The "Star" Card

The sudden turn of events made Leonard leap from the bed, but the next instant, the plain lounge's tables and chairs, ceiling, and paintings vanished. In their place stretched boundless gray-white fog.

Massive stone pillars rose around him toward the sky, like the columns of a giant's palace. At its center stood a long bronze table surrounded by twenty-two high-backed chairs. He was sitting in one of them.

Apart from Leonard, only one figure sat at the table, shrouded in gray fog. The moment Leonard saw him, a vast presence surged toward him like mountains and seas, nearly crushing the breath from his lungs.

He brought me here in an instant from a secure area beneath the church. Could he be... Countless thoughts flashed through Leonard's mind, but his body moved first. He started to rise and bow, only for a force to press down on his shoulders and keep him seated. A deep voice sounded beside his ear:

"There's no need to bow here. You may call me Mr. Fool."

The Fool... Understanding dawned on Leonard.

Ever since he had resolutely spoken this hidden existence's Honorific Name during the battle against Ince Zangwill, he had known this day would come. His experience with the Nighthawks and the Red Gloves, along with countless cases recorded by the Church, told him that forming ties with powerful, secretive beings—especially after accepting their "gifts"—would inevitably send him sliding into an abyss from which there was no Redemption.

But Klein and Angel are his believers too. Maybe it isn't as bad as I imagine. At least they're alive, and doing well... The image of the two leaving together surfaced in his mind, and Leonard felt a little calmer. He bowed from his seat toward the figure at the head of the table and asked