The newly ascended God landed softly on the cracked stone path.
"Is this where the old temple that worshipped the Worthy Celestial used to be?" he asked Morgana, who was following a few steps behind him, for confirmation.
-Yes--She took the lead--Follow me, I'll take you to the place you're interested in.
The ruins stretched across the now deserted island; almost nothing remained of that once imposing and extravagant temple. What was most abundant were heaps of stones, reclaimed by nature over the years.
As they left the outside world and ventured deeper into the heart of the island, they found more and more wreckage: fallen pillars, burned or cracked walls, completely collapsed structures, and cracked floors overgrown with weeds. This was the scene that unfolded before the god as he followed in the footsteps of His Angel.
–Everything was destroyed according to your order –upon her confirmation Merlin felt he should have a little chat with Morgana about the concept of "excessive".
"Were there no survivors?" he asked.
"At first, many." Merlin raised an eyebrow at the "at first." "But after I cleansed the temple, I dealt with those who escaped. Then I tracked down those in the branches." Morgana stopped walking and turned to her Lord and father with a lopsided smile. "I can assure you that there is no one left spreading their faith on this continent; I also made sure to erase any written records and steal the memories of the civilians."
Merlin remained silent. He felt overwhelmed by the gravity of the disaster that was his daughter's mental and emotional state. Closing his eyes wouldn't be enough; he wanted to press his hand between his eyebrows in an attempt to calm himself. But the brilliant amethysts prevented him. She seemed eager to explain her entire performance.
"If I praise her, will she start acting like this more often? Every day her behavior becomes more like Amon's"—the wide smile and playful glint in her eyes were very similar—"Do all Beyonders on the Marauder's Path end up with that manipulative and chaotic personality?"—Merlin dismissed that possibility—"I don't remember Pallez being like this, or was she and I just never noticed because we didn't interact enough?"—Merlin shook his head again—"Even if that's the case, I'm partly to blame too. I shouldn't have sent her on this kind of mission right before her promotion."
It was no surprise that the methods used were so extreme. For the Angels, humans lose their value; it was already quite positive that Morgana only altered the memories of the innocent instead of simply annihilating them. The fact that Ella chose the more tedious option over the quickest reassured Merlin to some extent.
"I just have to make sure he doesn't start manipulating everyone around him...or at least most of them. It's impossible to erase that deceitful, mischievous, and audacious personality that has already merged with his soul," he admitted, letting out a sigh inside. "But I hope he doesn't become like Amon."
Using his body control, Merlin eliminated any trace of discouragement from her face and forced a smile to praise her.
"You did well, but remember not to try so hard next time." Morgana nodded.
Under the watchful gaze of the white-haired angel, the god's smile did not waver. Perhaps, due to the qualitative difference in their levels, Morgana found it difficult to penetrate his layers of deceit, unlike when they first met.
But he underestimated his daughter again.
"Father, that smile doesn't suit you," she declared, looking away, embarrassed. She still hadn't gotten used to calling her Lord that. "I'd rather you scold me and tell me what I did wrong so I can fix it... I don't want to be a bother to Father."
Merlin blinked in astonishment, but his fake smile didn't fade like before; instead, it transformed into a genuine one. He raised his hand and roughly ruffled his daughter's hair, earning a puzzled look from Ella.
"Hahaha, you caught me again," he admitted happily. "I don't know whether to feel happy that you can still see through me or anxious that I still can't fool you," he commented as he removed his hand from his white hair.
Morgana touched her hair, trying to calm the commotion the god had caused. Her cheeks puffed out in annoyance, and she turned her back on him. Although she liked the caresses, she hated when he ruffled her hair.
At that, Merlin could only laugh and apologize.
They resumed their journey until they reached some stairs at the base of a mountain. These led them to a huge structure at the summit which, unlike the rest of the temple buildings, remained standing, undamaged.
The Madman could imagine what was inside; few things could have dissuaded an unleashed Angel from keeping him standing and not falling like the rest.
–Inside are the seven sealed Sefirot, am I wrong?--he questioned.
-Absolutely not.
