Additional Chapter! Thank Slesk, Aethergrey314, Aeson_Kayr, Tidraus, Xcolobor, Daos_Nine_Heavens, Karfin2422, and Thaddeus_090 for this additional chapter.
Enjoy!!
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For a moment, Klein felt like he couldn't hear anything. The despair of never going back gripped him, and for a fleeting second, he thought he might lose control.
"Chin up, lose the 'might.' You were this close to losing it," Evah said, his voice tinged with exasperation.
With his words, Klein felt his emotions settle back to calm. He realized his fur had gone wild, sprouting like crazy, and his claws had grown sharp and long.
"Sorry, forgot you just went through a boss fight. You're not in great shape and can't handle the shock," Evah said, a touch apologetic. Normally, Klein might've handled the transmigration truth without spiraling, but fresh off battling the True Creator's spawn, he was in rough shape. The bombshell had nearly pushed him over the edge.
Luckily, Evah's abilities were tailor-made for curbing emotion-driven breakdowns, pulling Klein back just in time.
"…Thanks," Klein said, his voice weary. As his emotions stabilized, he latched onto a keyword in Evah's words, snapping his head up. "Wait, what do you mean transmigrators can't return to the past?"
"Why past?"
"Sharp as ever," Evah said, unsurprised by Klein's quick catch. He glanced out the window at the sky before continuing, "Where do you think we are? This is Earth."
"We didn't cross into another world. We're just relics of an old era, sleeping for who-knows-how-many ages, waking up in this unfamiliar time."
Klein's jaw dropped. All the questions he'd ever had seemed to click into place.
Why did this "other world" have 24-hour days? Why did it have a sun…?
"But the moon's red, and this world has no oil…" Klein said, staring at Evah, his voice dazed. He wasn't sure why he asked—maybe one last grasp at denial.
"That's stuff you're not ready to know," Evah said, turning back to Klein the cat. "All I'll say is the moon turned red because of a certain evil god, and the oil was devoured by some entity."
Klein lowered his eyes at the answer, lost in thought. Then he looked up again. "So what am I? What's the deal with the Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth? And the gray fog…?"
"You're the chosen protagonist of the stage," Evah said, his gaze on Klein heavy with a sigh. "Unlike Dunn, who's the lead in just one story, you're the protagonist of an entire era."
"Huh?" Klein blinked, a half-laugh bubbling up at the absurdity. "Should I be honored or something?"
"You can grieve, Klein, for your fate," Evah said, sighing as he reached out to ruffle Klein the cat's head.
"For this damn fate forced on you."
Klein suddenly felt like crying, but no tears came. His voice hoarse, he said, "So what's going on? I was just an ordinary guy. Why am I the era's protagonist?"
"It's a long story. Our era, our civilization, faced an apocalypse. And we were the 'lucky' ones picked out of it…" Evah said, his voice dripping with mockery. "If you call surviving as a vessel for some being's revival 'lucky.'"
"The Celestial Worthy of Heaven and Earth, right?" Klein guessed almost instantly.
"You're indeed a vessel for the Celestial Worthy's revival," Evah confirmed, not denying it. "If the Evernight Goddess hadn't stepped in when you arrived, the Celestial Worthy would've already taken over your body."
Klein froze. He hadn't expected the Evernight Goddess to be involved, but then he thought of his own oddities—the unnatural clarity in his dreams. He'd assumed it was a transmigration perk, but now it seemed like the Goddess's blessing.
"Why?" Klein asked, puzzled, looking at Evah. "Why would the Evernight Goddess help me?"
"Two reasons, probably," Evah said, holding up one finger. "First, the Celestial Worthy's bad news. Given a choice, nobody wants him back." He raised a second finger. "Second, maybe a bit of hometown camaraderie."
Klein blinked, then it hit him. "So the Evernight Goddess is a transmigrator too."
"You, Roselle, and the Evernight Goddess—you're all vessels for the Celestial Worthy's revival," Evah said, not hiding this part since it'd come out eventually. But he deliberately left a gap.
Klein, as Evah expected, caught it. "What about you and Jack? Aren't you vessels for the Celestial Worthy?"
"We're vessels for another being," Evah said without missing a beat. "I can't tell you its name—it'd pollute you just to hear it. All I'll say is it's no less than the Celestial Worthy."
"Have you broken free from it?" Klein asked, worried for Jack and Lucifer despite his own predicament.
"More or less," Evah said with a smile, dodging further talk on it.
He'd said it on purpose, giving himself an out if his cover ever slipped.
It wasn't a lie, after all—he was a vessel for Nyarlathotep's fragment, wasn't he?
Klein exhaled, sensing Evah didn't want to dwell on it, and shifted gears. "So, have I broken free from the Celestial Worthy?"
"Not at all. The Evernight Goddess's help just kept you from becoming his vessel right off the bat," Evah said, shaking his head and looking at Klein. "Know why I call you the era's protagonist?"
Klein shook his head, baffled. Sure, he'd jokingly thought he had a protagonist template, but he didn't actually believe he was some era-defining hero.
"Because you've got all the makings of one. Because everyone's betting on you to become that hero," Evah said, his voice measured. "Nobody wants the Celestial Worthy back, but everyone wants a Celestial Worthy-like figure to face the coming apocalypse. So they chose you, placed their bets on you, hoping you'll one day defeat the Celestial Worthy, take his place, fight the apocalypse, and save the world."
Evah's gaze on Klein carried a sigh. "I already warned you, didn't I? 'Batman is watching you.' Batman's got his eyes on you. And who does Batman watch? The Joker. The clown of fate—able to see it all coming but powerless to change it, trapped by destiny."
(End of Chapter)