Saturday, September 15th, 1349 Tingen City, Raphael Cemetery at 9am.
Few days earlier.
Dunn Smith, Captain of the Arcanists' BlackThorn Branch, watched as Daly Simone and Royale Reideen's coffins were being lowered in the ground little by little.
He had a passive look on his face, almost looking indifferent, but people who were familiar with him knew the unending turmoil in his chest.
His vision became focused on the trail of smoke coming from his pipe, while his head played memories over and over again—at least the ones he could still remember vividly.
It hurt.
It hurt so much.
Dunn Smith wasn't an emotional man, but for the first time in ages, tears threatened to mark his face.
Leonard, Kenley and Frye stood nearby, all with the same sorrowful expressions, while Seeka and Rozanne were tightly embracing each other—holding in for support.
Sadly, Evelyn was still in a coma, kept in the hospital room at the castle, so she was unable to attend the funeral.
Still, it was better than having another coffin to throw flowers on.
Leonard silently gritted his teeth, for some reason he felt at fault.
If it hadn't been for that old man—if it hadn't—
He didn't finish that thought.
It was already far too late.
Everything concerning the aftermath has been handled by the Leader with utmost care.
None of the churches even realized what happened until it was over, partly because the entire struggle had been concealed by the enemy.
Still, Leonard had a question.
Why?
Why would someone like Her want a notebook? No—why does old man, Pallez want that damn notebook too.
He realized the hurriedness to which the old man wanted to acquire the notebook, going so far as to involve him in this mess, but not enough to bring him to danger.
The sole reason why Leonard even became entangled in the chain of deaths and this grand plan was simply because of the aged voice's request.
He silently posed the question. "Old man, why did you want this?"
It was low enough only for his own ears to hear.
The aged voice in his head sprung back to life. "That notebook could almost be called a family heirloom."
"What?"
"A stolen heirloom."
Leonard chose to stay silent, careful to not sound like he's talking to himself and also to nudge the old man to continue.
"One of my great grandfathers, a founding member of the Zoroast family, went mad after deciphering the contents of a notebook. I believe that this is the one I'm talking about.
"My father told me that He found the secret to becoming stronger than the True Gods—not just stronger, but mightier than everything in this world."
Leonard had a shocked expression, one he tried hard to mask. He whispered again. "Stronger than a True God? Is that even possible?"
He couldn't see the old man but he could swear he gave an approving nod.
"Yes, hadn't I told you about the Ancient Sun God? He ruled over the entire world during the Third Epoch, making everyone deathly afraid of him, with the sole exception of one other deity.
"That deity could stand side by side with Him, but hadn't reached His level for an unknown reason, but that didn't matter—even the present gods are still fearful of Him—so much so that they tried with all their efforts to ease Him from history."
Leonard moved to a quiet corner, unnoticed and made the voice continue.
"That deity also had a Church and believers, He was strong and potent but also at times evil."
"Evil? Didn't you say that the Sun God was righteous? Why would he side with the evil?"
"I said 'at times' you moron. Of course someone with virtue like Him wouldn't just make an alliance with a completely evil deity. It's just that I cannot tell you why that happened, you're not strong enough yet."
Leonard sighed dejectedly, but soon shifted back to a serious expression.
The old man hasn't shared so much in ages!
"Anyways, the notebook is believed to belong to that Ancient Evil God, and the Zoroast ancestor gave it to the Zaratul family for some unstated reason—later, that ancestor perished too."
"Zaratul family? You mean the leader of the Secret Order?"
"Exactly. Now I have no idea why it ended up in the hands of the Aurora Order, or why She also wishes to get Her hands on it, but it's far too dangerous for us to shove our noses in anymore.
"We can't do so anymore either, as we're now under the watchful gaze of Gehrman Sparrow."
For some reason, after hearing the names and details of so many deities, Gehrman Sparrow's eyes brought closure.
He would much rather be in a leash than completely dead!
And death wasn't even the worst outcome!
How scary!!!
A small shiver ran down his back, making the cold somber morning feel even worse.
At least now he had answers to his questions, he knew that the old man was some powerful big shot at some point but is now weakened, that he is part of a Fourth Epoch family that perished and that the notebook belonged to a potentially evil deity.
But there was one more thing.
Evelyn Dusk.
"Old man, why did you want me to investigate Evelyn Dusk and The Fool?"
