Chapter 28: Troublesome Facts.
"But…"
Loki stared at the Card of Blashpmey, apparently invisible to people other than himself.
His fingers traced the design etched into the card as he spoke with a slight frustration.
"This card…it's been activated."
"At least going by the knowledge I have of the cards from the novel. Emperor Roselle's cards were locked behind a password. If the maker of the cards in this world employed such a tactic it means that someone has unlocked this card earlier."
"But…who did it? And why is it in the Black family household and still unknown to the world?"
"Was it my senior? Another reincarnate who entered this world and became a beyonder of the Error pathway?"
"*sigh* I can't come to such conclusions without any proof, although now that I think about it, wouldn't there be cocoons in the sefirah castle that have other people trapped inside it if there are multiple reincarnates?"
"What do you think princess Rapunzel?"
*squeak* *squeak*
The Niffler squealed in Loki's arms trying to reach the Darkness pathway potion but Loki held him tight and prevented him from reaching it.
"Hold on, just wait a little bit and I'll give you the potion.", Loki said pacifying the Niffler.
*squeal*
The Niffler finally calmed down and allowed Loki to pour his spirituality into the Blasphemy card of the Error pathway.
There were two people drawn onto the card, a woman and a man.
Both people on the card were dressed in professional clothes, like snake oil salesmen, the woman in a strict office skirt and shirt while the man was in a three-piece suit, smiling a smile that did not reach their eyes.
A grey fog floated behind them in which a giant angel hovered, gazing with serenity and compassion. His arms were outstretched seeming to bless the woman and man below him.
A large vertical tree with random things like clocks, infinity and a Rubik's cube stood tall behind the man, while a large tree with various runes stood behind the woman.
The only thing common between the people on the card was a monocle. A golden monocle that looked too illusory to be real on their right eye.
Seeing the monocle, Loki felt a shiver run down his spine.
"Is there a replacement for Amon in this world?"
"If there is, I'll be gone before I can even utter the words Sefirah in front of him."
"The safest path would be to wait and look for the Fool's Blasphemy card. But I doubt I'm ever going to find it if there have already been so many coincidences to make me reach the Error Blasphemy Card."
As Loki continued putting his spirituality into the card it morphed into a book and the picture on its cover changed.
The people on the card vanished, only to be replaced by a woman wearing a single monocle, a black dress and a robe, as she leaned on a golden cane and nudged her golden monocle ever so slightly.
She held a knowing smile as if she could directly see Loki who was pouring his spirituality into the card.
There was an aura of danger around her, yet it seemed like you could trust her with your deepest secrets.
*Squeak*
The Niffler squeaked and snapped Loki out of his thoughts as he flipped the first page of the book and looked at the potion formulae and the picture on the page.
"Sequence 9: Marauder."
"Damn. Who knew I was prepared all my life for this sequence." Loki said as his eyes glazed over the acting requirements for the sequence.
[To become a successful marauder you need to act as if thievery and banditry are your calling.]
[The higher the sequence you steal from the faster your potion digests.]
"So do I plan a heist from a high sequence Beyonder, or multiple low to mid-sequence beyonders?"
"Well, I can do as much stealing as possible until I have an opportunity to steal from some high sequence Beyonder."
"Ha…look at me talking about stealing from a high sequence Beyonder as if it's going to be a casual walk in the park."
"What do I need to make the potion ingredients then? Perhaps I can order from Diagon Alley with Kreacher's help."
"A tablespoon of Flobberworm Mucus."
"Seven stalks of Fluxweed."
"Wackspurt dust."
"A finger digit of Boomslang skin."
"One hundred drops of Pure Distilled Water."
"One hundred drops of Horklump Juice."
"What's a Wackspurt? I never read about them."
Loki walked toward the cupboard and stood in front of the open side to tally the ingredients he had and needed to order from an apothecary from Diagon Alley.
"Hmm…we have Fluxweed, it was also used in the Sleepless potion, Boomslang skin is available, we also have Pure Distilled Water and Horklump Juice."
"So we need Flubberworm Mucus and Wackspurt dust?"
"But what the hell is Wackspurt dust?"
"Huh? Princess Rapunzel, where are you going?"
But before Loki could turn around and look at the Niffler his eyes shifted to the closed side of the cupboard.
"Wait a minute."
Loki looked at the closed side of the cupboard suspiciously, and then suddenly his eyes widened as a stray thought crossed his mind.
Moving toward the cupboard, Loki held the closed side and swung it open.
And to his surprise, a new array of various potion ingredients with their labels came into view.
"I knew it!"
"So there has been someone in the Black Family who was of the Error Pathway before."
Loki immediately moved closer to the cupboard and began to search for the Wackspurt.
Going through the labels Loki's eyes finally zeroed in on the seemingly empty glass jar on the shelf right in front of him.
It was labelled Wackspurt dust.
"*sigh* it's empty." Loki sighed yet he picked up the glass jar to keep it out so that he would remember to order it later.
"Hmm…this jar is heavy."
"Huh? Why is it so heavy though?"
"Oh my God! Could it be!?"
Loki immediately opened the lid and stuck his finger into the jar, only to feel some resistance that stopped his hand from going through.
"Oh my God! An invisible ingredient! How does this even work? How did wizards even find out this stuff existed!?"
"Look Princess Rapunzel! An invisible ingredient! Do you want some of it!?" Loki said turning around to the small tiny Niffler that was sitting inside an empty glass beaker.
"Huh? What are you doing with the beak- Hold on! Did you drink the Sleepless potion that was inside the beaker!?"
*Burp*
"God, you're so troublesome."