The Great Hall was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that floated in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting.
These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets.
Yet, nothing could hide the gloom surrounding the students.
A hush crept through the Great Hall. Whispers slithered from ear to ear. Gazes, burning with fear of the future, news, and the unknown. Hearts, thumping with sheer anxiety. Courage, dwindling.
Black had only felt such raw emotions once before.
It was when The Supreme Protector had carried out the massacre of the Contestants.
A massacre that strangely brought an end to Contestants being teleported to this timeline for Main Missions.
"Haha!" Black laughed.
In the silent hall, his sudden laugh boomed, startling many out of their wits.
Walking closest to him, Harry, Ron, and Professor McGonagall flinched. Then, one by one, all the students turned their heads to look at him, and the teachers' heads followed.
Harry and Ron had already made their peace with Black's strangeness, so they just smiled wryly as Black wiped the laugh off his mouth. Draco and his gang, standing just behind them, frowned in disgust. On the far side, Daphne furrowed her brows. Hermione looked left and right as if she had missed the chance to learn a joke.
The most telling expression, however, was on Professor McGonagall's face.
"Mr. Black," the Deputy Headmistress said, adjusting her glasses with a fury barely contained, "perhaps you would care to share the source of your amusement with the rest of us?"
Black shook his head.
He couldn't share, even if he wanted to.
Yet, the laugh kept coming back to him, making him smile.
It was one thing to keep killing the Contestants teleporting to the current timeline for missions.
It was another thing entirely to low-key force the Systems themselves to not send any Contestants here.
When the White Serpent Pirates had realized this, after waiting in vain for a Contestant to appear, they had all laughed their asses off.
To think that Chaos and Order would tacitly agree on this…
It took all of Black's Calm to not laugh again. "I am sorry, Professor," he said, still smiling. "I think I ate something weird on the Hogwarts Express."
…
Pin-drop silence.
Not to mention they had traveled on the train a week ago, but to make fun of the ruined train and the world-shattering event itself was like playing with the most taboo topic.
Professor McGonagall adjusted her glasses again.
"I will personally escort you to the Hospital Wing later, Mr. Black," she said sternly. "We have more pressing matters to attend to first, I'm afraid."
Harry and Ron nudged Black with their elbows.
Behind them, Draco hissed under his breath, "Mudblood."
Professor McGonagall turned around, and the students' eyes followed hers to the end of the Great Hall.
There, with a few steps up, was another long table.
All the teachers were sitting there in a single file.
Black's dark eyes fell straight on the wizard occupying the center stage.
Professor Dumbledore was looking at him with a hint of amusement in his blue eyes.
However, he wasn't the most eye-catching person up there. A witch sitting to his left, dressed in all… pink, took that honor.
"Ugh! Not her!"
"Ugh! What's she doing here?!"
Ron's head snapped as he looked over his shoulder and his gaze met Draco's.
Both boys had let out the same groan at the same time, seeing the same person.
They broke eye contact before anyone could catch them. It was as if it would be the most heinous crime to share anything between them.
But they did share this repulsion.
Draco abhorred the very existence of this witch because he had heard Darcie cursing her.
Ron abhorred the very sight of the pink color these days because he had almost been tortured to defeat at the last Alberta Toothill Young Wizard Chess Tournament, now held annually during Christmas Break.
Dolores Umbridge!
"What?" Harry and Black asked simultaneously.
"I'll tell you guys later," Ron said, fearing the old witch might stop to look at him.
Professor McGonagall led the first years up to the front, so they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them.
The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight.
Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver.
Above them, there was a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.
Hermione, now coincidentally standing near Daphne, whispered, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
Daphne gave her the flattest stare. "I know."
This was the thing about her and Darcie. In each other's company, they were chatty enough for others to take them for jolly extroverts.
Alone, they would put even the strictest introverts to shame.
All it did was make Daphne miss her friend even more.
Somehow, Hermione didn't pick up on Daphne's strangeness. "Do you now?" she commented incredulously. She took another look at Daphne and said, "Fascinating."
Standing among the boys, Black's lips twitched.
Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool, she put a pointed wizard's hat. The hat was patched, frayed, and extremely dirty.
Black let out a breath, focusing his mind.
This was one of the most important events of his time in the timeline. Not only would it unlock skills, but it would also give Milestones.
However, Kai's goals had never lingered on the boundary of achieving the obtainable.
He always pushed himself beyond them.
Sorting Hat, oh, Sorting Hat, Black mused, cracking his neck. What secrets do you hide, tell me that… Haha!
The one item that had accessed and looked into over half the British Wizarding populace.
Now, why wouldn't Kai desire it?
He was the supreme existence in this timeline now, sparing only the main storyline characters.
He was The Yellow Warlock, the Supreme Protector.
His existence surpassed the prime might of a Top-level 9th-floor Contestant. If he used all his cards, he could even go toe-to-toe against a Top-level 10th-floor Contestant. He was an over 1300-year-old monster, a Demon King, a Demon Slayer.
He was the Five-Crowned Prince. He was backed by the Purple King from the 18th-fucking-floor. He was cursed by an existence that might very well be above Kings.
His raw Worth of 500 was enough to make Contestants kneel in shock, in awe.
He had a Glitch, a Reality Marble, a Verse Fusion Random World, and a Zanpakuto.
He was Kai Stormborn, Contestant Red, the Blood Demon.
Why wouldn't he be interested in something he so obviously desired? Who could stop him from prying into its mysteries?
Why wouldn't he make an Item out of the Sorting Hat if he so wanted?!
**************
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