The grey fog in Sephirah Castle remained motionless. Klein's eyes scanned the lattice of fate threads, each one a filament of probability linking lives, events, and histories across the universe. They vibrated rhythmically, precisely, in the way he had observed for months since his awakening. Since the high-five with his niece, the threads had been steady. He had noted small fluctuations before, but nothing of consequence. Stability had returned.
Then he noticed one thread that did not align.
It shifted out of sync with causality. Actions had not yet occurred, but the thread bent toward its outcome as though it anticipated them. Klein focused, isolating the thread from its surroundings. Its pulse was faint but consistent, distinct from nearby threads. He recalculated using every method available: pattern matching, historical variance analysis, probability weighting. The result was the same. This thread operated differently.
It was not influenced by Outer Deity activity, It was not residual Sefirah resonance, It was not a normal fluctuation of human events. Klein identified it as a fixed point — a single conscious anchor embedded in the lattice.
He leaned back, fingers brushing the edge of his coat. The castle itself showed no sign of disturbance. The grey fog and threads were unchanged, except for this anomaly. Its existence — deliberate, patient, and consistent with foresight.
Klein compared the thread against historical data he had retained for decades. Nothing matched. No fluctuation in the past, no pattern of Beyonder or Great Old One activity, no recorded dream-layer anchoring could produce this. The thread resisted measurement in predictable terms.
A single conclusion emerged: the thread was not natural.
It is an observer.
For the first time in months, Klein felt his analytical curiosity spike. He had controlled nearly every variable since awakening through the lord of Mysteries possible extent.He did not act. Not yet. He catalogued, recorded, and observed almost like Mr Door once had. One small deviation, he knew, could indicate structural interference on a scale far beyond ordinary perception.
Something exists here that should not exist in this Beyonder system.
1362
Dear Mr. Azik,
During routine observation of the Castle's fate threads, I have identified a deviation that does not conform to any known pattern. A single thread appears to operate independently of causality, anticipating events before they occur. I have verified that this is not the result of Outer Deity activity, Sefirah resonance, or standard probability fluctuations.
Preliminary analysis suggests the thread is anchored by a conscious entity external to our established frameworks. Its persistence and resistance to measurement indicate deliberate observation rather than incidental variation.
I may be away for a period of time. Please watch over my family in my absence.
Yours sincerely,
Klein Moretti
The Castle's lattice extended like a web, its threads suspended in stillness, yet one line vibrated differently — the deviation he had reported to Azik.
He probed it carefully, nudging adjacent threads to test the anomaly's response. Every attempt to influence it was met with resistance: a subtle correction that returned it to its prior alignment, as if the observer anticipated every minor disturbance. Klein's eyes narrowed.
The fog thickened perceptually around the thread. He expanded his awareness, treating it as both location and entity. The anomaly remained stable, unmoving, and yet undeniably present. Klein catalogued the micro-oscillations, the way it seemed to "fold" around probability, the exact rhythm of its anticipation.
It was not an Outer Deity. It was not a Beyonder. It was a fixed presence, intelligent and deliberate, a singular point resisting the natural flow of causality.
He allowed himself a brief reflection on the letter he had sent. Azik would respond in time, but Klein could not wait. The anomaly existed now, outside normal systems, and any delay increased risk of interference.
The grey fog thickened, the mist bending faintly around his shifting awareness. For a moment, the castle seemed static, and yet everything moved from the use of Door pathways uniqueness. Klein aligned fully with the thread, he realized the observer was more than a thread. It was a consciousness anchored outside the Castle, outside known systems, and entirely aware of him however, the feeling was not whole.
Klein exhaled slowly, letting his awareness detach slightly from his body while remaining anchored to the Castle. He folded the lattice around the anomalous thread like a carefully prepared map, tracing its path through probability and causality. His perception shifted first, then his consciousness, sliding along the thread's anchor point as if stepping into a corridor built of possibilities rather than matter.
The grey fog thickened perceptually, dense but unyielding.
Threads stretched and bent subtly around him, registering the movement of a singular presence. Klein's senses detected the faintest irregularities: a micro-resonance in the lattice, a shadow of probability folding where none should, a pulse that moved not with time, but ahead of it.
He halted briefly, cataloguing each oscillation. The anomaly was no longer a thread alone.Klein adjusted his alignment carefully, moving with precision along the lattice. He could feel the observer's influence in the tiniest deviations of adjacent threads. Not aggression, not intervention — only presence, deliberate and anticipatory.
A subtle thought passed through him: This is not the grey fog. A subway train from the modern era. This is outside even the systems I control. Klein continued forward, each step a careful adjustment of thread alignment and probability weighting.He did not know what he would find, only that the anomaly awaited, and that waiting itself carried intent.
"Though the aura being emitted was solemn, it shimmered in ways that no thread, no Sefirah, and no Beyonder had ever displayed.