Chapter Text
It was only a few hours since the Tarot Club lub meeting, but Adam had requested this since he would be joining them going to the Forsaken Lands. His reasoning was that he didn't know when they would get a chance for a long lesson in the near future.
"Good evening Mr Fool! Good evening Adam."
Klein nodded towards Miss Justice as she went to sit in her usual spot, Adam already sitting in the Hanged Man's spot. Today was yet another day of spectator lessons. What surprised him about the lessons though, was that not only was he learning new things, but could actually contribute to the lessons.
One of Audrey's conditions for having the lessons with Adam was that they are to be held in the Castle under his supervision. He does not mind this, but it does mean he has yet another thing to consider when working around his own plans.
"Good evening little dragon."
That was another thing, Adam liked to call her little dragon, the same nickname he likes to called Adam. It was both terrifying and cute to see.
"For today's lesson I am planning to explain to you the dangers the other pathways present for a spectator, both when you are prepared or not."
Audrey's eyes lit up at that, she'd been wondering what pathway was the antithesis for her pathway. Similar to previous few lessons, she imagined a pen and paper in front of her to take notes.
"So the first two pathways to watch out for is Lawyer and Arbiter, specifically their abilities to enforce and change laws. A mid or high sequence lawyer can easily twist the results of your mental manipulation to their own benefit, whereas an Arbiter can set laws in place that would punish you for even attempting mental manipulations. High sequence arbiters also have the ability to who is a beyonder, and what sequence they are."
Audrey looked up from her notes she was taking, and couldn't help but think about her friend Xio and her oldest brother. How could she not when they were discussing their pathway, though now she understood how her brother found out that she's a beyonder. "Wouldn't our scales protect us again the punishment?"
"To an extent, yes, but the higher the sequence the more creative and deadly the punishments."
"It should also be remembered that this is not necessarily limited to beyonders but artifacts and charms as well. As an example, there is an Arbiter pathway charm called Ninth Law that mimic's and Arbiter demigods might, and can even be used by ordinary people."
Adam looked at Klein in shock. "Mother, are you saying that the knowledge of how to make a Ninth Law charm still exists? That it did not die alongside Night Emperor Trunsoest?"
"Yes, though we are digressing. This is afterall lesson time for young Miss Justice here." Klein nodded politely towards said young spectator.
"Of course, Mother. Now, after the lawyers and arbiters, there is the the prisoner pathway, especially sequence 8 Lunatic and onwards. They can sacrifice their own rational, entering into a state where their desires rule them. In this state their thoughts can become unclear an chaotic to the point where they gain potential resistance towards beyonder abilities that effect the mind and though processes."
Adam waited a moment, both to give Audrey chance to ask questions or for his Mother to add something. Seeing Audrey looking inquisitively at him, he decided to continue.
"Next is the beyonders of the Mystery Pryer pathway, which becomes more dangerous the higher their sequences are. And the main reason for that danger is the Hidden Sage."
"The Hidden Sage? That is one of the evil hidden existences out there"
Klein thought it over and did completely agree with Adam's assessment, so decided to speak up. "Yes, He is one such hidden existence, knowledge given physical form. He hunts down beyonders His own pathway, forcing knowledge onto them, and He doesn't discriminate between sequences. If you attempt to enter the mind of a Mystery Pryer, He might just decide to use the connection you created to bombard you with knowledge you were not ready to receive. Not only that, much knowledge and there can easily corrupt you, even cause you to lose control."
Adam looked towards Klein, "I will admit it is not often the Sage targets lower sequences, but it does happen, so it is important to stay cautious at all times, yes."
"That sounds horrible. I mean knowing at any point in time you could be targeted and lose control."
"Very, but this is also an excellent example of how higher sequence beyonders can affect lower sequence beyonders of their own pathway. When you are the ultimate authority of your pathway, like I currently am with our pathway, you effect those below you even subconsciously. By just because you can affect someone of lower sequence, said lower sequence can easily turn their sights upon you, aiming to strike you down in order to grow stronger themselves. This is how Gods die, and how you might meet your own end of you do not remain careful around other spectators."
"Including you?"
"Including me." Adam nodded before continuing, "though I'd rather not incur Mother's wrath more that I already have by harming one of His Blessed."
Audrey swung her head in the direction of Mr Fool, surprised filling her at the Angel of Imagination's casual declaration. "Mr Fool?"
