Still suspended in mid-air by invisible threads, Lin Huai couldn't care less about his pathetic state.
His mind was filled with the last few words Antigonus had said.
Marionette, Sequence 1, the Evernight Goddess's oracle, severing the puppet strings...
He understood every word, but combined, they left him with an unprecedented sense of confusion and fear.
He felt as if he had fallen into a boundless, giant web woven by the gods, and he was the pathetic moth trapped within it.
"Your Grace..."
Lin Huai's voice was somewhat dry.
"What does'severing the puppet strings' mean? Can you... say something I can understand?"
On Antigonus's face, which combined both age and youth, a trace of pity emerged.
He didn't answer directly, but instead used those deep eyes that seemed capable of seeing through all lies to quietly gaze at Lin Huai.
"Before you became you, you were a Marionette known as 'The World'."
His voice was very light, yet it exploded like thunder in the depths of Lin Huai's soul.
"In the ending of that distant story you should be very familiar with, the Lord of the Mysteries fell into a slumber."
"However, slumber doesn't mean peace. Inside that body named Klein Moretti, two wills began an endless struggle."
"One belongs to His Grace Klein, who had just ascended to the divine throne, the 'Fool' who still retained his humanity."
"And the other belongs to the oldest and most powerful Outer Deity of this Cosmos, the original Lord of the Mysteries, the 'Celestial Worthy'."
Antigonus's words were like a key, instantly opening the floodgates of Lin Huai's memory.
Those fragments he thought were just novel plots now became incomparably real.
"At the same time, those believers of 'The Fool', the members of the Tarot Club, were unconsciously praying to a special 'member' while praying to their Lord."
"They called upon 'The Fool', and they also called upon 'The World'."
"Thus, in the clash of wills between the two generations of the Lord of the Mysteries, and under the nourishment of the faith of countless believers, a miracle occurred."
"The Marionette who walked on behalf of 'The Fool' Klein, Mr. World, birthed true humanity."
Hearing this, Lin Huai's pupils suddenly constricted.
An absurd and terrifying conjecture grew wildly in his mind.
Antigonus seemed to see through his thoughts and continued.
"But this humanity was a gift too heavy for 'The World' at the time. Born in the crevice between the wills of two supreme existences, he went mad."
"His madness almost completely shattered the balance His Grace Klein had finally managed to maintain, allowing that ancient Celestial Worthy to return prematurely."
"At the final moment, His Grace Klein used all his remaining strength to temporarily suppress the mad 'World' and the restless Celestial Worthy."
"It was also then that, with the help of the 'King of Time and Space's' authority over space and time, he sensed the coordinates of another 'key'—the Space Stone belonging to this World."
"So, he threw that mad 'World', along with his own final imprint of humanity, into a rift in space-time and sent them to this World."
Antigonus paused, as if giving Lin Huai time to digest the information.
"Under the violent tearing of crossing the World barrier, and under the protection and segmentation of His Grace Klein's final power, 'The World's' former Beyonder characteristic aggregate completely shattered."
"Some characteristics scattered across this Planet, merging with certain life forms here, waiting to be reawakened."
"Others scattered to other unknown Worlds or returned to our original World."
At this point, Antigonus raised his right hand.
That hand, which belonged to a human, rapidly grew pitch-black fur under his gaze, the nails became sharp, transforming into a hideous wolf claw!
He swiped through the air in Lin Huai's direction!
Lin Huai heard a familiar light chuckle; it was the voice of the Evernight Goddess.
Lin Huai's body shook violently.
An indescribable sense of emptiness instantly swept through his entire body.
---
A connection that existed in the deepest part of his soul, innate and as natural as breathing, was forcibly severed by an irresistible, mighty power!
That was...
That was his connection to Sefirah Castle!
Since he transmigrated, that magnificent palace Above the Gray Fog had always been his greatest reliance and deepest secret.
But now, he couldn't feel it anymore.
He couldn't feel it at all.
It was as if a friend who had always been whispering in your ear had suddenly fallen silent forever.
A sense of unprecedented panic and loss submerged Lin Huai.
