Countless demonesses of varying sizes brought with them the destruction of all matter, causing the scene of the entire Hornacis mountain range to develop in the direction of turning into a huge stone sphere.
This made the dilapidated walls of the ancient palace collapse rapidly, exposing Klein, who was in the middle of the hall, along with his avatar and marionette out into the middle of the astral world.
Just as the python-like black tentacles were about to rush into the palace, a crimson moon rose up like a scene from the apocalypse.
In the perimeter of the hall that was bathed in moonlight, a cluster of wheat instantly grew out. There were flowers, mushrooms, and trees. They intertwined with each other, layer by layer, sealing the palace that belonged to Antigonus.
At that moment, the hall where Klein was in seemed to be a ruin that had been sealed in history and a forest for thousands of years, as though it had been swallowed up by nature.
The python-like black tentacles with eyes on their tips were blocked by plants growing wildly.
They rose up as they constantly struck the "screen" that originated from nature, causing the latter to collapse or peel under layer after layer of petrification effects.
However, no matter whether it was the wheat, flowers, mushrooms, trees, or newborns, they quickly returned to Earth Mother's embrace and grew again.
Just like that, the barriers of nature were reborn and destroyed, layer by layer, as layer after layer was reborn. This showdown entered a stalemate.
Earth Mother, who controlled The Moon's Uniqueness, fended off Primordial Demoness Cheek.
At this moment, a "light" that couldn't be seen by most Beyonders landed from high above and crashed into the barrier of nature that used plants as a foundation.
The light didn't have a physical body, as though it was formed from a flux of massive and miscellaneous information. In its illusory form, it tore through the gaps between the plants, like a torrent, heading straight for Klein, who was about to retrieve the translucent mask.
Hidden Sage!
At this moment, a blurry light shot out from the void, revealing picture-like projections around Klein.
Some of them recorded the helplessness and misery humans felt when facing supernatural beings. Some of them used an epic-like brush to reenact the scenes of humans using their own bodies as experiments to attempt fusing with Beyonder ingredients to obtain strength and save the race. Some described the unique cultures and traditions due to a Black Emperor, while others carried various viewpoints, books, and inventions. Some resembled the dawn of the present world, starting from the massive machinery that spewed steam, buildings that rose higher and higher, and clothes that made movement easier...
The contents made the seemingly thin painting exude a heaviness. This was because they bore the inspiration and development of civilization, of human society at different stages.
Back then, the God of Craftsmanship didn't properly digest the Sequence 1 Civilization Enlightener potion before advancing to Sequence o due to various reasons. "He" maintained "His" rationality and lucidity. However, this made "Him" have to focus more on resisting the madness and inclination towards losing control. Amongst the seven orthodox gods, "He" was slightly weaker than the other existences.
The reason why the Church of Steam was the weakest orthodox organization was that, apart from having the shortest history and the least heritage, its corresponding god was also not in the best of conditions.
By the time Roselle raised the Industrial Revolution as the Son of Steam, a member of the Church, and brought with him all sorts of ideas, the God of Craftsmanship took the opportunity to change "His" name to the God of Steam and Machinery, sharing in the progress of the enlightenment of civilization, and digested the corresponding potion. As a true god in a neighboring pathway, "He" eventually chose to stand on the orthodox deities' side after the Hidden Sage chose to be Klein's enemy. The terrifying flood of information crashed into the illusory pictures and rapidly expanded, attempting to crack the cage.
However, the tens of thousands of years of civilizations were thick and vast. The history left behind by generations of humans that numbered hundreds of millions was so vast and magnificent. It was enough to contain the information flux of the Hidden Sage. When the Hidden Sage tried breaking through the limitations of the God of Steam and Machinery, in the hall of the Antigonus hall that was sealed by layers of plants, Klein extended his slippery and strange tentacles to grab the translucent mask that represented The Fool's Uniqueness before moving it towards his face.
Just as the mask covered Klein's face, numerous figures appeared around him.
Some of them were men wearing postman uniforms. Some were ordinary birds, while others were microbes that couldn't be seen with the naked eye. There were hundreds or thousands of them.
The hall that only had corpses hanging in the air suddenly became crowded.
And the commonality of these figures was that they wore crystal monocles, or had a circular emblem of different colors in the same position.
Amon!
The avatars of Mr. Error Amon!
It was unknown if "They" had used the Primordial Demoness's or the Hidden Sage's attacks to open a back door and use a loophole to secretly arrive near the target.
Looking at Klein, who had just put on the translucent mask and was beginning to accommodate The Fool's Uniqueness, these Amons revealed a "smile" at the same time. "They' open "Their" mouths and said words that ordinary people wouldn't be capable of understanding.
These words intertwined and formed terrifying and crazy ravings:
"You overlooked the Primordial Demoness...
"For 'Her,' Medici, who has only recovered to Sequence 1, is no threat at all...
"Her" greatest wish right now is to immediately produce a Lord of the Mysteries and open the seal of the Western Continent, allowing 'Her' to have a chance of finding the City of Calamity...
"It's obvious that, compared to you, I'm the better choice. You're too weak...
"Heh heh, are you still waiting for the Mother Tree of Desire or the Mother Goddess of Depravity to provide you with help?
"It's useless. I placed the first Blasphemy Slate into the Fog Sea and placed it near the Abyss's entrance—not far from that primitive island.
"Also, the enhanced seal brought about by the corresponding authority of 'doors' and half of the Lord of the Astral World's control towards the world barrier prevents any Outer Deity from being able to have 'Their' powers penetrate inside for a short period...
"And without the influence of the Outer Deities, the Dark Side of the Universe and the Chained God currently do not wish to interfere in the battle of gods. 'They' would rather seize this opportunity to escape 'Their restraints.
""They' also wish that a Lord of the Mysteries would be born as soon as possible to help 'Them' escape from the predicament... If it wasn't for the fact that stirring 'Them' would also trigger the Outer Deity corruption in 'Them,' I can promise you that I would've already reached an agreement with 'Them' to deal with you together..."
Amon was deliberately using real information to fill up the ravings, using this to make Klein suffer the effects of a two-pronged approach -one was the mental corruption brought about by the ravings, and the other was the corresponding content that distracted him.
In any case, it wasn't a waste of time to "Him." On the one hand, "He" had sufficient avatars. Each Worm of Time saying one word was enough for "Him" to form many words. On the other hand, "He" forcefully fused the information together, making a single word represent many things.
At that instant, the ravings of Amon echoed in Klein's mind like sharp blades that pierced through his psyche, tearing through his mind.
Normally, Klein could use his own status to suppress the ravings that were at most at the level of a Sequence 1. It wouldn't affect him, but at this moment, he was accommodating The Fool's Uniqueness. His mental state was in a weak and subtle balance.
Under such a scene, a straw might crush the camel's back, much less so many of Amon's avatars.
Furthermore, while Klein felt a sharp pain in his psyche and his self-awareness was in a mess, the sleeping mental imprint of Antigonus and the will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings showed signs of awakening.
In a sense, eternal slumber was an extreme seal. The Amons, who had accommodated Door's Uniqueness, could undoubtedly be able to weaken the seal or even make it lose its effectiveness!
Also, the translucent mask that Klein had just worn on his face—The Fool's Uniquenessobtained an even stronger remnant will from the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. It was also gradually breaking free from the influence of eternal slumber, and it had a certain resonance effect with the same being in Klein's body.
Without using any Beyonder powers, the Amons, who had simply created a few ravings, had thrown Klein into a state of imbalance, and he was on the brink of losing control.
Furthermore, all of this seemed irreversible unless there was more river water from the River of Eternal Darkness that allowed Antigonus's mental imprint and the even more powerful will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings to continue sleeping
But at this moment, even if there was still the river water of the River of Eternal Darkness, the Evernight Goddess wasn't able to divert "Her" attention. This was because "She" was trying her best to suppress the dual-pathway true god, Amon.
From this point of view, the Amons were deliberately "sacrificing" "Their" true body to stall the Evernight Goddess, to create an opportunity for the avatars to destroy Klein's ritual.
This was a little risky, but the result looked pretty good.
At that moment, Klein's pocket lit up.
The light was a pale golden color like sticky syrup. It instantly enveloped the surrounding area.
Illuminated by this light included Klein and his avatar, as well as the book that was suddenly thrown over by the distant marionette.
0-02, Trunsoest Brass Book!
The Sealed Artifact extended its "body" in midair. As it bathed in the pale-golden light, a rule suddenly appeared on the blank page. It was completely different from the repeated laws from before:
"Speaking is prohibited here!"
Amon's avatars kept opening and closing "Their" mouths, but they could no longer make a sound.
A line appeared under the previous rule an instant later:
"Attacking each other is prohibited here!"
Pa! The Trunsoest Brass Book fell to the ground and spread open by Klein's feet.
