《Tryphant Agent's Historical Logs》 500 Year Old Reunion with an Old Friend Donavan L. Cantarito. A man with golden vertical slit pupils, long black hair, with two slender horns coming out of his forehead and a pitch black tail coming from his waist. He was wearing a pair of golden framed glasses and his face was quite handsome. He was using a scaled uniform where the colours of black and white merged to create an aesthetically pleasing look resembling a bartender¡¯s uniform. If you noticed by now, Donavan wasn¡¯t a human, rather he was a Basilisk in human form. Actually most people of Nezdu were Basilisks because they were on the planet of Zaretta, the Basilisk home planet. Donavan took out a drink underneath the counter as he prepared it for his human guest. His golden pupils scanned the human in front of him. Short golden hair, black eyes with a well built frame, as if he regularly exercised. He looked around his late 20¡¯s in human terms. On his finger was a simple golden ring and a Gallean watch. He was using a scaled suit in Basilisk fashion but with the aesthetics of a human suit, as if he was about to meet someone important but his face held a grim expression. Donavan knew this man very well, he was Maximus Z. Kitonia. Age 456, Donavan¡¯s closest friend and initial investor. ¡°Donavan one Icethaw please, shipment should arrive yesterday. It puts someone in a hyperfocus state and I need it for this evening¡± Donavan golden pupils were filled with a mixture of shock, amusement and disbelief. An Icethaw was an extremely rare commodity used for negotiations and Donavan recently got his hands on a batch. "Then you''re paying it in full" "Deal" Donavan kept silent for a while before he sighed again and led Maximus to another VIP room with a personal bar and lounge. Inside the VIP room before Donavan pushed a button underneath the bar counter before the floor split apart and revealed a number of luxurious ice containers. Donavan took one out and pushed the button again which closed the floor. He carried it to the personal bar and started preparing a Icethaw. Donavan took out a number of vials from the container before pouring it into a large steel bowl. From there he released a thin layer of purple gas from his finger which would mix into the bowl. "This was your aim from the start wasn''t it. This is the type of stuff world leaders drink before a negotiation. This was actually a reserved order for an important inter-planetary conference coming up soon but I ordered extra. If you¡¯re about to go into a negotiation you can¡¯t be as lazy as you were'''' Donavan carefully picked up a transparent jellyfish from the container and gently placed it inside before covering the bowl with a lid. Donavan stared at Maximus before continuing. "In the old days you wouldn''t have made it so obvious that that was your aim." "I knew you were going to give it to me even if I gave less of an effort" Maximus snickered, "That''s why I put so little effort into it" Donavan sighed at his lazy but stylish friend before he asked, "So tell me, who are you meeting that warrants such a drink from you?¡± Maximus smiled before he gave out a hearty laugh. "Grey Nektura, the Tryphant church¡¯s economic overseer specializing in the trade between the Basilisk from Zaretta and the Humans from Escala. We haven¡¯t talked ever since I got out of the space business and just yesterday he said that he wanted to meet. I suspect that it¡¯s space business though.¡± ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t weren¡¯t in the space business anymore after what happened to your wife.¡± Donavan Maximus smiled bitterly before he took out a picture of himself, a woman and a girl before he put it back in his pocket. "I may not be in the space business anymore but I still have friends you know. Apparently Grey wants to see me for advice and he said that it¡¯s better if we talk face to face" Donavan gently nodded before he noticed that the bowl was gently glowing. He took the bowl and served it to Maximus where he slowly lifted the lid. Inside, the mixture of alcohols were gone and a glowing jellyfish was all that''s left. The Icethaw Jellyfish is a special breed of parasitic jellyfish bred from the northern liquid nitrogen seas of the Siren planet of Aurora. It was bred to retain it¡¯s hyperactive state but the sirens genetically modified the Icethaw to become a domesticated species obeying whoever it parasitized onto giving the host full control over their body, improved senses, 10x accelerated thought and 2000% memory retrieval. Due to the harsh conditions of keeping it in a near-birthed state and its short lifespan of 7 days, finding a high-quality icethaw becomes something that only the rich can have access to. Despite its astronomical price, the demand for an Icethaw still tower over the supply making it rare to find on the market creating artificial Icethaws which harbour dangerous side-effects.