Friend

"Klein, Klein Moretti." Klein introduced himself, and returned to his seat. He then witnessed, as Amanises also stood up, bowed and formally introduced herself.

Afterward, she sat back down and began to look around, she then curiously asked, "Is this… Sefirah Castle?" Klein was amused. He leaned back on his chair and leisurely replied,

"Yep, in a way. I am actually surprised you are aware of it." Amanises gave him a deep look, she noticed that his attire, and bearings were different from the "Ordinary" Wandering Magician she had previously conversed with.

As expected, a top level faceless would never appear in his 'real self'. "He" would always dawn a disguise, so as to never reveal his true identity. If things went south, this man can just quietly leave the stage and discard the mask among "His" many.

I wonder if this is his…

As if reading her mind, he said, 

"The appearance before you is the real deal." Amanises remained silent and nodded, she then saw Klein stretch his hand and snap his fingers. Suddenly, two porcelain cups, with sweet latte tea appeared at the table before her. 

"Forgive me, I should treat my guests on their first visit to my humble palace," Klein smiled and conjured some desi pie for the both of them. Following that, he summoned various sweets such as donuts, and pastry from the historical void.

Amanises acutely noticed his choice of food and thought, Does "He" have a sweet tooth? She then looked at the porcelain cup, then down at her paws and then back at Klein, who had already begun sipping his tea.

Klein noticed her gaze and expressed confusion. He looked at the porcelain cup and then at her. He then showed enlightenment through his expression which spelled "Oh".

"Ahh—Forgive me, I forgot about your… Physical anomaly." Klein sincerely apologized. He poured tea in the saucer allowing Amanises to drink the tea, although like a dog. 

Aren't you the thoughtful one! Amanises lampooned and sipped her tea. She then looked at Klein and said,

"If I may ask, how did you get into Sefirah Castle?" Klein put his cup down, and took a slice of his chocolate pastry.

"There is no need for formalities." Klein said in a casual tone. "Does that mean I can refer to you as he and not "He"?" Amanises casually asked,

"Were you referring to me as such?" Klein asked with an amused expression, he then continued, "Yes you may. In fact I don't like being called a "He". Besides, there is only a Sequence difference between us."

Indeed Amanises mentally noted the fact and sipped on her tea. She took a bite out of a donut and made a satisfied expression. This was the first time she was able to eat something reminiscent of her old home.

"You do not like being called a "He"? Klein shook his head and replied, "I'd rather be treated as a human than some high, mighty deity. 

"As for your other question, It's quite a story but I first need to know, how did you transmigrate?" Klein asked, it was an actual question Klein had ever since he deduced that Amanises might be a fellow "transmigator".

"How did I transmigrate?" Amanises looked down at her paws and began to ponder, Come to think of it, how did I transmigrate?! Noticing her confused expression, Klein visibly sighed and asked,

"What's your last memory of Earth? Did you perform some sort of ritual or brought some ancient silverplate?" Amanises tilted her head and displayed further confusion at his examples. She then said,

"I was… Trying to pirate this one show my friend kept talking about and I think I saw something mysterious on that website and…" That was all she could remember.

Klein's expression twisted indescribably, Are you fucking with me! I performed an ancient ritual, Roselle brought some ancient silverplate with mysterious engravings, and you were just pirating some random ass show?! What website were you even on??!!

Amanises noticed his change as her mood brightened. She then proceeded to ask, "How did you transmigrate?"

"Performed a luck enhancement ritual, written in an old book from my hometown…"

Now that makes sense! Though that ritual doesn't seem to enhance luck. In fact I would say, you'd have to possess some extremely bad luck to be transferred to another world… Amanises nodded and watched as Klein leand forward on his chair, he clasped his hands and continued,

"When I woke up in this world, I performed the luck enhancement ritual again in hopes of going back. Ended up getting Sefirah Castle instead." Klein looked at the ancient majestic palace and at the bronze table in front of him, he sighed and picked his cup of tea and sipped on it.

Is that the reason 'Master' was never able to find Sefirah Castle? Because you need to perform a certain ritual to access this place? But then what was the information about this ritual doing in our world?? Amanises habitually analyzed Klein's statement and began to ponder. 

Klein gauged her reaction and an important thought crossed his mind, Should I tell her the truth of this world? Or… No wait, Klein internally sighed and asked, "So… How is life going for you?"

Amanises found his question a bit weird but regardless, she honestly answered, "Pretty bad. I spent most of my time researching on finding a way ba—" She abruptly stopped, looked at Klein in the eye and seriously asked, 

"Have you found a way back home?" This time, Klein visibly sighed and a small smile appeared on his face. Yeah I can't tell her that this is our world right now. If I did, she would immediately lose control.

