Death's Proposal - Fooling the Systems?!

"Shocking, right?" the Cartoonist asked, his voice full of thrill.

It was clear he himself was learning of it for the first time.

"Of course, I have known these things before resurrecting in the Primordial Tower. Cough!

"Not long after, the Order caught the Inferi. Again, Merlin fooled them by giving a false prophecy, saying they might need it in the future.

"So, the Order sealed the Inferi on a distant island, and hid it under another Bounded Field."

No! Only now Kai had enough knowledge to infer conclusions of his own.

And what he found truly shocked him.

"The Inferi couldn't leave the Island," the Cartoonist said, reading the documents. "So it turned the island itself into its stronghold.

"To destroy Herpo the Foul, who had imprisoned it on the Island, it even began experimenting with the most forbidden kind of magic… It wanted to summon…"

[Me.]

"Of course, Merlin got the hold of it, seeing it in a prophecy," the Cartoonist continued. "So, with the help of the Order, he further added thirteen seals, sealing the Inferi deep into the depths of the Island. And, for each seal, Merlin appointed thirteen guardians."

No! Kai shook his head.

"And the document says… someone had already broken the 1st Seal. LOL!"

[My Scion. I want you to destroy those thirteen seals. Let the Inferi out. It will take care of Merlin. I have already been infusing it with my Powers… and my Will.

In the meantime, you must also find those five Vaults and destroy the Horcruxes sealed within them. Only then can you kill Herpo the Foul.]

Kai frowned. The instructions were clear, but something felt amiss.

"Why not do it by yourself?" he countered. "Don't tell me that even you, the great Death, can't deal with puny wizards like Herpo the Foul?"

"Hahaha!" the Cartoonist guffawed. "Great? Oh! My stomach!"

[… I am infinite. So are the timelines. All my interventions get replicated infinitely as a result.

So, yes. Even I can't recklessly tamper with them. Again, Merlin is hiding in Avalon, which is a place out of my authority.

Only the timeline's Characters and Contestants, especially the capable ones like you, can do so, without suffering little repercussions from the Timeline.]

"Little?!" Kai thundered. "I am already suffering from a Timeline's retribution! I… Wait! You! It was you!"

[Arceus the Original One is the only Deep One who is the most in-tune with the Timeline.

He had sensed my mark on you the moment you had arrived in HIS world. Creation of that… Item, and that too at your level, was enough Blasphemy for HIM to descend and annihilate you.

It was I who persuaded HIM against doing so.]

No. There was something amiss.

Kai could feel it in his blood and bones.

Death had been having HIS eyes upon him since the very start.

Kai refused to believe that there weren't Contestants special than him in the various Harry Potter Random World's timelines.

 Yet, The Artificer was bent on not only using him but was also going out of HIS way to help him against another Deep One?

What ridiculous notion was that?!

Is there something about me… that Death knows, Kai thought, his heart pounding, and I don't?

Kai's breathing quickened despite himself.

He forced himself to become calm, but the words and thoughts still buzzed in his mind.

It was like, since the very beginning, he had been riding on a wind, thinking it was him who was stirring the storm.

No wonder. No wonder he had always been feeling that he was somehow fated… with this Death… with the Harry Potter Random World.

In a sense, he was.

The Artificer was manipulating the strings behind the veil all this time.

This should have jolted Kai more.

But this answer calmed him even more, making him think rationally. With that, another hole opened up in the theory.

"Still," Kai said, his tone unhurried, "I can't believe you didn't even try finishing them by yourself."

The Cartoonist guffawed again.

"Oh, no! I peed a little! Well, He did try, doc. He interfered only once and the entire Harry Potter Multiverse suffered the repercussions."

What?!

[Infinite. If I intervene, I must intervene in all infinite worlds together.

The Order selected four disciples to act on their behalf.

I selected three champions of my own.]

"You…"

Three unbelievable names and a grand tale appeared in Kai's mind.

[Yes. The Peverell Brothers were my champions, armed with Artifacts forged by me. Each of them failed me.

I knew I couldn't rely on the people of my world, then.

That's where your kind comes in.]

Too much.

What he learned today was just too much.

What to do with such deep secrets and information? How must he proceed?

Despite asking himself these troubling questions, Kai knew what he must do. There was only one path.

[If you accept my proposal, then not only you will resurrect, but I also have a way to let you win this Tournament of yours.]

And that was the final straw.

"What is it?" Kai asked, smiling, for the first time. "Tell me everything. In detail."

[Hahaha! So be it. Listen, my Scion. I have a way to fool your so-called Systems.

Tell me, my Scion. Tell me, what do you think will be considered as you having cleared this third Stage of yours?]

"I know!" the Cartoonist screamed through the receiver. "Never attempting it in the first place, eh? Right? Haha! None…"

Kai ignored the yapping of the man and deeply considered Death's question.

The Cartoonist was obviously wrong about it, he knew. If he never even attempted the third Stage, then how would it ever clear it?

No. This wasn't the right way of thinking.

Then what?

Clearing the Samurai's Task is the most direct way to clear the third Stage, Kai ruminated.

But… this will be considered clearing, not having cleared, if that even makes some sense.

A sound came from the other side as if dark clouds had rolled overhead, rumbling.

[Hahaha!]

This laugh was no mere laugh, like the one from the Cartoonist. There was something truly ominous and hideous about it.

It spoke of not joy, as one could expect from a laugh, but of pain, death, and misery.

Of despair, it screamed.

But who was Kai? It took time, but if he was bent on coming up with a theory, no matter how illogical, it was very hard for him to not find one.

"The third Stage will be considered me having cleared it," Kai said calmly, but his heart racing in anticipation, "if…"

[… If the Systems reward you for it.]

"That made no sense," the Cartoonist snorted.

No. It does. Kai shook his head inwardly, amazed. It's the same difference between knowing that you will pass the exams and getting the report card in your hands.

One is only the feeling, the informal. The second is the true acceptance, the formal.

If I get the reward for clearing the third Stage, only then it truly says that I have cleared it. God! This… is HE…

[Knowing you, my Scion, you must have realized the significance of my question.

Yes, this is my answer to the matter of your resurrection. This is the only way to fool the Systems.

We must get you the reward for clearing the 3rd Stage.

We must cause…]

Kai blurted as if the word was dancing on his lips, "… a Paradox!"

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

AN: 60 Chapters ahead of Webnovel are on Patre0n. With each Tier, you will get ALL Monthly Uploads as well. You can also access all the backlog chapters, with Images and Gifs, enriching your reading experience, while simultaneously supporting the work.

Link: https://www.patreon.com/c/droopyauthor

50 Power Stones: +1 Bonus Chapter and +1 Bonus Chapter for every 20 Power Stones above that