Catastrophe Card King
Chapter 2003 - 603: Is Formless, Is All Forms, I Am JOKER._4

Chapter 2003: Chapter 603: Is Formless, Is All Forms, I Am JOKER._4

Leonard Churchill had previously asked people like Griffith, Camilla, Tracy Garcia, Lenny... those who had been here before.

The conclusion he got was that the timeline each person entered was different, like opening a random page of a book, everyone sees something different.

Leonard Churchill had visited many times and confirmed this point.

And it was just the conversation earlier that made him feel the timeline was connected.

This is also why Leonard Churchill hesitated.

The question "How long is a long time" made him realize that this Witch Lanlingster seemed unaffected by the time constraints in this Grey Mist Space; she could appear at any time node she desired.

...

Looking at Leonard Churchill lost in silence, Witch Lanlingster had a smile in her brows without pressing further. NovelFire

Her glance fell on the black Soul Wine [Demon Tiani] on the bar, and although she said nothing, her arched brows seemed to hide some words.

Of course, Leonard Churchill knew that even encountering her was already a big chance.

He was generous and called for more wine in the glass.

The Witch Empress Lanlingster also saw through his "little thoughts" and smiled faintly without speaking.

In front of this Great Emperor, Leonard Churchill did not pretend to be profound; if he didn’t understand, he asked directly: "Senior, if it were you, how would you have answered just now?"

He threw the question back.

Witch Lanlingster seemed amused, covering her mouth with a light laugh but then shook her head, as if she found the question naive.

She didn’t answer but instead asked: "Last time I asked you a question, ’Am I alive or dead now,’ do you now have an answer?"

"..."

Her words seemed to have a magical power, plunging Leonard Churchill into contemplation in an instant.

He thought of the last visit to Safflower Manor, seeing Vera Williams in the River of Time.

According to his timeline, Vera Williams had already passed away; what he saw was just that girl in past times.

But at all time nodes, Vera Williams was clearly alive, not a photo, not a video, not anything else... she was a living person!

Leonard Churchill himself didn’t know; his perception of time in his mind became chaotic.

As if the soul transcended, gradually leaving the body.

Then, from a "third person" perspective, he saw himself deep in meditation at the bar.

Leonard Churchill couldn’t describe what that ascendant feeling was exactly.

But it was like becoming a reader who turned to a page, and everything in the tavern had come to a halt.

Yet ironically, in this state of "everything still," one person remained completely unrestricted.

That stunning face seemed equally amazed at Leonard Churchill’s immediate entry into such a state, tilting to look at the "Leonard Churchill consciousness" in the sky, dimples deepening, charmingly smiling, crimson lips parting: "Time is like a river. When you learn to observe, you stand outside the river. Instead of getting swept away by floods, drifting with the waves..."

Leonard Churchill gazed at those alluring crimson lips, his eyes becoming blurry as if intoxicated.

The gentle voice beside his ear, like an enchanting guiding spell, led his mind to a very high altitude.

Leonard Churchill felt his consciousness becoming lighter, flying out of the tavern, passing through the mist, ascending higher and higher.

It was like taking off from the ground, then crossing through storm clouds and atmospheres, reaching outer space.

Here was a fog-like chaos.

"Human minds cannot perceive things beyond their own cognition. While in time, it is also impossible to perceive the full picture of time."

"Only by becoming an observer can you see the complete truth."

"The soul is more like the roots of a plant, existing in places unseen. To glimpse truth, you must first recognize your own soul... The more you long for the sunlight above, the deeper the roots must reach into the dark underground."

"..."

Leonard Churchill felt his consciousness had become blurred.

He didn’t know if the voice in his sea of consciousness was the teaching of the Great Emperor or the Secret Skill from the Forbidden Ruins Stele he once saw that said, "My Heart is the Universe."

In that moment, Leonard Churchill’s consciousness slipped into an "Observer."

He saw the myriad things of the universe.

And he himself was not within the universe.

But was elevated as a "High-dimensional Observer" who saw the universe.

Leonard Churchill didn’t know, this was the world of his consciousness.

For a long, long time.

So long it seemed as though a billion years had passed...

It was a chaotic world of consciousness.

Nothing existed, not even "nothing."

Suddenly!

In the split second entering a certain node, the view suddenly brightened.

A ray of light suddenly appeared in the universe, the light exploded, and the universe rapidly expanded.

In the blink of an eye, billions more years passed, the rapidly expanding universe had become a magnificent galaxy.

Leonard Churchill didn’t know, enlightenment had long since spread into a sheet.

"You’ve gained enlightenment, ’My Heart is the Universe’ proficiency +3331"

"You’ve gained enlightenment, ’My Heart is the Universe’ proficiency +5112"

"You’ve gained enlightenment, ’My Heart is the Universe’ level increased to Lv7"

"You’ve gained enlightenment, ’My Heart is the Universe’ level increased to Lv8..."

"You’ve touched the secret of Divine Fire..."

In that state, time seemed meaningless.

Leonard Churchill didn’t know where he was, as if the entire universe was himself.

He was like the wisp of light from the exploding universe, continuously moving toward the distant mist.

He seemed to have lost himself.

Who am I?

Where am I?

Where did I come from, where am I going?

He didn’t know where he was going, consciousness already beyond control of consciousness. Correct content is on

Suddenly the familiar and gentle voice came again beside his ear: "The universe you see is nothing but a projection of consciousness. Through projection, reflect back on the world, and that is the truth."

In an instant, the infinitely expanding universe rapidly collapsed, returning to its original point.

Leonard Churchill’s eyes suddenly focused, waking as if from a grand dream!

....

Leonard Churchill looked at the gradually clarifying scene before him, realizing he seemed to have grasped something extraordinary.

The Soul Wine on the table was already an empty glass, and the bar was covered in dust.

As if countless years had passed, the lamp-lit Black Rose Tavern also became dilapidated, the patrons long since vanished without a trace, leaving only a pile of tattered tables and chairs eroded by time.

Yet before he could digest the shock within his thoughts, Leonard Churchill saw the Witch Lanlingster before him, exclaiming: "Senior... you..."

The woman in the black dress before him had long since become an indistinct mist without that stunning visage.

Leonard Churchill could no longer recall the appearance of the Witch Empress, only the gentle farewell by his ear: "Thank you for the wine~ but we shall not meet again. It was a pleasure to meet you. Also very glad to encounter this world~"

As if making a final farewell to the world, that myriad purple and black scattered before his eyes.

Leonard Churchill was speechless for a moment.

He realized that the Witch Empress had bid him farewell,

Yet before he could voice his desire to retain,

Upon another look, the grey mist in his vision completely dissipated, the [Mist Legacy Relics] in his hand had already become clear.

It was a Joker covered in blood, taking a selfie with a camera, grinning brightly.

This was the true form of Card Emperor Joker.

It was the Formless, All Forms.

It was a radiant smile facing the last moment of life, even mocking the hypocrisy of gods, ridiculing the impotence of death, and similarly satirizing the greed and cowardice of human nature...

Like looking in a mirror, Leonard Churchill saw himself.

In that moment, I am JOKER.