Her gaze darted in every direction, but her eyes remained obscured by the mist, preventing her from seeing beyond her nose. Her steps halted abruptly as she sensed a slight movement in the fog surrounding her; it began to swirl around her, making her its epicenter. Morgana examined the ever-shifting mist; her spirit was tense, ready to react immediately to the slightest anomaly that began to manifest itself after her arrival.
This sudden event could be seen as an indicator of possible retaliation from the barrier, which was beginning to repel their intrusion. However, against all odds, the mist began to dissipate: first from above, revealing a blue sky that was no longer visible, until finally the fog surrounding it also dissipated, revealing a completely unexpected environment.
"This..." the Angel blinked in disbelief.
Of all the sights he could have imagined, the one that now stretched before his eyes had never been one of them.
It was as if the sun had never set, as if the apocalypse had never happened, and therefore nothing had shattered the peace of this world. The village before her remained untouched, its inhabitants bustling about in the early hours of the day, living proof that life still thrived there.
The Angel frowned; the village seemed vaguely familiar. It had no connection to her human life, nor to her erratic time; if she wasn't imagining the connection, then it was possible that this village was one she and her Lord had visited a century or two ago during their travels through Russian territory.
"But a place like this, even four hundred years ago, was impossible," he shook his head; in his memories there was no place as idyllic as this after the apocalypse.
Even if the sun still existed and the sky had been blue in the past, such an exposed and visible village would have been mercilessly attacked by the crazed spirits beyond. This thought opened a door to another, far more plausible answer.
~Perhaps I visited its ruins?
It was very likely. During his travels with the Lord, he had visited numerous ruined places, from villages to large, desolate cities.
"Everything humanity built now lies in ruins," he recalled with a certain sadness that was overshadowed by the emergence of a new suspicion. "Is this place trying to make me stay by showing me such a peaceful place?"
A new, young, and innocent voice pulled her from her thoughts:
"Miss, are you lost?" The Angel turned around, meeting the curious gazes of a small group of children; from what she could see, none of them seemed to be older than ten.
The language they spoke to her in was Russian; she was glad that she had studied it and that her own extraordinary abilities facilitated her understanding it.
Morgana remained silent, weighing her options. She had to be cautious; if the purpose of that space was to deceive her into losing track of her original time, any misstep could be dangerous. Acting against the script could lead her into even more perilous situations.
"Even if this is a space-time distortion, as the Lord said, I mustn't forget that it was created by a being as deceptive as the Ancient Lord of Mysteries," he reflected with growing distrust. "He doesn't use brute force; he prefers to manipulate his victims like chess pieces. Therefore, this place must follow his logic, which means I must play along, act as if everything were real, never forgetting that everything around me is just a theater with thousands of puppets."
"Miss?" the boy insisted when he received no answer.
Morgana tilted her head, pretending to listen.
"You may be a Pillar, but I can play too without getting lost"—a smile touched her lips, as fake as it was genuine; only Merlin could have recognized it and would undoubtedly have scolded her—"Pretending everything is real and not an echo of time? Easy. It's my specialty."
"I'm sorry, I was lost in thought," she apologized, softening her gaze. "It's my first time here, and I was captivated by the beauty of your home. In fact, I was thinking... what if some little angels like you guided me?"
Her performance was flawless, without any flaws that betrayed the artifice. Only an eye as discerning as Merlin's, who had spent so much time with her, could have detected what to any other observer was simply a kind young newcomer. After all, the girl who watches actors pretend will one day make that habit her own.
The children were thrilled with the request. Illusions or not, a child should act like one.
"That would be great... But we have to go to school," one of them lamented.
The rest of the group became discouraged upon remembering it; their faces went from hope to tired resignation, typical of someone who is forced to study.
"I see..." Morgana brought her hand to her chin and pretended to think. "In that case, how about you show me around your school?" Her expression brightened again. "That way you'll continue to be my guides while you go to class."
—That's a great idea!
—The teacher will congratulate us for helping!
Morgana let herself be carried along, maintaining a kind smile. However, her eyes stealthily scrutinized every detail of the path, and her spirituality remained alert to any threat.
"I've never seen such beautiful hair and eyes as yours," one of the girls' sudden compliment caught her attention. "I wish mine were like that."
The little girl had black hair and brown eyes, completely ordinary features. Even Morgana recognized that there was nothing special about them.
An idea crossed her mind, so amusing that it made her want to smile, but she struggled to suppress it, maintaining only a warm expression. It was crucial if she wanted to carry out her plan.
"It's true that I attract attention wherever I go, but it's not something I like. This appearance wasn't originally mine either." The children stared at her, wide-eyed. "You don't know how strange it is to look in the mirror and not find a familiar face, but one that's almost completely foreign."
—Can't it go back to how it was before?
Morgana bent down and stroked the girl's cheek.
"No, I can't," the little ones said, making faces of pity, as if they were the ones affected. "Don't be sad for me. It's not all bad; this aspect, though unfamiliar, still pleases me."