Under the illumination of the Magic Wishing Lamp, it actually managed to break free from the repeated cycle from before, and it set up rules that were beneficial to Klein.
With just a glance, the Amons made different responses.
A portion of "Them" adjusted "Their" monocles, and together, "They" raised "Their" right hands and gently clenched it, using the corresponding authority to strengthen the seal.
On the Trunsoest Brass Book, a line of text before those rules gradually formed:
"All the following rules are ineffective..." Another portion of Amons locked onto Klein, who was on the boundary of losing control. Not being able to attack him didn't mean that stealing and gifting were prohibited!
-x-X-x-
On the different Amons' faces, the monocles in different forms emitted pure light.
This was something "They" had stolen from the depths of the ruins of the battle of gods. It came from the ancient sun god's eternal daytime effect there. It could purify filthy and evil objects, and awaken sleeping creatures.
"They" "gifted" this to Klein.
This, combined with the ability to control the strength of seals obtained from the Apprentice domain's authority, was enough to break the state of eternal slumber.
In that instant, the mental imprint of Antigonus and the will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings in Klein's body awakened. The madness, the vastness, cruelty, bloodthirstiness, and coldness were like an invisible storm that wreaked havoc in Klein's mind.
Almost at the same time, in The Fool's Uniqueness that he wore on his face without fully accommodating it, the powerful will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings seemed like a terrifying monster that had been sleeping in the darkness for thousands of years. It suddenly opened its eyes.
The former chaos and loss of control swept over again at that instant, but Klein didn't panic. Following one of his contingency plans, he calmly used the "Grafting' ability to guide the mental imprint of Antigonus to Celestial Worthy's will in The Fool's Uniqueness, allowing the two thousand years of entanglement between "Them" to collide again.
Meanwhile, Klein relied on his own consciousness and the anchors from The Fool and the Sea God believers to balance out the Celestial Worthy's will contained within his Beyonder characteristic, just like when he separated out the Attendant of Mysteries marionette.
If there weren't any accidents, and if this continued, there was a chance that Klein would be able to balance between the two sides and completely accommodate The Fool's Uniqueness. He would enter the final stage of the ritual, but how could there be no accidents when he was surrounded by Amons?
Several Amons strengthened the seal of the Trunsoest Brass Book and the Magic Wishing Lamp to resist the former's rule limitations. Some Amons gave the "eternal daytime" to Klein, and a small number of Amons locked onto Klein and attempted a "Theft."
"They" were trying to steal his lucidity.
One Amon failed after another, but in the end, there were still a few Amons who succeeded. "They" "Stole" away Klein's self-awareness for the next two seconds.
Klein's thoughts blurred. Without his guidance, the Antigonus's mental imprint, the two wills of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings, as well as the anchors from his believers instantly lost their balance and began to madly invade, influence, and corrupt each other.
Everything became extremely chaotic, and it was as if it was developing irreversibly.
Klein's body collapsed inch by inch, turning into clusters of transparent and distorted maggots as he extended even more slippery and sinister tentacles.
And at this moment, the rules on the Trunsoest Brass Book were wiped away and began writing:
"Speaking is prohibited here!"
"Attacking each other is prohibited here!"
Soon after, a familiar text appeared before the two rules.
"All the following rules are ineffective."
After the seal was strengthened, the Trunsoest Brass Book seemed to enter a new cycle. And the influence the Genie exerted on it became rather limited.
Klein's consciousness quickly regained lucidity, but the situation in his body was completely chaotic and out of control.
This made him completely unable to deal with the different influences or have any hope of finding a new sense of balance.
In other words, he would run down the path of losing control until he became a monster.
Without any time to think, Klein initiated his final contingency plan using his instincts and experience.
He instantly gave up on saving his body and no longer focused on this matter.
Not only that, but Klein had also even allowed the Attendant of Mysteries marionette to turn into a whirlpool of maggots and let it fuse with his body along with Zaratul's mental imprint.
He wanted to mess things up! However, Amon's avatars wouldn't allow him to make any attempts. Apart from the Amons, who were fighting against the Magic Wishing Lamp and the Trunsoest Brass Book, the rest of them began to "Steal" once again, trying to throw Klein's thoughts into chaos again until he completely lost control.
The Amon in the postman uniform succeeded, but what "He" stole wasn't Klein's lucidity, but a drop of fresh blood.
This blood immediately seeped into Postman Amon's palm.
Right on the heels of that, Postman Amon's eyes turned crimson as "His" stomach bulged at an unimaginable speed as it squirmed.
"He" seemed to be pregnant with a child!
"He" had stolen the blood blessed by the Primordial Moon, or in other words, the Mother Goddess of Depravity!
Klein no longer placed most of his consciousness on balancing the Antigonus's mental imprint, the awakening will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings, and his anchors. There was no need for him to endure it passively like before. He could barely respond to Amon's theft.
IS NO
He used "Grafting" to change the target that Amon had stolen to Sefirah Castle and "Tampered" it to the junk pile, replacing it with the blessed blood of the Primordial Moon.
This was from Shaman King Klarman.
There was no doubt that there was a certain connection between Amon's avatars. Furthermore, it was impossible for "Their" levels to reach Sequence 0. Therefore, when the Postman Amon was contaminated by that drop of blood, the other Amons also showed levels of chaos. Some of "Their" stomachs protruded as well. Some of "Their" eyes were dyed crimson, while others had invisible babies in their arms as "They" walked in circles on the spot...
This caused the other "Theft" to inevitably fail.
Klein seized this opportunity and used the brief moment of lucidity to stir the power of Sefirah Castle to cast a shadow over the ancient palace.
This place was once again concealed.
Then, he ignored the mental imprint of Antigonus in his body, Zaratul's mental imprint, and the two wills of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings that was beginning to fuse together. He made the blank-faced avatar which stood nearby without having shown any breakdown to extend his hand towards his main body.
Its five fingers quickly closed, and its wrist quickly twisted.
As Klein's self-consciousness didn't resist and even took the initiative to cooperate, his avatar didn't suffer many failures before using the help from Sefirah Castle to successfully steal his own consciousness, fate, anchors, and most of his identities.
The only identity he left behind in his main body was his identity related to The Fool.
At the same time, he had also "Stolen" the identity, fate, and mental imprint of the Antigonus family's ancestor, the mark of fate and spirit. This could only succeed in a few tries thanks to his self-consciousness cooperating
As the stream of light with countless distributaries appeared, Klein's avatar's face contorted as it turned into Klein Moretti, who had fused with Gehrman Sparrow's traits.
He had become the main body, the main body without any Beyonder characteristics!
Of course, his self-consciousness and anchors were still resisting the mental imprint of the Antigonus family's ancestor, but compared to before, this was undoubtedly much easier to deal with.
Having already adapted to the identity of Antigonus, he quickly found a new balance, delaying the fate of losing control.
Although this remained unavoidable, it gave him a certain amount of time for his subsequent actions.
On the other side, in the spot where Klein's original body was, there was only The Fool's Uniqueness, all the Beyonder characteristics from the "curtain," the Beyonder characteristics that originated from Zaratul, the tiny number of Beyonder characteristics which Klein had consumed and digested previously, as well as the awakening will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings, the remnant mental imprint of Zaratul, as well as The Fool's identity.
And without Klein's self-consciousness, Antigonus's mental imprint, and the large number of anchors involved, Zaratul's remnant mental imprint was quickly destroyed and corroded by the awakening will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings.
In the next second, Klein's "main body" suddenly fell silent.
The collapse of his body stopped. He lowered his head and stopped extending the slippery and sinister tentacles around him. He was so quiet that he appeared to have lost his soul.
In such a scene, the silence was even more terrifying than madness. That frozen body seemed to be giving birth to an extremely terrifying monster!
Klein didn't care about what was happening. He quickly "Grafted" the partial connection between himself and his "main body" above the gray fog.
Then, he shifted his target and locked onto Antigonus who was on the huge stone chair.
Without receiving Amon's help, the former Half-Fool failed to escape from "His" state of eternal slumber.
Klein once again reached out his right hand, stealing the remaining Sequence 9 and 1 Beyonder characteristics of the other party.
Although he was currently using the identity and fate of Antigonus, it was still difficult for him to complete the "Theft." Failure was inevitable.
At that moment, outside the Realm of Mysteries created by Sefirah Castle, Amon regained "His" consciousness from the initial chaos.
"They" raised "Their" hands and adjusted "Their" monocles, causing the redness in "Their" eyes to vanish. Others looked down at "Their" stomachs and reached out to stroke them.
A second later, the bulging stomachs split open, and baby after baby with faint crimson colors appeared.
These infants didn't cry, nor were they deformed. All of them took out crystal monocles from the void in smooth succession and wore them to their right eye.
The number of Amons increased.
