"Huh?" Klein thought to himself as he woke up , it was as if he had fallen asleep for a very long time. His memories were unclear , as he looked around a scene he never expected appeared in front of his eyes.
Infrastructures reminiscent of the past , from a time during the pre-epoch era. Before the sequences appeared , before Beyonders appeared. A time where it was peaceful.
Note: in LOTM , Beyonders are basically their version of superpowers and epoch are basically centuries with the pre epoch meaning before superpowers appeared
"!?!?!" Klein Moretti felt his head throbbed as memories returned to him.
"I lost." He muttered in a self-deprecating smile. He lost the battle against the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings. Who knows how long it had been since he entered battle against the Celestial Worthy.
"They" had created an opportunity temporarily banishing the Mother Goddess of Depravity from the world thus creating temporary peace. While others cheered , He now had to continue fighting the Celestial Worthy—
—A silent battle of wills. No matter how much he fights , He knows that in the end the Celestial Worthy shall win. He remembered Lumian's question. "Is it Worth it?" To which he answered. "It's worth it."
He remembered. Benson , Melissa , Alice. His family. He remembered. The members of the Tarot Club. Audrey , Alger , Derrick , Cattleya , Fors , Emyln , Xio , Sharon , Franca , Lumian , ███. Huh? ███ Huh?
Something was wrong. Why can't he ██████? Why can't he ██████???
Something was meddling with him but why? No, the question should be How? "He" is one of the 4 Pillars. The Lord of the Mysteries.
Lord of Mysteries , King of Space-Time , Beacon of Destiny , Embodiment of Sefirah Castle , Dominator of the Spirit World. That was "His" Honorific Name. A being like him can't ██████
"…" It happened again. Alright , Calm yourself Klein. Analyze the situation. Check your current condition. Let's see. I can still use Fool , Error and Door . Sefirah Castle… Hm? I can feel it. But why can't I summon it…
"Excuse me but can you move? You're blocking the way" the voice of a young woman could be heard , by reflex Klein said , "Ah I'm sorry." as he moved out of the way. Then a realization occurred in his mind.
That ordinary person was looking at him and didn't go crazy , he didn't even have any beyonder characteristics. Normal humans would've gone crazy or gotten corrupted just by being in his presence.
Even if this were to be his world in the past , unless… Suddenly it seemed time had stopped as an illusory door appeared in front of his eyes as Klein passed through it.
He had returned to his hometown ██████. … It's happening again. No matter , he thought to himself as 2 symbols could be seen , one was reminiscent of a Pupil-less Eye—
—The other what seemed to be clocks in the shape of the 4 cardinal directions with a spiral going inwards connecting them all. It was the symbol for the path of Fool and Error.
—
"Impossible." Klein muttered. If this was the past then he should've been able to find his parents. Yet why couldn't he-? No. He thought to himself , He must stay calm and analyze the situation.
Klein thought to himself as another illusory door appeared in front of him as he passed through it. Once again he found himself in another location. A place that every Chinese person should know. A place where every data was stored.
As Klein looked at the person in front of him , a rather ordinary worker , he muttered "Sorry." Before using Error , replacing the office worker in front of him. His entire life was now Klein's to use.
Tap* Tap* Tap* Tap*
Klein , now becoming the guy, was typing words. Words that he'd remember as he searched the database yet.
[Data does not Exist]
He stared at the screen for a solid minute before returning the person back using Error and Fool to ensure nobody including the CCTV'S before leaving using Door to create an Illusory Door heading towards something else.
An Internet cafe using Door to find the nearest one before using Fool to ensure nobody noticed him and using Error to be able to search freely. At this moment his first thoughts were rather simple.
He wanted to know. If there exists any information regarding the current situations , thus his first thought was to search for his allies of the past. With the very first one being rather simple.
Audrey Hall. As he typed it in Baidu , what appeared greatly shocked him that he almost lost control on the spot , the search engines showed things he never expected which include :
[Audrey Hall LOTM] , [The World needs Justice] , [Gehrman Sparrow X Audrey Hall] , [Hall of Truth Trio] , [Klein Moretti X Audrey Hall FanFic] [Miss Justice].
*Twitch.
Klein could've sworn that he would've lost control on the spot as the search results were things he never expected. He quickly erased the words and typed Amanises , yet before he could type the next one a single search result appeared.
[Amanises X Klein] BANG*
Klein banged the desk quite hard , fortunately he was using the body of a normal human , nobody noticed a thing due to his Fooling. But his mind was rather convoluted.
Perhaps he wanted to curse. Thus he didn't notice at the time. His human emotions were overwhelming him. Which would normally be impossible. Another thing he was too occupied to notice was
how he can stay completely sane without any Anchors. Normally Those that reach above the level of an Angel will require Anchors to stay human and not lose themselves to madness.
Note : For those who don't read LOTM , Anchors are basically something that God level beings in their world need to be able to keep their thoughts so that they don't go crazy.
No—Klein himself probably knew. He just didn't want to admit it. Could this be a dream the Celestial Worthy put him into to take control ? It could be possible , thus Klein made a decision.
He extended his senses , to try and find any other True Deities , Great Old Ones or Pillars of his world, yet—None. He couldn't feel the presence of any , he couldn't feel anything , it was empty , was his senses blocked?
"Adam." Klein said, trying to get a response , there was none , he then chanted in a low voice.
