Mystery: When the Fool Meets the Masked Fool

Chapter 453 Klein Advances to Demigod, Embarking on a Journey of Joy
The room fell silent, with only the heart floating in mid-air making a "thump, thump" sound.

At this moment, Padma, who was hanging from the ceiling and had been turned into a "Mimi", suddenly opened her eyes.

She struggled a couple of times, but surprisingly, she easily broke free from the control of the spirit threads and landed on the ground.

Then, she wagged her tail and walked over to the dead rat, looking up at the heart made of worms floating in mid-air.

The next second, flesh buds sprouted from his body, and his figure gradually swelled up, transforming him into Klein Moretti, wearing a half-covered silk top hat.

However, his body was constantly flashing with one three-dimensional, layered, mysterious symbol after another, making those who saw it dizzy.

He leaned forward, raised his hands, and unconsciously stretched. The movement seemed somewhat like a cat's, but he shuddered and immediately returned to normal.

He pretended to be a cat for four days, and a female cat at that; it must have been really tough on him.

Looking up at "himself" hanging from the ceiling and the heart floating in mid-air, Klein reached out with a hint of guilt and took the heart. He tore open the front of his clothes, used the Faceless Man's ability to change shape at his chest, twisted it into a mouth, and put the still-beating heart inside.

Then, a smile played on his lips as he picked up the top hat that had fallen to the ground, pressed it to his chest with one hand, put the other behind his back, and bowed slightly to the "himself" still hanging on the ceiling, giving a final bow.

This is the ascension ceremony of the fourth sequence of the path of pleasure, the "Sequence of Selfless Jester".

In the first act, all extraordinary qualities that allow one to temporarily lose access to pleasure are separated and used to create a self-aware clone who identifies himself as the original. This clone interacts directly or indirectly with over 100 people who know the original, and at least 100 of them are unaware of the clone's fundamental problems.

In the second act, the self changes, and the self guides the clone to complete a Sequence Four ritual through a certain path, using the identity of someone familiar to both the original self and the clone.

In the third act, after the clone completes the ascension ceremony, it drinks the incomplete "Ego-less Jester" potion at the same time as drinking the corresponding potion.

In the fourth act, the clone's ascension is interrupted in a bizarre, eerie, and horrific way, causing it to exit tragically. When all of the clone's extraordinary properties gather at his heart, his heart is removed as the final ingredient for the incomplete "Fleabag" potion.

The fifth act, which incorporates at least five plot twists from the script of the first four acts, then absorbs the heart of the clone and concludes with a final curtain call.

Action.

Snapped.

A crisp snap of fingers was heard.

The "spiritual thread" on Arodes disappeared, falling onto Klein's bed and bouncing twice. A series of grotesque "hehehe" sounds appeared on the mirror's surface. This was followed by a string of incomprehensible phrases like "Master's bed" and "The scent of the great master."

As the illusion faded, the butler, male servant, and female servant hanging on the ceiling disappeared one by one, and the room, which had seemed somewhat crowded, suddenly became much more spacious.

A layer of flames suddenly rose from the sky, igniting "Klein" hanging from the ceiling, turning this "Klein," which was essentially just a paper figure, into ashes in the flames.

Finally, space split open, and the Dominion Theater replaced Klein's bedroom, isolating him from the others in the villa as he was about to be promoted.

Having done all this, Klein closed his eyes, stood still, and savored the experience.

Performing two Sequence 4 promotion ceremonies simultaneously was still somewhat strenuous for him.

The three-dimensional, layered symbols on his body flashed continuously, causing him to unconsciously enter an incomplete mythical creature form.

Its head detached from its neck, transforming into a smiling face, and tentacles sprouted wildly from its waist down. One after another, phantom images of toys appeared around it.

An unparalleled joy overwhelmed Klein's spirit, causing his consciousness to gradually become lost, and he could no longer distinguish who he was.

Is it a rag doll? A music box? A black cat? Or perhaps a smiling face?
He neither knew nor could he think about these questions.

He felt only joy, unparalleled joy.

Why do we need to know who we are?

What could be more interesting than not being able to identify yourself?
But at that moment, he felt a sense of desolation.

He saw himself, hanging from the ceiling, slowly losing his life.

Until his death, he never knew that he was just an alter ego.

How pathetic, how ridiculous, how absurd.

Klein felt he couldn't control his emotions. He opened his eyes, half-crying and half-laughing, and found himself standing in a pitch-black space. Only in the far distance in front of him was there a glimmer of light, which seemed to be a door shimmering with light.

He tentatively took a step towards the light, towards the door.

One step, two steps, ten steps, twenty steps.

The distance to that door remained constant; he seemed to be treading water. But he didn't mind, he just kept walking forward, because he was having a great time. An unparalleled joy overwhelmed his mind, making it difficult for him to think of anything else.

As we moved forward, our joy grew stronger.

But is this joy truly happiness? Is it truly pleasure?

Klein saw himself hanging from the ceiling again.

No, it's self-destructive and meaningless.

People cheered for his absurd behavior, they laughed heartily, and saw the most ridiculous clown in the entire universe.

But when the stage collapses in self-destruction and the audience leaves in despair, the Joker can only lie in rags and debris, mocking his own pathetic state.

This self-deprecating feeling overwhelmed Klein's previously rising joy and delight, bringing his emotions back to balance.

He doesn't need meaningless pleasure.

He subconsciously quickened his pace.

What is meaningful pleasure, and what is his pleasure?
May your future be as pure as today.

That was his voice, but it wasn't his own voice; it came from a blessing that was both him and not him.

Klein first muttered to himself, then his voice grew louder and more determined.

"The pleasure I seek... is happiness!"

"It's about letting myself and those around me feel joy, happiness, and bliss!"

"May everything that loves me and everything that I love be happy!"

I don't know when it started, but he started running; I don't know when it started, but he crossed that door that he could never reach before; I don't know when it started, but he left that dark space and ran on a colorful road.

Pleasure no longer bound him, but instead became the driving force for his progress.

His lips unconsciously parted into a wide grin, which grew wider and wider until it formed a comical arc, and he let out a heartfelt laugh.

A slightly exaggerated, colorful makeup appeared on his face stroke by stroke.

Celebration, joy, and delight.

I am not myself, I have no self, I am me.

To go on stage, to take on a role, to sing, to act.

To whom shall this song be sung?

This show is for myself.

Action!

At this moment, Klein ascended to the level of the selfless clown, becoming a demigod and embarking on a path of pleasure.

When he opened his eyes to reality, Klein's body had already returned to normal. His eyes were full of joy, his face was smiling, and he opened his arms as if to embrace the world.

This is so much fun.

…………

PS:

The Ritual of the Selfless Clown is the longest piece I've ever written. It has four full chapters, nearly 8000 words, which rounds up to about 1 words.

I know some people might not like this ritual, but the clown in the original work is simply a tragic clown. In the original story, he is just a self-destructive clown abandoned by the audience.

So I'm trying to stay true to the original work and find meaning in the self-destruction of the original text.

So, with this chapter revealing the answer, did anyone guess it beforehand? (Oh, I think there was one, but I forgot I could design transparent posts, and I deleted them for fear of spoilers.)
In short, I'm really happy to see so many people have been fooled by me.

(End of this chapter)