A Fool

Bernadette Gustav perceived herself as prudent and wise, but as she willingly stood in front of the door that led to a great existence, she realised she was anything but that.

The great existence was known as the Reaper. They had three-sentence honorific names, which were used solely to honour the gods in the world of mythicism. Either the Reaper was a God, which she highly doubted, or they were on the verge of becoming one, probably at the level of the King of Angels.

King of Angels!

In the past, beings at that level had served the Ancient Sun God "Himself," yet here she was, bracing herself to face a King of Angels as little more than a saint.

Stop this madness! Her father would have shouted at her, his face full of anger and concern, if he knew what she was doing.

But he wasn't there; he hadn't been there for her since he seized that god-awful throne and declared himself Emperor Caesar. It affected him in more ways than he probably realised.

He wasn't the father she so loved anymore, and she hated him so much for that.

You are a fool, Bernadette Gustav. She chastised herself, stifling a sob that was threatening to escape her throat.

The door suddenly squeaked open, and she moved forward, assuming an impassive expression. Sia Plaque Eggers, an Angel of Death Pathway, emerged from within, scowling as they confronted each other. This woman probably wanted to watch herself burn in hell.

Bernadette understood her rage—the things her father did to the Southern Continent were not something she was particularly proud of—but she didn't let it affect her, instead meeting her eyes straight.

"Go in." Sia snapped, her distaste written all over her face. "The Lord wishes to see you."

Bernadette nodded and walked in the door, recalling how Sia addressed the entity as Lord, reinforcing her notion that she was about to meet with a King of Angels.

It was foolish; she was foolish—after all, who comes to the headquarters of an organisation with origins dating back to the third era in the hopes of meeting with a King of Angels, all because of a letter about their dead father that may very well be false?

Yet here she was, as she couldn't bear to give up the only hope she had found after so long to set things right.

Clutching that tightly, Bernadette Gustav entered the vast room and looked ahead at a young man sitting behind a short table. He was handsome, with wavy black hair and a razor-sharp jawline to match. He wore deep black robes with golden threads, an outfit reserved for the royals in the culture of the southern continent.

But it was his deep silver eyes that truly stuck out, the eyes that resembled the white moon that came last month, and when she met them, she had the impression she was entirely seen through, laid bare with no secrets or mysteries, and that prospect terrified her, forcing her to instinctively glance away.

"Sit, Bernadette Gustav." The silver-eyed man said, his voice tranquil like the surface of the water. It somewhat soothed her turbulent heart a bit as she complied and took a seat in front of him with a stoic expression that tried to hide her true emotions, but it was obviously futile as he continued almost soothingly. "I am Lucien Eggers, or, as you may know, the Reaper."

Lucien Eggers…

So, that was the name of the one known as the Reaper, the name of the one who was about to throw the entire southern continent into chaos, and, more crucially, the name of the one who might have information about her father's condition...

"Calm down." Lucien interrupted her thoughts.

Instantly, her trepidation drained away.

"Did you just shut down my emotions?" Bernadette blinked, her heart strangely tranquil.

"I just turned them down a notch." Lucien shrugged. "You were in no condition to listen to my deal."

Heavy silence reigned between them; the papers rustled, and an owl hooted loudly.

"Did you know why I summoned you?" Lucien finally stated.

Bernadette knew, alright. "The Pale Death, the grade-0 sealed artefact that I possess, is the sequence 1 characteristic of the Death Pathway." She took a long breath to prepare herself, then glanced up at his silver eyes. "You want that."

"This makes things a lot easier." Lucien muttered quietly, then stared at her. "You see, I value equivalent exchange, so how about this: I'll tell you about your father and some other things about his condition in exchange for the Pale Death?"

Equivalent exchange, Bernadette repeated in her mind with faint relief. She'd been replaying in her head what would happen when she met the Great Existence, and most of the scenarios didn't end well for her, but now it seemed she was just worrying too much.

She was undoubtedly going to accept his offer. It wasn't like she had a choice when she was faced with Lucien, a potential king of angels. And there was no doubt that he was being kind to her by even suggesting this deal; after all, he could just take it all away at any time. Even with all of her sealed artefacts, sans the wishing lamp, she doubted she'd be able to put up much of a fight against him.

A chill suddenly raced down her spine as she reflected on her situation, for she discovered something; Lucien could take the pale death from her with little to no problems, but he didn't. Instead, he seemed to demonstrate kindness by suggesting a deal of equivalent exchange, but why?

Bernadette was not that much of a fool to trust in kindness—this world was many things, but it was not kind. There must be another reason behind his deal—what is it? Is he looking for something more than pale death for her? But what could the King of Angels possibly desire from her? That cursed lamp? Could it be related to her father?

The curious part of her wanted to use her prying abilities to find answers to her inquiries right then, but she swiftly dismissed the idea, knowing that if she did, she would probably lose control.

Ultimately, she forced herself to focus on the situation at hand, before Lucien noticed something amiss.

"Yes." Bernadette finally answered his question, ignoring the worry pooling in the pit of her stomach. "I accept."

"Good." Lucien said with a smile that didn't reach his eyes, "I am sorry, but I have to ask this." He went on, his languidness fading into somberness with each word.

