A Tale of Forgotten Gods

Chapter 52: All-Knowing Jester

The Fool. That word echoed in their minds.

The figure in the stump kept playing its flute. Yi Jyuhan looked around. The shadows that had been thick before now receded. The malice that had watched them from every direction now curled away, as if afraid of the Fool’s presence.

The Fool wasn’t just an entity or a humanoid monster after all. There was no intention of evil or good in its aura, only a neutral presence.

Mo Fei’s hand hovered near his Glaive. The group waited for Yi Jyuhan’s response. His words had made it clear: they couldn’t fight that thing. Then Yi Jyuhan turned and whispered, ”Many people encounter it, but it’s not necessarily on their side.”

Yi Jyuhan’s hand twitched when the cold smog hit him. ”It was mentioned on the torn pages of the Creator’s Bible.” He paused for a moment, then turned toward it. ”The Fool doesn’t favor anyone or hear pleas.”

Lin’s eyes lingered on the Fool. ”Why is it here then?”

”It was addressed as a Cosmic Jester. I don’t know if this time it’s on our side.”

Then the figure suddenly unfolded its legs, standing up. It turned its back on them and walked toward a path. The countless forks became meaningless, and only the path the Fool chose was right. You couldn’t argue with its choice.

Yi Jyuhan acknowledged it silently and said, ”Follow it, but do not try to talk to it.”

Xue Lan, who remained silent, began to walk first. His eyes darted around the forest. It had sunk to the point that everything that had been suffocating moments ago had vanished.

Jim waited for Alisa, while Lin and Jian Yue hesitated. They didn’t move for a few moments, though when Yi Jyuhan began to walk, they moved too.

Riyoshi simply followed Yi Jyuhan unquestionably. He trusted Yi Jyuhan’s choice.

Mo Fei narrowed his eyes. ”Divine Serpent, I’m doubting Yi Jyuhan’s actions. Could it be that he got replaced...?”

No voice followed in his head. Mo Fei’s eyes widened. ”Divine Serpent?” Again, no response, as if the Serpent had vanished and didn’t want to come. He tried calling out again. ”Where the hell are you? Answer me!”

Mo Fei breathed. The Serpent wasn’t answering his question. Something was stopping it... Fear? He didn’t know, but one thing was certain: at that moment they were at the Fool’s mercy. Mo Fei gulped and stared at the thing walking ahead. He reached out his hands toward them to stop, then from behind him a whisper came.

”Your life has no meaning to take, no joy. But I need a body, worse or better...”

Mo Fei’s breath stopped, and his whole body shivered at the voice. He ran toward them without looking behind.

Zhuo stopped and looked behind at Mo Fei, gasping for breath. Zhuo called out to him, ”Don’t stay behind. It’s dangerous.” Mo Fei stopped near him. He didn’t say anything, but the whisper behind him remained in his mind. He looked at the ground and noticed a small circle. It moved with them, following the Fool. That was the boundary. A while ago, he had been outside it.

His heart sank. He was close to being devoured by them, his throat drying up.

The group walked in silence, the flute playing differently in their heads. Zhuo noticed the trees on their path. When the Fool got closer, the movement stopped in them.

Yi Jyuhan’s face was pale, remembering things he had read about it. Always avoid ’It’ unless necessary. Xue Lan walked beside him at the edge of the group. Lin glanced back at Mo Fei, his expression tensed, looking at the circle.

Jian Yue was walking with Jim and Alisa. They were following Yi Jyuhan quietly.

Ten minutes passed.

The path straightened. The Fool stopped walking at the crossroad and turned its head toward them. Its horns swirling in an exaggerated manner, then it removed the flute. Its other hand held the flute with its two fingers, then it bowed like a magician, finally finishing the show. One hand resting on its chest, the other in the air, the flute pointing at the path.

The group stopped.

Its figure turned toward a narrow path between the thin trees. It moved toward the forest, its body turning into smoke. Then it disappeared in the silence. No words, no reassurance, no harm.

Yi Jyuhan looked downward as the circle began to contract. He gasped and swiftly turned to face the group; the scene behind them was worse. Various entities were behind them, coming closer as the circle shrank.

A headless monster, growing vast roots from its neck. Its blood dripped on the ground, the roots twitching like veins. Its arms were pierced by sharp, long thorns. Beside it, a giant, slender figure, whose heart was attached to its rib, was falling down. The exposed heart pumped black fluid through a severed vein.

Those two were the less horrific; behind them were more grotesque entities that had forgotten their own bodies. There were a few Rictus in their true form. Their ribs were outside their flesh, bending in such geometry that defied explanation. Their half-chopped smile, disgusting enough to induce nausea. Behind them were shadows, a blur, terrifying. They had pitch-black eyes, dripping blood.

Yi Jyuhan’s face turned white. They were following them, waiting for the Fool to be gone. ”Run! Don’t look back. Run before the circle fades!” He shouted in urgency.

