Chapter Text
In the silence of the Serenity Cathedral, a simple black-robed figure wearing silver-rimmed glasses came out from the special room where the Holy See was. She was the Blessed of Evernight Goddess, Melissa Moretti, who was a Savant Pathway Beyonder, she was specially raised by the Evernight Church as per the descending Revelation.
The Holy See as the recipient of Revelation personally guided her and made her live in the Serenity Cathedral, the Headquarters of the Evernight Church, the former Divine Kingdom of the Evernight Goddess.
Grounded Angel, Servant Of Concealment Arianna helps her in her progress. Melissa stepped steadily and without hesitation or pride, she was as simple as Mrs Arianna, a hermit. However, as a Beyonder in the Savant Pathway, Melissa couldn't be too modest.
She was the maker of Magical Artifacts whose effects were extraordinary in addition to small or suppressed negative effects. Therefore, she was the only one who received special treatment by the Evernight Church anywhere other than her identity as a Blessed One.
Inside the prayer hall, Melissa bowed to the Evernight emblem and prayed in earnest.
"I'll take you to Saint Samuel Cathedral to tell 'them' the Revelation."
Behind Melissa, Mrs Arianna emerged from the void and her voice was low and filled with serenity.
Melissa moved her lips and replied, “Fine.” Her brown eyes shone brightly revealing the sparkling stars of the Evernight emblem.
...
Backlund, North Borough.
It was chaotic, but not as chaotic as the rest of the region because of the Saint Samuel Cathedral which was the Nighthawk Backlund Headquarters and the Red Gloves main team.
Actions of madness and chaos were quickly dealt with by them, but they could not help other areas which were much more severe. For example the Eastern Borough, the Iron and Blood sect as well as the other evil god sects had caused a commotion there.
And ordinary people suffer every day. The Fifth Age is almost completely over. Even the orthodox gods could barely stop the turmoil of the common mortals who were their anchors.
The age of madness is coming soon. The Loen Kingdom no longer hides the existence of a mysterious power and let its people know the consequences of a new open war with Intis and Feynapotter and the West Balam tribe who suddenly broke the peace as if there was a mastermind controlling it.
Due to various limitations, one of which is the thinning of the real world barrier, the gods cannot perform divine descent directly and can only use limited vessels for a very short time. Therefore, the Fifth Age oscillated between the destruction of the entire world and the extreme balance it forced, unfortunately it could barely control the masses.
Underground area of Saint Samuel Cathedral. Leonard Mitchell, who has become the Archbishop of the diocese, replaces Anthony Stevenson, who is assigned to tackle more dangerous areas. Leonard had entered the step towards Angel immediately with the appropriate ritual that had been promised by the Holy See, it was thanks to the Evernight Goddess' Revelation that Leonard was qualified to become 'Her' Servant of Concealment.
The biggest reason was Leonard knew Klein Moretti very well, that was the conclusion from the attitude of the upper echelons including the Holy See to him. It was a secret that was only shared among the upper echelons that Klein Moretti had become The Fool's Blessed One, and according to Goddess Revelation, The Fool was an entity that became the variable of the apocalypse.
Leonard would be the only male Concealment Servant under the Goddess directly, apart from the Holy See and the Blessed One.
Leonard sat in his office in the basement near the Chanis Gate. It's a secret room belonging to the diocesan Archbishop.
He was researching the case of the Secret Organizations calling themselves The Fools that didn't belong to this era, which was quite confusing because those people were kind of crazy to look at. Leonard saw that there were some known members claiming that they could interpret the letters Roselle wrote, but that was clearly different and no one could believe it.
“Where did these crazy people come from? Appearing suddenly after Mr. Fool decided to fall asleep?” Leonard muttered.
The Organization's first public appearance was about five years ago, and their members have by no means concealed their own identities. As if to declare to the world accompanied by a fearful sense of fanatical pride.
In the Organization's documents, only a few high-level members were rational. However, recently they have been doing something strange. Leonard, who had little time to relax, could only watch for a moment before handing the investigation over to the team below him.
