"Now tell me your wishes. Anything. As long as it doesn't involve innocents," Morpheus said. Klein thought for a moment."Revenge," he said with a dark voice."Find Ince Zangwill. But be careful. He currently has equipment that warns him against dangers. He might be at a higher sequence than you right now. I'll show you later how he appears to you," Klein said. Morpheus nodded in approval."Secondly, I need money. Or rather, items that can be traded at the Beyonder meetings. We need these to gather information," Klein added. Morpheus nodded again."The third... I plan to use it later. For now, I must focus on these urgent matters."
Morpheus looked at him."Alright. I can gather the money as soon as possible. But finding Ince Zangwill will be difficult. Still, I will find him. Don't worry," he assured him.
Then, an instant tremor passed through Morpheus where he was sitting. He looked at Klein and said with a lifeless voice,"I want to rest now. Take me to my room." Klein sensed the sudden change but didn't interfere and arranged a room for him.
The moment Morpheus entered the room, he slammed the door in Klein's face. Klein couldn't understand Morpheus' sudden shift in behavior. He must have been mentally damaged from all he had experienced. As Klein turned to leave for his own room, the aura of the true creator began rising from Morpheus' room. Klein quickly turned back and reached for the door."Don't open it. You will die," Morpheus said in a calm but serious voice.
"I am suppressing it right now. But I am already corrupted," Morpheus said."Seeing me now will kill you."
Inside the room, Morpheus was no longer in a human body. His entire body had turned into a white serpent, filling the whole room, leaving no space to move. The snake's eyes, instead of Morpheus' usual yellow, had turned the blood-red of the corrupted serpent from his first nightmare.
Despite everything, Morpheus remained calm. The marks of the true god had long been erased from his body, but the change in his soul was affecting his form. Wounds formed on the serpent body, covered with inflammation and pus. His eyes darted around wildly.
Nevertheless, Morpheus tried to stay composed, using his powers to stabilize his body and ignoring the voice in his mind.
Klein moved away from the door."Go. I'll handle this," Morpheus said. Klein prepared himself for battle and retreated to his room, hoping Morpheus would succeed.
As Klein left, the air grew thick with tension, the faint hiss of the serpent echoing in his ears like a dark omen.
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In Empress Borough, the opulent villa of Count Hall.
"Why did you suddenly visit so early?" Audrey looked at the sky outside, then she looked at Viscount Glaint.
Glaint looked around and only found a golden retriever sitting beside him. Hence, he whispered, "I was planning to go to the turf club, but I met Kance on the way. He told me something very interesting. It's truly interesting. Since I was passing by here, I thought of coming to share it with you."
"What is it?" Audrey asked with interest.
Glaint didn't deliberate over his words as he replied, "You should've heard of the Aurora Order, right? It was the Aurora Order that assassinated the Intis ambassador. They were caught, with several important members killed, and a very large ploy was foiled as a result."
I thought it was something related to the godhood of the True Creator. Xio and Fors sent someone to report the information yesterday evening, and it just so happened that an operation was held last night... Wait, the Aurora Order apparently worships the True Creator! Audrey's eyes lit up. She pressed in a reserved tone, "What ploy?"
"I don't know, Kance refused to say. He just told me that the person in charge of this ploy was once a wanted swindler, a swindler named Lanevus." Glaint spread out his right hand.
As expected... Audrey nodded indiscernibly. She didn't conceal her curiosity and asked, "Was he caught?"
"He's dead, but he wasn't killed by our people." Glaint paused for a moment. "This is what I meant by interesting. When his body was found, it was covered with many tarot cards. Same for the surroundings. You can imagine that scene..."
Tarot cards? The body was covered with tarot cards? Audrey was startled at first before it hit her.
This was done by our Tarot Club!
It was Mr. Fool's adorer!
This is a tussle at the level of deities?
Mr. Fool and the True Creator are considered archenemies?
It's no wonder He calls the other party the Fallen Creator...
Many thoughts flashed through Audrey's mind as her body trembled faintly and imperceptibly.
"What are you thinking about?" Viscount Glaint, who was sitting opposite, finally couldn't hold it in any further as he asked in puzzlement.
Audrey abruptly snapped out of her reverie. Slightly cocking her head, she smiled and said, "Didn't you tell me to imagine the scene of the corpse being covered with tarot cards?"
"Haha." Glaint awkwardly smiled and sighed. "I wonder which secret organization's member killed Lanevus. It really matches how I imagined such things to be like. It's so—so cool!"
It's our Tarot Club! Audrey answered silently as she smiled. "Perhaps there's no organization, but the independent act of a powerful Beyonder?"
"Good reminder. There's something even stranger. Near the scene, in a basement, there are bodies believed to belong to members of the Aurora Order—or whatever remains that still looks like a body. They found traces that the Aurora Order had captured a person and used them in a ritual. But mysteriously, the Aurora Order members died in explosions."
"They're currently searching for a connection between the two incidents," Glaint said excitedly.
Hmm, that really is strange. I'll ask Mr. Fool about this at the next meeting, she thought.
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When morning came, Klein approached the entrance to Morpheus' room, fully equipped and moving cautiously."Morpheus. Are you there?" he asked.
A cheerful voice came from inside."I'm better now." Morpheus opened the door and revealed himself to Klein."You don't need to worry anymore," he said, starting to put on the clothes Klein had prepared for him.
He couldn't help but warn Klein,"Corruption comes from knowledge. Sometimes there are things you're not meant to know—information too heavy for you to bear. I haven't even heard all of it, and yet I ended up like this."
Klein listened intently. After Morpheus finished dressing, he headed toward the front door."Are you leaving already?" Klein asked.
"There's no time to waste. Time is the most precious thing for me right now. Besides, we'll see each other at those meetings. For now, farewell, my friend." Morpheus said as he put on his blood-red glasses and stepped out of the house.
Klein nodded. Although he didn't want to fully agree with what Morpheus said, he did. Time was the most important thing for both of them at that moment.
Either Morpheus would succumb to the corruption, or they would find a way to stop it—and return home.