Luke found himself suspended midair, surrounded by darkness.
He was aware of his own presence.
Other than that, he could feel or sense nothing.
It was like someone had stripped him of his faculties and left him a simpleton, confined to stare at the darkness forever.
There was one thing he could still depend upon, though.
A thing that he could call out to, even if he lost his mind to corruption.
"Where…" Words scrambled out of Luke's mouth involuntarily. "… are we, Miss…"
[Shhhhhh…] Miss Justice shushed him. [She's here!]
And, with those words, blueness washed over him, the darkness condensing to take the shape of a massive hole, carrying blue radiance at its periphery.
The change didn't end there, though.
The Blue Hole morphed once again, gaining… curves.
Luke stared at the womanly figure, seemingly as tall as a world, looking down upon him.
[What is it that your Mr. Fool believes in?] Singularity asked.
Luke's heart thumped, Miss Justice gasping in his mind simultaneously.
This wasn't the first time Singularity had appeared to him.
The first time, it had happened right after his return, when he and Nyx had altered his father's prophetic dream, permanently changing his future.
Then, She had personally appeared to him as Momo, inadvertently helping him digest his Apprentice potion. If it hadn't been for the System, then Luke would have never realized it hadn't been Momo, but Singularity in her appearance.
Since then, Luke had faced both Singularity and Conformity many times.
Conformity had gone as far as to label him a Sinner for following a foreign God.
But this was the first time Singularity had directly asked him about Mr. Fool, whose faith She had tacitly let spread in the world.
Also, for Her to ask him this question, and for Her to appear to him like this, meant that She now knew Gehrman Sparrow was none other than Dr. Blessed, who was none other than Luke.
That was good as well.
For a long time, Luke had wanted to have a direct conversation with this existence.
Now, all he had to do was make sure he didn't leave without getting answers.
"Fair and equivalent exchange," Luke replied.
[…] Singularity remained silent.
[Yeah, you tell her, Mr. Devil of the Tarot Club!] Miss Justice screamed, giving him two thumbs up. [No one takes advantage of us… I mean the Tarot Club members!!!]
"…" Luke.
[Very well, then, Dr. Blessed,] Singularity said, Her worldly figure pulsating rhythmically with every word. [For every answer, I will humor one of your questions. Be warned, though. Lie, and you will lose this privilege.]
Luke gulped.
Could Singularity tell if he was lying or not?
[Don't take the risk, I think,] Miss Justice guided. [If you can't answer without lying, just Pass.]
Luke's lips twitched wryly.
[What was the item you used to steal Alexander's corrupt fate?] Singularity began.
Luke instantly felt astonished.
In one use, She understood how the Fate Siphon Charm worked?!
Luke had received two Worms of Time through Amon.
The first was when He had parasitized him just before visiting the Gray Castle after becoming a Faceless.
The second was when He had parasitized Nyx right after both she had left Midoriya's mind, along with a corrupted Luke.
The two Worms of Time had remained at the Apostles of Mr. Fool's HQ, properly sealed under Melissa's care.
The only reason Luke hadn't discarded them was because of Miss Justice.
The System had told him that he could turn those Worms of Time into powerful Charms called Fate Siphon Charms, which could graft a target's fate upon the user or vice versa.
All it needed was a proper ritual and Mr. Fool's blessing.
As there was no transfer of any corruption through the channel between him and the Gray Castle, Luke had easily turned the two Worms of Time into Fate Siphon Charms.
However, because of the scarcity of the main ingredient involved in their creation, Luke had only kept one Charm on him, letting the other one remain at HQ. In that way, if needed, any of the Apostles could use it as per the demand of the situation, especially in cases where Amon compromised both him and Nyx.
If it hadn't been for this Charm, then…
But Luke had a feeling that Singularity's curiosity wasn't about the Charm itself, but the power it held.
[Fate Siphon Charm,] he answered.
She had asked him a simple question.
A simple answer he would give Her, then.
Now, it was his turn to ask something that had been storming in his mind for a long time.
"If you can invade the mind of any person with a Quirk," Luke asked, "then why didn't you stop Star from making The Boundary transparent?"
[I cannot invade the mind of every person with a Quirk,] Singularity answered. [As the assumption precedes your question, it becomes invalid. My turn. Does Mr. Fool's authority lie in the realm of Fate?]
"…" Luke continued to stare at Singularity, dumbstruck.
Invalid?
INVALID?!
Did She… Did She just outplay him for a question?!
[If Nyx were here, she would call Her a… Bitch!] Miss Justice said, slightly hesitating. [That's also an assumption. Tell Her that.]
Luke shared the System's frustration.
Who knew how many questions Singularity wanted him to answer?
What if this question was the last one, and then She would disappear?
If that was so, then didn't it mean he had lost his one chance — a once-in-a-lifetime kind of chance — to know more about Singularity and Conformity?
I need to be smarter about it, Luke thought. Can't ask just about anything… if I can ask more… Tch!
"Probably," he answered Her. "I am not sure."
Singularity kept quiet for a moment, making Luke's heartbeat speed up.
Then, through the blue radiance pulsating around Her vast, womanly figure, he had the impression that She had just nodded to Herself.
[Ask.]
A wave of relief washed over him.
[What are you thinking of asking this time?] Miss Justice asked.
Luke's lips instantly twitched, realizing Miss Justice was worried about him asking another stupidly worded question.
But he had already learned his lesson.
Still, once he told Miss Justice what he was going to ask and got a nod from her, only then did he open his mouth.
"What is The Boundary?" Luke asked.
This time when Singularity replied, he had the impression that She had just smiled, saying —
— [Pass.]