"In that case, it was right not to destroy the building; it could be part of the seal," he theorized. "The chaos caused by the clash of the Seven Sefirot could devastate everything within the barrier."
She glanced at him sideways before nodding, confirming that she had already suspected that possibility, which is why she never dared to demolish a single wall of the building, except for the emblem; that was personal (although she later worried about the possibility that it was part of the seal, fortunately it was not).
They both began to climb the stairs, as if they were mere humans and not divine creatures who could simply teleport to the doors of the structure.
"I'm afraid I couldn't prevent a certain anomaly in one of the seals of one of the Sefirot," she said in a low voice, saddened by her failure.
Merlin raised an eyebrow at the new information.
-Anomaly?
Morgana nodded and stopped right in front of the enormous doors that led into the building; they were finally there. She glanced sideways at her father, letting out a regretful sigh before suggesting:
–It would be best if you checked it yourself; a problem like this... I'm afraid that even now I only have certain theories about it.
Morgana gently pushed the double doors; they reacted to her action and very slowly began to open.
–Come in--he gestured to the entrance with a small bow--Father.
----
The doors closed behind them, but neither of them seemed to mind. Merlin surveyed the interior, decorated with beautiful tapestries and soft carpets; every piece of furniture and ornament looked like a work of art crafted by the finest artisans with the best materials.
"And I thought the cathedral of Utopia was extravagant enough, but this place far surpasses it," the god acknowledged. "Those who decorated it must have spent a fortune. Every object here could be worth thousands of pounds... I'll never understand how in the future items like these can cost more than mystical materials or potion ingredients."
Morgana noticed the strange look her father was giving each piece of furniture in the room. She chuckled inwardly, but since it wasn't the best moment, she decided to let it go. She had to fulfill her duty and explain the matter at hand.
"After completing the mission, I decided it would be best to stay here and guard the seal of the Sephiroth," he reported, managing to pull the god from his thoughts. "No incidents occurred during the first few years, but one day I had to leave to attend to some matters." Merlin raised an eyebrow curiously, but decided not to interrupt. "That happened from time to time, and nothing had ever happened, until upon my return, I noticed that one of the seals had undergone a tiny but visible change."
"Anyone from outside?" The Madman narrowed his eyes, now hidden under his hood.
Did a being truly exist on the Western Continent with power strong enough to alter a seal imposed by a Pillar?
Morgana denied it, interrupting the God's thoughts.
"No, none of the traps I set were breached, and even with my skills I found no traces," he explained sternly. "I can only assume that whatever changed the seal came from within."
The Madman frowned even more, and his golden eyes seemed to glow brightly.
"I've spent a great deal of time studying the seals. So far, I can confirm that they have two functions," the Angel continued, raising a finger. "The first and most basic is to bind the Sefirot in certain spaces; their cores are trapped in rooms that are a strange mixture of the real and the imaginary." He raised another finger. "The second is that they prevent any being below Sequence 4 from approaching. This also applies to those above this sequence, but it has almost no effect."
"That would explain why the highest position formula available here is only Sequence 5," the god concluded, and suddenly smiled, amused. "Without access to a higher one, no one could easily establish a connection with the Sephiroth and break their chains." Everything made sense; Tianzu truly had everything planned, but there were always unforeseen factors. "Well, that would be the case if they only tried the traditional and safe method."
Morgana looked at him curiously, but seeing his smile, she decided against asking. The Angel had felt more human emotions in a few minutes than in all the years that had passed since His arrival.
"After all, he is...Father," he admitted inwardly.
She guided him to an intersection where the path split into eight different passages; without stopping, the Angel led him down one of them. Merlin guessed that his destination was the anomalous seal.
"So, what changed?" he inquired.
His golden eyes were focused on the walls, which unlike the others were not adorned with beautiful banners but were covered with writings in Ancient Hermes and other ancient languages imbued with a strong spiritual power.
"Only she could have created this; only the two of us know these languages now." He narrowed his eyes, analyzing the inscriptions. "Most are spiritual barriers to keep the curious away, others are harmless traps to confuse and repel, and only a few are truly lethal." Before the Demi-Lord of Mysteries, no writing could hide his secrets. "These must be the traps she mentioned."
