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Back when it first decided to spread nightmares among the humans—back when he was still ‘Nyarlathotep’—Kayne would talk of the sciences, mainly psychology and occasionally philosophy. The knowledge and as a byproduct the power it had was enough to make the wisest of men fear closing their eyes, oh how Kayne misses those screams of pure pure horror. Their footsteps always left a trail of restlessness and nightmares behind. Which was ‘unfortunate’ because Kayne did really enjoy conversations about psychology or different thought experiments and such.
But that brings him to a guilty pleasure of his, the Ship of Theseus.
That was something Kayne always wondered about, if you took an object and replaced its parts over time is it the same object? What if he took parts —all just slightly moved across the piano keys— of a specific object and created something that perfectly resembled the object, could it still count as the same thing?
Kayne thinks that might be closer to the Swampman thought experiment, in it entirely by coincidence the subject is reduced to their elements as a tree is turned into their physical replica, which is still not exactly what Kayne is thinking of. It will take a few years for humans to write that one down, for creatures that had so little time you’d think that they would be faster at well—everything! Maybe that’s why people misunderstood Kayne.
And by people he obviously means Arthur, no one else would be so noticeable under Kayne's radar for him to even pretend to care about their opinions, especially his own followers or followers of the other hims he has killed. They're the most insufferable of people Kayne has even had the displeasure of meeting, not even being worth his hate! He would pity them if he had the humanity to do so, hah, him and pitying people, even the thought made Kayne laugh.
But that's not the point. The point is, Kayne really feels that Arthur misunderstands him. Case and point; he had to do so much to get John to get Arthur to New York and touch the stone so finally he could show Arthur the other universes and send him off to find the black stone, and Arthur still doesn't trust him.
Even the seven million voices agreed with Kayne now, except the ones that Kayne was going to erase from every single universe if they don't shut their mouth–
Gosh! Kayne just keeps on going off topic doesn't he? Well, it doesn't matter. It's not like anyone's hearing his internal monologue, Kayne chuckles to himself. It slowly bubbles into a loud laughter echoing throughout the dark void he's in.
So, what was he planning to do? Right! Kayne needed the most important part of this, his favorite parts of different Arthurs so he could create the perfect Arthur—even better than his middle C Arthur—one that was made in Kayne's exact image! Oh Kayne had to recreate this after his plans succeeded but for now, this works just as well.
Kayne thought about it, which Arthurs does he need for this.
He had to get a part of Darkthur, Kayne decided. He was a fan favorite after all and who's he if not a humble–not–so–humble helper of Arthur's little friends, even if their occasional breaking of rules made things less interesting. They were all such a fascinating bunch for people who Arthur never met and was never going to even know about. Kayne giggled, he couldn't help but do so while he’s thinking about how insignificant it all felt. Life, death, existence doesn't matter, in the end every living thing is just in a food chain they couldn’t even begin to understand how vast it was. There would always be a bigger creature mocking him, well, not for long. When Kayne gets his hands on that Blackstone he won’t just be on top of the food chain, he will fully destroy it, no more of differently sized boxes for him to be stuck in but, that’s for later!
Now with the beginnings of a plan Kayne warped itself into the place they needed.
There he was! (Not) the man himself! (Dark) Arthur, no king in his head it seems, or a winning hand after Kayne’s done with him—HAH, he really should make more jokes about the unfortunate fact that Arthur’s hand is gone, especially now that he’s taking the second one too. Kayne looks around, huh it seems that this Arthur managed to reach the king and—barely—escape too, guess they’re right when they say even a broken clock is right once a day–or is it twice? Kayne still can’t wrap his head around the idea of a clock, time is one of the human’s less interesting creations to a being like it that doesn’t need to care about that. Kayne (very loudly and deliberately) walked through the snow and leaves.
“Who–Who’s there?” Not–his Arthur snapped his head in a direction surprisingly close to where Kayne currently was, not that that would do anything, since his other half—not that they got along well enough for that—wasn’t here.
Kayne tuts “Wrong question Artie, I'm not anyone you'd recognize, nor does it matter since you'll die. Probably, eventually—” Kayne paused, letting the voices in his head whisper something to him before continuing —“what you need to know is that I mean no harm! Eh–no, that's not true. Who knows, I might not pop your head like a cherry if you're entertaining enough! Because that's what you are, simple entertainment. A guilty pleasure of mine at best.” Kayne laughs at his own words, maybe if he’s loud enough it will even drown out the sounds of the voices. Always there, always speaking. Always pestering him.
“What?” Oh he was mad, Kayne forgets some people don’t take kindly to being called entertainment. Not that remembering that would’ve changed what he was going to say.
