Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Crimson moon.
A desk in the colour of wood.
Notes that read "Everyone will die, including me".
A brass-coloured pistol, covered in blood.
And...
A dumbfounded sister.

Thoughts return from a very distant "future".
Doomsday, the Outer Gods, the Pillars, the original ...... and the Self. Countless knowledge and memories raced into Klein's mind.
The headache was so intense that Kline passed out again before he could speak to Melissa.
He hit the floor with a thud.

"Yes, Mr. Officer, my brother experienced a failed suicide. I don't know why, but he's alive, he just passed out!"
Klein faintly heard Melissa's voice.
Eager and frightened.
He opened his eyes and the scene before him turned from a blur to clarity.
Melissa was stopped in front of him, arguing something with Officer Beech Mountbatten. The man standing next to Mountbatten had a familiar face to Klein, the face of his captain, Dunn Smith.
"Melissa?" He asked as he spoke, "How long have I been out?"
His voice was soft and weary.
"Most of the day." Melissa replied, then she glared angrily at the other green-eyed officer and batted away his hand reaching for Klein, "Don't touch my brother!"
Dunn glanced at Leonard, who silently withdrew his hand, but still stood his ground, looking at Klein strangely.
After making sure that Leonard would not act in a way that would cause Melissa to stress again, Dunn said very gently to Melissa, "We are only here to ask Mr. Klein Moretti something and have no intention of harming him, this involves a dangerous incident and we don't want anyone who might be 'in the know' Mr Moretti to be harmed."
Klein patted the back of Melissa's hand soothingly as he sat up from the bed, "It's okay Melissa, we should trust the officer gentlemen." He turned his attention to the four officers, "I want to know what happened too."

Klein scanned the room with his eyes as he fought the machinations of his older colleagues.
To his surprise, the room was cleaned up of blood and his notebooks and such.
Melissa's lips were pursed, she had been so aggressive when she had faced the four officers, but now, Klein could feel the hand that belonged to Melissa covering his palm trembling slightly.
It looked like Melissa had helped him clean it up.
"...... I lost that memory, it's like, it's like time has come and gone without me knowing, but I didn't do anything about it." Klein said pretending to try and remember, then he looked at the two officers slightly apologetically, "I'm sorry I couldn't help."
Then Beech Mountbatten's query was cut off by Leonard while Dunn stared at Kline for a long moment.
"Although you yourself are now intact, between your condition of being unconscious for a long time," Dunn said to Kline, "we need to take you to a place for an examination. Well, a physical examination that might shed some light on the injuries you sustained. In the meantime, if you do suffer any injuries, we'll take care of healing them for you."
"Okay." Klein stopped Melissa's attempt to refuse, "I'm also worried if something's wrong with me." He made a bitter smile, "If it can be cured that couldn't be better."
"Thank you for being understanding and cooperative." Dunn said, "In the meantime, Miss Moretti, if you're really unsure, perhaps you could stay there with your brother for the night, but you'll be put in separate rooms - I hear you're still studying, so if there's no problem, we'll take care of getting you to school in the morning. "
Melissa nodded in approval of the offer.
"Then please pack your things and come with me." Dunn said, "Mr. Mountbatten, hard work."
Beech Mountbatten muttered a couple of words and left first.
"Mr. Officer, aren't we going to the police station?" Klein asked Dunn in mock unease.
"As you know, this incident is very bizarre and we are attached to a department that specialises in this sort of thing." Leonard answered him, "Actually, it's a miracle you're still alive."

Coming back from the dead was a miracle.
Klein sighed mentally.
It was a miracle indeed.
He was able to come back from the future.

Blackthorn Security.
"Your room is downstairs, Melissa can borrow the room upstairs for a while, that room is reserved for the lady on watch." Dunn said, "The stairs on our side of the company are steep, don't go up or down at night, it's easy to get into trouble."

It was to keep Melissa from coming down. Klein thought immediately.
He knew very well that the ground floor was the "Charnes Gate". They had put him near that Charnes Gate, presumably to test whether there was still any residue of the extraordinary element in him.
Perhaps it was because he had been unconscious for so long, and Melissa was not as calm as he was when confronted by the officers, or perhaps there had been a slip of the tongue, that the captain had decided not to wait for Ms. Daly to return, but to test directly.
Either way Charnes Gate was too dangerous for the common man.

"Here it is." As Loyo led Melissa up to the first floor, Dunn led Kline down to the ground floor, "It says room, but it's actually the watch room. You can sleep, our crew will be on watch for the night and if nothing else happens, you can go back tomorrow. Well, you can go and talk to your sister for now and we'll provide you with dinner."
Klein headed for the ground floor and saw Melissa, who had been brought down by Loyola.
"Kline, we haven't spoken to Benson yet." Melissa said to Klein worriedly.
"But Benson he's still on a business trip, even if we stay here all day, he won't come back." Klein reassured her, "And Mr. Officer said he'd let him know instead if he came back unexpectedly."
Melissa nodded a little reluctantly.

After dinner, Klein walked into the watch room carrying a carrying lamp.
"It's my turn on watch today, so you can talk to me if you can't sleep." Leonard said, "For communication purposes - Leonard Mitchell, my name."
"I don't think I should have to introduce myself." Klein said.
"Yes. I've read your profile." Leonard sat back in his chair and crossed his legs in a very unimpressive manner.
"Okay, but I'd still prefer to try and fall asleep first." Klein said to him.
Leonard shrugged, bored, and read the book of poetry in his hand.

Klein, on the other hand, lay down on the makeshift bed, closed his eyes and began to collect his thoughts.

He couldn't remember exactly what had happened to be reborn back, his memories lingered on the time when he had just won the game with the Sky Dweller and he had temporarily and truly mastered the power of the Lord of Secrets.
In fact, Klein was surprised that his still ordinary self knew so much about the occult without being outright tainted to death.
But now that everything hadn't happened yet, he might have his own way of saving ......
Klein's thoughts stalled.
A mysterious sleep-inducing force swept towards him, forcing him into a dream state.

Klein's eyes snapped open.
A grey mist rose up and he was in a land of deep sleeping flowers and night herbs.
The goddess of the night?
Hiding his face behind the grey mist, Kline looked at the lady in the dress adorned with stardust and quickly identified Him.

"Secretive."
The Goddess of the Night gazed at Kline and nailed him straight away.

Chapter Text

Klein subconsciously controlled the grey mist to cover himself all over.
He sensed danger from the Goddess of the Night.
Since he had already exposed the grey mist, it was simply unreasonable for him to pretend he knew nothing about it, so he could only try to pretend to be an evil god by the grey mist.

"Darkness." He said, "Interested in making a deal?"
Kraven took hold of the Fool's One that had slipped into his hand in the grey mist, and had no time to think about why this One was in the grey mist, he instinctively kept his scent partially hidden.
The goddess of the night standing opposite him seemed to ascertain his state from the uniqueness and made no further move to attack, but nodded flatly, "What do you want from me? What can I get out of you?"
"Perhaps you have an interest in messing with that thing on the moon?" Klein threw out a tantalising offer, "I know that the sequence of doorways was trapped near the red moon by you as soon as it was in the stars, I could rescue Him and banish the contamination from Him, which might increase the odds against the Outer Gods."
"I find it hard to believe the way you are talking about. As far as I know, the contamination of Bertram Abraham is irreversible." The Goddess of Darkness answered him, "Besides, a sequence one without uniqueness would not count for much in a divine war."

No uniqueness?
Kline was stunned.
Did ......
He subconsciously grabbed from the grey mist and felt the uniqueness of the doorway right in his hand.
Why?

"But if you have a way to save that Angel of the Doorway, I will grant you my cooperation." The Goddess of Darkness left a soft spoken word in her voice, and then the night faded into the sky.

Klein's eyes opened.
He sat up violently from the bed and then spread his hands.

"What's wrong?" Leonard's lazy voice came, he seemed to yea find the night duty a little boring and had started to rock his chair with his legs up on the table.
"...... had a nightmare." Klein pretended to be sleepy and rubbed his forehead, "Dreamed about a bit of stuff."
Leonard shifted his leg off the table and he suddenly asked Klein seriously, "What did you dream about?"
"Fregella ...... Honachs ......," Klein said, copying directly from the feelings he had when he first drank the diviner's magic potion, "Someone kept hissing in my dreams those two words."
"Oh?"
Leonard pressed on with some more stuff, then left Klein to sleep in peace as he pulled the bell and called the others down.
Seeing so many people watching over him, it was as if Klein's heart settled and he fell into a deep sleep at the sound of Leonard's chanting.

This time his dreams were very peaceful and he was sitting at home, ready to pour himself a glass of water to drink.
"Kline?" Leonard pushed his way through the door and he unceremoniously drank half of the water that Klein had drunk.
Klein nodded as if he was pretending to be in a dream and knew nothing, not suspecting anything about the sudden appearance of Leonard.
"I am. What do you want from me, sir?"
"Do you have any memory of what happened a few days ago?" Leonard asked him.
Klein shook his head.
He saw Leonard frowning, as if he found it tricky.

Instead, another thing was going through Klein's mind.
Why was the uniqueness of all three pathways of the Trickster in him, why was he able to control the uniqueness and the grey mist without going insane, and why did he even retain the Trickster's bits?
Especially since all of this is happening to him without a single extraordinary trait.
Or had he gone insane?
At the thought, Klein almost broke into a cold sweat in his sleep. It was only thanks to the control of playing the Faceless Man back then that he didn't lose his temper.

After Leonard exited the dream, Klein's tense nerves finally relaxed.
He felt a wave of unspeakable exhaustion and drowsiness and soon did fall into sleep.

It was Leonard who woke him up.
Klein looked at him quizzically, "Aren't you sleepy?"
Leonard smiled at him meaningfully, "Maybe you'll see why I'm not sleepy in a few days."

Kline and Melissa were let out and Dunn told them that a specialist would be coming over in a couple of days to give Kline a check up and maybe another visit.
When they got home, Melissa grilled Kline about a number of things, all of which Kline pushed away from the questions like they were Tai Chi.
Even he was not sure what had happened.
Klein found the diary that Melissa had hidden and stared at the line "Everyone dies, including me" for a long time.
He had the impression that the line wasn't dark red in his memory. Klein tapped his head in annoyance, why had he kept so many "hang-ups" but not the most important ancient scholar's ability to remember?
But the first order of business was to find out what was going on with the grey mist.

Without setting out his main meal, Kline took four steps straight backwards. Not surprisingly, he ascended directly into the grey mist.
The fog rolled in and the familiar bronze hall appeared before him.
Kline imagined a pen and paper appearing in front of him, and he began to sort out the situation in Chinese on white paper.

Known I have memories of the future.

Only after writing down one sentence, Klein stopped writing.
It seemed strange to him that he couldn't find a reason to return to the past in his future memories, and there was even a blurred section.

Could it be that the Heavenly Father had played a trick on him?
Klein thought as he leaned on his head with his pen.
Speaking of which, how was it that after returning to the past, when he clearly had the Trickster Bit and the Uniqueness, Heavenly Dignity was silent.
Was he in a dream created by the Heavenly Father again?
Writing this query down, Klein took the tip of his pen and tapped it.

The truth was that the goddess' attitude was hard to figure out.
The conversation just now was more of a test and exchange than a deal; the goddess didn't care if she could keep that promise.
Klein smiled bitterly.
How can other people be reborn with a script in hand to kill indiscriminately, and how can I be reborn without knowing anything about it and instead my comrades in arms are turning into enemies?

On the other hand, the Blackthorn Security Company.
The people who had come over from Baekeland this time were not only Daly, but also Cecima, the "Sword of the Goddess".
Dunn realised that things seemed a bit tricky.
Under normal circumstances, he would not have received the message so quickly.
"Is there a problem with Kline?" He inquired.
"The goddess has given an oracle. If Kline chooses to become a night watchman, he must be transferred to Bekrande after his sequence eight." Sesima replied.
"What if he refuses?" Dunn had a bit of a headache, "According to the research, Kline is about to apply for the position of History Professor and is highly likely to succeed."
"He'll say yes." Cecima replied.

Above the grey mist.
Kline was still gathering the doubts of the past two days when suddenly, the Crimson Star swelled.
Eight figures coalesced around the long bronze table.

Kline froze.
This grey mist, at times, seemed to disobey his command.
What was going on here?
Again he mentally questioned.

"Where is this, Your Excellency?"
"Who?"
Those seated on either side of the long table stared warily at the deity sitting in the main seat.

Kline, who could only act stiffly, tapped the tabletop and chuckled softly, "An attempt."

Although going back in time brought the benefit of full humanity, Kline now wished more than anything that he wasn't full of humanity.
At least the idea of finding a hole in the ground wouldn't be on his mind.
He hadn't bothered to pretend to save his life in the first place, and it always felt a bit middle-aged to look at it now.

Chapter Text

"Your Excellency, is the attempt over, can we be let back in?" Audrey inquired apprehensively.
Klein watched her with interest from the main seat, a time when the lady of the audience couldn't even hide the nervousness beneath her ceremonial smile.
But it was also nice.
He looked at the people at the Tarot with some nostalgia, a vague memory of the empty bronze halls flashing back. Klein suddenly froze for a moment.
The memory was ......

"Are you, gods?" Derek asked, stumbling over his words.
His words were translated by Kline for all present to hear. Alger noticed that the teenager was not speaking any of the languages he knew.
"You could think of it that way." Kline told him gently before answering Audrey's question, "This attempt is not over yet, but I do have to prove something again ...... you can try to talk to each other first, and when the next gathering is over and I am sure of certain things, you can consider staying or going. "
He tapped his knuckles lightly against the tabletop, looking relaxed.
There was a moment of silence.
No one wanted to speak easily, but instead surveyed the others whose faces and figures were hidden under a mist.

Gadreya gazed at the god in the main seat, shrouded in grey mist, and frowned slightly. She felt close to this god for no reason, and she knew very well that it was quite a dangerous thing to do, except that she couldn't even raise the slightest thought of betrayal in the face of that emotion.
At the thought, Gadreya's pupils narrowed slightly.
She half-lowered her head, no longer prying curiously at the gods, and lowered her gaze to the long bronze table, looking a little submissive.

Leonard was much more cautious compared to his first visit to the Tarot Club in his last life, but his caution had little effect, the only thing being that he didn't say much more than he was wrong.
Klein couldn't help but think in the back of his mind with boredom that Leonard wasn't going to report him to the church about the emergence of a new cult.

On the other side, Audrey and Alger chatted, as they had done in the previous life when Klein had organised the first Tarot meeting, except that when Audrey suggested that she wanted to step into the extraordinary world, Hugh and Voorhees also said that they had a chance of getting the magic potion formula, but what sequence was not certain.
Unlike before when Audrey had hesitated for a short while between audience and sailor, with more options she instead stated with a smile in her voice, "Just audience, I think this magic potion would suit me."
Klein didn't say anything the whole time, just watched from the sidelines. After Audrey and Alger asked him to be a witness to the deal, they asked him for a title.
"The Fool, you may call me the Fool."
They agreed on a time for the next meeting, which was still the following Monday at three in the afternoon.

By the time Audrey and Alger's exchange was over, there was once again an impasse.
No one dared to reveal too much.
At this time, Derek, who had been looking curiously left and right, could not resist speaking up.
"Mr. Fool, if you are really a god, can you save Silver City?"
It was the name of a place the others had never heard of.
It instantly mobilized everyone's curiosity.

Kline pondered for a moment.
He definitely needed to get to the Silver City problem, just not right now, and the places he could get to right now would have to be limited to Tingen for now.
"I'm a god who likes to trade off equals, as long as I can pay enough." Klein chuckled lightly and told Derek, "Since this is the first time you have asked me, a free gift of information. The land you are in will see the light again once you pass through the palace where the gods fell."
Instead of waiting for the others to continue to digest the message, Klein made a waving motion and eight tarot cards floated up to each of them.
"This is your code name, remember it, it may come in handy later." He leaned back slightly, "Alright, it's time for the party to end."
"In accordance with your will."

Compared to the first time he had held a tarot party before, today's Genbaku was kind of like an arm's length, he could hold it for as long as he wished. But this gathering was pretty much over by this point, and there was no point in holding it any longer.
Kline broke his connection with the Crimson Star.
His eyes half-closed, he leaned back in his bronze seat alone. In his mind, he thought back to the scene from the Tarot meeting just now.
Something was wrong, something was very wrong.
Those members of the Tarot Society were far less wary of this gathering than they had been at first sight before, and far more kindly disposed towards him as a god than he had expected.
They hadn't even suspected him of being an evil god.
Derek's anticipation of him had no cause.
Leonard's relaxed stance made him seem like an amateur night watchman.
Alger didn't have enough time to observe the others.
Instead, Audrey seemed to be sizing up the others, like a spectator.
Kadriya ......
Klein didn't want to continue thinking about it; a voice in the back of his mind told him that something terrible might happen if he continued probing.
He trusted his instincts. Maybe it was some secret that his current extraordinary class shouldn't be able to recall.
With a sigh and no longer dwelling on the outrageous number of mysteries, Kline detached himself from the grey mist above.

Back in her bedroom Audrey was in a state of disbelief.
It was too dangerous!
She had just felt that the god could be trusted, even delivered back. Some wonderful spiritual instinct was telling her that this deity was well-meaning.
Audrey subconsciously patted her chest to reassure herself. She surveyed her state from the inside out.
There was nothing wrong. She was in good health, no hallucinations, visions, etc., and there was nothing extra in the room that shouldn't be there. Her reason told her that she had nothing more or less than a sense of closeness to the Fool. And that closeness was manageable.
Audrey was relieved to believe that if the gods really wanted to do something to her, they would never let her notice so easily. Beginning to look forward to next week's party.

Alger stood on the deck, contemplating the party he had just had, before exhaling a long breath, nodding as if he had come up with some answer, and returning to the entrance of the cabin.
He then greeted the man with the soft yellow hair with "The storm is with you" and passed him by, entering the captain's cabin.
Do not speculate on the actions of the gods.
It was time for him to do what he had to do.

Derek returned to his body and then was glad that he happened to be in the room.
He pondered Mr. Fool's words and decided to wait until after the next gathering before telling his parents the news. He didn't know what it would take to bring Silver City out of this darkness, but now that he had caught a break, he didn't want to give up this hard-won opportunity.
Somehow, he felt from the bottom of his heart: Mr. Fool would be able to lead Silver City out of this dark land.

"Knock, knock, knock."
Kline had just returned to consciousness when he heard a knock on the door of his room. He walked over and opened the door, and Melissa stood in the doorway with an expression that looked a little uneasy.
"Kline, I've been having the same dream for the past two days. I dreamt that you turned your back on me and ran into a mist ...... with only the silver moon hanging in the sky, watching over me." Melissa's eyes grew confused and hollow as she tried to speak, and finally said dreamily, "But the moon was clearly supposed to be, well, red."

Chapter Text

A silver-white moon?
Klein was pretty sure that Melissa shouldn't have been able to dream this if something hadn't suggested it. It follows that something must have affected her. In that case, he should have lost more than just the memory of how to return to that part of this point in time.
"It's okay." Klein stroked Melissa's hair, "Maybe it's because that thing I did before scared you that you suddenly dreamt of such a light and strange sight."
Melissa nodded worriedly, reacting as an afterthought to Klein's hand that had landed on her head, she glared at a certain older brother and slapped his hand away.
"I'm not a kid anymore!" She whined.
You really do look like a child to me right now. Klein spat inwardly, while lamenting the fact that he obviously hadn't been in this world for very long either, and already had the same mentality towards Melissa as a centenarian looking at his granddaughter.
"Well, if it's really curious ...... maybe we'll have a chance to learn about this." Klein was well aware of Melissa's temperament, if she was really inquisitive in something, she would not stop until she figured it out.
Hearing Klein's words, Melissa scrutinised him for a while, she bit her lip, "Klein, you seem a little different from before."
Crap, I'm not going to reveal it. It had been so long since Klein had spent time with Melissa that he could barely remember what the Klein of that time was supposed to look like.
But without waiting for Klein to answer, Melissa quickly gathered her emotions again, "But you still have the same vain expression as before." She glanced at Klein, "Hiding something from me and Benson again, and it's not a small thing?"
"Again?" Klein froze.
Melissa sighed, "You forget, you have that look on your face every time you have a nightmare, not wanting to worry us, but facing our questions with a look of weakness." She puffed out her cheeks and poked Klein in the forehead in a very small adult manner, "And then you end up refusing to tell us what you had a nightmare about, and if it wasn't for the fact that you woke up in the morning in good spirits aside from being a little shaken up, Benson would have had to drag you to the doctor. We didn't ask afterwards just because you wouldn't tell us."
Nightmares? Klein was pretty sure the memories he'd picked up in his last life of "Klein" didn't dream often.
"It doesn't affect the body anyway." Klein muttered, "It's like this, the night I slept at the police department on ...... duty, they asked me if I would like to join there. You saw that weird situation I was in before, and if I joined, they were in time to save me if something bad happened."
Melissa nodded, "Lady Loyal also told me that I would need to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding this matter."
She then stopped asking further questions and turned to prepare dinner.
"Benson will be home tomorrow night." Melissa reminded Klein, "If you decide to look for this job, you'd better do it as soon as possible."

When Klein went to Blackthorn Security Company, Dunn was already waiting for him with the contract, and there were also Daley and the "Sword of the Goddess" Sessima present.
For such a big gathering, Klein always felt that the Goddess of the Night's attitude towards him was very subtle. Obviously, when he was summoned to the God's Kingdom, he could feel the wariness and hostility, but her behaviour was very friendly.
Dunn introduced the two people present to Klein.
After signing the contract, Cecima said to Kline, "Welcome to the Night Watch, I will provide you with the magical potion of the Sequence Nine Diviner, as well as, when you feel that the time is right to be promoted to Sequence Eight, you will be required to travel to Berkland as soon as possible after the promotion. This is the decision of the Goddess."
"I see." Klein nodded.
This was kind of over the clear path for himself, although he was completely unable to figure out what Amanisis was planning now.
"Cecima will be in charge of taking you."
Dunn finished, ready to leave with Daley, then suddenly turned back as if remembering something.
"Regarding your sister Melissa, she also intends to join the Night Watch after she finishes her studies, but I would recommend that she sign the non-disclosure agreement first."
Out of his knowledge of the captain, Klein subconsciously asked, "Anything else?"
Dunn thought hard for a moment, "Oh, and also, the salary is from Becklander's side, it doesn't go on our side of the ledger, and you'll get the salary from Cessima."
Poor toolman Cesima.
Klein thought so while nodding numbly.
Too bad there was no way to work with an old colleague.
"Dunn, any newcomers?" Old Neil came out of the corridor, saw Klein, and inquired about Dunn, who was planning to leave.
"Hmm... He belongs on the Birkeland side though, just transitioning in Tingen." Dunn replied.
Krynn's gaze shifted to the old Niall, and then saw the cold, transparent eyes behind the old Niall, trying to retract silently.
Ugh, the Hidden Sage?
He then remembered that Tingen's hidden danger wasn't just that evil god's scion.
Only something even stranger happened, as that eye, after noticing Klein looking at it, twisted behind the old Neil's back, struggling to curve itself into a crescent moon before darting away. I don't know if it was Klein's illusion, but he always felt like the Hidden Sage gave him a fawning smile before fleeing sheepishly.
But the Hidden Sage who was frightened by the Secretive Lord shouldn't come back for a while. Klein thought with relief. He would at least be able to put dealing with this matter on a slight back burner and go catch the renegade Ince Zangwill for the Church of Darkness first.

Alchemy Room.
Cecima prepared the Diviner's Potion for Klein and watched him drink it.
After drinking it, Kraven felt his condition, and it was completely digested immediately. In other words, if he wanted to, and had the magic potion, he could have drunk it in one gulp until he was a fool.
But this kind of thing could only be thought about.
Even about whether or not to drink the Fool's Magic Potion, he had to feel what kind of attitude the Goddess actually had before he could make a decision.
"The Goddess wants you to capture Ince Zangwill." Sessima said, he also couldn't seem to understand why the Goddess would give this task to Klein, but he wouldn't disobey the Goddess's will, "As for '0-08', if you can't get it back, don't force it."
Don't force it?
Hearing this, Klein bowed his head slightly, rubbing his chin in contemplation.
"0-08" was a copy of Sequence One of the Audience Pathway, an extraordinary trait required for Adam's promotion. This oracle of the Goddess of the Night relayed by Cecima clearly had another implication.
Leave Adam alone.
So the Goddess chose to remain silent about it, knowing full well that it would invite that consequence.
There was a bit of disbelief on Klein's part. Somehow, he always felt that it shouldn't be like this, that the attitude of the Goddess of Darkness was beyond his expectations.

In this disbelief, Klein returned home holding his heavy advance salary.
He told Benson, in the same lie as in his last life, that he was working as a history consultant for a security company, and that after he became familiar with the work, he would probably have to travel a lot, and would even be required to live out of town for long periods of time. Because it was busier and more tiring, the company offered a very high salary and they could trade it for a nicer house.
To his amazement, Benson also gave him a sceptical look, but ultimately said nothing, recognising his lie and raising his glass high to celebrate Klein's good job.

Chapter Text

It had been a long time since Klein had felt such weakness and fear that simply rose from his heart, and he felt a pang of bone-chilling dread.
He felt something strange about his family.
It wasn't so much that Melissa and Benson might have been core-changed like him, it was more akin to them being tainted by some extraordinary power. It wasn't accurate to say contaminated, the change hadn't had any negative effect on Benson and the others, and if it had been true the contamination would never have been so mild.
Klein was a little distracted, picking at the potatoes on his plate.
Regardless, the Moretti's needed to move out of the place they were currently renting and into a separate house. The one they'd rented in their last life, Two Daffodil Street, would be fine. Melissa needed to be better groomed, and Benson needed to figure out how to take advantage of the government reforms.
As well as, in this life, at least, not leaving suddenly again.

"Klein, Klein!" Benson raised his voice.
The dinner knife dropped onto the plate with a clatter. Klein's hands scrambled to pick up the dinner knife, but Melissa grabbed his hand.
"What were you thinking, Klein, you're scratching your hand." She complained, before taking out a handkerchief and giving Klein a simple bandage.
It was only then that Klein noticed that his finger was stinging a little and he saw a faint red colour oozing out from underneath the handkerchief.
Benson sighed with a headache, "How come you still can't notice the outside world when you're thinking about things like you used to."
"Ah, I was thinking about how we need to move, my salary advance would totally get us into a separate house." Klein said.
"You need to plan for the future." Melissa scowled.
Knowing what Melissa was planning to read, Klein hurriedly interrupted, "I just got my job now, and I have quite a few more overtime and expatriate assignments I have to do after that, so I can't think about any of those things for a while. I wish I could spend most of my money on you guys right now, I'd be especially happy if you were happy."
Melissa mumbled a couple of words before finally giving Klein a hateful punch on the shoulder, "Damn, where on earth did you learn that witticism."
She lowered her head after saying that, but Klein still caught a layer of watery light over her eyes.
After all, it was still a delicate mind, Melissa thought of the extraordinary horror and realised what a horrible world her brother had stepped into. A world that was to be accompanied by death.
Klein patted her.
"Melissa, while we do have to plan for the future, we do need to get by better though. What's that saying, have a quality of life that can match your wealth." Benson put a stop to the argument, and no one disagreed.

Klein went to the University of Tingen the next day, still intending to inform his teachers of the non-interview and, at the same time, to make it easier to make the acquaintance of Mr Azik.
This time he seemed to be a little late; Professor Cohen had already come out of the meeting he had attended with Mr Azick. Professor Cohen was very pleased with the news that Klein had informed them not to come to the interview, while Mr Azik began to think about what Klein had asked about the Antigonus family.
After thinking about it for a while, he told Klein that he might have the relevant information at his home and asked Klein if he wanted to go to his home to go through the information.
Klein was surprised for a moment and quickly recovered. There were so many things that had come up after waking up in this life that were completely different from what he remembered that perhaps he probably wouldn't be surprised even if he found out later on that Amon had a human nature and confessed out loud to him - of course, that would still be a horrible thing for him to do.
"Okay, Mr Aztec." Klein agreed with great relish.

Azik led Klein to the public carriage, where the two found a seat.
The two exchanged pleasantries about irrelevant content and eventually returned to the note.
"Antigonus, a surname I am very familiar with." He said, "It was one of the three ducal families of the Tudor dynasty in the fourth age."
Klein nodded, "The history of the Fourth Age is so confusing that very little information even about the dynastic changes has survived."
"Yes." Azik nodded slightly, "It's a necessary safeguard."
"Necessary safeguard?" Klein asked suspiciously.
The public carriage had reached its destination and Azik spoke to Klein as he got out, "The times when the gods could still walk the earth would not let ordinary people know the inner workings of it." He spoke without a care in the world about secrets that ordinary people weren't supposed to hear, "It was the extraordinary who were the main force of war in those times."
Klein felt a slight lump in his throat.
Although his intention was to approach Mr Aztec, it was never to approach such an Aztec in this way.
"Why are you ...... telling me this?" He asked.
"Perhaps because, a voice in my heart tells me that I should trust you." Azik opened the door to his house with his key, "Come in, what would you like to drink? Black tea, or coffee?"
"A glass of water, please." Klein said, taking his jacket off on the coat rack, "It's not good to trust your instincts too much."
Azik poured a glass of fresh water and handed it to Klein, "Yeah?" He smiled, "But what if I said that I have an affinity for you that I shouldn't?"
Klein clutched his glass of water all of a sudden. Of course he sensed it, even he sensed it in most people. Anyone he'd crossed paths with in his last life had a clear affinity for him-except for the Goddess of the Night. But instead of being as hostile to his arrangement as it had appeared when they met, Darkness was very friendly.
"Perhaps it's an illusion?" Klein said, "I have met you a few times earlier ......"
Azik smiled and shook his head, "That's different."
What was different? Klein Moretti was different?
Klein froze and looked at Azik.
"I'm the Consul of Death, I'm sensitive to death." Azik said.
Death Consul? Mr Azik didn't have amnesia? Klein mentally sucked in a breath.
Why would you come to teach at Tingen if you don't have amnesia!
Regardless of what Klein mentally spat out, Azik continued, "So ...... can I stay by your side as your lover?"

"No, can't." Klein stumbled, "That's just too scary."
Azek nodded, not dwelling on the subject, "However, I would like to follow you around for the time being for the next little while."
"...... Why?" Klein asked.
"I want to see what kind of person the man who made my father fold is really like." Azuk replied, "Just now, I've determined something."
"What?"
"Oh, I forgot, you haven't experienced those things yet." He said, "No matter, I'll wait a little longer."

Been through what? Have I been to the Quaternary?
Klein's pupils quake.

Chapter Text

"What on earth is going on, Mr Aztec, and what does your father ...... have to do with me?"
Klein was puzzled and horrified again. It was extremely rare that he would feel this way, but since he had been reborn, many, many things had gone to a completely unknown development.
Could this be a conspiracy of the Heavenly Father? Could it be that I'm still in the dream world he created?
Klein couldn't help but wonder.
"What has happened ......," Azik mused for a long moment, "Unfortunately, there is no way for me to tell you personally, there are some constraints involved." He sat down next to Klein, "But regarding my father's relationship with you, perhaps it was that of a mortal enemy. I have no way of knowing exactly what my father knew in that place, but He has become fearful and furious since His return ...... from there. From what I heard, He eventually died at your hands."
Klein was confused by what he heard.
He shook his head with a bitter smile, "Then why did you stay in Tingen to teach, Mr Aztec?"
"An engagement." Azik said, "A pact with the one you made. He said that Klein Moretti needed my help."

Me?
Mr Azik came here to teach because he made a pact with me, but I don't know anything about it.
Klein habitually tapped the arm of the sofa lightly as he thought.
Is it possible that something was arranged by me? And then these arrangements caused the present to be very different from what it was before I was reborn.

"So, what's the relationship between that me and you?" Klein asked.
"You are an existence above the gods, and I'm just a defector who was accidentally favoured by you." Azk said.

Defector.
Catching the keyword Klein fell silent.
Without a doubt, a defection from Salinger.
He still had many, many questions he wanted answered from Azik, but Azik's attitude made him want to run away.
Two people shouldn't be like that.
Klein remembered the gentle and uneventful time he had spent with Mr Azik's teacher and student in his previous life, before he felt that Mr Azik, who treated him with such deference, was so strange.
He was the Consul of Death.
Some sense of defiance surged upward.
Klein's gaze fell on Azik's eyes.
Those eyes held the respect of an inferior to a superior, with the indifference of a mythical creature.
It wasn't like that, it shouldn't be.

Nor did Azik show anything during the time Klein was silent, as if He stayed silent with Klein as he was silent.
Silence was not Klein's favourite atmosphere after all, and he rubbed his forehead before breaking the silence.
"Mr Aztec, you don't have to treat me with such ...... respect, I'm now Klein Moretti, I'm considered half of your student, just get along in general." Klein spoke with difficulty, "After a long harangue, I have to go home too, or my sister will worry about me."
"Good."
Klein saw Mr Aztec's demeanour relax and turn back into the gentle mastermind he had met in the conference room. He quietly breathed a sigh of relief, vaguely noticing that even though the cold Consul of Death like just now was Him, the gentle professor of Tingen University now was just as much Mr Azk.
And that was all right.

Mr Azik found some information on the Antigonus family and handed it to Klein, "Remember to return it to me when you've watched it."
Klein took the information and politely said goodbye to him.

By the time Klein returned home, it was already dark.
Since Benson wouldn't be free to look at the house until tomorrow, they hadn't switched out of their rental here at Mr French's place for the time being. Melissa heard Klein open the door and poked her head out of the room.
"Klein, there's dinner left on the table." She said, "I didn't expect you to be back so late though, it got a little cold."
"That's okay." Klein said as he looked around the home and asked, "Melissa, where's Benson?"
"There's a slight problem with the plumbing in the house, there's no way Mr French is going to let us move out without fixing it, and Benson and I couldn't get it fixed, so Benson's gone to the repairman." Melissa grumbled, "Just one of those times when something goes wrong."
Klein laughed a little and walked over and stroked Melissa's hair before taking a seat at the table.
Unsurprisingly, Melissa dropped another exasperated, "No touching my head," and retreated to her room to tinker with her mechanical parts.

Klein ate his cold meal, distracted.
He began to sort out the clues he had received from Azik and related them to the way the goddess had treated him. He suddenly realised that if Azik had seen the "Him", the Goddess might not have.
If he could go deeper into the extraordinary world, he might be able to get more clues.
Picking a piece of potato into his mouth, Klein frowned helplessly. If only he could eat something hot, the Extraordinary doesn't like to eat cold food either.
Just as this thought fell from his mind, Klein was surprised to find that the potato in his mouth became warm.
A miracle worker's ability?
Klein took another sip of the soup, which was also warm.
He finished the meal with an eerie feeling.

"Melissa." Klein knocked on the door of Melissa's room.
It took a while before he heard a disgruntled 'hum' from inside the room, accompanied by the sound of metal parts clashing and footsteps coming from far away. Melissa opened the door and Klein saw that she was holding an unfinished Frog in her arms.
"Can I help you?" She asked.
"Where do we need to fix our plumbing?" Klein asked.
"You can fix it?" Melissa gave him a sceptical look, doubting Klein's ability to do it.
"It doesn't matter if I try." Klein said.
Melissa led Klein towards the kitchen, then tapped on a certain connection in the kitchen plumbing.
"There seems to be a bit of a problem here, there's going to be some seepage." Melissa said, "But neither Benson nor I can figure out what's going on."
Klein looked at it, and he didn't see anything wrong with it either. But he wasn't going to fix it with repairs either.
"I hope the plumbing is fixed." He said, then gently tapped on the water pipe connection, "Melissa, try turning on the tap."
Melissa half-heartedly turned on the tap and there was no seepage there.
"Is this ......," she asked hesitantly, "an ability from that world?"
Klein winked, "You can think of it as a tiny miracle."
"At what cost?" Melissa was well aware that there were no free 'miracles' in this world.
"Not for now." Klein spread his hands, "I haven't figured out what's going on either."
He thought for a moment, then looked at his spread palm, "I was hoping to get a Soule."
Nothing.
Klein rubbed his chin, realising that his miracle's powers were at their limit.
"Doesn't look like it's going to turn out money for us." Melissa spat, "Miracles aren't everything."
"Yeah, miracles aren't everything." Klein agreed, "Anyway, don't tell Benson."
"Got it-" Melissa answered him in a long drawn out tone, and after a moment of silence, asked, "How long will you be gone from now on?"
"I won't be travelling for a while yet ...... I'll definitely be back." That was the only answer Klein could give.
"Being away for too long is not going to be hidden from Benson." Melissa said.

"...... Please take a look." Benson's voice came through the door.
He opened the door with the maintenance man and saw Melissa and Klein standing in the kitchen.
"Klein, you're back." Benson said, "Melissa, what are you doing here?"
Melissa saw Klein winking at her.
"I fixed it." Melissa raised her chin a little smugly as she usually did.
Benson wanted to say something.
But it was up to him to pull the wool over the maintenance man's eyes behind him.
And Melissa and Klein both went back to their rooms.

Chapter Text

In a roundabout way, the Moretti family ended up moving to 2 Daffodil Street. In fact, with Klein's current salary which was far higher than that of his previous life, they could have moved to a better place, but since Klein hid part of his salary for reasonableness reasons, Benson still clapped his hands and chose this place. The only difference was that Klein used the celebration as an excuse to convince Benson and Melissa to hire a carriage with much better eloquence than in his last life.
Looking at the familiar house, Klein had a real sense of being "home". In his last life, he hadn't had a chance to return to this house since death had separated him from it. He rolled up his sleeves, wet a rag and began to clean his "former home".
As the sun dipped in the west and the reddish tinted sunlight filtered through the cambered window onto the surface of the desk, Klein glanced at the books and notes neatly arranged on the shelves, and gently placed the ink and pen on the wiped clean desk. He let out a long breath of joy at the now mundane and small happiness. Just as Klein sat down, Melissa stood by the door and greeted him with a "big dinner" for his new home.
It was a big meal, but it was just fried fish and muffins with ginger beer, and Melissa was allowed only a little juice because she wasn't old enough to drink it.
Though they still had to be smart about their lives, it was a much different kind of smart than it used to be.

Late Night.
Klein let out a long breath.
Inexplicable agitation surrounded him, perhaps stemming from what Mr Aztec had said to him.
In addition to the very alarming request for "love", the most disturbing thing was the other "self" that Mr Aztec had mentioned.
Klein was certain that he had no memory of that experience. Then, what was the "secret master" that Mr Aztec met?
He shook his head and tapped his fingers on the table.
No, it probably wasn't the Heavenly Father.
Ever since he had been reborn, the Blessed Xuanhuang Heavenly Father had not appeared, and he himself had not sensed a single aura of the Heavenly Father. In the case where he possessed both the Trickster Lord Bit and was able to use a small amount of Trickster Lord abilities, it was unlikely that he wouldn't be able to detect it at all. Unless the Heavenly Dignitary was hiding in-
The part of his memory that he had lost.
Klein could certainly be sure that he had lost his memories.
It was impossible for him to be reborn after sleeping. There's no such thing as a "travelling back to life" joke in this world. Something must have happened.
Having found himself a new doubt, Klein felt a little bit of drowsiness, he glanced at the red moon that was still shining outside the window, and once again remembered the ambiguous attitude of the goddess, and his head ached even more.
The best response now was to sleep.
It was impossible to think about it anyway.

It turned out that dreams were no good either.
I don't know what Leonard was thinking, somehow staying up most of the night again to come shopping in his dreams.
Klein had just felt his psychic warning triggered when he realised there was a Leonard standing outside the dream door picking at it. Between his role as a commoner, he couldn't help but let the dream-disturber in.
Klein in the dream covered his face and groaned, sighing in his heart: what's all this with ah.
Although Leonard on the other side was a little puzzled as to how he was standing outside the door, he knocked politely according to the logic of the dream - it wasn't that he didn't want to roll over the window, it was that he realised that the windows of this house where Klein lived in his dream were all closed tightly and not too good to roll over.
"Come in."
Having been given permission Leonard pushed his way straight in with a big grin.
Klein was sitting in a chair in the living room of his new home with a glass of ginger beer in his hand.
Quaternary-related history books were casually spread out on the dining table in front of Klein, and coupled with the half-written essay in front of him, he looked like a bitter college student who hadn't finished his thesis yet.
"Klein, how are you getting used to being on night watchman these days?" Leonard casually pulled a chair over and sat down next to Klein, then pointed to the books and articles in front of Klein, "What are these?"
"Quite good. The Extraordinary World is more dangerous than I thought, but it's also very fascinating." Klein casually replied, "It's a subject I've studied before, and I think that Antigonus family's notes might still cross my path, so I plan to learn a little bit about it, so at least I won't be blindsided if I come across it."
"The more you know the more likely you are to get into trouble, you know." Leonard, who had watched Klein put down the ginger beer and wanted to rub a mouthful of it, suddenly became serious.
"I know, that's why I'm merely learning about it, not researching it." Klein replied. A fleeting thought flashed through his mind: was Leonard too concerned about him? With that thought, Klein reached for the ginger beer on the table, but touched it.
At that moment, Leonard set down the ginger beer he had just drunk half of. The glass was empty. Trying to control himself from showing too much surprise, Klein could only resist spitting out Leonard's lack of behaviour in his heart.
"See you later." Leonard said so, then opened the window and prepared to jump out of the dream world, he climbed halfway, suddenly remembered, turned his head and asked Klein, "This ginger beer of yours is quite good, where did you buy it?"
"......" Klein thought that Leonard's behaviour at times was truly incomprehensible, "Turn right at the end of Daffodil Street and get it from that pub."
Leonard nodded, before walking away completely.
Klein felt that the sleep had been awful.

And then worse things were yet to come.
For example, when he went to the Soothsayer's Club to try and dip his toe into the possible "0-08" scent to make his divination go smoother, he met a priest. The blonde kind.
The man brushed past him, then turned his head to look at Klein.
Klein, who was about to enter the Diviner's Club, broke out into a cold sweat at the glance.
What was Adam doing hanging out on Tingen Street?
Klein walked stiffly into the Diviner's Club pretending not to know.
After a set of processes with a few notes heartbreakingly left his wallet, Klein re-entered the Diviner's Club and rented the Citrine Room. He hadn't deliberately sought to come here at the same time as his previous life, so Mr Douglas, whom he had met for the first time, wasn't here either.
He sat in the Divination Room and fiddled with his spirit pendulum and other divination props twice in boredom.
Suddenly, a knock came at the door, and Ms Angelica, who was in charge of receiving guests, said outside the door, "A guest has come to see you for divination."
An extremely unfavourable premonition surged to his heart, and Klein looked up sharply to see Adam push the door in, then sit down opposite him with a smile on his face.
Angelica, seeing that her guest was already seated, thoughtfully closed the door and left.

Klein took a deep breath and pretended to start asking questions in an attempt to muddle through.
"May I ask what you wish to divine?"
"Well, let's ...... divine my lost pet. In any way you wish."
To Klein's surprise, this Adam also half-jokingly made his request as a guest. This made him feel difficult instead. Adam's mind was already not easy to guess, and now that he didn't intend to reveal anything, it was even harder to figure out what He wanted to do.
Klein simply took a deck of tarot cards out, shuffled them, and then let Adam draw one at random.
Adam didn't have any pets to get lost in anyway, unless He really did keep Amon as a crow. What's more, he, Klein, was only a mere Sequence Nine now, so he couldn't divine the fate of angels?
It seems to be possible.
Klein looked at the divination results and fell into deep thought.
"How is it? See anything?" Adam inquired.
"If you do have a lost pet, then it should come home. It's a good result." Klein said.
Adam nodded slightly, "Can you be more specific then? He loves to play hide and seek with me, so sometimes he's in the house and I can't find him."
Klein looked odd.
"Then I need a different form of divination, but it will require you to step outside for a moment."
The priest shook his head, "No need, just do the divination here. I'm sure you'll find the answers I'm looking for, Sly."

After that last epithet fell from Adam, Klein had the illusion that a large stone had fallen from his own heart as well.

Chapter Text

Klein fell silent; now that he'd been told who he was, playing dumb might not invite good results.
He propped his arms up on the table and rested his chin on his hands, his eyes looking directly at Adam.
"So can I ask what your little pet is? It can't be a crow. Very few people would have a crow as a pet." He enquired in a very relaxed and pleasant tone.
Adam nodded softly after hearing the word 'crow', "Mr Moretti's divination is indeed very good. My pet, how could it not be a crow? Then please divine the exact location, please."
There was no room for refusal.
But there was something strange going on.
Klein glanced at Adam curiously.
"You should be able to see that I have an empty placeholder and my actual strength is only Sequence 9."
"You can certainly be Sequence 9, just as you can be Sequence 0, or even higher." The priest replied thus, "It seems you are not too happy to divine its whereabouts."
"I don't like rude thieves." Klein sighed.
Suddenly there was a sound of wings stirring from the ceiling, a raven had appeared in this room at some point, it circled twice in the air and landed on Adam's shoulder.
"I mean no harm." Adam said, "In fact, I just wanted to meet you today to confirm your status. Sure enough, just as I said at first, the Klein Moretti I see now has complete amnesia."
"What have you done?" Klein asked.
"No, yourself." Adam said, "I was only sceptical at the time about the notion that you were also from that same past ...... It could only have been sceptical, even if I was briefly close to the old days in the first place, counting on you back then was still a bit difficult."
"What?" Klein couldn't help but exclaim.
He was quick to note that his overabundance of humanity now made him quite capable of maintaining his ego in front of Adam, but there was little he could do to counter that.
Shaking off the jumble of thoughts in his head, Klein finally caught on to what he'd been feeling so out of place.
"You're not Adam?" He asked.
"I am Adam. And of course, I'm who you think I am." "Adam," he said, "plotted the fall of 'me' in order to diminish the erosion of the original on me, and replaced my ego with Adam - Sass Lil there is a part of it, but it does not affect my perception of myself."
"There is no ...... real Creator?" The thought flashed through Klein's mind.
"No." "Adam," as if reading his thoughts, "but I know there was supposed to be He ...... was the one you told me about."
"Which means you're the Ancient Sun God." Klein said.
"Adam" did not answer the question.
"About that, even I can't tell you, why don't you ask that self of yours?"
His figure began to fade.
"Oh, I left you a little present, take it with you, it'll be useful. Don't worry, it's not the Amon you know, he's well behaved."

Klein was wide-eyed with the raven that was bouncing on the table.
The raven cawed twice and raked the note on the table with its claws.
Klein picks up the note and examines it.
The note reads, "This is a raven named Amon, the one you're thinking of is still in my god's kingdom. It works quite well, don't get rid of it, you can use it to contact me.
"Amon?" Klein asked tentatively.
The raven nodded humanely, then watched as Klein took the note and took up residence on his head with a flap of its wings.
Was he good?
Crane remembered the "Adam" comment and was left speechless for a moment. He grabbed the crow off his head and rested it on his shoulder, telling it to stand here at most.
The raven pulled at his hair with its beak.
Klein pressed the bird's head to keep it still. So the raven looked at him with those tiny black eyes in confusion.
It always felt like this crow had a kind of clear stupidity. Klein mentally spat.
He walked out of the citrine room and suddenly remembered that this ancient sun god who had taken over Adam's body didn't seem to have paid the divination fee.
Angelica, who was greeted at the door, was minding her own business as if she didn't see Klein.
It was probably the influence exerted by Adam.

"Melissa, I'm back." Klein said, "And brought back a raven that had to follow me all the way."
Melissa looked at the crow combing its feathers on Klein's shoulder with some novelty, "Does it eat a lot?"
"...... It shouldn't be big." Klein said, "I feel pretty smart, it should be able to find its own food to eat, and it won't poop around the house."
The crow stared at Melissa, looking left and right as if thinking, then flew to Melissa and stuck its head near Melissa's hand.
The smooth and warm touch of the raven's feathers came from her hand, and Melissa felt a little unable to refuse it from staying in the house.
"Well, then, stay for now. If it soils or breaks anything in the house get it out." Melissa said, noticing that Klein's expression didn't seem too wonderful, she asked again, "Klein, you don't want it to stay again?"
I really don't want to keep a raven suspected of being Amon's doppelganger in the house. Klein shouted in his heart. However, he maintained his composure on the surface and found a suitable excuse, "I suddenly remembered that it had just made a nest on my head ...... It's quite good for you."
Melissa was amused by Klein.
"Benson's going to be home in a little while, so figure out how you're going to get him to accept this little guy as well. I don't think he'll say no though."

Although he didn't know exactly what Adam had ordered for this Amon, Klein was forced to go to work with such a raven on his head.
Leonard's whole body suddenly stiffened at the sight of the raven.
Klein grinned at him, gloating inwardly, feeling sure that Palles had suddenly gone berserk in his head.
And indeed it was.
"Stay away from that new colleague of yours!" Parleys said to Leonard in his head, "He's dangerous."
"He just smiled at me." Leonard found it baffling, "Are you making a case about his smile, old man?"
"I don't know what the Goddess of Darkness has planned, but he's no ordinary Extraordinary." Palles said.
"Neither am I." Leonard said as he walked towards his office, "You're even less so."
Sloppy as he was, Leonard took Palles' warning to heart. It was just that he was a little curious as to why Klein, a newly minted Extraordinary who didn't seem to be able to do anything, was so guarded by Palles. Did he have an old grandpa too?
Klein didn't understand what Palles had programmed in Leonard's head about himself, he just looked at the pouring rain outside the window looking a little melancholy.
Because he didn't have an umbrella today.
And he didn't want to go home in the rain.
He even thought seriously about whether the Goddess cared if it rained or not.
And then because he was thinking too seriously was heard by the goddess herself calling to say hello.

"Sneaky, what did you want to see me about?" Amanisis' voice suddenly rang in Klein's ears.
"...... Adam came to see me." Klein said.
At least he wouldn't admit that he was thinking about something like making the goddess change to a sunny day.
"Anatoly has been waiting for Sneaky to come down here." He said, "I'm just helping Him confirm it."
Anatoly was probably the real name of the ancient sun god. Klein thought. He actually had the urge to ask the Goddess what kind of little game of you-guess-me-guess-no guessing He was playing with these True Gods of His, but due to multiple concerns, he could only tell the Goddess, "He left me a raven."
"Amon." Amanisis said, "To suppress the product of the Original Consciousness. The one you have on you is only His Sequence 7 doppelganger, used to make phone calls, and with the phone line connected to Anatoly."
"Didn't He crack? Which one do you mean." Klein asked tentatively.
"All. Adam, Sasriel, including that 'body' buried underground in the cursed place, all receive the calls you make." Amanisis replied, "Trickster, if you want to know about those things in the first place, why don't you just ask Him?"
"Adam ...... Anatoly said He couldn't tell me either." Klein said.
The Goddess didn't answer, and He cut off the call.

Klein didn't wait for an answer from the Goddess, nor did he wait for the rain to abate. He decided to find someone to rub his umbrella against.
Unfortunately, his choices were not too many, today the old Neil and Sija guarded the Charnis, the captain had something to do, Roxanne left work earlier than him ...... counting actually only Leonard left.
At this moment, Leonard is holding the umbrella ready to go out.
Suddenly, he felt that his shoulder was tapped, turned around, and saw Klein very "sincerely" asked him if he could go back together.
"Okay." Leonard could only say so.

Chapter Text

For the sake of Palles' heart, Klein settled the fluttering mongoose crow on his left shoulder, keeping it slightly away from Leonard. The raven seemed to resent Klein's rough hold of the whole thing in one hand and kept pecking at Klein's shoulder on the way. It made Klein think that now this coat of his might be scrapped in less than a month.
He glanced at Leonard. The other man didn't show any discomfort, just a bit of wandering.
As Klein paralleled himself under the umbrella, Leonard felt a wonderful sense of dislocation: perhaps they were not supposed to be so peacefully parallel, and though their bonds were very deep, they were by no means in such a gentle relationship. Suddenly, sourceless fatigue came over him, forcing him to slow down a little, as if it were the same kind of powerlessness that comes from running for many years for a goal only to see him move further and further away from you.
Leonard's strange behaviour was quickly noticed by Klein.
"Leonard?"
"Leonard!"
Leonard snapped out of it when Klein raised his voice to call out to him. He realised that he had actually stopped without realising it, standing in the middle of the road without any reaction.
"Leonard, what's wrong with you?" Klein came up to him, his fingers unconsciously rubbing together, looking a little nervous.
"Ah, no. I ......" Leonard touched his forehead in some confusion, "Klein, haven't we met a long time ago?"
Klein took two steps back in shock and went out from under the umbrella. The raindrops fell on his face, calming him down a bit.
"Why do you think that?" He asked.
"Sometimes I feel my heart beating fast against you. I feel a sense of having chased you for a long time, only to end up not even being able to touch the corner of your coat." Leonard stroked his chin in thought, and before Klein could finish obsessing over whether or not he had also been reborn and then took a breath backward to make up some random excuse to tell him, he immediately picked up an even more explosive sentence, "Klein, would you say that this feeling is a heartbeat?"
That was one thing Klein didn't have to dwell on.
"Absolutely, positively, no." He gritted his teeth and said, "Leonard, try another joke."
So Leonard smiled at Klein, his beautiful green eyes shining like emeralds, "But I think I'm pretty good eh, won't you consider it? It's like - you have a secret and so do I." There was a slight upturn at the end of his words, sounding a little unsuspicious.
And Klein was resisting his own desire to pull Amon off his shoulder and smash Leonard in the face.
"I know what your secret is, but you know nothing about me." Klein said, and then he whispered, "Being parasitised by a Stealer Pathway Sequence One must be noisy in the head a lot."
The smile at the corner of Leonard's mouth suddenly disappeared. At the moment the Paleos in his head didn't react, it was as quiet as if He had never existed.
A very small piece of silence enveloped the two of them. Klein shook his head at Leonard, "I won't do anything to you, Palles. Neither will Amon."
With that, he ran out from under the umbrella, leaving Leonard and Palles both confused.

When they got home, a drenched Klein was given a lecture by Melissa and Benson, which ended with him reciting "I won't forget my umbrella" ten times.
When Klein comes out of his dressing gown, he sees Melissa holding a towel and rubbing the crow's feathers. Although she had made a mess of the raven's feathers, Amon did not object in any way, but rather, he obediently allowed her to gently pull out the soft fluff on his belly.
The sight made Klein wonder for a moment if he was dreaming.
Seeing Klein looking over, Melissa stopped the action of her hand and complained in a low voice: "Really, you yourself drenched even if, how to also make a good crow also drenched into such ah."
"...... It was the one that had to get wet and stand on my shoulder." Klein saddened that Amon in raven form had captured his sister's favour so quickly, and couldn't help but ask, "How did you wipe its body, didn't the bird just shake itself dry?"
Melissa then gave a soft "hum" and said, "This raven is very kind. Have you forgotten? There was a time when Benson had a problem with his work and didn't send down his salary, or this crow sent us a ring, and then Benson took it to the black market and secretly pawned it off so that we wouldn't starve to death. Unfortunately it flapped its wings and left then, not even eating the water and crumpets we prepared for him."
"Huh?" Klein made a confused sound.
"Just as a child there were often crows wandering outside our house yah. Now that I think about it I think it looks a lot like this crow." Melissa said as she finally dried off the mongoose and then gently ran a comb through its fur.
"I am having a little trouble remembering." That was all Klein could say following Melissa's words, he had never heard Melissa talk about it in his last life and didn't believe that the Moretti's in his last life would have encountered a raven.
Surprisingly to him, Melissa didn't show any scepticism because of what he said, but instead nodded and said, "Sometimes I really don't know if you have a good or bad memory, you remember knowledge very well, but you can't always remember things in the past, and sometimes you remember them wrongly."
Again.
Once again, Klein felt defiance from Melissa.
It wasn't so much Melissa that was out of place as it was the Klein Moretti of the time before he had worn it, and the external environment of the Moretti household. From the attitude of Adam and the Goddess of the Night, it was easy to see that there were a lot of "people" who had been watching this ordinary family even before he arrived.
Amon on the table finished enjoying his grooming and fluttered his wings again to land on Klein's shoulder.
"It's so close to you." Melissa exclaimed, turning to go back to her room to work on her schoolwork.

Although Klein had been wary of the Amon turned crow on him doing something, he was surprised to find that Amon really did nothing like a normal crow, only getting up every morning and pulling out a piece of chapatti to eat, then grooming his feathers, following him to work, and flying around outside the security company until he got off work and then landing back on his shoulder. He would even stand at the end of his bed at night and doze off with his eyes closed.
What puzzled Klein even more was the work stuff; the notes from the Antigonus family were indeed missing, and the night watchman hadn't reacted to any of it, and hadn't followed up with any cross-examination of him. Lady Daley had made a visit, but it was as if she had completed some task, arriving and doing nothing, turning round, flirting with the captain and leaving.
It was all as absurd as having to travel towards some set track and not getting the desired result because the necessary elements were missing.
For this reason, Klein had gone up into the grey mist to make sure that Ince Zangwill was still in the red chimney house. Then he remembered that the goddess had sent him on a mission to "catch Ince", and he couldn't help but feel a headache. Just when he thought he was at his wits' end, he saw the Amon standing over his shoulder in reality. The white-eyed raven remained clear-eyed and stupid, not even reacting to the grey mist on Kraven as if he hadn't seen it. More accurately, when Krynn went up to the grey mist, He didn't move at all as if the program was stuck, and it wasn't until Krynn came down from the grey mist that he started bouncing on his shoulder again.
"Can you help me catch Innes?" Klein asked casually.
The raven's bouncing stopped.
The clear stupidity in His eyes faded a little.
"I didn't think that there would be a day when Mr Sneaky would ask for help~" Amon's pleasant voice came out from the crow's mouth, "But I won't refuse your request as long as you agree to me bringing the Main Body here."

Chapter Text

Klein ultimately didn't immediately agree to Amon's request to bring his essence to Tingen. For one, he wanted to stay away from Amon proper, and secondly, there was one thing that Amon said that he cared about.
"Eh, Mr Trickster do you really have no idea why Innes is here?" The little raven turned into a raven-sized Amon figurine sitting on Klein's desk with both hands propped up on the edge of the desk, wiggling his legs while looking up and asking Klein, "I thought you knew everything. So it's true what father said about you losing your memory."
Klein felt his forehead veins popping, and just as he was about to roll up his sleeves and punch Amon, the Amon villain's movements suddenly became sluggish.
"Have you ever thought that ...... all of this was ...... arranged by ...... An... ...well......" Amon got more and more stuck, then his pupils lost their high beams as Adam's voice came out of his mouth, "Klein. Do you need Amon to help you kill Innes?"
At the realisation that Adam was on the number, Klein felt like his eyes were going to lose their highlights as well.
"Why don't you do it yourself if you're going to take '0-08'." Klein spat, "Wouldn't it have been easy for you to screw Innes over and take it?"
The Amon villain froze like a machine jamming for a moment.
"It wasn't easy. There is never an easy word when it comes to you. There is a special significance to this being done by you. Isn't that how Amanisis arranged it?" Adam said.
And so the dialogue returned to what Klein had thought about a thousand times and couldn't understand.
What exactly did that past him do in this time and place?
"Sequence nine kills sequence five, you guys really look up to me." Klein sneered.
"I can always lend you Amon if you need him." Adam said, "He's very obedient."
"That won't be necessary for a while." Klein picked up the Amon villain, "I'll contact you if I need you."
Adam hung up. The Amon in Klein's hand began to openly try to break free of his hand, and finally gave up the treatment and just turned into a crow and flew away.

Actually, other than please Amon, Klein felt he had a better option.
It's just that he's a little less inclined to face the current Mr Aztec. It wasn't the Mr Aztec he was familiar with, and he wasn't even sure if it was the Mr Aztec he once was.
Suddenly, there was a knock on his head.
"What's on your mind?" Old Neil walked up to him at some point, "I see you sighed a couple of times, run into some problem you can't solve?"
Klein stiffly smiled at Old Neil.
He saw the eye behind Old Neil's back that represented the Hidden Sage fawningly smile at himself.
He suddenly came out of that sad atmosphere.
"Er, I mean, what do you do if you find a very powerful guy who is suddenly cozying up to you and circling you like a dog?" Klein said, seeing the eye out of the corner of his eye arching his trouser leg like a dog at his feet.
"Huh?" Old Neil hadn't expected Klein to throw out such a ridiculous question, and for a moment he didn't know how to answer him, "What kind of powerful guy do you mean, this powerful guy?"
Klein said carefully, "Like, an evil god?"
Old Neil laughed at Klein's remark.
"Go go go, don't tease me idly." He looked Klein up and down, "Now that looks normal. It's just the brain that's a bit off."
Maybe it was the Hidden Sage who was not normal in the head. Klein silently spat in his mind.
That eye was now rolling on the ground.
Then when it was stared at by Klein's drooping gaze, it suddenly froze and twisted to hide into the void. Klein thought He would simply disappear again like last time, but he didn't want the other party to bring a spirit. Even without divination, spiritual intuition told Klein that this spirit was the spirit of the beloved that Old Neil wanted to resurrect with all his heart.
Old Neil found the books and turned around to see Klein looking dumbfounded again, "What's wrong with you boy?"
Klein blinked in confusion before reaching out and pointing towards a certain clearing, "There, there seems to be a spirit."
"You just opened your spirit sight don't just look, these are the most dangerous ...... now." Halfway through his sermon, Old Neil froze in place.
The love of his life that he hadn't seen in decades, Shariste, appeared before his eyes in the form of a spirit.
"Sallister, is that you?" Old Neil reached out to touch her, fearing that the spirit was an illusion that should not exist and that his touch would cause Sallister to dissipate.
"Neil." The still young Sallister spoke to him with her mouthpiece, "I'm happy to be by your side all ...... the time in this form. But promise me you won't go and do anything stupid for me, okay?"
She looked sadly at the old Neil and kissed his forehead gently.
Even though the spirit was completely unable to touch Old Neil, he just felt a warm, soft kiss land on his forehead.
"Thank you." Sallister bowed to Klein.
Klein took two steps back in alarm.
Shariste smiled, "Thank you for freeing me from Him."
"Him?" Old Neil repeats the words in Sallist's words.
"Yes, He." Sallister said, "Do you remember why you have been collecting your own blood?"
"I ...... Ah, I remember. He is, the Hidden Sage." Old Neil's expression became fearful all of a sudden, "Sallister, what have I done?"
"It's okay." Sallister soothed him, "The Hidden Sage has retreated ...... amount and is no longer going to hurt me."
Once again, the old Neil froze.
The Hidden Sage's eyes were still arching pleasingly over Klein, and were getting more and more arrogant, arching from his trouser leg to his thigh. Klein reached out and squeezed the eye. He felt like he was touching a small cloud of cold, evil gas, but it was just a feeling, and the other person didn't actually have any intention of hurting him, even rolling around in his hand.
"Eh, there's nothing going on, so I'll leave?" Klein pinched his fingers, feeling that it was the point where he got off work, and couldn't resist bailing on his feet.
As he walked to the door, Klein woke up as if from a dream, blessed with a heart, and twisted his head to give old Neil a cryptic look, blurring out the memory of what he'd just done.
Then he waved at Sallister.

"Knock knock."
Klein knocked on the door of his room, clutching a stack of books.
It didn't take long for the door to open and Mr Aztec's figure appeared behind it.
"Klein?" Mr Azik smiled and stepped out of the way, "Here to return the books today?"
He led Klein into the living room and went to the kitchen to pour him another glass of mint water.
"Here, mint water with two spoons of sugar and two ice cubes. You liked to drink this back in the day." Mr Aztec said.
A glass of a pale blue-green, very pretty drink.
Klein picked up the glass and took a sip, his eyes lighting up.
"It seems to have more than just that added to it, doesn't it?" He said, "It has a very specific aroma."
"I added a bit of Fettling Leaf. An extraordinary ingredient." Mr Azek said, and after he said that, he suddenly withdrew his smile and looked at the raven Amon, who had come out of Klein's arms, with a displeased face.
Klein pressed Amon's head back down.
"Communicator." He explained so.
"You are well aware of His dangers." Azuk said, "His father definitely didn't send Him to you with half good intentions."
"I'm surrounded by too many things with no good intentions." Klein spat feebly.
Then he showed Azik a bit of the Hidden Sage he was cupping in his hand.

Chapter Text

Azuk watched as the rather evil and twisted looking eye ran around Klein's feet like a puppy while the raven Amon had turned into pecked at Klein's lining with his beak. The image looked warm and harmonious.
"Well, I'm sure you have your own way of doing things. I would have been in no position to tell you what to do." Azik shook his head, then he inclined his head slightly to look at Krynn, his expression softening again, "Krynn, are you here to return the book today?"
"Ah, yes." Crane's attention was diverted from his battle of wits with the Monk Crow as he returned the information in his hand to Azik, "One thing mentioned in these materials puzzles me, Antigonus did not receive the Fool's Uniqueness, so why is he still mad?"
There was no reply, but Azik's gaze remained on Klein.
Klein suddenly wanted to get a chill.
That definitely wasn't him.
"Did I drive him mad?" He asked.
Azik subconsciously raised his hand to touch the top of Klein's hair, but hesitated and lowered it again. He said, "It's not that, Klein. I met Antigonus once and asked Him about the whereabouts of that you, and He told me 'He left this time that was not His and is no longer with me'. At that time He still seemed sane and thinking clearly. When I left, I heard Him muttering to Himself 'There is a price to be paid for following shenanigans'."
"So it was He who actively chose shenanigans, with madness as the price?" Klein said.
"More than that I do not know." Azuk shook his head gently as he looked at Klein with a slight apology.
This time, the raven that Klein had held down in his arms burrowed out.
"Everyone who chooses the Tricky Three Pathway will know what they are about to pay when they get to Sequence One." Amon's voice came out of the raven's mouth, sounding rare and serious and proper, "Except I'm the exception, I was born from my father's side and didn't get to feel any of the prophecies - but maybe the price I'll have to pay will be to be killed by you at some point in the future. After all, you seem to want to kill me now."
"I can't believe I didn't want to in the past." Klein spat, "Can anyone really look at you without being so angry that they want to get you killed?"
"You used to be a lot more cold-hearted and desperate than you are now, Mr Trickster~" the raven jumped down from Klein's arms and paced nonchalantly on the coffee table, and when he saw Klein about to punch himself, he immediately inclined his head to avoid it and picked up on it, "So you're going to go out to sea and see what's going on there after you leave Berklander. There are surprises there yet. Oh, I don't mean any harm with that comment, even Father and ...... He expects you to go somewhere."
The raven looked at Azik almost provocatively.
Azik could almost read the message "I know a lot more than you do" in its pea-sized eyes. He frowned in displeasure, but before he could say anything, Klein stopped Amon before he could.
Somehow the word 'sea' had struck a chord in Klein's mind that now filled him with rage.
"Amon," he said, "shut up."
In saying this he expressed an attitude that brooked no comment. Whereupon the crow on the few shook violently, and his beak closed tightly, and he tossed his head several times, but in vain. Soon a worse consequence became apparent, and the crow's feet ceased to pace gracefully forward, but moved with a lurch like a jammed machine. Then it collapsed straight onto the coffee table.
Klein looked at the crow as if it had been glued into a specimen, and he rubbed his throat in confusion, as if he could not understand how the words of the party had achieved such an effect.
At that moment, he suddenly remembered that Mr Azk seemed to have disappeared from his field of vision at some point, so he looked in the direction Azk was originally located, only to see Azk half-kneeling on the ground with his head lowered. From his viewpoint, he could still faintly see a drop of sweat hanging on Azk's jawline.
What's happening to me? This isn't like me.
The thought came together and Klein stepped back from the fury he had just felt. Fear quickly surged up and took over almost his entire mind. He became terrified and walked around anxiously, not even bothering to say goodbye to Azik as he rushed straight out the door.

