NOVEL FROG Chapter 153: Parseltongue – The Tongue of the Old Ones!
Kai shook his head inwardly, seeing that even a 13th-floor fallen Contestant didn't have a will strong enough to resist Petyr's play of words.
"Pour us some wine," he told Meg, giving her something to do.
Meg stood up, filled the mugs with dark wine, and returned to her seat, all the time her eyes fluttering in some deep contemplation.
Petyr, after taking a sip, adjusted his head to look at Kai now. "My Lord, I have a suggestion," he continued, smiling slyly. "Slight difference, it may seem, but tongues have power. Even in Westeros, where Magic is nothing but an ancient song, men still believe that there are mysteries hidden in the Old Tongue, the language of First Men.
"It has degraded to the Common Tongue now, which does not differ from the common human speech. This is the case with High Valyrian as well. There is power in each syllable of these archaic languages; in each rune and glyph. I think Hastur's epithets are powerful enough to seep their strength into common speech. But yours… These minor epithets need a stronger stimulation."
Meg had stood with a gasp, her eyes lit like two suns shining within them.
Kai could feel her emotions, but unlike her, his emotions were calm, his eyes calmer. With those calm eyes, he looked at Petyr. They both looked at each other for what seemed like a long time, and Meg had sensed the unannounced tension within the cabin as well.
Kai finally smiled. "You came up with this suggestion by yourself?" he asked incredulously. "A little far-fetched suggestion and explanation, don't you think?"
Petyr smiled back, not looking unnerved at all. "Oh, hardly, my lord," he said slyly. "A most natural and spontaneous suggestion. All the magical and spiritual elements around me have influenced my thought process, I must say. After reading the two books from the Harry Potter World, I have been working on improving my logic and reasoning skills to counsel you in the best ways possible."
Hundreds of thoughts, questions, and answers passed through Kai's mind in those instances of eye contact, yet his face showed no expression. Kai had masterfully locked his emotions using Advance Emotions Manipulation already. "Meg," he said, still looking at Petyr, "have you learned these old languages?"
Meg was about to respond, most probably in denial, but Petyr, looking unperturbed, interrupted in between. "Why the need to go for Old Tongue and High Valyrian, my lord," he said calmly, "when you already know one of the most ancient of the tongues?"
This question brought out such a demonic fury within Kai that if he hadn't suppressed his emotions, he would have lunged at Petyr's throat like a snake lunged at its prey. His face, though, was still adorned by a sardonic smile.
"Parseltongue," Petyr croaked as if Kai hadn't figured out what he had implied before. "Didn't, my lady, Meg, tell us that Parseltongue is one of the oldest and the most archaic tongues known across the Multiverse?
"The Tongue of the Old Ones."
She had indeed told him so, Kai remembered. But he had buried this thought and the abhorring theory that he had inferred from her words, long ago into the deepest hole of his heart.
Now, slowly but steadily, it crawled its way up like a hideous horror that had just awakened from a long sleep and was now coming to devour him. Because that theory was something about which Kai was helpless, and that made him feel as if he wasn't in control of his life anymore.
Parseltongue wasn't a product of his efforts, of his sweat and blood. Nor it had resulted from his manipulations and devious cunning plans. It had been forced unto him by none other than Hastur. When he learned that this was an ancient tongue of the Old Ones, it made Kai feel like he was a plant, planted by an eldritch existence in a deep, calculative manner, to reap the fruit in the future.
Kai had loathed Parseltongue as much as he had loved it then.
That's why, to keep himself from going insane by having that theory in his mind, constantly making him question his decisions, he'd rather stop thinking about it entirely.
Now, it seemed he couldn't do anything but face the situation head-on. He was bound to do so, he knew, but not this soon. It is too soon indeed, he repeated to himself.
-Selene,- Kai hissed, ignoring Meg's confused look.
A dense mass of silver burst out from his heart and materialized into a 6 ft long dazzling white serpent. Ghost Basilisk's red and yellow eyes were opened, but the single vertical gash in the middle of her forehead was shut tight. She slithered effortlessly on the musty floor, her forked tongue flicking out to taste the two presences other than Kai.
-A gathering of bitches, master?- she hissed, mocking Meg and Petyr menacingly. Both flinched simultaneously, a vivid shiver running down their spine. Then her tongue changed, gaining a calm but decisive concern. -You are troubled,- she proclaimed.
Then, once more, her voice swapped, becoming dreamy and affectionate. -If only I had the power to poison your woes… Sigh!-
Kai blinked away the annoyance. What use of her Lunatic Corruption was, if ordinary people couldn't even understand her, he asked himself. To Selene, he said, hissing, as he caressed her dragon-like scales. -Listen, and you must do as I say…-
Then Kai told her the words, reluctantly, and told her to recite them back to him.
She was his Item, too, but if it was in his hands, he would rather not weigh her shoulders with this responsibility.
The Ghost Basilisk was too precious to be called disposable in the same terms as he had called Meg a disposable Item. For one, Selene was a beast whose Blood Essence he would devour, making her his power. Second, she had the genome structure mutated by two of the most mysterious alien parasites, or pathogens, if her power was nothing but a sickness. It all made her almost invaluable.
Time demanded a sacrifice from Kai, and he must know the mystery of his Lore before continuing with his plans.
This must be done, Kai told himself, steeling his nerves.
Petyr disappeared, assimilating himself into Kai, and Meg took out the Jet Wing and a steel-tipped arrow, nocking it instantly.
Preparations were important for an undesirable outcome; to kill Selene, if necessary.
-Now,- he commanded.
Selene hissed solemnly, mystery slithering around her forked tongue.
-The Devastating Despair;
-The Blue-skinned Demon;
-The Unforgivable Cursed One.-
And the world trembled.
