In the northern part of the Loen Kingdom, the September breeze, that had an additional coldness to it, howled through the cemetery. It was even gloomier and colder than usual.
The cold jolted Klein back to his senses as he muttered to himself about resurrection, minced body and secrets of transmigration.
"Secrets behind transmigration... Selina!" His heart palpitated.
She's a transmigrator! Similar to me! She'll be alive! She'll be fine!
Boom!
Right as Klein was about to carry the rest of his body up from his tombstone. Heavy downpour suddenly came to drench him.
"What a luck. I'm the King of Yellow and Black who wields goodluck but it just had to be now?" Klein lampooned as he withdrew his hand from testing the rain. His hair was now drenched.
...
Patter! Patter! Patter!
After half a minute, Klein buttoned his suit and realized that he was wearing his newest shirt and tuxedo, but they were now covered in soil, dirt and is soaked in the rain.
"I had to find a shelter for us to warm up once I see her." He scanned the vicinity, the tombs that laid there and began to wonder.
"Where is she anyway? Is the resurrection takes a bit longer for another person?"
Then, Klein lifted his left hand and saw the topaz pendant that was still wrapped around his wrist.
"I guess this is considered a burial object?" He gave a self-deprecating laugh and took off the pendulum.
"I can search for Captain's tomb with this. But first I want to see if Selina finally woke up." A second later, he figured that it would be best to divine her tomb. He took four counterclockwise motion and proceeded to ascend into the gray fog.
Klein took the seat of Honor as usual and conjured up a topaz pendulum. He wrote in a goatskin parchment:
"Selina's tomb location."
This time around, he felt slightly more relaxed. If she's able to resurrect, that meant that destiny was really just his lack of information about transmigrators.
He leaned back to his chair, then recited the sentence seven times under Cogitation. Klein entered a dream.
In the hazy dreamworld filled with darkness. A light under a pouring rain brought a scene of a tomb, etched on it is "Selina Roy" followed by "Best future younger sister, best colleague, best, caring and gentle future sister."
Klein's mouth twitched. "Very forward..."
Then, he memorized the location before exiting the dream and plummeting back to his heavily cold body.
He took a look one last time at his own tomb when he returned.
... Benson and Melissa really have no idea how to save money... The thought popped into his head. He supported his weight on his hand and flipped up into a standing position, realizing that he still had his Clown abilities.
The best elder brother... The best younger brother... The best colleague... Klein looked at his tombstone and read the inscription. He felt his heart wince, seemingly sensing the despondent feelings Melissa and Benson had experienced.
This is probably even more depressing than watching Captain die before my eyes...He sighed and retracted his gaze. He squatted down and closed the coffin lid.
His thoughts were still scattered, but Klein knew that he had to take care of the scene as soon as possible and not let anyone notice.
Resurrection wasn't something any commoner could accept!
If the Nighthawks, Mandated Punishers, or the Machinery Hivemind learned of this, Klein believed that he wouldn't have a great ending. Of course, if it was on Earth, he could deceive the people into believing that he was the blessed one of God, the man of salvation, had he consumed the Lawyer or Swindler potions. However, in the world he was in, there was a real god, a real god that could respond to rituals!
He scraped the soil back together and covered it with the stone slab. Klein clapped his hands and stood up once again.
At that moment, the scene didn't appear strange. He was just like a gentleman who came to offer his condolences late at night. The only oddity was that the person in the photo on the tombstone looked exactly like him.
During the process of filling his grave, his spirituality noticed the existence of Azik's copper whistle. Hence, he dug it out and wiped it clean.
However, Klein didn't intend to summon the messenger immediately. He decided to find Selina first and ascertain her condition.
"Her tomb should be there." He started walking around.
Then, he gradually slowed down. Why was she taking a bit slower? Is it different for other transmigrators?
Under the pouring rain, Klein kept an arm to shelter his vision from blurring. However, he suddenly started pacing.
Heh, we're both transmigrators, I am merely leveraging where we came from, not hoarding it...
I don't hoard it. Especially for her... She should be digging out of her grave right now, confused like I was...
Klein's heart suddenly wince. Her hands... they couldn't possibly dig out of the soil with her hands...
What if she starts bleeding? Reaching this point, he wasn't pacing anymore, he was jogging.
Then she won't be able to breathe... Klein ran.
She'll die again out of suffocation, and I won't be there to help her!
He sprinted, as fast as he can. Klein's eyes browsed each tomb he saw until he crossed a name that was blurred from the motion of his movement—"Selina."
After turning around, he finally stopped right before her tomb. Selina looked gorgeous in her photo, something he couldn't see before because of Ince Zangwill.
He waited there for exactly five seconds. He didn't heard any sounds. Anxious and feeling unbearable, he squatted down and couldn't contain himself away from 'helping' her anymore.
Selina is alive...
Klein clawed at the dirt like he did for his grave. His pupils were getting colder by seconds.
Selina is alive... He repeated inside.
Selina is alive. Selina is alive. Selina is alive!
The dirt that was being brought aside gradually until it formed a mound behind.
Klein didn't stopped. In the heavy rain where his ears are numbed by the clattering of the drops, each pauses he made are seconds Selina remained suffocating.
His thoughts were full of desire, wanting a smile from the transmigrator that might only be the one left in this era, the one he swore, promised to return home safe.
"Just promise you'll find me too."