She watched the children display conflicting emotions and smiled inwardly, satisfied. As illusions of this space, deceiving them meant, therefore, deceiving him.
And there is no better deception than one built on a truth.
He had taken the first step to make the barrier think he was starting to convince her to stay. But it was quite the opposite: she was perfectly lucid.
"How about we head back?" he said, getting up and winking at them. "You don't want to be late for school, do you?"
The children didn't seem to notice the abrupt change of subject and immediately regained their good humor.
The remaining journey wasn't long, and soon a small school appeared in the distance. At the entrance, a woman with blue eyes and black hair was looking at them with obvious nervousness and worry.
Upon seeing them arrive, he ran towards the group.
"Do you know how worried I was when you didn't arrive?" she scolded them, making the children look away. "I was about to call your parents."
"Someone asked us for help! She was lost," one of them excused himself, and the others nodded vigorously.
The teacher raised an eyebrow.
"Who asked you for help?" Everyone turned and pointed at the white-haired Angel. "Wait a minute... It's you!"
Morgana raised an eyebrow at the sudden recognition. She wondered what story the space had created for her.
But he couldn't figure it out. Before he could take a step, the environment shifted.
The Angel of Liberty stood firm and watched as its surroundings transformed into a kaleidoscopic mix of colors. When the space stabilized, the differences were obvious.
The sun, which had been peeking over the horizon, was now about to set. In the rays of the setting sun, the Angel noticed that her surroundings had also changed: many of the structures that had once surrounded her were gone, and those that remained looked much newer. Her attention focused on the school; it had once been well-maintained, but now its deterioration was obvious.
"Did time move forward or backward?" he murmured, his eyes squinting.
It wasn't impossible. She was in a place where space-time was scrambled; it was logical that she would be dragged along by its distortions from time to time.
But this also meant that her previous theory was partially wrong: that place wasn't trying to deceive her with a single scene… perhaps it wanted her to get completely lost in the chaos.
Even so, she could do nothing more than play along and live out each scenario chosen for her. It wasn't wrong to act according to the scenario, as long as she didn't forget when to break character. She wasn't a mind reader to get too deeply into character.
Out of simple curiosity, she walked toward the school. Inside, its condition was even worse: cracked and peeling walls, overgrown grass, and rusty rides that creaked with an unpleasant sound. Suddenly, the creaking started again, even though she hadn't touched anything. Turning toward the noise, she glimpsed a little girl with black hair and blue eyes gently rocking on the swing farthest from the playground.
The Angel's sharp eyes quickly registered the girl's facial features, which in his mind matched almost completely with those of the teacher he had seen earlier.
~That's her as a child —there was no doubt~~That means I only went back a few decades… although it could also simply be a relative who looks very similar.
A playful smile formed on her face as she looked up at the sky. A bell tolled in the distance, but her ears didn't seem to register it.
~This ritual will be much more entertaining than I thought —she lowered her gaze, focusing on the girl~~ Hehe, let's see what you have prepared for the next act.
----------------
The Angel's expression didn't change when Zhou Mingrui gave him a wary, suspicious look after hearing his words. On the contrary, he seemed to find a strange amusement in being able to frighten himself.
"Wake up? I'm already awake," he replied confidently, adjusting his half-fallen glasses. "Aren't you the one who needs to wake up?"
"No, you're not," he stated without moving. "You've been immersed in this beautiful dream for centuries while everything outside was disappearing."
Zhou Mingrui seemed increasingly bewildered as he listened. The magician was then forced to admit that perhaps it was a bad idea to call the daily life of a programmer who always worked overtime a "beautiful dream."
Well, compared to the outside world, many would prefer to just go to work—Merlin himself preferred it that way. I'd better concentrate. I can't let myself get carried away with the fun of making fun of my other self.
He scolded himself, aware that he had begun to develop a more playful personality —something more than just a facade he used before— since acquiring Sefirah Castle just a few hours ago.
"I must be careful; if I speak too much, even though this part of me isn't extraordinary yet, it could break," he reminded himself, staring intently at Zhou. "I can't afford to lose this part of my soul over such a stupid mistake."
"Are you sure you're alright?" Zhou asked cautiously, but his words hid another meaning: "Are you sure you didn't escape from a mental hospital?"
Merlin's expression didn't change as he grasped the subtext, but inwardly he was seething with amusement. Wasn't it ironic that Zhou Mingrui, a fragment of his own soul, would call him crazy? His humanity seemed to increase slightly with that thought.
"If I'm crazy, doesn't that mean you are too?" he didn't dare say aloud. "After all, I am the fragment born from all the identities you forged on the journey that began with you and Klein."
