Six days didn't pass in a blink of an eye.
Kai remembered their every second, every minute, and the smell of dusty, old lamps over his head in the library. If it was in his hands, he could have stretched the time to sixty days.
An end was inevitable, though.
Kai was sitting on the same chair in the library, books, and scrolls strewn around him on the table neatly. His face was pale white, hair rough and tangled, and he had become leaner by such a degree that one could see the change. His eyes were sunken into his skull, but there was a perceptible glint within them, an unearthly desire and hunger for knowledge.
Simon was standing at his side, and he was looking at Kai like he had never seen a thing like him.
No Contestant with Kai's Stats could stay awake for 6 days without using some Skill and yet function with the same output as the very first day. It was an inhumane, nonsensical, and mind-bending work of art, seeing Kai devouring books after books and scrolls after scrolls.
As he sat there at the table, there was something about Kai that baffled all the eyes watching him. An amalgam of demonic and researcher's Wills that could scarcely be found near each other, and when they did, it all culminated in one word — Insanity.
By now, Kai had gone through all the books, documents, scrolls, and miscellaneous notes at least once. His curiosity and scientific mind had even shocked the Chief Bishop when Simon failed to answer the questions after the second day. The best Occlumens under the 6th floor weren't enough to tackle the otherworldly, hideous theories that Kai kept coming up with.
By the time the 6th day approached, even the Chief Bishop had to spend many hours thinking before answering his question.
Kai could have downplayed it a bit, he knew. But he was also aware of the fact that he wouldn't be coming back to the Temple of Byagoona for a long time. So, he let himself loose.
Kai put down the last scroll, closed his burning, numb eyes, and his mind raced to the thousands of theories combining Occlumency and Multiverse Interdependency. His mastery of the three core fields specified by the Chief Bishop hadn't reached the level of those who had been studying them for years, but it was still way ahead when one took into account the time of a mere six days.
But no matter how much Kai tossed and turned, and tried to become a puppeteer of these theories, he failed to come up with a structure of his own.
Ideas, more devious and vile than the last, kept coming to him, but he rejected them all. Nothing short of near-perfect was good enough for him. He wanted something that he could keep enhancing as his strength and grasp over the Mana grew. He wanted something absolutely unique that not only anyone had heard of, but would also fear coming in contact with.
"It's time," Simon said, his voice frail. "You must leave, now."
Kai sighed, shook his head, and pushed himself up.
A sudden weakness that he had never felt before pained his spine, neck, and every joint. Like a walking corpse, he followed Simon out, giving a last look to the library from over his shoulder. The words Occlumency on the wooden board were still as clear as he had seen them for the first time, and only when Kai reached the main hall did he recall that the section of Legilimency was just by its side.
If he could stay here for another 6 days…
You would die, a voice told him, originating from his heart. Now you need rest and time to digest what you have learned. Selene is starving. And you have a price to pay.
They found the Chief Bishop standing by the pool, surrounded by the giant statues of gods.
The dim glow of the lit red candles flickered on his black and white cloak like a hundred horses galloping away.
Kai neared him, and stood on his left, his eyes looking down into the stagnate black pool. He could see their faces reflected by its mirror-like surface, but something about these reflections repulsed him.
Simon left the Chief Bishop and Kai alone and retreated farther to the comfort of some stone bed.
"You have made a man wonder about your life before the resurrection, Red," the Chief Bishop said, his green eyes pulsating as he looked at Kai through the water. "No doubt a person like you had a Worth to get two Abilities just after coming to the Primordial Tower. But were you Worthy enough to get more? That's a billion credits' question, isn't it?"
Kai didn't lock his emotions. He was weak, but his breathing was calm, and with every next breath, his agitation receded little by little. Control wasn't easy, he had learned. He would need time and practice; lots of practice.
The Chief Bishop lifted his face and turned to look at him. Kai had to reciprocate.
"Before you leave the Temple," the priest told Kai, "let a man warn you. The nature of our deal demanded you receive your end of it beforehand. But in case you are to renegade from paying the price, your Candidacy will be canceled, and you will become the top enemy of the Temple.
"A man need not tell the consequences of such a title attached to your name. Even after paying the price, the knowledge you have learned in the last six days belongs to the Temple of Many-faced God, and you must not transfer it to anyone without the High Priest's exclusive permission.
"Any such attempt will be known."
Kai nodded. He just wanted to leave now.
The desire to run back to the library was eating him from within, and he knew some emotions were harder to control than others.
The Chief Bishop turned and walked towards the enormous doors.
Kai followed him, and as they neared, the doors opened by themselves. A light, milky white mist was dancing over the green floor of grass way beyond the building's knoll. And he could even hear water walking over stone and pebbles — soft, but determined.
"You have read about all the Multiverse Interdependencies," the Chief Bishop said, stopping at the gate's threshold. "But the most supreme of its kind wasn't among them."
Kai's eyes narrowed, halting beside the faceless man.
"A man hopes you would consider becoming HIS priest," the Chief Bishop continued, looking out to the golden horizon. "The Temple needs a Contestant like you, Red. So, let a man show you some goodwill.
"The paramount Multiverse Interdependency that the true faceless men use to combine their nature with the concepts of Occlumency and Legilimency is based upon a Saying.
"A Saying that has been passed down from ancient times before the first dawn. It has no true meaning, and every faceless man has interpreted it in a unique way, concluding a result different from all.
"Listen —"
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