"Extra! Extra! Admiral of Hurricanes Qilangos gunned down in Backlund!"
"The mysterious Tarot Club claims responsibility!"
"Pfft—"
The next morning, Klein nearly spat out his coffee hearing the newsboy's shouts. He set down his cup, dashed outside to buy a paper, and breathed a sigh of relief after reading it closely.
The paper didn't overhype the Tarot Club's existence. It only mentioned in passing that the mysterious Tarot Club assisted the official Churches in taking down Qilangos.
The "Tarot Club claims responsibility!" bit was likely just the newsboy's hype tactic. After all, an unknown group pulling off something this big would spark curiosity.
Klein relaxed, unsure whether to feel thrilled or bummed.
"Our Tarot Club's finally made a name for itself, but who'd guess the Fool of the Tarot Club just got a warning from his own 'subordinate,' haha," Klein grumbled to himself, then frowned. "But how did the officials know the name 'Tarot Club'? Er, did Miss Justice nudge them that way?"
Thinking it over, Klein figured that was highly likely.
"Whatever, it's not a bad thing. At least we've got a friendly tag with the officials now…" Klein shook his head. The Tarot Club's fame was unexpected, and before Lucifer's "backing", he'd have resisted the spotlight. But now? Let it shine!
Klein finished breakfast and headed to work as usual. He'd been swamped lately.
Meanwhile, at Evah's residence.
Evah glanced at the newspaper, unsurprised by the outcome.
He'd deliberately let Mr. Fool share the spotlight. For one, as a Tarot Club member himself, Evah didn't mind boosting its rep. Otherwise, how embarrassing would it be to say "I'm so-and-so from the Tarot Club" and get blank stares?
Plus, it let Evah reinforce Lucifer's persona in Klein's eyes, maybe even score some goodwill. Why not?
As for why he didn't hype his Trickster Club? Simple—it was too small-time. Evah played big, and the Trickster Club's world debut deserved more than this petty stunt.
So, he'd tossed the chance to Mr. Fool. Hope he wasn't too shocked.
"And after that performance, my Actor potion's finally fully digested," Evah said, setting down the paper. He headed to his second-floor lab. After resting overnight to restore his spirituality and preperation, having digested the Actor potion and gathered all materials for the Mask-maker potion, he was ready to advance to Sequence 7.
Evah didn't rush, though. He first eyed a black glove on the table—none other than Creeping Hunger, one of Lord of Mysteries' most iconic Sealed Artifacts, the poor thing that went hungry nine days out of ten under Klein's care.
Yesterday, after prying the mysterious island's info from Qilangos, Evah hadn't let this artifact slip. He'd snagged it and, while borrowing Azik's powers, sealed it.
Now, Creeping Hunger was like its canon self—no more daily human-eating habit, though it still needed to feed after battles.
"This means I can sell it to Klein. Hmm, what's a good price? Maybe ten thousand pounds. Man, I'm such a saint…" Evah mused, idly poking the glove.
He had no use for it. Creeping Hunger's abilities were strong for average Beyonders, but for Evah now, they were meh. His Shadow of Time was way handier.
So, he leaned toward selling it to Klein, draining the Fool's wallet dry.
"No rush, though. I'll wait till he's got cash…" Evah tossed Creeping Hunger aside and pulled an iron box from under the table, revealing a dazzling array of spiritual materials.
He picked out the ingredients for the "Mask-maker" potion, then opened a nearby cabinet, retrieving a bottle containing the blood of the Chained God.
Evah cleaned a beaker and began preparing the potion at a leisurely pace. He added the standard spiritual materials one by one, then uncorked the bottle of Chained God's blood. Instead of dumping it all, he estimated the amount needed for the Mask-maker potion—about a third.
The rest he saved as a medium for summoning the Shadow of Time of the Chained God, Tolzna.
As that third of the blood hit the beaker, a deep black spread from the bottom to the surface. Then, a dark red hue emerged, solidifying within seconds into an inverted blood-red moon—not a solid object, but a shadow.
"I get the logic, but why a moon? Because the Chained God's been corrupted by the Mother Tree?" Evah mused, stroking his chin. He wasn't worried about the blood's issues—any problems would be tamed by mixing with Nyarlathotep's power.
Evah flipped his hand, producing the Mask-maker potion's characteristic. Without hesitation, he tossed it into the beaker, then watched the changes with keen interest.
Countless mask-like shadows materialized in the beaker, overlapping to obscure the moon's shadow, though they were tinged by its scarlet glow.
Evah stared at the potion for two seconds, shaking his head. "This is getting weirder by the minute." He muttered but didn't hesitate, grabbing the beaker and downing the potion in one go.
Chaos hit instantly. As his consciousness fragmented, countless voices echoed in his ears—each distinct, yet somehow belonging to one person.
"Who am I…"
"Who are you…"
"Who is me…"
The barrage of questions made Evah frown. Then, he felt a scarlet moonlight. It wasn't pleasant, carrying a faint burning and binding sensation, but it seemed to tie all the voices into one.
Evah blinked, his scattered consciousness snapping back together. He came to, eyes opening to reality.
"Phew, mid-Sequence is a real hurdle. The God pathway doesn't mess around!" Evah exhaled, a grin tugging at his lips. He'd successfully advanced to Sequence 7, becoming a Mask-maker.
(End of Chapter)
Oops you've reached the final chapter for today. To continue just give me Power Stone, Review, add this story to your collection for additonal chapter.
Enjoy!