Chapter 3: The Curtains Rise - Lord of the Mysteries Legend of the Fool

"Do you like mysteries?"

Above the gray fog, the people gathered came from all walks of life. Nobles and pirates. Angels and mortals. Knowledgeable and inexperienced. Among them was a true god, as well as a man who had almost become the Dark Emperor. Yet not one of them dared to look the existence who had spoken those words in the eye.

They knew that the second they met its - no, 'His' gaze, a fate too terrible to describe would befall them.

"I like mysteries very much," 'He' continued, not seeming to care about the fear everyone regarded 'Him' with. "But I've come across an especially enjoyable mystery recently. I like it so much that I'm going to share it with you all."

The smile widened.

"Would you like to see it?"

Everyone shook in explicable horror. 'His' presence alone had nearly sent twenty people tumbling head-over-heels into madness - just what could 'He' have called them here to see? Nobody wanted to know the answer. They bowed their heads in silence.

Chuckling filled the endless void. Laughter. The being laughed and laughed. It was a laugh that made you want to rip your own ears off just so you wouldn't have to listen to it anymore - and then perhaps gouge your eyes out as well, and then your tongue, and then your heart-

Suddenly, the laughter changed. Another sound seemed to overlap inside of it: a whimsical voice, like that of a clown's. The figure's smile contorted into something ridiculous and exaggerated, layered on top of 'His' face like an illusion. It flickered in and out before dissipating. Everyone watched this happen breathlessly.

The figure sighed, smiled, shook 'His' head.

"Enjoy the show."

'He' spoke these words and then vanished. Not teleportation, not concealment or invisibility. 'He' simply ceased to exist the moment his voice stopped.

The only signs that 'He' had ever been there at all were the crowd of pale, deathly faces - and the large, bloodred number that had appeared midair, hovering above in silence like the crimson moon itself. It read:

3:00

Nobody breathed. A silent second passed.

2:59

Somebody exhaled shakily.

After the initial shock began to fade, terror set in anew. Caitlyn Hall collapsed against her husband, who could barely stand himself. The Moretti siblings clung to each other for dear life. Will Auceptin stared ahead with an uncharacteristically blank expression. The members of the Tarot Club were particularly affected: without exception, they could feel themselves drowning in a dark ocean, swept away from salvation by a fierce wave of horror. That existence was undeniably the one who had called them here. But at the same time...

"That was not Mr. Fool," Derrick whispered hoarsely.

Roselle, whose head was buried in his hands, flinched so hard that Bernadette almost shrunk back. He was mumbling to himself, quiet enough to be barely audible, in a language she did not understand.

"Father?" she asked.

Her soft plea was swallowed by the fog around them.

Suddenly, a wave of calm spread over the group, as if they were looking at the stars on a calm and serene night. As a true god, Amanises had been the first to recover 'Her' senses. 'She' watched as people's heads began to clear - although residual madness remained - and they began to stand up again. It was time to take charge of the situation.

"The Fool is still asleep," 'She' said. "He is doing battle with a powerful enemy in a dreamscape. That enemy is the one who has gathered us here."

Her statement settled over the Tarot Club like an oppressive cloud.

"Does that mean that Mr. Fool is losing?" Derrick asked quietly.

"He is at a temporary disadvantage," Amanises reassured. "This enemy is likely using 'His' temporary upper hand to try and destabilize your god's anchors."

The Morettis and the Hall family listened with helpless shock. The conversation was at a level totally beyond their understanding, but fear of that smile had already been engraved into their hearts. They were too afraid to ask anything.

Audrey, Alger, Derrick, and Fors - who had all recognized the Evernight Goddess thanks to Mr. World's Fourth Epoch statues - felt their blood run cold. Just what kind of existence would be referred to as a 'Him' by a true god?

"Who-" Xio had to pause to swallow, her throat terribly dry. "Who is this enemy? Are we allowed to know?"

Amanises thought for a moment. "Those below the level of angel are not qualified to know 'His' identity. But 'Mysteries' should be a safe enough name to use for 'Him'."

Mysteries. Everybody shuddered instinctively.

"If no one's gonna mention it, I will," Danitz snapped. He pointed to the bloodred number that was steadily ticking downwards. "What the hell is that counting down to?"

2:00

No response.

