Lord of Mysteries: Reawakened

In Sefirah Castle, the Fool's Divine Kingdom above the grey fog.

Klein leaned back on the Fool's high back chair as he rested his head on his arm that was placed on the armrest.

His face was covered with a hood that manifested out of the grey mist. Even though one could only see his mouth if they were there with him, it was obvious that he was in thought.

"Before I get the Error and Door characteristics, and before I battle with Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth once more, I need to get saint and angel level anchors. Normally, Evernight as a Great Old One being an anchor would be sufficient, but 'She' cannot be stuck in the past for too long. The world barrier in the future is weakening exponentially, and humanity needs 'Her'."

"As for me, I still need to protect whatever I have left. I can only hope the changes that will inevitably be made don't cause a convergence…"

Sighing, he continued to think, "Where should I get started. I've already started my plans to recreate the Tarot Club. But how will I get those saints and angels?"

"Let's start with the most straightforward. Miss Messenger should be the easiest, especially since I am one step away from completely dominating the Spirit World. The only problem is coins…but isn't that what Gehrman Sparrow is for?"

"Then, Will Auceptin. Obviously 'He' will be skeptical at first, but I will just make a fair exchange with 'Him'. Be my anchor, and I will deal with Ouroboros and get the Die of Probability for you. It doesn't matter if 'He' is a fetus currently!"

"Pallez is probably next. 'He' will obviously suspect me to have ulterior motives, and will think that I am Celestial Worthy. After all, being cautious and prepared encapsulates the essence of the Lord of Mysteries pathway. But after Evernight explains the situation to 'Him', 'He' might be a little more open. If things still don't pan out too well, I will make sure to take care of Amon for 'Him'."

"Lastly is Mr. Azik. While this should be the easiest on paper, 'He' has still lost many of 'His' memories. A mysterious existence asking to 'Him' to be an anchor for 'Him'? There's no chance that will happen…"

"As for Saints, I already have a good number of them due to Moon City and the City of Silver. But it wouldn't hurt to have more. For example, Bernadette. And through Bernadette, I can also contact Miss Hermit…"

Klein almost chuckled as he removed his head from his arm.

"If things really don't go as planned, then I may have to ask Evernight for the Pope and Miss Arianna to be my anchors for sometime…"

"Well, it really does suck that I can't make myself my anchors like those in the Error pathway. Even if I use Fooling to make people believe in me, it isn't nearly as effective."

Sighing, he leaned back as he tried to control his mental state using Cogitation.

This was because he had made millions of marionettes, each spread across Tingen, Backlund, the Forsaken Land of the Gods, and the seas. He had made sure not to make any marionettes where the orthodox deities would have noticed.

These marionettes were made from air particles, microbes, or other extremely small insects. The goal was to always have an eye on certain Kings of Angels, like Amon, Adam, Ouroboros, and Medici.

After a few moments, Klein felt a strange sensation. It was his spiritual intuition.

As a Seer, he had immediately known where this had come from.

It was from his marionette, Klein Moretti.

Immediately, he had looked through the eyes of this marionette. He was currently in a dream that was created by Dunn Smith.

But obviously, something very peculiar had happened. In truth, this dream was never created by Dunn Smith.

A normal-looking poster boy was smiling at him. It was clearly an inhuman, knowing smile.

Then, he put a monocle on his right eye.

"Amon…" As if he had expected this, Klein in Sefirah Castle had muttered the Blasphemer's name.

And, as if Amon had heard Klein, he muttered, "How shameless and cunning of you…"

But before Amon could've even finish his thought, Klein snapped his fingers, causing Amon's avatar to quickly vanish into the air.

"He killed his avatar before I could've turned his real body into a marionette…" Frowning, Klein thought to himself.

Using the powers of The Fool, he changed the reality of the dream world. The poster boy was always a poster boy, and the dream actually was created by Dunn Smith.

As for the marionette Klein, he never knew a thing. The dream carried on as normal.

In Sefirah Castle, Klein kept his frown as he said, "Amon really made his move so quickly. 'He' took complete advantage of the fact that Evernight was talking to her past self…"

"What's even worse is that I can't detect 'His' true body. However, the silver lining is that 'He' truly hasn't made any moves yet regarding Pallez. Leonard should be safe for now, especially considering that he will be under Evernight's watch."

Holding his hand to his chin, Klein continued, "If Amon is here, this also means that Adam is making 'His' move as well. From my marionettes, I can't sense Ince's presence anywhere. It's very likely that Adam has taken care of him."

