Lord Of The Mysteries: A Slug of Time

Haa!

Nightmares, nightmares once again!

Panting heavily, she shut her eyes tightly, trying to gain control over her breath, but it was futile. The trembling wouldn't stop and neither would the tears.

This had become a normal routine for Amanises. After a while, she managed to steady her breath enough for her to rise from her resting place and walk towards the mirror at the corner of her room. She stopped right in front of it and stared at her still foreign reflection.

Sighing, her gaze shifted down to the floorboards, lingering there. A part of her wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, while the other part wanted to continue her research of finding a way to go back home.

And yet all of it is for nothing… Nearly a year had passed since she had opened her eyes in this world, trapped in a body that wasn't hers. Reminiscing about her old home, her parents and friends, Amanises just stood there rooted to ground.

Suddenly a sound almost like a murmur intercepted the silence and pierced her ears. Amanises quickly grew alert, turning her body toward the door to her room, her attention fully focused on the sound.

She stood there patiently, yet nothing else happened. It was only then she payed serious attention to the murmur and realized it sounded extremely familiar.

This… Auditory illusion? Amanises was intrigued. After listening to it for a few more seconds, she felt a sense of familiarity and soon came to a shocking realization. This was a piece of tune from a famous song that was getting popular back in her world!

It was a song from her world, her home!

Amanises's mood instantly shifted. Without hesitation, she quickly leaped out of her room, rushing downstairs and out of her house to the beautiful garden inlaid with moon flower and night vanilla. She closed her eyes, heightening her sense of hearing, and began walking in a certain direction, the song growing clearer with every step. Before long, she broke into a sprint and followed the melody that tugged her forward.

Before she knew it, she had crossed the boundaries of Flegrea's Divine Kingdom. Amanises knew all too well how dangerous it was, aware that she was potentially being lured into a trap. But this was the first time she had encountered something, anything, that resembled her old home—her true home.

That was enough reason for her to keep going even if it was nothing more than a trap.

Of course, while Amanises was driven by her emotions, it didn't cloud her intelligence. She had long concealed herself and was ready to flee at a moment's notice. Darkness teleportation, one of the abilities of a Sequence 3 Horror Bishop, was ready in the back of her mind in case things went south and her life was threatened.

She wasn't reckless—just determined.

…

After what felt like an eternity of sprinting, Amanises arrived at the edge of a cliff, not far from Flegrea's Divine Kingdom. There, she saw a humanoid figure, a man sitting at a cliff's edge, his legs dangling over the cliff. He wore a black robe, and a classic hat adorned with red feathers on his head, his back facing her.

Though his face remained unseen, Amanises noticed something peculiar about the mysterious man. His demeanor and presence were unnervingly ordinary, lacking any special traits to them. This wouldn't have been a big deal if it wasn't for the fact that, this time period, she currently found herself in was ruled by ancient mythical races that regarded humans as slaves.

For an ordinary person like him to be roaming around so freely means, he was by no means 'Ordinary'. Amanises also took notice that the melody she followed, the one that guided her over here had abruptly stopped.

As if sensing her gaze, the man slowly shifted his head from staring at the crimson moon to meeting her eyes, a smile on his face. Amanises observed the man, his appearance was just as ordinary as his demeanor. This man slowly rose from his sitting position. Once on his feet, he took off his hat and gave her a gentlemanly bow. 

His attire resembled that of a magician she had seen illustration of, in the various story books she read back on earth.

"Good evening, Lady of Misfortune," the man greeted in a calm, steady tone as he placed his hat back on his head. His smile was unwavering even though he was facing a Demonic wolf which were known for their cruelty. Amanises acutely noted this fact. The man before her, despite his plain appearance, was clearly anything but ordinary.

Or he is just stupid. But that seems unlikely… Amanises lampooned inwardly. She kept her gaze fixed on the man and calmly spoke, "Who are you?"

"Me? I am just an Ordinary Wandering Magician." The man calmly replied, pulling out a magician's wand from under his coat, as if he was going to put on a magic show in front of her. Amanises expression remained unchanged, as she continued in a flat tone,

"Ordinary you say? Well, if you were, I am afraid you wouldn't have been able to roam around so freely. 

"Either you are really good at concealing yourself from the various beings that litter these lands, or you are not 'Ordinary' at all." Amanises rebuked. The man's expression didn't change, as he slowly replied,

"You are right, I am not 'Ordinary' but I am still a wandering magician. My speciality is wish fulfilling magic.

"Tell me, do you have any wish you would like fulfilled?" Amanises expressions changed to an amusing one.

"A Miracle Invoker?" She enquired.

Silence.

The man did not reply, his gaze fixed at her, his smile unchanged, as if waiting for her to state her wish.

Amanises softly spoke,

"You did refer to me as 'The Lady of Misfortune', which means you should be aware that I am one of the subsidiary gods of the king of Demonic wolves.

