Chapter 35: The Trickster's Design
The Vale stretched onward, the ruined remnants of a once-great civilization crumbling around them. The vision of the past still burned in Tara's mind—Ludicar, standing before the failing Seal, his laughter ringing through time itself.
He hadn't just been there when the Seal was created. He had designed its failure.
The god of laughter had been playing a game longer than anyone had realized.
Kael walked beside her, his hands tightening into fists. "Ludicar planned this from the start. He didn't just help make the Seal—he built it to break."
Tara nodded, her throat tight. "That means he's not just an enemy of the gods. He's the one who set this whole thing in motion."
Emrick's expression darkened. "Then we stop him. Whatever his plan is, we end it."
But Tara wasn't sure it would be that simple. Ludicar wasn't like the other gods. He didn't rule over domains of war, light, or destruction. He existed between the lines, a deity of mischief, unpredictability, and—most terrifying of all—comedy.
Not the kind that made people laugh.
The kind that made them despair.
They followed the path through the shattered Vale, the whispers of its former people fading as they approached the center. The mist thinned, revealing what lay ahead.
A door.
Not just any door. A massive, ornate gateway carved with endless smiling faces. Each one different, each one frozen in eerie expressions of amusement, mockery, or madness. At the top of the door, a single phrase was etched in a language older than the gods themselves.
Tara could read it.
"Knock, knock."
She exhaled slowly. "It's his mark. Ludicar's. This door… it leads to wherever he's been waiting."
Kael crossed his arms. "I don't like this."
"Neither do I," Emrick admitted, gripping his sword.
Tara reached out, brushing her fingers against the surface of the door. The moment she touched it, the faces moved—their grins widening, their eyes gleaming with hidden mirth.
And then—
The door knocked back.
BOOM. BOOM.
The force of it sent them staggering backward. The Vale trembled. The mist laughed.
Then, slowly, the door creaked open.
Beyond it was darkness. Not just the absence of light, but something deeper—something that swallowed reality itself.
And from within that darkness, a voice drifted out.
"Oh, you actually made it. I must say… I'm impressed."
Tara's blood ran cold.
Ludicar was waiting.