Across the globe, from the neon-lit ruins of Neo-Seoul to the Victorian spires of Backlund-D.C., the Angels of the Outer Deities descended. They were not the graceful beings of scripture. They were nightmares of geometry and light: wheels of spinning eyes that scorched the atmosphere, pillars of crystalline salt that walked on spindly light-legs, leviathans, dragons and many more!
All of the Orthodox Churches summoned their grounded angels. Beside them, the Tarot Club and the Chameleon Troupe became the scalpel. Supernova Dominator's heralds hit first. Jung Heewon wielding Lee Hyunsung, who was in a deep slumber of metal, anchored the front, their Stories creating a barrier of absolute loyalty that even the Monarch of Decay Angel's spores could not penetrate.
While the world burned, the heavy obsidian doors of the Hall of Justice—the fortress-tower of the world's most powerful heroes—swung open.
Five figures stepped into the central rotunda.
Chae Joochul, the "Immortal" of the Chae family, leaned on his cane, his eyes as cold and unchanging as the glaciers of the old world. Beside him, Heynckes, the Master of Steel, adjusted his worn leather gloves. Oh Jaejin, the man whose 10-star magic could shatter a mountain's probability, held his staff.
Atlas Xander, the deputy of Apocrypha and member of Nine Stars, looked around with a weary, ancient smile.
Joining them was the fifth: Eleanor of the Silent Song. She was a woman wreathed in shadows that hummed with the melody of death, her presence a bridge between the Death Authority and the Gift of Swordsmaship.
These five were the only Nine Stars who survived till now.
"This place brings back memories," Heynckes grunted, his voice like grinding metal. "The smell of stale coffee and impending doom. It's been too long since we all shared a room."
"It's smaller than I remember," Oh Jaejin laughed, looking at the high-vaulted ceiling.
"It's not the room, Jaejin-ah. It's just your dementia flaring up again," Eleanor chuckled, her eyes crinkling into wrinkles.
Chae Joochul tapped his cane on the floor.
"It's a shame we cannot gather in full. The seats of the Nine Stars have become... drafty."
"It's a damn shame Myungchul isn't here to see this," Heynckes added, his eyes softening for a fraction of a second. "Even though we had our quarrels back in the 90s... It reminds me of the Outcall. The day the world first learned that the dark was full of eyes."
"The 80s were simpler," Atlas remarked, his youthful face contrasting with his gravelly tone. "We only had to worry about monsters and Djinns."
"Besides, there was always Myungchul who knew everything," Eleanor said.
In the center of the hall, standing atop a literal pile of tactical maps and magical scrolls, was The Boss of the Chameleon Troupe. Standing beside her was Aileen, the executive of Heroes Association.
Aileen was currently standing on a stool just to reach the height of the conference table.
"If you laugh, I'll turn your mana into molasses," Aileen snapped, her eyes flashing with the power of the Spirit Speech.
"We wouldn't dream of it, Aileen-ssi," Oh Jaejin said, though his shoulders were shaking.
Vast Expanse leaned against the back wall, his mercenary gear bristling with Grade-1 items. Behind him stood the Top 30 Rankers, including Kim Junwoo, Yoo Sihyuk and many others top-tier heroes, all of them radiating a tension that hummed like a live wire.
For some reason Jin Seyeon, unlike other Master-rank heroes, sat next to Boss.
"Since when does Hall of Justice became a place where anyone could enter," Chae Joochul said.
"Listen up," Boss said, her voice cutting through the nostalgia like a razor. "The distribution is finalized. The Rankers will be split between the New China and Seoul. But you—" she pointed at the Nine Stars—"you have a different destination."
"Did she just say listen up?!" Eleanor's veins buldged.
She tapped the holographic map. The Alberta Mountain Range in Canada was glowing a violent, toxic red.
"Outer Deities that has crossed the threshold is focusing their gaze there. They aren't interested in the cities for some reason. We received the revelation from Evernight Church that the Fool is returning its throne and Outer Deities... If that ritual completes—or fails—without protection, the planet will be cracked like an egg."
Everyone turned their gazes at the side of Tarot Club representatives present.