He had long since escaped from the Pallez Zoroast Parasite, the geezer had stayed in his house until now on the grounds that he had adopted Leonard as his disciple and also to anticipate the Three Churches' attitude towards the intense development of the times.
Pallez wanted to wait and see from the sidelines, and if he might find an opening, he wouldn't humbly ignore it. At least, to Leonard, that geezer could be trusted to not harm him and the Evernight Church, while for others, as long as they had nothing to do with him, he didn't care...
This cold feeling had polluted him a bit after he advanced to Demigod and became a Saint. Leonard was well aware that this was an almost irresistible condition, so he went to great lengths to find an excuse or anchor that could sustain his human emotions.
According to the teachings of Mrs. Arianna, leader of the thirteen Archbishops, he must define what is important to him as the main anchor and what is the secondary anchor, namely the believer.
For Leonard, he felt no need for believers and Mrs Arianna herself advocated that the main anchor was more important. And so he came to that preliminary conclusion after writing so many poems that he felt his hair fall out a little and his head was spinning. It was the reason Leonard had come this far and volunteered to work hard writing things he didn't really like. It was for the sake of his close friend, his best friend, Klein.
“Hah, it's been almost ten years now, I thought maybe he wouldn't wake up. Maybe Mr. Fool as an ancient god that has risen will change,” he groaned hiding deep sorrow.
His green eyes and shoulder-length black hair resembled the appearance of ten years ago, but his aura was no longer that of a romantic poet but a possessor of the night that could bring down silence and serenity.
Leonard became pessimistic as time passed and the Tarot Club's struggles became meaningless. The gold coins that Klein gave them were difficult for even Queen Mystic to interpret through The Hermit.
Sensing their hopes of being dashed and filled with high anxiety for an unknown and definitely unfavorable future, Justice Audrey, who was mature and more rational than the others, made them return to the special mission that Mr. Fool had given them before falling asleep.
One of them was the investigation of the West Continent carried out by The Hanged Man Alger. Leonard heard The Hanged Man's explanation that his voyage to the West Continent far at the end of the Sea of Mist had a problem, strangely the problem was the fog itself. A grayish-white mist that even Angels at the Hanged Man level couldn't pass through.
That was their discussion for the last half year, The Sun Derrick was also one of those who joined the failed expedition. They couldn't sail any further and chose to return to confirm the situation with the other members.
Right now, they didn't want to reveal the matter of the West Continent to any Church. Obviously as a special mission, it needed to be kept secret, so Justice Audrey and The Star Leonard shared the power of invisible concealment on the matter for a while until they could find a way through the fog.
Leonard half closed his eyes and what was left was a dark color reflecting the night and the stars. He enters a collective dream world based on the secret cooperation between himself and Miss Justice.
The view of the long bronze table and chairs on each side was almost similar to that of Sefirah Castle, without the boundless gray fog. This is a dream world that connects the North and South Continents through the power of the Angel Discerner Justice Audrey.
She has changed a lot during his brave and challenging adventures, she took the initiative as a representative of the Tarot Club with The Hanged Man, it was the two of them who also founded the Tarot Club with Mr. Fool's permission.
There were beautiful lush trees all around and beneath them was lush green grass, as well as a bright blue sky with light clouds. There were even small insects and butterflies flying in the air.
Chairs and tables are adjusted to the existing members so that they do not take up space and cause discomfort. Justice Audrey sat to the left of the seat of honor, opposite The Hanged Man Alger.
Neither of them dared to sit in the seat of honor nor the seat at the lower end. To them, the two seats were the absolute property of Mr. Fool and Mr. World. There was always hope for them, especially they were eager to see Mr. World again.
Listening to Mr World's thrilling adventures, imagining what he was like, and his unique yet terrifying nature, they all missed him.
Meanwhile, Mr. Fool who occasionally answered their prayers still hadn't given any Revelations indicating that 'He' had awakened. The world situation which is deteriorating so rapidly is becoming increasingly concerning.
What they were most grateful for and found far more shocking was the world's attitude towards The Fool Organization and The Fool's Church, even the gods had nothing against. In fact, many secretly support and chant prayers for safety at dusk. The information was disclosed by The Sun Derrick who is the Archbishop of The Fool Church.
