Lord of the Mysteries

“Sequence 0: The Fool!”

After discerning the words on the tarot card, Klein once again felt the same feeling he had when he heard Zaratul say his name.

At that moment, he felt the strong call of destiny. He felt that everything had been arranged from the beginning, just like 0-08.

He began to suspect that his original judgment, believing that the female beast tamer from the traveling circus that had visited Tingen and performed a tarot divination for him wasn’t an ordinary person.

As his thoughts raced, Klein viewed it from another angle and came up with a new idea. Gradually, he stopped being that horrified, fearful, and depressed.

Perhaps it wasn’t a machination but the changes that I brought about myself.

This is because of the ritual that resulted in my transmigration. I had a connection with the mysterious space above the gray fog. Fate would naturally be affected as a result. More precisely, as a visitor from another world, I never had my “fate” here. The current trajectory I’ve taken is a result of my character, the encounters of the original Klein, the influence of the gray fog, and the surrounding environment.

The mysterious space above the gray fog is clearly strongly tied to the Seer pathway. And this pathway’s Sequence 0 is The Fool. When projected into reality, and in front of a divination, I’ll definitely get The Fool as my card!

Similarly, this resulted in me later using The Fool as my name.

Klein’s mood calmed down bit by bit, believing that this was the most plausible explanation.

Using Occam’s Razor to eliminate all presently unknown factors, I can still obtain a reasonable explanation. That means that it’s quite likely to be the case... Klein forced himself to stop thinking about questions he couldn’t provide certain answers to. He then turned his attention to what had just happened.

That huge chair and that cluster of translucent maggots were what I saw when I made a divination above the gray fog.

From carefully considering and inferring things from this harrowing scene, it might very well be an angel from the Seer pathway, an angel that had lost control and turned into a monster!

Zaratul “Himself”?

Or the powerful entity from the Antigonus family from the Fourth Epoch?

If it’s the former, that corroborates with Arrodes and Will Auceptin. Zaratul is already Sequence 1 and has lost control and gone made. “He” broke down into a monster. This matches... This can also explain why Zaratul only wishes for the door to be opened. It’s because once the door of secrets is opened, the two sides will have a connection, allowing “Him” to recover from “His” present state bit by bit. “His” repeated emphasis on “His” ashes was just a pretense.

But herein lies the problem. The environment Zaratul is located in, as presented by Arrodes, doesn’t resemble the ancient palace at the mountain peak. Otherwise, I would’ve recognized it back then.

What if that’s the angel from the Antigonus family who’s living as an abject existence, one that made Zaratul suffer after “He” came to the Hornacis mountain range after obtaining the notebook from Roselle? “He” had a part of him separated from “Him” without realizing it; thus, causing “Him” to go mad during the advancement. Regardless, “He” is a Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries. After all, Zaratul was already a Miracle Invoker back then...

From this angle, Zaratul’s goal might very well be the opening of the door, allowing the foggy town’s history and fate to become mixed with the outside world, preventing “Him” from being dissociated again.

Regardless, that cluster of translucent maggots is probably a Sequence 1 that lost control. No wonder the Demoness of Despair faced a breakdown the moment she saw “Him.” She only managed to struggle a little before being hung up, turning into a marionette that’s being hung up to dry. Thankfully, I was lacking in clues back then, and the scenes I saw through divination wasn’t clear enough. Otherwise, I would’ve suffered a terrible blow from witnessing a complete and crazy Mythical Creature. I would’ve lost control and mutated...

Wait, no matter how strong “He” is, can “He” be stronger than the Eternal Blazing Sun and the True Creator? Even if a Seer pathway Beyonder has a certain resistance against the mysterious space above the gray fog, it would at best make “Them” be at the same level. In other words, as long as I endured the pain, with the prerequisites met, I have one chance of prying on its secrets, and a complete Mythical Creature’s state is mixed in with the relevant knowledge.

Who knows, I might be able to get one or two High-Sequence formulas, just like how I obtained the Unshadowed from the Eternal Blazing Sun back then.

At this thought, Klein couldn’t help but have a scene surface in his mind.

The Fool above the gray fog was silently reaching out his thieving hands once again.

While reeling in joy, Klein also found it a great pity because, with his present level, strength, and items, he had no way to head to the ancient chair with the translucent maggots and pick up The Fool card.

To see an item that one desired the most but not being able to obtain it was often painful.

Phew... At least I’ve already obtained the Bizarro Sorcerer potion formula. In the future, I still have once chance of prying on its secrets. The risk I took this time wasn’t in vain. All the gold pounds I spent and the marionette I lost wasn’t in vain either... Hmm, Zaratul likely wouldn’t give a fake formula. To “Him,” there’s no need for him to lie to a Sequence 5 Beyonder who might not walk out alive. Besides, if “He” was lying, he had to be wary of me already knowing the Bizarro Sorcerer potion formula. The reason why I asked might only be to determine if “He” was worth trusting... I’ll divine this later when I’m back above the gray fog... Klein heaved a sigh of relief, and seeing that there hadn’t been any anomalies outside for quite a while, he decided to immediately approach the pitch-black cathedral and observe the changes inside.

To him, all the problems that he thought about weren’t pressing issues. The pressing issue was to leave the secret world, to leave this foggy town!

When he came out of the building he was in, Klein, who was wearing an ancient triangular hat and dark red coat, carefully came to the entrance of the ancient cathedral. He carefully passed through the ajar door and walked in.

The corpses that looked and dressed differently were no different from before. They remained hanging in midair, swaying with the wind and producing the ravings of “Hornacis... Flegrea...”

Klein walked under them as his eyes got accustomed to the dim environment, allowing him to see more.