Mr. Hanged Man(Alger), Little Sun(Derrick), Cattleya and Leonard tensed up as they heard the mention of the Fool.
"Alberta," Chae Joochul whispered.
Suddenly, the Hall of Justice groaned.
The obsidian walls cracked as a massive, conceptual pressure slammed into the tower. Outside, the sky tore open to reveal a figure in tuxedo.
[The 3rd Devil of the Demon Realm, Vassago, has entered the stage!]
Collector of Artifacts.
Vassago didn't use a weapon. He used the "Truth" and "Questions." He looked at the Hall of Justice and spoke a word of [Disclosure]. The tower's concealment was stripped away, exposing the world's ultimate heroes to the cosmic cold.
"Bring me Black Lotus here!" Vassago's voice echoed, a thousand voices speaking in a dead language.
A wave of madness slammed into the hall. The Rankers grabbed their heads, their minds flooded with the sight of their own deaths in a hundred different timelines.
"This building can effectively withstand demonic energy!" Aileen yelled, her own words infused with magic power.
She kicked the stool aside and slammed her hands onto the teleportation array embedded in the floor.
Her [Mass Teleport] skill flared with a blinding, iridescent light.
"Nine Stars! To the Alberta peaks!" Aileen screamed, her small form glowing like a miniature sun.
The Hall of Justice erupted in a pillar of white-hot light.
As the Rankers were scattered to their assigned battlefields across the globe, the Nine Stars were propelled northward. They felt the world stretch and snap as Oh Jaejin's magic tore through the space-time fabric.
In the final microsecond before they vanished, Heynckes looked back at the small figure of Aileen standing alone against the 3rd Devil.
"Don't trip over your own feet, kid!" he shouted, a fierce grin on his face.
The light consumed them.
The Nine Stars landed in the middle of a blizzard that wasn't made of snow.
They were on the main peak of the Alberta Range. Below them, the Foggy Town was a gray smudge in the landscape. Above them, the sky was a nightmare of tentacles and eyes.
Atlas and the rest of the Nine Stars landed in a perfect circle around the remains of destroyed cathedral, their weapons drawn.[1]
"You're late," Kim Dokja said, his gray Nephalem wings shielding him from the wind.
"We had to stop for coffee," Oh Jaejin replied, his fist already glowing with the power to shatter gods. "So, where's the first one?"
Kim Dokja flew back into the ruins of cathedral.
From the cosmic cracks above, a massive, organic branch—the size of a mountain—reached down toward the cathedral. It was the Mother Tree of Desire.
A shimmering light erupted from the foot of the cathedral. It was the soft, rhythmic glow of a high-grade card from the Tower of Wish's 21F, Card Kingdom.
===
[Isle of the Blessed] [7-Star] Effective Good
— Constructs 'Veiled Fortunate Isles' in the designated area for 30 hours.
— The area becomes concealed by divine mist and partially phased from external perception.
○ First Veil – Negates one large-scale impact.
○ Rest of the Gods– Recovery speed inside the zone is doubled; fatal wounds are stabilized but not healed.
○ Mist Path – Up to 12 allies within 3km may enter through hidden pathways (voluntary activation required).
===
A dense, white mist instantly swallowed the cathedral and a three-kilometer radius around it. This wasn't a mere physical fog; it was a "Veil of the Ever-Mist," a conceptual barrier that phased the ritual site partially out of reality. The long-range detection of the High-Dimensional Overseer stuttered, and the divine observation of the Mother Tree of Desire found only a blank space in the narrative.
Inside this mist time began to stretch and warp. The [Advantageous Time Flow] attribute of the card took hold: ten seconds inside the mist were equivalent to only one second in the chaotic world outside.
In the center of this misty sanctuary, Amon's true body stepped out of the fog. He adjusted his monocle, his expression unusually serious.
"Klein? It's been quite a long time since we last met in a place this quiet," Amon said, his gaze fixed on the man sitting upon the throne of maggots.
Klein Moretti, his face pale and his spirit body threads twitching in a thousand directions, looked up. He was near Antigonus holding Uniqueness of the Fool.
"Amon."
