The Fool

The story begins with a couple of investigators arriving in the Antigonus family manor, where they found 2 dead bodies, ruled as suicides. There are traces of dark rituals that have taken place, and a possible third victim named Klein Moretti, a family friend of the victim, but his body is missing. The investigators said Klein Moretti is a poor orphan who recently graduated from Hoy University, has one younger sister, and is a good friend of the Antigonus family. They need to find him because the Antigonus family notebook and the severity of the ritual implies a Beyonder might have been sacrificed, given the degree of destruction.

"Klein!" A young man wakes up horrified by the call. He immediately realizes he has been transmigrated and sees in real time his gunshot wound to the head closing. Around him is wreckage — broken mirror, blood-stained walls, and a notebook with a bloody handprint. He is Zhou Mingrui in soul, waking up in the body of Klein Moretti. The last thing he remembered as an overworked salaryman was performing a luck-enhancing ritual before passing out. Now, in true pragmatic fashion, he starts figuring out his situation by reading the bloody notebook.

The notebook helps him piece together what happened, since it's Klein's journal of research into dark rituals, possibly the same one that caused his and his friends' suicide. However, it doesn't help him much: the entries mention deciphering ancient text tied to the Black Emperor and chillingly: "Everyone must die, including me." He also finds an ornate revolver, impractical but valuable-looking. He cleans it and counts the bullets (the novel says six bullets total).

His discovery is cut short by a knock. A soft female voice calls: "Klein!" He hurriedly hides the bloodstains with a towel before letting her in. She is Melissa Moretti, Klein's younger sister who still studies at university. She scolds him for working overnight again and points out he's living in a bathroom-turned-bedroom. Before leaving, she gives him bread as breakfast and asks him to buy groceries (bread, lamb, and peas).

On his way out, Klein notices someone following him and ducks into a tarot tent. In typical Chinese transmigrator logic, he asks twice if the service is free before sitting. The fortune-teller draws "The Fool," symbolizing new beginnings. Suddenly, the real fortune-teller storms in and scolds the impostor (calling her "breast-tammer swindler"). The fake flees, declaring her reading was actually accurate. Klein later returns safely, confirmed by the kindly old bread seller.

He then tries another luck ritual with the bread, hoping to return to modern China. Instead, he's transported into a mysterious divine space, later called the Grey Fog. Here, two other figures appear: a shady-looking man and a naïve noble lady, both seemingly pulled in by Klein. Realizing he can manipulate the Grey Fog, he takes the alias "The Fool."

The young lady asks how to become a Beyonder. Klein deflects to the man, who reveals she could join certain secret organizations (which sound like cults). She rejects them, valuing her freedom. He then says he has a potion — two of the Sequence 9 level. We learn Beyonders have different Sequences (levels of power). Realizing they are from faraway regions (north vs. south of the continent), they are shocked to meet in this shared Grey Fog. Before leaving, they agree to continue weekly meetings at 3 PM on Mondays. The young lady picks "Justice" as her alias, and the man picks "The Hanged Man."

Klein is interrupted again by a knock, this time from a police investigator — the handsome, dangerous long-haired man who stalked him earlier. This is Captain Dunn Smith's subordinate, Leonard Mitchell. Realizing they are dangerous, Klein decides honesty is safer. He says he remembers shooting himself in the head but doesn't know why he survived, and he voluntarily gives up the revolver's location. Leonard also finds the bloody notebook and questions the cryptic line "Everyone must die, including me." Klein insists he doesn't understand it.

They say he must be taken to a psychic for examination. Klein worries they might discover his transmigrator status but agrees on the surface while plotting escape.

On the way to the carriage, chaos erupts as a boy steals bread. Klein takes the chance to run but is caught. He then finds himself in a dream state — a psychic woman is probing his subconscious. She only sees Klein's memories, not Zhou Mingrui's. Forced to relive the events, Klein recalls pulling the trigger on himself, which shocks everyone.

The psychic concludes Klein might be innocent, but there is an unknown dangerous power in him. Another officer appears — short-haired, calm but extremely dangerous: Dunn Smith, captain of Tingen City's Nighthawks. He warns Klein that they cannot protect him forever but also offers him a choice: to join them.

Cue the dramatic ending.

And the existential crisis if I have enough brain juice to continue to episode 2. -author's note