After some time of the meeting, Klein sank into a sea of chaotic dreams where there was no sense in anything he saw before his eyes.
Sometimes, they were grand and majestic places that he had never seen in his entire two lives, sometimes it could even be something completely contrary to reason and normal understanding that everyone had of the entire world or even of reality.
When he stood up, Klein looked dazedly at the wall with a slightly strange vision, as if there was something that shouldn't be there.
There were mixed colors of yellow, blue and white that seemed to form the body of a person, this person was lying calmly on the bed and further away was a combination of different colors forming a raised silhouette.
What...? There are full of colors behind the wall... Is that lying down...? — he blinked with a frown, but the strange thing had already disappeared without a trace.
Klein quickly sat up, losing all the confusion that was in his mind at the same time.
Wait... Isn't that the direction of Melissa and Benson's room?
I see them?
He frowned, and a thought came to his mind:
Beyonder!
Maybe it's the influence of something related to the mysterious world that's causing me these strange visions and reactions.
Something related...
Almost everything around him was a complete mess that involved mysteries or at least was connected to some. Him, the former Klein, the policemen who knocked on his door and everyone.
Klein would never be able to find the reason for this normally.
That palace had been completely in ruins apparently for thousands of years and there were even several translucent worms sitting on the destroyed throne.
Night... It must be something connected to the night. The Goddess of Midnight? What does that bunch of worms have to do with the Goddess? Does it hate her? From the way it acted, it's very possible...
Who should I ask this to discreetly? Uh... Someone who knows about the Beyonder and who has some knowledge of the mysterious world... Mr. Azik! Even if I can't trust him, he's still the best option of all. He is a seemingly strong Beyonder... Stronger than Mr. Hanged Man.
Yes, it is possible that Mr. Azik knows about that place. Well, I will try to ask about the place itself and not the palace, otherwise I might raise suspicions.
Klein made up his mind as he pondered a few things.
Now that he had the Tarot Club, he could gain important information about the Beyonder world, but what could he do next?
There was something else that was even stranger. Mr. Chariot had mentioned the case of people who had gone mad because of the Beyonder powers, so was it really worth becoming a Beyonder?
Besides, he could no longer sleep normally due to so many distorted dreams and sometimes even suffered from some delusions, so was there really any choice but to follow this path?
Klein sighed inwardly as he looked at the mirror.
Mr. Hanged Man and Mr. Chariot had mentioned the so-called twenty-two divine paths. But I must be careful… They said that it could be even more dangerous depending on one's bloodline.
He didn't hesitate any longer and got up to silently leave the house after eating his breakfast.
Klein walked to Howe Street with many doubts in his mind and sometimes, he thought a little about Roselle and the creator of the tarot cards.
He was looking for some information about a palace at the peak of a mountain range. It could be anything, but it could mainly be connected to some eons ago.
He probably wouldn't find that kind of information with a normal person, but with a Beyonder it could be a different story and the only Beyonder he knew besides the members of the Tarot Club was his history teacher, Azik.
Luckily, Azik is almost always in the Deweyville library checking out some old book so Klein didn't have to look for him and it wouldn't even seem suspicious to anyone.
Even if his teacher wasn't there, he could still pick up a book to see something about a mountain range.
Being a history student has its advantages. — he thought with a slight smile on his face.
He quickly entered the library and walked up to the tall, blond man who was unhurriedly standing at the counter.
Klein looked at him and asked politely:
— Sir, do you know if there are any books on mountain ranges?
The man thought for a few seconds before saying:
— Unfortunately, someone already took that book a day ago. Maybe they'll return it in a few days or a week.
Klein nodded slightly and thanked the man:
— Alright, I'll come back later.
He picked up a book from the shelf as he walked. "Forgotten Relics."
What a pity, someone already took the book before me. There's still Mr. Azik. — He quickly glanced around discreetly.
There were a few young people sitting around a square table as they discussed a topic about Emperor Roselle.
At an empty table next to a window, there was a man with long, dark brown hair that was tied into a ponytail. His golden eyes seemed to be alive.
His softly-featured face had a calm and tired expression. Azik noticed Klein's gaze and turned to him.
— Mr. Azik, can I talk to you? — Klein asked as he approached the tanned man.
Azik nodded, smiling gently.
— Of course. How can I help you?
Klein sat down and put down one of the books he had found about ancient relics from grand ruins that were worshipped and majestic in their time.
He gathered some of his thoughts and asked:
— Mr. Azik, is it possible that there is a place on top of a mountain range over 4,000 meters high? I mean… What could the name of this place be?
