The White Serpent Pirates' HQ
Kai and Black sat side by side on high-back thrones, eying the servants with a contemplative gaze.
Meg, Spawn, Moraine, and Cersei were heatedly discussing among themselves, signs of worry settling on their faces now and then.
Orochimaru, Rintaro, and Mayuri were nowhere to be seen.
Petyr and Red Sun sat on one side, staring at the ceiling.
-It's like someone died…- Black hissed humorously. -Look at their faces going white.-
-You can't blame them,- Kai hissed back, smiling. -If things went even an inch wrong, we both would lose our existences… for all sense and purposes.-
-Can't count on Dad this time, too,- Black joked.
That brought out a chuckle from Kai. -Indeed.-
"Enough!" Meg snapped, walking away from the rest of them. She walked to the stairs leading to Kai and Black and bent her knee. "Your Majesty. Please rethink this. Death and Timeline are hiding something from you still."
Black eyed his subject with amusement. "That's obvious…"
Meg looked up in shock. "Then why…"
Kai stood up, making everyone straighten their spines.
"To put it mildly," he said, stepping down the stairs slowly, his yellow cloak brushing against the marbled steps. "I don't have the confidence to come out of this Mission unscathed."
For the first time, Red Sun's jaw dropped.
In his mind, if even this monster didn't have confidence, then no one would ever have it, either.
"NO! STAY!!" Red Sun shouted, already worrying about his ladder to the top disappearing in the coming months. "I WILL…"
Kai shut his mouth with Telekinesis and continued descending, his gaze curious.
"In saying, Fate is just another Bubble," he told them. "But, if we were to put Harry Potter Random World next to the Fate Random World, it would be like putting a grain of rice next to the Earth."
Silence.
After offering to be his vanguard in the conquest of timelines, They had shared some striking info with Kai that made him accept Their proposal. Info that They had gathered from Contestants in millions of years of history.
Even Meg, a fallen 13th Floor Contestant, wasn't privy to these details.
All she knew was that going to the Fate Random World below the 12th floor was like putting the grandest Kill Order on oneself.
She had utter confidence in Kai's abilities, but… It would have been best if he were to attempt it at least after completing the current Main Mission.
To hear him speak that he had no confidence only amplified her worries.
"That shouldn't be enough to make your confidence waver, my lord," Petyr remarked. "Death and Timeline must have told you something truly extraordinary…"
"Over 50…" Kai said, cutting off Petyr.
Huh?! They all looked at him, puzzled. What over 50?
Kai smiled. "That's the number of Deep Ones in the Fate Random World…"
Petyr and Red Sun slowly stood up.
The girls lost all color on their faces.
Silver mist oozed out from Kai as Selenes took shape, looking at him with a gobsmacked expression.
"You…" Meg stood up, stumbling back. "… can't be serious…"
Kai neared Meg and put a lock of stray hair behind her ear. "I am."
The Fate Bubble was governed by scores of Deep Ones, each sharing Pillars, Mirrors, and Keys among themselves.
In saying, all Bubbles had the same number of timelines — i.e., Infinite.
But, the Reality of Nothing, as Death had put it, was so contorted within the Fate Bubble that even some Keys felt like Pillars, having their own Mirrors and Keys.
"There's no way Death alone can contend against so many Deep Ones," Kai said, coming to a stop between them. "So, I will need to be very specific. Very, very specific."
"You will be hiding your… true nature from the Timeline there?" Petyr asked, mentioning the matter of Nyarlathotep.
"Yes…" Kai chuckled. "At least for a time. Releasing my mysteries there would be announcing myself to all Deep Ones simultaneously. The good thing is — I don't need something extraordinary. All I need is a Key Timeline."
All I need is a Key Timeline… The words repeated themselves in their minds, making their mouths twitch.
When did their Master begin talking about Timelines like they were just another Items?!
"I might get late…" Kai suddenly said. "It's better to take some precautions… We can't have Herpo the Foul sense something odd…"
Kai turned around, putting on Darcie's face, his body morphing.
Darcie, wearing a simple green gown, stood under the flight of stairs and looked up at Black. "Uncle Black, in the name of Darcie Lucius Malfoy, I swear to become your unconditional, loyal follower — until you decide otherwise."
Sitting on his throne, Black smiled as a dull-gray notification appeared in his eyes.
…
[
Congratulations Contestant Kai D. Stormborn
You have achieved a Title
Title: Dimensional Leader
Specification: Make 3 main-storyline Characters follow you voluntarily and unconditionally
Status: (3/3)
Effect:
— Correspondence +5
— Worth +15
— Charisma +25
— Skill: Dimensional Summoning
Warning: If a follower voluntarily leaves your service, then the Title's Status will drop, making the Skill inaccessible
…
Skill: Dimensional Summoning
Grade: C+
Specification: Summon Projection of a Follower across Dimensions
Requirement:
— A leader-related Title
— Correspondence >30
— Magical Aptitude
Attributes:
— Mana Consumption: 350 MP
— Assign Temporary Stats to Projection
— Cooldown: 60 minutes
Effect:
— The Projection will have a Mana Pool of 300 MP
— Once the Mana Pool depletes, the Projection will disappear
— The Projection can follow simple commands and can use their original body's abilities, using the Mana Pool
WARNING:
— The Mana Pool will deplete over time even if the Projection does nothing
— Only one Projection can be summoned within a timeline, given the same projection hasn't been summoned in a different timeline
]
…
Black nodded as he saw the Skill and lifted his hand.
Suddenly, the space between Darcie and the others rippled, and a girl walked out, her figure fading in and out.
She was Arya Stark — A Faceless!
Black sent a mental command to her.
Arya Stark's face snapped toward Darcie.
In the very next moment, she became Darcie Malfoy, both smiling at each other.
Kai put away Darcie's face and planted the Darcie Echo inside the Faceless.
In this way, even if he didn't come back in time for the next term, Darcie could keep up an appearance outside without raising questions.
Kai looked at everyone, then.
Black blurred and appeared next to him as well.
"If we don't come back," Black said, smiling, "then kill yourself."
"Haha…" Red Sun laughed, his face paling even more. "Good one! … right?"
Kai and Black let out a laugh, a blue vortex appearing in front of them.
It was time to attempt the most dangerous Mission — To Conquer a Timeline!
*********************
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