What? Klein was very glad for his control because he was just as surprised as Audrey. "Adam…" his voice sounded more like a warning than a question, which is good because he didn't want Miss Justice to realise he wasn't aware that they were technically his blessed.
"My apologies, I wasn't aware it was a secret. I was under the impression that your Tarot Club knew. Afterall, no other God gives their chosen as many blessings as you do Mother."
I guess that's fair. But I hadn't even thought about having real blessed… Crap, I need to create a Holy Text soon too...
The lesson continued with Adam working his way through the pathways, explaining how each of the pathways could prove to be a danger, until there were only 4 left.
"We are nearing the end of today's lesson, but the next 4 are the ones that you truly need to watch out for. The first one of them is the Shepherd pathway, care to guess as to why?"
Audrey thought for a moment before answering. "Because they could have grazed a spectator's soul thus making it a battle of similar pathways, but they can still utilise the powers of other pathways in tandem?"
"That is one of the reasons yes, and the lesser one of that. The pathway is the path of Degeneracy and Profanity. If you are not prepared when facing them, you will be affected by these forces and experience corruption. It could be subtle at first, you and those around you might not realise anything is wrong until it's too late. Or the effects could be immediate, showing signs of a split personality."
"But as spectators, it sould be possible to treat that on the spot if we knew about it, or suppress it until after the confrontation, shouldn't it?"
"Not necessarily. Let's take a Sequence 3 Trinity Templar for example. They are able to graze 3 souls simultaneously and use their powers in tandem, and if one of those souls were to be a spectator fighting off your attempts, it can leave you vulnerable to the other souls making it harder to protect yourself mentally."
"So in other words, a spectator, regardless of sequence, always performs bet outside of combat. Just like how one should always spectate as part of the sequence 9 acting method!"
Adam smiled at Audrey's enthusiasm. "Quite. Now for the last three pathways to watch out for are the Paths of Mystery, or as you may know them, Apprentice, Marauder and Seer."
Hearing her friend's pathway, Audrey stopped writing her notes. "Apprentice is one of the pathways that's effective against spectators?"
Adam nodded. "At low and mid sequence it might not seem it, but those 3 pathways are some of the, if not the most difficult to deal with, and not only for spectators. They are actually blacklisted by the orthodox churches, with only the Evernight willing to cultivate seers, and even then not to the high sequences. Church procedures often involve sending the highest ranking officers with high grade artifacts and hoping for the best."
Klein chuckled a bit at that.
"Care to add something Mother?"
"It'll be more accurate to say that churches adopted a mindset of 'don't poke a sleeping tiger'. If it's not a big problem, it's not worth the effort for a small chance of a reward."
"Mr Fool, what's a… Tygere?"
The fog suddenly became very quiet, both Adam and Audrey looking at Mr Fool. Klein himself was shocked silent. What? Did… did tigers go extinct? But…
Not knowing how to describe the King of Beasts to Audrey, Klein instead thought of a very clear memory from his youth and reached into the historical void. He expected that it would take a few tries before he succeeded, but figured that it was due to the Castle that he succeeded on his first try.
Audrey watched in awed anticipation as Mr Fool reached into the fog, only for a very, very large feline to step into the open. Sitting on her high back chair it was face to face with her. Beautiful, majestic, and stunning, but also terrifying. The black striped white and orange fur made it look exotic.
"This, Miss Justice, is a historical projection of a Tiger. Seeing as you don't know what they are… I fear that they may have gone extinct."
Not getting any reaction from the blonde girl starting wide eyed at the animal, Klein let go of the projection, letting it fade back into the void of history. Only afterwards did he glance at Adam, seeing his son was just as enraptured by the tiger.
Audrey blinked at seeing the giant cat fade away, and remember where she was. "Mr Fool, I'm so sorry for losing focus, but that animal… What type of pathway could give birth to something so majestic?"
Klein smiled at her reaction, feeling slightly better after realising his favourite animal has gone extinct. "None. That tigers used to walk the earth just as any other wild animal. Though I'm starting to suspect that a lot of other animals have gone extinct as well during my time asleep."
"Father never told us about animals that used to exist." A new thought entered Adam's mind, one about all the new possibilities for his Dreamscapes that he creates.
"Perhaps another time I can indulge your curiosity." Klein knew Adam was smart enough to understand the underlying meaning of his words.
