Domain Cards.
These cards had a peculiar origin. They were first conceptualized and formed during the Dystopian Era by the eighth Meditation Master.
The way of the Aura, Divine Blessings, and Utopian Energy was still very foreign to everything in the Universe at that time.
Without these Domain Cards, Formations, and Aura Domains, or some specialized Aura techniques were used to trap enemies.
But after the Eighth Meditation Master created the First Domain Card, they spread like wildfire as everyone began conceptualizing recipes for new Domain Cards and using them widely.
They were very quick and easy to activate, being able to make a Domain according to the materials used to forge it.
Being so useful, they left the other methods in the dust, making these methods lost in history, and are still being used till now.
The Eighth Meditation Master was the one who had established the Kennedy Family in Lumenia, one of the eight strongest royal families. They presided over the Deceiver Pathway, and their speciality was in Domain Cards. They had a huge amount and variety of Domain Cards.
Even Eric had been trapped in a Domain Card of The Inversion Pathway before when he came to Paris and went to his first petrol by an Auri Nova Assassination Girl from The Organization.
In History, there had always been only one type of Domain Card. Their appearances, shapes, sizes, advantages, disadvantages, and effects may differ, but they were of the same essence.
Eric had read a lot about many Domain Cards, their workings, fundamentals, and their powers.
And now, Father Irenaeus was going to tell him a very hidden secret about them. He was naturally intrigued.
Eric had always been someone who yearned for more knowledge; this was also why he spent so much of his time learning and reading old books in libraries, and he had a huge trove of knowledge.
He even sometimes wondered why he didn't awaken as an Aura user of the Knowledge Pathway and even considered switching to it many times.
"Tell me, how many types of Domain Cards have there been in the Universe till now?"
Eric's brows furrowed a little as his expression turned into one that seemed to say: "Isn't that obvious?"
Eric soon answered, "One, there has always been one type of Domain Cards, and those are used to trap enemies by creating a domain around them to isolate them from the outside world, making them unable to flee."
This was the idea that Domain Cards were made on, and this is the purpose that they are still fulfilling now.
"There are two types of Domain Cards. You still don't know about this because of your limitations as a low-rank aura user."
"Oh, then please enlighten me, Father."
Even though Eric had joined the Serenity's Codex, He still called Father Irenaeus Father.
"The first type of Domain Cards is called Battlefield Domain Cards. They are used to create a domain around the user and the trapper, acting as a cage, making the target unable to use Meditation Aura to escape and also suppress them if the Domain's pathway is antithetical to the target's pathway."
"They are also the most common, known, and researched upon Domain Cards."
"The second type of Domain Cards is called: Augmentation Domain Cards. They work on the exact opposite principle of the mainstream Domain Cards, which makes a huge domain around the Aura users and is used for trapping."
The surrounding Angel Spirits suddenly became excited.
Some began circling around Father Irenaeus while others floated toward Eric, repeatedly making square-shaped gestures with their tiny hands as if trying to imitate cards.
One even proudly puffed out its chest and flexed its tiny arms, making Eric immediately understand what Buffing Domain Cards were meant for.
"The second type of Domain Cards works on the User's body instead. Every Augmentation Domain card has a mystical power and can make the user strengthen an aspect or undergo a qualitative change."
"But before I continue, I would like to ask you something."
Eric's heart shook a little, but his expression remained indifferent. He calmly asked: "Please ask."
"You are a walker of the Energy Pathway, but you lack the corresponding Relics, Inheritance, Domain Cards, and even Charms. What do you think about changing to The Goodness Pathway?"
Eric's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he heard this.
"So, this was his intention after all." Eric thought.
Eric's fingers unconsciously tightened beneath the sleeves of his cape.
The church suddenly felt quieter.
Even the playful Angel Spirits seemed to stop moving for a brief moment.
Eric could feel it clearly now.
This was the real reason Father Irenaeus had brought him here.
The treasury.
The kindness.
The relic.
The organization.
Everything had been slowly guiding him toward this question from the very beginning.
Eric had felt that this situation was too perfect for him. He had decided to ignore it for the time being and had even rejected the idea of switching pathways.
But to think that, Father Irenaeus will say this to him himself.
He first told a little secret, engaging Eric in it, and then asked this question. Eric can't ignore the question now, unlike any other time, if he had been asked.
Eric heaved a deep sigh as he showed a regretful expression and told Father Irenaeus that he had decided to continue to walk on the Energy Pathway, but if he ever changed his mind, He would tell him immediately.
Lysi Nova's rank and the initial stage of the Hypernova rank are the best ranks for someone to switch pathways.
Nova and Auri Nova's ranks were way too low rank while Supernova and True Supernova were too far off to return.
Eric had decided not to unless his life is in danger, he won't change pathways, especially to the Goodness Pathway. There is definitely something suspicious going on.
This suspicion even formed into a premonition that settled deep in his heart.
Father Irenaeus showed a little pity, but didn't pursue the matter.
"Looks like I made a mistake, asking him that." Father Irenaeus thought regretfully.
Father Irenaeus still smiled warmly.
But for the first time since entering the church, Eric noticed something dangerous hidden beneath that smile.
Patience.
The kind of patience only hunters possess.
Ignoring this matter, He went back on track.
"The Augmentation Domain Cards are much rarer and harder to find. As you already might know, the Kennedy family has Domain Cards as their speciality. They have a large number of buffing Domain Cards. It just so turns out that I also have some buffing Domain Cards. They have already been added to the exchange list."
"To thank you for being the first member of the organization and as the benefit of the week, here are some details of some Domain Cards."
