Chapter 346: Weakened Sister

Being called by Mallory was nothing new to Kai, but her voice made him tense.

She sounded lighter than normal.

Kai knew that something was wrong, but he didn’t know what to expect. Several assumptions did cross his mind. He feared that this light voice hid a deep bloodlust as she somehow knew what he really was.

Or perhaps she simply had enough and wanted to force him to spit out his name.

But he was greeted by this surprising sight instead.

Mallory has always been petite.

Moreover, due to how thin she was, there was an air of frailness that radiated from her body.

She was the kind of woman that some sensitive men might naturally want to protect.

Even so, there was a sharp edge to her existence. Something dangerous beyond this frail veil.

Despite her appearance, there was something about her that warned anyone who laid eyes on her that she was an entity that should never be offended or disturbed. Doing so would simply force death to come prematurely.

But now, as Kai watched her limp through the darkness, he saw no such dangerous aura.

She looked weaker, vulnerable even, which was quite an odd look for her.

Never in his wildest dreams would he get the chance to see her in such a state.

Kai snapped out of his train of thought.

No need for him to wonder what happened when Mallory was right there.

He walked out from the darkness with steady steps.

As soon as her very dark amber eyes fixed on his approach, her posture returned to normal.

Mallory no longer limped.

Her spine straightened almost automatically, and her walk returned to normal. Every trace of weakness was wiped away. Her body moved on instinct to hide its flaws, as if she had simply resolved that she would never let him see her falter.

"You came..."

"I always came."

"That’s a lie."

Kai flashed a small smile, but there was no guilt.

Of course, in order to keep his introvert Nightborn persona, he had to decline Mallory’s requests to meet a few times. As much as he wanted to meet her whenever she called, he needed to show some restraint, or else she would be suspicious.

Sometimes, due to how desperate she was, he could even hear her call from the waking world.

Kai would cave when things escalated to that point.

But alas, all she wanted was to spend time together and share some stories to entertain him.

It seemed she was under the impression that he was pleased with exciting stories.

"What’s with the mask?" She asked—pointing at Kai’s face. "Am I not allowed to see your face now?"

Kai almost wanted to slap his own forehead, realizing that he was still wearing the Red Mask of the Avenger. Earlier, he had used it to mark the Ending of Impersonation, drastically lowering the cost of finding it using the night for the second time.

Other than to start his plan, he also wanted to mark the Ending of Impersonation with it.

Since he was in the House of Night, there was no cooldown and no limitations for the mask.

As long as his mastery was sufficient and he had usable exp to spare, he could use the mask over and over again. In fact, he could even enhance its effect. Despite the distance between the Ending of Impersonation and him, the mask could still see it without a problem.

And that alone was proof enough that the mask’s ability was enhanced.

Regardless, he had forgotten to put the mask away.

"It’s nothing like that," Kai said, clearing his throat. "Just fou—I mean, it’s a part of me."

Once again, Kai almost slapped his own forehead.

Finding items in the House of Night was practically impossible—for a Nightborn. Had he said what he’d originally intended, Mallory would have caught the strangeness in an instant—and that’ll be enough to expose his identity.

Fortunately, he’d caught himself before the words could slip free.

"Really?" Mallory’s eyes lit up.

She took this as a good sign, as finally Kai began to open up to her.

Since he now even showed her a part of the Hate Ending, then he must have grown attached to her.

"Should we go to the cave again?" Mallory asked, unable to hide her cheer.

"Sure." Kai crossed his arms and shrugged. "Better than nowhere like this."

Mallory waved her hand, calling for the night to teleport them to the cave. It would take three seconds to arrive at that cave. But this time—the darkness around moved slower. Kai counted in his head and realized gathering the darkness around in a swirl took three seconds.

It was far slower than normal.

And to his surprise, the darkness dispersed as Mallory paused for a second.

Even though she tried to hide it, the flicker behind her eyes grew dimmer—showing a lack of power that was normally abundant. "I saw you limping earlier." Kai intervened, deciding that it was time to confront her. "What happened?"

"You must’ve seen it wrong," Mallory said, shaking her head. "Just a bit tired, that’s all."

"I thought we were closer now."

"..."

"Fine, I’ll leave you to it."

Kai turned to leave.

She’ll cave in. She already invested in me so much, and she’s also weakened. Her mind is unclear.

Just as expected, her voice rang again.

"Wait."