Instead, he smiled at her and said, while slightly lowering his hat to hide his eyes:
"Yes, I can assure you I'm fine and in my right mind, thank you for asking," he scolded himself internally because his tone sounded too amused, which only fueled his other self's suspicions. "Do you want proof that this is a dream and not just a bad joke?" he offered kindly. "First, let's make him understand that everything around him is an illusion."
kind of test?" Zhou asked, taking a step back, worried that the madman might ask him to do something drastic. "How did I end up getting involved with this mental patient? He's not going to suggest I jump off a building to see if I come out unscathed, is he?!"
The magician snapped his fingers with an enthusiastic smile and pointed at him.
"It's simple. Why don't you try talking to some of the people who are just passing through?" he suggested softly, trying not to sound like a mere charlatan. "Their answers will reveal the truth you refuse to see."
Zhou Mingrui narrowed his eyes in clear distrust, but didn't refuse. The programmer expected a more drastic request from the madman; compared to what he imagined, harassing a random person wasn't so difficult. Even if he had to endure dirty looks from a stranger, he preferred that a thousand times over to having to keep putting up with this madman.
Looking around, Zhou chose a boy who appeared to be a little younger than him.
—Excuse me, could you answer a question for me? —As he tried to place his hand on the young man's shoulder, the young man passed right through him—What the hell?!
The incident caused Zhou Mingrui's eyes to widen in shock; his mind went into disbelief as he struggled to process what he had just witnessed. The young man, meanwhile, unfazed by what had happened, continued on his way as if nothing had occurred.
Zhou turned his head in every direction, searching for looks of surprise or disbelief, but it was as if no one could see him; as if they were all following a pre-established script they weren't willing to deviate from. Finally, Zhou seemed to give up on finding a logical explanation and turned to the Madman, who was now looking at him with a broad smile and a clear glint of amusement in his eyes.
"Are you laughing at my reaction?" Zhou didn't know whether to feel angry at the other's blatant mockery or fearful of the illogical event that no one but him seemed to have noticed. "Did you do that? What are you planning?" Zhou took a step back with each accusation that escaped his lips.
"Me?" He raised an eyebrow at the accusation. "I told you this is your dream. My arrival has interrupted it." He approached with quick steps, but kept a certain distance so as not to make him more nervous than necessary. "My presence has given you the clarity you need to see the truth of this world." He leaned slightly toward him. "Are you going to waste it and continue living a lie?"
Zhou Mingrui remained silent, unsure how to respond. He no longer cared about his proximity to the man. When the keyboard warrior raised his head, his eyes were still trembling, but now there was a great resolve in them, one that seemed to overshadow his innate fear of the unknown.
"No," she replied, her voice still hesitant. "If this world is truly a dream... I want to discover how I got here and, above all, how to get out." Her voice had now gained great firmness.
This resolute and determined behavior, despite the obvious fear and trembling in his body, stirred a strange emotion in the Magician. His lips trembled, and he couldn't suppress the emotion that formed a huge smile, quite unlike any he had shown before.
"Yes, you were always the part of my soul with the most ardent will. Whether it was the desire to return to a lost home or to protect others, you never allowed yourself to lose hope"—the smile wasn't one of amusement or cynicism, but of pride—"Thanks to your resilience we were able to endure so many misfortunes, defeat seemingly invincible enemies, and reach the top of the sequence."
Merlin tilted his head to one side and asked again, although he was already sure of the answer; he wanted direct confirmation.
"Do you want to know the truth?" he asked, still smiling but this time with a hint of mockery. "Even if it's so painful that it could tear your soul apart just by knowing it?"
He was looking for more proof; he wanted to confirm that that immense will was still there, latent in the soul of a simple computer programmer.
And Zhou Mingrui did not disappoint him.
"Is it worth living in a world of illusions?" she asked in a trembling but firm whisper. "Can you even call that life? I don't think so... and you don't seem to think so either." She lowered her head wearily. "Even if reality is hell, shouldn't I face it instead of finding solace in a sea of lies?"
The Madman straightened his head, unable to hide his satisfaction.
—You're right—he nodded. —What kind of life is this if everything around you is an illusion?
Zhou remained silent as the madman's gaze seemed to cloud over as he delved into his thoughts.
"I'm glad you haven't changed... I suppose it was just an unfounded fear born of my doubts, my worry that time travel might have affected you." She closed her eyes, understanding a sweet truth. "That means there's a chance that those I met are still themselves, and not mere recreations born of my interference."
With a smooth, elegant turn, he turned his back on Zhou. The Angelic Clown was now completely adept at controlling his body to make every gesture dramatic.
"Let's go somewhere quieter," she suggested, looking over his shoulder with almost golden eyes. "Now that you've made a decision, I'll tell you a long story that wouldn't be right to hear in the middle of the street."
Without giving any further clues, he began to walk; his figure was about to disappear among the puppets when his fragment reacted.
"A story?" She blinked and followed him with quick steps. "What story?"
Merlin did not stop, but he showed a nostalgic expression.
—Our story… The one that destiny imposed on us and… the one we will create with our own hands.
The magician and the programmer disappeared into the crowd. The dream had finally taken a different turn.
Notes: