"Salinger?" The melodious tone resonated across the lush field, bringing calm to the farmers tending to the Earth. Amanises, walking the fenced dirt path, waved in greeting at the hard workers who bowed to them, before shooting a look at Klein.
"Yep. "He's" corpse—I mean, "His" body is even paler than before," Klein smiled and blinked as the breeze swayed his hair and hit his face. His companion wore a thoughtful expression at his words. ""He's" a Pale Emperor now, huh?" She mumbled out her thoughts, unsure of how to feel about this confirmation; though, she was aware this ex-coworker of hers had benefited from the cataclysmic war.
She suddenly blinked, snapping her head back to him. "Wait… Shouldn't I be angry at this? "He's" my enemy, after all."
"Then why aren't you?" Klein simply teased out a response, but Amanises scoffed and shook her head. "I've spent enough time with you to see through vague wordings. I might not be a Giant—I mean, from the Error pathway, but I can certainly decrypt most of your meaning."
Seeing his raised brow only elevated her spirits as she puffed out her chest. "You don't expect this King of Angels to forever remain simple and naive, do you?" Her eyes then sharpened, the environment around them rippling as she deployed her concealment. "Salinger is in a unique position right now."
"Much like Flegrea, Gregrace is mostly mad and thus acts on instincts." She glanced at Klein who only maintained his annoying smirk, causing her to click her tongue. "About two centuries ago, yeah, before I even 'transmigrated' here, the Underworld was in an uproar. It didn't take long for most factions to realise another Subsidiary God had been eaten—a Pale Ruler of the Underworld was consumed by Death."
This actually made Klein recall that such occasions weren't unusual among the various factions, especially for the Devils, Phoenixes, and Demonic Wolves. With that line of thought, information he had previously gleaned from the Spirit World resurfaced. The Phoenixes were naturally divided among those who flew through the Death or Door pathways, as well as a mismatch of both. Rising among them were six Subsidiary Gods, of which one was a Key of Stars born about three centuries ago.
"This change was naturally exploited by "Her" enemies, tossing away a 'stable' balance which had lasted for a whopping two years. Of course, nothing decisive came of it, only that the Phoenix will slowly begin to lose ground against their primary foes—our faction, and that of the Giants. So, the dragons and mutants needed to double their efforts to support those slackers."
"However, given what you just told me, maybe there was more at play then. For example, the real world territories under the Phoenix's dominion, the place you call the Southern Continent was indeed raided more often as it grew unstable. But the same cannot be said about the Underworld which in contrast, grew in stability." She rubbed her chin. "Now, given what "She" did, one would expect Death to be even more unstable. A trap? Or a distraction? How could "She" be so meticulous? Flegrea had "His" moments of sense, but "He" was still mostly guided by "His" primal urges. The same can be said about Gregrace, if not to a bigger extent back then."
"Now, with what we know, it's obvious the attempt here was to hide whatever progress "She" made with the River's tributary. There was actually no grand scheme at play, "She" simply relied on "Her" instincts as Death; that is, to stabilise the destination of the Dead. Killing some Pale Emperor wouldn't be a negative."
"…In fact, maybe even a positive. Maybe the Tributary leaked more before the event? Then as a way to balance this surge, "She" recovered the Pale Emperor characteristic. Whatever loses "She" incurred in the following conflicts meant nothing before that."
"Yes. The Underworld was indeed created over a millennia ago. But it was only about One and a half, to two centuries ago that it stabilised."
Amanises let out a sigh, slumping her arm. "Well, that's about it… There are obviously issues here. For example, how could "She" resist the sheer convergence from all this?" Her gaze directed to Klein now deepened. "Simply looking at the Darkness Uniqueness and that third Knight of Misfortune characteristic put me on edge. Sure, I had just ascended then, but how much worse would it be for those beings?"
Klein didn't hold back this time, gazing at the oblivious farmers around, their children playing with some scarecrows. "Door's sealing authority is quite special. By utilising the Uniqueness, one could even seal the convergence between higher level characteristics." Being able to use the Door's authority to this extent, Klein was quite confident in his words. He believed Bethel Abraham, Mr. Door, employed this very strategy to prevent the characteristics and Uniqueness within "Him" from undergoing a qualitative change through convergence.
"Death can kill even Beyonder Characteristics for a brief moment. While in Gregrace's unique case this wouldn't help that much, Door could still prevent the worst case scenario."
Amanises tersely acknowledged as Klein proceeded. "Your analysis is mostly correct, bar a one detail. That Pale Emperor was born specifically as a medium for the Phoenix Ancestor to fine tune "Her" control over the Tributary. To cut lose ends, "She" eventually recovered what was "Hers", but kept this specific characteristic, baptised by the River at bay through Door. Then, with this medium, "She" began properly controlling the tributary. Heh, in contrast, a Proxy like the Giant King wouldn't need such roundabout methods."
He looked ahead. ""Her" deep connection to the Spirit World let "Her" notice Salinger, realising that there was some potential there. The tributary could cover "Her" tracks, so "She" wasn't worried. Finally, "Her" vague visions bore fruit. A deep thorn at "Her" side perished and Salinger returned with an unexpected 'boon.'"
A boon you implanted in "Him" of course, Amanises found herself smirking, complimenting Klein as his lips curled again. "Instincts were mostly at play here. "She" wouldn't know what this 'boon' was, just that it benefited "Her" plans. So, in a rare moment of clarity "She" made "Him", "Her" new Pale Subsidiary."
