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Klein Moretti walked into his brother's living room, a lemon pound cake merrily in hand, only to see his sister-in-law, Lucy Moretti, sitting on the sofa wiping tears from her eyes.
He was stunned, opening his mouth to ask why she was doing so, when his eyes swept over the books spread out on her lap. A creeping suspicion naturally surfaced within him, and a look of amusement swept through his eyes as he asked, “Lucy, are you perhaps reading novels again?”
The aforementioned woman looked up at the call of her name, and seeing that it was Klein who had done so, she became slightly embarrassed. She straightened her back formally, and reached out to take the two ceramic plates he was offering with a surprised look on her face.
“Klein,” she began with some astonishment, “did you make this?”
“I’ve been delving into cooking recently.” He responded, curling his lips into a small smile while pointing towards the cake in front of them, which happened to be missing a corner. “I stole a bite just now, and I believe I’ve done a decent enough job.”
Lucy tasted it for herself, and was amazed by the flavor. “It's delicious!” She exclaimed.
Klein breathed a sigh of relief. “That's good,” he replied, “Then you can give the other one to Ada when she wakes up from her nap.”
Lucy couldn't help but laugh, “You've only been back for two days and yet you're already on your way to replacing Benson as Addie’s favorite.”
The man stilled for a moment, rubbing the tip of his nose as a smirk tugged at his lips.
Lucy giggled at his expression as she closely examined his form once more— yet, no matter how much she looked, she still found it difficult to imagine him as ‘The Fool’. Such a notion was hard to even contemplate when in recent years, the following of this particular ‘God’ had increased immensely: ‘He’ had gone from being a nobody, to becoming the most widely-spread faith underneath the Seven Orthodox Gods, even being able to stand side-by-side with them on some fronts.
When she’d learned of ‘His’ true identity a week ago from Melissa, and then been told he’d be visiting them in person two days ago, she had been extremely nervous. Fortunately, although Klein was indifferent and detached when he’d first knocked on the door of the house, after spending some time with the family he hadn't seen for years, he’d unconsciously become more like a homecoming traveler than an emotionless ‘God’. He’d practically melted under the tears and embraces of his siblings, revealing an inner gentleness and vivaciousness she’d only heard about in stories.
In no time at all, both Ada and Lucy had soon become well acquainted with the last of the Moretti’s.
Taking some more bites out of the pound cake, she noticed Klein glancing curiously at the book seated on her lap. Her cheeks warmed in leftover embarrassment from earlier as she scrambled to explain.
“This novel has been very popular lately! I started reading it after hearing so many glowing recommendations, and have found it to be incredibly touching! It’s about the adventures of a pair of best friends….” As she recounted her experiences with the book, the ‘God’ slowly nodded, before pausing as though recalling something notable.
The corners of his mouth twitched ever so slightly. “The author of this novel wouldn't happen to be Fors Wall, would it?” He asked oddly.
“No.” Lucy said, a bit surprised, “However, she is close to Ms. Wall! You probably haven't heard of her yet, but uh, it’s called, ‘The Long Goodbye,’ by Ms. Charlotte Brontë!”
Klein froze, his expression turning very complicated.
Inwardly reviewing all of the reports he remembered receiving about the ‘Traveler's Alliance’ during his slumber, he felt a million and one unspoken words well up inside of him.
‘I get it!’ He lampooned, ‘You’re not considered an Earthling if you don’t plagiarize at least once in your life! Ah, I’m ashamed of being a ‘Transmigrator’!’ Unseen waterfalls of dramatized tears ran down his cheeks.
“Can you tell me what the plot is exactly?” He asked Lucy carefully, banishing his chaotic thoughts and wiping his face free of any incriminating emotions.
“The story is in the form of flashbacks, which is kind of original,” Lucy answered, gazing downwards as she flipped through the pages. "It opens up in the point of view of a man named Mr. Barnes: A newly ordained ‘Angel’ whose duty in the Church is to bring souls that cannot be laid to rest, due to lingering ideals, to the Kingdom of ‘God’. The fourth person ‘He's’ ever tasked with, is a hero named Rogers, who has saved the world. When ‘He’ meets Rogers, ‘He’ tells the other that because of his feats, God has granted him a single wish, so long as it’s within the boundaries of acceptability. The hero ends up staring at ‘Him’ for a moment, before asking, ‘Can you come back to life?’"
Klein: “.........”
Why do these two names sound so familiar…….?
Lucy’s tone turns gentle and mournful. "As it turns out, in this world, the status of an ‘Angel’ can only be granted after death, and in fact, Barnes and Rogers had been best friends who had saved the world together while ‘He’ was still alive. After this revelation, the story then shifts back fifteen years to the moment when the two first met— an incredible encounter that changed their very lives."
Klein: “........That is indeed very touching.”