As Klein stood in the crowded street, the feeling of "I am not me" subsided, as if being more popular would make him more human.
He must have been affected by something. Klein tried to keep his mind off the word "sea". But there was something there, and maybe his questions could be answered there. Within two steps, Klein felt his strength draining from his body, along with a sense of spiritual exhaustion. So he gasped for air and stood in the middle of the pavement holding himself up by his knees.
"Are you okay?" A concerned face came to Klein's side, "I see how pale you look, are you sick?"
Klein's pupils wavered twice, and it took him a moment before he managed to focus his eyes on the face.
Voorhees? What was she doing here, shouldn't she be in Birkeland writing her speculative romance novel?
"Folth what are you doing here?" A word came out of Klein's mouth without as much as a thought.
"You know me?" Folth stared at Klein's face suspiciously, she pondered when she had met Klein but half remembered, instead the more she looked at it, the more she realised that Klein's face was both kind and scary at the same time, and strangely enough it also gave her a sense of reassurance. But she had clearly never seen the man in front of her.
At this time a pair of familiar leather shoes stayed in front of Klein's eyes, and a bronze-coloured hand reached out to Klein, "Klein, are you alright?"
Klein's gaze shifted upwards and unsurprisingly saw Mr Aztec's face. It looked like the other man had recovered from the "storm" he had just unleashed. So he took the hand Mr Azik offered and straightened up again.
"Thank you for your concern, Miss Forsyth, mine feels much better." Klein wiped a cold sweat that wasn't even there on his forehead, then put on a smile and tried to sound convincing, "Maybe you don't know me, but I've had the pleasure of meeting you once before at a party somewhere and remembered."
Forsyth nodded, and seeing that Klein was fine, she led her suitcase onwards. She was halfway there when she turned around again as if she suddenly remembered something.
"Klein, are you a native of Tingen?" She asked this.
"Yes, I am."
"Great, I was just about to look for a place to stay, it would be great to have a house to rent, I was wondering if you had any recommendations?" Forsyth asked, "Prices should ideally be around ten to fifteen Sools."
"Erm, if then I would recommend a visit to the Tingen Housing Improvement Company, they should have the house you need. For example, I live on Daffodil Street and the rent is twelve Soules." Klein said, "That company is just down the road and then to the right."
"Thanks." Forsyth thanked him and hotfooted it that way, grabbing his suitcase.

Now Klein was left with Azk in front of him.
The Monk Crow, who had collapsed on the coffee table unable to get up from Klein's remark earlier, stood watching them from a sign sticking out of the café not far away, a little reluctant to approach.
After a bit of explaining to tell Azik that he was in good shape, Klein made a request to Azik for his help in getting rid of Ince. Azik didn't hesitate for long and agreed without batting an eyelid, so to speak. He made only one request, that he wanted to be at Klein's side, or at least follow him to the sea. At the same time he gave a decent reason: he wanted to look for traces of his father after his fall.
To this Klein had nothing to object. After all, it was much more normal than Straight Orb saying he wanted to be his lover.

Voorhees was a little distracted as she walked down the path Klein had pointed out.
She felt her face burn a little. Although she had written many love stories, she had never actually experienced what love felt like, nor did she really believe in love at first sight. And all her reactions after meeting Klein couldn't help but make her start to doubt that.
Could it be that I fell in love at first sight with that man whose name I don't know?
But why do I still feel a little scared! It can't be that this is the heart palpitations that come with love at first sight!

Chapter Text

After Azk promised Klein to kill Ince Zangwill, he pulled a watch with a silver chain out of his pocket and looked at it.
"Klein, there's still some time left, why don't we go now?" He asked.

"It is very strange that Ince Zangwill's plans have been repeatedly thwarted. All of the Great Beings have refused his requests, and he can't even offer sacrifices to Him, so he can't use any power to force the church to remove the ashes of Saint Selene. This is unreasonable, using 0-08 to achieve a win-win situation should have been extremely smooth. There has to be a reason for this, and the reason may lie in the 'lucky one' who wasn't killed by the notes of the Antigonus family."
The words on the paper suddenly appeared as a huge ink spot when they reached this point.
"No - this is like a dream, a lie. Ince ...... why would I steal 0-08?This is so puzzling. It is! It's a totally weird thing to do, just like the red chimney of this house feels very harsh whenever I touch 0-08. Maybe I might need to move ...... Yes ...... I definitely need to move."
A large number of scribble marks appeared in the next line of this paragraph.
"Why? I can't escape from here, there is an eye watching me! It stares at me every moment. Yes, a pair of silver-white, pupil-less and eyelash-less eyes. It's beautiful, no, it's not beautiful at all ...... I remember, it's-"
Where the last letter of the passage was, there appeared a very long, scratch towards the lower end of the paper. Below the scratch, on the tabletop beyond the pages, many messy fingerprints appeared. On the ground in front of the table, a large piece of humanoid ash fell. In the air above the ashes, there were many, many silver threads suspended, which were sometimes twisted and entangled, and sometimes fluttered loosely.
But the 0-08 on the table was still writing, "This is destiny, this is the past."

"Maybe I'm not supposed to be here at this time, or maybe I'm in the wrong room, obviously Innes isn't here." Klein muttered, "He died in this red chimney house, the mutation got out of control. But the strange thing is, I didn't do anything."
"It's an enclosed spiritual space." Azik looked around at the doors and windows, "If our arrival hadn't destroyed this place, or if some innocent commoner hadn't pushed open the door to this room, the contamination he left behind would have remained here in peace and quiet, not seeping out to the outside world. Even if we had arrived later, it would have been the same scene."
After a long moment of hesitation, Klein detached a strand of his consciousness to contact the three uniquenesses on the source fortress, and sensing their presence, he felt certain in his heart, and boldly stepped around the ashes to reach out and look at the notes. Next to the notes was the motionless 0-08, which lay peacefully on the table like a real quill.
Spiritual intuition told Klein that the words on the note were still fresh. Perhaps it was not more than a few hours since it was written.
The timing was extraordinary. True coincidences hardly existed in the extraordinary world, and Klein would never believe in coincidence. So he pushed open the window and called outside.
"Amon."
A raven flew in, and it landed carefully not far from Klein, its talons hooked around the edge of the table where some crushed wood shavings hung. Like a creature's instinct to avoid harm, Amon seemed to understand the fact that even the current Klein was an existence He could not afford to mess with.
"Bring '0-08' to Adam. And tell Him ...... by the way," Klein mused, unconsciously sweeping his hand away from the wood shavings on the table, "I'm annoyed."
As Klein instructed Amon, Azik watched on. He was familiar with Klein's current tone. If the first sentence had a slight 'Kraven' look to it, the final flippant conclusion was purely divine. He could hardly resist pledging his loyalty to Klein.
But when Klein's gaze turned to the lost spiritual mass of ashes on the floor, that Klein was back. His face showed a few moments of doubt mixed with sadness.
"You shouldn't have died like that." He said this.

Finally, Klein took away the notes Ince Zangwill had written in 0-08.
He talked to Azik for a few moments and then turned back to the night watchman side. At the moment Roxanne was getting ready to leave work, and she showed her surprise when she saw Klein arrive at Blackthorn Security at this hour.
"Oh Klein, it's not your work day and everyone is getting ready to leave work, what are you doing here now?" She inquired of Klein, she didn't manage to see anything on Klein's face thinking that maybe it wasn't something important.
"Roxanne, is the captain here?" Klein asked her.
"Yes, Fang I just saw him go back to his office." Roxanne replied, she had already packed up her things, so she briskly walked past Klein, "See you later!"
Klein said goodbye to her as well.
At the door to the office, Klein took a deep breath and knocked on the office door.
"Who?" Dunn's voice came from inside the door.
"It's me, Klein." Klein said.
"Come in."
Klein pushed the door open and saw Dunn sitting behind his desk, frowning in the face of several reports. When he saw Klein arrive, he pressed his brow, then pointed to the chair in front of his desk and said, "Have a seat." After Klein sat down, he then inquired, "Is something the matter?"
"I have found the residence of Ince Zangwill, his death has now been confirmed, the scene has been sealed off by me so that no ordinary people will enter by mistake, and the contamination has been handled and completed by a friend of mine ......, here are the notes he wrote down in 0-08." Klein handed the notes to Dunn, "Will have to trouble you to send a telegram to the church in Birkeland to inform them of this."
Dunn nodded and took the notes, he didn't ask who Klein's friend was or how Klein had found Ince Zangwill. None of that mattered, and it was clear from the fact that Klein's induction had been led by Sessima, the Sword of the Goddess, that Klein might not be an ordinary man forced into an extraordinary world. As long as he was sure that Kraven was safe, he didn't worry too much.
Klein's eyes fell on the report in Dunn's hand, and he couldn't help but frown even as he looked at it twice.
"There's nothing out of the ordinary in all the places?" He asked suspiciously.
Dunn glanced down at the report in his hand and sighed, "As you can see. It stands to reason that we get all sorts of incidents caused by the extraordinary every month. A quiet month might not have any casualties, might not have been discovered by ordinary people, but it still happens. And the only extraordinary-related incident I dealt with this month was your suicide." He straightened his back, "Klein, even though you are not a member of my jurisdiction, I would like you to look into this matter as well ...... I fear it is a precursor to something big happening."
"I will. Since I'm standing here and I'm a freshly minted night watchman, you can be my captain as well." Klein said. He mentally mumbled again, Of course you will always be my captain, that doesn't change because of anything.
With that said, he couldn't help but look down at the report again.
Point in time, point in time again.
This time was exactly the time when he was reborn back to this time and space.
It was as if all the clues were strung together and were telling him plainly: you yourself are Tingen's biggest problem.

Chapter Text

Krynn wondered if Dunn had deliberately asked the matter of him because he suspected him. But these things were so coincidental that even he wondered if he had cast a silencing spell on Tingen, silencing the extraordinary. He couldn't help but find the strange thought ludicrous, and quickly put it out of his mind.
Seeing that Dunn had lowered his head to study the report again, Klein turned and prepared to leave. But when he reached the door, he subconsciously stopped in his tracks. At the same time, Dunn's voice came from behind him.
"Kline, wait, there's something I forgot to tell you."
Klein sighed and turned back.
It seemed that the captain indeed hadn't continued his promotion from Nightmare yet, and his forgetfulness was as great as before. He had wondered about Leonard's promotion from Nightmare before. However, Leonard didn't seem to have such a big forgetfulness as Dunn, either? Or did ...... he not remember at all after forgetting?
"Telegram from Birkeland HQ with a single sentence 'To Klein Moretti: one month left until foggy days in Birkeland.'" Dunn repeated, "It was addressed to 'Sword of the Goddess' Sessima."
The Foggy Days of Birkeland? Krynn was puzzled at first, then snapped back to the tragedy that happened in Bekrande in his last life.
That great foggy event that almost affected the entire city.
"...... I know." Klein spoke with difficulty.
Dunn looked at the telegram a little strangely, and then at Klein. He seemed to want to ask something, but felt as if he wasn't quite right to ask. So he finally said to Klein, "Be careful." He wasn't sure why he was so concerned about this member of the team who was only listed under the name of Tingen's squad, but that didn't stop him from being able to see that there wasn't a single thing that Klein was going to do that wasn't secretly dangerous. Even if it was just due care as a captain he should say this.
"Will do." Klein heaved his head.

When Klein got home he found a familiar raven landing on the windowsill of his home to comb his fur. Melissa crumpled up a bit of bread to feed it. The crow cocked its head at the bread and then at Klein, who had just entered the house, and chose to act like a well-behaved crow pet. It lowered its head and pecked up the crumbs to eat.
"Klein, should we name it?" Melissa said, "Since you're all set to keep it."
Name Amon's raven? Klein's first thought was that He had the name Amon, but immediately thought that it would be approximately the same as constantly summoning Amon, and immediately vetoed the idea. Melissa had a good point though, it was true that he couldn't say Amon to a normal person who asked about the raven's name, but it was kind of weird for a pet not to have a name.
"Call it Kate then." Klein said casually.
"That sounds like a cat." Melissa grumbled, "I thought you'd come up with a catchy name."
Klein laughed dryly and didn't pick up on that. He wasn't going to put too much effort into the matter of coming up with a name for Amon.
"Kate's a little wilted today, probably sick. Klein, do you have any ideas?"
That being said, Melissa called on the name Klein had come up with. Her eyes lit up when she asked Klein if there was anything she could do, as if she was hoping to hear any particular answer.
"Huh?" Klein didn't understand what Melissa meant for a moment, then suddenly remembered that earlier he had displayed magical abilities that should have belonged to a Miracle Worker, guessed that Melissa was perhaps treating Extraordinary as magic, and laughed helplessly and dumbfoundedly, "Extraordinary isn't omnipotent. In fact, someone like me who has just stepped into extraordinary can only be said to know a little bit of juggling. And extraordinary is dangerous ......"
Melissa gave a disapproving look.
"Klein, you're lying."
She said.
"You said the ability to fix the plumbing before was a tiny miracle. I don't believe any miracle comes easily. That was never something that could be called just a minor trick."
Klein was stunned. Once again, Melissa's keen performance exceeded his expectations.
"Melissa ......," he whispered, and then threw out a question that the party suddenly realised, "Why did you find me killing myself that day?"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the raven combing his feathers on the windowsill suddenly froze, hiding his head under his wings. The pendulum of the house ticked and seemed to go faster and faster.
The blood-coloured moonlight outside the window fell on Klein's face, making him look slightly dangerous.
Melissa, who had heard the query, said as if dreamily, "Yes. I found out that you were not right ...... During that time you often lost sleep and got up to walk back and forth. You never mentioned your classmates or your friends ...... but those days you always said this. Also, I lied. I had a dream about the silver moon the day before you killed yourself. It said, yes, He was saying to me, 'The home of Klein Moretti should be here, under the silver moon.' He was beautiful ...... shining like a jewel. I am guided by Him ......"

Klein tugged Melissa to her death.
He regretted beyond words that he had asked that one sentence.
The colour of blood surged in Melissa's eyes, and with her feet in the air, she was taking a step into the air, aiming at the red moon outside the window!
What could be done to save her? Klein's mind raced.
Call the goddess? No, he'd just tried calling the goddess's honourable name in his mind, and hadn't received any response. And Amon on the windowsill was curled up in a ball like she was dead. Out of distrust, Klein didn't want to call Adam for a while either.
He suddenly remembered the Uniques who were housed in the Source Castle.
So he tried to hook up with the Source Fortress, trying to rely on the Source Fortress or the Uniquenesses in the Source Fortress to help Melissa recover.
A Unique jumped into Klein's hand as if it were a blessing.
It was the uniqueness of the "door" pathway.
An illusory door of light appeared between the red moon and Melissa.
Kraven saw the red moonlight distorting through the door and turning into a silver-white colour.
Melissa, who was held down by his death, suddenly stopped and looked at the silvery white moonlight and said softly, "So the moonlight in ...... the dream is real?"
After saying this sentence, she would come to her senses as if waking up from a dream and fell down from the air. If it wasn't for Klein catching her, she might have simply fainted on the ground. Melissa breathed in sharply, her body glistening with cold sweat like a fish that had just been fished out of the water.
"No, I don't know ......," she said weakly as if she was answering someone's question, "Klein has always been Klein."
"Melissa? Melissa!" Klein tried to shout Melissa back to her senses.
He saw Melissa blink hard and then look in Klein's direction with eyes that were as silver-white as if they had reflected moonlight.
"Klein, I know you've always been Klein, never changed." She said.
The words were like another thunderbolt, but Klein, who was worried about Melissa, had no time to care about that. As a last resort, he forcibly invoked the power of the Source Fortress, completely obscuring that moonlight.
And so Melissa finally changed from being covered in a silver-white glow back to her normal appearance.
"Melissa, are you alright?" Klein hugged Melissa and placed her on the sofa, then inquired.
"...... me," Melissa barely lifted her fingers and gently touched Klein before squeezing out a word in a very tired voice. She took a few moments to catch her breath after saying this before continuing, "Klein, I'm so tired ...... I see so many confusing shapes ...... and ...... "
Her fingers lightly tapped on the backrest of the couch beside her.
A small, fuzzy, ghostly blue door appeared where her fingertips were pointing.

Chapter Text

Klein examined Melissa's status with a grave expression. Although he could instantly judge that Melissa was now a Sequence 9 Apprentice of the "Gate" pathway, this matter was really too strange and he had to confirm it over and over again. But no matter how he confirmed it, Melissa had indeed become an extraordinary person because of this mutation, an extraordinary person who was different from her previous life.
"Melissa." He said softly, "Congratulations on becoming an Extraordinary."
The light of the red moon fell on Klein's face, pulling out a long dark red shadow. The expression couldn't be called joyful by any stretch of the imagination.
"Klein ......," Melissa looked up at him, "There's no need to force yourself to congratulate me." Melissa, who had just survived a remarkable accident, in turn comforted Klein, "I've had an insight into the horrors of this world today."
"It's very rare to turn back from a contaminated state and become an Extraordinary ......," Klein spoke with difficulty, "Melissa, I'm sorry."
As an Old Day, I can't believe I couldn't even protect you.
He silently swallowed the words back into his stomach.

The raven fluttered its wings and flew over to Klein's shoulder, pecking him lightly on the shoulder.
"What is it?" Krynn frowned at the raven, he wasn't really looking forward to seeing Amon right now.
The raven's claws hooked around his shoulder stiffened for a moment. It flew towards the window and jabbed the top half of it with its beak. From Klein's perspective, it looked like it was pecking at the moon.
Moon ......
Klein walked quickly to the window, separated his sister with a curtain, took a deep breath, and pushed the window open.
The red moon fell from the sky and came crashing down towards Klein. The moon grew bigger and bigger in his eyes, so big that he even seemed to see the fallen mother goddess climbing on it.
"!"
The very moment Klein took a guarded stance, the red moon returned to its original position, as if what had just happened had never happened. But Klein didn't think it was an illusion he was seeing. If even his eyes could be deceived, then all his empty bits were false.
"Sneaky ......"
Klein heard the call. He remembered the voice, the voice of Bertram Abraham. Only this voice was not at all frantic, except for being full of fatigue, and it didn't have any semblance of the nervous anxiety of being trapped.
"I have fulfilled our covenant."
Completed ...... what?
Klein blinked in confusion.
He jerked his head to connect the contamination of Melissa in the party with Abraham's words. Doubt, incredulity, and anger at himself suddenly flooded him. He didn't understand what on earth he had chosen to subject Melissa to this contamination for; this was too dangerous a course of action, and even if there was nothing wrong with Melissa now, the pain she had endured was undeserved.
"...... Lord."
He heard Ancestor Abraham change his address to himself.
"You of the past have asked me to pass on a word to you: you of the future shall know the truth - I am sorry about that little girl."
The night was still, and the wind was gentle, making even the voice from the distant planet seem extraordinarily light.
But Klein was willing to trust Him.
"It's not your fault." He whispered.
And so the moonlight receded like a tidal wave, taking nothing with it.

Over the next few days, the number of people with secrets in the Moretti household went from one and a half to two. Klein had submitted information to the night watchman about Melissa's status as an Extraordinary, putting her over the clear path. There was no way for Dunn to take full responsibility when it came to Klein's affairs, so another telegram was sent to headquarters. Cecima's response arrived at Tingen soon after, along with his men. He solemnly placed a letter in Klein's hands while shaking his head in the face of Klein's enquiring gaze. He didn't say a word, and looked as if he would pray to the goddess if Krynn intended to pursue the matter further.
"Becklander."
The letter contained only the name of a place.
Spiritual intuition was alerting Klein that it was a prod.
"When you are promoted, your sister will also need to follow you to Beckland, but she will not be travelling with you in terms of the mission, HQ has other arrangements." Sessima said. He glanced at Melissa. At the time of the notification, Tingen had not yet arrived at HQ with the telegram, and he had only received that telegram when that servant of the Goddess had left. He had no intention of speculating on that lord's wishes, but had wondered why he had been chosen to deliver the message.
"I know."
He said he knew, but none of the four men present were confused.
As Klein put away the letter, he said to Sesima, "Did someone ask you to deliver it?"
"Yes."
"Is it a ...... Him?"
"...... Yes."
Klein subconsciously clutched the letter.
"Crackle."
A little spark emerged from between two of his fingers, igniting the entire letter paper. Scalded, Klein was startled and subconsciously let go. The letter paper turned into ashes in the air.
By the time he regained his senses, Cecima had already turned his back, and he left this "dangerous" place in a very polite and extremely fast manner.
Dunn, who was watching, also had a frown on his face. He looked at Klein, who looked confused, and in the end, he didn't just walk away like Cecima did, but dragged him and Melissa to explain the dangers of the extraordinary world once again. Compared to Klein's "half-baked", Dunn's explanation is much more official and rigorous, and Melissa listens carefully, writing down the main points one by one.
"...... Miss Moretti, you are still in school, right?" Dunn suddenly said at last, "The Night Watchers will provide you with tuition, and likewise, if there are missions that require your participation, you will have to participate in a timely manner. Of course, because of the circumstances, there is no pay."
As for what the future held, between the fact that Klein would be leaving for Berkland in a month at the latest, the matter was out of Dunn's hands.

Back home Melissa curled up on the couch. Klein sat down next to her and a head with long soft hair leaned over as he reached up and brushed her hair in a comforting manner.
"Melissa. I've kept a lot of things from you ......"
"Because ...... because to know is to pollute." Her voice sounded a little odd, as in choked, "I would have done the same thing ...... Klein, I ......"
"It's okay, Melissa." Klein said, "A lot of things have a price, but I've already paid the price for my miracle."
Melissa didn't ask what the "price" was.
"The Kline of the past always seemed so far away to me." She said, "One day, the very day you killed yourself, you suddenly came alive. You had insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, but alive."
She let out a long breath as she said this, and there was always a bit of a smile in her tone, "Suddenly it feels like I've accomplished something, and it's true that I shouldn't have kept those words inside."
They snuggled up to each other for a moment, drawing a little energy from each other.
Melissa borrowed Klein's desk and prepared to continue flipping through her textbooks, while Klein went into the bathroom and unlocked the door to prepare for the tarot session.

Entering the Source Fortress, Klein first gathered his thoughts out of habit.
He had noticed that the Goddess of the Night was consciously avoiding contact with the identity of "Kraven". Even though she had often touched him like a cat, he was a "secretive" person.
Adam, no, the Creator's attitude was also ambiguous. He's been testing him, trying to find out if Crane Moretti really has amnesia.
The title "Lord" for both Mr Azek and Abraham points to his divine side. It seemed that those who knew the inside story were instinctively denying his "human" side.
Klein pinched his brow.
When he lowered his hand, eight members of the Tarot Society appeared on both sides of the long table.

Chapter Text

The members of the Tarot Club who were not familiar with each other remained on guard against each other.
Klein didn't rush to open his mouth either, but instead pretended to survey the members of the Tarot Guild with an air of interest. Although his spiritual intuition prevented him from thinking about himself, it didn't mean that he had to stop observing the members of the Tarot Club, and if he could get some information from their reactions, he might be able to avoid the danger of using "extraordinary" means to test himself.
He noticed that Alger was paying slightly more attention to Gadelia, and he could tell by his attitude that Alger had probably already met Gadelia. Gadelia hadn't reacted with anything other than concerned wariness, so they'd just been met unilaterally by Alger. Audrey hadn't yet drunk the magic potion, but was in a state that made her look more like a mature audience member than she had at her first Tarot meeting. She clearly recognised the trial and the magician as people she knew ...... Wait a minute, when did they meet again? Klein dug around in his memory for a while and didn't get an answer. The only thing that was certain was that with the class gap between the two Audrey and Forsyth, it would have been difficult to encounter each other if she hadn't taken the initiative to get in touch.
These were not the most noteworthy. Klein's gaze stopped on Derek.
It was then that Audrey was the first to break the deathly silence.
"Good afternoon, Mr Fool." She lifted her skirt and saluted Klein.
Next, she greeted all the members of the Tarot Club in order, not misremembering the code names of any of them. Klein didn't deal out the tarot cards at that time only for them to see, but directly revealed on the table, theoretically everyone could see the code names of the others on the table. But some people might not have this power of observation and memory. For example, Emlyn, who had been greeted, had a look on his face that was outside the situation.
It was only after everyone had greeted the Fool that Audrey addressed Alger with a question, "Mr Inverted Man, have you received the blood of the Ghost Shark?"
What followed were a few short confirmations about the deal.
When it came time to make the deal, Klein let out a laugh, "If you don't want anyone else to hear it ......"
Paper and a pen appeared on the tabletop in front of Alger.
"Concentrate. Try to sketch what's in your head onto the paper." He said, seeing Alger look at himself, remembering his past life, and added, "It's just a guide, I'm not interested in prying into your minds."
After Audrey got the paper passed to her by the Fool, she read the magic potion recipe on it over and over again, word for word: "Audience, Sequence 9 magic potion, 80 ml of pure water with 5 drops of Autumn Fairy Essence, 13 grams of Oxtooth Paeony powder, 7 petals of elfin flowers, a pair of adult Manhall Fish eyes, and 35 ml of goat-horned blackfish blood. "
This recipe was exactly the same as the one she had heard in her dream. Ever since the Tarot meeting, a voice had begun echoing in her head, her own voice. The one that was repeatedly telling herself something, but she could only understand the phrases in it about the audience for this magic potion recipe.
Audrey closed the paper. She said to the Fool, "Mr Fool, I have written it all down."

The transaction was quickly completed. The subsequent teachings were kindly added by Leonard in addition to what Alger had said.
"It's playing." Klein said, "The trick to digesting the magic potion is to play it, the name of the magic potion is the key." Looking at the crowd in disbelief, he continued, "This is payment in advance, I will need you to gather the diary of Rossel the Great, as well as, if you are able, I will need information from the sea about places only angels can enter."
His gaze fell on Gadelia. Only Kadriya was currently the only one of the people present who could possibly fulfil the latter condition.
"Rest assured, I prefer an equal exchange, and this message only requires two pages of a diary, and an exact message."
Noticing that the Fool always landed on himself when he spoke of the latter condition, Katriya's heart sank, knowing full well what it meant. This condition of the god's was open exclusively to her, which meant that even if Yugi never seemed to have contact with himself, he had a fair amount of information about himself. She didn't dare to doubt the Fool's authenticity anymore, she just hoped that the other party would remain as "friendly" as they were now after they got the information, and not turn them all into their "followers" - which was the case now! "The current situation is not much better.
But the other party was a god. She lowered her head and collected her thoughts.
Next came the time of exchange, and Klein didn't listen any more closely than he did, looking only to Derek, who was struggling to try and understand what everyone was saying.
The Tarot Club's clothes were generated according to what the person pulling them up was realistically wearing. Today's Derek had an additional pendant on him than the last one, one that represented the symbol of the Trickster Lord.
Didn't they believe in the ancient sun god? Klein mused.
After everyone had spoken, Derek finally spoke cautiously.
"Where I come from, there is a legend that circulates." He said, "Darkness will not be our enemy forever, a new god will descend here in the future, He accepts, He embraces, and He will bless all things."
Klein could see Derek subconsciously gripping the pendant as he spoke.
Your Lord is clearly alive and well. He muttered inwardly. Adam didn't look like he had lost his humanity and "self" in his previous life.
However, he didn't plan to tell Derek about this matter for the time being. For one thing, it was too dangerous for Derek, and for another, he wanted to know what kind of subtle calculations the "past self" and the "Ancient Sun God" had made for him.
In order to maintain his image as a fool, Kraven didn't dare to ask Derek anything specific for the time being, but he was sure that someone else would do it for him. Sitting at the head of the table, he looked round at the others, and saw that they were all pondering the words of this member of the Forsaken Lands.
"Mr Sun," to Klein's surprise, it was Alger who spoke first, "has there been any follow-up on this legend? Even catch-all information would be fine."
"Let's see." Derek tried to remember, "My father once said something like, 'It's not that the gods have forsaken us, but that they are testing us.' The Elder also once said, 'The gods have been watching us outside of time.'"
Outside of Time ......
Klein's eyes snapped open.
If there were any human gods in this world who could be outside of time-
All the clues pointed to himself.
In other words, from the very beginning, these "believers" had been waiting for him to appear.
Thankful that his emotions were hidden by the grey mist, and seeing that the crowd needed to digest the news, Klein announced the end of the tarot session.
But he left Derek "The Sun" behind.
Derek looked a little frightened when he realised that he was the only one left behind.
"Is there anything I can do for you, Mr Fool?" He hung his head low.
Klein rubbed the arm of his seat and said warmly, "Don't be nervous. I just want to confirm one thing. The pendant you're wearing today, is it related to the legend you're talking about."
"Yes ...... it is. Mr Fool, this is a symbol left to us by the Old Gods."
The puzzle pieces matched.
Klein relaxed against the back of his chair.
"As payment for your description of the message today."
"I'll tell you another message."

"He will come."

彼此并不熟悉的塔罗会成员依然是相互戒备的状态。
克莱恩也没有急着开口，而是故作饶有兴致的模样打量着塔罗会成员们。虽然灵性直觉阻止了他对自身相关的回想，但这不意味着他连正常的对塔罗会成员的观察也要停止，如果能够从他们的反应中得到些许信息的话，也许能够规避使用“非凡”手段试探自身带来的危害。
他注意到阿尔杰对嘉德丽雅投注的目光稍微多些，通过他的态度可以判断阿尔杰也许已经见过嘉德丽雅了。嘉德丽雅并没有除了关注的戒备以外的反应，所以他们只是阿尔杰单方面遇见过。奥黛丽还没喝下魔药，状态却比起第一次参加塔罗会，看起来更像一位成熟的观众了。她很明显认出了审判和魔术师是自己认识的人……等一下，她们什么时候认识的来着？克莱恩在记忆里挖掘了一会儿，没有得到答案。唯一可以确定的是，以奥黛丽和佛尔思两个人的阶级差距，如果不是她主动去接触，是很难遇到对方的。
这些都不是最值得注意的。克莱恩的目光停在了戴里克身上。
就在这时，奥黛丽率先打破了死一样的寂静。
“下午好，愚者先生。”她提裙向克莱恩致礼。
接下来，她按照顺序依次问候了所有塔罗会成员，没有记错任何一个成员的代号。克莱恩当时发塔罗牌并没有只让他们自己看见，而是直接显现在桌面上，理论上所有人都可以看见桌上其他人的代号的。但有些人未必有这个观察力和记忆力。比如说被问候到的埃姆林就一脸状况外的表情。
在大家向愚者致意之后，奥黛丽才对阿尔杰发问：“倒吊人先生，鬼鲨的血收到了吗？”
接下来便是关于交易的几句简短确认。
到了要交易的时候，克莱恩笑了一声：“如果不希望其他人听到的话……”
阿尔杰身前的桌面上浮现出纸张和钢笔。
“集中注意力。试着将脑海中所想勾勒在纸上。”他说，见阿尔杰看向自己，想起前世的事情，补充道，“只是一种引导，我并没有兴趣窥探你们的思想。”
奥黛丽拿到由愚者传递到自己手上的纸张之后，一字不落地反复阅读上面的魔药配方：“观众，序列9魔药，80毫升纯水，加5滴秋水仙精华，加13克牛齿芍药粉末，加7瓣精灵花，加一对成年曼哈尔鱼的眼睛，加35毫升羊角黑鱼的血液。”
这份配方和她梦中听到的配方完全一致。自从塔罗会召开之后，她脑海中就开始回响着一个声音，她自己的声音。那个她反复对自己诉说着什么，但她却只能听懂其中关于观众这个魔药配方的语句。
奥黛丽合上了纸张。她对愚者说道：“愚者先生，我已经全部记下了。”

交易很快完成。后续的教导除了阿尔杰说了之外，伦纳德也好心补充了两句。
“是扮演。”克莱恩说，“消化魔药的诀窍在于扮演，魔药的名字就是钥匙。”看众人惊疑的样子，他继续说，“这是预付的报酬，我需要你们收集罗塞尔大帝的日记，以及，如果有能力的话，我需要海上有关于天使才能进入的地方的消息。”
他的目光落在嘉德丽雅身上。目前在场众人只有嘉德丽雅有可能完成后一个条件。
“请放心，我喜欢等价交换，这条消息只需要两页日记，和一条确切的消息。”
嘉德丽雅注意到愚者说到后一个条件的时候总是落在自己身上，心里一沉，她很清楚这意味着什么。神明的这个条件是专门针对她开放的，也就是即使愚者看起来从未接触过自己，他对自己的情报也有着相当程度的掌握。她不敢再怀疑“愚者”的真假，只希望对方在得到消息之后依然对此保持着现今称得上“友善”的态度，而不是过河拆桥，将他们全部转化为自己的“信徒”——现在这个情况也没有好太多。
但对方是神明。她低下头，收敛自己的思绪。
接下来便是交流时间，克莱恩没有再细听，他只看向正在努力试图听懂大家发言的戴里克。
塔罗会的衣服是按照拉上来的人现实穿的衣服生成的。今天的戴里克身上比上一次多了一个吊坠，代表诡秘之主符号的吊坠。
他们不是信仰远古太阳神吗？克莱恩思索着。
在所有人都发言完毕之后，戴里克终于小心翼翼地开口。
“在我所在的地方，流传着一个传说。”他说，“黑暗不会永远是我们的敌人，未来将有新的神明降临于此，祂接纳、祂包容，祂将降福万物。”
克莱恩可以看见戴里克说话的时候下意识握住了那个吊坠。
你们的主分明还活得好好的。他在心里嘀咕。亚当那样子怎么看都不像是前世失去人性失去“自我”的状况。
不过这件事情他暂时没打算告诉戴里克。一是对戴里克来说太过危险，二是他也想要知道“过去的自己”和“远古太阳神”之间究竟给他打了个什么精妙的算盘。
为了维持愚者的形象，克莱恩暂时也不敢太过直白的询问戴里克具体的事情，但他相信会有人替他问的。坐在上首，他环视一圈其他人，果然看见他们都在思考这个在“神弃之地”的成员的话语。
“太阳先生，”出乎克莱恩的意料，先开口的是阿尔杰，“关于这个传说，还有什么后续吗？即使是捕风捉影的信息也行。”
“我想想。”戴里克努力回忆着，“我的父亲曾经说过这样一句话：‘不是神明抛弃了我们，而是神明在考验我们。’长老也曾说过：‘神明在时间之外一直注视着我们。’”
时间之外……
克莱恩猛地睁大了眼睛。
如果说这个世界上有什么人神能在时间之外的话——
所有的线索都指向了他自己。
也就是说，早在一开始，这些“信徒”就在等待着他的出现了。
克莱恩一边庆幸着自己被灰雾遮挡，大家看不出他的情绪，一边看众人都需要好好消化这个消息的样子，于是宣布了塔罗会结束。
但是他留下了“太阳”戴里克。
戴里克发现只有自己留下，显得有些惶恐。
“愚者先生，您有什么事情需要我做的吗？”他低垂下头。
克莱恩摩挲着自己的座椅扶手，温声说道：“不要紧张。我只是想确认一件事情。你今天戴的吊坠，是否与你口中的传说有关。”
“是……是的。愚者先生，这是旧神留给我们的符号。”
拼图对上了。
克莱恩放松地靠在椅背上。
“作为你今日描述消息的报酬。”
“我再告诉你一个消息。”

“祂会来。”

Chapter Text

Derek's mind went blank as he looked at the god obscured by grey mist on the main seat. The moment he heard the words, he had the urge to offer himself completely to the god, if he could exchange himself for this god's betting eyes on his homeworld, He could take everything he wanted.
"When you need to ask for help, you can say this honourable name."
The Fool's voice fell into Derek's ears, but it wasn't the honourable name of the past that came out of his mouth that pointed to the Heavenly Father.
"Lonely traveller across time and space, born in the beginning of the beginning of light, pointing to the end of the end of darkness."
"Okay, I'll take note of that." Derek saluted the gods.
With a gentle wave of the hand of the secretive lord seated in the main seat, his astral spirit body dispersed like smoke and returned to its body located in reality.

In front of Klein was the paper with his new honoured name, he had never thought of his honoured name before, the people of Tingen couldn't know it, and facing Adam and the Goddess of the Night it was of no use. Only now, as if in a dream, did he realise that he had even changed his honorific name.
More memories had been lost than he had realised, and something very important must have happened in that gap of time after his last awakening.
For example, his rebirth was not some fictional plot, but someone had pulled time back to the past.
Who was it?
That Blessed Life Xuanhuang Heavenly Father who had disappeared without appearing?

Despite the fact that without the Real Creator and the need to digest the Diviner's magic potion, Klein didn't actually have to go to the Diviner's Club anymore, but he still travelled there as per his usual habits.
The person who came to Divination today was also very different. It was Miss Forsyth who had moved to Tingen for some reason.
She obviously regretted ordering the cheapest one and meeting her "love at first sight", but the truth was that she was so embarrassed that she wanted to run away right away, but at the same time she was too stiff to move her legs because of her "excitement".
"Excuse me, do you want to divine something?" Klein's gentle voice brought her back to reality.
Seeing that the other party looked businesslike, Voorhees sighed in relief as she said, "I always have a strange dream where a person keeps rambling to me, and it's strongest on the night of a full moon."
Klein's hand squeezed the citrine spirit pendulum a little harder, he had intended to touch the fish and take it up casually, and if it went bad, he would consider himself technically unskilled, but then Voorhees threw in a question like that, and knowing that the answer lay with the ancestor of Abraham, it was a case of neither saying nor not saying.
"My suggestion is that you could say a prayer to the gods of your faith before you go to bed." He offered a perfunctory sounding suggestion with a leathery smile.
Unexpectedly, Voorhees accepted the suggestion calmly, and didn't seem to expect any excellent answers from Klein. She followed up with, "Also, I want to divine that my heart beats extra fast when I see a person, and I will also stand stiff and unable to move, as if it's love at first sight. If I confess my love to him, is there any chance that I will be agreed?"
Klein wanted to speak.
How come he hadn't realised that in his previous life Voorhees was so capable of teenage love. Although she had written a romance novel, the most colourful part in it was undoubtedly the reasoning part, and it was evident that the author was better at constructing reasoning than romance.
But adhering to the principle of customer first, he asked Voorhees what method of divination he wanted to use.
"Tarot." She said, "I kinda like this card invented by Russell the Great."
So Klein shuffled the cards in the usual way and cut out three more piles and placed them in front of Voorhees, who he indicated that he would let Voorhees take them himself.
Folth took a card from each pile.
Klein turned over the card representing the past, and he looked down and interpreted it, "You have known each other in the past, and established a deep bond, which you have forgotten because of external interference. However, the bond still leaves a mark, and the feelings are the best proof of that."
Next he turned over the card representing the present.
"The two of you have met, but are in a state of not knowing each other, and there is a deep misunderstanding between you, perhaps after the misunderstanding is cleared up the relationship will change for the better."
Finally the card representing the future.
"A brief period of happiness. But the long term future has no hope, no possibility. A void."
Klein cleared his throat, "So my advice is that you'd better stay away from the person you fell in love with at first sight. He might be scum."
Voorhees looked at Klein with a strange expression.
Klein thought that she was very fond of the object and didn't want to hear bad comments from him, and immediately looked for an addendum, "It's also possible that there's an unbridgeable gap between you, and even though it looks similar on the surface, it actually reveals this problem when you're actually together."
Forsyth sighed.
"Thank you for the answer." She took a soule from her bag and placed it on the table, then picked up her bag and headed for the door.

Curious about Folth's reaction, Klein couldn't help but divine just who this Folth had fallen in love with at first sight, and he sank into a dream world, seeing himself, who had just left the red chimney house deliriously on a collision course with Folth.
He fell into silence.
He recalled the look on Voorhees' face as he tried to speak.
He understood everything perfectly.
Klein wanted to slap himself twice.
He hadn't done anything so stupid in the end.
Now he was sure that the people he was deeply connected to had been affected by their past lives, but it looked like they wouldn't have any memories of them.
After this kind of incident, the tired Klein was ready to leave the Diviner's Club, he waved at the crow crouching on the chandelier, and when it stood firmly on his shoulder, he got up and pushed open the door of the room.

On his way back he met Leonard in his carriage hurrying to some place, and the other lifted the curtains and saw him light up before his eyes, and at once told the driver to stop and catch him in the act.
"What's the matter." Klein asked.
According to Leonard's description, it seemed to be a case of the young master being kidnapped in his previous life, but this time the kidnappers had provided an address and the butler had hired them just to keep the young master safe.
Klein remembers his past self brushing up against that Antigonus family notebook in this case.
Thinking about how to keep the Antigonus family notes from being thrown away Klein suddenly realised that Leonard was looking at the raven on his ...... shoulder.
"Don't you crows shit on you?" He asked.
Klein was silent.
He picked up the raven and threw it outside the wagon.
The raven fluttered on him in terror and then flew out of the wagon. Soon Klein heard the beak pecking at the roof of the wagon.
Leonard pointed to the raven on the roof of the wagon.
Klein understood what he meant.
"...... For the sake of that tenant's heart on you, you should say less." He looked compassionately through Leonard at Parleys, "I'll tell you when you get to the Bishop of Fear."
Sequence Three's demand gagged Leonard's curious prying mouth.
He marvelled at his trust in Klein.

"To the place." The coachman said.
The two men got out of the carriage, paid the fare, and let the driver leave. The raven flew from the roof of the cart to Klein's shoulder once again. Klein looked up and felt that this place was a bit strange, not the same building where Elliot was kidnapped in his last life.
To ensure that he wasn't looking in the wrong place, he divined and confirmed that the young master was inside. At the same time, he had a vague feeling that the other thing he wanted hadn't escaped yet either.
"Leonard." He said, "The hostage to be rescued is on the first floor, there are three guards, you should be able to handle it alone."
"What are you going to do?"
"There's something else on the third floor." Klein said, "It's dangerous."
Leonard, who knew that Klein had more secrets than he did, just bristled at the assignment, "You be careful too." With that said, he went out the window and into the first floor.
Klein wasn't in a hurry as he walked down the stairs step by step to the third floor. He could sense that the notebook was still sleeping.
The Antigonus family's notebook wouldn't actively attack people, it could only affect their spirit and induce their perceptions.
Klein was the least afraid of this right now. If he was allowed to fight, he was afraid that he might still be dragged down by Sequence Nine's body, but the influence that was attempting to be exerted on his spirit could be said to be all immune.
He took the notebook, which was located on the third floor.

戴里克望着主位上被灰雾遮挡的神明，大脑一片空白。听见这句话的那一瞬间，他就有将自己完全献给神明的冲动，如果自己能够换来这位神明对他的家园投注目光的话，祂想要拿走祂的一切都可以。
“当你需要求助时，可以念这个尊名。”
愚者的声音落入戴里克的耳中，但他口中说出的却不是过去那个指向天尊的尊名。
“横贯时空的孤独旅者，诞于光明开端的最初，指向黑暗尽头的终末。”
“好的，我记下了。”戴里克向神明致意。
坐于主位的诡秘之主轻轻挥手，他的星灵体便像烟一样散去了，回归了位于现实的身体中。

克莱恩面前是写了自己新尊名的纸，他先前从未想过自己的尊名，廷根的人们不能知道，面对亚当和黑夜女神则是用不到。此刻才如梦初醒，意识到自己连尊名都改变了。
丢失的记忆比他想象的还要多，在他上一世苏醒之后的那段空白时间一定发生了什么非常重要的事情。
比如说，他的重生不是什么小说剧情，而是有人将时间拉回到了过去。
是谁？
那个一直消失没有出现的福生玄黄天尊吗？

尽管没有真实造物主，也没有消化占卜家魔药的需求，克莱恩其实已经不必去占卜家俱乐部，但他依然按照往常习惯前往那里。
今天来占卜的人也非常与众不同。是不知道为什么搬到廷根来的佛尔思小姐。
她很明显已经后悔自己点了最便宜的那个，然后遇上了“一见钟情”对象，但事实就是她一边尴尬得想要马上逃跑，一边因为“激动”而浑身僵硬，挪不动腿。
“请问，您要占卜什么吗？”克莱恩温和的嗓音把她拉回了现实。
看对方一副公事公办的样子，佛尔思松了口气，她说：“我总是做一个奇怪的梦，梦里有个人一直在对我絮絮叨叨，满月的夜晚最为强烈。”
克莱恩捏着黄水晶灵摆的手一下子用力了，他原本打算摸鱼随便占一下的，坏了就当自己技术不精，结果佛尔思抛来这么一个问题，知道答案落在亚伯拉罕先祖身上的他这下说也不是，不说也不是。
“我的建议是你在睡前可以向信仰的神明祈祷一下。”他皮笑肉不笑地提出了一条听起来很敷衍的建议。
没想到佛尔思很镇定地接受了这个建议，似乎也没有指望克莱恩能给出什么优秀答案。她紧接着说：“还有，我想要占卜一下，我见到一个人就心跳得特别快，还会浑身僵硬站在原地动不了，好像是一见钟情了。如果我向他表白，有没有可能被同意啊？”
克莱恩欲言又止。
他怎么没有发现前世佛尔思这么能少女怀春。虽然她写了一本爱情小说，但里面最出彩的毫无疑问是推理部分，看的出来作者比起爱情更擅长构建推理。
但是秉承着客户第一的原则，他询问佛尔思想用什么方式占卜。
“塔罗吧。”她说，“我还挺喜欢罗塞尔大帝发明的这个牌的。”
于是克莱恩按照常规方式洗了牌，又切出三堆放在佛尔思面前，他表示让佛尔思自己拿。
佛尔思从每一堆都拿了一张牌。
克莱恩翻开代表过去的牌，他低头解读道：“你们过去曾认识，建立过深厚的羁绊，因为外力干扰，你忘记了这段羁绊。但是，羁绊依然留下了痕迹，感情就是最好的证明。”
接下来他翻开了代表现在的牌。
“你们两个相遇了，但是处于互不认识的状态，且之间有很深的误会，也许解除误会之后关系会变好。”
最后是代表未来的牌。
“短暂的幸福。但长远的未来没有希望，没有可能。一片虚无。”
克莱恩清了清嗓子：“所以我的建议是，你最好离你一见钟情的对象远一点。他可能是个人渣。”
佛尔思神色怪异地看着克莱恩。
克莱恩还以为她是很喜欢那个对象，不想从他口中听到不好的评论，马上找补说：“也有可能是你们之间有着不可跨越的鸿沟，尽管表面上看上去差不多，实际上真正在一起之后就会暴露出来这个问题。”
佛尔思叹了口气。
“谢谢你的解答。”她从包里拿出一苏勒放在桌上，然后拿起包往门外走。

对佛尔思反应感到好奇的克莱恩忍不住占卜了一下这个佛尔思究竟一见钟情了谁，他沉入梦境，看见了刚离开红烟囱房子神思不属和佛尔思相撞的自己。
他陷入了沉默。
他回想了一下佛尔思欲言又止的表情。
他完全懂了一切。
克莱恩想扇自己两巴掌。
他最终没干出这么蠢的事情。
现在倒是可以确定和他关联深的人百分百也有被“前世”所影响，但看样子是不会有记忆的。
发生了这种事情，心累的克莱恩准备离开占卜家俱乐部，他冲蹲在吊灯上的乌鸦招了招手，等它在自己肩上站稳，就站起身，然后推开了房门。

在回去的路上他遇见了坐在马车上急匆匆去向某个地方的伦纳德，对方掀开窗帘看见他眼前一亮，马上让车夫停车抓了他的壮丁。
“怎么了。”克莱恩问。
根据伦纳德的描述，似乎是前世小少爷被绑架的案件，但这一次绑匪提供了地址，管家雇他们也只是为了保障小少爷的安全。
克莱恩记得过去的自己在这桩事情上和那本安提哥努斯家族的笔记擦身而过。
在思考怎么才能不让安提哥努斯家族笔记抛掉的克莱恩忽然发现伦纳德正在看自己……肩上的乌鸦。
“你这只乌鸦不会在你身上拉屎吗？”他问。
克莱恩沉默。
他一把拎起乌鸦，往马车外面一扔。
乌鸦惊恐地在他身上扑腾了一下，然后飞出了车外。很快克莱恩听见了鸟喙啄车顶的声音。
伦纳德指指车顶上那只乌鸦。
克莱恩懂他的意思。
“……为了你身上那位房客的心脏考虑，你少说两句吧。”他怜悯地透过伦纳德看帕列斯，“什么时候你到恐惧主教了我再告诉你。”
序列三的要求堵住了伦纳德好奇打探的嘴。
他讶异于自己对克莱恩的信任。

“到地方了。”车夫说道。
两个人下了马车，付过车钱，让车夫离开。乌鸦从车顶再次飞到了克莱恩肩上。克莱恩抬眼望去，感觉这个地方有些陌生，不是上一世艾略特被绑架的那栋楼了。
为了保证没有找错地方，他占卜了一下，确认小少爷就在里面。同时，他还隐约感觉到自己要的另一个东西也还没逃走。
“伦纳德。”他说，“要救的人质在二楼，有三个守卫，你一个人应该能够解决吧。”
“你要做什么？”
“三楼有别的东西。”克莱恩说，“很危险。”
知道克莱恩秘密比自己还多的伦纳德对这个分配只是撇了撇嘴，“你也小心。”说完就从窗外钻进二楼去了。
克莱恩倒也不着急，他一步一步顺着楼梯走到了三楼。他能够感受到那本笔记还在沉睡。
安提哥努斯家族的笔记本不会主动攻击人，只能影响人的精神，诱导他们的认知。
克莱恩现在最不怕的就是这个。如果让他战斗，他恐怕还可能因为序列九的身体拖累，但试图施加在他精神上的影响可以说是全免疫。
他拿走了那本位于三楼的笔记本。

Chapter Text

Klein walked downstairs just in time to see Leonard putting young Master Elliot in the carriage as the constable was questioning Elliot about the specifics.
Leonard took the opportunity to slip over to Klein and tug him towards the other side of the street, "Getting caught up with the police can be a lot of trouble." He winked at Klein.
This winking in general no doubt gave Klein, who was a bit skittish after being confessed to by Azk, goosebumps, and he looked at Leonard with a one-liner before finally saying, "Aren't you too hot to be holding my hand?"
Excuses. But Leonard's palm holding his hand was indeed sweating slightly.
"Okay." Leonard said.
He released his hand, but gave Klein's palm a very smooth squeeze before doing so.
Not really wanting to pay attention to this colleague with questionable sexual orientation in his second week, Klein fled the scene without even forgetting to settle the commission fee with Leonard.

"Old man, why do you think he's dangerous." Leonard looked at Klein's back as he fled in panic, a little puzzled, "Apart from that crow on him."
Palles didn't respond to him for a long time until Klein completely disappeared from Leonard's field of vision, "It's not because the raven is there that I told you to stay away, it's because of his presence that the raven stays there."
Leonard's gloved hand shook, "Aren't you an angel?"
"He's right about one thing." Parleys said, "Wait until you get to the Dread Bishop before you wonder about him."
The little nutritious sounding reply made Leonard mutter, "It can't be that he's an evil god."
"It would be nice to be an evil god." Palles said, "I say you boy, why on earth do you have your eye on him."
Leonard froze.
"It's just that, seeing him makes you want to chase after him and stand next to him?"
"...... Sins."
Palles cursed and died, leaving Leonard to rub his chin in confusion.
"Why on earth would I like Klein?"

Since there was no guarantee that Antigonus' notes were fully under control, Klein chose to run off to Blackthorn Security alone.
He flipped through a few pages on the way there and saw a line slowly emerge from the notebook.
"Honachis ...... Fregla ......"
Klein closed the notebook with a snap.
Not really wanting to listen to Antigonus ravings on a loop.
Considering what had happened to Amon and Bertram, he was able to guess what he must have done to Antigonus as well, but now that he was just a soothsayer he couldn't go anywhere but Tingen. As for Berkland ...... he had to figure out how to settle Benson before he could do so.

Leonard hadn't arrived yet when Klein arrived at the captain's office.
"Captain, here are the notes from the Antigonus family." He would shake the note in his hand to indicate, "It's dangerous, so for the time being I'm the only one who can hold it. Considering its properties, it would also be inappropriate to place it directly behind the Charnis Gate for the time being, it may have an effect on the other seals."
Dunn stared at Klein for a long time.
He knew that Krynn had dealt with Inns along with his mysterious friend, and he also knew that there was something unusual about Krynn, but seeing the other party pinch a dangerous seal and come here with his own eyes still made him feel a hint of pressure.
Out of his trust in the goddess, he chose to believe Klein.
"I see." Dunn nodded to Klein, "As for the issue of not being able to temporarily store it, please trust the means of the night watchman. Since you said there would be repercussions, surely you wouldn't just simply swing right in." He smiles, "There are many dangerous seals housed behind the Charnis Gate, and not a few of them can have a presence that affects other seals."
That was so.
Klein was dumbfounded. He hadn't come into contact with the Night Watch for so long that he had forgotten that these "ordinary people" weren't just "children" who needed his care. After some thought, he handed Dunn the notes.
"It shouldn't react for at least a quarter of an hour." He said.
"Enough." Dunn took the notes away.
When he reached the door, he suddenly turned around and came back, "By the way, Klein, thanks for not taking the notes straight away."
Then he left directly from the office.
Klein looked at Dunn's back and couldn't help but whisper, "Captain ......"
The difference in identity and secrets between the two men and their last life was exactly what drew the barrier between them.

"You've bought a lot today." Mrs Wendy packed up the bread and cakes one by one and included a small glass of sweet iced tea, "Is there something to be happy about?"
"Just a sudden desire to celebrate." Klein said as he paid and picked up the sweet iced tea, "There are several new products in the shop Melissa has been wanting to try for a long time."
He walked towards his house carrying a bag of bread, when he got to the front door he found Melissa standing at the window facing the street looking out, seeing Klein arrive Melissa hurried to open the door.
"Why did you buy so much?" Melissa exclaimed.
"Benson is coming back tomorrow." Klein said, "Wanted to surprise him a little. And this," he put the strawberry cake on the table, "I saw you looking like you wanted this earlier."
"Don't spend your money ......," Melissa was about to go on with the "thinking about future wives and new families" routine, but then remembered that she and Klein were actually out of the "ordinary" category. "normal people" and the fact that this whole thing was out of touch for both of them, so she had to find another excuse, "Benson came back to talk about you."
"I made extra money." Klein said, "Someone hired us to free hostages, I get almost ten quid."
Melissa didn't say anything else. She pushed the buttered bread in her bag to Klein, "Let's eat bread tonight. It won't be as fresh and tasty overnight."

Inside some rented house two blocks away next door, the curtains were drawn and the rather dim interior.
Forsyth was curled up on the bed in the bedroom, rolling around in his arms under the covers.
"The deadline is tomorrow night ...... You should either stop reading tonight. Otherwise I'm really screwed, the editor will kill me thousands of miles away in Tingen I think." She muttered to herself, as if in consultation with someone, "I've come to Tingen as per your appeal - what on earth do you want me to do here."
It was not yet night, and the moon had not yet risen. Voorhees was well aware that the other could not hear. She rolled over again and hung herself out on the bed like a salted fish. Thanks to the Extraordinary One's good eyesight, she could see a spider slowly crawling across the ceiling.
This place was much worse than her previous place in Birkeland.
Klein Moretti.
She mentally mumbled the name of the man she'd stumbled across twice before.
Did one really like him?
You had known each other in the past, established a deep bond that you had forgotten because of outside interference.
The voice of Klein interpreting the tarot suddenly rang in her head.
Forsyth watched the spider crawl all the way to the other side of the ceiling.
It was true that since the end of the first Tarot session, she had dreamt of images that looked as if she had experienced them, but the next morning she remembered nothing but this impression.
But her memory of her past life was quite clear.
Voorhees rubbed his hair.
I wondered if I should leave this mystery to the voice that had been harassing her that night. Anyway, He said, "I'm talking to you because I'm bored". Then it's only right to listen to her inexplicable little pain.
Okay, that's it. She cheered herself up.

克莱恩走到楼下的时候刚好看见伦纳德将艾略特小少爷送上马车，巡警正在询问艾略特具体情况。
伦纳德趁此机会溜到克莱恩身边，拽着他往街道另一边走，“被警察缠住可就麻烦多了。”他对克莱恩眨了眨眼睛。
这种抛媚眼一般的行为无疑让被阿兹克告白之后有点草木皆兵的克莱恩起了一身鸡皮疙瘩，他用一言难尽的目光看着伦纳德，最后说：“你拉着我的手，不嫌热吗？”
借口。但伦纳德握住他手的掌心确实在微微出汗。
“好吧。”伦纳德说。
他松开了手，但是在松手之前很顺手地捏了捏克莱恩的掌心。
不是很想理会这位二周目性取向有问题的同事，克莱恩甚至连委托费都忘记跟伦纳德算就逃离了现场。

“老头，你为什么觉得他危险。”伦纳德看着克莱恩慌张逃离的背影，有点疑惑，“除了他身上那只乌鸦以外。”
帕列斯好久没有回应他，直到克莱恩彻底消失在伦纳德视野范围，才说道：“不是因为乌鸦在所以我让你远离，是因为有他的存在所以乌鸦才会一直在。”
伦纳德戴上手套的手抖了一下，“你不是天使吗？”
“有件事情他说得对。”帕列斯说，“等你什么时候到恐惧主教了再来好奇他的问题吧。”
这个听起来没什么营养的回答让伦纳德忍不住嘀咕：“总不能他是个邪神吧。”
“是邪神就好了。”帕列斯说，“我说你这小子，究竟为什么看上他了。”
伦纳德一愣。
“就是，看见他就很想要追逐，想站在他身边？”
“……孽缘。”
帕列斯骂骂咧咧了两句就没了声，只留下伦纳德疑惑地摸着下巴。
“我究竟为什么喜欢克莱恩？”

因为不能保证安提哥努斯的笔记完全受控，克莱恩选择了一个人跑到黑荆棘安保公司去。
他在路途中翻了几页，就看见笔记本上缓缓浮现出一行字迹。
“霍那奇斯……弗雷格拉……”
克莱恩“啪”地一声合上了笔记。
不是很想听安提哥努斯呓语循环播放。
考虑到阿蒙和伯特利的情况，他能够猜的自己肯定也对安提哥努斯动了什么手脚，但现今只是一个占卜家的他除了廷根哪儿都不能去。至于贝克兰德……他必须先想好怎么安顿班森才行。

克莱恩抵达队长办公室的时候伦纳德还没到。
“队长，这是安提哥努斯家族的笔记。”他将晃了晃手上的笔记示意，“它很危险，所以暂时只能我拿着。考虑到它的特性，暂时也不宜将它直接放入查尼斯门后，可能会对其他封印物有影响。”
邓恩盯了克莱恩好久。
他知道克莱恩同他的神秘朋友一起处理了因斯的事情，也知道克莱恩有些不同寻常，但亲眼看见对方捏着一件危险封印物来到这里，还是让他感到一丝压力。
出于对女神的信任，他选择相信克莱恩。
“我知道了。”邓恩向克莱恩点头，“至于不能暂存的问题，请相信值夜者的手段。既然你说了会有影响，肯定不会就这么简单地直接摆进去。”他笑着说，“查尼斯门后收容着很多危险的封印物，其中也不乏能有影响其他封印物的存在。”
是这样的。
克莱恩哑然失笑。他太久没有接触过“值夜者”，都忘记了这些“普通人”也并非是需要他照顾的“孩子”。他想了想，还是将笔记交给了邓恩。
“至少在一刻钟内它应该不会有什么反应。”他说。
“够了。”邓恩带走了笔记。
等他走到门口，忽然转身回来：“对了，克莱恩，谢谢你没有直接带走笔记。”
然后就直接从办公室离开了。
克莱恩看着邓恩的背影，忍不住低声念道：“队长……”
两个人和上一世身份和秘密的差异，究竟是在他们之间划出了隔阂。

“今天买得很多啊。”温蒂太太将面包和蛋糕一个个打包好，又附赠了一小杯甜冰茶，“是有什么值得高兴的事情吗？”
“只是忽然想庆祝一下而已。”克莱恩说道，他付了钱，拿起了甜冰茶，“店里面有好几个新品梅丽莎早就想尝尝了。”
他拎着一袋面包往家里走，走到家门口发现梅丽莎正站在临街的窗口张望，看见克莱恩到来，梅丽莎急匆匆地跑去打开门。
“你怎么买这么多？”梅丽莎惊呼出声。
“班森明天就要回来了。”克莱恩说，“想给他一点惊喜。还有这个，”他把草莓蛋糕放在桌上，“之前我看你好像很想吃这个。”
“不要乱花钱……”梅丽莎刚想继续那套“要考虑以后的妻子和新家庭”，又马上想起来她和克莱恩其实已经脱离“普通人”的事实，这件事情对他们来说都已经是摸不到东西了，于是她只好找了另一个借口，“班森回来要说你的。”
“我赚到了外快。”克莱恩说，“有人雇佣我们去解救人质，我差不多能拿到十镑。”
梅丽莎没再说什么。她将包里的黄油面包推给克莱恩，“我们今天晚上就吃面包吧。过夜了就没那么新鲜好吃了。”

在隔壁两条街外的某个出租屋里，被拉上窗帘而颇为昏暗的室内。
佛尔思蜷缩在卧室的床上，抱着被子滚来滚去。
“明天晚上就截稿了……您要不今晚就别念叨了吧。不然我真的要完蛋了，编辑会千里之外杀到廷根来的吧。”她嘀嘀咕咕地自言自语，似乎在和什么人打商量，“我都按照您的诉求来到廷根了——您究竟让我来这里想干什么啊。”
现在还没有到晚上，月亮也还没升起。佛尔思很清楚对方听不到。她又翻了个身，将自己像一条咸鱼一样晾在床上。由于非凡者良好的视力，她能看见天花板上有一只蜘蛛缓缓爬过。
这个地方比起之前她在贝克兰德的住处糟糕多了。
克莱恩·莫雷蒂。
她心里念着之前她两次偶遇的那个人的名字。
自己真的喜欢他吗？
你们过去曾认识，建立过深厚的羁绊，因为外力干扰，你忘记了这段羁绊。
她的脑海中忽然响起克莱恩解读塔罗的声音。
佛尔思看着那只蜘蛛一路爬向了天花板的另一边。
确实，自第一次“塔罗会”结束后，她就开始有梦见过一些看上去仿佛她曾亲身经历过的画面，但第二天早上起来，除了这个印象以外，她什么都不记得了。
可是她对自己过往的人生记忆相当清晰。
佛尔思揉乱了自己的头发。
要不把这个谜题丢给那个晚上竟然骚扰自己的声音想想。反正祂都说“是因为无聊才找你说话”的了。那么倾听一点她莫名其妙的小苦恼也是应该的。
好，就这样。她给自己鼓气。

Chapter Text

Benson is back.
But came back in a way Klein never expected.

Crain and Melissa waited so long that day that the food on the table went from piping hot to cold. Benson had been this late on occasion before, but a series of events in recent days had filled the two with unease. Just moments before the minute and second hands of the clock clicked and rejoined at exactly one o'clock, Melissa jerked up from the table and said to Klein, ‘I'm going to go find Benson.’
The night outside was terrifyingly quiet.
Klein felt his heart beating wildly. It wasn't right, and he was in a trance, feeling back to the night Melissa walked towards Silvermoon.
Just then, there was a sudden banging on the door outside the house. Klein stopped Melissa, who was about to open the door, and signalled for her to step back, while he himself reached for his gun from the inside pocket of his shirt and carefully approached the doorway, opening a crack. After looking outside, his pupils suddenly shrunk.
The one who was banging on the door was no other than Benson, who had been late in returning!
There was an extraordinary sense of dissonance about him, and the features on his face, though still the same, were subtly different from their original positions. Crane noticed that his lips were moving, but the sound that should have come out of them was missing, and not half of it made it into Crane's ears.
The best thing to do at this point should really be to shut Benson out, and then Klein stalled him while Melissa went to get the night watchman. But Benson's situation looked like it would have to wait until the night watchman came, and Klein had a vague feeling that this thing was aimed at him. He could tell there was a nameless malice nagging at Benson. Similar to what had happened to Melissa not long before, Benson was tainted, and still -
one of the secretive three pathways, the wrong pathway of contamination.
Klein didn't think it was a coincidence.
His eyes cast a quick glance into the interior of the house.
The raven that represented Amon was not in the room.

‘Melissa, get next to the wall.’ Klein said, unable to help his tone take on some commanding tone because he was in too much of a hurry, ‘Remember what I told you about making a spiritual wall?’
‘I remember.’ Melissa replied.
‘I have the silver dagger for the ritual in my room, in the desk drawer. In a moment I'll bring Benson in, and you find the right moment to barricade the door to our room with the Spiritual Wall.’ Klein stared intently at Benson, whose entire body had begun to slowly distort, ‘Then go to your room, keep quiet, and pray to the Goddess if you feel uneasy.’
Melissa frowned, scraping her fingernails uneasily against the insides of her palms, finally pressing down on the desire to retort, ‘Kline, take care of yourself.’ She walked quickly into Klein's room to fetch the ceremonial silver dagger.
In any case, she trusted Klein.

Benson made no move to hurt anyone outside the door, he just showed a sense of inhumanity more and more.
Not caring about the risk of exposing his secret, Kline once again borrowed the bit of grey mist to suppress the malice that wracked Benson's body.
The moment Melissa returned, he grabbed Benson, yanked him into the room, and dragged him away from the doorway. Melissa, in turn, was very cooperative in blocking the door to the room with a wall of spirituality.
Perhaps because it was the first time she had done so, Melissa had exported too much spirituality at once and fell to the floor in exhaustion.
Blood-red moonlight shone in from the window and fell on Melissa's body. She felt her spirit being gently stroked by a hand like the wind, and soon felt much better. She waved her hand at the worried Klein, indicating that she was not in any serious condition.
So Klein withdrew the distraction and gave Benson his full attention.
Of course a soothsayer wouldn't be able to do anything about it, even if he had been to the secretive realm before. So all Klein could do was call for help.
He knew there was a god whose eyes had been watching him.
‘Darkness. Help your believer.’ He whispered.

A quiet night enveloped the house.
Benson fell asleep.
The malice was pulled out of him, but the contamination had been incorporated into his body.
Unlike Melissa, who had directly received the ‘gift’ of extraordinary characteristics from Mr Gate, Benson had only received some spiritual contamination. This means that he will not become an extraordinary person, but has the ability to see the extraordinary uncontrollably, which is even more dangerous than Melissa's situation.
Klein dropped his arms feebly.
He didn't understand that he clearly possessed much more powerful abilities than in his previous life, and the things he failed to do well were instead more than in his previous life.
That piece of night hadn't left here yet.
He gazed at Klein Moretti.
That gaze was the answer.
‘I know.’ Klein said.
He had to get out of here. Leave Tingen, leave this home.
Klein Moretti's presence invited too much malice from the High Borg, and Benson and Melissa could not afford that malice.

The night receded.
A ray of morning light leapt from the horizon and shone into the house.
Klein snapped out of his ‘trance’ and looked round the room. Melissa was asleep in the doorway, and Benson was unconscious on the couch.
He sighed and resigned himself to moving the two men to their beds.

