"Cough, Bonova, is there something you need?"
Roselle's heart was slightly uneasy at this moment, though Bonova didn't seem to notice.
"Father, there are several tasks beyond my authority that require your personal decision," Bonova reported earnestly, as if unaware of the profound changes that had reshaped history. Like many others, Bonova accepted the altered timeline without question, treating the new reality as a natural truth.
Not just Bonova—everyone who hadn't interacted directly with Lynn failed to notice the upheaval in history. In the minds of the uninformed, the Church of Steam and Machinery had always been the Adeptus Mechanicus, and the God they worshiped was naturally the Omnissiah, with Roselle as its pope.
As for Roselle's fall? People remembered it, but they had a simple explanation: Roselle had once walked the wrong path, leading to his downfall. Now, however, he had been redeemed by the Omnissiah, returning as the church's pope once again.
All the contradictions? Everyone ignored them effortlessly.
"Uh... Are you referring to the affairs of the Adeptus Mechanicus?" Roselle asked tentatively.
"Of course. What else could it be?" Bonova responded, puzzled by his father's strange question.
Roselle, suppressing his discomfort, asked a few more questions. The answers only heightened his unease.
'Damn… this is too weird. Lynn's abilities are really something else,' Roselle muttered to himself, coughing to clear his throat. "Alright, I'll get to work."
Since he had promised to work under Lynn, Roselle intended to fulfill his duties. Most tasks were managed by Bonova anyway, leaving him with only a few things to handle.
As for his fear of Lynn's strange powers?
Well, fear was part of it. But more than anything, Roselle was relieved to have secured such a powerful ally.
After all, to be honest, nothing in this world was truly normal—even his own powers as the Black Emperor were bizarre. So while it unsettled him, he could still accept it.
'Everyone's a monster at this point. What's the big deal?'
---
"...We're back?"
After parting with Roselle, Klein glanced around uncertainly.
"Yes, we've returned to our era. This marks the final stop on our journey." Lynn nodded, confirming Klein's guess. He gestured toward a nearby theater and smiled.
"Our last activity will be watching the popular opera The Creator's Return. Yes, it's exactly what you think—performed by the Northern Lights Troupe and heavily endorsed by the Evernight Church."
Klein's expression grew complicated. He had kept a close eye on the Northern Lights Troupe ever since they gained fame with their New Year's performance. The troupe had quickly become one of the most sought-after in Backlund.
It wasn't surprising. The members of the Aurora Order may not have excelled in other areas, but they were undeniably beautiful. After intense training, they had mastered singing, dancing, and other performance skills.
On top of that, thanks to Lynn—also known as the Angel of Secrets—the Northern Lights Troupe received significant support from the Evernight Church. With such powerful backing, even a mediocre troupe could rise to fame. And the Aurora Order was far from mediocre.
But Klein hadn't expected them to be so bold. The Creator's Return? Just from the title, he could tell it had something to do with the True Creator.
"The Evernight Church doesn't mind?" Klein asked, intrigued.
"Not at all. Although the opera tells the story of the Ancient Sun God's era, you know how these things go. The script isn't entirely faithful to history—it's been tweaked quite a bit," Lynn said, smiling as he made a gesture of a miniature cosmos with his fingers.
"In this version, the Evernight Goddess plays a positive role. She's portrayed as the Sun God's sister, both born from the original Creator… Which, to be fair, isn't too far from the truth."
Klein: …
Well, he supposed he wasn't entirely surprised.
"Come on, stop daydreaming. We'll be late if we don't hurry. We planned this down to the minute," Lynn said as he pulled the Fool into the theater. A staff member, moonlighting from the Aurora Order, led them to their VIP box.
The play had already begun, depicting the moment when the second Creator—the ancient Sun God—was born from the original Creator's remains.
What surprised Klein was that although actors portrayed the gods, they were encased in symbolic props, showing only emblems without any physical forms.
It quickly became clear why. From the Fifth Epoch onward, gods no longer presented themselves in human form, using symbols instead to avoid polluting the minds of believers. The same principle seemed to apply to the play, ensuring the audience wouldn't form concrete images of the deities.
Once he understood this, Klein continued watching. What intrigued him further was that despite the opera's title—The Creator's Return—the plot didn't focus solely on the ancient Sun God. Instead, it depicted the struggles of humanity during that era, showing how humans fought to survive under the oppression of foreign races, received the Sun God's salvation, and gradually learned to save themselves.
The combination of brilliant performances and a well-written script made the opera deeply moving. It explored themes of redemption and human nature from both divine and mortal perspectives.
Even though Klein already knew the history, he found himself exhaling softly at the end of the performance. After a few moments of silence, he asked, "I assume the public's perception of the True Creator has changed significantly?"
"Yes," Lynn said with a smile. "Want to meet the True Creator? After all, He's kind of an old "friend" of yours."
(End of Chapter)