Although his words seemed genuine, they came out strangely forced, and his face twisted once more as he added, "I bet the two of them went through a lot together: For example, one of them supposedly ‘dies’ and the other swears to avenge him, but along the way he stumbles upon the fact that his friend’s not really dead and has simply been forced to change his identity. Maybe the two even manage to end up on the same side once more, only to be separated for an extended period of time after fighting together for only a short while; And perhaps, towards the end, they end up parting, not knowing if they can ever be reunited again, however, embracing the trust they hold in each other they finally meet after many years of being apart."
As he casually finished his analysis, Klein unknowingly furrowed his brows, something in the back of his mind echoing that this description from just now sounded a tad too familiar.
‘Did something about his speech relate to himself......?’ He tilted his head slightly, but with no forthcoming results manifesting, he shrugged and chose to leave the matter alone.
Lucy’s eyes had widened dramatically as he spoke. She stared at him in disbelief, before her gaze gradually went back to the book. “That......” She stuttered, “that’s exactly what I’ve heard the book's plot is like! How did you know?!” Her face shifted into one of contemplation, “Does it have to do with your Pathway? I recall sister Melissa saying that it had a level titled ‘Seer’ right?"
Klein smiled wryly. “...... No, I just happen to know some aspects of this kind of fiction.”
Keyboard powerhouses have to know a little bit about everything after all, and American made movies about super-powered human beings were definitely no exception.
Just then, the sound of footsteps coming down from the stairwell could be heard throughout the house— Ada had seemingly finished her afternoon nap. Bounding into the living room, the young girl stopped shortly, before doing a double-take at the sight of the lemon cake sitting on the coffee table. With a bright laugh, Lucy beckoned her daughter over for a slice, and Ada, after hearing that it was Klein's masterpiece, clamored to come get it.
Later, after she’d finished her treat, Klein rolled up his sleeves and led the little Moretti princess and Lucy in preparing dinner.
When Benson and Melissa – who had been working late over the weekend, – finally returned, they were greeted to the sight of an overflowing table.
_____________________________
Once everyone had their fill, Klein asked Lucy if he could borrow "The Long Goodbye” from her, because apparently he had some kind of self-mutilating desire for knowledge.
Hours later, Ada, who was sitting next to him while earnestly devouring her second piece of lemon cake, looked up and blinked owlishly at his face.
“Uncle Klein,” she wondered, “do your teeth hurt?”
The corners of Klein's mouth, which had been spasming as he’d read through the novel, finally settled as he put the book down. Lightly rubbing his temples while grinning at his niece, he answered, “No, no, I was just thinking of something interesting.”
—— Well, if ‘interesting’ meant the good-old fashioned nature of homoerotic culture cloaked in the vast wellspring of ‘and they were just friends’, or something like that.
He sighed deeply, remembering how he’d felt after the first time he’d read ‘Ms. Magicians’ “Stormhill.” No wonder Fors had befriended ‘Ms. Brontë’ and written a recommendation for this book— no matter how many layers the main character's story seemingly had, in the end, it was essentially nothing more than a love story.
‘Even without proper confessions, you're both still canon!’----- ‘The thoughts of authors can be so obvious sometimes,’ Klein bemoaned as he handed the book back to Lucy, shook his head, and stood up to exit the living room. As he walked into the drawing room, which was still brightly lit even at the late hour, he said to his sister who was currently writing, "Melissa, I'm planning to catch up with some old friends, I’ll be back soon."
Although the entire Moretti family was aware of his capabilities, only Melissa was also a Beyonder, and would therefore believe Klein’s claims of being recovered enough.
Surveying him meticulously, she responded, “you're sure you’ve rested enough?” Her tone was delighted, concerned, but also a little helpless— she knew that even if he wasn’t totally fine, there’d be nothing she could do to stop ‘Him’.
“Well,” Klein curled the corners of his mouth upwards, "You don't have to worry— I'm not going to start working again until I've fully enjoyed my weekend. I promise that I’m just heading out for a chat this time. Really, I’ll be back soon."
This was something he felt was necessary after all. Two Thursdays ago, the only people who had immediately sensed his complete awakening, besides the ‘Great Old Ones,’ were those who held the gold coins and iron cigarette case he'd handed out, as well as Cattleya— who was empowered by her Pathways gifts. He’d sent out instructions saying that they need not spread this news for the time being, and to wait for ‘His’ explanation at the next Tarot Club meeting on Monday. Afterwards, he’d returned to the Moretti's house in Backlund, reclaiming a good deal of his humanity with the help of his family, and gave himself a lavish four-day-long vacation.
However, having read his fellow ‘transmigrators’ novel, his curiosity for the current state of the world has finally overcome his laziness. Thus, Klein intends to visit a couple of old friends to gather information.
The question at this point is— Who to start with?
With incredibly little thought, Klein decided to start with Leonard Mitchell for one simple reason: Of all the people who would receive the knowledge about ‘His’ awakening, hear ‘His’ “divine” message, and know of ‘His’ ‘ascension’, this guy was the only one who hadn't reacted at all, not even with a joyful greeting— which was rather unusual for the friend who’d prayed regularly and read him poems while ‘He’ was asleep and unmoving.