Azik looked at him thoughtfully as if he had remembered something.
— In the Fourth Epoch, there was a nation above the mountain range of the main peak of Hornacis, it was called the "Nation of Eternal Night". Unfortunately, almost all other information was lost over time. There are almost no records about this nation even at the end of the Fourth Epoch. That nation fell into ruins long ago for an unknown reason, but its ruins still exist today. Even so, it seems that all the inhabitants suddenly abandoned the place due to an unprecedented calamity. Any furniture and even cutlery remained intact and in the same place, and the citizens simply disappeared completely from existence, as if they had never existed.
— They had faith in the Eternal Night, so they called her the Mother of Heaven for Her dominance over the night, yet many insisted on following another deity, Her title has been lost to history. Furthermore, on the main peak of Hornacis there is a grand palace that now remains in ruins.
Klein suppressed his urge to frown as he listened to Azik's explanation.
The Hornacis mountain range was very mysterious and bizarre in his vision, a ruined place where everyone simply disappeared without leaving a trace. Hornacis… It makes sense. But the palace I saw still looked a little better than Mr. Azik's description, and there was also a cluster of translucent worms together… An extraordinary being.
And they believed in the Goddess? Mother of Heaven… Maybe it was Her. And who could this other deity be? One of the other seven orthodox gods? Or someone else? Maybe the Goddess really does have a relationship with those translucent worms… It must be something from the Nation of Eternal Night, and it might also be connected to that laughter I heard.
And what could have happened to the citizens of the Nation of Eternal Night? No one disappears out of nowhere, doesn't even take clothes or food, and leaves everything intact… This is getting deeper and deeper. In his reverie, Klein felt like he was sinking into an abyss of mysteries entangled within each other.
When he finally got an answer, thousands of other questions arose.
— Why this sudden interest in the Nation of Eternal Night? — Azik asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. His expression was unflappable.
That's it… — Klein quickly recalled what he had been thinking when he was in the room and said:
— For some reason, I started having strange and incomprehensible dreams. I don't know exactly… Maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me.
He only told part of the truth so that there would at least be an explanation and Azik wouldn't think about the rest. He was hiding the rest of what had happened on the night of the transmigration!
And since Azik is probably an experienced Beyonder, he would probably figure something out sooner or later even if Klein didn't say anything.
Azik looked at Klein, his gaze becoming imperceptibly cloudier, as if there was a doubt hovering over him.
— Klein, you must know that there are strange things that have no explanation. Right? You're seeing things you shouldn't see, just like last time.
Without waiting for an answer, he continued gently:
— Your dreams can be dangerous to you, depending on what they are or what you saw in them. Be careful. Sometimes, people are born extraordinary... Maybe it could be connected to you.
Mr. Azik really is a Beyonder... — Klein concluded immediately after hearing those words.
— I'll be careful. — he assured without hesitation, but he didn't hide his doubt. —Mr. Azik, when you refer to things without explanation, could it be other people like police officers?
Azik nodded slightly, seeming to have understood something.
— Sometimes, the authorities can have a relationship with these strange things, like when they ask you seemingly meaningless questions." This happened to me once a while ago. They came to question me about Khoy University, if I had seen anything strange last time because a student had committed suicide at the Church of Saint Selena a few nights ago, on June 29th.
Suicide? That... That's no coincidence. And right after the police left... She died in the early hours of the morning, June 29th. — Klein narrowed his eyes with some guesses.
— They came on the night of the 28th. — he said with thoughts running through his mind.
Azik also seemed a little confused. He spoke calmly:
— They also came after you for some other reason. Maybe they suspect your current condition or someone told them something about you. Remember not to tell anyone these things, especially these police officers, unless you really need to.
I remember that Mr. Hanged Man, Mr. Chariot and Miss. Strength also said this... A fate worse than death, to go completely insane... — suddenly, Klein turned his gaze discreetly towards the front door out of pure instinct just like Azik.
Ding!
The sound of the bell rang as soon as the door was opened.
It was a young man with messy black hair. He had green eyes that looked relaxed.
Behind him, there was a shadow sunk into the depths of his soul, it was in the form of a tall man with short hair and was wearing a robe like a priest.
"Inspector" Leonard Mitchell!
That's it... — Klein turned his gaze to Azik, looking as normal as before.
— It's him, one of the police officers. There's something strange about him. — He didn't think twice before reporting Leonard.
