Lord of Mysteries: Reawakened

In Sefirah Castle, and dressed in a hooded robe, The Fool Klein sat on his high-back chair as he allowed the projection of the Evernight Goddess to enter the gray fog.

'She' was in 'Her' human form, wearing a star-speckled dress and a translucent dark curtain over 'Her' face. Her dark glossed lips shimmered in the ambience of the mist that permeated the space.

'She' nonchalantly stood by the end of the long table. "Hello, The Fool."

Klein chuckled. He said casually, "You can take a seat."

Smiling softly, Evernight pulled back the chair and promptly sat on it.

"I never expected to come back here so early."

Klein kept his smile. "Fate is a funny thing, isn't it?"

Without responding, the Evernight Goddess got straight to the point. "I've already sent Arianna to break the news to Pallez. Of course, 'He' won't be too cordial about it, so I gave 'Him' two options."

"Give the characteristic to me, or let Amon take control of it and the rest of your body."

"That sounds a little crude…" Klein lampooned as he leaned back even further. "The good thing is that I can find a better way to make 'Him' give me the characteristic of Evernight's ultimatum doesn't really work."

Evernight continued.

"At the same time, the other gods have already begun making their moves because of your presence. 'They' even think that you're Celestial Worthy, the Lord of Mysteries."

Klein didn't react to this information. It was like he was expecting such events to unfold. "That's understandable. Do you think that a conflict could brew due to this?"

"It's possible." Evernight responded immediately. "Especially if 'They' think that giving you the Door and Error characteristics will just give more power to a malevolent Great Old One."

"Needless to say, you will have to work hard to get 'Their' support if you want the attack on the Mother Goddess of Depravity on the moon to be successful."

Klein put his hand to his chin. He only said, "I'm aware. I don't perform unprepared."

"If you don't mind me asking, what deities believe that I am Celestial Worthy?"

Evernight paused. With some hesitation, 'She' said, "All of them. Aside from me."

Klein didn't respond for a while. He only smiled tentatively as he rested his head on his arm that was placed on the armrest.

…

Leonard Mitchell's shocked expression continued staring at the beautiful woman that looked down at him.

"You are Leonard Mitchell, correct?" Arianna asked as 'She' didn't hesitate to sit on the windowsill. The frozen curtains surrounded her as a shadow was casted on her face from the scarlet moonlight.

Leonard nodded, still struggling to process this woman's presence, even though he was calmed.

"My name is Arianna. I am the leader of the Ascetics and the thirteen archbishops. It's nice to meet you, and I applaud you for being faithful to the Goddess as a Nighthawk." 'Her' voice sounded smooth, soft, and majestic.

If Leonard wasn't in the presence of such an important figure, he would've almost fell asleep.

His mind immediately raced, however. "Leader of the thirteen archbishops? This woman is on the same level as importance as the Pope! She, no 'She' is a grounded angel!"

He stood up hastily as he drew four dots on his chest in a counter-clockwise motion.

"What brings you here, Miss Arianna?" He asked politely.

Arianna stopped making eye contact with Leonard as 'She' looked to his shoulder. With a plain voice, she said, "You don't have to hide yourself from me, Mister Zoroast."

Leonard's eyes couldn't help but widen. He thought while still trying to compose himself, "Zoroast? Is 'She' talking about Old Man? 'She' knows about my secret?"

"No…of course 'She' would know about my secret!"

At that moment, a small, transparent, and twelve ringed Worm of Time had appeared on Leonard's shoulder. An old voice rang from it.

"It's nice to meet you, Miss Arianna. I'm sure you've come to me for a certain matter, right?"

Arianna nodded.

"Correct. Although it's more like there's multiple matters that need to be addressed."

Even though Arianna's mouth moved, Leonard wasn't able to hear any of 'Her' words. He was left dumbfounded, wondering on what 'She' had to talk to Old Man about.

Then, Leonard thought about how 'He' said that he wouldn't be able to understand such things. He didn't have the security clearance to know the information that was being discussed!

A little disappointed, he wanted to sigh and sit back down to relax in his chair. However, due to the presence of such an important figure, he didn't succumb to those thoughts.

Not considering Leonard's thoughts, Pallez responded to Arianna.

"What are those matters?"

Arianna nonchalantly looked outside of the window, staring at the crimson moon.

"The first matter is regarding the existence of a certain deity that suddenly appeared."

