Chapter 4: A Meeting

Chapter 4: A Meeting

Deep within the Forsaken Land of the Gods, atop a mountain peak, stood a gigantic cross somewhere between reality and illusion.

Upon it hung a blurry figure. Numerous ancient wooden stakes pierced through His body, stained with blood that continued to flow yet never dripped downward, nailing Him to the cross.

At the base of the cross, the Angel of Fate, Ouroboros, dressed in a simple linen robe, His silver hair falling to His waist, sat on the ground. His expression was gentle and devout as He prayed with His eyes closed.

Adam, half His face covered by a pale-golden beard, walked over step by step and stopped before the giant cross. He raised His head and quietly looked at the upside-down figure.

In one hand He held Arrodes, the Magic Mirror. In the other, He carried the second Blasphemy Slate. His eyes were clear, and His expression was calm.

After an indeterminate amount of time, the upside-down figure on the giant cross suddenly faded, spreading into a shadowy curtain that connected sky and earth. Behind the curtain seemed to hide a pair of indifferent eyes watching the entire world.

The next second, a rift opened in the shadowy curtain. Its interior was dark and lightless, with the vague echo of illusory tides.

Adam immediately raised His left hand, causing the ancient, mysterious Magic Mirror to shine with a faint, hazy glow.

Within the glow, viscous yet illusory black liquid surged and spread. A boundless sea that seemed to contain all colors and all possibilities emerged. It appeared close enough to touch, yet could exert no influence on reality.

Immediately afterward, Adam placed the second Blasphemy Slate into this mirage-like scene.

The image of the illusory sea, located an infinite distance away, gently swayed and formed a certain connection around the second Blasphemy Slate.

—The second Blasphemy Slate had been formed from part of the corpse of the ancient Sun God, who had been extremely close to the level of a Great Old One and nearly equivalent to the owner of the Chaos Sea.

Seeing this, Adam moved His left hand slightly, causing Arrodes, the Magic Mirror, to fly up and land before Ouroboros, who sat at the base of the giant cross.

He Himself carried the subtly changed second Blasphemy Slate and walked, step by step, through the rift in the shadowy curtain.

The shadowy curtain immediately closed, rapidly faded, and vanished, leaving behind only an empty giant cross.

Throughout the entire process, no one spoke. Everything proceeded in silence. The Angel of Fate, Ouroboros, did not even attempt to open His eyes.

At the same time, Amon had become a god, using the first Blasphemy Slate to block the channel through which the Mother Goddess of Depravity had invaded, while the Lord of Storms shattered the imagined Cathedral of Bones and one of Adam’s identities.

After another while, the Tail Devourer, Ouroboros, opened His eyes and looked down at Arrodes, the Magic Mirror, resting on His lap.

On the surface of the Magic Mirror, silver words emerged amid swaying, illusory ripples:

“You should understand the feeling of devoutly believing in and pursuing a great existence, yes?”

Ouroboros nodded, His expression somewhat indifferent.

“Then can you send me back to my master?” On the Magic Mirror’s surface, the silver words wriggled and reorganized into a new sentence. “After You answer, You may ask me two questions.”

Ouroboros silently looked at this ancient mirror for a very, very long time without speaking.

Finally, Arrodes, the Magic Mirror, could not help displaying a new question:

“Why are You not answering?”

Ouroboros looked at His own reflection in the mirror and calmly replied, “I have not decided yet.”

“Three questions…” On the mirror’s surface, silver light slowly outlined two words.

…

Backlund, on the lawn belonging to a detached house.

Will Auceptin, now more than two years old, happily chased a sleek, golden cat on his short little legs. A nanny and a maid followed nearby.

—Ever since this Snake of Fate had been born, Allen Kress’s career had improved day by day. Now he owned a private hospital that specialized in providing medical services to the upper class.

As he ran, Will Auceptin stepped on a slick patch of ground. With a slip, His body involuntarily leaned backward.

He staggered back several steps, only to step on a stone.

That gave Him a tendency to topple forward, and by some miracle, Will Auceptin maintained His balance.

The chubby-cheeked child became rather vigilant about what had happened to Him, because with His luck, it was utterly impossible for Him to step on a spot that would make someone slip.

A familiar figure quickly reflected in His eyes.

It was Sherlock Moriarty, wearing a half top hat and a black double-breasted coat.

Will Auceptin abruptly turned to look at His nanny and maid, only to discover that they were completely unaware there was an additional stranger on the lawn.

“I keep feeling like you’re about to say: ‘Go ahead and scream all you want. No one will hear you,’” the extravagantly dressed two-year-old muttered as He turned back.

Without waiting for Klein to respond, He spread His hands and said, “In any case, I should congratulate you on becoming a King of Angels.”

“Bullying a child does not suit your current status.”

