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Leonard was called in for an emergency meeting with the Red Gloves. Ever since learning the truth about Klein, his life had become chaotic, but he was enjoying it. He can't remember the last time he felt this good and free. The biggest surprise came with the way Amon had latched onto him. If Amon wasn't with Klein or his brother, chances are he was with Leonard.
Pallez was terrified at first, the trauma of being hunted by Amon still fresh in his mind. He'd usually hide when Amon was around, but he'd still pay absolute attention. His attitude started to change when during one of Amon's heist retellings he made a comment of how he would have done it. After that he realised that when Amon isn't hunting him, they actually have plenty of things in common. Add in Leonard, who's giving his own opinions in their discussions and a fresh perspective on situations, the three of them quickly bonded.
It's become no secret among the Red Gloves that Leonard has a new crow pet following him (though he insists it's not a pet). There's actually been a betting pool established about what the bird's pathway is, because everyone agrees that that crow has to be a beyonder animal. It doesn't help that said crow has found the money stash and has been stealing the shiniest coins and giving them to Leonard. Normal crow behaviour, except he finds the stash every time.
In the meeting room, Leonard was sitting in a seat, leaning back and waiting comfortably for everyone to arrive, Crow Amon on his shoulder. Amon has been with Klein the last few days, and Leonard has a sneaky suspicion that they're involved in this meeting. Amon was just a bit too smug when he returned.
“Good morning Leonard, hello little MonMon.” Cindy sat down next to Leonard. MonMon was the name Leonard introduced Amon's crow as. He's still getting pranked every other day for that one.
“Morning, do you know what today's meeting is about? It sounded rather urgent.”
“No, but I did hear some storm believers talking about something on the train, I couldn't quite make out what, but they sounded upset. I wonder if that's got something to do with it?”
The storm church? Wait, no, Klein you didn't? Who am I kidding of course you did. Looking sideways at the crow on his shoulder, Leonard could have sworn Amon looked even smugger now.
With a sigh, Leonard looked at his teammate. “Cindy, I don't know if that's got anything to do with the meeting, but my Chaos sense is telling me things are going to be interesting at least.”
“Chaos sense? Since when did you have something like that?” Cindy couldn't help but tease, but deep down she knew Leonard might be on to something, his intuition about things has helped them out in a lot of situations.
“ Since I met a certain Seer back in Tingen.”
Before they could continue their conversation, Soest, Crestet and Anthony walked in. Seeing Anthony join them, all the nighthawks were on guard. Anything that needed a sequence 3 present was bound to be dangerous and important. And seeing the two red glove captains sit down, while the Archbishop went to the front of the room.
“Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I'm sure that revelation the Aurora order received has been explained to you, but I will do so again. Earlier this week, Aurora Order members in both continents have been observed receiving a revelation. Where previously they searched for believers of The Fool, they are now to continue searching for them but also aid and protect them. From the information gathered, the True Creator and the Fool have a strong connection, enough that during the revelation, the Fool was referred to as ‘Beloved’. As you all know, this implication does not bode well and we have yet to receive orders on how to deal with the situation.”
Taking a moment, Anthony made sure everyone was paying attention before continuing. “The reason I am bringing this up is because of three situations other churches have experienced in the last few days. Namely the Church of Storms, the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun and the Church of Knowledge and Wisdom. I will now explain each situation, please do not interrupt and keep your questions for afterwards.”
“First we have the Church of Storms. On Thursday afternoon a Clown wearing a black and yellow outfit appeared in front of the main Church in Bayam. According to witness accounts he was putting on a performance to lure in a crowd, promising a grand show. Considering this was on the doorstep to the church, they were not happy. Priests and Bishops arrived outside trying to diffuse the situation. Eventually John Cotman showed up as well. It should be noted that up to this point no beyonder powers were used due to the civilians gathered around. After demanding the Clown leave the area, he said the following word for word: ‘Chasing me away so soon, before I even got to deliver the message, that's why I'm here after all! It's quite a simple message you see, so no need to worry little Sea King! Those who dare to follow one of the Traitorous Churches will suffer the same fate as their Traitor God's. This is a warning to all! Be they moral, saint or angel. So my Lord, The Fool has declared it, so it shall be!’. Following this, it has been found that every Storm church beyonder in Bayam has suddenly developed a phobia of storms and thunder, while Sea King Jon Cotman himself has developed a deep seated fear of the ocean as well. They all have been refusing to enter church buildings or to preach as even mentioning storms is capable of sending them into panic-stricken states. Those attending to them have to refer to their God as the Tyrant to ensure that they stay calm. Luckily none have lost control yet, but it has not yet been discovered what caused this sudden phobia, though some are starting to believe it is a divine curse of The Fool.”
