Lynn had already been gone for three years.
Three years may not mean much for an angel or true god, but for Klein, it had been a long time.
During this period, he donned the alias of Merlin, traveling through every city in the Loen Kingdom, leaving behind the legend of the self-operating wishing machine while smoothly digesting the Miracle Invoker potion.
After that, Klein had long been prepared to go to the Forsaken Land of the Gods and obtained the Attendant of Mysteries Characteristic. Using the monsters of the Forsaken Land as materials, he built his own Marionette Town. After six months of preparation, he successfully completed the Attendant of Mysteries ritual.
Upon ascending to the status of Attendant of Mysteries, Klein found that the Sequence 1 potion almost melted in his mouth. However, instead of rushing to ascend to The Fool, he followed Lynn's advice, choosing to stabilize his condition first. After confirming that his humanity was intact, he took possession of the remaining two Attendant of Mysteries Characteristics, along with The Fool's Uniqueness, before proceeding with his ascension.
This time, Klein didn't use Antigonus to complete the ascension ritual. After advancing to Attendant of Mysteries, Klein confirmed that his ascension ritual to The Fool was already complete.
In fact, the ritual had been completed long ago, when Klein first time-traveled with Lynn. The "Fooling History" ritual had been perfectly executed then.
After ascending as The Fool, Klein still didn't rush to become the Lord of Mysteries. He chose to stabilize himself, and today, three years later, he had finally adjusted his humanity to its best state.
Above the gray fog, Klein sat at the head of the bronze table. In front of him were the characteristics and uniqueness of the Error and Door pathways, both long prepared.
With a deep breath, Klein exhaled. He chose to absorb the characteristics and uniqueness before him, as well as merge with the Sefirah Castle beneath him, truly becoming the Lord of Mysteries.
"I see…" At the moment of his successful ascension, Klein opened his eyes with a sense of realization. He raised his hand and gently tapped the gemstone bracelet on his wrist. Immediately, a historical projection of the future Fool was summoned.
Unlike previous historical projections, this one was clearly imbued with the consciousness of the future Fool from the start, though it was currently in a dormant state.
Klein looked at the sleeping historical projection in front of him, knowing this was the final one. He also understood that this projection was none other than his former self.
The timeline Lynn had created was not an entirely new one but rather a divergent possibility from the original.
To put it simply, they were all, in a sense, reincarnators.
They had lived through the original destiny, forgotten it, and come back again.
Now, the moment had arrived for the two timelines to fully merge.
"Stop sleeping, Fool. It's time to wake up!" Klein said softly. His voice wasn't loud, but the historical projection in front of him trembled slightly, then slowly opened its eyes.
At first, those amber eyes lacked focus as they gazed at Klein, but within a few seconds, they regained the familiar brilliance Klein knew so well.
The awakened Fool looked at the long-lost "friend" before him and couldn't help but smile, saying, "Good morning, Zhou Mingrui. It seems I've finally reached the destiny I've been waiting for."
"Mhm!" Klein nodded, his gaze gentle as he looked at his future self, which was also his past self. "Thank you for your hard work."
"It wasn't hard at all." The past Fool shook his head, then suddenly said, "Maybe you could give me a hug?"
"Of course!" Klein spread his arms and embraced his past self, gently patting his shoulder.
"Goodbye!"
"Goodbye!"
The historical projection disappeared, and Klein knew that from this moment on, the two timelines would fully merge, leaving behind Lynn's deepest mark.
It was also the final step of his ritual.
Klein carefully retrieved the crystal bubble Lynn had entrusted to him from the gray fog. Inside the bubble, a miniaturized version of Lynn had become clearly visible.
"It's time for you to wake up too, Lynn. We all still remember you."
Klein whispered softly.
At that moment, not only Klein, but countless people across the world thought of Lynn.
Some were his friends, some were his followers, and some were his employees.
These countless memories formed the most solid anchor points, like beacons, transmitting signals into the distance.
Far away, within endless time and space, in the midst of countless shining bubbles, a figure began to recondense. Though they had yet to open their eyes, it was as if a thousand voices whispered in their ears.
"Lynn…"
"Lynn, you aren't really going to break your promise, are you…?"
"Lynn, if you don't return soon, I'm going to take over!"
"Amanises, I'm not your dog; I'm Lynn's dog... Wait, I'm Lynn's worker..."
"Lynn, it's time for you to return…"
The figure's eyelashes quivered.
Lynn opened his eyes.
"Whew! That was close… I nearly messed up, but thankfully, I had a backup plan." Lynn patted his chest in relief, then burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Nyarlathotep, I told you I'd get my revenge. Underestimate me, and you'll pay for it."
That's right. By now, you must have figured it out: everything had been part of Lynn's plan all along.
He had long anticipated Nyarlathotep's schemes and had turned the tables on her, successfully devouring half of her — which had always been Lynn's true goal.
"Nyarlathotep might have seen it coming." At that moment, Yog-Sothoth spoke, his voice gentle. Even a short sentence seemed to contain vast knowledge, overwhelming to ordinary people.
"I know, I know, but does it really matter?" Lynn spread his hands and said calmly, "No matter what, the fact remains that I now share her Pillar position. With your help, I won't have to fear her anymore."
Yog-Sothoth seemed to smile, though it was hard to tell. He only said, "Are you going back?"
"Of course! After all, someone's waiting for me. Though… I can probably only send my avatar back from now on." Lynn sighed, seemingly resigned, but then he smiled and stretched.
"But that's not so bad. At least I can protect those worlds forever."
"It's your choice." Yog-Sothoth's voice remained warm. "Whatever happens, I hope you find happiness."
"I understand. Thank you, Father." Lynn smiled brightly, his expression full of joy. "Well, I should get going. They'll start worrying if I'm late. Bye-bye!"
"Goodbye."
...
In the Spirit world, above the gray fog—
The crystal bubble in Klein's hand suddenly shone brightly, then floated out of his grasp, suspended in mid-air. With a crack, the bubble shattered, and the figure inside quickly solidified, growing to normal size.
Lynn stood above the gray fog. He instinctively glanced around, then set his eyes on Klein and grinned.
"Yo, Klein! Long time no see. You look pretty good!"
"Long time no see, Lynn." Klein smiled too, extending his hand toward his longtime friend.
"Welcome back!"
(The End of the Story.)
---
Author's Note: It's over! This ending might not satisfy everyone, but I gave it my all, and because of that, I have no regrets.
I wish Lynn and everyone eternal happiness!
TN: Well, this was one of the best Lord of Mysteries fanfics I've read. And like the author mentioned, the ending wasn't quite to my taste. The 'it was my plan all along' trope feels overused to me, but it works here, so I won't complain... Much.
All jokes aside, Thanks to the author for writing, and thank you amazing people for reading this.