Lord Of The Mysteries: A Slug of Time

Shrouded in the thick greyish white fog, stood the Ancient majestic palace, looking grand and lofty, with a vast dome supported by ancient pillars of varying length. Under the dome was an Ancient long copper mottled table, with Twenty-Two high back chairs, Ten at both the sides and Two at its ends.

At the long end of the table, on the divine throne of The Fool sat Klein, with his one leg propped on the other, his fists curled together, while his black eyes shimmered with dots of golden yellow. 

On the right of his, at the chair closest to The Fool, sat the newly ascended King of Angels, the Knight of Misfortune, Amanises. The Beautiful lady's eyes were tightly shut, as she focused on further stabilising herself, while also inspecting her current status and the new abilities she had obtained. Klein was also doing something similar. 

"Fooling" Authority… After having accommodated the Fool Uniqueness, Klein had gained the Authority over the Fool pathway, his status elevating to Half a Sequence 0 or Half-Fool. 

A sigh escaped him, as Klein closed his eyes deeply inspecting the gained authority.

The "Fooling" Authority, huh? Fitting name. This authority in itself contains domain over History, Fate, Time, Concealment and the Mind Domain. Interesting… History, Fate and Time makes much more sense considering one needs to "Fool" any of these for the apotheosis ritual. Concealment and Mind Domain are a bit of a surprise to be honest.

Klein tilted his head, as he inspected his gained authorities deeply. I can "Fool" History to split apart Past, Present, and Future essentially returning an object or person to its previous position or state. This allows me to also swap the corresponding conditions of a target, making the past become the present and the present to become the past.

Klein's eyes glimmered, as his gaze narrowed. Hehe, I can use this application to actually pull out a version of myself that has accommodated the Uniqueness… pulling the Uniqueness in any way is not possible since the Fog of History does not record such special entities. But for me, The Fool holding dominance over the Fog of History, and the corresponding authority over the pathway. I can Fool History itself to split the past version of myself from my present self, essentially creating two "me". This way, my past and present can exist simultaneously, while also disconnected from each other, allowing the Uniqueness to exist separately.

This way, I can then conceal myself from the world and simply take hold of my Past Version. Though, I am not sure if this can be done for other existence who have accommodated a Uniqueness. Splitting a past version of myself, and splitting a past version of someone else are two fundamentally different things.  

Klein made a mental note of this fact and moved onto the next authority. Time! I can "Fool" Time to change the order of Events, making them play out in an advantageous manner, or I can temporarily fool the space time continuum, separating myself from the flow of time to get rid of various time manipulation abilities. This is quite literally a direct counter to the Time authority of the Error pathway.

Then, there is Fate! I can "Fool" mine or other's Fate. Essentially this grants me a deeper level of control of "Symbolisms" of Sequence 0 and partially even the Above the Sequence Level "Symbolism", than the other existence of the same level. I can connect and disconnect Fate itself, tamper with it or even alter it to certain extents, while also able to overlap the corresponding trajectory of fate. I can also foresee it and exert influence over it.

Klein then took note of a particular fact, causing a smile to form on his face. It seems the method used to accommodate the Uniqueness directly exert influence over the Fooling Authority. For example, if one were to Fool History to achieve the ritual and then accommodate the Fool Uniqueness, their authority over History would be much stronger than the authority over Fate and Time. If one were to Fool time to achieve the ritual, their authority would be stronger in that domain than in History and Fate.

Now, in my case, I have Fooled all; History, Fate, and Time! My authority over all of the domains is much stronger than even the previous Fool, Flegrea! Klein smirked, while making sure his facial expressions were hidden from Amanises who sat beside him. Coming back to topic, there is Concealment and Mind Domain. I have a level of Authority over Concealment, which can be used in various manners, the most particular one being my own Divine Kingdom!

My Divine Kingdom is now complete. The Realm of Mysteries. I'll explore it a bit more later, possibly going to the Astral World and testing it. Other than this, the authority over concealment allows me to conceal things, or objects from even History itself. In fact, to an extent I could even prevent True Deities from deciphering my concealment.

Klein nodded, tilting his head to the other side, while shifting his attention to the last authority he had gained. Mind Domain… There is not too much I can do with this actually, but what I can do is extremely important and possibly the most useful. 

Blind Stupidity!

