Chapter 70: Lost Jester

Chapter 70: Lost Jester

Fifty-two days later.

Mo Fei collapsed on the ground. His hand left the lantern on the ground. "My legs... Damn it, I can’t move."

The fatigue of walking for the last fifty-two days had begun to settle on him, of course, a test to measure his value. Without any food, walking was like hell. He pushed his body up, forcing it to stand again but collapsed once more.

He looked ahead; it was the gate of heaven, and another was the gate of hell. Both were the paths aligned with the death world.

The gates of heaven invited him, yet the golden light coming out of it was blinding; he couldn’t even look at it. Then, the gate of hell, it was similar to the gate of heaven; both were inviting.

Mo Fei grunted and crawled again. His hands gripped the lantern, but he noticed a bridge between both places.

Then, a flapping voice of wings cut through the air.

The darkness receded; the world began to shine again. His gaze fell on the descending figure of a man with large wings attached to his back. The man landed on the ground with a soft thud.

The man bowed in acknowledgment, then said softly. "I’m one of the Angels of Death. Call me Serphiron, and please do not look at my copy. I’m not present here, but gazing upon me can erase your soul."

Mo Fei quickly looked down from the Angel of Death and asked tiredly. "Why are you here?"

Serphiron opened his hands widely; his beautiful, slightly tangled hair flowed with air. "You are in the death world now; I shall not grant you permission to return, but as you were called by the spirit world itself, I cannot stop you this time." His gentle, soothing voice hit Mo Fei’s ears, making him drowsy.

"Then what?"

"As I mentioned, in the death world you must choose between heaven and hell, a path which will show you your guilts then you reincarnate, but I simply don’t judge your prayers, nor your actions." Serphiron’s wings opened, putting a shadow over Mo Fei. "Do you want to go to heaven to look upon your guilts?"

Mo Fei thought for a second. He glanced at the door; it was warm like home. "No."

Serphiron tilted his head. "Why? Every soul begs for this; do you not think you deserve to rest?"

Mo Fei’s lips twitched and pressed together with his words. "No, I’ll come back the day I’m worthy of heaven."

The Angel of Death chuckled. "Those who say this make the heavens not worthy of them." His expression changed, and he continued with his old manner.

"Interesting choice, I suppose; return with your current body then, but remember it... you can only return once; death is not something to play with; some deaths are necessary; if you mock it, eventually it’ll mock you back. Have a great journey, Lightless." The Angel of Death moved sideways; his fingers traced the air and caught something, then he closed his fingers to pull the invisible door open.

"Go, cross the bridge, but do not look back." Serphiron disappeared instantly with those words.

Slumping against the cold ground, Mo Fei spat onto the sand. "Necessary deaths, huh..." he muttered, his voice cracking into a jagged, dangerous whisper. "Let them come. I didn’t crawl out of hell just to let a little madness finish me off."

He pushed himself up, clenching the lantern tightly. Every single bone ached, his legs had gone numb, and his lungs burned. He continued his journey, his other hand still holding the earring, reminding him that he had more work to be done.

He stepped inside the door, and his eyes closed.

***

In the spirit world, the grey clouds began to dissolve. Finally, the cup of purity dripped the water down. The whirlpool stopped, and the needle launched toward the throne. It was pinned against it; slowly, the burnt fabric began to form the white, elegant clothes. Slowly, Mo Fei’s body took the shape.

The Serpent moved its head toward him and began to tackle his cheek softly to wake him up.

Mo Fei’s eyes squeezed, then slowly they flickered. He opened his eyes; the cursed eye was gone; now he had both of them. It had been recovered. He looked around and found the Serpent’s gaze locked on him.

Reaching out his hand, Mo Fei patted the Serpent before letting out a long exhale. "My body... I’m too tired."

The Serpent nodded, hissing happily. "Great master, welcome back. You might have known that you can’t return again if you truly die... Moreover."

Mo Fei stared at the Serpent waiting for it to continue.

With another hiss, it spoke. "The moment you return to the human realm, your mind will go insane. The corruption in your head might even kill people if provoked. The spirit needs time to eat the madness..."

Mo Fei heaved an exhausted sigh and whispered in a cracked voice. "Argh, so I didn’t die? How did I come back?"

"Very tiring process, so Great Master, do you want to return now?" The pale Serpent’s golden eyes waited patiently.

Mo Fei lifted his hand up and found the earring. "Tell me about this." He slowly moved it toward his ear and wore it; the air turned warm.

"Hmm, it seems it’s an ’embodiment’ of Warden, and it feels extremely pure..."

Mo Fei traced the earring again and closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Embodiment?"

"A part of their authority can be stolen, but an embodiment is strong when it’s given willingly."

Mo Fei slowly stood up but fell back on the throne again with a grunt. He clenched his head tightly. "Ugh... uh, and what’s the use?"

"It’ll enhance your authority equal to an Ordinal Seven... which means with your mask, you can hide your appearance and replicate it with a historical human, though that spirit must give you permission to live as them." The Serpent’s eyes lay on the mask.

