Chapter 75: Frail Second Sister (2)
Kai’s eyes bear witness to the catastrophic spectacle that changed the shape of the entire sky.
He needed to stay calm so as not to blow his cover, that he was actually a sibling, however that worked in the House of Night since they weren’t blood-related. But in the face of the entire night sky churning by her will. In the face of power beyond what Kai thought was possible.
It was hard to remain calm.
Hard to keep his act.
High above, the sky collapsed into a spiraling mass of shadow that stretched for miles.
All of it drawn toward a single, brilliant star at its center. The light burned unnaturally bright, like an eye staring down at the world. And beneath it stood the woman. She was looking down at Kai like he was an ant.
She didn’t make elaborate moves or gestures.
Just stood there, and everything in the area answered to her presence.
Darkness surged upward from the ground, feeding the vortex as if the world itself was being drained. Around it, crows sward in violent circles. Not the normal crows. Their beaks split open too wide, lined with jagged, tooth-like edges, snapping at the air as they screeched and spiraled faster, pulled into the storm.
She controlled the night as far as the eye can see.
On the other hand, Kai could only draw in a strand from the night.
Such disparity of power made him feel feeble.
Skotessa? Who is that? Another sister?
Kai didn’t know what was going on, or even what sent the woman off, but only another sister would be able to be a threat to this woman, without a doubt. And now, he was mistaken for a Nightborn belonging to this Skotessa.
Not sothing he was aiming for.
What do I say? What can I even possibly say?! For Zeus’ sake, she’s guessing. She has to be. Just because she doesn’t know , she instantly assud I’m another’s Nightborn? But to think she quickly reached this conclusion... Does she actually know every Nightborn in her territory?
It sounded impossible.
Kai knew how hard it was to find even a single Nightborn.
But seeing her imnse display of power, it seed it was impossible for soone like him.
For her, it’s possible.
Under the catastrophic storm, Kai racked his brain to find out how to get out of this situation safely. He wanted to wake up, but he couldn’t as long as he was near the hole of light. No other choice but to keep the act going.
Noxian... Right, Noxian!
Kai recalled sothing that Noxian said that could help him right now.
Despite the fear and panic settling in his entire body, he tried to stop the shaking and crossed his arms. He stared at the woman without flinching. "I’m offended," He said, trying to make his voice deeper. "I’m offended that you think that low of ."
Seeing the calmness, the woman started second-guessing herself.
’I don’t know him. He didn’t get pulled by the light. And even with this—he doesn’t seem to be scared at all,’ the woman’s delicate brows dipped into an evident frown. ’Not to ntion, his eyes...’
From the mont she laid eyes on him, there was a chill seeping into her bones.
It ca from his eyes.
A pair of ink-black eyes that looked deep. Twin abysses without bottom or boundary, smooth and lightless—as polished obsidian. Staring at them too long ant accepting the ground to vanish beneath her feet, replaced by a silent, patient pull that hooked into her soul.
They held no warmth.
In a way, his eyes were similar to hers.
Looking at him was the sa as looking at her reflection in the mirror, but different sohow.
’His eyes are very much terrifying and beautiful at the sa ti. I quite like them.’
Seeing the surge of darkness calming down, Kai was ecstatic inside.
Noxian had once told him before that there were Nighborns who didn’t want to be known by anyone. They had nas, but they guarded them fiercely, never allowing another soul to learn them.
So went further—actively shunning all contact, avoiding anything that moved.
Kai decided to adopt those kinds of Nightborns, and it seed it was working.
Slowly, the woman descended and landed softly against the shallow water.
No ripples were made.
"Seems like I misunderstood," the woman placed a hand against her heart. "I apologize."
"Don’t even try to butter
up," Kai sneered and turned away. "I won’t give you my na."
"You can see through my intention easily, I am embarrassed," the woman offered a sheepish smile, suddenly becoming polite and dulcet. Like talking to a senior. "But I will give you my na. Mallory... It’s Mallory. Second Daughter of the Primordial Night."
Kai smiled inwardly.
He wasn’t planning to et any of the sisters within the House of Night, much less be in this productive dynamic with one. Considering that Mallory viewed him as a special Nightborn— he could use this to his advantage.
"What is this thing?"
"A hole that leads to... I don’t know."
"You don’t know?"
Kai glanced at Mallory, raising a confused brow.
As a Daughter of the Primordial Night, with the degree of control she wielded over the House of Night—that Kai had witnessed first-hand, he expected her to know everything. Especially when she was around the area, sitting alone in perfect silence.
So, this was unexpected.
