For Noah, it was a sacred self-divination.
To ensure meditation, devotion, confidence, and accuracy, she had asked the six most obvious questions with the six most complex decks of cards.
Do you have dinner tonight? Yes.
Will you get wet today? Yes.
Is there a place to sleep? Yes, there is.
How many sleeps? One.
Will you stay on this island for the rest of your life? No.
Are there any living people on the island? Yes.
The answers were all obvious, and there was no problem with the results of the divination. What's more, by means of the forty-one to seventy-seven cards of the Ancient Law of Cards array, her spirit had been completely collected, clinging to the Crystal Ball of Fate, and truly hearing the sighs of destiny.
The most crucial divination is about to begin.
Noa darted flowers as if plucking the cards in front of her, and a small, inverted Alcana flew out of the deck, divided into four parts according to suit.
Scepter, Star, Grail, Sword ...
Only twenty-two Greater Alcana cards remain in the swimming loose deck.
Noa closed her eyes and with a wave of her sleeve, the scattered cards gathered, bunched into a stack, and presented themselves in the midst of the halo of the Crystal Ball of Fate.
"Captain ... are Lorraine and Hina still alive?"
She wordlessly questioned fate, her slender fingers reaching out and pointing at the pile of cards.
Slap la-la-la-la-la-la!
The pile of cards popped up, and the pulls seemed to undulate with the fingers, like springs, jumping seven times, suddenly cracked out nearly half, a total of twelve, and discarded to the side.
Noa's finger clicked on the core of the thirteenth sheet.
This is the Sirius spread handed down from ancient Egypt. Unlike those complicated ancient spreads, Sirius is known for being clear, straightforward, sensitive and vulnerable, and revealing doubts with the only card chosen for destiny is the most common and trusted method of self-divination used by soothsayers.
Noa opened her eyes and flicked over the card.
Sirius projects the response on the face of the card, square to the ... inverted hanged man.
The man who hangs upside down ... tested, restricted in his actions, sacrificed, undaunted, unencumbered by temptation, gained by loss, learned from his mistakes, reborn by fire, learned extensively, and dedicated love.
Are Lorraine and Hina dead? Or are they trapped somewhere? Or have they come back from the dead and have gotten out of their predicament?
Why is it such an ambiguous card?
Is it that Sirius doesn't know? Or doesn't want to talk about it?
Noa stared at the silver tarot, frowning in deep thought.
As if in a trance, a dark shadow came up over her, right in the middle line between the Destiny Crystal Ball and Sirius, interrupting Noa's meditation in one fell swoop.
Noa's face went mischievously red, nodding her head and twisting her sleeve, her eyes flustered and her hands at a loss.
The white ears on her shoulders exploded as well, lifting her face to stand up and flashing her tiger teeth at Acharin in a milky, ferocious manner.
"Ow!"
Acharin, disdainful of the tasty white ears, leaned against the helm wheel and posed with what he thought was a slutty smile.
"Ms. Sara."
"Yes ... yes."
"I went below to supervise the work just now, and I heard from a number of sailors that you were being criticized. It was unpleasant to me."
Noa's head dropped even lower and her face turned even redder, "I'm sorry for ...."
"No, no, no, you don't need to apologize!" Acharin gave a powerful wave of his arm, "There should be no offense to a beautiful lady on a gentleman's ship! If there is, it must not be the lady's fault, it's the upbringing!"
He took a deep breath, ready to take advantage of the situation and give Noa a caring hug, but no sooner had his hand opened than the white ears, even his tail, stood up and clanked, fleshy claws popping out with sharp claws.
Yacharin decided to slow down the figure for a moment.
He took a step closer and towered over Noa, his kingly aura emanating unchecked.
"Ms. Sara, you are the most honored seafarer on this ship, a ruler and in charge, just like me! That authority is improperly questioned."
"Why the questioning? I have discovered that it is in fact our condescending shipwright and the underage Vice President who are intentionally trying to override you. They are in cahoots!"
"No ... Mr. Desai, Keren and Pierce are fine, it's just that I don't know anything to help ..."
"A lady should rest in honor!" Yacharin stepped closer, brutally, almost stepping on Noa's silver tarot, "If I were captain ..."