The melodious voice caught his attention again.
–Although the first function of the seal remains intact, the second has been almost completely eliminated –he reported.
–Interesting. Has anyone tried to communicate with the Sefirot?
He received an affirmative response, just as he had expected. It was highly likely that all these seals were only placed after that incident occurred.
Just as they were about to continue analyzing their theories, dozens of illusory voices echoed in his ears, making him frown in bewilderment. He didn't recognize any of them, but he could still read the intention behind each one. His mind turned to them, trying to delve deeper into their origin, but Morgana brought him back to reality by resuming the story of the "guest" who tried to reach the Sefirot.
"I'll look into it later," he abandoned his previous idea, deciding to focus on what was most urgent.
"A year after noticing the anomaly, I had to be away longer than expected. Upon my return, I found footprints leading in and out of here." He paused in front of a massive black door, adorned with the symbol of the mysteries. "The intruder turned out to be a Beyonder who somehow bypassed all my security measures without activating them and reached the Sephiroth."
"Which one?" Merlin asked, looking up to observe the extravagant design of the door.
–The "City of Calamity", corresponding to the paths of the Assassin and the Hunter.--He placed his hand on the door, pushing gently.
The doors began to open at the slightest touch. The Fool took the lead this time, with his Angel a few steps behind. The mist of Sefirah Castle manifested in reality, surrounding the bodies of both beings, protecting them from any corruption belonging to the Sephirot that might try to infect them.
"Let's go in, I need to observe the seal to better understand the situation," Merlin ordered, as his eyes rested on the sealed room before them.
---The nine Sefirot of Earth are either completely illusory and hidden somewhere unknown, or they are definitely real while they exist in the real world. Among them, 'The Sea of Chaos' is the only Sefirot that merges the real with the illusory and has access to the real world," the Fool explained to his Angel. "The rest of the Sefirot, including the Castle Sefirah, do not have 'real access' by which they can establish a connection. Only when these Sefirot have a master can they partially manifest in 'reality' and become visible to human eyes."
Having become more familiar with this incident, she informed him:
-The view in front of you was formed after the uninvited visit.
The Fool nodded in understanding, indicating that he had grasped the subtext. His golden gaze fixed intently on the illusory landscape before him.
Before them lay a vast metropolis, composed of two intersecting timelines, resembling an infinitely large or infinitely small version of pre-Cultural Revolution Shanghai. Its wide streets teemed with trackless trams, yellow rickshaws hauling bloated women, and the occasional black car, all surrounded by multi-story buildings in a variety of architectural styles. The few visible figures could be considered corrupt citizens; some were distorted, with a single head dragging a bloody spine; others were well-dressed but decapitated; and still others were bloated, their features obscured.
Everything was observed by them from the boundary between "reality" and the territory of the Sefirot, making sure never to enter their reach.
"The fact that 'The City of Calamity' is visible to the naked eye as it is now is not a good sign." He narrowed his eyes and the aura of his own Sephiroth strengthened like an impenetrable shield. "Could you explain to me what happened after I discovered that beyond?"
Although I had doubts about how all my preparations had gone, as a precaution I didn't attack him immediately after finding him...
~~~
-What are you doing here, little hunter?--the voice was melodious but resonated with authority--Come out this instant.
But the Angel's voice did not seem to reach the human from a distance; he kept his head raised and his eyes fixed on the void in front of him. From the Angel's perspective, there was nothing where his gaze fell.
Frowning, her amethyst eyes turned black, just as the world around her lit up with color. The darkened eyes fixed on the boy and immediately widened in disbelief.
The young man's soul was completely black, devoid of the iconic colors that every human should possess. However, after a few seconds of staring at him, his spiritual vision deactivated on its own, at the same time as his spirituality sounded a deafening alarm.
Watching for too long would put her at great risk.
"What a mess," the Angel admitted, without any intention of approaching him.
Seeing that the boy still stared blankly, he raised his hand and pulled; the abrupt gesture ripped the hunter's heart from beating.
At first nothing happened, but after a few seconds the body fell backwards finally revealing the clouded and lifeless gaze of the now corpse.
