Holy Feast

This was the scene where Fors, "The Magician," and Xio, "Justice," joined the club. Neph knew there was still quite a long process to go through, so she simply listened quietly and waited for Mr. Fool to give the same answer he had in the original text.

After that, Klein barely let them exchange a few words before announcing the end of the Tarot Club meeting while his spirituality had yet to run out. He dismissed everyone else, then immediately turned to Neph.

"I haven't gone mad," Neph said, immediately raising a hand to make her position clear. "I'm interested in His corpse because of my Sequence. I dared to say that because no one can overhear us here. As for my faith..."

Neph shrugged and said frankly:

"Blank Canvas-that's the name I gave that thing. Its isolation is far more thorough than Sefirah Castle's. I sensed the True Creator's aura, but I didn't hear any of His ravings at all."

Klein's expression relaxed a little, but he still frowned as he asked:

"Do you remember? I encountered the True Creator's offspring not long ago. I ruined His plan, and what you just said..."

He studied Neph. After a few seconds of silence, she sighed.

"Have you realized that if I'm under His gaze when I pray, you'll be noticed too?"

Klein visibly froze. He lowered his head in thought, and Neph reassured him:

"Don't worry. He can't do much. At most, He'll order His believers to search for traces of the Fool and his Blessed. But you..."

"...I don't have any Blessed at all," Klein finished for her. "Even if He wants to find the Fool, He probably won't turn His attention to someone at Sequence 8."

"You should be reaching Sequence 7 soon, right?" Neph tilted her head. "The ingredients for the Sequence 7 potion shouldn't be too hard to find?"

Klein paused, then spoke again:

"Yes, I was just about to talk to you about that...

"Could you help me put in a request to buy ingredients at the Tarot Club? It's inconvenient to do that as the Fool, whereas you... you seem... pretty carefree?"

"I am," Neph said, spreading her hands. "Because right now, no one can find me in the real world-not even little Sun, who's in the Forsaken Land of the Gods with me. Well, you probably don't know this, but we're at opposite ends of the Forsaken Land of the Gods..."

Klein immediately understood why she was so relaxed. He looked at Neph expectantly.

"Then, about the ingredients...?"

"I'll ask for you next time." Neph shrugged. "But Mr. Fool, do you have any money?"

"..." Klein fell silent. "I'm working on it."

"Well, I'm completely penniless," Neph said, spreading her hands. "Hmm... do you have any other questions?"

"I'd actually really like to ask about that Holy Communion story of yours, but... you won't tell me, will you?" Klein gave her a tentative look.

Neph looked thoughtfully at Klein, her tone slightly hesitant.

"Hmm... telling the full story now would probably be a little... but if it's only part of it, I could certainly tell you."

The full story, of course, meant including the part involving Adam.

Revealing that Adam was actually the divine aspect of the Ancient Sun God would have little effect on her at present, but the same old problem remained-Neph didn't want to step outside and find that blond priest waiting for her.

Without Adam, what remained of the story was the three gods dividing up and devouring the Ancient Sun God. There was nothing she couldn't say about that. If she were facing Alger, "The Hanged Man," Neph would have to consider his feelings as a believer, but with Klein, she had no such concern.

Besides, Neph wanted to try something-her Sequence 8 was called Dirge Poet, and the former Ancient Sun God was an ideal subject. She could recite the poem again in Moon City later-perhaps the City of Silver would even have a part to play.

But poetry... was bound to speak in riddles, even narrative poetry.

Klein had no idea what Neph was planning. He merely looked expectant, but Neph still wasn't satisfied. She leaned closer and asked:

"Mr. Fool, if I tell you a story, could I ask for a little reward?"

Just think of it as my writing fee...

"What do you want?" Klein looked at her in confusion.

"A... hmm, a promise you can't fulfill just yet." Neph's lips curved slightly as she looked Klein up and down.

Klein shuddered. For a moment, he felt as though he were lying on a plate, being licked all over by a slippery tongue. That eerie chill made him ask warily:

"What are you trying to do?!"

"Don't be nervous." Neph blinked. "I just wanted to ask if I could taste your corpse once you truly become the master of this place."

"...?" Klein's eyes were full of bewilderment.

Neph looked at Klein with a smile. The idea had come quite suddenly. She hadn't browsed the abilities of every Sequence, only used the search function to look into a few things, so she didn't actually know how the ability to gain memories by eating corpses would change at high Sequences.

But the corpse of a higher being was bound to have something special about it. Neph decided to ask for it first and worry about the rest later. To the future Lord of the Mysteries, it probably wouldn't even count as a price-merely a favor granted on a whim.

Still, most people probably wouldn't dare ask for a favor like that... Once I leave Sefirah Castle, I wouldn't dare bring this up with the True Creator even if I had Anderson's nerve...

"What do you mean..." Klein asked, choosing his words carefully. "What do you mean by becoming the master of this place?"

Neph shook her head. "Don't try to fish for information... If I could tell you, wouldn't I?"

"All right..." Klein gave up in disappointment. "But from the sound of it, I'll probably be able to revive whenever I like by then? Oh, right. Do you know the limit on how many times I can revive? I feel like reviving has become harder than it was the first time..."

"Four times," Neph answered. "You've already used two."

Klein sucked in a breath and asked nothing more, instead returning to the previous topic:

"So, what's the story behind Holy Communion?"

Neph raised an eyebrow at him, but rather than answer directly, she spoke as though chanting:

"God's left hand lowered wings woven of shadow,

"And planted roses of redemption amid the cracks in starlight.

"Upon the divine throne, the Lord bestowed Holy Communion;

"Beneath the divine throne, the saints each harbored their own designs.

"The flames of ambition smoldered in secret;

"Wind and thunder roared in defiance;

"The wise one

Presented His parchment,

"And let the wildfire scorch it.

"Who was weeping?

"And who was licking the Lord's flesh and blood?

"When the roses of redemption bloomed,

"The holy cross hung inverted above a sea of blood,

"Heaven and hell traded places,

"And the saints still shared Holy Communion."