Brainstorming - Primordial Laws

Cersei sat up straight, her eyes widening to the fullest extent. "Have you gone mad, Petyr?!"

Kai lifted his hand, making Cersei hold back her tongue. "I share his worries," he continued, "and my worries are not baseless. Petyr?"

Littlefinger nodded. "First, as told to us by my lady, Item-M," he said, leaning forward, "there is no mention of Herpo the Foul in the main storyline. That means, if he is alive, then he has hidden himself well behind the curtains, to the point that not even Voldemort or Dumbledore could see a hint of him before their eventual death.

"Second, we don't know how many Horcruxes he had created. Voldemort proclaimed in the main storyline that he was the only one who had trodden the furthest on this path. But that's only valid in the absence of Herpo the Foul. This ancient wizard is the creator of this Dark Magic, and if he's alive, has lived for over 2000 years. The possibilities, dangers, and risks related to him are endless."

At the mention of Item-M, Kai frowned.

His slave had brought no good news to him, Kai remembered. Somehow, Contestant Aphrodite had found out her Code Name and had become her Sponsor. Item-M had told him that the Temple of Hastur would never divulge this info, despite her being an ex-priestess. The testament to her claim was the fact that other than Aphrodite, none of Kai's remaining 4 Sponsors had contacted her.

Cersei fell into a deep silence after hearing Petyr's reasons and Kai's acceptance of his words. "So," she said after some time, "this search of his three parts of the book — Daemonologie, In Forme of a Dialogue, is a trap."

"It's plausible," Kai nodded. "But the Inheritance is real, as confirmed by Shadow Origin's answer."

"Then why even bother with it?" Cersei asked.

Petyr chuckled. "This Inheritance is of paramount importance to our lord," he said, smiling, "and the reason behind it is perhaps the same as the reason behind asking the Soul-related question to the Sponsor."

Cersei's eyes lit up. "You mean…"

"Eon Soul Dew." Petyr's voice echoed, melting into the fire by their side. "Am I right, master?"

Kai's gaze matched Petyr's, and he nodded. "Not bad," he praised. "I could ignore the knowledge behind the Horcruxes and the magical principles behind the creation of Basilisk. I could let go of the thousands of dark arts, dimensional magic, and hidden knowledge about magical creatures. The mark of Death… How to call upon Death? This, too, I could have let go. But there is one thing I want the most. Herpo the Foul's attainments related to the Soul."

Cersei stood up, seeing the empty glass in Kai's hand. She picked up the jar of wine and refilled his cup. Petyr swished his empty cup at her. He and his cup, she ignored.

Cersei's graceful figure and slender legs cast a thin shadow on Kai as she retook her seat by his side. "I don't understand," she said, looking at Kai. "What's the relation between Eon Soul Dew, the question you asked to Shadow Origin, and Herpo the Foul's soul attainments?"

"I had a mind to ask the same question myself, my lord," Petyr remarked.

Kai smiled at her. His hand lifted and caressed her cheek in affection, his thumb rubbing away the wetness of wine from the corner of her lips. "Well," he intoned, "without the Philosopher's Stone in our hands, the answer to your question is meaningless. There is a second even more important reason. But I haven't decided about it yet."

Cersei smacked her lips as Kai's hand returned to rest on the chair's arm. "Before entering Hogwarts, it will be too hard to get the Philosopher's Stone, no?"

"It will be," Petyr barked, pouring wine for himself. "However, need I remind you, my lady? The Magical World of Harry Potter isn't the only Random World with the concept of the Philosopher's Stones."

Cersei paused, her gaze astonished, and Kai gulped down the entire cup in one go.

"You lost, my lord," Petyr suddenly said, smiling, bringing his white knight out.

Cersei sneered. "Stop the foolery, Petyr," she rebuked. "We have much to discuss. I have been thinking about a Multiverse Interdependency, master."

"Oh!" Kai raised an eyebrow, his eyes never leaving the chessboard. "Out with it, then."

Cersei pushed a stray lock of curly hair behind her ear, her rosy cheeks beckoning for a kiss. "It's related to Dementor-Kai," she began, her gaze thoughtful. "You told us that the feeling of devouring souls is like drinking a mead. Losing the soul leaves the prey in a vegetative state; an empty shell. But, if I may be so bold to say, don't these effects look similar to the ones described by the… (-Cersei paused, gritted her teeth, took a breath, and continued-)… the Insect Hashira, when she warned you about the dream demon?"

Kai stole his eyes away from the game and looked at her. He smiled. "Continue."

Cersei sipped the wine to wet her throat. "According to her, the Dream Demon could enter one's Inner World and shatter their Spiritual Cores. I think there is a great mystery here; a great relevance.