After finishing, Anthony gave them a few moments to process everything. Leonard couldn't help but muse that the phobias were probably the handiwork of the Angel of Imagination, meaning unless they get the help of a high sequence spectator or equivalent sealed artifact, curing them would be unlikely. Divine curse indeed.
“Onto the second case. This one happened to the Churches of Knowledge and Wisdom located in the south in Balam. By yesterday morning, all the books in their libraries, schools, orphanages and churches were gone. They had sent out most of their beyonders out to investigate, and had closed the doors of their churches. It wasn't long before reports came in about a large mountain of books in a city square. Upon arrival, the stolen books have all been set aflame, a young girl wearing a black and yellow dress standing in front of the bonfire. When confronted she, too, said that she was a messenger, her message being: ‘ Those who follow one of the Traitorous Churches do not deserve the gift of Knowledge. Learn the truth of his actions, show the wisdom He does not possess and walk a different path. He stole Knowledge not his own, and by my Lord, The Fool's, Divine declaration, all his knowledge shall burn to ashes.’ After delivering the message the girl had jumped into the bonfire and disappeared. None of the books were salvageable and all new books procured would disappear.”
Leonard could feel the smug air coming off of Amon on his shoulder, clearly the missing books are His handiwork. But he's got to give props to Klein, he really knows where to hit them. Storm and Wisdom, that would mean the third one would be the Blazing Sun. All around him he can feel the people's shock, and hear them mutter about the Fool and what it all means.
“Alright, quite down, there's still one more. The third happened in Intis, Trier specifically, yesterday just before afternoon mass. Reportedly an old man dressed in mostly black with yellow accents approached the church square. Wearing black to mass for them is considered blasphemous so he got a lot of attention. When he reached the centre of the square he started preaching about the Fool, about how the God will bring about change and punish the wicked. The clergymen quickly arrived and tried to do damage control when the man delivered his message: ‘Three they were that followed the light, Three they were that betrayed Him and left him in madness, Three they are that claim to be righteous gods. These are the deeds of your Blazing Sun, these are His sins. My Lord The Fool has thus declared, You follow one who swallowed the light to claim its place, and as such you shall live in darkness much like His people!" By this point the Eternal Blazing Sun Himself smote the man. When the clergy returned to their cathedral, it was covered in a darkness that can't be erased. Saint Viève Cathedral remains closed.”
Did Klein get Amon to steal some of the darkness in the Forsaken Land? Kudo’s my friend, you've got balls to hit the main cathedral of a church, even if you are using a marionette and have Angels at your side. Leonard will have to get more details from Klein later, but he can't help but wonder how much of his potion he's digested with this.
“Know that you know the situation, Soest and Crestet will take over.” and with that Anthony sat down. Soest came forward, “Alright now that you know the situation, is there anyone who wants to say something first?” No-one was willing to speak, still thinking things over and organising their thoughts. “Ok then. Leonard, what's your take on this? You usually have a unique perspective on things, let's hear what you have to say.”
Calling me out just like that? Ouch, but here goes. “Well, I don't know about everyone else, but this sounds like revenge to me.”
“ Revenge? Interesting. Care to explain how you came to that conclusion?”
Leonard got up to walk to the front, Amon leapt off his shoulder to sit on Cindy's, wanting to see how this played out.
“Ok, let's start with the True Creator's Oracle. According to it there's a strong connection between Him and the Fool, possibly romantic if we look at the term ‘beloved’. And now suddenly after that three churches get targeted by individuals claiming to be messengers of the Fool. All three messengers called the three churches traitors, but it's the third message that's the most important. ‘Three followed the light, three betrayed him and left him in madness and claimed to be righteous gods’.
If the relationship between the Fool and True Creator is romantic or similar in nature, then by those words, the three targeted churches once betrayed who we know is as the True Creator and caused him to become insane, and the Fool is getting revenge because of that. The way the churches themselves have been targeted reinforces this idea. Those from the Church of Storms now fear storms and the ocean. Those from the Church of Knowledge and Wisdom no longer have access to all that written knowledge, and the main cathedral of the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun is trapped in darkness. The curses affect that which they value most.
The curious part for me is that it's reported that the third messenger preached about how the Fool will bring change. In Tarot, the first card is The Fool and represents change. We all know Tarot cards were created by Roselle, and the emperor brought a lot of change to the world. What if the Fool isn’t some new God but an old one coming back? This just being a more public announcement.”
Some of the nighthawks in the room were staring at Leonard like he's crazy, others looked more pensive, Soest being part of the latter.