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Maximus gently touched the glowing jellyfish when it suddenly latched onto his spine connecting itself to the nervous system and the brain. Maximus could feel the surge of computational power inside of him as he accelerated his thoughts so fast it seemed like time stopped. He could smell the range of alcohols behind Donavan, he could hear the murmuring in the other rooms and his eyes felt like they were of an eagle¡¯s. Maximus closed his eyes as he tried to remember everything about Grey Nektura giving him a mental library of each of his major interactions with Grey Nektura for the past decade. Maximus sat there scrolling through his memories in accelerated thought before he searched up his first memories with Donavan. ¡°Hey Don, I¡¯m just remembering how far we¡¯ve come these past 5 years and it¡¯s still so surreal to me¡± Sitting there, Donavan looked around the room with a proud expression on his face. "I still remember when this place was a small bar in the middle of town" Donavan reminisced. "There were only a few customers and we only sold cheap drinks. Look at us now, handling orders for Icethaw and Yelkiptus Reeds. We''ve come a long way these past 5 years." "I still remember the first day I came into your bar. Depressed about Natalie and Lily''s death and cursing the world while drinking my sorrows away" Maximus replied "Aren''t you still angry at the humans for not saving your wife during the crash?" replied a puzzled Donavan "I haven''t come to terms with it yet. I can''t forgive the human paramedics for neglecting Natalie and Lily just because they weren¡¯t human. Honestly this entire conflict is a big joke from the start. I¡¯m still fucking pissed for the irresponsible leaders that started this entire mess, I''ve just realized that Natalie wouldn''t want me to live like that for the rest of my life. She loved me for who I am and I love her too. Back then the only thing keeping me from breaking down was the hope that she can be resurrected, you know there''s records in history of the Tryphant church resurrecting people. Now, the reason I live is because I have far too much to lose. Natalie and Lily will always leave an emptiness in my heart but life is meant to be lived. It won''t always be sad that''s something I''ve learnt coming to this bar of yours." an intoxicated Maximus explained. Donavan looked at his friend in silence and decided to keep quiet. Looking down to his watch Maximus¡¯s face was suddenly filled with shock. ¡°fuck. I¡¯m supposed to be meeting him in 30 minutes. That¡¯s like 15 Rypa in Basilisk time¡± ¡°Then you must hurry¡± Donavan replied with a bow ¡°Good luck my friend¡± ¡°Thanks Don¡± Maximus immediately got up and started running outside. Once outside Maximus saw Nezdu in all of its glory, a city within a tree. The large oak barks surrounded the city and the sky was shadowed by the massive root system. The tree was 20,000 meters in diameter and stood 7,251 meters tall towering as tall as Mt. Everest. Nezdu supported a population of 720,000 sentient life forms with 12 main layers with a district situated on each one. Inside of Nezdu the sight of thousands of roots interconnecting with each other replaced the sight of stars. These hollow roots were the lifeblood of the city serving as the main transportation between the layers. Within these roots are vacuum based elevators powered by air that comes from an artificial lung located on the bottom of Nezdu. According to Donavan the Basilisk as a race were inherently proficient in the manipulation of poisons and liquids. After thousands of years of innovation the Basilisk managed to create massive artificial bio-organic technology with their rich biofuel powering Basilisk society. The modern day Basilisk civilization terraformed the dead tree of Nezdu to become an artificially living creature with lungs that would filter the poisonous air of Zaretta, provide air to operate the root system elevators, veins with clean water to their residents, a modified nerve system which transferred electricity to the houses of the people and a drone system which served as public defense. On the walls of Nezdu were millions of blue lines that illuminated the sky, these were the nervous system and the proof that Nezdu was truly a living creature. Maximus rushed to a 5 meter wide root and placed his hand on the wall of the root and closed his eyes connecting to the Nezdu Brain network. He felt something click and his vision was instantly replaced with a field of white with a 3D blueprint of Nezdu. Maximus zoomed into the sixth floor where he found the temple and immediately requested for an elevator. As