Amon and that strange light door had been "grafted" together.
His face immediately twisted in a barely concealed grimace, the pitch black in his eyes deepening significantly.
At the same time, more slimy tentacles burst out from under his classical black robe, the feeling of madness starkly obvious.
Just as Klein was about to sever Amon's connection to the "Source Castle" and keep Him in this state of madness, the corners of Amon's mouth curled up.
It was as if He was saying: "Congratulations, you've stepped into a trap."
His face was instantly covered by a translucent mask that bore a strong resemblance to the "Fool's" uniqueness but was far more illusory.
Klein's mind tensed. Without thinking, he immediately prepared to use the Authority of "Fooling" again, regardless of the consequences.
But before he could react, his thoughts slowed down, and he fell into a dazed state, not knowing what to do.
"Fooling"!
Amon, by taking advantage of the brief "reorganization" between Himself and the "Source Castle," shook off Klein's interference and mobilized the power of the "Fool" domain.
This behavior completely transcended instinct, more like a carefully crafted trap.
It seemed Amon wasn't crazy enough yet!
The true god of the "Error" and "Door" pathways immediately dissolved His "graft" with the "Source Castle," causing the strange light door stained with hints of cyan-black to rapidly fade away and disappear to avoid further corruption.
Having dealt with this danger, Amon raised His hands, thumb to thumb, index finger to index finger, forming an oval.
Within the oval, starlight shone, completely enveloping Klein's figure.
Then, Amon violently pulled His hands apart, as if tearing at something, the movement seeming somewhat heavy.
Amid a tearing sound like ripping paper, the area where Klein's body was seemed to turn into glass, struck by a violent blow, cracking into countless pieces and breaking apart bit by bit.
This was a degradation and destruction of space. Klein's body was utterly unable to withstand it, and he transformed into flying pieces of paper over and over again as the surrounding void collapsed and shattered, these pieces of paper instantly swallowed by the pitch black.
By the time the space collapse stopped, Klein's paper effigies were almost completely exhausted.
Of course, he also relied on his own "Fool" apotheosis and characteristics to forcibly break free from the effects of "Blind Folly."
At this moment, Amon had already split into countless figures. Some were pure clones, some were replicas on a symbolic level, and some were afterimages left behind by constant "blinking" and movement.
In that instant, the sky above Klein's head and the wilderness around him were completely filled with Amons. Wearing pointed soft hats and monocles, they densely packed every gap.
Some of these Amons transformed into mottled, ancient, cyan-black wall clocks. Some turned into pure starlight, as if to fashion a cage. Some stretched out their palms, performing "Stealing" at different levels. Some had monocles glowing, using the various things they had stolen in the past. Some simulated all kinds of abilities, to restrict, interfere, or attack.
—In the "Marauder" pathway, "Stealing" is a core skill and one of the main symbols. The difference between it and the "Seer's" manipulation of "Spirit Body Threads" is that as the Sequence increases, not only are its effects and efficiency enhanced, but it also deepens at a conceptual level:
From Sequence 9 to Sequence 7, the target of "Stealing" is objects; at Sequence 6, it "steals" Beyonder powers; upon advancing to Sequence 5, it "steals" thoughts and ideas; at Sequences 4 and 3, it "steals" life, including parasitic stealing on the physical level; and at Sequence 2, the scope of "Stealing" can expand to fate, identity, self-cognition, and Beyonder characteristics. As for Sequence 1, even time, anchors, and Authorities can be temporarily "stolen."
Therefore, when facing a True God, the "Error" also uses "Stealing" that has been elevated to the level of an Authority.
Amid a sound, the ancient wall clocks simultaneously paused.
This brought a solidification to the surrounding environment, making the wilderness, already shattered by the impact of the "Fixed Star," utterly quiet, with even destruction frozen in place.
In that instant, Klein seemed to lose his body, leaving only a translucent dark cloak and a sinister, cold mask.
Beneath the cloak and mask, the darkness was thick, and nothing could be seen except for slimy, sinister tentacles stretching out one after another.
In this state, Klein seemed to have escaped the constraints of time. Moving like a fish in the solidified environment, he slipped through various gaps, both real and conceptual, and broke out of the encirclement of Amons.
He once again employed the Authority of "Fooling."
This time, he "fooled" time.
The ancient wall clocks disappeared one by one. On the almost entirely collapsed wilderness, time began to flow again. The Amons discontinued their attempts and abruptly merged into one, "blinking" behind Klein, leaving him no chance to catch his breath.
He extended His left palm and, while retracting His arm, clenched His fingers into a fist.
Around Klein, space was suddenly shrouded in shadows, becoming layers of sheer fabric.
These "veils" twisted and rearranged, seeming to form a sufficiently sturdy cage, trapping Klein inside.
Above the cage, an illusory door manifested, swiftly moving about, refusing to settle in one place.
However, Klein's figure abruptly appeared outside the cage, as if he had never been sealed by Amon's "Door" Authority.
He had "fooled" history, separating his self from the previous second from his self of the next second.
Thus, what was imprisoned within the cage became his historical projection.