Chapter Text
Conversation had been held for a few minutes by now. Arthur wasn't paying full attention, his brain instead sticking to the recent occurrences - the fact that Kayne just blew up Butcher's head, and how Noel had been transferred to ‘Spain’, as Kayne had said. However, Arthur quickly refocused on the ongoing conversation as a chuckle rings out.
“You know what I mean,” Right. Kayne. Immediately after, the human-hating god snickers.
And so Arthur responds, slight confusion tainting his voice, “You – what? H-Hold on, what?”
“Not me me, but me! You know?” And once again, a cackle. It's like making some sound of joy or such is something Kayne is incapable of stopping himself from doing.
“What… What are you? Larson called you… Nyarla… thotep. You said… ‘who cares?’”
“Exactly! Exactly, Arthur. You get it. It’s not about the names we’re given, it’s about the names we choose!”
Finally, John pipes up, “But… are you him?”
“Are you… he?”, was the immediate response from Kayne.
And so Arthur felt it fitting to chime in too.
“Are you?”
And… Kayne immediately drives off from the conversation topic.
“Oh, alright, alright. Look.”, a click of Kanye's fingers rings out, along with a long sound of wind moving in ways irregular from earthen winds, “Here, Artie! Imagine this piano is everything that exists.”
A piano had indeed appeared in front of Kayne. John would've described it - the dirt marring the otherwise clean keys, the way the chair seemed to move too light for its weight when Kayne pulled it out, the blood smeared along the strings that Kayne had yet to place, the worm that Kayne grimaced at and chucked to the side - but Kayne immediately continued to talk, not giving John a chance.
“Everything that will, has, and has yet to. Now, see this key, here?”, a note rang out. Arthur's brain immediately kicked in to try to figure out which key had been pressed, though could not figure it before Kayne spoke again, “Middle C? That’s you. That’s your lovely little planet on its entire timeline-”
And then something odd happened.
“Arthur.. Kayne has stopped speaking. He's staring at fog drifting from the inside. He looks.. frustrated, Arthur.”
That last part immediately became evident as Kayne stood abruptly, knocking the chair back.. which started to float?
“NO! I didn't mean to summon this one, you bastards!”, and Kayne proceeded to spin to face Arthur, “Artie! There's a door behind you, John can lead you there or whatever. Go while I deal with this prob-”
And then they opened.
Hundreds of them, all over the piano.
Prying eyes.
And for a moment?
Arthur could see every. Single. One.
Then he was gone. So was John. And the eyes closed, the fog retreated, and the chair clattered back to the ground.
Kayne immediately kicked the piano, “You! You forsaken, useless- Augh! I gave you someone already, why did you want him?! And John too, I guess.. why did you want what was mine, hmmmm??”
Of course, no response was received. For none had a mouth but him, not even the snarling things that plucked the piano strings. For now, he wiped his bloody hands onto his bloody suits, glaring at the webbing coating the keys, his rage perfectly hidden with his usual calm composure, "They'll be back soon enough."