Amon froze for a moment at the response, clearly caught off guard. Then he laughed, emphasizing the word as he said, "He's hardly an old friend of mine."
"Alright, then how about checking on one of your old toys?" Alaric smoothly rephrased, knowing that among the angels of the Lord of Mysteries pathway, only Mr. Door truly qualified as Amon's old friend.
"Of course!" Amon nodded, then looked at Alaric with curiosity. "Klein's nowhere near ready to accommodate the Fool's Uniqueness. Are you preparing for Bethel already?"
At that, Alaric's expression turned odd for a second. Instead of answering, he fixed his gaze on Amon. "Klein?"
Amon looked puzzled. "What's wrong? Should I call him Sherlock instead?"
"It's not a problem, just…" Alaric's mind flashed to the original story's fiery rivalry between the two, making his expression even stranger. He studied Amon, curiosity piqued. "How do you view Klein now?"
"He's a decent teacher," Amon said, adjusting his monocle. "Lil' Amon likes him a lot. But as for me, he's too soft. If he had more ambition, he might make a worthy opponent."
"That's high praise," Alaric said, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you'd see him as another toy."
Amon met his gaze. "You wouldn't allow that. And he…" Amon paused before continuing, "Despite his timid side, I'll grant him his courage. He's a human worthy of respect."
"…Sounds like you actually took those lessons to heart," Alaric said, staring at Amon. He could tell the words weren't just for show... they were sincere.
Amon didn't argue, merely adjusting his monocle again.
Alaric let out a pleased chuckle. "But you guessed wrong. I'm not going to see Antigonus about the Lord of Mysteries. It's just some personal business."
Amon's expression grew puzzled, but he wisely didn't press further.
Alaric turned to the others. "Well, I'll be off then. Catch you later, everyone!" He glanced at Sasrir with a smile. "No rush to head back. Take your time catching up with your kids."
"Is this a vacation, then?" Sasrir asked, looking at him.
"Of course. I'm a very considerate boss, after all," Alaric said with a grin before leaving with Amon.
After their departure, Roselle lost interest in teasing Aucuses further. He grabbed the God of Steam and Machinery and left the Eternal Blazing Sun's Divine Kingdom, heading toward the God of Knowledge and Wisdom's domain.
The once-lively Divine Kingdom suddenly felt empty, leaving only Sasrir and Aucuses behind.
Aucuses clearly didn't know what to say, his lips twitching without forming words.
Sasrir smiled gently. "Mind telling me about your situation, Aucuses?"
…
While everyone went about their business, Alaric and Amon smoothly arrived at the Foggy Town.
For ordinary Beyonders, this was a perilous place... one misstep could turn you into "cured meat" Hanging from the rooftops. But neither Alaric nor Amon was fazed by the danger.
"I knew long ago that Antigonus was trapped here, but I never had the chance to visit," Amon said, scanning the area. To him, it wasn't entirely unfamiliar.
Foggy Town, where Antigonus was imprisoned, was once the Nation of the Evernight. As someone who worked for Tudor in the Fourth Epoch, Amon had certainly visited the Nation of the Evernight before.
But compared to his past visits, the Nation of the Evernight now was barely recognizable, aside from its buildings, which remained largely unchanged.
"Antigonus was always a coward," Amon remarked, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "No ambition, no strength, yet he clung to a treasure that wasn't his. Honestly, I'm not surprised by his fate."
Alaric glanced at him. "If I recall correctly, Antigonus only managed to accommodate the Uniqueness because you and Adam helped him?"
"It was an experiment," Amon admitted, nodding. "Antigonus could've backed out, but clearly, he overestimated himself."
Back then, Amon and Adam's aid in helping Antigonus accommodate the Fool's Uniqueness wasn't out of kindness. Beyond some political balancing, it was mostly to gauge the Celestial Worthy's activity.
The results proved that in the Fourth Epoch, the Celestial Worthy was still very active. Any angel from the Lord of Mysteries pathway trying to ascend to godhood was practically a walking deadman.
Alaric shot Amon a look, smiling. "In reality, he had no choice. If he didn't take on the Fool's Uniqueness, he couldn't have protected his Nation of the Evernight in that era."
Amon didn't argue. He simply gazed at the "corpse" of the Nation of the Evernight before him. "He was too weak. In this world, the weak lose everything... everyone does."
"Even you?" Alaric asked, catching the subtext.
"Even me," Amon replied, his dark eyes carrying an indescribable emotion. "That's why I really envy you."
"Hahahaha!" Alaric couldn't help but laugh. "That's rare, hearing you say something like that. It almost feels out of character."
Amon clearly didn't know the term "out of character," but he could guess its meaning. Adjusting his monocle, he said, "Maybe you've got some stereotypes about me."
"You know that word?" Alaric asked, surprised.
"You never bothered hiding your chats from Lil' Amon," Amon said, giving him a pointed look.
"Fair enough, not surprising then," Alaric said with a shrug. Suddenly, he glanced in a direction. "Looks like someone's noticed our visit. But you've spooked them, Amon."
Amon wasn't surprised. If Alaric sensed it, he certainly did too. "If they know anything about us, they'd be more scared of you."
"Nonsense. I'm way more reliable than you," Alaric shot back.
As for the subject of their conversation, there was only one possibility... Zaratul. The Miracle Invoker who, by stealing the Seer pathway's characteristics from Antigonus, ended up trapped in Foggy Town, with all his external avatars going out of control. Also, Roselle's old friend.
***
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