...!%&Φ%@
Ah, whose voice is that...?
@#&￥.!
Stop shaking me... I'm so sleepy...
The chaotic noise drifted from an infinite distance, a muffled sound through layers of fog. But in the next second, it rapidly surged forward and exploded right beside his ear!
"Klein!"
Klein jolted awake from his dream!
He shoved the person next to him away in a panic, tumbling clumsily to the floor. Chairs, lamplight, clothes—all swirled together with dizzying starlight, rattling his brain. An unknown disturbance churned his vision into a muddled mess.
His frantic hands scrambled at his side, finally grasping something that could be called a chair. But the expected rough friction of old wood never came. Instead, an unfamiliar sensation, smooth and soft, met his palm. Still, having something to hold onto gave Klein the courage to look up and assess his situation.
"...Me... Melissa...?"
A few familiar colors shifted in his blurred vision, coalescing into the form of a person.
Klein clutched his head as he stood up. A loud buzzing filled his ears—a dissonant chorus of hums, static, and whispers, as if every object in heaven and earth were screeching in unison, grinding against his eardrums.
Ah, it's Melissa... What's going on? Does she need to remind me about the groceries to buy tomorrow before bed? Or are we out of coins for the gas meter?
"What are you talking about? Melissa..."
Klein muttered wearily, straining to open his eyes wider.
"Just let me sleep a little longer. My interview is in two days, and I haven't even finished the notes Welch gave me..."
All sound cut off abruptly.
Klein was stunned by what he saw.
Where was the old wooden chair? Where was the gas lamp?
Before him was a crystal-clear glass desk, a sleekly shaped metal chair, and a lampshade made of some unknown material. Several strange machines emitted an eerie fluorescent glow in the unfamiliar room. A chaotic dance of light bounced and reflected off every surface, the myriad bright points in the dim room glaring enough to make him dizzy.
Everything he knew was gone.
This... this isn't my room!
Klein's hand trembled as he reached out. Memories from just hours ago finally cut through the chaos, arriving to him alone and unaided. He clearly remembered wearing the linen shirt he'd changed into earlier today while studying Welch's notes—the one Melissa had washed so many times it had lost its shape. But the clothes on his body now were of an unfamiliar style, brightly colored, comfortable yet made from an unidentifiable fabric. The only familiar thing was the scholarly face still reflected in the mirror.
Outside, the bright moonlight streamed into his room. Klein stared in horror as the cold, silvery light cast a thin, white veil over his unfamiliar surroundings—a sight he had never seen before.
"Where... where am I?!" he cried out, his voice cracking as he scrambled unsteadily to his feet. Before he could even find his balance, Melissa grabbed him.
"Klein! Can you understand what I'm saying?"
The girl urgently took Klein's hand, cupping his face as she shouted in an unknown language. Only after her repeated, trembling, and anxious calls did Klein finally hear the familiar sounds of Loenese.
"You don't understand Rocsellian... Do you remember today's date?!"
"1349... June...? No... Melissa! I—where are we? I—"
"You are Klein! I am Melissa! There's no time. Now, please listen to me!"
Klein clung tightly to Melissa, his panic trying to form more words, but the girl firmly cut him off.
"It is the year 1325 of the Sixth Epoch! You are Klein, my brother Klein Moretti, the deity above the sequences—'The Fool,' the master of the spirit world—'The Lord of Mysteries'!"
"You have your own secret organization, 'The Tarot Club.' For a thousand years, you and your friends have fought against the Outer Gods, protecting this planet. But three hundred years ago, you and your allies suffered a defeat! You—the Lord of Mysteries—underwent death and resurrection!"
...Deity... Outer Gods... Klein stared blankly at his sister, his mind utterly empty. He had never seen Melissa speak with such frantic urgency, uttering such blasphemous words—like a newborn's first exclamation, or a dying person's final instruction.
Good heavens, what is Melissa saying? I... I'm just a recently graduated history major... I—
"Klein!"
