"…Who are you?" As the King of Angel at the pinnacle of the Door pathway, Bethel Abraham immediately sensed something off about the surrounding space and the connection between himself and Alaric. He looked at Alaric, his tone a mix of doubt and probing. "You said this is the future?"
"I'm Lucifer... call me that for now!" Alaric smoothly slipped into his persona, smiling as he introduced himself. "As you can see, this is the future world, and you come from over a thousand years ago."
"If you don't believe me, feel free to take a look outside. Though, you only have a minute. Perhaps visiting an old friend would be a good choice?" Alaric paused, flashing a playful smile.
Bethel gave Alaric a deep, scrutinizing look. As a summoned Shadow of Time, he could feel the constraints binding him, preventing him from harming the man before him, though they didn't restrict his ability to leave.
After a moment's thought, Bethel's form vanished. As an King of Angel of the Door pathway, he could appear anywhere in the world at will.
But Bethel didn't go far. He sensed an old friend nearby.
The friend was well-hidden, but not well enough for Bethel's keen perception.
After all, Mr. Door was the most cunning of the three great Kings of Angels, and this particular friend was not only in a weakened state but also too close to Bethel.
And so, Pallez Zoroast, who had only recently been startled by Alaric, faced his second shock in short order.
"Long time no see, Pallez. I never thought I'd see you in such a sorry state. Has Solomon stopped sheltering you?"
The familiar voice, unheard for years, nearly made Pallez leap out of Leonard's body. He was reading a newspaper through Leonard's eyes when he heard it. In disbelief, he turned to see Bethel standing by the window. After sizing him up, Pallez, as he had with Alaric, conjured a shadowy form.
The shadow Pallez looked at Mr. Door. "Are you mocking me, Bethel? You and I both know the era of the Four Emperors is long gone. The Black Emperor is history. I'm just a stray dog, unprotected by any true god, hunted by Amon and barely clinging to life."
Bethel lowered his gaze, clearly pondering something. After a moment, he looked up at Pallez. "You seem surprised to see me."
"My old friend, anyone who knows your situation would be shocked to see you like this. Have you finally shaken off the Mother Goddess of Depravity's corruption?" Pallez said with a sigh, his words laced with a hint of probing.
As a cunning old fox, Pallez quickly noticed something off about the figure before him after his initial shock. It wasn't that he suspected Bethel was a Shadow of Time or doubted his identity... just a subtle sense of incongruity.
"Corruption…" Bethel mulled over the word, his expression showing little surprise. He merely turned his gaze toward a certain direction, toward a pocket dimension on Earth.
As the King of Angel of the Door pathway, arguably the world's foremost expert in spatial matters, how could Bethel not sense another version of himself in this world? One sealed in a certain space, in a highly abnormal state.
And now, it seemed, everything had an explanation.
"Do you know Lucifer?" But Bethel had no intention of explaining to Pallez. He simply looked at him and asked again.
At the mention of that name, Pallez's thoughts flashed back to Alaric's visit a few days prior.
During that visit, though Pallez had developed some trust in him, he remained wary of the Lord of Chaos behind him and curious about this "deity's" Situation. Unable to resist, he probed, "Since you serve your Lord, have you met other followers of the Lord of Chaos?"
Alaric glanced at him and smiled. "Old man, trying to dig into my Lord's influence in the real world?"
Pallez hadn't expected such bluntness, but as a seasoned angel, he'd long cultivated a thick skin. He chuckled. "Can't I? We're partners now. I need to know something about the forces I'm working with."
"Of course you can! Though I don't know much myself... I'm just a newbie, after all!" Alaric grinned, his expression turning reminiscent. "There are many organizations following my Lord, but the most important one, from what I know, is the 'Joker Club.' That's the group I joined. I don't know how many members it has, but I do know that many members of other organizations are also part of the Joker Club. For example, Mr. A from the Aurora Order."
"Mr. A? You mean the Aurora Order's divine envoy?" Leonard, who had been listening, couldn't help but interrupt. "Aren't they just a bunch of lunatics obsessed with worshipping the True Creator?"
"Mr. A is indeed a devout follower of the True Creator." Alaric confirmed with a nod, not denying Leonard's words. Then he smiled. "In fact, Mr. A joined the Joker Club at the True Creator's behest."
He didn't explicitly say the Lord of Chaos and True Creator were allies, but the implication was clear.
Leonard frowned, his eyes flickering with an impulse to risk everything and report this guy colluding with an evil god, along with the power behind him.
"Did you know that in the Third Epoch, the Evernight Goddess was also considered an evil god?" Alaric turned to Leonard, smiling as he spoke.
"What?" Leonard froze, his expression shifting. "You! I won't let you slander the Goddess!"
Alaric chuckled, patting Leonard's shoulder. Instantly, all of Leonard's anger was forcibly calmed.
"There's no need for me to lie about this, and you don't need to get so worked up. In fact, I don't mind if you report this to the Evernight Church." Alaric said, giving Leonard a meaningful look. "How do you know the Evernight Goddess doesn't have a partnership with my Lord? Perhaps she's watching us right now."
Leonard, still puzzled by how his anger had vanished, stared wide-eyed at Alaric's words, his face full of disbelief.
"Think it over, Leonard. The relationships between true gods are far more complex than they seem. In the Fourth Epoch, the True Creator, whom you call an evil god, was also one of the true gods." Alaric said, patting Leonard's shoulder again with a smile.
***
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