The half demonic wolf-and half-human statue was still standing there without any signs of damage. The obsidian rock and the tin urn were behind the statue without any signs of cracking.

Klein first heaved a sigh of relief as he began to observe his surroundings when his gaze froze.

In a dark corner stood a gigantic mushroom taller than he was.

The mushroom’s cap had scarlet-red like blood with interspersed white patterns. Its body was formed out of similar tiny mushrooms. Their patterns drew out a face—Mr. A’s face.

However, Mr. A’s “eyes” were blank. It didn’t have the glint that one would call human. There were mushrooms growing from both sides of the stem, forming into long arms. And on the left palm was a thin human-skinned glove. Both parties had seemed to fuse as one.

...What kind of abomination is that... Klein involuntarily took a step back. He found his knowledge in mysticism completely lacking at that moment in time.

He began taking actions to protect himself. While doing so, having not deactivated his corresponding visions, he discovered that the terrifying mushroom didn’t have any Spirit Body Threads. It appeared to have long been dead, and its only movements were the results of spasming nerves.

Suddenly, Klein had a theory.

Mr. A, who had been infested with mushrooms, didn’t manage to escape in time and had seen the cluster of translucent maggots. He had seen a complete Mythical Creature, causing his mind to instantly die as his body collapsed completely. This also resulted in a terrifying mutation. It then merged with Senor who had disintegrated from the curse, becoming a never-seen-before mushroom monster!

Also, Creeping Hunger has been swallowed... This “mushroom” is really disgusting. I’ll throw Frank into the sea if he ever mentions mushrooms again... Klein’s eyes darted around slightly as he subconsciously headed for the obsidian rock. He planned on ignoring the “mushroom” and first escape.

At this moment, he found his mind turning adrift. Everything around him seemed to turn into a blur.

Suddenly, Klein realized that he was being forcefully pulled into a dream!

He immediately escaped the dream and saw the nearly two-meter-tall “mushroom” sliding over slowly. In its hand was a great sword that was a combination of scarlet magma and blue-hot flames.

It can use Sword of Lava... Klein didn’t hesitate as he opened his mouth and let out a sound: “Bang!”

The extremely penetrative Air Bullet hit the “mushroom” who had slowed down due to it being engaged in controlling dreams. The bullet drilled through its cap, tearing open a huge wound.

Underneath the wound was human flesh and tiny spores. They quickly squirmed and restored the “body.”

To think that’s possible... Klein felt a strong sense of danger as he hurriedly lunged to the side, rolling several times in the process.

The “mushroom” sped up suddenly as the Sword of Lava in its hand dragged scarlet and blue flames, cleaving down at the spot Klein had been standing at. It caused the floor tiles to rupture as flames scattered.

At this moment, Klein snapped his fingers, igniting the tiny mushrooms that formed the monster.

Then, he ran towards the back of the statue in an attempt to obtain the obsidian rock.

But finding his thoughts go adrift for a moment, Klein realized that he was going in the wrong direction.

He was rushing towards the entrance.

It can distort my will? Klein’s heart tightened as he noticed through the corner of his eye that the surface of the gigantic “mushroom” was covered in a layer of frost. The frost had extinguished the soaring scarlet flames.

As his thoughts raced, Klein ran towards the door and snapped his fingers, igniting the tree leaves outside.

In situations with zero understanding about his enemy, and him having not made any preparations, he believed that a Magician had to choose to retreat and avoid dangers for the time being.

More importantly, his strongest Marionettist powers were useless because the gigantic “mushroom” didn’t have any Spirit Body Threads!

Scarlet flames soared up like water, enveloping Klein’s body. He quickly appeared in the flames outside as he jumped towards the ground.

He was just about to distance himself when he heard a howling wind.

The red-capped “mushroom” had come out of the cathedral with the auspices of a strong gust of wind!

It can even fly! Klein snapped his fingers, using Flaming Jump to open up a gap.

Meanwhile, he discovered his nose was itching as he wanted to sneeze.

I’m also sick... How am I supposed to fight? I don’t have any mystical items, and I haven’t been able to fully express my strengths as a Marionettist... It really is a magical mushroom! Klein was at a loss on whether to laugh or cry when he hid inside a building.

Suddenly, he felt his body become somewhat cold as his mind naturally reflected his present appearance.

His ancient triangular hat, dark red coat, white pants, and black boots had vanished. All he had on him was a pair of briefs to uphold his last bit of dignity.

This... Thirty minutes are up. The spell for summoning Senor from the past has ended... Klein instantly understood the reason as he began thinking.

That “mushroom” which fused with parts of Admiral of Blood has likely disappeared as well...

Also, in another fifteen minutes, the effects of the “fish” will disappear. It will lack the main element that forms it...

Klein couldn’t help but curl his lips. He immediately used flames and leaped out. Indeed, as he expected, the gigantic “mushroom” had a ridiculous hole in part of its stem. Furthermore, it couldn’t fix it, causing its speed to slow and become impeded.

Come on, let’s play hide-and-seek... Klein silently said as he began circling the town’s streets, using the flames and buildings to engage in a merry chase with the gigantic “mushroom.”

During this process, the crimson moon didn’t turn clear at all.

After more than ten minutes, the terrifying “mushroom” finally lost its ability to move as it collapsed on the street.

Klein heaved a sigh of relief as he slowly and carefully approached. He saw that the flesh and blood of the “mushroom” was gathering together as points of light converged. Soon, all that was left was a thin human-skinned glove.

This... because of the mutation brought about by the Sequence 1 angel, Creeping Hunger fused with Mr. A? It’s an upgraded version of Creeping Hunger? Klein bent his back as he carefully picked up the human-skinned glove.