"…Who are you?" As an Angel King at the pinnacle of the Door pathway, Bethel Abraham immediately sensed something off about the surrounding space and the connection between himself and Evah. He looked at Evah, his tone a mix of doubt and probing. "You say this is the future?"
"I'm Lucifer. Call me that for now!" Evah smoothly slipped into his alias, smiling as he introduced himself to Bethel. "As you can see, this is the future world, and you're from over a thousand years ago."
"If you don't believe me, feel free to take a look outside. Though you've only got a minute. Maybe visiting an old friend would be a good call?" Evah paused, flashing a playful grin.
Bethel gave Evah a deep look. As a summoned Shadow of Time, he could feel the constraints binding him—preventing him from harming the man before him but not from leaving.
After a moment's thought, Bethel's figure vanished. As an Angel King of the Door pathway, he could appear anywhere in the world at will.
But he didn't go far. He sensed an old friend nearby.
They were well-hidden, but not well enough for Bethel's eyes.
After all, Mr. Door was the stealthiest of the "Cowardly trio," and his target was not only weakened but also too close to this version of Bethel.
And so, Pallez Zoroast, who'd just been rattled by Evah not long ago, faced his second shock in short order.
"Long time no see, Pallez. I never thought I'd see you in such a sorry state. Has Solomon stopped sheltering you?"
Hearing that familiar voice, one he hadn't heard in years, Pallez, who'd been reading a newspaper through Leonard's eyes, nearly jumped out of Leonard's body. He stared incredulously at Bethel standing by the window, sizing him up before conjuring a shadowy figure, just as he had with Evah.
The shadow Pallez looked at Mr. Door. "Are you mocking me, Bethel? You and I both know the era of the Four Emperors is long gone. The Black Emperor is history. I'm just a stray dog now, with no True God's protection, hunted by Amon and scraping by..."
Bethel lowered his gaze, clearly pondering something. After a moment, he looked up at Pallez. "You seem surprised to see me."
"My old friend, anyone who knows your situation would be shocked to see you like this. Have you finally shaken off the Mother God of Depravity's corruption?" Pallez said with a sigh, his words tinged with probing curiosity.
As a seasoned fox, Pallez quickly picked up on something off about the figure before him after the initial shock. It wasn't that he realized Mr. Door was a Shadow of Time or doubted his identity—just a subtle sense of incongruity.
"Corruption…" Bethel mulled over the word, his expression showing little surprise. He merely glanced in a certain direction, toward a pocket dimension on Earth.
As an Angel King of the Door pathway, perhaps the world's greatest master of spatial arts, how could Bethel not sense another version of himself out there? How could he not notice that version was sealed in a space, in a dire state?
And now, everything seemed to click.
"Do you know Lucifer?" But Bethel clearly wasn't in the mood to explain. He looked at Pallez and asked again.
At the mention of that name, Pallez's mind flashed back to Evah's visit a few days earlier.
--
Back then, though Pallez had grown to trust the junior somewhat, he remained wary of the Chaos Sovereign behind him and curious about this "deity's" setup. Unable to resist, he'd probed, "Since you follow your Lord, have you met other devotees of the Chaos Sovereign?"
Evah glanced at him, then smiled. "Old man, trying to sniff out the Lord's influence in the real world?"
Pallez hadn't expected such bluntness, but as an "old angel" with years of experience, he'd long mastered the art of thick skin. He chuckled. "Can't I? We're partners now. I need to know a bit about the forces I'm working with."
"Of course you can! But I don't know much myself—I'm just a newbie, after all!" Evah grinned, his face taking on a reminiscent look. "There are lots of groups following the Lord, but the main one, as far as I know, is the 'Trickster Club.' That's the one I joined. I don't know how many members it has, but I do know plenty of other organizations have members who are also part of the Trickster Club. Like Mr. A from the Aurora Order."
"Mr. A? You mean the Aurora Order's divine envoy?" Leonard, who'd been listening, couldn't help but cut in. "Aren't they just a bunch of lunatics worshipping the True Creator?"
"Mr. A is indeed a devout follower of the True Creator," Evah said, not denying Leonard's words. He nodded affirmatively, then smiled. "In fact, Mr. A joined the Trickster Club on the True Creator's orders."
He didn't outright say the Chaos Sovereign and True Creator were allies—some things were better left unsaid.
Leonard frowned. "That's an evil god…" His eyes flickered, clearly tempted to risk it all and report this guy colluding with evil gods, along with whatever was behind him.
"Did you know that in the Third Epoch, the Evernight Goddess was considered an evil god too?" Evah looked at Leonard, smiling as he spoke.
"What?" Leonard froze, his expression shifting. "You! I won't let you slander the Goddess!"
Evah just chuckled. He patted Leonard's shoulder, and all of Leonard's anger instantly melted away, forcibly calmed.
"No need to lie about this, and you don't need to get so worked up. Honestly, I don't mind if you report this to the Evernight Church," Evah said, giving Leonard a meaningful look. "How do you know the Evernight Goddess and my Lord aren't working together? Maybe she's watching us right now!"
Leonard, already puzzled by how his anger had vanished, gaped at Evah's words, his face full of disbelief.
"Think it over, Leonard. The relationships between True Gods aren't as simple as they seem. In the Fourth Epoch, the True Creator, who you call an evil god, was a True God too," Evah said, patting Leonard's shoulder again with a smile.
(End of Chapter)