"And I will look forward to that, Mother. Now, as for the Apprentice, Marauder and Seer pathways, Miss Justice," Adam got her attention back on the topic of the lesson. "Their mythical forms from sequence 4 onwards make them both susceptible to spectator abilities, yet it also gives them a way to defend themselves. You see, all three pathways' forms consist of anything from dozens to tens of thousands of worms."
"Worms?"
"Yes, Worms of Stars, Time and Spirit respectively. Each worm essentially has it's own Mind Island which is connected to the Main Body's Mind Island. We can use this connection to more subtly enter and effect the main body, but should one be discovered, then the worm you are interacting with can be cut off like an infected limb. Though the main body would receive some form of minor backlash, I trust I do not need to remind you of the lesson regarding trying to stay in a collapsing mind?"
Audrey shivered as she remembered that particular lesson. "No, I do not want to be experiencing that. Is that why they are so dangerous?"
"No, that's the minor of it. In addition to what I just told you, high sequence Apprentices can not only copy your abilities and use them against you, they can create afterimages with the same capabilities at a faster rate than you would be able to create virtual personas, they can keep they're own actions secret, exile you to a different location, turn you into a toy and place seals upon you. And that's just based on the basic abilities. There's a reason why Bethel Abraham had a reputation as the strongest Angel."
Seeing the imaginary pen slipping from Audrey's fingers as she was doing a rather lovely impression of a fish, Adam sent her a gentle smile along with moderately powerful placate.
"Is the Apprentice pathway the most dangerous of the three?" Audrey does not know all the abilities she might still get, but hearing that Fors would be capable of such things was both amazing and terrifying.
"To be honest, I would rather deal with an Apprentice Angel than one of the Marauder or Seer pathways. There is a reason why I do not go up against my brother, and why the Gods allowed Antigonus to rule his nation in peace when they went to war."
Klein new exactly why Adam was wary, after Amon found out that Adam had given him all the formulas and rituals, he had decided not to be outdone and explained in detail about all three pathways' actual capabilities and the level of a King of Angels.
After a moment he fell a disturbance in the forc… mindscape, he felt a disturbance in his mindscape. Turning his thoughts onwards to his mind's island, covered in grey fog much like the castle, he saw Adam standing there.
"Any particular reason why you decided to enter my mind, my Little Dragon?"
Adam looked on in veiled amazement at the very obvious curiosity he can see now, but of which no hint is showing on his Mother's spirit or physical body, though it did take a bit of focus not to get distracted by the hundreds of thoughts of each worm of spirit.
"Mother, would you be upset if I revealed that the sequence one of the Seer pathway is Fool?"
Klein blinked at Adam, his thoughts becoming very clear in an instant. "If I had no intention of revealing that information, I would not be keeping the Fool Blasphemy Card on the table. They will all learn about my sequence 0 eventually."
"One of them." Adam nodded before starting to leave.
Klein gave him a mad smile worthy of a clown, "Yes, the first one of them." His thoughts turning to chaos once more as each worm returned to their own though process, as he returned to his body as well.
"… Marauders will steel your your powers and use them against you, they will switch their fate with your making you a victim of your own abilities, they will steal your time, your thoughts, self awareness, identity even your body and characters, deceiving you along the way so you won't notice it happening happening at all. They are as good at going undetected as any spectator. And the worst part? They are errors in the system, able to analyse the situation and find loopholes to turn it into their favour. Even if you successfully placed a psychological cue or hypnosis on them, they'll figure it out immediately once they see something wrong with their own behaviour."
Throughout his explanation of marauders, Adam placated Audrey once more. He understood that he was terrifying her, but soon she would become a high sequence beyonder herself and she needed to be prepared.
"This is everything Amon is capable of? I think I'm truly starting to understand now why Mr Fool warned us against him."
The conversation went on a bit longer where Audrey asked questions about everything so far and Adam made sure she understood just how dangerous everything is at high sequence.
"Now, for the final pathway, Seer. They pose the greatest challenge towards spectators even at low sequences. Previously I've taught you about pathway authorities and symbolism, how some pathways overlap in authorities but use them differently and to different extents. The Seer pathway is the only one with authority over bizarreness and foolishness, and the former is the first authority they start to develop when they become a Demigod. They become an embodiment of it, to the point where the very sequence name is called bizarre. And do you know what another term for bizarreness and foolishness is?"
Audrey thought for a moment, before shaking her her no. "I don't."
