[Lord of the Mysteries] An Evil God Stumbles into the Tarot Club

[Lord of the Mysteries] An Evil God Accidentally Joins the Tarot Club

[An elegant, cautious gentleman cat top vs. a capricious cat bottom who pushes his luck as far as it will go]

Beyond the 22 Sequence Pathways, there is another Pathway that does not exist in the present world. It corresponds to the Evil God known as the Eye of the Red Moon.

The Eye of the Red Moon's true form is a red eyeball as huge as the moon. It looks like the Crimson Moon, but it isn't the Crimson Moon.

Anyone gazed upon by the Eye of the Red Moon becomes a vessel for Its will, at Its mercy.

After a long slumber, the Eye of the Red Moon awoke and gazed upon a dying noble named Monas Redham. It replaced Monas and became Monas.

Then, for no apparent reason, a strange person summoned It Above the Gray Fog.

Klein, his face obscured by the gray fog: "You may call me the Fool."

Monas: ?

Back in the real world, Monas immediately sought out the other man. "The Fool, tell me, what are you? A god, a human, or a vessel? I'm curious."

Klein, caught completely off guard as his identity was exposed: ?

★ Klein vs. Monas, Lord of the Mysteries vs. Lord of Dreams. A standalone Lord of the Mysteries derivative, with no Circle of Inevitability plotlines.

★ An elegant, cautious gentleman cat top vs. a capricious cat bottom who pushes his luck as far as it will go.

★ This story follows an original main plot that runs parallel to Klein's advancement to the Fool. It won't change the outcomes of important events in the original, but every original character's death will be averted (including Old Neil, Dunn, Daly, Trissy... as well as Klein's resurrections and personalities). You can give it a try even if you haven't read the original, and enjoy the appeal of these two people with unusual identities acting impressive Above the Gray Fog while quietly building their strength in the real world. (Monas: Sorry, my dictionary doesn't have "quietly building strength." It only has "charging in headfirst.")

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★ Spoiler warning: Since quite a few readers have left detailed comments, here's a little spoiler. The protagonist is neither a true god nor an outer god. He is an ancient entity who existed on Earth ten thousand years ago and controlled a Sefirah. He has amnesia and doesn't know this at first, but later learns it from Mr. Door.

★ More spoilers: I've taken some creative liberties with the Moon's Uniqueness. In this story, it was torn from the protagonist and only then picked up by the Mother Goddess of Depravity. The order is Original Creator → Crimson Moon → Mother Goddess of Depravity → Lilith → Evernight Goddess → Crimson Moon. Both the protagonist's will and true form are continuations of the Original Creator, and he inherited some of the Original Creator's memories and authorities. The Moon Pathway Sequence 1's forced gender change is due to the influence of the Mother Goddess of Depravity. The protagonist's original nine Sequence 1 characteristics don't have this trait. He was genderless as the Original Creator, remained genderless after splitting off, and was still genderless before losing the Moon's Uniqueness. After gaining a male vessel, he settled into being male through his interactions with Klein. At its heart, this story is about Klein vs. one part of the Original Creator's will. The Original Creator's convergence has to be initiated deliberately. Once begun, it cannot be controlled, but the Original Creator decides whether to start it. At least this part of the protagonist doesn't want it to begin and will stop the other parts from starting it.

★ About Lilith: She really will be short one Uniqueness, retaining only the one related to the Mother. But the protagonist will spoil Her, and Her believers will eventually follow the protagonist. The protagonist psychoanalyzes all the gods (he's the only guide in the spirit world, after all). Trying to satisfy both original readers and readers of this derivative has resulted in criticism from both sides (hides face). Fortunately, quite a few readers like and support the story. I'll do my best to strike a balance and give it the best possible ending. I've probably spoiled everything I should and shouldn't have by now. I have to admit there are a lot of creative liberties, so please decide for yourself whether you're comfortable with them before reading.

★ One more creative liberty: I've combined the character settings of Arianna and Philanias, who is also known as 0-17, into Arianna. It was originally a mistake, but I later made it an intentional change, and it affects the plot to some extent. For instance, when Klein summons Arianna from the Historical Void, he summons Amanises...

★ As required by my contract, one fifth of all earnings goes to Yuewen and the original author. This is the only Lord of the Mysteries fanfiction I'll write.

★ All sentences in this story marked with an asterisk are quoted or adapted from the original.

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★ Exclusively published on Jinjiang Literature City. Please do not repost.

★ The cover image was made using commercial assets purchased by the designer. It isn't exclusive, so please don't mind if you see the same image elsewhere.

Theme: See through the world's fleeting illusions, and let go of yesterday's dreams and today's empty fame.