“Yeaaah” Kayne drags the ‘a’ “but that’s not important right now! Are you up for a discussion, oh, poor choice of words,” Kayne looked down at Darkthur who was still very much spread on the snow like butter. “Well, we can’t have that. How could you talk to me if you aren’t sitting comfortably?” Kayne says with faux sympathy before snapping his fingers and making two chairs horrifically tear through the atmosphere with Darkthur sitting on one of them good as new, well, not really. Kayne didn’t say it needed him uninjured, just comfortable.
“So Artie, nature or nurture?"
“What?”
“C’mon give me an answer, a well studied Englishman like you has to have learned about the debate,” Kayne says with his hand and body having animated movements. A stark contrast to Arthur who hasn’t moved a bit.
“Why does that matter right now?”
“Hm. I supposed it doesn’t but I’m sure you prefer this over me ripping you apart, right?” Kayne croaks its neck.
“Nurture"
“Why? Sing a little Arthur, well, not literally but argue, explain your reasoning!”
“Because saying everything is because of humanity’s instinct is just another way for people to say we have no free will and it’s all part of god’s plan.”
“Hah! Do you think you have free will, Pal?”
“Yes. Yes of course I do! I did so much to prove just that! I cut my goddamn arm off because I’m not anybody—or any–fucking–things puppet. I would never sit back and let something control my actions. And I sure as hell am not your friend.”
“Oh! Ohhh that one had a little sting to it! Do you really think any of us have any say in what we do? Arthur Lester I thought you were smarter than that but it makes sense, you’re just a pale imitation when compared to my Artie. Let me give you a small…reality check, none of us are in control! We’re all just playthings to our true maker and father forced to go through darkness and pain and–and fear for no reason! Do you think he care about us? No! Not even a little bit because in the long run none of us matter.” Kayne pauses to calm itself down “So, how does that make you feel kiddo?”
Darkthur stays silent for a few seconds “Then why are you here? Just to mock me?”
“Well you see I have an itty-bitty thing I want to make and thought that you could maybe–oh I don't know–lend a hand!” Kayne was so funny they should've let him be a comedian, he'd be much better at it than whoever the current famous ones are! People would die of laughter from his jokes, literally, ah what was he going to do–right, the hand. Kayne took Arthur's other arm and ripped it straight away from the rest of his body, it made a sharp cracking sound that was almost drowned out by the sound of Arthur screaming, how dramatic! Kayne didn't even make it long and painful like he could have, or should have done. The tear on the arm would make his job just slightly harder but who cares, Kayne can still work with it.
“Well I got what I needed from ya, have fun!” Kayne disappears, leaving the now armless man to bleed out in the snow. He’ll survive and if he doesn’t, oh well. The fans probably forgot about Darkthur at this point, with all the new and exciting people Arthur’s meeting right now!
Speaking of now, Kayne needed a lovely pair of eyes. Which is hard to find when it comes to Arthurs so he needs a very specific universe, maybe one where Arthur and Johnny boy have gotten their ‘happy ending’ and are having the oh so lovely and picture perfect happily ever after they ‘deserve’. It’s very sweet and all that jazz (but Kayne prefers some actual jazz) but not what Kayne has in mind for the real deal.
The house is lovely, if not missing a little blood to give it some color but not everyone has the ability to decorate houses perfectly like Kayne so he’ll let it slip. “Hello hello” Kayne calls—or more accurately sings—out for hopefully this world’s John and Arthur.
“Who’s there?” The person who Kayne ‘assumes’ is John calls out—with an air of defensiveness and possessiveness that it personally thinks is unnecessary, like chill bitch no one wants to steal your man. Okay that isn’t completely true but Kayne never said it was an honest entity *all* the time, that would just be boring and inefficient!
“Ding Dong, it's the witch, not dead! Is that a thing yet? Eh, who cares.” Kayne says. His eyes busy looking at the piano in the room, instantly walking to it and making himself comfortable before looking at the two men, its fingers absently tapping against the keys. Kayne slowly plays the melody of a song he'd hared once, which unfortunately he has forgotten the name of. “Cool it dandelion it’s just me,” Kayne makes a dismissive hand gesture.
“What do you want from us Kayne?” Arthur snaps, his eyes that oh so wonderful shade of brown that Kayne’s Arthur had before opening the book. ~But it can see the slightest yellow undertone still left.~
“Is this how you treat a dear guest? I’m a little hurt that you think I wouldn’t visit you on your honeymoon!” It exclaims dramatically, getting a flustered reaction out of both men as they tell him this isn’t a honeymoon and they aren’t an item. They could at least try to hide it but Kayne can tell the stuff they get up to behind closed doors. Well, that’s none of its business. “But you are correct, English. I want something and it’s your eyes, quite literally!" Kayne giggles.