The simplest application of the Fooling authority. What type of Fool would I be if I can't make a Fool out of others? Blind Stupidity allows me to greatly lower the IQ of any and all beings including even Sequence 0 deities, greatly lowering their ability to form coherent thoughts, or make any decision.

Klein smirked widened, developing into a full grin. I can also use the Mind Domain to Fool others, making their analytical and thinking ability weaken to a level they won't even notice! This can make them have severe lapse in their judgment, making them draw the wrong conclusion. If used correctly, even the Sequence 0 Deities can be affected.

Klein adjusted his posture, fixing the position of his tophat, the Uniqueness of Fool Pathway, at his head. He took out a coin from the Fog of History, and fiddled with it at his fingers. The most important thing about Beyonder Abilities is to have the right thought process to use them correctly. There are no useless Beyonder abilities, only useless Beyonders.

To be able to reduce one's intelligence, has to be one of the strongest abilities of any pathway. If you can't even think straight, how will you use your abilities? Klein let out a chuckle, before nodding seriously and thinking straight. Though, I shouldn't let myself be led astray. Existence at Sequence 0 Level are likely to have some sort of instinctive measures or maybe even countermeasures against such abilities. Also, this type of ability probably won't work on Sequence 0: Visionary, or at least it won't affect them to that extent. Their authority is over the mind domain after all.

Klein seriously nodded once again, making a mental note. Still, this is insane… No wonder those who accommodate the Uniqueness are called Half Sequence 0! Hehe, well in my case I am much more than that…

Klein discreetly looked up at the starry sky, housing innumerable constellations. He then turned his gaze towards his right arm, a symbol consisting of 4 dots in a rectangular manner, surfaced in his right arm. This symbol represented the Luck Enhancement Ritual, subsequently representing Klein's connection to Sefirah Castle.

Klein was the owner of his corresponding Sequence 0 Sefirah. This status allowed Klein to borrow strength from Sefirah Castle itself as he was equivalent to its Master. Each time Klein advanced the sequence, his connection with the Sefirah only grew deeper.

This, of course, carried over to his current status, as the Half Fool. His connection with Sefirah Castle had deepend, much more than before.

With his connection to this Sefirah acting as the last missing Attendant of Mysteries Characteristic, Klein was able to elevate his status to that of a True Sequence 0 Deity. Not only was he equivalent to a True Sequence 0 in terms of Strength and Authority, but the corresponding Symbolism he carried was also on "Their" level.

Klein was a False Deity. By definable standard, he was a Half-Sequence 0, but going by actual strength and authority, Klein was a True Sequence 0 of Fool Pathway! 

He was The Fool in every sense of the title.

But there was much more than this.

Klein had gained absolute authority over Sefirah Castle! His connection with the Sefirah Castle had gone through a similar change to when he had ascended to a Scholar of Yore. He had become its True Owner, gaining near complete control. His connection with Sefirah Castle had reached a point where not even a Sequence 0 can affect it by any means, only an existence at Above the Sequence could truly affect Klein's status or cut off his connection.

Yet, there was only one restriction that was still put on Klein. He could not accommodate the Sefirah. For Klein to begin to Accommodate it, he would have to go through the qualitative change brought about by the ascension to a True Sequence 0, something Klein had only partially gone through.

Regardless, Klein was possibly one of the strongest Deities in all of History, with the most clear path of rising to Above the Sequence, the Lord of Mysteries. In fact, I am pretty sure once I became a True Sequence 0, my status would instantly be elevated to Above the Sequence, Half a Great Old One, Half Lord of Mysteries…

Klein pondered over this, before shaking his head, dropping the thought to when he would reach that level. Probably in another thousands and thousands of years… He slightly teased himself, before smirking as he shifted his attention to his "Other Authorities", ones he had gained from his extremely deepened connection to Sefirah Castle.

The Error and Door Authority!

Up until now, Klein had the ability to use Error and Door abilities from Sefirah Castle. This was the major contributor to his status as King of the King of Angels, as Klein simultaneously was Equivalent to Attendant of Mysteries, Key of Stars, and Worm of Time, having the ability to use nearly every ability under Sequence 0 from all three pathways.

Now having gained the Authority of the Fool Pathway, it was only a natural that Klein had also gained the Authority of the Error and Door pathway! That is "Error" and "Door" all having a myriad of abilities and utilisation.

It was very much equivalent to having also accommodated the Error and Door Uniqueness! In fact, due to Klein's Authority stemming from Sefirah Castle itself, a relic far above Uniqueness, Klein's overall authority over the Two Pathways was much more than those that held the Uniqueness, Klein was almost equivalent to a Triple Pathway True Deity!

