For now, Alaric only needed to leverage Medici's ignorance of the truth, using the Ancient Sun God to build rapport with him. Whether they'd clash later was none of his concern.
In this matter, Alaric was merely an outsider.
"If I get close enough to Medici and can't win over Adam, I wouldn't mind siding with the Red Angel to take him on." Alaric thought shamelessly.
As for whether Adam could sense these thoughts, Alaric was deliberately projecting them. Just as he'd intentionally thought of Adam during the storm, he knew an Adam might be lurking in the air around him. Aware he had no real defense against Adam, he chose to openly display his stance, testing Adam's reaction.
Adam wanted to probe Alaric's intentions, but Alaric was equally curious about the divine True Creator's plans. Through his recent probing, combined with his soul's unique nature, Alaric had formed some guesses. He wasn't sure if Adam could read his thoughts, but just as Amon couldn't parasitize him, the Spectator pathway's hypnotic or perception-altering abilities likely wouldn't work either.
If Adam could hypnotize him, the problem would've been solved at its root.
As for whether he was already hypnotized, Alaric didn't need to wonder. Having faced Yog-Sothoth and housing Nyarlathotep's fragment, he was certain of his mental clarity.
Still, even if his guesses were correct and Adam couldn't manipulate his mind, Adam remained a formidable threat. Alaric, however, took it in stride.
"You can set me up, push me to the world's opposing side, or try to win me over. I'm loosely aligned with the orderly side, after all. Honestly, I'm curious to see what you'll choose…" Alaric chuckled inwardly, unconcerned if Adam could sense these thoughts, and shifted his focus to Xio and Fors.
Have they contacted Audrey yet? When I return to Backlund, I should nudge their progress toward joining the Tarot Club… Alaric mused, maintaining his persona with professional dedication.
Azik, unaware of Alaric's chaotic scheming, turned to Klein gently. "Klein, I need to retract my earlier words. Going forward, I may actively seek my past memories."
Before recalling his daughter, Azik had been passive about recovering his memories. But after this encounter and partial recovery, his drive to uncover his past was stronger than ever, no longer content to sit idly by.
"Mr. Azik, do you still need me to keep an eye out for clues?" Klein asked quickly.
"You can, as I mentioned... just note anything relevant without going out of your way. I don't want this to put you in danger." Azik said, pausing to study Klein closely, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "Strange…"
"What's wrong, Mr. Azik?" Klein tensed.
"There's a layer of fog around you, tied to the spirit world, but I can't be certain…" Azik's expression mixed doubt with concern. He rubbed his temple, trying to recall more but failing, and finally warned gravely, "Klein, be careful. There may be more than one entity interfering with your fate."
Klein's face froze. Thinking of the coincidences surrounding him and the mysterious gray fog, a headache brewed.
Alaric hadn't expected Azik's recovered memories to reveal Klein's anomaly so directly. Unfazed, he adopted a worried look, glancing at Klein and then Azik. "Mr. Azik, is there a way to fix this?"
"I'm sorry." Azik said with a bitter smile, shaking his head. His limited memories offered no solutions.
But after studying Klein for a dozen seconds, Azik removed a copper whistle from his sleeve and handed it to him. "I can't resolve the anomaly in your fate, but if you face an unsolvable problem, you can contact me through this."
"Is this a messenger-summoning item?" Alaric asked, feigning curiosity.
"Messenger?" Klein looked puzzled, unfamiliar with the term.
"I know this one!" Alaric said with a smug grin, eagerly explaining. A "messenger." As the name suggested, was a spirit world entity contracted by a Beyonder to deliver messages. Typically, a Beyonder had only one messenger, except for high-ranking figures.
"Exactly as Jack said. This whistle summons my messenger, like so…" Azik demonstrated, blowing the whistle. A towering skeletal messenger appeared before them.
"This is a messenger?" Klein stared at the over-two-meter-tall figure, awestruck by the wonders of the Beyonder world.
Azik smiled, explained how to dismiss the messenger, and handed the whistle to Klein. "I'm not sure how much I can help, but I want to try."
If Klein had previously been just a likable student to Azik, their shared experience with his daughter... coupled with her request for them to care for him... had sparked a sense of transferred affection.
In this light, Azik genuinely wanted to protect Klein, hence the whistle.
Watching this, Alaric raised an eyebrow, amused at how fate had converged so neatly.
Then Azik turned to him, pulling out paper and a pen to jot down a string of Hermes text. Handing it to Alaric, he said gently, "This is how to summon my messenger. You can contact me through it too. I'm sorry I don't have another whistle... hope you don't mind."
***
Every 100 Power Stones and 5 Reviews will earn you a Bonus Chapter.
And if you want to read up to 50 chapters ahead, don't hesitate to visit our patron: pat reon . com / XElenea (remove space)