Chaos and Order - A Multiverse Fanfic (Part I)

0178 The Yellow Sign - Gift or Curse?

The Existence lifted the knife, ran it over his wrist lightly, and let the blood fall into the pot.

His blood had the color of a pale purple, with sprinkles of gold in it, like some divine mead. The wound didn't heal, so the man tore his robe and wrapped it around the wrist.

"The boy didn't return," the Existence said. "The beasts couldn't keep the broken mother for long, fearing a breakout and another slaughter. So they burned her and did that poorly. By the time the older brother found her, life was all but gone from her eyes."

Only now the Existence lifted his face and looked into Kai's eyes.

"This is your Karma, Red," he told Kai. "And here the Tale ends. Now hear the rest.

"We give you the life, body, and soul of Selena Hao, 10 Million Mission Credits, and a chance to untangle the highest Mysteries of the Primordial Tower and the Multiverse as a Gift.

"However, under the rules set by Chaos and Order, We will have to Curse you in return. Do you accept?"

Kai roared. Thoughts exploded in his mind, and using his bond with her, he passed his intention to Selene, ordering her to come out and kill this man.

The silver mist, resting in his heart, churned and exploded out. But the moment it touched Kai's skin, it bounced back as if whatever it was outside the boundary of Kai's skin had repelled her. Once more, and then again. Selene kept trying to seep out from one hole or another, but by now, Kai had already given up on her. Now he shouted his minor epithets, hoping that it would let him resist the confinement of this Limbo. No reaction.

Only one path left, Kai told himself, steeling his resolve. Come out, Petyr.

He didn't need to speak. Like his Items, he only needed to will for his presence and Petyr would come out of him, materializing into a soulless but solid being.

Yet, like his inaccessible Inventory, even this failed.

Now he had nothing left. His Instinct told him that if he wouldn't accept it, then a fate unimaginably worse than this waited for him.

"I... accept."

"Admirable!" the Existence praised. "You have the Will, Mind, and Attitude to become an Emperor."

The white-skinned man flicked his hand, and a tank appeared in the room, filled with light green fluid. And curled inside this fluid was a mass of blackened flesh. Only when Kai concentrated enough did he make out hands and legs.

Then came the notification.

...

[

Contestant ?!?###?!! is requesting to deposit a payment of 10,000,000 Mission Credits.

Do you accept the transfer?

]

...

Kai had yet to take his eyes off the tank, so he just willed it. The hazels of his eyes were vacant. Yet, hidden deep in those eyes was profound ridicule.

A silent scream of victory.

The Existence again took a deep breath.

Kai noticed he couldn't fill his lungs properly. The System's restrictions were killing him just sitting there. The Existence lifted the Elder Wand, and then swished it in the air, drawing something unseen on the canvas of space itself. Yet, with every passing moment, Kai felt he was losing the tip of the wand, and he couldn't trace its path. When the wand stopped, there hovered a pale sign in the air between the man and Kai.