Kai stopped midway and looked over his shoulder, finding her already facing him.

Despite her troubled expression, she let out a sigh and resigned to the moment.

No use keeping it away from Kai.

"Instead of explaining to you, why don’t I show you the situation?" Mallory finally said.

Show the situation? Is there something going on in here that I’m oblivious to?

Kai was curious.

Anything concerning the House of Night was certainly worth knowing. What Kai knew so far was limited—Mallory’s territory sat at the center, wedged between the domains of her sisters. A difficult position like that forced her to be involved.

And there was a quarrel between the sisters involving the hole of light.

Not to mention, Skotessa, the Third Daughter, also accused Mallory of hiding something.

Mallory simply didn’t want to get involved, but that silence was now used against her.

Other than that, he also learned that the quarrel was escalating.

"How are you planning to show me?" Kai asked without betraying the curiosity inside him.

"I’ll bring you to my territory, to my domain, and show you the situation," Mallory replied, then paused, seemingly troubled. "Don’t worry, this is not a trap. I won’t force you to give me your name. I swear in the name of the Final Night."

Considering that they had met several times, this was a main concern.

She might be getting impatient.

But Kai wasn’t thinking that far ahead. His mind short-circuited; this was exactly what he had wanted from Mallory, visiting her territory, yet he had no idea how to bring it up. Completing the quest required this, and now the chance was right in front of him.

And since Mallory assured him that it wasn’t a trap, he became even more certain.

Kai remained silent.

Pretending to deliberate whether he would go along or not.

Mallory waited for his answer, but she didn’t seem anxious.

Perhaps she already assumed that Kai would decline the offer, as there was no reason for him to trust her this much. Being brought to her domain would be too risky. But to her surprise—he accepted.

"Okay." Kai eventually nodded. "Just keep your word, and I won’t do anything drastic."

"Yes!" Mallory nodded eagerly. "I already swore on the Final Night. I won’t dare to break it."

Once she got his answer, she took a few breaths to calm her nerves, and then waved her hand again. Going to a separate place within the House of Night was far harder than going to a familiar place like her territory.

Kai knew that as he had already experienced it himself.

Finding the Ending of Impersonation was much harder than going to Noxian.

So, Mallory wouldn’t fail to command the night again.

And he was right.

Around them, the night devoured them and brought them away.

Along the way, Kai’s mind raced, turning over what could have possibly weakened her to this extent. His only guesses were that another Child of the Night had attacked her, or she somehow got into a confrontation with a powerful Nightborn.

Either way, he was going to find out.

Moreover, there was also one part that Kai found strange.

Final Night... Odd.

Kai didn’t understand why Mallory called the Goddess, the Final Night—that was what the Nightborns called her. As a Child of the Night, she should’ve said mom since the Goddess already made it painfully clear how much she wanted to be called that.

At least she really wanted him to call her mom.

Must be because she was talking to me. I shouldn’t put too much thought into it.

Soon enough, the darkness parted.

Kai had wondered what Mallory’s territory would be like.

It was natural for his mind to wander to her territory as that was his goal.

Having learned about her reserved—almost soft personality over the months they had known each other, he had formed several assumptions in his mind. Kai guessed her domain would be a black, desolate flatland stretching as far as the eye could see—with a few night-infused plants and flowers scattered around since she loved flowers so much.

If not that, then perhaps her territory would be a swirling smoke.

Like standing on a black cloud, with a few modest but sleek structures dotting the landscape.

Even Kai, with his meager control over the night, could already use it to create anything.

As long as it was exclusively for him, then the night would obey.

He was certain that someone as strong as Mallory could manipulate the night even more. But since Mallory didn’t seem like someone grand, he thought her domain would be massive, yet her living quarters would be far smaller.

For the Nightborns under her, there might be a long river flowing through the realm.

Perhaps with additional caves around.

Something like that would give comfort for the Nightborns under her—even if she was one of the cruel Children of the Night, caves could be used to cage the Nightborns inside, keeping them restrained while simultaneously keeping them out of sight.

Kai was under the impression that she was an introvert like him.

And this setup would be an introvert’s dream.

Her domain would be solely focused on privacy. Nothing grand. Nothing overwhelming.

But once the darkness parted, his eyes widened completely.

His breath caught in his chest. His saliva halted in his throat, almost making him choke. He blinked, once, twice, and stared ahead, his mind struggling to process what he was seeing. It was far beyond his expectations.

Is this really a domain?