Chapter 902: The Platform |
Before Lumian had a chance to fall asleep through Cogitation, his vision suddenly went dark. His consciousness felt as if it was being pulled by an invisible force, plummeting straight into the depths of the earth.
He instinctively resisted for a moment, then experienced a sensation of leaping out of a dark seabed to the surface.
His vision was immediately illuminated by a twilight-like radiance, shining through a giant glass pane divided into countless small squares, bringing limited light to the darkness.
In this dim light, Lumian saw a black steam locomotive with two oil lamps hanging from it, a domed platform, and at the edge of the platform near the steam train stood Madam Magician in her cream-colored dress with gold embroidery and wide-brimmed sun hat.
Beside Madam Magician stood a lady in a simple green dress, with a golden retriever crouching at her feet.
Upon seeing the lady in green, Lumian felt surprise and confusion. Another Demoness? Does the Tarot Club have other Demonesses?
"She's so beautiful," Lumian heard Franca whisper in admiration. "But she doesn't seem like a Demoness. Her aura is different, unless she's already a Sequence 3 Demoness of Unaging…"
Hearing this, Lumian noticed similar issues: The lady in green had lustrous golden hair, partly tied up in a bun with the rest flowing smoothly down. Her emerald eyes were like the most beautiful gems, yet deep enough to seemingly reflect the innermost consciousness of all who beheld them. Her features were exceptionally delicate, her beauty comparable to the Demonesses, with an elegant air tinged with a girl's purity and clarity.
Such an aura was very rare among Demonesses below Sequence 3—at least neither Lumian nor Franca had ever seen it before.
This familiar feeling triggered Lumian's spiritual intuition, evoking certain memories.
Combined with what Madam Magician had said earlier, he quickly came to a conclusion. "Good evening, Madam Justice!"
The elegant green-clad lady with a hint of girlishness must be the Major Arcana card Justice, one of his Psychiatrists!
"Good evening, Madam Justice." Anthony was the second to speak.
After Franca and Jenna politely greeted Madam Justice, Franca's eyes suddenly widened.
She pointed at Lumian and said, "H-how did you turn back into a man?"
Uh… Lumian reflexively examined himself and found he wasn't wearing the black cloak, the swells in his chest had subsided, and his white shirt, black vest, and dark trousers fit as they used to.
Meanwhile, Franca was still wearing her lace-flowered blouse and cream-colored riding pants, with a small red jacket. Her chest was prominent and her ponytail swayed gently—she looked every bit a Demoness.
At this moment, Madam Justice said with a soft laugh, "This is entering a true dream, which is different from normal dreaming.
"Using a Dream Charm causes the body to dematerialize and directly enter the dream. Whatever you look like in reality is how you appear in the dream. Normal dreams depend on real-time perception—your dream image might be your current self, your past self, or even an altered self. But in a true dream, if you can maintain consciousness, what appears will be your subconscious self-perception.
"In other words, Seven of Wands's subconscious still considers himself male."
I see… Lumian felt a mix of joy and disappointment.
Franca blurted out, "Then what about me? Why am I still…"
She suddenly closed her mouth, looking as if she had been struck by lightning, losing part of her soul.
Madam Justice gently comforted her, "Accepting the present doesn't mean forgetting the past. As long as you remember who your past self was and what kind of life that self lived, reconciling with your current body won't lead you to lose control. The acting principles of the Demoness Sect may not suit everyone; it depends on one's personality and experiences.
"Remember, everyone is special."
Franca opened her mouth but couldn't speak, her emotions still somewhat dejected and low.
Jenna quietly reached out her right hand and grasped Franca's palm.
Even if this had been Lumian not long after arriving in Trier, he wouldn't have mocked Franca for claiming to be a man while unconsciously considering herself a woman. Let alone now. He turned his attention to survey the platform.
It wasn't much different from a typical steam train station, with an overpass high above and stairs leading to different platforms.
At the edge of the overpass, a tall figure leaned against the railing, gazing this way. His black trench coat fluttered slightly, and he seemed to be wearing red gloves.
