Chapter 481: The Future Fool's Memories

"But I still maintain my earlier suggestion: don't empathize too much. Although He and you are the same person, your fates diverged a long time ago. Crying due to empathy would be disrespectful to us, your friends, who have worked hard to ensure your happiness!"

Lynn said this, then added, "But if you do cry, maybe I won't mind taking a photo to commemorate it?"

Initially touched by Lynn's words, Klein rolled his eyes after hearing this last part and responded, "I do mind, thank you."

But, to be honest, after Lynn's interruption, most of Klein's nervousness dissipated. He glanced at the historical projection of "Zhou Mingrui," who obediently closed his eyes. Without hesitation, Klein chose to let him merge with his body.

Afterward, Klein felt a brief sense of disorientation. It was an extremely short moment—perhaps a few seconds or even less than half a second. Immediately, he sensed a feeling of "loneliness" that was both foreign and familiar.

This emotion didn't belong to him but came from the fleeting glimpse of the future Fool. Klein perceived this emotion and, in a daze, seemed to glimpse another version of his life—one where, like him, he transmigrated but lost everything during the Tingen incident. He was revived by the Sefirah Castle but could never reunite with his family, embarking on a journey of revenge alone, leaving behind only a bouquet of flowers.

During this journey, he met many people and had friends, but because he longed to go home, he was always reluctant to get too close to those around him. He was passively or actively drawn into various conspiracies. Even after his revenge was complete and he should have rested, he uncovered some truths about "transmigration" and nearly broke down. With the help of others, he stabilized his mind and was immediately swept into the tide of history, facing the schemes of Augustus...

In the end, he was hunted by Zaratul, caught by Amon, and forced to enter the Forsaken Land of the Gods, where he confronted the truth about transmigration. Yet, he had no time to rest or adjust, dragging his exhausted body and soul to shoulder the heavy fate for both the people around him and the world.

Even in the final moments, the future Fool didn't have a moment to catch his breath, forced into the final battle, falling into slumber, and then struggling against Celestial Worthy in his dreams until now.

Looking back on his life, aside from the relatively lighthearted few months in Tingen, his later years were constantly chasing fate, forced to keep moving forward without a moment's rest—whether for himself, for his family, or for the world. He had to keep going.

This was too heavy a memory. Even though Klein only obtained fragments, scattered and incomplete, with much of the critical information blurred, the trajectory pieced together by these fragments was enough to overwhelm the Fool with suffocating weight and loneliness.

Klein finally understood why the Angel of Secrets repeatedly emphasized not to empathize too much. It wasn't just because of the burden but also because the future Fool was indeed him—they were like different flowers blooming from the same branch of fate, but in essence, they were still one person.

So, these exceedingly heavy memories and emotions might only elicit a sigh from others, but for Klein, it was as if he had personally lived through them.

"Do you need a tissue?"

The familiar voice broke Klein's empathy. He looked up and saw the Angel of Secrets, who had somehow produced a packet of tissues and offered it to him.

"No, I wouldn't cry over something like this..." Klein shook his head, refusing the tissues, though his emotions clearly hadn't fully settled. "I just... didn't expect this."

He had imagined what his life might be like without Lynn and the Angel of Secrets' interference, but imagination was still imagination. Only when he truly empathized with his future self did Klein realize that everything he had envisioned was far too simplistic.

Fate was far more cruel than he had ever imagined.

"But your eyes look a bit red. Are you sure no tears will fall?" Lynn muttered, seemingly reading Klein's thoughts, then smiled and said, "Fate is inherently cruel, but you, my friend, got lucky. You met me, a bug in the system of fate."

"So, stop feeling so sentimental. If you're so sympathetic to your future self, when you get a chance, you can have Lynn take you to the future. Then, you can help yourself punch Amon in the face in your dreams. Wouldn't that be satisfying?" Lynn clapped his hands, offering a very characteristic suggestion.

Klein, who was still feeling somewhat melancholic, was instantly silenced by this. He couldn't help but glance at the Angel of Secrets, reluctantly admitting that the suggestion was quite tempting.

"But didn't you mention before that time travel requires coordinates and that the future is off-limits?" Klein raised a question.

"Just because it's not possible now doesn't mean it won't be in the future." Lynn smiled at him, "Consider it a promise for the future!"

"A promise for the future, really? Is that something you're allowed to say?" Klein quipped, but his mood had lightened considerably.

After all, his fate had already changed. That lonely future Fool was him, but it would no longer be his future.

After all, he had a friend who could be considered a bug in the system of fate!

Thinking of this, Klein glanced at the Angel of Secrets again and, with a sudden realization, asked, "It's not just my imagination, is it? You seem to be getting more like Lynn?"

The Fool clearly remembered that the Angel of Secrets used to be mysterious, often cryptic, with an aura of detachment and divinity. Sometimes, Klein even felt that the Angel wasn't a real person but just a puppet.

But now, the Angel of Secrets' personality seemed much more lively, increasingly resembling the Lynn he knew.

"This was inevitable from the start." Lynn showed no sign of panic at this near-reveal, smiling as he said, "We are one and the same. We will eventually merge. It's our destined outcome."

Klein, hearing this, seemed to think of something and asked, "Are you referring to just you and Lynn, or does that include all the versions of you across different times?"

Klein suddenly realized a blind spot he hadn't noticed before.

"You already know the answer, don't you? All of us, of course," Lynn looked at him and smiled, "Whether it's the past, present, or future, every version of me will eventually return to Lynn Sotos."

"Ugh..." Thinking of all the versions of Lynn across the eras, each more outrageous than the last, Klein couldn't help but take a sharp breath and furrow his brows, asking, "What exactly are you all trying to achieve?"

(End of Chapter)