Sequence 0 is the pinnacle of an individual Sequence Pathway, and once a Beyonder reaches that level, "They", in a sense, become a True Deity and have complete Authority over that Pathway.
As the "Sequence 0" of the Fool Pathway, Otto Apocalypse has the Authority to Fool, History, Time, Fate, Change, Concealment, and the Mind.
Within this dream...Otto is not a True God, but instead a simulated replication of the Powers and Authorities "The Fool" would have.
Like how players would act as their in-game characters or how people would dress up in their favorite costumes during Halloween, Otto was merely acting as the Fool.
Faced with the "Fool", Luna waved her hand as a pool of blood extended till the point it reached where the horizon stretched. Hundreds of thousands of crimson skeletons started to rise from the ocean of blood, armed with weapons and armor from the medieval age.
Even with a hundred thousand minions surrounding Otto, her body couldn't stop sweating and shaking as her body's instinct reacted to how much Power was compacted into his existence.
Nevertheless, Luna pointed her blood-crafted spear and shouted, "Charge! Whoever brings him to me gets a 1-month vacation."
The army stood silent, hearing her words, but followed her command and charged forward, all for their Queen.
Seeing the crimson tide rushing onto "His" position from all directions, Otto used "His" Authority to fool History, turning when "He" jumped to shoot down the giant as the Present, and making his grounded state the Past.
This caused his position to teleport into the air, leaving behind an afterimage made out of gray fog.
Faced with her target floating in the air, Luna made her next command, "Switch to Anti-Air Artillery! Do not worry about friendly fire, as I shall bear the responsibility."
Bows, catapults, balistas, cannons, guns, rocket launchers, and javelins were provided to the army. They all aimed their shots while waiting for the command from their Queen.
Luna held up her hand and made a gesture of slamming down her hand at the direction of "His" figure.
A giant blood-stained cloud emerged above "His" head, and within the next second, blood started to condense into a sharpened point. A giant spear made of crimson started to descend below onto Otto's head.
"La Sangramyniad!"
That was the command that her army was waiting for as thousands of projectiles started to burst toward the hooded Otto, but faced with such opposition..."He" could only let out a light smile.
Using the ancient mirror grasped in "His" hands, Otto asked within a split second,
"Oh, my beautiful Arrodes...Would there be any lasting consequences for my next attack?"
Although it was only a replica, a shroud of fog was layered onto its clear surface, but it soon lifted and answered with the words "No" on its reflection.
"Great! What a beautiful trend!"
Otto flicked his fingers toward the incoming behemoth of the spear and Fooled the environment to Graft several concepts onto the landscape.
Gravity started to grow extremely heavy, the temperature rose to bizarre levels of intensity, the surrounding heat started to combust, and multiple atoms of light were fusing by nuclear fusion.
An explosive burning orb engulfed the entire area as it blazed into the sky...The environment of a star was conceptualized in this dream.
The hundred thousand arrows, bullets, cannon balls, and bastilla shots were burned to a crisp, and along with that, the crimson army was reduced to nothing but ash.
Reacting with her instincts, the fallen remnants of her army and their weapons started to flow towards her in a massive tsunami of blood. Even faced with the intense heat of the star, the crimson liquid held its ground and wrapped around Luna, submerging her into a red cocoon.
It started to burst as a red blur launched itself towards the flying Fool...Luna, armed with a spear and bloody armor flowing around, blitzes into the air, directly lunging the lance into "His" heart.
"Parry this!" Luna screamed with gleeful joy.
The transparent spiritual tendrils from the bottom of Otto's cloak pointed at the approaching crimson meteor like revolvers.
Using the Grafted star, Otto exploded it into a Supernova with a simulated, unimaginable sea of scorching heat and light engulfed the entire dream.
Both Otto and Luna were dosed with the flames and explosions from a burning star. Even with the burning sensation filling her senses..Luna couldn't help but laugh manically.
This was the most fun she ever had...The once cold and crimson nightmare was turned into a dream filled with starlight...She closed her eyes in bliss and said,
"Being with you forever would be the perfect dream..."
