Seeing Danitz in this state, Lynn couldn't help but chuckle. Then, he turned to Klein, who was studying his new marionette, and said, "He just sent me a message saying he's ready on his side and can take you to meet an old friend anytime. Do you want to go now?"
Klein paused for a moment, then nodded. "Let's go now."
He was equally curious and eager about matters involving the Blasphemy Slate, Antigonus, and the pursuit of Zaratul.
Of course, the most crucial thing was that The Fool was actually very curious about what kind of person he would become in the future, as seen from history.
"Okay, I'll send the message." Lynn made a gesture to Klein, and after a few minutes, he concocted a casual excuse to get Danitz out of the way. Soon, a familiar figure appeared beside them.
"Let's go. I'll take you to meet your old friend." The Angel of Secrets flashed a faint smile and then tossed something to Klein—a black badge engraved with the symbol of the Evernight Goddess.
"This is the key. The place I'm taking you to is under Amanises' domain. With this key, even without me, you can enter and exit as long as you have the Evernight Goddess' permission." The Angel of Secrets briefly explained and then guided Klein to activate the badge, which contained the power of the Evernight Goddess.
To Klein's surprise, his body quickly faded as if erased by an invisible hand. Meanwhile, nothing happened to Lynn, who simply smiled and waved at him.
"See you later Klein. I'll take this time to exchange the pirate heads for bounty money."
Klein instinctively nodded, showing no sign of panic. After all, he trusted the Angel of Secrets wouldn't harm him.
Indeed, once his body had fully faded, Klein's consciousness went dark. When he regained awareness, he found himself lying on the ground, looking up at a sky filled with pervasive mist. The crimson moon, symbolizing the Evernight Goddess, was faintly visible through the fog.
"Welcome to the treasure ground where Seers send wave after wave to their deaths, the Evernight Goddess' Schrodinger's Cat Box, and the prison of Antigonus." The Angel of Secrets' calm voice sounded.
Klein stood up, rubbing the back of his head, suspecting he had bumped it. He couldn't help but mutter, "I can understand the Law of Similar Sequence Beyonder Characteristics Conservation bringing them here for the Fool's uniqueness, but what's with the Evernight Goddess' Schrodinger's Cat Box?"
His instincts told him that this description was related to him in some way.
"You should try communicating with the Gray Fog," Lynn suggested, smiling as he brushed off non-existent dust from his body.
Klein immediately grasped what was going on and tried reaching out to the Gray Fog, only to find that his usually unimpeded connection was now severed.
"What is this place?" Klein asked, not particularly panicked by the disconnection from the Gray Fog.
"The peak of the Hornacis mountain range, once the realm of the Evernight," Lynn explained briefly, his gaze landing on a mysterious and eerie town not far away, as if his eyes could pierce through the layers of buildings and see the dark church at its core.
He sighed suddenly and tossed something to Klein.
Catching it, Klein found it to be a bracelet made of seven or eight gemstones, each embedded in a crystal orb. Every gemstone was inscribed with different symbols.
"Each of these stones is equivalent to a special charm that allows you to summon a historical projection of your future self. I designed it with an ownership recognition feature, so once you activate it with your spirituality, only you will be able to use this bracelet." Lynn introduced. As one of the top craftsmen, he had considerable skill in creating such items.
"You can also pre-charge some of your spirituality into the bracelet, so you can activate it with a mere thought. Isn't it convenient? This way, even if you encounter Amon while alone, you can surprise him with a little Fool trick." Lynn grinned as he spoke, clearly imagining something amusing.
'You really have it out for Amon, don't you?' Klein internally complained but couldn't help admiring the bracelet. He was already quite taken with it.
Lynn, remembering something else, added, "Oh, and the gemstones can be replenished. Although, apart from me, probably no one else can restore it. So after you've used it up, keep the bracelet and come to me for a refill."
Klein's eyes brightened.
"Of course..." Lynn's smile grew wider as he looked at Klein. "While the bracelet is free, the gemstone refills will cost you."
Klein's smile froze as he asked, "How much?"
"20,000 gold pounds per gemstone. No bargaining," the Angel of Secrets replied cheerfully.
"Twenty thousand gold pounds..." Klein suddenly felt the bracelet in his hand grow a thousand times heavier, and he handled it more carefully.
Still, he didn't try to haggle, knowing full well that such a unique item was worth far more. In fact, doubling the price would still be reasonable.
Though he was certain the Angel of Secrets was intentionally testing his wallet.
'But where can I get that much money? Oh right, the bounty on Admiral of Blood's crew... They're all notorious pirates. Can I exchange the Admiral of Blood himself for money? He must be worth... No, no, no. A Wraith marionette is far more useful than money. Besides, I won't need a gemstone refill anytime soon. By then, I might already be a demigod...' Countless thoughts raced through Klein's mind. Though he mourned for his wallet, he knew he would eventually spend the money if needed.
Lynn, having successfully teased Klein, continued to control the Angel of Secrets and said, "By the way, I recently made some improvements to this little trick. The bracelet you're holding is version 2.0."
"Version 2.0 includes a non-combat mode for the historical projections. In non-combat mode, the energy consumption is low, allowing them to exist for longer durations. They can defend against lesser threats and switch to the more energy-draining combat mode if necessary. How long they last depends on your spirituality..." Lynn explained while looking at Klein, then seriously added.
"So, you can now summon your future self to protect you with basic defenses. While this town may not pose a threat to me, it's dangerous for you. If I overlook something, you don't want to game over early. Better to be prepared."