"He" had converted the babies which were due, turning them into "His" avatars so as to prevent the corruption of the Primordial Moon from interfering with "Him."
At this moment, Earth Mother and God of Steam and Machinery had achieved the upper hand to some extent on their respective battlefields. They could finally make use of this small advantage to interfere with the situation inside the palace.
Instantly, a portion of Amons turned into plants as they bloomed or bore fruit, returning to the land. A portion of Amons became knowledge, information, and words, as "They" ended up imprinted into an illusory book.
However, there were still some Amons who had used "Blink," relied on loopholes, or from using the deception of the rules to successfully avoid the influence of the two true deities. As "They" continued to strengthen the seal of the Magic Wishing Lamp and the Trunsoest Brass Book, "They" opened a "door" in Klein's Realm of Mysteries.
At the same time, the angels also noticed the changes in the astral world, but "Their" gazes were unable to penetrate the Earth Mother's natural barrier and the God of Steam and Machinery's civilization picture. "They" couldn't see the interior at all.
This also meant that, even if "They" wanted to exert influence, there was nothing "They" could do.
Inside the Realm of Mysteries created by Sefirah Castle, Klein finally succeeded in stealing the Beyonder characteristics of Antigonus from Sequence 9 to Sequence 1, ones that had been digested!
Due to the law of Beyonder characteristic convergence, the latter had attracted many Beyonders of the same pathway over a long span of history. While turning them into marionettes, "He" had also absorbed their Beyonder characteristics. Therefore, at that moment, there was still a large number of Seer pathway Beyonder characteristics left in Antigonus's body, including a Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic.
The dark points of light quickly merged into Klein's body and fused with him.
As he was now Antigonus, and as all the Beyonder characteristics had been digested by Antigonus, his fate of losing control didn't speed up as he maintained his previous progress.
This way, Klein had once again become a Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries, one who had already digested the potion, with a fate that pointed towards losing control.
At this moment, his original "main body" raised his head, his eyes dark.
However, from this glance, the present Klein's mind instantly slowed down as his body turned cold. He almost had no way of resisting it.
The powerful will that he was very familiar with began to slowly rise, attempting to influence Sefirah Castle.
The Lord of the Mysteries had awakened to a certain threshold in Klein's "main body."
The Fool had become a truly great existence that was being awakened. It matched the guess of the Tarot Club and was in conflict with true history.
Before Klein's thoughts slowed down, he took the initiative to cooperate with Amon and dispelled the Realm of Mysteries, allowing the situation inside to interact with the outside world.
He had already "fooled" history without any problems, just like the first plan he came up with. As for how to end it, he never had a good idea.
According to the changes in the situation, the final plan he activated at this critical moment
was:
To not leave himself any way out. He would go from accommodating The Fool's Uniqueness to advancing to the true Fool!
In any case, this wouldn't be worse than the previous situation.
-x-X-x-
The "curtain" that enveloped the Antigonus palace instantly vanished. An indescribable aura returned to reality, causing the entire astral world to shake.
Outside the world barrier that was covered in cracks, the terrifying, indescribable faces suddenly changed.
The invisible barrier began to tremble violently as if it would collapse at any moment.
Every continent on the planet within experienced an earthquake. It wasn't a serious one, just rather obvious.
Above the Five Seas, waves surged, as if they had encountered a sudden tidal force.
Amid the "noon" sky, the crimson moon suddenly appeared. Its color became extremely saturated and expanded in an exaggerated manner. It was as if it had hung off the roofs of every house. Other than that, the Brown Planet, Orange Planet, Scarlet Planet, Gold Planet, and Blue Planet lit up at the same time, emitting light of different textures.
If one looked down from the cosmos, the entire Earth appeared to be swept up by an invisible storm and trembled in place.
This was a slight change brought about by the Outer Deities' attempt to break the barrier.
The aura that floated inside the ancient palace in the astral world had made "Them" collectively recall that terrifying existence. Agitated by this, either a result of rage or madness, all of "Them" tried to stop "His" revival.
Compared to "Them," who were blocked outside the real world, the first to react was the Magic Wishing Lamp in the pocket of Klein's "main body."
The sticky pale-golden light penetrated through the Amon's enhanced seal, turning into a blurry and distorted figure.
It stretched out its arm and pulled the Trunsoest Brass Book into its palm.
The rules that were written previously had all disappeared, and a new article immediately formed:
"Resurrection of the deceased is prohibited here!"
A faint grayish-white fog flashed and a familiar text appeared in front of this rule:
"All the following rules are ineffective!"
Even though he hadn't really resurrected and had yet to absorb The Fool's Uniqueness and two Sequence 9 to Sequence 1 Seer pathway Beyonder characteristics, the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings in Klein's main body could also control Sefirah Castle and use its status to direct its powers.
At this moment, "His" existence and the fog of history had completed their interactions. Fragments of light began to distort as they merged into one, sometimes breaking apart, unable to completely form a piece of history.
A sense of self-conflict appeared in that piece of history!
True history clearly involved the prehistoric human soul, Klein Moretti, disguising himself as The Fool and establishing the Tarot Club. He became stronger one Sequence at a time, and eventually reached the level of the true Fool. However, the present history was that Mr. Fool was a great existence that was awakening, the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings from ancient times. "He" had finally awakened!
At that moment, although the rule restriction put in effect by the Genie using the Trunsoest Brass Book could only be effective for less than a second, it still significantly weakened the will of the Lord of the Mysteries inside Klein's "main body," as though "He" had suffered a fatal blow.
As for Earth Mother and God of Steam and Machinery, "They" had given up on interfering with Amon's avatars, as though they wanted this Mr. Error to have the time to deal with the awakening Lord of the Mysteries.
However, "They," who clearly had some power to spare, didn't attempt to affect Klein's "main body," but continued suppressing the Primordial Demoness and the Hidden Sage.
The subsequent attacks and interferences from the latter two were no longer intense, as if "They" were waiting for an outcome.
To "Them," the resurrection of the Lord of the Mysteries was the achieving of "Their" goals:
Produce a "Pillar" as quickly as possible; and prevent entities that had animosity towards "Them" from becoming the Lord of the Mysteries.
In addition, the pathways that "They" were in didn't belong to the three pathways that were controlled by the Lord of the Mysteries. Furthermore, "They" didn't have any feuds or conflicts of interest with the other party.
Amon, who was no longer affected, immediately changed "His" target and focused most of "His" attention on Klein's "main body."
There was no need for any explanation. "They" clearly knew that this was "Their" greatest threat!
Without any hesitation, the Amons raised "Their" right hands at the same time and gently squeezed it, seriously "Stealing" the effects of the "eternal daytime" from the target.
However, the Amons didn't give up influencing Klein. With "Their" numbers, "They" split off a small number of members and looked at Klein, who was currently a Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries. Furthermore, Klein also bore the identity of Antigonus.
The monocles of these Amons suddenly lit up. Using the authority related to "doors," "They" moved Klein out of the real world and into the cosmos.
In the dark and vast Universe, Klein's figure appeared. Then, it instantly became thin, turning into a paper figurine.
The paper figurine first had its belly bloated before giving birth to a paper baby. Then, it rapidly rotted into dust.
Klein had used "Grafting" and "Paper Figurine Substitutes" to block the attacks of the Amons.
At the same time, the other Amons had succeeded in stealing the effects of the "eternal daytime" from Klein's main body.
However, in the next second, the effects of the "eternal daytime" were once again "stolen" back.
This was the Lord of the Mysteries's control over powers from "His" pathway. Even though "He" had yet to fully revive, "He" had already begun this process.
Amon's eyes flickered as "He" immediately gave up on Klein and focused on three matters:
Most of "Them" continued to steal the effects of the "eternal daytime" and resist the Lord of the Mysteries, while a small number of "Them" locked onto Antigonus, who was sitting on the huge stone chair. "They" began to "Steal" the other party's state of eternal slumber.
In addition, all the Amons had dispelled the strengthening of seals, and even weakened them.
Klein, who was no longer being attacked by Amon, similarly didn't counterattack. His attention was focused on his "main body."
The awakening of the Lord of the Mysteries was the biggest problem!
At that instant, an illusory mark appeared on Klein's glabella. It was a strange door of light that was stained with hints of bluish-black. It constantly emanated a faint grayish-white fog.
Klein began to snatch control over Sefirah Castle from the Lord of the Mysteries, so that it wouldn't be so easy for "Him" to make use of the level and power!
And with the Lord of the Mysteries not fully resurrected and having yet to accommodate The Fool's Uniqueness and the corresponding Beyonder characteristics, he could effectively reduce "His" strength, allowing "His" failure rate to increase significantly and for the effects to be inferior.
With his addition, with his control over Sefirah Castle, the "Fooling" received by the Trunsoest Brass Book immediately weakened. The chances of Amons' "Theft" also increased.
