970
Ouroboros silently digested this for a while, then turned to ask Medici's Death Imprint:
"You can sense him? Are you actually dead or not?"
"What sort of existence do you think you are now?"
A confused, complicated expression appeared on the Death Imprint's face. It seemed Ouroboros's question had stumped it too, briefly making it uncertain of itself. "...No matter when, my connection with him has never broken. Great Serpent, I did die once, but he brought me back to life. What I can be certain of is that I am Medici, and so is he."
"You think you are?"
"Yes."
"...And you think he is too?"
"Yes." The Death Imprint could not help emphasizing, "If I hadn't developed consciousness, he would be the only Medici."
Silence fell.
Ouroboros understood Medici's frustration very well: he wanted to explain, thought he had already made himself perfectly clear, yet had no idea why Ouroboros kept failing to understand. But Ouroboros really did not quite understand, and also hoped he did not quite understand what had happened.
Just then, gray mist appeared before Ouroboros's eyes.
Seemingly endless gray mist surged from behind him, rushing forward like waves. Ahead, a curtain seemed to part, revealing an existence seated upright in a high-backed chair, his figure indistinct yet irresistibly awe-inspiring. The symbol of the Circle of Inevitability rapidly began fading as the gray mist arrived. This sight, along with the Outer Deity's fear, had already proved the visitor's identity.
He had not expected his tentative prayer to Sefirah Castle to receive a response so quickly. Still less had he expected Klein Moretti to actually become the "Lord of the Mysteries" above Sefirah Castle... It truly felt like a lifetime had passed, even though this was an expectation the Lord had personally acknowledged, even though