Klein gave a laugh.

“Do you know how to fool fate?”

Will Auceptin raised His head and looked at Klein warily.

“Giving me fake ice cream does not count as fooling fate.”

At this point, He complained, “Why don’t you squat down? At my age, constantly raising my head like this is bad for cervical spine development.”

Klein did not put on the airs of a newly advanced King of Angels. He smiled and squatted down so that Will Auceptin could meet His gaze.

Will Auceptin held the nanny’s hand and said, “Unless I have already advanced to Sequence 0 and become Wheel of Fortune, fooling me in any way does not count as fooling fate.”

Klein asked thoughtfully, “You still haven’t found the opportunity to accommodate the Die of Probability?”

“No.” Will Auceptin shook His head, then added, “I have a premonition. It will come soon.”

Klein carefully looked at the chubby-faced two-year-old for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.

“If I gave both you and the Die of Probability to Ouroboros, would He be able to advance to Sequence 0 very soon?”

Will Auceptin glanced at Klein.

“He would also need to wait for an opportunity before He could accommodate it. Besides, the opportunity required to become Wheel of Fortune and the opportunity required to accommodate the Die of Probability are not the same.”

As He spoke, Will Auceptin curled His lips.

“If all you want is to accommodate The Fool Uniqueness, then the corresponding ritual can be simplified. It won’t be that difficult.

“Under those circumstances, by skillfully making use of the Trojan Horse of Destiny’s ability and making a certain degree of sacrifice, there is a chance to fool fate.

“However, when you attempt to advance to Sequence 0, even if you have already accommodated the Uniqueness and absorbed the three Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics one by one, you will still have to truly perform a ritual without any shortcuts, allowing the corresponding elements to completely converge and undergo a qualitative change.”

So that’s how it is… In other words, choosing to accommodate the Uniqueness first is only a trick. In the end, I still have to truly fool time, history, or fate… Klein nodded gently.

“I more or less understand.”

He then smiled and added, “Enjoy your childhood properly. Who knows how much longer it can last.”

With that, Klein’s figure suddenly turned transparent and vanished from the lawn.

Will Auceptin instinctively reached forward twice with His free hand, then powerlessly withdrew it.

“He just left like that… So impolite. He came to visit and didn’t even prepare a gift…” the child could not help muttering.

…

Backlund, North Borough, Saint Samuel Cathedral.

Klein, transformed into Dwayne Dantès, entered the grand prayer hall and found a seat in a corner.

He looked at the Evernight sacred emblem on the altar, lowered his head, clasped his hands, and began to pray:

“O Evernight Goddess, nobler than the stars and more eternal than eternity, You are the Mother of Concealment, the Empress of Misfortune and Horror…”

As he prayed, Klein, eyes closed, gradually felt his body and mind settle and grow tranquil, as though he had entered a state halfway between dream and wakefulness.

At some point, an endless darkness appeared before his “eyes.” Beside his feet were clusters of night vanilla and deep sleep flowers.

It was so quiet here that even breathing seemed as though it would disturb the sleepers all around.

Before Klein could examine his surroundings, a figure suddenly descended from the depths of the darkness.

There was clearly no distinction here between sky and earth, yet the figure seemed to come from the red moon or the stars hanging high above.

She wore a layered but not overly elaborate dark-black gown, adorned with countless points of brilliance, as though she had draped the starry night sky over herself.

Her head was indistinct, impossible to see clearly. One could only confirm that She was female.

“Long time no see,” the figure said gently before Klein could speak.

Her voice was like a lullaby in the night.

Klein bowed like a gentleman.

“Are you saying that to the former Lord of the Mysteries, or to the me who was hanging above Sefirah Castle?”

Klein was certain that this was a dream, but a dream did not necessarily mean falsehood.

The Evernight Goddess’s projection carried a hint of amusement.

“I am not certain which position you occupied while hanging above that door of light. After I left that place, I never returned.”

As expected… Klein sighed inwardly, confirming through this detail the origin of Amanises, the Evernight Goddess.

“The three broken cocoons of light were next to one another,” he replied simply.

The Evernight Goddess’s projection stood amid the quietly rippling darkness, giving off an extremely unreal feeling.

In a soft and unhurried voice, She said, “Those people there were all resurrection candidates for the Lord of the Mysteries. But He seems to have encountered some unknown accident and lost control over many things.”

“If not for that, I would have died long ago and lived on as the Lord of the Mysteries, while you and Roselle would have had no chance to return to reality.”

Does this mean the Celestial Worthy’s fall was relatively thorough, and that He can only rely on the residual will within Beyonder characteristics and the mechanical arrangements of Sefirah Castle to resurrect? Klein sighed, then smiled faintly.

“I can already hear Him whispering beside my ear.”