The chamber was still humming with leftover magic when Martin's half-petrified head finally stopped talking.
Kai scoffed under his breath, brushing shimmering dust off his sleeves.
"Of course," he said, as if the result had always been obvious. "Besides… this is the power of my creation."
A violent flash of silver-blue light burst from the center of the room.
Martin flinched and even though he had only a head while Kai merely shielded his eyes with a lazy flick of his wrist. When the light cleared, they both looked toward the object lying in the center of the main summoning circle.
Martin was the first to speak.
"…That thing," he whispered, voice trembling with real fear, "feels dangerous. Very. Very dangerous."
Kai smirked.
"For what I want? This will do nicely."
Martin narrowed his petrified eyes. "Tell me something… why didn't you simply use the Leo Blade to kill the god outright? It already had a divine core. A simple insertion and the deed is done."
Kai clicked his tongue as if the idea offended him.
"Oh no, that wouldn't do. I have projects, Martin."
His tone shifted into something dark, fevered and brilliant.
"Projects I am dying to carry out… outcomes I'm dying to see."
Martin grimaced. "…Why does your voice get tense like that when you say horrifying things?"
But before Kai answered, he froze.
His eyes darted to the right. Slowly. Narrowing.
Martin noticed. "What is it?"
Kai didn't breathe for a second. The air vibrated. Something out there far away from him, but not far enough had not only flared with power but was…looking?.
"…Nothing," Kai finally murmured, though the edge in his voice said otherwise. "Forget it."
He turned back to the object, now resting weightlessly in his palm.
It gleamed faintly in soft silver light, pulsing runes crawling across its surface like living script.
"It's ready," Kai said finally.
Martin exhaled in relief or fear, it was hard to tell.
"Well… I do hope you know what you're doing, boy."
Then, in a dry, amused murmur: "Or not."
Cracks spread further across his stone skin.
"I sincerely wish I could stay awake long enough to see how this ends. Whether your invention works… or if it kills you in the most poetic way."
His chin stiffened. His cheeks hardened. The stone crawled up his face.
"And boy…"
His voice dropped, low and warning.
"You already have their attention with this little invention. They will not tolerate this defiance."
Crack.
His eyes froze mid-stare.
Crack.
The last piece of flesh vanished, and Martin was once again a fully petrified head.
Kai stood silently for a moment, looking down at the object.
——————————
Quentin stared blankly.
"A… lamp."
Kai lifted up the dark silver metal, with gleaming runes shifting like constellations on it by. The shape was unmistakable: narrow spout, curved handle, a lid that shimmered like moonlit mercury.
Julia blinked hard.
"…Wait. Kai. No. You don't mean"
Alice's eyes widened first.
"Oh my god… it's a genie lamp."
Kai grinned like a man who had just rewritten an ancient law.
"Disney's rip-off was sitting right there," he said, rotating the artifact in his hand. "Figured I'd take the idea off their hands and make it… functional."
The lamp pulsed.
Once.
And the whole room suddenly felt a silent wave of magic emanating from it and they felt too small for whatever Kai had created.
Alice stared at the lamp in Kai's hand like it was radioactive.
"Impossible," she breathed. "You're trying to convert a deity into a what? A genie??"
Kai raised an eyebrow.
"Well, when you put it that way, you make it sound so… simple."
He tilted the lamp, watching the runes shimmer.
"But no. It's much more complicated than that."
Julia folded her arms. "Kai, what exactly did you do?"
"Yes," Kai said, pacing slowly, lamp swinging from his fingers. "He will be bound by the rules of this vessel"
"Like a genie," Julia murmured.
"And," Kai continued, "he cannot come out without a prompt."
Kady squinted. "Also like a genie."
"And," Kai said, ignoring the sarcasm entirely, "he will be forced to obey the one who bound him. A divine prison tied to its creator. The cage becomes an extension of myself."
Everyone stared.
Penny finally muttered, "Huh. Sounds almost like a genie."
Kai sighed loudly.
"Yes, Penny. Except this can contain a god, siphon power from him, and cannot be broken by any force short of unmaking reality. The lamp will feed on his divinity, which in turn fuels my spellwork. A closed loop."
He paused, eyes narrowing as he tapped the side of the lamp.
"And I added a little… parameter. A structural flaw, but intentionally so."
Alice's eyes widened. "A flaw? Kai, why?"
"Because," Kai said calmly, "it makes the bind stronger. Paradox reinforcement. The lamp only functions while I'm alive."
He looked at the group with a casual shrug.
"When I die… the prisoner is released."
Silence.
Quentin was the first to snap out of it.
"That's insane."
Kai smiled. "Most useful things are."
He lifted the lamp again. "On another note, if this works out the way I intend… there will be rewards for all of you."
The door slammed open.
Alicia walked in first, followed closely by Marina. Marina took one look around and let out a whistle.
"Well, well. Lookie here. A full house."
Her gaze drifted downward.
"And… that's a senator, unconscious on the floor. Cute."
Kai replied dryly, "We rolled out the red carpet for him."
Marina smirked. "Ah yes. Nothing says hospitality like knocking out a divine demigod during business hours."
"Oh, we had fun did we?," she added, stepping closer.
Kai snorted. "Hardly."
Marina inhaled deeply, eyes fluttering in a disturbing way.
"Gods… the magic wafting off this guy. I knew about him, well most magicians did. Divine blood, untouchable, unstoppable. Nobody approached him because one poke and he'd vaporize half the continent. But who knew he was Raynard's brat?"
She paused, squinting at the object in Kai's hand.
"…Is that a lamp?"
Penny rubbed his face and muttered, "I'm so done listening to loose people."
Kai looked at Penny weirdly before shaking his head and buried what he wanted to say, then looked down at the lamp and lifted it proudly.
"Oh, this? Tea club special. You pour in three drops of god-blood, make a wish, and hope it doesn't rip your soul out… my magnum opus"
Alicia snorted, actually snorted and covered her mouth, laughing.
Alice turned to her slowly. "You find that funny?"
Alicia shrugged. "Look at him. He's serious. That is funny."
Alice sighed in defeat.
Kady clapped her hands. "Well, everything is here. So, are we doing this? Or what exactly are we waiting for?"
Kai rolled his shoulders, expression turning dark and predatory.
"Patience."
He looked toward the window, the horizon, something far beyond sight.
"We don't need to look for Raynard."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"He'll come to us. Of his own volition."
He tapped the lamp, runes flashing in response.
"And I'm curious," Kai murmured, voice dropping into something far more dangerous, "whether this bait… attracts other fish as well."
The lamp pulsed.
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