The Paradox
Late afternoon, June 9
Seagull
The ferry's fare was cheap.
Kai sat in his chair in a room, looking out at the sea through the small round glass window. In front of him lay pages after pages of information on the Pokemon and Harry Potter World. Combined with the things he had got to know from the Thunder Faction, he now had a pretty good idea about these two worlds.
The Soul Points he had gotten from three 3rd-floor Contestants were so low that Kai dared not even think about them lest it would bring out his rage. All they had given him were 600 Mission Credits, and the return of the Title, Murderer.
By the morning, Kai had boarded the ferry, Seagull, along with a depressed Meg, who did not know what had happened last night. Still, she was a shrewd old woman, and Kai had an inkling that she had guessed some things after dealing with her state.
'No wonder I got all the details so thoroughly, and so soon,' Kai reflected, remembering the look of extreme fear Meg had tried to hide while passing the notes. 'Like she could hide those emotions from me, heh!'
As he looked at the high and low waves and a flock of Pokemon flying far into the horizon, Kai recalled the things that had happened after coming to the Pokemon World. His Snake Instinct's Proficiency had risen to 50% because of all the continuous activation in the last week. Filth Manipulation had surpassed even that, rising to 55%.
Kai was sure that if Alto Mare's sewers weren't so clean, he could have made it go even higher. Yet, the most welcoming change had happened to a Title.
Kai brought out the last notification about it.
[
Your Title status is updated…
Title: Poacher
Specification: Kill 10 magical beasts collectively. The magical beasts' grade must be equal to or higher than Contestant's equivalent floor number
Status: (7/10)
Effect: Agility +1, Perception +1, Charisma -2
Note: Only 1 Title can be equipped at a time
]
He had certainly killed over 5 Pokemon, Kai knew.
For the Status to rise by only 5 points, there could be only one reason. Some of the Pokemon's grades were lower than his equivalent floor number. So the System didn't count them as his Kills.
'That's OK too,' Kai nodded to himself. 'I am positive I can get this Title before going back to Alto Mare.'
-Food-
A hiss made Kai snap his head back.
Perched on the bed was Selene, her hood raised high and her forked tongue flicking up and down.
This was the thing Kai had been worried about when he had got to know the Milestone. He knew Selene would need more food of better quality after upgrading, that's why he had specifically gone after Ross and his Pokemon. He and Petyr concluded that according to the world's standards, Ross couldn't be counted as a main-storyline character.
So, Kai could only think of one reason for the Latias to show up at his position out of the blue. And as much as he had restrained himself from not thinking about it, he couldn't help but curse it.
Luck. Now standing at 4 with the help of Title, Coin Master, it was still just short of being called misfortune.
Yes, the fatal random encounters had gone down, but it wasn't a permanent solution, he knew.
-I am hungry- she hissed again.
-You just ate, Selene. We have little magical flesh left- Kai hissed.
-I want to hunt. I smell food-
Face hard, Kai told her again what he had been telling her since yesterday. -You can't-
Selene puffed, yawning, showing her long, venomous fangs.
It all seemed like an exasperated sigh to Kai. He looked at her as she went over to the corner where on a plate were a few meatballs. They didn't seem to appease her as much as they once used to after she had tasted the Pokemon.
Kai looked at her in pure fascination, and in purer horror.
Yes. Horror beyond imagination. For he could see things now that he couldn't when she was smaller. His eyes landed on her left eye. It didn't seem as harmless as before to him. Now that she had grown, he could make out infinite patterns within that eye that seemed to change as she moved.
Kai clenched his fists as he found those hideous patterns matching that of the Door he had seen in his Blood Prophecy.
Even the eye itself was beyond something Kai could look at for long.
One time it looked caved in, depthless, like a deep yellow chasm full of weird geometrical shapes that felt alive. Other times it seemed to bulge out like a telescope as if someone was on the other side looking hard at his magnified face.
Then there was her right eye. The illusions of hundreds of worms wriggling inside that black abyss had turned out to be the reality. Kai looked into both of her eyes, not knowing what to do with her. He remembered asking her what had happened when he was in the Blood World.
'I felt something bad happening to you, master,' she had hissed at him. 'Then I got a feeling that going towards your chest would make things alright. I remember nothing after that. When I heard you calling me and I came out, I couldn't see anymore.'
Kai didn't know how to make heads and tails of her story.
One thought told him to just flung her away into the ocean and be done with her. Other thoughts told him to stuff her with more power first and see what would happen.
Of course, that other thought had generated because of Kai's curiosity, and her new Stats.
[
Beast: Ghost Serpent (magical beast)
Grade: E+ (growth)
Type: Unknown
HP: 120
MP: 170
SP: 70
Attributes-
Strength: 9
Agility: 14
Stamina: 10
Perception: 20
Intelligence: 16
Breath: 5
Abilities-
1. Intangibility
2. Soul Chill
Skills-
1. Ghost Neurotoxin
2. Earth Vibration Sense
]
There wasn't much rise in Stats, but her Abilities and Skills potency had risen quite considerably.
But it was the word "Unknown" that made Kai shiver. He remembered it was Poison and Ghost-type before, and when he looked at her size, the first thought seemed to be a reasonable choice.
She was 3 ft long now, of the same length as he had seen in his Prophecy. That meant things were happening according to how they were meant to happen. Now, Kai couldn't have that, could he?
'The one thing I don't understand is why in the hell I would chant unknown words,' Kai thought, seeing Selene swallowing a meatball. 'I am not stupid.'
Kai knew himself, and that's why the knowledge of his future self doing something that stupid struck him the hardest. 'Will I be forced?' Kai asked himself. 'Who can force me to do something like that? If no one can force me, then… then will I do it voluntarily?'
Yet, the most troublesome thought that kept him awake at night was something else entirely.
'What will happen when I get that paper and the time comes to chant the things written over it?' Kai asked himself for the hundredth time. 'The future is subjected to change as per my actions, the Blood Prophecy Stats have warned me. But if I were to decide to not chant those words, what will happen to my past self? Will it get that abnormal Elite Ability? Will it get the 50 points of Worth Stat? And what would happen to Selene's past self?'
The questions made even Kai run his hands through his hair. He took pride in his knowledge regarding beasts, but this had nothing to do with them.
A Paradox. That's what it was, and Kai, for the first time, didn't have any idea where to begin.
Or if there was ever a beginning to this chain of events.
*******
AN: Reference to the Paradox is shared on Discord. Only 1 chapter today. Tomorrow MC will head out, and we will have a look at Morning Mist.