"I think that the mead Dementor drinks out of a target, using the Skill, Dementor's Kiss is nothing but Spiritual Power contained within the Spiritual Core. The Reiryoku, in its purest essence. The moment Dementor sucks out a Soul completely, this Spiritual Core disintegrates, leaving the target in a vegetative state. So, in my opinion, this Multiverse Interdependency states that the Soul is nothing but condensed Reiryoku (Spiritual Power) in the Spiritual Core within one's Inner World."

Petyr gawked at Cersei with his mouth open, the cup of wine pausing midair on its way to his lips.

Kai could scarcely believe what he was seeing.

What was beauty?

This was it.

"Brilliant!" The word exploded out of Kai's mouth. "Magnificently splendid!"

Cersei's face went red, her noble birth letting her hold her head up even in shyness. "I do what I do for you. Always."

Kai nodded. "Your loyalty towards me isn't going unnoticed, Cersei," he said offhandedly. "It's quite astonishing that you thought of this Multiverse Interdependency by yourself. I haven't even decided to share this with you two this, as a matter of fact."

Both Cersei and Petyr looked taken aback.

"You mean… you already knew about it, my lord?" Cersei prodded, pride flickering on her face.

"Indeed." Kai narrowed his eyes at the chessboard. "However, it doesn't mean that you telling it first counts for nothing. It was truly outstanding for you to come up with it by yourself. It means you had been observing and analyzing the 2nd stage meticulously."

The Characters remembered nothing that happened within the White Room of the Book. But what happened outside the book, they could see, and hence, they could remember it, think about it, and analyze it. That's why they could even hear all the conversation and whatever Kai could see.

So it didn't come as a surprise to Kai that Cersei had figured out something extraordinary by herself. She wasn't as intelligent as Kai, but her cunning and logical skills knew no bounds.

Kai knew his Characters in and out.

Petyr couldn't hold it anymore. "Would you honor us by sharing your thoughts, my lord?"

Kai took a deep breath. "This is the second reason for me to go after Herpo the Foul's Inheritance, or his attainments in Soul, to be exact," he told them. "But as I told you two, I haven't decided about it. Tell me, what determines the value of Soul Points?"

Soul Points were the digitization of a Soul devoured by Dementor-Kai, they knew.

It was Cersei who responded first. "The more magical a Soul is, the more Soul Points it gives."

Sure enough, as Kai had expected, the moment Cersei said that Petyr's eyes shone with an ominous glint.

He knew the Herald of Chaos must have already figured out where it was going.

"What you said is true." Kai nodded, grinning. "Or it was, before Shinobu's teachings in the VF Random World. Magical Quality of Soul indeed determines Soul Points. However, according to what you just said, the Soul is the condensed form of Reiryoku and it is contained within the Spiritual Core. One must also not forget that the concepts of Spiritual Core, Spiritual Power, Spiritual Pressure, Sword Spirits, Shikai, and Bankai are all related to Breath."

"This?!" Cersei suddenly exclaimed, a drop of wine spilling out of the cup.

Kai chuckled. "See? What you have figured out isn't merely a Multiverse Interdependency related to Dementor and Spiritual Core. It goes beyond that. This is a Multiverse Interdependency between Mana and Breath, at their cores. An Interdependency between…"

Cersei completed Kai's words with a trembling voice. "… Primordial Laws!"

All Random World had some Laws that were unique to them, and some they shared. But there were a few laws that stood at the top. All Random Worlds used one or more of their forms in their timelines. Like Breath existed in the World of Naruto as Chakra, but as Reishi (Spirit Particles) in the Bleach World.

Item-M had introduced these laws to Kai as Primordial Laws.

Kai laughed ruefully. "It is too early for us to dive into this hellhole," he said, accepting his shortcomings. "I neither have the strength nor enough Comprehensions to back my own thoughts and theories. That's why Herpo the Foul's Inheritance becomes too important for me to ignore."

The group fell into a ponderous silence, then.

"So what are your plans, my lord?" Cersei asked, her voice gentle.

"Hmm, there is a feast at home on Christmas Eve," Kai said, smiling, the fingers resuming the drumming on the wood. "I think it is time to plant a traitor in the enemy camp. It is never too early to prepare for the unseen future. Hehe!"

As Kai's encrypted words rang in Petyr and Cersei's ears, a black pawn laughed demonically, taking out a wooden dagger from its wooden body. It moved according to Kai's intention and positioned itself far away from Petyr's knight.

However, with this pawn's movement, the entire game changed, all formations of the white toppling themselves.

Petyr looked at his white pieces, and then at the black pawn, and a hideous frown appeared on his face.

One moment he had been winning.

Now he had already lost.

*************

AN: The Side Chapters available on Patre0n are realted to this chapter. If you want to know more about Cersei's observations in the Book's White Room, Item-M's interaction with Aphrodite during the 2nd Stage, and Item-S' thoughts related to Kai, then you can check them out there. Enjoy!!!