Mo Fei picked it up and grabbed his Glaive. "Good job, Divine Serpent. You did the right thing by moving the mask here to safety."

The Serpent hissed and nodded quickly. "Great honors, my lord. I tried to move you too, but at that time your body was pinned by the threadbinder’s artifact."

"I’m breathing again, at least better than my bones." Mo Fei grabbed the Glaive which rested near the armrests. "I shall return now."

"Your servant will wait for your return, but Great Master, once you return, you’ll face an intense desire to kill, and alongside that, corruption will start to eat your brain, be aware."

***

Mo Fei’s eyes snapped open; he was in a place surrounded by sand and darkness. He couldn’t breathe, but he managed to pull his hands out of the grave.

"Gasp Huff... Huff...huff." He breathed hard as he forced his lungs to feel the environment. He was in the temple of the lady, and beside him were his weapons. He closed his eyes and remembered the kids; he had promised to return, but how could he see them again? If they knew he was alive, they’d never let him go ever again.

The Serpent’s words echoed in his mind.

But suddenly, his head went heavy, and he smacked it against the stone. "Ahh!" He shouted and covered his head. "Argh, damn it."

His head ached far more than the limit of a human mind could process. His eyes came out, wide open by the sheer pain. There was no one, so no one had heard his scream. He quickly pulled himself together, then moved out of his grave while clenching his head tightly. Blood dripped against the ground with every step, but then he stopped and looked back. The grave was open... anyone could suspect.

He quickly covered the grave in its previous state, then ran out of the place.

He put the mask on and tried to think of what to take shape of.

A voice whispered in his mind. A voice of a man that worked as a Jester in a king’s place, who was executed.

A Cosmic Jester.

The mask shifted, turning into the mask of the king’s Jester. It covered his face and behind the mask. His bones shaped a new face, a man who had been in the past before. He had permitted Mo Fei to use his identity.

While moving out, he found two lotus flowers blooming in the mud. He reached out his hand and plucked it out. He examined them for a few moments before a thought came into his mind, and he smiled shortly. "Oi, Serpent, take it to the spirit world, and when I ask, give it back to me."

"Great Master?"

"Do what I said."

"Yes, Lord Lightless."

One of the lotuses disappeared from his hand. Looking ahead, he quietly put the second flower in his sleeve. His expression behind the mask softened into a warm twinkle.

The rain began to fall slowly, his clothes soaking in water, for so long; for once it wasn’t blood that dripped from his clothes.

***

At the garden near the entrance of the temple. Hao Yu and Xin Yi sat together, both of their heads locked into a beetle that crawled on the broken branch of a tree.

Both of their gazes watched as the small bug kept trying to climb the wood but ended up falling back yet again trying.

Both of them blinked at its attempt.

Upon hearing the footsteps, both of their heads focused at the entrance.

A man stood at the temple gate, wearing a weird looking mask and three-pointed hat. As the man walked toward them, Xin Yi drew back, and Hao Yu hid behind her. "Who are you?" She demanded an answer.

The man tilted his head. The mask plastered against his pale face, looking at both of their expressions. "A friend," he said.

Slowly the man reached out his hand toward his mask, gripping the edge of the mask, and peeled it halfway off.

The kids watched his expression. Beneath the porcelain, a human face emerged—but entirely unfamiliar, shaped by the bones of a long-dead historical Jester. Yet, despite his strange features, both of them found their eyes fixated on the man’s soft, half-hearted grin.

With a soft flick of his wrist, he pulled a large lotus flower from his sleeve. He clapped his hands together with a slap... and when he parted his palms, the beautiful lotus had split into two.

Momentarily forgetting their fears, both of them gasped in surprise.

He extended his hands toward them, offering the stem of the lotus to each of them. "Here, I only have these. A small gift from a lost Jester."

Xin Yi stared deeply at the man’s eyes, something she had never seen before, yet she felt a profound, aching familiarity in his gestures. "I never seen you before, did we meet before?"

The jester’s smile didn’t waver, but his hand stilled on the lotus stem. Suddenly once again, a violent spike of agony pierced his brain. Inside, the spirits were trying to tear his corruption, fighting the madness that threatened to come out; his eye twitched for just a millisecond. He couldn’t stay here longer; insanity would catch him soon.

Pressing his lips together to swallow a groan of pain, he forced the warmth back into his voice. "Perhaps... in a dream." he said, his grin beaming wide to mask the torture in his head. "Dreams are the place where lost things are truly found, after all."

Xin Yi and Hao Yu gently took the lotus. Hao Yu unfolded the flower, a question forming in his head as he tilted his head toward the man. "Wait..."

But he had already moved. His cap rang the bells as he leaped backward. His mouth hummed a tune that was somewhat disturbed by something.

Within moments, the vibrant colour of the Jester was completely swallowed by the evening light. He stepped through the temple’s doorway, leaving nothing behind except the scent of mud and lotus and somewhat the distant echo of his footsteps.

"Smile, Lightless. Smile wide even when you are lost. Smile wide even when you forget how to laugh. Smile wide even when you are losing your mind. Smile wide even when rain cries for you."

The End [Vol-1]

—To be continued—