In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, at the foot of the giant shadow formed by the ancient sun god, on the surface of the sea that was covered in all colors, words written in the most ancient language quickly appeared:
"The revival of the Lord of the Mysteries failed due to many interferences."
With this sentence forming, as Klein fought for control over Sefirah Castle, the Amons once again "Stole" the effects of the "eternal daytime" effects that had augmented the Lord of the Mysteries.
Elsewhere, "They" had also "Stolen" Antigonus's state of eternal slumber.
Without any hesitation, the Amons transferred the state of "eternal slumber" to Klein's "main body" and gifted it to the Lord of the Mysteries.
The ancient existence's aura immediately fell silent, but it quickly rebounded.
At this moment, the corresponding text appeared on the weakly-sealed Trunsoest Brass Book:
"Resurrection of the deceased is prohibited here!"
Suddenly, the terrifying will in Klein's "main body" rapidly weakened, producing a strong urge to fall asleep again.
However, this will was so powerful that, even after a long period of time, it was unable to completely wear it down. Under these two restrictions, it was still tenacious and slowly recovering. It also attempted to use "Tampering" and "Fooling" to get out of the predicament.
Klein sensed that the other party was using Sefirah Castle's power, so he immediately focused and interfered.
At the same time, the Evernight Goddess, who was floating above the ancient palace, slightly relaxed "Her" control over Amon's true body. "She" pulled back the bird-shaped, golden accessory and aimed its head downwards.
Inside the bronze eye of the bird-shaped, golden accessory, illusory layers of doors surged out, allowing a drop of colorless water that had a strong aura of stillness to drop onto Klein's "main body" in the ancient palace.
This was a drop of river water from the River of Eternal Darkness!
While the Evernight Goddess was doing this, Amon's actual body's attempt to escape by opening "doors" also tacitly slowed down.
The drop of water plummeted at an extremely fast speed. The natural barrier formed by Earth Mother, and the portrait formed by the God of Steam and Machinery simultaneously pulled back to give way for it.
With a smack, the river water of the River of Eternal Darkness accurately dripped onto Klein's head and silently entered.
The aura of the Lord of the Mysteries, which was slowly growing, immediately receded. It stopped its fluctuation and fell into a state of eternal slumber.
However, this condition wasn't very stable, as if it could be broken at any moment.
At this moment, the Evernight Goddess's empty hand pulled out a gigantic sword from the void.
The sword's surface was covered with orange-red light as it exuded the dawn of twilight, the aura of decay.
This was the symbol of the Twilight Giant.
The Evernight Goddess's arm that was covered with short black fur extended, striking down with the exaggerated sword.
"She" had always kept some energy as though prepared to deliver this moment!
In the strange sound of the void shattering and decaying, the sword that was covered with the light of twilight slashed through the dome of the Antigonus palace, causing the hanging corpses to drop to the ground.
Right on the heels of that, it struck Klein's "main body," which had yet to escape the state of eternal slumber.
The portion of the awakening of the Lord of the Mysteries rapidly vanished, and the body began to wane uncontrollably. It broke down along with The Fool's Uniqueness and the two sets of Sequence 9 to 1 Beyonder characteristics in his body. They also collapsed and gathered together.
Upon seeing this, Klein followed his plan without any thought. He used Sefirah Castle to pull down a quarter of the fog of history and enveloped it.
Amidst the grayish-white fog, The Fool's Uniqueness and the Beyonder characteristics fully converged.
They frantically absorbed the fog of history around them, turning into a shapeless and dark liquid.
This blob of liquid stretched out as though it was forming a strange, translucent hooded cloak or a person whose internal organs and flesh were emptied out.
The Fool's potion
The Amons reached out "Their" right hands at the same time in a bid to "Steal" the potion.
-x-X-x-
More than a thousand Amons each committed "Theft."
With "His" numbers, as long as "He" wasn't extremely unlucky, there would always be a few who would've succeeded. Furthermore, The Fool's potion was ownerless, so it wasn't difficult to steal.
While carrying out the "Theft," Amon removed a particular seal on "His" body, allowing the Apprentice and Marauder Beyonder characteristics to release their powers of convergence.
This was rather effective towards The Fool's potion, allowing Amon to increase "His" success rate to the greatest extent.
However, all the Amons ultimately failed.
This was because a new rule had appeared on the Trunsoest Brass Book:
"Acts of theft are prohibited here!"
In order to deal with the awakening Lord of the Mysteries, Amon had weakened all the seals here and helped the Trunsoest Brass Book escape the "Fooling." It could now have a limited number of effective rules for a brief moment amidst its repeated cycles, but now, this had adversely affected "Them."
Seizing this opportunity, the illusory brand between Klein's brows became more obvious.
A faint grayish-white fog gathered around him, forming a thin cocoon.
He activated Sefirah Castle with all his might. Together with his Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder characteristic, he created an extremely powerful convergence effect on The Fool's potion.
The black liquid that didn't have a fixed form seemed to be a starving beast that saw food. It immediately pounced onto Klein.
It kept extending and changing like a translucent skin, wrapping Klein inside.
Klein's face appeared underneath this liquid. His facial features were sometimes distinct, sometimes blurred, sometimes distorted, and sometimes blank.
In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, under the giant shadow formed by the ancient sun god, words in the most ancient of languages rapidly took form on the illusory surface of the sea that contained all possible colors:
"Antigonus's efforts at advancing to The Fool ultimately failed due to various reasons."
The reason why this existence that once dominated the entire planet didn't use Klein Moretti's name was that he was now carrying the identity and fate of Antigonus.
If the subject in the sentence had been the former name, then Klein could completely ignore it.
What had Klein Moretti's failed advancement got to do with Antigonus becoming The Fool?
But when the subject became Antigonus, it was like a prophecy, as if it was an arrangement that had the outcome already be decided. Such a sentence could make the situation turn very grim.
If Klein didn't give up on Antigonus's identity and fate, he would be restricted by those words.
If he gave up Antigonus's identity and fate, then the Sequence 9 and 1 Beyonder characteristic in his body would no longer belong to him in the true sense of the word. He had never digested them before—they were Beyonder characteristics that Antigonus once controlled. At present, it had nothing to do with Klein Moretti. All he did was forcefully devour them.
Under such circumstances, even if there were no other factors, just the undigested Beyonder characteristics would likely cause Klein to lose control on the spot. And consuming The Fool's potion in such a state and completing the advancement ritual was without a doubt impossible!
As the ancient sun god wrote this sentence, the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Lord of Storms, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, who were situated in the astral world, sensed something. Each of them launched the most intense of counterattacks in an attempt to interfere with the other party's actions.
However, even though a large portion of "His" energy was spent restricting the three true deities, making it rather difficult, the ancient sun god quickly completed the sentence.
However, "His" giant shadow embodiment dimmed, as though "He" was unable to maintain it for too long.
In the astral world, within the floating ancient palace.
In the battle that pit the Earth Mother and the God of Steam and Machinery against the Primordial Demoness and Hidden Sage, the situation became even more intense. However, the former two were still able to divert a certain amount of strength to affect Amon's avatar, preventing "Them" from destroying Klein's advancement ritual.
The Amons were forced to "Blink" everywhere, but some of them still turned into plants, blooming and bearing fruit before returning to the land. Others collapsed into words as they were imprinted into illusory books.
Apart from that, a large number of "Them" were strengthening the seal, limiting the Trunsoest Brass Book, preventing the rules it enacted from being effective, or be effective for only an instant.
Under the influence of these three factors, even with Amon's numbers, it appeared to be insufficient.
But even so, a small number of "Them" managed to seize the opportunity to make crystal monocles and similar circular symbols reflect Klein's figure.
In the next second, the monocles and circular symbols emitted pure light.
This wasn't "Theft," but the act of "returning" things.
At this moment, Amon's decision was to return an item that "He" had formerly "Stolen" from Klein.
It was Klein's thoughts of suicide!
Back when Klein was captured by Amon and brought to the Forsaken Land of the Gods, he had tried on many occasions to commit suicide but failed to succeed. He had such thoughts "Stolen" by the other party.
At the critical moment of his advancement, once he had the intention to commit suicide, the outcome could be imagined!
At that moment, Klein, who was tightly enveloped by The Fool's potion, felt his thoughts turn chaotic and wander. His hair spread out as he felt an extremely cold, sticky liquid slowly invade him.
Then, he had the thought of committing suicide and giving up.
This was a change that Klein had never expected. He had long forgotten how Amon had "Stolen" his thoughts of committing suicide. Furthermore, he didn't expect that not only was the other party unwilling to abandon these thoughts, "He" had even kept them carefully.
If it were anytime in the past, this thought might've been strong, but Klein could still use his self-control to resist it forcefully, suppressing it until it dissipated on its own. It would be akin to dealing with nasty thoughts.
