A good protagonist should write his own origin story

"After that, I wandered aimlessly through the gray fog for a while, but I never saw anything."

Klein said nothing, quietly listening as Lin Chuan told his "backstory."

This was a story Lin Chuan had cooked up based on his actual circumstances-it could both plausibly introduce his Sefirah and explain the earlier anomalies at Sefirah Castle.

It also conveniently gave those secrets beyond ordinary people's knowledge a source: how did he know so much? He had seen it himself.

In a sense, that was true. After all, starting around the late First Epoch, Lin Chuan had returned to watch the barrier, making him something of an eyewitness to the history of the past five epochs.

He felt that taking a sip of water before continuing would suit the moment, but unfortunately, he had no physical body. He could only regretfully abandon the idea and keep spinning his tale:

"At the time, I thought I'd just traded one prison for another. It was even worse than before, really. At least I could see what was happening outside before. Now, all I could see was an endless expanse of gray fog."

"Fortunately, I later saw an image for some inexplicable reason. It was you muttering something while setting out four pieces of rye bread."

"So that was when you recognized me?" Klein asked curiously.

"Not then," Lin Chuan said, rejecting his guess. "But you could call it the starting point. I didn't recognize the person in the image, but I happened to have read that Qin-Han Secret Record of Esoteric Arts."

"What you were doing was exactly the same as the Luck Enhancement Ritual described at the beginning.

"My first thought was that it was pretty interesting to run into someone in this world performing a ritual recorded in an ancient book from Earth. It wasn't until the churning fog drew me over later that I observed you in secret and confirmed who you were."

"After that came my entrance, and you know the rest. No need for me to go over it, right?" Lin Chuan smiled, bringing his account of his origins to a close.

"You said earlier that you were trapped in the void for who knows how many years... Are you really okay?" Klein was somewhat worried about Lin Chuan's mental state, and concern crept into his voice.

Lin Chuan waved a hand, looking utterly unconcerned.

"I'm fine. Didn't I tell you? I could see some things outside. I just treated it as watching a very long documentary."

Klein nodded thoughtfully. Just then, he finished leafing through the notebook in his hands, ending on the page he had first seen: the hastily scrawled diary entry dated June 27, with the words, "Everyone will die, including me."

That almost despairing statement sent a slight chill down his spine, and he instinctively reached for another piece of bread to chew on.

He drank some water and closed the notebook, his fingertips lingering on its flyleaf for a moment.

To unravel the mystery of the original owner's suicide, he would probably have to visit Welch's residence and examine the original contents of that ancient notebook.

But how was that any different from insisting on entering a haunted castle despite knowing there were ghosts inside? He would probably just be walking straight to his death.

Yet avoiding the issue would solve nothing. Three people had deciphered the notebook together, and he alone had survived. Who could guarantee that this "survival" wasn't temporary?

Perhaps one day, he would inexplicably kill himself again!

At that thought, Klein briefly considered his options and decided to ask the "expert" beside him for help:

"Help me, Lin-raemon!"

Lin Chuan was no longer lying on his side; he had stood up while Klein was reading the notebook. Hearing the plea, he was momentarily taken aback, then realized that it made perfect sense.

After all, having only just transmigrated, Klein knew next to nothing about the Beyonder world. Who else would he ask? Well, he might as well make use of the opportunity.

"Oh, what am I going to do with you..." Meeting Klein's inexplicably trusting gaze, Lin Chuan sighed.

"Did you think I'd say that and then tell you the truth? Why would I know why you killed yourself? I only just arrived in this world myself."

His voice grew slightly somber as he continued, "I'm not omniscient or omnipotent. I just know a little more and have a few unusual things about me."

"Besides, you can't trust or rely completely on any one person, even if that person is me.

He spread his hands and said, "What if I can't help you? What if I die? What if someone takes over my body? We may be close, but you still have to consider these possibilities."

Klein was left blinking in bewilderment. Reflecting on his own thoughts, he had to admit that Lin Chuan had a point.

Meeting an old friend in a foreign world had greatly eased his initial wariness, and he had unconsciously wanted to rely on this experienced, knowledgeable friend.

But wasn't Lin Chuan overreacting a little? It almost seemed as though he was deliberately skirting something... Besides, he had only answered with a question just now, without actually denying that he knew anything.

At that thought, Klein gave him a suspicious look and chose to ask directly:

"So, do you know why the original owner killed himself? Was it because of that notebook belonging to the family called Antigonus?"

"..."

Lin Chuan remained silent for a long time. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Klein thought he saw a trace of reluctance on his face.

He was hesitating over whether to avoid the subject.

He had originally thought that all he wanted was to witness those iconic scenes from the original story, make up for a few regrets, and change certain predetermined events. Nothing more.

Perhaps Captain Dunn wouldn't die, and Old Neil's condition might be discovered ahead of time?

But Ince would, of course, have to obtain Saint Selena's Ashes. After all, he still had a role to play later in the story.

And Klein? Klein would have to die once, too. Without his death, how would the Backlund arc begin? If he didn't resurrect, where would Lin Chuan get to see that iconic scene of him rising from his coffin?

It wouldn't be a real death. Klein could draw on a Miracle Invoker's resurrection in advance. Compared with the original story, wouldn't that already be a happy enough ending?

Wouldn't... it?

He asked himself silently, his mind as muddled as a bowl of paste.

He thought that as long as he showed he didn't want to discuss it, or brushed it off, Klein probably wouldn't press the matter, given his trust in him.

Yes, he was somewhat reluctant to tell Klein the full story behind the notebook.

...But the Antigonus Family Notebook incident was, in essence, something Sefirah Castle had drawn in under the influence of the law of Beyonder characteristic convergence.

Even without this notebook, something else would come looking for Klein. Seer, Marauder, Apprentice-one of them was bound to suit him.

In fact, having the notebook come knocking was already the best option among those three related Pathways. The other two would probably involve Amon or something connected to Mr. Door.

Not only that, for Klein, "Fool" was also the only Pathway through which he could become

a god. The Fool card from his Tarot Cards divination, the name he had unconsciously given himself above the gray fog...

What a coincidence. Truly, it was the work of fate.