Amon offered a thin, sharp smile. "We don't have much time left. Let's be serious, my friend. Your chance of becoming the Lord of Mysteries is currently narrower than a needle's eye. The Celestial Worthy is already halfway through your front door. Allow me to steal your fate. Allow me to take the Apotheosis, just as I did with Mr. Door."
Amon stepped closer, the gears of the bunker's clock ticking loudly in the background.
"It would allow you to stay sane. I'll leave you two Sequence 1 characteristics. To be an Angel is already an achievement. Besides, you've gained those strange powers from the other world—the 'Stories' and 'Attributes.' Those would be enough to help Earth. Why die for a throne that will only turn you into a monster?"
Klein's synchronization accelerated.
Cracks began appearing on his incarnation body as the pressure from the Celestial Worthy within him sought to break out.
"So, what's the plan, the Fool?" Amon asked.
Klein offered a lopsided, tired smile.
"I'll do it."
Amon's hand paused in mid-air.
He hadn't expected an agreement this easy.
He attempted to use [Theft] to verify the intention, but Klein's mind was a labyrinth of [Lv.0 False Logic].
Klein had convinced himself he had agreed, and through the authority of the Fool Uniqueness and Sefirah Castle, he fully fooled Amon into thinking he agreed with the plan to help Amon.
In fact, he didn't believe anything Amon said.
"Fine," Amon whispered, his suspicion receding. "We will cover you. Or at least try to."
He stopped.
"Oh, and your compatriot is also arriving shortly."
"Roselle?!" Klein murmured, though he knew the Emperor was supposed to be corrupted. He didn't have time to think.
The [Isle of the Blessed] barrier finally shattered under the weight of the cosmic gaze. The mist evaporated, and the madness of the cosmos rushed in, but Klein was instantly shielded by the Concealment of the Evernight Goddess.
It shattered quickly under the powers of Monarch of Decay, but it gave time for Klein to project the Sefirah Castle and Realm of Mysteries.
Outside the Realm of Mysteries, the battlefield turned into a psychedelic war zone.
A massive, golden gate opened in the sky, and Roselle Gustav arrived. He wore two crowns that looked absurdly mismatched—the Crown of Caesar and the Uniqueness of the Black Emperor. With the help of high-level items from the dungeons that he received from Bernadette, his level of existence surged, allowing him to reach the level of a Sequence 0 Black Emperor while negating the corruption.
He wasn't alone. The God of Steam and Machinery, now a Half-Demon of Knowledge, stood with the Celestial Thearch of the Western Continent.
"By the decree of the Throne!" Roselle's voice boomed. "[Interconnect!]"
Every dimension—higher, lower, and current—became a single, unified plane. This prevented the High-Dimensional Overseer from shifting its attacks into untouchable dimensions.
Nearby, Farbauti and the Master of the Shadow Cottage merged their essences, sending millions of [Terminal Curses] toward the Outer Deities. However, the Mother Tree of Desire simply flexed her presence, the connection to the Tenebrous World being too distant to sustain the attack. The curses were withered, and the two merged entities were crushed back into the Abyss.
With the help of Atlas, the state of Farbauti regressed, he emerged once more, not affected by Mother Tree of Desire.
Millions of curses covered the sky.
The combined effort of Eleanor's Terminal Cadence and Roselle's Magnifying of curses managed to wound the Indescribable Mist. The Monarch of Decay attempted to rot the strike, but the [Good Fortune] of Eternal Buddha(Will Auceptin merged with the Holy Monk into the status that reached Sequence 0 of Wheel of Fortune) allowed the blow to find its mark.
The Inextinguishable Ravings countered by awakening the Original Creator's spiritual imprint in everyone present. The five Half-Great Old Ones of Earth gasped, their bodies trying to dissolve back into the Source.
But Will Auceptin with Holy Monk forced a moment of chaotic luck. The Half-Demon of Knowledge, and Roselle Black Emperor unleashed their powers wildly—one flooding the atmosphere with an ocean of raw Knowledge, the other Distorting every concept of space and time.
The Great Old Dominators were blinded by the sheer irrationality of the assault.
Inside the Realm of Mysteries, Klein acted.
He used Sefirah Castle to steal his own consciousness, his status, and his identity. He left only the "Fool" behind in his main body.