"Good evening everyone~," Audrey greeted cheerfully to lighten the mood.
Others respond with honest feelings consisting of anticipation, curiosity, anxiety, restlessness, and fear, as well as abnormal calm. The last one belongs to Leonard Mitchell.
"As per our previous agreement, this sudden meeting signals something very serious." The Hermit Cattleya captured the essence of the encounter in this dream world.
They had been together two years ago since Audrey had reached the Sequence 2 of Spectator Pathway's Grounded Angel, Discerner, making a deal.
In addition to the Gathering at Sefirah Castle every Monday afternoon once a month so as not to burden The Fool too much and several mini Gatherings to discuss certain matters, they decided on a meeting in the dream world that Justice Audrey could directly relate to. As a Spectator Pathway Angel, Audrey understood the phrase that had terrorized all of them once, which was 'Every mention of it will be known, the more you know it, the more it will know you'.
Thanks to this ability, Audrey imitated the way the Psychology Alchemist board members met in the distant past long before The Fool and The World fell asleep. She pulled the Tarot Club members into an emergency meeting to discuss an urgent matter that they didn't even have time to ask Mr. Fool for a Gathering at Sefirah Castle.
The way Audrey attracts them is by giving them charm markers that she personally creates in their respective worlds of mind. Of course, she told them and got permission, Audrey kept her principles despite being in a higher order of life.
"That's right," replied Audrey looking around.
The Hanged Man Alger sat up straight and prepared to hear another shocking thing now. The Sun Derrick by his side also had a similar reaction. The Hermit Cattleya touched the glasses Audrey imagined, it was enough to protect her from something she didn't want to see even she was in this particular dream world.
“The Blessed of Evernight Goddess contacted me through a certain method,” Audrey revealed not specifically mentioning what the method was, meaning it was a secret between her and the Blessed One. "A new revelation has descended from the Evernight Goddess, it relates to Mr. World."
The other members immediately became very serious. Even Leonard was no longer calm, ripples of his sentimental emotions regarding The World Klein rose to the surface.
The Magician Fors urged, “What is it? Is there a way to wake him up?!”
She was afraid, but also had deep feelings for The World. It is a feeling of gratitude, respect, and appreciation, as well as family as a member of the Tarot Club.
The Moon Emlyn White who had become Sanguin's representative as the Duke focused his attention. The key to the messiah to overcome the apocalypse is Mr. Fool, this is the Revelation that his Ancestor, Lilith, gave him. And regarding the details of what it actually was, Emily wasn't allowed to know yet.
He was very sure, none of the members of the Tarot Club who had now become their respective Angels knew the reason. In the Revelation that was passed down, his Ancestor did not dare to guess. That means, the ancient god Mr. Fool's awakened is stronger than any god.
And The World as the Blessed One is definitely the keyhole that can connect the real world and Mr. Fool.
Audrey sucked in a breath as she stared at the determined faces of all of them, her sense of pride as the founder of the Tarot Club rising.
“The Blessed One interpreted the Revelation received when inquiring about the method of awakening The World, and its contents; Sefirah Castle, a sea of historical mists, doors of light balls, and a dream; it is a direct revelation from the Goddess, while a more understandable explanation is that Mr. World is asleep somewhere in Sefirah Castle and he is struggling in his dreams,” explained Audrey at length.
Leonard muttered with a trembling body, “Sefirah Castle....” He suddenly voiced his outrageous guess. “That means The World has been used as Mr. Fool's vessel all this time so he fell asleep there?”
He recalled his conversation with the Old Man all those years ago. The relationship between Klein and the Goddess was confusing, if Klein was the Blessed Mr. Fool, then why did Klein get the blessing of concealment from the Goddess and not Mr. Fool?
Then regarding the vessel, that is also the opinion of the old man. At first Leonard had balked at this outrageous statement of blasphemy, but the more he thought about it, the more it became possible.
'That revelation indirectly confirms the Old Man's hypothesis,' thought Leonard as he watched each Tarot Club member's response.