"Madness."
Audrey's eyes widened, the implications immediately coming to the foremind. Madness, insanity, the very weapons spectators use on others are a seer's strengths.
"How? How do they use madness? How do they not lose control in the process?"
"They are at a higher risk of losing control, especially when they're own madness becomes uncontrollable, but the higher their sequence, the more madness fills them. Where as a spectator would enter the mind and work from there to cause someone to lose control, they can cause others to lose control simply from their actions. Remember this Audrey Hall, where a spectator sits hidden in the audience observing the play of the world, the seer is the actor on the stage leading you along the story they are telling. When a Visionary writes the story of the world, it is the Fool who directs it's interpretation and adaptation."
The Fool who directs? The Fool… Audrey's head immediately snapped towards their host. When He introduced Himself, I thought of the tarot cards, instead, it was who He truly is. He is The Fool. But the Fool who directs? Directs what? Just then meetings from the past started playing through her head, how in every major event that has happened these few years all had Mr Fool involved. He saw what was happening but interfered, changed… directed the events towards a different future.
"Mr Fool?"
Klein looked at her while lazily leaning his head on his fist, "A seer's greatest adversary is a spectator who could see through their acts, someone who could inflict more madness on their already shattered minds. But likewise, a seer is a spectator's greatest adversary because we have different means to deal with spectators, if we're ever found out mind you."
"What are abilities seers have that that I need to watch out for?" Audrey almost hesitated to ask the question as she did not want to offend Mr Fool, but realised that if this bothered the ancient deity, He would have already stopped the lesson.
"Everything about a seer is terrifying. No offence Mother." Adam added the last part like an afterthought, but it didn't change his opinion. In fact, after witnessing his Mother's capabilities, he's only grown more wary of the pathway.
"Non taken, I actually considered it a complement. Miss Justice, seers are by nature unpredictable and follow a strict code of always being prepared." Klein could easily figure out Adam's plan. Currently the Marauder Angels are aligned with him, and there aren't many other high sequences out there, similarly there aren't many high sequence Apprentices. On the other hand, there's Zaratul and his order and once you have been marionettized, it cannot be undone.
"Tell me Miss Justice, do you know at what sequence a single seer can destroy a large piece of Backlund?"
"Sequence 2 maybe?" Audrey didn't understand why Mr Fool was suddenly asking something like that. She's seen how various beyonders have come to damage the city, how tens of thousands have died, but to destroy a piece?
"A rather good guess, but at that level one can wipe out the entirety of Backlund. No, a seer need only be sequence 7."
Adam narrowed his eyes. "Mother?"
"At sequence 9 a seer can learn all different types of divination. With a simple correctly do e dowsing rod or dream divination they can locate the main gas lines running throughout the city, and everything runs on gas."
Adam's eyes widened as he realised what his Mother was alluding to. "And at sequence 7 they gain flame control…"
"Exactly."
Audrey looked at the two beings, trying to put together what they're talking about for Adam who was usually calm to look like he needs to be placated. Then she remembered one of the minor abilities of Lie is flame control, and gas can easily be ignited.
"Mr Fool, how much damage would it cause if someone ignited a main gas pipeline?"
"Depending on the pressure in the pipeline the explosion can easily reach up to 50 km, the fires can spread between buildings, shockwaves from the explosion will cause further structural damages and the toxic fumes from the fires will poison the people and the surroundings. All that with a mere snap of the fingers, though to be fair, the seer will most likely die in the attempt."
"I am very glad that seers have yet to realise that they could do that. Imagine the chaos Zaratul and the Secret Order could cause once they realise that's a possibility. And now I am scared to find out what other uses there are for the minor abilities of seers I have yet to think of."
"Adam, miss Justice, remember this, it matters not how much power you have, but how you use it. If you use your abilities the same way others do, you'll become predictable, weak. Find new ways to use them, ways people won't think about, ways they won't be able to protect against, and you will be strong."
"I will endeavour to learn new ways to use my abilities, Mother."
"I will too, Mr Fool! Does being creative really create such a big difference?"
"Miss Justice, you are well aware of my recent encounter with the Tyrant. I made a True God kneel before me not because I've recovered that much of my power, but because of creative use of my current abilities and resources. In the grand scheme of things, I would compare my current power with that of a sequence 3 beyonder. That is the difference it makes."