But now, he was in the midst of an advancement ritual. He was being influenced by the potion, and his mind had lost its stability. He was unable to effectively suppress the thought of committing suicide.
The Amons always had various strange but rather effective methods.
Fortunately, Klein wasn't only Klein, but also Antigonus.
What relation did Klein Moretti's thoughts of committing suicide have to do with Antigonus?
With this level of knowledge from this additional identity, Klein didn't immediately give up and end his life. He pulled the Antigonus mental imprint in his body and mixed it with the idea of suicide, barely suppressing it.
Under such a balance, Klein's mind and body were further corroded by The Fool's potion.
His thoughts were the same as when he advanced to Attendant of Mysteries—completely dispersed.
But the difference was that he didn't fuse with the spirit world this time. Instead, he continued to extend, enveloping the entire planet, the entire spirit world, and part of the astral world like a gaseous body.
At that moment, Klein felt that he was in the bodies of different believers, in every human's body, in every animal's body, in every living thing.
Everything had godhood in them.
At the same time, he was still scattered within the fog of history, scattered through fleeting time, and scattered inside the silent flow of a river of light with multiple distributaries.
One was also Infinity.
At the level of godhood, an experience like this made Klein's thoughts wear away even further, as though all that was left was a coldness that looked down on everything.
Even this coldness was dissipating slowly.
It wouldn't be long before Klein completely lost himself and was led by the various mental seals in The Fool's potion, becoming a true monster.
This coincided with Antigonus's crazy fate, allowing the latter to accelerate.
At this moment, he felt something off. It was unharmonious, unnatural, and abnormal.
In the fog of history, there were a small number of light fragments twisting and distorting, unable to take form. It was as if there was a fundamental conflict between them.
They gradually separated, breaking out into different branches to record the different content, allowing the twisting to achieve the initial state of recovering.
Being imbued into everything, Klein's mind was "thrown out" due to this tiny disharmonious abnormality. He found some aspect of self-awareness again.
With this self-awareness as the core, he quickly gathered his scattered mind and guided the fusion process between The Fool's potion and his body.
But at this moment, the fate of Antigonus losing control thanks to the ancient sun god's "Prophecy" erupted early. Klein's body collapsed once again, unable to withstand The Fool's potion.
Without any hesitation or having the luxury of time to hesitate, Klein immediately removed a portion of the "Theft" effects and returned Antigonus "His" identity, fate, and self-awareness, allowing the "Him" sitting on the huge stone chair to slowly open his eyes. The dazed Antigonus gradually regained "His" clarity of mind.
"He" didn't immediately lose control, because the main reason "He" lost control was that the Lord of the Mysteries's will had awakened to a large extent. And now, The Fool's Uniqueness and most of the Beyonder characteristics that contained a portion of the will was no longer in "His" body.
Therefore, Antigonus could use his own will to resist the madness and try to stop the fate of losing control.
The prophecy of the ancient sun god came true: Antigonus really failed to advance to Sequence 0 The Fool.
And without "His" identity, the Sequence 9 and Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic of the Seer pathway in Klein's body turned into something that he hadn't digested. This threw him to the edge of losing control immediately.
The Fool's potion that wrapped around his body like a cloak instantly completed the act of seeping through. The will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings was awakened once again!
"Give up...
"Leave everything to me...
"This time, I won't accommodate another sefirah...
"I won't help you protect the living creatures you wish to protect, but I won't harm them either...
"It's not that I won't keep my promises, but it's just that they're too weak and not worth my attention...
"This place is an area that is off-limits to Outer Deities...
"..."
The unfamiliar yet weirdly familiar ravings reverberated in Klein's heart, giving him the idea of giving up.
And the thought of committing suicide that he had been suppressed by Antigonus's mental imprint previously, surfaced again after the balance created by it was lost.
The outcome of failing an advancement attempt was about to occur.
At this moment, the Evernight Goddess, who was originally powerless to slash downwards with the Twilight Sword, suddenly gave up on controlling Amon's true body.
As Amon's true body leaped out, and just as the avatars waited for Klein to fail the ritual, the goddess once again dragged the exaggerated sword that was covered in orange light.
This time, the target was Klein!
A thought flashed through Klein's mind as he took the initiative to be controlled by the thought of committing suicide, not making any attempts to resist.
With a poof, he was slashed by the symbolic sword of twilight, shattering into a rotten body of "meat" that seeped out Beyonder characteristics.
Klein died. Before the Amons took any sort of measures against him, he was killed by the Evernight Goddess before the ritual failed and before he completely lost control.
In the next second, the Evernight Goddess wore the bird-shaped, golden accessory on "Her" head as "Her" body expanded and enveloped the ancient palace. She instantly erased Amon's true body, avatars, Earth Mother, Primordial Demoness, God of Steam and Machinery, Hidden Sage, and Antigonus, as though "They" were erased by an eraser.
Concealment!
The ancient sun god seemed to understand what the Evernight Goddess wanted to do, but having already made two prophecies, there was no way for "Him" to write a third sentence. As for the three true gods, they continued throwing what they had at "Him," holding "Him" back.
In the next second, a miracle happened. Klein returned from the fog of history.
The Uniqueness of The Fool that had already belonged to him and the three Sequence 9 to Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics rapidly returned to his body.
Afraid that he would be disturbed, the Genie quickly made use of the Trunsoest Brass Book to add a rule:
"This place is suitable for the return of Beyonder characteristics."
Suddenly, Klein returned to his previous state of him "drinking" The Fool potion.
But the thing that was different from before was that, back then, his body's pillar of support belonged to the Sequence 9 to Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristics of Antigonus—ones he hadn't digested yet. And now, the first to return to him was undoubtedly the digested Sequence 9 and 1 Beyonder characteristic that once belonged to him.
This way, he would have a true pillar of support that could accommodate The Fool's Uniqueness and the remaining characteristics.
Klein was in a state that was the same as when he first arrived at the main peak of the Hornacis mountain range, an Attendant of Mysteries who had finished digesting the potion and was capable of attempting to advance to Sequence 0 The Fool.
By relying on his resurrection, Klein had completely overturned his state!
This was the flash of inspiration he had obtained from Roselle's resurrection. Of course, the entire process was different from the resurrection of a Black Emperor.
The character that Klein had arranged to kill him was the Genie. He never expected that the Evernight Goddess, who he hadn't discussed this with, would share such tacit understanding with him.
In that instant, his body split apart, turning into a thin gray fog and dark liquid.
The gray fog and black liquid blended together, and the countless maggots that resembled meat tendrils sprouted on the surface. Then, they intertwined into a translucent dark-colored cloak.
There was no body under the cloak, just darkness.
This process was very brief. In less than two seconds, the Evernight Goddess's concealment of so many deities was clearly unable to last that long.
In an instant, a door of light traveled across the surface of the concealed world at an extremely high speed.
The door suddenly opened, and Amon, who was wearing a pointed hat and wearing a classic black robe, leaped out.
At the same time, "He" saw an illusory mask with blank facial features appear under the translucent dark-colored cloak.
The mask instantly outlined Klein, who had fused with Gehrman Sparrow's traits. Amon's thoughts turned chaotic as though "He" had his intelligence forcefully lowered.
The Fool was born.
-x-X-x-
Inside the white tower, the headquarters of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.
After Lucca Brewster, who was trapped underground, completed his prayer, he focused his attention back on the seal autonomously strengthening itself.
He wanted to find out exactly what was going on, to see if he could decipher the secrets hidden within and use them to invent some mystical techniques.
As he proceeded down each level, checking each and every Sealed Artifact, Lucca was taken aback and stopped in his tracks.
His expression became rather confused. He was lost on whether to take his next step with his left foot or right foot.
This seemed to be a very profound, esoteric question to comprehend.
In the Southern Continent, beside a cathedral belonging to the Evernight Goddess.
Leonard picked up the cup of coffee made from local ground beans and wanted to take a sip.
During this process, his thoughts wandered to the closed windows and the bright sky, trying to figure out the anomaly.
However, he was unable to leave the room and was sealed here. As for Old Man, Pallez Zoroast, "He" had fallen into a strange state of silence without answering his questions.
Thankfully, there wasn't any additional danger. Therefore, Leonard could still sit in peace, using thoughts to replace action.
After an unknown period of time, he looked down at the cup of coffee that had been placed back on the table. He frowned slightly and muttered to himself in puzzlement, "What did I want to do just now?"
The Rorsted Archipelago, in the concealed Bayam City.
Having not noticed the changes in the environment, Danitz carefully fiddled with the telegraph device in his room.
The Golden Dream had recently come to the Sonia Sea and stopped at a port with a telegraph office. Danitz wanted to invite them over to Bayam as guests to take in the grandeur of a Lord's Oracle.
If possible, he wished that the Golden Dream could use Bayam as its primary harbor. This way, he could return to the ship at any time to participate in adventures and seek out treasures. At the same time, he could choose to listen to the captain's lectures.
