Lord of the Mysteries

Looking at The Half-Fool on the huge stone chair, the scenes from before, as well as the relevant scenes of the Nation of the Evernight flashed through Klein’s mind. This evoked thoughts in him.

He didn’t know much about Antigonus. In fact, he had almost lost control because of the ravings of “His” “Hornacis… Flegrea…” Therefore, he didn’t feel any sympathy at the moment, at best some form of empathy.

The lingering memories were undoubtedly one of the best memories of the past.

Even though “He” was born extraordinary, Antigonus seemed to be deeply fond of the small, peaceful, and isolated nation.

Klein slowly exhaled as he looked away from the man with the thick, black, sharp beard, and his gaze landed on the huge stone chair to the side.

A book made of thin, yellow brass was quietly placed there. It kept having three mercury-colored lines of rules being superseded on it.

0-02, Trunsoest Brass Book.

Using powers similar to “Grafting” to complete the seal? Yes, it seems to have gone a step further. Not only is the beginning directly connected to the end, but the intelligence of the Trunsoest Brass Book has also been fooled, allowing it to ignore the middle parts that had been skipped, and not making attempts to change things. It just keeps repeating actions over and over again… Klein glanced at 0-02 and muttered to himself in thought.

This made him have some guesses about the abilities of The Fool.

Without thinking further, Klein got the Attendant of Mysteries marionette to “Graft” the starting point to the endpoint as he walked to the huge stone chair and picked up the Trunsoest Brass Book.

On the one hand, this was to eliminate any possible interference, and on the other hand, he was trying to test out Antigonus’s current condition.

Seeing that The Half-Fool was still sleeping and unable to escape from “His” eternal slumber, Klein heaved a sigh of relief. He made his marionette take the Trunsoest Brass Book and retreat to the entrance of the palace to wait for him.

The reason he didn’t allow his avatar to retrieve the Grade 0 Sealed Artifact was that he was worried that the Trunsoest Brass Book, which had a certain connection with a sefirah, would be able to produce passive negative effects during the critical moment he was accommodating The Fool’s Uniqueness. This might lead to the situation developing in a terrible direction.

When it came to avoiding the negative effects of the Sealed Artifact, marionettes were definitely better than avatars.

This was also why Klein didn’t bring the Staff of the Stars. He couldn’t place a time bomb beside him.

Usually, it was fine. He could rely on his level, status, and abilities so as to forcefully suppress the Staff of the Stars, but in the process of accommodating The Fool’s Uniqueness, he would be very weak. He couldn’t interfere with the people or things around him. Any mistakes could cause him to lose control on the spot.

To deal with the situation of Sefirah Castle being sealed, thus causing him to be unable to use its powers, Klein had no choice but to bring a Sealed Artifact that could provide “Teleportation” powers. Therefore, he chose Creeping Hunger.

At that moment, Klein felt the glove on his left hand tremble while facing a King of Angels that controlled a Uniqueness.

He then used his right hand to caress Creeping Hunger and whispered jokingly, “Don’t worry. You’re just a projection from the Historical Void.”

Using this method to ease his taut nerves, Klein surveyed the area and confirmed that there was nothing else he needed to do.

Immediately after, he placed his hand on his chest and bowed deeply to Antigonus.

When he straightened his body and lifted his head, a complicated, mysterious, illusory brand appeared on his forehead.

This brand was like a strange door of light that was tainted with hints of bluish-black. It constantly emitted a faint grayish-white fog.

In the next second, Klein reached out his right hand. Although it wasn’t too far away, not was it too close. He “contained” Antigonus’s body within his fingers.

His fingers quickly closed, and with a twist of his wrist, he completed the “Theft.”

He obtained nothing.

This attempt failed.

Klein wasn’t depressed. He once again began stealing Antigonus’s identity, fate, and self-awareness.

Although he was already a King of Angels, his powers in stealing came from Sefirah Castle. At present, he was only at Sequence 1, while Antigonus had been corrupted by the Lord of the Mysteries, a King of Angels that had accommodated the Uniqueness. There was still an obvious difference between the two.

Therefore, even if Antigonus had entered a temporary state of eternal slumber and was unable to resist, Klein suffered failure many times.

He wasn’t nervous or disappointed in such a situation. This was something he had expected previously. After all, as long as the theft wasn’t completed, the Evernight Goddess wouldn’t dispel the concealment effect and let the fate here interact with the real world. There wouldn’t be any external interference either. Klein had plenty of time and a stable environment to continue his attempts.

After failing countless times, Klein suddenly had a flash of inspiration and predicted something.

He reached out his right hand again, closed his fingers, and twisted them gently.

Suddenly, he felt something invisible leave Antigonus’s body and float towards him.

At the same time, an indescribable river of light with countless distributaries appeared in front of him.

The illusory river continued to flow forward, drowning one distributary after another, allowing them to become part of the main river.

This was a symbol of fate. It also had many different images, such as a slowly rotating segmented wheel, or a giant serpent that had its head and tail connected. At that moment, when fate was swapped, Klein saw the river of light.