Then, he turned to the petrified Antigonus. With the help of the mad Angel's own subconscious cooperation, Klein stole the Sequence 9 to 1 characteristics of the Fool Pathway—the ones Antigonus had already digested!
Klein's body flickered.
He was once again a Sequence 1: Attendant of Mysteries. But he was a Sequence 1 with a fate that pointed directly toward losing control.
In his original "main body," the Celestial Worthy began to pulse. The maggots on the throne grew longer, more sinister. The Worthy was attempting to seize Sefirah Castle.
The history of the world began to warp. The Fog of History became a boiling sea of contradictions. Was Mr. Fool a prehistoric human soul named Klein Moretti? Or was he a Great Existence awakening from the beginning of time?
The two stories clashed, tearing at the fabric of the Astral World.
Adam-God Almighty, while trading blows with the Monarch of Decay, pointed a finger toward the Alberta peaks.
"The revival of the Lord of the Mysteries failed due to many interferences," he Envisioned.
Simultaneously, the Evernight Goddess poured a vial of the River of Eternal Darkness onto Klein's main body. The aura of the Celestial Worthy receded instantly, falling into a state of Eternal Slumber.
The prophecy quickly lost its effect because of Goddess of Fate, but it won those two-three precious seconds.
Evernight then manifested a gigantic sword—the symbol of the Twilight. She swung the blade with the weight of a thousand sunsets, striking Klein's collapsing body before the Worthy could wake up.
The body shattered.
The Fool's Uniqueness and the two sets of characteristics collapsed into a shapeless, dark liquid—the Fool's Potion.
That was a sign for Amon.
A thousand Amons suddenly appeared around the liquid, their monocles glinting with greed. They all reached out to commit "Theft," removing the seals on their own bodies to trigger a Convergence that would pull the potion toward them.
"This belongs to me!" the Amons shouted in unison.
But before their fingers could touch the dark liquid, Klein revived, reaching into his Tower of Wish inventory. He pulled out a heavy, brass-bound tome that radiated an aura of absolute, tyrannical law.
The Trunsoest Brass Book.
Klein slammed the book onto the floor of the cathedral. A new page wrote itself in blood-red ink.
"ACTS OF THEFT ARE PROHIBITED HERE!"
The Amons froze mid-motion.
Adam forced another prophecy:
"Mr. Error will succeed."
But their authorities over Theft were instantly sealed by the Brass Book's absolute decree. The Convergence was halted.
"What are you doing?!Didn't we..!"
The cry erupted from a thousand Amons simultaneously, their voices a discordant chorus of panic and curiosity. Their monocles glinted with the reflected light of the dark, shapeless liquid that was currently devouring the air.
At that exact moment, the Trunsoest Brass Book, which had been hovering in a state of suspended law, felt an irresistible attraction. It wasn't drawn to the Fool, but to the Black Emperor.
Roselle Gustav reached out, his hand encased in the distorted armor of a King, and gripped the brass-bound tome.
With the help of Celestial Thearch and Uniqueness of Justiciar Pathway he reached the state close to Half-Anarchy.
[True God 'Black Emperor' has attained the status of Half-Anarchy!]
The laws of the Alberta Range shifted instantly. Reality didn't just bend; it became a series of contradictory decrees that favored the Earth's defenders. But the center of the storm remained Klein.
Klein activated Sefirah Castle, creating a suction of pure Convergence. The Fool's Potion—that black, starving beast—didn't wait for an invitation. It pounced on Klein's spirit body, wrapping around him like a shroud of ink that hummed with the madness of eons.
From his mountain peak, Adam—now the pillar of God Almighty—looked upon the scene.
"Antigonus' efforts at advancing to The Fool ultimately failed due to various reasons," Adam prophesied.
It was a masterstroke of logical warfare. Klein was currently bearing the fate and identity of Antigonus. By declaring Antigonus a failure, Adam had bypassed the name "Klein Moretti" entirely. If Klein held onto the identity, he was doomed by prophecy. If he let it go, the Sequence 9 to 1 characteristics he had just "stolen" from the mad Angel would become undigested poison.
He was trapped between being a Failure and being a Monster.