"That, I am.

"Then you should also be aware of the fact that 2 out of the 5 subsidiary gods under our God are Miracle Invokers like you.

"If I had any wish that I would like fulfilled, then I would rather ask them. Why you?"

Amanises rebutted with reason attempting to gauge any sort of reaction from this suspicious fellow. And she succeeded. The man's expression softened and he spoke in an alluring tone,

"You are right, that you would.

"But can they fulfill the wish that is closest to your heart, the one that you hold the dearest from the very moment you opened your eyes to this world?"

Pause… Amanises expression twisted indescribably. She immediately responded, raising her tone in a threatening way, "Who are you?!"

"I am just like you, a being that does not belong to this era."

Amanises eyes widened, a chill ran up her spine as the man in front of her continued, 

"Yes Amanises, I am a 'Transmigator' like you. Someone who opened his eyes in an unfamiliar body and bore witness to a world he never knew of." The man said with a smile that seem to hide the pain in his words.

Amanises mind was blank. The possibility that there might be others like her in this world had never crossed her mind. But now, standing before her was a man, whom she did not even know the name of, yet she shared with him a history no other being was aware of.

The surge of emotions she felt in those brief moments was overwhelming, so much so that her mind seemed to have gone numb.

Wait, should I be happy that there are others like me or should I be saddened? She lampooned inwardly to calm her mind. She wanted to ask this person so many questions but when she went to open her mouth, the man raised his hand signaling her to stop.

His smile dropped and his expressions became grave. For a few moments he stayed motionless, before his lips slowly curled up and he began to speak, "While I would love to continue our chat, I am afraid I'll have to take my leave. Otherwise I will attract "His" attention."

Flegrea Amanises thought, and remembered that this man seemed to be a Miracle Invoker, the sequence 2 of Fools Pathway which the Annihilation Demonic wolf Flegrea held authority over.

"But if you 'wish' to continue this convo of ours then…" The man took out a white piece of paper from under his coat. He threw that paper at Amanises like a sharp dagger, which pierced itself in the ground just beside her paws. 

"Pray to me." The man waved his hand casually as he turned and began walking toward the edge of the cliff. Amanises glanced down at the white piece of paper, then at the man. For a brief instant, she hesitated, before finally shouting,

"What should I call you? At least give me your name?!" The man stopped. He remained silent for a moment before saying without turning around, 

"Klein, Klein Moretti."

Amanises witnessed as Klein walked off the cliff. For some time she stood there and processed the whole conversation that had just taken place between the two strangers that shared a distant past. She then shifted her gaze to the piece of paper Klein had given her. On it was what seemed to be his honorific name in a beautiful handwriting and written in english. It read,

"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;

"The Mysterious Ruler above the Gray Fog;

"The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck."

As soon as Amanises was done reading the Honorific name written on the white piece of paper, it went up in flames and reduced to ash. Suddenly Amanises felt an intense gaze on herself. She froze up in fear and stood there, not daring to do as much as breath.

After a while, the gaze receded and Amanises, not wanting to stay there for even a second longer, turned her body around and sprinted her way back home.

…

When Amanises first awoke in this world, she found herself lying in a pool of blood. Her own blood. As if not horrifying enough, she quickly realized that she was no longer in her body, but instead she found herself in the body of a giant eight-legged, black furred demonic wolf. That was when she had realized that she had transmigrated.

The Original Amanises, the goddess of misfortune was killed in a power struggle among her siblings that wished to dethrone her from her position as one of the subsidiary gods to King of Demonic Wolves, Flegrea.

This was her first introduction to this cruel world, and the starting point of her nightmares.

In the hopes of finding a way to return back to her world, she began to study mysticism, distancing herself from the other subsidiary gods and Demonic Wolves as well as her master Flegrea. She moved to the outskirts of "His" Divine kingdom and set up her abode over there.

It wasn't actually the outskirts of "His" divine kingdom as, that only stretched up to the length of his Divine Chapel, with the rest of the settlement and small towns, set by "His" Subsidiary gods and Demonic wolves, situated around it. 

Due to the grey fog that covered the entire settlement, many demonic wolves and other subsidiary gods began to consider the entire land as Flegrea's Divine kingdom. They called it a blessed land that no mortal dare tread on, unless wanting to become prey.

Flegrea was a mad god. "He" had accommodated the Fools Pathway Uniqueness which wasn't a neighboring pathway to "His" original pathway, Darkness. Due to which, "He" very rarely called anyone inside "His" divine kingdom, and if anywhere dared approach it or even got a little bit close to it without "His" permission, "He" would kill them and then eat their body.