She has spent the last year or so doing nothing but researching a way back home. She had isolated herself from everyone, and as a result suffered from loneliness. Not to mention the fact that she had transmigrated into a place where one wouldn't even trust their own kin… She was already looking pretty depressed the first time I saw her. 

I can relate to this feeling, I had also felt that way after all. The difference between us being that, when I found out the truth, I had a lot of people I sincerely cared for. They acted as my anchors and prevented me from succumbing to madness. On the other hand, she has no one in this world. The terrible blow would result in her death…

Klein came to the decision to not disclose the fact that they had never left their home. Yes, I'll personally tell her this when the time is right… But for now... Noticing his prolonged silence, Amanises had a bad feeling. Next minute, it came true as Klein said with a solemn expression, 

"I am afraid not… Though to be honest I have stopped actively searching for a way…" Klein told her half the truth. Amanises expression grimaced and she asked, "Why?"

"Hehe, you do realize, I have been alive for longer than you?" Klein lied with a straight face. Amanises nodded, but inwardly she thought, I had not. Thanks for the enlightenment.

"I have searched far and wide, going from eastern to northern continent, the spirit world, and even the vast astral world. And yet, all that added up to a grand total of nothing... I eventually grew tired and…. Came to 'accept' my fate…" Amanises expression became even more twisted. She looked down at her paws and slowly thought, What he is implying is that there might not be a way back… Amanises felt her hopes shattering bit by bit.

Klein had intentionally revealed some bits of information in a roundabout manner to prevent saying the obvious out loud, and to possibly have Amanises stir away from her research so as to dampen the inevitable impact, she'll suffer from knowing the truth.

For a long time, the majestic palace returned to its original serenity, as neither of them uttered a word or tried to eat the various sweets sitting in front of them. Both remained silent, although for varying reasoning. Amanises was silently digesting the fact that her hard work and research she put into finding her way back home, may have been truly useless as that 'way' may or may not even exist. Though she had long considered this possibility, she couldn't bring herself to believe it.

After all, if there is a way to come, there must be a way to leave, right?

But now listening to this same possibility, although in a roundabout manner from Klein, who had lived for far longer than her and probably had a deeper research in this aspect, made her think otherwise. She had instinctively begun to consider that this might be the case, and it only worsened her situation.

Klein, on the other hand, remained silent to let Amanises digest the crumble of information he had dropped on her but also due to his own grief.

The yearning for a home that does not exist... Klein sighed and looked at Amanises warmly. After a while when he felt her condition recovering, he picked up his cup of tea, which was still warm because it was not real, and said,

"What's your name?" Amanises slowly looked up to him. She sat silent for a long while before uttering her name.

Her Real Name.

Klein maintained his smile and nodded, he took a sip from his tea and beckoned Amanises to do so too. He then playfully said, "Zhou Minguri."

"Chinese?" Amanises spoke. "Yep Chinese, you seem to be from Europe?" Amanises nodded, she hesitated for a moment but then proceeded to ask, "How many transmigrators are there?"

"Just the two of us… For now at least..." Klein sat his empty cup down and breathed a sigh of relief. He limply leaned back on his high chair, and rested his head in his hands, while leaning sideways.

"Though I am pretty sure there might be one more, but the method through which he transmigrated might be different from ours." Amanises curiosity peaked, she also assumed a resting position, leaning back on her high chair and slowly uttered,

"How different?" Klein's expression remained unchanged, he measly uttered, "You do not need to know for now."

Not need to know for now... Amanises didn't probe him any further. In her spent as the subsidiary god to the Annihilation Demonic Wolf, she had learn one very important lesson and that is,

There are some things that make it easier to be 'infected' the more you know. To stir away the conversation from previous topic, Amanises looked at the bronze table and asked,

"What exactly is 'Sefirah Castle'? While the Annihilation demonic wolf referred to it as an Ancient Relic, born from the 'Original Creator's' body, how much of it is actually true?

"And what's the meaning behind 'The Omnipresent Ruler of the spirit world'?"

Celestial Worthy… Klein thought immediately, he remained silent for a moment before cautiously asking, "Do you have any knowledge about Transcending the Sequence?"

"Transcending Sequence?!" Amanises pupil dilated and she shouted at him. "There is way to transcend the sequence entirely?!" Klein chuckled a bit and then continued,

"Yes, though I like to refer to it as the Great Old Ones." Klein sighed and looked at Amanises amusingly, "I'm sure you know of the saying; 'the higher in the sequence you go, the more the will of 'The Primordial One' awakens in you,' right?"