Almost… Well, the choice to accommodate the Uniqueness was a wise one. I am mostly unbeatable unless an Outer Deity were to drop down! I no longer have to worry about facing the other ancient deities, they can't do anything to me. Though I probably won't be able to do anything to them either… okay maybe I can record some abilities, and later replicate them. I should keep a track of my other powers too!

Klein repeatedly nodded his head, smiling, before sighing and leaning back at his chair. He shifted his gaze towards Amanises, whom had remained still the entire time since they had entered Sefirah Castle. Klein observed her beautiful face for a moment, noticing the Serenity radiating from her figure, as well as feeling the slight urge to lay his head down and sleep.

Hmm… He tilted his head, staring at her, before a mischievous idea crossed his mind. Maybe I should do a trial run of my newly gained authority… hehe. Klein fully turned his head towards Amanises, attracting the women's attention. She opened her eyes and tried to turn her head towards the staring Klein, before her actions came to an immediate halt, while her gaze became extremely distant.

All of Amanises actions, including her breathing came to an abrupt halt, while her pupils became completely relaxed and distant, as if not focusing. Thus, Amanises sat there, her head half turned while her body was completely still. At the same time, her thoughts turned muddled, incoherent, with her body turning immobile.

Blind Stupidity!

Amanises intelligence was lowered to a point where she could no longer make any decision, causing her body's activities to come to a sudden halt. The woman blankly stared ahead, at the greyish white fog surrounding her seat, the ancient long copper mottled table, and the entirety of Majestic palace.

Klein chuckled at this. As expected, it's extremely effective even against a King of Angels! Shaking his head with a smile, Klein lifted the Blind Stupidity effect from her. 

Coming to her senses, Amanises remained motionless, yet confusion dawned on her face. She looked down at her arms, while raising a bow, letting out a hum.

Weird… What just happened? Amanises thought, tilting her head. Actually, what was I doing just now? More confusion took shape on her beautiful face, earning a chuckle from The "Fool" sitting beside her. This prompted her to shift her attention to him.

Maybe it worked a little too well… Klein lampooned, regaining his composure as he too focused on her. "How are you feeling?" Amanises seemed to snap out of her stupor as she processed the question. "Eh? Uh, yeah…" She uttered in a weird tone.

What am I doing!? She lightly coughed, straightening her loose posture. "Much better. Though it also contributes to the "isolation" you provided in my mind." Amanises remarked, her tone serene and soft. After Amanises accession to Knight of Misfortune, Klein had used the Door Sealing ability to isolate the chaos in Amanises mind, one that had been birthed from the remaining imprint of Evernight Demonic Wolf and the Primal Will's battle for control. This allowed the woman to not only better stabilise her condition after such rapid advancement, but also better manage herself and not be constantly nagged by the ushring wills.

"My condition is mostly stabilised and the idea of Flegrea's will fighting against the primal will of Eternal Darkness is working wonderfully."

Amanises eyes fluttered as her speech came to a halt. She deeply gazed at Klein, as if contemplating, but then finally mused. "By the way, there is something… something "extra". It's like a foreign influence lingering within the characteristics, much stronger and fiercer than even the primal will of the characteristics…" Amanises took a big pause, her gaze suddenly becoming a bit distant before stabilising.

"There is another thing… Ever since I have advanced there is this… strange "feeling"… it's like an irresistible attraction when I look at you. Enchanting, imposable, it makes me want to inch closer to you, like an illusory voice, it keeps ringing in my head, especially here, telling me to become one with you."

Klein's smile slowly vanished. He let out a soft sigh as his expression grew serious while reviewing certain memories:

It was when he had picked up the Darkness Uniqueness for the first time. The Invisible fog, having been released from the Evernight Demonic Wolf's corpse, naturally had "His" imprint within. The same could be said for the three Knight of Misfortune beyonder characteristics.

It was then Klein had sensed something in the Uniqueness and the characteristics. An illusory voice, a raving that seeped out of them. It was piercing, violent, as if madness itself had been incarnated., It was a raving Klein upon listening to it, immediately found it familiar.

Afterall how couldn't he? It was a raving Klein had heard countless times in the past when entering Sefirah Castle. A raving which constantly permeated his mind, even with the seal of mysterious origins.

It was the ravings of The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth! The Previous Lord of Mysteries!