On the other side.
Forsyth hadn't slept well either.
She felt like she never should have approached the One to complain. Last night she had been educated all night by the mysterious voice, which had said, ‘Don't fall in love with Klein Moretti, you'll be unfortunate’, because she had complained about her ‘love at first sight’.
In the end, she had to tell Him seriously that she had only fallen in love at first sight, and had not yet had the chance to express her liking for him. This statement did not know which nerve of the being touched, the other began to pull her education, ‘did not pursue the best, do not ever’.
Forsyth rolled twice in bed.
Now it was morning, but she felt like some nagging elder nagging out of concern all night so painful.
...... It's okay. It was just a bit nerve-wracking to get such a beating every day.
It wasn't as if the other woman had completely failed to give valuable information, though. She at least knew that Klein Moretti was a being that could be compared to that One, or even that One in an even more lowly manner. So the other's exhortation was really in her favour.
Forsyth rummaged through the desk drawer for the manuscript.
She was nearly finished with Stormhill, and her editor had been pressing her for a new book, and she'd only said she hadn't been inspired yet. The truth was that she'd written part of it a long time ago, but wasn't sure if she should publish it. The hero is portrayed as a bounty hunter who spends a lot of time at sea. He is cold and ruthless and only cares about money, but still many male females are attracted to him and stay by his side either by force or by choice. In order to sell the money well, she designs a traveller heroine who drifts out to sea. After meeting this seemingly weak heroine who is actually capable of screaming and beating the crap out of people at the same time, the hero takes an interest in her and eventually joins her on her wanderings. The plot is inspired by a dream Forsyth had where the person in the dream was the exact likeness of the male protagonist's resemblance. The heroine, on the other hand, was herself in the dream.
Her fingertips rubbed the words in the manuscript.
‘He's not really cold and heartless. Joy thought to herself. He's just a homeless man, a man short of money, an ordinary man with a soft, kind heart. From the way he talked and dressed he could tell that he had perhaps gone to school in the past and was highly educated. Such a person was actually forced to come to this dangerous place and live at the tip of a knife.’
The image of the male protagonist's past in that profile gradually overlapped with the Klein she had met.
And Klein's divination signalled this. Extraordinary people, even if they were divined by ordinary people, spirituality would still have an effect on the answers they got. What's more, Klein himself was definitely an extraordinary person. Then his divination results were bound to be partially capable of answering questions.
Voorhees flipped through a few pages of his own manuscript and put that back in the drawer.

‘...... I will be making a trip in the future. It will be a long time away, maybe months, maybe years.’
The first thing Melissa heard when she woke up was Klein's intention to leave the Moretti household as the ‘dead’.
Unbelievingly, she rushed out of her room without even putting on her slippers.
In the living room, Klein was sitting on the sofa with his back to her, and Benson was standing in front of him. Melissa saw what appeared to be a third eye blinking on Benson's face.
‘I've attracted some pretty scary beings, and I'm not capable of protecting you guys under those guys' noses.’
The same Klein who had calmly dealt with the problem in the face of all the shenanigans last night was just hanging his head down at the moment, looking rather dishevelled. His tone was cold, like he was telling something that had nothing to do with him.
Melissa realised: Klein was just informing them of the incident.
And Klein's ‘death’ was a certainty for the future.

Chapter Text

Someone was already waiting for Klein when he arrived at Blackthorn Security with Benson and Melissa.
Maybe it couldn't be considered people.
Lady Arianna, who stood at the door, gave Klein a slight nod before gesturing for him to go in and deal with Benson first.

He was a little early, Leonard, Roxanne and the others hadn't arrived yet at this hour, Loyal and Frye, who had manned the Charnis Gate yesterday, greeted him, and Crane saw Dunn standing in his office gathering his things.
Old Neil came up from the ground floor, looking as if something had kept him up all night, and froze for a moment after seeing Klein, as if he wanted to say something but then forgot what he wanted to say and ended up saying nothing. But Klein was able to see the spirit of Sallister beside him bow to himself and then slowly dissipate.
Klein quietly raised the corner of his mouth. It seemed that the old Neil's obsession was over, and he would not be clinging to his deceased lover next. This was sort of the first good news he had received since his rebirth.
He left Benson and Melissa behind and went to find Dunn.
After explaining the matter to Dunn, Klein then informed Dunn that the reason for the decrease in extraordinary events that he had been asked to look into earlier had also been found.
‘It's not that things have decreased.’ Krynn said, ‘Rather, they have all converged on me.’
Dunn, who had been looking over the relevant documents because Klein had brought up the matter, looked up when he heard this. The young man standing in front of him looked calm and didn't seem to have much sorrow over his recent experiences. It didn't look at all like an ordinary person who had encountered these things. He had investigated Klein Moretti's life, before his ‘suicide’, there was nothing unusual around him, and he himself was a very ordinary young man. However, after his suicide, not only did the goddess pay more attention to him, but he also showed a rather different attitude from before.
‘I see.’
Dunn didn't move to glance at the two Moretti sitting outside.
I wonder if those two Moretti knew that Klein Moretti was no longer the man they knew, I'm afraid?
‘I received a telegram from headquarters last night.’ Dunn said.
The telegram was simple: it simply informed him that someone would be bringing Crane to Birkeland, and that he was to make arrangements for Crane's ‘death’ - no one was to know that Crane wasn't dead except him. The rest would be handled in the normal way.
Klein listened with a slight frown on his brow.
‘My family knows about this.’ He said in a deep voice.
Dunn, who was repeating the contents of the telegram, paused in his words, ‘Then they are to follow you to Birkeland as well. The Church will make arrangements for both of them.’
It seemed the Goddess had made arrangements for both Melissa and Benson. It was only natural that a family that could be watched by Amon would not be as ordinary as before, nor would it be so easy to escape the whirlwind of the extraordinary.

Klein's death caused a modest panic within the Night Watch.
The reason given by Dunn to the public was that Moretti's house had been attacked by unknown extraordinary creatures, that Klein had died guarding his family, and that his family had been so contaminated that they needed to be sent to the church in Birkeland for treatment. It happened suddenly that day, and he was the only one who dealt with the matter who was passing through. Others only saw the scene that needed to be closed.
As Klein had not been close to his colleagues for long enough, it did not cause much emotion or shock. Just the sadness of losing a fellow officer still flowed through everyone.
Fry noticed something strange about Leonard's face. Thinking that Leonard was the only one among them who had the best relationship with Klein, he patted Leonard's shoulder.
‘We will definitely find that source of pollution.’ He comforted.
Leonard didn't respond.
He gazed down at his spread palms, then made a grasping gesture as if trying to grasp something. Fragments of memories that had never happened before jumped around in his mind. It seemed that once upon a time Klein had died. And that scene was magnificent and tragic.
After a few seconds, Leonard woke up as if from a dream.
‘Yes, it's quite incompetent of us to have made such a mistake under the watchful eyes of our night watchmen.’
He ruffled his hair a bit as usual and said something slightly playful.
At this moment in time, normal was also an anomaly.
Fry decided to feed this back to Dunn, Leonard couldn't be allowed to take part in things regarding Kline's follow-up until he was normal.

Crane sat on the train to Birkeland, eating his lunch very uncomfortably. To his left sat Azik Aegis, and across from him sat Arianna. Even though he did arrive in the Tricky Bits once, this scene was still a little too weird for him.
Not to mention the fact that these two seemed to be at odds.
Arianna handed Klein the ‘Joker’ potion and watched him drink it before looking out the window, but the secrecy he had set up was not lifted.
‘Mr Aztec.’ Klein called out cautiously.
A warm and affectionate gaze fell upon him.
‘Don't be nervous, the future holds no danger for you.’ Azik said, ‘You have to believe in yourself.’
No, I don't really want to trust the self that even Melissa and Benson counted on.
Klein's mouth was bitter.
And it really made him so uncomfortable to be watched by Mr Azik like that.
To divert his attention, Klein began to ask Arianna what the church had for him to do when he got to Birkeland.
‘Birkeland has something you left behind.’ Arianna spoke, her voice soft, ‘It has been in Birkeland for far too long and will soon grow with the city completely. But apart from you no one can take it away ...... In addition, your deceased people have been waiting for your return.’
After mentioning ‘the deceased’, Azik didn't answer again, as if he didn't mean to explain himself about it.

‘Is this it?’ Voorhees whispered in her mind.
Even though she knew that no one could hear her, there was something a little too exciting about breaking into a house under the noses of the official Extraordinaires.
The light of the blood moon fell upon her, and the voice of the great being therein who should be reached her mind.
‘...... What shall I call you?’ Folth asked. She wanted to know something random to relax her nerves because she was overly nervous. Previously, she had been afraid to know the being's name for fear that she would become permanently bound to the being and eventually become a cultist and then be found executing a dragon. But her current situation was no longer any different from becoming a believer of this being, and what's more, after being forced into deeper contact recently, she had also discovered that this high-level existence had no malicious intent. At least not until she'd managed to get something out of the man known as ‘Klein Moretti’, who'd crushed her to death.
‘Door.’ The other said.
Just the word made Voorhees shake her head for a split second. She hurriedly pinched herself to calm herself down. The other party really didn't mean any harm, and this side effect was just the lightest reaction to hearing hidden knowledge. Regarding the other party's name, Voorhees linked it to her current Sequence's abilities and quickly realised why the other party had chosen her. It was obvious He was a high ranking being of his own sequence. He himself happened to be that most convenient contact.
Voorhees rolled over the window and entered the interior, surveying the sparsely furnished but cosy living room.
‘Now can you say what I'm looking for?’ She asked.
‘A silver ray of moonlight.’ ‘The door,’ said the man, ’you use the door to shine it.’
Voorhees pondered for a moment how this was to be used, and eventually chose to draw the symbol of a door on her hand in blood. The moment she finished drawing it, the blood-coloured moonlight that fell on her palm coalesced into a ball. She turned her hand over, and the moonlight fell from her hand like a beam of light. It was this moonlight that she found a silvery white mist on the couch.
‘This is moonlight?’
She couldn't control herself from staring at the wisp of mist as intense pain assaulted her spirit.
But she also got her answer - this was the moonlight.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Chapter Text

Forsyth felt a lot of extraordinary knowledge crammed into her brain like water being hardened into an already full water bag. The pain caused her to accidentally bump the foot of the couch. The blow was particularly loud in the dead of night.
Seeing that she might be spotted, Voorhees hurriedly skipped off on her feet, luckily the door way ability worked very well, and after taking care of any signs that she might be spotted, she used the open door to go through the wall and disappeared from the scene.

Upon returning to the rental house, Voorhees laid down a psychic boundary and began to clean up her state and study the wisp of moonlight. She had taken the one-time damage from gazing at the moonlight anyway, so there was no reason why she couldn't look at it more to get her money back.
It had to be said that Voorhees did have scalable guts, and was unexpectedly bold when pushed.
‘Is that what you sent me to Tingen for.’ She grumbled, ‘What on earth is this Klein Moretti.’
‘The Gate’ ignored her complaint and instructed her to place the wisp of silver-white moonlight on the tabletop where the blood moon shone.
Not long after Voorhees placed it, perhaps for a moment, perhaps for several breaths, the silver-white moonlight suddenly elongated and grew larger, eventually taking the form of a middle-aged man. His face was somewhat blurred, while his body was translucent and insubstantial, appearing to be made of a glowing mist.
‘You, are you Mr ......‘Gate’?’ Voorhees stumbled over the question, after all, she had no other options to choose from other than that.
The male with the serious and archaic air gave her a slight nod, ‘What do I look like to you now?’
‘It looks a bit blurry and translucent.’ Voorhees said.
Before the words left her mouth, the virtual image of Mr Door gradually became solid, and eventually stabilised in a slightly transparent, but very clear form.
Foerth fearfully reached over and touched it.
It didn't touch anything.
She only felt a little more than normal resistance to the air there.
The ‘door’ smiled slightly at her gesture. Only the humanoid body shrank rapidly, eventually transforming into the form of a small, pure white beast.
Voorhees felt something familiar. It took her half a day of rummaging through her own memories before she realised that it was a creature called a honeybush flying squirrel that she had seen when she was writing and looking up information. According to the records, it seemed to be able to glide. If it wasn't for the fact that it contained a character suspected to be an evil god, she would have been adorable by the fluffy little guy. Unfortunately, right now she would just resist the creature crouching on her shoulder with every hair on her body.
‘Go back to Berkland.’ ‘The Door’ said, ’It's done.’
‘...... Good, good.’ Forsyth stiffened and began to pack.
‘Remember to make more contact with Klein Moretti.’
Voorhees stiffened and couldn't help but be in the midst of a belly laugh: this lord's temper is quite elusive, earlier he told me not to fall in love with Klein, and now he's gone out on a limb and told me to get in touch.
‘I need you to have a plausible excuse to deliver me to him.’
‘Yes.’ Forsyth winced.
She had to light a wax for herself in advance.
Hopefully she wouldn't be a victim of these godly angelic gambits.

Shortly after Voorhees had boarded the train, Klein had arrived inside the Church of Darkness in Birkeland. Azik had separated from him as he approached the church. Now Arianna was leading him into the underground passageways of the church. Then He pushed open a door that had been hidden from view through a wall that appeared to be nothing. Behind the door was a simply furnished room with only a table and two chairs. Arianna waited for Klein to enter the room and closed the door behind her. With a slight bow to Klein, she silently dissolved in the shadows and disappeared.
The table in the room held alchemical equipment and some extraordinary materials. Klein noticed that these were the magical potion materials needed for Diviner Sequence advancement, and that they were enough for him to ascend to Faceless Man in a single breath.
He frowned.
Klein felt an eerie sense of discomfort, as if he was a marionette in someone's hands. In the past, the self-proclaimed secretive ‘He’ had been trying to interfere with his current course of action. So he desperately wanted to break this feeling of being tied down. However, his current power was not enough to fight against the secret.
Staring at the materials, the corner of Klein's mouth curved into a smile so wide that it appeared comical and bizarre.
No matter what the intentions of this group of gods were, there was no reason for him to let go of the power that was delivered to his door.
As for those conspiracies and yang plots, he had the big deal of seeing what he could do.
Klein, who had thought through all of this, began to mix the magic potion.
Right after Klein closed his eyes and drank the Faceless Man Magic Potion, a beautiful looking angel sat down across from him.
‘You really look up to me.’ He muttered mentally, ‘Aren't you afraid that this little Sequence Six of mine will die after watching the fire go out of control.’
The angel whose kernel was the Goddess of Darkness didn't hear his joking mind.
‘I've given you all the things you asked me to keep on your behalf.’ He got right to the point, ‘Part of what's left is in Bechand and part is in Adam's hands. On top of that, Roselle is looking for you, and He's at 15 Minsk Street.’

Roselle?
Klein was startled.
But before he could ask, he felt an empty space under his arse.
Finally he heard the ethereal voice say in a laughing tone, ‘He says His name is now Watson Holmes.’
Blinking again, the scene in front of Klein changed. Having his chair suddenly jerked away from him it was only by the Joker's control of his body that he didn't fall straight to the floor. When he had steadied his body, he looked around and found himself standing in an alley not far from the Church of Darkness. There were even fruit peels thrown by an unknown person in front of his feet.
Klein subconsciously took a step back, which was sort of unguarded, and the back of his head directly knocked against the wall.
‘Hiss-’ Klein rubbed the back of his head with a dull pain.
Darkness had really thrown this time without mercy, as if he had some kind of grudge against him. He really didn't know how He, who was the Lord of Secrecy before, had provoked the other party. But looking at the way Amanisis was willing to help, it didn't seem like there was a deadly grudge.
And what was the situation with that Huang Tao guy? There were too many things that happened after he was reborn, he really didn't have time to look for Rossel's diary to read it, and he had no idea how Rossel still had the leisure to look for him while living incognito in Bekrand.
Unable to figure it out Klein walked out of the alley and blended in with the crowd.

Klein stopped in front of a clothing shop with glass walls. The shop didn't seem to be open as the owner had something to do.
He clicked on his bowler hat and then pretended to be straightening his clothes at his mirror image on the glass, but in reality he was quietly changing his appearance. Becoming a faceless man able to pinch faces, Klein naturally wouldn't use a fake identity on top of his original face, but instead directly followed the faces of Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty from a certain TV series in his memory and started pinching them. After a few adjustments, the qualities of the two faces blended perfectly into Klein's current face. This face was neither handsome to the point of being particularly outstanding, but it was also considered to be a circumspect and durable type.
Squeezing his cheeks with his upper hand, Klein looked at his work with satisfaction.
I'm sure this face will bring some surprises to Roselle.
Afterwards, he walked near the road where the public carriage was stopping and boarded the carriage, heading to 15 Minsk Street.

Chapter Text

Whether Russell was surprised by the face or not, Klein didn't know yet, but he was surprised first by Mr Aztec. The past consul of death stood in the doorway of 15 Minsk Street, looking like he'd been waiting for a while.
‘There you are.’ Azik gave Klein a slight nod of greeting.
‘Mr Azik, are you planning to stay here with me?’ Klein asked.
It was an unquestionable fact.
Before Azik Aegis could give an answer, the door to 15 Minsk Street was suddenly opened from the inside.
‘It's you again.’ Roselle's first words signalled that he and Azik knew each other, but didn't sound very welcoming to the other, ‘Klein Moretti?’ His gaze quickly moved away from Azik and landed on Klein's face, as if identifying if Klein was the one he was looking for, but the face, a mix of Holmes and Moriarty features, was too recognisable, and soon he picked up the next question as if he had the answer in his mind, ‘Is that your name now?’
Klein blinked, ‘What else would I be called? Sherlock Moriarty? The Honourable Watson Holmes.’
Russell's eyelids fluttered and he let out a sharp breath through his nostrils as he turned and stepped inside, but didn't take the door with him.
‘Come in.’ He dropped the sentence.
So Klein carried his own bags into the house, and Azik followed him in naturally, and helped close the door.

Perhaps because of Azik's presence, Russell's attitude was ambiguous; he just acted as if Klein didn't exist, and just let him get his luggage into his room - a room that Klein noticed he seemed to have used as a study in his last life. As for Azk, there was obviously no place to stay. It wasn't a big deal, though, and after helping Klein drop off his bags, Azik headed off to the spirit world, looking like he wasn't going to take up Klein's already small room.
After packing Klein returned to the living room.
‘He's gone?’
Roselle, who hadn't seen Azik, looked a lot better than the party and pointed to the kitchen, telling Klein to get himself a cup of hot water if he needed it. Klein didn't make himself at home with Russell either, seeing that there was a bit of ground coffee in the kitchen, he simply brewed a cup of coffee and drank it.
‘Cho, not that I'm saying, stay away from him. Quaternary people ...... I think there are all problems here.’ Russell pointed to his head.
Klein choked on the whole of Russell's explosive Chinese speech and almost barfed his coffee.
‘Cough, cough ...... Wait a minute, you're Huang Tao, right?’ Seeing that Russell seemed to know everything, Klein simply shouted out the name from a certain old urban period. Compared to the goddess's attitude that was very obviously tinged with defensiveness and detachment, Rossel was much more enthusiastic than in his previous life, with a look of a good buddy.
‘Go go go, could it be that you kid is also so brain-dead that you can't even recognise me? You said you wanted to lose your memory in the first place but not this memory loss method.’ Russell laughed and scolded. Then he stared at Klein up and down, and when he looked so much that Klein began to suspect that he also had problems with his sexual orientation, he suddenly said, ‘You still don't know about the fact that both of them want you to disappear completely, right?’
‘They?’ Klein wondered.
Russell pointed to the night sky on the room's wall painting and then to the sun outside the window.
‘...... I don't know.’
The retort was pretty much a million bucks, any way you interpreted it.
‘But it's not surprising.’ Russell didn't care about Klein's attitude, he leaned towards the back of the sofa, looking rather self-congratulatory, ‘You, the one who told me ...... to tell these things only to me alone.’
Immediately after that, Russell spat out a name that made Klein very frightened.
‘Fusheng Xuanhuang Tianzun.’
After hearing this name, Klein suddenly realised that he was actually in a place similar to the ‘Kingdom of God’ - the domain of the Black Emperor. His buttocks were still next to the sofa, but the floor underneath him had turned into a transparent floor. He was already numb to the fact that he had been reborn and had seen something that didn't match his memories of his last life, but he was more concerned about the country below. Looking down from above, Klein could see many cities, among them, there was a city located a little to the left of the centre that was exceptionally prosperous, it looked like it was the king's city. There were many small black dots moving on the ground in the city, which seemed to be people. The architecture of the city was very peculiar, mainly in its asymmetry. Klein barely recognised the style from certain details of the small houses like the graphic game mapping. It was the architectural style of the Solomon Empire of the Fourth Age.
‘Neither that past sun nor the star pretending to be the moon knows that name. You had wondered if He was something you had imagined.’ Roselle said, ‘I don't know what you chose me out of the three of us who survived the old days for, but the old man can't let your investment go to waste.’
‘Investment?’
‘Like helping me build this place - a place where the other gods won't hear us no matter what we say here. Provided, of course, that we don't give out their real names.’
Klein knew the Black Emperor needed to have a kingdom of his own, but this gift he spoke of from that ‘secretive’ ......
‘What is it?’ He asked, ‘Solomon's Empire?’
‘The Lost Kingdom of History, once the Solomon Empire. But, now it's the Empire of Rossel.’ Roselle said with a smile.
Klein sucked in a cold breath.
Was this really something the old days could do?
He remembered the honourable name that he had blurted out in passing.
‘One of the costs,’ Roselle stared into Klein's eyes, ’is that He has allowed me to ask you a question at this time.’

‘Do you think you are Zhou Mingrui, or Blessed Xuanhuang Tianzun?’
Cold sweat soaked Klein's back. This was a question that he could once answer without hesitation, but after experiencing so many bizarre things, he dared not open his mouth instead.
It was only after a long time that he found his voice.
‘Of course I am Zhou Mingrui.’
Saying these words, not only was Klein himself relieved, but Rossel was also relieved.
‘Fortunately, the one who came to me is you.’ Roselle looked at Klein with a complex expression, ‘He didn't fail. Otherwise I probably would have just died here, I was betting my life and limb heavily on you.’
‘What does He intend to do?’ Klein asked. He had managed to catch someone who wasn't going to play dumb with him, and he didn't want to miss this opportunity.
‘The guy you ...... want to verify the answer to a question.’ Just as Klein was excited to hear the answer to the riddle, Russell poured cold water, ‘Ha, the rest I don't know. You diviners are all so secretive, if I couldn't beat you, I'd sooner or later have to beat up all the diviners who don't talk about people.’ That being said, he didn't show any signs of punching Klein, it could only be considered a verbal high between good and bad friends, ‘I can tell you something else though. For example, you said you put some treasures in the Quaternary ruins of this city. But there's no way this Quaternary ruin could have stayed, except for that Salinger guy who ran off with his own land, and the rest of those countries all threw themselves at you in the hole of history.’
His past self was quite the mastermind. Klein mentally spat. At the end of the day, his eyes glanced up and he suddenly noticed Rossel's subtle expression.
‘You wouldn't ...... have gone looking for it and then not found it, would you?’
Rossel choked.
Fortunately, Klein quickly changed the topic, ‘But I probably know where it is.’
‘Then count me in if you find the treasure?’ Roselle joked.
‘Eh, if I'm not mistaken, that's probably not a ‘treasure’ that can be shared.’ Klein said euphemistically, ‘But if you find one that can be shared it's definitely on you.’

Azik hadn't returned from the spirit world by the time Klein and Roselle finished talking. Roselle was unconcerned about Azik's whereabouts, on the contrary he couldn't wait for Azik not to come back and occupy the house which wasn't very big in the first place.
‘Why do you have a problem with Mr Azik?’ Crane suddenly remembered this, ‘Is it something that happened in the past?’
He didn't believe that shit about Russell thinking the Quatermasses were out of their minds anyway.
‘The last time I saw you,’ Roselle said, ’was when I saw Salinger's undead dragging half of you into the River of Death. His father wasn't even dead.’
The unfinished sentence was: under what circumstances do you think the careful Salinger would have spared Azik Aegis, the traitor who had back-stabbed Him?
There are only two situations. One is that Azik has betrayed the Trickster and conspired with His father. The other is that Salinger is keeping him for a purpose, most likely to use Azk to get back at Krynn. Either way, it would be dangerous for the now ‘powerless’ Klein Moretti.

Chapter Text

Klein avoided answering Roselle's words.
‘It's not like I don't remember everything.’ He said, ‘I remember some ...... for example.’
He instinctively tried to play the ‘Witch tastes good’ stunt, but suddenly remembered that he didn't even know yet if Roselle kept a diary in this current timeline.
‘Like, your diary.’ He said.
Roselle sighed exaggeratedly and said, ‘If I'd known you'd take it and read it, I wouldn't have written it. All the old stuff fell out with you.’
The two chatted a bit about the diary, and Klein learnt that Russell had indeed circulated it anyway, but deleted some of the content that would have killed the community if it had been read. He breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that the Tarot Council's lack of objection to his collection of Roselle's diary at the time was indeed knowledge of Roselle's notes, so that he didn't have to think of a way to round this up in front of the Tarot Council.
As for what exactly should be his attitude towards Mr Aztec, Klein would not be biased towards the words of the Roselle family, on the contrary, the closer he got to the existence of the gods in this world, the more defensive he became. In other words, he distrusts Rossel even more. Rossel was too close to the Trickster, so close that he couldn't help but think about what tricks the Trickster had left on him, such as the projection of the history of the Rossel Empire, which didn't look normal at first glance. Klein could sense that it was not a simple historical projection, but contained a certain amount of ‘reality’. It was more like a piece of frozen time.
Seeing that Klein looked a bit tired, Russell disarmed his ‘God's Kingdom’ and disappeared with a greeting. Klein rubbed his aching shoulders and turned his head back to his room to sleep.

Day two.
This sleep was extremely heavy for Klein, and he only felt in a very warm and reassuring embrace that loosened his ever-tightened nerves.
When Klein opened his eyes, he found that he was wrapped in the arms of a fully clothed Mr Aztec, and on closer sniffing, he could still smell the clean floral scent of Mr Aztec's body.
But something wasn't right about this.
‘You awake?’ Azik said in a warm voice to Klein, quickly releasing his arms around Klein and stepping away from the bed, ‘Don't worry, I didn't do anything to you, I just helped you have a peaceful night's sleep. Those powers around you have been getting more and more restless lately, and I had to keep the promise I made to you to appease that power for you before you knew everything.’
Azik's explanation calmed Klein down, and he embarrassedly expressed his thanks to Mr Azik before getting up and going to wash up.
In the living room, Russell was reading a newspaper, but it didn't seem to be a serious one, and Klein could catch a glimpse of the cover headline called ‘Glamour Under the Lace’. He saw Klein come out and pointed to the dining room table. On the table was a sausage sandwich of wholemeal bread, a pudding, and a glass of hot milk.
The scene was instantly eerie. Klein looked at Russell, how he didn't think he'd be the kind of person who would help make or buy breakfast.
‘I ordered a month's worth of breakfast from a bakery.’ Roselle said against Klein's furtive gaze, ‘It was just delivered.’
Even that was too good for him.
Klein muttered inwardly.
After breakfast, he said goodbye to Russell and took his bowler hat, which was on the coat rack, and went out.

It was a long time after Klein closed the door before Roselle withdrew her gaze on his back.
‘Doubting yourself again?’ Azek opened the door from Klein's room.
Roselle gave an emotionless dry laugh, ‘I'm not like you to just resign myself to my fate.’
‘If you hadn't made that deal with my Lord, there would be some truth to that.’ Azuk said, ‘But now you and I are no different, we are both just beings drawn deeper into His presence.’
‘No, no, no.’ Roselle held out her index finger and shook it in front of Azik before giving Azik a mocking smile, ‘He's not the same to me.’
Azik didn't refute the statement.
‘But sooner or later, I'll get rid of this stupid like feelings.’ Roselle cursed, then glanced at Azik, ‘You do realise that this is contamination, don't you.’
‘I accepted this contamination voluntarily.’ Azik said.
‘Knock, knock, knock.’
A rhythmic knock sounded from the door.
‘Another obsessive nuisance just like you is at the door.’ Russell got up and went to open the door.
But what stood outside the door was not the middle-aged man he knew, but a little girl who was holding a ferret and shivering because of His gaze.

The dialogue that took place at 15 Minsk Street was unknown to Klein, who was now standing outside the Berklander slum, ready to go in and find out what was going on.
He had arrived here by public transport, and compared to the Birkeland he remembered, it was now much more accessible in terms of public transport, and the products of industry had entered people's lives on a large scale. The king seemed to be intent on pulling industrial progress, pushing the nobles to invest and make money, and changing part of the country's political system from the top down.
The neat attire was very conspicuous in the slums, but it didn't matter, Klein merely intended to confirm the state of the place. Possessing the uniqueness of the situation, his psychic vision could easily find out if the aura of the Witch's ritual was wrapped around those people.
The visibility of the area ahead was very low.
Within the thick haze, Klein could already smell the curse.
It was a fact that wouldn't change whether or not the Witch had laid a shadow of death here, and more developed industries than he remembered would lead to even worse pollution - I wish the Haze Control Committee would start doing real work now. Klein sighed mentally.
It was daytime now, and most people were already at their factories doing their jobs. Those who were still on the streets looked numb and lifeless.
Klein wanted to approach a few people at random to take a closer look at their state, but he was suddenly bumped into by someone.
A face that looked somewhat familiar came into his eyes.
‘Yeah, sorry.’ The short, slender woman with very beautiful features apologised uncontrollably to Klein, ‘I didn't mean to.’
She looked on the verge of tears, and after realising that Klein was scrutinising her face, she trembled even more in fear.
‘I'm already engaged ......,’ she argued in a small voice, ’to Viscount Stepford.’
At that point, Klein finally remembered who the person in front of him was.
It was Sherman. It was Sherman who drank the Witch's Potion in her last life because she wanted to become a woman and was eventually used to her death.
Klein had his psychic vision on, but he didn't see a single trace of extraordinary power from Sherman.
She appeared to be a pure female, so how on earth did she succeed in becoming Viscount Stepford as the head of the palace guards?
‘It's all right. I mean you no harm.’ Klein said, taking two gentlemanly steps back to express his goodwill, ‘May I ask if you have a moment now, I have two questions for you.’
Sherman looked around and finally nodded.
‘There haven't been any very strange people around here lately, or has anyone in particular come in contact with you - your betrothed doesn't count.’
After a long moment of thought, Sherman shook his head.
‘No. But I haven't been here in a while either, and I don't know the state of things.’
Sherman's expression didn't look like a lie.
Klein nodded.
‘Aside from that, while you were still living here, did it ever feel like the number of people dying every day was getting higher?’
‘...... That's for sure, isn't it?’ Sherman said, ‘The air here is getting worse and worse, and every day people are dying ...... more and more from breathing. We wouldn't continue to live here if there wasn't no other place to live if we didn't leave here as well.’
‘I'm done with my questions. Thank you for your co-operation, ma'am. I wish you a happy new marriage.’ Klein nodded to Sherman and left.

He walks down an unoccupied alley and reaches out to the sky. A black raven rushed down from the sky and landed on his hand.
‘Where have you been?’ Klein asked, as if he were actually teasing his runaway pet.
The white-eyed circle raven brushed his feathers.
‘Acting as the eyes of my favourite secretive sire, of course.’ He said, ‘I just sent a raven to follow that woman away as well oh.’
After saying this, the raven puffed out its chest as if taking credit with Kline.
Kline reached out to scratch the feathers on its chest.
‘Then I really need to thank you, and the owner who fostered you with me.’ He said.
The raven stopped squeaking, and it looked like Amon's consciousness went offline.
Today Klein had several things to do, and he decided to leave Amon alone for now. In addition to what he was doing now, he needed to make a trip to some underground relic of the Tudor dynasty. He was sure that the ‘secret’ that had been trying to get him to follow the path of his last life would have left some clues there.

第二十二章 错位的污染
克莱恩对罗塞尔的话语避而不答。
“我也不是什么都不记得。”他说，“比如我还记得一些……”
他本能地想玩一下“魔女的滋味真不错”的梗，却忽然想起他甚至还不知道现在这个时间线罗塞尔是否写了日记。
“比如，你的日记。”他说。
罗塞尔夸张地叹了口气，说：“早知道你会拿去看，我就不写了。老底全在你那里掉完了。”
两个人就日记聊了两句，克莱恩得知罗塞尔确实还是把日记流传了下去，但删去了一些被人看了会社死的内容。他心下松一口气，看来当时塔罗会对他搜集罗塞尔日记没有异议的态度确实是知晓罗塞尔笔记的，这样他也不必想办法在塔罗会面前圆这个话了。
至于对阿兹克先生究竟该是什么态度，克莱恩并不会偏听罗塞尔一家之言，相反，他对这个世界越接近神明的存在，越是防备。换言之，他更不信任罗塞尔。罗塞尔和“诡秘”走得太近，近得他不由得去思考“诡秘”在祂身上留下了什么后手，比如那个一看就不正常的罗塞尔帝国历史投影。克莱恩可以感觉到那并非是简单的历史投影，里面包含着一定的“真实”。那更像是一片凝固的时间。
罗塞尔看出克莱恩神色有些疲倦，便解除了自己的“神国”，同时打了个招呼就自顾自消失在了原地。克莱恩则揉了揉自己的发酸的肩膀，扭头回房间睡觉。

第二日。
这一觉克莱恩睡得极沉，他只觉得在一个非常温暖又安心的怀抱里，使他一直紧绷的神经松弛下来。
当克莱恩睁开眼的时候，他发现他被衣着整齐的阿兹克先生揽在怀里，仔细闻闻，还能嗅到阿兹克先生身上清雅的花香。
但这事情不对。
“您醒了？”阿兹克温声对克莱恩说道，很快松开了抱住克莱恩的手臂，并从床上离开，“放心，我没有对您做任何事情，只是帮您拥有一夜安眠。最近您身边那些力量越来越不安分了，我必须履行我对您许下过的承诺，在您知晓一切之前替您安抚这份力量。”
阿兹克的解释让克莱恩冷静下来，他不好意思地向阿兹克先生表达感谢，然后起身去洗漱。
客厅里，罗塞尔正在看报，但似乎不是什么正经报纸，克莱恩能瞥见封面标题叫《花边下的魅力》。祂见克莱恩出来，就指了指餐桌。桌上是一份香肠夹心的全麦面包、一份布丁，和一杯热牛奶。
这个场景顿时就诡异了起来。克莱恩看看罗塞尔，怎么都不觉得他会是这种会帮忙做早饭或者买早饭的人。
“我在一家面包店订了一个月的早餐。”罗塞尔顶着克莱恩诡异的目光说，“刚刚送来。”
就算如此也对他好得过头了。
克莱恩心里嘀咕着。
吃过早饭，他跟罗塞尔道了别，就带上放在衣帽架上的礼帽出门了。

在克莱恩关上门后好久，罗塞尔才收回盯着他背影的目光。
“又在怀疑自己？”阿兹克从克莱恩房间开门出来。
罗塞尔没感情地干笑了一声，“我可不像你，就这么认命。”
“你若是不和我主做那个交易，这话还有几分道理。”阿兹克说，“但现在你我没有什么区别，都是被祂吸引而深陷其中的存在罢了。”
“不，不，不。”罗塞尔伸出食指在阿兹克面前摇了摇，然后对阿兹克露出了一个嘲讽的笑，“祂对我不一样。”
阿兹克没有反驳这句话。
“但是迟早我会摆脱这傻逼一样的感情。”罗塞尔骂了一句，然后瞥了一眼阿兹克，“你知道这是污染吧。”
“我是自愿接受这份污染的。”阿兹克说。
“咚咚咚”。
有节奏的敲门声自门外响起。
“又是一个跟你一样执迷不悟的讨厌鬼上门了。”罗塞尔起身去开门。
但站在门外的并不是他认识的那个中年男子，而是一位抱着白鼬，因为祂的目光而瑟瑟发抖的小姑娘。

发生在明斯克街15号的对话克莱恩并不知晓，他现在正站在贝克兰德贫民窟外面，准备进去一探究竟。
他是乘坐公交来到这里的，同他记忆中的贝克兰德相比，现在的贝克兰德在公共交通方面更加便捷了，工业产物已经大规模进入了人们的生活。国王似乎有意拉动工业进步，推动贵族去投资赚钱，自上而下改变国家的部分政治体制。
整齐的装束在贫民窟是非常显眼的，但并不打紧，克莱恩仅仅只是打算确认一下这里的状态。拥有唯一性的状况下，他的灵视可以轻而易举发现那些人身上是否缠绕着魔女仪式的气息。
前方地区的可见度非常低。
在浓郁的雾霾内，克莱恩已经闻到诅咒的味道了。
这是无论魔女是否在这里布下死亡阴影都不会改变的事实，比他记忆中更加发达的工业会导致更加严重的污染——真希望雾霾治理委员会现在就开始干实事。克莱恩心下叹息。
现在是白天，大部分人都已经在工厂做工了。还在街上的人看起来都一脸麻木，了无生气。
克莱恩本想随意接近几个人仔细观察他们的状态，却忽然被人撞了一下。
一张看着有些熟悉的脸映入他的眼帘。
“对，对不起。”那名个子矮小，身材纤细，容貌十分美丽的女子向克莱恩不住地道歉，“我不是故意的。”
她看上去快哭出来了，在发现克莱恩正在仔细端详自己的脸之后，更是害怕地颤抖了一下。
“我已经有婚约了……”她小声辩解，“是和斯特福德子爵的。”
话说到这里，克莱恩总算想起来眼前这个人是谁了。
是雪曼。是上一世因为想要变成女性而喝下魔女魔药，最终被利用至死的谢尔曼。
克莱恩开着灵视，却没有从雪曼身上看见一丝一毫的非凡力量。
她看起来是一名纯然的女性，那她究竟是怎么成功成为作为宫廷侍卫长的斯特福德子爵的？
“没事。我对你没有恶意。”克莱恩说，他很绅士地退开两步表达自己的善意，“请问你现在有时间吗，我有两个问题想问你。”
雪曼左右看了看，最终点了点头。
“最近这里没有出现过很奇怪的人，或者有没有特别的人来接触过你——你的婚约对象不算。”
思考良久，雪曼摇了摇头。
“没有。不过我也有段时间没有来过这里了，我不知道这里的状况。”
雪曼的表情不像说谎。
克莱恩点了点头。
“除此之外，在你还住在这里的时候，有没有觉得每天死的人数量在变多？”
“……这是当然的吧。”雪曼说，“这里的空气越来越差，每天都有人因为呼吸死去……越来越多。如果不是离开这里也没有其他地方活，我们也不会继续住在这里。”
“我的问题问完了。感谢您的配合，女士。祝您新婚快乐。”克莱恩对雪曼颔首，就离开了。

他走到一个没人的小巷，向天空伸出手。一只黑色的乌鸦从天空冲下来，落在了他的手上。
“你去哪儿了？”克莱恩问，就好像真的在逗弄自己离家出走的宠物一样。
白眼圈乌鸦梳理了一下自己的羽毛。
“当然是充当我最爱的诡秘陛下的眼睛啊。”祂说，“我刚刚也派了一只乌鸦跟着那个女人离开哦。”
说完这句，乌鸦挺起了胸脯，仿佛在和克莱恩邀功。
克莱恩伸手挠挠它胸脯上的羽毛。
“那我还真是需要好好感谢你，还有把你寄养在我这里的那个主人。”他说。
乌鸦不吱声了，看起来阿蒙的意识下线了。
今日克莱恩有好些事情要做，他决定暂时放过阿蒙。除了现在正在做的事情外，他还需要去某个图铎王朝的地下遗迹一趟。他确信那个一直在尝试让他沿着上一世轨迹做事的“诡秘”会在那里留下一些线索

Chapter Text

In the end Klein accepted Amon's help, and instead of leaving after Sherman, he continued to look for clues in the slums as originally planned.
This time he met a little girl who was squatting in the corner holding her stomach. Although she was already very weak, she still acted wary in the face of Klein, a stranger, and tried to move her feet away from him. It wasn't until Klein took out a loaf of bread from his arms that she let down some of her guard a little.
‘I'd like to ask a few questions.’ Klein said, breaking off a small piece of the bread and handing it to the little girl, ‘This is payment.’
The little girl grabbed the bread and shoved the whole thing into her mouth, as if she would be snatched away the next moment if she didn't.
Klein watched the little girl with his psychic vision and saw that she had a slight greyish tinge to her. Apparently, she had been tainted by a bit of something extraordinary. However, this situation was not exactly the same as the haze he had encountered before he was ‘reborn’. If he needed to confirm whether or not it was the Witch Church's doing, he would still have to find the source.
‘Has every single person around you been sick lately, and those who were already sick, have worsened their condition?’ Klein asked.
The girl, her mouth stuffed with bread, answered him vaguely, ‘Yes. My mother is dying, and there is no food at all in the house ......’ She certainly hadn't been to school, and was so young that the words of her answer were upside down at the moment. But Klein had confirmed one of the most important pieces of information.
Sure enough, this place is also, the process and reasons are not necessarily similar to the past he remembers, but the result must be the same.
The ‘He’ who had planned all this seemed to be trying to keep him on the track of his past life.

Klein gave the whole loaf of bread to the little girl. Then he left the slum.
He knew that he could not keep her alive with one loaf of bread, but he could save one child, but not the whole slum. Kraven sighed. Maybe he should side-step Miss Justice and ask the officials about institutional reform?
The crow that was boredly circling in the sky landed on Klein's shoulder.
It made a scoffing sound, ‘You can't change her fate.’
Klein pressed the crow's head.
The raven was pressed into a mess of crow cake, and when Kline lifted his hand, the raven's eyes became clear again. It was proof that Amon had left.
The next place he intended to go was not a good place to have Amon tagging along.

Not far away, inside a deserted and abandoned house.
A certain angel with a black pointed fedora pinched the bridge of his empty nose.
‘Spotted.’ He said.
Then as if talking to Himself, and as if there was some kind of presence beside Him, Amon left a comment.
‘Mr Tricky must have gone to look for that unlucky person He buried underground, your doubts that guy will solve.’
After saying that, He disappeared into thin air.

Klein, who had a surprisingly good memory, certainly remembered where the underground ruins of the Tudor Dynasty were.
It was just that before travelling there, he needed to find a helper to help him clear the ruins first. Faceless men weren't exactly good at this matter.
Speaking of which, are Maric and Miss Sharon still in the same place? A lot had changed this time around, and Klein wasn't too sure about that. He had another bad feeling about it. So when he arrived at the Braveheart Bar, he didn't see Ian, nor did he sense the presence of Maric and Miss Sharon.
This is a problem ...... Klein rubbed his chin. Couldn't it be that he really needed himself to do demolition work when he wasn't commissioned?
He'd get caught and fined, right? This was too horrible.
Klein mentally spat.
Just then, a familiar figure pushed open the door to the bar.
Forsyth, who walked in with Hugh, shivered nervously after seeing Klein.
‘What's wrong?’ Hugh suspiciously looked in the direction of Foerth's concern, but she only saw an ordinary youth who didn't quite match the bar's aura.
Voorhees hesitated and made some kind of determination before generally coming up to Hugh's ear and whispering, ‘That one's the crush I told you about.’
‘...... You went to Tingen to fetch material and then fetched yourself a crush back?’ Hugh was slightly speechless, ‘So you're going to pick up a crush?’
That wasn't a very nice thing to say.
But ignoring Klein was also unrealistic, after all, the other had seen her.
Voorhees walked stiffly over to Klein and greeted him.
‘It's been a while.’ She said.
Klein nodded, ‘I remember you just arrived in Tingen a month or so ago, right? What brings you to Berkland again now.’
‘I was picking up material for a novel, and now that I'm done picking it up I'm being rushed back by my editor.’ Voorhees explained with a couple of dry laughs. Other than that, what else could she do, tell Kraven that some evil god that communicated with her through the moonlight was actually looking for him to ‘trouble’ him?
Out of the corner of her eye, she tried to look for her companion, but Hugh gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder and left with a ‘I've got some work to do, you guys talk first’. She cruelly left Forsyth and her ‘crush’ staring at each other in disbelief.
While Voorhees was trying to slip away, Klein was also thinking about how he could lure Voorhees over to help him sneak into the ruins. The biggest problem right now was that he and Voorhees didn't know each other were Extraordinary, so it would look very suspicious if they suddenly offered to help.
‘That ...... I don't have anything to do today anyway, do you want to go for a walk with me?’ Voorhees said carefully, even almost biting his tongue in the middle of saying it.
What an old-fashioned way of picking up. Klein subconsciously mentally spat. And isn't the gender reversed?
Despite all the thoughts on that, it was indeed a good opportunity, like it wasn't weird to walk and spread out to the ruins - probably.

Each with their own thoughts, the two walked down the streets of Birkeland.
‘Would you like a loaf of bread?’ Klein glanced at a nearby bakery and took the initiative to break the wordless awkwardness.
‘Huh? Okay.’ Forsyth froze before answering. Her mind was filled with Mr Door's warning for her not to try to get close to Klein, and thinking about the current situation, she always felt like she would be beaten to death by Mr Door.
As she walked a little further, the unexplained closeness and trust she felt for Crane overcame her fear of Mr Door.
‘Mr Moretti, do you know ...... extraordinary?’ She asked tentatively.
Klein was silent.
Was this something that was appropriate to discuss on the street?
Seeing that Klein neither answered nor outright denied it, Forsyth made sure he knew.
‘What do you think will be on the moon?’
This topic was getting stranger and stranger. Klein thought. Just mentioning the moon, and then connecting it with this person beside him, he would inevitably think of a certain ...... person who died in the Amon's godhood ceremony.
‘Amon.’ He suddenly said the word.
Klein was curious to keep trying to steer him towards associating it with how Mr Door would respond to that answer.
‘True.’ Forsyth rubbed his hair, ‘He's probably a guest in your house right now. Why don't you not go back?’
‘Huh?’ Now it was Klein's turn to be very confused.
Other than that, Huang Tao could let Mr Gate into his house? Even if Huang Tao did, wouldn't Mr Aztec have a problem with it?
He had a feeling that the tiny house would be overburdened.
It was crowded enough with three people living in the house.
‘Anyway, it's dangerous.’ Forsyth said.
‘It's fine.’ Klein shook his head, ‘Don't you think it's only dangerous for you to talk to me about it? It's not like we've met more than a few times.’
Voorhees snapped.
‘k......a...... me?’
As if she had noticed some fact that she shouldn't have, not only did her voice become very stuck, but the features of her face were as if they had been smoothed out, losing their recognisability as a human being.
Klein wasn't quite sure if it was his fault. With a blink of his eye, Voorhees was back to normal, only as if she hadn't heard the words she had just spoken, she continued to try to keep Klein out of danger.
‘Is there somewhere you want to go?’ Klein asked tentatively, ‘If there's no destination, is it okay to go somewhere with me?’
‘Sure.’ Voorhees agreed readily, and she took Klein's arm affectionately, ‘Go anywhere.’

第二十三章 BUG
到最后克莱恩还是接受了阿蒙的帮助，他没有跟着雪曼离去，而是继续按照原定计划在贫民窟寻找线索。
这一次他遇上了一个抱着肚子蹲在墙角的小女孩。虽然她已经非常虚弱，但面对克莱恩这个陌生人，她依然表现得很警惕，试图挪动脚步远离他。直到克莱恩从怀里拿出一个面包来，她才稍微放下一些戒心。
“我想问几个问题。”克莱恩说，他将面包掰了一小块递给小女孩，“这个是报酬。”
小女孩抓到面包就整个往嘴里塞，仿佛她不这么做下一刻就会被抢走。
克莱恩用灵视观察小女孩，看见她身上有一点灰暗的色彩。很显然，她受到了一点非凡的污染。只是这个状况与他“重生”之前遇见的大雾霾事件并不完全相同。如果他需要确认是否是魔女教会做的，还得找到源头才行。
“最近你身边的人是不是每一个都生病了，而且原本生病的，病情加重了？”克莱恩问。
女孩嘴里塞着面包，含糊不清地回答他：“是的。我妈妈快死了，家里一点食物都没有……”她肯定没有上过学，年纪又很小，此刻回答的话语颠三倒四的。但克莱恩已经确认了一个最重要的信息。
果然，这个地方也是，过程和原因不一定和他记忆中的过去相似，但结果一定是一致的。
那个策划了这一切的“祂”似乎在努力让他走在前世的轨迹上。

克莱恩将面包整个给了小女孩。然后离开了贫民窟。
他清楚自己一个面包是无法让她活下去的，但他能救一个小孩，却救不了整个贫民窟。克莱恩叹了口气。也许他应该对正义小姐旁敲侧击问问官员体制改革的事情？
百无聊赖在天上盘旋的乌鸦落到了克莱恩的肩上。
它发出嘲笑声：“你改变不了她的命运的。”
克莱恩按了按乌鸦的脑袋。
那只乌鸦被按成一摊鸦饼，等克莱恩抬手的时候，乌鸦的眼中又变得清澈了。这是阿蒙离开的证明。
接下来他打算去的地方，并不适合让阿蒙跟着一起去。

不远处，一个无人的废弃房屋内。
带着黑色尖顶软帽的某个天使捏了捏自己空空荡荡的鼻梁。
“被发现了啊。”祂说。
然后好似自言自语，又好似祂身旁有什么存在一般，阿蒙留下一句话。
“诡秘先生肯定是去找那个被祂埋地下的倒霉蛋去了，你的疑惑那家伙会解决的。”
说完之后，祂就消失在了原地。

记忆出奇得好的克莱恩当然记得图铎王朝的地下遗迹在哪里。
只是在前往那里之前，他需要先找一个帮手帮助他清理废墟。无面人在这件事情上并不算擅长。
说起来，马里奇和莎伦小姐还在原来的地方吗？这一次很多事情都变了，克莱恩对这一点不太能确定。他又一种不祥的预感。于是当他来到“勇敢者酒吧”时，果然既没有看到伊恩，也没有感知到马里奇和莎伦小姐的存在。
这下麻烦了……克莱恩摸着下巴。难不成他真的需要自己在没委托的时候去干爆破的活？
会被发现然后罚款的吧？这也太恐怖了。
克莱恩心里吐槽。
就在这时，一个熟悉的人推开了酒吧的门。
和休一起走进来的佛尔思看到克莱恩之后紧张地抖了一下。
“怎么了？”休疑惑地看向佛尔思关注的方向，但她只看见了一个和酒吧气质不太匹配的普通青年。
佛尔思犹豫再三，下定了什么决心一般凑到休耳边小声说：“那个是我告诉你的暗恋对象。”
“……你去廷根取材，然后给自己取了个暗恋对象回来？”休略有无语，“那你要去搭讪吗？”
这话不太妙。
不过无视克莱恩也是不现实的，毕竟对方已经看见她了。
佛尔思硬着头皮走到克莱恩面前，冲他打了个招呼。
“好久不见。”她说。
克莱恩点了点头，“我记得你一个多月前才刚到廷根吧？现在怎么又到贝克兰德了。”
“之前是为小说取材，现在取完材了就被编辑催着回来了。”佛尔思干笑两声解释道。除此之外她还能怎么解释呢，告诉克莱恩其实某个通过月光跟她交流的疑似邪神的存在正在找他“麻烦”吗？
她眼角余光试图寻找自己的同伴，没想到休安抚性地拍了拍她的肩膀，丢下一句“我还有事，你们先聊”就走了。她残酷无情地留下了佛尔思和她的“暗恋对象”面面相觑。
在佛尔思试图脚底抹油溜走的时候，克莱恩也在思考他该怎么把佛尔思忽悠过来帮他偷渡进遗迹里。现在最大的问题就是他和佛尔思相互不知道对方是非凡者，如果突兀地提出要帮忙，会显得非常可疑。
“那个……反正我今天也没有什么事情，要不要跟我一起去散步？”佛尔思小心翼翼地说，甚至说到一半差点咬到自己的舌头。
好老套的搭讪方式。克莱恩下意识在心底吐槽。而且性别是不是反了？
尽管对此有诸多想法，但是确实是一个好机会，比如散步散到遗迹也不是什么怪事——大概。

各怀心思的两个人走在贝克兰德的街上。
“你要不要吃个面包？”克莱恩瞥见附近有一家面包店，主动打破了无言的尴尬。
“啊？好的。”佛尔思愣了才回答。她脑子里全是“门”先生对她不要试图接近克莱恩的警告，又想到现在的情况，总觉得自己会被“门”先生打死。
又走了一段，她心底对克莱恩没来由的亲近和信任感打败了对“门”先生的恐惧。
“莫雷蒂先生，你知道……非凡吗？”她试探着问道。
克莱恩沉默了。
这是适合在大街上讨论的事情吗？
见克莱恩既没有回答，也没有直接否认，佛尔思确定了他知道。
“你觉得月亮上会有什么？”
这个话题越来越奇怪了。克莱恩想。只是提到月亮，再和身边这个人一联系，他难免会想起某一个死在阿蒙成神仪式上的……人。
“门。”他忽然说了一个单词。
克莱恩很好奇一直尝试引导他联想到门先生会怎么应对这个回答。
“果然。”佛尔思揉了揉头发，“祂现在可能在你家做客。你要不别回去了吧？”
“啊？”这下换克莱恩十分迷惑了。
别的不说，黄涛能让“门”先生进家门？就算黄涛让了，阿兹克先生难道也没有意见吗？
他怎么有种那个小小的房子将会不堪重负的预感。
家里住三个人就够挤了。
“总之，很危险。”佛尔思说。
“没事的。”克莱恩摇头，“你不觉得你跟我说这件事情才很危险吗？我们也没有见过几面吧。”
佛尔思猛地一个激灵。
“k……a……我？”
她仿佛注意到了什么不该注意到的事实一样，不仅声音变得十分卡顿，脸部的五官如同被抹平，失去了作为人的辨识度。
克莱恩不太确定这是不是他的错觉。随着他的一眨眼，佛尔思又恢复了正常，只是她如同没有听到刚刚的那番话一般，继续试图让克莱恩远离危险。
“你有什么想去的地方吗？”克莱恩试探着问道，“如果没有目的地的话，跟我一起去一个地方行吗？”
“好啊。”佛尔思很爽快地答应下来，她亲昵地挽住了克莱恩的胳膊，“去哪里都可以。”

Chapter Text

In the end, Klein didn't forcefully take Forsyth, who wasn't in the right state, to the relics, but tried to take out the historical projection of ‘Lemanor's Travel Notes’, and asked Forsyth to record the ability to open the door, and then courteously let the person go home. Unfortunately, there is no way for him to erase Forsyth's memory with one click and then insert a correct paragraph, so he can only let the person go back just like that. It would be possible to borrow the Stealer Pathway Uniqueness to steal the memories away, but he couldn't do that in such bad taste, not to mention he didn't want to invite the eyes of the rest of the existence once he used it-especially Amon, who had been so hard to send away.
Uniqueness was something that was a bunch of trouble to use once now, except for the fact that it boosted his pushiness.

Finding a restaurant for dinner, Klein stirred his bowl of cream of mushroom soup while looking out the window at the already darkening sky.
It was indeed almost time.
He settled the bill and then followed his memory to the site of the Tudor ruins.
Perhaps it was because that nobleman hadn't inherited the estate yet, there was no sign of human habitation here at all. This greatly facilitated Klein's movements.
He took out his notes and borrowed Voorhees' ability to enter the ruins.
There was nothing in the dark ruins, it was very neat and did not look like ruins.
The place where the statue of the Masamune human should have been placed was empty, but all three doors were still there from memory.
Klein settled down and pushed open the door behind which some red angelic evil spirit was sealed.

It wasn't dim behind the door, warm yellow wall sconces illuminated the small side of the space, and there was even a soft, comfortable chair. The Red Angel with a solid body, intact face, and even the mark of the flag on his brow was very much intact sat in that high-backed chair. His elbows were on the armrests and the back of his hands were against his cheeks, in a sleepy look. His red hair hung down to cover a small half of his face, fluttering slightly as he breathed.
...... This is not right, right?
Before Klein could figure out the situation, the sleeping person suddenly opened his eyes.
Those eyes were very clear, half sleepy.
‘Secretive ...... No, Klein Moretti?’ He stood up from his chair and walked over to Klein, his height, which was a full head taller than Klein's, was particularly oppressive now that he was in super close proximity.
‘I'm here because I have a question I'd like to ......’
Klein said as he frowned and tried to take half a step back, only to have his chin cupped by Medici, forcing him to tilt his head back and look into the handsome, pretty, but extraordinarily aggressive-looking face.
‘You sealed me here, and you want me to give you some kind of favourable face, don't you. What, a person has to respect you Lord of Secrecy?’
He laughed out loud, not letting Klein speak at all.
‘I'm really sorry, this angel is not a human being and will not obey you just because you're secretive.’
A malicious light shone in those black and red eyes.
‘Remember, you're the one who needs me. I don't know how that guy didn't say anything to your tiny incarnation, but since He's not meddling in my affairs right now - it means He doesn't care as long as you die by my hand.’
He raised His chin at Klein.
‘And I'm a guy with a vendetta.’

In the end, Klein didn't die at the hands of Medici.
But of course it wasn't by carrying the name of Adam, the Red Angel's boss from his memories; instead, what he said to Medici was-
‘Coincidentally, I'd really like to make trouble for that ‘shenanigans’ too, you shouldn't have killed me, you killed me you lost the only chance you had to make trouble for the guy who really persecuted you.’
As long as enough value was shown and the prospect of objective benefit was given to the other party, keeping Klein alive would naturally be a far superior option than killing him to take out his anger. So Medici let go of the hand that was clamping down on Klein. He hadn't wanted to kill Klein either, obviously pissing off Tricky was something that wouldn't do him any good, but being able to use it as a way to be able to get an advantage with the other party was naturally better.
Seeing that the talk was done, Medici smoothly removed a scepter from the back of the throne and tossed it to Klein.
‘Take it.’ He said, ‘I don't want to hold such a hot potato in my hand.’
Crane caught it with his hands and realised that the scepter looked similar to the Neptune's scepter, but he was sure that it wasn't the Neptune's scepter that he remembered, there was something about it that wasn't quite the same, but I'm afraid that he would have to wait until he was alone to find out what the hidden message was. There is another problem is so conspicuous a scepter, he can't take it to flaunt, but does he want to make a sacrifice to the grey mist in front of Medici?
He glanced at Medici. The red angel, ostensibly intact everywhere, didn't look at all like he'd been locked up for a long time at the moment, and wasn't roaring to get out.
‘What are you looking at me for?’ Medici raised one eyebrow, ‘I can't get out of the seal you put on me. What, you can't do anything about it either?’
Klein was a bit confused, he hadn't felt any obstruction when he came into this room and pushed on the door, it wasn't like there was a seal. But yeah, if he could get out, Medici would have done it himself long ago.
‘So you try now?’ Klein asked.
So Medici walked over to the door and showed him what it meant to have a wall of air even when the door was open. Klein studied the door for half a day, and eventually concluded that it looked like some Trickster Lord had cheated by using a Trickster Lord level ‘door’ pathway ability to rewrite the concept of the door for Medici.
Just ...... why did he help Medici out again?
Klein pondered.
Was it to avoid being killed on the spot by Medici?
‘I can't open this one.’ Klein said.
Although he could mobilise the grey mist and uniqueness, such a high-grade use was completely insufficient to unlock it at his current level of extraordinary power. At the same time, he had a vague suspicion in his mind.
Like Medici's inability to get out, the scepter would be difficult to take away. If the scepter's solution was to sacrifice it to the grey mist above, then ......
‘Mind trying the other way?’ Klein asked, ‘You can leave the door open.’
‘Fine.’ Medici agreed painfully.
So nice to talk? Klein couldn't help but feel weird for another moment. The people he had encountered since his rebirth really did become more talkative the higher the sequence - except for True Gods.
Since he was offering himself a sacrifice, Klein simply didn't prepare anything, only taking out the ceremonial silver dagger in his pocket to simply draw out a ritual, placing both Medici and the scepter at the centre of the ritual.
‘Who are you sacrificing me to?’
‘Me.’ Klein said.
It's amazing that such a casual ritual took effect. While lamenting how easy it was to fool ‘himself’, Klein pried up the grey mist and the uniqueness placed on it, and threw one person and one thing on it.
He then snuck out of the ruins as if nothing had happened and headed for home again.

While Klein was engaging in some Amon behaviour, 15 Minsk Street was also very busy.
The Honeybunch version of Bertram Abraham was picked up by Russell and taken into his home before being thrown to the ground by the Black Emperor, who didn't like Him at all. The second before it hit the ground, the Honeybunny changed its appearance all of a sudden, once again transforming into the vapour state that Forsyth had seen at the beginning.
‘Which room does He live in?’ Bertram asked.
Roselle casually pointed.
‘The one from the Death House lives in that room as well.’ He reminded Bertram wistfully.
As if answering Rossel's voice, Azuk stepped out of the room. He noticed Bertram Abraham standing in the doorway and frowned slightly before saying, ‘It's not time for you to come.’
‘It's about time, and I'd like to see ...... him sooner.’

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

第二十四章 被囚禁的天使

最终克莱恩也没有强行带着状态不太对的佛尔思去遗迹，而是尝试拿出了“莱曼诺的旅行笔记”的历史投影，请佛尔思记录了开门的能力，就客客气气地让人回家了。可惜他现在没办法一键消除佛尔思的记忆再塞一段正确的内容，只能就这么放人回去。倒是能借用偷盗者途径唯一性把记忆偷了，但他做不到这么没品，更何况他可不想一用就把其他存在的目光都招来了——尤其是好不容易送走的阿蒙。
唯一性这东西，现在除了能提升他逼格之外，用一次麻烦一堆。

找了一家餐馆吃晚饭，克莱恩一边搅动着碗里的奶油蘑菇汤，一边看着窗外已经暗下来的天色。
确实差不多时候了。
他结了账，然后循着记忆来到了图铎遗迹所在地。
也许是那个贵族还没继承遗产，这里完全没有人住的痕迹。这极大便利了克莱恩的行动。
他拿出笔记，借用了佛尔思的能力进入了遗迹。
黑暗的遗迹中什么都没有，非常整洁，并不像是废墟。
原本应该放着正神人类雕像的地方空无一物，但是记忆之中三扇门都还在。
克莱恩定了定神，推开背后封印着某个红天使恶灵的门。

门后并不昏暗，暖黄的壁灯照亮了这小小的一方空间，甚至还放了一把柔软舒适的椅子。身体凝实，脸蛋完整，甚至眉心旌旗印记都十分完整的红天使坐在那把高背椅上。祂的手肘拄着扶手，手背抵着脸颊，一副睡得正熟的模样。红发垂下来遮住了小半张脸，随着祂的呼吸微微飘动。
……这不对吧？
还没等克莱恩搞清楚状况，睡着的人忽然睁开了眼睛。
那双眼中十分清明，半点困意都无。
“诡秘……不，克莱恩·莫雷蒂？”祂从椅子上站起来，走到克莱恩的面前，比克莱恩高出整整一个头的身高在现在超近距离下显得格外有压迫感。
“我来是有问题想……”
克莱恩边说，边皱着眉想要后退半步，却被梅迪奇捏住下巴，被迫仰头看向那张英俊漂亮，但长得格外有攻击性的脸。
“你将我封印在此，还要我给你什么好脸色不成。咋的，是个人就要尊敬你诡秘之主？”
祂大笑，完全没有让克莱恩开口说话的意思。
“真不好意思，本天使不是人，也不会因为你是诡秘就要遵从你。”
那双黑红的眼中闪着恶意的光。
“记好了，是你需要我。虽然不知道那家伙怎么什么都不和你这个小小的化身说，但祂既然现在没插手我的事——说明你只要死在我手上祂就无所谓。”
祂冲克莱恩扬了扬下巴。
“而我是个有仇报仇的家伙。”

最终克莱恩没有死在梅迪奇手上。
不过当然不是搬出他记忆中红天使的上司亚当的名头，相反，他对梅迪奇说的是——
“很巧，我也很想给那个‘诡秘’找点麻烦，你不应该杀掉我的，你杀了我你就失去了唯一能够给真正迫害你那个家伙找麻烦的机会。”
只要展现出足够的价值，并给予对方客观的利益前景，让克莱恩活着自然就比杀了他出气是一个更加优秀的选择。于是梅迪奇放开了钳制克莱恩的手。他本也没有想要杀掉克莱恩，很显然惹恼诡秘对他来说是没好处的事情，但能以此能在和对方的相处中占到优势，自然是更好。
见谈拢了，梅迪奇顺手从王座背面取下一个权杖扔给克莱恩。
“拿去吧。”他说，“我可不想拿着这么个烫手山芋在手上。”
克莱恩手忙脚乱地接住，才发现那根权杖长得与海神权杖有几分相似，但他肯定着并非他记忆中那个海神权杖，其上有一些东西不太一样，只是具体其中隐藏了什么信息，恐怕要等到他一个人的时候再进行摸索了。还有一个问题就是这么显眼一根权杖，他总不能拿着招摇过市，但是难道要他当着梅迪奇面进行一个献祭到灰雾之上吗？
他瞥了一眼梅迪奇。这个表面上哪儿都完整的红天使此刻完全不像是被关了很久的样子，并没有急吼吼要出去。
“看我干甚？”梅迪奇一挑眉，“你下的封印我解不开，出不去。怎么，你也没办法吗？”
克莱恩有点懵，他进来这个房间推门时并没有感受到什么阻碍，不像是存在封印的样子。不过也是，要是能出去，梅迪奇早就自己出去了。
“那你现在试试？”克莱恩问。
于是梅迪奇走到门口，给他演示了一个什么叫门开着也有空气墙。克莱恩对着那个门研究半天，最终得出结论，貌似某个诡秘之主作弊一样使用诡秘之主级别的“门”途径能力改写了这个门对梅迪奇的概念。
只是……他为什么要帮助梅迪奇出去来着？
克莱恩沉思。
难道是为了避免被梅迪奇当场打死？
“这个我打不开。”克莱恩说。
他虽然能调动灰雾和唯一性，但是这么高档的使用方式以他现在的非凡力量水平来说完全不够解开。同时，他心中隐约有个猜测。
和梅迪奇出不去一样，权杖也很难带走。如果权杖的解法是献祭到灰雾之上，那……
“介意试试另一个方式吗？”克莱恩问，“你可以不走这个门。”
“行啊。”梅迪奇痛快地答应下来。
这么好说话？克莱恩又忍不住感到诡异了一瞬。他重生以来遇到的人真是序列越高越好说话——真神除外。
既然是给自己献祭，克莱恩干脆什么都没准备，只拿出口袋里的仪式银匕简单画出一个仪式，将梅迪奇和权杖都置于仪式中心。
“你要将我献祭给谁？”
“我。”克莱恩说。
这么随便的仪式居然也生效了。克莱恩一边感慨“自己”真好糊弄，一边撬动灰雾和置于灰雾上的唯一性，把一人一物都扔上去了。
接下来他像是什么事情都没有发生般，偷偷溜出了遗迹，再次往家走去。

在克莱恩进行一些阿蒙行为的时候，明斯克街15号也十分热闹。
蜜袋鼯版伯特利·亚伯拉罕被罗塞尔接进家中后，就被完全不喜欢祂的黑皇帝扔在了地上。在落到地上的前一秒，蜜袋鼯一下子变换了样子，再次化作佛尔思一开始见到的虚影状态。
“祂住在哪一间？”伯特利问。
罗塞尔随手一指。
“死神家的那位也住那间。”祂不怀好意地提醒伯特利。
像是应了罗塞尔的声一般，阿兹克从房内走了出来。祂注意到了站在门口的伯特利·亚伯拉罕，微微皱眉，然后说道，“还不到你来的时候。”
“也差不多了，我也想早一点见到……他。”

Chapter Text

Just as fifteen Minsk Street was in chaos, Klein had just reached the door. Somehow he had dug halfway through his pockets before he could find the key.
When he entered, the farce was over, and only the neatness and cleanliness to the point of abnormality signalled that something must have just happened in the house. At the moment Russell was sitting on the couch drinking coffee, and there was a magazine spread out on the coffee table in front of him, the same one he had been reading when Klein had left the house that morning. Azik, on the other hand, was sitting on the opposite side of the couch, on a diagonal with Roselle, and when he saw Klein coming, he stood up and offered Klein the cup on the coffee table.
Klein took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack by the door, then sniffing gently, he smelled coffee mixed with milk. Between the black coffee in Russell's cup, there was no doubt that Azik was handing him a glass of milk. He took the cup and took a sip, it was just the right temperature.
Azik and Roselle being at peace wasn't the most noticeable thing though, the sleeping honeybunny curled up in the corner of the couch was. After thanking Mr Azik, Klein couldn't help but ask whose pet the honeybush was.
‘Who else's if not your own.’ Russell nonchalantly laughed at Klein, ‘And you have the nerve to mock me for spending my time, count the love debt you owe yourself.’
He drained the coffee in one gulp and set the cup aside, leaning back comfortably with a look of amusement.
Though he didn't agree with the word ‘debt’ in Russell's mouth, Klein was sure it was someone he had a history with, and based on the fact that the uniqueness of the ‘door’ pathway was bouncing wildly off the grey fog, he was basically sure it was - Bertram Abraham. -Bertram Abraham.
How the hell did this one turn into a honeybush?
Before Klein could finish pondering the question, the honeybush woke up with a start, then leapt onto him in a flying leap, both claws clutching his lapels in a death grip. In order to save his expensive suit jacket, Klein hurriedly hugged the little thing.
‘...... He can't talk?’ Klein let out a soulful question.
‘Will.’ Roselle directly poked at the fact that someone was pretending that he couldn't speak, ‘Probably because he exploited the loophole in his agreement with you and is now at a loss as to how to face you.’ Before Klein could open his mouth to ask ‘what agreement’, He immediately followed up with another sentence, ‘Actually, I think you should be more confident, and it would be better to learn the thoughts of the male protagonist of some cool novels, such as - thinking that all the angels in the world and above exist unconditionally love you. above existences all love you unconditionally.’
‘I'm not you.’ Klein subconsciously spat out at Russell's interruption, ‘No good thing is unconditional. Not to mention something like the whole world loving me is like a curse to me. It's horrible, almost worse than meeting a woman who makes advances on me only to find out she's a witch who cheats on her body and heart.’
Roselle laughed out loud, then shrugged her shoulders, ‘Then you'd better learn to accept it.’
Azk, who hadn't said anything, suddenly interjected, ‘Krynn, have you fetched an item like the one He placed in Bekrand?’
It should refer to the Neptune Scepter.
Klein remembered Medici who had been left above the grey mist by him all this time.
He had to release the person in a hurry.
‘If it refers to an item like that placed in one of the relics, I got it.’ Klein said.
Azk nodded slightly.
‘Then after that please take the time to travel with me to the spirit world.’ He said, ‘If we're going to the sea, there's someone in the spirit world who would like to meet you before that.’
‘Hmm.’ Klein answered. He found himself getting a little used to the fact that Mr Aztec, whom he had met after his rebirth, would use honorifics for him.
The milk finished, he went to the kitchen and washed his glass before turning back into his bedroom.
Azik was still seated on the couch, seemingly waiting to talk to Rossel.

