In a second-floor bedroom of a detached house rented by Leonard in Backlund's West Borough, Leonard suddenly jolted awake from his slumber, abruptly sitting up from the bed.
A moment later, he calmed his breathing and spoke with a hint of hesitation, "Old man, are you asleep?"
Pallez's aged voice echoed directly beside his ear:
"Sleep has long since ceased to be a necessity for an Angel."
Hearing Pallez's voice, Leonard breathed a sigh of relief for some reason and asked:
"I just had a strange dream. I seemed to dream of Amon, Zaratul, and Klein. Nothing happened to him, right?"
"That was just a dream," Pallez replied somewhat perfunctorily.
Leonard was highly dissatisfied with Pallez's answer. Curling his lips, he said:
"I'm already a 'Nighthawk' now, I wouldn't just dream randomly. This must be some kind of revelation."
After a brief pause, he continued, "I will pray to Mr. Fool. I'm a bit worried about Klein."
As he spoke, Leonard flipped over to get out of bed, reaching for the coat hanging on the nearby hat stand.
Pallez spoke up to interrupt his actions:
"That 'The Fool' is likely too busy to respond to your prayers right now. Do not disturb Him, just wait patiently. I do not wish to be dragged into Their struggle because of you."
Leonard froze for a moment, then sat back down on the bed, pressing further with a mix of confusion and urgency:
"What do you mean? Old man, what do you know?"
After a moment of silence, Pallez's voice echoed beside Leonard's ear once more:
"Your dream was something that actually happened inside a dreamscape just now—a massive dreamscape created by 'Evernight.' I cooperated with that 'The Fool' to deceive and fool 'Zaratul.' Because I am still parasitizing you, you were able to dream a portion of what I witnessed."
"'Zaratul'? Isn't He dead?" The more Leonard listened, the more bewildered he became.
Pallez explained with absolute calmness:
"Sequence 2 of that pathway is called 'Miracle Invoker.' Resurrecting from death is a true miracle!"
"What that 'The Fool' wants to fool is not just 'Zaratul,' but also history, destiny..."
...
Inside the ancient palace above the gray fog, Klein and "Zaratul" materialized simultaneously.
One transparent Worm of Spirit after another outlined a translucent figure upon the seat belonging to "The Fool," responding to the prayers of "The Fool's" and "Sea God's" believers on behalf of Klein's true body.
The exact instant Klein and "Zaratul" appeared here, this translucent figure collapsed, turning into individual transparent Worms of Spirit. They moved to converge toward Klein, but suddenly veered off course in midair, sinking into "Zaratul's" body under the pull of the convergence effect.
"Sefirah Castle'..."
"Zaratul's" mood grew uncontrollably ecstatic. The surrounding gray fog trembled and surged wildly.
Without the slightest hesitation, He turned sideways to look at Klein, who had already become His marionette, utilizing His "Tampering" ability to steal Klein's identity.
This process went exceptionally smoothly. He very easily established a connection with "Sefirah Castle" and gained control of it, becoming the master of "Sefirah Castle," as if He had originally been the "master" here all along.
A look of bewilderment surfaced on "Zaratul's" face; everything was going so smoothly that it made Him suspect He was still immersed in a beautiful dream.
But a "Seer's" intuition, along with the fluctuating power and aura of "Sefirah Castle," were all telling Him that this was reality.
"Congratulations on becoming the new master of 'Sefirah Castle,'" Klein's voice abruptly echoed beside "Zaratul's" ear.
"Zaratul" turned around in stunned confusion, only to see that the Klein He had turned into a marionette had changed back to his original appearance at some unknown point, sitting at the very bottom of the mottled long table, looking at Him with a faint smile.
Klein calmly gazed at "Zaratul" ahead, watching the translucent buds bulging across the other party's face and the worms squirming beneath His skin. It looked as though He might fall apart at any moment, turning into a puddle of worms squirming within a sticky fluid.
...If a bottle of "Bizarro Sorcerer" potion were to appear right now, I bet it would melt instantly in the mouth. A Sequence 1 "Attendant of Mysteries" is actually about to be scared into losing control by me.
As thoughts drifted through his mind, Klein leaned back against the chair's backrest and laughed unhurriedly:
"There is no need to be so terrified. You have indeed gained control of 'Sefirah Castle' and can already be considered half its master."
As he spoke, the entirety of the gray fog surged violently. Endless amounts of gray fog blended into the spirit world, causing "Sefirah Castle" to no longer remain hidden, integrating into the real world to a certain extent.
As "Sefirah Castle" established a connection with reality, a bizarre, cold, and illusory mask with no facial features surfaced on "Zaratul's" face.
This Uniqueness began to accommodate into "Zaratul"!
.....
In Bayam, the "City of Generosity" and capital of the Rorsted Archipelago, Amon stood before a newly built church belonging to "The Fool," quietly gazing up at the sky as if anticipating something.
