Wednesday, 17 June 1986
Kai cleared away the last traces of the ritual after sending back the mass-produced daggers to Meg and Spawn.
This way, they wouldn't have to worry about being short of sacrificial Items for contacting him. The only issue was that Kai couldn't use his minor-epithets to reach them from his end and had to use Hastur's epithets instead.
I wish I didn't have to go such a roundabout way to contact them, Kai thought, putting back the half-melted candle. Hmm, a place where we can gather and discuss in person...
Kai didn't dwell on this thought too much. His mind was stuffed with more important things right now. Darcie had only spent 4 hours in the last two days in the library. It wasn't nearly enough for Kai to read even all the books on the SCHOOL shelf, but more than enough for him to remember the contents of one of them.
Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling, Kai remembered the name, his eyes squinting. It had been hard to stay away from the rest of the books, but it wasn't in his nature to just dive into the magic without knowing the theory behind it if he could learn it.
This won't do, Kai reflected. I must spend as much time as possible in the library.
But first, he needed to tackle an even more drastic thing.
Kai took out the Book and used the Primordial Theater to call out Rintaro Okabe.
After his breakdown during the last Identity Period, Kai had ordered the insane scientist to think of a solution to his problem. He couldn't think about these things while acting as Darcie, so the responsibility fell on his soulless characters.
Rintaro Okabe walked out of the smoky veil, wearing his long lab coat, and holding the usual black-red flip mobile to his ear. At Kai's sight, he put the mobile back into his pocket, and then threw his head back, his mouth opening like a maw.
He was going to let out a roaring laugh, it seemed.
Kai lunged like a beast, wrapping his hand around his mouth.
"Mmm!" Okabe's muffled groans and saliva wetted Kai's hand, and he flail his hands, making obscene gestures.
"Shut up!" Kai whispered in Okabe's ears with gritted teeth. "Or I will never call you out."
That quietened the Character, and Kai let him go. He sat down on the floor, his back leaning against the cool bathroom wall, and looked up at Okabe.
The insane scientist crouched, sat down on his haunches facing him, and laughed, but no sound came out. "I have mastered the problem that could annihilate this universe," he proclaimed. "The solution is the key to heaven. Even the organization can't do anything about it now. Hehehe!"
"What is it?" Kai said, vividly aware of the mirror hanging above him, like a sword about to behead him.
"Cough!" Okabe's face gained a red color, and he sat beside Kai on the floor as well. "Mr. Storm, I think we can consider your situation as an exceptional case of Dissociative Identity Disorder. It's not entirely the same, but it's the one that suits you the best. Now, I am not a specialist in this field, but I have read a few cases, and based on them, I can say that you need extensive psychotherapy."
Kai brooded over the comparison and nodded.
"I have a recommendation," Okabe continued. "As it's obvious that you don't have the luxury for the optimum treatment, you must do it by yourself. How about keeping a journal?"
"A journal?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow.
Okabe grunted confidently. "Yes," he answered. "You must make yourself believe that all that is going on outside the Identity Period is nothing but an experiment and Darcie Malfoy is a test subject. Nothing more.
"Then, in these 3 hours, you must write a summary of events in between the two Identity Periods and must focus on Darcie's decisions, her reasoning, and how she came up with those results. But you must couple it with questions from Kai Stormborn.
"You must think and write about what you would have done and how you would have tackled that situation if you were in her place. Yes, you would feel tremendous resistance from your psych while doing so, but it would also let you know if you are progressing with the matter of Facelessness or not.
"When the day comes that you don't feel any resistance while comparing Darcie Malfoy and Kai Stormborn, you will already be a Faceless man."
Kai's breath was ragged, but he didn't jump to any conclusion or action.
He closed his eyes, and for the next hour, thought deeply about this method. He would never take such a grave risk based on the reasoning given to him by the Book's characters.
Yet, after thinking about it from all angles, Kai had to agree with Okabe. This was the most suitable solution. Not only because of the feasibility but also because of the clear sign of Facelessness.
"How long will it take?" Kai asked, hitting the hammer on the main issue.