That was her last sentence as the mindscape disappeared and shattered into shards of dazzling light.
...
"Hmm...Why am I still here? Did my make-believe Authority somehow Fooled reality into making me stay here?"
Otto questioned as he drafted aimlessly in a pitch black void. The faint sensation of being unable to control the movements of his body sent a shiver down his spine.
"Black Holes, my sworn enemy. If I am stuck in again...I might just blow myself up this."
Otto let out a sigh before calling out, "You can come out now! I know it's you...I am still in Luna's dream, aren't I? Or what's left of it."
A familiar screen soon popped up in front of Otto's eyes with the following words.
[Ah! How did you know? Is because We gotten closer to you, dear host!]
"As much as I love hearing you talk like a Pretty Miss Pink Elf...There's a reason why you're here, isn't that right? What Pathway did I get this time? I wasn't even trying to achieve one...Can't this old fossil hang out with his adopted kid in a creative mode brawl?"
[We won't judge your preferences on what you define as a brawl, since blasting the entire Dream with a Supernova was the most entertainment We ever had!]
[You're quietly compatible with the Error Pathway...You should start wearing that Monocle I gave you, it's such a waste to have it only be in your pockets.]
[Since you already know why We are here, why don't you guess the Pathway you got?... It'll be more interesting.]
"It's Condenser. The Pathway revolves around the fundamental forces of the Universe...I created a star and fulfilled the symbolic action. Even a False Star within a dream is still a star."
It was another one of the ten Pathways introduced in Book 2 of LOTM. Otto remembered the time he spun for another Pathway where the Chaos Mist appeared on the wheel.
He started to note to himself that maybe in the future, more Non-Standard Pathways were going to pop up like cabbages for him to collect.
[You're no fun! Just for that... No more exploiting in dreams!]
"Of course you'll do that...You always make my life harder by removing exploits, I can do nothing but mourn for my lost comrades. If you're gonna keep restricting my Errors, can't you at least tell me your name?"
[Hahahahahahha! Why would We tell you that...You're nothing more than just entertainment...But a very interesting proposal. Tell your reasons, and We might do so.]
"Sure... I know, I am just an actor on a stage while you're the viewer, like a puppet on a string, but...Can't I get to know you more?
Can't I know about the one who has my life in their hands...If you're going to show up this often, can I at least get your name...I can't keep calling you System since it's quite rude. I want to try to connect with you since...You're the one who's gonna be stuck with me.
You want to cause chaos in this wretched story and be entertained. While I want to live the life how I want...To transcend Finality and see tomorrow.
If you're gonna control me, at least make it interesting theatrically. If you're gonna kill me one day, at least show me your pretty face. If the day comes, I'll make you regret killing your only puppet.
Since I am currently your only piece of entertainment that brings you joy in this Universe, the only one who could bring elation in this boring, dull window of yours? Isn't that right?
Can you accept such an outcome of being bored out of your mind till the day you decay? So let's use each other till the very end, my dearest partner!"
As Otto... No, Lin finished his words, a sudden, soul-crushing pressure started to pin him down in this dreamscape's void.
Even with such sudden pain, he smiled lightly and looked at the still screen, waiting for their response.
...
[Angelica, that's my name. If you ever do reach the point of getting a glimpse of my face.]