Amanises's mind wandered to the ritual of a sequence 1 Pale Emperor, she knew courtesy of the Fool. "Make your name becomes synonymous with death and the afterlife, remembered and recited by most sentient beings in your domain…" From his explanation back then, Salinger definitely made use of the shortcut by using the name Gregrace. Lack of knowledge of the exact rituals don't mean they wouldn't instinctively manage to complete it… It's just that this shortcut has the major caveat of aligning you a little too close to the being's name you're using…
They locked eyes, Klein breaking the silence. "I assume you already identified the conundrum at play."
Amanises nodded slowly. "One can pass down unwanted characteristics through birth, but this isn't perfect. Non-compatible ones tend to bind with each other too uniquely. It's like a fragile stack of cards: a thin balance might be achieved at the cost of the obvious."
"If the Phoenix Ancestor can simply get rid of a sequence 1 Characteristic through birth, what's stopping "Her" from doing the same with the unwanted ones? What about the other Deities? Not even the Giants with their authority over Theft can do so without potentially messing up this 'Fragile Balance.' Plus, they have a much better option with Omebella. Same for the Mutants and Sanguine's, though all their methods come short in terms of permanence."
They both stopped in their tracks, looking overhead—no, at the Astral Barrier. The hand-drawn Moon remained faint but visible.
"Death's instincts makes the Phoenix create "Her" nest around the tributary. Door makes "Her" seek for more. Further, into the unknown…"
Klein tacitly picked up her words, "The Mother Goddess of Depravity can certainly resolve Gregrace's issues." He redressed his head and continued, Amanises by his side as they resumed their promenade. "But we shouldn't see it as a straightforward transaction; I reckon it's more indirect."
Amanises narrowed her eyes. "You sure you aren't just coping given your precious Characteristics are in jeopardy?"
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little worried," he casually answered. "However, even if I still can't see their full capabilities, I'm quite confident in the escaping skills of Door."
"Plus, much like I wish to make use of Salinger, Gregrace does as well. In fact, at a far greater magnitude than I do."
Amanises agreed, having come to a similar conclusion. The current Gods, as mighty as they seemed, were in peril. It started with Flegrea, Kvastir, and Lilith. Who was to say they wouldn't be next?
Thus, Salinger is becoming the perfect vessel, she smiled to herself. And that cold-blooded idiot likely hasn't realised it yet. Too deep in "His" delusions... With all this, who in their right mind would head there and fight for the Death stuff? Definitely not me. I don't have a Death wish!
She would let the snake be her guinea pig.
Her steps came to a halt once more as she watched a golden, ancient accessory hover above Klein's hands. The slender bird-shaped object projected white, ethereal flames forming its wings while its bronze eyes were layered as stacks of doors. She felt a strange attraction to it, its aura brought a unique stillness to her concealed space.
"It seems your trip wasn't solely spent posturing," she uttered returning her eyes to Klein who made the object float towards her. "The bird wasn't present, how could I miss out such an opportunity?" Naturally, exploiting loopholes and bypassing the intricate seals surrounding the periphery of the tributary was trivial to him.
Amanises's hands hanged around the accessory, feeling the authority radiating from its contents in spite of the seal enclosing it. She remained silent, noting the bird's form before speaking, "Wouldn't shaping it this way be dangerous?" After all, many things could be achieved through a sufficiently strong mystical connection.
"For others it will." The Fool stated as a matter-of-fact, prompting an eye roll out of the Knight of Misfortune. She reasoned it was either he shaped it into Gregrace's form or Aurmir's, the former appealed to her far more.
He let her fiddle around with it before he said, "You can improve your accommodation of high-level characteristics in this way, controlling them in increments before taking in the full thing."
"What you're currently doing with Sefirah Castle?" Amanises passively deactivated her concealment, the mystical item in her hands vanishing as the people loitering closeby noticed the pair. They were now on the outskirts of the growing Tingen. Klein had displaced their house further from the soon-to-be city.
As he nodded, he smiled at the people approaching them, bowing their heads as most offered gifts at hand. With half-baked reluctance, Klein's hands were now suddenly occupied carrying quite the harvest, all under Amanises' judgmental stare.
"Hey, it'll be impolite if I refused them again," Klein stated, preferring to carry the heavy leather bag over his shoulder, his teeth already biting through fresh maize.
"Error things," Amanises simply shook her head, biting through a pomegranate. They moved quietly for a while before Klein spoke with relish. "For our next operation, you'll be using the Darkness Uniqueness. I'm sure you at least have some ideas of its capabilities through your experiences?"
Amanises nodded, licking her lips. "Your expression changed abruptly when speaking of slow accommodation through incremental use. What's on your mind?" As one who could bring calm to even the most troubled minds simply through her presence, Amanises saw through Klein's casual concealment.
He paused for a bit, his expression growing solemn. "If I were to broadly categorise my way of seeing things in the past year, then it'll be at the macro and micro level."
Amanises seemed to grasp what he meant. "Macro... The Sefirot and the infiltration of those beings?"
Klein acknowledged as she delved into her musings out loud. "All Earth Sefirot, bar the Knowledge Moor, Key of Light, and the Tenebrous World seem to be active one way or the other." He had concluded that the Nation of Disorder likely had some level of influence on the matter involving the two Uniquenesses.
"The Knowledge Moor is indeed rather unpretentious as far as I've seen. The Key of Light though…" Klein frowned thinking of the bizarreness of the Wheel of Fortune pathway in general. "As the incarnation of Fate, even if I wanted or wished to, I'd prefer not getting directly involved with it." His furrowed brows deepened. "As for the Tenebrous World…"
Klein ceased all movements, making Amanises apprehensive as she sensed a change. His spirit body was already within Sefirah Castle. He didn't say a word, only sitting on his high-chair for a while, thinking of the Devil Monarch. All his prophecies, visions, and divinations were met with complete failure.
Failed downright? Klein didn't seem distraught, rather he smiled. Back in the real world, he uttered, "The Devil Monarch has formed the Abyss."