Audrey was the most shocked. If analyzed, she felt it was possible, regarding the absurd development of The World including Mr. Fool's actual plan, she attributed the possibility that her guess was correct. If so, then...
Audrey spread a calming Placate to everyone, their overflowing emotions should be removed, or when they woke up from sleep, those emotions would be a sign of imbalance. And imbalance is a sign of losing control even for Angels.
Fors and Xio gaped. They didn't know how to respond.
The Hanged Man Alger started racking his brains. “You remember what Mr. Fool said about 'The return of The World is the return of The Fool.'?!” His voice was clearly filled with emotions of disbelief and doubt and suspicion.
'What exactly is Mr Fool's goal? Make The World a Vessel and directly affect the real world? Since when did The World become a Vessel?’ Alger's scalp went numb from the shock.
“Then why have we never thought of this before?” asked The Hermit Cattleya with uncertainty. Her voice turned soft and melancholic as if she was trying not to put any prejudice.
“Perhaps The World only became Mr. Fool's vessel when he became an Angel. At that moment, Old Man and I could feel that The World was not a real person, as if he had turned into another entity. However, you're right, it's been a very long time and we only found out now. Isn't that too suspicious and strange?" explained Leonard who was holding back his trembling. He hid his tightly clenched hands under the table.
To him, if the Old Man was right and if he was, Leonard felt disapproved. Even though Mr Fool is always unpredictable and doesn't plan anything evil, but as Old Man warns, don't believe in god's virtues!
'Was Klein raised to be his vessel? Is that so? So that's why his resurrection from the dead is called a curse... Was it ever since he died in Tingen, that he was targeted by Mr. Fool, or was it long before that?' Random thoughts assailed Leonard.
"Not! That's not true, don't think that Mr Fool is an evil god!” shouted The Sun Derrick who was a Mr Fool fanatic. He was extremely grateful for the safety of the City of Silver and it was all thanks to Mr Fool. He didn't want the Tarot Club members to mention that Mr Fool was an evil god. He will wholeheartedly oppose.
"Wait, that's not it, Mr. Sun," said Audrey, stopping the messy situation. “It's just that according to the knowledge I've gathered, god vessels won't have a human side anymore. It could even be said to be just a body without a soul. That means the soul in the body becomes a sacrifice for the existence that uses it as a vessel,” she continued.
“That… That….” The Sun Derrick obviously didn't want to believe it.
He recalls the much help The World gave him and his genuine admiration. He shook his head vigorously, certain that even if he was made a vessel, Mr. Fool would not eat the soul of The World.
The Moon Emlyn also flatly refused. “No way, my Ancestor even respected Mr. Fool, ‘He’ is an existence that should not be blasphemed!” he warned.
Leonard was ready to receive divine punishment for his impudence, no matter what, Mr Fool was definitely not an evil god. Even if The World did become a vessel, its soul wouldn't be eaten.
“Forget about this. We focus on the heart of the matter, how do we wake up The World?” Cattleya changed the topic to prevent them from acting rashly. "We've experimented with the gold coins he gave us, as well as many other clues, but we still don't know what the gold coins represent."
Audrey raised her hand. “Let's try to explore the sea of collective subconscious in Sefirah Castle.”
The other members' pupils dilated. Very risky, but worth a try. They wonder why this idea had never occurred to them?
That's simple. They didn't dare to explore Mr. Fool's divine domain which could be a Divine Kingdom like Ankelwelt's Imaginary Dragon, Liveseyd who could cause corruption or something.
However, the events of Mr. Fool's first and last punishment replayed in their heads. Just then, The Hermit Cattleya was healed and neither died nor lost control. It implied that Sefirah Castle could be considered a true Divine Kingdom without being affected by corruption. Even they might be protected.
Leonard agreed with a nod. "It's worth a try, the other problem is that we have to prepare our bodies in the real world to be protected for long periods of time," he advises.
The Hanged Man Alger gives an opinion, "If we assume the duration of exploring the sea of the collective subconscious and refuge, it would be better if we gathered in one place in the real world."
