Trier, Intis Republic, 28 June 1349.
The Salle de Bal Unique was a wide ballroom with a high painted ceiling. Crystal chandeliers hung in neat rows, spreading warm light across the polished marble floor. The walls were tall and decorated with cream and gold panels, with large arched windows covered by heavy red curtains.
White columns stood along the sides, supporting a balcony with black iron railings. The design was balanced and grand, showing the style of Intisian Architecture.
It also had a Unique rule. Anyone who wished to enter, man or woman, had to wear a short suit and a monocle.
Couples moved across the marble floor to the sound of the orchestra. Polished shoes slid in rhythm with the music. Suits were neat and dark, while the monocles caught the glow of the chandeliers with every turn. The women's slimmer figures and smooth steps set them apart from the men's straighter and heavier movements.
From the balcony above, the dancers looked like clockwork figures circling under the golden light
A young man sat there, quietly chuckling. He had black eyes and curly black hair. His forehead was broad, and his face was thin. A crystal monocle rested over his right eye, and a black pointed hat sat on his head.
He let out a playful click of his tongue and smiled faintly, pinching his monocle with his right hand. "Giving humanity to me just to stop the resurrection of the Lord of Mysteries… how petty can you be, tsk tsk."
From what Amon could understand, in this world humanity was not a single concept but something that could be measured in layers. The first layer was self-awareness. It included the instinct to survive, the drive of greed, and the reason to exist. This was the level of humanity he had previously possessed.
Now, somehow, he had gained the memories of a person from what seemed like the Pre-Epoch. He had inherited their experience of living life as a human, the second layer of humanity.
He slowly closed his eyes and said with a light laugh, "It seems father had another trump card up his sleeve after all."
Tilting his head as if amused by his own words, he added, "Or would it be the Primordial God Almighty."
Suddenly, his eyes widened in shock when he discovered something in the memories. A chuckle escaped his mouth and quickly grew into full-blown laughter.
...
The cathedral was built from pitch-black stone, its towering columns stretching upward to arches and domes lined with bones from countless races.
Each piece of bone gleamed faintly in the light, like stars scattered across the dark walls. At the center stood a cross more than a hundred meters tall. It pulsed with a strange glow, as though countless souls were sealed within it.
Despite being a cathedral of corpses, the hall carried no sense of dread. Instead, it radiated a solemn holiness, as if someone unseen was always watching with compassion.
Before the cross, Adam knelt in prayer, his hands clasped together. He wore a simple white cloak, a silver cross hanging over his chest. His golden hair and beard framed a face that carried pure, childlike eyes, calm and free of guile.
"Amon… why are you here?" Adam's voice broke the silence.
Amon stood off to the side with a whimsical smile, his crystal monocle catching the faint light. "Oh, it seems Father had a card up his sleeve," he said softly. "He gave me humanity by merging my first layer of humanity with the second layer from a man from the Pre-Epochs."
Adam did not lift his head. His voice was low and calm, almost like a whisper of wind. "Father had planned no such thing."
"Tsk tsk… How can you be so sure, oh dear zealous brother of mine?" Amon chuckled, tilting his head as though he was mocking.
Adam's eyes rose slightly. "Why are you here then, if you are so sure?"
"I was only here to see if something changed in me," Amon replied, adjusting the monocle on his eye. "Well, it seems it did. The instinctual hate I always felt when I saw your face… it seems to have lessened."
Adam lowered his gaze back to the cross. His voice stayed calm. "If you're done, then get out."
"Of course, of course," Amon said with a wide grin. "I'll go and prank a peer of mine. Oh, the ideas I have in my mind… the people from the Pre-Epochs were such funny people."
He suddenly broke into song, his voice carrying through the cathedral in a playful, mocking tone.
"Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down,
Never gonna run around and desert you.
Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye,
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you."
His laughter followed the words, echoing off the black stone columns as he tipped his hat and strolled away.
***
With a deep breath, Zhou Mingrui stood at the center of the room, calming himself for several minutes. Then, solemnly, he began pacing in a square counter-clockwise.
At the first step, he whispered, "The Immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings."
At the second, he said with sincerity, "The Sky Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings."
At the third, he exhaled slowly. "The Exalted Thearch of Heaven and Earth for Blessings."
