When Klein Moretti extended his spirituality and touched the glowing star, it flickered faintly before returning to stillness.
Nothing happened for several seconds.
The vast space of Sefirah Castle remained quiet. Crimson stars floated motionless within the grey fog, and the small glowing orb hovered above the bronze table exactly where it had been.
Just as he began to wonder whether the reaction had already ended, the star suddenly began to distort.
Its smooth spherical shape twisted and collapsed inward as if it had softened into liquid light. The glow stretched and separated, before melting into thin white strands that tangled together like flowing silk threads. Those threads drifted and intertwined above the bronze table, shifting continuously as though searching for a stable structure.
The sight was so bizarre that it caused Klein to abruptly rise from the high-backed seat of The Fool. With a thought, he dismissed the bronze table causing it to dissolved into mist beneath the shifting threads.
The white strands continued to twist and flow through the air, gathering together in ever-denser patterns. Slowly, the chaotic movement began to stabilize. The threads stretched and arranged themselves, forming something that gradually resembled a human outline, and after a few moments the movement stopped.
A man stood where the star had been.
He faced Klein calmly, as though appearing inside another person's divine kingdom was a perfectly ordinary event.
Klein stared at him.
His mind briefly ran through several uncomfortable possibilities, most of which involved ancient entities and catastrophic consequences.
Before he could speak, the man inclined his head slightly and said with an easy smile,
"We meet again, Mr. Fool."
Klein maintained his composed expression, but internally he was rapidly reconsidering several of his life choices.
After a few seconds passed without a response, the man continued as if the situation were entirely natural.
"How nice of you to finally invite me here. I thought you had forgotten about your dear fellow transmigrator."
The phrase caused Klein's pupils to contract almost imperceptibly.
However, the composure he had cultivated quickly returned. His tone remained calm when he replied,
"I didn't think you needed an invitation. Judging by the last time we met, you seemed perfectly capable of wandering around the grey fog on your own."
The man gave a small chuckle.
"That was a one-time coincidence," he said. "Circumstances aligned in a very unusual and convenient way."
Klein remained silent at this information, he wanted to believe that was truly the case, and that he didn't need to worry about someone entering the grey fog when ever, it was his safe fortress after all. But he stayed vigilant or the time being.
As for Elias, he didn't dwell on it too much, he looked briefly at the empty space where the bronze table had been before speaking.
"But surely we shouldn't discuss things while standing like this. I believe I mentioned last time that hosts ought to treat their guests better."
Klein observed him for a moment before raising his hand. A round table appeared within the fog along with two chairs.
Both men sat down.
The visitor spoke first.
"Congratulations on your advancement. I see you have become a Seer."
Klein looked at him directly, his gaze sharpened immediately. The weak trust he had for him thrown out the foggy window.
"How did you know that?"
The man raised his hands slightly.
"Relax. I'm not stalking you. Your connection to this place has simply become stronger."
A faint white glow appeared in his eyes as he activated his ability. Under that perception he saw a thin white thread emerging from the cluster of four dark dots on Klein's hand. The thread extended outward through the grey fog and disappeared somewhere beyond sight, as if it were connected to something hidden deeper within the mist.
After observing it briefly, he withdrew his gaze.
Klein considered the explanation.
"That might explain how you noticed a change," he said. "But it doesn't explain how you knew I chose the Seer pathway."
The man leaned back slightly in his chair.
"You could say I'm somewhat perceptive. The first time I arrived here, I noticed that the grey fog had connections to only three pathways, and you choosing one of them is the explination to why we're having this converstaion here in the first place." he slowly explained.
"The Marauder pathway has a reputation that makes it unlikely for most official organizations to tolerate. The Apprentice pathway is rare enough that encountering it by chance would be unusual, you could say it's a rare coin. That leaves the Seer pathway as the most reasonable possibility."
He finished with a mild smile.
"And I assume you are a law-abiding citizen."
Klein did not respond immediately.
After a short pause he asked, "Why did you contact me?"
"I didn't," the man replied.
Klein frowned slightly.
"But you're here."
