LotM: Surviving as a Marionette

Olsen slept through the night, yet upon waking the next morning, his head still throbbed dully.

His thoughts moved sluggishly, only clearing slightly when a maid knocked to politely inquire whether he'd like breakfast brought to his room.

"No need. Give me a moment—I'll be right out."

His spirits low, he stepped out just as Don approached from down the hall.

"Morning."

Olsen's greeting lacked energy.

Fresh from morning exercises, Don studied him. "Still not feeling well?"

"Sort of." Olsen rubbed his eyes with a yawn. "The loss of control hit harder than I expected."

He'd assumed it was minor, but yesterday's whispers had left deeper scars.

Don scrutinized him again.

"Why're you staring?" Olsen frowned. "Something on my face?"

"No, nothing." He shook his head.

A monumental question had just struck him.

---

Back in his room, Don stood by the window, deep in thought.

Knowledge Pursues Man had primarily targeted the struggling Bizarro Sorcerer and Theater With Curtains That Never Draw. Though his voice had been sanity-scarring, Owen—a whole sequence below Olsen—shouldn't be faring so much better even with his demigod-tier item.

The Abraham family's Mr. Door...

"I'll ask Olsen later. The Abrahams were devastated during the Four Emperors' War. Though most high-sequence Beyonders fell, some remnants must remain."

Had those elites already begun hearing the whispers?

If so, Olsen—a Sequence 5—showing these symptoms suggested he was similarly affected.

Combined with yesterday's mention of "voices," the probability was alarmingly high.

Mr. Door and Antigonus had jointly slain old Zaratul, only to be banished from reality by the Evernight Goddess and Lord of Storms.

Thereafter, the Abrahams suffered bloodline curses and whispered madness. By the Fifth Epoch, this family—once nearest to producing a true deity—faded into obscurity. Only a handful of Beyonders remained; most were ordinary folk avoiding the supernatural entirely.

During or after the Four Emperors' War, this 3+1 King of Angels was corrupted.

Some time had passed since then... If He could project whispers to drive Abraham Beyonders mad across distances, the corruption was complete—and His psyche fractured.

"Save me save me" versus "Don't save me don't save me"—a split consciousness.

Don's brow furrowed as he recalled the visions during Knowledge Pursues Man.

Though compressed to Sequence 5 by the System, much was forgotten or unrememberable...

Yet that final image still chilled him.

"Mr. Door will be replaced by Amon upon returning, for His ascension to Sequence 0 would hasten the apocalypse."

"In short: keep Him out."

"System, any way to block Mr. Door's whispers?" Don weighed each word.

He knew one method—relocating the Abrahams above the gray fog.

During full moons, when whispers intensified, even high-sequence Abrahams relying on acting, willpower, and mystical items would shatter.

But not even upgraded Whisper 2.0 could pierce the fog.

However—

He wasn't the fog's master. And he'd rather not awaken that presence within himself.

"Theater With Curtains That Never Draw"

Tainted by Evernight's power, this Miracle Invoker artifact had gained concealment properties.

The System responded succinctly: [Requires optimization.]

Don understood.

Feasible, but needed the System's "custom modifications." Unrefined, the theater might not fully block them.

Evernight's concealment could also isolate the whispers—but that demanded intervention from the Goddess Herself or a Sequence 2 of Her pathway.

Corruption spread similarly to Knowledge Pursues Man: grade enabled permeation, while pathway served as the conduit.

The latter mattered far more. As a 3+1, no being in the Apprentice pathway surpassed Mr. Door. Demigod divinity plus whatever He'd embedded in His bloodline created dual channels for corruption—explaining why Abrahams went instantly mad upon reaching Sequence 4...

Don was still pondering this when breakfast ended.

[Alchemist characteristic separated and submitted.]

[Host, Paragon Pathway Sequences 5-9 characteristics isolated. Store in inventory?]

The System's sudden interjection clarified: it only needed one Sequence 4 trait. The rest were spare.

"Sequence 4 is the qualitative leap"—indeed.

["Artisan" module upgrading. Estimated time: 03:59:58. Please wait.]

Four hours.

Don checked the Meatball's status. Once a fused abomination, its components now floated separately on-screen—each characteristic clinging to residual flesh, held apart by an invisible force preventing reconvergence.

Hundreds of traits drifted in void-like darkness—a staggering sight.

Dumping the isolated Reader pathway traits into storage, Don grimaced at the space they'd consume.

His inventory couldn't possibly hold them all.

Leaving them adrift in the System was an option, but...

"System, if I deploy Theater With Curtains That Never Draw in reality, what happens to these?"

[Remain separated, but housed in an independent subspace within the theater.]

He'd wait for the upgrade then, curious what optimizations would emerge.

As he set down his utensils, Baron Lamud slid a box toward him.

"For you. It may prove useful."

Inside lay an inverted cross pendant.

[Appraisal activated. Charges consumed: 1. Remaining: 34.]

[Host, this item corresponds to the Secret Suppliant pathway's Sequence 4: Black Knight characteristic.]

(End of Chapter)