Okabe shrugged. "The cases that I read varied from 7-10 years," he told Kai. "But they were ordinary people, Mr. Storm. You are different. Even if we are to take the absurdness and supernaturalness of your case into account, it shouldn't take you over 3-4 years in the best-case scenario and 5 in the worst. I must add that there are chances of failure..."
Kai cut him off. "I am not afraid of failures," he said, permitting himself a smile. "If it works, it works. Otherwise, I will think of something else."
Okabe nodded. "And if nothing works," he added, "then you can cry on my shoulders, Mr. Storm."
Kai threw a disgusted look at him. "Go back!" he snapped. "One day I will just..."
But the Character had already vanished, smiling ear to ear.
Kai shook his head, calmed himself down, and then took a black-covered notebook and a pen out of his MRB. He knew he would do experiments in the Harry Potter Random World, so he had stored many miscellaneous things there. He put the notebook in his lap, opened it to the first page, and paused before putting the pen's nib on the crisp paper.
Experimental Log - #1
Date: 6 June 1986 to 17 June 1986
— Darcie woke up with a splitting headache...
It felt like Kai wasn't writing on paper but on concrete, a threat of breaking the pen's nib looming over him all the time. Yet, he kept going on. He must.
This was the price he must pay for the power. He wasn't worried about failure, but failure wasn't an option, to begin with.
Not when his mind was at the stake.
Darcie snapped the book shut for the third time.
Its title — The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, glistened silver over brown.
By now, she had gone through Magical Theory, A History of Magic, and this book many times. But only the last one made her feel like she had read it before in unknown dreams. Every word of this book was at the tip of her tongue, and her astute memory and remembering capabilities had even shocked her.
"Already done?" a voice came from her side.
Darcie looked over and saw Daphne staring back at her with a shocked expression, the book of Magical Theory lying open on the table in front of her.
They were in the suitcase now. Though her father had told her not to talk about it to anyone, he had allowed Daphne because she was the only one who was on talking terms with Darcie, or who could stay in her presence without feeling utterly useless.
Darcie nodded. "I still don't understand how a wand works, though," she told her. "I know the spells, the movements of the wand, but what is the purpose?"
Daphne replied with the same stunned look on her face.
Darcie took a deep breath, closed her eyes and concentrated, the soothing surroundings of the library helping her. She held out her hand, uncurled her fingers, and thought.
Specific. The word echoed in her mind. She must know what she wants. There was no place of doubt. Focus, and then focus more. An image appeared in her mind, slowly but surely.
Now Belief, she told herself. She must believe wholly in her imagination. She did not lack specificity. Not now. She was already done with that part.
At last, Intention. She intended for her imagination to become reality. To the most precise degree.
Magic churned around her. She could feel it. It flowed, gathering at the tips of her fingers like a waterfall into the earth's pit, and a burning sensation hit her nerves.
From her side, Daphne drew a gasp.
Darcie opened her eyes and saw the outcome of her creation. Her magic.
Five points of tiny white lights were flickering at the tip of her fingers like five stars. They flashed, blurred, and then vanished, leaving behind a burning redness on her skin.
Darcie looked at Daphne and said, "It's just... too easy."
Only Daphne was the one who would never relate these words to arrogance. Because Darcie Malfoy was too composed and calm for such things.
And if she said this was easy, then that was that.
-------- Vol 9 - Harry Potter - A Unique Timeline - Ends! ---------
NOTE: In the Original Fanfic, the Main Mission in the Harry Potter Random World had started with Volume 3. However, the sheer length of this volume is so long that its still going on. [on Pat]
This had been a mistake, to begin with. Though the Main Mission in the Harry Potter will last for long, the entire Volume had not been about it entirely. A major part of it had been occupied by the Tournament of Worth and many Switched Worlds.
This time, I am keeping these all in separate volumes to give a clear depth of the things going on in the fanfic.
Please keep it in mind that the end of a volume doesn't signify the end of a Main Mission as already proven with the Dragon Eggs delivery Main Mission.
AN: Now you can access 15 Chapters of Chaos and Order ahead of NovelHub on Pat. If you would like to access the exclusive content, while simultaneously supporting the fanfic, then do consider becoming a subscriber.
Bonus Chapter Deal - 70 Power Stones per day: +1 Bonus Chapter