Chapter Text
Goro Akechi was dead. He had made several attempts to kill Ren Amamiya, but he had been thoroughly defeated. And then, unexpectedly, he sacrificed his own life to save his rival’s. This wasn’t exactly how the game was supposed to end. Neither Trickster had truly destroyed the other. This disturbed Yaldabaoth. He had been orchestrating this conflict for so long, even rigged the game by removing Igor from the picture and sundering Lavenza into two beings that had forgotten their purpose. For a twist of this magnitude to happen was an affront to his very existence as the god of control. Of all the things Ren Amamiya could have done to Goro Akechi, partially reforming the boy was not supposed to be one of them. Perhaps the last Trickster standing had been trained too well. The strength he drew from and inspired in his Confidants had far exceeded Yaldabaoth’s expectations. Almighty though Yaldabaoth was, he knew that even he was not invincible. If the Amamiya boy continued to realize his seemingly-boundless potential, it was possible that Yaldabaoth’s grand design could be foiled. He needed to ascertain the full extent of the boy’s power. He needed to know just what exactly lingered in Ren Amamiya's heart.
Caroline opened the door to Ren Amamiya's cell in the Velvet Room. The boy had been summoned, but he was still asleep on the prison bed. “Igor” turned to Justine.
“Now, my dear, it is imperative that the boy not stir for the duration of my examination” the false master said.
“Of course, Master.” Justine walked into the cell and gingerly placed her hands on Ren's temples, her hands glowing. “My magic will ensure that he remains asleep until you have accomplished your task.”
“Excellent.” “Igor” stepped into the cell. “Make sure not to cease tending to him, even for a moment. If he awakens while I am exploring his heart, the consequences could be disastrous.”
“Master, are you sure about this?” Caroline looked at the man she believed to be her boss with an unusual sense of worry. He let out his trademark deep menacing chuckle in response.
“There is no need to fear for me, Caroline. I am more than aware of what I am doing.”
“I’m sure you are, and I don’t doubt your wisdom or anything, but…” Caroline looked at the sleeping Ren with the same sense of worry. Where once she had great disdain for the boy, now she’d grown quite fond of him, although of course she’d never admit it. “Is this really necessary? You yourself have said how remarkable the inmate’s progress towards rehabilitation has been. Isn’t this overdoing it a little?”
“It’s not our place to question our master, Caroline.” Justine looked at her sister with her usual hard-to-read serenity.
“Now now, Justine. Such curiosity is only natural.” “Igor” turned to Caroline with his usual creepy smile. “I can only infer so much observing from the outside as I have. This deep probing is indeed unconventional, but it is the best way to get the most comprehensive understanding of our young guest’s progress. This examination must be conducted. It is for his benefit.”
“Well, I don’t fully get it…” Caroline scratched her head with her baton, taking care not to activate the shock feature. “But if you say so, Master, then I guess that’s the way it is.”
Good. That seemed to pacify the brat. The fewer questions the twins had, the less of a threat they presented. On her own, Lavenza was never powerful enough to destroy Yaldabaoth, but that didn’t mean her reawakening couldn’t throw a wrench into his plans.
“I shall return shortly.” Yaldabaoth’s entire being began to glow, and he turned into pure light. He condensed himself into a small ball, and descended upon the slumbering boy’s cranium.
Yaldabaoth was entering Ren's Cognition. It wasn’t quite the same as a Palace. It did not require Ren to have distorted desires, but it did require the boy to be present in the Velvet Room. The room's unique state of existence between dream and reality, combined with sleeping being a prerequisite for Ren to be inside of it allowed Yaldabaoth to manifest a new plane of existence similar to a Palace by applying the Velvet Room’s metaphysical properties to Ren Amamiya's subconscious. This Cognitive World would only last for as long as Yaldabaoth remained inside of it, and it wouldn’t be quite as strong a reflection of Ren's perception of his own world as a Palace would be, but it would still give Yaldabaoth a good idea of how Ren viewed his life in general. Also unlike a Palace, nothing Yaldabaoth did in this world could endanger Ren. There was no treasure to steal, no Shadow Ren to destroy. Yaldabaoth would simply be experiencing an approximation of Ren Amamiya's worldview. Still, the demiurge had no idea what to expect. Ren Amamiya's Cognitive World could be literally anything. Perhaps a dark fairground of which Joker was in control. Or a prison like the Velvet Room, but even more elaborate and filled with terrors.