soon as he did he found that his connection to the Nezdu brain was severed and in front of him the root unraveled displaying a platform waiting for Maximus to get into. Inside Maximus saw that the platform had a diameter around 4 meters and a curved wooden wall encasing him. It was as if he was inside a wooden ball with a platform stationed on the bottom. He knew that the ball shape elevator lets the passenger stay upright the entire trip despite the curves inside the root system. Looking up Maximus saw a luminescent plant that provided light with handrails on the side. Maximus held onto the handrails and suddenly felt the decrease in pressure as he was ascending to the 6th layer which was approximately 1200 meters above the 4th layer. After 7 minutes of waiting Maximus found himself at the 6th layer right inside the Tryphant Church¡¯s main building, a skyscraper-like tower that stood 230 meters tall. He was currently inside a Hub where other roots connected into the Tryphant Church with hundreds of other creatures entering and exiting the roots. Maximus touched the wall of the building which connected him to the Tryphant network where he saw a virtual assistant. ¡°Hello sir. How may I help you today?¡± asked the Basilisk lady ¡°I¡¯m here for an appointment with Grey Nektura at 4:30pm Escala time¡± ¡°Mr. Kitonia, please enter the 5th root elevator¡± Maximus'' vision was cut off again before he saw a map inside his mind that led him to the 5th root elevator. Once inside it directly led him to a room where Grey was already sitting accompanied by an empty chair. Grey was a middle aged man with grey hair, a grey beard and a muscular frame. He was wearing a human suit with a silver watch on his hand. His grey hair was gelled back with a serious look on his face ¡°Max, a pleasure to see you. Please have a seat you will want to hear what I have to say¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be my pleasure¡± Maximus replied as he took a seat, ¡°So what business brings you here today?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get straight to the point. We can bring back your wife and daughter from the dead¡± I Negotiated with a God Maximus¡¯ eyes dilated as soon as he heard those words. His mind immediately accelerated until time seemed to stop. ¡°What the fuck¡± Maximus thought. ¡°I did not see this coming. Well the first thing I should do is find what they want from me.¡± Maximus searched up everything about the Tryphant Church¡¯s history because this would be the most important negotiation he¡¯s ever had in his life. The Tryphant Church is the main religious organization across all nine worlds who worships their God, the Original Tryphant. In the beginning God saw that there was nothing, so he breathed the stars into life creating space, gravity, physics and time. After millions of years God saw that the stars were barren and lifeless thus he breathed life into the planets creating trees, water, animals and fishes. To fill the stars with intelligent life God created his children, the Ancient Tryphants who would bring prosperity and peace to the world.The Ancient Tryphants would create the 8 main races on 8 different moons revolving around Tamil. God was pleased with the sentient races and gave his blessing to all of them granting them powers beyond comprehension. Once he was pleased he rested on the holy planet of Ephyr where God laid protected by the Ancient Tryphants. To Maximus¡¯ knowledge the Tryphant Church is the most powerful organization establishing peace between countries and mediating conflicts when necessary. The Tryphant Church¡¯s main focus is to accomplish the command from the Original Tryphant which is to bring prosperity and peace. ¡°If their overarching goal is to maintain prosperity and peace how does that relate to me? Since my family died due to the conflict between the humans and the elves they probably want me to fix it but that¡¯ll be near impossible for me to do it alone. The prejudice between the races already run deep in both societies so is it about bringing prosperity? I know I¡¯m good in the space business, have a lot of money and have numerous connections between the Basilisks, Elves and Humans but it should pale in comparison to the Tryphant Church¡¯s expertise, capital and connections. Hell they were on each planet before the civilizations figured out space technology. My guess is that it¡¯s solving the conflict between the Humans and the Elves but I¡¯ll need more information¡± Maximus decelerated his thinking and focused on Grey Nektura¡¯s face looking for any hints. Grey continued speaking, ¡°-and we need your cooperation if you want to revive them¡± Maximus stared at Grey for a solid minute before responding, ¡°I¡¯m assuming you want me to help you fix the conflict between the