Amanises nodded, "Well, where do you think this corruption stems from? That's right, it's the remaining will of the Great old ones of that pathway, inside the beyonder characteristics, which awakens within you the further you advance in sequence, as they try to make you lose control and take over your body." Klein paused to gauge her reaction. He then continued,

"There are a total of 22 Beyonder pathways on this planet, among these exist 9 high sequence groups, as in some of the pathways are interchangeable at higher sequence such as Darkness, Twilight Giant and Death, or Red Priest and Demoness or Seer, Apprentice and Marauder pathways." Klein deliberately didn't use the sequence 0 terms for the Marauder pathway, as he was not aware of what Error was called before Ancient Sun God bestowed this name.

Amanises nodded in a continuous manner. This was an extreme amount of information she was receiving and hence she was taking mental notes in her mind. "Hence, there are 9 high sequence Beyonder pathway groups on this planet. And it just so happens that there are 9 Sefirot in this world."

"Sefirot?" Amanises acutely pointed out. Klein nodded and continued, "When the 'Original Creator' split apart, he left behind 9 legacies that were born from "His" body—Sefirot." Klein then looked at the majestic palace and slowly uttered, "Sefirah Castle is one of them."

The relic left behind by the original creator is in fact a Sefirot!! Amanises silently nodded. "For a Sequence 0 to become a Great old one, "They" must accommodate the Sefirah corresponding to their pathway. It is the most important thing, in becoming a Great old one, and without one, "They" would remain a dual or triple pathway true deity.

"Aside from Sefirah Castle, there is the Chaos sea, River of Eternal Darkness, Key of LIght, Brood Hive, Tenebrous World, City of Calamity, Nation of Disorder and the Knowledge Moor. Each Sefirah corresponds to a Great old one. For example, the River of Eternal Darkness corresponds to the Great old one Eternal Darkness. City of Calamity corresponds to the Calamity of Destruction. Knowledge Moor corresponds to the Demon of Knowledge, while the Nation of Disorder corresponds to the Anarchy. Tenebrous World corresponds to the Father of Devils, and the Brood Hive corresponds to the Goddess of Origin. Finally, the Key of Light corresponds to the Key of light, and yes, the sefirah and the Great old share a similar name."

Klein suddenly felt silent, he looked up at the greyish white fog and continued, "Chaos sea corresponds to the Great old one, the True Pillar, God Almighty." He fell silent again and let out an audible sigh. He then chuckled and Amanises could notice his troubled expression and strong emotions.

"And finally, Sefirah Castle belongs to the…" Klein looked at her, a small smile on his face and finally uttered, 

"Lord of Mysteries."

Amanises remained silent. She slowly digested and analyzed the heavy information he shared. The key point she picked up was Klein's strong emotions when referring to the 'Lord of Mysteries'.

Klein is from the Fool pathway, whose sequence 9 is Seer. He mentioned before that the Seer, Apprentice and Marauder pathway are interchangeable at higher sequence. Considering, he can control Sefirah Castle and 'Master' was also looking for Sefirah Castle. It is safe to assume that the Lord of Mysteries is the Great old one belonging to the Seer, Apprentice and Marauder pathway group.

But why did he have such a strong emotional reaction when referring to the Lord of Mysteries? it was almost like he was… Saddened and pained… Amanises wanted to ask him about it, but before she could, he continued, "Currently there are no Great Old Ones on this planet, all of them perished at some point in the First Epoch.

"Not only that, 7 out of the 9 Sefirot were sealed in the western continent by the Lord of Mysteries right before "His" death."

!!! Amanises eyes widened, she immediately shouted, "Sealed the Sefirot? And on top of that, 7 of them??! But… How is this even possible??" Amanises bombarded him with questions, to which Klein just chuckled.

He then said, "Well, that's because the Lord of Mysteries is an existence that stands far above a Sefirah. "He" is a persona of the Original Creator and a True pillar."

Persona of the creator… Pillar? He referred to 'God Almighty' the same way. Noticing her shocked expression, Klein chuckled once more, and said in a soft voice. "While there may only be 22 pathways and 9 Great old ones in this world, there are an unknown number of beyonder pathways and Great old ones in the cosmos. Above "Them" stood three beings.

"They were," Klein smiled widened an he continued,

"Mother Goddess of Depravity;

"Origin of Evil;

"The Indestructible." 

"God Almighty

"Creator; Maker;

"The Omnipotent and Omniscient;

"Lord of the Astral World."