There was an extra letter on the desk in the bedroom.
Klein opened the letter, which contained a note left by Voorhees. He thought again about bumping into Voorhees today, and had to feel that Voorhees was practically in a hurry today, having only just left from here. The Law of Extraordinary Characteristic Aggregation had taken effect too potently since his rebirth.
The note was an uninspired sentence.
‘Honeybunch is Mr ‘Door’ and His body is made of silver moonlight.’
Silver Moonlight. The only thing currently related to silver moonlight was the matter of Melissa's transformation into the ‘door’ pathway, which was also related to Bertram Abraham. Klein knew very well that in his own mind, the silver moon represented that old city that he couldn't go back to. And the ‘door’ pathway is based on the concept of ‘opening’. So the combination of the silver moon and the door, does it not represent the doorway to the hometown.
That's where the idea broke down.
Because the honeybush in Klein's arms was transformed into the form of Bertram Abraham. His silhouette sat on Klein's bed, radiating a pale silver light.
‘If you are going to the Kingdom of God, please take me up there.’ He said.
Klein did intend to go and fetch Medici off the grey mist. And the only way he could fulfil this request of ancestor Abraham was to sacrifice this one as well, just as he had gotten Medici up there in the first place. It was the only way he could do it until he established contact with Bertram Abraham's counterpart, the Crimson Star.
So he told Bertram about this solution, and after obtaining the other man's consent, he began to set up the sacrifice. This time, because he was at home, he finally had the chance to set up a proper ceremony for himself. Although it wasn't necessary, it would be too undignified for the Lord of Secrecy to sacrifice without even needing a candle or spiritual materials.
Soon he sent the man up. After briefly cleaning up the scene, Klein himself took four steps against the grain to get above the grey mist.

Klein opened his eyes from his high-backed chair.
The familiar long bronze table, the unfamiliar two men sitting next to it.
Bertram was sitting quite upright in the seat closest to him, his head tilted slightly as he surveyed the cluttered pile where he had casually placed miscellaneous items. The Red Angel, on the other hand, was seated a place apart from Bertram, his feet crossed and resting on the table in a cosy manner. It was only when He saw Klein coming that He took his feet down, barely showing some respect for the owner of the place.
Klein noticed a slight mess where he had placed his belongings. He straightened it out smoothly, nothing was missing from it.
‘You put me on that clutter pile with that scepter after you pulled me up.’ Medici said, ‘And I was kind enough to sort it out for you.’
Okay, culprit found.
‘The clutter pile was a lot messier after I was pulled up than it is now.’ Bertram said.
The words seemed to corroborate Medici's words, but Klein felt that He was actually saying that Medici had tidied up in a hurry.
I don't know if it was Klein's illusion, but the two angels' current behaviour wasn't much different from some little kids who tripped each other up in a fight.
...... I don't think so, right?
Klein silently dismissed this idea and mentally spat on Huang Tao who had instilled the idea of Long Ao Tian's harem in him.

第二十五章 杂物
就在明斯克街15号闹得乱糟糟时，克莱恩刚走到门口。不知道为什么，他掏了半天口袋才把钥匙找出来。
当他进门的时候，闹剧已经结束了，只有整洁干净到不正常的房子昭示着屋子里刚刚肯定发生过些什么。此刻罗塞尔正坐在沙发上喝咖啡，祂面前的茶几上还摊着一本杂志，正是克莱恩早上出门时祂在看的那本。阿兹克则坐在对面的沙发，和罗塞尔呈一个对角线，见克莱恩来，他站起来将茶几上的杯子端给克莱恩。
克莱恩脱了外套挂在门口的衣帽架上，然后轻轻吸了下鼻子，他闻到了咖啡混着牛奶的味道。介于罗塞尔杯子里是黑咖啡，毫无疑问阿兹克递给他的是一杯牛奶。他接过杯子，喝了一口，温度刚刚好。
不过阿兹克和罗塞尔和平相处还不是最引人瞩目的，沙发一角蜷着身体睡着的蜜袋鼯才是。谢过阿兹克先生，克莱恩就忍不住问那个蜜袋鼯是谁家的宠物。
“不是你自己的还能是谁的。”罗塞尔毫不客气地笑话克莱恩，“还好意思嘲笑我花天酒地，算算你自己欠的情债吧。”
祂将咖啡一饮而尽，搁下杯子，很惬意地往后一靠，一副看好戏的样子。
尽管对罗塞尔口中“情债”二字不敢苟同，但克莱恩确定了这是一位和自己有过过往的人，根据“门”途径唯一性正在灰雾上疯狂跳动，他基本上可以确定是——伯特利·亚伯拉罕。
这位究竟是怎么变成一只蜜袋鼯的？
克莱恩还没思考完这个问题，蜜袋鼯就一下子醒了，然后一个飞扑跳到了他身上，两只爪子死死地抓着他的衣襟。为了保住自己昂贵的西装外套，克莱恩赶紧抱住这只小东西。
“……祂不会说话吗？”克莱恩发出灵魂质问。
“会。”罗塞尔直接戳穿某人假装自己不会说话这一事实，“大概是因为钻了和你约定的漏洞现在正不知道怎么面对你吧。”在克莱恩开口询问“什么约定”之前，祂马上又接上一句，“其实我认为你应该自信点，最好学一下某些爽文小说男主角的思想，比如说——认为全世界的天使以上的存在都无条件爱着你。”
“我又不是你。”克莱恩被罗塞尔一打岔，下意识吐槽，“没有任何好事是无条件的。何况全世界都爱着我这种事情，对我来说跟诅咒似的。太恐怖了，简直比遇见有女人跟我示好结果发现她是个骗身骗心的魔女还恐怖。”
罗塞尔大笑，然后耸肩，“那你最好学着接受一下。”
一直没有说话的阿兹克突然插进来一句，“克莱恩，你已经取到祂放在贝克兰德的那样物品了吗？”
应该是指海神权杖。
克莱恩想起一直被他晾在灰雾之上的梅迪奇。
他得赶紧把人放出来。
“如果指的是放在某个遗迹中的那样物品，我拿到了。”克莱恩说。
阿兹克微微颔首。
“那么之后请您抽出时间同我去一趟灵界。”祂说，“如果要去海上的话，灵界里有个人想在这之前见见您。”
“嗯。”克莱恩应下。他发现自己已经有些习惯重生之后遇见的阿兹克先生会对他用敬称了。
牛奶喝完，他去厨房洗了杯子，又转身进了自己的卧室。
阿兹克依然在沙发上坐着，似乎等着和罗塞尔谈话。

卧室内的书桌上多出了一封信。
克莱恩将信拆开，内容是一张佛尔思留下的字条。他又想到今天碰上佛尔思的事情，不得不感慨佛尔思今天简直赶场子似的，才从这里离开就被他撞见了。非凡特性聚合定律自他重生后生效得也太强效了。
字条上是没头没尾的一句话。
“蜜袋鼯是‘门’先生，祂的身体是由银色月光构成。”
银色月光。目前银色月光有关的事情只有梅丽莎变成“门”途径这件，也是与伯特利·亚伯拉罕相关的。克莱恩很清楚，在自己的心中，银月代表着那个回不去的旧日都市。而“门”途径，又是以“开启”为概念。那么银月与门结合，岂不是代表着通往故乡的门扉。
思路到这里就断了。
因为克莱恩怀中的蜜袋鼯又变成了伯特利·亚伯拉罕的模样。祂的虚影坐在克莱恩的床铺上，散发出浅淡的银光。
“如果您要去神国，请带我上去。”祂说。
克莱恩确实打算去把灰雾上的梅迪奇捞下来。而他要完成亚伯拉罕先祖这个要求，也只能像当初把梅迪奇弄上去一样把这位也献祭上去。在与伯特利·亚伯拉罕对应的深红星辰建立联系之前，他都只有这么一个办法。
于是他将这个办法告诉了伯特利，取得对方同意之后，开始布置献祭仪式。这次因为在家中，他总算有机会给自己布置正儿八经的仪式了。虽然没有必要，但堂堂诡秘之主连个蜡烛和灵性材料都不需要就能献祭也太没排面。
很快他就把人送了上去。简单清理了一下现场，克莱恩自己也逆走四步来到灰雾之上。

克莱恩从高背椅上睁开眼。
熟悉的青铜长桌，不熟悉的坐在青铜长桌旁边的两个人。
伯特利很端正地坐在离他最近的位置上，头微微偏着，正在打量他随手放置杂物的杂物堆。红天使则坐在与伯特利隔了一个位置的地方，脚翘着搁在桌上，一副很惬意的样子。祂看见克莱恩来，才将脚拿下去，勉强显出些许对此地主人的尊重。
克莱恩注意到自己放置物品的地方有一点乱。他顺手理了一下，里面没有少东西。
“你把我拉上来之后，将我和那个权杖一起放在那个杂物堆上了。”梅迪奇说，“我还好心帮你整理过了。”
好的，罪魁祸首找到了。
“我被拉上来之后，杂物堆比现在乱多了。”伯特利说。
这句话看似在佐证梅迪奇的话语，但克莱恩感觉祂实际上是在说梅迪奇是匆忙收拾的。
不知道是不是克莱恩的错觉，这两个天使现在的行为跟某些给对方下绊子的小朋友斗嘴也没差多少。
……应该不是吧？
克莱恩默默否定掉这个想法，并在心底狠狠唾弃了给他灌输龙傲天后宫思想的黄涛。

Chapter Text

Leaving aside the fact that Medici had collapsed Klein's clutter pile on his arse in the Source Castle, the most important question for Klein right now was, could he really just put Medici down from the Source Castle? He had the feeling that he'd lost money by catching the man up and not using him. Not to mention the fact that Medici had collapsed his pile of groceries, which had to be remembered.
Klein scanned the clutter pile twice, noticing that the not-so-many gold pounds in it hadn't diminished in number, and let his heart drop.
‘I can put you down now.’ He said to Medici.
That's when Bertram Abraham made a passing remark about what the house Klein was in at the moment was like, such as the fact that it housed things like the former Consul of Death and the current Black Emperor.
Medici heard this and called out to Klein that you are trying to hurt me.
‘Trickster, you could have just said so if you wanted me dead.’ He said sincerely to Klein, a statement that would have been more convincing if His feet weren't crossed on the tabletop.
‘I'm being sincere.’ Klein had an unsavoury smile on the corner of his mouth, ‘Look, I'm not even counting the fact that you're going to screw me over when we meet, doesn't that reflect my generosity?’
‘It only reflects the fact that you don't have the ability to get me killed right now.’ Medici rolled his eyes.

In the end, Medici didn't go down from the Source Castle. In his words, he didn't want to see some obscure death consul.
‘Is ...... Mr Aztec this bad at relationships?’ Klein couldn't help but spit out, ‘How come I haven't seen any of his contemporaries treat him well. It's not right.’
‘Ha,’ Medici let out a mocking laugh, ’Who doesn't know he's one of the most loyal dogs Trickster ever snatched from Death. Biting where he points, it's a wonder no one hates him.’
At this comment, Klein went in one ear and out the other. He was cognisant of the Red Angel's ability to provoke, and would not jump to conclusions over such specious words.
‘As far as I know, He was the last person you saw before you disappeared, and then you fell into the river of death with Salinger.’ Bertram gave another answer that sounded much more believable, ‘Whatever He did to you, or what you asked Him to do, it was a threat to the uninformed.’
‘To you too?’ Klein asked.
Bertram shook his head at that, ‘I have always been on the same page with Him, we are both on Your side. It's just a little sad because you trust Him more.’

Eventually Klein was fleeing down to the Source Castle, forgetting to even ask Bertram what he had come to see him about.
He had never felt so bad, but it was horrible that the elders he had respected in his last life, the angels and gods he had had to look up to, were all so ‘deeply in love’ with him. But when he came back to reality, he still had to face this matter, only with two different targets.

第二十六章 饱含杀意的仪式
且不说梅迪奇在源堡里把克莱恩杂物堆一屁股坐塌这件事，克莱恩现在最重要的问题是，他真的能就这么把梅迪奇从源堡放下去吗？他有种把人抓上来不用用亏了的感觉。更何况梅迪奇坐塌了他杂物堆这仇得记着。
克莱恩扫了两眼杂物堆，发现里面并不算多的金镑数量并没有减少，放下心来。
“我可以现在放你下去。”他对梅迪奇说。
这时伯特利·亚伯拉罕便顺口说了一句克莱恩此时所处的房子是怎样的，比如里面住着前任死亡执政官和现任黑皇帝这种事情。
梅迪奇听了直呼克莱恩你是想害我。
“诡秘，你想我死可以直说的。”祂诚恳地对克莱恩说道，如果祂的脚没有翘在桌面上，这句话会更有说服力。
“我可是很真诚的。”克莱恩嘴角挂着不咸不淡的笑意，“你看，我都没算你见面就要搞死我的账，这还不能体现我的大度吗？”
“这只能体现你现在没本事弄死我。”梅迪奇翻了个白眼。

最终梅迪奇还是没有从源堡下去。用他的话说就是不想看见某个晦气的死亡执政官。
“……阿兹克先生人际关系这么差的吗？”克莱恩忍不住吐槽道，“我怎么就没见到哪个和他同时代的人对他有好脸色的。这不应该啊。”
“哈，”梅迪奇嘲讽地笑了一声，“谁不知道他是诡秘从死神那里抢来的一条最忠诚的狗。指哪儿咬哪儿，没人恨就怪了。”
对这句话，克莱恩左耳朵进右耳朵出。他对红天使的挑衅能力有所认知，必不会因为这样似是而非的话语下定论。
“据我所知，在您消失前，最后一个见到的人便是祂，然后您就和萨林格尔一起坠入死亡之河了。”伯特利给出了另一个答案，听起来就可信许多，“无论是祂对您做了什么，或者您要求祂做了什么，对于不知情的人来说，都是一个威胁。”
“对你也是吗？”克莱恩问。
伯特利听闻摇了摇头，“我与祂素来立场是一致的，我们都是站在您身边的人。只不过因为您更信赖祂，有些难过罢了。”

最终克莱恩是逃下源堡的，甚至忘记询问伯特利来找他有什么事情。
他从未觉得那么难捱过，可上一世他敬重的长辈，曾需要仰望的天使和神明，一个个都对他这么“情根深种”，真是太恐怖了。但他回到现实，也还是要面对这件事情，只是换了两个对象而已。

在打开卧室的门前，克莱恩隐约听见阿兹克先生和罗塞尔在聊天。
“……灵界……那位……”
罗塞尔的声音并不清晰，他只能勉强辨认其中的单词。
“‘门’天使比计划中更早抵达，后续自然也需要提前。”阿兹克的声音倒是很清晰，仿佛就是在讲给克莱恩听一样，“祂的事情，你插手不了。”
克莱恩本就无意偷听，他干脆从卧室里出来，就看见罗塞尔无所谓地对阿兹克耸肩。
“那就试试呗。”祂冲克莱恩笑了笑。
那笑带着一点意气风发又带着一点势在必得，叫克莱恩本能感到危险。他一瞬间还以为自己是什么被变态盯上的倒霉JK。只一晃神，那种感觉就消失了。
“我先出门了！”

此刻已经不早了。今夜是阴天，红月的光并未落在大地上，街道上一片黑暗。
克莱恩贴着墙走，借着夜色的掩护躲开巡逻的警卫，很快就到了东区。
他在白天时就很在意一件事情。就算科技发展却不治理污染，工厂区的烟雾浓度也超出了寻常的标准，要真的全带有诅咒的话，这个浓度早就足够致人死亡了。
如他所想，工厂晚上也没有停工，工厂外还能听见工人们此起彼伏的抱怨声。

雷蒙是在工厂里做活的普通员工，他只做一点流水线上的小活，比如把一个零件拿起来放到另一个零件上去。今天他已做了十个小时的活计，但他还有四个小时要做。他不得不做，做了也许会活到三十岁就过劳死，不做他不出三天就会饿死。
此刻他的脑子十分混沌，只有一具没有灵魂的空壳在工位上劳动。他的指尖因为长期接触零件而起了厚厚的一层茧子，可今日零件的质量格外的差，还是划破了他的手指。所以四个指头都包着布，避免血沾到零件上去。
最后一缕在思考的思绪缓慢地计算着下班的时间。若是平日，这样一秒一秒地数着时间也就过去了。今日却有些不同。他忽地注意到对面的墙上有一小块彩色的斑。那块斑有着奇妙的魔力，叫他看了身体像休息了八个小时一样充满了精力，甚至让他感到自己再做十个小时也不是问题。但那块斑也叫他着魔，他忍不住去想，如果他独自一个人占有这个斑，是不是以后能二十四小时都工作，说不定还能因此攒下一笔余钱。
雷蒙莫名其妙地离开了他的位置。他僵硬地打直了身体，一只手撑在产线上，然后做出了他绝对做不出的动作。他从产线上跳了过去。若是细听，兴许还能听见骨折的声音。可他像是一无所知般，只冲着那块斑扑过去。
而周围的工人依旧做着自己的工作，完全看不到他的这个举动。
管理的工头倒是看见了，可他还没来得及制止，眼前也出现了幻觉。他看见产线上全是钱，一个个金镑从机器中吐出。他就这样伸手去抢，将自己的手绞得血肉模糊也没发觉。

克莱恩抵达时，工厂里的血腥味已经非常重了。
无名的恐惧压着他，叫他牙齿打颤。
这不是他能处理的事情。克莱恩知晓自己并非冒进之人，可现在他却身处这样危险的地方。他意识到自己是被引到这里来的。
在他不远处，一个他“过去的老朋友”站在一边，正欣赏着这人间炼狱。
白之圣女，卡特琳娜·佩莱。克莱恩记得她是序列三不老魔女。
她转过身来，看见克莱恩，眼中闪过一丝欣喜。
卡特琳娜撑了一把漂亮的阳伞，优雅地从血雾中向克莱恩走去。
“你来了，是来欣赏我主的艺术品的吗？”那甜美的嗓音中带着几分妩媚，配上她的五官，让她像是一个误入此地的清纯少女。
但克莱恩可不这么认为。
卡特琳娜扫过来的眼神就带着可怕的恶力。克莱恩是本能调动唯一性，借助将火的概念嫁接到血上进行跳跃，才叫自己躲开这个攻击。下一秒，他逃跑的路线就被蛛丝封锁。
“别急。我只是一个负责看守的而已。”她笑。
克莱恩的目光在建筑中左右扫视，那些血雾有些浓有些淡，隐隐有几分规律，恐怕是某种仪式的要求。奇克派出不老魔女，又布下仪式，费尽苦心引他到这里，必然是为了将他一击必杀。
也许有一个不算办法的办法。
他忽地想起某些留在源堡，被他随身携带的“人”。
仪式银匕也在他身上。克莱恩咬牙，在蛛网中闪躲，最终愣是靠着完全不靠谱的仪式将灰雾上的梅迪奇弄了下来。
“我草，你想杀老子直说！”
梅迪奇原本在源堡里百无聊赖待得好好的，猛地被一拽下来了，身体还残留着被呓语嘶吼折腾的呕吐感，就看见克莱恩如今身陷危局的样子。
可没有办法。祂看出仪式场已经将此地封锁，如果不打破，别说克莱恩，祂也一样要死在这里。
梅迪奇刚打算动手，仪式场中心伸出了一只纤细苍白，但是无比美丽的手。
那只手毫无疑问属于女性，但所有注视它的人都无法将视线从上面移开。它的魅力仿佛已经超过了一切法则的限制，是一种高于概念的美。

奇克！
克莱恩瞳孔一缩。
若说在场还有什么人能够清醒，也就唯有身负诡秘位格的克莱恩。
可他偏偏是所有人里实力最低的，面对奇克的降临，他无力阻止。
一缕银色的月光落在了那只手上。克莱恩这才注意到的，天上的阴云悄悄散去了，露出一轮漂亮的银月。他隐约能瞧见还有一道月光自遥远的彼方升起。仿佛正是那道光落在月亮上，才让月亮折射了这道光下来一样。
在被月光照到后，那只手像是被浓硫酸泼了一般，飞快地炭化，被腐蚀得不成样子。
那种恐怖的魅力也因此消退。梅迪奇恢复得比卡特琳娜快，祂毫不犹豫地趁对方失神将她杀死，并带着克莱恩离开了这个危险的工厂。

Before opening the bedroom door, Klein vaguely heard Mr Aztec and Russell chatting.
‘The ...... spirit world ...... that ...... one.’
Roselle's voice wasn't clear, and he could barely make out the words in it.
‘The ‘Gate’ angels arrived earlier than planned, and naturally the follow up needs to be earlier as well.’ Azuk's voice was clear, as if he was just speaking to Klein, ‘You can't meddle in His affairs.’
Klein, who had no intention of eavesdropping, simply came out of the bedroom to see Roselle shrugging indifferently at Azik.
‘Try it then.’ He smiled at Klein.
It was a smile with a little bit of intent and a little bit of snobbery that called to Kline's instinctive sense of danger. He thought for a moment that he was some unlucky JK being targeted by a pervert. only a moment of shaking his head and that feeling disappeared.
‘I'm going out first!’

It was getting late at the moment. Tonight was cloudy, the light of the red moon did not fall on the earth, and the streets were dark.
Klein walked close to the wall, using the cover of the night to avoid the patrolling guards, and soon reached the Eastern District.
He was concerned about one thing during the day. Even with the technological advances but no pollution control, the concentration of smog in the factory district was beyond the usual norm, and if it really did carry a curse all over it, the concentration would have been enough to kill a person a long time ago.
As he expected, the factory didn't shut down at night, and the grumbling of the workers could be heard outside the factory.

Ramon was a regular employee doing work in the factory, he only did a little bit of assembly line work, like picking up one part and putting it on another. He had already done ten hours of work today, but he still had four more hours to do. He had to do it; if he did it he might live to be thirty and die of overwork, if he didn't he would starve to death in less than three days.
At the moment his mind was very muddled, just an empty shell without a soul labouring at his workstation. His fingertips because of long-term contact with parts and a thick layer of calluses, but today the quality of the parts is exceptionally poor, or cut his fingers. So all four fingers were wrapped in cloth to avoid blood getting on the parts.
The last strand of thought in thinking slowly calculates the time to leave work. If it was a weekday, counting the time like this second by second would have passed. Today was different. He suddenly noticed a small colourful spot on the opposite wall. The spot had a wonderful magic power that made him feel as energetic as if he had rested for eight hours, and even made him feel as if he would have no problem working for another ten hours. But the spot also called him magic, and he couldn't help but wonder if he could work twenty-four hours a day from now on if he possessed the spot all by himself, and maybe even save up a surplus of money as a result.
Ramon inexplicably left his place. He stiffened and straightened, braced one hand on the production line, and then made a move he could never have made. He jumped over the production line. If you listened carefully, you might be able to hear the sound of a broken bone. But as if he knew nothing about it, he just lunged at the spot.
The workers around him continued to do their work, completely unaware of his move.
The foreman of the management did see it, but before he could stop it, he also had a hallucination in front of his eyes. He saw the production line full of money, one gold pound after another spitting out of the machine. He just reached out and grabbed it, twisting his hand to a bloody pulp without realising it.

The smell of blood in the factory was already very heavy when Klein arrived.
Nameless fear pressed down on him, calling his teeth to chatter.
This was not something he could handle. Klein knew he wasn't a risk taker, but now he was in such a dangerous place. He realised he had been led here.
Not far from him, one of his ‘old friends from the past’ stood off to the side, admiring this hell on earth.
The Holy Virgin of White, Katrina Pellet. Klein remembered her as the Sequence Three Ageless Witch.
She turned around, and when she saw Klein, a hint of joy flashed in her eyes.
Katrina held a beautiful parasol and gracefully walked out of the blood mist towards Klein.
‘Are you here to admire my Lord's artefacts?’ That sweet voice had a bit of flirtation in it, and with her facial features, it made her look like an innocent girl who had mistakenly entered this place.
But Klein didn't think so.
The very look Katrina swept over to her carried a terrifyingly malevolent force. It was only by instinctively mobilising Uniqueness and jumping with the help of grafting the concept of fire onto blood that Klein called himself to dodge this attack. The next second, his escape route was blocked by spider silk.
‘Take it easy. I'm just the one in charge of the guards.’ She laughs.
Klein's eyes scanned the building from side to side, the blood mists, some thick and some light, were vaguely regular, I'm afraid it was a requirement for some kind of ritual. Chick had sent the Fountain Witch, and laid down the ritual, and gone to the trouble of luring him here, inevitably to kill him in one blow.
Perhaps there was a way that didn't count as a way.
Suddenly, he remembered some of the ‘people’ he had left behind at the Source Castle, which he had carried with him.
The ceremonial silver dagger was on him as well. Klein gritted his teeth, dodged through the cobwebs, and eventually froze and got Medici off the grey mist with a completely unreliable ritual.
‘Holy shit, you wanted to kill me straight up!’
Medici, who had been staying in the Source Fortress for a good long time in boredom, was violently yanked down with a yank, and with the vomit still lingering in his body from being tossed around by the ravings and hissing, he saw Klein in a perilous state now.
But there was nothing to be done. He could see that the ritual field had sealed off the place, and if it wasn't broken, He would die here just as much, not to mention Klein.
Medici was just about to make his move when a slender, pale, but incredibly beautiful hand stretched out from the centre of the ritual field.
That hand undoubtedly belonged to a woman, but all those who watched it were unable to take their eyes off of it. It was as if its charm had exceeded the limits of all laws, a beauty that was above concepts.

Chick!
Klein's pupils shrank.
If there was anyone else in the room who could be awake, it was only Klein, who was burdened with the Trickster Bit.
But he happened to be the least powerful of all, and he was powerless to stop the descent of Chick in the face of it.
A ray of silver moonlight fell on that hand. It was only then that Klein noticed that the dark clouds in the sky quietly lifted, revealing a beautiful silver moon. He could vaguely make out another moonbeam rising from the distant beyond. It was as if that light had fallen on the moon, causing it to refract the light down.
After being illuminated by the moonlight, that hand looked like it had been splashed with thick sulphuric acid, charring rapidly and being corroded beyond recognition.
That terrifying glamour faded as a result. Medici recovered faster than Katrina, and He didn't hesitate to take advantage of the other party's loss of concentration to kill her and take Klein away from this dangerous factory.

Chapter Text

After the ritual was shattered by the moonlight, the factory collapsed as if it was overwhelmed, leaving a trail of broken limbs.
At this time, Kline, who stood on the roof not far away, could see clearly that the ritual field did not threaten places beyond this factory. This was not in line with the style of the Witch Cult, it must have been because there was some kind of restriction that made them scrupulous.
Silver Moon.
Klein remembered the matter of Melissa turning into an apprentice, was that what the Silver Moon was for? The other moonlight of the party was rising precisely from the direction of Tingen, could it be Melissa? But this was something he couldn't go and confirm, he didn't have anyone he could trust to check on Melissa in his place.
He felt his heart pounding.
‘@$X%!’
A very loud but inaudible curse interrupted Klein's thoughts. He turned his head to look and saw Medici rubbing his forehead about ten metres away from him. Then He reached out and pushed forward, His palm stopping at a place where there shouldn't be anything. This situation was exactly the same as the one Klein had encountered when he was in the underground ruins.
‘I knew it didn't come off so easily.’ Medici cursed as He returned to Klein's side, His gaze lingering on Klein's face for a split second, ‘Never mind, you can't possibly know why.’
Although Medici didn't say any dirty words to him, Kline felt scolded.
‘Then you know what?’ Klein asked.
Medici threw up both hands, ‘I don't know.’
Said with perfect justification.

The issue of Red Angel's freedom hadn't been resolved, and Klein wasn't in a good place right now. The commotion of the factory collapsing had attracted the attention of the official Extraordinaires in the neighbourhood, many of whom were heading this way. He had the intention to go and take a look at the situation inside the factory plant, but he didn't have the chance.
‘Come on, don't be a mother-in-law, let's go.’ Ignoring Klein's own comments, Medici lifted him by the back of his collar and headed into the spirit world, taking a shortcut to run out of the encirclement.
By the time he was about to reach 15 Minsk Street, certain people were demanding that Klein shove him back on the Source Fortress again, stating that they'd rather face Abraham than the Consul of Death in his lair.
Klein could only catcall and find a corner to throw Medici on.
When he got home, he was puzzled to find that neither Roselle nor Azik were at home. After searching round and finding few clues, Klein couldn't carry his mental and physical exhaustion and lay down on his bed and slept through the night.

The next day. After breakfast, Klein used a face he had never used before and walked out dressed as an ordinary Rune gentleman. Even though the sun had only risen a short time ago, the streets were already full of people, with newsboys shouting ‘Breaking News’ and selling newspapers to those around them. Crane bought a copy from the newsboy.
The front page of the paper was undoubtedly about the collapse of the factory yesterday, but it had been retouched by the press to say that the poor quality of the building had led to the sudden collapse that had crushed the workers who were in the factory at the time. The writer of the page called on the government to legislate for limits on building quality in order to stop such incidents from happening. The accompanying picture was a very blurry photo that looked as though it had presumably been manipulated to be a little more ordinary with one or two discrepancies from Klein's memory.
Surely there was no way the officials would let an incident involving such extraordinary forces inform ordinary people.
Pressing down the brim of his hat, Klein boarded a public carriage and headed to the Eastern District.
He walked to an alley and changed his face once again, incidentally turning his clothes into a getup similar to the squatting reporters around him. With that, he blended in so completely with the squatting group that a reporter not far from him came up to him and chatted with him.
‘Are you also here to squat for that big news?’ That reporter had a vicissitude face and a pipe in his hand, ‘Don't wait, the top is locked, I heard it has something to do with the Evil God. I'm also looking at your youth to kindly advise you to stop your futile efforts here.’
Klein didn't move to move away from the pipe.
‘You know what's going on here?’ He asked.
The man's eyes did light up.
‘That's right, I know. I've been around the circuit a lot, after all, and have that many contacts.’ He said smugly, ‘If you want to buy the information, that's the price. I can sell it to you exclusively.’ He rubbed his thumb and forefinger at Klein.
Out of pocket was out of the question.
It wasn't what Klein wanted to ask, either.
‘So you're aware of the condition of the residents around the factory, too?’
‘Aye. No one other than the people in the factory were hurt... Hey, you call that weird.’ Seeing that Klein might have taken the bait, the man said a little more, ‘But I heard that a few churches actually came together to make good on the situation, rare isn't it.’
Klein's heart was relieved.
It seemed that this matter was not as terrible as the Great Haze. The official aftermath followed up quickly as well, so he didn't need to worry.
Having obtained the information he wanted, Klein ignored the intelligence peddler's jumping feet and quickly left the dangerous scene.

Just as he was leaving the Eastern District, a strange ‘ding’ sounded in his head and disappeared in a flash, as if it was an illusion.

A certain dark church in Berkland.
‘He has no desire to devour Chick.’
The blonde priest sat in the church pews and spoke softly to the lady sitting at the other end of the pews covered in black veil.
‘But the ‘door’ is back by Him, and the seal is completely ineffective.’
‘It would have been an insurance policy He made in advance. He ‘loved’ us, but never trusted us.’
‘Aren't we the same? Longing for Him and loathing the uncontrolled longing.’
The priest smiled.
‘Now it is time for you to get out of my church.’ The lady gave her expulsion order, ‘Better think quickly about how He's going to face Him when He finds out that you're the one who moved this thing.’
There was no response.
The figure of the priest faded away.

At about three o'clock in the afternoon, Klein returned home.
The house was still empty with no one in it.
Klein went into his bedroom and took the four steps up to the source fortress against the grain.
The Great Bronze Hall was little different from his last visit, with Medici sitting at the table with his feet crossed and dozing, and Bertram Abraham sitting in his original position. The only difference was the small, silver-white orb Bertram held in his hand. Klein was certain he didn't have such a thing in his source fortress.
‘Lord, you are back.’ Abraham nodded to Klein, ‘I'm sorry I went private yesterday, but the situation was urgent and the item you left behind had to be used ahead of time or else Chick would have threatened your life.’
‘This is ......,’ Klein looked at Medici, hesitant to ask himself.
‘An artificial moon.’ But he didn't expect it to be Medici who answered, ‘The seal you made in the past. You used it to smash the Fallen Mother Goddess and the Mother Tree of Desire. I don't know exactly how it works, but I've seen this thing.’
‘It has a strong connection to the Red Moon.’ Bertram said, ‘My task then was to guard it and seal it with the power of the Red Moon before you could use it now.’ He held up the small ball in his hand, ‘This is just a projection of it, but it's enough as a bearer of part of my spirit.’
Klein, after Bertram's explanation, probably knew that when this seal was in the hands of a user other than the Lord of Secrecy himself, it had to be mapped with the help of his blood relatives in order to work, with his consent. The reason it had to be used in this way had something to do with the origins of the seal's formation, but Bertram didn't know anything about that. This time Chick's outburst was not part of the devious plan; originally there would be no real casualties from this event, and all those weakened by the curse would be saved in the silver-white moonlight after the event was over.
Medici being trapped with him was also part of the plan. Aside from the life insurance given to Klein Moretti, the power of the silver moon could be amplified even more if the people's fight against the curse was seen as a war, and in the event that Klein was unable to fully use the seal on his own, he could draw on Medici's power to make the move.
After hearing the explanation, Medici tugged at the corner of his mouth.
‘How calculating. I told you how Tricky could somehow find me an angel who doesn't associate pathways with him.’ He looked at the silver moon, ‘Does He think I'm some kind of good tool.’
Considering that everyone else had more or less benefited from their past selves, except for Medici, who had nothing and worked purely under the pressure of Tricky's power bits, Klein wasn't surprised that He was upset.
But ......
‘Can I use it now?’ Klein asks.
Bertram looks at Medici.
‘Surely the Lord would not leave you with nothing, He is most fond of equivocation.’ He says.
‘That guy tricked me.’ Medici slammed the table and pointed at Klein, ‘He wrote a blank cheque for me to ask this guy for it myself!’
Klein blinked.
Was that one so wickedly funny himself?
‘Since it's a blank cheque then, how about I promise you to become a true god?’ Klein joked, ‘He took away your uniqueness, I'll pay you back one uniqueness and three extraordinary characteristics.’
‘All right. Deal.’
Some of the red angels agreed quickly, as if so much padding in front of them was waiting for these words.

第二十七章 封印物-银月
仪式被月光打碎后，工厂就如同不堪重负一般轰然倒塌，留下一地断肢残骸。
此时站在不远处房顶上的克莱恩看得清楚，仪式场并未威胁到这个工厂之外的地方。这并不符合魔女教派的作风，必然是因为有什么限制让他们有所顾忌了。
银月。
克莱恩还记得梅丽莎变成学徒的事情，难道银月的作用就是这样吗？方才另一道月光正是自廷根方向升起，莫非是梅丽莎？可这件事情他无法去确认，他没有任何可以信得过的人代替他去查看梅丽莎的情况。
他感到自己的心在怦怦直跳。
“@￥X%！”
一声很响亮却听不清内容的咒骂打断了克莱恩的思绪。他转头望去，看见梅迪奇正在离自己约莫十米远的地方揉着额头。然后祂伸手往前推了推，手掌在一个不该有任何东西的地方停下来了。这个情况同克莱恩在地下遗迹时遇见的情况一模一样。
“就知道没有这么容易就脱身。”梅迪奇骂骂咧咧地回到克莱恩身边，祂的目光在克莱恩的脸上停留了一瞬，“算了，你也不可能知道为什么。”
虽然梅迪奇没有对他说任何脏字，但是克莱恩觉得自己被骂到了。
“那你知道什么吗？”克莱恩问。
梅迪奇两手一摊，“不知道。”
说得十分理直气壮。

红天使的自由问题没有被解决，克莱恩现在的处境也不太妙。工厂倒塌的动静引起了附近的官方非凡者注意，许多人都在往这边赶来。他有心去看一下工厂厂区内的情况，却没有机会。
“得了，别婆婆妈妈了，快走吧。”梅迪奇无视了克莱恩本人的意见，提着他后领就进了灵界，抄近路跑出了包围圈。
等快要抵达明斯克街15号的时候，某些人又要求克莱恩把他再塞回源堡上，表示宁可面对亚伯拉罕也不想面对他窝里的死亡执政官。
克莱恩只能猫猫祟祟地找了个角落把梅迪奇扔上去。
回到家时，他发现罗塞尔和阿兹克都不在家里，心下疑惑。在搜寻一圈找不到什么线索后，克莱恩扛不住精神与身体的疲惫，躺到床上睡过去了。

第二天。用过早餐后，克莱恩使用了一张他从未使用过的脸，打扮成一名普通鲁恩绅士走出去。尽管现在日头才出不久，街上已经人声鼎沸，报童大声叫嚷着“重大新闻”，向周围的人推销报纸。克莱恩从报童手里买了一份。
报纸头条版面毫无疑问是昨天工厂倒塌的事情，但是被媒体修饰为厂房质量差劲，导致骤然倒塌，压死了当时在工厂里的工人们。该版面作者呼吁政府对建筑质量设限立法，以杜绝此类事件发生。配图是一张十分模糊的照片，看样子估计被处理过，与克莱恩记忆中有一两分出入，变得更加普通一些。
果然官方不可能让这种非凡力量参与的事件告知普通人。
压了压帽檐，克莱恩坐上公共马车，去往东区。
他走到一处小巷，再次变换了面容，顺便将衣服变成了与周围蹲点记者类似的装扮。就这样，他完全融入了蹲点群体中，以至于在他不远处的一个记者走过来跟他聊天。
“你也是来这儿蹲那个大新闻的？”那个记者长着一张沧桑的脸，手上还拿着烟斗，“别等了，上头锁着呢，听说和邪神有关系。我也是看你年轻好心劝你，不要再在这里徒劳无功了。”
克莱恩不动声色地离烟斗远了一点。
“你知道这里的情况？”他问。
那人果然眼睛一亮。
“没错，我知道。我毕竟在这个圈子里混多了，有那么一点人脉。”他得意洋洋地说，“你要不要买情报，就这个价。我可以独家卖给你。”他对克莱恩搓了搓大拇指和食指。
掏钱是不可能掏钱的。
克莱恩想问的也不是这个。
“那么你也知道工厂周围居民的状况咯？”
“是。除了厂里的人以外其他没有人受伤，嘿，你说怪不怪。”那个人见克莱恩可能上钩，又多说了一点，“不过听说几个教会居然一起出手善后，很稀奇吧。”
克莱恩心下一松。
看来这件事情并没有大雾霾那么可怕。官方的善后跟进得也很快，他不需要担心了。
得到了想要的情报，克莱恩不管那个情报贩子的跳脚，快速离开了这个危险的现场。

就在他离开东区的时候，一声奇异的“叮”在他脑海中响起，又一瞬间消失不见，仿佛是一个幻觉。

贝克兰德某一座黑夜教堂。
“祂对奇克没有产生吞噬的欲望。”
金发神父坐在教堂长椅上，轻声对坐在长椅另一端满身黑纱的女士说道。
“但是‘门’被祂弄回来了，封印完全无效。”
“这本就是祂提前做的保险。祂‘爱’着我们，却从没信任过我们。”
“我们不也如此吗？渴望着祂又厌恶着这种不受控的渴望。”
神父微笑。
“现在你该从我的教堂出去了。”女士下了逐客令，“最好赶快考虑一下祂发现了这件事是你动的手脚之后，该怎么面对祂吧。”
没有回应。
神父的身影淡去。

在下午三点左右的时候，克莱恩回到了家中。
屋内还是一个人都没有，显得格外空寂。
克莱恩进了卧室，逆走四步上了源堡。
青铜大殿里和他上一次来没什么区别，梅迪奇翘着脚坐在桌边打瞌睡，伯特利·亚伯拉罕也坐在原来的位置上。唯一的区别在于伯特利手中拿着的银白色小球。克莱恩确定自己的源堡里没有这么个东西。
“主，您回来了。”亚伯拉罕向克莱恩颔首示意，“抱歉我昨天私自行动了，但情况紧急，必须提前使用您留下的物品，不然就会让奇克威胁到您的生命。”
“这是……”克莱恩看着梅迪奇，犹豫自己要不要问。
“人造月球。”但他没想到接话的是梅迪奇，“过去的你做出来的封印物。你用它砸过堕落母神和欲望母树。具体怎么用我不知道，但我见过这玩意儿。”
“它与红月联系紧密。”伯特利说，“我当时的任务就是在现在的您能够使用它之前守护它，用红月的力量封印它。”祂举起手上的小球，“这个只是它的投影，不过作为我部分精神的承载物也足够了。”
克莱恩经过伯特利的解释，大概知道这个封印物在除了诡秘之主本人以外的使用者手里时，在他同意的情况下，必须借助他的血缘亲人映射才能够起效。必须这么使用的原因和这个封印物的形成起源有关系，但伯特利对此并不知情。这一次奇克的出手并不在诡秘的计划之中，原本这次的事件并不会造成真正的伤亡，所有因为诅咒而虚弱的人都会在事件结束之后在银白的月光下得到救治。
梅迪奇被困在他身边也是计划的一环。除去给克莱恩·莫雷蒂的人身保险之外，如果将人们对诅咒的抗争视为战争，那么银月的力量还可以更加放大，在克莱恩自身无法完全使用这个封印物时，他可以借助梅迪奇的力量来完成这一举动。
听完解释之后，梅迪奇扯了扯嘴角。
“真能算计。我就说诡秘怎么会莫名其妙找上我一个跟他不关联途径的天使。”祂瞅着那个银月，“祂当我是什么好用的工具吗。”
考虑到其他人多少都有从过去自己那里得到好处，就梅迪奇啥也没有，纯靠诡秘力量位格压着做事，克莱恩并不奇怪祂的不满。
但是……
“我现在能使用它吗？”克莱恩问。
伯特利看梅迪奇。
“主肯定不会什么都没有留给你，祂是最喜欢等价交换的。”祂说。
“那家伙耍我。”梅迪奇一拍桌子，指着克莱恩，“祂开了个空头支票让我自己找这家伙要！”
克莱恩眨了眨眼。
那个自己这么恶趣味的吗？
“既然是空头支票的话，要不我许诺你当上真神怎么样？”克莱恩开玩笑，“祂拿走了你的唯一性，我就赔给你一个唯一性和三个非凡特性。”
“行。成交。”
有些红天使答应得很快，仿佛前面那么多铺垫就在等这句话。

Chapter Text

Having two more guests on the Source Castle was a real nuisance for Klein, originally he had been able to create a space for himself to think independently by arriving here, now no matter what he did he had to keep in mind that there were two other people on the side.
Distracted, Klein erected a wall of grey mist to cut the two men right off.
This time Chick's murder of him did have the figure of the Cult of the Witch in it, but there was someone else who was really guiding him to the factory, and since this interference did not originate from fate and was outside the scope of the Sleight of Hand's authority, he did not notice for a moment. It was only after arriving above the grey mist, by which the things that clouded his senses were cut off, that he vaguely guessed at the person who had guided him.
With such familiar means, there was no doubt it was Adam. The question was what He was trying to do; would Chick's successful murder of the secretive Lord be of any benefit to Adam? No. As a person who had obviously had deep dealings with him in the past, Adam must have known that this murder would not be successful, that is to say - Klein's eyes fell on the ‘artificial moon’. This time, in addition to his own near-death, the most obvious thing is the seal used by Bertram, the ‘Silver Moon’, which was made by the secretive man himself in the past, and the conditions of its use are extremely harsh.
Klein took out his citrine pendulum and prepared to do a dream divination.
The object of his divination was not Adam, nor the past him, but this sealing object.
‘The origin of the ‘artificial moon’.’

The first thing that appeared in the dream was a pair of familiar hands.
No doubt his own.
Opposite him sat a person with a blurred face, and based on His black and gold hair colour and aura features, Klein guessed that it should be the Ancient Sun God.
‘A small piece of the moon was shattered during the ...... split.’ He heard ‘himself’ say, ‘This is the residue I got. It still retains the colours from the destruction of the last civilisation. I named it ‘Silver Moon’. It has the ability to restore things back to life.’
‘‘Restore’, is it a time reversal, or an antiquity?’
‘Neither. It's just restoration. What it can restore depends on the user's perception and ability.’
‘What if the user doesn't have an impression of what the thing to be restored looks like in its original form?’
‘Then it will return that thing to nothingness.’
Speaking of which, the dream became unstable, and a distorted and strangely coloured image was inserted hard into Klein's mind. The last thing he heard before he was ejected from the dream was a question from the ancient sun god.
‘Will you use it to restore your ‘homeland’?’

Klein jerked out of the dreamscape and hit the back of his high-backed chair with a ‘thud’ from the vertigo. He grimaced and covered the back of his head.
‘Silver Moon's power was restoration, and Bertram said that the seal could heal the cursed people, which meant that it could restore people to the time before the curse was released. But Klein has no idea what these people looked like before the curse was put on them, so what's the guarantee that he'll be able to restore them? Or was it because the plan had been brought forward, and there was information or things he hadn't been able to get or do. Klein didn't intend to use the Silver Moon until he had investigated this point, to avoid causing more harm than good.
After removing the grey mist, he found Bertram and Medici playing cards.
It was hard to tell what they were playing, it looked like they were just playing poker out one by one.
By this time Klein was enjoying Russell's ‘invention’ so much - well, he'd always had a problem with some people justifiably misappropriating the wisdom of their predecessors and causing their own DNA to go haywire.
‘There's a meeting here in a couple of days.’ Klein said.
He did need some more low view intelligence information that could only come from the Tarot Council. The identities of these two men would have to be resolved before the Tarot Club could be convened at the appointed time.
‘The Tarot Club?’ Bertram asked, ‘Are they the new Familiars?’
Apparently, the previous Him had also created an organisation called the ‘Tarot Club’, which was full of His dependents.
‘I've got a code name in my hand, too.’ Medici touched a tarot card from somewhere, ‘’Chariot'.’
Medici identity solved. Klein's eyes moved to Bertram. Forsyth had the Magician card, what was Bertram to do?
‘I am an angel in your seat.’ Bertram said, ‘The Angel of the Gate of Gates.’
Okay, this is the Angel of Doors.
Klein nodded in satisfaction and scurried back down through the grey mist.

Azk disappeared for three days. Instead of going through the door when He returned, He arrived directly at Klein's bedroom through the Spirit World Shuttle, startling Klein, who was in the middle of changing his clothes.
A drop of bright red blood fell to the floor. The corner of Klein's mouth twitched as he looked at the suspicious blood on Mr Aztec's palm.
‘Went to fix a little trouble.’ Azik said as He took out a cloth and gently wiped the blood from his hand, ‘Have you been sleeping well lately?’
‘Very well.’ Klein nodded, ‘Didn't even dream.’
He grabbed a glass of hot milk from the table and sat down on the edge of the bed. Azik naturally sat next to him as well.
‘What's wrong?’ Klein asked.
‘The you I knew in the past was very different from the you I know now.’ Azik said, ‘Back then you were almost inhuman, but always did many things that would save the living. During the time I was hostile to your position as the Death Consul of East Byron, I used to ask you why you did what you did because I didn't understand your actions. After I was taken away from my father by you, you answered that question.’
‘You said to me, ‘You will understand all this when you see the real me.’’
‘After you entrusted me with your afterlife in a brainwave, I suddenly gained a part of my humanity, and I began to think about things other than power. I now know the answer from who you are now. It was because you loved humanity and its civilisation that you made a plan like that, wasn't it?’
Klein, who was suddenly blown away, subconsciously touched his nose.
It always felt like he wasn't that noble either.

After returning briefly that night, Mr Aztec left again, according to him it was the spirit world that still needed to be prepared. Russell never returned either.
Klein, on the other hand, summoned the members of the Tarot Club on the afternoon of the second day, at the time of the Tarot meeting previously fixed.

In the Bronze Great Hall.
Even though it was the third time to participate in the meeting, all of them were still on guard with each other, but compared to the first time, they were a little more relaxed. After all, if the Fool, as a god, really had any malicious intentions towards them, they would not be able to stop them. It was best not to show any ill will towards such a being when he was expressing his goodwill.
Alger was keenly aware of two more people at the long table.
‘Two deceased people have arrived here today.’ Klein spoke up.
A reversed ‘Magician’ tarot card floated up in front of Bertram's seat, and the image of the figure on the card was replaced with that of Bertram himself.
‘This is the ‘Gate’ Angel.’
Surprisingly, it was an angel! Alger was taken aback. He had only thought that the ‘Fool’ was an evil god revived from the ancient past, but He had actually found angels under His command now. In his heart, he raised his assessment of the Fool's danger level by one level. Sitting on the other side of the table, Gadelia was even more shocked than Alger. Because she knew that the reason why there were no true gods in the ‘Gate’ path was that there were higher existences above the true gods in this path. If the ‘Gate’ angel is really a ‘Gate’ angel of the first sequence, the identity of Mr ‘Fool’ is an existence that she can not think about.
Klein didn't care what the members of the Tarot Club were thinking, and continued with the introduction.
A ‘Chariot’ card floated up in front of Medici.
‘This is Mr ‘Chariot’.’
The crowd could vaguely see through the grey mist that ‘Chariot’ was a young man with red hair. He was sitting casually, and didn't seem to have much respect for the Fool. This casualness should come from his confidence in his own power, but how powerful do you have to be to be so relaxed in front of Mr Yugi? Audrey subconsciously analysed Medici in her mind, and suddenly felt a sense of danger. She was acutely aware that she was being watched by Medici. There was a soft, subtle laugh, but Audrey thought the Chariot was laughing at her behaviour.
So, instead of observing the two ‘new members’, Audrey greeted everyone in the room in turn, as she had done before.
‘Good day, Mr Fool.’

第二十八章 复原
源堡上多了两个客人对克莱恩来说确实是一个麻烦，原本他到这里能给自己制造一个独立思考的空间，现在不管干什么都得记着还有两个人在一边。
心烦意乱的克莱恩立了道灰雾墙将两个人直接隔绝在外。
这一次奇克对他的谋杀确实有魔女教派的身影，但真正引导他去往工厂的另有其人，由于这种干扰并不来源于命运，不在诡秘之主权柄范围内，他一时没有察觉到。到了灰雾之上后，蒙蔽他感官的东西被灰雾隔绝，他这才隐约对引导之人有了猜测。
这么熟悉的手段，毫无疑问是亚当。问题在于祂想要做什么，奇克成功谋杀诡秘之主对亚当会产生什么利益吗？不，作为和过去的他明显有深入往来的亚当肯定知道这次谋杀不会成功，也就是说——克莱恩的目光落在了那个“人造月球”上。这一次除了差点死掉的自己以外，最明显的就是伯特利使用的这个封印物，由过去的诡秘亲自制造，使用条件极其苛刻的“银月”。
克莱恩拿出黄水晶灵摆，准备做一次梦境占卜。
他占卜的对象并不是亚当，也不是过去的他，而是这件封印物。
“‘人造月球’的由来。”

梦中最先出现的是一双熟悉的手。
毫无疑问是他自己的。
他对面坐着一个面目模糊的人，根据祂黑金的发色和气质特征，克莱恩猜测应该是远古太阳神。
“……分裂时，月球被击碎了一小块。”他听见“自己”说，“这是我得到的残留。它依然保留着上一个文明毁灭时的色彩。我将它命名为‘银月’。它拥有能够将事物复原的能力。”
“‘复原’，是时间逆流，还是反古？”
“都不是。只是复原。它能复原成什么样取决于使用者的认知和能力。”
“如果使用者对要复原的事物没有它最初样子的印象呢？”
“那就会让那件事物归于空无。”
说到这里，梦境变得不稳定起来，一段扭曲而色彩诡异的影像硬生生地插入克莱恩的脑海中。在他被梦境弹出之前，他最后听到一句来自远古太阳神的问话。
“你会用它来复原你的‘故乡’吗？”

克莱恩猛地从梦境中出来，因为眩晕感“咚”地一下就撞上了高背椅的靠背。他龇牙咧嘴的捂着自己的后脑勺。
“银月”的能力是复原，而伯特利则说这个封印物能够治愈被诅咒的人们，也就是说它能够将人们复原到没有释放诅咒之前。可克莱恩对这些人没有被施加诅咒之前的样子毫无概念，那他能成功复原的保证是什么？还是说因为计划提前了，他还有没有得到或者做到的情报或事情。克莱恩不打算在调查清楚这一点之前使用“银月”，避免带来更大的危害。
撤掉灰雾后，他发现伯特利和梅迪奇在打牌。
很难说他们打的是什么，看起来只是在一张张出扑克。
这个时候克莱恩就那么喜欢罗塞尔的“发明”了——好吧，他一直对某些人理直气壮挪用前人智慧导致自己DNA错乱这件事情有意见。
“过两天这里有个会。”克莱恩说。
他确实需要一些更加低视角的情报资料，这些资料只能来自塔罗会。在按照约定时间召开塔罗会前，得先解决这两个人的身份。
“塔罗会？”伯特利问，“是新的眷者们吗？”
很明显，之前的祂也搞过一个叫“塔罗会”的组织，里面全是祂的眷者。
“你那个什么破代号，我手上也有一个。”梅迪奇不知道从哪里摸出了一张塔罗牌，“‘战车’。”
梅迪奇身份解决了。克莱恩目光移向伯特利。佛尔思拿着魔术师牌，伯特利该怎么办？
“我是您座下的天使。”伯特利说，“‘万门之门’天使。”
行，这位是“门天使”。
克莱恩满意地点头，又从灰雾上窜下去了。

阿兹克消失了三天。祂回来的时候没有走门，而是通过灵界穿梭直接抵达克莱恩的卧室，把正在换衣服的克莱恩吓了一跳。
一滴鲜红的血落在了地上。克莱恩看着阿兹克先生手掌上可疑的血迹，嘴角抽动了一下。
“去解决了一点小麻烦。”阿兹克说，祂拿出一块布轻轻擦拭自己手上的血迹，“最近您睡得好吗？”
“很好。”克莱恩点头，“都没做梦。”
他从桌上拿起一杯热牛奶，坐到床边。阿兹克也很自然地坐到他旁边。
“怎么了？”克莱恩问。
“过去我所了解的您与现在的您很不一样。”阿兹克说，“那时的您几乎没有人性，但总是做许多能拯救生灵的事情。在作为东拜朗的死亡执政官与您立场敌对的时期，我曾因不理解您的行为而问您为什么要这么做。在我被您从我父亲身边带走之后，您回答了这个问题。”
“您对我说：‘等你见到真正的我就会明白这一切。’”
“在您一股脑将身后事托付给我后，我忽然得到了一部分人性，我开始思考力量之外的事情。现在的我从现在的你身上知道了答案。正是因为你爱着人类和人类的文明，才会做下那样一个计划吧。”
突然被吹捧的克莱恩下意识摸了摸鼻子。
总感觉他也没有那么高尚。

阿兹克先生在那一晚上短暂地回来之后，又离开了，据他所说是灵界的事情还有需要准备的地方。罗塞尔也一直没有回来。
克莱恩则在第二日下午按照之前定好的塔罗会时间，召来了塔罗会的成员们。

青铜大殿中。
即使是第三次参加塔罗会，所有人依然彼此戒备着，但相较于最初的那次，他们又放松一些。毕竟“愚者”作为神明如果真的对他们有什么恶意的企图，他们也挡不住。在这样的存在表达出善意时，最好不要流露对祂的恶意。
阿尔杰敏锐地察觉到长桌旁又多了两个人。
“今天有两个故人来到这里。”克莱恩开口。
伯特利的座位前飘起一张逆位的“魔术师”塔罗牌，牌上人物的形象以伯特利本人的形象代替了。
“这位是‘门’天使。”
竟然是天使！阿尔杰吃了一惊。他原来只道“愚者”是远古复苏的邪神，可祂现在居然就找到了祂麾下的天使。他心中对“愚者”的危险等级评估调高了一层。坐在另一边的嘉德丽雅则比阿尔杰更加震惊。因为她知晓“门”途径没有真神的原因是这个途径在真神之上还有更高的存在。若“门”天使当真是序列一的“门”天使，“愚者”先生的身份就是她不能去想的存在了。
克莱恩不管塔罗会成员心里怎么想，继续介绍下去。
梅迪奇身前飘起一张“战车”牌。
“这位是‘战车’先生。”
众人可以透过灰雾隐约看见“战车”是一位红发的青年。他坐姿随性，看起来对“愚者”没有太大尊重。这份随性应该是来自于他对自我力量有底气，可要有多厉害才能在“愚者”先生面前这样从容？奥黛丽下意识在心里分析梅迪奇，忽地感到一阵危险。她敏锐地注意到了自己正被梅迪奇注视着。对方发出了一声轻笑，很细微，奥黛丽却认为“战车”是在因她的行为而发笑。
于是，奥黛丽不再去观察两个“新成员”，而是按照之前的流程，依次向在场所有人问好。
“日安，愚者先生。”

Chapter Text

Audrey, Alger and Kadri Jacob handed over two pages of diary, Klein glanced at it and realised that this diary seemed to be different from the one he had read, he couldn't help but read the contents carefully.
‘I was approached by a guy covered in a black robe, only to find out it was an old countryman when the hat was lifted. How the guy was dressed like a cultist. There's one thing to be said for it, and it's oddly endearing. I miss the days of air conditioning.
[A scribble that should have erased the date of the next diary entry. (Klein: Gadelia should have read the original so she could restore this smeared trace.)]
Zhou Mingrui! You're sick!’
When Klein saw this, he almost didn't pinch the illusory paper. The voice of Russell saying this flashed in his head at once.
There was being scolded.
He held back his anger while stifling a laugh as he continued to read on.
‘Holy shit I don't like men!!!’
The corners of the mouth of the person reading the diary immediately skimmed down, horror blooming in his eyes.
Russell you thick browed one how do you like men too!
‘Ghost, how is this Zhou Mingrui's name like a witch. Yesterday when he approached me, I actually didn't have any suspicions about him, even believed him as soon as he said he was a hometown boy, and welcomed him into the door like a fool*. Even thought it would be good if I slept with him. Vomit, that's disgusting.’
To this Klein also felt outrageous. After being reborn, he'd managed to be forced to somewhat accept that everyone liked him, but it was still horrible to be able to associate it with talking about bed.
‘There's definitely something wrong. Why else would he not come to my door sooner or later, just the day after I was promoted to ‘Knowledge Tutor’. He even knew I was keeping a diary. [Another smudge mark, a sentence should have been erased.] He wouldn't have read this passage too, would he? Can't think that way, it would be horrible to think that way.’
‘And this guy had the audacity to say that it's absolutely impossible for me to succeed in promoting the Black Emperor, somehow.’
Klein was silent for an instant. In his last life's memory, it was true that Rossel had not yet succeeded in promoting the Black Emperor - a dead Black Emperor was not considered a successful Black Emperor.
This page of the diary was relatively short, and there was nothing more to it.
On the back was Rossel's review of the TOP 10 difficult-to-eat cuisines in Intis.
The next four didn't have any noteworthy parts either, removing pretty much the same content as the previous life, only some unnutritious complaints and spirited fantasies.
After reading the diary, Klein told the Tarot Club to move on to the free exchange session.

As expected, Hugh ‘Judgement’ Dilcha was the first to bring up the incident at the East End factory a while back.
‘The Cult of the Witch is active in Berkland.’ She said, ‘They caused this incident.’
‘I've heard that they tried to get their god to divinely descend on Bakerland, but failed.’ Audrey added.
How did Audrey know about this? Klein was puzzled. He temporarily suppressed the mixed thoughts in his mind and quietly listened to the others speak, not interrupting their discussion at this moment.
‘This is not something a noble lady can know.’ Alger said, a little more wary of this ‘ordinary noble lady’. The other party did show a naive side, but to be able to know this information, the connections or power behind her would definitely not be simple.
‘Recently, I've been paying attention to the new policy that the government has introduced to the Eastern District.’ Audrey said, ‘With this kind of thing happening in the Eastern District, I also have channels to know about some of it.’
‘And the reason for the failure? Any reaction from the several Orthodox churches in Berkland?’ Leonard asked.
‘No, there was no reaction at all, the churches didn't do anything other than seal off the scene and keep the news down.’ Hugh replied, ‘I've sneaked close to that so-called ritual field, and there's no longer any extraordinary residue.’
‘Which means that an unknown party force has solved the problem?’ Voorhees pondered.
‘Of course, it can't be ruled out that some church has sent out a high level Grid presence to erase the traces.’ Hugh said, ‘It's just unlikely, and if that's the case, it's unlikely that all three churches were present.’

‘Of course Chick's plan will fail. It's just that I was one step ahead of the Darkness He was.’ He said.
Klein tapped the edge of the table.
‘The Fool had the strength to face the Original Witch head-on and repel her without the Church of the Righteous God noticing.’
Except for Derek, who was outside the situation, and the two people who watched the scene, everyone was once again shocked. They had already overestimated the ‘Fool’ as much as they could, but they always found out in front of the truth that their estimation was still far from enough. At the same time, they were shocked, and at the bottom of their hearts, a little bit strange: so what does this being called ‘The Fool’ want to seek from them, the ‘ordinary people’?
But this question, the current Klein also can not answer, probably only that not amnesia ‘secret’ can say clearly.

Knowing this information, everyone did not have much mood to continue to speak at the tarot meeting. Seeing this, Klein announced that the meeting was adjourned.
Only Klein and the two ‘temporary residents’ remained in the hall.
Bertram looked at the dispersed crowd with a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
‘It's been a long time since I've seen the Tarot Society gathered together.’ He said, ‘Although there's a new group of people, this group is similar to the ones I saw back then.’ A magician card appeared in His hand, ‘After I became an angel, this card was given to one of my juniors. Now that ‘magician’ is also related to a descendant of my family, what a fate.’
That one in the past I held tarot sessions too? Klein rested his chin, rubbing his fingers on the edge of the table with one hand in thought. Medici's ‘Chariot’ card, could it also be from the Tarot Club?
‘The previous members ......,’ Klein asked hesitantly.
‘All but a few are dead.’ Bertram replied, ‘You disappeared for a long time towards the end of the Quaternary. They were also subjected to numerous and extremely dangerous attacks during this time.’
‘So was the Time Relief Committee, the predecessor of the Tarot Society, at the end of the Third Age.’ Medici suddenly jacked in, ‘The cascade of crises wholeheartedly disturbed me.’
What the hell? Klein knew he should have paid more attention to what they were saying, but the name ‘Temporal Relief Committee’ sounded wrong, as if he'd been transported back in time to the old metropolis in an instant.
‘Who else was your contemporary?’ Klein asked.
‘Those guys are hanging in the sky.’ Medici casually pointed to the sky, ‘Living better than anyone else. Those things can kill ordinary extraordinary people, but they can't touch true gods or angels.’
Klein choked.
‘It's just that your inexplicable disappearance at the end of the Third Age caused the organisation to disband.’

The three in the great hall were still discussing when a prayer suddenly came to Klein's ears.
‘Lonely traveller across time and space, born in the beginning of the beginning of light, pointing to the end of the end of darkness ...... I pray that you watch over this land, the darkness is about to swallow us completely.’
It was Derek's voice.
Crane quickly responded to the prayer and looked at the situation of the Silver City through Derek.
Derek, who was praying to him, was in a small dimly lit room with a small table in front of him. There was a candle burning on the table, and the colour of the flame was not the usual yellow, but an eerie green.
Without waiting for Klein to respond, the darkness in that room materialised and lunged towards Derek along with his prayers.
Murmurs and hisses were abruptly shoved into Klein's mind.
‘Dusk is upon us, death is near.’
He discerned a phrase from it.
The next instant, creepy feelings rose from the soles of his feet.
The voice he actually remembered!
It was Salinger's voice. He was sure that this impression did not originate from the Salinger he had seen before he was reborn, but the Salinger of this world now. This was the first time he had found something from his own memories that did not belong to the pre-rebirth, present time and space.
It had to go. It was the only chance he had to catch a connection to the loss of his memories.
Klein looked to Bertram and Medici. He didn't have to think too long before he walked over to Bertram and told him he needed him to accompany him on a trip to the Godforsaken Lands.
He didn't trust either of them, but his strength didn't guarantee his survival in the Forsaken Lands, so he chose to take Bertram, who ‘claimed’ to be an angel under his command, with him. Besides, he had the uniqueness of the doorway on his hands, a sort of constraint on Bertram.
‘Good.’ Bertram Abraham agreed without hesitation.