As an all-rounder, Danitz had no doubt mastered all the knowledge and techniques needed to send a telegram. At that moment, he sat in front of the machine and quickly tapped his fingers, sending out the words he had constructed.
At the very beginning, his thoughts were clear and his words were proper. This left him somewhat smug.
Gradually, his eyes stared straight and his hands didn't stop moving, as if he was doing it on instinct.
After the telegram was sent out, Danitz exhaled, picked up a cup, and gulped down a mouthful of beer.
It was quicker than I expected. Even if I lose my job in the future, I can still go to the telegraph office to get a job with a good salary, Danitz thought proudly and worriedly.
He casually picked up the telegram draft and recalled the process of how he sent it out. His expression gradually turned odd.
"What did I send in the end?" Danitz couldn't help but whisper.
Apparently, he had very likely mocked the first mate, second mate, Iron Skin, and Barrel towards the latter half of the telegram. Then, he passionately confessed to the captain.
I'm finished, I'm finished... Why would I express what's hidden in my heart... Danitz's face turned pale as he suspected that he had been controlled by the potion. The content he had written didn't actually go through his head.
He hurriedly sent a telegram to indicate that the content from before had nothing to do with him. It was all a result of Anderson deliberately causing trouble.
At this moment, he realized that something was amiss outside. The sky was gray and there wasn't a single cloud.
...
In the astral world, the existences and objects that had been concealed by the Evernight Goddess broke through the restrictions and returned to reality one after another.
"They" were like Amon's actual body, looking somewhat dazed without making any immediate reaction.
In addition, the Evernight Goddess also paused in midair in confusion, as though "She" hadn't thought about "Her" subsequent actions. However, "Her" first instinct was to protect "Herself."
The Lord of Storms, the Eternal Blazing Sun, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, who had been restricted by the thick prism-like spots of light in "Their" own kingdoms, also experienced certain changes. The intensity of their counterattacks was clearly lower, giving people a sense of self-doubt, unsure if the entity before them was an enemy.
The Genie abandoned the Trunsoest Brass Book and directly returned to the Magic Wishing Lamp. "He" seemed to have fought to "His" limits and had no choice but to retreat into the seal. He also seemed to recall something as he subconsciously evaded.
Antigonus, who had just regained "His" self-awareness and lucidity, was once again confused. His face was filled with question marks:
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? What is happening around me?
In the Forsaken Land of the Gods, the ancient sun god's giant shadow sighed and said, "Let there be light!"
The light in the astral world brightened as it stabbed into the "eyes" of Amon's true body, avatars, Primordial Demoness, Hidden Sage, and other existences.
"They" immediately regained "Their" senses and made use of the time to respond differently.
The flood of information suddenly dispersed and fused with the various symbols around it, instantly disappearing.
The black, python-like tentacles with an eyeball on their ends retracted rapidly. No one knew where they went.
Amon's true body looked at Klein, who had just advanced, and gave up the chance to exert "His" influence while his condition was unstable. "He" raised "His" hand and adjusted the crystal monocle on "His" right eye.
"His" figure split into multiple seemingly illusory and realistic doors.
The doors opened and closed at the same time, preventing any existences like the Evernight Goddess from knowing where Amon's true body had gone to.
After Amon's true body left, "His" avatars faded and disappeared in a bizarre manner.
This was using a loophole, turning the act of "Amon's true body leaving" to being equivalent to "Amons leaving."
At the same time, the giant shadow that the ancient sun god had, expanded only to shrink and transform back into Adam, who carried a thick shadow on "His" back.
Beneath the feet of this Visionary, the sea that contained all colors instantly dissipated as though it had returned underground.
Looking up at the astral world, Adam returned to the back of that shadow screen through a crack.
The fusion between "Him" and the True Creator had just begun, and it wasn't over yet. The attempt to raise "Himself" to the level of half a Great Old One was actually rather difficult and risky. This would make "Their" progress a lot slower in the future.
In the astral world, as the war subsided, the natural barrier formed by plants and the portraits of civilization faded away, along with the illusory crimson moon.
The Lord of Storms, Eternal Blazing Sun, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom first shattered the thick spots of light outside "Their" divine kingdoms. Then, "They" calmed down and returned to continue blocking the world barrier's cracks.
The Evernight Goddess, who was floating above the ancient palace, put away the pitch-black coffin; the Twilight Sword; the bird-shaped, golden accessory; and "Her" four arms. "She" cast "Her" gaze downwards.
After the translucent dark-colored cloak produced the mask, it transformed into Klein's body.
Klein pressed one hand against the almost invisible mask on his face, and he placed the other at his abdomen. His back was slightly arched, as though he was suffering indescribable pain.
Just as he raised his head and looked at the Evernight Goddess's face that was covered with a thin black veil, a pitch-black cloak appeared outside his body. Slippery and sinister tentacles extended from beneath the cloak.
After becoming The Fool, the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings in him had undoubtedly awakened further.
The crazy ravings and roars continued to echo in Klein's ears, tearing through his mind, letting him know that this was going to be his future.
There was no way to kill the Lord of the Mysteries. Even if "His" will was slowly worn down by time, "His" consciousness would remain forever. "He" could snatch Klein's body at any moment and completely revive.
If it wasn't for the fact that "He" had just "killed" the Lord of the Mysteries's will, making the awakening "Him" weaker than what Klein expected, Klein suspected that he might not be able to survive. All he could do was watch as his body collapsed and he became another existence.
Of course, he could still seek the Evernight Goddess's help to give him a drop of the River of Eternal Darkness's river water. However, this wasn't a long-term solution. He could only delay it for some time before ultimately facing it.
Relying on his own consciousness and anchors, Klein stabilized the consciousness of the Celestial Worthy in him.
At this moment, he was unable to speak.
The Evernight Goddess above nodded gently and said, "What you need now is stability."
With that said, "Her" figure was wiped inch by inch as "She" returned to the divine kingdom in the astral world.
Klein turned his head to look at the slightly dazed Antigonus. With a thought, he returned to Sefirah Castle.
Sitting in the half-collapsed palace, Antigonus sat on a huge stone chair. "He" felt as though "He" had just been through a very, very long dream.
...
Inside Sefirah Castle, Klein sat at The Fool's seat and focused on stabilizing his mental state.
Just like before, before he achieved an initial level of stability, he had no way of seeking treatment from a psychiatrist. Unless he paid a visit to Adam, it was very likely that he would go even crazier.
With some stability, Klein quickly checked the authorities he obtained.
It was called "Fooling"!
Not only did it contain history, time, fate, change, and concealment, but it also included the mind domain's of "Blind Stupidity"—the simplest application was to lower an enemy's intelligence.
Just as Klein was about to research them further, his spiritual perception was triggered.
Someone had invaded Sefirah Castle!
And only when the enemy successfully invaded did Klein obtain a "notification"!
Klein suddenly looked up and saw that the grayish-white fog had formed a door at the other end of the long mottled table.
A figure wearing a pointed hat, a classic black robe, and a monocle walked out.
Amon!
There was a tinge of darkness in Mr. Error's eyes as "His" smile appeared somewhat crazy.
"He" leisurely looked around and nudged "His" monocle. "He" said with a smile, "Are you pleasantly surprised?"
Klein wanted to use Sefirah Castle to expel "Him," but he realized that at some point in time, Amon had gained control over Sefirah Castle!
Amon cast "His" gaze at him, pulled out a chair and sat down, chuckling.
"I released the suppression of the Lord of the Mysteries in my body.
"'Him' being the owner of Sefirah Castle makes me equivalent to being the owner of Sefirah Castle. Of course, I can enter.
"This is very risky. Even in the past, I didn't dare to try it before, but since you've grown to this extent, I can only take the risk.
"This is very exciting. I'm quite pleased with the effects."
As Amon spoke, slippery and sinister tentacles appeared beneath "His" clothes.
"He" took the initiative to revive part of the Lord of the Mysteries, allowing "Himself" to enter a half-crazy state.
-x-X-x-
As Amon spoke, Klein appeared to be listening, but he had actually attempted to leave Sefirah Castle.
This wasn't because he wanted to give up or surrender, nor was it because he was too timid and subconsciously considered fleeing first. Instead, he believed that this was the best solution for the current situation.
If he stayed in Sefirah Castle, Klein would face three difficult questions.
Firstly, he had just advanced to The Fool and his condition was extremely unstable. He had to divert a large portion of his mental strength to suppress the awakening will of the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. Secondly, there was no way for him to obtain the help of his allies; he could only fight alone. Thirdly, under the situation that everyone could influence Sefirah Castle, even if Klein had a deeper level of control over Sefirah Castle, he wouldn't be able to express an overwhelming advantage. He might even be disrupted in his use of Sefirah Castle because his opponent was good at making use of loopholes and creating bugs, making it difficult for him to reach the same level as "Him."