Audrey stared in awe at Mr Fool, already making silent promises to find creative uses for her powers.
"Though shocking as it is for the such a minor ability to be so devastating, we really do need to discuss the more terrifying abilities of seers. Audrey, at sequence 6 seers gain the ability to transform into practically anyone within reason, and as they become stronger, they have less and less restrictions until they have none. Coupled with their divination and anti-divination abilities, a seer who does not want to be found, won't be found. Their ability to mimic people perfectly makes it near impossible to find them unless you are constantly in the the collective consciousness, which is something I do not advise for someone on your level."
"I remember with Qilangos, I recognised him immediately because he didn't perfectly mimic the duke."
Klein made the fog around him fade, except in his place sat another Audrey. Every feature, the body language, the tone of voice… "Well, Qilangos was using an artifact to look like the duke, he wasn't a practiced Faceless."
Klein shifted to look like Adam, "True Faceless can mimic every to perfection through their knowledge and self control. The main dangers of this particular sequence is forgetting oneself or developing multiple personalities that are fully independent."
Next, he shifted fully into an animal, a tiger like the one he summoned earlier. It was easy to do in spirit form, especially since as a Scholar of Yore his shapeshifting has strengthened to the point of shifting into creatures within limitations. "As a seer becomes stronger, we are not limited to just humans. And who's going to keep a constant lookout for every living being around them? That is a very quick way to lose control due to exhaustion."
Finally Klein returned to his seat as fog enveloped him once more. "Simply put: if it acts like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it must be a duck."
"That's… nearly as terrifying as a marauder's parasites to be honest. Amazing, but very, very terrifying."
Adam let out a tired sigh. "That is the least terrifying ability I intend to discuss. The next one is marionettes, a seer's greatest asset from sequence 5 and a weakness we spectators can exploit. Seers have a unique vision, one where they can see the threads that make up ones soul. They do not simply see these threads but can control them, and if they gain full control over your threads, you become their marionette. Your soul forever trapped in your body, used as a conduit to control your body like a puppet, and the worst part is, is that it cannot be undone like parasitism. If a seer loses control over a marionette, that marionette dies. At sequence 5 it takes time and you have a chance to escape, but the higher the sequence, the quicker the marionettizing process."
"So in a sense it is worse than parasitism." Audrey shuddered at the thought. "But how is it a weakness we can exploit?"
"Because the seer uses their own spirit threads to control a marionette, creating a mental connection. Meaning that we can mentally effect the main body of the Seer through their marionettes. But marionettes are harder to deal with than parasite avatars once a seer becomes high sequence. Whereas each avatar's strength varies depending on the amount of characteristics they have, if a seer bestows a single worm of spirit to a marionette, that marionette becomes a seer of the same sequence as the main body."
Seeing Audrey's confused look, Klein decided to give an example. "Say you are chasing after a seer you think is sequence 5, they can easily reveal themselves to be a sequence 4 Demigod and with a few seconds marionettize 50 insects, bestowing each a worm of spirit, and before you realise it, you are surrounded by over 50 seer Demigods. Not only that, a beyonder marionette remains a beyonder, so if the seer already had marionettes, they will become seer Demigods in addition to their original pathways."
"That is… indeed horrifying. And this is at Demigod level?"
Adam nodded solemnly. "Yes, by the time they reach sequence 2, this number increases into the thousands. The only upside is the a marionette with a worm of spirit has a strong connection to the main body and mind of the seer."
"But this is not the worst?"
"No, it is not the worst. We still have yet to discuss Historical projections, like that Tiger mother conjured, real illusions, fate jamming, wish granting, grafting and spirit thread regeneration."
"Spirit thread regeneration?"
"Imagine you are having dinner, and that dinner includes a meat if some sort like a steak. Steak comes from a cow, a cow used to be alive with spirit body threads. A sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries, can regenerate those threads and then instantly marionettize you because you ate the steak."
Adam went on explaining how high sequence seers warp reality in battle, how they can use their powers in bizarre ways to counteract their opponents, and in most scenarios marionettize them, which is a death sentence in any case.
Nearing the end of the lesson, Klein notices the red star closest to his throne, it corresponded with Danitz. Not really caring if they saw, he reached out a hand listening to Danitz's prayer about being all packed up and ready to leave.
"Very good."
The response was short and simple.
"Mr Fool?" Audrey asked in curiosity. She saw the God move but paid more attention to Adam and her lesson.