For "His" mental imprint to be present in the Darkness Uniqueness could only mean one thing… Klein's weary eyes flickered, as his lips parted. "What you are feeling is 'Convergence'." 

Amanises expression returned to confusion, as she spoke. "'Convergence'? I thought it was supposed to be between neighbouring pathways. From what you told me, the Fool and Darkness pathways aren't neighbouring."

Klein nodded, reclining in his chair, before leisurely replying, "It seems, at some point in time, the 'Singularity of All; Space-Time-In-One' and the 'King of Space and Time; Beacon of Destiny' used to be one and the same."

Singularity of All? Space-Time-In-One? Before Amanises could form her questions, she saw Klein sitting straight and utter in a deep tone, one that echoed through the entire Sefirah Castle, and into her ears.

"Eternal Darkness;

"Singularity of All;

"Space-Time-In-One."

"..."

Silence dawned over as Amanises eyes widened greatly, while her body completely froze. 

Klein let her digest this information while habitually ruminating to himself. Due to one hectic thing after another, I never had the time to actually speculate what other Sefirah The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth and Primordial God Almighty had accommodated back in the First Epoch.

But now it seems, at least The Celestial Worthy Of Heaven and Earth had accommodated the River of Eternal Darkness, becoming the Eternal Darkness Great Old One, surpassing the Pillars Strength and Authority. It actually makes very sense when considered the Honorific name of Eternal Darkness, the "Space-Time-In-One". It is very likely "He" is the part of, or perhaps, the actual indestructible psyche within the characteristics and Uniqueness. 

Klein caressed his chin as he thought further. After all "He" is a Pillar, an existence far surpassing other Great Old Ones… He let out a sigh, diving within himself, coming face to face with the illusory seal that was erected within him.

The seal was like a wall, a wall separating Klein's mind, body and soul from the imposing pitch black darkness that laid behind it, waiting. In the starting days, when Klein had just woken up in the Second Epoch, this illusory wall-like-seal was continuously being banged on by the darkness that lay beyond, wanting to break it, corrupt Klein, and take over him. 

Yet, shortly, the darkness found itself completely incapable of doing any damage to the seal. The very Embodiment of a Seal was sealed by a foreign Seal. And thus, after a long clash with it, the darkness calmed itself, waiting for the eventual day this seal would be broken. 

Klein observed this seal for a moment, noting the silent will that was trapped by it.

He let out another sigh, taking back hold over his body. It was then, Amanises having somewhat digested this information, turned her head towards Klein, and asked in a cautious tone. "Lord of Mysteries had accommodated an additional Sefirah?"

Klein nodded. "Not just "Him"; God Almighty too." Amanises took a deep breath, remembering the info of the two pillars having fought each other to the death in the First Epoch. 

"Does this have to do with their death, and the reason they fought?

"Actually, Klein, What even is a 'Pillar'?" Klein deeply stared for a moment in thought. Should be a good time to tell her… also that… He deeply breathed out before beginning to elaborate. "The "Pillar" is the highest level of power one can attain, while maintaining a minimum level of stability. It is the very limit of stability, without being consumed by convergence.

"Like you already know, within the entire cosmos, exist only three Great Old Ones with the status of a True Pillar, those are, The Lord of Mysteries, The God Almighty, and The Mother Goddess of Depravity. As I said before, a Pillar is the strongest one can be, without fully losing themselves, hence, many existences aim for that level of… symbolism. This is the case for the Great Old Ones who wish to invade Earth. "They" wish to accommodate the Sefirah, Uniquenesses and high sequence characteristics which are compatible with their symbolism, essentially bringing most infinitely close to the symbolism of a Pillar. At least, that is my current guess for most of them."

Amanises nodded, and while she had even more questions forming in her mind, she let Klein continue. "In the First Epoch, God Almighty and the Lord of Mysteries for unknown reasons began accommodating additional Sefirah that bore a level of correspondence with "Their" authorities, leading to "Them" going beyond the level of Pillars, but also losing stability. In this state, the convergence ruled, leading to madness even to "These" existence, which resulted in "Them" fighting over and killing each other."

Klein shook his head, observing Amanises keen and calm reaction. "As a pillar of the Universe, it is only natural the will of the Lord of Mysteries would remain in the characteristics and Uniqueness "He" once possessed. More than likely, "He" is possibly the domineering will rather than the primal of the characteristics, or the will of Eternal Darkness."

