On the brink of losing oneself
Wednesday, 11 June 1986
Midnight
The drapes on the windows of Darcie's room were half closed, preventing the moonlight of a crescent moon from seeping in unwantedly.
On the bed, a tiny figure was sleeping, a soft blanket covering her from head to toe. Only the soft noise of her breathing, undulating the cotton over her face, could be heard in this silence. On her left, between the bed and the windows, was another figure lying on the floor. It was even tinier than the one on the bed.
Dobby had learned to sleep noiselessly in the Malfoy Manor even in the farthest, deepest, and darkest corners, where even if he were to shout, none would hear him. Today, Darcie had ordered him to sleep in her room, a gesture that Dobby had received with teary eyes. However, she had ordered him to not get up or open his eyes even if she were to get up before morning. Being a house-elf, Dobby was bound to obey, anyway. But, since her childhood, Dobby had received Darcie's orders more eagerly and happily.
Suddenly, the entire blanket squirmed as if giant roaches were crawling inside it. The figure lying under the blanket wasn't tiny anymore.
Kai threw the blanket off his face and sat up. In a matter of moments, sweat claimed his brows and back, drenching it as if he had been in a long run. His eyes flickered, and the tips of his fingers throbbed. His teeth gritted against each other and there was a nervous feeling coursing through his entire body.
He looked to his left and down, and saw Dobby, sleeping like a dog.
Kai had murder in his eyes. Greed. Yes, that too.
[
Beast Proximity: 3 meters
Glitch Condition matched
Contestant Kai Stormborn is qualified to awaken his Glitch
Do you want to awaken it now?
]
Kai licked his lips, but then remembered the dragon beneath the grounds of Gringotts and how his Glitch had failed to devour the beast. All that would repeat itself if he were to let the thing inside his chest rampage on this little thing, he knew.
Kai shook away his bloodlust and flicked his hand, taking out the Pokedex.
He flipped it open and pointed the camera on its back towards the magical creature.
[
Accessing mode: New Data Storage
Scanning the magical creature…
Scan Complete
Digitizing the Stats…
Data stored
Mode: New Data Storage
Slots Available: (1/50)
Latest Magical Creature: House-elf
Congratulations Contestant Kai Stormborn
Your Magical Contract with Professor Elm is updated
]
'Sigh!' Kai let out a breath, sending the Pokedex back to his Inventory.
'Show me the Kill Count,' Kai thought, bringing out the ignored notifications. 'And the notification related to the Tournament of Worth.'
[
Initiating Battle Sequence…
Floor: 4 (2nd Set)
Kill Count: (2/20)
Sub-Kill Count: Not Applicable
Battle Number: Not Applicable
Floor: 5 (2nd Set)
Kill Count: (0/10)
Sub-Kill Count: Not Applicable
Battle Number: Not Applicable
Floor: 6 (2nd Set)
Kill Count: (0/3)
Sub-Kill Count: Not Applicable
Battle Number: Not Applicable
]
Kai tapped his fingers on the bed, squinting his eyes. He didn't have the Mission Credits to know the equivalent Kill Count, either. But he had already left all the killing till the latter half of his reincarnation.
The notification blurred and more stony-gray words appeared in front of him.
[
Candidate Blood Demon, the Tournament of Worth has commenced. Please refer to the following points:
1. Theme of ToW: Survival
2. Total Number of Candidates: 1,000,000
3. Your Group ID: 7900
4. Local Time of Teleportation: 20 June 1986 - 19:00
5. ToW has three stages. Every stage will have an approximate pass rate of 1% and will have its own rules, regulations, and rewards. There will be a gap of at least 1 month between each stage
6. The Stats of all Candidates in a group will be standardized before each stage according to the threat they would face and the test they would have to pass
7. Irrespective of place, ongoing battle, or conversation, all Candidates will be teleported out of their Time Node to their respective stages, alerting no other Contestant and in-world Character
8. A one-time privilege of quitting the Tournament will be given to all the Candidates. If opted so in between the start and the end of any stage, then the said Candidates will be teleported back to the same Time Node from where they had come from. Their candidature for subsequent stages will stand forfeited
NOTES:
1. Only Contestants from the 2nd Set are chosen as Candidates. Each Candidate can qualify as a Candidate only once
2. The stages within the ToW will be broadcast to any Contestant able to afford such a request. These Contestants will have access to all Candidates' Code Names but not their appearances
]
Kai brooded on each point for some time and then jumped out of the bed. The house-elf squirmed like a squirrel but didn't dare to open his eyes if was awake.