"Dogshit!" Danitz swore, kicked at the ground, then fell silent again. His hands, still shoved in his pockets, were trembling.

"Probably something that'll kill us," Fors muttered. "What better way to destabilize an anchor than to get rid of it completely?"

"But if 'He' had the power to kill us, why wouldn't 'He' have done so already?" countered Cattleya. "'He' wanted to show us something. I assume that when that countdown ends, the show will begin."

Bernadette nodded. She had been about to say the same thing. Silently, she put her hand on her father's back, and Roselle smiled weakly at her.

"Ah, excuse me..." Earl Hall finally spoke up, face covered in cold sweat. "You all seem to know something that we don't. This Mysteries, and this Mr. Fool... Could you please explain the situation as best as you can?"

As a respected noble and banker, he was used to being treated in a respectful manner, which gave him the courage to speak up. But he'd hired Beyonder bodyguards before and knew how out of his depth he was. No matter how powerful of a human he was, he was just a human. He was willing to act deferent if it meant getting his family out of here.

Once again, the Tarot Club shared a look. The Church of the Fool was gaining presence in the real world, and several members had ties to it - the Hermit through her known connection to Gehrman Sparrow, the Sun who served as archbishop, and the Hanged Man who served as pontiff in the Church of the Sea God. But they were still a secret organization. What was the point of a secret organization if everybody knew about it?!

Still, it was becoming clearer and clearer that they didn't have much of a choice.

Alger began to speak carefully. "Mr. Fool is an ancient god who has been awakening over the past few years. I suspect that everyone who's been summoned here has some connection to 'Him', whether they realize it or not."

"That doesn't make sense," Alfred Hall insisted, fighting against the terrible suspicion forming in his mind. "We've never had any contact with someone like that before. Right, Audrey?"

Miss Justice said nothing.

Earl Hall, Caitlyn, and Hibbert looked at the girl who stared ahead, not meeting their gazes.

"...Audrey?" Alfred repeated.

If it really becomes necessary, I'll cue them to forget everything that's happened here, Justice thought. She grit her teeth. I wonder, when did I become capable of thinking like this?

"I don't-" Benson shook his head. "I-I'm sorry to interrupt, but I don't think we should be here, either. We're just normal people. There's no way, there's just no way..."

Beside him, Melissa stared at the floor, unseeing. Her words came out in a ragged whisper:

"Klein..."

The Star watched the two of them and bit the inside of his cheek, a familiar guilt welling over. "It's possible that... that loved ones of those with connections to Mr. Fool were pulled in as well."

"Sir, please stop." Benson's voice was hollow. "He's been dead for years. What connection could there be?"

Leonard's gut twisted. I want to tell them. I need to, but the situation is so uncertain. Mr. Fool is fighting some unknown entity, and who knows how long it'll be before Klein can wake up... A fresh wave of dread washed over him. What's going to happen to all of us?

A man walked over and put his hands on Benson and Melissa's shoulders. It was Mr. Azik.

"Death is not the end of all things," he said gently. Benson and Melissa looked at him, confused. They seemed like they wanted to get angry but could no longer muster the energy. The wisdom in his eyes, like he'd seen and done everything, made it hard to resist calming down.

Something in Azik's words seemed to trigger a memory in Derrick. His eyes widened. "Angel of Death?"

Azik chuckled. "Yes, I suppose."

Naturally, everyone in the Tarot Club had read the Bible of the Fool, and they turned to look at Azik in awe. He bowed politely in response. Melissa and Benson were left totally lost. Angel?

"That guy, going and recruiting angels as he pleases," Will muttered under his breath, too quiet to hear. He didn't want to reveal himself as Angel of Mercury just yet - not that he'd accepted that title, of course. He was just going along with it for now.

1:00

"So, whatever we're going to be shown, it has to do with this - this Fool?" Caitlyn Hall said faintly.

"Fool's the right name for him," snorted a gruff male voice. It was Emperor Roselle, who had recovered from his bout of corruption-induced trauma. "Picking a fight against someone like that... even I'm not that ballsy."

"Language," Bernadette chided.

"I'm two hundred years old, I can say whatever the fuck I want."

Danitz snorted. "I'd say you're pretty ballsy, trying to pass yourself off as Emperor Caesar. You do a pretty good disguise, I'll give you that, but the mustache is all wrong. I would know - I'm from Intis."