"Mr. Desai!" Noa shouted as if she had summoned up all her courage, her voice so small it was barely audible.
"Eh?"
"When I crossed the Reef Belt, my crystal ball smashed and it seems to have cracked, can you take a look at it for me?"
As she spoke, her beautiful hands held up the crystal ball like a bloom and raised it high above her head.
Yacharin's eyes moved up the crystal ball and his mouth subconsciously asked, "Where did it crack?"
"The seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first hairline, they have crosses, that crack ..."
"So much hair, how do I ..."
Yacharin squinted carefully and suddenly saw white-eared eyes in the center of the crystal ball.
The little black cat had somehow plopped down on top of Noa's head, its round eyes widening and piercing through the crystal ball, staring dead at Yacharin.
What kind of eyes are those na ...
The weedy yellow pupils were like symmetrical hemispheres each to the left and right, with a pointed diamond-shaped vertical pupil in the center, which was originally black, but had become purple after being haloed by the crystal ball of destiny.
Purple in black, purple in black.
"Ow!"
Yacharin jolted.
Noa slowly stood up, her soft body carrying a strange flavor, and no matter how she moved, the crystal ball didn't budge.
She stood up straight, looked into Acharin's confused face, and exhaled softly.
"VII, XIV, and XXI are the numbers of destiny, the Great Arcana has twenty-two, the Fool is King, and Reincarnation has three."
"Reincarnation is tarot, it's cards, it's counting, it's fate."
"Everything has an end and a beginning, and this end is the seven, the ring, the hook of all destiny."
"Chariot! The rightful man is worthy of power, the vain man seeks glory."
"Moderation! Fitness for place makes the mediocre as strong, and self-righteousness makes the able a liability!"
"World! Fortune favors those who are faithful to their mission, but reneging on their promise is a lost cause!"
"You! Yacharin. Desai, great wrongs will torment you, will haunt you, unsettle you for the rest of your life, and give you sleepless nights!"
Unease, uncertainty, fear struggle on Yacharin's face ...
"You! Yacharin. Desai, great wrongs will torment you, will entangle you, will ruin you, will pulverize you!"
The struggle disappears ...
Yacharin's eyes became more and more confused, and his complexion became more and more fearful. His throat made a strange clicking sound, and he mechanically seemed to ask, "What ... to ... do ..."
"Fate is merciful!" Noa raised her face and sang, "Good is rewarded for evil! Though you have lusted for something you should not have, you are fortunate that you have not acted irrevocably ... on your knees! To fate, beg forgiveness and plead for atonement!"
Yacharin flopped down on both knees.
"Please ... tell ... atonement ..."
"Wash away your sins! Lorraine. Drake lived and died unnamed, and you volunteered to help him! You will catch the wheel of fate with your lowly life, and fight for your captain, for a ray of life!"
"You! Yacharin. Desai, willingly!"
"I ... voluntarily ... rejoice ..."
Yacharin chanted silently, pulled an aged pistole from his pocket, and slowly ... slowly passed it to his mouth.
He opened his mouth gently, slowly but firmly. There was no struggle, no hesitation in the movement, even a smile on his face, relieved, elated.
Just this time ...
"Captain!"
The ship exploded violently underneath, and Lorraine took Hina's hand and stepped out into the jungle with a grin on her face, moving with such vigor that she couldn't see half of her injuries.
"The Captain is back! Our brave and fearless captain has returned with Ms. Yzra!"
"Long live the Captain!"
"Long live Drake!"
"Long live Nyold!"
"Long live Herbasi!"
Hearing a howl of hooray on the beach, Noa was stunned for a moment and suddenly beamed.
She gave a disgusted look at Acharin, the huge pistole being half in his mouth, ready to chew.
She wrinkled her nose in bemusement, "Inverted hangers ... It turns out that Sirius was trying to both tell me that the Captain had been reborn in a fire and exhort me to give you a chance to change your ways. White ears, it's got a wide pipe."
"Meow!"
"Never mind, seeing as we'll have to ask Sirius about things later ... spare your life! White ears, scratch him!"
At a command, White Ears leapt up from Noa's head, her cat's paws stretched and criss-crossed!
Swish!
Pistol clanked to the ground, and Yacharin covered his face, his mouth open, his eyes ... focused.
"Ah! My handsome face!"