Amanises narrowed her eyes, turning her head straight ahead to gaze at an empty chair. To think the madness I have been dealing with all this time, didn't even stem from my Pathway… Klein also shifted his head focus elsewhere ahead, deep in thoughts.

What other pathways could "He" have accommodated? Actually, now that I look at it this way, aren't mine and Amanises fate too entwined? In both timelines, we have been closely associated with Like how I transmigrated into the body of a person who was a devout believer of the Goddess, or the fact that "She" blessed me or that as I rose in Sequence, I grew closer to "Her"…

Klein lips twitched. Or… the fact that I made Amanises my friend… My eagerness to make her an acquaintance upon my arrival at this time… I have never paid attention to this but wasn't it too "Reasonable" for me to do so?  

Klein suddenly came to a realisation. It was 'Convergence' that made him and Amanises come together, not just in this timeline, but even in the original one. Convergence truly works in wondrous ways. Fate itself…

He breathed out, then subtly but his lips. Amanises transmigrating into the body of a Demonic Wolf and later rising to Sequence 0: Darkness, one of the pathways The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth held authority over, can not be a coincidence. If I go by this logic, then Roselle transmigrating into the body of a Human who then abruptly switched paths, soon becoming a Black Emperor could signify that The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth probably had accommodated the Nation of Disorder, becoming the "Shadow of Order".

Klein lifted his hand, touching his tophat. Also, it makes sense that Flegrea was both Fool and Darkness. It wasn't a coincidence "He" found both the Uniqueness but that, the Uniqueness of Darkness and Fool probably merged together, or more like coagulated after the Lord of Mysteries's death, leading to it not being found for so long. It was probably concealed by the mashing authorities and later fell in the hands of Flegrea whom was a Sequence 1 of Darkness and Fool. Also, all of the Fool and Darkness pathway was accumulated into one place, the demonic wolf settlement, later Evernight's church controlling the Fool pathway as well as Darkness…

There's also how Gregrace has the Door authority, and the River of Eternal Darkness was the first Sefirah to leak from the Western Continent… By this logic, Aurmir should have something related to Error. Maybe a Worm of Time, as Grisha has Uniqueness…

Hmm… and then there is me and Amanises. Even among the many pathways accommodated by the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth, it seems Fool and Darkness have the most extreme level of Convergence towards each other… Klein gulped gazing over at his friend. He thought for a moment, before inwardly chuckling.

But that does not change anything between her and me.

He witnessed Amanises head turning back towards him. "It's honestly mind boggling just how much lies hidden deep beneath History." 

"Can't agree less!" They both left out soft chuckled, before Amanises seriously commented. "It makes more sense now as to why Flegrea's state was more unstable than the other ancient deities. In their case, the Primal will of non-neighbouring characteristics and Uniqueness ends balancing each other out, but in "His" case, "He" was suffering from the same will twice now."

Klein nodded, tapping the armrest of his chair. "Yes. With the subsequent events that happened afterwards, and the occurrence of the "Trends of Time", Flegrea's condition only became more destabilised before eventually completely collapsing." 

Silence followed as the Knight of Misfortune and The Fool silently ruminated, before both letting out synchronised sighs. 

"So much has happened since the past few days-No, Years!" Amanises reclined at her chair, assuming a casual posture.

"Three Deities have perished… Three Ancient Existence that have ruled a part of this world for so long, perished just like that…" She let out a weary chuckle, causing Klein's lips to curl upwards forming a smile, as he too assumed a casual and calm demeanour.

"Well, I won't say 'Just like that'. It took an intensive planning and lots of 'Reasonable Developments' to actually reach the End. Not to count, the arrangement of the various deities, the mythical races, to maintain each of their stance, so as to not introduce a variable in the plan."

Klein deeply elaborated, sighing at the end as he internally thought. To think Amanises and Grisha did all of this alone in the other timeline, I wonder how much more chaotic that went… Slightly lampooning, he straightened his legs. "I know all of that, I was the one who had most doubts about its success, but oh well, it went better than expected anyways. 

"With the fall of Sanguine Ancestor, Mutant King and The Evernight Demonic Wolf, the three races have suffered devastating blows, with the Mutant race nearly wiped out completely by the Incandescent Sun, and the Demonic wolves too suffering the same fate, but by the hands of one of their own instead as."

