Chương 174: The Creator of Soul-Blood Oath!
Kai walked behind the yellow Existence as if he were his shadow.
His feet moved; muscles stretched and contracted involuntarily. He blinked, pupils adjusting to the black of night; no sign of light anywhere, the houses around him dark and lifeless.
He could think and sense the odd sensations coursing through his body.
That's all he could seem to do now. Kai felt it, his Abilities, Inventory, and Skills. He could use them, yes. But his body didn't listen to him. The only thing he had managed to do was to lock his emotions for any plausible Legilimency. He wondered whether an Advance Ability would stand against this thing walking in front of him or not.
As they strolled on the hard, straight street, Kai noticed that the man's yellow robes were considerably longer, a foot of the cloth trailing over the street without getting soiled. And the rim of these robes was tattered as if once upon a time a million thorns had clawed at it.
The Existence's horns twisted as he slowly looked over his shoulder. "Walk by Our side," he said. His voice felt like birds singing and lions roaring.
Kai's body obeyed. When he reached the Existence's left, they continued the walk.
"Young ones are bold," the Existence said, smiling and looking at Kai, which creeped the soul out of him. "But also predictable. Tell Us, how does one catch something that is quite elusive by ordinary means?"
What's going on?! Kai thought, his mind racing. How can I speak when I can't even open my mouth?
"Oh, but you can, young man!" the Existence replied, shocking Kai's conscious self. "Just concentrate enough. Turn your thoughts into your words, and they will come out."
He… He is reading my mind?! The thought terrified Kai.
The horned being shook his head. "No, We aren't," he told Kai. "At one point, it becomes obvious. Do you always question yourself before walking? Do you ask yourself whether to put the left foot first or right? No. Now, let's try it once again. How does one catch something that is quite elusive by ordinary means?"
They had crossed many houses by now, dark shades abandoning Kai as if scared by the man's presence.
Kai didn't believe him but did as he was told. He thought about the answer, taking into consideration the monster walking beside him, and then concentrated hard. He felt as if he was funneling out his thoughts, and then suddenly, his lips parted, words coming out like strangers.
"Run along with it," he said. "In your frame of reference, the running object would become stationary, eliminating the concept and need to catch it. How can something be elusive when it's stationary by all definitions of science in your reference?"
The Existence raised his eyebrows, his smile lengthened, and then he nodded. "We as well have thought of it once," he told Kai. "And doesn't that say something about you, young man? Extraordinary. Alas! It's been over 2000 years, but We have yet to catch the Roadrunner. This century perhaps…"
What the…? Kai cursed, but then something else took over his senses.
A multitude of bright flashes bloomed in the sky. Kai couldn't lift his head, but even then it felt to him as if hundreds of stars were exploding, shaking the boundaries of space-time in unknown and incomprehensible colors.
The Existence smiled, the commas in his purple eyes revolving and twisting. "Your friends?" he asked. "Show me your left hand."
Kai's body seemed too eager, lifting the hand with a jerk. The fingers uncurled, and then the broken Iron Coin came to open.
"For you to break it in that instant was already commendable," the Existence told Kai, now ignoring the flashes altogether. "We didn't know the High Priest of Many-Faced God is so interested in you for him to descend in person. Don't worry. He won't be disturbing our evening walk. The kid lacks what it takes to breach the boundary of my Limbo."
Did he… Kai's thoughts rampaged within his mind. Did he just call a High Priest a kid?! A fucking kid?! Is he… No! It can't be. Why would someone like him descend for a nobody like me?
By now Meg had told him enough about the structure of clergy in the Temples.
All devotees were named Priests below the 4th Set, with each Temple having their own internal power structure differentiating between many priests.
In the Temple of Hastur, such Priests were given titles of Deacons and a number according to their status.
A High Priest was a Contestant who commanded all the devotees below the 5th Set, his seat of rest being the 15th floor itself. In the 4th Set, selective Deacons and the Priests of the 9th floor, upon ascending, were awarded the title of Bishops. They collectively formed a Council of Bishops led by the Chief Bishop, whose seat was on the 12th floor.
Those who didn't become Bishops even after reaching the 12th floor were simply called Priests or Priestesses.
Meg was one of such Contestants.
Priests, Deacons, Bishops, Chief Bishops, and then came the High Priest.
For the Existence to call the High Priest a kid… Kai was suddenly having an immense sense of foreboding, but… there was a shadow of relief on his face as well.
The Existence noticed that shadow and said, "Margrethe must have told you about top-floor Contestants becoming worse than ordinary people once descended so low into the Tower, right? She isn't wrong. We are worse than a 1st floor dog right now. We can't use our Senses, Skills, Abilities, or anything that makes us… unordinary. True. But there are things beyond the realm of Stats too, young man. Here, take the left turn."
Kai tossed and turned the words in his head, as his body took a left turn.
Before they were walking on a wide street, but now, the street had almost become an alley.
The white-skinned being turned his head to look at Kai and smiled again as if he knew what questions had risen in Kai's mind just now.
"The High Priest of the Temple of the Yellow King isn't like the old one," the Existence began, talking slowly. "This kid has even more anger inside him than the anger We are sensing inside you.
Anger leads to irrational decisions, like ordering a priestess to kill you based on absurd assumptions. He was indeed coming for you, but We decided against it. We already had important things to discuss with you. And now, after meeting you, it seems We have even more things to add to them."
What's he on about? Kai thought incredibly. Does he mean to say he isn't here because of Meg?
"No, We are not here for Margrethe," the Existence said, his voice pinning down Kai's thoughts. "HE knows the child has suffered too much already. First from her fallen status, then from her subordinates. She has devoted herself to HIM, and those who have devoted themselves to HIS faith would never betray HIM. Our Temple is for HIS service, not for HIM, of course."
This… Kai remembered this last sentence. Petyr had once said something similar to him before his teleportation out of the Pokemon World.
The Temple of Hastur is not Hastur!
"When We created the Soul-Blood Oath," the Existence continued as if it was the most ordinary thing to say, "the purpose was to give strayed Priests and Priestesses a chance to distance themselves from the Temple if they desired so. But one can't just come and go as one pleases in Temple's service, either. So We designed it in a way that one would need to pay a heavy price for their freedom. That price was enslavement.
"Ironic, isn't it? It had amused Us for quite some time, but then we lost interest and forgot about it. So, no. We are not here for you enslaving her. However, We are indeed curious about knowing what made her betray the Temple. Would you share the secret with Us? No? Anyway, you did well not taking her virginity. It was promised to someone else, even though she may not remember it now. And that statement should suffice in itself."
Kai felt overwhelmed by all the things said to him by this man.
He created the Soul-Blood Oath? Didn't Meg tell him that the Soul-Blood Oath had been in the Temple for thousands of years and its structure couldn't be changed when he had asked for the reason for her taking the oath in Hastur's name? Why did he have one of the most powerful things from both Naruto and Harry Potter World?
Yes, he had recognized both the Rinnegan and the Elder Wand.
The most perplexing thing was the claim that this man wasn't here because of the Oath at all, despite Kai and Meg having been worrying and preparing about it since the moment she had come to his service.
What was the reason for his presence, then?
Kai's thoughts were like a quagmire, dense, viscous, and filthy.
He was sure he would go insane if he didn't get some answers soon.
"No need to panic," the Existence said. "We will start with the least important of the things."
Kai stared back at the creature.
White lips parted and the most ridiculous and puzzling question entered Kai's ears.
"Tell me, young man," the Existence asked. "What is your relationship with the Deep Ones?"
**************
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