"When you, the former 'World', first prayed to 'The Fool' as Lin Huai, the slumbering Sefirah Castle once again projected its power onto this Planet."
"Those Beyonder characteristics you left behind were also awakened, beginning to converge towards you once more."
"Now, do you understand?"
Antigonus withdrew the wolf claw, and it turned back into a human hand.
Lin Huai stared at Antigonus. "So you're saying this World wasn't polluted? Those Beyonder creatures were just mutations caused by Beyonder characteristic pollution? The so-called pollution of the World was just a scam by that old liar, the Celestial Worthy? He wanted me to advance quickly so my connection with Sefirah Castle would deepen, and then he could pollute me again. Is that it?"
Lin Huai recalled all the main materials he had obtained, muttering to himself: "Lava Octopus, Black Panther, Hound of Fulgrim, including this Mist Demon Wolf, they are all creatures mutated by Beyonder characteristic pollution. The human-faced rose and the Gargoyle Core were scattered on Earth or other planes and came to me because of Beyonder characteristic convergence. The star crystal I first obtained...?"
Antigonus replied calmly: "That was a spatial fluctuation generated by massive energy, causing Beyonder characteristics from other planes to fall into this World. As a prophecy of the Lord of the Mysteries, as long as you did that, the star crystal would definitely appear by your side. As for whether your advancement was arranged by the Celestial Worthy or His Grace Klein, I am not sure."
Antigonus looked at the pale-faced, hollow-eyed Lin Huai, his voice remaining gentle.
"You are 'The World' who obtained humanity."
"Thirty years ago, you came to this World. Your former body was torn apart, and your madness was cured as a result."
"You were reborn through the body of a Chinese orphan and lived in a daze for twenty-four years."
"Until you awakened the imprint of humanity His Grace Klein left for you—that 'memory' of 'Lord of the Mysteries'."
"As you recovered those scattered characteristics yourself, or others helped you recover them, you gradually understood your identity as a 'Marionette' and the meaning of your existence."
Lin Huai's mind went blank.
"Though you now have a sense of self, you are still like a Marionette."
Antigonus's voice was like a sharp sword, piercing through Lin Huai's final illusions.
"You are being manipulated by the puppet strings of Sefirah Castle to collect characteristics."
"You are being manipulated by the will of the gods to participate in their plans."
"You are even being manipulated by the 'meaning' of your own existence to fight the Celestial Worthy and help His Grace Klein return."
"Every step you take is in someone else's script. As for whether it's right, you don't know."
Lin Huai fell silent.
Suspended in mid-air, he had never felt so powerless.
"I accepted the oracle of Her Grace the Evernight Goddess."
"She sent me to sever your puppet strings."
"She also told me to tell you..."
"This is the last sentence she knows His Grace Klein said when he sent you to this World."
Antigonus walked up to Lin Huai, his deep eyes reflecting Lin Huai's confused and pained face.
"You are not 'The World', nor are you anyone's Marionette."
"You are yourself."
"Do whatever you want to do."
"As the only existence who possesses both the essence of 'The World' and the memories of His Grace Klein, only you can make the most correct choice."
"But for now, remember one thing."
Antigonus's voice dropped extremely low, like a warning from the Abyss.
"Sefirah Castle is untrustworthy, for Sefirah Castle is only loyal to the Lord of the Mysteries."
"Klein is untrustworthy, for He might not be Klein."
"The Fool is untrustworthy, for there is no longer a Fool, only the Lord of the Mysteries."
"The gods are untrustworthy, for the gods only wish for a Lord of the Mysteries to be born."
Even..." He pointed at himself, a strange smile appearing on his face, "I am untrustworthy."
"Because I only wish to advance to Attendant of Mysteries. As for who is the Lord of the Mysteries, it doesn't matter to me."
"In this giant scam where even the gods are deeply mired..."
"The only person you can trust is yourself."
"The oracle I received was to tell you these things. Whether you believe it or not is for you to decide. My mission is complete."
"Your Excellency Lin Huai, I have left one of the Miracle Invoker characteristics I've released in this World. Based on Beyonder characteristic convergence, you will surely find it. This is my deal with the Lord of the Mysteries.