This way, when a Sequence 0 The Fool faced a half-crazed, dual-pathway Error and Door, even if he wasn't in a scenario of facing a 100% failure rate, the chances of winning were extremely minute.
And by taking the opportunity to escape Sefirah Castle, Klein could immediately obtain the help of his allies to reverse the situation between the two.
If Amon were to chase after "Him," Klein would interfere with "His" return to Sefirah Castle and make "Him" face "His" allies. At that time, the Primordial Demoness would definitely not attack again. The ancient sun god might not be able to reproduce the power of half a Great Old One anytime soon. With the lead of the Evernight Goddess, the six orthodox deities were enough to deal with Amon.
Even if Amon, who was in control of all the authorities of the Error and Door domains, wasn't easily killed, the orthodox deities would definitely be able to weaken "Him" and seal "Him." After Klein stabilized his mental state and deepened his control over Sefirah Castle, he could then kill "Him" in a targeted manner.
This process was almost irreversible—even if the ancient sun god could still produce the level, status, and strength from before. "His" limit appeared to be suppressing three orthodox deities at the same time, and this didn't include the Evernight Goddess.
Of course, the Outer Deities were undoubtedly unwilling to see the birth of a new Lord of the Mysteries. Once such a situation happened, "They" would definitely try their best to interfere, preventing Amon from dying. However, before the world barrier collapsed, the influence "They" could exert would be rather limited, and it might not be of much use. Just like before, Klein believed that the combined powers of the Dark Side of the Universe and the Chained God were inferior to the Hidden Sage.
Even if the Outer Deities managed to affect the situation, Klein wouldn't suffer any losses. After all, those existences wouldn't allow Amon to kill him either. He could find a place to hide and stabilize his mental state. Once he was prepared, he could make new plans again—the foggy town of the Evernight Goddess was a very good choice.
If Amon didn't chase after him and remained inside Sefirah Castle. Klein could use his identity as the owner of Sefirah Castle to influence the control of all kinds of matters within at any moment, preventing Amon from doing anything in Sefirah Castle. Even if "He" wanted to use the crimson star to deal with the Tarot Club members, it would be impossible.
In short, it would be extremely difficult for either of "Them" to use Sefirah Castle well, but destroying the other party's attempts was definitely simple.
Under such a stalemate, Klein had time to stabilize his mental state, deepening his control over Sefirah Castle, slowly turning the situation around.
Towards the end, Amon would either flee and hide, or "He" would let the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings completely revive, choosing to have an internecine outcome with Klein.
Therefore, although he didn't have the time to analyze the pros and cons, Klein quickly came to a conclusion.
Leaving Sefirah Castle now was the best choice.
However, just as his consciousness sank to the edge of Sefirah Castle, he saw a crystal monocle.
This item appeared in time, crushing Klein's hopes of escaping.
"Did you think I'd leave such an obvious loophole? Of course, you can stop me from leaving Sefirah Castle at any time." Amon curled "His" index finger and pressed it against the monocle as "He" smiled.
Behind the chair that "He" was sitting on, the resplendent symbol rapidly changed. At times, it was formed from symbols corresponding to parasitizing, time, and fate. At times, it was a series of doors.
These two different symbols appeared one after another, making it impossible to truly be fixed.
Klein didn't hear what Amon said. The moment he failed, he created a real Realm of Mysteries—a complete divine kingdom of The Fool.
Light and shadows instantly changed in front of Amon's eyes. It brought with it the disappearance of the grand palace, mottled table, and luxurious high-back chair, bringing with it an ancient castle.
Amon wasn't sure what the ancient castle looked like. This was because "He" was standing in a corridor inside the castle. "He" could only sense the various changes in Sefirah Castle and see with the limited vision "He" had.
The corridor was unusually dark and gloomy. The corridor stretched endlessly. There were silver-colored elegant candle stands spaced widely apart, each producing a dim and yellow glow.
There were dark red wooden doors on both sides of the corridor that seemed to connect to different rooms.
There was no sound from the rooms, making it virtually impossible to know what was hidden inside.
Amon casually glanced at it and smiled with interest.
"Interesting."
As the most powerful Cryptologist, "He" naturally knew that this was a divine kingdom, one that couldn't be broken through with brute force.
This was because every door was "Reassembled" with different items. If "He" forcefully broke through them, he would trigger unknown effects. Amon didn't underestimate the abilities and intelligence of a Sequence 0 The Fool. "He" didn't plan on experiencing any more surprises or accidents.
However, once the divine kingdom's rules were fixed, its owner would similarly be restricted to a certain extent.
To put it simply, Klein was definitely in one of the rooms, not somewhere else.
One had to bear the corresponding responsibility for the benefits obtained.
"You want to use this method to stall for time and stabilize your mental state?" Amon whispered as though "He" was talking to an invisible person.
Then, wearing a pointed hat and a classic black robe, "He" walked to the nearest dark red wooden door.
There were no holes on the wooden door, so "He" couldn't see the exact situation inside.
In other words, it was very difficult for Amon to know if Klein was here without opening the door.
The corners of Amon's mouth curled up slightly. Amon extended "His" right hand and drew a long rectangular shape on the dark red wooden door.
Inside the rectangle, bits of starlight emerged and turned transparent, revealing the scene in the room.
With the authority of Door and the ability of Bug, Amon forcibly opened a window without triggering the effects.
Following that, "He" cast "His" gaze into the room.
There were no tables, chairs, carpets, and other furniture, but a blue sea.
"Indeed, this door has been connected with the sea outside," Amon said without any surprise.
Once "He" twisted the door, "He" would leave Sefirah Castle and appear in the sea outside.
And at that time, with Klein being wary, it was almost impossible for "Him" to enter Sefirah Castle again, just like how Klein was unable to leave Sefirah Castle.
This was the reason why Amon didn't forcibly destroy The Fool's divine kingdom but opened one door at a time.
Destruction led to similar effects. The repeated effects would affect Amon again and again. Even if there were many loopholes that "He" could use, "He" wouldn't be completely immune to them.
Retracting "His" gaze, Amon walked to the opposite room and opened a window according to the method from before.
However, this time, it was pitch-black inside, and "He" couldn't see anything.
Amon raised "His" hand and pinched the edge of "His" monocle and coughed lightly.
"His" figure instantly split into two.
The number of Amons increased.
The split Amon glanced at Amon, who stood in the same spot and tsked.
"Why aren't you seeking the thrill yourself?"
As "He" spoke, this Amon extended "His" right palm and grabbed the handle of the dark red wooden door.
Just as "He" began twisting, "His" expression suddenly turned blank as "He" sat down, as though "He" had lost the ability to think.
"Fooling effect." The original Amon nodded slightly.
The retarded Amon immediately collapsed and turned into a transparent worm with twelve segments.
Tiny bits of Beyonder characteristic seeped out and returned to Amon's body.
"He" relied on using the loophole to avoid the negative effects of "His" avatars from acting on "His" actual body.
After all the Beyonder characteristics returned, Amon released a flame that had been stolen and burned the corpse of the Worm of Time.
After doing this leisurely, "He" looked up and adjusted the monocle on "His" right eye.
On the crystal monocle, countless symbols, patterns, and labels appeared. They moved quickly, interweaving, reforming, or changing, as though they were making calculations.
This was a combination of a Cryptologist's power of decryption and the Key of Star's authority on position.
The two attempts Amon made were mainly to gather intelligence, grasp the rules, and prepare for cracking the secrets of The Fool's divine kingdom.
Soon, the symbols, patterns, and labels formed a scene on the monocle:
Behind a dark red wooden door, a few slippery tentacles extended out from Klein's body. He sat on a high-back chair and calmly watched the entrance.
The corners of Amon's mouth curled up. With a flash, "He" appeared in the room.
However, everything before "His" eyes suddenly collapsed.
Klein with The Fool's aura quickly turned thin, turning into a card.
On the card, Roselle Gustav was wearing a gorgeous head accessory and colorful clothes, holding a stick with luggage hanging from it. His eyes were filled with longing.
The Fool card.
The Fool card from the Cards of Blasphemy.
Klein knew that relying solely on Paper Figurine Substitutes and adding the "Fooling" effect and "Grafting" his true aura onto it wouldn't be able to deceive a top-notch Swindler like Amon. Therefore, he used The Fool card which had some convergence powers as his paper figurine.
Although Sefirah Castle couldn't be used again, this was Klein's home ground after all. There was his junk pile, the various items he had gathered, and the newly obtained Trunsoest Brass Book and the borrowed Magic Wishing Lamp.
-x-X-x-
With the Klein in front of Amon turning into The Fool card, the room shrank and revealed its original appearance.
It was an iron cigar case that had marks of being corroded slightly. It had fused with the aura of Sefirah Castle.
