Evening, June 18
Wavebreaker
Kai woke up ready to kill.
There was scarcely any night when he didn’t dream. Nightmares, that’s the word one should use in his case. Incompressible and incoherent scenes of killing, killing, and killing. A shout of “power” now and then, and that’s it. These were his dreams.
Kai had made his deal with it.
He stood up, yawned, and stretched himself. He was lying on the bed, Kai suddenly realized.
“Master, freshen up,” a hoarse, old voice entered his ringing ears. “I have ordered dinner.”
Kai grunted a reply and threw himself off the bed.
After some 15 minutes, by the grace of a cold shower, Kai’s eyes flashed brightly in the spacious room. All tiredness of the continuous hunting, fighting with two 4th-floor Contestants, and talking non-stop for three days using Telepathy seemed to have left him alone. When Kai came out of the shower, wearing a pair of blue t-shirt and black jeans, his stomach grumbled at the sight of the sumptuous meal.
Item-M must have sent the waiter away, for now, she was serving the food on the table from the food trolley. Kai took a seat at the table and nodded at her.
-/Sit down. Join me for the dinner./-
It must be said about Kai that though he now dwelt in filth and the heinous ways of killing, in his previous life, Kai was a noble of House Stormborn. The traces of this nobility were weak and blurry in his veins, but they were there, nonetheless. So, when Kai sat down and commanded, it left little choice for any listener.
“But who will…”
Kai raised his hand and cut off Item-M’s excuse. When his hand fell back, there was a book in his hand. Runes flashed over the cover like scores of twisted organic lives.
Cersei walked out from the smoky veil, a red gown of unmatched beauty gracing her youthful figure. Two little earrings on her glowed golden under the well-lit lamps of the room. Her golden hair was falling low to her waist and would have felt silky if one were to run their hands across them. And when she saw Kai, with his wet hairs and his hazel eyes examining her, all her face reddened, her green eyes looking away in search of something.
-/You look good/- Kai complemented. -/Now serve us dinner. I am so hungry I can eat a horse. Haha!/-
Kai was in a good mood.
“Serve dinner?!” Cersei asked, confusingly. Then her eyes went to the food trolley and Item-M, sitting at the table opposite Kai in her usual black overcoat and black trousers. Anger flashed across Cersei’s face, and she snapped. “You want me to serve a servant?!”
I should have called Petyr, Kai thought. I should have known from her last speech that she would take offense to do something like this. Sigh!
-/If she is a servant, then what are you?/- Kai asked, not unkindly. But his words had a stony bluntness to them. -/Cersei, remember that you are an Item too. And by definition, that makes you Item-M’s sister. Now serve the dinner, as befit the time, or disappear. I have no use and need for Items that can’t do my bidding./-
Cersei audibly gulped. Item-M’s head was down as if she had heard nothing, and other than Kai’s naked feet under the table, nothing could interest her more.
The Character said nothing and lined the table with the appetizers first. Fresh fruit medley, grilled mushrooms, escargot, chilled strawberry bisque soup, Magikarp medallions, sushi, and grilled tomatoes.
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Saliva flooded Kai’s mouth, and he helped himself to a portion of each. Soon, the strikes of spoons and forks filled the room as Cersei poured them wine.
-/Have you recalled anything?/- Kai asked Item-M, but he didn’t keep the spiritual currents from reaching Cersei, either. -/About that Luck epithet of Hastur./-
Item-M was eating the lightest portion of everything. When Kai’s question rang in her mind, she frowned, her eyes narrowing, and finally, she shook her head.
“No, master,” she said. “I was a priestess of Hastur for some 75 years before I got your blessing and was reborn as Item-M. I have never heard of this epithet before. The Priest you mentioned, of House Sanderson, I am afraid I don’t know about him too. It must have been a matter when I was on the 1st floor. After sending me down to the 1st Set, the Temple didn’t keep me in the circle of their innermost hidden workings. I am sorry.”
The feelings of apology in the old woman’s words were genuine. Kai had told her about his encounter with Little Hao and Seline and how he knew about the Temples. But when he told her about the epithet, the Devourer of all Luck, Item-M refused to believe that there was such a chant regarding Hastur. She was a priestess on the 13th-fucking-floor, and if she said that there were only three known epithets of Hastur, then there must be some reason behind it.
Kai thought about all this and decided to give a visit to the mother-son duo one last time.
“I never heard Hastur has any relation to Luck,” she added. “And not only Hastur but there are also no Old Ones who are known to manipulate a Contestant’s Stats.”
Kai paused a little upon hearing that but resumed the dinner instantly. By now, he had a pretty good idea of who or what these Old Ones were.
These were the cosmic beings, as told to him by Item-M, that had always been in the Primordial Tower since the beginning of time if there was a beginning to all this. Not much was known about them, as prying their secrets and mysteries could bring unimaginable horrors and disasters.
Kai remembered the repulsive patterned door from his Blood Prophecy and completely agreed with the statement.
Their influences on the material world, inside and outside the Primordial Towers, were known as their Authorities. Even about that, only prominent figures within the Temple knew a little, let alone ordinary priests and priestesses.
The only open knowledge was that you could sacrifice Items to these Old Ones, to get answers. But there was no guarantee to it, and if THEY didn’t like the sacrifice, or found one betraying their faith, then Contestants were known to face a fate worse than death.
A double-edged sword, Kai had called it.
Item-M lingered in-between these two edges. She had failed her mission and was about to be discarded when she sacrificed everything to get another chance. Fortunately, or unfortunately, her sacrifice was accepted.
And a 13th-floor monster fell to become a rat on the 1st floor.
AN:
I didn't know the community of ScribbleHub was this toxic. And, yes. To my distaste, I've found it much worse than that of RoyalRoad. The person who had 1-starred my novel, was none other than a well-known author. And in return of my questioning for the reason for the 1-star, I got childish and nonsensical reply. I complained about it to the mods, but got no reply in return. Still, I had moved on. But, no. the author returned, and from his profile, I got to know, he has a habit of 1-starring novel. Once again we had an argument, in which he told me I don't love my family. And when I replied to him, saying I have nothing to say to him anymore, he retaliated with another 1-star, and now he's riling up his readers to 1-star my novel. I have again complained, and the last this time.
Until the rating doesn't return to original, and the 1-star ratings out of hate aren't removed, I will not publish on this site anymore.
I did post an author note regarding it, but sadly, only 1 reader I think listened to my pleas. Anyway, thank you.
If you want to help, then you can report my story, and urge the mods to look through my message history so that they can see the harrassment. The well-known author talks like no one on this site can do anything to him. He told me, he's god. Maybe he truly is Scribblehub's god, for him to act so, and still face no repurcussion from the mods.