With a smirk, Amanises thought back to her days as the Subsidiary God within the kingdom of Demonic Wolves. The cruel and wild nature of those around her, the madness that plagued each and everyone, and the oppression as well as the Annihilation suffered by the various races entrapped by the other subsidiary gods. Amanises remembered her loneliness and the fear she felt back, treading in a foreign body of a monster, trying to desperately research her way back home, all while maintaining the act of someone she found herself familiar yet unfamiliar with. 

But now it was over. She was no longer alone, having possibly one of the bestest company of her life. No longer weak, to say, and no longer in fear and oppression. She could act however she wished, not having to maintain the persona of the Goddess of Misfortune. 

Closing her eyes, the Knight of Misfortune deeply sighed, before her eyelids rose back up, a thought surfaced in her mind. "Speaking of which, what happened to Salinger and Kotar? Or to Antigonus and Melantha?" Klein, who had been observing her all this time, replied without a change in expression. 

"Salinger turned to the Phoenix Ancestor, becoming "Her" new Subsidiary God. Kotar, 'reasonably' escaped from the battlefield upon regaining stability following my accommodation of the Fool Uniqueness. Antigonus and Melantha actually bore witness to you killing their father, and manage to escape unnoticed. They are now making their way towards the northern continent."

Amanises gaze became slightly weary, but before she could speak, Klein continued with a giggle. "No. There is no need to hunt any of them. For Melantha and Antigonus, they know better than themselves that causing chaos would attract attention towards them, something they desperately wish not to do so in their weakened, and unprotected states. It is likely, they would discreetly set up their own little town like ours, and try to gain more believers to stabilise their condition. In short they'll be living in Harmony." Klein paused, observing Amanises's features soften. 

"Salinger, as I said, has turned away. There is no need to pursue "Him", not like we realistically could right now. As for Kotar, I may have some plans with "Him"…" His voice grew distant by the end, while some of his worms of spirit used the Door Authority to immediately locate the God of Miracles and discreetly gaze at the running Demonic Wolf. 

Plans? That does not sound right… Amanises had a weird feeling but decided not to voice it. She shook her head, letting the thoughts of Demonic Wolf and her former fellow subsidiary gods collect dust in her vast mind. Thinking back to other factors, she took a deep breath before beginning to speak. 

"Then, that should conclude most of it. The Sanguine race is the sole survivor of the incident, due to the dying grace of their Ancestor, using the abilities of Crimson and her blood connection to every Sanguine, allowing all of them to retreat from the battlefield, as well as from the Moon City itself. This should have left behind all the humans though?"

Klein nodded and continued from her statement. "Yes, those humans were protected by Red Angel and Dark Angel while the purifying light from the Astral Plane wiped out the remaining Mutant Army. Hence, due to this act of kindness, all human residents of Moon city have become believers of the Sun God."

As expected of "Him". Amanises shook her head in mild annoyance. "With the betrayal of the Giant King, the alliance between the humanoid race has been broken. The remaining Sanguines, now under the rule of Elven King, will likely seek revenge for this. 

"A new era of Chaos and War onshore."

Klein did not speak, remaining silent. After a while, he tapped the armrest of his chair with his slender fingers, while a few words seemingly erupting from the River of Fate itself, sounded in Sefirah Castle. "One of Many."

Silence lingered for many more moments, before being torn apart by the sweet, serene voice of Amanises. "This is all insane. Never in my life did I think I would ever experience these things in front of my eyes. It all feels like a dream, yet one I am sure not be."

Suddenly, Klein gulped. Amanises continued. "You know, I never really had many friends, just few acquaintances here and there, and then when I grew up, I was married off to my work. This led me to become more or less distant and turn towards reading stories, playing games and all that jazz." Amanises contemplate over her past life, causing her eyes to visibly soften while various memories surfaced in her mind. 

"If only the past me knew, she would one day be the centre of one of those many stories. Magical, cruel, deprecating, eldritch, what do I even classify this as?" She softly giggled, not noticing Klein's darkening expression. 

"To be honest, I hate this world. I hate being here, being a part of it. It sounds good if it was just a novel I could read in my past. This world is interesting, with many characters all possessing their own goals and aspirations, all while dealing with their own wretchedness and madness. Oftentimes, we wish to be transported to some fantasy ruin world, to be free from responsibility and the cruelty of the mundane, completely discarding the dangers and challenges, all because we view it through a romanticised lens. I wasn't an exception to this, wanting to leave it all behind. Now that I have, I desperately wish to return back. 