In the next second, fragmented images and scenes appeared in Klein’s mind:

An eight-legged demonic wolf, who had just been born, was sprawled on the hill. Amidst the thick and black short fur on its body, transparent and distorted maggots crawled about. “He” was the youngest son of the ancient god, Flegrea, a natural Mythical Creature. At that moment, “He” was looking at “His” sister, brother, and a portion of “His” clansmen playing amongst corpses. “He” despised the crude methods they employed when dealing with their prey. “He” believed that prey should be hoisted up for slow, refined enjoyment to match their status.

This demonic wolf that could be called a subsidiary god was most afraid of his father, the powerful, terrifying, crazy ancient god. Although Flegrea had already produced many children through instinctual mating, removing plenty of “His” Beyonder characteristics, it was uncontrollable with no way to guarantee progress. Therefore, “He” was still crazy, cruel, bloodthirsty, and filled with an instinct for destruction. “He” had even killed several descendants.

This demonic wolf who could create miracles and fulfill all kinds of wishes chased after “His” prey, biting or killing them, thus enjoying a state of pure happiness.

“He” didn’t have a deep impression of the subsidiary gods of “His” father, Flegrea. “He” clearly remembered that “He” hated the God of Wishes, Kotar. Even if “He” was also a demonic wolf.

Also, “He” didn’t like the God of Death, Salinger. “He” found “Him” gloomy, solitary, and that “He” exuded a rotting and disgusting aura. On the other hand, Goddess of Misfortune, Amanises, met the beauty standards of both a demonic wolf and a human. “She” had a gentle personality and was very good at placating one’s heart. “She” wasn’t annoying, but this female subsidiary goddess rarely appeared. “She” was always like a shadow, hiding in a place that wasn’t easily discovered. Of course, the demonic wolf remembered that a few of his older sisters and brothers were rather against Amanises, hoping to seize “Her” position.

The demonic wolf witnessed his father’s death, the death of a powerful ancient god, and saw the blood of the ancient god splattered all over the body of the Goddess of Misfortune, Amanises. And in the chaos, the Uniqueness and a Sequence 1 Beyonder characteristic were pulled into “Her” hands.

“He” and one of “His” sisters escaped the kingdom of the demonic wolves and hid everywhere.

Without the protection of “His” father, the demonic wolf and “His” sister realized that their former reckless life wasn’t normal. Pain and danger were present in everything. Finally, “They” crossed the sea and came to the Northern Continent. They established a concealed kingdom in the uninhabited Hornacis mountain range.

“He” and “His” sister didn’t dare expose “Themselves.” All “They” did was gather believers and amass a population. In this situation, “He” created the City of Dead that existed alongside a living nation, making the dead believers become “His” marionettes to complete an advancement ritual.

Although this period was filled with anxiety, it was the best time period in the memories of this demonic wolf. As “He” saw “His” sister having more and more believers, and how “His” marionette town was becoming more complete, “He” seemed to have forgotten the troubles and dangers of the outside world and achieved the first peaceful time period since “His” birth.

Under the influence of the believers, “He” and “His” sister gradually gained some so-called humanity.

After the Cataclysm, “He” finally advanced to Attendant of Mysteries and turned “Himself” into a human. With the last name of Antigonus, “He” left the Hornacis mountain range and returned to the real world outside the concealed kingdom.

From this moment onwards, Antigonus’s memories and knowledge became increasingly fragmented. Many times, “He” even found “Himself” a little unfamiliar.

After “He” accommodated The Fool’s Uniqueness, the situation became worse…

As the images flashed, Klein quickly came to a realization.

I am Antigonus, I am The Half-Fool!

With a loud boom, his body constantly changed. At times, he had black hair, brown eyes, and a scholarly air, a Klein Moretti who had fused with Zhou Mingrui’s appearance. Occasionally, he had long white hair and a thick black beard like Antigonus. Other times, he wore a dark black cloak that made it difficult to see his face, and this mysterious person constantly extended slippery tentacles to the side.

At that moment, Klein’s thoughts were extremely chaotic. His mental state was completely imbalanced.

He was barely able to maintain his self-awareness. Under the impact of the two mental storms, he teetered.

At the same time, he had received the fate of Antigonus’s losing control and was on the verge of collapse.

A series of prayers rang out in his ears. Each and every word of praise was mixed together, forming an illusory image that joined the chaotic battlefield.

…

Rorsted Archipelago, Bayam, the bell tower of the Church of The Fool.

A young man wearing a pointed hat and monocle suddenly appeared here and stood behind the railing, looking down at the entire city.

Mr. Error Amon!

In the next second, “He” saw Bayam and the distant New City of Silver and New Moon City disappear as though someone had wiped them off the map with an eraser.

“How boring.” Upon seeing this scene, Amon shook “His” head with a smile. “He” wasn’t disappointed either.

He only wanted to test if Klein or the Evernight Goddess had repaired the bug in this aspect.

After striking the bell, “He” could be considered The Fool’s Angel of Time to a certain extent. “He” could use this loophole to directly steal a portion of his anchors.

Such theft was of little value, but it was very useful at the critical moment of a ritual:

The sudden decrease in anchors would definitely tip the balance, causing Klein to lose control on the spot!

Amon then retracted “His” gaze and raised “His” hand to straighten the monocle on “His” right eye.

It was as if the light from the stars suddenly lit up in the crystal monocle.