"We'll return home. I promise."
Pant! Pant! Pant! Klein's fingers became cold, his movements became frantic and desperate.
Selina is a transmigrator! The gray fog shouldn't have biases on any transmigrators it brought! Klein isn't exceptional!
That was what kept burying Klein under the immense drowning thoughts. Then at that moment, his dirt stained fingers finally hit a dark oak, the coffin's lid!
Klein held his breath. His anticipation spiked. He recalled over the times Selina had teased him, she's sometimes a teaser, it's likely she'll burst out of the coffin and hug him very tightly!
His trembling hands extended toward the lid. Silence took over him. Divination wouldn't be suitable because he already knows Selina is alive!
At the moment Klein undid the lid as his soiled hands was washed by the rain. The heavy coffin's pane fell with a resounding thud.
Selina's visage—resting against her back, her beautiful eyelashes glistens under the rain, her neatly tied braided-bun hair resembled elegance even in the comfort of the death, she had her hands placed together, holding a silver pocket watch engraved with her initials.
Klein fell into a daze. He saw an irreversible truth. The permanent indication of finality.
What is this? This shouldn't happen!
Selina, she's a transmigrator, why couldn't she resurrect like Klein?
Just open your eyes! It's as simple as that!
The gray fog's seat of honor... Klein buckled down and his knees plopped to the floor. He lost all strength as he just gaze onto the distant.
I sat there... as Mr. Fool... I was using the gray fog, the origin of our transmigrator...
He slowly casted his frozen eyes toward the peaceful Selina. I stole it... I deprived her to live...
I-I... His dark-brown eyes surged in pain as tears truly came down to chin and colliding with the rain.
Klein lifted Selina's lifeless body, brought it close to his chest and looked up. A loud roar from him tore through the sounds of the gray curtains pelting amid the scene of tombs and distant lamplights.
He's now alone. Truly alone. Hundreds of scenes replayed in his mind like a tempestuous tapestry.
When they first met. Selina was shocked turned to smile.
"Uh... hi."
"My name is Selina Roy. You must be Mr. Moretti? I'm pleased to meet you."
When they got to talked inside a carriage.
"You have siblings? Who are they?"
When they confessed.
"So it's you... I'm glad it's you..."
"Every safety needs to celebrated."
"Such a money pincher King Sun."
"Remember my three conditions!"
"You always tend to forget when you're overly excited."
"Clown. It already suits you hehe."
"Just promise you'll find me too."
Klein's silence made his scalp suddenly churned. Out of nowhere, grey blemishes began to sprout, hairs that did not resembled hairs protruded from every inch of his joints.
What a mock of fate. What an inequitable turn of destiny.
Klein is alive and Selina is not?
Then why not just let the other die?
"I was just gone for a day and you already look like this?"
"Seemed you did not heard me King Sun."
"We are guardians. Don't forget the 'we' in the saying!"
"I forgive you. But don't do that again! I forbid you!"
"Tell me, ask me, I don't like how you keep this alone."
Klein's thoughts were turning blank. His emotions began to deteriorate and he could feel body burning up, as if his joints was urging him to bend the pain away, let the mask in.
He doesn't know what to put on as he stared blankly with the memories of her. If this continues, perhaps, Klein might lose control.
It was all his fault. He should've abided her conditions.
If he believed, and initiated a city rundown. Maybe Selina wouldn't have died.
Ince Zangwill would've been driven away.
"Don't blame yourself."
Selina's voice rang inside his mind.
A sliver of glint appeared on Klein's eyes for a brief moment.
"Clowns smile. So smile!"
"Hehe, I just realized a perfect acting principle for you. Smile for me... will you? I can't recognize you."
At that moment. Klein's lips twitched painfully. His mouth would tremble, sometimes curling, often falling. The raindrops continued to make a mess of his face.
The hairs that are taking forms began to retract back to being corporeal.
Then, Klein finally smiled. "Hah. Ha. Ha."
"I can't recognize you."
"Haha... hahaha..." Klein looked above. His eyes turning quietly insane. He held Selina's peaceful face to his chest and he used the Clown powers to its furthest extent.
He made himself smile even wider.
"HAHAHA! HAHAHA!"
Painful. It hurts. Selina do you recognize me?
"HAHAHA! HAHAHA!"
Selina... I'm smiling...
"HAHAHA! HAHAHA!"
Captain. We saved Tingen. Look, I'm happy!
"HAHAHA! HAHAHA!"
Won't anyone recognize me? Selina... wake up and recognize me.
"Hahaha... Haha... ha..." Klein's burning and aching throat slowly calmed down. His crazy laugh failed to reach anywhere. He felt a puddle of water forming around his knees, reflecting his image.
He looked terrifying. He appeared horrifyingly morbid, like a lunatic, a maniac, and a fool. Who would actually find Klein in this face?
It's most likely Selina. But she's gone.
Klein bent his head down. He stayed that way for quite sometime. Not saying anything.
Under the pouring, heavy rain. He felt something was breaking from inside him. Sliding faster as if it would drown him.
But he's already drowning. His clown "mask" looked very happy now than ever.
Before Klein realized it, he was grinning again, he widened it into a frightening, crazy, but joyful smile.
At this moment. The Clown potion inside him was digested instantly.
"Ince Zangwill. Lanevus. Marvik.
"... I'll find all of you."