"You were right Klein. Mundane itself is the name of Humanity. We so desperately wish to escape it, but when granted, we wish to return. We aspire to be strong, yet do not wish to forge the path needed to become one. We wish to be extraordinary, yet wish to maintain the simplicity of life. Godhood itself is a contradiction."

Amanises stated, her voice distant echoing in the entire Sefirah castle, while her eyes fluttered repeatedly. "I wish to return to my home… Even if there is no path right now, I'll continue searching for it, until the end of time, until the end of you and me." Solidifying her resolve, she finally turned her gaze towards The King of Yellow and Black. 

Suddenly, confusion dawned over. Klein? Amanises immediately noticed his twisted expression, something Klein did not attempt to hide at all. His face had darkened, his eyelids wrinkled, while his gaze became somewhat hollow. 

Amanises had a bad premonition. Suddenly, Klein stood up prompting her to do the same. "Klein?" She softly uttered, reaching out to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. 

Klein stood motionless, his gaze fixed at her pretty figure. He then took her hand in his, sighing as he spoke in a weary tone. 

"No longer. There is something I should tell you…" Amanises gulped. Before she could have asked him anything, a greyish white fog filled her vision, obstructing her view. Soon it cleared up, as Amanises now found herself in an unfamiliar spot, in front of her stood Klein, still holding onto her hands. 

Immediately she noticed the dark surroundings, the black clouds that predated the sky, the countless deep dark shadows that seemingly moved about in the place. Countless lightning strikes happened at once, causing an ear shattering boom to resound in the air, yet the two mythical creatures remained unaffected. 

"Amanises, do you trust me?" Klein asked seriously, squeezing her hands. The woman, confused yet understood the implications of his question. She did not have to think about an answer, as one had always remained in her heart. 

"Yes."

Suddenly, she felt his squeezing grip lightning while his somewhat empty eyes lingered on to their right. Amanises followed his gaze, noticing a giant looming and withering structure. It was a building with greyish white architecture, composed of layers of greyish white matter. It looked old, yet its appearance made Amanises instantly recognise its style. 

"You wish to return to your world. To our world…" Amanises heart skipped a beat, no, it was as if her beating heart had suddenly come to a halt. Her eyes, reflecting the view of the structure, slowly widened, her pupils continuously contracting and expanding. "Back to your family, to your brother, to the mundane of life itself." 

Her blood ran cold, while the thin strands of hair on her body rose up. The chilling dry air breezed past her, fluttering her hair and her dress, yet the woman remained unaffected. Her mind had gone too numb from shock to form any thoughts. Suddenly, her breathing quickened, while Klein's softly spoken words echoed in her ears, jolting her awake. 

"Yet, I am afraid that's not possible… after all, how could one return if they have never even left?"

… Chernobyl… Home…  

Reality exploded, the sun rose from the edges of Earth , illuminating the land, fostering life itself. Shining upon the dark structure, upon the Knight Of Misfortune and The Fool. 

The Early Era of Fire ushered to a Close.

Author Notes:

Bear with me this is gonna be a long one.

So first off, Yes the Early Era of Fire has officially ushered to a close! This first part of the Second Epoch is done! A lot of hitch and hikes here and there, especially towards the end, but it's finally done.

This chapter was insanely chaotic to write, with all these things happening at once, and then finally the ending something which I have had in my mind since forever. I have imagined that moment, when Amanises gets to know the truth countless times in my head, to be able to actually write it down was a feeling I so fantastically enjoyed. I hope you do too.

What's next now? Dual Era and Rise of Ancient Sun God. Though this should not come out as a surprise but yeah I am taking a small break so that both me and chaotic could take a rest, work on our own things, and then roll back to write this fic again. How long of a break? 10 Days. Next Update? 16th Of January and we will be returning to the normal schedule of Thursday and Sunday.

Overall personal thought? I love this project, and a lot of thought went into actually making it. We have learned that all of this happened in the second epoch, this and that died, and this used to be the case but to actually write the stuff in detail and connect it to the world to make it as closely possible to LOTM was certainly a task, and I proudly proclaim something I would never have been able to do alone. Henceforth, massive and I mean MASSIVE thanks to Chaotic. Absolutely amazing editor and an even more amazing friend.

And with this, I conclude this author note. I hope you have enjoyed the story so far, and will continue to do so. Now then, I shall meet you again in the next chapter. Bye!