But the tranquility didn't last long. The corpse began to twitch and suffer spasms, which made the Angel frown even more.
The previously dead human body came to life, increasing in size and mutating; in a few seconds, no one would imagine that the disgusting creature was once human.
"Repulsive, did his body mutate due to the influence of the Sefirot or are there other hidden factors?" he wondered.
The mystery behind the resurrection and mutation of the corpse would have to wait. Morgana first had to deal with the out-of-control body.
"You're out of tune," she commented, not at all affected by the squeals.
Without waiting for him to lunge at her, the Angel of Liberty raised her hand, gently touching her earrings. They flashed, and instantly the resurrected man's movements slowed.
If he activated his spiritual vision, he could see the black threads that connected to the corpse tighten and slowly move towards his fingers.
It was the puppet control ability that the Angel King had stolen from the cult leader. The Sequence 5 ability, wielded by an Angel King, increased its power and capacity immensely; in just five seconds, the being before her had become a puppet whose strings she pulled.
Disinterested, the Angel released the black threads after the creature died for the second time; the now again corpse fell to the ground like a doll abandoned by its owner.
It was then that the King of Angels conjured the flames of a Pyromaniac when another anomaly appeared.
The small flame, whose sole purpose was to burn the corpse before her, suddenly erupted into a raging, uncontrolled blaze. Even when the Angel tried to diminish the spirituality to lessen its power, it maintained its intensity.
Her spiritual intuition cried out with a new warning as she felt a strange attraction that compelled her to approach a faint image slowly forming in the air. The black earrings gleamed and trembled as the flame vanished and the Angel stole the distance, disappearing from the room.
Morgana let out a deep sigh, realizing that the strange attraction had vanished and her state had returned to normal. She even checked the pyromaniac's ability; when she lit a flame, it remained small, functioning as it should.
Even more certain that whatever was causing such anomalies was the sealed Sephiroth itself, Morgana closed the room after dragging the corpse outside. The following days passed with the Angel writing thousands of hermetic characters, among other things, on the walls.
After that accident, no one else beyond has been able to reach the Sefirot, much less has anyone been contaminated by it.
~~~
"You're saying she tried to lure you, despite your paths being completely incompatible?" The Fool, nodding in agreement, brought his hand to his chin. "For 'The City of Calamity' to ignore its natural convergence with its corresponding paths, something is definitely influencing it." He looked up. "For now, let's leave. We can't be careless when we're unaware of the hidden factors."
"Do you have a theory yet?" Morgana asked, following him towards the exit.
"There are too many unknown variables to determine the exact cause," he replied. "Will you tell me yours?"
Morgana remained silent, debating whether to speak or not, in the end she decided not to and simply made a comment.
"Hmm, I'm in the same boat, but perhaps it's because I've been reviewing the events of that day so carefully that I've somehow come to feel a strange familiarity with the energy contained in that attraction," she confessed, lightly tossing her long hair in a gesture of visible irritation. "However, I couldn't quite place it, no matter how much I searched my memory. Even now, after so long since regaining my sanity, I still haven't recovered many of the memories I lost during that century shrouded in madness."
"It's possible they'll remain as gaps in my memory forever," he admitted with slight frustration.
The Madman nodded, but his words echoed in his mind, sowing a bad feeling.
~A familiar energy…
The God of Soothsayers had unrivaled intuition. If something felt wrong, it was because it was wrong, not just paranoia.
~It seems I have another problem to deal with.
---
When they finally left the building, El Loco heard the illusory voices again, this time clearer and louder. He decided not to remain in doubt and to discover the truth, so he questioned his Angel.
"I'm curious about something," he said, speaking faster than usual. "I've been hearing the prayers of many humans since we arrived. Is there anything you have to tell me about it?"
Morgana smiled amusedly; she didn't care about being discovered.
—Well… you can never have too many anchors. I thought that, instead of completely erasing His existence, I could replace it with a more appropriate one—he pointed, extending his arm with his palm open—Yours.
"Did you make everyone believe that I am Tianzu?" The audacious idea surprised the God.
But the surprise was almost immediately replaced by amusement. He smiled at the irony of the situation. Now she was not only stealing His place as Pillar, but also what remained of His religion, after the purge carried out by His own daughter.