"You fucking idiot. How about you get a puzzle and start putting two and two together?"
Leonard frowned at the sudden disrespect, but then again—the old man was never nice or respectful ever since he shoved himself in his body.
He thought about his own question for a second, then widened his eyes as if suddenly hit by an epiphany. "You don't mean—"
"Oh, finally for God's sake! You figured it out! Yes, the deity Evelyn believes in, The Fool, might be the same one I mentioned.
"Key word 'might'. I'm quite unsure, and I don't want to base myself on blind belief."
"But what about the notebook? I didn't see Evelyn trying so hard to get it."
"Well one wouldn't want to read what they wrote wouldn't they? That would be boring."
"Shall we mention this to Gehrman Sparrow?"
"No! Didn't you see the preferential treatment she received from Him? There's a high possibility that he's either in cahoots with The Fool, or that he's using Evelyn to spy on His movements.
"Eitherway, mentioning this only puts a fat red target on our backs."
Leonard's eyelid twitched slightly, by now the two holes started to be filled up and soon enough—both bodies will never touch the rays of sunlight again.
He made the triangular sacred emblem on his chest, although not religious—perhaps because he's part of an illegal organization—but in these moments the benevolence of a god was welcome.
The poet felt his heart well up in sadness, but he kept the tears to himself. In his mind one question remained, one which not even the old man could answer—how did Evelyn survive?
From what the self proclaimed doctors of the organization said, Evelyn's entire upper body had been fractured to pieces, she had lost an incredible amount of blood and her heart stopped completely. Yet, she was still alive.
The aged voice in his head kept silent, it wasn't clear whether he fell asleep or just pretended to be left alone.
Leonard took a pack of cigarettes from his inner coat pocket—it was a new one fresh, that he got from Daly's belongings.
He knew the Spirit Medium didn't smoke, despite her shady appearance, so there was no reason for her to keep a pack of cigarettes.
This was something that puzzled Leonard until the thought manifested in his mind—it must be Evelyn's.
He didn't know if she smoked or not, but he knew that it belonged to her—even if she herself didn't know it.
But since he ran out of his own pack, smoking his shit as he got the news that almost all were dead, he decided to indulge in one for the time being.
She wouldn't mind.
***
Same place, different time, different day.
Amanises read the epitaph on Daly Simone and Royale Reideen's tombstones.
Here lies the one with the spirits, she now belongs to her kin sleeping besides corpses.
And,
The best colleague, friend and daughter one could ever ask for; you will be forever in our hearts, our souls, our very beings.
As she read them through half lidded eyes—her hand instinctively reached out for her pocket, until she realized she was wearing a dark dress.
With a sigh, her hand trailed upwards to her coat's inner pocket, taking the cigarette pack.
She knew that Leonard had already taken one out before, but didn't feel like confronting him—this was a small, unimportant matter.
The pack itself was bought by Daly, she wanted to give it to Evelyn, who had endured so much stress ever since coming here, and debated on giving it to her the moment she mentioned smoking.
Fffff! The warm smoke turned cold, dissipating slowly as it reached the sky.
Step, step.
Amanises heard the sounds of footsteps approaching at a slow pace, as if the one walking was trying to delay it as much as possible.
Soon enough, she felt a hand on her shoulder, the man needed no introduction.
"Captain." She called out, somewhat happy to see the man, even if he wasn't in the best state either.
He shook his head and said with an ironic smile. "I'm not your captain, my friend. Your mission is over now; you're free to return to Backlund."
She turned back to look at the tombstones one more time, her eyes itching slightly.
Two drops silently splashed on the grass surface under her feet.
Those were her own tears.
***
Castle Dylan, in the depths of the Spirit World.
The leader of the Secret Order, Attendant of Mysteries, Zaratul sat in his chair while grinning from ear to ear.
"Finally. Finally!"
He got it!
After countless failed attempts a connection had finally been made between him and that space covered in concealment.
His parents, his grandparents, ancestors and everyone had tried diligently to reach it, to find a way beyond it—but they all failed.
Until now!
Zaratul had kept that forsaken notebook with him since what felt like forever, but with that idiot's help, he figured it all out.
The secret kept from even the True Deities was now finally going to fruition.
He will ascend to godhood.
Or, at least get the necessary ingredients.