"With 0-08, Adam has everything 'He' needs to become a Visionary. As for the ritual…"

Holding back his sigh, he let his voice echo throughout the entirety of his divine kingdom.

"Adam will use my presence as an opportunity to start a war, creating a trend of the times."

"And at this stage, where the Tarot Club is only in infancy…"

At that moment, an ethereal voice resounded in Klein's head, almost contrasting the solemn voice that resounded earlier in Sefirah Castle.

It was a female voice. It sounded familiar, but also a little distinct.

Klein's mouth twitched, almost curling up into a smile.

"Evernight…"

…

Blackthorn Security Company. It was in the night, and the crimson moon was full—its rays peeking through the Victorian-era windows.

A certain young man, his face half covered with scarlet light, was seated near a desk as it looked as if he was writing something. He had black sideburns, green pupils, and a soft face. He was very good-looking, having the same romantic temperament as a poet.

This was of course, Leonard Mitchell.

In a second, he suddenly stopped as the wind blew through the curtains. The faint whistle of the wind felt haunting, but he couldn't place why.

Looking up at the crimson moon, he felt a peculiar disturbance that can only be described as a faint spiritual intuition.

Again, he couldn't place why this was happening. At this point, he had stopped smiling, even inclined to look around the room.

Then, as if it had felt Leonard's sensation, an old voice rang in his ears:

"That Klein fellow."

Leonard's eyes perked up. Softening his voice, he responded, "What about him?"

"He has something very strange inside of him." The old voice replied.

This didn't solve Leonard's confusion. He only asked, "Wasn't this already known? After all, he was the only one to survive such a case."

The voice almost scoffed. "That's not what I meant."

"Rather, I feel something very strange happening regarding him. I wouldn't be surprised if certain existences start to make their move."

Leonard forced a nervous smile as cold sweat threatened to form on his forehead. He didn't know how to respond.

"You wouldn't be able to understand it. But it's best to stay away from him from now on. He has the capacity to be very dangerous, if not be in very dangerous situations."

The old voice stopped for a second, but then continued. "Even for me."

Leonard froze. He had never expected a little city like Tingen would be in the sights of an existence, let alone multiple!

He placed his hand on his forehead, chuckling slightly trying to keep his composure.

"How strange. Who knew that my city would have so much attention?"

"Now, old man, is there anything I can do?"

The old voice paused for a few seconds. Letting the wind pass by again, he responded, "There's not much. Given the fact that something very big will happen in Tingen, and it will partly happen due to my presence, the Evernight Goddess will likely send archbishops here at the very least."

"But most likely, 'She' will send someone on the level of the Pope."

"Oh?" Leonard's eyes narrowed. "Due to your presence…?"

"Yes." The old voice replied. "Don't ask why! Again, you won't be able to understand it as a mere Sequence 8."

Leonard only sighed. With a nearly forced smile he replied, "I don't know how to feel about that, Old Man. Someone as important as the Pope appearing next to me?"

"You'd better get used to it." The old voice echoed in Leonard's head once more.

Leonard didn't respond to the cryptic warning this time. He only looked at the crimson moon, allowing the old man's voice to reverberate in his head.

There, Leonard felt something odd.

No, he also saw something odd.

The curtains that were once lightly flowing had now stopped completely in its tracks.

The crimson moon now looked ethereal; ambient. In fact, the entire scene had looks comical, as if it was drawn by a pencil.

Leonard's heart couldn't help but race. This level of power only seemed possible by someone on the level of an angel at the very least.

In his mind, he immediately recalled the old voice's words. "Is this one of the existences he was talking about…"

But before he could've digested it, a figure immediately and instantly appeared in front of him. Leonard did not know when or how she appeared.

It was a long, black-haired woman. She wore a simple violet linen robe, and a hood was draped over her head.

She had a tree bark belt with no socks or shoes, looking rather modest. With pitch black eyes, she had an imposing, ethereal, and angelic presence.

This was none other than the head of the thirteen archbishops of the Church of the Evernight Goddess, the Grounded Angel and the Ascetic, Arianna.

With a soft, calm but strangely quiet voice, she said, "Praise the Lady."

Leonard's heart suddenly calmed down, as if he was placed in a soft green field with the most pleasant lullaby.

Staring at the woman who towered over him, he echoed her greetings. "Praise the Lady."