The Fool extended his spirituality and saw the young man that spoke Jotun again. He saw him kneeling before a pure crystal ball.
He knelt there and prayed with an unusual pain in his tone.
"O Magnificent Deity, please cast your eyes on this land that you have forsaken."
The Fool watched the young man, listening to his prayer.
"O Magnificent Deity, please allow us, the People of the Dark, to be freed from the curse of our destiny."
A prayer that shouldn't have reached his ears.
"I am willing to dedicate my life to you, using my blood to please you."
But also one that the person who should have heard it would never respond to.
The Fool tapped on the edge of the long bronze table with his fingers, listening to the words being repeated over and over again, then came to a decision.
He extended his right hand and touched the illusory crimson star.
When Derrick regained his senses, he realized that he was standing in a magnificent palace supported by giant stone pillars. In front of him was a long ancient table, and on the other side of the table was a human figure obscured by a thick fog.
Other than that, there was nothing around him. It was empty and ethereal. Under him was a boundless fog and incorporeal dark red specks of light.
Derrick felt a flame of hope ignite in his heart. He stared at the human figure at the very top, confused and puzzled.
"You, are you God?"
After asking this, he suddenly remembered a statement he read from a book in the City of Silver and quickly lowered his head.
That statement was: "You may not look directly at God!"
The Fool stared at the teenager, examining him from head to toe. Derrick felt that nothing could be hidden from that gaze that seemed to pierce through him.
After a moment of silence, the Fool answered, "Yes."
The gray fog around Him became thicker, as if reflecting its owner's emotions.
However, He didn't tell Derrick to lift his head.
"I am a god."
Being stared at by a god, Derrick overcame the sense of intimidation engulfing him and begged the god.
He had to get His help to save the City of Silver!
"I hope that the people of the City of Silver will be freed from the curse of their destinies. I hope that the sun and sky described in the books will appear in our skies. If possible—if possible, I wish that my parents can be revived."
The Fool looked at him blankly.
Wasn't the child asking for too many things?
Did nobody teach him to respect gods?
"Lift your head."
Derrick obeyed.
Save us.
It was laughable how people always asked for the same thing.
Humans were fragile beings who couldn't even protect themselves, or who died because of their greed.
It was also ironic how gods acted the same.
Save us.
How would the child react if he knew that the Fool had deliberately ignored his previous prayer to save his parents?
Would he resent Him?
Or would he repress his emotions because he was helpless against Him?
"Why should I help you?"
The Fool was tired of always hearing the same prayers. He was used to ignoring them since long ago.
He had learned by now how futile it was to try to save everyone.
After all, all humans will eventually die.
But gods don't.
It was tiring.
Derrick froze. He thought for some time before saying,
"I will offer my soul to you. I will use my blood to please you."
How would he know that He had really answered his prayer if he was dead?
"I have no interest in the soul and blood of a mortal."
The Fool saw the color of the youth's feelings turn into the color of despair bit by bit.
However, he still had hope.
If the teenager had known who He was, would he have been scared of Him instead?
Facing Derrick's hopeful gaze, the Fool finally opened his mouth.
It was time to erase that hope.
"I am an evil god."
The teenager continued to look at Him, waiting for the end of His words.
"Evil gods don't save people."
The Fool could still vividly remember the countless hands stretched toward Him, begging for mercy, and the prayers asking for help.
Evil gods can't save people.
However, Derrick thought that a god who wasn't interested in the souls and blood or mortals shouldn't be that evil.
Moreover, even if the one in front of him was an evil god, he was prepared to do everything as long as it could save the City of Silver.
The Fool watched the teenager, the color of despair replaced by determination and a hope that wasn't extinguished.
The child didn't understand.
'Why couldn't gods save people?' Derrick thought, 'Aren't gods powerful?'
If He couldn't intervene Himself, could He intervene indirectly?
"Then, can you help me become stronger?"
The human who had lived in darkness all his life declared, "I want to become the Sun. I wish to obtain the formula of the corresponding starting Sequence potion from you."
Couldn't he give up?
Why did he still harbor hope?
Anyway, the child didn't have anything to exchange against the potion formula.
This situation also happened because the Fool didn't have anything He wanted. Equivalent exchange was practically a decoration at this point.
The Fool made a divination.
"Okay. In exchange, you will owe me a debt."
Still, the situation could degenerate quickly if there wasn't any equivalent exchange.
This rule was important.
After all, people who gave freely could also take freely, or lose everything.
Humanity.
Right, He had to keep this rule in place even if He lost all His humanity. Because it was something the Fool would have done if He had more humanity.
The Fool resigned Himself.
Didn't the two Low-Sequence Beyonders also want a new companion?
Then here is a new companion.
"I like fair and equal exchanges. You can use what you can attain to exchange with me, or people like you, to exchange for things you want. But remember, they must be equal in value."
Become stronger if you want.
"This can make you powerful. Perhaps one day, you can rely on your own strength to free the City of Silver from its curse and make the sun appear in your sky once again."
But don't hope too much from me.
The Fool made the Sun potion formula appear on a piece of paper in front of Derrick and watched him read it.
When the child finished memorizing it, He added, "The next gathering will happen tomorrow. I will warn you ten minutes in advance, so make sure not to be in the same place as anyone else."
"Alright, I'll follow your instructions," Derrick replied with his head lowered. He didn't have any objections.
Then, the teenager seemed to remember something.
"How should I address you?"
He didn't know how to call the god in front of him.
The temperature suddenly decreased, chills running through Derrick's spine as the Fool tapped the table.
"You can call me…"
If He had known He would come in contact with the Forsaken Land of the Gods, He wouldn't have had introduced Himself as such to Justice and the Hanged Man.
"The Fool."
Derrick felt awe-inspired by the lofty title but didn't seem to recognize it.
After scrutinizing the teenager's reaction, the Fool made a deck of tarot cards appear in front of him, missing the cards Justice, The Hanged Man and The Fool.
Once more, the Fool didn't ask for the human's name.
He gave him a new nickname instead.
I have no interest in the soul and blood of a mortal.
"Pick your code name among these cards."
Derrick took two steps forward, flipped through the tarot cards, and said without hesitation, "Sun. I pick The Sun."
The Fool nodded, and as He was about to send him back, he looked into the Sun's eyes and solemnly warned, "Remember, you must never mention my name to anyone around you. No one must know it."
The Sun nodded, his spirituality warning him.
The Fool extended His hand and severed the connection. Then, He watched as the crimson glow receded, and the young man opposite Him turned incorporeal and dispersed bit by bit.
Saving the people in the Forsaken Land of the Gods?
What nonsense.
The Fool rested His cheek on His hand, His face cold and His gaze seemingly staring at the distant past.
Evil gods can't save people.
Evil gods cause people's deaths instead.