Mystery: When the Fool Meets the Masked Fool

Chapter 397 Edsack's Little Bird Flew Away
190 Berklund Street, around 7 p.m.

Edsack sat on the sofa, holding a copy of the Backlund Morning Post in one hand and a "Rune" cigarette between his fingers in the other.

Instead of reading the newspaper, he folded it up a few times and made a makeshift "ashtray".

Not far away, Triss set up a ritual magic circle on the living room floor.

She first silently prayed to the Lord of Fools, asking this great being to transform into the Goddess of Mercy who grants children, so that she could fulfill her long-held wish.

Afterwards, she cut her finger and dripped a drop of blood from her fingertip into the lilac incense, then sprinkled in a few grains of powder of unknown composition.

Edsack glanced at her, silently shook his head, and didn't understand why she was so enthusiastic every day.

As the incense was dripped into the candle, the flame suddenly shot up and turned purple.

Triss waited patiently, silently chanting ritual incantations in ancient Hermes.

The flames became darker, and images could be vaguely seen emerging from the center of the flames.

It looked like a curled-up baby.

At the same moment Triss finished reciting the ritual incantation, the color of the flames changed once again, turning into a peach pink.

Triss's eyes widened suddenly.

"It's done!"

Edsack was so startled that he immediately stubbed out his cigarette.

"Wha...what?"

“It’s done,” Triss said, touching her lower abdomen with one hand and pointing to the still-burning pink flame on the candle with the other. “Male, and also a natural assassin.”

Edsack was somewhat incoherent, yet also delighted.

Is she really pregnant? Is he going to be a father?
But he soon noticed that Triss's expression was a little strange; rather than joy, it seemed more like a successful scheme.

Triss forced down the corners of her mouth, trying to suppress her smile, but gave up after a few seconds.

Why endure it? It's been so long, finally...

Then, Edsack watched as Triss quickly extinguished the candle, ran into the room, took a box from the bedside table, opened it, and found a small bottle inside.

The promotion ceremony for the pregnant worm is to obtain a child that is still in the embryonic stage and has not yet been born.

And now, Edsack has undoubtedly completed his promotion ceremony.

Seeing Triss's hurried manner, Edsack instinctively wanted to advise her to be careful, but thinking of the "witch's" powerful physique, he swallowed his words and only said, "Slow down."

But Triss didn't want to linger. She took out the bottle and immediately disappeared from her spot, stepping out from the full-length mirror next to Adsack.

Seeing Triss's haste, Edsack instinctively tried to get up, but Triss raised a foot and stepped on Edsack's shoulder, shoving him back onto the sofa. She then kicked the cigarette box and ashtray aside with two more kicks.

“Triss…you…” Edsack didn’t understand what she was going to do, but his spiritual intuition told him that nothing bad could possibly happen.

“Stop dawdling,” Triss shoved the bottle into Edsack’s hand. “Get promoted quickly.”

A bewildered Edsack hesitated, holding the bottle, wondering why Triss had started acting strangely so soon after becoming pregnant. He'd never heard of pregnancy having this effect.

Edsack glanced at the bottle in his hand, then at the half-finished cigarette and the ashes scattered on the floor. He shook his head helplessly and muttered, "I'll have to clean this up later, look at all this mess..."

"Don't worry about all that, just get promoted." Triss had no intention of listening to Edsack's nonsense and decisively interrupted his complaints.

“Fine, fine.” Edsack raised one hand to indicate surrender.

Now is indeed a good opportunity to absorb the potion, but Triss's current appearance is honestly a bit scary.

Edsack opened the bottle and saw the light purple potion inside.

This potion might not look unpleasant; the pale purple liquid shimmered with starlight, giving the impression that one could vaguely see a galaxy within it. Bubbles constantly appeared, rising to the surface and then gently bursting.

“This looks at least as good as the apprentice’s potion,” Edsack remarked.

After calming himself down and meditating for a while, he finally picked up the bottle and gulped down the Sequence 5 potion inside.

A cold, slightly tingling sensation slid down his esophagus, into his stomach, and spread instantly to every cell in his body in an incredible way.

thump! thump! thump!
Edsack felt his heart pounding violently, gushing out blood and spirituality that transformed his body and spirit.

This feeling was more intense and unique than any other time I had ever taken a magic potion.

He felt his spirit being torn apart, his body being shattered, his whole being constantly breaking down and rebuilding. First, it transformed into mottled insect armor on his skin, then it pulled out long strips of flesh, which evolved into waving tentacles.

He uncontrollably entered a state of insectification, his body transforming into a swarm of insects, feeling as if every inch of his skin had gained a sense of self.

In an instant, she felt beams of light emanating from her body and before her eyes. They surged and crashed, opening one illusory door after another, drawing her consciousness uncontrollably into them.

In this state of floating and chaotic thoughts, Edsack's consciousness gradually decomposed, spread, and became thinner and thinner, almost losing its self-awareness.

She began to feel her consciousness sinking and becoming lost, and she started to feel a sense of fear. She felt her body getting cold, as if she had appeared in a snowy field.

She felt as if the world had become empty, as if she were all alone, which made her feel fearful and lonely.

On the imagined "snowfield," she followed her intuition, digging through the snow on the ground and gnawing on the solid ice of the mountains, until she found a thin layer of grass underneath.

It foreshadows the existence of life.

A faint light suddenly emanated from Triss's lower abdomen, and a halo of light floated out and fell into Edsack's body.

Triss was not flustered at all; on the contrary, she was even more delighted.

Good, it looks like she won't have to suffer at all.

Adsack found a "baby" in the "snow." Although she had never seen one before, she was certain it was her child. This made her feel less alone, helped her regain her sense of self, and gradually brought her back to her senses.

She lifted the baby from the snow, held it in her arms, and conjured up downy fur to shield it from the wind and snow. She climbed to the windward valley, lay down peacefully, and felt her gradually fading consciousness rapidly converge with her present self, reuniting into her.

A few minutes later, Edsack woke up from the sofa.

"The ceremony was a great success. Congratulations! You are now a noble Sequence Five, a noble 'Calamity Mother'," Triss's smiling voice rang out.

(End of this chapter)