Xue Lan almost turned, but the moths looked for him instead. He stopped midway. All of them launched themselves without questioning. They’d ask later, not yet. Zhuo and Jian Yue held Mo Fei’s shoulders and rushed, holding him in the air. He couldn’t run as fast as a royal guard, of course.

The ground shook from their massive speed. In an instant they were meters away, but the entities didn’t stop. They were faster, just stopping near the end of the circle that had almost vanished.

Xue Lan turned and threw his hands toward the monsters.

A large number of Luna moths appeared. That felt like a tsunami. The moths flipped their wings; the flapping sound distracted the entities. Their small bodies flew upward, dropping the perfume. The illusions began their work.

Even monsters could get deceived by a Dreamer.

Xue Lan quickly turned after creating a wall of moths that seemed like a real wall to them. They couldn’t pass through it. The monsters pressed against it, tentatively at first. Their frustration grew, but the illusion didn’t break.

The group escaped the entities. The forest slowly reformed, showing a street that led toward the city of Curator.

Soon... actually sooner than what he had expected.

”We are earlier in the capital city than intended,” Yi Jyuhan said while stopping at the beginning of the pathway. ”The Fool had shrunk the path.”

”Can it do that?” Zhuo asked.

”It can do anything.”

Mo Fei gasped; finally, he dropped the idea of Yi Jyuhan being replaced. ”I thought you got replaced for following that damn Fool.” Mo Fei chuckled and gasped for air.

Yi Jyuhan grinned in an unsettling manner. ”You’d be surprised how easily I deceived you.”

Mo Fei froze; he choked on his breathing. ”What??”

Lin looked at them and facepalmed. ”Ugh, you aren’t fooling anyone. Drop that act.”

Yi Jyuhan sighed and turned toward the pathway. He observed the city was resting ahead. The battle was going to start. The march had ended, but things weren’t any less bad.

”Don’t mistake what happened back there as mercy.” He stared at the ground. ”If we had been the greater threat, it might have led the monsters to us.”

Yi Jyuhan turned to face them, his expression growing serious. ”We could not have escaped without consequences. If the Fool didn’t decide to fix that gap.”

Riyoshi scanned the place. A large palace loomed before them around a kilometer away. It still could be seen. Blurry but visible enough to know that it existed at least. ”According to your analysis. You said that the Cursed Womb would reach the city by the next hour of nightfall?”

”Yes,” Yi Jyuhan started walking. ”Now we have a little more preparation time to fix our positions.”

Mo Fei stepped back from them. ”Divine Serpent.”

After a few seconds of silence, the Serpent spoke in its usual tone. ”Great master, you called me.”

Mo Fei glanced around and said, ”Where the hell were you before?”

The Serpent hissed. ”That thing was something that should be feared. I didn’t interfere because I have seen it before.” The Serpent’s voice paused. ”I can’t remember where, but it cannot be predicted.”

Mo Fei walked toward the group again. The Fool? What was it, and why was it here? Was its only purpose to balance, but what kind of balance? If the Lightless Realm itself recognized it, then the Fool must be something that just ’is.’

Yi Jyuhan pulled his fan out, clicking its handle. ”Eight years,” he began. ”Eight years He’s been trying to come back. I’ve spent half that time making sure He fails.”

Jian Yue thought for a moment, ”Why does He want to get resurrected?”

Yi Jyuhan opened and closed his fan. ”Quite simple, life is precious. He had been corrupted, so other deities had to kill Him. The God of the Curator of the Flesh is also known as,” he paused. Even saying the name felt like inviting cosmic attention. ”The Hanged God, as He was punished.”

Riyoshi nodded. ”That was a fitting title. We don’t know the true purpose of why the Curator is so desperate to revive Him.” Riyoshi shrugged; his expression remained stoic.

Xue Lan silently heard their words, then his gaze landed on the blurry palace. He snapped his fingers, and a moth flew toward it. Always remain one step ahead of your enemies, after all.

Mo Fei, who had heard about it from the Serpent, said nothing. It could get suspicious by how he knew about it. The Hanged God. The Fool. Every step he took forward revealed more questions.

The palace was closer now. Its spires pierced the grey sky, smoke coming out of the chimney. Lanterns burned in its windows, but the courtyards were empty. The houses in the city were silent, with no sign of movement. Their doors closed shut as if anticipating something horrible.

They stopped near a house; the palace was now fifty paces away. ”Xue Lan and I will walk this way.” He pointed at a pathway decorated with flowers. Like for a God waiting to be praised. ”Curator will come from this path.”

Xue Lan turned toward the path. ”What a thoughtful man, welcoming me in such a convenient manner.”

Jim looked at Xue Lan. ”I don’t think that... is for you.”

”I’ll take this path as a compliment to my entrance.” Xue Lan countered.

Yi Jyuhan shook his head, and then he pointed toward another path. It was a large street, entering in the garden of the palace. ”And this must be the way of transportation of the Cursed Womb.”

”All of you should fix your positions, and Lin will destroy the Womb and make an escape.” Yi Jyuhan turned toward the decorated path, and Xue Lan moved with him.

The sun began to set, painting the sky in the shades of blood and ash. The final preparation ended with this.