"Here," Amon's main body whispered, appearing inches from Klein's blurring face. "I believe this belongs to you."
With a flick of his finger, Amon committed a reverse-theft. He returned the thoughts of suicide that he had stolen from Klein during their previous battles.
The impulse hit Klein like a tidal wave of cold iron. At the very moment his body was being reconstructed by the most powerful potion in the pathway, a part of him wanted to simply... stop. To let the darkness win. To die.
But the paradox saved him. Klein was Klein, but he was also Antigonus.
"What does Klein Moretti's desire to die have to do with Antigonus?" a splinter of his mind argued.
His body didn't collapse, but it didn't stay human either.
Klein's consciousness exploded outward. He wasn't just a man; he was a gaseous entity that enveloped the planet, the Spirit World, and the Astral World. He felt the "Godhood" in the heart of every living creature—the squirrel in the Siberian woods, the hero fighting in Seoul, the ant beneath a stone in Chile.
At that moment Amon began stealing Klein's fate.
Klein was scattered through the chaotic Fog of History, drifting through the distributaries of the River of Fate.
The Goddess of Fate felt him and reached out to entangle his thread, but she was suddenly slammed by a barrage of golden arrows and chaotic spells. Medea and Athena had accidentally become his shield, their battle-ripples disrupting the Goddess's weave.
The situation outside was becoming a massacre.
The Asgardian Constellations began their descent.[2]
The 2nd Demon Realm, now a puppet state of the Inextinguishable Ravings, flooded the Earth with millions of twisted entities.
The Evernight Goddess, shielded by the Half-Goddess of Origin(Earth Mother utilizing distant powers of Brood Hive with the help of Holy Maiden), saw that Klein was losing the battle against the Celestial Worthy's awakening.
"Give up..." the Worthy whispered through Klein's mouth. "I will protect your weak creatures... they are beneath my notice anyway..."
Amanises didn't hesitate.
She raised her exaggerated, twilight-stained sword—the symbol of the Twilight once more.
The sword cleaved through Klein's gaseous form. Before the Amons could steal the fate, Klein "died." His ritual, his connection to the Worthy, and his descent into madness were all terminated by the Goddess's mercy.
"Evernight, didn't we make a deal!"
At it's place, out of gas, potion of the Fool formed once again.
Adam manifested the Chaos Sea. He didn't attack the Outer Deities; he attacked the symbols of the Astral World. He threw every conceptual marker into a vortex of total chaos, blinding the Great Old Ones and preventing them from targeting the Alberta Range.
Under the cover, Evernight expanded her body to the size of a mountain, her starlight gown enveloping the ancient palace. She used Concealment to hide the ritual site from everyone—even Amon's avatars.
'Tsk,' Amon understood that he was fooled by Klein and betrayed by Evernight.
According to the original plan he would simply replace Klein and become Lord of Mysteries.
But Amon, fueled by Adam's favor, began the Theft. With Trunsoest Brass Book controlled by Roselle its past rules disappeared.
Inside the darkness of the Concealment, as the cathedral's remains turned to dust, a hand reached out from the void.
[Story 'The Stone and I' is happy to help!]
Something—no, someone, who seemed to be just a pebble a moment ago, stepped forward.
It was a hand scarred by the scenarios of another world.
Kim Dokja's fingers closed around a crystal that hummed with a resonance that refused to be forgotten.
===
Name: Stone of Convergence
Rank: Myth-grade
Description: A stone that allows the user to converge a true miracle: disparate concepts, stories, or items, or basically anything into a singular, unified existence without the risk of narrative collapse.
===
Dokja looked at the Stone of Convergence.
Klein revived near the potion of the Fool.
At the same time, Amon's true body reached for the potion. He was sure that Adam's prophecy that he would succeed will help him.
Little did he know that the prophecy affected River of Fate, which was noticed by the Goddess of Fate. She was in a battle with Tower of Wish administrators – Medea and Athena, so all she could do is cancel that prophecy.
Klein smiled, his eyes twin gray stars in the dark.
[1] After the destroying the cathedral in Foggy Town, Demoness fled the battlefield, just saying ;3
[2] There are now two factions in