Cersei paled, hearing Kai's words as he tore himself away from Jack and dragged his body toward the Tea Room.
Only Sounga followed him, carrying his right hand, blood still dripping off it, leaving behind a blood trail.
But the trail that Kai's body left was bloodier, wider, and thicker than his right hand.
Cersei allowed this unnatural body of hers to fall against the well.
The hundreds of kilometers long walk had buried her tears deep in her heart before they had arrived at the cliff.
And when they came pouring out, she couldn't hold a single drop.
If she had, perhaps this would have been the time to let them loose again.
She looked up at the shimmering lights of heaven.
Did she see it true? Did she see the Emperor, sitting on his serpent throne, with her by his side? Or did she see him hacking apart his enemies with nothing but his gaze?
She pulled out the earring off her left ear and gazed down at it.
This was it. What was she, anyway? An image? A memory?
If I believe you as the real, and all other Cersei in the infinite worlds across the Multiverse as the false, then you are the real one; the one and only.
A smile bloomed on Cersei's face, her eyes wet with tears, as false as her existence, but as real as his words.
Real or not, if she believed it real, then it was.
More often than not, for those in love, that was enough.
Two knocks echoed in the Hut's surroundings, jolting Jack's silence.
So early?! He was bewildered. Not even half an hour had passed.
Didn't Kai know that... it might be his last attempt? Wasn't he aware of his situation? Had he forgotten that he still had one mistake to rectify? Or...
NO! Jack shook his head, standing up.
The world could give up on itself. Not Kai Stormborn. Not this one.
He had indeed thought of him as just an interesting Candidate with a Glitch.
Oh, how wrong had he been, then? This student of his... was extraordinary. A notch better than himself.
Jack steadied his breath and entered the Tea Room.
The sight was so familiar that it sent shivers running down his spine. The young, hot-headed boy of yore, now had become an old man, but the bearing was still the same. A nobility among the nobles. A true Emperor.
Kai was seated properly opposite the seat of the guest, his eyes closed, holding all the breaths he could within.
Jack's feet landed on the floor and it almost skidded.
The entire floor had gone black and red, blood polishing its surface, making it look like a filthy mirror.
And, yet, Jack couldn't find a mistake.
What happened to him? Jack wondered, not caring about the blood, approaching the seat of the guest.
He left the door open for the girl and the serpent.
Jack dared not look at the girl's face, lest he did something which he hadn't in ages.
It frightened him. He frightened himself.
But Jack didn't show emotions.
He had already learned to keep a part of himself hidden inside, just one; this excellent student of his.
No matter how much he looked at his old face, Jack couldn't tell what this man was thinking. Not anymore.
He took the seat, the girl and the serpent taking a seat to his right.
Jack knew the time had come; the final Chapter.
He must do what was expected of him. His student was doing so and Teachers should lead by example.
Jack looked diagonally beyond Kai, as per the routine, expecting to see a grand picture on the blank scroll.
What he saw left him ruined, a beguiling thunderstorm raging, welling up in his heart.
The scroll was covered in bloodstains as if someone had casually flicked it on it in the most carefree manner.
Under the scroll, there was a broken vase, shattered to the last piece.
What was this? What was he seeing?
How could it agitate him so? Him, of all.
The bloodstains looked scattered, but there was something off about their placement.
He saw something in them.
The more he saw, the more it became familiar; like a blurred picture clearing up.
~ Son! ~ an old man cried. ~ Why have you forsaken us?! WHY?! ~
No, father, no. I didn't. I...
~ Our prince! ~ they cried together, burning in the fire of hope. ~ Why didn't you come back?! WHY?! ~
"NO!" Jack bellowed, snapping out of it.
Two Yellow Crystals bobbed up and down in his dark eyes like an otherworldly projection. The moment Jack came back to himself, the Crystals shattered.
Jack's face was still calm and composed, but when he looked at Kai, he felt... fear.
It wasn't much. But to deny its existence entirely would be shaming himself... and his student.
"What do you... call it?" Jack asked, his entire body going cold.
Kai opened his eyes, those hazel, reptilian pupils calmer than anything Jack had ever known. "Joyless Slaughter."
The armor of blood flames coating was a choice, not a requirement.
With the Total Concentration Constant, Selfless Breathing always remained activated. Moreover, there was no one here who would attack him.
Perhaps Jack had unknowingly let himself fall under the effect of Kai's Second Transformation.
It was like walking into a sea of fire, thinking that it couldn't burn him.
"Joyless Slaughter..." Jack mumbled, the voices still haunting him. He nodded. "Joyless, indeed."
Jack observed his student going for the pot, then.
It was time for the tea. It came down to this tea.
It always came down to it.
Kai poured three cups of tea, the green color frothing like an ocean of poisoned milk.
The first cup went to Cersei.
The second to Selene.
The third cup had only half the usual volume of tea.
It arrived at him like a gust of salty wind.
Jack lifted the cup, rotated it, and then, waiting no longer, gulped it down.
Kai waited, looking out toward the thick trunk of the colossal tree. Like always.
The cup struck the floor.
Kai brought his gaze to his teacher, noticing the trembling of Cersei's fingers and Selene's eyes.
Jack looked at him, and he looked back.
"How was it?" asked Kai, his tone unhurried as if the blood pouring out of his body wasn't his own, but someone else'.
The Supreme General of the False Ones licked his lips.
Perhaps the taste was still lingering there, somewhere.
Then he said, "Excellent."
Cersei's entire body shivered, joy seeping inside her bones.
Selene seemed to hold herself from pouncing toward Kai and coiling around her shoulders.
Kai kept quiet, his face old, but steady, like a rock brought to life. "And?"
Both Cersei and Selene paused, sensing something amiss.
"Sigh!" Jack sighed, making the girls pale. "I am sorry, kid."
"Kill!" Cersei shouted, lunging at Jack.
Selene didn't need a command, already baring her fangs.
Today either they would die or this abomination.
Suddenly, both the girls paused midair, inches away from Jack.
Kai smiled at them. "No need."
Selene's curses rang in Kai's mind, her hisses mixed with pain, anger, and reluctance.
Cersei's hand fell, her eyes losing something which she had been holding onto.
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