On the stairs leading to this platform, the lady in the gloomy, intricate dress carrying four heads was openly observing below. In contrast, halfway up the stairs to another platform stood a little boy with a mercury-colored bow tie. At the end of those stairs, Mr. Azik Eggers, whom Lumian had met not long ago, held His hat in hand, silently watching the black steam locomotive.
On the waiting chairs of Mr. Azik Eggers' platform sat the Knight of Swords Maric and the temperance faction demigod Sharron, facing Lumian and the others, motionless like puppets brought in to serve as an audience.
Lumian brought his gaze back and noticed that the golden retriever beside Madam Justice was wearing glasses and carrying a small brown bag, looking very gentle and scholarly.
Lumian suddenly recalled the dog and female figure he had seen after his first psychological treatment at Mason Café.
So that was Madam Justice… It's a pity Madame Susie isn't participating in this mission to Mr. Fool's dream, otherwise I could thank her in person… Lumian regretfully returned his gaze to Madam Justice and Madam Magician.
Madam Justice smiled at him and said, "Because you've actually become a Demoness of Despair, and your subconscious knows this, you can freely switch between your subconscious self-image and your current true appearance. This might help you create perfect disguises in the dream and play a crucial role in key scenes."
Why can't I do that… Franca silently wailed.
Lumian nodded with understanding. "Lie can't create good disguises? Because it can only perform at a Sequence 7 level, and the Sequence 6 Faceless of the Seer pathway is needed to adjust appearance and physique?"
"Yes, Lie at Sequence 7 level can only modify appearances to a certain extent, equivalent to the best makeup techniques," Madam Justice nodded slightly, then turned her head to the golden retriever beside her. "Susie, do you have anything you want to tell them?"
Susie… Lumian's eyebrows twitched as he suddenly shifted his gaze to the bespectacled golden retriever with the small bag.
The dog spoke in a voice familiar to him, "What I need to tell you is that Mr. Fool is very vigilant and cautious. He's not easily trusting of others."
Hearing the golden retriever speak, everyone except Anthony and Ludwig looked shocked and surprised—if the golden retriever hadn't been called "Susie", Lumian certainly wouldn't have been so astonished by an animal speaking human language.
After a brief silence, Lumian adjusted his mindset and said sincerely, "Thank you for your reminder, and also for your previous treatment, Madam Susie. And thank you too, Madam Justice."
Having seen a child eating Devil eyeballs, what's so strange about a talking dog?
If they were Trierien, this might not even be unusual—maybe they just liked being dogs and found a way to transform themselves into dogs!
Lumian then asked Madam Magician and Madam Justice, "I have one more question. What is Mr. Fool's identity in the dream?"
Awakening Mr. Fool would surely require interacting with him in the dream!
Madam Justice and Madam Magician exchanged a glance before producing a brownish-yellow envelope tied with thin cotton string. "This contains information about Mr. Fool's dream identity, but you can only open it once you've truly entered that dream.
"It also contains cash, identity documents, and maps prepared for you."
Lumian took the envelope and pointed at the iron-black steam locomotive stopped beside their platform. "We take this?"
"Yes, after you board, I'll have it travel to the edge of this dream world. You must hold tightly to your lucky coins. When the train reaches the edge of the dream world, they will help you enter Mr. Fool's dream. The first time must be this complicated, but afterwards you'll be able to enter and exit that dream normally using the lucky coins," Madam Justice explained briefly.
Lumian looked at Jenna, Franca, Anthony, and Ludwig, then nodded to the two Major Arcana card holders.
"We can board now."
The black steam locomotive was no different from the common types seen in Trier. Lumian and the other four occupied two rows of seats on the same side, while the other passengers around them were blurry and indistinct shadows, as if the creator of this dream had been too lazy to elaborate on them.
Through the window, they saw Madam Magician, Madam Justice, and the others waving to them.
As they instinctively waved back, Lumian and the others heard a shrill sound: Ooo!
With the whistle's cry, a clanking noise began, slow at first then quickening, changing from gentle to frequent. The scenery outside the window gradually receded.
The iron-black steam locomotive carrying Lumian, Franca, Jenna, Anthony, and Ludwig left the platform, heading towards a distant horizon shrouded in dream-like fog.
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