Bab 175: The Deep Ones of the Multiverse and the Old Ones of the Primordial Tower!!!
How many Ones were there?!
Kai couldn't help but ask himself, as the horned creature waited for his answer, still walking elegantly, deeper and deeper into the long alley.
As the silence persisted, the Priest turned to look at Kai.
For the first time, Kai saw a puzzled look on his face. "You don't know? How could you not know?" the Existence asked. "Do you even know of the Deep Ones, then?"
Kai didn't have to reply. What clues the creature saw written on his face, he didn't know, but the creature smiled again, the puzzled expression vanishing like smoke.
"We read the reports about the commotion caused by certain Red for enslaving a fallen Priestess, and the talks of this Contestant having Blessings from another Temple," the Existence said, looking forward again. "Then, We thought the kid from the 15th floor must have mistaken a Blessing from a Deep One with Blessing from a Temple, the latter being easier to acquire than the former, of course.
"But you don't even know what We are talking about, do you?"
A chance!
In this abominable situation, Kai's mind reared with an uncharacteristic laugh, seeing a chance to know more about the topic. His instinct suggested nodding. Nod, and the creature would tell you secrets that would take years, or probably decades, to reach his ears, otherwise.
Kai followed those instincts, but he failed to stir his head. "I don't know what you are talking about," he said. "I have no Blessings."
"Hmm… We are not so sure… Perhaps?" the Existence mumbled to himself, looking at Kai. "Priestess Margarethe would have told you about it all if it wasn't a part of her sealed memories. Though, We are sure she must have tried to warn you at least once. It makes sense now. But that doesn't mean We are done with this point. You are still marked by the Deep Ones, despite not having the benefit of it, and not by one, but three.
"Let's see… Roll up the sleeves on your right arm."
Suddenly, Kai didn't know why, but he recalled the extremely puzzled expression on Meg's face when he was hoaxing Andrik on the ship.
His body followed, a dreadful feeling rising in his mind. He knew what lay under his long sleeve. Sure enough, as he rolled the sleeves up, dark, foul imprints of ten long fingers appeared visible even in this darkness.
The Dementor had grabbed him before being devoured by Kai.
The man lifted his wand hand and pressed the tip of the wand on one of those imprints.
It burned!
If Kai hadn't lost control of his muscles, he would have winced already. Yet, the sensation of touching something extremely hot metal got sent to his mind, where his thoughts faced the full brunt of his unresponsive nerves.
"Mark of Death," the man said, looking up at Kai, and smiling, "the Deep One from the Harry Potter Random World."
When Kai thought the man would look away, he pointed the wand in his eyes.
Now his eyes burned. An even more powerful, but equally actual heat bubbled inside his eyes. Kai couldn't even close his eyelids, and thus, he saw the thinnest thread of flame coming out of his both eyes. These flame threads were so thin that even hair would have looked thick when near them.
"Mark of R'hllor, the Lord of Light," the Existence said, flicking his wand, "the Deep One from the Game of Thrones Random World. But there is one more — "
As the flame threads returned to his eyes, burning them, the tip of the Elder Wand touched the back of his neck, where the spine transitioned into the brain, and a watery shiver ran down his spine. He felt a thread-like river gurgling on his back, tracing the skin over his spine up and down.
Finally, the Existence snatched the wand away and smiled. "Mark of the Drowned God," he said, "the Deep One from the Game of Thrones Random World as well. But it's the strongest of the three. You didn't piss HIM off, did you?"
Piss HIM off?
Kai had bloody pretended to be HIM!
"I told you. I know nothing about the Deep Ones," Kai said, struggling to keep his emotions in check, as the Advance Emotion Ability almost failed when he heard the last question.
The white-skinned being's Rinnegan lingered on Kai's face for a moment, and then he looked away. "You must know about the Old Ones by now," he said. "This memory wasn't locked because it's quite common in the Primordial Tower once a Contestant gains a bit of strength. Deep Ones are beings similar to the Old Ones of the Primordial Tower, but THEIR Authorities are scattered across the Multiverse.
"Consider the Drowned God, for example. In each Game of Thrones timeline, there is a Deep One named the Drowned God. Such an Authority demands a price, young man. It indeed has helped the Drowned God to spread HIS influence close to infinity, but now HE is barely a HE. That's why no Deep One has ever managed to infiltrate the Primordial Tower.
"Oh, yes. THEY have tried, indeed. But one glance of an Old One is enough to thwart those attempts. It's good that you asked this, as your fate doesn't seem good. I hope you have enough Luck to counter this all."
