The thing Lynn wanted to discuss with Klein was undoubtedly about the upcoming photo shoot of the cat-themed photos and the visit to an old friend.
Naturally, this made Klein so embarrassed that he wished he could dig a hole and hide in it. To change the topic, he cleared his throat lightly and asked, "Who's the old friend you're referring to?"
"You should've heard of their name. They were once known as a half-Fool and were close colleagues with Bethel," the Angel of Secrets replied with a smile.
"That's Antigonus, isn't it?" Klein paused for a moment, somewhat surprised. As a student of Mr. Door, Klein had already heard stories about Antigonus and learned more about him from Lynn's diary.
However, Klein looked at Lynn doubtfully and asked uncertainly, "But hasn't Antigonus already lost control?"
That was what Mr. Door had told Klein.
"Indeed, Antigonus has lost control and is now trapped in Foggy Town as a grotesque wolf insect by the Evernight Goddess," the Angel of Secrets nodded and glanced at Klein with a smile. "The Fool's Uniqueness and Sequence 1 characteristics of the Fool pathway are still with him, and not only that, the Blasphemy Card of the Fool is also in his possession."
"So, don't feel like you're losing out. Trading a set of cat-themed photos for the Blasphemy Card of the Fool is a deal you couldn't find anywhere else," the Angel of Secrets said with a sigh at the end. "Only I would make such a losing deal."
Klein was stunned, feeling overwhelmed by the sudden information. He took a few seconds to process it before asking, still unsure, "So, you want to take me to see Antigonus and retrieve the Fool's Card? But... Antigonus has lost control. Are you saying you have a way to make him regain clarity and escape the state of madness?"
"I don't have the ability to restore Antigonus to his former self," the Angel of Secrets replied while giving Klein a meaningful look, without explaining further. "However, suppressing the maddened Antigonus is no big deal for me, so I can help you get the card."
"Also..." The Angel of Secrets suddenly flashed a playful smile and looked at Klein. "I plan to take you on a little hunt."
"Huh?" Klein was genuinely puzzled this time. The image of an infamous comic scene popped into his mind, but he quickly shook his head to dispel it. After a few seconds of thought, he tentatively asked, "You don't mean Zaratul, do you?"
Considering the connections between the hunt and the Fool pathway, Klein could only think of Zaratul, the former head of the Secret Order and once a close associate of Roselle.
"Exactly, it's him!" The Angel of Secrets nodded with satisfaction, clapping for Klein's deduction skills. Then, smiling again, he added, "He's currently in Foggy Town, half-dead. Considering that he'll be your enemy in the future, I thought it'd be a good idea for you to get used to him by giving him a good beating."
A big question mark almost visibly formed over Klein's head. He was speechless, not understanding what the Angel of Secrets was talking about.
After a while, Klein finally found his voice again and hesitantly asked, "You want me to beat up a Miracle Invoker?"
Was he serious? Klein was only Sequence 5! His opponent wouldn't even need to move a muscle. Just displaying their mythical form would be enough to wipe him out!
Even though Klein had always known the Angel of Secrets was outrageous, he felt this was going too far.
"In your current state, of course, you can't beat him. But don't worry, I can power you up," the Angel of Secrets laughed and looked at Klein before explaining, "I've developed a new move, similar to historical projection fusion, but this time, the projection isn't from the past. It borrows power from the future."
"Because of that, theoretically, after I enhance you with this buff, you'll be able to briefly use your future self's strength. Although it would only last around 10 seconds, it's more than enough to beat up Zaratul," the Angel of Secrets explained further.
Lynn had indeed developed this new technique after advancing to King of Angels and gaining further mastery over his abilities.
The essence of the move was still rooted in Lynn's ability to create alternate accounts across different timelines. The historical projection summoned wasn't from the timeline Lynn had interfered with, but from a timeline where he hadn't.
—In fact, Lynn had begun to sense that, due to his interference, history seemed to split into two layers. One was the new, evolving history that hadn't yet reached its end, and the other was the original history, unchanged and flowing as it was intended.
Though the altered history should theoretically overwrite the original, the original timeline hadn't truly disappeared. It had fused with the new one, existing in a Schrödinger-like state.
Others couldn't see the dual-layered history, only its merged form. But to Lynn, both versions still existed—one as the past, and one as the future.
This realization had inspired Lynn to develop a skill that allowed others to borrow power from their future selves, as the future had, in a way, already become the past.
Of course, this technique only worked for others, not for Lynn himself, as he didn't have a corresponding version of himself in the old timeline.
But for Klein, it was perfect.
"Holy crap!" Even Klein couldn't help but exclaim in shock. He looked at Lynn incredulously and asked, "So, I can use the power of my future Sequence 1 self?"
He didn't mention Sequence 0 because he remembered Mr. Door mentioning that ancient scholars couldn't summon the projection of someone who had absorbed a Uniqueness. They could only borrow power through clever methods—like summoning a demigod projection of the Red Angel Corps, which could still channel the power of the War Angel and bypass the Uniqueness restriction.
The Seers really had a knack for thinking outside the box.
"Exactly!" The Angel of Secrets nodded and added, "However, I wouldn't recommend doing this when advancing to Sequence 4. Since this involves cheating with my power, there's no guarantee it wouldn't affect the ceremony. Plus, hunting down a Sequence 4 on your own would be a good experience."
(End of Chapter)
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