41. The Belated Judgment (14)

The wizard could no longer remember how long he had been planning for this day, but he must have considered this question with great care. More than that, he had even worked out the answers to several other questions in advance and etched them deep into his mind.

Even now, on the verge of madness, those answers still surfaced clearly from the depths of his heart.

"You must be exceedingly cautious," Seraphax heard himself say. "This matter is of the utmost importance. No mission you have ever received can compare to it, but you must also beware that evil god and Its minions."

"Its aid may seem selfless and generous, but nothing in this world is more expensive than something free. You cannot afford to lose. As a gambler, you have only a single chip of the lowest denomination in your hand."

The wizard walked in a daze, swaying as he went. Several times, his unsteady footing forced him to fall to the ground. He had weakened to the absolute limit; for one who had once received divine favor, his current state was nothing less than the most painful humiliation.

Yet he felt no shame over it. He had long prepared himself mentally—how could something as insane as reversing time and reshaping the past possibly be accomplished without paying any price?

The wizard knew full well that his present weakness was merely the first step. Before long, the god of trickery that had willingly allowed itself to be deceived—and pleased—by his clumsy scheme would extend Its gaunt claws from the surreal nightmare.

When that moment came, everything he had planned would become nothing more than a crude joke to make a god laugh. But he and that god had indeed reached a certain understanding: until that moment arrived, It would