Black sat up on his bed inside the Gryffindor dormitory with a jerk.
His eyes were as wide as the Hashiras' upon seeing the resurrected Upper Moons.
However, unlike the Hashiras, it was Akaza's words that had truly shocked him the most.
Kai Stormborn…
The name uttered by Akaza was unknown to everyone.
After turning his name into a Mystery, Kai had stopped bothering about giving his first name to anyone. At present, almost all his crew members, the Hashiras, and a few Demon Slayers knew that name.
Kai wouldn't have minded giving his last name, either, as it was the D in his name that made the name a Mystery, not the former and latter parts.
However, his last name linked him directly to the Stormborn Empire of the Primordial Tower.
In itself, it could be called a coincidence.
With Kai being of the bloodline of The Banished One, as known by many ridiculous powerhouses from the Tower, it would become something else entirely, despite sharing no relation with the Order's Empire… probably.
So, to avoid unnecessary headaches, Kai preferred not to reveal his last name to anyone.
Akaza was a different, older case.
During the second stage of the Tournament of Worth, while searching out what it meant to be a Demon, Kai had fought a bloody battle against the Upper Moon Three, almost dying.
It was during that battle that Selfless Breathing had taken shape, heralding all that was to come later.
The creation of the Breathing Art was such a commendable, great act that everything else that happened during that fight became a minor event.
One of those minor events was Akaza demanding to know Kai's name.
As a sign of respect for the strength displayed by a demon… a true demon, if not in life, then by the end of it… Kai had willingly obliged, letting Akaza know of it through Telepathy.
And all that meant the Akaza who had appeared in front of the Hashiras wasn't just a clone created by Muzan using some distant relatives' DNA, but the same Akaza who had fought against Kai.
New body.
Same soul.
Greater power.
"… Can you do it?" Black asked, stirring his Authority of Nyarlathotep. "Can you actually resurrect a soul?"
It was quite clear to him that Muzan himself had no method to resurrect Akaza or Gyutaro.
The Verse Fusion Timeline, possessing or guiding him, though…
And who better to tell what a Timeline could or couldn't do than the Timeline Itself?!
[No,] Timeline replied to Black. [Not without Karmic Dissolution.]
Black narrowed his eyes.
[There's one way…]
"Hmm?" Black sat up straighter.
What could this way be that even Lucky Intuitions couldn't guess?
[Only a Death-like Entity can snatch the souls from a Bubble…] Timeline said, hesitating. [Or a Character chosen by Timeline… to assume that Authority…]
Calm glitched.
Black's entire face twisted in wrath.
"Arghhhhhhh…" A growl, beastly to the core, escaped his throat.
Blood infused his eyes as they glowed yellow, red, and black, oozing pure evil.
It was one thing for the Verse Fusion Timeline to challenge Kai's claim on the Bubble.
It was another thing entirely for the Timeline to choose a Storyline Character to assume the status of a Deep One!
With the first way, under his Outer One status, no matter if the Timeline won in the coming War between Demons and Demon Slayers, Kai would still have a major claim on the Bubble just short of Timeline's.
However, if the Verse Fusion Timeline won the War and simultaneously turned Muzan into a Deep One, then… it wouldn't remain a Bubble without a Deep One… it wouldn't remain Kai's Haven…
All the plans would come to a sudden end.
Death the Artificer was only siding with Nyarlathotep because He had an interest in a Deep One-less Bubble that belonged to an Outer One.
The Harry Potter Timeline and the Mirror Fate Timeline were only siding with him because They had an interest in what the Verse Fusion Bubble could become under an Outer One's control as well.
[… Death wouldn't like it,] Timeline said with a flat voice. [I would nip this bud right here if I were you, Nyarlathotep.]
Then, She vanished.
Black's face gained an even uglier expression, knowing that She had just threatened him.
Then, he took a deep breath, pulling out Calm from the depths of his Source.
The beastly contortions on his face smoothened, replaced by silence.
Slowly, Black let himself fall onto the bed with his eyes open.
He tapped… thinking… thinking…
Millions of Lucky Intuitions.
Even more of Ad Infinitum's suggestions.
And the best of them all led to only one solution.
I need to buy more time… Black confirmed, gently breathing in and out. I need to push the War to the point where I can begin the Timelines' fusion in the Verse Fusion Bubble, giving that… Bitch… no chance to finish turning Muzan into a Deep One.
With the Demon King in my Verse Fusion already a unique existence, I bet She doesn't even need that much time. Perhaps, winning the War would be a conceptual token for Muzan. A token that She would use to push Demon King's Authorities into the realm of Bubble Entities, granting him his own Mysteries.
The solution was clear at a glance, but it was much more complex.
Delaying the War would only mean that Muzan would become stronger, as the strength of Storyline Characters in the Verse Fusion Bubble depended on Kai's own strength. And he had no plans to stop becoming stronger at every opportunity that presented itself.
So, not only did Black need to delay the War, but he also needed to make sure that the Bitch and Muzan wouldn't march the demons on Shinobu's doorstep anytime soon.
And that could only happen if he could, somehow, scare off the Timeline.
Kai couldn't do it.
Even pairing up with Black wouldn't be enough to take down Muzan, who was already as strong as a Top-level 12th Floor Contestant… stronger, perhaps.
Not to mention, despite Muzan's crazy strength, Kai had been fully dependent upon the demonified Hashiras to prevent the Demon King from reaching Shinobu, letting him avoid going to the Verse Fusion Bubble with the threat of the Inquisitors finding it out.
With two new Upper Moons on the table, and the possibility that Muzan could replicate the same resurrection over and over…
The Hashiras wouldn't stand a chance!
I can't afford losing a single Hashira to the Demons, Black thought, deciding. They are a part of my Clan. They are the soul of my Bubble...
I wish I could avoid using it, He shook his head, going back to sleep with a sigh.
And, with that sigh, yellow crystals danced in his dark eyes —
— playing the most secret hand — the only hand that could scare off a Timeline.