“It’s strange….. My earlier divination showed that he was safe so why hasn’t he said anything?” Klein muttered as he fumbled around for a copper penny from his coat pocket, before casually flicking it into the air. Even though he could ‘see’ destiny through intuition alone now, Klein still preferred to ‘divine’ it in a more laborious way as a part of maintaining his humanity.
As the coin fell, however, his expression suddenly became grave.
The divination showed that Leonard was in extreme danger!
Klein urgently shouted, “Melissa! I'm headed out now— I'll be back later, promise!” before taking a single step forwards and disappearing from the drawing room, like he’d never been there to begin with.
_____________________________
Following the guidance of ‘Fate’ Klein ended up in a decimated and decaying field. There were depressions in the ground, vegetation was curled up and withering, and miasma as potent and ferocious as wreathing darkness covered the area like vicious blood.
“The Haagenti Plains?” Klein grasped his location quickly. Looking around, he quickly found his target.
Not too far away from where he was standing, there was an area of unnatural coloration, which held a motionless black and red mass.
He clenched his fists, and cursed.
The mass was a severely injured and dying Demonic Wolf.
Around three meters long and laying sideways on the ground, ‘He’ came up to about Klein's waistline, and though probably an imposing sight with ‘His’ coarse black fur and eight legs typically, right now, ‘He’ was in a terrible state. Flipped on ‘His’ back, the position showcased that only bits of fur and flesh hung onto the body’s form— the rest seemingly having been scraped away by a blunt knife. Klein could see the Wolf’s utterly mutilated rib cage, and even noticed three of ‘His’ legs missing — presumably ripped off — as sharp scratches and wandering black mist laid around the jagged wounds. Scarlet blood was drying in various places, and even the beast's tightly closed eyes were not spared of the substance.
Only the subtle rise and fall of the internal organs beneath the bare bones, proved that the living being before him was not dead.
Klein's breathing hitched as he took trembling steps towards the body. Carefully bending down to touch ‘His’ shoulder blades, he called out in a low voice, “Leonard?”
He wondered for a second—— How did Leonard, a Sequence 2 Angel, get himself into such a state? Before he shook his head instead. ‘Forget that’ He chastised himself: Far more pressing was the loss of control that should’ve been occurring. Even intact Mythological life-forms were highly susceptible to corruption, and it was especially dangerous when they were seriously injured physically or mentally. With the amount of blood he could see being lost, corruption was probably long overdue.
The other man going insane was a matter of due course at this poin— ‘Hmm?’
Klein paused, stunned silent. He was shocked to note that Leonard showed almost none of the signs signaling a loss of control!
‘The Fool’ frowned, confused. Digging deeper, he managed to uncover the fact that inside the other's body, a layer of protection originating from Leonard ‘Himself’ was slowly beginning to deteriorate. It appears ‘He’d’ created a protective veil before falling into this state, and that veil was apparently for—
“……”
Sleep and Seclusion.
Leonard had used Seclusion to isolate ‘Himself’ from the outside world and then forced ‘Himself’ into a deep sleep in order to delay ‘His’ onset of madness. ‘He’ did so, waiting for a possible rescue at some unknowable time.
…......It was terribly similar to what Klein ‘Himself’ had done all those years ago.
“.......”
Still, however, it would be incredibly difficult to sustain such a spell for an extended period of time while completely exhausted. The ‘Great Old One’ could tell that within a few more hours, the asylum ‘The Star’ had made would’ve dissipated entirely— A loss of control followed by death would’ve inevitably happened by then.
Had it not been for the fact that, on a whim, he’d decided to move up the date of his visits then.........
Klein shuddered, the air around him emitting mixed emotions. “My Dear Poet, you truly do manage to drag me into the most unexpected of situations every time, don't you?”
As he spoke, he pursed his lips together, and while getting down on one knee he let the gray fog wrap around the two of them to conceal their forms. Lifting one of his hands, he pressed lightly on Leonard's shoulder blades with one hand outstretched to the side, pulling out a projection of the ‘Life’s Cane’ from the void. Gently tapping the head of the cane to the wounded body before him, Klein watched as almost all the wounds on Leonard instantly disappeared— The only truly awful injuries left being the three broken limbs, which couldn’t be fixed because of the unknown places where the limbs had fallen.
Other than that though, all that remained to mar the Demonic Wolf's body was a large but harmless bloodstain, and the vague aura of ‘evil’ that continued to linger.
As he was noting the unchanged details, the black mist — a curse, — that had been floating around then revealed itself from the unconscious life-form. Without hesitation, Klein immediately made the projection of the “Life’s Cane” disappear— It was clear to him at first glance that Leonard had been confronting two ‘Evil Gods’ of The Rose School of Thought, and with the ‘Life’s Cane’ originating from the same Pathway as the fallen ‘Mother’ Goddess, that was just asking for trouble.
If the gray fog of Sefirah Castle hadn’t been used to isolate the cane from the black mist, then it’s very likely a mutation would’ve occurred.
Under the ‘cleansing’ of the gray fog, the curse left behind by the ‘Mother Tree of Desire,’ gradually dispersed.
