"No luck, yet again."

He wished to see more, but the card had already ended, giving him more questions than answers. Eir's shadows already told him about his name and... that they were brothers, or at least the character he took over was related to The Jack.

So he hadn't been surprised to see it in the card. Did he feel bad for him?

...

defenetly.

He didn't blame him for what he had done; if he were in his place, he most likely would have done the same himself, so how could he ever speak badly about him? He also really seemed to regret it, even trying to find a way to repent for his sins.

Something he wouldn't have done.

...

But that was all it told him; well, it more confirmed to him what the shadow told him, nothing else. That was for answers and important information at least.

He had already made it clear long ago that the most vague being for him was himself. He knew nothing about his path, just these little fragments from others.

"Aether, the Vessel of Praise, The Fool, or the Promise Child. The brother of The Jack, and the first of the Children of Praise."

That was who he was, or at least, who he was supposed to be. He wasn't walking on a straight path to say with confidence who he was, who he had been, and who he will be next.

But one thing was for sure: the future of the world revolved around him.

Did he know who the past Aether was talking to, where he disappeared, and how he had become Praise's Vessel? No, he didn't. But he did know who he was going to be.

"The one who will kill the Queen."

...

...

Aether was walking down the street, looking at the turmoil going around him. The city was in chaos since, after The Jack's death, the two sides of the Second Ring had gone to war to see which side would survive.

His hands were filled, since he was the leader of the rebellion, he had to fight; that was the only way for his people to trust him. And he fought, but he hadn't killed; instead, he mostly let his army finish them off.

It didn't matter if he ascended to an Echo; it wouldn't make a difference when fighting the Queen, but if his army got stronger,

Knowledge Rank — [Fragment]

>736/1000 knowledge shard

He was so close... but he knew he was doing the right thing, after all, he was going to get the shard from the two remaining Knights, and The Queen herself, so it wasn't such a big deal.

He just had to fight three more opponents who could kill him with one attack each.

"Yeah, it shouldn't be just a hard thing to do."

Even if he had not killed anyone just yet, he was well known throughout the war, maybe because he was the leader of one of the teams, or because he was known for destroying anyone who came within his sight.

The people of the Second Ring were mostly Readers, just like he was, so it wasn't such a big deal to take care of them, well, when it was one one-on-one, since if many of those Readers attacked him at once, he would get overwhelmed.

His face was feared. All knew the half mask he wore, and no one could mistake the scar that he had gained from his fight with The Jack. The one he got from his face being dragged against the wall.

Praise had healed his more serious wounds, but it lacked the power to heal the little wounds, so he was left with the scar.

But he wasn't mad about it, after all, it allowed people to see he was human, that he bled, and that he was actually killing each Knight with his blade. It wasn't some trick. The scar was the sign of his power; it represented his promise to his people.

And the curse that he has and will continue to bestow upon the people under The Queen.

Until they bow at his feet.

It didn't matter if that was after The Queen died, or before.

But he was going to make all accept the new world.

...

...

"Azel, I'm back." Azel's eyes shot at him as he saw him come back home. She pushed herself off the crate she was waiting on, rushing to him.

"How did things go? Did you find The Queen's zone, well, the card one?"

Aether sighed, shaking his head.

"No, sadly. I just can't seem to locate it."

There were thirteen Knights, all having a zone to themselves, and all represented by playing cards. He had killed every single card, including The Jack card, so that meant he had two more, The Queen card, and The King.

But every time he wandered the fog, in search of her zone, he couldn't seem to find it. He had even got to The King before he found hers. It was weird; he had no idea why he couldn't find it. He was doing the same thing he had been doing before, and it had worked every time before.

"So why is she different?"

...

"I can answer your question."

Aether looked up at Azel... thinking she was the one who had said that. But he quickly realized that the voice belonged to a man. Her frightful face also convinced him.

He quickly turned around, where he saw a man standing in the doorway... someone he shouldn't know...

And yet he did.

"How did you... How are you alive!"

The man had white hair from his old age, and his posture was quite deformed. He was carrying a fishing rod with him, which was strange, since there were no lakes inside the Second Ring.

But that wasn't important at the moment.

"So you remember me, I'm honored."

He should have been dead; he was the one to kill him with his bare hands, so how was he standing here in front of him? It made no sense.

"You should be dead, I killed you back at the cabin all that time ago!"

He quickly summoned his blade, gripping the hilt tightly, as he motioned to Azel to get behind him, since he could see she was scared. He pitied her; the poor girl had not only met the Queen and her soul-piercing gaze without being used to soul attacks, but now she also had to deal with this.

The old fisherman raised his hands in his defence.

"Let's calm down here, before you start a battle you can't win, Aether. I just came to talk... let's take a seat, shall we?"

...

...

He didn't understand how the fisherman was here; he had killed him back when he had entered Frozen Crown. How had he survived... actually, back then, did the codex even announce the death? Did he ever get shards for it?

...

"First, I'll answer the question I know you harbor. You see Aether... I am The King. The one you killed was just a clone of me, one of my many bodies I can live life through. You gave me this ability, remember?"

Aether crossed his arms, frowning. He didn't believe a word he was saying, after all, how could an old man be The King... but it would explain how he was alive... but then why had his body saved him... it didn't make sense.

"I see, I don't believe you entirely... but I won't leave that out of consideration... but before anything. You said you knew something that I wanted to learn."

The old man laughed, leaning deeper in his chair, as he wrapped his arm around it.

"How generous, thank you for not throwing everything I said out of the window. And to answer, I do. It's just that you'll need to beat me in a little game to get that information."

Aether's eyes widened.

"A game, just what kind of game... and if I may ask, what do you gain from this game, I know you also want something."

There was a short pause after this, which made Aether nervous that he had said something wrong. If the fisherman was really the King, he had to be careful; he wasn't prepared for that fight yet.

But to his relief, he broke that silence with a generous laugh, a knee slapping laugh.

"I should have known that you would figure it out. I feel like I am The Fool here."

His laugh annoyed Aether, but when it suddenly stopped, it caught him off guard.

The King looked at him with sharp eyes, not soul staring, but it was still intimidating.

"I want you to give up on killing our Queen, Aether. It's worthless, and I will make you understand that."

Aether gritted his teeth.

"I decline-"

"I knew you would say that."

The ground below them as broken, creating a giant hole. After being caught off guard, he still had the reflexes to try and get out before he started to fall. But when he tried, he felt something wrapped around his feet.

He looked at his feet, where he saw some sort of tentacle made out of a black and slimy liquid. One that he has seen before, and that he despised above all.

He cursed under his breath as he found himself falling into the darkness.

...

...

"Let's see how good The Fool is at lying."

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