Melissa shouted his name again, forcibly pulling his attention back. The sorrowful cry immediately made Klein lift his panicked, helpless eyes to meet hers. But Melissa's words poured out like cannon fire, as if stopping for even a moment would allow the beasts from a thousand miles away to catch up and tear this poor girl to pieces.
"A hidden ally of yours arranged your resurrection plan. To hide you and your friends from the gaze of the 'monsters' out there, the 'Old Madman' erased all traces of you and your Tarot Club from this world, sealed your abilities and memories, and wove ordinary identities and lives for you!"
"Now! You have awakened! You must awaken the others, create specific events to help them remember their true selves. To do this, you need to find specific conditions to break the seals on your companions, to 'reset' your friends before the monsters in the heavens discover you! However, due to corrective forces and the protection of the Tarot Club members, your friends will instinctively resist anything related to the 'reset' events, so you must be very careful!"
"And you, the [Mystery] above the sequences, require two [Resets] to recover your complete self! After the first 'Reset,' you will regain the abilities and memories of a Sequence 2: Miracle Sovereign!"
"So what you must do next is strive to [Reset] your friends and recover your remaining memories and power, all without being detected by the 'monsters.' The forces of the 'monsters' will hunt you, but we will do our best to keep you hidden!"
Only then did Klein begin to recover slightly from his panic and confusion. With a trembling hand, he reached out to touch Melissa's face, his helpless eyes glazing over with a film of moisture.
Melissa, Melissa... The Melissa before him looked so unfamiliar. She was a full head taller than in his last memories, wearing a simple yet vibrantly colored dress, clearly a mature young woman in her early twenties. But her flowing black hair and deep, liquid black eyes made Klein feel somewhat dazed.
"Heavens... Goddess above! My dear Melissa, what are you saying..."
His outstretched hand suddenly froze.
"...No... Are you even my Melissa?"
The anxious expression on Melissa's face suddenly crumbled under an overwhelming wave of sorrow. She slumped to the floor in front of Klein, gently caressed his cheek, and stared firmly at her brother with tear-filled eyes.
"Yes... I am Melissa! But I died long ago. What you see now is just an illusion, a phantom woven from your own mind. Yet, I will be your guide, your anchor, your eternal support! I can only appear in your world for a brief moment, but I... I—"
Overwhelming sorrow choked her words. She clamped a hand over her mouth, the tears streaming down her face seeming to boil away into black mist that vanished into the air. But then Melissa quickly wiped her eyes, summoning her softest, warmest tone as she forced herself to continue her unbearably heavy instructions.
"It's alright, Klein. This is just one failure. We can start over. We still have a chance to fight back, to protect. Over thousands of years, you have achieved countless victories. This is just one setback. You might not understand what I'm saying now, but I need you to know... you have nothing to blame yourself for. You have always done your very best..."
"I cannot tell you who the 'Old Madman' is, or the true nature of the 'monsters' in the heavens... because a thousand eyes are searching for you even now..."
Melissa's voice broke again. Her mouth opened uselessly, barely a sound escaping, letting the tears flow into her mouth.
"You have been so good, truly, you have been so good..." the girl's words were fragmented, intermittent. "You must take care of yourself..."
Klein had no idea what Melissa was talking about. Not long ago, he was just an ordinary, shy history student who struggled with words. His hand, still hanging in the air, trembled slightly and helplessly. He wanted to speak, but could grasp no words. In the end, he could only numbly, quietly, pull her into an embrace, gently stroking his sister's soft hair.
But the next second, Melissa shoved him away violently!
"No, no—My time is almost up! One more thing, just one!"
She frantically wiped the tears and sniffles from her face, standing up and stepping back, putting distance between them step by step.
"You must remember, I am the real Melissa. I am the true Melissa. I am an illusion you can always trust, a void you can never escape."
Under Klein's horrified gaze, Melissa drew a revolver and aimed it at her dear, beloved brother. She aimed it at the newly awakened Lord of Mysteries.
"Good night."
Bang—
[The Fool], First Reset, successful