Klein stared at the weakly breathing creature, and after a moment of contemplation, then bent down to take a hold of ‘His’ two front legs and wrap them around his neck and shoulders.
Despite the fact that both the ‘Mother Tree of Desire’ and the fallen ‘Mother Goddess’ had suffered considerable losses in the Southern Continent after the siege of the Rose School of Thought, he still did not intend to stay within the plains for very long, so as to prevent unnecessary conflict.
After all, the most important thing right now was Leonard's safety.
Unfortunately……..
“This guy is far too heavy.” Klein grumbled, already feeling himself being weighed down by the furry, hot blanket. Clicking his tongue in reproach, the new ‘Lord of Mysteries’ walked half-a-step in front of him, and shifted the scenery of the Southern Continent in favor of its Northern counterpart.
The two ended up near the Amantha Mountain Range in Winter County, not too far from the Cathedral of Serenity.
Ignoring the new surroundings, the ‘Great Old One’ of the ‘Fool’ pathway grunted like he was carrying the world on ‘His’ back: Even while ranked above the Sequences, apparently the physical strength of the ‘Lord of Mysteries’ was still no match for a high Sequence ‘Sleepless One’. Klein huffed once more, only carrying the Wolf three more seconds before dropping ‘Him’ down on the soft green grass. It was June, and the normally bitterly cold Amantha Mountain’s actually had a rather pleasant climate— warm but not overly hot, and neither too wet nor too dry. The meadows were undulating softly, sprawling with wildflowers of all colors, and a few hundred meters or so away, under the cover of an evergreen forest, a shimmering stream could be seen meandering through and harmonizing with the chirping of the birds up in the forest branches.
—— Farther away, the Cathedral of Serenity stood out from behind the mountains, a grand and solemn bell tower.
Confirming the area's safety, Klein relaxed and went to further examine Leonard's wounds. Sitting down cross-legged beside ‘Him’, the first thing he checked was the other's back, and his face twisted as his hands came back sticky with blood.
“Hey, poet classmate,” Klein stated wryly, cleaning his dirty fingers off against the hem of his shirt and poking the Demonic Wolf’s face with his index finger. “Wake up. You owe me money for a new set of clothes.”
Since the worst of the injuries and curses had been dealt with, the probability of Leonard losing control had greatly reduced, meaning Klein no longer needed to be as worried. All he had to do was wake the other man up and have ‘Him’ make a wish asking to restore the missing legs.
However…….
The beast was completely unresponsive.
Klein “tsked,” patting the other's front leg while he leaned forwards to lift the wolf's head. He shook it gently, and said, “Leonard. Wake up, or I'll resort to slapping you.”
When not even the threat worked, he stood up and walked to the other end of the body, harshly pulling on the Demonic Wolf's tail.
It didn't work.
The ‘God’ crossed his arms in reproach, deciding to use the more occult means of waking the other up.
“The gold coin I handed out should be with him,” he murmured, “I just need to get ‘Sefirah Castle’ to resonate with it......” Klein paused. "Wait, in his current form, the coin wouldn’t have been left behind with his clothes in the Haagenti Plains…… would it?"
He closed his eyes to find out, and the brief relief he felt at knowing the coin was, in fact, still on Leonard, was crushed when he realized that it was in his mouth?!
Walking back to his original position, he sat down and tried to break open the large beast's muzzle; as he did so, the Demonic Wolf subconsciously let out a low growl from behind interlaced canine teeth: The tightly closed eyes struggling to open at last.
“...... You actually hid it underneath your tongue…..” Klein cried, some hysteria buried in his tone as he hurriedly maneuvered himself and allowed ‘Sefirah Castle’ to resonate with the coin. “You seriously don't mind yourself or it being so filthy?”
Despite his misgivings though, he was grateful to note that this time, the transformed Leonard was truly beginning to awaken.
After a fleeting moment of disorientation, bright green eyes cleared up and became alert: They sharpened, like two bottomless pools of the abyss— deadly, and combined with the trails of dried blood at their corners, they would’ve inspired a deep sense of fear in most people.
The second those eyes fell on Klein though, they blinked, showcasing palpable puzzlement.
“K— Klein?” The Demonic Wolf's voice was slurred, low, and a tad hoarse from a lack of prolonged speech.
The aforementioned man patted Leonard's front paw once more. “It's been a long time— Now make a quick wish to me.”
“Huh? Wait— What?”
Klein frowned and moved his hands about in exaggerated gestures. “Make. A wish. To me.” He repeated.
Leonard stared, before asking, “Can you wake up sooner, then?”
Klein froze.
“What?!” He blurted, “No! I asked you to make a wish to me so that I could heal your wounds— I mean…. Aren’t I already awake?!”
The others’ deep eyes once again blinked, confusion manifesting, until realization slowly emerged and soon dissolved into panic.
“Am I dead?!” Leonard hastily questioned.
Klein: “......”
Klein: “???????”
The Demonic Wolf ignored the mounting bewilderment of his companion, instead bracing ‘Himself’ on ‘His’ hind legs to scour the scenery around them— the shock in ’His’ tone becoming more and more apparent.
