Mother?
Impossible!
Klein the cat froze, his mind blank.
Mrs. Zhou, clearly briefed beforehand, showed surprise and confusion but quickly focused on the cat on the coffee table. After a half-second hesitation, she hurried over, tentatively asking, "Mingrui, is that you? A gentleman said you'd been turned into a cat…"
"…It's me." Klein said, snapping out of it as his mind rebooted. He realized this was his mother's Shadow of Time, a product of Lucifer's abilities.
Tears streamed uncontrollably from Klein's eyes, all his grief and frustration pouring out, shattering his usual composure.
Before he knew it, he'd leapt into his mother's arms, fully enveloped as she held him.
"Oh, don't cry, you're too old for that…" Mrs. Zhou fumbled to hold Klein, her movements gentle and cautious.
…
Alaric watched the heartwarming reunion quietly, a rare softness in his expression.
After a moment, he turned his head and asked, "What do you think he'll choose?"
"I don't know." Adam said, emerging from the shadows, also watching the scene. He looked at Alaric. "I didn't expect you to do this. I thought you'd push Klein toward becoming the Lord of Mysteries."
"I do lean toward him, but I want it to be his choice." Alaric said with a smile, meeting Adam's golden eyes. "If you and I were friends, I'd want you to choose your own ending willingly, not be forced onto a savior's path."
His words carried an edge. Adam glanced at him and said, "He did choose willingly."
"And you? Did you choose willingly?" Alaric pressed.
"Of course." Adam replied without hesitation.
"What about Medici? Did he choose to sacrifice himself? And the countless ordinary people who'll die in the wars?" Alaric asked, staring into Adam's eyes. "Did they choose?"
"It's a necessary sacrifice." Adam said, a standard response. But for the first time, he felt a flicker of doubt.
He paused, quickly tracing the source.
That doubt came from… love.
A faint love for the world and its people told Adam this wasn't right.
"…But to save this world, we have no other choice." Adam said, closing his eyes, unsure if he was answering Alaric or himself.
"No, you do." Alaric said, grinning with a hint of temptation. "You could choose to trust me."
"You know what my abilities mean. Want to take a chance and trust me?"
Adam's eyes snapped open, meeting Alaric's playful gaze. For a fleeting moment, he wavered.
Should he trust Alaric? He bore no malice toward the world, and his abilities, used well, could save it.
"…You're dangerous." Adam said after a pause, looking away.
"Nonsense, I'm just a cheerful Joker." Alaric laughed, dropping the topic. He'd known Adam wouldn't agree.
He hadn't truly meant for Adam to trust him fully. Even if Adam regained love, he'd never entrust the world's salvation to Alaric... maybe just a bit of help. Perfect.
Alaric quietly assessed his Mask Maker potion's digestion progress.
When the Evernight Church took Ince Zangwill's puppet, the potion digested about a tenth. Simply making someone a puppet and ending their fate wasn't optimal acting... barely scraping by. Altering a Sequence 5's fate should've yielded more.
His experiment with Adam confirmed this. When Adam agreed to wear the mask, no digestion occurred. But when Adam wavered, the potion progressed.
So, the key to digesting the Mask Maker potion was making others wear masks, changing them, and guiding events as desired. Alaric smirked, summarizing internally.
He wasn't in a rush to digest the potion. Transforming Adam was a far more intriguing project.
It was just so fun, wasn't it?
…
Klein spent seven days as a cat.
He mostly slept, like a true feline, spending the rest sunbathing, daydreaming, or rolling around. In rare moments, he reunited with his mother.
She'd brush his fur while Klein, sprawled on her lap, shared an edited version of his experiences.
In those seven days, he didn't see Lucifer. Food and water appeared daily within reach, and his family was brought to him via Shadow of Times, yet Lucifer avoided meeting him.
Klein knew he was waiting for his decision.
And he'd made one.
"I wish I could stay a cat forever." Klein muttered, flicking his tail. He looked at the windowsill, then leaped up with feline grace.
Knock, knock, knock...
Klein tapped the window with his tail. "Come out. I know you're there."
Alaric appeared outside, studying Klein. After seven days of rest, Klein's spirit had visibly improved. The reunion with his family had pulled him from despair, and he now looked like a sleek, glossy cat.
"Have you gotten… wider?" Alaric said suddenly, gesturing. "You were this wide before, but now… tsk!" He shook his head, feigning dismay.
***
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