The Sun Derrick wanted to add, but dropped his intention as Fors interrupted, “How about gathering at The Fool's Cathedral in Bayam, it's the main headquarters of The Fool's Church. There we will be protected thanks to the Sealed Artifact and the other Angels.”
Xio whose appearance was slightly taller than ten years ago and had an even stronger suppressive aura thought something was lacking. She considered the possible time difference between the real world and the dream world, and she didn't know much.
“Mr. Star, in theory how much is the time difference between the real world and the dream? We have to be able to calculate it in order to minimize the risk.” Xio decided to ask.
The Star Leonard was enlightened by the question. “If it's a normal dream world, then there's a difference of more than half the time in the real world. In a moment, I will be following the ritual to become a Concealment Servant in the Goddess Kingdom, maybe I will be able to obtain a high level of concealment power so that the protection of our bodies in the real world is more secure.”
Audrey loves it when Tarot Club members progress to higher realms and share the burden and help each other together. “Mr. Star, I wish you the best of luck.”
Others also expect the same. That meant, their plan was to wait until Leonard advanced to become a Servant of Concealment.
The Star Leonard nodded acknowledging their sincere support. However, the Tarot Club is now more than half of the members are Angels, namely Justice Audrey who is the vanguard, The Hanged Man Alger who is hardworking, The Hermit Cattleya who has many connections in the mysterious world and Quenn Mystic, The Sun Derrick who has clashed with the Church several times. Eternal Blazing Sun, and now The Star Leonard would be one of them.
For Emlyn, his Sequence 2 Beyonder Pathways could turn him into a female so he chose to remain a Sequence 3 Saint. Meanwhile, Fors stayed at Sequence 3 because the Sequence 2 ritual was nearly impossible to perform without god's protection, and obviously the sleeping Mr. Fool couldn't possibly exert that. a lot of energy just to help her complete the ritual, despite the blessings given, Fors didn't want to rush, the cosmos was very dangerous. On the one hand, Fors herself was afraid to ascend to the Angel realm.
To her, the visible qualitative changes of the Angel Tarot Club members made her not dare to break through any further, but her Teacher, Dorian Gray Abraham had high hopes for her. And Abraham's Ancestor had perished, that was also one of the impetus.
As for why Ancestor Abraham perished, they had discussed that in the past after Mr. Fool fell asleep.
Fors suddenly remembered the guesswork and the confusing information circulating among the Angels from different pathways. Angels adjacent to the spirit world can know that Error, the true god of the Marauder Pathway has disappeared, Error who is Blasphemer Amon cannot be found in any world.
And according to her Teacher who read many certain secret documents, it seemed that The Fool and Error had a feud until one side disappeared and the other gained power that surpassed the other true gods. Fors hadn't understood it until now, she was still a Saint so information regarding corruption and the like didn't want her to know.
'But, why do I feel like I'm forgetting something.'
However, it was undeniable that the Tarot Club's discussion would be about things that were forbidden in Sefirah Castle. They were sheltered there, as they were about to conclude their meeting, Audrey secretly implanted psychological and hypnotic cues on them. Of course, Audrey knew that they agreed without saying anything.
Audrey clapped once. "Okay, that's all from me. Does anyone have anything else to say?"
The Hermit Cattleya nudged the 'imagined' glasses. “There's an organization that seems to be filled with a bunch of freaks, they worship Mr Fool, but that's not the problem. They claim to be from a different world and they act as if they are the chosen ones."
The Star Leonard added. “There are some members of the organization who say they can read Emperor Roselle's diary. This is still being investigated. I assigned a special team to monitor them.”
The Sun Derrick gave his opinion, “We have to be careful with them. I will create a special team devoted to observing all activities carried out by the Organization. They can infiltrate there and become our spies.”
Derrick was no longer an innocent child, after Mr. Fool fell asleep, Derrick honed his intelligence and experience in the outside world with the elders of New Silver City and New Moon City. He also learned from The Hanged Man Alger some clever tactics and thinking. Even the dumbest people will become smarter with time. After all, the chaotic world of the past few years pushed them forward even further.
A while later, they ended the meeting, because they were on an important mission, they couldn't linger on the sudden meeting.
***