At the fourth, he spat out a foul breath and focused. "The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth for Blessings."
Returning to his original spot, Zhou Mingrui closed his eyes and waited. Hope, unease, anticipation, and fear tangled in his chest.
Ding dong.
The sound of an electric doorbell rang out. Nostalgia struck him like lightning. His body reacted instinctively, stepping forward as if to answer, but Klein's memories reminded him that there was no doorbell here.
This was East Borough. Even if a normal bell had been installed, it would have been stolen the same day.
Ding dong.
The sound rang again.
He swallowed and moved closer to the door, each step filled with caution. He peeked through the peephole. A man stood outside holding a box. Zhou immediately noticed the man's clothing. The third ring of the bell jolted him.
Afraid the man would grow impatient, Zhou ruffled his hair and clothes before opening the door. He planned to use the excuse of having just woken up.
But the words froze in his throat.
The man's uniform was a gray shirt with red and black stripes. Zhou recognized it instantly. It was the delivery shirt from his previous life, the uniform of SF Delivery Service.
The man also wore a monocle over his right eye.
The monocle-wearing man smiled, and to Zhou Mingrui, it looked like the smile of a devil.
"We have a delivery for you, sir," he said.
"…Who are you?" Zhou asked.
"I am a delivery man, sir. From ST Delivery Service," the man replied, adjusting his monocle and pointing to the logo on his shirt that said ST Delivery in Chinese.
He extended his arm and handed the parcel to Zhou Mingrui.
Zhou Mingrui just stood there with the parcel in his hand, dumbfounded.
Before the man turned away, he snapped his fingers as if he had remembered something. The monocle-wearing man looked back with a sheepish smile.
"Oh, it is my first time, so I forgot, but you need to sign this," he added.
The delivery man handed him a form. Zhou glanced over it. The text was also written in Chinese.
["Contract"]
ST Delivery Service – Post-Delivery Agreement Form (Form 1349-C)
This Agreement ("Agreement") is entered into by and between ST Delivery Service, Ltd. ("Company"), its affiliates, subsidiaries, successors, and assigns, and the undersigned recipient ("Client"), effective as of the date of signature below.
1. Scope of Agreement
Client acknowledges receipt of goods and/or services as specified in Delivery Manifest # (The Diary of Emperor Roselle). Said goods are deemed delivered in satisfactory condition unless otherwise noted.
2. Transfer of Rights and Obligations
Client understands and agrees that acceptance of said delivery constitutes the lawful transfer of any and all meta-contractual, esoteric, and existential duties previously borne by the Client to the Company. Client specifically acknowledges that all tasks, duties, and burdens related to world preservation, continuity oversight, and prevention of ultimate systemic collapse are hereby assumed by the Company and/or its authorized representative.
3. Representations
The Company affirms full capacity to assume said obligations and shall henceforth be recognized as the sole entity responsible for:
(a) safeguarding cosmic integrity
(b) ensuring the continuity of human civilization
(c) preventing, delaying, or otherwise managing apocalyptic events
(d) assuming the role of "savior" where applicable
4. Binding Effect
This Agreement shall be binding upon the Company, its representatives, avatars, reflections, and all future manifestations thereof.
5. Entire Agreement
This document constitutes the full understanding between the Client and the Company. No oral statements, divine objections, or contradictory interpretations shall alter the terms herein.
By signing below, the Client acknowledges that all duties, obligations, and responsibilities of saving the world have been lawfully transferred to ST Delivery Service.
Signature of Client (Receiver): _________________________
Date: June 29, 1349
ST Delivery Service Representative: Amon, Avatar No. 9999999999
"Wh... What is this..." Zhou Mingrui asked with his voice a little shaky.
"I don't know... You have to ask customer service for an answer." The Monocle wearing man shrugged.
With a dry throat, Zhou Mingrui signed the contract. The monocle-wearing man bowed politely and left without another word.
Zhou closed the door slowly. His mind was blank except for a single thought:
"What the fuck did I just get myself into?"
He turned his eyes to the box and opened it in a daze. Inside was a book.
The cover showed a man with a mustache holding the Earth in his palm. The title was written in Chinese.
"The Diary of Emperor Roselle."
Zhou gulped, opened the book, and began to read.