Next afternoon,

The Sewers

Cersei never asked about Jon Arryn's current location, Kai thought. What a cunning woman! She knows I will go back to her.

He knew the risks, but there was still a sly grin on his face.

"Why are you smiling?" Jon Arryn asked. "Does my misfortune amuse you, boy?"

Kai faced the old man.

There was no shortage of food, water, and even wine here, but the Hand looked like an overgrown rat. The wound on his left hand had been treated with boiled wine and fire, but it still pained him.

"No, my lord," Kai said, shaking his head. "How would it amuse me when there is no misfortune to even speak of?"

"Spare me your cunning remarks, boy," Jon Arryn chided, panting all along. "I don't know what you have said to the queen. But remember, it won't be long before the guards come down sweeping the sewers. Time is running out for you. Heed my counsel, Arlen. Heed. It's still not too late for you."

This time, Kai chuckled. "You are wrong, my lord," he said, amusingly. "Time has run out hours ago, you should have said. The guards you are eagerly waiting for had already come and gone in the morning. Oh! I feel so sorry for you."

Jon Arryn gaped. His eyes widened in the sheer enormity of the lie Kai had spoken. If it was a lie, that is. "Nonsense!" the old man rebuked, terrified. "The sewer lines under the city are vast, yes. I agree. But not that vast for the guards to not scour it thoroughly."

Kai, of course, had lied.

He took a deep breath, absorbing Jon Arryn’s fear.

…

[

Elementary Fear Absorption: Proficiency 3% (+1%)

]

…

Kai had sucked Cersei’s fear, too, increasing his Proficiency by a percentage.

Oh, this gonna come more handy than I previously thought, he concluded, knowing well how it could change the course of a deadly fight. Perhaps different kinds of fear will accelerate the Proficiency growth? Hmm…

"Worry less, my lord," Kai said, standing up. "I will be back soon."

He ignored the Hand’s pleas and walked away, readying himself for a massive HP drop.

It took Kai some time to find another clearing where he could sit down. He took out a candle and lit it up. The flame brightened the dark tunnel as well as it could, reddening the moist walls.

It will be very dangerous, Kai thought, his heart thumping like a hammer strikes on an anvil. But this risk I must take.

If Kai hadn't some issues with trust, he could ask someone to watch over him. If it would come to losing his entire HP accidentally, the second person could have forced Kai to cancel his Skill.

Alas… There were no such things as love and trust in his heart or mind anymore.

Kai took a deep breath, shaking off chaotic thoughts.

Let's do this, he narrowed his vacant eyes, taking out the Book.

The runes over the cover seemed to ripple under the dim glow of bright flame.

Flashes of a thousand moments! A promise to himself! His goal! Emotions after emotions passed by his mind; his heart.

Kai flicked the book open, the fire playing a murderous game with his hazel pupils.

"The Lioness of Casterly Rock," Kai muttered, coming to the only story he could read. "Primordial Theater…"

The two words didn't echo, but melted into the world, blurring the boundaries of reality.

Kai looked down at the story. The words were turning into runes, but there was an uncanny mysteriousness about them. They glowed with the seven colors of the rainbow, and then the colors exploded in a brilliant shower of white.

Something seemed to have left the book.

Something bodiless.

A higher power!

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The dark space in front of Kai blurred as if a dense smoke had come there.

The smoke churned, undulating unto itself. Then a figure walked out of the smoke as if the smoke was nothing but a veil to her.

She had light golden hair which blazed dark red in the tunnel. Her eyes had an innocence even the stench couldn't destroy, and her garments were that of a child.

Indeed! Kai gawked at her. Why did I not think of it myself?

This figure was Cersei. A Cersei of the past, when she was in she had just reached marriageable age as per the customs of this Random World. A Cersei who had yet to become a queen.

Even then, Kai could see the pride in her eyes. They possessed an unquenchable thirst for power and authority.

Authority is Power, Kai reminded himself. Two faces of the same coin.

Cersei looked at him with a questioning gaze. Then her head bobbed, noticing her surroundings.

Kai's eyes squinted. She isn't real, is she? He asked himself. How can that be possible?

The young girl's bright green eyes landed on the book in Kai's hands then. She smiled. Kai's heart almost gave out. What is this? What is she? How can she show such emotions? The questions bombarded Kai's skeptical mind.