I̵̡̨͙͔̓͛̽͂͆'̵̧̊̐̏̇͝͠l̶̩͉̝̟̟̀͗͛̌́̃̒l̸̡̗̫̭̘͇̽̌̓͒̇̉̕ͅ ̷̳͆͐̾̽̉̓̕k̸͚̩͕̰̦̂͛̓ẹ̴̛̭̾̇͆͒͆͌͜ḙ̶̦̱͇͚̩̯̾p̷̬̹̹̥̺͍͂̎̍̚͝ ̷͔̿̈y̸̹͉̖͚̝͐o̶̮̯̹̭̯͆͐̃u̶̞̜̩̳̖̥̤̿̋́̐̚͘ ̶͉̣͕͖͎̜͂f̷̛͉̹̙́̇̈́̎̿ơ̸̧̩̥̿̅͘͝r̵̲̤̯̼̜͐̇͘͝͝ͅe̸̦̖̫̫̥͕̗͌̑͑̂v̵̢̭͖̕e̸̦̅̓͛͒r̴̮͓͙͇̺̩̫̔̾̋͘ ̶̨̙̲͠t̵̲̯̂͛͛͑̅i̷̫̣͌̔̈͂͂̀̕ļ̶̎̍̿͊̀̽͠ļ̷̨̲̩͕͗̍͊͒͠ ̵̱͙͚̎͐̐̑̕ţ̶̳̥͍̜̻̏̊͜͝ẖ̷͉͙͐͋̒̿̉é̵̤͇̙̃̋̎̀͠ ̵̨̗̗̜̰̣̈́̋̉̐̌̄͝d̵̻̀̃͆̆͝a̸͎̤͍͈̹̰̓͌͊̊̎͑y̶͚̰͔̠̞̻̣̽͐̏͒́ ̵̦̿̿w̴̮̄̔̀̍̎͠ē̸͔̫̘̙̪̲̹̒̇̏ ̸͎̘̣͉̮͒̃̋͌b̷̼̖̝̗̦̩̔̾o̶̢̙͙̭̻̘̽͋̈́̒̈́̆t̸̢̲̥̜͕̜̽h̸̼̻̲̹̟̔̿͒͛ ̴͖͖̘̱̟̫̳̂͂d̴̢̛̟̥̟͎̖̋͆̈́͑̓͝į̶̺̤̟̪̯̹́͌̕͝ȩ̵̣͔͉̱̣͐̽̆͛̍̅͘,!̵̼͖̼̞́̔ ̷̨̼̣̫̖́͝
'Hahahaha! The f*ck is that supposed to imply!' Lin lampooned in his mind as the sudden force gripping his body started to subside.
"At least we have something in common! We despised being alone, so let's be Fools together, Angelica!"
Otto's mouth immediately shut itself as another screen took the place of its distorted brethren.
[Sequence 9, Astronomy Aficionado of the Condenser Pathway is automatically being given to you to shut you up for ruining the moment]
[We hope you have a fruitful endeavor in becoming the "Tyrant of the Stars." A future where you put the Star of Eden to shame...We hope to see you next time, Mr. Protect All that is Beautiful.]
Otto couldn't even get a single word out of his mouth as his vision suddenly changed. The familiar sensation of his Spirit burning started to wriggle deep in his chest. The feeling started to spread until it reached his eyes.
His pupils started to dilate as they were filled to the brim with radiance and light. The pitch black void of the destroyed dream began to crowd with thousands of points of glimmer.
The entire cosmos was within his sight, stars burning brighter than before, and their light engulfing his body till the very end. Their color varied from red, blue, green, pink, black, and yellow, creating a scene out of a painting
Darkness returned as his eyelids started to grow heavier, and the starry heat engulfed his entire being until the very end.
After moments of the sensation of being burned by thousands of stars, one last scene pierced his sight.
A purplish cocoon sitting on the cracked edges of reality soon stared at his floating figure with "Its" stellar diamond eye. "Its" pupil twitching as it locked onto Otto and stared with only one single emotion.
...Longing.
...
Otto felt his senses return after departing from the dream, and what came back was the familiar sensation of his brain being pierced by an ice pick!
His fingers instinctively shoot onto his forehead, caressing it to soothe the agonising pain.
'Ugh, my head...Angelica! You god damn f*cking cheapstake. I knew taking two Sequence Potions would led to something horrible but by the Aeons I rather be sucked dry into an husk of a corpse by a Vampire than rather experincing that again.
Speaking of Aeons...Was that the Cocoon of Finality? That's kinda bad, getting the attention of the Embodiment of the Honkai and the one True Herrscher Core, but coming from "Their" angle, I am just a little ant, please leave me alone...Go bother Kiana.
Likely, "They" won't do anything but only watch me...That's a scary thought, being watched by an Aeon Class Entity.
The only two reasons I can think of why this happened are...Angelica pulled an Aha Funny Moment and thought it would be funny to do so, or sensed the amount of Potions that were shoved in my body, and took a glance at me.