第二十九章 周明瑞，你有病吧
奥黛丽、阿尔杰和嘉德丽雅各交上来两页日记，克莱恩瞥了一眼，发现这个日记好像和自己看过的那份不一样，他不禁仔细阅读其中内容。
“我被一个浑身罩着黑袍的家伙找上门了，结果帽子一掀发现是个老乡。那家伙怎么打扮得跟个邪教徒似的。有一说一，还怪叫人亲切的。真怀念啊，有空调的日子。
【一段涂改的痕迹，应该是抹掉了接下来记日记的日期。（克莱恩：嘉德丽雅应该看过原件，所以才能把这个涂抹过的痕迹还原。）】
周明瑞！你有病吧！”
克莱恩看到这里，差点没把幻化出来的纸捏破。他脑子里一下子闪过罗塞尔说这句话的声音。
有被骂到。
他一边忍着火气，一边憋着笑，继续往下看。
“我草我不喜欢男人！！！”
看日记的人嘴角马上撇了下去，眼中盛满了惊恐。
罗塞尔你个浓眉大眼的怎么也喜欢男人啊！
“鬼了，这个叫周明瑞的怎么跟魔女似的。昨天他走近我身边时，我居然对他没有起怀疑，甚至他一说是老乡就信了，还傻*一样的把他迎进门。甚至觉得如果跟他上床也不错。呕，太恶心了。”
对此克莱恩也觉得很离谱。重生后，他好不容易被迫有点接受了大家都喜欢自己，但是能联想到谈床上去的还是太恐怖了。
“绝对有问题。不然他为什么早不找上门晚不找上门，就在我晋升‘知识导师’第二天找上门。他甚至还知道我在记日记。【又是涂抹的痕迹，应该抹掉了一句话。】这段话不会也被他看去了吧？不能这么想，这么想就太恐怖了。”
“而且这家伙竟然敢说我绝对不可能成功晋升黑皇帝，莫名其妙的。”
克莱恩沉默一瞬。他上一世的记忆中，罗塞尔确实还没有成功晋升黑皇帝——死了的黑皇帝不算成功的黑皇帝。
这页日记比较短，到这里就没有了。
背面是罗塞尔对因蒂斯难吃美食top10的点评。
接下来四张也没有什么值得注意的部分，除去和前世差不多的内容之外，只有一些没营养的抱怨和意气风发的幻想。
看完日记，克莱恩让塔罗会进入自由交流环节。

果不其然，“审判”休·迪尔查第一个提起了前不久东区工厂的事件。
“魔女教派在贝克兰德活动。”她说，“这次事件是由她们引起的。”
“我听说，她们想让自己的神明神降贝克兰德，但失败了。”奥黛丽补充。
这个事情奥黛丽怎么会知道？克莱恩疑惑。他暂且压下心中纷杂的想法，静静听着其他人发言，并不在此刻打断他们的讨论。
“这不是一个贵族小姐能知道的事情。”阿尔杰说道，他对这个“普通贵族小姐”心中多了几分警惕。对方确实表现出了天真的一面，但能知道这个消息，她身后的人脉或者势力必然不会简单。
“最近我一直在关注政府对东区推行的新政。”奥黛丽说，“东区发生了这种事情，我也有渠道知道一些。”
“失败的原因呢？贝克兰德几个正神教会有反应吗？”伦纳德问。
“不，完全没有反应，教会除了封锁现场和将消息压下去之外，没有任何其他举动。”休答，“我偷偷靠近过那个所谓的仪式场，已经没有非凡残留了。”
“也就是说，有不知名的一方势力解决了这个问题吗？”佛尔思思考。
“当然，也不排除有哪个教会出动了高位格存在来抹去痕迹。”休说，“只是可能性不大，若是这样，不太可能三个教会的人都在场。”

“奇克的计划当然会失败。只是我比黑夜祂们快了一步而已。”祂说。
克莱恩轻轻敲了敲桌沿。
“愚者”竟然有直面原初魔女并在正神教会毫无察觉的情况下将祂击退的实力！
除去状况外的戴里克和两个看了现场的，所有人都再次被震撼了。他们已经尽可能高估“愚者”的位格，却总是在事实面前发现自己的估计还远远不够。在震撼的同时，他们心底又升起一点奇怪：那么这个名为“愚者”的存在究竟想在他们这些“普通人”身上谋求什么呢？
但这个问题，现在的克莱恩也无法解答，大概只有那个没有失忆的“诡秘”才能说清楚了。

知道这个情报之后，大家都没怎么有心情继续在塔罗会上发言。克莱恩见状，就宣布了散会。
大殿中只剩下克莱恩和两个“临时住客”。
伯特利看着散去的众人，眼中流露出一丝怀念。
“好久没有看见塔罗会的人齐聚一堂了。”祂说，“虽然换了一批人，但这批人倒也和当年我见到的那些差不多。”一张魔术师牌出现在祂的手上，“我成为天使之后，这张牌就交给了我的一个小辈。现在那个‘魔术师’也和我家族的后代有关，真是有缘。”
过去那个我也举办过塔罗会？克莱恩托着下巴，手指有一搭没一搭地摩挲着桌边思考。梅迪奇的那张“战车”牌，莫非也是塔罗会的？
“之前的成员……”克莱恩迟疑地问。
“除了个别几个，都死了。”伯特利答，“您在第四纪末期时消失了很长一段时间。他们也是在这段时间遭到了大量的、极其危险的袭击。”
“第三纪结束时，塔罗会前身时空救助委员会也是如此。”梅迪奇忽然插口，“层出不穷的危机整得我心烦。”
什么玩意儿？克莱恩知道自己应该更注意祂们说的具体内容，但“时空救助委员会”这个名字听起来怎么听怎么不对劲，仿佛一瞬间叫他穿回过去旧日都市时期了。
“和你同期的还有谁？”克莱恩问。
“那几个都天上挂着呢。”梅迪奇随手指了指天，“活得比谁都好。那些东西能杀普通非凡者，可动不了真神和天使。”
克莱恩被噎了一下。
“只是你在第三纪末尾时莫名消失导致组织解散了而已。”

大殿上三人还在讨论，克莱恩耳边突然传来祷告声。
“横贯时空的孤独旅者，诞于光明开端的最初，指向黑暗尽头的终末……我祈求您注视这片土地，黑暗即将彻底吞噬我们。”
是戴里克的声音。
克莱恩快速响应了这个祈祷，并通过戴里克查看“白银城”的情况。
向他祈祷的戴里克正身处一个昏暗的小房间内，他身前是一张小桌。桌上燃烧着一根蜡烛，烛火的颜色不是寻常的黄色，而是幽绿色的。
不等克莱恩做出回应，那房间中的黑暗实质化了，顺着戴里克的祈祷向着他扑过来。
呓语与嘶吼突兀地塞进克莱恩脑海中。
“黄昏已至，死亡将近。”
他从其中分辨出一句话。
下一瞬间，毛骨悚然的感觉自他脚底升起。
这个声音他竟然记得！
是萨林格尔的声音。他确信这个印象不是源于他重生前见到的那个萨林格尔，而是现在这个世界的萨林格尔。这是他第一次从自己的记忆中找到不属于重生前、属于现在这个时空的内容。
必须要去。这是他唯一抓到和失去记忆有关联的契机。
克莱恩看向伯特利和梅迪奇。他没思考太久，就走到伯特利旁边，跟他说自己需要他陪自己去一趟神弃之地。
这两个人他谁都不是很相信，但他的实力不能保证他在神弃之地的存活，于是他选择带上“自称”是他麾下天使的伯特利。何况，他手上有门途径唯一性，算是对伯特利的掣肘。
“好。”伯特利·亚伯拉罕毫不犹豫地就答应下来。

Chapter Text

Since it was feasible to pull the entire group up to the Source Castle, it was not a problem to send them down either.
To be on the safe side, Klein told Derek that he would arrange for the ‘familiars’ and ‘angels’ to come, concealing his true identity. He then had Derek set up the ritual as he had been instructed and recited the necessary ritual phrases before following the established link and grabbing Bertram and heading to the Abandoned Land.
Klein chose to appear in the dead centre of Derek's vision in the room. As soon as he landed, a raging aura of death swept in his direction. At the same time, Derek's eyes suddenly lit up. He subconsciously looked in the direction of the flow of darkness, only to see two figures radiating a shimmering light break up that darkness and step out from it calmly.
‘Here we are.’

‘'Sun, may I ask who your leader here is?’ Klein said, ‘We need his co-operation.’
‘We have a ‘Council of Six’ here that decides matters together.’ Derek gave a general description of the ‘Council of Six’, ‘But now the situation is unique, the darkness of the city prevents us from even communicating in any way, at first it was difficult to hear voices, now we can't even distinguish faces, and although we can see the others, we can only do the simplest of communication with hand gestures. ’
‘I see.’

After communicating with Derek, Klein and Bertram first started investigating the darkness that enveloped the place from his home. Because he was unsure if this darkness would produce a mutation that would be detrimental to Derek upon their arrival, Bertram set up a defensive boundary for Derek and asked him to stay in his room and not move around. As for the two of them, one of them was strong enough and one of them was a high enough Bitgear to have the ability to at least defend themselves against the situation outside.
‘The darkness enveloping this place is not a power possessed by Salinger, He is at best a borrower.’ Bertram carried a lamp and walked next to Klein, ‘The contamination in this place is an existence closer to the extraordinary nature.’
Klein swept his gaze across the darkness in front of him, ‘Go a little further out.’
The aura of death lingered around them. Bertram pinched and dispersed the aura of death, balling up the remaining power into a ball and placing it into Klein's hands.
The darkness that had been dispelled from Salinger's breath was no longer aggressive, and wriggled gently in Klein's palm.
‘This is-’ Klein's eyes widened.
As if unsure, he hooked his own consciousness to the source fortress and confirmed the answer.
‘Broken Mist of History.’

Strange fragments of memory appeared in Klein's mind.
‘...... Crush all possibilities.’
‘...... Destiny deserves this ...... ever experienced ......’
‘If I can't see them again ......’
After leaving an extremely shallow trace in his consciousness, these three words melted away like ice melting and disappeared. The black mist in Klein's hand lost its supporting core and changed into ordinary poisonous mist. Klein tried to remember them again, but could only recall a few vague syllables.
‘I need to gather some more black mist.’ Klein said to Bertram, ‘Please.’
Bertram had no problem with the request and helped him gather the black mist.
More memories came flooding back, some still words spoken from Klein's perspective but with unknown meaning, some not belonging to Klein but like the world was recording some history that didn't exist. Klein saw a future in which Silver City did not become a godforsaken place. The people of Silver City had established contact by sea with a kingdom that was now the seat of Ruin, and the two sides were at times at war and at times at peace.
‘These are the broken ones, another possibility for the history of this city.’
Krynn stopped his move to absorb the black mist, despite his desperate desire for his lost memories, his spirit would be crushed by the fragments of the possibilities of Silver City's history if he actually absorbed them without distinguishing between black and white.
There were better things to absorb them with.

In the hut Derek was very anxious, he couldn't let go of the people of the city and hoped that Klein and the others would find a solution soon.
‘Creak-’
The door to the room was pushed open and two men walked in. Derek noticed that it seemed ‘brighter’ outside.
‘You said earlier that you could communicate with the others using gestures, right?’ Klein asked.
Derek nodded.
‘Please, please inform them of our presence, as well as, don't be alarmed by anything that happens in a few moments, the way I'm handling it the commotion might be a bit loud. But after it's over you should be able to see the sky with light.’
‘You can fix it?!’
Derek's head snapped down as he looked at Klein and Bertram in disbelief.
Happiness had actually hit them out of the blue.
He bowed at Klein and hurried outside to find someone.

After Derek left, Klein found a clearing around the house, and he began to set up a ritual according to the memories he had just gained. This ritual was designed by ‘himself’, named ‘nullification’, the effect is to conceptually ‘nullify’ part of the extraordinary pollution. Back in the Second Age, a similar one had been set up in the Court of the Giants. What he was trying to do now was to make the new ritual field he had set up here resonate with the one in the Giant's Court.
‘A test ......?’ Klein finished setting up the ritual and barely lifted the corner of his mouth, ‘He left the solution long ago. The darkness of this place wouldn't have pushed people to the brink if Salingeri hadn't used it.’
One by one, one by one, it was as if the ‘He’ of the past had known that this place would turn into a godforsaken land! It was as if He had known that this place would turn into a godforsaken place! It was even possible that He was the one who turned this place into what it is now.
Klein took a deep breath.
Regardless of what that ‘secret’ thought or did, what he had to do now was to end this ugly cycle.
In the final step of the setup, he took ‘part of the silver moon’ from Bertram's hand and filled it into the core of the ritual field.
In the next moment, bright silver light pierced through the darkness and landed on the Silver Moon in Klein's hand.
Starting from the centre of the ritual field, the curse planted by Salinger was shaken out of the ‘fog of broken history’, separated and sank, and was finally guided to the ‘silver moon’. Following his ‘memory’, Klein opened a door to communicate with the grey mists located above the spirit world. The part of the ‘black mist’ that belonged to the ‘fragments of historical possibilities’ was quickly swallowed and absorbed by the grey mist.

On the other side.
Derek found ‘Chief’ Colin and signalled to him that he had something to report.
Colin was in the process of counting the number of people, and when he saw Derek coming, he stopped the action and ‘told’ Elder Lovia, who was on the side, to let her take charge of this matter alone. Derek came from the darkness, he needed to check before letting Derek near the assembled group.
Before the check was complete, everyone saw a silver light rising from the sky. The first thing to be restored was sight, all could recognise the faces of those beside them, followed by hearing, and once again there was a rustling of tiny sounds in the silent world.
‘The gods have truly come ......,’ Derek murmured, his eyes shining with that silver light, ’He has not forsaken us!’
The elders looked at each other, realising the importance of the matter, and all of them, excluding Elder Lovia who was guarding the team, gathered around Dairik. They confirmed Dairik's identity after some discreet examination and began to ask him about what exactly had happened.
The black mist whistling away in the direction Derek pointed to confirmed what he said. The darkness that had shrouded the city for two centuries faded at that moment. A ray of sunlight struggled through the cracks of darkness and drifted down to the lack of light.
The ray of light was incomparably weak, but it was bright enough to those who were used to darkness.

A drop of sweat ran down the forehead of Klein, who was presiding over the ceremony.
His control over the grey mist gradually began to lose its strength. The ceremonial field on the side of the Giant's Royal Court had yet to respond to the resonance as well. But less than a fifth of the darkness had been dispelled now, not to mention the darkness outside the city was still filling in the gap. So if there was no progress it would have to stop.
Fortunately, with a loud rumbling sound, Klein felt a sudden lightening of mental pressure. He was sure the other ritual field was starting to function.
Reaching up to wipe the beads of sweat from his head, Klein used his uniqueness to secure the ‘door’ to the grey mist on this side of reality. Bertram had helped him build a one-way ‘door frame’ to keep the ‘fog of historical possibility’ out.
From then on, the darkness of the land would slowly diminish, until after a few years, or decades, it would be completely sunlit.
As for Salinger's curse, they had no way to suppress it for the time being, and could only temporarily use the Silver Moon and the ‘nullification’ ritual to suppress it. Perhaps Krynn would know how to fix it after reading his memories of his time here.

第三十章 破碎的可能性
既然把人整个拉上源堡是可行的，自然把人送下去也不是问题。
保险起见，克莱恩告知戴里克自己会排“眷者”和“天使”前来，隐瞒了自己的真实身份。然后他让戴里克按照他的吩咐布置了仪式，并念诵了必要的仪式语句后，就顺着建立的链接抓着伯特利去往神弃之地。
克莱恩选择出现在房间内戴里克视线死角的地方。刚一落地，汹涌的死亡气息就朝着他的方向席卷而来。与此同时，戴里克骤然眼前一亮。他下意识向黑暗流动的方向望去，只见两个散着微光的身影打散了那篇黑暗从中从容走出。
“我们来了。”

“‘太阳’，我可以问一下你们这里的领导者是谁吗？”克莱恩说，“我们需要他的配合。”
“我们这里是由‘六人议事团’一起决定各项事务。”戴里克大致介绍了一下“六人议事团”，“但现在情况特殊，城内的黑暗甚至让我们无法以任何方式沟通，一开始难以听清声音，现在连面容都无法分辨，虽然能看到其他人，但只能靠手势做最简单的交流。”
“我知道了。”

在和戴里克沟通过后，克莱恩和伯特利先从他的家开始调查笼罩此地的黑暗。因为不确定这个黑暗是否会在他们到来后产生对戴里克不利的异变，所以伯特利为戴里克布置了防御结界，并要求他待在房间内不要走动。至于他们两个，一个实力够强一个位格够高，对外面的情况至少拥有自保的能力。
“笼罩这里的黑暗并不是萨林格尔拥有的力量，祂充其量只是一个借用者。”伯特利提着一盏灯，走在克莱恩旁边，“此地的污染是一种更接近非凡本质的存在。”
克莱恩目光扫过眼前的黑暗，“再往外面走一些。”
死亡的气息萦绕他们周身。伯特利捏散了死气，将余下的力量团成一团，放到克莱恩手中。
被驱散萨林格尔气息的黑暗不复方才的攻击性，温和地在克莱恩掌中蠕动。
“这是——”克莱恩睁大了眼。
似是不确定般，他将自身意识勾连源堡，确认了答案。
“破碎的历史迷雾。”

陌生的记忆碎片出现在克莱恩的脑海中。
“……将所有可能性捏碎。”
“……命运理应如此……曾经历过的……”
“如果我不能再见到他们……”
这三句话在他的意识中留下了极其浅淡的痕迹后，如冰消雪融般化开，消失不见。克莱恩手中的黑雾失去了支撑的核心，变作普通的毒雾。克莱恩再想去记它们，却只能想起几个模糊的音节。
“我需要再收拢一些黑雾。”克莱恩对伯特利说，“拜托了。”
伯特利对这个要求没有意见，并帮助他收拢了黑雾。
更多的记忆涌现，有些依然是站在克莱恩视角说出却意义不明的话语，有些并不属于克莱恩，而像是世界在记录一些并不存在的历史。克莱恩看见了白银城没有变成神弃之地的未来。白银城的人们通过海路与现在鲁恩所在地的一个王国建立了联系，两方时而交战，时而和好。
“这些是被打碎的，这个城市历史的另一种可能性。”
克莱恩停止了吸收黑雾的举动，尽管他迫切地渴望得到自己失去的记忆，但如果真的不分黑白就吸收的话，他的精神会被白银城历史可能性的碎片压垮的。
有更合适吸收它们的东西。

小屋中戴里克十分焦急，他无法放下城里的人们，希望克莱恩他们能快一些找到解决办法。
“吱呀——”
房门被推开，两个人走了进来。戴里克注意到外面似乎“亮”了一点。
“你之前说能用手势和其他人交流是吗？”克莱恩问。
戴里克点头。
“麻烦请你将我们的存在告知他们，以及，一会儿发生什么事情都不要惊慌，我处理的方式动静可能会比较大。不过结束之后应该就能看见有光的天空了。”
“您能解决？！”
戴里克猛地低头，他看着克莱恩和伯特利，感到不可思议。
幸福居然突如其来地就砸到了他们的头上。
他冲克莱恩鞠了一躬，就急匆匆地往外跑去找人了。

戴里克离开后，克莱恩在房屋周围找了一块空地，他按照刚刚得到的记忆中一个仪式开始布置。这个仪式是由“他自己”设计的，被命名为“无效”，作用就是可以在概念上“无效”一部分非凡污染。早在第二纪时，就在巨人王庭中布置过一个类似的。而他现在要做的，就是让这里他新布置的仪式场与巨人王庭那个共鸣。
“考验……吗。”克莱恩布置完仪式，勉强抬了一下嘴角，“祂早就留下了解法。若不是萨林格尔利用，此地的黑暗也不会将人逼入绝路。”
一桩桩，一件件，就像是过去的“祂”早就知道这里会变成神弃之地一般！甚至，可能就是“祂”将此地变成现在这般模样的。
克莱恩深吸一口气。
不管那个“诡秘”究竟是怎么想怎么做的，他现在要做的就是结束这个丑恶的循环。
布置的最后一步，他从伯特利手中取来“一部分的银月”，将其填入仪式场核心。
下一刻，亮银色的光芒穿透黑暗，落在了克莱恩手中的“银月”上。
从仪式场中心开始，萨林格尔埋下的诅咒被从“破碎的历史迷雾”中震出，分离后下沉，最终被引导至“银月”之中。克莱恩遵循“记忆”，开了一道能与位于灵界之上那些灰雾沟通的门。于是“黑雾”中属于“历史可能性碎片”的部分很快被灰雾吞噬吸收。

另一边。
戴里克找到了“首席”科林，他冲对方打手势，表示自己有事情要汇报。
科林这时正在清点人数，见戴里克来，停下了这个动作，并“告诉”一旁的洛薇雅长老，让她单独负责这件事情。戴里克从黑暗中来，他需要检查过才能让戴里克靠近集合的队伍。
还未等检查完成，所有人都看见不远处亮起一道直冲云霄的银光。最先恢复的是视力，所有人都能认清身旁人的面容，其次是听力，寂静的世界中再次出现了窸窸窣窣的微小声音。
“神明真的来了……”戴里克喃喃自语，他的双眼被那道银光照得发亮，“祂没有抛弃我们！”
长老们对视一眼，意识到事情的重要性，除去守护队伍的洛薇雅长老外，所有人都围到戴里克身边。他们在经过一番慎重的检查后，确认了戴里克的身份，开始向他询问具体发生了什么。
向戴里克所指方向呼啸而去的黑雾印证了他说的话。笼罩这座城市两个世纪的黑暗在此刻褪去。一缕阳光艰难地穿过黑暗缝隙，飘落到这缺乏光明的大地上。
这缕光无比微弱，但在习惯黑暗的人们看来，它已足够明亮。

主持仪式的克莱恩额头上流下了一滴汗。
他对灰雾的控制逐渐开始力不从心起来。巨人王庭那边的仪式场也还未回应共鸣。可现在驱散的黑暗却不到五分之一，更别提城外的黑暗还在向这个空缺处填补。所以要是没有进展就必须要停下了。
所幸伴随着一声巨大的轰隆声响，克莱恩感到精神上压力骤然一轻。他确定另一个仪式场开始运作了。
伸手擦去头上的汗珠，克莱恩利用唯一性将给灰雾开的“门”固定在现实的这一侧。伯特利帮助他搭建了单向的“门框”，让那些“历史可能性迷雾”只进不出。
从此，这片大地上的黑暗会慢慢减少，直到数年后，或者数十年后，彻底得到阳光。
至于萨林格尔的诅咒，他们都暂时没有什么办法，只能临时使用银月和“无效”仪式压制它。也许克莱恩在阅读过自己残留在此地的记忆会知道怎么解决。

Chapter Text

From this side of reality, the grey mist inside the door is a strange and colourful display of history and knowledge that is fascinating. Fragments of memories from the Mysteries were among them.
Although Klein was able to use it with the help of the ritual's external power by relying on his position and uniqueness, he could not easily enter it by himself, if he had already reached the level of ancient scholars, he would be able to travel through the mist of history, but unfortunately, he could only take a look at it right now.

The mists on that side of the door were getting thicker and thicker, and these massively gathered fragments of historical mists drew in a ...... angel.
‘Long time no see, Antigonus.’ Bertram Abraham greeted the spirit body that had appeared in the historical mists, giving Klein a nod to the other's identity, ‘It is good to still see you in your right mind.’
Antigonus in his spirit state was a bit different from what he remembered before he was reborn, there were a bit more parts of the demonic wolf in Him, and excluding his face, he was almost entirely covered in fur. With a courteous response to the greeting, He looked to Klein.
‘I have been waiting for you to come here.’ He leaned over and curtsied.
God willing, Krynn took the hand that Antigonus held out to him and stepped into the mists of history with that spirit. Bertram Abraham, who guarded this side of the door, did not stop the act, but merely watched Antigonus calmly.
The moment before he touched the mist, Klein's subconscious suddenly sensed that something was wrong. He shouldn't have followed Antigonus' spirit so hastily.
He blinked and saw countless silk threads floating from both Antigonus and Bertram, the other ends of the threads kept missing into the sky. Those threads weren't in a free state, most of them were taut, as if they were being lifted in someone's hands. Antigonus was almost entirely covered in taut silk threads, Bertram only half.
Blink again. Everything he had just seen faded away. Only the palpitation remained in his mind.
Doubt and fear both left him with the third blink.
Klein fell into the mists of history.

The busy city square was filled with people.
Klein stood in front of a fountain, looking confused.
A child holding a balloon ran past him laughing, making faces at his parents who couldn't catch up with him. The little girl standing beside him curiously stepped on the colour-changing lights on the ground. The oldest man with a golden hair boasts to another middle-aged woman with a husky about how fat her dog is. Vendors at the edge of the plaza are hawking a variety of small toys.
Not far away, shops are brightly lit, with advertising screens changing colours and selling people all kinds of products. Further away, there was a celebration somewhere, a bright cloud of fireworks exploding in the black night sky.
This was a modern city, yet it wasn't anywhere he'd ever been.
Because underneath the firework-filled scene was a balloon in a child's hand with a human face, a parent carrying a translucent eyeball on her back, and a little girl stomping on and exploding countless slime-like creatures that glowed with twisted fluorescence.
Normal sights and abnormal visions were alternately reflected in Klein's eyes, telling him that he couldn't tell which was real and which was false.
A nauseating and revolting feeling like being thrown into a washing machine and stirred up hit him, and Klein's eyes went black. He opened his eyes again and the view was stabilised at the normal end of the spectrum. A beautiful red concentric knot dangled in front of his eyes, causing Klein to think that a red crystal spirit pendulum in front of him had hypnotised him.
Following the concentric knot, he saw a normal human hand, and Antigonus holding it. He tied the concentric knot around Klein's wrist, saying that He had just gone to the stall and bought it from the vendor.
At the moment, Antigonus was wearing a long black trench coat of a fitted modern style, with a grey woolen scarf loosely tied around His neck, and His partially long hair was tied into a bunch with a blue hair tie, and with His angular face, His whole person was living up to a European and American style handsome man in the modern world.
‘We can go sit on the bench over there for a while.’ He pulled Klein out of the crowd and placed him on a stone bench next to the green belt, then ran to the milk tea shop located behind the bench and bought two ice creams, He handed one to Klein, ‘Try it.’
Klein took the ice cream, not being able to refuse Antigonus' eager and expectant gaze, and took a bite. The sweet and silky taste of the ice cream melted in his mouth, just the right amount of delicious coldness brought about a refreshingly sweet taste, a taste so beautiful that it was like the first time he ate an M Mark's cone.
Wait a minute......M Kee Cone? Klein picked up the cone in his hand to look at it and found that it was really M Kee's. But how the milk tea shop behind him looked like Sweet Honey Snow King.
What kind of history fog is this. It wasn't past history at all.
‘After my real body started to rot, you transferred my spiritual body into this historical mist.’ Antigonus said while biting into his ice cream, ‘This piece of history exists with many limits of vision. If the buildings around you become humble, the number of humans decreases, and things that shouldn't be in this history become more numerous, you are approaching the limit of sight. It's dangerous there. If you're going to act in a while, make sure you don't go near it.’
‘You're not coming with me?’ Klein asked.
Antigonus smiled.
‘My soul is weaker than when I first came here, and there's no way to leave the neighbourhood. Bringing you in has drained my strength.’ He reached up and brushed the ends of Krynn's hair, ‘It's all right, please be at peace. This is the ‘homeland’ you remember, and it will never hurt you.’
The youth's gentle demeanour, paired with the background behind him filled with the familiar scent of the old days, made Klein couldn't help but drift off.
‘...... I'm still waiting for you to make good on your promise to get me out of here.’ He said, in a tone so light that it seemed as if He was talking about a very rare and trivial matter. But if it was really a small thing, it wouldn't have made Him wait until now.
Klein took a few steps outside and looked back at Him.
It was nearing the end of the night here.
The lively crowd around them was beginning to disperse, preparing to return to their homes. Antigonus, left alone on the bench, was even more forlorn in contrast.
So he turned back with a lurch in his outward walk.
Klein gave Antigonus a gentle hug as he stared at him in dismay.
‘Though I do not remember that promise I made to you, I will endeavour to make it possible for you to leave here.’ He said.

The current Kraven had felt enough inhumanity from the ‘secretive’ Kraven that he even wondered if the ‘secretive’ was the Blessed Xuanhuang Heavenly Father who had gained his memories. Whether it was the ‘secretive’ disregard for the lives of ordinary people, or the self-righteousness of manipulating other people's destinies as a matter of course, it was all too far away from the ‘Klein’, or ‘Zhou Mingrui’, a person. or ‘Zhou Mingrui’.
The hometown is special, and Antigonus here is special too. All the warmth that he had not seen in reality was seen here with his own eyes.
Klein looked up.
A warm white moon hung in the sky, gently watching the people on the ground.

After midnight, the streets were much less crowded, but it was just the beginning for those who wanted to live the night life.
On the pub street, the atmosphere was still very lively.
Klein picked a shop at random and pushed the door in.
The interior of the shop was different from what he expected, not a bar, but a small fry. The warm yellow light at dusk fell inside the shop, illuminating everyone's face.
In his vague memory, this shop used to be a restaurant he frequented, and every day when he didn't feel like cooking himself after work, he would come to this shop to have a meal.
The shop was filled with all sorts of people, a few faces from his colleagues, a few faces from his best mates. Others, however, could not be seen for what they looked like.
The shop was a husband and wife shop, and at the moment the husband was clearing the table, so the owner's wife, who had just served a plate of food, stopped by to greet customers on her way to the kitchen. As she passed by Klein, she asked, ‘You're here again young man, is it still beef fried rice tonight? Have you been working a lot lately, I see you've lost weight.’
The familiar words of concern made people want to fall into tears.
Klein was just about to reply, but was grabbed by the wrist by the guest beside him.

‘Help me.’
The young girl with the face of his first love gave him a pleading gaze.
But her next words called for a change in Klein's face.
‘...... Please erase my consciousness and free me.’

第三十一章 此心安处非吾乡
从现实这一侧望过去，门内的灰雾光怪陆离，其中展现的历史与知识叫人无比心醉。来自“诡秘”的记忆碎片就在其中。
克莱恩虽能够靠位格和唯一性借助仪式的外力使用它，但自身却不能轻易进入，若是他已经达到古代学者就能穿梭历史迷雾，可惜他现在只能看看。

门内那一侧的迷雾越来越厚重，这些大量聚集的历史迷雾碎片引来了一个……天使。
“好久不见，安提戈努斯。”伯特利·亚伯拉罕对出现在历史迷雾中的灵体打招呼，给克莱恩点明对方身份，“很高兴还能见到神志正常的你。”
灵体状态的安提戈努斯和重生前记忆中有些区别，祂身上魔狼的部分更多一些，除去脸部，几乎都被毛皮覆盖。祂礼节性地回应了招呼，就看向克莱恩。
“我一直在等待您来此。”祂俯身行了一礼。
神使鬼差地，克莱恩牵住了安提戈努斯向他伸出的手，随着那个灵体踏入了历史迷雾中。守在门外这一侧的伯特利·亚伯拉罕没有阻止这个行为，只是平静地注视着安提戈努斯。
在触碰到迷雾的前一刻，克莱恩的潜意识忽地察觉了不对劲。他不该这么草率地跟着安提戈努斯的灵体走。
他眨了一下眼睛，看见了安提戈努斯和伯特利都身上飘着无数丝线，线的另一端一直没入天空之中。那些丝线并不是游离状态，大多都绷直了，就像被某个人提在手上一样。安提戈努斯身上几乎都是绷直的丝线，伯特利则只有一半。
再眨一下眼睛。方才看见的一切都消隐无踪。唯有心悸之感留在他心中。
怀疑与恐惧都伴随着第三下眨眼离他而去。
克莱恩落入了历史迷雾之中。

繁华的城市广场中，人声鼎沸。
克莱恩站在喷泉前面，神色迷茫。
一个小孩儿牵着气球大笑着从他身边跑过去，一边向着追不上他的家长做鬼脸。站在他身旁的小女孩儿好奇地踩地上变色的灯光。牵着金毛的老大爷中气十足和另一个牵着哈士奇的中年妇女吹嘘自家的狗养得多肥。广场边缘的小摊贩正在兜售各种小玩具。
不远处的店铺灯火通明，广告屏上不断变换着色彩，给人们推销各种产品。再远些，不知道是哪里在庆祝，黑色的夜空中炸开一团璀璨的烟火。
这里是现代都市，却不是他去过的任何地方。
因为在这充满烟火气的景象之下，是小孩儿手上的气球长着一张人脸，是家长背上背着一个半透明的眼珠，是小女孩儿踩爆了无数发着扭曲荧光的史莱姆状生物。
正常的景象和不正常的异象交替映在克莱恩眼中，叫他分不清哪个是真实，哪个是虚假。
如同被扔进洗衣机里搅动的恶心反胃感袭来，克莱恩眼前一黑。他再睁开眼，景象被稳定在了正常的一端。一个漂亮的红色同心结在他眼前晃着，搞得克莱恩还以为眼前是一个红水晶灵摆把他催眠了。
顺着同心结，他看见一只正常的人手，以及拿着同心结的安提戈努斯。祂将同心结系在克莱恩手腕上，说这是祂刚刚去摊位上从摊贩手上买的。
此刻的安提戈努斯穿着一身合身的现代款式黑色长风衣，脖子上松散地搭着一条灰色的毛线围巾，祂偏长的头发被蓝色的发绳扎成一束，配上祂棱角分明的脸庞，整个人活脱脱一个现代社会的欧美风帅哥。
“我们可以去那边的长椅上坐一会儿。”祂拉着克莱恩挤出人群，将他安置在绿化带旁边的石椅上，又跑到位于长椅后面的奶茶店买了两个冰淇淋，祂递给克莱恩一个，“尝尝。”
克莱恩接过冰淇淋，没能拒绝安提戈努斯殷切期盼的目光，吃了一口。冰淇淋甜丝丝的滋味在他口腔中化开，恰到好吃的冰凉带来了清甜的口感，这个味道美好得就像他第一次吃到M记的甜筒时候。
等一下……M记甜筒？克莱恩将手上的甜筒拿起来看，发现还真是M记的。可他背后的奶茶店怎么看着都是甜蜜蜜雪王。
这算什么历史迷雾。根本就不是过去的历史。
“在我现实的身体开始腐败之后，您就将我的灵体转移到了这片历史迷雾中。”安提戈努斯一边咬着冰淇淋一边说，“这片历史存在很多视界极限的地方。如果周围的建筑变得简陋，人类数量减少，不该出现在这个历史的事物变多，那就是接近了视界极限。那里很危险。一会儿您要行动的话，务必不要靠近。”
“你不和我一起？”克莱恩问。
安提戈努斯笑了笑。
“我的灵魂比刚来到这里的时候更加虚弱了，没办法离开这附近。带你进来已经耗尽了我的力量。”祂伸手梳理了一下克莱恩的发梢，“没事的，请安心吧。这里是你记忆中的‘故乡’，它永远不会伤害你的。”
青年神色温和，配合他身后充满熟悉旧日气息的背景，让克莱恩忍不住恍神。
“……我还在等着你兑现将我救出这里的诺言呢。”祂说，语气轻快得仿佛在说一件很稀松平常的小事。但若真是小事，也不会让祂一等就等到现在。
克莱恩往外走出几步，又回头看祂。
此地的时间接近深夜了。
周围热闹的人群开始散去，预备各自归家。独自留在长凳上的安提戈努斯在对比之下更显孤寂。
于是向外走的脚步一顿，转回来了。
克莱恩在安提戈努斯错愕的目光中轻轻拥抱了祂一下。
“虽然我不记得那个我向你许下的承诺，但我一定会努力让你能够离开这里的。”他说。

现在的克莱恩从那个“诡秘”克莱恩身上感受到了够多的非人之处，他甚至怀疑过“诡秘”是不是得到了他记忆的福生玄黄天尊。无论是“诡秘”对普通人的生命的漠视，还是把操控他人命运视为理所应当的自以为是，都离“克莱恩”，或者说“周明瑞”这个人太远了。
故乡是特别的，在这里的安提戈努斯也是特别的。一切没在现实中见到的温情皆在此地被他亲眼看见。
克莱恩抬头望去。
一轮暖白色的月挂在天上，温柔地注视着地上的人们。

深夜之后，街上人虽少了许多，但对要过夜生活的人们来说才是刚刚开始。
在酒吧街上，氛围依旧十分热闹。
克莱恩随机挑了一家店推门进入。
店内的装潢与他想象的不一样，不是酒吧，而是一家小炒。黄昏时暖黄的光落在店铺内，把每个人都照得脸红红的。
模糊的记忆中，这家店曾是他经常光顾的一家饭馆，每日他下班后自己不想做饭，就会到这个店里来吃一顿。
店内坐满了各式各样的人，里面有几张脸来自于他的同事，有几张脸来自他的好哥们。还有一些人，则怎么都看不到长相。
这家店是一个夫妻店，此刻丈夫正在收拾桌子，于是刚端上一盘菜的老板娘顺手在厨房的路上招呼客人。她在路过克莱恩身边时，问道：“小伙子你又来啦，今晚还是牛肉炒饭吗？最近工作是不是很忙，我瞧着你都瘦了嘞。”
熟悉的关切话语，让人都要落下泪来。
克莱恩刚要答，却被身边的客人一把抓住了手腕。

“救救我。”
长着他初恋面容的少女对他露出恳求的目光。
但她下一句话却叫克莱恩面色一变。
“……请抹去我的意识，让我解脱吧。”

Chapter Text

Instead of getting an answer, the boss's wife didn't get mad, but ignored Klein's presence and walked straight back to the kitchen.
Klein sat down across from the young girl. Just as his buttocks touched the stool, the chatter of the other customers disappeared from his ears.
After that action, the girl hung her head down and repeated ‘I want to be free’ over and over again. No matter what Klein said, she would only ask for ‘relief’.
However, patience was something Klein never lacked. Since the young girl was acting special, she would certainly try to pass on the information to him.
The wait soon paid off.
‘Those who do not exist should perish with the history that does not exist ......’ the young girl said dreamily, before she briefly returned to the lucid state she had been in when Klein noticed her. ‘I've had enough of the endless cycle here, there's no one who can respond to me, and I can't leave this shop.’ She mumbled, tears in her eyes.
‘Haven't you ever seen a young man with dark hair?’ Klein gestured to her in the shape of Antigonus.
The young girl shook her head. She seemed tired of this conversation, which had nothing to do with deliverance, and turned her eyes away from Klein.
The blood-red light of the setting sun cast a long shadow over her face. The pale face didn't look vibrant in this light, but only more eerie.
‘One last question ...... Why did you ask me for help?’
A seemingly useless question.
The young girl heard it, but showed an incomparably gentle smile to Klein, just like the smile that the girl he had a crush on in his vague memories showed when she looked back.
‘Because, you are Zhou Mingrui.’

The image in front of Klein's eyes twitched.
The people in vivid colours turned into a greyish mist.
‘Here it is, Zhou Mingrui's memory.’ The young girl still had a perfectly curved smile on her face, ‘I ...... I ......’
Cracks appeared on that beautiful face, followed by pieces falling to the ground like a shattered mirror.
Klein peered behind the mask to see a female with the features of a demon wolf.
‘Have you ...... seen Antioch? Say I ...... I'm hiding ...... here.’
The female's silhouette twisted and turned into a man with a crown on his head.
‘...... Sneaky, I'll kill you!’
The tip of his blood-red pen twisted into grey mist before it could touch the stable space where Klein was.
The humanoid silhouette form became unstable and unrecognisable. Sometimes there were six hands wielding different weapons, sometimes three hearts beating in the same rhythmic rhyme.
‘I still ...... don t want to die. Why ...... am I the one who has been given up?’
A million voices rose and fell within the young girl.
In the next instant, Klein realised that he was standing on a floor with only a dining table and a chair. In front of him was a cliff formed by broken ground, and behind him was a shop door. The middle aisle was cut off by small pixelated, slightly coloured grey squares.
He was probably at what Antigonus called the limit of his vision.
Kraven, who had been caught in the middle of trouble, mentally spat out the words ‘Hometown won't hurt you’, and then stepped into the limit of vision without any hesitation.

He was in another time.
It could be judged by the style of the buildings and ornaments that this would be the Fourth Age, the period of the Tudor Empire.
‘He travelled through a corridor of the royal palace and stopped in front of a man who had been ‘gutted’.
The blackened figure saluted Him, and a voice left behind in this ‘memory’ told the truth for Kraven.
‘As you can see, history has not unfolded as you expected. We will proceed to the next step in accordance with Pre-Plan Two.’
‘He’ nodded slightly, ’The current dialogue is also one of the useless histories that needs to be devoured by me, are you aware of that?’
‘I have long since dedicated everything to the Lord of Time and Space.’ The black shadow of the believer made an arching and bending over.
Afterwards, even this black shadow slowly disappeared down this corridor.
‘He‘ gazed out of the window and suddenly opened his mouth to ask, “Is this what ”I’ was expecting?’
Klein, who was watching the memory, was stunned; he somehow felt that ‘He’ was speaking to him across time and space.
After a long moment of contemplation, Klein replied softly, ‘I don't know. But I wouldn't do it if I did.’
Gazing at the shadow on the window, He frowned as if He had heard him, and his frown unfolded.
‘That's so. Sure enough I ......’

The memory shattered again.
Klein didn't know how many layers he had fallen through in the grey mist, and when he hit the ground again, he found himself standing in front of his ‘familiar’ home.
Melissa, who was much smaller than she was now, burst through the door like a cannonball and slammed into Klein, knocking him back several steps.
‘Klein, what are you gawking at, Daddy's coming home today, hurry up and get cleaned up.’ Tiny Melissa huffed and pushed Klein away, ‘How on earth do you remember all that knowledge with such a forgetful mind.’
Inside the house was an equally unseen shrunken Benson, helping his ‘mother’ count the ‘leftovers’.
‘Alas, if only the little raven had come in the last two days, even if he had brought a flower, it would have added colour to our house.’ ‘Mother’ sighed as she beckoned Klein to sit beside her, ’How was school today?’
Klein responded with a non-committal yes, getting a ‘You're a kid, why did you grow up wooden?’ from his mother.
The two hadn't been exchanging pleasantries for more than a couple of minutes when a familiar white-eyed raven fluttered up to the window and tapped its beak on the edge.
Benson's eyes lit up when he noticed it after counting the rest of the money, and he quickly walked over to the raven and took a beautiful headband from its talons. Then he petted the crow and apologised, ‘There's no food today.’ The raven pecked him and landed in front of Klein to rub up against him.
‘It really likes you.’ ‘Mother’ said.

Countless scenes flew past Klein's eyes. The ‘Kraven’ in the scenes was like an inhuman being trying to imitate humans, but only making those who didn't know him fear him. He acted as if he had a certain purpose in mind, as if his journey would lead him to that destination and all would be well.
The mass of memories that did not belong to ‘him’ made Klein's head spin, and he had to think of them as a film of another life that had nothing to do with him. Luckily, the memories were still incomplete, so that his mind wasn't bludgeoned into stupidity.
In addition, the memories also instilled in Klein the knowledge of ...... and the extraordinary characteristics of the existence devoured by ‘Him’.
The feeling of being upgraded by two sequences was not pleasant, but the ability of ‘spiritual threads’ brought by the Master of Secret Puppets and the Trickster Mage made Kraven suddenly see the ‘threads’ in his own body.
Some of his threads, like Bertram's and Antigonus's, were taut and went into the sky.

The solid concrete floor gave Klein a painful fall on his arse.
He grimaced as he rose from the ground and found himself once again in a modern city. Not far away, Antigonus was waiting for him on a bench.
Seeing the secretive Servant Demon Wolf again, Krynn only found the other man much kinder.
His recovered memories allowed him to place a great deal of trust in this loyal and reliable friend.
‘I can see why your body corrupted your soul with it.’ Krynn said, his tone as light as when Antigonus had first mentioned the Promise to him, ‘It's a very good thing. You won't have to wait long for me, maybe less than a month, and you'll be back in your body again. And have a new and healthy life.’
After saying that, he waved goodbye to the other party, and after establishing contact with the outside world's ‘door’, he left the place through the ‘door's’ passage.

Antigonus had never seen such hope in Mystery.
Something about the subtle connection that had always existed between him and Kraven made him uneasy about Kraven's words.
Subconsciously, he reached out to grab Kryon, but only caught a piece of his coat that had been cut by the Gate.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

没得到回答的老板娘没有生气，而是无视克莱恩的存在，直接走回厨房。
克莱恩在少女对面坐下。屁股刚挨着凳子，他耳边其他客人的聊天声就消失了。
做完了那个动作后的少女低垂着头，一遍遍地重复着“我想解脱”。无论克莱恩说什么，她都只会要求“解脱”。
不过，耐心这种东西克莱恩是素来不缺的。既然少女表现出了特殊，必然会尽量将信息传递给他。
等待很快有了成效。
“不存在之人应当随不存在的历史一并消亡……”少女梦呓般说道，然后，她又短暂地回到了克莱恩注意到她时的清醒状态。“我受够了这里无止境的循环，没有任何人能回应我，我也离不开这家店铺。”她喃喃自语，眼中噙着泪。
“你没有见过一个黑发青年吗？”克莱恩向她比划安提戈努斯的模样。
少女摇头。她似乎厌倦了这与“解脱”无关的对话，将视线从克莱恩身上移开了。
夕阳血红色的光辉在她脸上拉出一道极长的阴影。苍白的面容在这光芒下并未显出几分活力，只更加的诡异。
“最后一个问题……你为什么向我求助？”
一个看似无用的问题。
少女听闻后，却对克莱恩展露了一个无比温柔的笑，就像模糊记忆中那个被他暗恋过的女生回眸时露出的笑容一样。
“因为，你是周明瑞啊。”

克莱恩眼前的画面抽动了一下。
色彩鲜活的人们变成了灰败的雾气。
“这里是，周明瑞的记忆。”少女脸上依旧挂着弧度完美的笑容，“我……我……”
那张漂亮的面庞出现裂纹，紧接着如镜面碎裂般掉落一地碎片。
克莱恩窥见面具后是一名有着魔狼特征的女性。
“你……看见安提柯了吗？说我……我躲在……这里。”
女性的虚影扭曲，变成一名头戴王冠的男子。
“……诡秘，我杀了你！”
他血红色的笔尖还未触及克莱恩所在的稳定空间就扭曲成了灰雾。
人形虚影形态变得不稳定且难以辨识。有时有六只手挥舞着不同兵器，有时三颗心脏跳动着同一节奏的韵律。
“我还……不想死。为什么……被放弃的是我？”
万万千千的声音在少女体内此起彼伏。
在下一瞬间，克莱恩意识到自己正站在一个只有一张饭桌和一把椅子的地面上。他前面是断裂地面形成的悬崖，后面是一扇店门。中间的通道被像素般的微微泛着彩光的灰色小方块截断。
他也许正处于安提戈努斯所说的视界极限。
被麻烦找上门的克莱恩在心底狠狠吐槽“故乡不会伤害你”这句话，然后义无反顾地一脚踏入视界极限。

他来到了另一个时间。
通过建筑和饰物的风格可以判断这里应该是第四纪，图铎帝国时期。
“祂”穿梭在王宫的一条走廊上，并停在了一名“被挖去了”的人面前。
黑洞洞的人影向“祂”行礼，一段被遗留在这个“记忆”中的语音为克莱恩讲述真相。
“如您所见，历史并未像您预期那般发展。我们将会根据二号预案进行下一步。”
“祂”微微颔首，“现在的对话也是需要被我吞噬掉的无用历史之一，你清楚吗？”
“吾早已将一切奉献给时空之主。”信徒的黑影做了一个拱手俯身的行为。
随后，连这个黑影也缓缓消失在了这条走廊上。
“祂”注视着窗外，忽然开口问道：“这是‘我’所期待的吗？”
围观记忆的克莱恩一怔，他不知怎的，觉得“祂”在是跨越时空对他说话。
沉思许久，克莱恩轻声回答：“我不知道。但要是我，一定不会这么做。”
注视着窗上影子的“祂”像听到了一样，皱着的眉头舒展开来。
“是这样啊。果然我……”

记忆再次碎裂了。
克莱恩不知道自己在灰雾中掉了多少层，当他再次脚踏实地时，他发觉自己站在“熟悉”的家门口。
比现在长得小许多的梅丽莎像炮弹一样从门里冲出来，一头撞在克莱恩身上，把他撞得后退好几步。
“克莱恩，发什么呆呢，今天爸爸就要回来了，快点去收拾一下啊。”小小的梅丽莎气鼓鼓地推着克莱恩走，“你忘性这么大的脑子究竟怎么记住那些知识的。”
屋内是同样从未见过的缩水班森，他在帮“母亲”清点“余钱”。
“唉，要是小乌鸦这两天来就好了，就算带一朵花，我们家里也能增色不少吧。”“母亲”叹气，她向克莱恩招招手，让他坐到自己身边来，“今天学校怎么样？”
克莱恩答非所问地应是，得到了“母亲”“你这孩子，怎么从小木木的”的教育。
两个人寒暄了没两分钟，一只熟悉的白眼圈乌鸦扑棱棱飞到了窗边，用喙敲击着窗沿。
清点完余钱的班森注意到后眼睛一亮，他快步走过去，从乌鸦爪子上取下一条漂亮的头绳。然后他摸了摸乌鸦，抱歉地说着“今天没有吃的了”。乌鸦啄了他一口，就落到克莱恩身前来蹭他。
“它还真是喜欢你呢。”“母亲”说。

无数的景象从克莱恩眼前飞过。景象中的“克莱恩”就像一个非人的存在在努力模仿人类，却只让不了解祂的人恐惧祂。祂一切行为都仿佛抱着某一个目的，好像祂的旅途行至那个目的地，一切就都会好起来的。
大量的不属于“他”的记忆让克莱恩头昏脑涨，他不得不将它们视为与他无关的另一个人生的电影。还好这些记忆依旧是不全的，才没有将他的精神直接冲击成傻子。
除此之外，记忆还将知识……以及被“祂”吞噬的存在的非凡特性灌输给了克莱恩。
硬生生被拔升两个序列的感觉并不好受，但秘偶大师和诡法师所带来的“灵体之线”能力叫克莱恩忽地看见了自己身上的“线”。
他的线也有部分，如伯特利和安提戈努斯那般，是绷直状态没入天际的。

结实的水泥地给屁股着地的克莱恩摔得很痛。
他龇牙咧嘴地从地上爬起来，发现自己再次回到了现代都市。不远处，安提戈努斯正在长椅上等待他。
再见到这位诡秘侍者魔狼，克莱恩只觉对方亲切许多。
恢复的记忆让他予以这位忠实可靠的朋友很大的信任。
“我知道你的躯体为什么会使你的灵魂和它一起腐败了。”克莱恩说，他的语气也如安提戈努斯最开始跟他提起“承诺”时一样轻松，“这件事情非常好解决。不用等我很久，说不定不到一个月，你就能再次回到自己的身体里去。然后拥有一个崭新而健康的人生。”
说完，他向对方挥别，与外界的“门”建立联系后，从“门”的通道离开了这里。

安提戈努斯从未在“诡秘”身上见过这样的希望。
一些祂与克莱恩之间一直存在着的微妙联系让祂对克莱恩的话语感到不安。
祂下意识伸手抓住克莱恩，却只抓到了一片被“门”切割的衣角。

Chapter Text

Outside the ‘door’ stood Bertram Abraham, and Derek, and the ‘Council of Six.’ Bertram, though not a small man, appeared a little short in front of the giants. He was talking calmly with Chief Colin, and in his demeanour, he had the air of being one step above Colin. When Klein came out from the door, Bertram took half a step to the side to make room for him, and briefly introduced Klein's identity - ‘The World’.
So Colin's gaze immediately shifted to Klein. The youth in front of him had an aura that made people feel like they wanted to get close.
‘I have learnt what happened, and I express my gratitude to you on behalf of the people who live here.’ He said, ‘Regarding the matter that His Excellency the “Gate” spoke of ......’
From the conversation, Klein realised that three full days had passed in the outside world since he had entered the ‘Gate’. Bertram had already spoken to Colin and the others about the subsequent arrangements and handed them the way to maintain the ceremonial ground. At the same time, the inhabitants of this place will also be converted to the ‘Fool’. They were gathered here to familiarise themselves with the process of maintaining the ritual site, and on the other hand, Bertram was waiting for him to return to the Source Castle with them.

Medici, tucked away in the Source Castle, ranted about his boredom after Klein and Bertram came up, but Klein, looking at his own suffering pile of clutter, thought that he probably wasn't that bored either.
He also came back with good news for Medici, the Angel of War would probably be free after helping to snap the seal, the Silver Moon. Medici says that's great, and that he can move right now. Kraven said no, at least not until he was in a stable state, if Medici wasn't going to see another secret that was even more ‘annoying’ than the somewhat ‘obnoxious’ Kraven. His self-anchoring was a little unstable right now, having taken in too many memories from his trip to the Mists of History.
The Red Angel didn't say anything now.
However, considering that it was really boring on the source fortress, Klein mercifully turned out a Monopoly set for these two bored angels to play, and then got the response of ‘Oh, I thank you’.

When he finally got back to his normal home, Kraven breathed a long sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted to do right now was to take a shower to wash away the exhaustion of his mind and spirit. On his way to the bathroom with a change of clothes, he made his way to the living room and saw Russell, who hadn't appeared for days, finally sitting there on the couch again reading his immodest magazine.
‘Yo, back?’ He leaned back with his head tilted, pulling a smile that could be described as a sneer at the sight of Klein's face, ‘Looks like you know all about it.’
‘About the shit I do.’ Klein picked up.
Roselle shrugged, ‘Don't think about it so much, frankly people live for themselves and those things ultimately lead to results that are in your favour.’ He put down the magazine, ‘If it's because of those things that go before you, human nature for you that's still a negative buff.’
‘You know so much.’ Klein spat, ‘I'm going to take a shower first.’
He ignored Roselle again and closed the bathroom door as soon as he could.
Rossel, who had closed the door, wasn't much angered, He cheerfully picked up the bottle on the coffee table and poured himself a glass of wine.
‘How nice to have this power, old me wants it and doesn't have it.’ He muttered.
‘So do you want this power if it's given to you.’ The figure of Aztec Aegis floated up beside Him.
‘Don't.’ Roselle said dryly, ‘What do I do now, even if the sky collapses there is a He to hold it, if I were given it wouldn't I have to hold it.’
‘You wouldn't.’
‘I wouldn't. I don't know how that guy's brain circuits grow, he just loves to take the blame.’ Russell looked in the direction of the bathroom and the conversation turned, ‘Do you think I'd scare Him half to death if I opened the door right now?’
‘......’
Azik's eyes seemed to say ‘I won't stop you if you plan to do that, but don't drag me into it if you want a fight.’
‘Forget it, staying here is distracting. I'm going to go see Bebe.’
Some of the Black Emperors were also planning to speed up their journeys by using a good old fashioned way like Spirit World Shuttling.
‘Bernadette will be sealed in your mausoleum, it's your deal with Him, isn't it?’ Azk threw out this sentence before Rossel left.
Rossel's form froze for a split second.
‘It's not like I can stop what Trickster wants to do.’
He left behind a cold sentence.
‘You should be glad you never had the chance to reach Sequence 0.’

When Klein got out of the shower, Russell, who was sitting on the couch drinking wine, turned into Mr Aztec, who was sitting on the couch drinking tea.
‘He went to see his daughter.’ Azik could see what Klein wanted to ask and answered ahead of time.
That was a legitimate reason, legitimate enough that Bernadette here should have a very touching father-daughter relationship with Roselle. Klein mentally spat.
He hugged his washed clothes and found a place to dry them, praying that he'd be able to ‘clean up’ with a wave of his wand like a wizard, who'd have thought that Sequence 3 would have to do their own laundry - even if they were pinching uniqueness, miracles weren't used for things like laundry anyway! Who would have thought that Sequence 3 would have to do their own laundry?
By the time Klein sat down, he finally felt at home.
‘Two days ago, I went to see an old friend.’ Azik said, ‘She said my father climbed out of the River of Eternal Darkness. You must be careful.’
‘Crawl’ was a good word. Klein mentally applauded. Mr Azk really didn't have half the respect for Salinger as a dad.
‘I know.’
Although he didn't know what the current Salinger was planning to do, Klein, who had obtained the ‘memories’, could conclude that the part of himself that was still alive as a ‘secret’ would definitely not let him threaten ‘Klein Moretti’. Clayne Moretti’.

Klein went out the door. As he walked through the foggy streets of Birkeland, he felt a little bit of ‘this is nice’, which even made him think of going to the Church of the Night to pray.
As he reached the nearest Church of the Night, a familiar figure brushed past him. Klein resisted the urge to look backwards and still walked into the church to pray like an ordinary believer.

Walking out the door Leonard frowned at the eerie familiarity of the man who had just brushed past him. Today he had no mission and no colleague following him around, so he walked quickly to a secluded place farther away from the dark church. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask Parleth, the other man spoke first.
‘Stay away from him.’
‘That's what you said when I met Klein.’ Leonard argued with Palles in his head and was about to gag Palles when he suddenly realised whose name he had mentioned, ‘Wait, could he be Klein?’
In fact, Leonard was completely unconvinced that Klein Moretti would somehow die from an attack by an unknown extraordinary creature. Not to mention that he couldn't even access any files on that incident. It added to the weirdness of the whole thing.
‘...... Why are you so dead set on this guy.’ Parleys said, ‘I don't know if he's Klein, but he's dangerous. He's even scarier if he's Klein Moretti.’
‘Why scary?’ Leonard asked, ‘You keep refusing to say why, being secretive.’
Palles sighed, He felt tired of not having a heart.
‘You can't say, to say is to pollute, your bits aren't enough.’ In order to completely dispel Leonard's thoughts, Parleth finally revealed a bit, ‘It's really not possible for you to treat him as an evil god.’
‘Oh.’ Leonard responded so, and once he thought that there was also a proper Evil God in the Tarot, he slightly lacked that much awe for the Evil God thing.

On the other hand, Klein, who had finished his prayers normally and had not encountered the Goddess of the Night nor had he encountered any accidents, came out of the Church of the Night.
Not far away, a pair of siblings chatting greeted him.
Klein's footsteps walking forward paused.
‘Benson, what do you think Klein would be doing right now?’ Melissa said in a lighter tone, ‘I had a dream two days ago about when we were kids and Mr Crow brought us a beautiful hair rope.’
‘I dreamed that too.’ Benson said, ‘Then maybe Crane dreamed it too.’
‘It must be. It's rare that we dream the same dream.’
Their voices faded away.
Into the darkness of the church, Klein could no longer hear their words. Perhaps he could still hear them if he listened deliberately with some extraordinary ability, but there was no need to do such a thing.
He was happy to know that the ‘Silver Moon’ incident did not affect his family.
He just didn't realise that his experiences in the mists of history could also make Melissa and Benson dream of the memories he had seen.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

第三十三章 来自廷根的问候
“门”外站着伯特利·亚伯拉罕，还有戴里克，以及“六人议事团”的人。伯特利虽然身高并不低，但在一众巨人面前，还是显得有几分矮小。祂正神态从容地与首席科林说话，举止间，隐隐有高科林一头的气质。克莱恩自门内出来时，伯特利向旁退半步，给他让出位置来，又简单介绍了一下克莱恩的身份——‘世界’。
于是科林的目光立刻移到了克莱恩身上。眼前的青年身上有一种让人感到想要亲近的气质。
“我已知晓事情经过，我替住在此地的人们向你表达感谢。”他说，“关于‘门’阁下所说的事项……”
从交谈之中，克莱恩才知道自己进入“门”内之后，外界已经过了足足三日。伯特利已经将后续安排和科林他们说过，并将维护仪式场的方式交给了他们。同时，这里的居民也将改信“愚者”。如今他们聚在这里，一方面是为了熟悉维护仪式场的流程，另一方面也是伯特利在等他一起回归源堡。

被塞在源堡里的梅迪奇在克莱恩和伯特利上来之后很是叨叨了一遍自己的无聊，但克莱恩看着自己遭殃的杂物堆，觉得祂大概也没有那么无聊。
这次他回来也带来了一个给梅迪奇的好消息，这位战争天使大概在帮忙把封印物“银月”扣下来之后，就能获得自由了。梅迪奇表示那感情好，祂可以现在马上动身。克莱恩说不行，至少如果梅迪奇不打算再看见一个比起有点“讨人厌”的克莱恩更加“讨厌”的诡秘，那至少得等他现在状态稳定。他现在因为去了一趟历史迷雾接收了太多记忆，自我锚定有些不太稳定。
这下红天使不吭声了。
不过考虑到源堡上确实很无聊，克莱恩大发慈悲地变出一套大富翁给这俩无聊的天使玩，然后得到了“呵呵，我谢谢你”的回应。

终于回到正常的家时，克莱恩长长舒了口气。他现在最想做的事情就是洗个澡，把心灵和精神上的疲惫都洗掉。在他拿着换洗衣物去浴室的路上，途径客厅时，看见好几天没有出现的罗塞尔终于又坐在沙发那儿看他那不正经的杂志。
“哟，回来了？”他仰头往后靠，在看见克莱恩的脸时扯出了一个堪称讥讽的笑，“看来你都知道了。”
“关于我做的那些破事。”克莱恩接上。
罗塞尔耸了耸肩，“别那么想不开，说白了人都是为自己活的，那些事情最终导向的都是对你有利的结果。”祂放下杂志，“要是因为这些事情前功尽弃了，人性对你来说那还真是负面buff。”
“你知道真多。”克莱恩吐槽，“我先去洗澡了。”
他没再理会罗塞尔，一把关上了浴室的门。
讨了个闭门羹的罗塞尔也没多生气，祂乐呵呵地拿起茶几上的酒瓶给自己斟了杯葡萄酒。
“有这力量多好啊，老子想要还没有呢。”祂嘀咕。
“那这力量给你你要不要。”阿兹克·艾格斯的身影浮现在祂身边。
“不要。”罗塞尔很干脆地说，“现在我做什么，就算天塌下来都有个祂顶着，要是给我岂不是我得顶着。”
“你不会。”
“我是不会。也不知道那家伙脑回路怎么长得，就爱大包大揽责任。”罗塞尔看着浴室的方向，话锋一转，“你说我要是现在打开门会不会把祂吓个半死？”
“……”
阿兹克的眼神仿佛在说“如果你打算这么做我不会阻止，但是你想找打别拉上我”。
“算了，呆这儿也心烦。我去看贝贝去。”
一些黑皇帝也打算用灵界穿梭这种好用的方式加快路程。
“贝尔纳黛会被封印在你的陵寝里，是你和祂的交易吧。”阿兹克在罗塞尔离开之前丢出这样一句话。
罗塞尔身形僵了一瞬。
“诡秘想做什么，我又阻拦不了。”
祂留下冷冰冰的一句话。
“你该庆幸你永远没机会达到序列0。”

克莱恩洗好澡出来时，坐在沙发上喝酒的罗塞尔变成了坐在沙发上喝茶的阿兹克先生。
“祂去见女儿了。”阿兹克看出克莱恩想问什么，提前回答。
这个理由很正当，正当得这里的贝尔纳黛应该和罗塞尔有着非常感天动地的父女情。克莱恩在心底吐槽。
他抱着洗过的衣服，找了个地方晾，顺便祈祷一下他要是真能像巫师一样魔杖一挥“清理一新”就好了，谁能想到序列3也得自己洗衣服——反正就算捏着唯一性，奇迹也不是用在洗衣服这种事情上的。
等克莱恩坐下来的时候，他总算有了回“家”的实感。
“两天前，我去见了一位老朋友。”阿兹克说，“她说我父亲从永暗之河爬出来了。您要小心。”
“爬”这个字用得妙。克莱恩在心里鼓掌。阿兹克先生对萨林格尔这个爹真是半分敬意都没有。
“我知道了。”
虽然不知道现在的萨林格尔有什么打算，但得到了“记忆”的克莱恩可以断定还作为“诡秘”活着的那部分自己，一定不会让祂威胁到“克莱恩·莫雷蒂”的。

克莱恩出了门。他在贝克兰德浓雾漫天的街上走，竟也有了几分“这真好”的感慨，甚至让他起了去黑夜教堂祷告的念头。
在抵达最近的黑夜教堂时，一个熟悉的身影与他擦肩而过。克莱恩忍住向后望的冲动，依然像一个普通信徒一样走进教堂中做祷告。

走出门外的伦纳德因为对方才和自己擦肩而过那个男子诡异的熟悉感皱眉。今日他没有任务，身边也没有同事跟着，所以他快步走到一个里黑夜教堂比较远的隐秘地方。就在他要开口问帕列斯时，对方先开口了。
“离他远点。”
“这话你在我见到克莱恩的时候也这么说。”伦纳德在脑海中和帕列斯争辩，正要和帕列斯插科打诨，忽地又意识到自己提了谁的名字，“等等，难道他是克莱恩？”
其实伦纳德完全不相信克莱恩·莫雷蒂会莫名其妙因为未知非凡生物袭击而死。何况他甚至无法调阅任何关于那次事件的档案。这更让整件事情透出一股子诡异。
“……你怎么就那么死心眼盯着这个人不放。”帕列斯说，“我不知道他是不是克莱恩，但是他很危险。他要是克莱恩·莫雷蒂，那更可怕。”
“为什么可怕？”伦纳德问，“你一直不肯说原因，神神秘秘的。”
帕列斯叹了口气，祂感觉自己没心都心累。
“不能说，说了就是污染，你的位格还不够。”为了彻底打消伦纳德的想法，帕列斯终于透露了一点，“实在不行你就把他当邪神。”
“哦。”伦纳德应是这么应，一想到塔罗会上也有一个正儿八经的邪神，他就对邪神这个东西稍微缺乏了那么一点敬畏之心。

另一边，正常做完祷告，没有遇到黑夜女神也没有遇到任何意外的克莱恩从黑夜教堂出来。
不远处，一对兄妹聊着天迎面而来。
克莱恩往前走的脚步顿了一顿。
“班森，你说克莱恩现在会在做什么？”梅丽莎语气轻快地说，“我两天前做了个梦，梦见我们小时候的事情，乌鸦先生给我们叼来了一条漂亮的发绳。”
“我也梦见了。”班森说，“那说不定克莱恩也梦见了。”
“一定是的。我们难得会做同一个梦呢。”
他们的声音渐渐远去。
入了黑夜教堂，克莱恩就再听不见他们的话语声。也许他用点非凡能力刻意去听还能听到，但是没必要做这种事情。
知道先前“银月”的事情没有对家人造成什么影响，他就很高兴了。
只是没想到，他在历史迷雾中的经历，也能让梅丽莎和班森做他见过的那段记忆的梦。

Chapter Text

Emlyn White walked into a shop that sold doll costumes.
The shop was owned by one of his own kind, a Blood. She sat dangling behind the counter, napping, and upon hearing the doorbell, reluctantly raised half her eyelids to see which of her unsuspecting customers it was. At first glance, it was her old acquaintance, Emlyn.
‘What have you brought again?’ She asked lazily, ‘No potions this time, you'll get credit at best.’
It was an attitude Emlyn was used to. After all, he had once before spent a large sum of money on a custom-made, but his hands were tight when it came to the final payment, and it was too late to sell the finished potion, so he simply asked the boss to charge him for the potion, and he almost didn't get beaten to death by the other party.
‘Not potions.’ He said, ‘This time I'm not here to buy costumes, I want to ask you for a bit of information.’
‘Oh?’ The young girl blood came to be interested, she sat up straight and looked at Emlyn with two glowing eyes, ‘Rare ah ...... your useless brain would actually need information. First things first, although I mainly sell intelligence here, it's not cheaper than the doll clothes you ordered - what kind of information do you want?’
‘Hmm.’ Emlyn's eyes wandered, ‘Have you tried calling on the Beginning lately?’
The next second, he was met with a blood red spike against his forehead.
‘You're not Emlyn!’ The young girl shouted, ‘Say, what replaced you!’
Emlyn slapped the mannequin in her hand aside with a handful of model knives, ‘I'm proper, alive, that's ......’ he squirmed, ‘I've been having dreams lately that I think the Beginning has something to say to me. ’
The teenage blood rolled her eyes and took her knife back. ‘That's really something.’ She muttered, ‘I haven't sensed anything from the Patriarch lately, but the older guys in the clan are on edge.’ She tried to remember, ‘One of the old things asked me about you as well, but he just asked if you came to my place often to buy things, and if you looked different than usual when you came to buy things these days. That's all. I won't charge for it this time, and anyway, the few in the clan that are being watched are largely aware of it, and you're the sidelined one who doesn't know anything about it.’
She resumed the lazy look she'd started with.
‘Thanks.’ Emlyn thanked.
The first half of the story was certainly something that was clear to everyone, but someone asking a young girl about him was definitely classified information.
‘Consider it a gift for a regular customer.’ The maiden said, ‘If you have some conscience, next time don't embarrass me with a lace dress with ten layers that still all have to be sewn by hand.’