Even if the ritual itself is nearly impossible, the biggest blockage has been passed.
He shall follow that spiritual trail and sneak into the Misfortune's territory.
Zaratul took out a historical projection of himself from a second ago, then he hid in the past in the historical void.
Following that, he divined the location of his lost notebook, that he kept close for almost one hundred years, and stepped across the Spirit World.
In a heartbeat, he appeared in an old cathedral, with no pews or altar, only a majestic throne sat in the middle, with a sleeping man dozing on it.
Although he was sleeping, the man with the strange wolf ears was as still as a stone statue, one might even argue he was a painting turned real.
Zaratul reached out with his hand in front of the man's face, hoping to grasp the Spirit Body Threads and with them, the other two Attendant of Mysteries characteristics as well as The Fool's uniqueness.
Just as he could feel the thin, illusory threads—the man's eyes opened in a slow, monotonous motion.
"!"
Zaratul didn't have any time to react as the man's hand also reached out to him, and he felt a strong pull from his Spirit Body.
No—not that. His Beyonder Characteristic!
His own Attendant of Mysteries Beyonder Characteristic was being pulled towards the man by utilizing Convergence!
Zaratul instantly canceled the Historical Projection, however—he found that he wasn't connected to it at all.
Fooling!
What is fake must be real!
The man sat on the throne had used the Fooling authority to make Zaratul and his Historical Projection one!
Shit!
He tried to stop the convergence, he tried to run away, to pull the Realm of Mysteries or to make a Wish.
But it all failed.
From his blurring vision, Zaratul saw the man's face.
He was smiling.
...
The leader of the Secret Order, has perished in a confrontation for power.
He tried to gather the necessary ingredients for concocting The Fool potion, but he ultimately failed.
This was the assessment He made while leaning back in His chair.
The man with gray and black hair, wolf ears and ancient attire closed His eyes once again, falling back into deep sleep in the empty, concealed space.
***
After Amanises had gathered all of her belongings from the rental house, she handed back the keys to the landlord and headed to the train station.
Before she could embark, the woman was stopped by a couple of voices calling out to her.
She recognized each, of course after a month spent with them how could she not?
Leonard, Kenley, Frye, Seeka and Rozanne all stood in a group, making signals for Amanises to approach.
She looked at them, and involuntarily—a small smile made its way on her dark lips.
"Miss Evelyn, have a nice ride back!"
Shouted Rozanne, who had tried her best to lift the spirits of the other people.
Seeka, although more secluded, also wished her a goodbye and hoped that they would listen to an orchestra together again.
Kenley thanked her sincerely, since if it wasn't for her—he would've died trying to divine the cursed notebook.
Frye used his gathered courage and also gave his well wishes, hoping they would play cards at one table again.
"Aren't you leaving for Backlund too?" Rozanne asked Leonard, who stood with his hands crossed to his chest the entire time, looking almost lost in thought.
He plastered on his characteristic carefree smile and replied back. "I have some things to wrap up here. Where are you driving me away to?"
Rozanne quickly apologized. "Ah! Ah!" She fluttered her hands. "I'm sorry!"
Leonard chuckled. "It's okay."
Amanises watched all of their lighthearted interactions with a beaming smile of her own. She was glad with all of her time spent here together with them, but now it was time to go back.
Choo! Choooo!
The train's steam whistle blew, announcing the nearby departure.
Across the station, many other people wrapped up their conversations and hurried to embark the train.
Amanises grabbed her suitcase and also followed after the crowd, entering nearly last.
Outside, the group of Arcanists left the station, chatting away—all with the exception of Leonard who stood behind.
"I should announce to Mr Fool that I'm back in Backlund during the next gathering and ask for a new charm. I'll ask about the aftermath with Qilangos, and write back to Mr Azik. I don't want to keep people waiting."
Amanises stepped onto the small ladder of the train carriage, reaching right at the entrance, but before she could turn to the direction of her designated seat, she made a sharp twirl and looked at the outside.
Without opening her mouth, she said in her own mind with a mischievous smile.
"Are you reading my mind? Mister Protagonist?"
Psshhh! The doors closed right in her face, hiding the woman from the rest of the world.
!!!
Leonard watched the departing train with a stupefied expression on his beautiful face, his eyes nearly jumping out of his sockets.
How...?
Volume 1 Sleepless ~End~