Thanks to the foundation laid by Silver City's previous expedition, Klein knew where the dangers were and how to avoid them; it did not take him long to follow that little path through the «Forest of Decay», the «Desolate Tunnel», and the ancient elevator, and to reach the dwellings of the Guardians.
After another wait, once the «Curtain» above the Grey Fog split in two and the «Mystery Pryer» extraordinary characteristic separated out, Klein reached out and drew his past self forth.
— He could not be sure whether other Divine Kingdoms would isolate the Mist of History, but at least the «
«A pity — the matter involves too high a tier, divination yields no result. Otherwise I would be a little easier in my mind…» Klein shook his head and murmured to himself.
He did not rush to plunge into the Mist of History; first, he took out two articles from his bosom and handed them over to his projection.
One of them was a deep-black wooden box, holding the ashes of the «
Klein had not forgotten his own promise.
Originally he had meant to wait until little «Sun» made his second foray into the «Giant King's Court», and then to entrust Grosell's ashes to him for burial; but, dragged about by one matter after another, Klein himself had come, in person, to the God-Forsaken Lands and entered the «Giant King's Court».
As for the ashes of the ascetic Snoman, Klein meant, upon leaving the God-Forsaken Lands, to scatter them into that golden-tinged ocean — for what lapped within it was the divine blood of the ancient Sun God.
Having handed over the ash-casket and that black-iron key from the «Iceberg Vice-Admiral», Klein, in accordance with custom, plunged into the mist, sprinted into the shard of light that lay before the First Era, and let his consciousness pass over naturally to the projection he had summoned forth.
This projection did not bear the «Star Wand»; it wore only «Crawling Hunger», for it was still no short distance from here to the palace where the Giant King had dwelt, and any number of huge magical golems stood in the way: Klein could not guarantee that he could reach the destination within five minutes.
Then, he had the glove on his left palm turn transparent, and the whole figure vanished on the spot.
The next second, Klein's figure — the giant black-iron key under his arm — appeared just outside the Guardians' quarters, not «teleported» very far.
«Hmm — within the 'Giant King's Court', the vast majority of powers have plainly weakened… only the guardians acknowledged by the Divine Kingdom can perform at a relatively normal level? Eh, extraordinary abilities akin to 'teleportation' have suffered extra suppression, I can only 'blink' within a rather narrow range… Looking at it this way, even if I summon the 'Star Wand', I cannot, by means of the corresponding scene sketched in my mind, descend directly outside the Giant King's palace… Truly the Divine Kingdom of an ancient god of old…» Klein examined carefully the effect the environment imposed.
Having made an initial judgement, he turned and walked back into the Guardians' quarters. He opened the wooden box in his right hand and, with a solemn expression, scattered Grosell's ashes into every corner.
From what he had seen within Grosell's dreams, this Guardians' lodging had long been the place where that giant lived and dwelt; it was the «home» that had left him the deepest impression and that he had most longed for.
One could imagine that, in those ancient days, Grosell and untold generations of sane «Giant Watchmen» before and after him had rested here, had played and roughhoused, swapped rumours, discussed music, devised amusing games — needing to worry neither for food nor for sickness, passing each day in cheerful peace…
As Klein's hand trembled, the powder scattered and drifted, settling on walls, on the floor, beside beds and tables and chairs and stone pillars.
Beyond the windows the orange-red light shone, eternal and unchanging, lending it all an air of peace.
When Klein scattered the last of the ashes, the dusk abruptly thickened a touch, and the powder in the various places merged into the orange-red, becoming a part of the Divine Kingdom.
Klein closed his eyes for a moment; he seemed to feel Grosell's joy.
A wanderer driven away from his homeland for more than three thousand years had at last returned to the place he had longed for day and night.
The dusk-light grew softer thereon, and Klein felt that he himself was no longer being so strongly rejected.
«Hmm… to a certain extent it amounts to acknowledgement; I have become a partly-accepted guardian.» Klein extended his spirituality to confirm the change.
He no longer lingered. Using «Crawling Hunger» and the route mapped out by Silver City's last expedition, he «blinked» onward without pause, sometimes detouring, sometimes drawing out the «Dawnless Cross»; with relatively little trouble he passed through that Hall of Conspiracies and came to the side of the Giant King's residence — to his left, a railing of huge stone pillars, and beyond it, drifting orange-red mist and gently surging deep-blue sea.
Drawing a deep breath, Klein retreated to the hall he had just emerged from and reached out to draw forth Eunyuni, the puppet that had once belonged to himself, before
Even using a historical projection, he had no wish to open the door himself!
After casting one glance at the rather dazed Eunyuni, Klein handed over the giant black-iron key — which had been tucked under his arm — to him, manipulating him to leave the hall, follow the railing of stone pillars, and walk the whole way to the tallest, most magnificent edifice within the «Giant King's Court».
The dusk-light there was almost tangible; it draped the surface of the palace, bringing a powerful sense of decay, as if everything in the world were about to draw to a close.
On either side of the palace were towers — a pointed one on one side, a round one on the other; the main door was based in grey-blue, covered with symmetrical mystic symbols, the whole more than ten metres in height.
And to the left of the door-seam, at a height of three or four metres, was a pitch-black hole, the size of an adult's fist.
Eunyuni stared for a few seconds, then raised the lyre-shaped black-iron key and brought it close to the dark hole in front.
They fitted so closely that not the slightest gap remained.
As the giant black-iron key sank into that deep hole, Klein — in the nearby hall — held his breath, ready at any instant to dispel his own existence.
With a soft 'thud', the black-iron key in Eunyuni's hand struck the bottom.
It suddenly became pliant, as though it had merged with the hole, and released ring upon ring of grey-blue light.
All manner of signs, marks and patterns on the double doors lit up in succession, standing forth in relief.
All this brilliance swiftly wove itself together and pressed heavily inwards, so that the grey-blue main doors of the palace opened slowly.
The seam widened, and in Eunyuni's eyes there was suddenly reflected a surging, pitch-black, viscous, illusory ocean.
This is bad… Klein's heart gave a leap; a powerful premonition of danger surged up in his mind.