"And Finally,"

"King of Space-Time; Beacon of Destiny;

"Embodiment of Sefirah Castle; Dominator of the Spirit World."

Klein smiled continuously and slowly uttered, "Lord of Mysteries."

Silence.

Neither of them uttered another word. Klein let Amanises digest the information while the latter felt like her mind was malfunctioning. She did not intend to receive this high level of information and so she was naturally having trouble absorbing it. 

After a long while, Klein uttered, "The Omnipresent Ruler of the Spirit refers to the Lord of Mysteries."

Yeah, I think I already made that connection long ago! Amanises lampooned. She for a fact, did not want to continue this topic anymore. She needed serious time to fully analyze this info. That's when a question popped in her mind.

"Where did you learn this information?" Klein looked at her and said, "From the Seven lights," He half-lied and saw as her expression twisted further, "Sefirah Castle exists above the Spirit world and its owner is the dominator of the whole realm. As the current owner of Sefirah Castle, I am treated by the seven lights the same way they treat their Omnipresent Ruler." Klein explained.

"But, how can a sequence 1 control a sefirot and be its owner." Amanises asked again. "Because I am not just a regular sequence 1. I have a mystical connection with Sefirah castle and it recognizes me as its owner as well as a contender for the divine throne of Mysteries."

Indeed… His Honorific name makes sense now. Since Sefirah castle represents the Lord of Mysteries, I assume as its owner, and a contender for "His" Divine throne, Klein would be more of a "Fool" then the actual Fool… Amanises nodded and then sighed. She felt really tired from all this talk of Great old ones. Klein noticed her weariness and decided to stir away the topic to something else.

"By the way, what's the current status of Flegrea?" He asked. Amanises bobbed her head up and looked at him. "Mad. "He" rarely calls us to "His" divine kingdom." Amanises had no shame divulging any info on her Master, in fact she only considered "Him" her master due to influence from memories of the original Amanises.

Besides, she was slowly humbling up to Klein. He hasn't shown any hostility and appeared friendly and easy to talk to. Of course, Amanises still couldn't fully trust him. That was one of her biggest principles, after all the original Amanises was killed by her own siblings. But she was currently feeling a rare sense of easiness that she hasn't felt ever since she transmigrated into this world.

Klein was nice to talk to, and she wanted to talk to him more.

Amanises then remembered the piercing gaze she felt when Klein left that cliff's edge. "By the way, when you left, I felt a chilling gaze upon myself.

"I am pretty sure it was 'Master'. He may have noticed you when you were leaving." Amanises warned him. Though Klein's expression didn't change, he nonchalantly said, "Not possible. I concealed the space using Sefirah Castle power. Even if "He" is a true Deity, all "He" should have seen was a Greyish white fog." Amanises bopped her head in enlightenment and astonishment. She then immediately analyzed his words and suddenly noticed something,

Concealment… The Fool pathway doesn't have much authority over concealment. Even if he is using Sefirah Castle power, he should only be able to use abilities from the three pathways corresponding to the Lord of Mysteries… Lord of Mysteries… 'Mysteries'... Yes it doesn't seem far stretched that either Apprentice or Marauder pathway probably possess authority over concealment…

Now that I think about it, the Phoenix Ancestor has also shown authority over concealment despite "Her" pathway,—Phoenix not having much authority over it. And "She" is also an insane goddess…

Could it be possible that "She" has accommodated a non-neighboring pathway's uniqueness? Maybe, Apprentice or Marauder... Amanises pushed aside her trail of thought and inwardly sighed, My brain is on overdrive… This reminds me of my previous job, where I always had to stay overtime to handle company affairs…

Those were such good times now that I look back at them. Even though I came home tired and out of my wits, I could at least crash-land on my couch and just doze off without having to worry about my fucking life… She chuckled, much to Klein's confusion though he slowly figured out what she was thinking and joined her. 

"But wouldn't it be dangerous if 'Master' saw the Greyish white fog of Sefirah Castle?" Amanises asked with a smile to which Klein reciprocated and replied, "Even if "He" could feel Sefirah Castle's presence, "He" would be incapable of doing anything about it.

"Sefirah Castle yields to me, I can control who enters this place or not. The only thing I need to be wary of is your connection to me and subsequently to this place, and for that I'll need a little bit of your help." Amanises keenly listened and nodded indicating he had her support. Klein smiled and continued,

"It's simple, let's first set up a time for our meeting, and when this time approaches you just need to fall asleep and conceal your Astral Projection, so that I can pull it above the gray fog without drawing attention. More specifically "His".