Emlyn, who came out of the shop, was still in an unsettled mood. He had dreamt that the Patriarch had delivered a message to him after he finished his third Tarot session. But the dream was so vague that he forgot the content when he woke up in the morning, and only vaguely remembered that it was related to the Tarot Session. This matter was so perverse that he couldn't even tell his parents, so he could only pick on this intelligence peddler to ask about it. Unexpectedly, he was indeed targeted.
With a sad face, he couldn't help but curse the Tarot Society in his heart. But he didn't dare to curse the Fool, fearing that he'd be finished if the Evil God heard him.
Just as he was distracted, a gentleman wearing a bowler hat and looking about twenty-seven or twenty-eight walked past him. Emlyn's gaze was uncontrollably and unconsciously fixed on the other man, and it wasn't until the gentleman had already walked a few steps behind him and turned around because of his disrespectful sight that he realised the matter with chagrin.
‘What's the matter? Is it something dirty on my clothes?’
The passerby walking by was none other than Klein Moretti. He giggled as he realised that Emlyn was slack-jawed but kept staring at him. Unlike Emlin who couldn't recognise him, he was completely sure that the other party was ‘Moon’. So when he found out about it, he remembered the not-so-normal Forsyth and Leonard, who both seemed to show similar signs.
The Tarot Club would be attracted to him and would probably mistake him for love.
Not knowing why he had done so, Emlyn apologised handily and repeatedly, saying that he just thought the suit on the other man looked special and couldn't help but look at him more. Somehow he managed to catch a glimpse of the passerby's face while he was talking, only to be disappointed for no apparent reason when he saw the resemblance, as if he should have seen a different face.
Crane had used a very ordinary passer-by's face today, so banal that it would be difficult to find it in three seconds when thrown into a crowd. It was just that he had neither the need to play the role nor the identity he was trying to imitate, so he didn't camouflage his aura, resulting in a slightly cut-off feeling between the aura and the face.
In the face of Emlyn's apology, Klein casually waved his hand, indicating that he didn't care about the matter.
The two parted ways just like that.

Since Emlyn mentioned the special style of his suit, Klein looked down at the suit he was wearing.
He had left the house in a hurry today, and upon closer inspection, he realised that he seemed to have taken a suit that wasn't included in his luggage. If he remembered correctly, this suit should be prepared by Russell, the other party's reason is worried about him running around naked for no reason.
Now that he touched it carefully, the suit should be a custom-made high-class item, more expensive than his entire body combined, so it was no wonder Emlyn couldn't help but look at it.
Halfway there, Klein stopped in his tracks.
He realised that a certain bloodline had started to follow him unconsciously again.
This kind of ‘glamour’ is really scary. Kraven complained in his heart. Anyone who was close to him in his last life seemed to be affected.
He had no choice but to use his ability to reduce his presence, and took advantage of the corner to get rid of Emlin.
Emlyn, who was left in place, did not notice his stalking behaviour, and his body walked back to his home in accordance with the inertia of his mind.

Spirit World.
‘Is He ready?’
Azk-Eggs stood in front of a lady carrying four heads in her hands, nodding slightly after hearing His question.
‘He has already been to the Ruins of Old and returned successfully. I confirmed His state with Bertram Abraham, and it is still stable, with no breakdown or alienation of humanity.’ He said, ‘Due to early planning, He did not reach the perfect state as originally envisioned.’
‘After all, now that He has let go of His observation of the entire world, changes are inevitable.’ One of the heads on the lady's left hand replied, and then one of the heads she carried in her right hand asked Azik, ‘Do you have any thoughts about Him?’
‘I am always loyal to Him.’ Azik said.
‘But you didn't tell Him what Salinger did in the first place.’ The other head of the lady's right hand said, ‘Is that really good for Him? He should have been entitled to know by now.’
‘...... I just wish I could spend more time with Him again. He gave me free rein to judge and decide in the first place.’
‘The ‘human’ part of you has certainly thickened.’ The lady replied, ‘But beware of the total collapse, if He reverts to His original form, you ......’
‘My mind is made up.’
So all four heads stopped talking.
A letter appeared out of thin air after Azk left. One of the heads in the lady's hand bit into the envelope. Then both the lady and the letter disappeared.

Klein went home and there was still no sign of the other two in the house. He didn't react much either, he ate, washed and slept as before, even if he no longer needed them now. In the following days, as if he had lost his sense of crisis, he repeated the routine of an ‘ordinary person’ day after day. He went out to taste the food, wandered in the street, and even found a place in Birkeland that could do divination, and did his old job of divination.
Underneath his normal routine is the red moon that he gazes out of his window every night. Klein would sometimes fiddle with the red moon, including but not limited to using it to complete various rituals and observing with a telescope. These actions may not seem to have much of an impact in the real world, but on one particular day when he pulled out the two men in the source fortress to let off some steam, Medici noticed that the distance he could move away from Klein became longer, and that Bertram's silhouette was more solid than before.
Crouching in front of the window with Klein and watching the moon was a boring thing to do. Medici passed the time by asking random questions about unproductive nonsense.
‘Why did you have to ask me to get that seal called ‘Silver Moon’?’
At this point Klein was drawing a charm on the window.
‘That thing is tucked away inside the ‘City of Calamity’.’ He said, ‘I can't get in right now, but that back door “I” left open you can use.’
‘You're not afraid I'll take it and run without giving it to you?’
Klein could hear that Medici just didn't have anything to say, that the situation, which He understood, just had to be this bitchy.
So he laughed dryly and returned, ‘Just say it if you want to be contaminated by the “Silver Moon” and then die a violent death.’

埃姆林·怀特走进了一家卖人偶服饰的店铺。
这家店铺的店主是他的同类，也是一名血族。她吊儿郎当地坐在柜台后面打盹，在听到门铃后，不情不愿地抬起一半眼皮瞧瞧是哪个不长眼的顾客。一看，是她的老熟人，埃姆林。
“你又带了什么来？”她懒洋洋地问，“这次不接受药剂抵账，顶多算你赊账。”
这副态度埃姆林已经习以为常。毕竟他之前有一次定做花了一大笔钱，最后尾款的时候却手头紧，做好的药剂又来不及卖，干脆让老板收他药剂，差点没被对方打死。
“不是药剂。”他说，“这次我不是来购买服饰的，我想问你一点情报。”
“哦？”少女血族来了兴趣，她坐直了身子，两眼发光地看着埃姆林，“稀奇啊……你那没用的脑子居然也会需要情报。先说好，我这儿虽然主要贩卖情报，但是可不比你定的人偶衣服便宜——你要什么情报？”
“嗯。”埃姆林眼神游移，“最近你有尝试呼唤过始祖吗？”
下一秒，他就被一柄血红的尖刀抵住了额头。
“你不是埃姆林！”少女大叫，“说，什么东西替换了你！”
埃姆林将她手上的人偶用模型刀一把拍到一边，“我正经的，活的，就是……”他扭捏了一下，“我最近老做梦觉得始祖有话要对我说。”
少女血族翻了个白眼，把刀收回去了。“真是有够不正常的。”她嘟哝着，“最近我没有感受到始祖有什么动静，但是族里老家伙们都很紧张。”她努力回忆，“也有一个老东西向我问起你，但他只是问了你是不是经常来我这买东西，这段时间来买东西的时候有没有看起来和平时不一样。就这些了。这次就不收钱了，反正族里被关注的几个都大差不差地知道，也就你这个被排挤的家伙对此不清楚。”
她又恢复了一开始懒洋洋的样子。
“谢谢。”埃姆林道谢。
前半截固然是大家都清楚的事情，但有人向少女打听他的事情，绝对是机密情报。
“就当是赠送老顾客的吧。”少女说，“你要是有点良心，下次就别拿十层八层还全是要手缝的蕾丝裙为难我了。”

从店里出来的埃姆林依然心情不平静。他在结束第三次塔罗会之后，就梦到了始祖向他传递一个讯息。但梦境太过模糊，他早上醒来就忘记内容了，只隐约记得与塔罗会有关。这件事情太过反常，他都没办法告诉父母，于是只能扒拉这位情报贩子问问看。没想到果然是被盯上了。
他愁眉苦脸的，忍不住在心里诅咒塔罗会。但他没敢诅咒愚者，怕被邪神听见自己就完蛋了。
就在他心不在焉的时候，一个戴着礼帽，看起来约莫二十七八的绅士从他身边走过。埃姆林的目光不受控地无意识盯着对方，直到那个绅士已经走过他身后数步，因为他失礼的视线转过身才懊恼地发现这件事情。
“怎么了？是我的衣服上沾了什么脏东西吗？”
走过的路人正是克莱恩·莫雷蒂。他发现埃姆林目光涣散，但却一直盯着他看，心里咯噔一下。和埃姆林认不出他不同，他是完全可以确认对方就是“月亮”的。所以在发现这件事情的时候，他想起不太正常的佛尔思和伦纳德，他们似乎也都呈现出了类似的表征。
塔罗会的人会被他吸引，而且还很可能会误认为这是爱情。
不知道自己为什么这么做的埃姆林手足无措地连声道歉，说只是觉得对方身上的西装看起来很特别，忍不住多看了两眼。不知怎的，他趁着说话的时候瞧瞧瞥那路人的脸，却在看见相貌时心底没来由地感到失望，仿佛他应该看到另外一张面容似的。
克莱恩今日使用了一张十分普通的路人脸，平庸到扔进人潮里三秒钟就难以找到的那种。只是他既没有扮演的需要，也没有要模仿的身份，所以并没有伪装自己的气质，导致气质和脸略有割裂感。
面对埃姆林的道歉，克莱恩随意地摆了摆手，表示不在意这件事情。
两个人就这么分开。

由于埃姆林提起了他西装款式特殊，克莱恩低头瞧了瞧自己身上的西装。
今天他出门得匆忙，仔细一看才发现好像拿了一套并不在自己行李内的西装。如果没记错的话，这套衣服应该是罗塞尔准备的，对方的理由是担心他无故裸奔。
现在仔细摸一摸，这套西装应该是定制的高档货，比他全身上下加起来都贵，也难怪埃姆林会忍不住看。
走到半路，克莱恩停下了脚步。
他发现某个血族又开始无意识跟随自己了。
这种“魅力”还真是恐怖。克莱恩心里抱怨。但凡上一世和他关系紧密一点的似乎都会受到影响。
无奈之下，他只能动用能力降低自己的存在感，趁着拐弯甩掉了埃姆林。
被留在原地的埃姆林并未察觉自己的跟踪行为，身体依照惯性神思不属地走回了自己的家。

灵界。
“祂准备好了吗？”
阿兹克·艾格斯站在一名手上提着四个头的女士身前，在听闻祂的问话后，微微点头。
“祂已经去过旧日遗址，并成功返回。我同伯特利·亚伯拉罕确认了祂的状态，还算稳定，人性没有出现崩溃或者异化的情况。”祂说，“由于提早了计划，祂没有达到当初设想的完美状态。”
“毕竟现在祂放开了对整个世界的观察，有变动也是难免的。”女士左手上的一个头回答，然后她右手提着的一个头向阿兹克提问，“你对祂有什么想法吗？”
“我始终是忠诚于祂的。”阿兹克说。
“但你没有告诉祂萨林格尔当初做的事情。”女士右手的另一个头说，“这对祂真的好吗？祂现在应该已经有资格知道了。”
“……我只是希望能再与祂多相处一段时间。祂当初给予我了自由判断和决定的权限。”
“你身上的‘人’的那部分确实变浓厚了。”女士回答，“但是小心全盘崩塌，如果祂恢复了原状的话，你……”
“我意已决。”
于是四个头都不再说话。
阿兹克离开后，一封信凭空出现。女士手上其中一只头咬住了信封。然后，女士和信件都消失不见。

克莱恩回家后，家里依然没有其他两位的踪影。他也没什么反应，就像之前一样吃饭、洗漱、睡觉，哪怕他现在已经不再需要这些。接下来的日子，他如同失去危机感一般，一日日地重复着“普通人”的日常。他出去品尝美食，在街上闲逛，甚至在贝克兰德找了一家能够占卜的地方，干起了占卜的老本行。
而在普通人的日常之下，是他每天晚上会注视窗外的红月。克莱恩有时会对着红月摆弄一些东西，包括但不限于利用红月完成各种仪式和用望远镜观测。这些举动看似没有在现实世界产生什么影响，但在某一日他将源堡里的两个人掏出来放风时，梅迪奇注意到自己能远离克莱恩的距离变长了，伯特利的身影则比之前更凝实了。
陪克莱恩蹲在窗前看月亮是一件很无聊的事情。梅迪奇就随口问点没营养的废话打发时间。
“你干嘛非要我去拿那个叫‘银月’的封印物？”
这时克莱恩正在往窗户上画符咒。
“那玩意儿被塞在‘灾祸之城’内。”他说，“我现在进不去，但是那个‘我’留的后门你可以用。”
“你不怕我拿了就跑不给你？”
克莱恩能听出来梅迪奇就是没话找茬，情况祂都懂，就是非要犯这个贱。
于是他干笑两声，回道：“你想被‘银月’污染然后暴毙就直说。”

Chapter Text

Klein drew the ritual partly to verify the authenticity of the memories, and partly to absorb them and mentally stabilise himself. His feeling about those memories to this day remains that he watched a first-person film that had nothing to do with him, but remembers it damn well. Unable to comprehend the emotions that Tricky had felt when he made his plans, he had no first-hand sense of the handful of memories with non-intellectual content.
‘Even you are afraid to enter the place, you still let me in ...... ‘City of Calamity’, the source material is not something that I can touch now, if my extraordinary characteristics and uniqueness is still there, it would be interested to get it. ’ Medici said.
‘It's not that I wouldn't dare.’ Klein said, ‘but rather I can't. As for you having access to the source material, isn't the house you live in every day a partial materialisation of my source material. Why don't you live here and I'll let you come face to face with the Black Emperor every day?’
‘OK. Then I'll sleep on the bed and you'll hit the floor.’
‘...... In all seriousness,‘ said Klein, “the ”City of Calamity’ is not in a fixed place, and in the past it was still dependent on the ‘Source Fortress’ as a jumping off point. Also, your original ‘Uniqueness’ is there, so remember to pick it up yourself.’
‘Thud,’ Medici knocked on the table. Klein suspected that the poor table looked fine when in fact the core was shattered.
‘Finally you offer a reward that causes me to go get it myself?!’
Klein smiled.
‘Intelligence is always the most expensive.’
‘Hmph.’

Looking up at the moon, Klein figured it was about time to gather up the various extraordinary materials piled on the floor in front of the window.
Medici leaned against the wall next to the window and suddenly asked him, ‘Where did you get all that money?’
‘From the current Black Emperor.’ Klein said, ‘I woke up one morning to find a very thick red envelope stuffed in the pocket of my coat hanging outside.’
‘Red bag?’
‘Just a red bag.’ Klein was helpless, ‘Anyway, just think of it as a little unspoken interaction between him and me.’
He didn't bother explaining his past to Medici.
‘You guys, you've been secretive since we first met.’
‘Haha, soothsayers aren't all like that. So is Charatu.’ Klein said.
Medici smiled skin-deep, ‘Yes, yes.’

Not the same at all.
In the Red Angel's long ago memories, the Lord of Secrecy had always been an existence with no way to speculate on purpose. He had always been plotting something, but no one was able to understand it. The countless people in the world did things with nothing more than two words, profit and emotion. Sentiment was something that was then completely devoid of shenanigans, but there wasn't a single arrangement that He made that could bring benefits to Him, and there were even many that He had to pour benefits into.
Medici remembered how he had been tricked into going to the Creator's camp with the uniqueness of the ‘Red Priest’. Originally, both himself and Urolius had followed Sleight of Hand across the land - in fact, at that time, many extraordinary creatures would seek refuge in Him. Although Trickster was not kind, He was not malicious either, and He never actively attacked any beings. There is a zone of ‘absolute peace’ around Him. This comes from the fact that the Lord of Secrecy's own pressure is a deterrent to other extraordinary beings. All existences treated Him as a moving shelter.
Until one day, as if awakening, the Secret Lord muttered, ‘It's time’. He dispersed most of the creatures that followed him, leaving only himself, Urolius, and a child whose face he could not remember. That child later became Amanisis. But Amanisis seems to have lost the memory of that time.
Only the two of them knew about it, but neither of them could talk about it, and there were many missing parts of the memory of that time. Urolius thought: it was a non-existent fate not allowed to be known by anyone. And Urolius gives another answer to the fact that His and Urolius' memories have not been completely erased: a destiny that has already been formed cannot be modified.
Perhaps because Urolius was more ‘understanding’, Secret was always closer to him, and Secret would sometimes chat with Urolius, but never with himself. Urolius' good temperament allowed him to always answer questions when asked. The only thing about Sly was that He was often reticent to say anything about Sly.
Eventually Urolius only said, ‘His destiny is even older than the “me” before the reboot.’

While Medici remembers the past, Klein is wondering about a certain raven that has disappeared since he investigated the ‘Great Haze’ incident. The other said he'd help him see what was going on, and then disappeared completely.
Amon's absence was a happy thing, but Amon's unexplained departure was not a happy thing. Amon's presence largely represented Adam's attitude. Now Amon's disappearance must also have Adam's authorisation. This guy here who wasn't Adam but the ancient sun god was even more so that Klein couldn't see through him at all.
If the secretive one had that kind of attitude, what kind of idea did he have to help the Ancient Sun God leave his ego behind, and how did he convince him to voluntarily share his uniqueness with the current Wind, White, and Wisdom Three Gods? There were many mysteries involved, and the memories did not give an answer.
With his troubled mind, Klein sank into sleep.

Ordinary days were so ordinary that Klein almost thought he was back in the Moretti house again, except for the cold and empty house that informed him of the cruel fact that he could never go back. Klein tried to do what ordinary people do, anchoring himself to the ‘human’ side of the world. He was more vulnerable in this regard than he had been in his previous life. I don't know if it was because of the lack of believers, but after he deviated from the ‘human’ side, his spirit would become very unstable.
Waking up at a time when a normal person should wake up, Klein found Mr Aztec sitting at the end of his bed.
‘I've set out breakfast for you, you can eat it straight after washing up, it should be just the right temperature.’ Azik said, ‘How are you doing today? If it's convenient, I'd like to take you to the spirit world today. The One who wants to see you is ready to meet.’
‘Huh?’ Klein's sanity was still a bit dazed because he had just woken up from sleep, but soon, reason returned and he knew what Mr Azek was talking about, ‘Well ...... I don't have anything else going on, and my state has stabilised more or less. Let's go today then.’
Mr Azik nodded.

Their landing point in the spirit world this time was a place that Klein had not visited in his last life. The strong aura of death made Klein frown.
‘This is the place my father left behind. After His death, I took over this place.’ Azuk introduced, ‘Other than me, there shouldn't be anyone who has permission to enter this place. This place is relatively close to the agreed upon location, so I brought you straight here.’
‘Hmm.’
Salinger's Legacy? ......
I don't know if it was Klein's illusion, but he always felt that he and Aztec were not the only ones in this place, and that there was a ‘third party’ watching this place. Moreover, Rossel had mentioned that ‘Salinger had run away with his land’, so what was the situation of the place where he was now?
Klein wanted to remind Mr Aztec, but in the end, he only slightly opened his mouth and closed it again.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Mr Azik, but this matter was just too bizarre. He couldn't help but wonder if there was some sort of ‘secret’ arrangement.

After a labyrinthine trek, Klein came to a familiar place.
A floating castle was hidden behind a thin mist. It was black in colour, with high spires and vines, and the architecture was typical of the Gothic style.
Getting closer, one could see four blonde-haired, red-eyed, bright-looking heads being carried by a hand. Undoubtedly, the owner of the hand was the messenger lady from his previous life, Renette Tinnikol.
Unlike when they first met, instead of being the size of a castle, He was about the size of a normal human. Perhaps it was because it was convenient to meet.
‘You're here.’ A head on His hand spat out a smooth pronunciation.

克莱恩绘制仪式一方面是为了验证记忆的真实性，另一方面，也是为了吸收记忆，自己的精神稳定下来。他至今对那些记忆的感觉依然是看了一场和自己无关的第一人称电影，但是记得该死的清晰。由于无法理解诡秘做出计划时的心情，他对少量非知识内容的记忆没有任何亲身经历的感触。
“连你都不敢进去的地方，你还让我进去……‘灾祸之城’，源质可不是现在的我能接触的东西，要是我的非凡特性和唯一性还在，倒是有兴趣去拿。”梅迪奇说。
“我不是不敢。”克莱恩说，“而是不能。至于你能不能接触源质，每天你住的屋不就是我的源质部分具象化。要不你住这儿我让你每天和黑皇帝面对面？”
“行啊。那我睡床，你打地铺。”
“……说正经的，”克莱恩说，“‘灾祸之城’并不在固定的地方，过去还得靠‘源堡’作为跳板。另外，你原来的‘唯一性’也在那里，你记得自己去取。”
“咚”，梅迪奇敲了一下桌子。克莱恩怀疑可怜的桌子看起来没事其实内核已经碎了。
“最后你开的报酬害得老子自己去拿？！”
克莱恩微笑。
“情报永远是最贵的。”
“哼。”

抬头看看月亮，克莱恩觉得时间差不多了，他将堆在窗前地上的各种非凡材料收拾起来。
梅迪奇倚在窗边的墙上，忽地问他：“你哪儿来那么多钱？”
“现任黑皇帝给的。”克莱恩说，“我有一天早上起来就发现我挂在外面的大衣口袋里被塞了很厚实的一个红包。”
“红包？”
“就是红色的包。”克莱恩无奈，“反正你就当我和他一点心照不宣的互动就行。”
他懒得向梅迪奇解释自己的过去。
“你这家伙，从我们第一次见到的时候就神神秘秘的。”
“哈哈，占卜家不都这样。查拉图也一样。”克莱恩说。
梅迪奇皮笑肉不笑，“是，是。”

完全不一样。
在红天使久远的记忆中，诡秘之主素来是一个没有办法揣测目的的存在。祂一直在谋划什么，但没有任何人能够理解。世间无数人做事情，无非两个字，利和情。情这东西那时的诡秘完全没有，但他做的安排没有任何一件可以为祂带去利益，甚至有许多是祂要倒贴利益的。
梅迪奇还记得当初祂也是就这么被祂用“红祭司”唯一性骗到造物主阵营去的。原本自己与乌洛琉斯都是跟随诡秘在大地上行走的——实际上，那时候，有许多非凡生物都会寻求祂的庇护。诡秘虽然没有善意，但也没有恶意，祂从不会主动攻击任何生命。在祂身边，会存在一段“绝对和平”的地带。这来自诡秘之主自身的威压对其他非凡的威慑。所有存在都把祂当做一个会移动的庇护所。
直到有一日，诡秘之主像是惊醒一般，喃喃自语着“到时间了”。祂驱散了大部分跟随祂的生物，只留下了自己和乌洛琉斯，以及一名记不清长相的孩子留了下来。那个孩子后来变成了阿曼妮西斯。但阿曼妮西斯似乎失去了那段时间的记忆。
这件事情只有祂们两个人知道，但祂们都无法说出口，且那段时间的记忆有许多缺漏的部分。乌洛琉斯认为：这是不存在的命运不允许任何人知晓。而对祂和乌洛琉斯的记忆没被完全消去一事，乌洛琉斯给出了另一种回答：已经成型的命运不可再被修改。
也许是因为乌洛琉斯更“懂事”一些，诡秘对祂总是更亲近，诡秘有时会与乌洛琉斯聊天，却从不与自己交流。乌洛琉斯的好脾气让祂在被问话时总是有问必答。唯有关于诡秘的事情，祂常常三缄其口。
最终乌洛琉斯只说：“祂的命运比重启前的那个‘我’还要久远。”

在梅迪奇忆往昔的时候，克莱恩正在疑惑自他调查“大雾霾”事件后就消失不见的某只乌鸦。对方说着帮他看看什么情况，就彻底没了踪影。
阿蒙不在身边是一件让人开心的事情，但阿蒙无故离去就不是一件令人高兴的事情了。阿蒙的存在很大程度上代表了亚当的态度。如今阿蒙的消失必然也有亚当的授意。这里这个不是亚当而是远古太阳神的家伙更是叫克莱恩完全看不透。
如果作为诡秘的祂是那样的态度，祂究竟是抱着怎样的想法帮助远古太阳神留下自我，又怎样说服祂自愿将唯一性分给现在的风白智三神的呢？其中谜团重重，记忆也没有给出答案。
怀着困扰，克莱恩沉入梦乡。

平凡的日子叫克莱恩差点以为自己再次回到了莫雷蒂家，唯有清冷空寂的屋子告知着他永远无法回去的残忍事实。克莱恩努力做着普通人该做的事情，将自己锚定在“人”的一侧。比起上一世的他，现在的他在这方面更加脆弱。不知道是不是因为信徒不足，在他偏离“人”之后，他的精神就会变得非常不稳定。
在一个普通人应该醒来的时间醒来时，克莱恩发现阿兹克先生正坐在他床头。
“早餐我已经给你摆好了，洗漱完可以直接吃，应该温度刚好。”阿兹克说，“您今日状态如何？如果方便的话，我想今天带您去灵界。想见你的那位已经做好见面的准备了。”
“啊？”克莱恩的神志因为刚刚睡醒还有几分迷茫，但很快，理智回笼，他知道阿兹克先生在说些什么了，“嗯……我也没有其他事情，状态已经稳定得差不多了。那就今天去吧。”
阿兹克先生点点头。

他们这一次在灵界的落点是一处克莱恩上一世没有去过的地方。浓郁的死亡气息让克莱恩忍不住皱了皱眉。
“这里是我父亲留下的地方。在祂死后，我接手了这里。”阿兹克介绍道，“除了我之外，应该没有任何人有进入此地的权限。这里离约定的地点比较近，所以就直接带您过来了。”
“嗯。”
萨林格尔的遗产吗……
不知道是不是克莱恩的错觉，他总觉得此地并不止他和阿兹克两个人的存在，似乎还有一个“第三者”在窥视此处。而且，罗塞尔之前提到过“萨林格尔带着自己的地皮跑了”，那现在他所在的地方又是怎样一个情况呢？
克莱恩本想提醒一下阿兹克先生，最终只是微微张了张嘴，又闭上。
并不是不信任阿兹克先生，但此事着实太过诡异。他不由得怀疑这其中是不是又有什么“诡秘”的安排。

在进行了一段走迷宫似的跋涉后，克莱恩来到了一处眼熟的地方。
一座漂浮的城堡隐在淡薄虚无的雾气后面。它通体黑色，尖顶高耸，长满藤蔓，建筑结构是典型的哥特风格。
再走近点，能看到四个金发红眼、长相明艳的脑袋正被一只手拎着。毫无疑问，手的主人是他前世的信使小姐，蕾妮特·缇尼科尔。
与初见时不同，祂不是城堡般大小，而是和正常人类差不多。也许是因为方便见面。
“你来了。”祂手上一个脑袋吐出流畅的发音。

Chapter Text

Klein, who had been waiting for the former-Messenger lady to finish her sentence slowly, froze. It seemed that this life's Renette didn't have the habit of taking turns with all four heads to think before opening her mouth.
‘If ......’ “You feel ......” ’uncomfortable with it ......‘’it's okay to do that too."’
As if hearing Klein's heart, the four heads being lifted in their hands spoke in turn.
‘But it's not necessary.’ The head on the left said, blinking her pretty red eyes, ‘I'm in much better shape now than the one you remember, and the one at the top of the sequence has minimal effect on me.’
An illusory letter appeared in front of a mouthful of heads on Renette's right hand side, that head bit into the letter before Renette handed it to Klein.
After receiving the letter, Klein habitually observed it first. Instead of paper, the envelope was made of some sort of translucent, runny stuff, and he touched the wonderful material on his hand, not quite surely thinking that perhaps it was some sort of creature's skin, as it did feel similar to leather. Upon opening the envelope, it contained ordinary paper, only tinged with a touch of grey mist.
The content of the letter was simple.
‘If you are reading this letter, I suppose many regrets should be fulfilled. Next, are you sure you want to learn the truth? If you don't want to, there's no problem with just existing. If it must be known ......’
Must know.
The current situation is nothing like redeeming regrets. Creating even more regrets to complete ‘redeeming regrets’ is simply ......
Klein's reply had just passed through his mind when the ordinary piece of paper suddenly turned into light and disappeared from his brow into his mind.
Since then, he got the first key to the truth.
As a ‘secret’, he recorded a map in the letter. The route marked on it started from the northernmost freezing harbour, passed through the eye of the storm at the sea, entered a special spirit world from there, and finally, after penetrating the spirit world, arrived at the Fortress of Origin through a special ‘door’.
The Scepter of Poseidon, obtained from the relics, is the item that guides the way in the Eye of the Storm.

After digesting the information, Klein snapped out of his trance. Renette and Azek still stood nearby quietly accompanying and waiting for him.
‘You made your choice.’ Renette said from one of the heads she carried in her left hand.
‘Then there is something you must know.’ The other head in His left hand said.
‘Beware of all true gods.’ One of the heads on the right hand said.
The last head opened its mouth and suddenly realised that it had no words to say, glaring hard at the other three heads before moving up and down, about to indicate its approval of their words.

Beware of all the True Gods?
Those True Gods, Adam, Amanisis, and others, including the Hidden Sages within the Evil Gods, had indeed been overly kind to him. But judging from Chick and Salinger's attitudes, his charisma shouldn't have that much of an effect on the True Gods, right ......? As for Adam, they were on his side only because he had allied with them. Other than that, Storm, Wisdom, Eternal Blaze, and the Gods of Steam and Machinery didn't react to his presence.
Klein wasn't sure.
In the face of these doubts, he now had the answer in his mind, but did not want to think about it.
Just like this ‘second world’, which was full of mistakes and omissions, the history was different from the beginning, so how could he meet this Fifth Age, which was ‘not too different’ from the past?

He fixed his mind.
If Renate had only come to him for this matter, she would not have taken so long to prepare with Azek.
But to his surprise, it was Mr Azik who spoke first.
‘Klein, I asked Him to get you the third key.’ Azuk said.
The second key would be the Poseidon Scepter, so what was the third key?
Under Klein's curious gaze, accompanied by a loud mechanical roar, a huge black ship sped from a distant part of the spirit world. The ship's body was pitch-black and in an unstable and grainy form, as if it had been gathered from ashes after being burnt, and its sails were broken with multiple defects. This ghost ship was like an ancient artefact on the surface, but on the inside it appeared to be mechanically driven, favouring the fact that it was sailing in the spirit world, and surely Extraordinary had played a huge role in it.
He couldn't help but stare.
‘You say, this ship it's called ......,‘ the head on the left of Miss Messenger half-said, and the name was reported by the head on the right, “”Titanic’ '.’
The original shocked expression couldn't hang on.
Klein hadn't expected such a whole live answer.
So he was going to martyr himself to someone on this ship? Considering that he would definitely take Azuk-san over there, could it be that it was really a prophecy from the very beginning of his rebirth that he was going to end up with Azuk-san? No, it seems that Azuko-san is really his lover now.
Bad.
Klein shook off the chaotic thoughts in his mind and cautiously studied the ‘Titanic’. He took out the scepter of Poseidon and the letter that he had just obtained, and found that these three items were indeed self-contained. The scepter was the rudder, the letter was the charts, and the ship was able to run on its own without the need for power, and by relying on them, he would be able to go to the place where the ultimate truth was.
Now the other question was - how was he going to take such a large ship with him?
Moreover, the ship had no intention of stopping before travelling close to it, and slammed straight into Renette.
Kraven rushed through the letters and found a way to control the ship from them. He raised the Poseidon Scepter and ordered it to stop. Once it stopped, the boarding facilities were automatically lowered, and the ship seemed to be waiting for his inspection. So he went down the ship's ladder and boarded the ghostly ship.
The ship's ladder retracted automatically as he boarded.

‘Is that how you called it in?’ Azik asked.
‘Yeah, it wouldn't listen to anyone, so was there any way to do it other than having it hunt me down for thousands of miles?’ Renette said slowly with the leftmost head in her hand.

Once aboard, Klein stepped into the cabin, which seemed to be filled with more than just mechanical rumblings and even the sound of flesh and blood drumming like a beating heart. He stepped on the dusty stairs and slowly made his way to the ship's power room.
The corridor in front of the powerhouse was empty, but the walls seemed to bear the holy splendour of the Storm Lord. He couldn't help but think, ‘Let's make the best use of what we can’.
Pushing open the door of the power room, inside was an immense and highly precise flesh and blood mechanical creation. This was part of the flesh and blood belonging to the God of Steam and Machinery. They were vibrantly in motion, powering the ship to be able to sail anywhere. Klein could even hear the roar from the Perfect One in them. But as his gaze fell upon the flesh and blood, the disgruntled murmurs faded.
After a murmur of doubt, jubilation filled the powerhouse. They sent a message of ‘welcome back’ to Kraven.
Kraven didn't know how he should look at the flesh and blood. He reached out to touch them and fled before he was deafened by the cheering.
After the parade, Klein disembarked. The massive ghost ship began to shrink into an elaborate miniature model. Krynn carefully took the model and after tucking it into the Source Castle clutter pile as well, he offered his farewells to Miss Messenger. Unexpectedly, Renette Tynecol expressed her desire to follow him, hoping he would take himself with him before he departed, so that he would remember to summon it, with the same summoning words as before.
Mr Aztec also expressed the need to stay in the spirit world, and that he wanted to pack his bags before he left.
However, the matter of ‘packing in the spirit world’ is so full of problems that one doesn't know how to spit it out.

He went home alone and regretted throwing the ship into the pile of debris so early, he should have taken the ship back to reality. Just as he was torn between putting the ship out again, an unexpected visitor stopped him.
The silver-haired, silver-pupiled, beautiful-looking angel stood silently very close in front of him, as if she had been waiting for him long ago.
‘Trickster,’ He said, ’I have come to accompany you on your last journey.’
Urolius?
Klein couldn't think of any interaction between himself and Him. The word ‘last ride’ didn't sound very nice either.
‘As we agreed in the beginning.’
He bowed His head slightly, and a bit of His long silver-white hair fell into Klein's face, tickling him a little.
‘Remember to remind Medici. He may have forgotten about the pact.’
That was fine too.
Not one more, not one less. It wasn't like taking a boatload of people with him was going to martyr them all with him anyway.
It was just that poor Medici hadn't even left the den of wolves yet, and had already been set to go to the den of tigers by his colleagues.
Klein's mood suddenly brightened a little because of this matter.

原本等着前·信使小姐慢慢说完话的克莱恩愣了愣。看来这一世的蕾妮特没有四个头轮流想一想再开口的习惯。
“如果……”“你觉得……”“不习惯……”“也可以这样。”
就像是听见克莱恩的心声般，被提在手上的四个头轮番开口。
“但是没必要。”左手边的头说，她眨了眨漂亮的红眼睛，“现在的我状态比你记忆中那个好很多，而且序列顶端那位对我的影响微乎其微。”
一封虚幻的信出现在蕾妮特右手边一口头前，那个脑袋咬住那封信，然后蕾妮特将信递给了克莱恩。
克莱恩接过信后，习惯性先观察了一下。信封用的不是纸张，而是某种半透明的、流光溢彩的东西，他摸着手上奇妙的材质，不太确定地想着也许是某种生物的皮，因为手感确实类似于皮革。拆开信封后，其中倒是普通的纸张，只是沾了点灰雾的气息。
信的内容很简单。
“如果你看到这封信，想来许多遗憾应该都圆满了吧。接下来，你确定要得知真相吗？如果不想，就这么存在下去也没有问题。如果一定要知道……”
一定要知道。
现在的情况根本不算什么挽回遗憾。制造更大的遗憾来完成“挽回遗憾”这种方式根本就是……
克莱恩的回答才刚在心中过一遍的时候，那张普通的信纸忽地化作流光，从他的眉心没入脑海。
自此，他得到了通往真相的第一把钥匙。
作为“诡秘”的他在信中记载了一幅地图。上面标注的线路自最北端的冷冻港起始，将穿过海上的风暴眼，从那里进入一段特殊的灵界路程，最终在穿透灵界之后，会从一扇特别的“门”处抵达——源堡。
从遗迹中取得的海神权杖正是在风暴眼指引方向的物品。

消化完信息的克莱恩从恍惚中回神。蕾妮特和阿兹克依旧站在旁边静静陪伴和等待着他。
“你做出了选择。”蕾妮特左手拎着的一个头说。
“那有件事情你必须要知晓。”祂左手的另一个头说道。
“小心所有真神。”右手上其中一个头说。
最后一个脑袋张了张嘴，忽然发现自己没有话可以说，狠狠瞪了其他三个头一眼，然后上下动了动，大约是表示赞同它们的话。

小心所有真神？
那些真神们，亚当、阿曼妮西斯等，包括邪神里面的隐匿贤者，确实对他好得过分。但从奇克和萨林格尔的态度来看，他的魅力应该没有对真神产生那么大的影响吧……？至于亚当他们站在自己这边，只不过是因为他和他们结盟过而已。除此之外，风暴、智慧、永恒烈阳和蒸汽与机械之神对他的存在都没有任何反应。
克莱恩不确定。
面对这些疑惑，现在的他其实心底已有了答案，却不愿意去想。
正如这个“错漏百出”的“第二世”一般，从一开始的历史就不一样，那又怎会让他遇上这个与过去“相差不大”的第五纪？

他定了定心神。
蕾妮特如果仅仅只是为了这件事情找他，肯定不会和阿兹克准备那么久。
但没想到的是，先开口的是阿兹克先生。
“克莱恩，我拜托祂给你找来了第三把钥匙。”阿兹克说。
第二把钥匙应该是海神权杖，那么第三把钥匙是什么？
在克莱恩好奇的注视下，伴随着巨大的机械轰鸣声，一艘巨大的黑色轮船从灵界遥远处疾驰而来。船身通体漆黑，且形态不稳定，有颗粒感，仿佛被烧灼后的灰烬聚集而成，其上风帆破败，有多处缺损。这艘幽灵船表面上如同古老的文物，内里却看起来是机械驱动的，偏偏它在灵界航行，肯定非凡也在其中起到了巨大的作用。
他忍不住瞪大了眼睛。
“你说，这艘船它叫……”信使小姐左手边的头说了半句，又由右手边的头颅报出了名字，“‘泰坦尼克号’。”
原本震撼的表情挂不住了。
克莱恩没想到会是这么个整活的答案。
所以他要在这艘船上和谁殉情吗？考虑到他肯定会带着阿兹克先生过去，莫非还真从重生的最开始就一语成谶，要和阿兹克先生终成眷属？不对，阿兹克先生好像现在还真是他的眷属。
坏了。
克莱恩将脑海中乱七八糟的想法甩出去，谨慎地研究起“泰坦尼克号”来。他取出海神权杖和方才得到的信件，发现这三样物品确实自成一体。权杖是船舵，信件是海图，还有能够无需力量驱动就能自行运转的轮船，依靠他们，他就可以去往最终的真相所在之地。
现在另一个问题是——这么大的船，他怎么带走？
而且，这艘船在行至近前后，没有要停下来的意思，直直往蕾妮特身上撞去。
克莱恩连忙翻阅信件，从中找到了控制船的方法。他举起海神权杖，命令它停了下来。停下来之后，登船设施就自动放下，这艘船似乎正在等待他的检阅。于是他顺着船梯登上了这艘幽灵般的船。
在他上船后，船梯自动收起了。

“你就是用这种方式把它叫来的？”阿兹克问。
“是啊，它谁的话都不听，除了让它千里追杀我，还有什么办法吗？”蕾妮特手上最左边的头慢吞吞地说。

上船后，克莱恩走进船舱，其中似乎不止是机械轰鸣声，甚至还有如同心脏跳动一般的血肉鼓动声音。他踩在尘埃般的楼梯上，慢慢地前往船舱的动力室。
动力室前的走廊内空无一物，但墙壁上似乎篆刻着风暴之主的圣辉。他脑子里忍不住闪过“能信都信，物尽其用”的念头。
推开动力室的大门，其内是无比庞大而高精度的——血肉机械造物。这是属于蒸汽与机械之神的一部分血肉。它们鲜活地运动着，为这艘船提供能在任何地方航行的动力。克莱恩甚至能够从中听见来自完美者的怒吼声。可当他的注视落在血肉之上时，那些不满的呓语渐渐消失了。
在一阵疑惑的窃窃私语后，欢欣充满了整个动力室。它们向克莱恩传递着“欢迎归来”的信息。
克莱恩不知道自己应该摆出什么表情来面对这些血肉。他伸手摸了摸它们，并在被欢呼声震聋耳朵之前逃离了这里。
检阅完毕后，克莱恩下了船。这个巨大的幽灵船开始缩小，化作一个精巧的微缩模型。克莱恩小心地拿着模型，将它也塞进源堡杂物堆后，向信使小姐提出了辞别。没想到的是，蕾妮特·缇尼科尔表示要跟随着他，希望他能在出发之前带上自己，让他记得召唤一下，召唤词和之前一样。
阿兹克先生也表示需要留在灵界，他出发前想收拾一下行李。
不过，“要在灵界收拾行李”这件事情，实在是槽点多得叫人不知道怎么吐。

自己孤身一人回家的克莱恩有点后悔那么早就把船扔杂物堆里，早知道就开着船创回现实了。就在他纠结要不要再把船放出来的时候，一个意外的来客拦住了他。
银发银瞳、容貌秀美的天使静静地站在他身前极近的地方，仿佛早早就在等待他一样。
“诡秘，”祂说，“我来陪你最后一程。”
乌洛琉斯？
克莱恩想不出自己和祂有什么交集。“最后一程”这个词听起来也很不美妙的样子。
“按照当初我们约定的那样。”
祂微微低着头，银白的长发落了一点到克莱恩脸上，让他感到几分痒意。
“记得提醒梅迪奇。祂可能已经忘记这个约定了。”
也行。
多一个不多少一个不少。反正带着一船人总不至于个个都跟他殉情去。
就是可怜梅迪奇还没出狼窝，已经被同事定下要去虎穴了。
克莱恩的心情忽然因为这件事情明媚了一点点。

Chapter Text

Unlike the others, the proximity of the Mercury Serpent did not cause Kraven to feel uncomfortable.
The ‘kindness’ of Urolius had a feeling that was beyond human comprehension, not similar to any other feelings in the world, but closer to an attraction that was destined by fate. The silver-white pupils of his eyes reflected Kraven's appearance, as if they were reflecting everything in time. He was merely an observer, watching the river of destiny flow from the beginning to the present. He did not interfere with external objects, and He did not care about Himself. Only Klein Moretti was a special being in His eyes. Klein couldn't say exactly what was special about himself, only one thing was clear, and that was that he, too, held a soft spot for this angel. Rarely, that attraction tended to be what He had for others.
This specialness forced Klein to ask a question.
‘Have we ever spent much time together?’
‘Hmm.’
There was no follow-up response for a long time after Urolius answered, but from the way He looked, it seemed that He was organising his words.
‘From the very beginning, we three Serpents of Mercury have been by your side.’ He recounted briefly, ‘One of us was reduced to nothingness in history, and the other is in the midst of His fourth “reboot”...... I'm the only one who has yet to ’reboot ' So I remember it all. In the days when I was not able to be by your side,, I did my best to watch you as far as my eyes could reach.’
He did not use honorifics to address him in the same way as the other beings that followed the Trickster, and beneath the matter-of-fact words was the flavour as if the two of them were old friends to the core.

The road was no longer boring with a fellow traveller, and Krynn followed the route he remembered back to the exit.
Urolius stopped in his tracks.
Klein, who had already left through the exit, watched as His figure disappeared behind the closed door to the spirit world.

Returning to reality, Klein adjusted his state for another day, and then grabbed Medici and told him to hurry and bring back the complete seal, ‘Silver Moon’. Out of concern for Medici's mood, Klein didn't tell him about the fact that he would be capturing him later.
The entrance to the City of Calamity was underneath the Source Castle. The preparation that needed to be made before entering was that one first needed to materialise this Source Plasm - a step that Sneaky had already done. Klein wasn't quite sure how exactly He was able to make drastic changes to source material that wasn't his own pathway, but it worked.
Faced with the hole in the floor of the Bronze Hall known as ‘The Entrance’, Medici cursed ‘Trickster, are you human?’ as he jumped down. Klein was tempted to reply with ‘Sneaky wasn't even human’, but it seemed like he'd be cursing himself.
He chose to watch the show. He couldn't get in himself anyway, and he couldn't care less if Medici lived or died in there.
Then Klein and Bertram, who was sitting in the source castle, played landlord. The one of the two who chose not to be the landlord split two worms out pretending to be the other. This would result in the peasants pretty much crushing the landlord though, so the two men had to take turns at being the landlord as the unlucky one.
Tired of playing, Klein gleaned out two more computers.
Although he didn't know how the computers came to be, but at least the games inside were still playable. Not only could they be played, they could even be online.
After Bertram familiarised himself with the operation, the two started the Breakup Kitchen ...... Hustle Kitchen tour. For mythological creatures operation is really not a problem, the problem is mainly in the degree of cooperation and tacit understanding. They cooperate very tacitly, simply intimate. Klein was mainly responsible for fooling around, and Bertram was mainly responsible for cooperating. Klein didn't really want to be the one fooling around, but it was hard for anyone to find themselves in a situation where whatever move they made was caught perfectly without developing a curiosity about how well the other person could match it. But Bertram Abraham didn't seem to have that ceiling.
Bertram, who was in charge of accompanying the game, was now in a somewhat delicate mood. He almost thought he was fooling around with some brilliant but rebellious child of the family. But his own youngest could be educated after the mess was over, not this one.

Medici had been gone for some time this time.
While Klein, who had played with the hocus-pocus kitchen, mulled over starting a gold miner two-player version, some grey-headed unlucky guy came up along with the big gold mine the miner had caught.
He came up clearly in bad shape, with a large portion of the skin on His face turned into blood-red bone spikes. And after He coughed, some blood foam suspected to be mixed with internal organs was spat onto the ground. This was probably the price for the urgent promotion to Sequence One. Uniqueness and the other two extraordinary characteristics were probably left in His body, just waiting for Him to stabilise His state to step into the realm of True God, which He had never reached before.
Seeing that His hands were empty, Klein was about to ask where the ‘Silver Moon’ was when he followed the rope around Medici's wrist and saw a ‘moon’ that was obviously much larger than the size of the hole popping out of the hole like some kind of jelly that had particularly good elasticity.
It was really Q-bouncy. Kraven wanted to go up and take a bite of it.
The moon was not that big, only about one person high, emitting a gentle cold light. The overall appearance was not much different from the pictures of the moon that Klein had seen in the past. Klein put his hand on the ‘Silver Moon’, and found that he was able to contact the piece of debris in the ‘Godforsaken Land’.
‘Click.’
The bone spikes on Medici's face were broken off by Him. The flesh and blood on His face was slowly repairing itself.
‘I'm done with the matter, release me.’ He said to Klein.
‘Sorry.’ Klein replied with a slight apology, ‘This time when I came back from the spirit world, I met Urolius. He said that you need to come along on my next trip to the sea. He asked me to remind you ......’
Unlike expecting to get angry or complain, the Red Angel raised an eyebrow, ‘Yo, it's about time? I thought you were going to be a while.’
‘Don't forget the deal.’ Klein finished his sentence anyway.
‘I did forget. But seeing that face of yours brought it back to mind.’ Medici waved a hand, ‘Let me out for a day first.’
Taking a look at reality Klein released Medici from the source fortress considering that Mr Aztec really hadn't returned yet either.
The Red Angel rolled through the window and out of the room, disappearing completely from Klein's sight within two steps.

Back at the Source Castle, there was another person to deal with.
Bertram Abraham needed to use the power of the Silver Moon to repair his body.
Becklander was not fit to do this, so the two ran the Godforsaken Lands to set up the ceremony. The silver moon rises in the sky and a door called ‘restoration’ opens. Bertram Abraham pushed through the door.
While Bertram was restoring his body, the Silver Moon was also exerting its power on the Forsaken Land.
Ritual fields from both Silver City and the Giant's Court resonated with it, dispersing the black mist that hovered over the land and bringing new life to a land that was very nearly dead. A bit of green slowly raised its head from the land, and as Klein crouched down, he realised it was some sort of unknown weed. After a few more moments, the first shrub grew out of the green grass, followed by tall camphor trees.
In the middle of Silver City.
The people looked up at the cold white moon and nervously looked around at the lives that were growing unchecked. Darkness wasn't the only problem they had to deal with; food shortages were just as important. In the past, this place was surrounded by death, and little could survive except for the ‘already dead’ creatures, and those that were dead would be assimilated into the ‘dead’ if they ate them. So they had to carefully guard the only ‘blessed land’ in the city, and keep searching for any edible creatures that might be left in the various ruins under the protection of extraordinary powers. Now, these apparently ‘normal’ plants were something they had never seen in their lives.
Suddenly, there was a little sound of insects, and then some illusory animal shadows appeared among the trees and grass. Some of the scholars recognised the animals and excitedly shared with those around them the knowledge that they were ‘said to be edible and very tasty’.
Some people were wounded, but their wounds began to heal after the moonlight swept over them.
‘Thanks to the moon ......’ murmured one of them.
Then more recited the words.
Klein seemed to feel something and looked in the direction of Silver City. I don't know if it was his illusion, but the moonlight brought more than just life, it also brought something that didn't belong to this era. Silver City's originally ancient walls and buildings were transformed into skyscrapers with a very technological aura. As he looked into the distance through his perceptions that had been strengthened many times over, similar city-states appeared in other places as well.
These buildings were somewhere between the unreal and the real.
The power of ‘Silver Moon’ was restoration. Flowers, plants and trees were already here, so they were restored, so were these buildings?
Then this place certainly doesn't belong to the Ancient Sun God.
Klein recalled the indifference of these people when they heard him mention the fall of the god. The doubts he had pressed at that time were now answered.
They knew about the ‘Fall of God’.
But it was not a god they had ever believed in.

与其他人不同，水银之蛇的靠近并没有引起克莱恩的不自在。
乌洛琉斯的“善意”带着些许超出人性理解的感情，与世俗意义上的任何一种感情都不类似，更接近于来自命运注定的吸引。银白的眼瞳中倒映着克莱恩的模样，也像是倒映着时间万物。祂只是一个观察者，注视着命运河流自最初流淌至今。对于外物，祂不干涉，对于自身，祂不在乎。唯有克莱恩·莫雷蒂，在祂眼中是特殊的存在。克莱恩说不出自己究竟特别在哪里，只有一点很清楚，那就是他也对这位天使抱有好感。很罕见，这种吸引力往往是他对其他人的。
这种特别迫使克莱恩问出一句话。
“我们曾经相处过很久吗？”
“嗯。”
乌洛琉斯答完后，许久没有后续回应，但从祂的样子来看，似乎在组织语言。
“从最初开始，我们三个水银之蛇就在你身边。”祂简单叙述，“其中一个在历史中化为了虚无，另一位正在进行祂的第四次‘重启’……唯独我还没有‘重启’过，所以我全都记得。在未能陪伴在你身边的日子中，，我尽我所能注视着我目光所能及之地的你。”
祂没有与其他追随诡秘的存在一般使用敬称来称呼他，平实的言语下是仿佛他们两个是故友至交的味道。

有同行者的路途不再枯燥，克莱恩沿着记忆中的路线回到了出口前。
乌洛琉斯停住了脚步。
已经从出口离开的克莱恩看着祂的身影消失在了闭合的灵界之门后。

回到现实的克莱恩又调整了一天状态，然后就抓起梅迪奇让祂赶紧去带回完整的封印物“银月”了。出于对梅迪奇心情的关怀，克莱恩暂时还没把之后还要抓祂壮丁的事情告诉祂。
前往灾祸之城的入口就在源堡之下。进入之前需要做的准备是先需要具象化这个源质——这步诡秘已经做好了。克莱恩不太清楚祂究竟怎么能够对非自己途径的源质进行大刀阔斧的改动的，不过能用就行。
面对青铜大殿地上被称为“入口”的地洞，梅迪奇一边骂着“诡秘你是人吗”一边跳下去了。克莱恩很想回个“诡秘本来就不是人”，但貌似会骂到他自己。
他选择看戏。反正他自己是进不去，梅迪奇在里面是死是活他都管不到。
然后克莱恩和坐在源堡里的伯特利玩起了斗地主。两个人中选择不当地主的那个分两条虫出来假装是另外的人。不过这样会导致农民对地主几乎碾压，于是两个人只能轮流当地主做这个倒霉蛋。
玩腻了的克莱恩又薅出了两台电脑。
虽然他不知道这电脑是怎么来的，不过至少里面的游戏还能玩。不仅能玩，甚至还可以联机。
在伯特利熟悉了操作之后，两个人就开始了分手厨……胡闹厨房之旅。对神话生物来说操作确实不是什么问题，问题主要在配合默契度上。他们配合十分默契，简直亲密无间。克莱恩主要负责胡闹，伯特利主要负责配合。克莱恩不是很想当胡闹的那个人，但是很难有人在发现自己无论做出什么举动都能被完美接住的情况下，不生出对方能配合到什么程度的好奇。但伯特利·亚伯拉罕好像没有这个上限。
负责陪玩的伯特利现在心情有点微妙。祂差点还以为自己在和家里哪个优秀但叛逆的孩子胡闹。不过自家小辈可以在闹完了后教育一顿，这位不行。

梅迪奇这一去有些时间。
玩过胡闹厨房的克莱恩琢磨着开个黄金矿工双人版时，一些灰头土脸的倒霉蛋也随着矿工钓上的大金矿一起上来了。
祂上来时明显状态很差，脸上有一大半的皮肤化作了血红色的骨刺。并在祂咳了一声后，一些疑似混合着内脏的血沫被吐到了地上。这大概就是紧急晋升序列一的代价。唯一性和另外两份非凡特性大概被祂待在身上，只待祂稳定状态就可以踏足之前从未抵达过的真神境界。
克莱恩见祂双手空空，刚想开口问“银月”在哪儿，目光就顺着梅迪奇手腕上的绳子看到了一个明显比洞口尺寸还大很多的“月亮”跟某些伸缩性特别好的果冻一样从洞口里弹了出来。
真的很Q弹。看得克莱恩都想上去啃两口。
那个月球并不算大，也就约莫一人高，散发着温柔的冷光。整体与克莱恩过去见过的月球照片相差不大。克莱恩将手搭在“银月”上，发现能够联系到那片在“神弃之地”的碎片。
“咔嚓”。
梅迪奇脸上的骨刺被祂掰了下来。祂脸上的血肉在缓慢地修复着。
“事情我办完了，把我放出去吧。”祂对克莱恩说。
“抱歉。”克莱恩略带歉意地回答道，“这一次我从灵界回来的时候，遇到了乌洛琉斯。祂说，接下来我去往海上的旅行，你需要一起参与。祂让我提醒你……”
与预想会发怒或是抱怨不同，红天使挑了挑眉，“哟，这就到时候了？我还以为你要一会儿。”
“别忘记约定。”克莱恩还是把话讲完了。
“我是忘了。但是见到你那张脸又记起来了。”梅迪奇挥了挥手，“先让我出去，等我一天。”
看了一眼现实的克莱恩考虑到阿兹克先生也确实还没回来，于是将梅迪奇从源堡放了下去。
红天使翻窗从房间里出去，没两步就彻底消失在了克莱恩视线中。

回到源堡，还有另一个人要处理。
伯特利·亚伯拉罕需要使用银月的力量修复身体。
贝克兰德不适合干这件事情，于是两个人跑神弃之地去布置仪式。银月升空，一扇名为“复原”的大门自此打开。伯特利·亚伯拉罕推门而入。
在伯特利修复身体的时间内，银月也在向神弃之地发挥着它的力量。
来自白银城和巨人王庭的仪式场都与它共鸣着，驱散了这篇土地上盘旋的黑雾，也给极近死亡的土地带来了新生。一点绿意从土地上缓缓抬头，克莱恩蹲下后，发现它是某种不知名杂草。又过了片刻，绿茵茵的草地上长出了第一颗灌木，紧接着是高大的樟树。
白银城中。
人们抬头看着冷白色的月亮，紧张地环顾肆意生长的生命们。黑暗并不是他们要面对的唯一问题，食物短缺也一样很重要。过去，这个地方被死亡环绕，除了“已经死亡”的生物之外，几乎没有什么能活下来，而那些已死的生物，吃了也会被同化成“死灵”。于是他们只能小心翼翼地守护着城里唯一“受过祝福的土地”，并不断去寻找各种遗迹中在非凡力量保护下可能残存的可食用生物。现在这些明显“正常”的植物，对他们来说却是一生都难见到的。
忽然，一点虫鸣声响起，紧接着一些虚幻的动物影子出现在了草木之间。有学者认出了那些动物，激动地和身边人分享它们“据说可食用且味道非常鲜美”的知识。
有些人原本身上受着伤，在月光扫过之后，伤口开始愈合。
“感谢月亮……”其中一个人喃喃自语。
然后更多的人念起了这句话。
克莱恩似有所感，向白银城方向望去。不知是不是他的错觉，月光不止带来了生机，也带来了一些不属于这个时代的东西。白银城原本古朴的城墙和建筑化作了十分有科技气息的高楼大厦。他通过强化了许多倍的感知极目远眺，其他地方也有类似的城邦出现。
这些建筑物介于虚幻和真实之间。
“银月”的力量是复原。花草树木是此地原来就有的，于是被恢复了，这些建筑也是吗？
那么这个地方，肯定不属于远古太阳神。
克莱恩回想起这些人在听到他提起神陨落时的无动于衷。当时他按下的疑惑，现在得到了解答。
他们是知道“神陨落”的。
但那并非他们曾经信仰过的神明。

Chapter Text

The returning Bertram Abraham looked a bit more mature than in Phantom, perhaps related to the fact that Phantom had lightened his wrinkles. His temperament was also different from that of Phantom, and he had the flavour of a stable and reliable elder.
Like the others, Bertram also had his own things to arrange, he and Klein agreed to return to the house located in Minsk Street time, then opened the door and left.

Left to himself, Klein felt a sense of loneliness.
But after he had opened the door and reached the house, he could not be lonely for a moment at the sudden appearance of Russell in front of his face.
He shuddered to imagine the difference between almost kissing him and actually kissing him.
At the moment, Roselle looked more composed than Klein. After he quickly pulled the distance between the two, he was still in the mood to joke and ask ‘Do you want to try a real kiss?’. Klein replied back with ‘won't you spit out all the overnight food after kissing’, and then got the reply ‘how can a true god spit out overnight food if he doesn't eat’.
After the gag is over, Klein asks Russell how he came back after disappearing for so long.
Only to see Russell very deep sitting on the sofa, a long sigh, full of seriousness, said to him: ‘Comrade Xiao Zhou, you're not right, the ideological awareness is not high enough, which is so important not to tell me about the big things?’
‘Ah?’
Klein searched for how he was going to the sea and how even Rossel was going to stick his nose in.
‘This trip, you might not be able to come back.’ He said.
‘Hmm.’
Seeing Klein's flat expression, Russell, who had broken his pretence for two seconds, withdrew his deep expression, and He lay down on the backrest of the sofa with a big smile.
‘Xiao Zhou. The Blessed Life Xuanhuang Heavenly Father does not exist.’ He said.
‘God also does not exist.’ Klein picked up.
The answer to this matter was given back in the honourable name of Klein, the ‘Lord of Mysteries’.
‘...... Do you know how I got here?’
‘Why are you suddenly asking this.’ Klein subconsciously thought about Huang Tao's past.
He realised that it was impossible for them to be dropped here without the existence of the Heavenly Father.

Huang Tao patted Zhou Mingrui's shoulder.
‘Little Zhou, have a cigarette?’
Zhou Mingrui didn't like the smell of smoke, but he still changed into a cigarette and handed it out.
Huang Tao knew he didn't like it, so he just held it in his mouth without lighting it.
‘How would you feel if you knew one day that your fate was designed by someone?’
‘That depends on what He wants to do.’ Zhou Mingrui said, ‘If the ending He designed isn't too bad, then I'll be angry for a while at most and it'll be over. How about you, you won't be ‘old man go fuck yourself’, right?’
‘...... You're just too unqualified.’ Huang Tao bit the butt of his cigarette and said vaguely, ‘Originally I thought so, but not after seeing you.’
He muttered a sentence that Zhou Mingrui did not hear. But when Zhou Mingrui asked him to repeat it, he said, ‘If you didn't hear me, forget it.’
The false phantom of smoke dissipated.
Rossel's words, ‘A false hometown is barely a hometown,’ which he hadn't quite managed to get out, also dissipated.

At that moment, there was a sudden knock on the door.
Russell got up and held Klein down on the couch while he answered the door.
Sitting on the couch, Klein glanced over.
At the door was Adam.
To put it more accurately, that meant that outside the door was Adam's virtual personality doppelganger.
Over his shoulder stood a raven, odds were it was Amon.
In short, a completely unwelcome and uninvited guest to his host.
‘Is Klein in?’ Adam's gentle voice came through the door, ‘You lost a pet.’
Klein wanted to yell you're not allowed to point at the deer. What did Amon have to do with him.
But the raven had rushed to make a nest over his head with lightning speed.
‘I hear you're planning to go to sea.’ Adam stood in the doorway, not caring about Russell's ‘iron fist’ full of ‘justice’, which he had taken raw, and the improvised personality doppelganger began to become unstable, ‘I me... ...all q...... you.’
The last sentence went completely over Klein's head, but he could tell from Roselle's grimace that the other man clearly hadn't expected Adam to pull a stunt like that. He was currently struggling with the claws of a certain raven wrapped in his hair.
Seeing this, Roselle sighed again and told him to take his hand away, grab the raven by the neck and untangle Klein's hair.
As Sequence One of the Stealers without Uniqueness, Amon turned out to be the bottom of the pile.
‘And you don't pretend to be a raven.’ Roselle let go, and then Mon Raven dropped to the ground with a ‘snap.’
A young man dressed in black robes and a pointed fedora appeared in the room. He didn't have a monocle on His face and looked a little gentler and more harmless than his last life.
‘He's so over the top~’ Amon leaned over to Klein and spoke in an aria-like tone that made Klein's hairs stand up in fear, ’Master, you have to stand up for me.’
‘Miso,’ Klein stood up from the couch.
‘Holy shit, Russell is this how you hurt me?!’
After some very friendly human-crow exchanges, Klein reluctantly accepted the brain-designated unhinged Amon sitting next to him. He was sure Roselle was just wreaking havoc on him, probably in retaliation for opening the door in His face.
‘Why is He so unhinged?’ Klein asked Russell coldly, ‘Did Adam get Him such psychotic factory settings?’
Obviously it hadn't been this outrageous before when it was Monk Crow. Though Monk Crow loved squatting on Him too.
Amon had been put under a ‘gag’ spell by Klein and had to lean his back against him to reach for the non-existent monocle on his face.
‘You asked yourself.’ Roselle said, ‘Didn't you make this with that guy? The extraordinary traits in him are still falling off of you!’
Gotta, boomerang to himself. But the thought that this Amon might even count as his and Adam's child made Klein resist waving away the thoughts in his head.
It was too scary.
Resignedly, Klein snapped the pickpocketed Amon off himself.
‘I certainly wouldn't even design a game with such an outrageous setting.’
He declared.
Roselle wasn't convinced.
‘Don't you think it's possible for a negative to be a positive? You hated Amon so much before, it's not at all surprising that you'd design it to make Him kin now.’
‘But I wouldn't design a retard.’ Klein repeated, ‘That's the bottom line.’
‘He ......’ Rossel gave a one-liner look, ’Then you wait until He's not buggy, which isn't the point yet.’
It seems like there's some boomerang chasing itself again. Klein thought. Like how some programmers who failed to write a programme that didn't run without bugs in their last life still failed to do so in this life on a mythical creature.

It was still most of the day before the appointed time, and Klein, not wanting to spend time with Amon, who was obviously having problems, shut Him up in his bedroom and asked to rub a bedroom with Roselle.
‘You still need to sleep?’
‘Maybe the last sleep.’
‘The future without sleep is the last sleep. And haven't you ...... slept enough in your last life?’
‘I just slept through my last life this life and my eyes are open.’
‘Okay.’
Russell tucked him into his bedroom.

After nestling under the covers, Klein didn't think he'd be able to sleep, but he was soon half asleep and half awake.
The dream was sad that He hadn't been able to save any of the people He cared about with all his might.
‘...... I wish they were all still alive.’

The dream was so horrible that Klein woke up covering his forehead.
It seemed like he had just hit his forehead on the wall when he rolled over.
Klein got up with a start and found Russell still standing in the bedroom doorway, thinking that not much time should have passed.
‘How long have I been asleep?’
‘Not long. Just an hour.’ Russell replied.

‘Knock knock.’ The door to the room was knocked on again.
This time Roselle didn't stop Klein from opening the door.
Outside the door stood Medici, who had said that he didn't want to continue squatting at all in the Source Castle but still came the earliest. It was the first time Klein had seen the extraordinarily polite Red Angel. But He probably went to stabilise, Klein didn't know what Medici had used, and at the moment He wasn't at all as wretched as He had been before, and had even gone one level further. He probably shouldn't call Him a Red Angel anymore, crossing into the realm of the True Gods then ...... Red Priest Medici?
‘Congratulations.’ Klein said.
‘Alright, let's forget about the fact that you imprisoned me.’ Medici took a seat on the sofa and crossed his feet onto the coffee table, ‘I won't go back on a deal.’
The second person to arrive here was Bertram Abraham.
Unlike the unexpectedly polite Medici, He had opened the door directly from Klein's bedroom as if he were entering or exiting his own home, and spouted off with Klein about how the door had been opened in the wrong direction and had resulted in a shocked groove from Amon.
‘The persona is falling apart. Where's your decency when you just remodelled your body!’ Klein was also shaken.
Bertram instantly withdrew his spitting expression and his temperament cut back for a second.

