The crystal globe resting in the middle of the table, showing the Bubble's first true Dual Wielder, dissipated into a cloud of smoke.
Around the round table, the Six Imperishable Artifacts remained seated in silence, looking at the foggy hole the crystal globe had left behind.
The Red Seat, Circe, held no scoff or smile on her face.
The Violet Seat, King Solomon, had gained an unnatural hardness in his eyes.
The Orange Seat, Hermes, kept mumbling something, calculating the repercussions, despite already knowing them.
The Yellow Seat, Abdul Alhazred, did a better job of hiding his emotions, but it was only because he had immediately fixed his eyes on the object that had infiltrated the Bubble.
The Green Seat, the Witch of Endor, meanwhile, looked at Merlin, the blue radiance around the sagacious wizard flickering now and then.
"I…" Merlin said, recognizing the question hidden in the Biblical Witch's glance. "… did not see it happening."
Suddenly, another green hue, much brighter, with a darkish contrast, appeared behind the empty seat on which lingered a hint of indigo mist.
It was Herpo the Foul!
"Just because we have allowed you to clear passage through Avalon," King Solomon said, the touch of anger in his voice rumbling across the entire mythical island, "it doesn't mean you can come and go as you please."
Herpo the Foul's lips curled up. "Admit it," he said, ignoring the Violet Seat and addressing all of them. "You fucked up."
"You dare use your foul language here!" Circe hissed, the red cauldron over her head fuming, oozing lava.
Not only her, but the rest of the Seats also looked at Herpo the Foul with admonishing gazes, including Merlin, who was but a Horcrux of the legendary wizard.
Yet, despite the foul word uttered by the unique Character, none of the Six could do anything to refute the claim.
Smiling, using the Basilisk Staff as a cane, Herpo the Foul began walking around the round table, the butt of the staff striking the floor with a loud…
Thud!
"WhenZelretch stole the Ancient Magical Script," he began, recalling the oldest, grandest, and most secret affair, "He bestowed upon you the Art of Immortal Lotus, oh, Mistress of Necromancy."
The grass hovering above the green-hooded figure, representing the Biblical Witch, stirred, becoming a green-black coffin.
Thud!
"What did He say…" Herpo the Foul paused, as if recalling what he already knew, "… ah, yes. Immortal Lotus must bloom seven times with seven colors… to resurrect the Script in the Bubble. Of course, that was not the only carrot He had dangled in front of you."
The green-hooded figure finally lifted her head.
A gaze, seemingly crossing hundreds of thousands of years, landed on Herpo the Foul.
Thud!
The legendary wizard merely chuckled at that. "Once all the Imperishable Artifacts are crafted," he continued, hammering the words into the Seats' shaken consciences, "each of you will be able to replace a Pillar Timeline, becoming something much grander than a mere Timeline… sharing the authority over the Bubble entirely among yourselves; something grand enough to rival the authorities of a Deep One. Isn't that right?"
The Six Seats merely looked at the unique Character as he circled them.
They didn't answer, as Herpo the Foul hadn't actually asked a question.
Nor did they think he deserved a reply from them.
Yet, the deafening silence maintained by them after Herpo's words made them look guilty.
It felt less like Herpo the Foul was throwing their secret at them, and more like he was outright condemning them for…
Thud!
"Fools," Herpo the Foul said. "Zelretch fooled all of you…"
"Enough," King Solomon said, clenching his fingers into fists over the round table. "You have no right…"
Herpo the Foul scoffed at the threat.
"Turning yourselves into Imperishable Artifacts indeed made you all unique," he said, looking at them with his slitted eyes. "But that uniqueness came at a cost, didn't it? Legacies… None of you has any Legacy in the Bubble. The only thing that's keeping you from becoming Outsiders in the eyes of the Bubble is Avalon. You cannot even leave this place. Mythical Island? Haha… It's your prison!
"And you… dare admonish me for using a Horcrux as an Imperishable Artifact? You dare look down on me for not stepping on your foolish path? You all resent me… for being the only unique existence in the Bubble with the chance of rising to the throne of a Deep One?"
The greenish-black coffin, the violet throne, the red cauldron, the orange-hued rod of caduceus, the yellow-black book, and even the cracked, wooden staff… all jolted.
Slowly, the Six figures stood up, leaving their seats.
Thud!
Herpo the Foul merely grinned at that. "No… not the only unique existence…" he said, waving his hand to gather all the fog, turning it back into the crystal globe. "She — Darcie Malfoy — has already carved a Legacy of her own now, hasn't she? And now you fear… you fear what choice she will make once you help her become unique, don't you? Will she decide to turn herself into an Imperishable Artifact, like you fools, relinquishing her legacy, or… will she follow in my footsteps?"
Thud!
"What are you implying?" the Witch of Endor asked, her voice carrying a deathly chill.
For the first time, Herpo the Foul paused.
It was not because of the Green Seat's petrifying gaze, though.
It was because he had decided to ask the ultimate question, looking right into her nonexistent eyes.
"This timeline is only a hint away from becoming a Pillar now," he said, standing behind the empty Indigo Seat. "But there can only be seven Pillar timelines. Which means, one of the existing ones must… go. The beings of the Pillar timeline, which had lost its Dumbledore, are already preparing for a War. Isn't it time that you all stop playing both sides of this game of Chess and pick a side? Or… have you already decided which Pillar timeline you want to continue to exist in the Bubble?"
Thud!
Herpo the Foul stepped forward and narrowed his eyes, his face lacking all humor.
"Tell me, oh, great Imperishable fools," he demanded, "why haven't you already done something about the planet-killer suspended outside Darcie's timeline?"