940
After being forced out of the dream where he had temporarily taken shelter, the Fool had no choice but to force himself to face reality.
He thought briefly, looked out at the world, and began considering his next move.
The Lord of the Mysteries' earlier "request," or rather, "order," was now echoing through his mind over and over, as though it were a thought that had naturally arisen within him. Klein simply could not ignore it.
Of course, Klein also knew that divinity had not completely eroded him.
Although his plan to use Marionette Town to stabilize himself and resist the Lord of the Mysteries' psyche had failed-and failed so thoroughly that the Lord of the Mysteries, who had always watched his dying struggles purely for amusement, had advanced another step-the proportion of the Lord of the Mysteries within Klein had not yet reached the point where he completely lost his capacity for independent thought. He had not reached that threshold of "completely becoming Him."
-He did not know whether that limit was fifty percent or sixty, or whether, regardless of the existence of such a limit, there was only a distinction between zero and a hundred to Him. But until the Lord of the Mysteries completely lost all interest in him, he was still barely himself.
But what could he do with that?
Even without being completely eroded, Klein could not truly "defy His request." That would certainly have disastrous consequences.
"Destroy Loen... but Loen isn't showing any signs of becoming Eden?" Klein gave the Northern Continent a cursory look. Although its state was miserable, social order was still being maintained. The gods' power was the final safeguard keeping this towering building from collapsing.
He took another careful look and discovered that Will had appeared in Intis. His