Kai watched calmly as Red Sun's face paled.
This was the tenth time the 11th Floor Contestant had chanted his epithets.
If it were before, then, by now, chanting the epithets would have opened a direct channel to Kai's Inventory through his Outer One's authority.
But only he knew that this wouldn't work anymore.
At least, not with the incomplete epithets.
After using Yhwach's Schrift of The Balance to manipulate fate and gain an even higher luck, effectively winning the Great Holy Grail War, Kai had written another lore for himself.
The Hero of Fate was a Lore, with the epithet — The Devourer of Luck.
Kai wasn't ignoring the uncanny exactness between his newly gained epithet and that of the archaic one which belonged to Hastur, the King in Yellow.
At first, it had indeed unnerved him.
However, Byagoona's appearance suggested that things weren't as deplorable as they seemed at a glance.
Perhaps, despite being the same rows of words, what The Devourer of Luck meant for Hastur meant something else for Kai?
This was most likely the case, he believed, given that all epithets were linked to their respective Lores.
So, unless Hastur the Old One also had the same lore, claiming Himself to be a Hero of Fate, then Kai had nothing to lose his hair over.
The same might not be true for his followers, though, especially for Meg.
Morning Mist had always been a devout follower of Hastur. She had remained a Priestess of the Temple for thirteen floors. When she had lost her Worth, the only reason she survived Chaos' judgment was that Hastur had intervened, letting her start over from the 1st Floor.
Of course, the higher-ups of the Temple began to manipulate her, exploiting her rich experience and fallen status to do worthless tasks later.
However, the Temple of Hastur worshiped the Old One, and it didn't represent Him, as Meg had told Kai ceaselessly for years.
At this moment, she might have gained an enormous affection for him.
However, Kai had never doubted once that she also believed in Hastur with the same zeal as before, if not more.
That had never bothered him, as Meg had openly accepted that she would never pray to the King in Yellow, unless Kai demanded. The Echoes implanted in her, which were actively decrypting the seal on her mind and memories, had also nodded, stating her words as truth.
But if she were to learn about Kai's new epithet, it would be impossible for her not to make any connection.
The same was true for others as well.
If there was one thing common about Kai's followers, then it was that they all had some enmity with one of the three Temples of Old Ones in the Primordial Tower.
For Meg, it was the Temple of Hastur.
For Red Sun, Moraine, and Spawn, it was the Temple of Amon-Gorloth.
Kai had yet to accept Tina as a true member of the White Serpent Pirates. But Old Sage also had a bad relationship with the Temple of Byagoona.
All in all, the matter of a new epithet was a delicate topic.
Kai had wanted to share this only after it became impossible to continue without letting them know it.
That's why he hadn't transferred the details regarding the new epithet directly to their minds, opting for rocketing his way to the planet, instead.
Now, as Kai studied the panic on the Top-level 11th-Floor Contestant's face, he had no choice but to reconsider his decision, though.
Unless…
"… Does this space come under Timeline's authority?" Kai asked.
It was easy to guess that someone had predicted his arrival and had attacked the very magic of the Tower's teleportation vortex. If Kai hadn't had Ad Infinitum and Biokinesis, the sheer spatial distortions would have been enough to kill him several times over.
Even easier was to find the identity of this attacker — The Order of the Immortal Lotus!
The same group of has-beens, who dared not go against him within the timeline, had taken advantage of his Inter-Bubble journey to attack him… and failed.
What did come as a surprise, and was difficult to guess, was Herpo the Foul's presence in the timeline, especially when that particular Timeline despised him.
[You are…] Death the Artificer hissed through the Cloak of Disguise. [… And you are not, either.]
Kai's eyes narrowed. "Explain."
[I have been noticing the way you interact with me, my scion,] Death remarked, holding a murderous chill in His voice. [Your Excellency… Your Highness… Do you not find me scary enough to lack such manners? Or did Zelretch terrify you so much that you couldn't help but humble yourself? You addressed even a mere fictitious character as Your Majesty, didn't you? Do…]
"Do I really have time for this?" Kai asked, cutting Him off. "To Zelretch, I am a Contestant… an interesting one, perhaps. To you… I am Nyarlathotep. If you want an over-the-top, pretentious label, then stop using me as a spying machine. Stop hiring me for your nefarious missions. Or do you think I don't know what you are up to… Your Highness?"
The space folded in silence in Kai's surroundings.
It was impossible to surmise what else would have folded if Death had been within the Bubble, not on His way to it.
[…] Death let out a breath, making the ten imprint on Kai's right-hand itch. [A Timeline's authority isn't limited to celestial bodies. It's tethered to Characters. That's why, for a Character to travel the Bubble, or the Multiverse at large, one must surpass one's parent Timeline.]
"… I see," Kai nodded, his slitted hazel eyes squinting. "So, if I bring a storyline Character here, then…"
[… then, yes.] Death nodded, knowing his thoughts. [You can call the Lethifold here.]
Sending a message to Red Sun and the others, the corners of Kai's mouth arched up as he confirmed his doubt.
Not because he had a way to bring a storyline character here, even farther than the moon. But because…
Black appeared as Kai's entire body morphed, ending the Identity Period ahead of time.
As Black cast a spell next to him, another figure replaced Kai… much smaller.
-Come to me…- Darcie, wearing a pristine silver gown, stared at the blue planet with her green eyes, and hissed. -… Lilith.-
*****************
AN: Up to 60 more chapters are available in advance across three Tiers. [Use the link in my Webnovel profile to access all options.]
You can even subscribe to the Trial Tier for just 1 dollar to have an experience of exclusive chapters for an entire month. I hope a few of you will consider supporting the work.
100 Power Stones/day: +1 Bonus Chapter next day