A grand scheme, an insane god, a daunting task...
Summary[]
Kayne briefly talks to John and Arthur about the construction of the universe and the place of gods in it. After popping in and out of multiple universes, Kayne promises them a valuable reward if they find The Blackstone – and a terrible torture if they fail. Their goal set, he leaves them alone in medieval England.
Synopsis[]
Kayne talks about the original purpose of the Order of the Fallen Star: to find the Blackstone. He recalls the painting Arthur saw, back in Addison. The Order used to meet under the Larson estate, where John and Arthur found the statues of the Three Soldiers: Entie, Erwin, and Neitsh. They were meant to retrieve the Stone, but grew distracted.
One of them got power-hungry and tried to bring Shub-Niggurath into the world. They failed, but Antoine, who lived under the lighthouse, tried again 666 years later. Importantly, they did not find the Blackstone.
Kayne does not answer why he wants it, but admits he can’t see where the Blackstone is. Arthur reasons that if the Soldiers were sent to find it, that someone within the Order must have known where it was. Kayne agrees that someone used to know, but reiterates that he can't see it.
John wonders who could see it. Arthur brings up the Vanguard, but Kayne dismisses the idea. Some, Kayne explains, know where it is if they touch the Blackstone – a kid did, once. He trails off, recalling that he had his own plans, and that he found out eventually, saying that he was there and he wasn't there.
Arthur is confused. Kayne unhelpfully clarifies that it wasn't "me me, but me".
Arthur finally asks what Kayne is, and asks if Larson was right to call him Nyarlathotep. Kayne comments that Arthur understands that it's not about the names we're given, but the names we choose.
Kayne summons up a piano and presents a multiverse theory. The piano is everything that exists, from the beginning to end of time. They must imagine middle C is their specific reality. Other notes on the piano are essentially copies of that first world, with minor differences.
Opening the piano, Kayne reveals the stringers and hammers. This is where beings like Kayne exist. Gods can pluck the strings, walk along metal coils to enact their will, but they never interact with more than one key/world at a time. Each key has pieces of each god on it, but their souls are trapped under the “lid”. They are limited.
Returning to Shub-Niggurath, Kayne explains that Antoine dragged her out from under the lid and put her on the bench. She could play all the keys. However, there was no safety next. Shub was killed in her new host body, thanks to Henry McFarland and Frank Underhill and another unnamed individual.
Shub possessed Henry, there was some time fuckery, and Henry deleted Shub from existence.
John questions why they saw a depiction of Shub on the wall of 58 Pelican Lane. Kayne explains that when a powerful being gets deleted, it doesn’t go out with a whimper. Every other world forgot her like she never existed, but the world that destroyed her retained some remnants.
The same thing, according to Kayne, happened to John. Every single key has a version of John and Arthur on it, each having made slightly different choices.
Arthur wonders why Kayne insists he’s unique, if so, but Kayne insists that he is special. He also reveals that he killed every other version of himself. When he touched the Gray Stone, he did something that none of his other selves thought to do – how to move between universes. In that way, he can play all the keys.
Watching Shub blink out of existence gave him a new perspective, and made him special. He claims that he is also an anomaly. He also suggests that he killed the Nyarlathotep from this reality.
Kayne indicates that their world in specific has a lot of power because of Shub-Niggurath’s death. Arthur indicates that he doesn't understand, although he reiterates comprehending that there are other worlds and dimensions and other versions of himself.
Kayne suddenly teleports them somewhere else. In the background, Arthur hears Eddie and another version of himself speaking, albeit muffled. Eddie speaks the same dialogue from Part One, but this time, there is a gunshot and the sound of a body falling. According to Kayne, this world's Arthur will lose his arm up to his elbow and kill a lot of people. He names this version Dark Arthur, or Darkthur.
Meanwhile, Arthur realizes he's pressed against Parker's corpse. Kayne mocks him and then teleports them to another location.
John describes the new location as a dimly lit room. Kayne remarks on Arthur’s hardiness and his similarity to the Blackstone – he can’t quite see Arthur in the same way. On the other side of the wall, they hear another Arthur talking. Kayne instructs Arthur to keep breathing.
John looks through the hole and sees the other Arthur, before Irvine calls the other Arthur's attention away from the hole in the wall (Part Twenty Two).
Arthur realizes that he just saw himself in the past, and asks what else Kayne has changed. Kayne claims that Arthur is missing the big picture. He teleports them again.
John describes their new location as a small room that is dark with a single window letting moonlight pour in. Beneath that window is a crib.
Arthur asks who is in the crib – to which Kayne responds that it is Arthur. John comments on how small Arthur was. Kayne asks if Arthur was a preemie. After Arthur asks why Kayne brought him, Kayne answers that kids are the most important thing. Kayne himself has a daughter, and notes that his daughter would love Arthur.
Arthur asks if his parents still committed suicide in this timeline. In this one, Kayne confirms they do not, and wonders if Arthur is beginning to ‘get it’. Arthur responds that he is.
Teleported again, they are in a carpeted hallway with a door and the sounds of running water. Kayne remarks that Arthur knows where they are. He heads into the bathroom, addresses someone cheerfully, and turns off the running water. When he returns, he tells Arthur that “she’s very cute”.
Kayne takes them downstairs, to Arthur’s piano room. He asks why Arthur never finished Faroe's Goodbye. Arthur hesitantly responds that he doesn't fully recall that song. Kayne insists he should play, and Arthur does so.
Ultimately Kayne reveals his final goal: for Arthur to retrieve the Blackstone. When Arthur asks how, Kayne replies that he doesn’t know how, but he knows where (broadly) and when.
Instructing Arthur to continue playing, he tells them he’s using the carrot and stick method. For the carrot, once they retrieve the Blackstone, they’ll get their own bodies. Some worlds managed this, but it didn’t go well after. He also points out how there's no running water now, and that Arthur can have Faroe back, alive.
For the stick, Kayne threatens to torture every version of Faroe in front of Arthur for all eternity. He will perform atrocities upon Daniel and Charlie and every other person Arthur knows, over and over again. He will torture himself, and he’ll do even worse to John.
Kayne turns to address John directly and tells him that Arthur is very upset about the deal John made. He has an offer for John. If John would like, Kayne will make Arthur forget about John’s deal. Arthur warns John not to take it.
After some hesitation, John takes the deal. Kayne abruptly retracts the offer and notes that, when Arthur was choosing a memory to give up for the Order, he ought to have re-considered his priorities.[1]
Kayne opens another portal and pushes them through. They are approximately 700 years in the past: 13th century England. This is where the Three Soldiers left off. Though Arthur protests, Kayne ignores him and instructs them to call for him once they find the Blackstone. He sarcastically wishes them good luck before vanishing back through the gateway.
Trivia[]
- What Kayne describes Henry and Frank doing to Shub-Niggurath can be heard in CoC Game 1.