Roselle fixed the pirate with a blank look. "Provoker, eh?"

"H-How did you know?!"

Bernadette coughed delicately into her hand.

"Excuse me...?" Poor Caitlyn Hall had already been forgotten.

"It will probably relate to Mr. Fool, yes." Audrey took pity on her mother.

"Mr. Fool..." Alfred looked at his sister. "You call him that, too?"

Audrey had made the slip on purpose. She smiled and watched her family's eyes widen as they collectively came to the realization: the reason they were here was none other than their prized daughter, the most stunning gem in Backlund, a "mere Sequence 7" who had gotten herself involved with a secret existence!

"Later," she said simply. Her loved ones gaped back at her.

"But this is meant to be an attack on Mr. Fool, isn't it?" Derrick's eyes burned with determination. "Everyone here is connected to 'His' anchors in some way. We absolutely cannot let them be destabilized. Whatever we see, we must remain steadfast."

"Steadfast!" echoed three year-old Will Auceptin.

("Why is there a child here?" Fors whispered to Xio.

"How should I know? Maybe he's the kid of a Tarot Club Member," Xio whispered back.)

Meanwhile, the other Tarot Club members expressed their agreement and looked at Derrick with respect. He was still their beloved Little Sun, the baby of the group, but he had grown into his position of leadership. Alger had a strange urge to ruffle the hair of the boy who was over two meters tall.

"Childish as ever, Mr. Sun," sniffed Emlyn. "A group of messiahs would never crumble so easily, let alone a noble Sanguine such as myself. Would it kill you to have some faith?"

"Whatever is coming, we can handle it if we think things through," Cattleya said firmly.

Audrey nodded. "We all believe in Mr. Fool. That will never change."

The Tarot Club had weathered many storms together in the past; they had been helped and saved by Mr. Fool more times than they could count. Now that their god needed the favor returned, how could they even consider failure?

Amanises smiled to 'Herself'. It was rare to see a god who inspired such humanity in his followers. It was rare to see a god with much humanity at all. If it meant protecting that - ensuring that it would survive the apocalypse - 'She' could handle a bit of damage control, or even infiltrating Klein's dream to assist in the fight against the Celestial Worthy if it came to that.

0:30

Suddenly, Susie let out a bark and bounded over to Derrick, whose eyes lit up brighter than the Eternal Blazing Sun. His hand hesitated over Susie for a moment before the golden retriever nuzzled into it. He immediately broke out into a huge smile.

"So this is what a dog's fur feels like..." he said in awe. "It's like a cloud, but warm and fuzzy." I can't wait to tell everyone in the New City of Silver!

Miss Justice laughed. "Susie is an excellent judge of character. Be proud, Little Sun!"

The Halls looked on blankly, unable to understand what they were seeing - their very own darling Audrey, more trusting of strangers than her own family, laughing about things they couldn't understand. Laughing in a place like this, in a situation like this. Laughing in the face of fate.

"Dog!" Will cheered, despite or perhaps because of the Hall family's distress, perfectly acting the part of a three year-old. He let go of Azik's pant leg and ran to wrap his chubby arms around Susie's neck. From behind the golden retriever's fur, he stuck out his tongue at Melissa and Benson, who were watching with distant horror.

"You're a little heavy," Susie said to Will. The sight of a talking dog once again made Melissa and Benson want to faint.

"It's starting soon," Bernadette murmured to her father. "Ah, before I forget, I took on a disciple. I'll introduce you to her later."

"You WHAT?! Why didn't you tell me earlier?! Who is she, where is she, how long ago, how did you meet-"

"Later."

Roselle whined pitifully.

Life and cheer had returned to most of the Beyonders in the area - you had to be able to bounce back quickly if you wanted to survive in this crazy world. The non-Beyonders were having a little more difficulty, staring at the countdown obsessively.

Benson and Melissa exchanged a look.

"You really think Klein had something to do with this?" Benson said softly.

"There's no other way to explain why we're here," she said. "My connection to Miss Audrey through the charity foundation isn't that deep. It has to be him. I don't know how, but..."

For the third time that day, Benson took her hand.

"I believe you."

Melissa exhaled, long and slow. Her shoulders slumped as if relieved of a great weight.

"Thank you, brother..."