Kai became incredibly silent then, and even the man didn't seem to have anything to say.
They kept walking, taking turns, going deeper into the city. It was then that a fact struck Kai's mind.
"What about the Old Ones?" Kai asked, firing the question. "Can they infiltrate the Multiverse?"
The Existence stopped, smiled, and then nodded. "Not bad," he said. "Took you only 3 minutes to realize the loophole. Maybe there is still hope for Chaos. Are you thinking about the Many-Faced God?"
Kai nodded with his eyes, his thoughts steeling themselves for the answer.
"HE is the only one among the Old Ones who had infiltrated the Multiverse countless ages ago," the Existence said, looking up at the sky as if recalling some ancient fairytale. "The rest of the Old Ones weren't pleased with HIM. So THEY decided to push HIM out of the Primordial Tower for good. But by then, Byagoona had taken root in the Random World of Game of Thrones under the name of the Black Goat, dividing HIS Authorities between the Primordial Tower and all other Multiverse timelines. It is near impossible to kill that has the word Infinite attached to it, young man.
"But the Old Ones persisted, for who knows how many millions of years. At last, when THEY were about to triumph in THEIR endeavors, Byagoona used HIS followers from the timelines to create a new identity. The Lion of Night. Once again, the process repeated. Then HE became something else. It kept happening until HE became the Many-Faced God. At last, the Old Ones made a last attempt."
The Existence looked at Kai meaningfully. "That's how we got the Seven Gods of Westeros in the end, making Byagoona the most peculiar among all the Old Ones," he said. "But We don't think it was worth it. Look where it has left HIS followers.
"Now the Temple of Byagoona is like a minor cult, whose priests think knowing secrets can compensate for the lack of power. Their eccentric nature has made them quite mysterious and unpredictable, especially when combined with their influence in the timelines of Game of Thrones, but it's also the reason for their downfall. No wonder the Temple of Byagoona hasn't seen a Contestant of King level in tens of thousands of years among their circle."
They halted.
The Existence narrowed his eyes, his face turning to look in some unknown direction. "The Temple of Byagoona is dying a slow, excruciating death," he mumbled, less for Kai's ears and more to himself. "It doesn't look good for HIM as well. The day when HIS priests will have to seek devotees from the 1st Set will be the beginning of HIS true annihilation. Let's continue. We are almost there."
Why did he tell me all this? Kai asked himself at last. And what are these Authorities? Is it the same as my Cosmic Authority?
Nothing had come to him without a price, and this was the only reason he still hadn't declared the System his enemy to himself.
Chaos at least demanded a price for answering his questions.
"The reason for Us telling you all this is the same as why We won't tell you about the Authorities," the Existence said, regaining his smile. "All the things that you learned from Us, come under the price We needed to pay to use this Limbo on the 4th floor. Chaos doesn't play favorites. Remember…
"Life never gives anything for nothing, and a price is always exacted for what fate bestows.
"Thing is, the Deep Ones just don't mark anyone without cursing or blessing them, and it's not like one can just call THEIR names for THEM to consider one. So, what is the reason for three Deep Ones to leave THEIR marks on you? What is so… Special about you?"
Kai didn't answer, concentrating all his thoughts on locking his emotions.
It was his Glitch that had caught THEIR attention, he guessed. He didn't know how, but what else could be the reason? He had nothing on him that came close to its mystery.
"Very well," the Existence said, not asking the same question again. "We think the reason for this is related to another thing We have originally come to discuss with you."
Suddenly, the man flicked his hand, taking out another wand.
Inside Kai, Selene shuddered. She had been prudent enough to not show herself as per his orders. Even before leaving the Arrival Zone, he had told her to not come out unless ordered to do so. It now felt like a brilliant decision, for all thoughts blasted apart in Kai's mind, his soul freezing in a chill of fright, as he saw that wand.
It was the Coreless Wand that once belonged to Kai as his Item.
The Coreless Wand that he had sacrificed to Hastur.
*************
AN:
1. The Black Goat, the Lion of Night, and even the Stranger are quite popular as being Many-faced God secrets identities. Some even think that the Stranger of the Seven Gods from Westeros is an identity of Many-faced God and that the rest of the six gods are nothing but Stranger's many forms. [Source: Books/Fandom]
2. Life never gives anything for nothing, and a price is always exacted for what fate bestows — Stefan Zweig, Marie Antoinette: The Portrait of an Average Woman (a quote I have always wanted to use in my works)
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