King Purple Mist chewed her anger, staring at the notification.
It was the first time Red had reached out to her since their last conversation.
Despite learning that the Five Supremes from the 15th floor had acted out against Red, despite knowing that Pangu, Red King's bastard, had gone to the Temple of Amon-Gorloth against Red, she had refrained from indulging herself in his matters.
Red wasn't a Contestant she had hoped to nurture to a King-level, trying to use him to pass through the Graveyard of Kings anymore.
He was a direct descendant of The Banished One.
She would use him still, but not in the manner she had planned before.
If there was anything Purple Mist had learned in her thousands of years of long life, then it was that the more she involved herself with Contestants like Red, the lesser the chances of remaining alive.
Carve your own path…
Carve your own ideals…
Carve your own field of blood and corpses…
That's how Purple Mist had become one of the strongest Kings on the 18th floor.
Reaching the King-level hadn't softened her thoughts, but only solidified them even more.
So, as she looked at the notification, she truly contemplated whether she should accept the call or not.
Purple Mist sighed, nodding to the System.
A blank screen popped up in front of her as the TIE fighter spun aimlessly in space.
The moment a black figure took shape on the screen, Purple Mist activated her Multiverse ID Hack Skill.
It was similar to hacking into a computer and learning its IP address.
Where the IP address told the approximate geographical location, the Multiverse ID Hack let her know the general timeline of the Contestant on the other side — Of course, it only worked if the said Contestant wasn't using a Firewall Skill to block such a blatant hack.
These two Skills were common among the Contestants above the 4th Set.
Purple Mist doubted that the fallen Priestess still remembered them, as the Temple of Hastur was notorious for sealing memories and knowledge related to higher floors.
Also, knowing that shitty old man's nature, she knew for a fact that he hadn't told Red about these, either, who must have already visited his descendant.
So, the moment Contestant Red opened his mouth to utter his first word, his location also displayed itself next to his blackened figure, making Purple Mist's eyes widen.
[Greetings, Your Majesty.] Red said, his voice sounding mechanical. [I need your assistance.]
Assistance, my foot! Purple Mist's hands were shaking. Didn't … Didn't old man tell him to never visit the Fate Bubble?!!
Sensing the stirring of Fate, and looking at the deep blackness of space, as if some beast would appear in front of her out of nowhere, Purple Mist's breath quickened.
Oh, shit! She cursed, her purple pupils dividing in two, three, and then four, only stopping when there was no whiteness to be seen in her eyes. SHIT!
When he didn't get any reply, Red continued. [I would like to…]
Purple Mist's body jolted.
Light purple bolts of lightning snaked around her as she forcibly jolted her Mindscape, regaining calm.
She didn't care about Red's path anymore.
But — she still couldn't just let her foolish brother die.
"Do not ask me anything about The Banished One," Purple Mist said, her voice sounding perfectly calm. "What are you doing in the Fate Bubble?"
…
[Do not ask me anything about The Banished One.] King Purple Mist's calm voice entered Kai's ears. [What are you doing in the Fate Bubble?]
Kai gaped at the screen hung in front of him, showing a blurry, black figure.
Not many things could bring out such an expression on his face anymore.
For his face to reflect this emotion meant even the Ad Infinitum was shocked beyond its processing capabilities.
How?! Kai questioned himself, the AI and Lucky Intuitions failing to come up with a plausible theory. How did he know where I am and what I was gonna ask?!!
It was like talking to the King two years ago all over again.
Kai had thought he had become powerful enough not to experience those fleeting moments of shock while talking to a King anymore.
Yet, here he was — with his jaw hanging low.
So what if he could talk with Deep Ones as he wished?
So what if he could plan with one Deep One against another?
So what if he could shock a Deep One with his accumulated strength and mysteries?
Kai suddenly realized a grave fact — In the grand scheme of things, he was still a puny existence, and possessing a terrifying potential didn't change that fact.
Am I over-processing it? Kai asked himself. Am I thinking too much about Zelretch's offer? Is He truly just offering me a Blessing with Mystery just because of my Potential and to save this timeline?
Sighing, Kai astutely noticed that Purple Mist had no intention of even discussing his father.
So, if that was out of the picture, then…
Kai had no other choice but to get an answer by talking about something Zelretch already knew; something He had willingly shared with him.
[Why did the seven non-human species die before reaching maturity?] Kai asked.
No mention of Blessing.
No mention of Zelretch, Dead Apostles, or anything related, either.
If Purple Mist could guess Kai's intentions across dimensions, then surely he could also figure out what Kai was truly asking.
Zelretch had told Kai that He had bestowed the same Blessing upon ten Contestants.
Of those ten, seven were non-human species and died before reaching maturity. Out of the remaining three, only one survived and became a King.
Being a King himself, Purple King must have an idea about the core strengths of other Kings.
For the first time, Kai sensed an emotion from the other side that he hadn't before.
He had sensed annoyance in Purple King's calm voice. He had even sensed greed and interest. But this…
… Confused?! Kai narrowed his eyes.
[Who said they died?] Purple King's voice rocked Kai's brain. [Those seven became Dead Apostle Superiors. But before they could become Successors, they met The Banished One. Now…
[… Now, they are his pets…]
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