## Chapter 63: A Probationary Period for It
— The Lovers, The Hanged Man, The Sun.
These cards do not refer to reversals, but are merely hints at the essence of power.
All three answers had been given by the formless Disciple.
Perhaps the Butterfly could have other possibilities. But these reversals and the order of the cards were merely a divination of the subject, Yulia, incidentally performed.
After Eivass obtained the answers, the prayer ritual was nearing its end.
The candle flame before him suddenly began to flicker uneasily, its light becoming elongated and pale, as if urging him on.
Eivass knew this was a sign to quickly destroy the items used in the ritual.
This was the normal procedure for a prayer ritual. Otherwise, it might anger the descending Disciple.
This was because these blood-stained Tarot Cards had already been imbued with the Disciple’s power. It was akin to a signature or a stamp, a mark of their identity.
If these cards fell into the wrong hands, they could be used as ritual materials to summon other Disciples or even the Nine Pillar Gods—they would then consider the summoner introduced by that Disciple, making them more likely to respond to the ritual. Only with the Disciple’s consent could a few sanctified materials be left behind.
And without permission, any attempt to retain materials bearing another’s aura during a ritual could provoke unnecessary attacks.
Thus, Eivass reverently held the blood-soaked Tarot Cards over the candle flame, signaling that he had genuinely come to ask a question.
They all ignited upon contact with the flame, instantly turning into dust. It was like the fleeting flames conjured by a Magician, or like a fire that instantly flared and extinguished within a pan.
The moment these Tarot Cards burned away, the holes in Eivass’s hands, along with the wounds on his thumbs, silently healed. The stagnant Illusion Magic in his arms was also cleared away.
The elongated candle flame licked at Eivass’s hand, but did not burn him. Instead, it gave him a sense of warmth.
Eivass meticulously washed all the blood from his hands in the flame, then touched his chest, mouth, and forehead in succession with his left hand.
“Thank you for your revelation, Envoy of the Candlemaster.”
The boy with golden-white hair spoke solemnly to the candle flame in the dark room, “I shall be like the candle, eternally bright.”
As if in encouragement, the elongated flame flickered three times rapidly.
Then, the flame returned to its original color and shape.
The feeling of being watched by something also dissipated.
Eivass carefully extinguished the candle, confirming the ritual was complete and the Disciple had departed, preventing any surprise return.
Once the candle flame was completely extinguished, Eivass finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He relaxed his body and leaned back in his wheelchair.
Although this was a common ability for a Priest, other Priests could also pray to the Nine Pillar Gods—usually, the most responsive were the Disciples of the Path of Devotion, and they required no offerings or price. This was because the act of helping believers without compensation was itself a form of “devotion”.
But as he said this, it was still Eivass’s first time personally performing a prayer ritual. He was still somewhat nervous.
“…Forgot to ask for their name.”
Suddenly, Eivass smacked his forehead in annoyance.
Although he didn’t know the specific Disciple who responded, they were quite friendly. They had even healed him as a parting gift, saving Eivass from having to use Fire Worship Magic again.
If he had known the Disciple’s name, Eivass could have prayed to them specifically next time.
While it might not be friendly to exploit one particular individual… as long as the other party agreed, it would be a matter of mutual consent.
After calming himself down, Eivass took out his personal, more expensive, bound Tarot Card deck from beside the table.
One of the cards in this deck, “The Moon,” had already been used when Eivass was making the “Blade of Shadow.”
Eivass thought that perhaps the success rate of creating Illusion Cards would also increase slightly if he used the same deck.
Relying on the Disciple’s revelation, Eivass selected the three Tarot Cards applicable to the Butterfly. He then arranged them on the table in an inverted triangle formation, according to the reversal and order they were drawn.
Although he had been inquiring about the essence of power, it could also be considered a Tarot reading for Yulia.
And it was a Tarot reading involving a higher dimensional power.
The Disciples of the Dream Realm could see the past and future—time was not irreversible for them. However, due to the constraints of the Dream Realm, Disciples could not tell mortals the exact future. Just as even for Hengwo, whose Sacred Number was “1,” his Disciple could not provide only one answer.
But even vague hints were valuable.
“…Fortunately, I read a lot of miscellaneous books when I was madly obsessed with occult knowledge before.”
Eivass breathed a sigh of relief.
The three cards drawn based on the power of the Candlemaster formed a “Sacred Triangle” spread.
The three Tarot Cards in the Sacred Triangle spread represented the past, present, and future, respectively. It was not a “trend” but a “causal loop”—the cause of the “past” led to the effect of the “present,” and the cause of the “present” led to the effect of the “future”… and the “future” also hinted at the reason why the “past” developed as it did.
Although his Tarot reading skills weren’t great, he could interpret this simple spread.
Could he misinterpret such a simple divination?
The first card, symbolizing the past, was the reversed “The Lovers.”
In the past, the reversed Lovers card could indicate “arguments,” “immature emotions,” “fading friendships,” or “though expecting personal growth, wishing to always avoid danger.” The key point of interpretation was failing to overcome the trials brought about by emotions, making the wrong choice during “trade-offs,” thus causing relationships to fade.
Eivass stroked his chin, lost in thought.
His relationship with Yulia had always been quite good, hadn’t it?
So it shouldn’t be an issue with emotions or friendship…
He shook his head and skipped this card, moving on to the second one.
Symbolizing the present, it was the upright “The Hanged Man.”