"Simply answering a prayer from my Oracle. He has finished his preparations for the trip to the Forsaken Lands." The latter half was moreso to inform Adam than Audrey, like the first half.
"I see. I assume the fourth person you mentioned will be him?"
"Yes, as things currently stand he will not complete the ritual in time."
"But he would if he were in the Forsaken Lands, I understand. Little dragon, lets end the lesson here. It'll probably be a while before our next one, so in the meantime I would like you to go over everything again and start to come up with ways to protect yourself. As always, you can pray to Mother to help you remember everything that we spoke of here."
Audrey stood up and curtseyed to them both. "I'll remember to pray. Thank you for the lesson Adam, Mr Fool." Her tone was more reserved and thoughtful. It was easy to tell that this lesson effected her greatly, but it would help her be a much stronger beyonder in the future."
After she left, Klein turned towards Adam, "What did Antigonus do to you to make you fear Seers so much?"
Adam let out an uncharacteristic sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "The last, and only, time I entered his mind, he grafted our minds together. All thoughts and feelings were shared between us. To him my thoughts were just one in the thousands, to me it was getting trapped in a maelstrom of chaos and madness. Spectators are dragons, we are not hiveminds.I may be able to turn parts of that maelstrom against a seer, but despite the similarities with a normal collective consciousness, it's something different, to fully experienced it myself was…"
Klein reached out and patted Adam's head, a calming action he leaned into. "Back in the day, that would be called fucking around and finding out. Now, why don't you go back and help Anderson get packed? He is the last to find out after all. I will be arriving shortly as Gehrman Sparrow with Danitz and Alger.
~~
Danitz sat slumped in a chair, packed essentially on his one side, Edwina sitting on his other. It had only been a few minutes since he prayed to Mr Fool, and now he was waiting for the madman to fetch him… Well he assumed Gehrman was coming to fetch him.
"You still haven't told me where you are off to in such a rush Mr Divine Oracle."
Edwina's little jab caused a few on the nearby crew to chuckle. Before Danitz could respond, there were shouts of alarm as the air nearby became more vivid and a certain pirate hunter stepped out onto the deck.
Once he was on the deck, Gehrman took off his hat, pressed it to his chest and gave a polite greeting bow. "Good evening Captain Edwina, Blazing." Glancing at the luggage, he added, "Ready?"
Danitz sighed and scratched his head but still stood up, grabbed his bag and walked over to the adventurer. "Ready as I'll ever be I guess."
Edwina followed after Danitz, "Before you head off, mind telling me where you are taking my boatswain? And for how long?"
"Forsaken Lands of the Gods, possibly for a few months." With that said he gripped Danitz's shoulder and activated the traveller ability in Creeping Hunger, leaving Edwina and her questions behind.
~~
Before Danitz knew what was happening, the world became colourful and the next moment they were standing in a rather normal house except for the bone decorations that were common in the South Continent.
"Gehrman? Blazing?"
Gehrman let go of Danitz, causing him to fall to the ground, before turning around and to greet Alger.
"Good morning. Are you ready to depart?"
Alger, not wanting to look week in front of Mr Fool's Blessed, resisted the urge to yawn. Due to time differences, the meeting was in the middle of the night for him and he spent the time afterwards packing. Instead he gave a silent nod.
"Good, then we can leave when our final members arrive."
~~
Colin sat pensively in his home. He should be getting some rest but his thoughts kept straying towards the long meeting they just had.
Derrick had his meeting with Mr Fool and the individuals from outside today. Apparently during the meeting the God had stated that it was time to free them from the darkness and that several people would be arriving in the next few days.
A treacherous part of his mind couldn't help but fear that they are being tricked by a malevolent being and would soon al die. But those thoughts were overshadowed by relief, hope and curiosity.
Curiosity of what the sun feels like, about what the world looks like, what their guests would look like or what their Pathways are. He was curious to see if this Mr World and Mr Hanged Man truly lived up to expectations of Derrick.
But he was also worried about something else. It was clear something else happened during the meeting, and whatever it was made the child far more exciting than everything he's told them so far. Whenever it was brought up, Derrick would immediately close his mouth and refuse to respond until they changed the subject, but his body language revealed his true feelings.
With a heavy sigh he layed down on his bed, hoping to get some sleep so that he doesn't look more haggard than usual should their guests decide to show up tomorrow.