บท 186: The House of Black and White! (II)
From the path running through the Green hills, opposite the one leading into the village, walked out a man in a black cowl.
At one glance, Kai recognized the gait. That hideous walk, like a pheasant darting around.
When the man neared Kai, he took off his hood. One-eyed. Smiling.
Was this Simon? Kai didn't even deign to ask this question now. It didn't matter.
"You are alive!" the Faceless man exclaimed impressively. "This is the second time you have proved a man wrong, Red."
"I am not here to gossip like some roadside wench," Kai said slowly, taking a stance. "Am I still the candidate for the Many-Face God's priesthood?"
"You certainly are," the faceless man nodded. "It takes more than that for us to strike off a name from the list. The question is, why are you here?"
Kai knew this question implied that his answer would dictate how things would play out from here onwards. But his answer was already sitting on the tip of his tongue.
"I want to learn Occlumency and Legilimency," Kai told him. "And I have 6 days on me."
Both men stared into each other's eyes, the faceless man trying to learn some unknown secret from Kai's face. But Kai had already locked his emotions.
"Your slave has a big mouth, eh?" the faceless man quipped. "One can't just come and learn our arts, Red, even if they are candidates."
"I will pay…"
"However," the faceless man said, cutting Kai's offer, "the High Priest has given specific instructions regarding you to Chief Bishop. If you have something to say, then you can say it to him directly."
"The Chief Bishop is here?!" Kai asked, his eyes widening. "On the 4th floor?" A Chief Bishop was a 12th-floor Powerhouse, to begin with. For him to be here, wouldn't he face the harshest restrictions?
Kai couldn't fathom the reason for his presence on this floor.
The faceless man smiled slyly and nodded.
"Take me to him, then," Kai told the faceless man. "I will not go back empty-handed."
Simon laughed. He lifted his hand, and under Kai's stunned gaze, uncurled his fingers. There was a wet Iron Coin in his palm, broken in half.
How?! He had just asked himself, when the man threw the two halves towards him, which Kai snatched out of the air.
"Follow me," the faceless man said, donning back the hood. "The Many-Faced God has waited for you too long."
As he saw the robed man stepping off the bridge, Kai narrowed his eyes before taking a deep breath and following him.
Their destination lay somewhere in the sea of darkness, deep into the hills that were not green anymore.
The black-robed and hooded Simon took Kai deep into the forest, treading on some unknown trail that had branched away from the main road a long time ago.
"Keep with me," the faceless man said, without looking back. "You cannot find the temple by yourself."
Kai skipped a few steps, catching up to the man. The forest had come alive, now that the stars and a bright moon had claimed the black sky. Odd chirping, slithers, and hoots of owls rang in his ears, and the leaves rustled as if someone was following them since they had left the bridge.
By now, he had already told Simon that he had waited for a long time for him to show up after breaking the coin. But when no one appeared, he carried on with his plans. Simon had looked at him oddly then, wondering something, but Kai was determined to not tell them about his meeting with that man.
Suddenly, Kai felt like he had passed through a dense wall of air. An unannounced wave of Mana hit him, and the sounds vanished.
In front of his eyes, there appeared an enormous building, standing high above the ground level. The same stream that he had left behind was now passing by the building's left, its dark water shining silver. It was built upon a black stony mound, and the surrounding forest had been cleared in a 100-meter radius.
Magic? Kai guessed, but he almost knew his guess was right. No Skills at the level of a 4th-floor Contestant could ever achieve such a feat. It was an effect of Item or combined use of Magic from many Contestants, Kai reasoned.
"Come on," the man beckoned Kai. "There would be enough time to marvel at it later."
As they neared the building, the full brunt of the building's magnitude fell on Kai. It seemed they had made it in the image of the House of Black and White from the Game of Thrones Random World, and Meg had described the structure to him while discussing Braavos.
Rows of steps led Kai to 10-12 ft carved wooden doors. The left door was weirwood, painted white, and the right door was ebony, painted black. In the center of the doors was a carved moon face, black ebony on white weirwood, white weirwood on black ebony.
As the faceless man approached the doors, they opened by themselves, letting him and Kai enter a vast hall with a vaulted ceiling. The floor looked like a huge slab of gray stone and there were no windows. In the center was a black pool of water ten feet across and lit by dim red candles.
Statues of gods were standing around the hall, too. There were tall statues of thirty gods, Kai counted roughly, and he also recognized a few of them, the Stranger from Westeros, the Black Goat of Qohor, and the Lion of Night, among many others.
Kai wondered what would the faceless man say if he were to talk about the things told to him by the one-horned and white-skinned man that day. About the Many-faced God, and HIS excursions outside the Primordial Tower.
But it was a fleeting thought, and Kai would never dwell on it longer than he should have.
Silence was everywhere, but not because of the lack of people.
When they neared the pool in the center of the Kai noticed many faces eying him, observing his icy features. There were sad faces, merry faces, faces with no expressions, and faces that even a child could read. All turned around to look at him as he passed by, but no one said anything to him.
The faceless man stopped.
When Kai turned his head to look forward, He was standing only a few feet away from him. When this new man had come and how, Kai did not know. But there he was, looking back at Kai with his dead, pale green eyes.
Simon stepped aside and bowed.
Even the various faces looking at Kai turned to look at those pale green eyes and bowed.
Kai's heart was pounding, and if he hadn't locked his emotions, then he knew his face would have reflected his agitation. And why wouldn't he be in such a state? A heart-palpating, but suppressed surge of Mana, was bursting out of this man. He had long brown hair like silk, his face was hairless, and his cheeks were slightly sunken. He was lean, and tall, and was wearing a long, airy cloak, half white and half black.
His skin had the color of stale bread.
Everything about this man could be defined in two words: pale and unimpressive.
Yet, there was Kai, looking up in those eyes as if it was the first time he was getting to know what true strength was. Only the user of Rinnegan had jolted Kai's thoughts to such a degree, but that was less from the Existence's strength and more from the knowledge that the Existence was from above the 12th floor because Kai had failed to even fathom his powers.
Now, despite the Chief Bishop's Stats being restricted, Kai could feel it; a sleeping, hidden beast.
Kai collected himself and was about to speak when the Chief Bishop turned around and walked away.
Simon laughed, but no sound came out of his mouth. He gestured for Kai to follow the Chief Bishop, before leaving Kai standing alone, surrounded by all the faces.
Kai shook his head and hurried off. The Chief Bishop entered a doorless room, sat down on a stone bed, and pointed at the floor. With his mouth pressed in a hard line, Kai sat down where he was told and looked up.
"A man already knows the purpose of your visit, Red," the Chief Bishop said, his voice clear and articulate. "But a man can't bestow the teachings of the Temple upon you, just because you are a candidate. A price must be paid."
Kai offered nothing again, as the Chief Bishop had already taken out a brown folder, edges of white pages glistening gray from its ends. The Chief Bishop handed the folder to Kai after untying the red cord around it.
Kai took the folder, narrowed his eyes, and then opened it.
Its contents stunned him instantaneously.
"Viscount Lucas of House Arbuthnot," the Chief Bishop began, as Kai gawked at the photo and the other details. "He will visit Buckfastleigh on the seventh day of the auction. If you want to earn knowledge, then you must gift his life to the Many-face God.
"This is the price."
***************
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