(End of Chapter)
Klein's lips twitched slightly after hearing the Angel of Secrets' words. For a moment, he didn't know whether to appreciate the angel's sincerity or to criticize His unreliability.
In the end, Klein lowered his head, gazing at the beautiful bracelet in his hand. Taking a deep breath, he hesitated only briefly before using his spirituality to activate it. Following the guidance of the Angel of Secrets, Klein tugged forcefully at the air, and a figure appeared before him.
Klein stared at the figure he had just pulled out, momentarily dumbfounded. The person's appearance resembled the pre-transmigration Zhou Mingrui more than Klein of this era. The clothes the figure wore also leaned more towards the familiar 21st-century style—a white shirt and black pants.
'Huh? Is this really the future me, not the past me?' Klein started to doubt if he had pulled the wrong person. The historical projection before him looked too much like Zhou Mingrui from before the transmigration, and not at all like the future Fool.
The Angel of Secrets, however, stared at the history projection that resembled Zhou Mingrui, lost in thought. After a few seconds, He suddenly had a moment of realization and said, "I see."
'Wait, what did you understand? Could you stop speaking in riddles?' Klein was utterly confused as he listened. He couldn't be blamed for being bewildered; the difference in information was simply too vast.
Yet, before Klein could process what was happening, the figure of Zhou Mingrui, which had seemed to be in a deep sleep with closed eyes, suddenly opened them. At that moment, the figure's form began to change.
A dark, semi-transparent cloak appeared on the figure, and a cold, eerie mask covered its face. Beneath the cloak, Klein vaguely made out writhing, slimy tentacles that seemed to be lashing out uncontrollably at the ground or the air.
There was no doubt that this form was incredibly dangerous, especially to Klein, who wasn't even a demigod yet. However, almost at the same moment, the bracelet in Klein's hand began to emit light. This light cast a hazy filter over Klein's vision, allowing him to see those grotesque tentacles as though they were shrouded in a veil.
"Phew, lucky for you, I anticipated this and added a mythical creature filter function to the bracelet. Otherwise, just one glance at those tentacles would've killed you," the Angel of Secrets said.
Klein finally came to his senses. He looked at the angel and asked, "So… He… He's really the future me? Why does He seem… off?"
To be more precise, Klein was worried that this future version of him was already on the verge of losing control. Otherwise, why would His mythical creature form be so chaotic?
"Well, it can't be helped. This future version of you is likely still fighting the Celestial Worthy in the dream, so His control over His body in the real world is bound to be unstable."
Lynn explained, scrutinizing the historical projection before them—a projection that couldn't be called that in the traditional sense. After all, historical projections couldn't replicate singular existences from the Age of the Mysteries, but Lynn's little trick seemed to have bypassed that limitation.
Still, Lynn decided to continue calling it a historical projection.
He could faintly sense the connection between this projection and a not-too-distant future timeline. From that connection, he could also detect traces of Klein's Dream World.
Clearly, Klein, who was usually unlucky but lucky in major events, had once again pulled off something extraordinary—he had summoned the historical projection of a future version of himself who had already ascended to become a half-Lord of Mysteries and was currently battling the Former Lord of Mysteries in His dreams.
Although Lynn had anticipated that this could happen, he was still somewhat surprised when it actually did.
Klein, meanwhile, was completely lost in thought. He could guess that the "Celestial Worthy" likely referred to the Former Fool, but what did fighting in a dream even mean?
However, Klein didn't have time to dwell on these questions, because he immediately saw the Angel of Secrets, after a few seconds of thought, reveal an eager expression. In the next moment, He conjured a crystal-clear bubble in His hand and placed it into the "Zhou Mingrui" historical projection's hand—or, at least, one of the tentacles that could pass for a hand.
As soon as the bubble made contact with the "Zhou Mingrui" projection, it burst—not disappearing into thin air, but rather being absorbed.
Klein then watched in shock as the "Zhou Mingrui" projection's previously lifeless eyes suddenly gleamed with light, as if a doll had been given a soul.
Klein could clearly feel the projection glance at him, then at the Angel of Secrets. It opened its mouth as though it wanted to say something.
Yet nothing came out. The light in its eyes quickly faded away, and it once again became a lifeless puppet.
"Tsk, as I thought… it didn't work." Lynn sighed, looking a bit disappointed. He had suddenly thought to use his time-traveling ability to see if he could exploit a loophole and bring the consciousness of the future Fool into this timeline for a brief journey.
Although the attempt had technically succeeded, it had also failed.
The future Fool's consciousness had indeed been summoned for a split second, but it had been immediately repelled.
"Well, it could also be that I'm not skilled enough with this technique yet. Once I've practiced more, maybe it will work," Lynn muttered to himself. He glanced at the now-docile "Zhou Mingrui" projection, considering for a moment before conjuring another bubble.
Klein, still struggling to process everything: ?
What are you planning to do now?
"Don't worry, I'm just giving your future self a buff. Dreams… are one of my specialties." Lynn seemed to have read Klein's thoughts, smiling as he explained. He then pressed the bubble into "Zhou Mingrui's" hand again.
This time, since the bubble was only for buffing the future Fool in his dream state, there was no awakening of the historical projection.
"Alright, go ahead and merge with the projection. You might learn something important once you do. He came here for a reason, after all, even if He didn't intend to leave you these memories." Lynn smiled at his companion.
(End of Chapter)
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