This was a very positive card. It indicated “self-sacrifice,” “devotion for love,” and “rebirth from flames.” The “upright” position indicated that this sacrifice was worthwhile.
“…Wait?”
Eivass paused.
Speaking of which, in the game’s plot, Yulia sacrificed herself to protect Eivass and turned into a Phantom Demon! At that time, her life form indeed “ascended,” transforming from a mortal into an immortal Phantom Demon. And she did experience this “rebirth” within flames.
If “reality” referred to this, then the “future” indicated in connection with this issue…
“The reversed Sun…”
Eivass murmured.
The Sun was a card symbolizing energy and life force. Its reversal indicated a decline in vitality and a fear of “lack.” For example, weak physical strength, low spirits, or emotional fluctuations leading to divorce.
This probably meant that in the original timeline, the Butterfly’s flames would be sealed by Eivass into his necklace. Although she wouldn’t die, she would fall into a state of distress and weakness.
And if both reality and future referred to the Phantom Demon—Butterfly, then what did the past refer to?
“…Could it be the reason for the Phantom Demon’s rampage?”
Thinking of this, Eivass’s expression became somewhat subtle.
Did Yulia really care about his interactions with others?
…That was somewhat reasonable.
Yulia’s most important person was Eivass himself—unlike Edward, who had spent more time with his foster father and thus naturally cared more about his foster father’s opinion, she had always been closer to Eivass alone. If Eivass and James had differing opinions, Eivass was sure she would side with him.
But even so, I can’t stay home with you all the time, baby.
— Eivass felt as if he had understood something, but it was of little use. As expected of an interpretation of the “past,” people could not change the “past.”
But with this thought, Eivass already knew which card he should choose as the foundation.
First, eliminate The Lovers card. The key imagery of this card was “love” and the choices that came with it. This was not important for the Butterfly… from its form of “a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis,” its essence was clearly not related to love. This was probably just a hint as to why it went out of control, or the emotions and reasons that led to its loss of control.
The Hanged Man symbolized self-sacrifice and was the card representing the Candlemaster. Therefore, it also carried the imagery of light and fire.
Nourishing the Butterfly with one’s own body and transforming into a cocoon to hatch it was conceptually closer to “Yulia” than to the Butterfly within her. If Eivass wanted to influence her with some ritual, then this answer would be correct—it could precisely guide the power to Yulia, with her always being the principal subject, not the Phantom Demon inside her.
However, what Eivass truly needed to do was seal the Phantom Demon within her.
The Sun indicated knowledge, life force, and energy—in the Sun card, a naked child sat on a white horse, bathed in brilliant golden sunlight, holding high a flag symbolizing victory and praising the vibrant life the sun brought to the land. In Yulia’s relationship with the Phantom Demon, the “Sun” that provided life force was actually Yulia… meaning, the child, the main subject of this card, was the “Butterfly” about to be hatched!
Undoubtedly, this was the most suitable foundational card!
It could provide sufficient energy for the Butterfly to manifest in the form of light and heat. This concept was related to the Path of Devotion, governed by the Candlemaster.
Therefore, Eivass could use “The Hanged Man,” representing the Candlemaster, as the token card to seal and suppress it!
Because the token card was The Hanged Man, the Great Beast created would have an affinity with the “Path of Devotion”—when Eivass summoned the Butterfly using this card, anyone who tried to detect it would only sense the power of the Path of Devotion!
Its energy attribute was fire, and its path power came from devotion—if it looked like a Priest skill, felt like a Priest skill, and tested like a Priest skill, then…
It was undoubtedly a Priest skill.
Furthermore, both the blank cards used for the front and back were the “recommended cards” indicated by the Disciple. Their effectiveness was self-evident.
“Good thing I kept this…”
Eivass thought, taking out the True Flame Essence he had previously extracted from Yulia.
He had done so subconsciously, just with the thought of “keeping a souvenir.” Now it had actually come in handy.
Common materials that could carry fire-attribute mana, besides Flame Essence, included rubies, charcoal, cinnabar, sulfur, and saltpeter.
Eivass cut his left thumb again, squeezing out three drops of blood and pouring in one point of fire-attribute mana for each drop, investing four points of mana in total.
He carefully mixed the blood and Flame Essence with a white crystal rod. It began to emit steaming white vapor as the moisture in the blood was rapidly dried.
Eivass leaned over the table, diligently using a toothbrush to spread it thinly over the Tarot Card before it dried, ensuring an even coating.
Afterward, he ground and mixed cinnabar and ruby in a six-to-one ratio and sprinkled them evenly onto the Tarot Card to nurture it.
Unlike the preparation of “The Moon” card, the environment for containing this card needed to have sufficient temperature, but without open flames.
Eivass stroked his chin, an idea forming.
He placed the card into a red cloth bag, filled it with a large amount of charcoal powder, and flattened it, creating a pendant.
Eivass hung it on himself, then prepared to go to bed.
When he woke up tomorrow, he could give it to Yulia… for her to wear close to her body.
Her heart’s body temperature would be just right to warm this card—if the Phantom Demon awoke, the overflow of fire-attribute mana would be absorbed by the mysterious materials contained within.
Furthermore, it would allow the Phantom Demon to get accustomed to the environment after being sealed.
— It was as if he was arranging a probationary period for the Little Butterfly.
Although, even if it was dissatisfied, Eivass wouldn’t let it escape.