Kai slithered towards the table, making no noise whatsoever. He took out two parchments and scribbled down the happenings after his reincarnation on them for Item-M and Item-S. Without knowing when or how Kai would get the opportunity to be free, they had decided not to use Kai's minor-epithets to contact him beforehand. Otherwise, the sudden shaking of his Inventory could make him come out of his Act of playing the role of Darcie, even though he couldn't access it.
'Good thing I instructed Andrik to not chant the minor-epithets before our next meeting,' Kai had thought then.
So, they had all decided to use Hastur's epithets from Kai's end to make an initial contact first. Thenceforth, they would contact each other at pre-planned times only, eliminating the need for unwanted interruptions.
After he was done, Kai slithered to the bathroom, closed the doors, and prepared for the ritual.
-The Dweller in the Depths-
-The Bringer of Madness and Doom-
-The King in Yellow-
The darkness within the bathroom flickered, and an unseen, unheard, and unfelt wind howled around him. The flame of the candle, resting on the center of the Yellow Sign drawn on the floor with blood, burgeoned and painted the white bathroom walls into pale, sickly yellow.
Kai didn't have to look outside at the sky to know that all the stars had lost their light, except one.
— I, Blood Demon, sacrifice blood and a Mass Produced Sword, and request to send this letter to Contestant Morning Mist —
Kai took out one Easy graded sword he had collected specifically for sacrifices and placed it under the flame. The sword lifted by itself, and the flame devoured it along with the rolled piece of parchment.
When all was done, Kai hurriedly repeated the same process, but this time mentioned Contestant Item-S.
After that, he cleaned up everything. One glance at this, and even the stupidest wizard and witch would relate it to the forbidden blood rituals of the darkest kind, he knew.
Then came the worst part. Wait.
The world shook like a leaf unannounced after a long time. Kai concentrated on the door at the other end of the tunnel inside his Inventory. It parted a little, letting Kai see beyond it. Item-M was sitting on her knees, looking like Meg from Kai's Pokemon World mission, and, of course, naked. The fervor on her face was mind-boggling. Kai ignored it all and reached out for the dagger and letter placed between the door and her.
The moment his hand came back, the door closed, and all shaking stopped. Not even one second had passed and the shaking returned. Again Kai followed the gap in the door and this time saw Item-S, looking like a lifeless doll. Kai didn't know what she and Item-M had talked about after his departure from the 1st floor where they had spent the last one month, but Item-S was naked too. He shook his head, snatched the dagger and the letter, and returned.
The letter from Item-M said that she was in the world of The Lord of the Rings with a Mission Time Limit of 3 months. After this, she would need just one more mission to ascend to the 5th floor. Kai then opened Item-S' letter. The disappointment was apparent on his face. She was in the world of Ghost in the Shell for 15 days. Like him, she must have completed her Kill Count in one sweep, it seemed.
But there was one common report. Both Item-M and Item-S had gotten Elementary Magical Aptitude.
Kai sighed, hastily penned down his plans for Item-M, and advised Item-S to use sewers as much as she could. The date he chose was 17 June at 12:30 am and mentioned the current time at the bottom. They could use their mission credits to know the time difference from their ends, he thought. He had already given them a few thousand points for the specific purpose.
When he was done, his Identity Period was ticking at 20 minutes.
Following a hidden urge, Kai took out the Book, and used the Primordial Theater, calling out Petyr. The character came out, parting the smoky veil, and bowed. "My lord," he said, smiling. "You look pathetic."
Kai didn't deny it. Now that he had nothing to do, his heart was pounding. The Healer, first time sensing the Glitch within him reacting to Dobby's presence, and the look Narcissa had given him for a few days, all had almost made him jump out of his Act. Kai lifted his hands. They were trembling again.
"This won't do," Petyr said, looking around. "I know little about Faceless men, but what I do know is that playing Darcie is as important as playing Kai Stormborn. You did an excellent job in manipulating the girl, Daphne was it? She would serve as the perfect scapegoat, as per Darcie's need in future. But, my lord, tell me this…"
Kai looked up and saw the slyness in Petyr's eyes.
"… Why are you ignoring the mirror?" he asked, chuckling. "Afraid if you would see Darcie's face in place of yours?"
The sleeping terror in his heart woke up with an explosion. Kai ran his hands through his hair, slumping down on the bathroom door, his naked back sweating as if he had just taken a shower.
"I think…" he mumbled to himself. "I think I will go insane if I don't get to kill someone."
Only one week had passed, and Kai had come to learn how horrifying it was to implement the vicious Saying of the Faceless men into practical comprehension.
He must do something about it, and soon, for there was no turning back.
Not now.