No one wand ever looked the same, not even the Coreless ones.
Kai recognized it in an instant. It was his once, no doubt. He had sacrificed to Hastur. What was it doing with this monster? Had the Old One bestowed it upon him like he had given the Battleax to Andrik? And if HE had, then why? For what heinous purpose and for what cruel scheme?
Kai's eyes gawked at the wand, his body unresponsive to his tumultuous thoughts.
The Existence brought his hand forward, letting Kai inspect the wand. "This must not come as a shock to you," he said, smiling at Kai. "One can't just stumble upon HIM and back away with no repercussions, young man. We have served HIM for thousands of years, and We know beings like HIM could have no interest in you, no matter how special you may be in the eyes of the Deep Ones.
"When We got the revelation about you, it surprised Us. Not because of your strength, but because of your foolishness. We won't say sacrifice 'it' to HIM. No. What is yours, will stay yours, and thus, it must be you and you alone who get to decide what to do with 'it'. Such are the rules adhered to by all in the Primordial Tower. But... We must warn you. Nothing good has ever come from possessing a thing that THEY desire.
"Sharing even this same desire can turn one into a simpleton."
What is he talking about? Kai thought incredulously. What is 'it'? How is this anything relevant to the Coreless Wand and my sacrifice? Does he know about my Parseltongue?
No matter what angle Kai used to look at the things said by the possessor of the Rinnegan, he couldn't figure out what he was implying.
The Existence flicked his hand again, sending the Coreless Wand back to his Inventory. He looked away, the smile on his face vanishing. "Surely your eyes aren't suggesting that you haven't figured out what We are talking about, are they?" he asked. "The Book. Would you let me have a look at It?"
Kai's mind went blank. Some primal demon rose in his heart, erasing all thoughts. At this moment, he had only one direction to follow. No matter what, he must not take the Book out or even accept that he had it.
The Blood Demon had finally taken over.
The Will to Defy had claimed his mind; stronger than ever.
The Existence sensed something. He narrowed his eyes, furrowed his brows, and opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it.
"We were told that the Book thwarted HIS attempts of knowing its secrets," the horned being said, unsmiling. "For the Book to break contact with HIM by itself, it must have a living characteristic. We saw an immense Blood World in our revelation, but the Book shattered the world before HE could seep HIS Authorities into it. Is that Blood World, an essence of the Book? Or is it yours? I wonder... Speak. Have you forgotten how to speak?"
Yes, I have, Kai told himself. Now, he just hoped like all the disappeared figures, Selene wouldn't disappear upon letting her come out.
He was ready to sacrifice her now.
Contrary to his thoughts, the Existence suddenly laughed. "No need to be so nervous," he told Kai. "We must follow Chaos' laws if We want to live any longer too. According to the System's rules, We will trade the Book, of course, and the System will witness the trade itself. Would you like to hear what Our offer is?
"Knowledge We can give you if that is your obsession. We can open paths for you to trigger the most hidden of the Hidden Missions. Of the Origin of the Force, Magic, and the Otsutsuki Clan, We know enough too. We can help you in becoming a personal disciple of one of the Gotei 13.
"And if you desire women, then We can arrange that as well. There are Kingdoms, full of main-storyline female Characters, in the conquered timelines. How does that sound? You can have your pick. Not a terrible trade, right? Do you agree?"
No, I fucking don't! Kai's thoughts roared in his mind.
He just knew that the moment he agreed to it, he would lose the Book. Words were winds, Petyr had told him many times. All things seemed undeniably tempting to him, but when he considered that even an Old One desired the Tales of the Beedle the Bard, without even knowing what it was, then he would do all that he could to hold on to it.
Not to mention, now that he knew why the Blood World of his Blood Prophecy had shattered, preventing Hastur from infiltrating it, he couldn't help but see a ray of hope.
A ray of hope to stand against HIM.
The Existence didn't ask again. This trait was noticeable. He presented his words, his offers, and his questions, and if needed, he would repeat questions to clear doubts, but never did he urge or force Kai.
It almost felt to Kai that this creature didn't give a rat shit about anything.
With these thoughts giving him strength, Kai kept his mouth shut, his eyes open and defiant.
"As you wish," the Existence finally said, looking disappointed. "No good would come to you by holding onto that Book, let me assure you, young man."
A threat?! Now Kai laughed inwardly. All things that had tried to belittle or judge him had fueled his defiance. Come, then, you white piece of shit! Why not lift your Limbo or whatever, and we will see who's the demon here?
"We are here," the Existence said, stopping in front of an ordinary two-story building. "Come. We will deal with the last and the most important thing inside."
As the man stepped forward, the door opened by itself. They entered a corridor with stairs leading up to the upper floors. There was no sign of anyone here as well, and everything was gray, dark, and bleak.
Kai's body followed the man, heading for the stairs, and noting these details in the back of his mind.
And then they stepped down.
The sudden change of perspective took Kai by surprise, his mind reeling to perceive what had just happened. He had taken the first step on the stairs leading up, but now he was stepping down.
"Little tricks," the Existence said, without looking back. "Nothing to be surprised about."
Down, into the darkness, Kai could see a door lining itself up, marking the end of the stairs. Once again the door opened itself, and the Existence stepped in. As Kai stepped down the last stairs, his gaze landed on the top horizontal section of the door frame. Above it, carved into the wall, was a sign. Kai recognized it at one glance. By now, he had drawn it many times.
It was the Yellow Sign.
It clicked within Kai's mind that they had come to some hidden location of the Temple of Hastur, unknown even to Meg, as she had told him that there was only one Temple in this nation, belonging to Byagoona. Or her memory of it could've been locked as well, he reasoned.
Kai crossed the threshold with a calm heart and full of apprehensive thoughts, thinking what could be more important than an Old One lusting after his Item.
The moment he entered, his eyes landed on the same Yellow Sign carved on the full length of the pale yellow wall opposite him. The entire room glowed with a sickly yellow color, bringing a hue other than ash to this world for the first time. A mat, embroidered with the Yellow Sign at its center, was placed in the middle of the room, its patternless boundaries extending on all sides to let people sit without covering the Sign itself. A wardrobe, a mirror, covered under a yellow veil, and a bookshelf were there as well.
Kai noticed that this room had no other door or window, either.
"Shut the door behind you," the Existence said, turning around.
Kai's hand went for the door's handle and gently closed it, though he wondered why they needed to close the door when no one could see or hear them.
"THEY can," the Existence told Kai, "even if others can't. Precautions are necessary against THEIR gazes, as that's all one can do. Sit. We have little time left."
Kai's body went to one side of the mat, and sat down, with the man sitting down crossed-leg opposite him, keeping the Yellow Sign pattern in between them.
Suddenly, the Existence's expression changed. And utter horror claimed Kai's mind.
Pity. Yes, that's the word. Kai saw pity in that single, many-ringed purple eye.
"The prime thing We have left to discuss has three parts," the Existence told Kai. "A Tale, a Gift, and a Curse. We will start with the tale first —
"And you must not blame Us for what is about to happen, for HIS tattered robes have billowed and We must obey."
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