"Yes," the visitor said. "But you were the one who activated the star. I understand how you might see me -a stranger who broke inside the grey fog and knew your name- that's why I only suggested we talk again of you liked to, and left a means of communication behind in case you decided to use it."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"Although I will admit that I was interested in speaking with you. The story of the fool is very intriguing" He said with a smile.
Klein remained silent, but he seemed to accept the situation for now.
The visitor watched him for a moment before speaking again.
"Before anything else, I should mention something about the story you are presenting as the Fool. There are several contradictions that could attract attention. There are entities in this world that might easily notice them and begin investigating your identity."
Klein listened before replaying "I considered it after our first meeting, I don't know much about the structer of the world to create a better result"
The visitor answered enthusiastically.
"Well, you're in luck, I have the perfect cover story"
before he could start Klein interrupted him "Why are you doing this, I don't see a reason that would make you go to this extent, there's no such thing as free meal"
Elias looked at him silently for a second, he smiled and shook his head tiredly and added "the absence of the concept of a free meal is a beliefe brought by souls infested with greed and selfishness"
He raised his head and looked him in the eyes "Beings in this world chase madness and divinity while at the same time clinging to humanity."
"Your choices determine wither you remain human with unimaginable power, or you completely lose yourself and awaken something terrifying"
"Being careful and not so easily trusting are good traits, they would surely save your life over and over again"
He paused for a sceond and added "But a paranoid person would only distance himself from others, and that in the world of beyonders has unforgiving consequences"
Klein was taken aback by the sudden change in the atmosphere, he didn't expet this seemingly easy going person to act in such a way.
After a long silence the smile returned to Elias' face "Sorry about that, but I think we wasted enough time on the matter, now if you're still interisted I have the perefect cover story"
"Here you go: The Fool is an ancient entity who existed long before the known epochs. He entered a long period of slumber in the distant past. Recently he awakened inside the body of Klein Moretti, a young man who had been driven mad after studying the cursed Antigonus Notebook and ultimately took his own life."
He spoke steadily as he described the rest.
"After awakening, the Fool returned to his divine kingdom above the grey fog. From there he began establishing new connections in the modern era. The Tarot Club would simply be the first part of that network. As for Klein Moretti, he was resurrected as the cost of the Fool's awakening."
Klein thought about the explanation before giving a small nod.
"I see, I doubt an entity I made up would occur in the known history, so it's better to push it beyond the 5 epochs."
"Plus it would make a great distinction between my two identities if suspicion ever occurred"
However, he continued looking at the other man.
"You still haven't explained how you know so much about me."
The visitor spread his hands slightly.
"As I said earlier, that knowledge came from a one-time coincidence. At present I am merely a Sequence 9 Beyonder, just like you."
Klein remained quiet.
"You may choose to believe that or not," the man continued. "But I have no hidden motives for today's visit. I simply found the situation interesting."
He stood up from the chair.
"I'm certain our paths will cross again in the future. By that time, perhaps we will trust each other a little more."
A faint white glow appeared in his eyes again. He activated his ability and located the thread that connected his current projection to the star.
With a small movement, he severed the connection.
His form dissolved immediately into white threads that contracted into a single glowing point. The star drifted back among the other lights within the grey fog.
The space of Sefirah Castle returned to silence.
Klein remained seated for a short time before sighing and massaging his temples. Afterward, he left the grey fog.
Inside Elias's house, the room was quiet.
Elias lay asleep on his bed. His breathing remained steady, and the faint symbol on the back of his hand had long since dimmed and disappeared.
His consciousness, however, was observing the room from within the distant halls of the Celestial Spire through the thread that connected him to the physical world.
Outside the house, a man dressed in black stood motionless in the middle of the street. He was a member of the Nighthawks and a Sequence Seven Nightmare assigned to investigate the surrounding area.
His method was simple. One by one he entered the dreams of the nearby residents and examined the scenes that appeared within them.
Eventually he reached Elias.
The Nightmare entered the dream expecting to see fragments of memories or ordinary images produced by a sleeping mind.
Instead he found no images, no sounds, and no dream scenes. The entire dreamscape contained no memories or thoughts to examine. His perception moved through the sleeping mind repeatedly, but the result remained the same.
The dream contained nothing. It couldn't even be called a Dream.
It was just that; complete utter Darkness.