“I'm obviously in the Southern Continent, but this is—” ‘His’ gaze landed on the cathedral's bell tower in the distance.
“.......... Am I on my way to the Goddess’s Kingdom?
The Evernight Goddess's Divine Kingdom, the ‘Tenebrous Heaven,’ was originally located where the Cathedral of Serenity is now, before it left the ‘mortal’ lands and ascended to the Astral Realm. It is taught that believers of the Evernight Goddess will go to ‘Her’ Divine Kingdom through the Cathedral after death.
As Klein recalled the relevant information, he began to understand what was happening better; Meanwhile, Leonard's focus returned to Klein, frustration and dark amusement surfacing as ‘He’ saw the blood stains on ‘His’ shirt.
"I can't— you haven't even woken up yet…. I haven't even completed the tasks you gave me! The preparations for the Apocalypse are far from ready— how could I die in a place like this—?! You're still fighting, I… I'm so sorry Klein—!”
”No, no. Leonard— You don’t need to apologize, come to your senses, you're not dead!” Klein wanted to laugh a little, but it felt like his heart was being clogged with the sheer depth of emotions he was experiencing. "I was the one who moved you from the Haagenti Plains. I'm awake."
The other only continued to look at him blankly.
“Didn't you feel the fluctuation of ‘Sefirah Castle’s’ power through the gold coin?”
The beastial creature sniffed and moved its mouth around a few times before lowering its head and spitting out a wet coin.
Klein: “......”
He pinched Leonard's front paw and pressed it onto the gold coin, wiping it clean.
The Angel didn’t even react, obediently allowing him to move the appendage as ‘His’ face scrunched up in recollection. "In order to efficiently track down a stolen ‘0’ level sealed artifact, the Goddess sent me a ‘revelation’, which led me to the Haagenti Plains. The location wasn’t ideal, but I didn’t really have another option, so I hid while the thief was off guard, and then struck, taking advantage of my last waking moments to re-seal the artifact…. Unfortunately though, not in time to teleport away from the backlash."
Klein calculated the timeframe and managed to uncover the reason behind Leonard's silence—
The Goddess had ‘blessed’ Leonard with ‘Her’ ‘revelation’ using ‘Her’ powers as a ‘Great Old One,’ and though Klein's recent awakening had shortened the gap between their abilities significantly, ‘Her’ capabilities were still enough to muffle the fluctuation of the Sefirot's aura, thus preventing the “oracle” from being completely conveyed. Also, considering the fact that Leonard was most likely in the middle of combat at that time, it's not surprising that ‘He’ didn't notice the change in the coin.
At least Klein was able to discover that Sefirah Castle’s aura had increased because of this incident. That meant that the level of power clinging to the gold coins had also gone up, and had also probably enhanced their anti-divination abilities— which was very helpful.
As for the malfunction in ‘The Fool’s’ reading…… Leonard had been in a decent state when ‘He’d’ first divined everyone’s health – ‘His’ condition only having deteriorated at a later point – which is why the original divination hadn’t shown that ‘He’ was in danger.
So in short, the reason behind Leonard’s current brain malfunction was the fact that ‘He’ wasn’t aware of Klein’s awakening, and thus believed that the bloodied vision of his friend in front of him right now was some sort of post-mortem hallucination.
Klein had a slight headache at the absurdity.
Still, now wasn’t exactly the time for an in-depth explanation. The areas where the ‘Wolf's limbs had been severed had stopped bleeding, ( thankfully ), but they were still so hideous that the ‘transmigrator’ felt nothing but a painful stinging in his chest every time he looked at them. He grimaced, and once again urged Leonard. “Quickly, make a wish for me to cure the wounds!”
Leonard, following the lowered gaze, twisted ‘His’ head to look down at ‘His’ torso in amazement. ‘He’ even tried lifting one of ‘His’ front legs, which had been drenched in blood previously, but was now completely intact. “How come I'm only this wounded?”
“.......”
Klein somehow became more exasperated.
Apparently the silence lasted too long however, and Leonard quickly came up with ‘His’ own answer. “I'm really dead.” He said, dazed.
- According to the teachings of the Evernight Church, even if the physical body is mutilated beyond repair, in death, the soul of the deceased can still enter ‘Tenebrous Heaven’ intact.
Klein, in a bad mood, rolled his eyes while tugging on the handsome man’s pointy ears. “Then how come your soul is missing three legs?”
Tragically for him, Leonard's logic was sound. “It’s because extended close proximity to a corrupted God can corrode the soul.”
Klein's ears hurt.
“No.” He frowned, He couldn't figure it out, “Why are you so adamant about your death?”
He was certain that Leonard's soul wasn’t tainted, that the human ( read: wolf ) was definitely awake, and should have been able to determine ‘His’ state clearly by now. Honestly, it was so contradictory.
The ‘Demonic Wolf’ shifted as ‘He’ surveyed the supposedly still asleep ‘God’ ( who was in a fairly rare identity currently ), ‘His’ tone filling with bafflement.