Klein's figure appeared out of nowhere as the entire divine kingdom of The Fool collapsed. As the magnificent palace reappeared, he grabbed the vessel that carried The Fool card and Amon's true body and suddenly closed it.
He didn't have hopes of using this item to seal Amon, who wielded the corresponding authority of the Door pathway. All he wanted was to buy some time and find a chance to throw Amon out of Sefirah Castle and retrieve the initiative.
But at that moment, Klein, who was wearing a black trench coat, paused.
His other hand took out a crystal monocle from the void with his other hand and placed it in his right eye.
Behind him, Amon, who was wearing a pointed hat and a classic black robe, quickly outlined "His" figure. "His" eyes were dark and wild as "He" laughed.
"What made you think that I didn't use an avatar?"
Before "He" finished his sentence, Klein's figure that had been parasitized rapidly turned thin, turning into a crude paper figurine.
Klein was cautious and hadn't used his true form either. He relied on a Paper Figurine Substitute that had Spirit Body Threads "Grafted."
He knew very well that he would rather give up an opportunity than make mistakes when fighting Amon. Once he made a mistake, under the suppression effect of a Bug, it would be very difficult for him to turn the tables.
With regards to the situation of the prey turning into a paper figurine, Amon didn't seem to be surprised. All "He" did was raise "His" hand to touch the crystal monocle.
At the other end of the grand palace, Klein, who was wearing a top hat and a trench coat, uncontrollably walked out of The Fool's automatic concealment.
He raised his right hand and took out a crystal monocle from the void with great difficulty, slowly moving it towards his right eye.
During this process, Klein's expression was filled with resistance and rather warped, as though he couldn't control his hand.
The half-crazy Amon smiled leisurely.
"You can use paper figurines to replace you, but so can paper figurines replace you.
"It being 'Parasitized' is equivalent to you being 'Parasitized.'
"Everything is relative, and all of them have loopholes. No Beyonder power is uncrackable. They can be used in any suitable situation."
"He" made use of the relationship of the Paper Figurine Substitute and the main body to create a bug.
Although Amon looked like "He" was unable to control "His" desire to speak due to "His" madness, it didn't stop "Him" from corroding Klein with "His" full strength. "He" strengthened the "Parasitizing" bit by bit, making Klein truly wear a monocle and become "Him."
At that moment, Klein's body suddenly collapsed. He had taken the initiative to do so.
He split into countless transparent maggots that swam in all directions.
Among these Worms of Spirit, there were a few Worms of Time with twelve segments mixed in.
Strictly speaking, Amon's Worms of Time could forcefully "Parasitize" very tiny creatures like the Worms of Spirit. However, when Klein split up, he took the initiative to use his "Fooling" authority to confuse the order of time. He "Fooled" the few Worms of Time, making them split up only towards the end. Unable to find the cluster of Worms of Spirit, they lost their target for "Parasitizing."
In the next second, the scene in Sefirah Castle changed again. Klein once again used the Realm of Mysteries powers to create a new divine kingdom for The Fool.
Amon instantly entered a room.
This place was covered with a thick yellow carpet with a crystal chandelier hanging from it. There was a door on each wall, and it was unknown where they led to.
At the same time, there were oil paintings depicting various eyes hanging from the four walls.
There was no need for any special scrutiny. With just a glance, Amon knew that the four doors corresponded to different effects. The main purpose was to delay "His" actions and create enough time for Klein to make subsequent preparations.
The corners of Mr. Error curled up slightly as "He" cast "His" gaze to the ground.
"He" extended "His" right fist and stretched out "His" fingers.
An illusory door appeared on the thick yellow carpet.
The door quickly moved for a second before it became fixed in place and silently opened.
However, with the opening of the illusory door, the doors around the room began to move strangely. The doors creaked and opened!
Almost at the same time, in the pitch-black wilderness, in a dark tower that led to the sky, Klein was holding the Magic Wishing Lamp and removing the effects of "Fooling" on the Trunsoest Brass Book.
The candlewick of the Magic Wishing Lamp lit up as it spewed out a sticky, pale-gold glow.
These rays of light transformed into a distorted, blurry figure.
Klein didn't consider making a wish with the Genie to transfer Bernadette's wishes onto him and change the ownership of the Magic Wishing Lamp. This was because there would only be one outcome. He would die on the spot and return from the fog of history with the Miracle Invoker's powers.
Normally, this was a good way to escape, especially since Klein could revive several times.
However, the situation this time was completely different from before.
Once Klein died, it would mean that he had temporarily given up on his identity as the owner of Sefirah Castle, making this place a paradise for Amon. "He" could use this sefirah without any obstruction.
Under such circumstances, Amon could completely "Fool" history, interfere with fate, and suppress Klein's resurrection, making him truly die.
The ones who were most effective against a Beyonder were definitely Higher-Sequence Beyonders of the same pathway.
Therefore, Klein's current plan was to use the status of the Genie to better use the Trunsoest Brass Book.
If the Genie didn't exert a certain influence, the rules set by the Trunsoest Brass Book definitely wouldn't be biased towards Klein. It would only restrict all existences other than itself.
As the Genie's blurry, pale-gold figure took form, the Trunsoest Brass Book produced the sound of colliding metal and quickly flipped to the second half of the book that allowed writing.
Without any gap in time, new text appeared on the brass page:
"Theft is prohibited here!"
If Klein had the choice, the most suitable rule would be "Acts of theft are prohibited here" because the former clause was a law. It couldn't stop someone from committing theft ahead of time, and it could only deliver punishment after the act. Furthermore, punishment for first-time thieves was inevitably light, something the Amons could withstand. His idea restricted the possibility of such actions—there was no such thing as theft.
However, there was no way for the Trunsoest Brass Book to make such a rule right now. One had to wait until the provisions were watertight enough, and that it had awakened to a certain extent before that was possible.
Previously, the Genie had relied on "His" close connection with the Trunsoest Brass Book, "His" high status, and all "His" strength before "He" could enforce similar rules. At this moment, "He" was already drained and unable to do such things.
At present, all Klein could do was try his best to stall for time so that the Trunsoest Brass Book could produce a sufficiently strict setup of laws to target Amon so as to act in concert with his "Fooling" authority.
At this moment, in the room that trapped Amon.
As the illusory door on the ground opened, the four real doors shook and cracks appeared.
This would bring about many unknown effects.
Suddenly, the sound of a bell rang out from an endless distance away.
At some point in time, Amon had transformed into an ancient, mottled stone wall clock. On the wall clock, the second hand formed by the Worm of Time suddenly paused.
Gong!
As the bell reverberated, everything in the room froze strangely, including the four doors.
The only exception was Amon. "He" had transformed back to "His" pointy-hatted, classic black-robed look. With a smile, "He" calmly raised "His" left hand and tightened "His" five fingers.
In the next second, the strange frozen state was broken. The four doors that were about to open had closed again with a bang, leaving no gaps behind.
Amon's figure descended and burrowed into the illusory door that wasn't closed.
Just as "He" used this method to leave the room, "He" discovered that "He" had arrived in a pitch-black wilderness. There was a dark tower that seemed to pierce the sky in the distance.
Inside the tower, the Trunsoest Brass Book in front of Klein had formed a second rule:
"Deception is prohibited here!"
Although Amon couldn't see what was happening, it was as though "He" had sensed something. After all, a high-ranking person who used the rules of deception as entertainment was undoubtedly able to sense the changes in the rules. Otherwise, there was no way of accurately finding loopholes.
"He" immediately raised "His" hand and adjusted the monocle stuck in "His" right eye.
On the surface of the crystal monocle, a blinding, pure white light spewed out, illuminating the wilderness. There were no longer any concealed existences here.
This was the "eternal daytime" that "He" had previously given to Klein and retrieved from Klein's "main body"!
In such an environment, the dark tower melted inch by inch. Klein floated in midair with one hand holding the Magic Wishing Lamp, and the other holding the Staff of the Stars. In front of him was the open Trunsoest Brass Book.
Amon took the opportunity to stretch out "His" hand that was holding onto the monocle. From a distance, "He" gripped Klein's projection to his palm.
Behind him, the shadow that had been dragged out by the "eternal daytime" seemed to become fainter as it twisted with vitality.
Without a sound, Amon began "Stealing" Klein's various Beyonder powers.
"He" didn't deliberately seek out the "Fooling" authority. Instead, "He" chose to be random to increase the success rate.
However, with a flash of light, what fell into "His" palm was only a simple paper figurine.
Grafting!
Pa!
The shadow behind Amon's back was lashed by an invisible whip, and "He" was completely unharmed.
"He" created an error, letting "His" shadow replace "Him."
Following that, Amon laughed as "His" voice resounded in Klein's ears.
"Genie, I can also promise to send you back to the cosmos.
"Look, I wasn't punished. This means that I'm not swindling you."