"The Fool, was it?" Pallez immediately acknowledged. This was simply due to the strong but sudden feeling of convergence that 'He' had felt.

"Yes." Arianna nodded without looking back. "'He' appears to be an ancient existence from a different, strange point in time, trying to go back to where 'He' always belonged."

"This is what my Goddess told me."

Pallez responded in a somewhat confused tone. "The Evernight Goddess and The Fool have some sort of connection?"

"I guess you can call it that." Arianna replied.

"In that case, does 'She' know why 'He' is a true deity despite Zaratul still being an Attendant of Mysteries? Or has 'He', Zaratul, fooled us? Or could it be Antigonous, who the Evernight Goddess has imprisoned for millenium?"

Arianna turned back towards Leonard, who was still standing there, politely.

"My Goddess didn't give me answers to those questions. Would you prefer that I give you my personal answer?"

"Yes, please." Pallez concurred.

"I believe that there was a certain point in history or in time that even us angels weren't aware of. By using this and by taking Zaratul's characteristic while also using Antigonous' uniqueness and 'His' characteristic, my Goddess allowed one of 'Her' blessed to ascend to Sequence 0."

"But something was lost in history or in time, causing 'Him' to be thrown into a wrong point in time." Arianna replied emotionlessly.

"In that case," Pallez said bluntly. "Have you considered that this Blessed might have already turned into the Lord of Mysteries?"

"Yes." Arianna replied. "But I doubt that my Goddess would still work with 'Him'."

Pallez didn't say anything for a few seconds. 'He' then asked, "What's the next matter?"

"I'm sure you're aware that the Angel of Time will start to make 'His' move, along with 'His' brother due to the presence of The Fool, correct?"

Pallez gave a soft chuckle upon such a sudden mention.

"I'm aware."

"Then, you should know that 'He' must be scheming something knowing that The Fool might be after 'Him'. Even if you're hiding within the Goddess' domain, there is a chance that you will be caught up with 'His' plans." Arianna said stoically with no change in her expression.

Pallez quickly replied. "Don't worry, I've already started making my preparations. It's a basic principle of a Marauder."

"At the same time, even though Amon is a risk-taker, even 'He' wouldn't try to make enemies with the Evernight Goddess by entering 'Her' city when The Fool is after 'Him'."

"'He' would much rather prefer to move when 'He' has an advantage. For example, when or if 'His' brother becomes a Visionary."

Arianna didn't respond. 'She' only went onto the next matter.

"As for the final matter, the only way for The Fool to return back to 'His' point in time is to become the Lord of Mysteries. You know what that entails, right?"

Pallez was silent for a while. Then, a soft chuckle resonated in Arianna's ears.

"This is a very bold request."

Arianna closed her eyes as she replied, "There's not much of a choice. Your safest bet is within Evernight's grounds. If you leave, The Fool or Amon is going to come after you."

"Not necessarily." Pallez replied hoarsely.

"Are you forgetting that I can take over this young fellow's body entirely? The only reason I am still here as a parasite was to hide from Amon."

"If I don't have a choice, and I have to choose between the Evernight Goddess, Amon, or The Fool, then there is no need for me to stay here. I can just take over this man's body, hide, wander the Earth as I try to regain my strength."

Arianna only rubbed her cheek as she replied stoically, "Is that so?"

Even though 'He' didn't have a mouth, 'He' replied with a tone that made it obvious that 'He' was smiling.

"Yes. You can tell your Goddess that,"

However.

Arianna's face shifted slightly. Her usual emotionless demeanor changed as 'Her' eyes narrowed.

At that instant, the curtains that were once frozen began flowing again.

As for Pallez, 'His' ringed form completely disappeared.

Leonard, when looking at the now disturbed Arianna, couldn't help but think: "What's happening…did something go wrong in 'Their' conversation?"

"Sorry," A voice that appeared to come from nowhere suddenly echoed in the room.

The sound of a doorknob turning was accompanied by this voice.

Arianna gazed at a corner of the room. Leonard followed her eye movements, dumbfounded.

In the corner, a man wearing a magician's robe and a mage's pointed hat appeared. He had a broad forehead with dark hair.

Like a curtain to a play, the door opening revealed his other features. He had a crystal monocle on 'His' right eye.

With a teasing smile, 'He' continued 'His' words.

"Did I ruin something?"

"Heh, what's with the long faces?"