It's a shame that Divination wouldn't work. The Cocoon of Finality was way too powerful, even with Sefirot Castle...The Gap was like akin to a Level 1 Goon to a Level 100 Mafia Boss.'
His thoughts were shaken from their course as firm hands started to shake his shoulders.
"Gramps! Are you okay? You were lying on the floor when I woke up...Is this some sort of retribution since you blew both of us up like fireworks!" A childish voice wailed at him.
Otto opened his eyes to the sight of Luna trying to wake him up with her small hands. His fingers quickly shifted to flick her forehead.
"What was that for? Couldn't you be more gentle?" She crossed her arms with a pout.
"I could have, but that wouldn't have made you quicker to stop shaking me...Are you this loud during the mornings?" He said while rubbing his forehead.
"I was just worried...If something were to happen to you, I would kill everyone on this island and then myself."
Hearing this, Otto started to lightly chuckle, "I am touched by your words, but realistically speaking, that will never happen since I am a man who's avoided Death's touch for as long as I can remember. So don't worry about me and focus on yourself for a bit."
"...Hmph. Can you at least give me some compensation for worrying about me?"
"Ha, your appetite truly hasn't changed."
Luna couldn't even take the time to reply as his blood-warming fingers were shoved into her mouth.
Her face had the expression of screaming out, 'Really!', but she didn't complain and started to drink the delicious warmth straight out of his fingers.
Otto winced at the sudden sharp pain, but feeling that it balanced out his fading throbbing headache, he only let out a shaken breath.
"Say, Luna...If you had recurring nightmares, did that Lady have any dialogue?"
The little Vampire detached from Otto's fingers and licked her crimson-stained lips before replying with an angst-filled tone,
"Dreams are meant to symbolize something, right? Well, I think she's like my trauma with the Church...When I tried breaking out with Kallen, she killed her by piercing her heart.
After that incident, she transferred me to that old guy because I wasn't as interesting as before, then said some cryptic words of 'Watching me' Forever...If I ever get the chance to meet her, I am going to beat her till she's at her inch of her life."
"I'll help you with that if need be, but did you sense something was off in that nightmare of yours...Wasn't she too lively and had some very unsettling words? Like wanting to conceive a child with me...I am pretty sure children don't have sort choice of words in a nightmare."
Luna blushed at his words but soon regained her posture and said, "...You don't mean."
"...It's possible she's been watching you through your nightmares."
An aura of blood started to ooze from Luna's body as she heard his words,
"I am gonna kill her!"
...
In a distant and rural town filled with people running and going to meet ends meet. A lady with lush blonde hair, wearing an elegant white dress and blouse, walked along the path feeling the crisp light dance atop her skin.
Her crimson eyes glanced at the variety of flowers spreading their petals to bask in the warm light. She moved her to her destination, where the flowers stood at a small but cozy stand.
A gaunt young man dressed like a botanist soon noticed her in surprise and quickly welcomed her with a slightly flustered face.
"Miss Emily, I didn't expect you to come this early. I have the roses you ordered right here." He reached for one of the pots on the upper layers of the stand and placed it down right in front of her.
Her hands went to caressess the thorns poking out from its stem. It left enough of a mark to make her bleed crimson red.
"Miss Emily, this is the fifth time you've done this...My conscious can't handle you seeing you harm yourself for this pot of flowers."
"Ah! How sweet of you, but I was testing it's...Thirst. Its appearance is as beautiful as the one who made it, sweetie."
The young gardener started to blush hearing her words, "Since you're leaving you can take them...It's on the house since you're leaving. May I ask where you're going?"
"It's nothing special...Just leaving for my new job, Schicksal is quite a long way, but the pay is good."
"You're becoming an Idol?" His face changed into one of shock,
"Indeed...It also brings me the chance to meet my beloved."
'Lucky Bastard.' The young man sighed in his head, hiding his disappointment, but his curiosity got to him, and he asked, "What are they like?"
Her hands clapped together and with a voice dripping with mocking love, she said, "The type of lover to rapid fire several bullets into my heart to kill me."