“If I'm truly not dead, then I just so happened to suddenly appear at the feet of one of the Goddess’s Churches after a vicious battle — the safest place for me at the moment — with a newly awakened Klein right in front of me.”
Said man nodded. "Exactly right. And again, I was the one who carried you here."
Leonard let out a low, soft laugh from ‘His’ throat. It sounded both incredibly gentle, yet despondent at the same time.
“All gifts given with no costs attached...... How could such a thing happen to me?”
…… tch.
Klein suddenly felt a tad angry, and had no idea why.
‘Would my fist take the shape of a ‘price’ to you?’ He thought darkly, grinding his teeth.
Luckily for his old friend's health, the ‘Great Old One’ decided to be considerate this one time, since ‘He’d’ just been brought back from the brink of death. The ‘civilized’ man, Mr. Fool, gave up on his plan to physically snap the other out of ‘His’ disillusionment, and instead stood up with a huff, viciously stretching out his forefinger while vaguely pointing it at the ‘Wolf’s’ head.
“Wait for me.” He said sternly.
And so, within the next second, Leonard witnessed as the phantom born from his wish and guilt vanished into thin air.
_____________________________
Klein re-appeared in the house he’d left barely an hour ago, and was about to head straight upstairs when he met Melissa's panicked eyes.
“Klein, why are you covered in blood?!”
He gave a startled exhale, rubbing his temples lightly.
“It's not mine.” He answered calmly, "and it's a good thing you reminded me about it, or I would’ve scared Ada. Melissa, tell me, is there any pound cake leftover?"
Melissa sighed, but dropped the inquiries that’d been sitting on her tongue. “There's still one more piece, Benson said he had wanted to eat it later.”
“Eating sweets before bedtime will aggravate his stomach." Klein replied gravely. “Please bring me his piece, it's our duty as siblings to help him maintain a healthy diet.”
Melissa froze, stunned. “...... Okay?”
( ‘Is it really that serious?’ She thought to herself. )
“Also,” Klein began, a thought brewing in his mind, “Could you please get a random outfit from my room?---- something ugly.”
“........”
I beg your pardon?
_____________________________
Shortly thereafter, before Leonard could properly question ‘His’ sanity, ‘He’ saw the phantom once again, this time with a set of clean clothes hanging from the crook of his left arm, and a...... plate of pound cake in his right hand????
Klein grinned, white teeth flashing ominously. “I can assure you, there is no lemon flavored pound cake in ‘Tenebrous Heaven,’ for I have been there several times already.”
His grin then became slightly morose. "If you dare say that this is an illusion as well, this cake will be slapped in your face in the next few seconds, along with this ugly outfit."
“The outfit isn't ugly.” Leonard retorted subconsciously, then ‘He’ blinked.
It had been a long time since ‘He'd’ seen Klein with such a vivacious expression, similar to the ones he’d made back in Tingen. Even when conjuring them up in his own imagination.
( ‘…….. Especially in his own imagination.’ )
The mythical beast's eyes widened dramatically, and his furry, pointed ears abruptly perked up.
“...... Klein?” ‘He’ whispered.
“It's been a long time, My Dear Poet.” Klein stated back. “Now then, make a quick wish to me.”
Five minutes later, Leonard, back in his human form, complete with all his limbs intact, and even having gone to the stream to take a shower, changed into Klein's clothes and ended up sitting face-to-face with the other man on the grass, while holding a white china plate containing a single slice of pound cake.
To be fair, the outfit really wasn't that ugly. Klein's closet had been carefully organized by Lucy and Melissa, and none of the items in it were inherently bad to look at— at most, the style was simply a bit outdated, and the size a tad too small. Since it was originally purchased with Klein in mind, on Leonard, it was slightly shorter than expected; as long as he rolled up his sleeves however, the difference was hardly noticeable.
‘This guy could wear anything and still manage to look handsome’, Klein inwardly slandered, banishing the strange thought as Leonard finally grew the courage to speak.
“This pound cake tastes good.” He said hesitantly, “Did you make it?”
Seeing Klein nod, he let out a slow breath, “So ...... you're really awake?”
Klein smirked. “Woke up more thoroughly than you did anyway.”
Leonard rubbed the tip of his nose, and cleared his throat theatrically. “You can't blame me for the situation just now, can you?”
Thinking of the previously miserable appearance the person in front of him had not too long ago, Klein secretly sighed, swallowed the build-up from within his throat, and asked the Deacon, “On a mission requiring tracking down a ‘0’ level sealed artifact, why didn’t Pallez follow you?”
“The old man didn't know. I didn't tell him.” Leonard smiled genially, “He's on a rare vacation and I didn't want to disturb him.”
Klein felt a vein throb as he casually grabbed a single handful of grass and threw it all at the idiot sitting before him.
Leonard picked a weed out of his hair in confusion, “Why are you so...... perky? When you’ve just woken up?”
Klein choked, not quite wanting to admit that it was actually due to a somewhat inexplicable displeasure he was housing.