—To be precise, I made them believe that He was an Angel in Your service who rebelled against You, the true God, then fled the divine realm and impersonated You on Earth—he recounted the entire story he had concocted—. But He was discovered, captured, stripped of all free will, and finally sealed away eternally as punishment.
Merlin blinked as he listened to the distorted story.
"Are you trying to influence him through the anchors to make him submissive?" he deduced.
I never would have imagined that Morgana was already carrying out manipulation on such a large scale. She was essentially trying to alter the nature of an ancient Pillar through the accumulated weight of human beliefs held by the anchors.
Each anchor possessed its own image of the deity to which it was connected; it was this diversification that allowed the gods to retain, to some extent, their original personality. No matter how benevolent or malevolent a god was, if a critical mass of its anchors firmly believed otherwise, sooner or later it would begin to change.
"Corruption through anchors" was, in fact, the main reason why many gods had abandoned their physical statues in favor of more abstract sacred emblems.
"Should I congratulate you on your creativity, or scold you for being too manipulative?" he wondered again, seemingly back at square one.
Merlin knew that this kind of behavior and this train of thought were normal for beings like them. Even he wouldn't have found it strange, were it not for the strong humanity he still retained. The gods and those close to them always played the long game. It was a lesson he had understood—and applied—long ago.
Seen in this light, Morgana's actions had a cold and calculating purpose. He made sure to erase those who worshipped him directly, while altering the perception of the rest so that they believed the true god was someone else, and he was merely a rebellious angel.
~Ha. A high-level deception executed with the elegance of a top-tier Marauder. After all, it's his specialty.He watched her as she stole the distance toward her next destination, disappearing from his sight an instant before he did the same and appeared beside her.
~But I'm not so different, so I can't complain.
The Fool finally smiled, accepting the new manipulative attitude his daughter had developed… and recognizing, ironically, how much it resembled his own.
"At this point, I can say that you're already at Amon's level in terms of manipulation and long-term games," he acknowledged inwardly, proud. "Of course, I'll never tell him that directly."
Morgana stopped in front of the wall of fog, turned her head slightly, displaying a mischievous and playful smile, full of expectation.
"You said He would return someday to face you again. I thought this might help," Morgana said, staring into the fog before them.
"And it is. I think, in fact, it gives me more room to maneuver." She looked at him curiously, wondering what his plan was to confront him. "I'll explain later. But tell me, did you take it upon yourself to spread that whole story?"
Morgana rolled her eyes and shook her head in denial.
"It would be far too tedious and boring," he replied with a mocking smile. "It was easier to entrust it to a small snake I saved from death."
"A Beyonder of the Monster Path?" Morgana nodded. "This reminds me of when I tricked Daniz into praying to me and then forced him to spread my faith as a divine oracle."
"It wasn't difficult to convince him, even though he doesn't believe in you himself," he explained. "He's only interested in the position he gets because of it. But as long as he does his job well, I don't care about his true motives."
Merlin blinked.
"Correction: that boy looks more like Anderson than Daniz," Merlin admitted, remembering both hunters. "It seems he's been doing quite well, judging by the number of voices I hear."
His hand rose and with a gentle gesture opened a path through the fog.
"The people here believed him more readily than I expected," the Angel remarked. "I only had to perform a few 'miracles' here and there for them to truly believe in his existence. Apparently, their faith in him had been greatly undermined by the actions of his own 'loyal servants.'"
"That makes sense," Merlin sighed, anticipating more work. "I'll leave an avatar here to answer prayers. Aren't you going to inform the divine oracle of your departure?"
She shook her head, disinterested.
"Now he's beyond Sequence 5, he can fend for himself," she informed him, confident in her assessment. "He knows I might leave someday. Besides, if Mr... father is going to leave an avatar here, I have nothing to worry about." Her mid-sentence correction amused the god.
—My daughter is quite cute when she's embarrassed.
Morgana snorted and went ahead, venturing into the open path through the fog.
"Now she's annoyed. I should control myself a bit and not bother her too much," he suggested to himself.