"Do you know who assassinated your father?"

"Church of Steam, Church of Sun, and the Sauron family." Bernadette responded instinctively, trying to suppress the triggered recollections of those dreadful times, which threatened to hurl her mind back in time.

"That's exactly what he wanted everyone to believe." Lucien snorted, then proceeded calmly, recognising her nervousness. "Now, Bernadette, think back to the time before and after your father's assassination, and tell me if there was any extraordinary moment that stood out the most."

Under his soft yet commanding words, Bernadette stopped suppressing her memories, which quickly filled her mind, but she used cognition to focus herself solely on finding the most extraordinary moment amid those terrible times. And she quickly discovered it:

"A day before my father's assassination, the sun turned blazing white, to the point where its bright radiance could be felt all over the world." Bernadette disclosed. "No one has still found the objective reason for the appearance of the white sun..." she trailed off into astonished silence.

No.

No.

No.

"My father..." Bernadette breathed, feeling the air around her become denser with each passing second. "was killed by the Eternal Blazing Sun..."

Did he truly fall?! She thought desperately.

"No, he didn't fall." Lucien seemed to see through her question. "Well, technically, he did." He corrected himself. "What I'm trying to say is that your father's situation is complicated..."

"What do you mean?" Bernadette immediately asked, her hope betraying her. She took several deep breaths, gradually regaining her composure as Lucien began to thrum his fingers.

"Your father had a sense of wonder, didn't he?"

Despite her unease at the abrupt change of subject, Bernadette replied. "That he did." She echoed lowly, looking down at the necklace that her father gave her.

"A sense of wonder is something everyone should have," Lucien said wistfully. "Wonder at what you see, what you don't understand, what you love...But you must also know when and where to stop, for the world is not kind to the whirling marveller." He finished with quite emphasis. "It was a truth your father didn't understand, or perhaps he did, but something still pushed him forward into the unknown, perhaps Hope?"

Hope. Bernadette sat frozen in her seat, taken aback by the irony of the situation. "He got corrupted, didn't he…?" She inquired, her voice low, nearly a whisper in the darkness.

"Yes." Lucien nodded heavily. "That was the reason behind his madness in his later years. Your father attempted everything he could to eliminate the corruption—he even became a God and forced the Orthodox Gods "Themselves" to join in his plans."

Her father became a god? Bernadette, for some reason, wasn't surprised by the news because she felt it was given. "What happened to him in the end?" She eventually inquired, bracing herself for what was going to be disclosed.

"What do you think?" Lucien asked back.

Bernadette felt a bitter taste in her tongue as the answer left her mouth. "He failed."

"Your father underestimated the corruption." Lucien stated quietly.

"But he became a god…" Bernadette said wryly.

"So?" Lucien shrugged nonchalantly. "A God is nothing in the face of the infinity of the Cosmos."

"The Cosmos..." Bernadette repeated, and her honed instincts sensed danger as soon as that word was spoken. Nevertheless, she understood everything now. "Is that it?" she asked, looking up at Lucien, who neither affirmed nor denied.

"Become an angel, Bernadette Gustav." Lucien said, leaning forward in his seat and clasping his fingers together. "Then we can talk about your father more."

Bernadette recognised the implications of his remarks, but she persisted, "But at the very least, is it safe for me to know his current condition?"

"Become an angel." Lucien merely emphasised, leaving no room for any more questions or arguments.

Become an angel. Bernadette inwardly sighed. If only it were as simple as his tone.

Lucien, on the other hand, seemed to see through her issues. "I know the ritual for becoming a sage..." he reflected for a moment. "Something big is going to happen in Backlund—stopping that should be enough to fulfil your ritual requirement."

"Backlund?" Bernadette was suprised by the knowledge and a little appalled by how effortlessly Lucien saw through her again and again.

"Yes." Lucien nodded. "But even for you, it's going to be dangerous, so have this." He took a silver coin from his robes with a white rose emblem carved on top and tossed it to her, who caught it after feeling no danger from it.

"This...?" Bernadette inquired, perplexed.

"My blessing." Lucien stated. "It will conceal your soul from possible manipulations and also protect you from harm beyond your level, so don't hesitate to use it when the time comes, or else you will die," he concluded matter-of-factly.

You will die, Bernadette looked at the silver coin. Some part of her wanted to throw the coin as far away as she could, but the part that forced her to come here and face Lucien made her clench her fingers and keep the coin firmly in her palm.

You are a fool, Bernadette Gustav. She chided herself. Nevertheless, with her acceptance of the coin, she knew what she had to do next.

Under his silver eyes, Bernadette raised her hand and took a sealed object from her personal seal.

It was a pale metal mask with a shimmering metal sheen.

The Pale Death!

Bernadette rose up, but before she gave Lucien the characteristic, she inquired, succumbing to her curiosity. "Why?"

"Why did you do all of this when you could have simply taken it from me?"

"Because," Lucien surprisedly answered, meeting her purple eyes. "I need you, Bernadette Gustav. You have a pivotal role to play in the coming change of times."

Bernadette handed Lucien the Pale Death and quickly departed the headquarters; her path set back to Backlund, but the words of Lucien continued to resonate in her mind throughout the remainder of her journey.

The Change of Times….