Brienne Valeheart and Life-Halt

When the appetizers were finished, or when Kai had finished them single-handedly, Cersei served them a plate of Classic Green Salad.

He heard the barest whisper coming out of Cersei's mouth. "Useless servant!" she must have said. Kai amused himself with the look on her face and ignored it.

-/Tell me about this Valeheart Empire/- Kai asked casually. -/I am interested in the Empress' sudden rise in power/-

Item-M, for the first time, lifted her head to look at Kai. "There is nothing of sudden nature regarding her, master," she said, with plain fear and awe. "Brienne Valeheart is a over 10,000-years-old monster."

Food almost fell out of Kai's mouth.

'How can this be?' He thought, gaping. 'Didn't Marine Roland tell me she reached the top some 100-years-ago and toppled the empire by herself?'

"The Empress was never a noble or a Set-lord," Item-M told Kai. "So, it isn't a surprise that none knows much about her. As I have told you, master, the 1st Set is called Baron Set, the 2nd Set is called Viscount. Then comes Count, Marquess, Duke, King, and Emperor. Brienne Valeheart was already a 18th-floor (King-level) Contestant when some 100-years-ago, madness possessed her. She just ascended to the 21st floor, and brought about such slaughter and destruction that for the next 10 years blood had dripped to the 1st floor of the Order's Peak."

Kai's bones shuddered. In the back of his mind, he could see a towering monster holding a spear and brandishing it like a death-whip. Blood running down like gurgling rivers, and flowing off the very world's boundaries.

This was the Absolute Power that Kai so dearly desired. What kind of level would he need to just go up and claim the throne for himself?

Kai licked his lips, and someone gasped.

The sudden noise snapped him out of his severe murderous state. Kai looked up and saw the appalling horror on Item-M's face.

-/Pardon me./- Kai said, finishing his salad. -/I lost control over my bloodlust./-

"I… I…" Item-M stuttered, catching her breath. "They say… she even wiped out the name of the last empire from the memories of every single Contestant. Such was her hatred. That's why no one can recall the name of the last empire."

This made Kai raise his eyebrows. -/Oh! You could do that? Wiping out a part of the memories of all the Contestants in the Primordial Tower, I mean. Isn't she an Order's Contestant?/-

Now Kai could understand why there was such awe on Item-M's lips when she talked about the Empress.

Item-M shook her head, placing her cutlery on the plate. "Logic doesn't apply to the Contestants above the 5th-Set," she said, smiling wryly. "And if any could do such an impossible thing, then it could be none other than the Empress. She has a Glitch and is known to have the highest Worth in the Primordial Tower. Some even say…"

Item-M trailed off as if steeling herself to say the next words.

"Some even say," she continued, "that her starting Worth after resurrection was well over 1000."

'What?!'

Kai forgot to breathe, an ugly expression replacing the tranquility on his face. He sat there in stunned silence for some time, imagining the consequences of having such a Worth. Involuntarily, his hand lifted and rubbed his chest as if trying to get some deepest hidden answers from the thing churning inside him. Alas, he was bound to be disappointed.

'1000,' Kai's chanted in his mind. '1000 Worth… What kind of abominable Glitch does she have?'

Curiosity took over his thoughts with such a depth that even Kai had never thought it could have.

"So, you can now tell, master," Item-M whispered. "When I heard you have a Glitch, it wasn't just a matter of shock. Only that couldn't have made me discard everything and come under your service. It was the destiny that is attached to those who have Glitch that made me lose all my bearings. And though all must serve you irresistibly, I won't recommend you revealing that you have a Glitch to anyone else. For a million years, no Chaos' Contestants had a Glitch. And many, more than many, would like to let things remain so."

Kai wasn't stupid enough to think otherwise. Item-M was the only special case. He had such a grip on her fate, that if she hadn't become his servant, he would have killed her. Now that he had her, there was no point in risking the knowledge of Glitch at least before reaching the 13th-floor.

None spoke much after this topic.

Cersei cleaned the salad plates and finally came to the main course. The entrees served on the cruise, Wavebreaker, were decadent and delicious. Pasta, Ducklett a l'orange, grilled Corphish tail, beef wellington, roast Pidgeotto, Pidove with berry sauce, and classic veal piccata soon decorated the dinner table.

Kai let himself get drunk on the smell before diving into them.

Cersei didn't leave Kai's side the entire time, always ready to refill his plates with just the slightest look. Item-M ate a bite of everything and then sat back comfortably, watching Kai cleaning the food off the plates like some gluttonous beast.

When the plates almost shone like there was never any food on them, Kai used Telekinesis to dump them in a corner. He rubbed the grease off from the corner of his mouth and tapped his heart. A mass of silver mist left him and solidified into Selene's figure. She slithered around him, eying the clean plates, Item-M, and Cersei.

-Dinner?- she hissed in Kai's ears, yawning. To the eyes of others, it looked like she was about to plunge those fangs into his neck. Kai chuckled, seeing Item-M almost getting up, her face as hard as iron.

-Look at her. She is nervous.- Kai hissed, patting Selene's head.

The Ghost Serpent hissed menacingly at Item-M and then looked away.

