gray mist.
As the scene faded, Klein withdrew from the vision.
He raised his hand and, with a slight pull, summoned the same crimson star from his dream to him. Knowing these stars preserved prayers like offline messages, Klein focused, eager to hear the words that had stirred his spirituality.
And then, he heard a string of words that were all too familiar: "Hornacis…Antigonus…half a Fool…"
…
Back on the White Agate, Ebner put down the pen in his hand, a faint smile of amusement playing on his lips as he thought, "I wonder if I gave the Fool quite a scare?"
"While it'll certainly keep him on his toes, Klein still doesn't fully grasp the harsher side of this world at this point. He's still entangled in the aftermath of the Antigonus family's notebook, and if everything played out as expected last night, he's probably still shaken by the corpse of that Clown that startled him…"
"So, if I keep dropping key words here and there without much context, he'll eventually give in and bring me into the Gray Fog."
"Heh, this strategy only works while he's still Klein. Once he becomes Sherlock, it won't be so easy to mislead him, and by the time he's Gehrman, well… I'd probably turn into Beyonder characteristics before even joining the Tarot Club. Not that Gehrman's all that merciless, though; that impression is probably Fors's influence."
In a cheerful mood, Ebner continued to study the other Beyonder abilities that had already been parsed by the Pure White Eye. Even though he now understood that the "parsing" originated from the unknown realm behind the Eye, he was still used to calling it the Pure White Eye. After all, it maintained some secrecy around the true power source.
After lunch, Ebner once again picked up the pen, grabbed a novel as a prop, and muttered a few choice words—"Antigonus…Fourth Epoch angel family…in the Four Emperors' War, allied with the Tudor Dynasty"—before settling into the novel, intending to log off with an appropriate show.
…
In Tingen's Golden Indus District, inside the Deweyville Library.
Using a letter of recommendation from his university mentor, Klein successfully obtained a library card.
As he examined the small card in his hand, he asked one of the librarians, "Do you have A Study of the Ancient Ruins on Mount Hornacis, published by the Loen Publishing House?"
One of the librarians promptly responded, "Please wait a moment. Let me check."
The librarian turned toward the numerous card drawers, pulling out the one labeled with "Hornacis" and, following an established sequence, flipped through several cards filled with words.
After a thorough scan, he shook his head apologetically.
"I'm sorry, sir. We don't have that book in our collection."
"What a shame," Klein replied, disappointed.
Just then, his spirituality was stirred once again, the sensation identical to what he'd felt that morning.
"Again? Is this supposed to scare me to death or annoy me to death?" Klein quipped inwardly, but outwardly he maintained a polite smile as he turned back to the librarian.
"Could you point me to the washroom?"
The librarian blinked in surprise but dutifully gave directions.
Once inside, Klein expertly sealed the space with his spirituality and turned counterclockwise to enter the Gray Fog.
Through divination, Klein confirmed the source of the spiritual stirrings was once again the crimson star. This time, he took a deep breath and, recalling how he had previously observed the Hanged Man, allowed his spirituality to extend and make contact with the orb of crimson.
He soon found himself seeing hazy, distorted images—a young man with brown curls reading a book, holding an intricately patterned pen in his hand.
The youth was well-dressed in Loen-style formal attire, and though his surroundings were modest, they were tastefully decorated, like a carefully furnished guest room.
Since the images were indistinct, showing only a silhouette, and Ebner had worn the "Sea Breeze Hat" throughout the Dream Labyrinth Tower scenes, Klein didn't recognize the youth as the one he had seen in his dream divination "killing" Tris.
Listening closely, Klein tried to make out the young man's words but realized he was just mumbling to himself while reading, with no coherent flow. Klein could barely grasp anything concrete.
"He probably isn't praying to me on purpose… But the book he's reading seems to hold many secrets about the Antigonus family… This is exactly what I need to know, which explains the reaction from my spirituality."
"Perhaps I should summon him to the Gray Fog and ask him more directly? But this goes against my principles… I don't want to force anyone into this mysterious space against their will."
"But this young man's careless utterance of those names might attract the attention of secretive organizations like the Secret Order. I should at least give him a warning…"
Klein deliberated for a while before deciding to summon the youth to the Gray Fog and offer him a word of caution. Whether he would choose to stay and become a member of the gathering would be entirely up to him.
"If I summon him in my role as a god, he likely won't want to risk further contact but should respect it enough to keep this encounter private. There's some risk, but it's worth it."
Resolving himself, Klein extended his right hand to touch the crimson star, only to halt midway.
After a moment of silence, he let the yellow crystal pendant on his left hand dangle naturally before him.
Once its swinging stilled, he visualized a light sphere and began mentally reciting:
"Touching this crimson star will bring me danger."
After several repetitions, he opened his eyes and observed the pendulum, noting its slight counterclockwise movement.
"No… No danger."
This time, Klein didn't hesitate. He reached out with his right hand and touched the crimson star.
Immediately, the star exploded with light, spilling out like flowing water.
(End of Chapter)
new edit