“What.” “Don’t even–” God, Kayne just drowns out their voice at this point. Which is much easier to do than drowning out the ones in his head since they’re just failed versions of the real deals. Or Kayne supposes some would count them as a successful version seeing as how they’re alive and together, maybe it should remember this universe just in case it needs to show Artie and Bumblebee how their life could be if they listened to it.
“Calm down newly weds. I won't do that just yet, how about a conversation? And some tea for your dear guest?” Kayne stopped playing, now just absently tapping his fingers against the piano keys.
“You–*fine*, Arthur, I’ll go make some tea for us.” John says before leaving to the kitchen, surprisingly nice of him! Maybe they’re finally realizing how great Kayne is. “What’s up his ass this morning?” Kayne jokes which Arthur doesn’t seem to appreciate “Well now since we’re alone hmm what could we talk about? Right right…Right! Arthur, do you think time is real?”
“What? Of course I do.”
Kayne tuts “you can’t be sure of anything in this word. I mean, time.” It exaggerates its voices to show its point “is so unrealistic.”
"What point are you trying to make Kayne?" Arthur asks, seeming done with this conversation already.
"Oh well I'm just saying, you humans seem so focused on useless things like time when you're missing the more important things!"
"Are you going to give an example?"
"and make things easier for you?" Kayne laughs "never. That's for me to know and for you and your little detective brain to figure out. Can't have you losing your sharpness now can we?"
"Then leave." It seemed Arthur reached his limit with Kayne's stuff, how disappointing.
It groans "fine, you're both horrible hosts anyway." Kayne walks to the door before 'remembering' "oh yeah, can't forget what I came here for." He made a motion with his hands, ripping Arthur's eyes out smoothly and leaving before Arthur even has the chance to scream.
Next world. Kayne needed a good brain, a hard find in this society is he right? Kayne paused, the voices were really rude about that one but whatever. Kayne doesn’t care about what they think anyways, with their annoying noisy words. Always taunting it.
“Oh what a cozy little place!”
“Are–Are you Nyarlathotep?” A voice Kayne would always recognize as an Arthur asked. Kayne’s eye twitched as he turned to look at the man, this Arthur was wearing a full cloak and hiding his face, like a real cultist! Oh how enjoyable it was for Kayne to see the man who would usually hate cultists stoop as low as being one himself, a high ranked one at that too! Kayne couldn’t help but giggle at that before correcting Arthur.
“I go by Kayne now,” It tuts. “And you must be Arthur Lester? I’ve been waiting to pick that brain of yours for a while.” His grin grew wider as he looked at the way Arthur’s eye practically shined at that. It makes it even more hilarious that Kayne means that very literally
Arthur. Nyarlathotep has been gone for weeks. Whoever this thing is—
“Oh and you have the king with ya,” Kayne cuts Hauster off “so you’re his what? Prophet? Priest? His boy-toy?” It grinned.
He’s not my ‘boy-toy’ you— “You can–oh of course you can—”
“Being a powerful being and all that yeah yeah yeah, look I would love to stay here for a conversation but frankly I’m on a little time crunch so if we could just,” Kayne forces its hand into Arthur's brain and rips his brain out with a sound almost like music to its ears! Although he much preferred actual music, you take what you can get, like this perfect brain. Kayne had to admit this was going much better and faster than he expected. Which was good because he didn't feel like talking to cultist more than he had to, even if it's an Arthur Lester.
Kayne walked into the bar, paying no mind to the other people as it walked to a particular man. He looked young and inexperienced compared to the other Arthur’s Kayne has met today, not that it affects what Kayne is going to do. It took a stool and sat next to him at the bar table.
“A blood and sand please,” he said to the bartender before turning to Arthur “rough night?” It asked with faux sympathy.
The man laughs, “you have no idea.” He rested his head on the counter, staring at the half empty glass. “It’s been more than a rough night…” he trails off seeming to be thinking about stuff Kayne couldn’t really bother to care about right now, it's already pretending to be too human for its liking. It needed to drop some hints and let ‘flirting’ or banter do the rest for him.
“Oh I think I might have some ideas.” It places a hand on his knee, making sure to look in Arthur’s eye as he does that. “But I’m sure you wouldn’t want to listen to me complain, would you now?”
"Ah-" it seemed like Kayne's plans were working because Arthur already looks flustered, but he didn't make any moves to stop Kayne from having a hand on his body "No I uh, wouldn't mind."