归来的伯特利·亚伯拉罕看着比幻影时成熟一些，或许和幻影淡化了皱纹有关。祂气质也与幻影时期有所区别，颇有种稳重可靠大家长的味道。
与其他人同样，伯特利也有自己的事情要安排，祂和克莱恩约定过回到位于明斯克街房屋的时间后，就开门自己走了。

就剩自己一个的克莱恩生出一股孤独感来。
不过在他开门到家后，对着突然出现在脸前的罗塞尔一下子就孤独不出来了。
他不敢想象差一点亲上去和真的亲上去的区别。
此刻的罗塞尔看着比克莱恩还镇定。祂快速拉远了两人的距离后，还有心情开玩笑问“要不要真亲一口试试”。克莱恩回怼一句“你不会亲完隔夜饭都吐出来吗”，然后得到了“真神不吃饭哪有隔夜饭可以吐”的回答。
插科打诨完毕，克莱恩询问罗塞尔消失那么久怎么现在回来了。
只见罗塞尔十分深沉地坐在沙发上，长长叹了一口气，满脸严肃地对他说：“小周同志，你这就不对了，思想觉悟不够高，哪有那么重要的大事不跟我说一声的呢？”
“啊？”
克莱恩寻思着自己去海上怎么连罗塞尔都要插一脚。
“这一去，你可能就回不来了。”祂说。
“嗯。”
看克莱恩神色平淡，装逼两秒破功的罗塞尔撤下了深沉的表情，祂大喇喇地躺到沙发靠背上。
“小周。福生玄黄天尊是不存在的。”祂说。
“上帝也是不存在的。”克莱恩接上。
关于这件事的答案早在“诡秘之主”克莱恩的尊名中就被给出了。
“……你知道我是怎么来到这的吗？”
“怎么忽然问这个。”克莱恩下意识去想黄涛的过去。
祂意识到天尊不存在的情况下，他们是不可能被投放到这里的。

黄涛拍了拍周明瑞的肩。
“小周，来根烟？”
周明瑞不喜欢烟味，但他还是变了根烟递出去。
黄涛知道他不喜欢，所以只是叼在嘴里，没有点着。
“你要是哪天知道自己的命运是被人设计好的会是什么心情？”
“那要看祂想要做什么。”周明瑞说，“如果祂设计的结局还不赖，那我顶多生气一会儿也就结束了。你呢，你不会‘老子去他娘的’吧？”
“……你这就太没素质了。”黄涛咬了咬烟蒂，含糊不清地说，“原本我是这么想的，不过见到你之后就不这么想了。”
他嘟哝了一句，周明瑞没听清。但周明瑞要他再说一遍时，他却说“没听见就算了”。
烟的虚假幻影消散了。
“虚假的故乡也勉强算故乡”这句罗塞尔没完全说出口的话也消散了。

这时，家门忽然被敲响了。
罗塞尔起身按住克莱恩，把他按到沙发上坐着，自己去开门。
坐在沙发上的克莱恩瞥了一眼。
门外是亚当。
用准确一点的说法，那就是门外是亚当的虚拟人格分身。
他肩上站着一只乌鸦，大概率是阿蒙。
总之是完全不受主人欢迎的不速之客。
“克莱恩在吗？”亚当温和的声音从门外传来，“你丢了一只宠物。”
克莱恩很想大喊你不许指鹿为马。阿蒙跟他有啥关系。
但是那只乌鸦以迅雷不及掩耳之势冲到他头顶做窝了。
“听说你打算去海上。”亚当站在门口，并不管罗塞尔饱含“正义”的“铁拳”，祂生生挨了一下，这个临时制造的人格分身就开始变得不稳定，“我me……都q……你。”
最后一句克莱恩完全没听清，但他从罗塞尔阴沉的脸色上看出对方显然没想到亚当会来这么一招。他此刻正在和某只乌鸦缠在自己头发上的爪子做斗争。
罗塞尔见状，又叹了口气，让他把手拿开，抓住乌鸦的脖子，给克莱恩解开头发。
作为没有唯一性的偷盗者序列一，阿蒙变成了最底层。
“你也别装乌鸦了。”罗塞尔松手，然后蒙鸦“啪叽”就掉在了地上。
一名身着黑袍，头戴尖顶软帽的青年出现在房间中。祂脸上没有单片眼镜，看起来比上一世温和无害一点。
“祂好过分啊~”阿蒙靠到克莱恩身边，用咏叹调一样的语气说着，把克莱恩吓得汗毛都竖起来了，“主人，你得为我出头。”
“噌”一下，克莱恩从沙发上站起来。
“我草，罗塞尔你就是这么害我的？！”
在进行了一番十分友好的人鸦交流后，克莱恩勉强接受了这个脑子指定不正常的阿蒙在他身边坐着。他敢肯定罗塞尔就是在祸害他，说不定是在报复他把门开到了祂脸上。
“祂为什么会这么不正常？”克莱恩冷着脸问罗塞尔，“亚当给祂弄了这么神经病的出厂设置吗？”
明明之前是蒙鸦的时候还没有这么离谱。虽然蒙鸦也爱蹲他身上。
阿蒙被克莱恩下了“禁言术”，只能背靠在他身上伸手去扶自己脸上根本不存在的单片眼镜。
“你问自己。”罗塞尔说，“这不是你和那个家伙一起制造出来的吗？祂身上的非凡特性还是你身上掉下来的呢！”
得，回旋镖到自己了。但是一想到这个阿蒙说不定都能算他和亚当的孩子就让克莱恩忍不住挥散脑海的想法。
太恐怖了。
克莱恩认命地把扒拉自己的阿蒙从自己身上扣下来。
“我做游戏都肯定不会设计这么离谱的设定。”
他宣布道。
罗塞尔不信。
“你不觉得负负得正也有可能吗？你之前那么讨厌阿蒙，现在设计得让祂亲人一点也不奇怪。”
“但我不会设计一个智障。”克莱恩复读，“这是底线。”
“祂……”罗塞尔露出一言难尽的神色，“那你等祂不出BUG的时候吧，现在还没到点。”
好像又有什么回旋镖在追自己。克莱恩想。比如说一些程序员上辈子没能写出不用BUG运行的程序，这辈子在神话生物上还是没能写出来。

距离约定的时间还有大半天，克莱恩因为不想跟明显有问题的阿蒙待一起，于是把祂关到自己卧室里，并要求跟罗塞尔蹭一个卧室。
“你还需要睡觉？”
“说不定是最后一觉。”
“未来不睡就是最后一觉了。而且你……上一世还没睡够吗？”
“我上一世才刚睡过去这一世就睁眼了。”
“行。”
罗塞尔把他塞进自己的卧室。

窝进被子后，克莱恩本以为自己睡不着，没想到很快就半梦半醒了。
梦中的祂很难过，用尽全力都没能救回任何一个在乎的人。
“……真希望他们都还活着。”

这个梦实在是太过恐怖，克莱恩捂着额头醒了。
他好像刚刚翻身的时候额头撞墙上了。
克莱恩一骨碌爬起来，发现罗塞尔还站在卧室门口，想着时间应该过去没多久。
“我睡多久了？”
“没多久。才一个小时。”罗塞尔答。

“咚咚”。房门再次被人敲响了。
这次罗塞尔没有拦着克莱恩开门。
门外站着说了根本不想继续蹲源堡却还是最早来的梅迪奇。格外有礼貌的红天使克莱恩是第一次见。不过祂大概是去稳定状态了，克莱恩不知道梅迪奇用了什么手段，此刻祂根本没有之前的狼狈，甚至更进一层了。他也许不该称呼祂为红天使了，跨入真神领域的话……红祭司梅迪奇？
“恭喜。”克莱恩说。
“行了，你囚禁我的事情就既往不咎吧。”梅迪奇在沙发上一坐，脚翘到茶几上，“说好的事情我不会反悔。”
第二个抵达此地的是伯特利·亚伯拉罕。
和意外有礼貌的梅迪奇不一样，祂跟进出自己家一样直接从克莱恩卧室开门出来了，并和克莱恩大吐门开错方向结果受到阿蒙惊吓的槽。
“人设崩了。你刚刚重塑身体时候的正经呢！”克莱恩也很震怒。
伯特利一下子收了吐苦水的表情，气质一秒切回去了。

Chapter Text

The next to arrive was Urolius, the figure of the Angel of Fate flickering in the void for a moment. Before He could fade away, Medici, who had turned into a true god with a bit suppression, grabbed the man with a quick eye.
‘Wait with me.’
Urolius, who had been grabbed by the neck of destiny, turned into a serpent of mercury and coiled into a heap in the corner of the living room. He was indifferent to most things and didn't mind where he was.
Mr Aztec was the last to arrive. The time was stuck perfectly, any later and it would have been past the appointed hour.
At this Rossel sneered twice.
Klein thought He was probably still trying to say something about Mr Azik not being trustworthy, and the deed of being the last to arrive proved it very strongly. But it didn't really matter to Klein, even if Azuk-san was really plotting something, it was unlikely to affect this journey. If one asked why he was so confident, it was about the fact that he trusted the powers of his other self.
When everyone arrives, Klein summons the ‘Titanic’.
A huge ghost ship poked through the border between the spirit world and reality, its pointed bow coming out of a light door and then into another light door. A very short section of it rested in the middle of reality's living room, lowering the ship's ladder. Klein went up first, followed by Roselle, then Aztec and the others. Of course there were those who didn't go the right way, such as Medici who just jumped right up, and Urolius who flashed right onto the deck. Klein tried to calm the Titanic, which was unhappy with the unorthodox passengers, by not letting it kick anyone off - and I don't think Medici could either.
Once everyone was aboard, the tattered sails were puffed up as if by a gale. The ship, which hadn't travelled far in a thousand years, sailed once more into the spirit world.

Klein stood on the bow deck, a rare twinge of excitement rising in his heart. It was hard to say that the man would not have dreams of sailing-at least he certainly did as a man who had seen the King of Thieves.
‘You look like you're surprised.’ Roselle said as she walked up to him.
‘Never saw this in my last life.’ Klein was honest, ‘Never seen a frozen harbour either. It's not part of any past memories.’
‘One must always move on.’ Roselle said.
‘So I built something?’
‘More than that, there's a lot you don't know!’ Roselle gloated as if He had seen but Klein himself hadn't seen the event was delightful, ‘What kind of person lives in this world and doesn't make any changes? Don't think of the before, think of the future.’
But there is no future for those who have only the past.

The course of the spirit world seemed long, but with the mechanical power of the true gods, it was but a short moment. Klein hadn't spoken to Russell for long before he arrived at the frozen harbour in Reality.
This port fit its name perfectly, being the only very small piece near the harbour that was unfrozen. It was geographically located somewhere around the Arctic Ocean on a piece of land. There were no traces of human activity on the harbour at all, but the facilities were complete and even still functioning, no different from being maintained. According to prior investigation, this place belonged to the territory of the God of Steam and Machinery. Perhaps He was the one who was functioning. Klein hadn't seen much of this god in this life, but it was special to be in the company of His creations on his last journey.
Klein docked the ship in the harbour and followed the instructions on the envelope to enter the harbour and perform a maintenance on the Titanic. He wasn't quite sure what the greyish-brown, viscera-like substance he'd obtained from the harbour was, but the whole mechanical flesh and blood was more energetic after it had been put into the powerhouse.
The ship set sail again, hurtling through ice that normal ships could not navigate.
Klein and Roselle were still standing on the deck, not going to their cabins, and Medici, who had been standing on the top of the ship, jumped down and leaned against the fence to look out. The bitterly cold wind blew on Him, sending long reddish hair flying in all directions. As he surveyed the scenery around him, he exclaimed, ‘Curing the spirit world in the half-descent of reality is truly an unimaginable power’.
The route that Klein was on did not exist on the map, it was a vein between the spirit world and reality. From the reality of the harbour, it would gradually approach the spirit world and reach the eye of the storm at the ‘entrance’.
Rossel didn't say anything to Medici, but just had a lazy expression on his face. This Black Emperor of the Fifth Age seemed to have a poor relationship with several other ‘predecessors’. Maybe it was because of the difference in generations, but it could also be because he had always boasted that he was the most special one beside Kraven.
‘Why did you guys make that pact with me in the first place?’ Klein spoke up.
‘Trickster had mentioned His ‘plan’ to us before he left in the Third Age. At the time, the part about you was still a sketchy idea.’ Urolius floated up beside Klein, ‘On the one hand, He didn't think it was possible for you to make it to the end. On the other hand, He wanted you to make it to the end. He said that He must not be able to step in by then, and asked if I would accompany you to the eye of the storm instead of Him.’
‘And after that?’
‘I will leave.’ Medici said, ‘I'm still in a precarious state, and it would be more trouble than it's worth to clash with your source material.’
And Urolius didn't answer.
Only Klein already knew the answer.

When they set out, the sun was sinking in the west, and the tip of the red moon had risen into the sky. When they arrived at the eye of the storm, the red moon quietly changed its colour, turning into the silver moon that Klein had hung up in the ‘godforsaken land’.
Outside the Eye of the Storm, there was indeed a fierce storm, and the grey mist of history's possibilities cut off anyone who tried to approach the place. It was hard to imagine how much broken history had gone unseen since then.
Medici waved at Krynn and departed from the ship as He faded through the roaring storm.
When He was gone, Klein spread out his hand, a badge with the Red Seal of War lying quietly in His hand. Medici's words ‘Don't get screwed’, which were meant for him alone, were still ringing in his ears.
Kraven took a deep breath and stepped into the eye of the storm.

He had a premonition.
This two-week trip had come to an end.

接着到来的是乌洛琉斯，命运天使的身影在虚空中闪现了一瞬。在祂隐去之前，变成真神有位格压制的梅迪奇眼疾手快地把人揪住了。
“陪我一起等着呗。”
被抓住了命运脖颈的乌洛琉斯变成一条水银之蛇在客厅角落盘成一坨。祂对大部分事情都漠不关心，也并不介意自己身处何处。
阿兹克先生是最后赶到的。时间卡得十分准，再晚一点就过了约定的时刻了。
对此罗塞尔冷笑两声。
克莱恩觉得祂大概还是想说阿兹克先生不可信任这件事情，最后赶到的事迹也十分有力地证明了这一点。但这对克莱恩来说并没有什么关系，哪怕阿兹克先生真的在谋划什么，也不可能影响这次的旅途。若问为什么这么自信，大约是他信任另一个自己的权能。
所有人到到齐，克莱恩召唤了“泰坦尼克号”。
一艘巨大的幽灵船戳破了灵界与现实的边界，它尖尖的船头从一扇光门里出来，然后又没入另一扇光门。其中很短的一截船身停留在现实的客厅之中，将船梯下放。克莱恩先走了上去，接下来是罗塞尔，然后是阿兹克等人。当然也有人不走正道，比如梅迪奇就是直接跳上去的，乌洛琉斯也直接闪现在了甲板上。克莱恩努力安抚了一下对不走寻常路的乘客不满的“泰坦尼克号”，没让它把人踢下去——估计梅迪奇也踢不下去。
所有人上船后，破败的风帆如同被狂风吹拂般，被鼓得很满。这艘千百年没远行的船，再一次航行在了灵界。

克莱恩站在船头甲板，心里难得起了一丝激动。很难说那个男人会没有航海梦的——至少他作为看过海贼王的男人肯定会有。
“你看起来好像很惊讶。”罗塞尔走到他身边说。
“上辈子没见过这个。”克莱恩实话实说，“也没见过冷冻港。它不属于过去记忆的任何一部分。”
“人总是要向前看的。”罗塞尔说。
“所以我造了点东西？”
“不止这些，你不知道的还多着呢！”罗塞尔洋洋得意，仿佛祂见过但是克莱恩本人没见过事件很令人高兴的事情，“哪有在这个世界上活着却没做出任何改变的？别想之前了，想想以后吧。”
但是只有过去的人没有未来。

灵界的航线看似很长，但在真神机械动力的加持下，只不过是短短一瞬。克莱恩还没和罗塞尔说多久的话，就抵达了位于现实的冷冻港。
这个港口完全符合它的名字，是唯有港口附近很小一片是未结冰的。它的地理位置大约在北冰洋周围某一块陆地上。港口上完全没有人类活动的痕迹，但各项设施齐全，甚至仍在运转，跟有人维护没什么差别。根据事前调查，这里是属于蒸气与机械之神的领地。也许是祂在发挥作用。克莱恩在这一世没怎么见过这位神明，却在最后一程里与祂的造物相伴，倒也特别。
克莱恩将船停在了港口，根据信封指示进入港口给“泰坦尼克号”进行了一次维护。他不太确定他从港口取得的那坨灰褐色，内脏般的物质是什么，但在投入动力室后，整个机械血肉都更有干劲了。
轮船再次起航，在正常船只无法航行的冰面上飞驰。
克莱恩和罗塞尔还是站在甲板上，没有去船舱，原本站在船顶上的梅迪奇跳了下来，靠着围栏看外面。凛冽的寒风吹在祂身上，将赤红的长发吹得四散飘飞。祂打量着周围的景色，发出“将灵界在现实的半降临固化，真是难以想象的力量”的感叹。
克莱恩所在的这条航线，在地图上并不存在，它是位于灵界与现实之间的脉络。自港口的现实起，会逐渐逼近灵界，直抵“入口”风暴眼。
罗塞尔面对梅迪奇没吭声，只是一脸懒得理祂的表情。这位第五纪的黑皇帝，似乎和其他几个“前辈”关系都很差。也许是差辈的原因，但也可能是祂一直自诩“自己是克莱恩身边最特别的那个”的原因。
“当初你们为什么和我做那个约定？”克莱恩开口道。
“诡秘在第三纪离开前，曾向我们提起祂的‘计划’。当时关于你的部分还只是一个简陋的想法。”乌洛琉斯浮现在克莱恩身边，“一方面，祂认为你不可能走到最后。另一方面，祂希望你能走到最后。祂说祂到时候一定无法出面，问我是否愿意代替祂陪你走到风暴眼。”
“之后呢？”
“我会离开。”梅迪奇说，“我还状态不稳，和你的源质起冲突得不偿失。”
而乌洛琉斯没有回答。
只是克莱恩已经知道了答案。

出发时，太阳西沉，红月一角已升上天空。抵达风暴眼时，红月却悄然变了颜色，化作了被克莱恩挂到“神弃之地”的银月。
风暴眼外面确实有一圈激烈的风暴，历史可能性碎片灰雾将一切意图靠近此地的人隔绝在外。很难想象有多少破碎的历史在从此不见天日。
梅迪奇冲克莱恩挥手，从船上离开，祂穿过呼啸的风暴，身影渐渐淡去。
等祂走后，克莱恩摊开手，一枚带着战争之红印记的徽章静静躺在祂手心里。梅迪奇只说给他一个人的那句“别被人搞死了”的话语还在他耳边飘荡。
克莱恩深吸一口气，踏入了风暴眼之中。

祂有预感。
这一次二周目的旅行，已走到了终末。

Chapter Text

The Battle Against Destiny

It's cold.
When Klein stepped into the eye of the storm, his first impression was that the place was very dead, as if it was drenched in the breath of death. There was ink-coloured seawater spreading over his insteps, soaking his trouser legs, and then filling up again, gradually trying to swallow him whole. Filled with disgust at the water, he used the Neptune's scepter to part the sea, and dryness returned to him once more.
Bertram, walking beside him, frowned tightly.
These waters were by no means a surreptitious arrangement.
Suddenly, a thunderbolt travelled through the waters, straight in front of Klein. The ghost ship reacted more swiftly than the thunder, and its hull, constructed of ash, jerked up, constructing an elaborate fortification for Klein. Thunder was channelled along the fortification to the outside of the hull, illuminating the entire ship. Immediately following the thunder was the purifying fire, charms from the Eternal Sun manifesting from the sky in an attempt to penetrate the interception of the fortifications. The flames clung to the hull of the ship as it burned, causing the ashes to melt away as fast as snow in daylight. Klein could hear the mournful sounds of flesh and blood machinery.
He had to do something immediately. Not having been truly promoted to the old days of the True Gods he didn't have a lot of means available to him right now, but it was good that the rank was high enough. He thought that there might be a means he could use.
‘The storm of historical possibilities swirling in the eye of the storm outside the Gate suddenly came to a standstill, and then poured wildly into the inner side of the Gate. The shards of history extinguished the flames, shielded the ship, and bounced off the attacks from the God of Wisdom. The shards turned into blades, severing the connection between the attacks targeting Krynn and Krynn himself, causing them to enter the ‘non-existent history’ and defuse the attacks.
A quill appeared out of thin air.
‘Construct.’
Adam, no, the cold voice of the ancient sun god echoed in this place surrounded by the ‘sea’.
The conceptually ‘non-existent’ fragments of history were suddenly given legitimacy, and with malice and resentment, they pounced towards Klein in turn. These pieces of history, crushed by the ‘secret’, gained the ‘emotion’ of a ‘human being’, and the cries emanating from them made Kraven take a step back. Guilt and self-blame surged through his mind, eventually turning into a spear of hatred that grew out of his heart and penetrated his chest. The moment his eyes went blank, an angelic hand from the Door closed over his hand and snapped him back to consciousness. Klein bit the tip of his tongue to snap out of it.
History that had been lost would not return.
He grabbed the branch of his self-hatred and pulled it with such force that the spear was removed from his chest. It still carried his still-beating heart on it. It was the strongest piece of flesh and blood of his humanity. Kraven broke the spear, but once again put back the flesh that had ‘betrayed’ him.
Before the next attack, the Black Emperor's kingdom built strong walls and towers full of city defence cannons, as if to announce to the crowd what technology and ruthlessness are. A strange mausoleum was located in the middle of the city, its architectural style was not in line with the ‘Solomon's Empire’, not only did it have a symmetrical aesthetics that fit the public's aesthetics, but even its facade, which was always floating in the stream of data, gave even Klein, who had seen a technological civilisation, a sense of sci-fi. This mausoleum did not exist from the beginning, but only appeared after coming to this place, and it was Rossel's way of borrowing a building that originally existed in this place. The walls of the mausoleum were translucent, and within them slept a familiar-looking woman, Bernadette. Immediately afterwards, the outer walls of the mausoleum disintegrated and morphed, transforming into a god of steam and machinery with tightly closed eyes. He then participated in the battle as Rossel's ‘vassal’. Although they were all true gods, this god of steam and machinery had almost no self-will and existed as a vassal of Rossel.
Klein had felt something was clearly wrong when he first met him, and that feeling of dissonance was now at its peak. Both the Three Gods and the God of Steam and Machinery were incomplete sequences that possessed three extraordinary characteristics and uniqueness but were desperately lacking in self.0 Anatoly, the Ancient Sun God, was the will-dominant of the Three Gods, and Rossel was the will-dominant of the God of Steam and Machinery-perhaps Rossel was letting Bernadette be borrowing the God of Steam and Machinery's power, and clearly a little more nimble on His side.
The battle situation didn't allow Klein to think too much.
After losing the shelter of some of the historical fragments, the ‘sea’ found a break and a hole, and turned into a mist of water and drifted to Klein's body. Klein was keenly aware that this ‘sea’ was not a sea, but an existence similar to the ‘River of Eternal Darkness’. Kraven, who had actually arrived at the River of Eternal Darkness, was sure that it was not the River of Eternal Darkness, but an imitation made with the torn part of the source material. Therefore, it did not immediately sink Klein into the abyss of death.
Amon, who had been standing on the mast as a raven after being struck by Kraven, took human form and fell down. Klein subconsciously divided his attention on Him for a second and tensed his nerves. At that moment, a hand made of white bone suddenly poked out of the ‘water’ and grabbed Klein's ankle. It was Salinger, who had been waiting for the ‘secret’ at the end of death, and this moment's chaos was the perfect time for him to strike.
It was too late, but it was too soon. Mr Aztec had arrived at Klein's back at an unknown time, and in his hand he was holding a long sword with a strange shape, with a ray of chaotic light flowing from its body. He aimed a vicious stab at the white bone's wrist joint, and the white bone claws from the already dead True God fell off.
Azuk watched with cold eyes as Salinger fell completely into the River of Eternal Darkness due to his missed opportunity.
‘Uniqueness ...... is actually on you ...... you actually!!!’ Salinger was enraged. His last roar was reduced to silence before he could finish it.
Just as Klein caught his breath for that, Mr Aztec pulled at his wrist.
‘Klein.’ He pronounced Klein's name. The eyes that were simultaneously filled with the care of an elder, the reverence of a dependent, and the adoration of a lover looked at him apologetically.
Then, as a petal of deep sleep floated in front of Klein's eyes, he was dragged into a pool of frigid, bone-chilling water. He didn't have time to ask ‘Why?’ before his body dried up and he found himself standing under the mast, where Amon had been. Amon, who had taken his place in the sealed stall, made a face at him and closed his eyes.
Against the other side of the True God Alliance, which had an overwhelming numerical advantage, Rossel couldn't hold out for long, and it was already a miracle that He had even managed to make it this far. In front of the crumbling fortifications were the two acquaintances who had been meddling in Klein's fate from the very beginning - Adam and Amanisis. He and the four who were pulled to participate in the battle, Wind White Wisdom and Lilith, jointly struck ...... If it wasn't for the fact that they didn't have any real source material to rely on, I'm afraid that the battle would have long since been settled.
At this moment, the attack that Klein has been preparing has finally reached the level where it can be released.
The civilisation that slept in the ‘memory’, that had been carefully treasured, that ‘could not have existed’, fell from the canopy and rose from the ground! It smashed all the plans and calculations on the battlefield to smithereens. The pages of the thick history were opened and extended into ‘another world’.
This is not the power of the present Klein Moretti, but the only legacy he has brought to this world from his ‘last life’.
The materialised city of the ‘old days’, the source material called ‘The Beginning’, shook the entire space-time. The disruption of time has split all existence outside of Krynn into many parts. The people of different times were trapped in the fragments of time and space, forgetting the past and losing the future.
The only one who was alive stood in a world that was like a museum, and with a pale face, he collapsed and crumbled into a field of frozen time.

Tragedy Should Never Have Begun

The pieces of possibility come together.
They tug at the frozen time, putting it back together again.
One that made the world feel very strange was sketched out.
Zhou Mingrui.
This plain, ordinary man opened his eyes. Constantly swirling with twisted symbols, the unfocused grey pupils of His eyes signalled His state at this moment.
He saw the threads of destiny like the threads of spirit bodies on the various participants in the battle. Those thin, illusory threads straightened out and disappeared into the sky.
As if sensing something, He looked to the sky.
A shadow that covered the entire sky looked down on everyone.
He had a face identical to that of ‘Klein Moretti’.
He is ‘The Beginning’.
The starting point of all destinies.
The will that no one can defy.

But Zhou Mingrui shook his head at him.
After the memories that had been smoothed out in that remoulded body had little by little pieced back the self of this world's ‘Kraven’, he chose to disarm the attack of the previous moment.
It was enough.
He looked at his companions, who were not under control, and therefore resumed their actions after he released the attack. After looking directly at the ‘original’, only Rossel, who was in the position of a complete True God, was still awake, while the others were all unconscious.
Then the gaze shifted to the ‘opponents’ who were still unable to move due to the clutching of the thread of fate.

Unwilling.
Klein could see such emotions on the expressionless faces of Adam and Amanisis. It was true that they were now bound by the thread of destiny in the ‘hand’ of his ego called the ‘original’, but he had no doubt that they would be able to get out of the trap as long as they were given time.
Rossel, the only one standing beside him, did not have his usual slick, impish look, and he looked at those ‘people’ trapped by fate with almost sadness.
‘No one likes to have their fate manipulated.’ He said, ‘We-’
Roselle's fingertips traced over each of the gods present.
‘All of them have had their destinies shattered because of you, and it was only after that ‘you’ fell asleep that they were finally given the chance to control their own destinies.’
As the ‘victorious party’, He was speaking for the gods who were unable to speak as the ‘defeated party’, and even more so, he was speaking of his own pain and abhorrence.
‘Every one.’ He emphasised, ‘After having been set free, we all had the idea that we had to kill you to gain eternal freedom. Because of the convergent instincts and the ‘original’ branding, those of us closest to you were the ones who most uncontrollably longed to merge with you, and we instinctively went to be close to you, to return to you - to love you.’ He dropped the last word with a sigh.
‘At the same time, the part that is the ego, is hating you.’
Klein's grey, cavernous eyes gazed at Rossel as if he cared nothing for His words, and as if he mourned.
He was now somewhere between Mystery and ‘Chow Ming Rhee.’
The secretive part had no idea.
So the part that belonged to ‘Zhou Mingrui’ asked.
‘Why ...... are you helping me.’
‘It's not cost effective to completely kill you to bring back a Blessed Xuanhuang Tianzun.’ Russell said, ‘You are quite good to me, I live quite freely, and I am not too lazy to think about such philosophical propositions as “am I or am I not”, “is my idea or is it not my idea”, and am not that idle to have a pain in the neck. ’
He grinned at Klein, just as he had in this life when they first met.
‘I was just taking a gamble on your humanity, and now it looks like I got it right again.’
As Roselle had said then, he was going through a big gamble that could export his life and family.
‘He doesn't believe in your humanity, I do.’
The lights of the old city fell on Rossel's face, illuminating half of his face extremely brightly.
‘Even though it's a homeland you made up for me, a civilisation like that ...... still has freaks like you ...... ha.’
The Black Emperor looked towards the peaceful world.
Unreal people were happily travelling through the square. Antigonus, who was sitting on a bench waiting for Klein, fell asleep and collapsed in his seat. A passing good samaritan tried to shake him awake, and after no avail draped his own coat over him before pulling out his mobile phone and attempting to call the police ...... or possibly an ambulance.
‘It would be nice if it really was my hometown.’
Russell commented as he rubbed his chin before he collected his smile and became serious once more.
‘I knew your choice when you recognised what I said about ‘this going never coming back’. Listen, Cho, this is not the end. You still have to move forward.’
A ray of light drilled out from Klein's brow, the letter that was hosted in His mind.
The letter transformed into the first key.
Klein saw an illusory chain break as the key appeared.
The second key was the Neptune's Scepter held in Klein's hand.
It cracked the closed door and opened the door to the land of chaos.
The third key is the ghost ship Titanic, which once again carries Kraven and sends him to ‘Before It All Began’.

‘The place where the ‘original’ you was, only you can reach it.’

What's Past is Past

It was a place of ‘nothingness’.
All concepts of time, space, mass ...... were lost here.
Klein Moretti's body was deconstructed into a ‘pre-birth’ state the moment he entered this place. The humanity given to him by time and his friends was washed away by the Chaos, and only a muddled obsession returned to the Beginning in its entirety. It gained all of its ‘memories’ after being put into this place of creation.

Earlier than the last ‘end’, every god who saved the earth fought to the end of their strength. There was an extremely radical plan to save the End. He was lucky. The action of having the others cover the frontal battlefield, allowing Klein to stealthily cut off the connection between the Outer Gods and their source material, displacing the object to which the source material was directed, and eventually stealing it to merge it once again with the originally existing source material on Earth was successful. He was also unfortunate. The positive battlefield was discovered by the Outer Gods near the end of the operation, and their desperate counter-attack instantly caused the Old Ones, who had carefully maintained their line of reason, to snap their strings.
From that moment on, there was no winner in this war.
The only one who could barely maintain himself was Klein. And it was only just maintaining his ego. The battle between God and the Heavenly Father in the beginning was replayed on Himself in another form. In a terrible state, He simply couldn't control the instinct to devour other source material.
Everything returned to the origin once again.
A moment before the origin erupted.
A wisp of obsession crossed the nearest and farthest distance in space and time to the newborn world.
‘...... I wish they were all still alive.’
Then, the ‘Initial’ opened its eyes.
The newborn world quickly broke its shell and grew under the impetus of this thought, and was gradually reshaped into the shape that ‘he’ longed for.
In order to achieve the only thought that occupied the ‘original’ thought, he delegated extraordinary characteristics and uniqueness, and gave them to those similar but different beings on the land. He endeavoured to shape the ‘homeland’ that ‘he’ longed for according to the fragments of the past that accompanied his thoughts through time and space. After the germination of civilisation, he began to walk on the ground. His heart, which had nothing to offer, was filled with the humanity that civilisation brought.
One day, He suddenly became aware of Himself again. This allowed Him to write a less-than-perfect script for ‘Klein Moretti’ and ‘Zhou Mingrui’. He was unable to manipulate the world in every detail after delegating part of his authority, and could only rely on his power over all things to erase the ‘incorrect’ history and correct the ‘disobedient’ creations over and over again. The more He understands ‘human beings’, the more comfortable He is with this matter.
In the end, He sent ‘Klein Moretti’ to ‘Before Regret Begins’.
This is where the memory ends. After separating ‘Klein’, the ‘original’ no longer had enough ‘self’ to think.

The obsession was stabilised on this side.
A thing that could not have appeared in this place of nothingness suddenly appeared.
It was the ‘Deep Pool’ that Mr Aztec had dragged Klein into earlier, and it had been sent here through the ‘Gate’ after the bug written by the ‘Initial’ had broken through the conceptual boundaries.
The ‘pool’ was quickly swallowed up by nothingness, but its contents were released and absorbed into Klein's body.
Klein's body reappeared.
His ego also returned.
The ‘Initial’, which mirrored him, thus became embodied, and the sky appeared in the land of nothingness, and the ‘Initial’, which was suspended in the sky, appeared again.

‘The First looked down at Kraven, his grey eyes containing the whole of heaven and earth, but nothing at all.
Kraven looked at the Beginning, and his black eyes were filled with sadness and hatred.
The two contradictory but identical selves began their first dialogue.

‘All the regrets of the past have been redeemed one by one.’
‘Initially’ stated the “facts”.
‘But you created new regrets. People who should never have died ...... History that you twisted beyond recognition ...... Our homeland that has been destroyed once again ......’ Klein Moretti's voice, at first as icy as it had been at first, gradually began to take on a hint of a choked tone before giving birth to an unbridled anger, ‘Is that how they should be? Why do I have to repeat the same mistakes when I've already started over? Why can't I change it all from the source-’
‘Then those you love would cease to exist.’
The ‘secretive’ voice did not waver for a second, as if the words spoken were not relevant to Himself.
Klein looked straight at that self high in the heavens, and then uttered, word for word, the truth that was beyond cruelty to Himself.
‘Yes! Yes ...... they, long ago, died in the past. Everyone I see now is not the same people I used to love!’
He hissed, two lines of bloody tears coming from the corners of his eyes.
An overwhelming feeling of powerlessness surged through him.
In fact, he was not so different from ‘Secret’.
He was the last remnant of Klein Moretti's humanity living in the non-existent past, and he was the ‘original’ who was in the present but was being dragged along by the obsession of the dead world. It is they who together turn this new world into something new and something old.
‘I ...... don't like the ending.’ Klein said.
‘The Initial’ didn't say anything.
All that He had to do had been done.
So Klein spoke again.
‘Return the authority of the world to the civilisation of this world.’
He announced.
‘The several gods outside the Gate who were bound by the threads of fate all felt a lightness in their bodies.
The angels who had been stunned by the pressure of the First began to awaken.
‘Return the dead past to the end.’
He said to himself.
The figure of Klein Moretti/Chou Mingrui was gently wiped away.
And so the ‘free’ gods found themselves beginning to forget.
The newly awakened Aztec Aegis stretched out his hand, as if trying to grasp someone who didn't exist in his memory.

The thread of fate that had belonged to Klein Moretti had snapped completely.
The time had finally come for the long overdue end of his life to stop.
This was the end of the Fool's final (weekly) journey.

Goodbye, newborn world.

《对命运发起战斗》
好冷。
克莱恩踏入风暴眼后，第一感觉便是此地十分死寂，仿佛被死亡气息浸泡透彻。有墨色的海水漫过他的脚背，沾湿了他的裤脚，再满上来，逐渐要吞噬他整个人。他对这水充满了厌恶，利用海神权杖将海分开，干燥再次回归了他的身畔。
走在他身旁的伯特利紧皱眉头。
这些海水绝不是诡秘的布置。
突兀地，一道雷霆穿越海水，直冲克莱恩身前。幽灵船的反应比雷霆更迅速，由灰烬构筑的船身猛得一抬，为克莱恩构筑了一道精巧的防御工事。雷霆沿着防御工事被传导到船身外侧，将整艘船照得很亮。紧随雷霆之后的是净化之火，来自永恒烈阳的符咒自天空显现，试图穿透防御工事的拦截。火焰黏着在船身上熊熊燃烧，让那些灰烬如日光下的雪一般快速消融着。克莱恩可以听见血肉机械发出的悲鸣声。
他必须马上做点什么。还未真正晋升真神旧日的他现在可用手段并不算多，但好在位格足够高。他想，或许有项手段可以使用。
“门”外风暴眼中盘旋的历史可能性风暴骤然一息，然后向着“门”的内侧疯狂灌入。历史碎片扑灭了火焰，护住了船身，也弹飞了来自智慧之神的攻击。碎片化作刀刃，切断了锁定克莱恩的攻击和克莱恩自身之间的联系，使它们进入到“不存在的历史”中，化解了攻击。
一只羽毛笔凭空出现。
“构建。”
亚当，不，远古太阳神冰冷的声音回荡在这片被“海”包围的地方。
概念上“不存在”的历史碎片忽然被赋予了正当性，它们带着恶意与怨气，反过来朝着克莱恩扑去。这些被“诡秘”捏碎的历史得到了“人”的“情感”，从中发出的哭嚎更是让克莱恩忍不住后退一步。愧疚、自责的情绪在他心灵中翻涌，最终化作憎恨的长矛从他心脏中生长而出，贯穿了他的胸膛。在他眼神变空洞的一瞬，一只来自“门”天使的手搭上了他的手，将他的意识唤回。克莱恩咬了咬自己的舌尖，让自己彻底清醒过来。
已经失去的历史不会回归。
他抓住自我憎恨的枝丫，用力一拔，那长矛从他胸口被取出。其上还带着他尚且在跳动的心脏。那是他人性最强烈的一块血肉。克莱恩折断了长矛，却再次将那“背叛”他的血肉装回了原处。
在下一个攻击来临前，黑皇帝的神国构筑出结实的城墙，塔楼上满载城防炮，仿佛在向众人宣布什么是科技与狠活。一座诡异的陵寝位于城市正中，它的建筑风格与“所罗门帝国”格格不入，不仅拥有着符合大众审美的对称美学，甚至时刻漂浮着数据流的外墙给见过科技文明的克莱恩都带来了一种科幻感。这座陵寝并非一开始就存在，而是来到此地之后才出现的，是罗塞尔在借用原本就存在于此地的建筑。陵寝的墙壁是半透明的，其中沉睡着一名相貌熟悉的女性——贝尔纳黛。紧接着，陵寝外墙解体、变形，化作了紧闭双眼的蒸汽与机械之神。随后祂作为罗塞尔的“臣子”就参与了这场战斗。尽管祂们都是真神，这个蒸汽与机械之神几乎没有自我意志，作为罗塞尔的附庸存在。
克莱恩一照面时就感到明显不对劲，此刻这种违和感达到了顶峰。无论三神还是蒸汽与机械之神，是拥有三份非凡特性和唯一性却极度缺乏自我的不完整序列0。远古太阳神阿纳托利是三神的意志主导，罗塞尔则是蒸汽与机械之神的意志主导——也许罗塞尔是让贝尔纳黛在借用蒸汽与机械之神的力量，明显祂这边更加灵动一些。
战况并不允许克莱恩想太多。
在失去部分历史碎片的庇护后，“海”找到了破绽与孔隙，化作水雾飘散至克莱恩身上。克莱恩敏锐地察觉到这个“海”并非是海，而是类似于“永暗之河”的存在。真正抵达过“永暗之河”的克莱恩笃定那并非“永暗之河”，而是使用被撕裂的部分源质制作的仿品。因此它没有立刻将克莱恩沉入死亡的深渊中去。
被克莱恩敲打过后一直变成乌鸦站在桅杆上的阿蒙化作人形态落了下来。克莱恩下意识将注意力分了一秒在祂身上，绷紧了神经。这时，白骨构成的手忽然从“水”中探出，抓住了克莱恩的脚踝。是萨林格尔，祂一直在死亡的终点等待着“诡秘”，此刻的混乱正是祂出手的最好时机。
说时迟，那时快。阿兹克先生不知何时来到了克莱恩的背后，祂手中举着一柄造型奇特的长剑，剑身流动着一缕混沌的光华。祂对准白骨的腕部连接处狠狠一刺，来自已死亡真神的白骨之爪便脱落下来。
阿兹克冷眼注视着萨林格尔因错失机会而彻底坠入永暗之河。
“唯一性……居然在你身上……你居然！！！”萨林格尔怒不可遏。祂最后的怒吼还未说尽就已化为寂静。
就在克莱恩为此喘息一口气时，阿兹克先生拉住了他的手腕。
“克莱恩。”祂念着克莱恩的名字。那双同时满溢着长者关怀、眷属崇敬与恋人爱慕的眼睛饱含歉意地望着他。
紧接着，随着一片深眠花瓣飘至克莱恩眼前，他被拽入了一潭寒冰刺骨的深水中。来不及出口问“为什么”，祂身上猛地一干，发现自己竟站在桅杆下面——这里原本是阿蒙所在的位置。代替祂进入封印深摊的阿蒙对他做了一个鬼脸，就闭上了双眼。
在面对数量上具有压倒性优势的另一方真神联盟，罗塞尔撑不了多久，甚至祂能撑到现在，已经是一种奇迹。那摇摇欲坠的防御工事前方，是从最开始就一直在插手克莱恩命运的两个熟人——亚当与阿曼妮西斯。祂们与被拉来参战的风白智、莉莉丝四个共同出手……如果不是祂们没有真正的源质依托，恐怕战局早已尘埃落定。
此刻，克莱恩一直在准备的攻击也终于到了能够放出的程度了。
那沉睡在“记忆”中的、被小心珍藏的、“不可能存在过”的文明，由天幕坠落，自地面拔起！它将战场上所有的谋划与算计都砸了个稀巴烂。厚重的历史翻开书页，延展成“另一个世界”。
这并不是属于现在的克莱恩·莫雷蒂的力量，这是祂自“上一世”带到此世间唯一的遗产。
具现化的“旧日”都市，名为“最初”的源质，撼动了整个时空。错乱的时间将克莱恩以外的所有存在都被割裂成许多份。不同时期的祂们被困在一个个时空碎片中，忘记了过去，失去了未来。
唯一活着的那个人站在着犹如博物馆的世界中，苍白着脸，倒了下去，崩碎成一地凝固的时间。

《悲剧本不该开始》
可能性的碎片汇聚了过来。
它们牵扯着那些凝固的时间，将它再次拼凑起来。
一张让这个世界感到十分陌生的被勾勒出来。
周明瑞。
这个平凡的普通人睁开了双眼。不断旋转着扭曲符号，没有焦点的灰色眼瞳昭示着祂此刻的状态。
祂看见了各个参战者身上如灵体之线一般的命运之线。那些虚幻的细线绷直了没入天空。
似有所感般，祂望向天空。
一片布满整个天空的阴影俯视着所有人。
祂有着一张与“克莱恩·莫雷蒂”一模一样的面容。
祂是“最初”。
一切命运的起点。
无人能违抗的意志。

可周明瑞对着祂摇了摇头。
在那具重塑躯体中重新被捋顺的记忆一点一点将这个世界“克莱恩”的自我拼回后，祂选择解除了方才的攻击。
已经够了。
祂看向并没有被控制，所以在祂解除了攻击后就恢复行动的“同伴们”。直面“最初”后，只有处于完整真神位格的罗塞尔还醒着，其他都昏迷了过去。
然后那道目光又移向了那因被攥紧命运之线，依然无法行动的“对手们”。

不甘心。
克莱恩能从亚当与阿曼妮西斯祂们几人无表情的脸上窥见这样的情绪。现在祂们确实受制于他名为“最初”那个自我“手”上的命运之线，但他毫不怀疑，只要给予祂们时间，必然是可以脱困的。
唯一站在他身侧的罗塞尔没有平日油腔滑调的不正经模样，祂近乎悲哀地注视着那些被命运困住的“人”。
“没有人会喜欢被人操控命运。”祂说，“我们——”
罗塞尔的指尖划过每一个在场的神明。
“全都因为你而被击碎过命运，只有在那个‘你’沉睡之后，才终于得到掌控自己命运的机会。”
作为“胜利方”的祂在替那些作为“战败方”不能说话的神明发声，更在诉说着自己的痛苦与憎恶。
“每一个。”祂强调，“在得到过自由之后，我们都生出了必须要杀死你取得永恒自由的想法。因为聚合本能与‘最初’烙印，离你最近的我们都是最不可自控地渴望与你融合的一批，我们本能地去靠近你，回归你——爱着你。”祂叹息着落下最后一个词。
“与此同时，作为自我的那部分，是恨你的。”
克莱恩灰洞洞的双眼注视着罗塞尔，像毫不在意祂的话语，又像哀莫大于心死。
现在的祂介于诡秘与“周明瑞”之间。
诡秘的那部分没有任何想法。
于是属于“周明瑞”的那部分发问了。
“为什么……你要帮我。”
“彻底杀死你带回一个福生玄黄天尊并不划算。”罗塞尔说，“你对我挺好的，我活得挺自在，也懒得去想什么‘我是不是我’，‘我的想法是不是我的想法’这种哲学命题，没那么闲得蛋疼。”
祂咧嘴对克莱恩笑，就跟这一世他们第一次相见时候那样。
“我只是赌一赌你的人性，现在看来又赌对了。”
如那时的罗塞尔所说一样，他在经历一场能把自己身家性命都输出去的豪赌。
“祂们都不信你的人性，我信。”
旧日都市的灯火落在罗塞尔脸上，将他半边脸照得极亮。
“虽然是你给我编造的故乡，但那样的文明……还有你这样的怪胎……哈。”
黑皇帝看向那和平的世界。
虚幻的人们在广场上快乐地穿梭着。坐在长椅上等待克莱恩的安提戈努斯睡了过去，倒在了座位上。一个路过的好心人试着将他晃醒，怎样都无果后又把自己的外套披给他，然后掏出手机试图呼叫警察……也可能是救护车。
“它要真是我的故乡倒也不错。”
罗塞尔摸着下巴点评道，然后他收敛了笑意，再次严肃起来。
“在你认下我说的‘这一去再也回不来’时，我知晓了你的选择。听着，小周，这里不是终点。你还要向前走。”
一道光从克莱恩的眉心钻出，是寄存在祂脑海中的那封信。
信件化作了第一把钥匙。
克莱恩看见一道虚幻的锁链随着钥匙的出现而断裂。
第二把钥匙是克莱恩手上握着的海神权杖。
它敲开了紧闭的大门，让那混沌之地的大门向克莱恩敞开。
第三把钥匙是名为“泰坦尼克号”的幽灵船，它再次载上了克莱恩，将他送往“一切开始之前”。

“‘最初’的你所在的那个地方，只有你自己能抵达。”

《过去的早已过去》
那时“空无一物”的地方。
时间、空间、质量……一切概念在此处都失去了意义。
克莱恩·莫雷蒂的身躯在进入这里的那一刻就被解构成了“诞生之前”的状态。时间与友人们赠与他的人性也被“混沌”洗去，只有一道浑浑噩噩的执念完整地回到了“最初”。它在投入这片创生之地后，获得了全部的“记忆”。

比上一个“终末”更早的时候，每一个拯救地球的神明都战至力竭。拯救末日的计划中，有一个极为激进的方案。祂们是幸运的。由其他人顶住正面战场，让克莱恩隐秘切断外神与祂们源质的联系，置换源质的指向对象，最终窃取过来，与地球上原本存在源质再次融合的行动成功了。祂们也是不幸的。正面战场在行动快要结束时被外神发现了计划，祂们不要命的反扑一瞬间让谨慎维持着理智线的旧日们，绷断了弦。
自这一刻起，这场战争没有任何一个赢家。
唯一一个勉强还能维持自我的旧日只有克莱恩。也仅仅只是维持自我而已。当初上帝与天尊的战斗以另一种形式在祂自己身上重演。状态糟糕的祂根本无法控制吞噬其他源质的本能。
一切的一切再次回归原点。
在原点爆发的前一瞬间。
一缕执念越过时空最近也最遥远的距离，来到了新生的世界。
“……真希望他们都还活着。”
然后，“最初”睁开了眼。
新生的世界在这一缕思绪的驱使下快速破壳、生长，逐渐被重塑成“他”渴望的模样。
为了达成占据“最初”思绪的唯一念头，祂下放了非凡特性与唯一性，将它们给予土地上那些相似却不同的生命。祂努力根据那些伴随思绪穿越时空的过去碎片塑造着“他”渴望的“故乡”。在文明发芽后，祂开始行走在地面上。原本一无所有的心也被文明带来的人性填补着。
从某一天起，祂忽然再次意识到了自我。这让祂为了“克莱恩·莫雷蒂”，为了“周明瑞”，写下了一份不太完美的剧本。下放了部分权柄的祂无法对世界进行事无巨细的操控，祂只能靠着凌驾万物之上的力量强制性地一次次抹去“不正确”的历史，修正那些“不听话”的造物。祂越是理解“人”，对这件事情越是得心应手。
最终，祂终于将“克莱恩·莫雷蒂”送到了“遗憾开始之前”。
记忆到这里就结束了。分离“克莱恩”之后的“最初”不再拥有足够的“自我”来思考。

执念在这一侧被稳定下来。
一个本不可能出现在这虚无之地的事物忽然显现。
那是阿兹克先生之前拖着克莱恩进入的“深潭”，它是由“最初”撰写的BUG突破了概念的束缚后通过“门”送达此地的。
“深潭”很快被虚无吞噬，但其中的内容物被释放出来，然后吸附到克莱恩身上。
克莱恩的身体又出现了。
他的自我也随之回归。
和他对映的“最初”因此获得了具象，虚无之地出现了天空，又出现了高悬天上的“最初”。

“最初”俯视着克莱恩，灰洞洞的眼中装载了整个天地，又什么都没装。
克莱恩也看着“最初”，黑色的眼中满溢着悲哀与憎恶。
两个相悖却同一的自我开始了第一次对话。

“所有过去的遗憾都被一一挽回了。”
“最初”陈述着“事实”。
“可是你制造了新的遗憾。那些本不应该死去的人们……那些被你扭曲得不成样子的历史……我们再次被毁掉的故乡……”克莱恩·莫雷蒂声音起先是和最初一样冰冷的，渐渐地开始带有一丝哽咽，然后生出了无边的愤怒，“它们就是应当如此的吗？既然已经重新来过，我为什么还要重蹈覆辙？为什么我不能从源头就改变这一切——”
“那你所爱的那些人也就不复存在了。”
“诡秘”的声音没有一丝一毫的波动，仿佛所说的话语与祂自己不相干似的。
克莱恩直直看着高悬天上的那个自己，然后一字一顿地说出那个对他自己无比残忍的事实。
“是！是啊……他们，早就死在过去了。现在我所见到的每一个人，都不是我过去爱着的那些人啊！”
他嘶吼着，眼角流下两行血泪来。
一阵无比强烈的无力感涌上他的心头。
其实他与“诡秘”并没有太大分别。
他是活在不存在的过去的、克莱恩·莫雷蒂最后存余的人性，祂是位于当下却被已死世界执念拖行的“最初”。是他们共同将这个新世界变成新不新、旧不旧的模样的。
“我……我不喜欢这个结局。”克莱恩说。
“最初”没有说话。
祂要做的事情已经全部做完。
于是克莱恩再次开口了。
“将世界的权柄还给此世文明。”
祂宣布道。
“门”外被命运之线拘束着的几个神明都身上一轻。
被“最初”威压震晕的几个天使则开始苏醒。
“将已死的过去还给终末。”
祂对自己说。
克莱恩·莫雷蒂/周明瑞的身影被轻轻擦去。
于是得到“自由”的神明们发现自己开始遗忘。
刚刚醒过来的阿兹克·艾格斯勉力伸出手去，仿佛想要抓住什么记忆中仿佛没有存在过的某个人。

属于克莱恩·莫雷蒂的那根命运之线彻底断裂了。
早该结束的生命终于到了可以停下脚步的时候。
这就是愚者的终末（周目）旅行的尽头了。

再见，新生的世界。

Chapter Text

The departure of ‘Klein Moretti’ took away a large part of the world's history, but with the last maintenance of the ‘original’, the troubled new world survived the crisis.
The world that has returned to its rightful place has been made whole, and has begun to have a history that is truly its own.
The civilisation of the previous world has cleverly remained here with subtle instincts.

About the Tarot Club
The people who had been briefly brought together by Krynn are once again scattered to the ends of the earth. They may meet because of the remnants of a marvellous bond, but it is more likely that they will never see each other again for the rest of their lives.

Audrey Hall has been exposed to politics in this world much earlier than in her last, due to the lingering impressions of her ‘original’ creation. She knows that people without a voice can't change anything. So, with the help of spiritual guidance, nobility, and her parents' favour, she took control of a part of the kingdom's power. While she skilfully guides the kingdom's institutional changes and technological development, these seemingly favourable policies for the upper class also silently nourish the lives of the lowest commoners.
After becoming an audience member, she was able to do even more. When faced with a tough nut to crack, sometimes it was possible to do so without too much bloodshed and conflict, just a little bit of innuendo. Audrey liked it, it was supposed to be the everyday life she knew best. She didn't have the obsession of advancing to too high a level; too high a sequence would rather not be conducive to her making it big in politics.
The improved Rune was every bit as unfolding as her vision. Except that she occasionally felt that the whims did not come entirely from herself, but were told to her by some being. Audrey knew the thought was absurd, but if it were true - she thought - she would have respected and loved that one being.

Alger Wilson still managed to sit as Bishop of the Storm Church. It was not the end of his ambitions, or even just a stepping stone. The current position made him feel a little more tied down. Occasionally, he thought of changing his boss to a gentler god who was more willing to listen to his followers. This thought soon amused him: how in the world could there be a god like that?
So he continued to plan his future in the same way as he had in the past, climbing up the ladder to a higher sequence. If given the chance, he hoped to seek a higher position than that of a loyal servant of the gods. He had always been more accustomed to working under others, preferring to be at the top of the pecking order, but if there was no clear master, then it wouldn't hurt for him to sit at the very top.

Leonard Mitchell had dealt with far more business since being transferred to Berkland than he had during Tingen's time. He occasionally pondered why he was trying so desperately to move up the ladder. At this point Palles would always scold him, ‘Who gloated about being the man of the hour in the first place?’ Leonard would retort, ‘What era protagonist surrounds himself with daily tasks every day.’ In the midst of the gag, he realised that he seemed to be lacking a clear goal after coming to Berkland.
Why had he come here earlier? It seemed like it was because of a certain person - no, there was no such person, it was clear that he came here because he thought there was a chance of promotion here.
Thinking about that, Leonard was gleefully watching Palles' jokes again as he fell off the line in flames because he had suddenly changed his direction to the Church of Darkness.

Forsyth Wall's life as a novelist was rather uninteresting. Every day she was either on the run from her editor, or struggling with the resentment that she just couldn't avoid catching up on her manuscript in the middle of the night. For some reason, Mr Door, who loves to squat on Silvermoon and be a nerd, takes it upon himself to be her senior and loves to nag her, sometimes to the point that she can't sleep at night.
At this time, Forsyth wanted to yell: ‘Do you have any special pleasure in harassing me, a Sequence 5 little guy, as a True God!’
But she didn't dare. She didn't really know why this True God was treating her differently, but she wasn't repulsed either-except for the times when the True God himself came down to press for a draft. Voorhees really liked that male lead in the new story she was writing, and found him to be a very charming and sad character. She originally wanted to arrange for this male lead and the female lead to end up in love, but was strongly opposed by the True God. He argued that the kernel of the male lead's character in this book doomed him to be forever wrapped up in destiny to save the world, and that it would be difficult to stop for the female lead.
Forsyth recognised this, in fact she thought so too, but she felt that if this was the case, it would be a little too cruel to everyone in the book. It was a misfortune to lose this hero.

Hugh Dilcha hadn't realised that she would be able to get on the line of Audrey Hall, a prominent politician.
There is a major blood change going on within the aristocracy. Audrey has enough power and, unbeknownst to her, a ‘true god’ to back her up, so in this game, even the king's power has to avoid her. At this time, Audrey needs a just cause, and Hugh for the vindication of his father to collect evidence, just can become Audrey's hands of powerful chips. With this positive drama, Audrey has a reason to bring her political enemies down. Even so, Hugh did not resent this exploitation, as Audrey made good on her promise. The case received a great deal of attention due to the number of important people involved. The final judgement was in favour of Hugh, which not only cleared her father of any wrongdoing, and the family no longer had to hide, but also caused many people to discuss the power of the aristocracy and legal justice. Immediately after, Audrey introduced judicial reform, Hugh also finally did she had dreamed of a career - judge. At this point, she is not a mercenary or a ranger who uses lynchings and is not allowed to see the light of day, but an existence that can righteously bring justice to the people.
It is also interesting to note that the person who provided the evidence for Hugh Dilcha was none other than Sherman, whom she had inadvertently helped. This beautiful woman originally thought she had been given true love, but she didn't realise that the Viscount had only married her as a scapegoat. She finds a way to get the message to Hugh, a ‘friend’ she has only met a few times. After being rescued, Sherman provides Hugh with the evidence she accidentally found in the Viscount's basement. She says that because the Vicomte despises women and thought she was already dead, he didn't guard her, so she was left unencumbered in the cellar, giving her a chance. She also told Hugh, ‘If I were a man I'm sure I wouldn't be able to help you like this, it's really nice to be a woman.’

Emlyn White's days hadn't changed much from what they used to be, he was still busy making potions and then making money to add to his hobby by selling them. He always had many interesting inspirations, which led him to make a variety of potions that could be supplied to the common man. After the Blood Patriarch made his identity as Mother Earth Goddess public, he gained another avenue of sales, which was to sell them for use by the Church of Mother Earth Goddess.
The special attention the Patriarch paid to him caused him to go from being an unassuming figure in the pack to being highly regarded. Though he quickly shrugged off the Bloods who had previously looked down on him, after a period of complacency, he felt uninspired again. He wasn't one for meaningless socialising, more often than not he was happier at home with his dolls or working on his potions. His parents got more resources and attention because of him, and the two couples, who had similar personalities to Emlyn, weren't very comfortable with that either, and simply moved farther into the forest.
Sometimes Emlyn wondered how the inspiration came to him, then he didn't bother thinking about it and just assumed he was smart.

Derek Berg was busy building the new Silver City. Though the silver moon did not often hang overhead according to the law of sunrise and moonset, when it was there it restored life to the land. The people who will get the sun thousands of years from now may think of the silver moon as the moon, but now it is a bright, gentle ‘sun’ for Silver City.
Their books contain the blueprints of the city's layout from the past, and they were too tired to rebuild. Now that they could continue to live on the same site, they did not think of moving. As a result, a combination of the old urban skyscraper style and the rugged simplicity of the buildings was built on the land, and these buildings became popular with the large number of foreign travellers when the future customs office opened.

The ‘Pirate Captain’, Gloria, has recently made the transition.
Bernadette Gustave's sudden return catches her by surprise. She knows that for some reason Bernadette agreed to her father's request to enter a certain tomb on his behalf, but she didn't realise that Bernadette had been given a ‘god's place’ after the deal. Though the term ‘godhood’ isn't entirely accurate, the god of steam and machinery is indeed semi-integrated with her. She and the true god shared authority over the order.
Upon her return, Bernadette asked if she would like to join her in exploring a special relic to discover the secrets of the Sequence. She agrees. Although the name ‘General of the Stars’ was nice, she was more interested in delving into the ruins. Due to the dangers of the ruins, she can't take her crew with her, and is worried about the choice of an acting captain. Each of her men had their own problems, and it was hard to convince anyone to choose.
Bernadette says she has a solution.
The solution is to grab some father-in-law who has too much time on his hands to take over. She ignored Rossel's squeals of ‘Are you a human being if you let a true god work for you?’ and blocked out the rest of Rossel's words with a righteous ‘What's wrong with a daughter letting her own father help her’.

Regarding the angels who have followed ‘????’ the angels that followed ‘?
A vague shadow, lingering in the memories of those who were created before this world began.

Azk Aegis still walks the earth as the Consul of Death. He began to become more involved in this human world. While travelling, many things happened that are worth recording. Mr Azik chose to write a letter out of the two options of keeping a diary and writing a letter. At first, since writing letters was not meant to fulfil His communication needs, He felt that there was nothing to say in a thousand words when He put pen to paper. But later, He grew accustomed to writing letters and would offer them up after writing them. So Renette Tinicol, who inexplicably received many letters, had quite a problem with that. As the leader of the Temperance Faction, Renette really didn't want to take time out of her busy schedule to read travelogues. Nonetheless, He gave her friend the benefit of the doubt in the end and split up the heads to read the letters. As a result, the three of the four heads that dealt with things couldn't always resist peeking at Azuko's letters.
While it was true that the true god of the Death Pathway had always been Salinger, no one had ever seen Him so far. Azik was aware of where His father was. After Salinger was swallowed by the River of Eternal Darkness, Azik threw the Uniqueness, which was a weapon, into it. Azik could not remember what happened after that, but one thing was certain: this ‘river’ would flow at the back of the world, never to be touched again.

Bertram Abraham remembers that he was in the company of someone. But he could remember nothing else. Whenever he gazed upon the Oneness that was one with Himself, a faint miss would arise in His heart. This empty, inscrutable feeling was the residual warmth of that One and Only. The vague memories caused Him to occasionally try to find a presence related to the One. With luck, He would recall an image as if it had never existed; while with bad luck, there was only cold, dead silence.
This kind of clarity did not come often. As a newly born positive god, He had too many things to be busy with, including but not limited to developing believers, forming churches, maintaining relationships with other positive gods, and so on. Since then, apart from taking the time to pay attention to the updates of his ‘favoured one’, Voorhees, he basically did not have much time to reminisce about the past. Bertram sometimes had to deal with harassment from his ‘colleagues’, which made him tired of it.

Amon is the opposite of Bertram's busyness. As a ‘man-made mythological creature’, he has no need to maintain his humanity, and his anchors and believers make up for it through mitosis. He has plenty of time to roam around.
Since ‘that day’, Adam has not interfered with Amon's behaviour. The sudden ‘freedom’ from the double restriction of the past made Amon lose his direction for a while. But he soon found new goals. For example, to find a way to get himself a secret master. Bertram Abraham's hand was holding the source material, he could not move for the time being. Therefore, in addition to idly picking on the small author's dependents to see her startled, he looked for ‘fools’ all over the world.
‘The Fool didn't seem to be on the front side of the world.
Amon pushed his monocle, which had finally settled on the bridge of his nose, and entered the ‘entrance’ with great anticipation.

Antigonus was the only being who could remember what Crane Moretti looked like.
He still lives in the old city. This old metropolis is now located on the backside of the New World. It is a place completely devoid of extraordinary beings other than Himself. ‘The Fool's favourite thing to do every day is to perform in the square, watching the otherwise stiff people slowly patch up the new world, which has been crippled to the point of non-functioning, by their own efforts. Antigonus' past puppets, his sister, and other mythological creatures who had befriended him were all reborn here. Those who had died on the front side of the world would come to the back side to be reborn, and eventually flow back to the front side of the world along the River of Eternal Darkness.
As a special person with few memories, Antigonus knew exactly why Kraven chose to leave forever. As long as the ‘original’ will existed, the development of the world would be bound by his memories and could never become complete. His every thought unconsciously affected the world. So in order to return civilisation to the humans who built it, Klein Moretti chose to leave completely.