"While pulling the astral projection is usually a problem, since it's the manifestation of a person's emotions and conflicts, you who is a beyonder of the Sleepless pathway can maintain lucidity in dreams. It's also more concealed since it's an outer manifestation of a person's soul body. And when you return, make sure to erase any presence of Sefirah castle from your astral projection as that can be sensed by Flegrea." 

Smart… He thought of everything before pulling me up here Amanises continued smiling and so did Klein. They finally took notice of the food sitting on the table, and each grabbed their own choice of sweet and began eating.

They ate and talked, talked about random things. 

"How is the world outside?" Amanises has never left Flegrea's divine kingdom so she naturally had no knowledge of the outside world. True, how is the outside world again? Klein lampooned and began to speak, "Chaotic, though the northern continent is a bit better." Klein explicitly was referring to Humanity's condition. "Though it has been a long time since I left the eastern continent, I am not too sure of the current situation."

"I see, so this is the eastern continent?" Amanises asked, to which Klein simply nodded his head. Klein then looked at her up and down and said, "How does it feel to be a demonic wolf?" Amanises just stared at him, and slowly replied,

"I feel like a dog." She noticed Klein's expression changing a bit before immediately returning to normal. You damn clown! She cursed in her mind.

"Actually I know of a way to give you a physical body." Amanises eyes lit up, she immediately asked, "How! Tell me!" Klein chuckled a bit then said, "Simple, by having human anchors,

"If you can have enough human believers that think of you as a humanoid deity, then the corruption stemming from those anchors will morph your physical appearance to the corresponding image."

"Oh, I already knew of that method." Amanises looked down in disappointment, "The plan is good, but the flaw in it being that, how am I to gain believers?" Amanises said in a low voice. Klein looked at his friend and calmly said, "If you want to, I can help you with it." Her head immediately bobbed up and she replied, "R-Really?

"But why would you—" Klein shook his head and chuckled, "It's not like I am doing it for free. You'd owe me a favor in exchange." Klein casually added. Amanises expression calmed down a bit, albeit a bit tense as to what favor Klein was going to ask for.

"The favor I want is pretty simple, but I first need to know something." Klein gaze locked in with her as he continued, "Do you feel any familial love towards the other demonic wolves? Or your Master? You don't have to give the answer today, savor it for our next meeting." Klein stated, and leaned back on his chair.

Amanises continued staring at him and thought in her mind, Do I? 

They continued chatting onwards until the time came for Amanises to return. Both felt a sense of serine and calmness as they let down their guards and chatted about.

On that day, a new friendship blossomed.

And finally, when it was time for Amanises to leave. Klein remembered something important and said to her, "You remember the third transmigrator I talked about?" Amanises nodded, showing acknowledgement. Klein's expression became grave. "If you ever happen to cross paths with him, do not under any circumstances, try to approach "Him" or talk to "Him", and absolutely do not divulge the fact that you are a transmigrator.

"Trust me, it's for your own safety. And do tell me if you ever see "Him", you can just pray to me." Klein warned with a serious expression. Amanises did not question him. She noted his warning in her mind and then asked, "How would I know "He" is a transmigrator?"

"Oh you'd recognize "Him" immediately, don't worry about that." Amanises tilted her head and expressed confusion. Regardless, I should take his words seriously. While the other transmigrator may be from our world that doesn't mean "He" would be like Klein, smart and friendly. Also Klein referred to him as "Him", that means "He" must be a true deity… Maybe "He" has gone mad from power or lost control or something... 

She and him then set up a meeting time, "Every two days, let's meet every two days at this exact time!" Klein said and Amanises agreed. 

Klein and her then bid farewell as Klein severed his mystical connection from her, letting her Astral projection descend back into her real body.

…

When Amanises came to her senses, she immediately collapsed on the floor and sighed. She felt exhausted from all the information she received today but at the same time, happy and relieved having chatted with someone whom she could potentially call a friend.

What a wild day... Amanises thought and limply made her way to her resting place. She then slowly uttered "Klein" before falling asleep.

…

Inside Sefirah Castle, Klein leaned back on his chair and sighed, Part one of my many plans is successful. I now have an actual friend with whom I can talk to.

Amanises truly is different from the one I know. She has more humanity and displays more emotions. It's a good thing, I can potentially help her maintain her humanity. Also chatting with her will naturally help me.

Phew… Life sure requires hard work. Klein lampooned and chuckled. He looked up at the Greyish white fog and sat there, in it calm and deafening silence.

The fog gently swayed around him.