Azik nodded slightly as he seemed to examine the "inspector" imperceptibly.
— There really is something wrong with him. He seems familiar...Leonard walked straight to the tall man at the counter without looking around much, he didn't seem to notice Klein's presence or Azik calmly assessing him.
He took a paper from his inner pocket and read it with some apparent seriousness on his face that was soon replaced by the normal smile Klein had seen last time.
Suddenly, he muttered something to himself that no one could hear.
Azik rubbed his temple for a moment as his tired eyes became clouded with doubt.
— You're right, there's something strange about him...
He sighed and said in a tone of nostalgia:
— What was it? I forgot...
Was Leonard Mitchell watching us? Did he follow me here? What's written on that paper? What is he doing with that paper while talking to himself? Is he really talking to himself or... Maybe he's talking to that shadow superimposed on his soul. — Klein had a few guesses and the last one seemed the most likely.
Leonard knew about the existence of that shadow and was deliberately talking to it. Who knows what he could do with that... Could this shadow be one of his Beyonder powers? Is that possible? — the more he thought, the more guesses appeared in his mind.
— Klein, let's talk somewhere else. — Azik suggested while still looking confused by what he had seen.
Klein didn't hesitate to accept for even a moment.
...
Hearing the voice in his mind speaking to him, Leonard looked at the front door of the library that this time didn't seem to make any sound.
He saw a young man with black hair accompanying a tall man with features from the Southern Continent.
At that moment, he remembered something he had heard as soon as he entered the library to look for a book, even though he should have gone back to the church first.
It was something very strange, almost like a warning that Leonard couldn't quite understand. It was like an indescribable feeling of horror spreading through his mind and soul, taking away all his reason and normal understanding, but this feeling didn't seem to be his.
— Klein and Azik... Who are they? — muttering to the void, he felt goosebumps spread, his eyes completely unfocused.
— ...
Suddenly, Leonard regained his composure at the same moment.
— What does that mean? — he frowned slightly.
...
Azik and Klein began walking towards the Howe Street exit, thinking deeply about what had just happened.
— Mr. Azik, are you a person who was born with special abilities? — Klein asked. He wasn't very confident that his teacher would answer, but it was worth a try.
Azik looked at the trees and sighed:
— Maybe... You must have understood from your dreams that there is no way to live with these strange things without consequences. My price must have been losing my memories... About myself and my life...
Klein finally understood a lot at that moment, however, he couldn't help but be confused by everything.
— Did you lose your memories?
— Before entering the university, I woke up in a strange place without knowing anything about myself. I only managed to find my name and some knowledge. There were also some documents and that's why I managed to enter Backlund University. I tried to look for my family or past by my name or anything, but I could never find even a trace of my old life until today. — After some time studying, I realized that I had some strange abilities and I started having strange dreams about things I shouldn't know.
Dreams... — hazy images passing through Klein's thoughts.
— ... Dreams? What were they like? — he asked with interest.
— There were many. I saw myself in an old castle watching my son playing with swords in secret, I was a feudal lord of fertile and grand lands.
— In another I was a humble farmer in some field and planted wheat in relaxing silence. I remember braiding my daughter's hair while she was on a swing laughing happily.
— There was one where I was in a mausoleum with hundreds of black coffins with corpses that had pure white feathers growing on their backs and ethereal voices sounded throughout the place. They spoke incomprehensible things.
— There was also one where I felt completely different. Empty and lifeless... I remember seeing something covering the sky in a blurred place.
Azik began to tell like a madman. It seemed like he had lost all his normal understanding as he spoke with a gentle smile on his face and sometimes laughing.
Nothing seemed to make sense... And they also seemed very varied. Has Mr. Azik been alive for a long time? — Klein wondered internally as he listened to Azik.
— What about your dreams? — Azik asked with a calm look.
After thinking for a few seconds, Klein said:
— They don't make any sense at all. One of them was the peak of the Hornacis mountain range, a ruined palace with weeds growing and a majestic throne adorned and distorted.
— Sometimes it's a place full of saturated and overlapping colors with seven bright lights covering the sky that didn't seem to fit into normal understanding.
— I remember seeing the sky completely dark with an endless sea of stars that went beyond my comprehension, there were strange things... I don't remember...
— There were also strange and terrifying places that I couldn't recognize. They were distorted and blurry to me...
Klein only told some of the things he could remember at the moment, except for everything related to the gray mist.
After that, Azik gave him some warnings about the Beyonder world and then said goodbye.