“ One God loving another sounds like a story written by Madam Wall if I'm being honest.”
“Why would one God get revenge for another? Besides, the True Creator has many followers of His own that can get revenge if He wants it.”
“ This sounds like the beginning of a Holy War to me. Besides, don't those three churches hate each other?”
“I believe there's some merit to Mr. Mitchell’s theory. It is well known that the Aurora order believes that the True Creator is the original Creator and was betrayed by the Orthodox Gods. The believers of the Fool just seemed to narrow it down to three. The mention of following and betraying the light seems to indicate that they too might believe in the True Creator being The Creator. The concern is how these events are being displayed, how the churches are being targeted.”
“I agree, such public displays of divine power cannot be hidden. People who are desperate or greedy might flock to worship the Fool, and this could cause problems. With the Aurora order previously spreading the Honourific name of the Fool, it'll be easy to pray to Him. This is a good setup for a Divine Descent, and that could spell problems for everyone.” After making his point a lot of people agreed with Crestet’s assessment. People flocking to Evil Gods is never a good thing.
Before they could continue, they felt a serene energy was over them, calming them down. Amon immediately flew over to Leonard, knowing it would be the best spot to be. Anthony stood up to greet their new guest, “Good morning your Excellency Arianna. To what do we owe this pleasure?”
“Good morning Archbishop Anthony, Everyone.” She gave a slight nod in greeting but her expression did not change. “ I am here to deliver an oracle from our Crimson Lady.”
“Praise the Lady.” Everyone spoke simultaneously, tapping on their chests.
“Praise the Lady. Listen and hear Her words. Do not interfere with the current events. We are to remain neutral towards the believers of the Fool. The Church of Steam and Machine as well as the Church of the Earth Mother have both agreed to remain neutral as well.”
With that said, she vanished, as if being wiped out by an eraser. “Well now we know the Goddess stance. You all hear He Excellency, we are to remain neutral. This means we will be observing the situation while continuing working as usual. Each of you will gather a report on these events and we will continue discussing them again next week after everyone has time to properly analyse everything. Dismissed.” With that, Anthony left first.
As everyone collected their report copies, Soest came over to Leonard with a copy handing it to him. “Like the Archbishop had said, your theory has some merit for something cobbled up on the spot. For the next meeting, I want you to refine it, and if possible, see if you can find a connection between these events and the Tarot card killings. Remaining neutral doesn't mean staying unprepared.”
“You got it captain.” With that Leonard left with the report and went to his private office. Once alone, he looks at Amon, “So did you have fun?”
“Tons! Mother comes up with the best ideas! Do you want to hear the details?” Amon hopped down to the desk excitedly looking at Leonard.
“Of course I do, all the juicy little details that the report won't have.”
~~
That night Klein woke up in his dreams. Dear Poet, are you going to be jumping through the window again?
But unlike the usual dreams when Leonard visits, he's dream shifts to a garden filled with nightblooms, a silver full moon hanging overhead. Silver?
“Hello Kitten.”
“He-” Klein cut myself of, that was English.
Turning around to the voice he sees someone he's only seen as a statue and in murals, the Evernight Goddess.
“Shocking I know. Come and sit, we've been long overdue a chat.”
The third cocoon…
Klein walks over and sits next to the Goddess. This time with a smile he answers properly “Hello, I'm Zhou Mingrui.”
“So the little kitten is Chinese then. I'm Amanises and I came from Western Europe.” She manipulates the dream to conjure up some tea. “ Imagine my surprise when the little fellow transmigrator I've been watching over, suddenly says His name when seeing His son. And here I thought I would be your biggest supporter, sigh.”
“Did you just say sigh?” Klein had an idea he and the Goddess, Amanises, were going to get along well. “And Grisha and I were dating back before the first epoch. I was doing a Taoist Luck Ritual because I was having a streak of bad luck, and suddenly I woke up with a bullet wound in the head.”
Amanises gave a light chuckle, “Imagine downloading a new trending app with your best friend and suddenly waking up as a dog. If I had not met Him, I would have probably stayed under Flegrea’s control. Honestly, I didn't peg Him as gay, I just thought He was ace or something. Who would have thought?”
Now it was Klein's turn to laugh, “Okay, okay. Waking up as a dog does sound bad. And Grisha being ace or even straight? Trust me when I say I can attested to him being gay. And a Simp.”
“Was it really him that gave the revelation to the Aurora order? Oh don't worry, I've already sent an oracle to say that my Church will stay neutral, Lilith and Stiano have already agreed. You know them as Earth Mother and God of Steam.”