"The Lord that Created Everything, "The Lord that Created Everything, The Omnipotent and Omniscient God, The Lord who Reigns Behind the Curtain of Shadows, The Ruler of the Mind World, The Degenerate Nature of all Living Things"
Yet there was no response still , He thought that perhaps Adam was killed in this world or perhaps he was in the process of revival. He then tried to chant the names of others.
"The Evernight Goddess stands higher than the cosmos and more eternal than eternity. The Mother of Concealment, The Empress of Misfortune and Horror, Mistress of Repose and Silence."
None. Still no response. He tried calling the honorific names of His allies and enemies alike , including those of the Mother Goddess of Depravity yet there was no response.
In Klein's mind , there were 3 possibilities. The first. This was the past before the Pre-Epoch Era or perhaps even further where not even the Pillars or Great Old Ones existed.
The second. Something. Something so powerful killed them and ensured they would never be able to revive. Klein realized this after extending his senses and realizing there were no Beyonder Characteristics in this world.
The third. This was a completely different world. Perhaps it was an Isekai like those you see in Japanese fiction . Perhaps it was Transmigration like those you see in Chinese fiction . Perhaps it was Regression you see in Korean Fiction.
Yet it didn't make sense. No. The question should be. Why does it not make sense? Klein thought about it. No he knew yet he didn't want to believe. Sometimes the most complex questions require only the simplest solution.
"Lord of Mysteries , King of Space-Time , Beacon of Destiny , Embodiment of Sefirah Castle , Dominator of the Spirit World" "…" Still nothing.
"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era ,The Mysterious Ruler above the Gray Fog , The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck" Still nothing.
"The Blessed of the Spirit World and the Sefirah Castle , The Mystery stemming from ancient times , The Witness of an extended history , Angel who redeems mankind , Protector of all impoverished children , The Great Gehrman Sparrow"
… Still nothing , Klein tried to chant every honorific name that he currently or once embodied. Yet there was no response. At this moment Klein realized a 4th possibility that could explain his current situation.
This was an alternate world , a different world , one where the concept of Beyonders didn't exist. Perhaps this place was a rather peaceful world at that. Maybe he could. No. He should be trying to return.
There were many who needed him. He needs to-
"Zi Yao , look I know you're a great fan of the book Lord of the Mysteries , but right now's not the time , it's work hours , you don't want your pay to be deducted don't you?"
Klein could feel anxiety , he could feel cold sweat dripping in his back , he didn't want to admit it. But the words of his colleague forced him to accept reality. At least in this world. His world was Fictional
—
As Zi Yao returned back home to his small apartment , without wasting time , he searched in Baidu , Lord of the Mysteries , Klein was hoping that it was just an illusion. Yet reality was cruel.
He saw it. The title , Lord of the Mysteries and Lord of the Mysteries 2 : Circle of Inevitability. He should've known , when he first saw the results when finding information on Evernight Goddess and Miss Justice…
He spent the next few hours reading through everything. Using Fool and Error , no time had actually passed. However Klein's mind had already broken down. His entire story was but a book people enjoy here.
His sufferings—No Their sufferings , the countless deaths , the countless sacrifices they have made , was it all for nothing? Was it all , merely for entertainment? He did not know. He just felt tired. He just wants to—
—
*SOB *SOB *Murmurs
"!!!?!" "—YAO!" "!??!" "NOO" "PLEASE."
Huh. Klein saw it. His current body had died in a car crash. He didn't know what to feel. He had forgotten to return the body. It had been 2 years since he became Zi Yao. and Death had greeted that body.
"…" Yet Klein felt empty. Very empty , he just wants to forget. He just wishes to forget and live. He had tried—To return to his original world yet to no avail , perhaps the realization that his world is merely fiction here also made him more tired.
Over the next. No, he no longer remembered how long it had been. He had lived as countless people. Male and Female alike. Many names. Many cultures. He has lived in Japan , Korea , China , America , Africa , Singapore , Indonesia , Britain , Cambodia , Malaysia , Russia and countless others.
Yet most died rather early. Empty. He felt truly empty. Even as the world continued to change , as what people call Remnants began appearing. He felt nothing. No. His humanity was fading. And his natural instincts as the Lord of the Mysteries was surfacing.
If left untouched. He would lose control. Yet does it even matter? He just wants—
*CLINK *Step.
A portal appeared before his eyes. It was pure black in color with an orange outline , a girl could be seen coming out of it. Once a Faceless , Klein could instantly see her. 163cm in height. With long white hair unkept.
Her eyes were blue in color as she looked at him with her lifeless eyes. Klein's instincts were telling him to be careful for he felt similar or perhaps more powerful than something he once knew.
The 4th Pillar. The one symbolizing Termination , Space-Time-In-One and Singularity of All. If Klein was still lucid and at his best state he would've run away and tried to study it. Yet he was tired. Maybe this being can end his-
"Come." The girl said in a flat tone before she entered through the portal once more. Klein looked at the girl in disbelief , the portal was still open , thus he said without much thought.
"Sure." With a self-deprecating smile , even if that girl was already gone , even if He'll die. Whatever as he entered through the portal. The 4th pillar was known to be completely crazy after all perhaps he'll finally—
—
*Jolts
Klein jolted out awake as he surveyed his surroundings , it was just him , Kanade and Kiana in a bedroom , Kanade was sleeping peacefully while Kiana-
"What happened?" Kiana asked in a curious tone.
"I just had an old dream." Klein replied as he smirked slightly , to which Kiana just looked at him before nodding.
"I see." She replied in a tone he's never seen before as she gave him a rather genuine smile before twirling Kanade's hair as they both watched her chest go up and down as she slept peacefully.