“克莱恩·莫雷蒂”的离去带走了这个世界历史中很大一部分支撑，但凭借“最初”最后一次的维护，这个多灾多难的新生世界平稳度过了这次危机。
回到正轨的世界被完整地补全，开始拥有真正属于自己的历史。
上一个世界的文明巧妙地以潜移默化的本能留在了这里。

关于塔罗会
原本因为克莱恩而短暂聚集到一起的人们再次四散天涯。他们也许会因为奇妙羁绊的残留而相遇，但更可能是一辈子都不会再见。

奥黛丽·霍尔因“最初”创造她时残留的印象，在这个世界比上一世更早地接触了政治。她深知，没有话语权的人无法改变任何事。于是，借助冥冥中的灵性指引以及贵族身份和父母的宠爱，她掌握了王国的一部分权势。在她巧妙引导着王国体制变革和科技发展的同时，这些看似对上层有利的政策也在无声地滋润着最底层平民的生活。
成为观众之后，她能做的事情更多了。面对难啃的硬骨头，有时可以不用太多流血冲突的手段，只需要一点暗示。奥黛丽喜欢这样的生活，这本就是她所最熟悉的日常。她没有晋升太高层次的执着，过高的序列反而不利于她在政治上大展拳脚。
被改善的鲁恩，每一处都如她的愿景般展现。只是她偶尔会觉得，这些奇思妙想并不完全来源于自身，而是某个存在告诉她的。奥黛丽知道这个念头很荒谬，但如果是真的——她想，她一定会很尊敬与喜爱那一位存在。

阿尔杰·威尔逊还是成功坐上了风暴教会的主教。这并非他野望的终点，甚至只是一块跳板。现今这个位置让他感到束手束脚了些。他偶尔会想换一个上司，换一个更加温和、更愿意垂听信徒发言的神明。这个想法很快逗笑了他：世界上怎么会有那样的神明呢？
于是，他继续按照过去的方式谋划自己的前程，向更高的序列攀升。如果有机会，他希望能够谋得比神明忠仆更高的职位。他一向更习惯在他人手下做事，喜欢位极人臣，但若没有明主，那他坐上最顶端的位置也无妨。

伦纳德·米切尔被调任贝克兰德后，处理的事务比廷根时期多得多。他偶尔也会思考自己为什么要那么拼了命地往上爬。这时候帕列斯总会骂他：“谁当初沾沾自喜说是时代主角？”伦纳德会回嘴：“哪个时代主角天天围着日常任务转啊。”插科打诨中，他意识到，自己来到贝克兰德后似乎缺少了一个明确的目标。
先前他是为什么要来这里来着？好像是因为某个人——不对，根本没有那个人，明明是觉得这里有晋升的机会才来的。
想到这，伦纳德又喜气洋洋地看帕列斯因为他忽然改往黑夜教堂方向走火速掉线的笑话了。

佛尔思·沃尔的小说家生活过得相当无趣。她每天不是在逃离编辑催稿的路上，就是在实在是躲不过三更半夜赶稿的怨念中挣扎。不知道为什么特别爱蹲在银月上当宅男的“门”先生以她的长辈自居，还特别喜欢跟她唠嗑，有时会吵得她晚上睡不着觉。
这个时候佛尔思就想大吼一声：“你一个真神骚扰我一个序列五的小家伙是有什么特别的乐趣吗！”
但她不敢。她并不知道这位真神为什么会对她另眼相待，但她也不排斥——除了真神亲自下场催稿的时候。佛尔思非常喜欢自己笔下新故事里那个男主，觉得他是一个很有魅力，也很悲情的角色。她原本想安排这个男主和女主角终成眷属，却遭到了真神的强烈反对。祂认为，这本书男主的角色内核注定了他会永远被命运裹挟着救世的，难以为女主停下脚步。
佛尔思认可了这个说法，实际上她也这么想的，可她觉得如果是这样的话，那对书中的每个人都太残忍了些。失去这名男主是一种不幸。

休·迪尔查没想到她能够搭上奥黛丽·霍尔这位杰出政治家的线。
贵族内部正在进行一次大换血。奥黛丽拥有足够权势，在她不知道的地方，又有一个“真神”为她背书，因此在这场博弈中，连王权都得避她的锋芒。此时，奥黛丽需要一个正义的理由，而休为给父亲平反所收集的证据，恰好能成为奥黛丽手上的有力筹码。凭借这个正剧，奥黛丽有了由头将她的政敌拉下台。即使这样，休对这种利用也并不反感，因为奥黛丽兑现了她的许诺。由于牵扯的重要人物很多，这一案受到了很大的关注。最终判决休胜诉了，这不仅洗清了她父亲的冤屈，他们家也不必再东躲西藏，同时引起了许多人对贵族权势与法律正义的讨论。紧接着，奥黛丽推出司法改革，休也终于做上了她曾梦想过的职业——审判官。此时她不是动用私刑、不得见光的雇佣兵或者游侠，而是能堂堂正正为民伸冤的存在。
另外有一个有趣的事情是，为休·迪尔查提供证据的人，正是她无意间帮助过的雪曼。这位美丽的女子原本以为自己得到了真爱，却没想到子爵只是将她当做替罪羔羊娶进门的。她想办法把消息递给了休这位和她只有数面之缘的“朋友”。在得到解救之后，雪曼向休提供了在子爵地下室意外发现的证据。她说，因为子爵轻视女性，又觉得她已经是个死人了，所以没有防备她，于是她在地下室没有被束缚起来，让她得到了机会。她还告诉休：“要是我是个男人肯定就没办法这样帮你了，当女人真的很开心。”

埃姆林·怀特的日子和过去没有太大变化，他依旧忙于制作药水，然后靠卖出药水赚钱给自己的爱好添砖加瓦。他总能获得许多有趣的灵感，这些灵感使他制作出了多种可以供给普通人使用的药水。在血族始祖公开了自己大地母神的身份后，他获得了另一条销售渠道，也就是卖给大地母神教会使用。
始祖对他的特别关注，使得他从一个在族群中不起眼的人物，变得备受瞩目。尽管他很快就甩了之前看不起他的血族一条街，但在得意了一段时间后，他又觉得没劲。他并不是喜欢无意义社交的人，更多时候安心宅在家面对人偶或者安心做药水研发才让他更高兴些。他的父母也因为他得到了更多的资源和关注，和埃姆林性格类似的两夫妻对此也不是很适应，干脆搬家去了远些的森林里。
有时埃姆林也会想灵感怎么来的，后来就懒得想了，就当自己聪明。

戴里克·伯格忙于建设新的白银城。尽管银月按照日升月落的规律并不常悬上空，但它在时，就能为土地恢复生机。或许千百年后获得太阳的人们会将银月当做月亮，但现在的银月对白银城来说却是带来光明的、温和的“太阳”。
他们的藏书里有过去城市布局的蓝图，大家疲于奔命，无法重建。如今他们能够在原址上继续居住，自然不会想着要迁徙。于是这片土地上建起了旧日都市摩天大楼风与粗犷简约风格结合的建筑物，这些建筑物在未来海关开放后，受到了大量外来旅客的喜爱。

嘉德丽雅作为“海盗船长”，最近正打算转型。
贝尔纳黛·古斯塔夫的突然回归打了她一个措手不及。她知道贝尔纳黛因某些原因答应了她父亲的要求，替他进入某个陵寝，但没想到这次交易归来后，贝尔纳黛竟获得了一个“神位”。 尽管“神位”这个词并不完全准确，但蒸汽与机械之神确实和她处于半融合状态。她和那名真神共同掌控着这一序列的权柄。
归来后，贝尔纳黛询问嘉德丽雅是否愿意和她一起去探索一个特殊的遗迹，发掘关于序列之上的秘密。嘉德丽雅答应了。虽然“星之上将”的名头很好听，但她对深入研究遗迹更加感兴趣。由于遗迹的危险性，她不能带着船员们一起远行，因而为代理船长人选发愁。她的手下各有各的问题，选谁都很难服众。
贝尔纳黛说她有办法。
办法就是抓某个闲得蛋疼的亲爹顶班。她无视了罗塞尔“你让真神给你打工你是人吗”的吱哇乱叫，并以一句理直气壮的“女儿让亲爹帮忙怎么了”把罗塞尔剩下的话都堵回去了。

关于追随过“？？？”的天使们
一个模糊的影子，残留于在那些这个世界开始之前就被创造的存在的记忆之中。

阿兹克·艾格斯依然作为死亡执政官在地上行走。祂开始更多地参与这个人世。在旅行途中，发生了许多值得记录的事情。阿兹克先生在写日记和写信两个选项中，选择了写信。起初，因为写信并不是为了满足祂的通讯需求，所有祂提笔时觉得千言万语都没什么可说的。但后来，祂就逐渐习惯写信了，写完后就会献祭掉。于是，莫名其妙收到许多信件的蕾妮特·提尼科尔颇有意见。作为节制派领袖，蕾妮特实在不想在百忙之中抽时间看游记。尽管如此，祂到底还是给友人个面子，分了个头看信。结果，四个头中处理事物的三个头总是忍不住偷看阿兹克的信件。
虽然死神途径的真神确实一直都是萨林格尔，但至今没有人见过祂。阿兹克是知道祂的父亲在何处的。在萨林格尔被永暗之河吞噬后，阿兹克将作为武器的唯一性扔进了其中。此后发生的事情阿兹克已经记不得了，但有件事是可以肯定的：这条“河流”将会流淌于世界背面，再也不会被人触及。

伯特利·亚伯拉罕还记得自己曾相伴于某人的旁边。但除此之外，祂什么都想不起来。每当注视着与自己融为一体的唯一性时，他心底会生出一丝淡淡的想念。这种空荡荡、无法捉摸的感觉，是那位唯一残留的温度。模糊的记忆使得祂偶尔会尝试寻找与那一位有关的存在。运气好的时候，祂会想起一副仿佛从未存在过的画面；而运气不好的时候，只有冷冰冰的死寂。
这种清闲并不常有。作为新诞生的正神，祂有太多的事情要忙，包括但不限于发展信徒、组建教会，维护与其他正神的关系等。自此，除了抽空关注一下自己“眷属”佛尔思的更新，祂基本上不怎么有时间回忆过去。伯特利有时候还得应对来自“同事”的骚扰，这令祂不胜其烦。

阿蒙与伯特利的忙正好相反。作为“人造神话生物”，祂没有维持人性的需求，锚点与信徒也能通过有丝分裂自己补足。祂有大把的时间在各地游荡。
自“那一天”之后，亚当便不干涉阿蒙的一切行为了。曾经的双重限制被解开，突然获得的“自由”让阿蒙一时失去了方向。不过祂很快就找到了新的目标。比如，想办法给自己弄个诡秘之主当当。伯特利·亚伯拉罕手上捏着源质，祂暂时动不了。所以，除了闲着没事去扒拉一下那个小作者眷属看她一惊一乍以外，祂就满世界地寻找“愚者”。
“愚者”似乎并不在这个“世界”的正面。
阿蒙推了推终于在鼻梁上安家落户的单片眼镜，满怀期待地走进了“入口”。

安提戈努斯是唯一一个能够记得克莱恩·莫雷蒂模样的存在。
祂依然生活在那座旧日都市里。这座旧日都市如今位于新世界的背面。这是一个除祂自己之外，完全没有非凡存在的地方。“愚者”每日最喜欢做的事情就是在广场上表演，看着原本僵硬的人们依靠自己的努力，慢慢补全这个已残缺至无法运转的新世界。安提戈努斯过去捏的秘偶们，祂的姐姐，其他与祂交好的神话生物们，都在此地得到了新生。那些在世界正面死亡的人们，将来到背面重新获得新生，最终再顺着永暗之河流淌回世界的正面。
作为保留了少许记忆的特殊者，安提戈努斯清楚克莱恩为何选择永远离去。“最初”意志只要存在，世界的发展就会受到祂记忆的约束，永远不能变得完整。祂的每一个念头都在无意识地影响着这个世界。所以为了将文明还给构建文明的人类，克莱恩·莫雷蒂选择了彻底离去。

Chapter Text

The Fool's Cycle of Rebirth was first updated on September 16, 2021, and concluded on January 25, 2025. One of the updates spanned nearly a year. I began conceptualizing this story shortly after The Lord of Mysteries finished, and by the time I finished writing, the sequel, The Ring of Fate, had already been completed. I heard that The Ring of Fate was poorly written, but because I didn’t want it to affect my writing process, I chose not to read it.

The original inspiration for this story came from an anime I watched in 2021 called Girls' Last Tour. The anime tells the warm story of two girls surviving in a world that has already perished. At that time, I had a sudden idea: if the world of The Lord of Mysteries were destroyed, what would Klein Moretti—who accidentally became the "original" after the reset—do in the reborn world?

Following this line of thought, I imagined that if Klein Moretti became the "original," even if he retained his memories, he might not be considered the same person anymore. But since humans are constantly changing due to their surrounding environment, we cannot completely deny the fact that Klein Moretti is still the "original." This led to an interesting philosophical thought: the classic "Ship of Theseus" paradox. The paradox asks: If the wood of Theseus’s ship is gradually replaced, until none of the original wood remains, is it still the same ship? Similarly, if the body and emotions are reshaped, can the "original" Klein Moretti, who retains the memories of the past, still be considered Klein?

I originally intended to choose one answer in the conclusion, but in the end, I felt that this question should be left for Klein to decide. Therefore, in the main text, I didn’t directly describe Klein's thoughts on the matter or the answer he reached.

One thing is certain, though: whether it is Klein Moretti himself or the "Klein Moretti" who has his memories, neither of them can just stand by and watch the world be destroyed. They cannot tolerate being the perpetrators who attempt to manipulate history and harm humanity. So, when Klein Moretti’s obsession reached this world, his attempt to rebuild the past civilization, while pursuing his obsession, inevitably led to a tragic outcome.

In my other long fanfiction Journey of the Ages, I wanted a happy and fulfilling ending. So, I arranged for Klein to travel through history within the same timeline, meaning no matter what he did in the past, he would at least have a chance to make amends in the future. In this book, both the past and the present are predetermined tragedies, and the future built upon this tragic foundation cannot escape the tragic tone. Only by removing this long-silent, decaying flesh can the future truly grow freely toward hope.

Additionally, I’d like to address the fates of some characters not mentioned in the epilogue. The true god supporting Audrey is Bertley, who had seen Klein critique policies during the Fourth Age. He could see Klein’s shadow in Audrey’s decisions, so he sided with her. The death of the "original" allowed Adam to act without restraint, choosing to ascend to the Old Ones. After Adam took the "uniqueness," the three who became angels—Feng Baizhi and the others—finally gained some sense of self. Thus, after the conclusion, the general division of the true gods is as follows: Adam leads the "uniqueness" faction, Amanis and Lilith are in the same faction, while Bertley and Rossell are in the same faction. It’s interesting to think about: Adam is firmly against the "original’s" manipulation, Amanis and Lilith are relatively neutral toward Klein, and Bertley and Rossell are absolute supporters of Klein. As for Amon, they don’t care about any faction.

Regarding the outer gods, I want to say that they still exist. However, because of Klein’s suppression, they dare not, and cannot, covet Earth. After Klein’s "death," part of him continues to watch over the universe, operating on the most basic logic, controlling those primordial elements, and using them to construct Earth’s defense system. So, these outer gods absolutely dare not invade Earth.

Finally, I want to thank you for reading and purchasing this book.

Chapter Text

At its birth, it possessed no self-awareness.
Crain Moretti's obsession, bearing the memories of past civilisations, slowly reshaped this world. The first to emerge were the ancient cities. Even in memory, they were already a destroyed civilisation; thus, beyond the fragments Crain retained, no further possibilities could grow. Though it arrived in this newly born world, it remained in its dead form.
The obsession traversed this civilisation, fallen before it had even been born, and recalled an emotion belonging to ‘humankind’.
Loneliness.
This place was too quiet. The cold skyscrapers and their cubicle offices only added to the desolate, merciless emptiness.
Within this atmosphere, new life began to move across the land. They were born extraordinary, never to degenerate into the later forms that lost their extraordinary essence.
Simple movement alone could not bring true change.
Something crucial was missing.
‘People.’

The first “human” split from the “Original”. He was fashioned in the image of the silver city's creator, the ancient sun god, who possessed the authority of “creation” within the memory of obsession. Upon birth, he took the only Soviet name he could recall from Klein's memory – “Anatoly”.
At that time, Anatoly was indistinguishable from the “Original”. He merely became aware of his own existence.
As a unique entity, Anatoly gained the allegiance of several ‘angels’. The ‘First’ fashioned these angels from his own obsession, naming them: ‘Osekus’, “Heraborg”, and ‘Leodro’. Unlike Anatoly, they were unable to develop self-awareness. This may have stemmed from the world's underlying logic being incomplete, or perhaps Klein's memory of them was insufficiently profound. This lack of clarity arose from their weight within Klein's recollections, not their quantity. On one hand, his instincts yearned to return to the embrace; on the other, his self resisted reverting to a state of utter oblivion. Ultimately, self-will prevailed over instinct. Thus, to resist its pull, Anatoli led the three angels away from the ‘Beginning’.
Solitude once more enveloped Him.

Only when ‘humankind’ emerged did destiny begin to turn.
The singularity and extraordinary nature of the Wheel of Fate automatically detached from the ‘Beginning’ upon the establishment of ‘Order’, transforming into three mercury serpents. The first mercurial serpent received a name—Uroboros. The second mercurial serpent acquired a preference, tasting the world's first sweetness and chill. The final mercurial serpent gained nothing, yet it embodied fate itself—eternally unknowable and unnameable.
Uroboros began as a serpent, gradually taking human form, and ultimately crystallised as a youth with silver hair and eyes. He first became aware of ‘self’ upon beholding his own form, then turned his gaze towards ‘the beginning.’ That hazy, concept-less ‘beginning’ was fixed in the world by fate.
‘The beginning’ truly became ‘the beginning’ within his cognition.
The mercury serpent softly murmured the name he knew from birth: ‘Klein Moretti.’
There was no response.
Yet Urolius felt no anger, for the concept of ‘irritation’ had not yet been granted to him. He simply remained in silent companionship beside the primordial chaos, sensing the breath of the ‘Beginning,’ and observing with curiosity the destinies within the obsession that predated even the ‘Beginning.’ From destiny, he had received the humanity bestowed by a dead civilisation.
Perhaps it should not be called humanity. Urolius had merely witnessed civilisations and known history, yet possessed no understanding of how to utilise this knowledge. Each day, he sat beside the ‘Beginning,’ observing all things emerging upon the newly born earth.
Only after a great deal of time did he first make a request to the ‘Beginning’: ‘Wish for a friend.’
Urolius could not comprehend the true meaning of ‘friend’ within civilisation; he merely wished to see it with his own eyes.
The Primordial One remained silent.
Yet after this request, an extraordinary trait fell from the heavens. Rolling through the chaotic mist, it took the form of a red-haired youth. This being, born for Sequence One, received a name: Medici.
Before the Cataclysm, Medici might have been considered a friend to Urolius.
Due to differing extraordinary traits, the newly born flame giant possessed a character diametrically opposed to Urolius. Urolius was devoid of desire, serene and hollow, embodying a near-eternal tranquillity as if existing alongside the river of fate, transcending the mundane. Medici, however, was ambitious, combative, and fervent; every glance and utterance brimmed with aggression and vitality. Such opposites might seem destined for coldness or even hostility, yet the opposite holds true. Urolius proved a patient listener, accepting Medici's words and allowing the latter to freely ‘set fires’ within this realm.
This blaze swiftly warmed the frigid world, then seared it with intense heat. This blaze swiftly warmed the frigid world, then seared it with intense heat. The ‘First’ gradually developed a peculiar vitality, occasionally conversing with Medici—though these exchanges consisted solely of indistinct, incomprehensible murmurs.

True transformation commenced with Anatoli's return. He arrived at the ‘First's’ side with his angels, declaring to the entity that had brought him into being: ‘I have returned.’
He brought back the most singular name from his obsession.
‘Zhou Mingrui.’
This name awakened the ‘self’ that had existed before the obsession had taken hold.
The ‘First’ bearing Zhou Mingrui's features stirred. His gaze swept over Urolys and Medici, who stood by his side, finally resting upon Anatoly.
He spoke gently to the returnee: ‘You have returned.’
Unaccustomed to possessing a ‘self,’ Zhou Mingrui mimicked the manner of his parents from the lost civilisation, resting his palm upon Anatoly's soft, black-gold hair and gently ruffling it. He noted Anatoly's stiffness at this gesture, yet instinctively interpreted the reaction as “shyness” through ‘past memories' experience.’ With that, he withdrew his hand and smiled.
The smile held no warmth, appearing distinctly uncanny. Unfortunately, no one could comprehend this “uncanniness”.
‘I missed you,’ Anatoli said, unobtrusively dodging Klein's outstretched hand.
‘Who is he?’ Medici rudely interrupted Anatoli's feigned reunion.
A tentacle had appeared behind Medici at some point, patting his shoulder soothingly. Medici glanced back and saw it extended from beneath Zhou Mingrui's robe.
Zhou Mingrui looked towards Uroboros, noticing that this mercurial serpent, usually devoid of reaction, was also watching him, awaiting his response.
‘Anatoly, my first...’ Zhou Mingrui hesitated, choosing a term he deemed both “intimate” and comprehensible to both Urolius and Medici. ‘...friend.’
Friend. The word was, of course, inaccurate. Yet in this nascent world, as the sole vessel for emotional connection, its weight was already profoundly heavy.
The two extraordinary beings who had always accompanied Zhou Mingrui found themselves in a situation demanding redefinition. A second emotion stirred within them.
‘Anger.’
If described using the vocabulary of the old civilisation, it might also have been tinged with jealousy, envy, misunderstanding.
Anatoly ignored Medici's question, paying no heed to the anger in the other's eyes.
He merely bowed his head slightly to Zhou Mingrui and stated, ‘I have established a realm. I wish to share this realm with you.’
‘He will not go,’ Urolius answered in Zhou Mingrui's stead. This was not an affront to Zhou Mingrui, but rather a recognition of the word ‘refusal’ already etched into the trajectory of Zhou Mingrui's destiny.
Nevertheless, Anatoli continued to await the response from ‘The First’.
The First One fell into prolonged contemplation, but in the end, chose to endorse Urolius's assessment.
‘I rather like the realm you've built... Why not attempt to construct a magnificent edifice?’ Zhou Mingrui proposed. ‘I should like to see the Giant King's Court.’ He left a little wiggle room. ‘I shall come to you once it stands.’
Thus concluded the first confrontation between the three self-aware creations. Yet this marked only the beginning. Over the following years, such clashes would recur repeatedly, until—
The Zero Reset.

Zhou Mingrui, now possessing self-awareness, though often drifting in a haze, began actively engaging with the outside world—conversing with Urolius. This proactive shift breathed new vitality into the entire world. Extraordinary beings gradually evolved from creatures driven solely by instinct into sentient beings capable of thought.
The Primordial departed from its original resting place.
Viewed from the world's highest vantage point, one could observe a vast, chaotic mass of grey mist moving across the land. For most extraordinary beings, the mist surrounding the Primordial presented both advantages and disadvantages. This grey mist presented both advantages and disadvantages for most extraordinary beings. It suppressed their hostility, allowing weaker creatures to seek refuge within it, yet simultaneously curtailed their power, preventing these sheltered beings from drawing energy from the outside world. Consequently, the extraordinary beings around Zhou Mingrui came and went in waves.
Zhou Mingrui honoured his earlier agreement to visit the Giant King's Court, establishing a silver city there. He then settled near this silver city, remaining stationary.
Such days proved tedious. Medici, unable to endure the utter lack of excitement, departed from his side. Urolius did not accompany Medici, choosing instead to remain by Zhou Mingrui's side. He perpetually observed, contemplated, and posed numerous questions to Zhou Mingrui. Some queries found answers within Zhou Mingrui's memories of the destroyed civilisation, while others remained unresolved.
Yet Urolius alone proved too still.
Thus, the ‘First’ created another ‘child’. This child was named “Amanesis”, granted dominion over night and stars. Amanesis was born half the size of a normal creature. From her birth, the concept of ‘children’ entered this world.

‘Zhou Mingrui,’ Amnysis called upon the name of the ‘First,’ ‘What is home?’
It posed a most peculiar question.
‘Home is...’ Zhou Mingrui pondered, retrieving a verse from the depths of memory, ‘Where the heart finds peace, there lies my home.’
‘Do you not find peace here?’ Amnysis inquired.
Zhou Mingrui fell silent for a moment.
‘But for me, any place I cannot return to is called home.’

That persistent longing finally broke through the world's post-rebirth obscurity.
He rose to his feet, then ascended ever higher, gazing down upon the now chaotic yet lifeless earth below. He shook his head gently.
To undo this regret was utterly impossible as things stood.
A grey mist enveloped the world, initiating the ‘Zero Reset.’
Afterwards, the world's memories were reset, and its course began to unfold according to the history imprinted in the ‘Obsession's’ memory. Only those beings personally created and endowed with ‘self-awareness’ by the ‘First’ retained a hazy recollection of events prior to this reset.

祂诞生时并无自我意识。
克莱恩·莫雷蒂的执念，带着过去文明的记忆，缓慢地改造着这个世界。最初诞生的，是旧日都市。即便在记忆中，那也已是毁灭的文明，因此，除去克莱恩仅存的片段，无法再生长更多的可能性。尽管它来到这个新生的世界，但依然是死去的模样。
执念在这片未曾诞生便已陨落的文明中穿行，回忆起了一种属于“人”的情感。
寂寞。
这里太过静谧。冰冷的摩天大楼与其中的格子间，使这片空旷更添几分无情。
在这样的氛围中，新生的生命开始在这片土地上行动。祂们自非凡中诞生，不会分化成后续那种失去非凡灵性的存在。
单纯的运动无法带来真正的变化。
缺少了一样至关重要的东西。
“人”。

第一个“人”从“最初”中分裂出来。祂是以执念的记忆中，拥有着“创造”权柄的白银城造物主、远古太阳神为原型制造的。诞生后，祂为自己取了“克莱恩”记忆中唯一能记得的苏联名字——“阿纳托利”。
那时，阿纳托利与“最初”并无二致。祂仅仅是认知到了自我的存在。
作为特殊存在，阿纳托利得到了几个“天使”的追随。“最初”按照祂的执念创造了这些天使，并为祂们起名：“奥塞库斯”、“赫拉伯根”和“列奥德罗”。与阿纳托利不同的是，祂们未能诞生自我。这或许是因为世界底层的逻辑尚不完善，亦或是“克莱恩”对祂们的记忆不够深刻。这种不真切源自祂们在“克莱恩”记忆中的份量，而非数量。一方面，祂的本能让祂渴望回归怀抱；另一方面，祂的自我抗拒变回浑浑噩噩的状态。最终，自我战胜了本能。所以，为了抵抗本能的影响，阿纳托利带着三个天使远离了“最初”。
寂寞再次笼罩了祂。

世界上有了“人”，命运才开始转动。
命运之轮的唯一性与非凡特性因“秩序”的建立而从“最初”身上自动脱落，化作三条水银之蛇。第一条水银之蛇得到了名字——“乌洛琉斯”。第二条水银之蛇获得了一个喜好，祂尝到了世间第一口甜与冰。最后一条水银之蛇什么都未得到，但祂代表着永远无法被掌握和命名的命运本身。
乌洛琉斯最初是蛇，渐渐化作人，最终定格为一位银发银眼的青年。祂首先在看向自己的身体时，意识到了“自我”，然后又转向“最初”。那朦胧的、没有任何概念的“最初”，被命运固定在了世界上。
“最初”真正地，在认知中成为了“最初”。
水银之蛇轻声念出了祂生来便知道的名字：“克莱恩·莫雷蒂。”
没有反应。
但乌洛琉斯并不生气，因为祂还未获得“恼怒”这一概念。祂只是静静地陪伴在那片混沌旁边，感受着“最初”的气息，好奇地注视着执念中那些比“最初”更早的命运。祂从命运中获得了已死文明赠与的人性。
或许，这不该称为人性。乌洛琉斯只是见过了文明，知晓了历史，却不知道如何运用这些知识。每天，祂都坐在“最初”旁边，看着新生大地的万物。
直到很久之后，祂第一次向“最初”提出了一个请求：“想要，朋友。”
乌洛琉斯无法理解文明中“朋友”的真正含义，祂只想亲眼看看。
“最初”没有应答。
但在祂提出这个要求后，一个非凡特性掉落下来，在混沌的雾中一滚，就化作了一名红发青年的模样。这个天生为序列一的存在得到了一个名字——“梅迪奇”。
在那场毁灭发生之前，“梅迪奇”或许能算作“乌洛琉斯”的朋友。
由于非凡特性不同，新生的火焰巨人与乌洛琉斯的性格截然相反。乌洛琉斯无欲无求，宁静空洞，身上似乎拥有一种近乎永恒的宁静，仿佛与命运河流同在，超然世外。梅迪奇则野心勃勃、好斗热烈，祂的每一个眼神、每一句话语都充满了侵略性和生命力。这样的二者看似应该关系冷淡甚至敌对，实则不然。乌洛琉斯是一名耐心的听众，祂接纳了梅迪奇的话语，让对方可以恣意地在此地“纵火”。
这团烈火很快将这冰冷的世界烧得温暖，继而炽热。这团烈火很快将这冷冰冰的世界烧得温暖，然后炽热。“最初”逐渐产生了独特的活性，祂有时会与梅迪奇交谈，尽管都是些无法听清也不可理解的呓语。

真正的改变始于阿纳托利的回归。祂带着祂的天使们来到了“最初”的身边，然后跟创造祂的存在说：“我回来了。”
祂将执念中最为特殊的名字带回了此地。
“周明瑞。”
这个名字唤醒了执念在成为执念之前的“自我”。
有着“周明瑞”长相的“最初”苏醒过来。祂的目光掠过伴随在自己身侧的乌洛琉斯与梅迪奇，最后停留在阿纳托利身上。
祂温和地对归来者说道：“你回来了。”
还不习惯拥有“自我”的周明瑞模仿死去文明中父母的样子，将手掌搁在阿纳托利柔软的黑金色的头发上，轻轻揉了揉。祂注意到做出这个举动时阿纳托利的僵硬，却很自然应用“过去记忆中的经验”将这一反应理解为对方在“害羞”，于是祂放下手，笑了笑。
笑容没有温度，看起来格外诡异。可惜没有人能理解这份“诡异”。
“我很想您。”阿纳托利不动声色地躲开克莱恩再次伸出的手。
“祂是谁？”梅迪奇很不客气地打断了阿纳托利装模作样的叙旧。
一只触手不知道什么时候来到了梅迪奇的身后，安抚性地拍了拍祂的肩。梅迪奇扭头瞥了一眼，发现它是从周明瑞袍子下伸出的。
周明瑞看向乌洛琉斯，发现这位素来没有反应的水银之蛇也正注视着祂，期待着祂给出回答。
“阿纳托利，我的第一个……”周明瑞犹豫了一下，选择了一个祂认为比较“亲近”又能被乌洛琉斯和梅迪奇理解的称呼，“朋友。”
朋友。这个词当然不准确，但在这个新生的世界里，作为唯一维系情感的词语，它的分量已经足够沉重。
一直陪伴周明瑞的两个非凡生物陷入了需要重新定义的情境。祂们心中生出了第二个情绪。
“愤怒”。
若用旧文明的词汇形容，或许其中还混杂了嫉妒、羡慕、误解等。
阿纳托利没有理会梅迪奇的问话，也无视了对方眼中的愤怒。
祂只微微对周明瑞微微低头，然后说，“我已创建了一个国度，我愿与您共享此国度。”
“祂不会去。”乌洛琉斯代替周明瑞回答这个问题。祂并非冒犯周明瑞，而是早已在周明瑞命运的轨迹中看见了“拒绝”。
然而，阿纳托利依旧等待着来自“最初”的回答。
“最初”陷入了漫长的思考，但在思考的最后，祂选择认可乌洛琉斯的说法。
“我很喜欢你建立的国度……为什么不试着建造一个宏伟的建筑呢？”周明瑞说，“我想看看巨人王庭。”祂留了一点余地，“我将会在它落地后来找你。”
就这样，最初三个拥有自我的造物之间的交锋结束了。但这只是一个开始，在此后的许多年中，这种交锋依旧反复上演着，直到——
“第零次重启”。

拥有自我意识的周明瑞，尽管时常陷入浑浑噩噩的状态，但与之前不同的是，祂开始尝试主动与外界接触，同乌洛琉斯交谈。这种主动的改变为整个世界带来了新的活力。非凡生物从仅凭本能的动物，逐渐转变为能够思考的有灵智的存在。
“最初”离开了祂最开始停留的位置。
若是从世界最上空俯视，能够看见一大团混沌不定的灰雾在大地上移动。“最初”身边的灰雾对大部分非凡生物来说，是一种有利也有弊的环境。这团灰雾对大部分非凡生物来说，既有利也有弊。它压制了非凡生物的敌意，使得弱小的生物能在此躲避，但同时也压制了它们的力量，让这些躲避的生物无法从外界汲取能量。因此，周明瑞身边的非凡生物总是来了一批又走了一批。
周明瑞按照当初约定前往“巨人王庭”做客，并在那里建立了一座白银城。然后便旅居在白银城附近，没有再移动。
这样的日子是无聊的。梅迪奇不耐着没有半分刺激的日子，离开了祂身边。乌洛琉斯没有与梅迪奇同去，而是继续待在周明瑞身旁。祂总是在注视、思考，然后向周明瑞问许多问题。有些问题周明瑞能够从毁灭文明的记忆中找到答案回答祂，有些则不能。
但乌洛琉斯一个还是太静了些。
于是“最初”再次创造了一个“孩子”。这个孩子名为“阿曼妮西斯”，她得到了黑夜与星星的权柄。阿曼妮西斯诞生时只有正常生物的一半大小。自祂诞生，这个世界开始有了“孩子”的概念。

“周明瑞。”阿曼妮西斯呼唤着“最初”的姓名，“故乡，是什么？”
祂询问了一个非常特殊的问题。
“故乡就是……”周明瑞想了想，从记忆深处拿出一句诗来，“此心安处是吾乡。”
“你在这里，不觉得心安吗？”阿曼妮西斯问。
周明瑞沉默了一会儿。
“但是对我来说，回不去的地方，都叫故乡。”

那道执念终于挣开了世界新生后的蒙昧。
祂站起身来，然后升得很高、很高，俯视着如今混乱、却又缺乏生气的大地，轻轻摇了摇头。
想挽回遗憾，这样下去是绝对不可能的。
灰雾笼罩了这个世界，进行了“第零次重启”。
在这之后，世界的记忆被重置，世界的进程开始按照“执念”记忆中的历史前行。而在这次重启前的事情，只有被“最初”亲手创造并赋予“自我”的存在，能保留模糊的印象。

Chapter Text

As the Banquet of Betrayal unfolded, time transitioned from the Third Era to the Fourth Era.
Anatoli changed his name to ‘Adam’ and temporarily concealed his presence upon this land. The Wind, White, and Wisdom Triad continued to influence the entire world as three puppets under his control. Amanitis, meanwhile, truly became the Goddess of Night during this period, amassing a solid following and sufficient power to oppose Anatoli. Urolius and Medici were instructed by Zhou Mingrui to follow Anatoli, yet hazy memories reminded them that their original allegiance lay elsewhere, rendering their relationship with the present-day ‘Adam’ profoundly complex.
Following the Third Era, the image of ‘The First’ gradually stabilised as ‘Klein Moretti’ rather than ‘Zhou Mingrui’. Klein Moretti was the Lord of the Mists within the Obsession's memories, and also the identity ‘The First’ had chosen for itself in this newly born world.
Even among those who survived the Third Era, few were aware that Crain Moretti was the ‘First’. Most simply regarded him as an ancient Lord of Mystery. Yet this entity's stature was sufficiently exalted that even true gods must look upon him with reverence.
After establishing their own realms, humans and various extraordinary beings kept a watchful eye on this Lord of the Unseen. Most extended overtures of goodwill towards Klein, for no faction wished to see the Lord of the Unseen align with another power, much less become an adversary. Yet among the multitude of realms, Klein ultimately chose the Solomon Empire as his dwelling place.

The Council Chamber of the Solomon Empire.
For Solomon, who wielded absolute violent authority, decisions required no consideration of ‘inferior beings' opinions.’ The high-ranking nobles seated within the chamber were the sole audience for His rulings and the only ones permitted to offer counsel. His proclamation of the new state policy echoed through the silent hall.
At that moment, an uninvited guest pushed open the chamber doors.
Solomon was about to frown when he suddenly recognised the visitor. He halted his proclamation and dismissed the lower-ranking ministers to the side chamber.
‘Not necessary.’
A wisp of grey mist seeped through the doorway, followed by Crain's figure teleporting from the open entrance to stand beside Solomon. He took the vacant seat beside Solomon, patting the monarch's shoulder.
‘Continue. We shall discuss my affairs afterwards.’
Thus the proclamation of the new national policy resumed, though not a single mind remained focused on its contents. Both Aristotle Tudor and Thronost, seated to Solomon's left and right respectively, fixed their attention upon the Lord of the Unseen. Among them, Tudor's gaze held a particular intensity.
Soon, the brief session concluded. Solomon escorted Crain to the adjacent reception room while the others departed.

Within the reception room, palace attendants had already prepared exquisite hot tea and pastries. Crain reclined on the sofa, cutting a small slice of cake with his fork.
Solomon observed Crain's actions, feeling reassured. It seemed the Lord of Mystery had no pressing matters today.
Influenced by his past memories, Crain still maintained the practice of savouring fine food to sustain his ‘humanity.’ Unlike other extraordinary beings whose need for humanity diminished with higher Sequence levels, Crain ate three meals a day punctually, slept a measured amount nightly, and paid attention to matters typically of concern to ordinary folk. Even so, his actions appeared highly programmed, lacking any semblance of ‘humanity.’
‘What do you make of Aristotle Tudor?’ Klein inquired.
‘He is a rather ambitious fellow,’ Solomon replied, his gaze fixed on Klein. ‘But as long as I wield absolute power, he will never act rashly.’
‘Mm,’ Kline acknowledged.
He calculated the time of Solomon Empire's collapse from his memories, his gaze fixed upon Solomon's face. Though Solomon was nearing death, he did not wish to simply plunge the empire into civil strife. Perhaps other means existed to preserve the current kingdom.
‘Have you taken offence at him?’ Solomon inquired, drawing closer to Klein.
Already seated on the same side of the sofa, he now moved nearer, reaching an intimate distance. Solomon need only tilt his head slightly for his chin to rest upon Klein's shoulder. The face, usually radiating authority, now held eyes brimming with deep affection.
Solomon was well aware that his feelings for Klein stemmed from the influence of the Sequence's attraction. Yet, upon discovering that Klein would be swayed by such emotions, even potentially favouring him, Solomon unhesitatingly allowed himself to display affection before Klein, exploiting this to win him over. Judging by the outcome, this approach proved undeniably successful. With the Lord of Mystery at its helm, Solomon's empire became the continent's most formidable power.
‘No, merely curious to hear your opinion.’
Klein frowned slightly at Solomon's gesture but did not refuse. After a moment's hesitation, he reached out, his fingers gently combing through the dark hair of the figure leaning against him. Perhaps out of nostalgia for his ‘homeland,’ he held an innate fondness for those with dark hair and eyes.
‘You observed Terenost today as well,’ Solomon remarked, addressing the other presence in the chamber.
‘Indeed. I too wish to hear your assessment of him,’ Klein replied.
‘Terenost proves more manageable than Tudo,’ Solomon answered. ‘He adheres to order.’
Klein gave a slight nod.
‘I am quite fond of the Empire as it stands,’ he remarked. ‘And you, Your Majesty Solomon?’
‘I am naturally fond of it too.’
Solomon could not fathom Klein's true intentions. After drawing him into his camp, he had once worried that maintaining their alliance might require ceding some of his own power to Klein. In truth, Klein had shown no interest whatsoever in such authority. He preferred to observe the empire's workings silently, refraining from intervening in any major events, choosing instead to interact with individuals privately. Klein's sudden mention of the empire now struck Solomon as another unusual occurrence. Yet should Klein harbour an interest in power, it might not be entirely detrimental; Solomon could potentially leverage this to enlist Klein's aid in subjugating other factions.
‘I understand,’ Klein said.
The grey mist carried away the Lord of Mystery, along with the pastries from the coffee table.
Solomon's brow furrowed. He sensed something slipping beyond his grasp.

Shortly after this conversation, the ‘Tearing of the Solomon Empire’ occurred. Solomon fell after an assassination, and the Master of Mystery subsequently sealed and preserved the history of the Solomon Empire. The remnant empire lost a portion of its ‘history,’ though for those living at the bottom, it made little difference. They had always drifted through life in a daze, content merely to be fed and clothed.
Following Solomon's demise, Aristotle Tudor and Thronost jointly assumed the reins of power, each harbouring ambitions to seize complete control of the empire. The Lord of Mystery, that transcendent entity who had once stood as Solomon's ally, became the figure both sought to court.

Aristotle, clad in casual loungewear, walked barefoot across the carpet and settled into the chair beside Crain. He knew Crain favoured this relaxed manner of reception.
During Solomon's reign, Crain had occasionally visited his residence, seemingly taking pains to keep Solomon unaware of these meetings. He was equally certain that Kline's current visit would remain unknown to Terenost. Kline's deliberate silence regarding their shared intent to kill Solomon, despite his knowledge, granted Alistair a sense of privileged leverage. The Lord of Mystery, at the very least, “supported” him in some regard.
‘I should like to hear of your experiences in the previous epoch,’ Alistair said with a smile, personally lifting the teapot to pour Klein a cup of black tea. ‘Your account of the “Zero Reset” was most intriguing.’
Wrong. He wasn't interested in the “history” itself; he cared more about Klein's attitude towards the “Zero Reset”. Aristotle sought to discern the personality profile of the Lord of Unseen Mysteries through Klein's narrative, thereby identifying the correct approach to win him over. Were Klein not so impenetrable, He would have had no qualms about exploiting his preoccupation with ‘affection’ and ‘emotional bonds’ to form a partnership with him, thereby securing Klein's wholehearted allegiance.
‘Anatoly and I created Amon,’ Klein began. ‘He is a unique entity. I granted Amon the exclusive right to wield “Errors”. He can borrow the power of uniqueness from me and wield it freely.’
‘Why did you create him?’
‘He has a future task he must fulfil,’ Klein replied. ‘You might consider him a “tool”.’
‘And before that task?’
‘He need only be himself—though Adam has other plans for him.’
‘And you don't mind?’
‘I couldn't care less.’

The favour of the Lord of the Unseen did not perpetually rest upon Aristotle.
Trenost had no other advantages in currying favour with Klein, yet when he gazed upon him with such honest eyes, the other often found this directness hard to resist.
‘I believe the laws require amendment,’ Klein stated after reviewing Terenost's proposal, rejecting Aristotle's suggestion. ‘The Empire now demands more just and equitable legislation. Maintaining the status quo as per your proposal would only see noble privileges further squeezing the commoners' livelihoods.’
Regardless of how many times Alistair inwardly cursed Terenost for breaking their tacit understanding by involving the Lord of the Mysteries in state affairs, outwardly he merely bowed his head slightly, acknowledging Klein's reasoning.
After the meeting concluded, watching Klein being invited away by Terenost, a shadow passed over his blue eyes.
Unlike Alistair, who sought to exploit Kline's emotions, Terenost simply failed to restrain his own affection for the youth. His lack of overstepping boundaries brought Kline a measure of relief. If forced to choose, Kline might well favour Terenost slightly more.

Yet Alistair held a unique position at pivotal junctures of the ‘past history.’
Medici, stripped of his uniqueness and sealed beneath the earth, took strong exception to this. Klein's response was to deliver a sleeping spell to Medici.
Thus, the Fourth Era timeline arrived at the period of the Four Emperors' co-reign.

High-tier extraordinary beings with the means understood clearly: choosing the three sequences of Error, Door, and Fool inevitably precluded ascension to true godhood, and naturally aligned one's faction with the Lord of Mystery. Yet scarcely anyone realised that ascending to angelic rank via these three paths required the Lord of Mystery's explicit consent, along with the payment of a certain ‘peculiar price’.
Antigonus was an exception. He emerged as a ‘byproduct’ following the creation of Amnithis. During the Third Era, guided by an unseen destiny, he resolutely chose the camp of the Lord of Mystery. Due to the ‘Zero Reset,’ both Medici and Urolius severed ties with the ‘First One.’ With nothing to occupy him, the ‘First One’ adopted Antigonus—who had lost his sister—during the Third Era, recounting to him tales of ‘past civilisations.’ Now, Antigonus follows Klein into the service of the Blood Emperor, Aristotle. He remains unaware of Klein's arrangements concerning Bethel Abraham and Amon, yet his allegiance stems entirely from his own volition.
Amon, however, is unconnected to Klein's arrangements. He was dispatched by Adam to monitor Klein's activities within Alistair's inner circle.
As for Bethel, his ties to Alistair indeed stem from the Solomon Empire era, a relationship sustained to the present day. Klein's perception of him was more complex, for through his close ties to the Abraham family, Klein drew emotional resonance from him. Thus, Klein's feelings towards Bethel held far greater authenticity. Simultaneously, Bethel's affection for Klein surpassed that of others influenced by the ‘Law of Extraordinary Trait Aggregation’.

‘The outcome of the Four Emperors' War...’
Bethel had intended to dissuade Klein from this notion, unwilling to witness his own family's annihilation in the conflict, yet he found himself unable to voice opposition.
‘Fear not for your kin; I shall protect them,’ Klein declared. "But I must personally slay Saringel. He shall not be granted the opportunity to reap the spoils from the conflict between Solomon, Tudo, and Terenost. Before that, I shall retrieve someone—the Death Executioner, Azk Eges."
‘What makes him special to you?’
‘He is indispensable to the future Kline Moretti.’

随着“背叛之宴”的上演，时间从第三纪元来到了第四纪元。
阿纳托利将自己的名字变更为“亚当”，同时短暂地在这片大地上隐匿了自己的踪迹。而风白智三神，依旧作为祂掌控下的三个傀儡，影响着整个世界。阿曼妮西斯则在这段时间真正成为了黑夜女神，有了一批实在的信徒和足够与阿纳托利对抗的势力。乌洛琉斯和梅迪奇被周明瑞授意去追随阿纳托利，但模糊的记忆告诉祂们，祂们最初追随的并非是阿纳托利，这让祂们与现在的“亚当”之间的关系变得更加微妙。
而在经历过第三纪元后，“最初”的形象逐渐稳定在“克莱恩·莫雷蒂”上，而非是“周明瑞”。克莱恩·莫雷蒂是执念记忆中的诡秘之主，也是“最初”在这个新生世界给予自己的定位。
关于克莱恩·莫雷蒂是“最初”这件事情，即便是第三纪元存活下来的人，也很少有人清楚。大部分人只是将祂当做旧日诡秘之主。不过这个位格也足够高了，高到真神都必须仰望。
人类，以及各种非凡生物在建立起自己的国度之后，或多或少都在关注这个诡秘之主的动向。大部分都对克莱恩表达了示好的态度，没有任何一方希望诡秘之主加入其他势力，更不希望诡秘之主会因此与自己敌对。但在诸多国度中，克莱恩最终选择了所罗门帝国作为自己落脚点。

所罗门帝国议事厅。
于拥有绝对暴力权威的所罗门来说，他做决定不用考虑“低位者”的想法，此时议事厅内坐着的各个高序列贵族就是聆听祂处理事务结果和能提出建议的全部人。祂宣布新国策的声音回荡在安静的大厅内。
此时，一名不速之客推开了议事厅的大门。
所罗门正要皱眉，忽地意识到来者的身份，祂停止了自己宣读的声音，让坐在下位的大臣们先去偏厅回避。
“不必了。”
一缕灰雾从门外渗进来，紧接着，克莱恩的身影从敞开的大门瞬移到了所罗门旁边。祂在所罗门身旁空着的椅子上坐下，用手拍了拍所罗门的肩膀。
“继续。我的事情结束后再说。”
于是新国策的宣读继续下去，但没有任何一个人心思在这个国策身上了。坐在所罗门左右手的亚利斯塔·图铎和特伦索斯特都在关注着诡秘之主。其中，图铎的眼神更热切一些。
很快，这次短暂的议事结束，所罗门将克莱恩请到隔壁的会客室，其他人则各自离去。

在会客室，早早有宫人准备了精致的热茶和点心，克莱恩靠在沙发上，用叉子剜下一小块蛋糕。
所罗门观察着克莱恩的行为，心下放松。看来诡秘之主今日没有什么要事。
受到过去记忆的影响，现在的克莱恩依旧保留着品尝美食来维持“人性”的做法。与其他序列越高越不需要人性的非凡者不同，克莱恩会一日三餐按时吃饭，会有每日适量的睡眠，还会关注许多普通人才会关注的事情。即便如此，祂的行为依旧看起来十分程序性，缺乏“人”味。
“你觉得亚利斯塔·图铎怎样？”克莱恩问。
“祂是一个颇具野心的家伙。”所罗门注视着克莱恩，“但只要我掌控着绝对的力量，祂就绝不会轻举妄动。”
“嗯。”克莱恩应了一声。
祂计算着记忆中所罗门帝国覆灭的时间，目光落在所罗门的脸上。虽然所罗门差不多要死了，但祂并不想就这样让所罗门帝国陷入内乱中去，许有其他方式可以保存现在的王国。
“您是对祂有什么不满吗？”所罗门凑到克莱恩身边问道。
祂原本就与克莱恩坐在沙发的同一侧，此刻离克莱恩更近了些，到了一个亲昵的距离。所罗门只需微微低头，下巴就能靠到克莱恩的肩上。那张平日充满威严的脸上，此刻双眼都盛满了深情。
所罗门当然知晓祂对克莱恩抱有的情感是出于序列之上吸引力的影响，但在祂发现克莱恩会因为这种情感而产生波动，甚至可能会偏向祂的时候，祂毫不犹豫放任自己在克莱恩面前表现出依恋，利用这一点来拉拢克莱恩。根据结果来看，这个做法毫无疑问是成功的。有诡秘之主坐镇的所罗门帝国成为了大陆上最强的势力。
“不，只是好奇你的意见而已。”
对所罗门的举动，克莱恩微微皱眉，但没有拒绝，祂犹豫一瞬，然后伸出手，动作轻柔地梳理着靠在自己身上那人的黑发。也许是因为怀念“故乡”，祂对黑发黑眼的人都抱有天生的好感。
“您今日也看了特伦索斯特。”所罗门提起在场的另一个人。
“是的，我也想听听你对祂的看法。”克莱恩说。
“特伦索斯特相对图铎来说更加好掌控些，祂遵守秩序。”所罗门答。
克莱恩微微颔首。
“我很喜欢现在的帝国。”祂说，“那你呢？所罗门陛下。”
“我自然也是喜欢的。”
所罗门拿不定克莱恩的想法。将克莱恩拉拢到自己阵营后，祂原本也曾担忧过需要将自己权力让渡部分给克莱恩才能维系关系。实际上，克莱恩对这份权力没有展现出任何兴趣。祂更倾向于默默观察帝国的运转，不插手任何宏观事件，只单独与人交流。此刻，克莱恩忽然提起帝国，对所罗门来说，又是一个不常见的情况。但如果克莱恩对权感兴趣，也并非坏事，祂或能借此让克莱恩助祂吞并其他势力。
“我知晓了。”克莱恩说。
灰雾带走了诡秘之主，也带走了茶几上的点心。
所罗门眉头紧锁，祂感到似乎有些事情超出了掌控。

在这一次交谈过后不久，“撕裂的所罗门帝国”事件发生。所罗门遭到刺杀后陨落，诡秘之主则在祂陨落后将所罗门帝国历史固化封存。留下的所罗门帝国失去了一部分“历史”，不过对底层生活的人们来说，并没有什么区别，他们本就浑浑噩噩地过着日子，能吃饱穿暖就算很好。
在所罗门死后，亚利斯塔·图铎和特伦索斯特共同执政，两人都有将帝国彻底掌握在自己手中的野心。诡秘之主这个曾站在所罗门帝国立场的超然存在，正是祂们两个都要拉拢的对象。

亚利斯塔穿着休闲的家居服，赤脚踩在地毯上，走到克莱恩身边的椅子坐下。祂清楚克莱恩偏爱这种放松自在的接待方式。
在所罗门执政时，克莱恩偶尔也会来到祂府上坐坐，且似乎有意不让所罗门知道这件事情。祂也确信，现在克莱恩的来访不会让特伦索斯特知道。在克莱恩明知自己和特伦索斯特要杀死所罗门却保持静默的时候，这种特殊让亚利斯塔认为自己有特殊的资本。诡秘之主至少是在某一方面“支持”祂的。
“我想听一听您在上一纪元的经历。”亚利斯塔笑吟吟地说，祂亲自拎起茶壶给克莱恩倒了一杯红茶，“先前您讲述的‘第零次重启’非常有意思。”
错误的。祂对“历史”本身并不感兴趣，祂更在乎克莱恩对“第零次重启”的态度。亚利斯塔尝试从克莱恩的讲述中捕捉诡秘之主的人格画像，以此来找到正确拉拢克莱恩的方式。如果不是克莱恩太过难以接近，祂完全不介意利用对方对“感情”和“情感关系”的在意，让自己和祂结成伴侣，从而获取克莱恩全心全意的支持。
“我和阿纳托利制造了阿蒙。”克莱恩开始讲述，“祂是一个特殊个体，我赋予了阿蒙使用‘错误’唯一性的权利。祂能够从我这里借取到唯一性的力量，并自如的使用它。”
“您为什么要创造祂？”
“祂有祂未来必须要完成之事。”克莱恩答，“你可以将祂视为一项‘工具’。”
“那在那件事情之前呢？”
“祂只需做自己即可——不过亚当对祂有别的安排。”
“您不介意吗？”
“我不在乎。”

诡秘之主的垂青并非永远落在亚利斯塔的身上。
特伦索斯特在讨好克莱恩这件事上没有其他优势，但当祂以诚实的目光看着克莱恩时，对方往往难以抗拒这种直白。
“我认为需要修正法律。”克莱恩看完了特伦索斯特的提案，将亚利斯塔的建议驳回，“现在的帝国需要的是更加公正公平的法律，如果按照你的提议维持现状，贵族的特权会进一步挤压平民的生存。”
不论亚利斯塔在心底骂了多少次特伦索斯特竟然打破默契将诡秘之主拉入政务中，祂表面上还是微微低头，认可了克莱恩的说法。
会议结束后，祂看着克莱恩被特伦索斯特邀请去，蓝色的眼中掩上一层阴霾。
特伦索斯特没有像亚利斯塔那样试着利用克莱恩的感情，相反，祂只是没有克制自己对克莱恩的好感。祂毫无越界的举动让克莱恩感到些许轻松。如果真的要选择，克莱恩也许会更偏爱特伦索斯特一些。

但亚利斯塔有祂在“过去历史”重要转折的特殊性。
对此，没了唯一性又被封印在地底的梅迪奇很有意见。克莱恩的回答是给了梅迪奇一记昏睡大法。
从此，第四纪元的时间线来到了四皇并列时期。

有条件的高序列非凡者都清楚，如果选择错误、门和愚者这三个序列，是必然无法成为真神的，且阵营天然被归在了诡秘之主那边。但几乎没有任何人知晓，这三条途径要晋升天使位格，需要得到诡秘之主的首肯，且要付出某种“特殊的代价”。
安提戈努斯不在此列。祂是自阿曼妮西斯被创造出来后，就随之诞生的“副产物”。在第三纪元时，祂就被冥冥中的命运牵引着，义无反顾地选择了“诡秘之主”的阵营。因为“第零次重启”的关系，梅迪奇和乌洛琉斯都与“最初”关系断裂，无事可做的“最初”在第三纪元时收养了失去姐姐的安提戈努斯，并向他讲述了“过去的文明”。此刻，安提戈努斯跟随着克莱恩来到血皇帝亚利斯塔的麾下。祂并不知晓克莱恩对伯特利·亚伯拉罕与阿蒙是怎样安排的，但祂的跟随完全是出于自身意愿。
另一方面，阿蒙与克莱恩的安排无关，祂是亚当为了知晓克莱恩活动消息而被派到亚利斯塔身边的。
而伯特利，则确实是因为所罗门帝国时期就被亚利斯塔拉拢，从而延续了这份关系到现在的。克莱恩对祂的观感更加复杂，因为祂与亚伯拉罕家族的紧密联系，克莱恩从祂身上汲取到了感情。所以克莱恩面对伯特利时，情感真切程度上要高不少。同时，伯特利对克莱恩的“爱意”也要比其他受“非凡特性聚合定律”影响的人更多。

“四皇之战的结局……”
伯特利本想劝说克莱恩放弃这个念头，祂不愿意眼看自己的家族在战争中覆灭，但祂却说不出反对的话语。
“不必担心你的家族，我会庇护他们的。”克莱恩说，“但我必须亲自杀了萨林格尔。祂不会有在所罗门、图铎和特伦索斯特三者的斗争中坐收渔翁之利的机会。在此之前，我会接一个人回来——死亡执政官，阿兹克·艾格斯。”
“祂对您有什么特殊吗？”
“祂对未来的克莱恩·莫雷蒂来说，不可或缺。”

Chapter Text

Following the stabilisation of the world, Klein should never have created any new life. The slightest deviation risked triggering a “restart”, bringing unforeseeable catastrophe. Yet one exceptional being could not be born into this world through conventional means—that being was Rosell Gustav, or more precisely, Huang Tao, originating from the ancient city.
Unlike the births of Anatoly and Amanesis, Huang Tao did not enter this world through conventional life processes. Instead, he emerged from a unique and profoundly significant place—the Ancient City constructed from Zhou Mingrui's memories. Following the Fourth Era, Klein's consciousness grew ever more profound. No longer merely a master of time and space, he could now summon individuals from the Ancient City through his perception of past experiences. Huang Tao lived a brief existence within this city layered with historical fragments and overlapping memories. Subsequently, Klein placed him into the identity of Rosell Gustav.
At that moment, Rosell stood leaning against the deck railing, conversing casually with Klein beside him in a light, slightly amused tone: ‘Tell me, does my past resemble a dream?’ He smiled faintly, his gaze drifting into the distance. ‘Sometimes I even wonder if those hazy memories were deliberately implanted in me.’ To him, his understanding of the past felt like a jumbled jigsaw puzzle. While some fragments seemed genuinely his own, the majority felt like the product of some external force.
Klein responded with casual indifference: ‘A man who aspires to be Caesar wouldn't speak that way.’ His tone remained as calm and rational as ever, as if he had long seen through Rosell's probing and counter-questioning.
‘Zhou Mingrui, you're such a bore.’ Rosell's lips curved slightly, revealing a hint of dismissive amusement, seemingly finding little enjoyment in Klein's response. Then, Klein fell into a brief silence, as if weighing whether to address deeper questions. Finally, he spoke: ‘I did not erase your past memories entirely.’
‘A touch of compassion, I suppose. Those who've endured compulsory education remain far too gentle-souled.’ Rossell shook his head with a laugh, spreading his hands towards Crain as if unconcerned by the answer. ‘Fancy a beer?’ he asked casually, his tone laced with teasing indifference.
Instantly, a beer can materialised in Rossell's hand. Raising it towards Klein, he pulled the tab and downed the contents in one fluid motion. A satisfied belch followed, as if savouring the moment's unburdened ease. After a pause, he surveyed his surroundings before turning to Klein. ‘What's over there?’ "
‘Nothing at all,’ Klein replied.
Russell didn't press further, instead continuing on his own, ‘Why do you think that place is so wonderful? It has everything one could want.’
‘Because it's my homeland.’
An evasive answer. But Russell didn't mind Klein sidestepping the question. He followed up on the response, "It's my “homeland” too, yet I feel no real connection to it. Zhou Mingrui, this won't do."
Before he finished speaking, he casually tossed the beer can aside. Instantly, a wisp of grey mist appeared silently, swiftly engulfing the empty can.
‘I want to see your diary.’
Rossell froze for a moment, then nonchalantly patted his coat and said to Klein, ‘I didn't bring it.’

This voyage held no ulterior motive for Rossell—merely fulfilling his pact with Kline. He’d left no entourage behind, entrusting all affairs to trusted hands in Indis to ensure the kingdom’s smooth governance. He knew full well that should Kline will it, his meagre Sequence Three status could sway nothing—not even his own fate.
In this age where true gods no longer walked the earth, Cline, as the Lord of the Unseen, had never revealed his identity to anyone beyond Rosell. He did occasionally follow Rosell in secret, but his absences were more frequent. Rosell had noticed that each time Cline vanished and reappeared, his form grew fainter. By this voyage, Cline's figure had become nearly translucent.

‘We've arrived.’
The vessel beached amidst a realm of utter stillness.
Following Kline through the desolate ruins of the Giant King's Court, Rossell emerged onto a continent shrouded in perpetual night. After scaling a crumbling wall, the clamour of voices suddenly pierced his ears.
His eyes widened slightly.
It was an alleyway he knew well. The narrow entrance was lined with two rows of weathered stone slabs. Sunlight filtered through the mottled rooftops, illuminating scattered autumn leaves upon the flagstones. A young man on a bicycle hurried past the entrance, his bell ringing crisply several times, breaking the lane's silence. He wore a faded T-shirt, an old satchel slung over his shoulder, and pedalled an ancient bicycle with slightly crooked handlebars. The wind ruffled his hair as he lowered his head and accelerated, the tinkling of the bell and the sound of his footsteps fading into the distance.
Not far away, a middle-aged woman slowly rounded the corner from the other end, pushing her cart. Her stall was modest, with several iron pots steaming away, releasing an enticing aroma. The pots held freshly brewed soy milk and fried dough sticks. With practised ease, she placed crispy sticks into bowls before ladling steaming soy milk over them. Though her face bore a hint of weariness, her eyes held a gentle warmth. The flour-speckled apron she wore spoke of the toil of her daily struggle to make ends meet.
Beside her, an elderly lady stood before a street stall, frowning as she haggled with the vendor. She wore a floral cotton blouse, her hair now streaked with grey, pinned back behind her ear with a small hair clip. The stall displayed second-hand household trinkets; though somewhat worn, each item seemed to hold a unique value in her eyes. The old lady pinched the faded jumper between her fingers while scrutinising the stallholder, haggling in a slightly accented voice....

Everything in his hazy memories suddenly sharpened into clarity. The word ‘hometown’ suddenly gained weight in Huang Tao's heart.
Zhou Mingrui guided him through the bustle. They sampled fried dough sticks and soy milk, strolled along flagstone paths, and sat in a riverside pavilion watching the river's slow flow. A small electric fan, procured from who knows where by Zhou Mingrui, hummed softly on the table.
‘If only this were real,’ Huang Tao murmured.
‘Why couldn't it be real?’ Zhou Mingrui asked, his eyes—clear as day and night—filled with bewilderment.
‘That's where you're lost.’ Huang Tao held up a finger and shook it at Zhou Mingrui. ‘Mate, you were a programmer in a past life, weren't you? Writing code like this—aren't you afraid your boss will sack you?’
‘I was indeed a programmer.’
Zhou Mingrui's earnest reply left Huang Tao's joke hanging awkwardly.
Though Huang Tao's thick skin was truly beyond compare.
‘Well then, what's the point? Where in any TV drama do you see youth from the eighties and nineties paired with a pancake stall from the noughties, topped off with a small electric fan only seen in the 2010s?’ Huang Tao said. ‘You should've been more careful when designing the programme.’
Klein remained silent.

Later, after Huang Tao had lost most of his memories of ‘Hometown,’ the Black Emperor Rosell vaguely realised—the scene he had witnessed that day was the entirety of the ‘Hometown’ that would never return.
A dead civilisation vanished utterly from this world with the fall of its last remnant who still cherished its ‘origin.’
Yet, ironically, Rosell found himself unable to suppress a longing for ‘hometown’ at that very moment.
Perhaps Zhou Mingrui was right.
A place you cannot return to yet cannot let go of—that is what we call ‘hometown.’

在世界稳定之后，克莱恩本不该再创造任何新的生命，任何稍有改动的行为都可能引发“重启”的风险，带来无法预知的灾难。然而，有一个特殊的存在却无法通过正常的方式降生到这个世界——那就是罗塞尔·古斯塔夫，准确来说，是源自旧日都市的黄涛。
与阿纳托利和阿曼妮西斯的诞生方式截然不同，黄涛并非通过传统的生命诞生过程诞生于这个世界，而是诞生于一个独特且充满意义的地方——根据周明瑞的记忆构建的旧日都市。在经历了第四纪元之后，克莱恩的意识愈加饱满，祂已经不再是那个仅仅掌控着时间与空间的存在，而是能够借由对过去经历的感知，在旧日都市中让曾经接触过的人们浮现出来。黄涛便是在这座充满历史碎片与记忆重叠的城市中度过了短暂的一生，而后，克莱恩将他投放到罗塞尔·古斯塔夫的身份上。
此时，罗塞尔站在甲板的围栏旁，倚着栏杆，随意地与身旁的克莱恩交谈，语气轻松且略带玩味：“你说，我的过去像不像一场梦？”他微微一笑，目光投向远方，“有时候我甚至怀疑，那些模糊不清的记忆，是否有人故意灌输给我。”在他看来，自己对过去的认知仿佛是一场错乱的拼图，尽管其中有些碎片似乎属于自己，但更多的部分，却像是某种外力的产物。
克莱恩轻描淡写地回应道：“想当凯撒大帝的人可不会这么说。”他的语气一如既往的平静而理性，仿佛早已看透了罗塞尔的试探与反问。
“周明瑞，你真没趣。”罗塞尔嘴角轻勾，露出一丝不以为然的笑意，似乎在克莱恩的回应中并未找到太多乐趣。接着，克莱恩陷入了短暂的沉默，似乎在权衡是否应答更深层次的问题。最终，他开口道：“我没有彻底清除你过去的记忆。”
“恻隐之心嘛。受过义务教育的人还是太温良了。”罗塞尔笑着摇头，对克莱恩摊开手示意，似乎并不在意这个回答。“来罐啤酒吧。”他轻松地说着，话语中夹杂着一丝调侃与不以为意。
紧接着，一罐啤酒轻巧地落入罗塞尔的手中，他举起啤酒罐，朝克莱恩示意一声，便拉开拉环，毫不犹豫地将啤酒一饮而尽，随即满意地打了个饱嗝，似乎在尽情享受这一刻的轻松与惬意。片刻后，他环顾四周，转向克莱恩问道：“海外有什么？”
“什么都没有。”克莱恩回答。
罗塞尔闻言没再追问，便自顾自开口：“你说那地方怎么会这么好呢？要什么有什么。”
“因为那里是我的故乡。”
答非所问。但罗塞尔没在意克莱恩的答非所问，他沿着这个回答继续说：“它也是我的‘故乡’，我却对它没个实感。周明瑞，你这不行啊。”
话音未落，他便随手将啤酒罐扔到一旁，顿时，一缕灰雾悄无声息地出现，迅速吞噬了那空罐。
“我想看你的日记本。”
罗塞尔僵了一瞬，随后若无其事地拍拍自己的外套，对克莱恩说：“没带出来。”

这一次，罗塞尔出海并无其他目的，只是为了兑现与克莱恩之间的约定。他没有带任何随行人员，所有事宜都交由留在因蒂斯的信得过之人来处理，确保王国的日常管理无虞。他深知，若是克莱恩有意为之，自己这个小小的序列三，恐怕无法左右任何事情，甚至无法左右自己的命运。
在这个真神不再行走于地上的纪元，克莱恩作为诡秘之主也从未对罗塞尔以外的人公开自己的身份。祂确实有时会隐秘地跟随在罗塞尔身边，但消失的时候更多。罗塞尔注意到克莱恩的每次消失后再出现时，身影就会浅淡几分。到这一次出海，克莱恩的身影已经几近半透明。

“到了。”
船在一片死寂之地靠了岸。
罗塞尔跟随着克莱恩穿过空寂无人的巨人王庭遗址，来到了一片被黑夜笼罩的大陆。在他翻越了一堵残破的围墙后，喧闹的人声忽地钻进了他的耳中。
他微微睁大了眼。
那是一条他熟悉的小巷。窄窄的巷口被两排老旧的石板铺成，阳光透过斑驳的楼顶洒下，照亮了青石板上零星的落叶。骑着自行车的年轻人正急匆匆地从巷口经过，车铃清脆地响了几声，打破了巷子里的寂静。他穿着一件洗得发白的T恤，肩上背着个旧书包，脚下踩着的是一辆车把有些歪的老旧自行车。风吹起他的头发，他低头加速，随风飘扬的车铃声和脚步声渐渐远去。
而不远处，推着小车的中年妇女正慢慢从另一头的街角转过来。她的摊位不大，几只铁锅上冒着热气，散发着诱人的香味。锅里是刚刚煮好的豆浆和油条，香脆的油条被她娴熟地放入碗中，再淋上热腾腾的豆浆。她的脸上带着一丝疲惫，但眼神却是温和的，身上那条沾了些许面粉的围裙也透露出她为生计忙碌的辛劳。
就在旁边，一位老太太站在地摊前，皱着眉头和摊主讨价还价。她穿着一件花布衫，头发已经花白，用一条小发夹别在耳后。摊子上摆着一些二手的日用小物，虽然已经有些旧，但在她眼里，每一件都似乎蕴藏着某种独特的价值。老太太一边用手指捏着那件褪色的毛衣，一边仔细打量着摊主，用带着些许口音的话语砍价。
……
模糊记忆中的一切都骤然变得清晰起来，“故乡”二字忽地在黄涛心里有了分量。
周明瑞带着他穿行其中，两人品尝过油条豆浆，又走过石板路，坐在桥边的凉亭里看江水缓缓流淌。桌上摆着周明瑞不知从哪儿弄来的小电风扇，打开后发出“嗡嗡”的声响。
“要是这里是真实的就好了。”黄涛说。
“它为什么不能是真实的？”周明瑞问，他黑白分明的眼中盛满不解。
“这你就不懂了。”黄涛对周明瑞伸出一个手指，摇了摇，“哥们你前世是做程序员的吧，这么写程序不怕被老板开了？”
“确实是程序员。”
周明瑞正经的回答让黄涛这个玩笑有点开不下去。
不过黄涛的脸皮确实非常人能比。
“那不就得了。哪有电视剧里八九十年代的青年搭配零零年的煎饼摊，再来个一零年才能见到的小电风扇的？”黄涛说，“你设计程序的时候仔细一点啊。”
克莱恩沉默。

而在后来，黄涛失去关于“故乡”的大部分记忆后，黑皇帝罗塞尔恍惚意识到——那一日祂见到的场景，便是再不复现的“故乡”的全部了。
已死的文明随着最后一个还惦记着它的“最初”的陨落，彻底消逝于此世间。
可偏偏，罗塞尔这时候却难以自控地怀念起“故乡”来。
也许周明瑞说得对。
回不去却放不下的地方，都叫“故乡”。