“I'm sorry, What? I thought Earth Mother was Ombella? If the Sanguine Ancestor is the Earth Mother, then why don't the sanguine worship the Earth Mother? Oh, uh yeah, Grisha is resurrecting and wanted to give that revelation.”
“That's good to know. As for Lilith’s situation, it's being kept a secret and only a select few know, your included now.”
Before she could continue, Klein was tense, “Someone just entered my room.”
“Go, we can talk later.”
With that, Klein woke up, but he didn't move. He used his intuition to track the intruder. They seemed to just be standing there waiting. Slowly Klein sat up. On the opposite end of the room stood a silver haired angel, three pairs of silver-white wings showing and a halo in the form of an infinity sign.
“Angel of Fate, Ouroboros.”
Hearing the acknowledgement, Ouroboros smiled a gentle smile and got down on one knee, one arm over his chest, palm resting over his heart. “It is an honour to finally meet the one who holds my Lord's heart. I greet you, my Sacred Lady.”
Sacred Lady? That's a first and I am definitely blaming it on Grisha and the boys. Before he could answer, his intuition warned him someone else was at the window. “Aw man, I wanted to me first!”
“Medici, or should I rather say Sauron-Einhorn-Medici?”
“Just Medici, the two princess in here aren't worth the consideration of the Lord's Beloved.”
The sides of his face splits open, “We are not princesses!””As if we'd want anything to do with your Lord.”
And just when Klein thought he's room was getting busy enough, Amon shows up. “Mom, I found that demoness you asked me to find. She's been sticking to the mirror world, but I parasitized her so I know where she's at at all times! Did I do good Mom?”
“You found Trissy? Nicely done!” Looking at the other two Angels in the room, Klein got an idea, something to help further his digestion. “How would you two like to be part of a little… show?”
“This sounds interesting.”
“Anything to help you, my Lady.”
“Ok, Amon, I need you to bring Trissy here. You can scare her, but harm her ok?”
“If this is anything like the last few days, this is going to be fun! I'll be back soon with her.”
With that Amon left, cackling at what His Mother's got planned.
“ So a bit of background for you two. Trissy is a Demoness of Pleasure who backed out of an agreement we made after realising my messenger is a Sequence 2 Angle. She's been careful using Black magic and the mirror world to avoid me.”
“So you sent Amon. Smart. So what do you want us to do?”
Klein was busy moving a chair to the ideal spot for this little show and making sure everything looks good. “I basically just need you to stand there and look menacing. If she freaked out because of seeing just one sequence 2, what do you think she'll do if there's two Kings of Angels and an evil spirit equivalent to sequence 1? Add in the aura I usually keep hidden…”
Satisfied with the room, Klein cast an illusion over his clothes to make it look like a intricate black and yellow hanfu, he also shifted his eye colour to a bright yellow that reflected the light just right, making them look like they're glowing. Satisfied with his appearance, he sat in the chair and added the final touch. Using illusions, he darkened the shadows around him obscuring his features except the eyes and a bit of the clown smile. He also used his faceless powers to deepen his voice a bit, make it a bit more menacing.
Medici and Ouroboros smiled at one another, it seems like their Lord's Lover had a flair for the dramatics that could rival their Lord's. They both found spots on opposite sides of the room, perfect positions for what's to come.
~~
Trissy hasn't been having a good time. It's been feeling for a while as if she's being watched, even when inside the mirror world.
“Hello little demoness. You've been giving us quite a chase.”
Startled by the sudden voice, Trissy tried to turn around but found she couldn't control her body!
“Oh don't worry, I only made sure you won't be able to run away!” Slowly her body turned on its own and she saw a mixed blood young man dressed like a dark magician, he was adjusting his monocle. “You see, you have one of my cute little parasites in you! I know your every thought and am in full control of your body, it's really fun you see~.”
Trissy felt like crying, “Now, now, don't cry! You need to look presentable for your meeting after all!” Meeting? Who? “Yes, a meeting silly! And you know with who! He's been very upset that you've been avoiding Him, breaking your agreement.” Agreement? Wat he can't mean?! “Oh and I just want to put it on the record, unlike His messenger, I'm Sequence 1~” WHAT?!
Trissy is regretting making the agreement in the first place, regretting running from the messenger, regretting not running away from Buckland when she could have. Now she's stuck unable to move her body, watching as the terrain around her swiftly changed and move past. Soon they arrived at that accursed street where it all started. She watched as her body climbed up to a balcony and entered.
Inside was a luxurious bedroom, but opposite the windows, in the darkness sat a being, he felt ancient, dangerous. Is this who I've made the deal with through the marionette? He was wearing odd clothing in black and yellow, bright yellow eyes starting from the shadows, and the smile, gods that horrible, exaggerated, cruel smile! Trissy felt as if she had just entered her grave.
