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*****
"In that case, you can hang up there with those other disobedient little ones!"
A Spirit Body Thread shot out from Zaratul's body, darting toward George with lightning speed. As a historical projection of a Sequence 1 who had partially advanced to Attendant of Mysteries, Zaratul was currently suppressed by the Evernight Goddess's power and could not leave the church. However, exerting control over a mere Sequence 5 was, in his eyes, effortless.
If the marionettes he controlled weren't bound to the church, he would have long ago sent one outside to fetch the obsidian needed to break the seal.
"What!?"
The moment the thread made contact with George, a domineering force surged forth, instantly shattering Zaratul's Spirit Body Thread into nothingness. It was as if the thread had never even existed. Before the projection could recover from its shock, George's hand was already descending toward the crown of its head.
"Flaming Jump!"
Zaratul attempted to blink away using his flames. However, the ability failed to trigger; the space around him had been locked down by a powerful force he had never encountered before. Looking up at George again, the man who had appeared to be a Sequence 5 suddenly loomed like a towering giant. The palm descending toward him seemed to blot out the entire sky, leaving him as helpless as an ant facing a collapsing mountain.
"You... you are a True God!!!"
"Correct. But there's no prize."
George's lips curled into a faint smile. He immobilized Zaratul's historical projection, extracted a fragment of the soul invested within it, and began to sift through every memory it contained.
"Zaratul... or perhaps 'Little Zaratul' is more appropriate."
A moment later, George carried that fragment of soul toward a wall at the very back of the cathedral. From the projection's memories, he knew that this wall hid a secret seal of the Evernight Goddess. Behind it lay the true body of Little Zaratul, as well as Antigonus, the ancestor of the Antigonus family.
As it turned out, Antigonus was the son of the Demonic Wolf of Destruction, Flegrea—a natural Mythical Creature born as a Miracle Invoker. At the end of the Epoch of Fire, he witnessed the fall of the Demonic Wolf and, through the pull of convergence, obtained the Fool Uniqueness and one Attendant of Mysteries characteristic. He fled with his sister, the Mother of the Sky, eventually crossing the sea to the Northern Continent. In the secluded Hornacis Mountains, they established the hidden "Nation of the Evernight."
During the Fourth Epoch, he advanced to Attendant of Mysteries and assumed human form to serve the Solomon Empire. Later, with the "assistance" of Adam and Amon, he barely managed to accommodate the Fool Uniqueness, becoming a "Half-Fool." During the Era of the Four Emperors, he killed the original Zaratul and took his Attendant of Mysteries characteristic. Hunted by the Evernight Goddess and suffering from the awakening consciousness of the Celestial Worthy within his body, he finally lost control. He collapsed into a maddened Mythical Creature state and was sealed by the Goddess in this hidden palace on the main peak.
The Zaratul who had once dealt with Roselle was actually the son of the deceased original Zaratul. To reclaim his father's characteristic, he had spent centuries searching for the vanished Antigonus. Using the notebook obtained through Roselle, he discovered the location of the seal. To play it safe, his true body remained at the Secret Order headquarters while he sent a historical projection in his stead.
He did find the mad Antigonus and reclaimed his father's characteristic. Unfortunately, during his advancement, the prepared Goddess of Evernight sealed his projection within the church. Because his soul was incomplete, Little Zaratul's true body succeeded in reaching Sequence 1, Attendant of Mysteries, but immediately spiraled into insanity.
The historical projection in the church had been trying to lure George into bringing him the obsidian from outside to reunite the projection with the true body. If successful, he would have regained his sanity and become a complete Sequence 1. Over the years, many Secret Order Beyonders had come looking for clues to save their leader, only to end up as marionettes hanging in the town or being swallowed by the darkness.
George strongly suspected this was a trap set by the Evernight Goddess to lure high-sequence experts of the Secret Order to their deaths. It made sense; the Fool, Error, and Door pathways were the most likely to lead to the resurrection of the Celestial Worthy. As the first soul released from Sefirah Castle, the Goddess was duty-bound to suppress them. Restricting the mermaids limited the birth of Marionettists, and the Hornacis seal served as a grinder for those who climbed higher.
"It looks like I'm about to have all the characteristics needed to become the Fool."
Ignoring the obsidian, George waved his hand, shattering the secret seal on the back wall. He then traced the symbols required to open the path to the hidden palace.
He already had a Sequence 3 characteristic from a marionette in the church and a Sequence 2 characteristic from the crushed Magic Lamp. To advance to a complete Sequence 0 Fool, he needed the Uniqueness and three Sequence 1 Attendant of Mysteries characteristics.
The "Half-Fool" Antigonus held the Uniqueness and one Sequence 1 characteristic. Little Zaratul's true body held a second. This meant George only needed to find one more Attendant of Mysteries characteristic to finish the set. As for the rituals, he had his own ways to expedite those requirements.
"I'm not a woman, you know."
The moment George stepped through the gateway into the hidden palace, he was met with a terrifying assault. Countless thick, slimy Spirit Body Threads lashed out like tentacles, attempting to ensnare him. Compared to the projection of Little Zaratul, this power was in an entirely different league.
"Tri-Color Flames!"
George opened his mouth, and a torrent of powerful tri-color fire erupted, instantly incinerating the tentacles into ash. As the flames cleared, a massive palace was revealed. The ceiling was crowded with a dense thicket of hanging marionettes—ten times more than what was in the church.
"How perverted," George muttered.
Hanging marionettes from the ceiling for "appreciation" was a personal quirk of Antigonus; it wasn't a mandatory trait for high-sequence Beyonders of the Fool pathway.
At the far end of the hall stood a massive, ancient stone throne inlaid with dull gold and gems. Swarming atop the throne were countless transparent, wriggling Worms of Spirit—the Mythical Creature form of the out-of-control Half-Fool. At the base of the throne lay a "Fool" Blasphemy Card created by Roselle.
It was clearly a piece of bait left by the Goddess, but George had no need for it; the creator of those cards was currently in his Sefirah Castle. However, he still had to deal with Antigonus. He needed that Uniqueness and the Attendant of Mysteries characteristic.
(End of Chapter)