These questions would have wreaked havoc, making him mad, if it weren't for the notification.

…

[

Skill Primordial Theater activated…

Character Cersei Lannister is ready to play her Act

Act Available: 1

]

…

"… Blood…" an ethereal voice came out of Cersei, directly entering his mind.

Though this Cersei and Kai were of the same age, Kai had desire only for mature women. Nonetheless, he felt attracted to that smile of hers.

It hasn't changed, Kai thought, remembering his last encounter with the queen. She still smiles the same, as if the entire world is her playground.

Kai nodded and bit his thumb, letting drops of blood trickle out.

Blood Prophecy!

Following an instinct, he extended his bleeding thumb towards the girl.

Cersei giggled. She stepped forward and held Kai's hand by his wrist. Her lips parted wide and under Kai's widened eyes, she put his thumb inside her mouth.

Kai felt his strength abandoning him as he felt the moistness of her tongue, though it was the affect of his HP falling, he knew. He could still see a playfulness in her eyes.

It was the last thing he remembered seeing.

The Character drank more and Kai melted away along with his blood.

…

If it was a dream, then it was disgusting.

The entire world reeked of blood, and when Kai looked around, he realized it wasn't imagination. It was blood.

A blood ocean!

Suddenly, gigantic towers protruded out of the blood ocean. They were blurry too as if many layers of semi-transparent red veils had covered them. When the towers reached a height, the blood ocean regained its calmness. Only for a moment, though.

Little blood pools churned again, and a figure rose out.

It was walking stealthily. Along the walls, it slithered, and from time to time, this figure kept looking in all directions. It was he himself, he could tell.

Then, out of the blue, this Kai's head jerked.

This jerk had such a force behind it that half of Kai's head exploded.

The towers and the blood figure melted into each other, then. The blood ocean engulfed them back as anything else was just a drop compared to it.

Kai's eyes snapped open. There was a tightness in his chest, and the dull-gray notification in front of him had never glowed so red before.

A menacing glow of death!

…

[

WARNING: Contestant's HP is below 10% of its max value.

HP Regeneration Rate is reduced by half

]

…

Did I just see myself dying? Kai asked himself, panting for air.

He couldn't believe what he had seen, or if he had seen something at all. It was all a blur to him as if he had a nightmare, but the grogginess caused by that nightmare after waking up was real, he knew.

Kai's vacant eyes deepened as he tried to remember the prophecy; the Blood Ocean.

He straightened his back, shaking off his trance-like state. The young girl had disappeared, and when he looked down, he found the Book had returned to his Inventory by itself too.

How? Kai felt confused. He hadn't heard of any Item going back to Inventory by itself. Then again, it hasn't been that long since I arrived in the Primordial Tower. There are many things I don't know about.

Kai looked around and found the candle still burning as dimly as it was before, concluding that there wasn’t any time difference while having the Prophecy.

It was a close call, Kai thought, his face turning ugly. If I hadn't come out in time, I would have died while still glimpsing my future in that blood ocean.

He put that thought to the back of his mind, though. There was no other choice.

Even if Kai knew of the consequences, the Skill was so potent that it demanded this price of him.

Humph! Kai snorted, finding himself having such thoughts. I will gladly pay this price for even an iota of prophecy concerning me. But one time isn't enough.

Kai stood up and went back to the Hand. Then he lied about Cersei ordering him to kill his son and how he was about to go and do the deed. The old man was so frightened that he began begging, clinging to Kai’s feet.

Kai drank his fear like wine.

…

[

Elementary Fear Absorption: Proficiency 6% (+3%)

]

…

I was right, Kai reflected, his HP Regeneration Rate rising. The Proficiencies advance more under extreme situations.

However, the task which should have taken him only about 20 minutes, got stretched to 40 because of the reduction in HP Regeneration Rate.

That too because of his Fear Absorption Ability, otherwise, Kai knew it would have taken him over an hour to bring himself to an optimum state.

Kai went back to the clearing, which wasn’t far, and invested around 15 minutes to clear his mind of stray thoughts.

Then he took out the Tales of Beedle the Bard.

He momentarily closed his eyes. When they opened, the book was already showing the title of the tale of Cersei Lannister.

"Let's do this," Kai steeled his nerves, sensing his heavy heartbeats. "Primordial Theater…"