Chapter 93: Divine Jester
Being a demigod at the Fifth Step, Auger wasn't easy to kill at all. But the injuries he sustained from fighting against the forbidden knowledge from God of Light were severe.
Solafant, who was in the middle of organizing Device V to counter Sinclair, even though she was one step ahead. They are here to "atone" for their lack of foresight, giving Auger emergency treatment.
They can't use their nullification power on him because that would mean cutting him off from all the connections he made over the years - the sole reason he is still alive. The Power of Friendship, as Lady Keter had said, is a mysterious power that can overcome everything.
Jim, who could see the red and blue strings of Fate and Destiny, saw how dense his connections were. As if all of Ryteline was on his back, drawing power from the nation he helped build and protect.
A true hero.
They were currently in a tent at the rear; they can't bring him to the capital just yet. For all they know, the Zankur army was still marching and wasn't annihilated by the eighth most deranged individual in the world.
A black shadow crawled into the tent, and Lea came out. Her clothes were tattered, exposing her bare skin.
"Dantes!!", Jim came to her side as she began to falter.
Her body might've healed due to Charlotte's miracle, but her mind was utterly exhausted.
"H-How is Auger?", she asked, staring at the man on the bed.
"He'll live.", Solafant said without looking up from their work, "The bonds are holding. He just needs time."
Lea nodded weakly, then her legs gave out.
Jim caught her before she hit the ground, "Whoa, easy—"
But her consciousness was already slipping away, exhaustion finally claiming her completely.
=0=0=
Lea found herself in the mirror world.
But something was wrong. Usually, the mirror world was just an inverted reality, empty, a place to observe from. But now it was populated.
Naked humanoid figures stood behind every floating mirror. Faceless demons, their skin pale and featureless, no eyes or mouths, just blank surfaces where faces should be.
They didn't say anything. Just approached slowly. Dozens of them were emerging from behind mirrors that floated in the void like windows to nowhere.
Lea ran.
Her speed let her move fast even here, but the faceless things kept pace. Not chasing, exactly.
Just following, getting closer. Reaching out with hands that had too many fingers.
She didn't know what they wanted. Didn't know what would happen if they caught her. Just knew instinctively that she needed to run.
The mirror world stretched endlessly in all directions. No up, no down, just mirrors and void, and those things following her.
Then she saw it.
A light in the distance. Not reflected light, but something emitting light directly.
A diamond-shaped eye. Three pupils in red, blue, and green in three diamond shapes as well nesseled within.
Lea didn't know what it was. Didn't know if it would help or hurt. But the faceless things were getting closer, their blank surfaces somehow watching her, and she was out of options.
She reached out and touched the eye.
Reality twisted—
The mirror world vanished, the faceless demons disappeared. And Lea found herself somewhere far, far worse for her mental health.
A circus.
The tent stretched impossibly high, striped canvas in colors that hurt to look at. Seats arranged in concentric circles around a central stage, all empty except for the shadows that seemed to sit in them. Music from nowhere playing calliope notes that were almost cheerful but wrong, discordant in ways that made her teeth ache.
And standing in the middle of the stage was a figure.
A jester.
Their costume was a patchwork of black, red, blue, and green, each color flowing into the next like liquid. Diamond-shaped eye trinkets covered their entire body, hundreds of them, all rotating slowly with those same three pupils in red, blue, green.
The mask they wore was white, with a massive diamond eye in the center that stared directly at Lea.
Lea froze. Every instinct screamed danger. This was the being Charlotte had mentioned. The alien god.
The one with authority over the Law of Order who had helped the Heretic fight the world.
The Jester.
They tilted their head, and when they spoke, their voice was completely unexpected... cute, childish, filled with genuine enthusiasm that didn't match the nightmare circus around them.
"From the furthest corner of the universe, I am Bashie Mahzala, the Shapeless Comedy of Veil, Order, and Light~!! Here to bring joy and wonder, putting a smile on everyone's face!!"
They spread their arms wide, diamond eyes all spinning faster.
"Because existence is meaningless, why don't we give it a meaning~?"
They spun, costume trailing impossible patterns.
"To save the universe, we shall fill the void with laughter and cheers!!"
Lea stared in stunned silence. This was the entity Charlotte had called "the whitest of white"? One of the most powerful beings in the universe, who was "totally harmless"?
They looked like something from her worst nightmares, given form and animated by a child's voice.
Bashie stopped spinning and looked directly at her, that massive diamond eye on their mask rotating to focus all three pupils on Lea at once.
"Oh! A visitor!!", their voice bubbled with excitement, "It's been so long since someone new came to my stage! Welcome!!"
They bounced forward with movements that defied physics, suddenly right in front of Lea without crossing the space between.
"You look tired, exhausted even!! Don't worry, don't worry, I'll fix that right up! Can't have my audience falling asleep during the show! That would be rude!!"
Lea tried to back away, but her body wouldn't respond.
Too exhausted.
Too overwhelmed.
Bashie Mahzala leaned closer, their mask's eye spinning faster.
"But first! We need to have a little chat, you and I!! Because oh boy... things are about to get interesting!!"
Their childish voice somehow made the words more terrifying, not less.
"So sit! Make yourself comfortable! The show is about to begin!"
A chair appeared behind Lea, and she collapsed into it, her legs finally giving out completely.
Bashie clapped their hands together, all the diamond eyes on their costume spinning in perfect synchronization.
"Now then! Let's talk about why you're here, what you're becoming, and how wonderful it all is!"
The circus tent seemed to close in around them, and Lea realized with growing horror that she was trapped. Trapped in a nightmare circus with an alien god who spoke like a cheerful child.
And absolutely no idea what was about to happen next.