"I know what you’re thinking—but this hole is sothing new. It wasn’t here before. And if I had to guess by how it was pulling in the House of Night," Mallory looked at the distortions that the hole created. "I am guessing it’s a leak. I don’t know what happened—but it’s not my problem.
"Mother will deal with it." She shrugged her shoulders.
Mallory wasn’t here to help the Goddess close this leak.
She was bored, and this new place was the only interesting thing in the area.
Kai remained silent.
Not because he didn’t know what to say, but because of the notifications that appeared.
Two rectangle-shaped notifications that excite him.
[Quest: Explore the House of Night — Completed]
[You can pick one Main Path to unlock in the House of Night]
Kai fisted the air inside his mind.
He had assud he’d need at least another month to complete the quest. During his month-long training—after all, he had focused completely on stabilizing his foundation as a Grade-2 Awakened Supernal, not on making progress toward his goal.
There are many sleepless nights.
And even if he used the Deep Slumber to sleep, he only did it to recharge his stamina.
But he managed to finish the quest quickly.
Far quicker than he intended.
Main Path? What is that?
Kai knew that Path represented the source of the Nightborn’s power.
Perion, for instance, has the path leading to the God of Doom as an Ending of Stone. Frankly, Kai still didn’t know what the correlation was between the Goddess of the Primordial Night and the other Gods.
Even Noxian has a source coming from the Goddess of Discord, and it’s confusing.
But the Path on his status window was straightforward.
It represents the source of power for a specific Nightborn.
A Main Path should be sowhere along that line.
I can’t think of anything, but I should check it out soon. Wait, how do I even choose this Main Path?
Should I call in the night again?
Since that might be the case, Kai needed to part ways with Mallory.
He wanted to et her again, as she must know a lot more as the Daughter of the Primordial Night, but he didn’t want to force it. Fooling her like this is pure luck. And he didn’t want to be anywhere near her when his luck runs out.
"Are you leaving?" Mallory’s voice snapped Kai out of his daze.
"What?" Kai asked. "Still going to demand to know my na?"
"No. I can’t learn any na right now, but I can soon."
"Then good luck learning your next Nightborn."
Kai turned and walked away, heading out of this peculiar area with nonchalant steps.
He deliberately took another route, fearing eting the hostile Nightborn from earlier.
The exploration was a great success.
Now, Kai wanted to return to Perion’s domain and quickly try to choose a Main Path.
But he stopped dead in his tracks when a voice rang.
"Can I at least know your ending?"
"It’s the Hate Ending. We’ll et again when fate allows it."
Kai didn’t wait another second. He slipped out as quickly as he could, heart hamring in his chest, terrified Mallory would notice the sweat beading on his brow. He still had no idea why he’d claid the Hate Ending, but it seed to work.
He didn’t get stopped.
At the very least, there’s no Nightborn she knew with that ending.
It was enough for him.
Mallory, on the other hand, stared at where Kai disappeared to with an evident frown.
"What does he an by when fate allows it? Fate has no reign over us," She tilted her head in confusion at the remark. It got her to think, but she quickly shook her head. "Must be a really old Nightborn that had never co out. Either way, I’m going to get your na. No matter what."
Monts later.
No Nightborn ca to spook him throughout the entire way.
It was, fortunately, uneventful on the way back to Perion’s territory.
Kai had learned his lesson. He no longer reached for the night as freely as before. Using the night didn’t exhaust him—but it drew in unwanted attention. Attention that’d get him killed. Now, he held it in reserve.
A weapon to be drawn only when absolutely necessary.
Other than that, he’s going to walk.
"I say that, but now I’m using it..." Kai smiled sheepishly.
He was now sitting on the shallow water, calling in the night to the mark on his forehead.
Perion got obliterated by the hostile Nightborn, so he needed to be healed.
Fortunately, healing Perion didn’t take long. The mont it was done, Kai locked his location in mind and broke into an impatient jog. After everything that had happened, safety felt like a lie soone had once told him.
Every second felt like he was being watched from the shadows.
Every second felt like sothing was going to pounce on him.
He was paranoid.
So much so that he called out Perion to accompany him on his walk.
And when he arrived at Perion’s territory, he bent down and held his knees, panting heavily.
"I’m finally safe..." Kai caught his breath for a good minute, chest heaving up and down, and then took a look around. He approached a clearing at the center of the territory and nodded, finding the place suitable. "Now, let’s see what the Main Paths that I can choose from are."
He called in the night.
Listening to his will, the strand shot out to the border of the territory with a thunderous crack.
And after the impact, three paths were opened.
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