“......I was regaining my humanity in the mortal realm.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt a pang of shame, but what was even more overwhelming to him was that Leonard actually nodded thoughtfully at the explanation.
“I see, your humanity is indeed more obvious now.”
......That was all.
“So then,” Leonard asked curiously, “what have you been doing the entire time you've been awake so far?”
If it was the Fool, ‘He’ would’ve said that ‘He’d’ communicated with several of his late ‘Angelic’ rank friends, as well as having finished handling about thirty matters involving the other Gods. However, in front of Leonard, Klein could just be Klein; so instead he hesitated for around a second before giving up on his attempts to keep up appearances, and honestly answered, “I stayed home for two days, played with Addie, baked a few cakes, and read a novel.”
The corners of Leonard's mouth spasmed, before he then let out an undisguised laugh. “A pretty good week then. *Ahem* What novel?”
“The Long Goodbye.” Klein flippantly replied.
To his surprise, Leonard actually nodded blankly. “Oh yeah, I was planning on seeing what it was all about soon enough myself.”
“You know of it?”
“Knew.” Leonard spoke while waving his fork in the air. "Fors recommended it to me last month since she was the one who wrote the recommendation letter for Miss Brontë."
Hearing the name again, Klein couldn't help but twitch at the reminder of the sheer audacity.
“What's wrong?” Noticing his odd expression, Leonard paused and then raised an eyebrow, “That wouldn't happen to be the name of a famous author of your time, would it?”
The quick and keen guess startled Klein. “How did you guess?”
Leonard shrugged, "I know she's a ‘transmigrator,’ which is what Fors initially approached her for. What's more, I've seen the look you just made on several other ‘transmigrator’s’ faces once they hear about ‘Roselle the Great’."
Klein: “......... ”
Klein: Huang Tao ( Roselle ), this is what we call self-inflicted harm!
He knew that Leonard had interfered with the ‘Celestial Almighty’s’ arrangement by entering his dream world with the help of the gold coin, and had therefore already witnessed the modern era, so he had no intention of covering it up. “Yes, Charlotte Brontë was a world-famous writer, but she died more than a hundred years before I was born.”
Leonard rubbed his chin. “Then ‘The Long Goodbye’ wouldn't have been be by the real Ms. Brontë as well, would it?”
“That's not true.” Klein quickly interjected, “But the two main characters do have, uh, specific archetypes.”
Leonard hummed, contemplative. “Was the novel good?”
Klein inhaled with a hiss. “It's well written, but I'm not really interested in romance novels.”
“Hmm?” Leonard straightened up, and frowned. “Fors told me it was an adventure story.”
“...... That's not a contradiction.” Klein reluctantly responded, giving the curious man a retelling of the novel’s opening, which had made Lucy weep. "However, although it's not specifically pointed out, the author clearly thought of them as a couple while writing."
Of course, the more conclusive but unspoken reason Klein refused to give, was that he was convinced it was essentially a homoerotic fanfiction.
Leonard listened and tilted his head in confusion. "Why the fourth though? I mean, why wasn’t Barnes assigned Rogers as his first soul? Isn’t that a little more monumental?"
“...... Maybe because the first three assignments were considered internships and didn’t count as an actual task?” Klein rubbed his forehead and spat out a few modern words like he’d given up. “Isn't your focus a little strange?”
After several years of not seeing him, Leonard had definitely grown his evasive conversational skills, which caused Klein to feel a pang of annoyed cordiality.
Leonard glanced at him while throwing his hands up in surrender.
“It's just because I don't see where the love part comes in?” He admitted, “Isn't it natural to want to bring a dear friend back to life when they've died before you, you’ve heard that you can have a wish granted, and they’re standing right in front of you?” He paused, “To be honest, around when I first joined the Red Gloves, I often wondered from time to time why it wasn't me who had died.”
His tone was casual, as though he were remembering yesterday's withered flowers on the windowsill, rather than a tragic memory from a despair filled time. Before Klein could react however, the other party had already moved on from the topic and naturally transitioned to the next. “‘The hero who saved the world,’ doesn't that sound an awful lot like you?”
“ ------ Then again Klein, if you were in Rogers' place, what would you wish for?”
Klein never expected that Leonard would so easily change the topic again.
“What?” He asked reflexively.
“You,” Leonard continued gesturing with his fork, "Suppose a familiar face came to welcome you to ‘Tenebrous Heaven’ right now…… uh, let's just say it was me. What would you pray for if I told you that you could have a single wish granted?"
He looked relaxed, obviously just playing around, even as he got distracted by the Sanctuary's full hour bell in the distance.
Klein blinked.
What would he pray for if, at the end of his days, he were to meet with a Leonard who had died before him, and had informed him that he could make a wish for his deeds in life?
It was not a difficult thing to visualize: The ‘Demonic wolf,’ almost half ‘His’ body lost and bloodied, manifested before Klein's eyes.
“First of all, poet classmate,” Klein said calmly, "it is common knowledge that the soul disperses to the point of being incapable of channeling an hour or so after death, and the teachings of the Church are just a kind, well-intentioned lie— ‘Praise the Goddess.’ So while reuniting in the ‘Kingdom of God’ is romantic, it is not realistic."