The Fool followed her shortly after, but not before creating an avatar of Sequence 2 and ordering it to supervise the believers and watch over the Sefirot.
Upon passing through the barrier, he encountered his daughter, who frowned as she sensed a subtly familiar energy.
"Is a being related to our paths emerging?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer.
"He won't be the only one. Many divine beings will be born during this time," he replied. "Are you ready for this time of struggle?"
—Of course. Living while watching over ruins is boring; I miss the action—although his smile was gentle, his eyes flashed with unmistakable excitement.
—Just don't overdo it in your search for excitement.
She nodded; the euphoria in her eyes dimmed slightly at the gentle warning.
"I'll try. But I think even my soul yearns for chaos," she admitted with a chuckle.
~Marauders…--he shook his head, seeing Amon's reflection in Morgana~~Always creating chaos for fun.
----
Extra: The fox's farewell to the snake wrapped in ashes.
"Did the teacher leave?" he blinked, confused, reading the letter in astonishment.
When Hong Chinjin returned home that afternoon, he found a letter on the table with orchids crudely drawn on the envelope. Apparently, Morgana wasn't as indifferent to the little snake as she had shown to Merlin. The letter was a long farewell, written in neat handwriting, from the Angel to the only child who had kept him company during his time on this isolated continent.
{If you received this letter, it means that the Lord finally came to get me and my mission was successfully completed}
The letter started out very formal, but the more I read, the more informal and confident it became.
{I remind you, little snake, that from now on you must watch your step, you no longer have me to clean up your messes: like that time you drank too much and almost ended up drowning in a river or that day when a girl seduced you only to try to kill you.}
At this point, I wondered if your spiritual intuition atrophied as a result of the trauma.
Hong Chinjin's right eyebrow twitched in irritation. Couldn't he let his guard down once in a while?!
{Anyway, it's likely we'll never see each other again (I don't plan on coming back here unless it's a matter of life or death), and so I'll make an exception and tell you a secret.}
The child, in the eyes of the Angel because he was already a fully grown adult (this is questionable), felt sadness and nostalgia upon reading these words.
{You once asked me what my name was, and I answered that it was Morgana Hermes, which was given to me by my Lord.}
However, that is not my first name.
Are you curious to know which one is the real one?
Hong Chinjin opened his eyes in surprise; it was one of the topics that most intrigued him. But his teacher was firm and never gave him a single clue.
Maybe finally...--she smiled expectantly.
It was a shame that their expectations plummeted thanks to the following words.
{Well no, I'm not going to tell you.}
It wouldn't be fun that way ψ(｀∇´)ψ}
Hong Chinjin abruptly lowered his head at his teacher's ridiculous attitude and the strange doll she had painted.
{But I'll give you a little hint: you've heard my name many times, every time you travel or enjoy a holiday; maybe you're even hearing it right now but you choose to ignore it.}
Can you guess it ~(˘▽˘~)(~˘▽˘)~?}
"Something I always hear... 'There are too many possibilities!'" She clutched the paper. "You're too evil!"
{If you think I'm evil, it's because you're too cowardly to face me in this game.}
If you get tired, you can try praying to me, but I doubt I can hear you on the other side.
-Teacher...
{Little traumatized snake, don't get too caught up in what I asked you to do, enjoy your life, it's time for you to grow wings.}
As for my name, even if you never find out the correct answer, I will come and tell you at your grave (ask whoever buries you to do it in a visible place, I don't want to tire myself out looking for you).
Bidding you farewell, she who had to contend with your many traumas, the Angel of Liberty beneath the throne of the Lord.
Morgana Hermes
Hong Chinjin sighed as he reread about his "abundant traumas." Then, with another heavy sigh, he murmured:
"...Master, I wish you luck in your long life ahead. I will live the few years I have left fulfilling our agreement, even though I am now relieved of it." Hong Chinjin smiled, and her eyes seemed watery, but she held back her tears. "After all, you fulfilled my greatest wish, and I must pay for it even if you don't think it's necessary."
Hong Chinjin carefully folded the letter, returning it to its envelope and storing it in an empty drawer, just for herself.
Even if a reunion in life was impossible, perhaps death would offer her a chance