"Just the normal problems, you know?" Kayne asks, still maintaining eye contact "my employees being difficult and such," he waves a dismissive hand. "And for you? Trouble with the creative soul?" He asks with a hint of teasing "You have a musicians hands." It lets its gaze linger on Arthur's hand a little more than necessary.
"Oh no I'm not-I haven't played in a long time." Arthur explains awkwardly.
"That's shame, but I'm sure you can find other uses for those fingers," like slitting your own throat, Kayne doesn't say. It thinks about how his Arthur has that oh so beautiful scar from using its dagger.
"Yea-yeah," Arthur looks red from how flustered he is. "Can I ask what you mean, Mister?…"
“Just call me Kayne, I’m a friend of Dorothy you see.” It kept its voice low, no need for anyone else to hear this conversation. He made sure to maintain eye contact with Arthur “So sir…?”
“Lester, Arthur Lester.”
Kayne leaned closer, its voice barely above a whisper “So Artie, are you cruising by any chance?”
Arthur looked visually flustered by Kayne’s words “Ye—yes I am.”
"Then how about we take this to my place?" Kayne asks, barely able to sit in his place now with how well his plan was working. It and the Arthur left the bar, walking a few steps before Kayne dragged the both of them into a dark alleyway, it was much easier than he expected. He held Arthur's chin with a hand, "it is really a shame." It didn't let the other even react before using its free hand to slash Arthur's head right off.
The perfect body for what he wants to do. Kayne got through the next Arthurs quickly and efficiently, after all he can’t keep on making the audience wait for the best part of the show!
It was ignoring it. It knew it was ignoring the voices, well ignoring is the wrong word. You can’t really ignore billions of fragments of people—himself, other versions of himself—because of simply how many there are. That didn’t matter, soon enough Kayne will be free of them. He will have broken any shackles or prisons keeping him trapped.
With all the (body) parts the only thing left to do now was putting it all together like a little puzzle! Ah, what a relaxing afternoon plan, only thing Kayne needed was some tea and biscuits to set the tone. Sadly that would require more than the nondescript number of hands Kayne has and—what was that? Kayne paused to listen to the voices, a task that would be hard for anything that isn’t as as Kayne. Something about how the body would rot which Kayne brushes off because this isn’t a real place, it’s more a lightless limbo or pocket dimension that doesn’t have time. None of those earthly problems slow him down.
Kayne snapped his fingers, not that he needed to do that, and made what he assumed a surgery table and the necessary supplies should look like. He looked at the items for a moment and he already knew what he was meant to do with them. Honestly, they should just give Kayne a medical degree. This all seems so easy.
He even made the appropriate clothes appear on his “body” as he fixed his gloves, for no other reason than aesthetic purposes. He's going to do something like what the guy from Frankenstein did, probably, Kayne hasn't actually read or bothered to see what the book is about but that's not important. It's not like the book is going to warn him against doing exactly this (not that he would let that stop him).
The first thing Kayne needed to do was set everything on an operating table which was conveniently easy when you have powers. All the body parts are set and ready for it to stitch together. Kayne moved his hand across the uneven muscle tissue, using his powers to make them even just to make this easier for himself and repeating the procedure for any open part. Resisting the urge to dive in with his hands, as funny as that would be.
Kayne felt surprisingly calm, content even. The voices reduced to buzzing in the back of his head as he simply let his body move him however it wants.
Kayne threaded the surgery needle—or what it assumes is a surgery needle, really Kayne doesn’t even know if that’s the correct thing to use but that’s what makes this fun—before just digging in, as they say. He begins by sewing the right arm to the torso. Macro before micro as they say, probably!
After he’s finished Kayne claps once, twice, thrice, there! All the blood vessels and nerves and the bothersome stuff are connected, no microsurgery needed. Kayne now needs to repeat it for all the other limbs and he can move to the best part, fiddling with Arthur’s insides.
Kayne sharpened his claws, something he can do even in his more human-like form. Starting from just a bit under Artie's Adam's apple and breaking the skin, moving in a clock-wise motion to create a door from Arthur’s thoracic cavity to his abdominal cavity. Getting a tingly sensation as it opens Arthur’s and stomach hole to come face to face with Arthur’s insides, his organs still fresh and full of color, but not enough for what Kayne needs to do.
Kayne starts by ripping Arthur’s lungs out, then going down to the stomach, stomach, intestines and other parts before going back up to his heart. It rips it out, slowly this time. Kayne lets the heart stay in its hands for a few moments, licking it once or twice before deciding to take a bite. The muscle felt rigid in his mouth with a toughness that really forced Kayne to add pressure to his biting. It could feel the metallic and sweet taste spreading in its mouth.