-She is weak- Selene declared.

Kai guffawed. Baffled at the exchange of these hisses, Cersei served the last item of the dinner.

Desserts.

Chocolate mousse, raspberry cheesecake, and classic apple pie were among the many sweet dishes. Before going in, Kai took out the corpse of a fish-type Pokemon he had bought from the cruise's kitchen and let Selene dine over it.

As the cake melted in Kai's mouth, he suddenly recalled an important matter.

-/I know that the Life Expectancy rises on the higher floors/- Kai addressed Meg. -/But I don't know the exact details/-

Unlike the previous dishes, Item-M was eating dessert happily.

'Oh? She likes cakes, then?' Kai wondered.

"Master has asked you a question, servant," Cersei chided icily. "You dare keep him waiting for the answer?"

Kai didn't interfere. Sometimes it was best to let the spark of rivalry remain among the servants. It helped in the long run, Kai had learned.

Item-M's face flushed. She put down the spoon and looked at Kai. "Forgive me, master," she apologized. "The more popular term is Life-Halt. It first happens when you ascend to the 3rd-Set. The System will bless you with 30 years of Life-Halt. So, if you were 25-years-old, then you won't age for the next 30 years. After 30 years, though, if you hadn't ascended to the next Set, your original life-cycle would continue until you die."

'Life-Halt,' Kai repeated the word. 'Interesting!'

This was an unexpected but welcomed surprise to Kai.

"The Life-Halt stacks upon ascending Sets," Item-M continued. "For example, if you had 10 years left from your 30-years Life-Halt on the 3rd Set, and you were to ascend to the 4th Set, then not only you would get a fresh Life-Halt of 100 years, but the leftover span of 10 years would also be added to it, making it 110 years."

-/Haha!/- Kai couldn't help himself, realizing the obvious bait. -/So this stacking is just the System's way to sway the Contestants from sitting idly and reach the next Set as soon as possible?/-

Item-M nodded.

Kai examined the freckles and the loose skin on her body. She had been a 13th-floor Contestant, he knew. All things pointed out that she must have been too old when she had ascended to the 5th Set.

-/So, how old were you when you ascended to the 3rd-Set?/- Kai asked, curiously.

"35."

Kai almost choked on the cake. He snapped his eyes at Item-M and couldn't fathom what he had just heard.

-/How old did you say?/- he asked again, daring her to lie to him again.

"35," she answered. "I was 35-years-old when I ascended to the 3rd-Set. I reached the 5th-Set within my Life-Halt. Before I failed my mission, I had a total Life-Halt of 590 years. Now, I think I am 109-years-old. So, I still have some 560 years of Life-Halt remaining."

'What the…' Kai cursed. 'What the actual fuck!'

-/Then why do you look so old?/- Kai demanded. -/I was told by Chaos that you can't change your appearance beyond your age group. So shouldn't you have a limit of looking like a 40-year-old woman, and not a granny approaching 60?/-

Item-M gaped. "… No, master," she said, reddening. "My age halted at 35, so now I can look anywhere from 35 to 109-years-old using Mission Credits before coming to the Random Worlds."

Kai still didn't believe it. For a moment, he thought something was amiss, and Item-M was lying to him. -/Prove it./- he commanded. -/Show me your actual appearance./-

This was an absurd request. But Item-M didn't even hesitate.

"Chaos," she said, forgetting the cakes, "I want to cancel my adopted appearance."

The moment she said that a burst of blue light flashed around her.

A brilliant red-colored waterfall appeared in Kai's eyes when the blues receded. Her long red hair was so dark that there was a tinge of purple to them. No longer, she looked frail and freckled. Her skin was as smooth as Cersei, and that was saying something in itself. Her eyes were wild brown, and there were curves on her body that even the long overcoat failed to hide miserably.

And, yes. She was beautiful.

Cersei's face went from Kai to Item-M and then back to Kai. A primal fury flashed across her face, and the wineglass in her hand burst apart in hundreds of tiny shards.

Kai ignored all the sounds. He looked Item-M up and down, taking her in her entirety. He felt attracted, but somehow, he felt nothing more than that.

Desire, yes. Kai thought of it. He, the known womanizer, lacked desire for Item-M.

Kai shook his head, amusingly.

-/Good./- he said, finally noticing the look on Cersei's blazing face. -/After this, don't disturb me before reaching the New Bark Town/-

Commanding that, Kai stood up. -/And you/- he told Cersei. -/Behave yourself/-

"Yes, master," both servants replied together.

And Kai was having a hard time holding back a howling laugh.

*********

AN:

1st Set (1 to 3 floors) - Baron (Set Lord will have the title of Baron)

2nd Set (4 to 6 floors) - Viscount

3rd Set (7 to 9 floors) - Count (Life-Halt: +30 years)

4th Set (10 to 12 floors) - Marquess (Life-Halt: +100 years)

5th Set (13 to 15 floors) - Duke (Life-Halt: +500 years)

6th Set (16 to 18 floors) - King (Life-Halt: ?)

7th Set (19 to 21 floors) - Emperor (Life-Halt: ?)