Also in the room was an Evil spirit wearing black armour and had bright red hair, and a beautiful man with silver hair, a twisted halo, and wings, three pairs of them. Angels, just like the who brought me here.
Slowly her body lowered itself to kneel on the ground. Amon came up next to her and with a flourish said “I have brought the Demoness of Pleasure Trissy Cheek like you asked!”
“Well done Amon.” With that Amon step back to the window, the scarlet moon outside causing his shadow to stretch all the way to where Trissy is kneeling. It was as she was turning her head to look at said shadow that she realises she can move again. But she did not dare to try and escape.
“I am someone who loves fair and equally exchange. Our arrangement, our agreement was one of mutual benefit against a common enemy. Yet you chose to abandon your part. You broke the agreement and flee simply because of my messenger? Did you not think there will be consequences?”
Trissy knew that the situation was bad, even worse than it was with the Sect. At least there she knew what would've happened to her, but now? Here? “I'm sorry! I know it's not enough but I was so scared when the messenger, Your messenger, turned out to be an Angel! I thought I was dealing with someone who was just one sequence above me, someone on more equal footing! I didn't want to be trapped again, so, so I tried to flee, but only because I was scared! Am scared! Please, it wasn't on purpose, it was an institutional reaction due to years surviving on the street, yes it was instinctual! I-I’ll fulfill my part of the arrangement, I promise!”
Klein wasn't paying attention to Trissy, he was trying to figure out what to tell her. Despite acting like an Evil God I don't actually have any creepy or scary quotes though up for situations like these. It's not like I can just quote something from Warhammer now can I… ! … Roselle never introduced Warhammer 40k…
With that realisation, his smile grew just a little bit bigger, sharper, truly entering the territory of uncanny valley. Using his shape shifting abilities, he also started slowly turning his fingertips into claws.
“So only now after you've been caught do you plan to fulfill your end? Is that what you are saying? My dear, that's not how this works. If you had just done your part from the beginning, you would have walked free. But instead you ran, and broke the agreement. Something broken like that can't be fixed, and the person who broke it has to pay a price, compensation if you would.”
“Then tell me what to do! I'll do it, I promise! Anything to to fix this!” Trissy hope this works, that at the end of the day she'll still be able to walk free after getting her revenge. But in the next moment that hope shattered.
“How cute. Do not ask which creature screams in the night. Do not question who waits for you in the shadow. It is my cry that wakes you in the night, and my body that crouches in the shadow. I am The Fool and from now on you are a puppet that dances to my tune.”
With that said he leaned forward, showing his face, Zhou Mingrui's face, with yellow eyes and a twist Cheshire smile. Slowly he lets some of his Worms of Spirit slide through his skin, effectively having the effect of an incomplete mythical form on Trissy. It was the last push she needed to pass out.
“Holy shit I was not expecting that. I knew seers could be terrifying but this was on a whole nother level.”
“Truly an awe inspiring sight, one that makes my fingers itch to cave it into a mural”
“Mom! That was awesomeness! The fear that she was feeling the entire time, the way you gave a little bit of hope just to shatter it like that! I've got several different Avatars taking notes the whole time, this was amazing ~”
Klein shuddered as he felt a large chunk of the potion digest. Slowly he shifted back into Dwayne Dantes, and let the illusion fade.
“Medici, can you please take her to the sewers beneath the road? There'll be a small cove on the left hand side.”
“The sewers? Really? That's not very gentlemanly.”
I really want to punch this guy… maybe I should get the sandal? “It's where she first met my marionette and we came to an arrangement. It'll send a message to her that this actually happened and not to try anything.”
“Alright fine, I'll take her.” “I'll come along. It was an honour meeting you and watching you work, my Lady.”
Soon the two left together along with Trissy. Klein couldn't help but looks at Amon and ask, “So those two?”
“Oh yeah, they're a thing, been for ages now. Happened after Medici teased him one to many times and Ouroboros decided to prove him wrong. I lost a bet because of that. I was so sure Medici would top… Can I sleep here tonight?”
That's… some thought whiplash right there. The more time I spend with Him, the more it seems like he's got ADHD or something… “Small.”
“Yay!” With that Amon turn into a form that's about 4 or 5 years old and ran to Klein, holding his arms up in the universal ‘uppies’ position. Klein let out a sigh, but couldn't help but smile at Amon's cute antics. He bent down to pick Amon up, and proceeded to tuck them both into bed. Amon was curled up so tight against his chest, it felt like He was trying to climb into it, but he still held Him close. Finally after the last few days of tormenting people, he's getting a good night's rest.