Black could hardly believe what he just heard.
Someone, an unknown entity of unfathomable origin, had called out his name… name!
'Kai D. Stormborn' was a mystery. Even a Deep One like Zelretch couldn't just see it, unless he told Him.
So even if this figure could see his Stats, it was utterly impossible for it to see his name.
Then…
"Calm down," the figure said humorously. "I cannot see your name. I just made an… educated guess."
Black balled his fingers into fists. "What… do you want?"
He didn't want to interact with this figure anymore. It felt like the longer he stood near it, the more it would keep unraveling his mysteries one by one — like sorting out a ball of entangled strings.
"I already told you," the figure reminded. "I want to know what you intend to do with the Greater Grail."
Black kept his mouth shut.
Why must he tell it anything?
The figure lifted its long arm and made a peace sign. "You have two choices," it said matter-of-factly, curling one finger. "First, you can wish for the timeline itself. You can wish for the timeline's subservience when you come to claim it under your authority as an Outer One in the future.
"It will certainly anger the Great Spider. It will certainly result in a Multiversal War between the Harry Potter Bubble and ORT. If you survive that War, you will have both Harry Potter Mirror timeline and Fate Key timeline fused into your Verse Fusion Bubble. Of course, both timelines have already stepped beyond their original Overall Grade and Mirror and Key statuses."
Black's pupils shifted.
He had known that it was happening to the Harry Potter timeline because of Darcie having the Supreme Providence. But he hadn't known that selecting Protagonists and causing the strongest Greater Grail to appear would make this timeline advance toward a Mirror status, too.
"I like Ad Infinitum," the figure pointed out. "It makes conversing with you… pleasant."
"What's the second choice?" Black asked, humoring the figure.
"This Fate timeline has already tasted what it feels like to be more than a Key," the entity said, curling the second finger. "Like a hound who has tasted human blood. Instead of wishing for it, convince the timeline yourself. This will leave you to wish for something else. Something that you need more than the timeline itself."
"What?" Black asked. What could he need more than the timeline?!
"A chance."
"A chance?!"
The figure smirked. "A chance to understand your Reality Marble better," it suggested. "With a better understanding of Limitless Blood Firmament, you will be able to create the Magic Core easily. Also, achieving Bankai depend upon it as well, no? If you want to fuse Life into your Mana-Breath-based Reality Marble, you need to go deeper into your comprehension from the time when you first unleashed it.
"You have already tasted what it feels like to own Unlimited Blade Works. Through the Limitless Blade Firmament, you, Shirou Emiya, and Archer were connected — like a Contestant and Character never had before. Tap into that connection. Tear a page out of their book and gain further mastery over your Reality Marble."
"Tap into the connection?" Black questioned.
The figure nodded. "First, you can wish for turning your Hero Title into a Standalone Title," it suggested. "The Skills of a Standalone Title are more… connected to your Source, than mere Titles. This simple wish will consume negligible Mana from the Greater Grail. Then, wish for a state of comprehension, combining it with A Hero's Will Is Unmatched. This will let you act on your strong points.
"Let your Conqueror Haki spread across the entire Reality Marble. Time has no meaning in this place. You can spend a thousand years figuring things out, and not one moment will pass outside. Use it. Of course, you must do it after wishing for the little things first. Like asking for a fleshly shell for Medea…
"… Enough…" Black's fists shook.
"… and materializing Illya's soul through Third Magic, as you planned originally."
"Enough!"
Waves of blood rose around Black and undulated away, disappearing into the horizon.
Black stared at the figure. "Who Are You?!"
The figure stared at him for a few moments and then began walking away. "You must have guessed from the descriptions of A- Skills," it said, not looking back. "You have stepped onto the path of Concepts. Things will not be as simple as gaining Skills and executing them with no thoughts anymore. Sure, with Nothing Is Impossible, My House, My Rules, and The Fate Borrower, you will find yourself walking on familiar grounds. So… your questions should reflect that mentality, too."
Black frowned.
The figure stopped and looked sideways toward the hole pouring out blood.
"What is The Primordial Tower?" the figure began, its voice gaining an ethereal touch. "Why does it have Chaos and Order? Why are there 21 known Floors? Why is there a 22nd unknown Floor? Why were you given a choice to select between Chaos and Order, if it was Chaos who had sent you to Soul King in your Initiation Mission?"
The figure looked over its shoulder and found a stunned Black, his body shaking as the Ad Infinitum went haywire.
"Instead of asking me who am I," the figure said, "you should contemplate who are you, oh… Devourer of Luck. Didn't these words ring a bell?"
So what if he shared the same epithet with the King in Yellow. It was nothing but a…
"… Coincidence…" Black stopped.
The corners of the figure's non-existent mouth lifted. "You are not the only Lucky One in The Primordial Tower," it said. "Just like your Luck conspires against everyone, including fate, someone else's Luck… much greater than yours… also conspires — against the entire Multiverse. Remember your motto, Kai… One step at a time. One power at a time. And one day you will have all your answers. And more."
The figure began walking away, thinning out.
No. No. Black couldn't just let it go like this. He ran after it, but the distance itself lost meaning, creating an unreachable gulf between them.
"WHO ARE YOU?" Black shouted, the end of his hair glowing yellow. "IS THAT NOT A QUESTION?"
The figure paused — seemingly standing hundreds of miles away, its yellow hair flailing without wind.
It looked back.
Its face… didn't lack features anymore.
One moment, it donned Kai's face. At another, it donned Alan's. There was Meg, Cersei, Petyr, Shae, Sonia, Desmond, Arlen, and hundreds of others… who Kai had encountered in his over-thousand-year-long life.
Finally, it donned the face of Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, grinning ear to ear.
Black stumbled back.
"So what if you don't pray to me…" He said, disappearing. "You are still my Priest. Hahaha!"
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