"Since you are not planning to switch to the Goodness Pathway, I would like to give you the info on this special Augmentation Domain Card. It can help you a lot and might even make you change your decision. Tell me after you read about it."
Just as Father Irenaeus finished speaking, a stream of knowledge suddenly flowed into Eric's mind through the charms inside his body.
The sensation was strange, yet smooth.
It felt as if someone was whispering directly into his consciousness.
Due to the three charms implanted within him, Eric could now directly receive messages from Father Irenaeus and the Serenity's Codex. He could also send messages, information, and requests back to the church with nothing more than a thought.
This level of convenience made Eric inwardly sigh in amazement.
No wonder large organizations relied so heavily on these kinds of charms.
Eric slowly walked toward the fourth row on the right side of the church before sitting down quietly.
The warm melody from the organ still echoed softly throughout the church, while the candlelight flickered gently against the black altar.
Some of the young Angel Spirits were still curiously floating around him from time to time, occasionally peeking at the charm inside his hand before quickly hiding behind the seats whenever Eric looked back at them.
Eric ignored their playful behavior and focused his attention on the information Father Irenaeus had just sent him.
It was the information regarding the so-called "special" Buffing Domain Card.
At first, Eric did not think much of it.
Even though Augmentation Domain Cards were rare, he believed Father Irenaeus might simply be trying to increase his interest in the Goodness Pathway again.
But the moment he carefully read the contents—
His expression froze slightly.
The calmness in his eyes disappeared.
Eric immediately straightened his posture as he reread the information once more to make sure he had not misunderstood anything.
"This..."
Even someone as composed as Eric could not completely hide the shock in his heart.
No wonder Father Irenaeus specifically pointed this Domain Card out to him.
This thing was absurdly compatible with the Energy Pathway.
No—
To be more accurate, it was practically made for Aura users like him.
Eric's fingers unconsciously tightened around the edge of the seat.
The more he read, the deeper the shock inside his heart became.
This was not just a useful Domain Card.
This was a Domain Card capable of causing a complete qualitative change in his battle strength.
He called out the Domain Card's name slowly.
"The Divine Angel Card"
...
Wednesday Night
The room was quiet in the way that only late evenings are, that particular stillness where the rest of the house has gone to sleep, and the world outside has reduced itself to the occasional sound of wind or a distant car. Adrian sat at his desk with a book open in front of him, a lamp burning nearby, and no particular awareness of the time.
The books Visie had given him were foundational — nothing beyond the basics of the Aura Region and its power system —, but each one was dense enough that he'd owned them for several days now without finishing half of the first. He didn't mind. Reading had always been like that for him: once he was properly inside something, the outside world simply stopped pressing in. Lily had already made a habit of appearing in his doorway at night to tell him to sleep, and he'd made a habit of looking up with genuine surprise each time, certain it couldn't possibly be that late.
Since becoming an Aura user, his need for sleep had dropped noticeably. He could stay up until the early hours, take a few hours of rest, and wake feeling completely fine. He'd been reading about that too, in a footnote earlier in the evening.
"Walkers of the Death Pathway and Imagination Pathway require the least sleep," he murmured, turning a page. He smiled at that without quite meaning to. Small pieces of knowledge had always made him happy in a way he'd never been able to fully explain to other people — not useful knowledge, not knowledge he was planning to apply, just the particular satisfaction of understanding one more thing about how the world was put together.
The door opened.
Adrian didn't look up immediately, expecting Lily. Then he registered the weight of the footsteps and glanced over.
Mr. Clown stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He was wearing the black cap pulled low, makeup heavy on his face as always, but something about the way he was standing was wrong. His complexion was pale beneath the makeup. His breathing was audible from across the room, uneven and effortful, like a man who had been running and hadn't quite recovered. He'd disappeared earlier that day without a word, and Adrian had spent a portion of the evening in the background of his thoughts, wondering about it, though he hadn't said anything to anyone.
He said it now, quietly, setting his book down. "Mr. Clown. You're back."
His eyes moved to the small pouch in Mr. Clown's right hand — a storage charm — but then back to Mr. Clown's face, because something wasn't right.
Mr. Clown crossed the room with steps that weren't entirely steady, one hand briefly touching the wall. Beads of cold sweat had collected along his forehead. His body shook in small, irregular intervals, and his breathing didn't improve as he walked, which was the thing that told Adrian this wasn't simple exhaustion. Exhaustion looked like heaviness. This looked like depletion — like a fire burning on almost nothing.
He reached the desk. Without speaking, he opened the pouch and began setting books down one by one.
Adrian's attention went to them immediately. Red covers, like the ones Visie had given him, but these were different — newer, thicker, the spines uncracked and pages clearly never turned. Four of them, stacked carefully in a way that suggested they mattered.
He looked up at Mr. Clown with a question already forming, and the excitement must have been visible on his face, because it was there for a moment before he really looked at the man in front of him, and it faded.
Mr. Clown's condition was getting worse, not better.
After a long pause, he spoke, his voice low and dragged out with effort. "The person who sent me to be your bodyguard," he said slowly, "sent these as gifts for you."
The words finished, and something in him simply gave out. He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed and then, without ceremony, fell backward onto it.
"Mr. Clown?"
Nothing. His chest rose and fell, so he was breathing, but that was the only response available.
Adrian stood over him for a moment, then turned back to the desk.
Four books. And resting on top of the uppermost one was a neatly folded letter.
He reached for it and then stopped because his eyes had caught the title printed on the cover of the book directly beneath it.
Augmented Domain Cards.