Klein, clad in his nightgown, didn't stir. Within his spiritual perception, the "spirit threads" of the intruder had already appeared.
In other words, as long as he willed it, he could turn everyone at 160 Backlund Street into a mystical puppet without even leaving his bed. Of course, for a demigod—for a "Faceless"—neighbors several houses away were equally within his range of manipulation.
"There are many spirits around him. One of them aided his flight, allowing him to land on the neighboring balcony… Is this a Beyonder of the 'Death' Pathway, or the 'Darkness' Pathway? To pull off something like this, at least Sequence 6… Is he looking for Richardson? No—he's walking toward my bedroom door. He's stopped there. He's raised his right hand and is tapping the door in the air… He's certain I can detect him?" Klein sat up, his expression turning solemn.
The earlier part of his assessment had been made using the "spirit threads," while the later part was directly "seen," forming a clear picture in his mind.
After Klein had become a Sequence 4, not only had the danger-precognition ability of the "Clown" been further strengthened, but the power he could leverage and utilize from the mysterious space above the Gray Fog had also undergone a fundamental improvement. With both aspects combined, it was naturally not difficult to project the visitor's silhouette and movements in his mind through intuitive premonition, even from a considerable distance.
Furthermore, based on his deepened control over all facets of that mysterious space, Klein could now suppress the Gray Fog's augmentation in the real world, rendering himself undetectable even to Beyonders of special Pathways. And as he judged it, while residing above the Gray Fog, with the "Blasphemy Cards" attached and the Scepter of the Sea God in hand, the power projected by "The Fool" into reality could infinitely approach the true level of an Angel.
If that were not the case, even though the Gray Fog combined with the paper doll substitute truly provided the ability to remain lucid in a dream-like state, Klein would never have dared to send Miss "Justice" to face a Sequence 4 of the "Spectator" Pathway—let alone a Sequence 3.
Amid his swirling thoughts, he rose from the bed, slipped on his slippers, straightened his nightgown, walked over to the reclining chair, and slowly settled down.
"Come in."
The master bedroom door opened without a sound, but no cold, eerie wind blew through—it only eddied in the hallway.
The "visitor" was a man roughly the same age and height as Dwayne Dantès, with black hair and brown eyes, deeply set features—a quintessentially Loen appearance.
He wore a silk top hat. His face was rather narrow, his bearing distinctly cold and eerie, though not the oppressive, uncomfortable kind. Rather, it was the sort that evoked the ambiance of a suburban cemetery at night.
In that instant, Klein saw countless spirits crowding around this middle-aged gentleman, layer upon layer of dim, hazy presences surrounding him, as if concealing an entire world within.
Klein's spiritual intuition told him this was a demigod.
I just got back to Backlund and already a demigod's come knocking on my door… Besides the Archbishop of the Church of Darkness in Backlund, the Dwayne Dantès identity hasn't had a single flaw exposed… Klein stared at the doorway with a wince, his face completely expressionless—impossible to read as anger or shock.
The demigod took two steps forward, then abruptly let his right hand hang straight down before him, bending his torso and back until he resembled a bow drawn to its limit.
He performed a solemn bow in this peculiar posture, his attitude profoundly respectful, and at the same moment, the cold wind pulled, and the door sealed shut without a sound.
Klein nearly froze, unsure how to react, but then his thoughts drifted and a vague suspicion began to form.
At that moment, the demigod, maintaining his posture, spoke in a deep voice:
"Patrick Brean of the Church of the Spirituality has come by divine oracle to pay respects to Your Excellency."
Divine oracle… Klein suppressed the twitch in his facial muscles and, combining it with his earlier suspicion, roughly understood what was happening.
The "Goddess of the Night" had deepened her hold over the artificial Death—that is, the "Uniqueness" of the "Death" Pathway—and was now able to issue divine oracles to the high-ranking members of the Church of the Spirituality's artificial Death faction!
Klein half-sighed, half-smiled as he raised his right hand and pressed it to his chest, though without any accompanying gesture:
"What is the divine command?"
Brane slowly straightened his body and gazed at the gentleman with graying temples seated in the rocking chair, responding with a hint of fervor:
"We have succeeded. The deity has finally awakened. She instructed me to heed your commands and follow your arrangements from this day forward."
Klein had already anticipated this to some degree, but upon hearing the response, he still felt his cheeks tighten—not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
So this is what it's come to—a favored one of the Goddess of the Night moonlighting as a favored one of an artificial Death, secretly leading the Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun's artificial Death faction... Is this a gift of fate, or the price that was silently marked alongside it? Since the Goddess hadn't tasked a Church Archbishop or High-ranking Deacon with handling this matter, it meant she wanted it kept strictly secret... Klein rose abruptly, striving to make his expression and tone appear devout:
"I shall obey the divine command.
"The will of the deity is my wish!"
Having made his declaration, he sat back down, looked at the half-god standing ramrod straight, and gestured toward the sofa across from him:
"Please, sit. And while you're at it, introduce yourself—it's only basic courtesy, isn't it?"