During this time, a small giant standing around two and a half meters tall, clad in a grayish-white priest's robe, emerged from the church. Walking over to Amon's side, he asked warmly:
"Sir, are you interested in learning about my Lord's faith?"
Hearing this, Amon withdrew His gaze from the sky. Tilting His head slightly, He looked at the small giant before Him, who was bending his back as much as possible to maintain eye level, and nodded gently in response:
"You may speak of it, but do not take too long."
"No problem," this priest who resembled a small giant nodded with a smile and began to narrate:
"My Lord calls Himself 'The Fool.' He exists in the present, in the past, and also in the future. He is the beacon for everyone pursuing eternity, the Savior when the apocalypse arrives..."
Throughout the small giant priest's narration, Amon remained focused on the sky above, noticing the light suddenly dimming and sensing the aura belonging to "Sefirah Castle."
"It has finally begun."
Amon raised His hand to press the monocle worn over His right eye. In the next instant, His figure vanished from the spot. Disappearing along with Him were the worms, seabirds, fishermen, and pirates all across the Rorsted Archipelago.
.....
Above the gray fog, which was so quiet that one could seemingly hear each other's heartbeats, "Zaratul" finally seemed to react at this very moment. He looked at Klein with a blank, unwilling gaze:
"You are using my identity to accommodate the Uniqueness!"
As He spoke, yet another figure materialized above this gray fog.
Antigonus, whose face was quite young yet appeared deeply seasoned by time, lingered his gaze slightly on the mask covering "Zaratul's" face before looking toward Klein:
"I am somewhat curious. Why do you dare to make such a bold attempt? Aren't you afraid that Zaratul will truly come alive and take everything that originally belonged to you in the process?"
Klein looked at "Zaratul," who was currently accommodating the Uniqueness. While contending with Antigonus for the other party's Spirit Body Threads, he smiled and said:
"Hasn't He already come alive?"
"His characteristics belong to Zaratul, His memories belong to Zaratul, His spirit and destiny also belong to Zaratul, and everyone believes He is Zaratul, so He is Zaratul."
"My insurance measure was those Worms of Spirit I left here to respond to the believers' prayers, which He absorbed upon entering this place."
"With those Worms of Spirit acting as a primer, I can allow my own spirit to awaken inside His body. As for the previous me, it truly was just a marionette."
Antigonus nodded in realization, speaking with a hint of lament in his tone:
"A very ingenious and bold scheme, sufficient to serve as the ritual for accommodating the Uniqueness. Of course, what you want doesn't seem to be just accommodating the Uniqueness."
"As 'Sefirah Castle' establishes a connection with reality, any existence qualified to vie for the position of 'Lord of Mysteries' will sense it and possess the ability to enter this place."
"And I, due to the connection with the Uniqueness, will be the first to arrive. This will be the best opportunity for the birth of 'The Fool'—whether it be you, me, or the former 'Lord of Mysteries.'"
Klein nodded frankly, confirming Antigonus's speculation:
"But you came anyway, didn't you?"
While the two sides were conversing, "Zaratul" had already completed the accommodation of the Uniqueness.
Under Klein's and Antigonus's tug-of-war and manipulation over the Spirit Body Threads, both "Zaratul's" spirit and body began to break down, continuously shedding one transparent worm after another and extending slimy tentacles.
In less than two seconds, He completely transformed into a deep, dark vortex of worms, beginning to instinctively converge the surrounding characteristics.
Klein did not resist this convergence, allowing this body of his to collapse, turning into individual Worms of Spirit that flooded into the worm vortex ahead, becoming a part of it.
Antigonus gazed at that deep, dark worm vortex for a second, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth as he said:
"In this era, I no longer have anything to hold onto, which also gives me the courage to stake everything on a single venture."
"Compared to 'Zaratul' who was used as a tool, and you who have only lived for a few decades, the spirit accumulated over my thousands of years of long life is my greatest advantage."
As He spoke, His body immediately followed suit, collapsing into countless transparent, squirming worms that flooded like a tide into that deep, dark worm vortex.
As Antigonus carried the third "Attendant of Mysteries" characteristic into the worm vortex, the vortex that had been continuously expanding suddenly froze. An indescribably magnificent aura erupted, and the entirety of the gray fog began to riot.
Slimy tentacles lashed out wildly at the surroundings, smashing the ancient palace that resembled a giant's residence into ruins.
Amidst the gaps of the flailing tentacles, Amon's figure quietly appeared.
"To think they actually lost control?"
"I should have been a bit slower to break free from Evernights' concealed world. That way, perhaps I could have directly picked up 'Sefirah Castle.'"
His tone carried an unbefitting pleasant surprise, yet His physical movements were swift. Layers upon layers of illusory doors were mirrored within His pitch-black eyes.
At this moment, all matters related to the concept of a door throughout the entire world were opened; existing seals suddenly failed, throwing major Churches and organizations into utter chaos...