There wasn't much time to talk since Leonard could be watching them from somewhere or even someone else, so the best option was to talk another day.
After that, Klein bought some vegetables and headed home. On the way, he could only rely on his enhanced intuition after transmigration to know that there was no one watching him from the shadows.
Mr. Azik really helped me a lot... Uh... Also, it seems like he recognizes the "thing" that is in Leonard. He even mentioned that he forgot about his past... Who was Mr. Azik? He had strange dreams... Could this tell something about him? It might be a clue...
Mausoleum and corpses with feathers growing out of their backs... That doesn't ring a bell. And the description of the sky and feeling empty is strange too.
Uh... Melissa should be here soon! I should prepare something for her.
He closed the door behind him with these thoughts and then went to see what there was to do.
Some vegetables and some mutton that Melissa had probably bought at some point while he was away.
Uh... I should wait for Melissa... — he didn't look at the food again, his mouth watering.
Suddenly, a thought came to his mind.
After leaving the library, he had bought potatoes and a few other things on the way!
Klein excitedly took the potatoes from the dresser and
This reminds me of when I first learned to cook. There were so many different recipes that I could never tell which one was my favorite. — He started to sauté the meat that was next to the potato and some spices that he had found, then left it in the pot for a while.
The fresh smell invaded his nostrils and the entire house, making his mouth water.
He took the ritual breads and dipped them in the sauce, then quickly ate them, a smile appearing on his face.
Suddenly, he remembered something, quickly went back to his room and closed the door.
He began to rummage through the books on the desk.
If Klein read each of the many books there, he might not be able to see the sunlight for several days, so he just put them aside after flipping through them.
From what he remembered, the original Klein used to write some things in a brown diary. He liked to write a lot... — Klein flipped through several history books before arriving at a specific one. It was a normal book with a brown cover.
This is it...
"May 10th. Mr. Azik was arguing with Mr. Cohen about the beginning of the Steam Age. He said that Emperor Roselle was the main trigger for all the changes with his inventions, and even though he was betrayed and killed by the followers of the Church of the Burning Sun and the revolutionaries, his era was inevitable and unforgettable. Mr. Cohen insisted that even with all the glory of Roselle, he had fallen from grace in his final moments like many rulers in history."
"May 12th. I heard from Mr. Azik that many believers of the seven orthodox gods insist that extraordinary beings like dragons or giants really existed. That is indeed interesting… It reminds me of what I heard in one of my dreams… Flegrea."
"Even so, I tend to see things like sun… What could it mean? Within those dreams, I could also see buildings in ruins… It was so strange."
Klein frowned slightly.
Giant buildings…? Wait…
An extremely familiar image came to his mind.
Several ruins from a bygone era, pitch black with several towers and colossal palaces that could be spacious even for giants.
Could this be it? — he wondered, flipping through a few pages.
"June 18th. I graduated from Khoy University! Finally!"
"For some reason, I still kept seeing more and more things I shouldn't see, and I guess I can't be bothered with it anymore. Welch said he had gotten a notebook from the Fourth Epoch! Well, I feel like I'm becoming… Not me, but my memories and everything… I don't know."
"June 18th. After decoding the notebook, we found out that it talked about the Dark Emperor of the Solomon Empire, just one, and not that this was the title for all the rulers of the Solomon Empire, as Mr. Azik had explained. That reminds me of something… What was it?"
"June 19th. This book mentions an exchange between someone named Tudor… Tudor of the Tudor Dynasty? and the owner of the notebook, a member of the Antigonus family. Come to think of it, Antigonus..."
The original Klein seemed very mysterious... He must have been very confused when he started writing this. — Klein flipped to the next pages one by one.
"June 24th. The notebook mentioned something... A warning with distorted letters..."
"Be careful with... The warning can't be read properly, it's blurry, distorted, and completely illegible... Naya and Welch were curious to know what the warning was, but I feel like it's not a good idea to try to read it."
"Those stars..."
"June 25th. The author of the notebook accepted a mission to go to the peak of the Hornacis mountain range, where the "Nation of Eternal Night" is located. I have been dreaming about that palace on the peak of Hornacis. I've been dreaming about that palace on the peak of Hornacis... I saw it again... All of this..."
"Who am I? Maybe I was right..."
Klein's eyes narrowed.
Has the original Klein gone mad? Does this even make sense? — with these confusing thoughts, he felt chills run all over his body.
There were some garbled lines below.
"June 26th. I discovered something very interesting."
"Everything is a big act."
"Look at the story."