Due to this, there ran a deep fear in the mind of everyone that served under Flegrea, not wanting to anger this Deity. On one special occasion, were Flegrea did call "His" Subsidiary gods in "His" divine realm, Amanises once asked "Him",

"Great master, Do you think there might be some Mysteries in this world that truly bear no answer to themselves." Amanises had asked "Him" this, due to feeling lost in her pursuit of returning home. She had pretty much studied all knowledge Demonic wolves had on mysticism and had come into contact with various old spirits that roam the unfounded. Yet her effort yielded nothing as she did not find single clue regarding her research

In "His" rare moment of sanity, Flegrea answered albeit not one in the way she expected. "He" told her about an 'Ancient Relic' left behind by the Original Creator, the maker of everything in this universe. "He" said that, when the original creator went into slumber, from "His" body formed an ancient relic which "He" had named Sefirah Castle.

According to "Him", "It was a place shrouded in grey fog, a divine kingdom belonging to 'The Omnipresent Ruler of the Spirit World.'"

While Flegrea truly believed that Sefirah Castle existed, "He" could not for "His" life find this ancient relic, hence a mystery that truly bears no answer to itself.

This only left Amanises feeling even more lost. At some point in time, she had reached a giant wall in her research, preventing her from progressing any further. As the dead ends piled up, Amanies grew tired of her endless pursuit in searching for a way back home.

She even began to believe that there was no way to go back, this combined with the loneliness she felt and her longing for her home had long pushed her into a deep abyss. She began to believe this was how the rest of her life was going to be, a never ending suffering that will slowly eat her away until there would be left nothing but the Goddess of Misfortune.

But this changed today, because she had met someone that was from her world, from her home. Lying in her room, Amanises analyzed her previous conversation with the man named Klein. She softly chanted his honorific name in her mind, not daring to say it out.

The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;

The Mysterious Ruler above the Gray Fog;

The King of Yellow and Black who wields Good Luck.

"The Fool..." Amanises softly muttered, His Honorific name doesn't make much sense… At best he, no "He" should be a sequence 2 or 1 and maybe from Fools pathway. That does not make "Him" 'The Fool', yet "His" honorific name directly refers to "Him" as such. Not only that, it only contains three lines which are used for deities…

And what does "He" mean by 'The Mysterious Ruler above the grey fog'?

Amanises instinctually looked out of her window to a distant spectacle of the demonic wolves settlement that was shrouded in a thin grey fog. She observed it for a moment before slowly muttering in her head,

Sefirah Castle?

It seems far stretched but if an ancient relic like that does exist then… Amanises pondered for some moments, she then shook her head and sighs, There is no way to really know without meeting "Him".

And finally, 'The king of Yellow and Black who wields good luck'. I am pretty sure, a miracle invoker can to a certain extent alter the probability of future events. This can be inferred as luck to a certain extent...

Amanises then slowly giggled, Aren't you 'The God of Fortune' instead?

Amanises then began to contemplate if she should pray to him or not. Usually, praying to a hidden, unknown existence would be a faux pas, even for a subsidiary god like her. But here, Amanises was sure that Klein was definitely not a deity since the Fool Uniqueness was with Flegrea.

And he didn't appear to be a deity from another pathway, otherwise his honorific name wouldn't have had himself referred to as 'The Fool'.

Merely reciting the honorific name shouldn't be a problem... As far as my mysticism knowledge goes, reciting someone's honorific name should only attract their attention, but "He" shouldn't be capable of doing anything else with this connection.

If my previous conjectures were correct, then "He" should at best be a Sequence 1—an Attendant of Mysteries. There shouldn't be too much of a gap between us, so I should be capable of resistance in case "He" tries to do something…

Amanises acutely weighted all possibilities before ultimately coming to the decision to pray.

Forgive me Master, for I am about to sin. Amanises lampooned and giggled inwardly. She actually felt a little happy about contacting someone that shared something common with her, in this case their home.

Standing upright she closed her eyes and softly chanted in jotun,

"The Fool that doesn't belong to this era;

"The Mysterious Ruler above the Grey Fog;

"The King of Yellow and Black who wields good luck…"

…

In the majestic towering palace, propped up by various stone pillars, a crimson star shines brightly with ripples, its illumination dampened by the thick fog around it. It flew over a high back chair that was situated closest to the seat of The Fool.

Klein gazed at the shining crimson star with a smile, he leaned back and reached out his hand touching the rippling circle of light. Following that, he expanded his spirituality enveloping the crimson star.

…

Amanises suddenly felt a tug. She opened her eyes and found an endless greyish-white fog beneath her, and in front of her was an ancient, mottled bronze table.

What? Surprised, she looked around and saw various towering stone pillars, as well as a towering palace propped up by those stone pillars.

She then slowly turned her head towards the end of the long bronze table and saw a man of average looks. He had black hair and black eyes and was average built. The man was also looking at her while smiling,

The man slowly got up from his seat, took his hat off and gave her a gentlemanly bow.

"Welcome Amanises. Let me reintroduce myself,"

"Klein, Klein Moretti."