——The Lovers, The Hanged Man, The Sun.
The underlying cards are not about upright or reversed, but about hinting at the nature of Strength.
Each of the three answers has already been provided in full by that intangible Angel Envoy.
Perhaps the Defiant Flame Butterfly could have other possibilities. But this sequence and order of the cards is the result of the reading for "Yulia."
After Aiwass received his answer, the prayer ritual was about to end.
The candlelight in front of him suddenly began to flicker restlessly, the flame growing thin and pale, as if urging on something.
Aiwass knew this was prompting him to quickly destroy the items used in the ritual.
This is the normal procedure for a prayer ritual. Otherwise, it might anger the arriving Angel Envoy.
For these blood-stained Tarot Cards have already been imbued with the power and presence of the Angel Envoy. It's like signing a document or sealing it, which can be seen as a mark of the other party's identity.
If they were to fall into someone else's hands, they could be used as ritual materials to call upon other Angel Envoys or even the Nine Pillar Gods—the latter would consider this person as someone introduced by the envoy, making it easier for them to respond to the ritual. It is only permissible to leave behind some sanctified materials if the Angel Envoy agrees.
Without permission, attempting to keep materials imbued with someone else's essence during a ritual might invite an unnecessary attack.
Thus, with both hands, Aiwass respectfully passed the blood-soaked Tarot Cards over the candlelight, indicating that he had truly come to ask questions.
They caught fire upon contact, instantly turning to ash. Just like a magician's ephemeral flame flicked from his hands or a flash in the pan, igniting and then extinguishing in an instant.
And in the moment those Tarot Cards burnt away, the holes in Aiwass's palms and the wound on his thumb were also silently healed. The Phantom Mana clogging his arms was likewise cleared with a clean sweep.
The elongated candle flame licked the back of Aiwass's hands but didn't burn him. Instead, it gave him a sense of warmth.
Aiwass carefully cleansed all the blood from his hands in the fire and then gently tapped his chest, mouth, and forehead with his left hand in succession.
"Thank you for your revelation, Angel Envoy of the Candle Master,"
The youth with platinum-blond hair spoke solemnly to the candlelight in the pitch-black room, "I shall be like the eternal candle flame, forever alight."
As if encouraged, the elongated candle flame flickered rapidly three times.
Immediately after, the flame returned to its original color and shape.
The sensation of being watched by something on his body also dissipated.
Aiwass carefully snuffed out the candle to ensure that the ritual was completely over, preventing any unexpected retaliatory strike from the Angel Envoy.
It was only when the candlelight was completely extinguished that Aiwass let out a sigh of relief.
His body relaxed, leaning back in his wheelchair.
Although this was a routine ability of a priest, and other priests could also pray to the Nine Pillar Gods—usually, the most responsive were the Angel Envoys of the Path of Devotion, which require no sacrifice or price since the act of helping a devotee for free can also be considered a form of "Dedication."
That said, this was still Aiwass's first time personally using a prayer ritual; he was still a bit nervous.
"...I forgot to ask for His name."
Suddenly, Aiwass slapped his forehead with some annoyance.
Although he didn't know which specific Angel Envoy responded to him, the other party was quite friendly, even casually healing him before departing, saving Aiwass the trouble of using the Fire Rite Skill again.
If he knew the Angel Envoy's name, Aiwass could target His next prayer specifically.
It might be somewhat unkind to fleece a sheep repeatedly... but as long as the other party also agrees, then it's consensual.
After a brief pause, Aiwass took out his real set of Tarot Cards, a far more expensive and elaborate deck, from the table.
In this deck, one "The Moon" card had already been used during the creation of the "Blade of Shadows."
Aiwass felt that using the same deck to create Phantom Cards might slightly improve the success rate.
Guided by the revelations given by the Angel Envoy, Aiwass picked out the three Tarot Cards suited for the Defiant Flame Butterfly from the deck. He arranged them on the table in the inverted triangle spread, following the upright and reversed positions as they were drawn.
Although he was inquiring about the essence of Strength, he had also performed a Tarot reading for Yulia.
And it was a Tarot reading involving high-dimensional power.
The Angel Envoys of the Dream Realm could see past and future—time is not irreversible for them. However, due to the bindings of the Dream Realm, the Angel Envoys cannot tell mortals the exact future, just as even if they summon an Eternal Self, with the sacred number "1," their answer could not be singular.
But even vague hints are valuable.
"...Luckily, I read a bunch of miscellaneous books when I was fanatically obsessed with occult knowledge."
Aiwass let out a sigh of relief.
Based on the Candle Master's power, the drawn three cards formed the "Holy Trinity" spread.
Within the Holy Trinity spread, the three Tarot Cards respectively represented the past, present, and future. It's not a "trend," but a "causal cycle"—the "past's" cause leads to the "present's" effect, the "present's" cause brings about the "future's" effect... and the "future" hints at the reason why the "past" has unfolded as it did. .net
Although he wasn't very skilled at interpreting Tarot Cards, Aiwass could still interpret such a simple spread.
How could he possibly misread such a straightforward divination?