Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 618: I highly doubt it

Chapter 618: I highly doubt it

It was in a colorful carnival, occupied by several people laughing and dancing maniacally.

To the outside view, it looked more like a madhouse than an actual carnival but it didn’t matter much as this particular carnival served as the divine kingdom of the one known as the Swindler of the Heavens, the Jester.

But at the moment, its owner was missing, and in their place was a person, or rather, a clown.

Pierrot was seated on a stage that was at the center of the carnival, seemingly tied up while looking in a particular direction.

He seemed to be undergoing a metamorphosis as his body moved rapidly while tied up, his appearance shifting in ways indescribable to the human mind.

From a distance, a young lady, who looked no older than twenty-two, with reddish brown hair, tanned skin, and dressed in a reddish brown-red leather suit, watched this scene for a few seconds before her mind began to fracture, causing her to look away.

"You shouldn’t do that, gazing upon a deity as they ascend. You could run mad." A feminine voice intoned from behind her.

The lady turned to regard the speaker, quickly discovering Harlequin.

"Yet you seem just fine staring."

"Well, that’s because I’m an Apostle, and you are not."

"How is he?"

"Aww, so cute, you care about Pierrot. I had no idea Pierrot had a girlfriend."

"Just answer the question." The lady demanded.

Harlequin stuck a tongue out before replying. "No idea. Only after the ritual is completed can he ascend."

"All the worlds a stage and the men and women, merely players."

"Indeed." Harlequin nodded with a twisted smile.

"Once he fully ascends... will he still be Pierrot?"

Harlequin grin widened. "What do you think?"

Taking one last look at the center stage, the young lady decided to take her leave only for Harlequin to call out to her.

"Cybele."

The lady, or rather, Cybele, glanced at her in response with Harlequin remarking.

"Do be careful. I wouldn’t want to explain to the Master what happened to his favorite pet."

"Sure thing."

Saying that Cybele excused herself and left, quickly heading in a different direction only to arrive at a tent and enter.

Inside, several cages were placed, stacked on top of one another.

Inside each cage were people, animals, mutants..., and even some species thought to be extinct, though their condition was enough to deduce that they were not truly alive.

She walked past all these to arrive at a particular cage in which a human was kept.

A lady that Cybele shared several characteristics with.

"Mother."

"So you remember that you have a mother."

"How could I forget?"

"So why are you here?... To give me more reasons to be disappointed in you?"

Cybele sighed. "Don’t tell me you are still upset about the way the ruins exploration turned out."

"You killed your family members!... I hope it was worth it."

"I’m tired of exploring, mother. What’s the point of it anyway?"

"Have you already forgotten the creed of our family?"

"Unfortunately not. But it doesn’t matter now. Once the Jester ascends, I’ll be able to create a new legacy for our family. One that doesn’t leave us as mere explorers, but as conquerors."

"Are you even my daughter?... You were never like this, what changed?... For what reason would you wish to rule the world?"

"Because that was how it was once upon a time."

"What?"

"And you are right to question if I’m your daughter." Cybele intoned as she looked down at her own hands before looking back up at her mother. "I highly doubt it."

Saying that, she turned and left, leaving her mother to scream out her name.

Alas, she didn’t stop.

***

It appeared as a submarine forged of faded brass and infused with the Goddess’s blessings.

"Can you use it?" Alex asked with Ulysses nodding.

"Somewhat. Been training since it came to be."

"How long would it take for us to get back to Eventide?"

"Once we leave Cinerath, time won’t affect us any longer," Ana remarked.

"I don’t understand."

"The Goddess’s presence is the only reason time still exists in Cinerath. Unfortunately, that doesn’t extend to the ship. Her blessings on it only ensure that we aren’t corroded by subspace."

"So it would be like no time has passed at all?"

"More or less," Ulysses replied.

Alex nodded in satisfaction.

Having already spent a whole month as a raving idiot, he didn’t wish to waste any more time.

"Let’s go then, we don’t have all day."

With that, the trio boarded the submarine with Ulysses making his way to the control room to get started.

Meanwhile, Alex headed to the crew’s quarters to get some well-deserved rest while quickly discovering that the ship had a few automatons on board capable of carrying out the most basic of tasks.

Unlike Automatons that were transmogrified humans, these were actual machines, bearing a sharp resemblance to those machines on wheels that were a regular in a show involving light sabers and spaceships.

Shaking his head to get rid of the odd comparison, Alex finally arrived in the room and got some well-deserved rest.

It didn’t take long before he slept, dreaming once again of that space divided by darkness and light.

***

Adrian opened his eyes to find himself in a floating city covered by clouds.

It seemed forged from all kinds of precious stones with seven statues adorning a point on the wall surrounding the city.

These statues seemed alive, radiating an aura that could only belong to gods.

Adrian, however, was unaffected by this imposing aura as he made his way to the central building in the floating city.

Along the way, he came across strange entities that seemed to be residents of the floating city, though they moved a bit too quickly for him to make out their appearance.

Soon, he arrived at the central building at which point, a voice called out to him.

Come in.

Adrian walked up the stairs and pushed open the large doors, quickly finding himself standing before an imposing figure.

It was a Titan with seven faces, with multiple arms seemingly holding natural disasters, possessing several gigantic feathered wings at its back, and covered in lustrous silver armor.