Instead, Yaldabaoth found himself standing in a white void. For a moment, he believed that his attempt to create a world from Ren Amamiya's cognition had failed, but then he noticed something in the distance. It was too far away to tell what it was, so he walked towards it. It didn’t take long. Every step Yaldabaoth took seemed to advanced him the distance of one hundred steps. A miles-long trek that should’ve taken a substantial amount of time was instead taking seconds. As he made his rapid advance, the object become more clear to Yaldabaoth: It was a large gateway, made of plain stone double doors. And as he got even closer, there seemed to be somebody standing in front of the gate. Yaldabaoth wasn’t sure who it was. They were dressed in bizarre, colorful clothes, had flowing golden hair, and their back was turned to him. Soon enough, Yaldabaoth was standing a few feet away from the figure.
“Are you the guardian of this gateway?”
The figure did not respond. Their shoulders bounced up and down in silent laughter.
“If you do not wish to answer, that is of no concern to me. But I will pass through this gate. You may either step aside, or I will go through you. What becomes of you is also of no concern to me.”
The figure turned to Yaldabaoth, slowly revealing their face. The features were all too familiar to him. A wide grin showing menacing-yet-immaculate teeth. Two bugged-out, bloodshot eyes. And a large proboscis comparable to a toucan’s beak in size.
“IGOR!” A black aura surrounded Yaldabaoth, who was still in the assumed form of the man standing before him. He floated off the ground and his eyes began to glow. “What are you doing here!? How did you escape your confinement!?”
“I fear you have me confused with somebody else, handsome stranger.” The colorfully-clad man spoke with the god of control’s own deep voice. “My name is not Igor. I am just a Fool.”
“A Fool?” Yaldabaoth calmed down, the dark aura dissipating. Igor was still locked up in the Velvet Room. This being before him was Ren Amamiya's cognition of the Igor that Yaldabaoth pretended to be, but altered somehow. Evidently, he was presenting himself as the Arcana that “Igor” was meant to represent to Ren. Perhaps speaking with this being would enlighten Yaldabaoth as to how strong the boy truly was. “I see. Tell me, Fool, what is it that you are doing here?”
“Waiting for whoever comes along, my debonair friend.” The Fool extended his elbow, leaning on Yaldabaoth’s shoulder, his face getting intrusively close to Yaldabaoth’s. “In this case, I suppose that would be you. You have come along here, have you not?”
“So it would seem.” Yaldabaoth pushed the Fool off of his person. “Are you here to open this gate for me?”
“I could be.” The Fool leaned his back against the gateway and crossed his arms. “I could be a great many things.”
“Such as what?”
“Such as whatever you wish me to be. I am a beginning to greater things. The first step in the journey of a thousand. A being of infinite possibilities. I could be a masseuse to energize you for your future endeavors, or a therapist with whom to discuss your troubles. Or if you so desire, I could be the fellow who opens this gate for you.” The Fool bowed as an actor would, one hand over his chest, the other held out to his side, twirling with a slight flourish.
“That is indeed what I would have you be.” Yaldabaoth had little patience for this clownish version of his own disguise. “I command you to open this gate for me.”
“As you wish.” The Fool turned to the door and put his hands on his hips. “Oh, alack and alas…” He pointed to a spot a few dozen feet above the base of the double doors, where there was a tiny keyhole. “The way by which I would provide you the entry you seek is ever-so-slightly out of reach. Not to fear, though!” The Fool turned to Yaldabaoth and clasped his hands together. “I have a solution! But I shall need your assistance!”
“What do you require of me?”
“A smart-looking fellow like yourself will figure it out, I’m sure!” The Fool jumped and clicked his heels. There was a puff of smoke and he disappeared. In his place on the ground was a small box with garish colors similar to the Fool’s outfit, a crank sticking out from its side.
“If you would do the honors” said the Fool’s voice from nowhere in particular.
Yaldabaoth picked up the box and began to turn the crank. An upbeat jingle began to play as he did so, growing louder and louder. As the song finished, the top of the box opened with a loud pop and a tiny upper half of Igor shot out of it, the bottom of his chest connected to a spring. The spring kept extending outwards, the toy facsimile of Yaldabaoth’s hated foe rising higher and higher. He halted his ascent before the keyhole. The little puppet reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a large key, sticking it into the keyhole and giving it a turn. The twin doors began to shift, opening inwards, a bright golden light shining through the cracks. Were Yaldabaoth a lesser being, he would consider it blinding. When the doors fully opened, the jack-in-the-box, tiny Igor and all, vanished in another puff of smoke.
“Enjoy your journey, friend!” One again, the Fool’s voice echoed, coming from no visible source.
Yaldabaoth moved past the open gate, stepping into the light.