Leonard rolled his eyes. “Well now, just forget I asked—-”
“Secondly,” Klein bit out, aggravated, "I'm a Miracle Invoker. If I have a wish, I can grant it myself, without the need for others to do it for me. If even I can't grant a wish, then it's highly unlikely anyone else can, and a wish involving bringing someone back from the dead?----- such a wish is something that not even a ‘God’ at the level of the ‘Lord of the Mysteries’ is able to do anything about."
“I see, I see—-”
“So,” Klein met Leonard's verdant eyes head on, "in your hypothetical scenario, I wouldn't be able to wish you back to life.”
"........ I don't have the means by which I can wish you back to life. Reality is never as rosy as fiction. So then, Leonard, in light of these facts you'd better stay alive for me.”
The ‘One Above The Sequences’ pressed his hand into the warm grass beneath ‘Him’, like ‘He’ was pressing into the still-warm fur of a ‘Demonic Wolf,’ except this time, there was no heartbeat lying under his fingertips.
In ‘His’ trance, Klein felt a moment of panic.
“Otherwise—-” He stumbled over his words, the corners of his mouth tugging oddly, “Otherwise—- if I do see you arriving in ‘Tenebrous Heaven’ early, I will certainly beat you up.”
It was only at this moment, that the brief experience in the Haagenti Plains truly imprinted itself into Klein's mind.
The mutilated body, the weak breathes, the still-drying blood stains, and the Angel that was about to die alone in silence.
If—if he hadn't read that cloak-and-dagger homoerotic homage to two fictional men, if he hadn't consequently become curious about the current state of affairs in the world, if he hadn't consequently decided to take this after-dinner check-in on some of his acquaintances…..
Then he would’ve probably been as confused as everyone else at the Tarot Club meeting in two days when ‘He’d’ inevitably see an empty seat.
He would’ve woken up on the fifth day following ‘His’ several years of slumber, and subsequently realized that with the benefit of hindsight, ‘He’d’ lost Leonard Mitchell forever.
And Leonard wouldn't even get to know that Klein had woken up. He would go as far as to apologize for his own premature death!
Klein took a slow, deep breath, and tried to exhale it the same way.
“...... Fuck!”
He failed.
Across from him, Leonard's eyes had widened to a point of concern. They had steadily grown in shock from the moment he’d said he wouldn't wish his friend back to life, and now his jaw actually dropped.
"Klein, you— that was a curse word, wasn't it? I’ve heard it before in your dream….. I— Are you angry?"
“You bet.”
A flash of confusion crossed Leonard's face, but he managed to respond before Klein could take another deep breath.
“...... Ah.” He said.
“‘Ah.’” Klein repeated dryly.
Leonard's expression turned very complicated for a moment. He raised a hand and scratched his hair, lowering his eyes somewhat guiltily, and then pursed his lips as if trying to suppress an ill-timed smile.
“Um, it was merely an accident this time.” He cleared his throat, “I'll be more careful in the future…… Oh! Right—-”
He quickly shut his mouth as he met Klein's gaze.
“...... Thank you.” He said seriously, unfurling a gentle smile that reached his emerald eyes, brightening them like the dawn of a new day. “Thank you, Klein.”
“I should be the one thanking you.” Klein‘s smile was skin-deep. ‘Thank you for not pissing me off by dying prematurely.’
Leonard interrupted his inner reply by gently poking him in the knee with the end of his silver fork.
Klein: “......”
You’re almost forty years old, why are you still acting like a high school student!
He pulled out another handful of grass and threw it at the other man once again, who finally couldn’t control his facial features and laughed at Klein’s annoyance.
“I'm going to head back.” Klein said, standing up and holding out a hand to ask Leonard for the china plate and silver fork. “I promised Melissa I'd leave early, and return home early.”
Leonard nodded, and got up after him, looking down at the garments covering him. “I'll have these clothes washed and delivered back to your house in a couple of days.”
“Good.” Klein agreed, “You can give them to whoever you end up meeting there without me. I know you know them all anyway.”
He paused, “But make sure you don't play with Ada all the time.”
"Huh? Why? I promised Melissa that I'd teach her the rules of Beyonders once in a while."
Klein remembered one of Lucy’s casual joking complaints from earlier, and stared at the ‘Servant of Concealment’ meaningfully.
“You're allowing her to build up an overly high aesthetic.”
Not waiting for the forty-year-old and still good-looking guy to figure out what that meant, Klein punched him lightly on the shoulder, took a step forwards, and disappeared into thin air, leaving behind only a brisk goodbye.
“See you at the Tarot Club on Monday.”
Leonard lightly touched the spot where he'd just been whacked, flashing a wide smile for the first time in a long time.
“See you Monday.” He murmured to the air.
Not in the modern age within that world of dreams, nor in the Kingdom of God after death.
At three o'clock next Monday afternoon, in front of the gates of Sefirah Castle.