The human body would probably stop a person from hurting themselves but Kayne isn’t human. He never was and never will be.
It drives its hand into where its heart should be, tearing out the fresh and bloody—because Kayne wants it to, he wants to see his own oozy and otherworldly blood inside of Arthur—heart out of its body. He lets out a groan before placing it down and connecting it to Arthur’s veins and—Hah!—Artieries, Kayne starts giggling at that, a joke one of Arthur’s very own friends and watchers came up with! The needle almost too big for what he’s doing
Kayne continued to rip out its own insides, its lungs, liver, stomach, intestines. His body shifted and turned to deal with how violently he did that, clenching noises filling the space. Kayne felt an intense sense of euphoria out of all of this, his blood and insides with Arthur, in Arthur. Oh how Kayne wished he could repeat this again and again and again!
Kayne felt like he was playing a little game of operator with Artie’s insides now, having to place everything exactly where it’s supposed to be. This will be so much more fun when he’s the most powerful being in existence, his Arthur will be the most perfect one ever. He will be everything Kayne liked about that man and nothing more or nothing less, oh how Kayne yearns to start his wager now just at the thought of that but, he wants to do this with his own hands first, as a test of sorts. Kayne does love tests.
After what probably would’ve felt like days for a mortal the body was ready. There was one last thing Kayne needed to do, make it live. Of course he could just snap his finger and force it’s heart, brain and everything else to start working but where’s the theatrics in that? Nowhere! What he’s going to do is create lighting and thunder and direct it towards Arthur, his Arthur, one that is created with its very own hands and powers! Kayne couldn’t help but grin at that. Ignoring how the buzzing in the back of his mind was getting louder again and how it was telling him that this still wouldn’t compare to the actual Arthur, how he could never kill his father—
And he said, “let there be light,” and there was light, making it feel like fireworks as the roaring thunder drowned out anything else. Kayne almost felt like the lightning strikes were happening inside of him.
A heartbeat.
“It’s alive!” Kayne says, making his tone as dramatic and as positively shocked as he could. Adding just the tiniest tiniest bit of mania to really nail in the mad scientist thing before laughter started to bubble over. It could hear the voices biting into his ear—metaphorically of course but it hurt just as much, if Kayne could feel it. He wasn’t going to fail. Kayne was going to show them—show him—that it will succeed.
Its perfect creation woke up, staring at Kayne and it couldn’t help but just look at him. Not making any movements for a while before he said. “Oh Arthur, I’m so glad to have you here but don’t be a stranger. How about you let me hear your beautiful voice?” with a sweetness like honey that would surround and trap his art. But nothing, Arthur didn’t answer. He wouldn’t even move or change his expression, like a doll almost.
“C’mon Artie, where’s your voice? Your spirit?” Kayne asked dramatically to help, ignoring how its eyes were starting to twitch as Arthur continued to look at it. “Don’t leave me hanging how!” Kayne tried again, cackling at his own words “what? Not even a scoff?” Kayne questioned with a hint of desperation in his voice. It moved closer to Arthur, holding his cheek with its hand in an almost sweet way until it began to dig its nails into Arthur's face, which he was now noticing didn’t look like his Arthur’s face. The scars were wrong, not too wrong but just enough for Kayne to notice. “Oh you’ll come around eventually, won’t you?” it was holding—not Arthur this isn’t his special Arthur—’s face with enough force to nearly break his jaw.
“No!” Kayne moved away, his voice full of disgust now “you’re not him you–you’re just a failed thing, you will never compare to the real Arthur!” It made animated gestures, pointing at the monster? Thing? As he talked about it. He looks up "I'm sure you'd find this real funny if you cared enough, wouldn't you daddy dearest?" his voice dripping with sarcasm on every word "It's all your fault I just—" he stopped, looking back at the Arthur, if he could even be considered one. Now all of his imperfections were becoming more and more clear to it.
"You could've never replaced him," Kayne lunges at the failed thing, ripping it apart without any care, seeing his own work come undone by his very own hands as he felt laughter bubbling up against his throat. The sound of meat and viscera surrounded the room, it felt friendly, familiar between the ripping of parts that weren't correct. A picture that wasn't from his favorite art piece. "I don't even need you," Kayne dug its hand into his skull, letting it melt against his hand "Artie will listen to me, I'll make him listen. Understand. He will join me and we will dance a new world for us!" He practically yells as he begins crushing the things bones, until the only thing left is dust.
There's a buzzing sound against Kayne's ears "I'm afraid the show is over." He laughs, the sound seeming alien even to his own ears "No repeats."