Elves and the Humans¡± Maximus needed to take the lead in this negotiation. On the surface he was stone cold and emotionless even at the mention of his beloved family, but deep inside Maximus knew that he had to be emotionless if he wanted his family back. He didn¡¯t know if he was replaceable and had to appear like the Tryphant Church needed him. ¡°Indeed. I¡¯m glad to see we¡¯re on the same page¡± Maximus responded with a smile before continuing ¡°I¡¯m just curious as to why you would wait for 5 years before you told me of this proposition. I¡¯m sure you remember when I begged you to resurrect them but you told me that their bodies were too disfigured and their souls are gone. Now you¡¯re telling me that 5 years later you can revive them? Correct me if I¡¯m wrong but something seems suspicious¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid you are correct, but I unfortunately do not have the answers. This meeting with you is actually a direct order from the Ancient Tryphants themselves. Now that I have brought you here and sent their message my job is done.¡± As he said that he stood up and promptly left the room leaving a confused Maximus sitting all alone inside the room. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°WHAT¡± Maximus shouted inside his brain. ¡°When I say ¡®If the lord wills it¡¯ I DIDN¡¯T MEAN THIS¡± Panicking Maximus tried to stay calm and figure out what he should do next. The Ancient Tryphants. They were Gods in the truest sense and in the records of history those who tested God died. The core of the Ancient Tryphant¡¯s power is the ability to command an army of creatures who are all stronger than anything the sentient life can compare to. The reason why the 9 moons of Tamil never crashed in history was because the Ancient Tryphants had their Immemorial Dragons adjust the course of various planets preventing multiple cataclysms, but this was also an opportunity for Maximus. If they can have the ability over life, then they have the ability over death. In the following conversation Maximus would need to be as cooperative as possible and prove his worth in solving the conflict between the Elves and Humans ¡°Interesting thoughts human¡± A strange voice entered Maximus¡¯ head. Maximus¡¯ eyes contracted. He was in the Tryphant Church headquarters. They could read minds. He immediately kneeled down on the floor with his right hand over his heart and bowed down. ¡°It¡¯s humbling to receive your praise¡±, Maximus couldn¡¯t fuck this up. He emptied his mind and spoke his truest thoughts. ¡°I would do anything to get my family back and live happily with them. I am willing to sell my soul if I have to¡± ¡°We already know. Are you willing to give up everything you have now for a chance to gain your family back?¡± Maximus paused for a slight moment before responding, ¡°...yes. I¡¯m willing to offer everything to have my family back¡± Maximus was hesitating but he chose his words very carefully agreeing to have his family back, not the chance to have his family back. ¡°Good enough. I have no time for word play but your intentions align enough with ours. We will send you back in time and you will fix the conflict between the humans and the elves in return. Grishika fill him in on the details¡± As Maximus felt like the voice had left his mind he looked up and he saw a tall wooden man who was looking down on him. He stretched out his hand to help Maximus out and as Maximus grabbed his hand an inflow of information barraged his mind. Even when he accelerated his mind to the limit it still felt like he was facing a tsunami head-on. Gritting his teeth Maximus held on tight trying to process the important information that¡¯s going through his head. ¡°[13 Agents Accepted the Deal]¡± ¡°[9 Agents Pending Confirmation]¡± ¡°[Installing failsafe in case agent fails task]¡± ¡°[Installing the agent network]¡± ¡°[Current year: 4479 Travel Date: 4060 Year difference: 419 Years]¡± "[Age of Host: 31]" ¡°[Splicing of Dimensional Space-time Succeeded]¡± ¡°[Extraction of Information Succeeded]¡± ¡°[Compressing memories]¡± ¡°[Compressing personality]¡± ¡°[Locating Past Host¡¯s Body]¡± ¡°[Reconstruction of the Dimensional Barrier]¡± ¡°[Calculating space coordinates]¡± ¡°[Integrating the relative time-space coordinates]¡± ¡°[Calculating Space-Time Curvature]¡± ¡°[Running Diagnostic on Dimensional Gate]¡± ¡°[Diagnostics: 100% - Status: Complete]¡± ¡°[Running Diagnostics on Agent]¡± ¡°[Diagnostics: 100% - Status: Parasitic Anomaly Detected]¡± ¡°[Analyzing Parasitic Anomaly - Status: Icethaw Parasite]¡± ¡°[Deleting Icethaw Parasite]¡± ¡°[Running Diagnostics on Agent]¡± ¡°[Diagnostics: 100% - Status: Complete]¡± ¡°[Uploading Consciousness: 1%] ¡°[Playing pre-recorded message]¡± ¡°Hello Maximus. Welcome to the Tryphant Agent Program. You¡¯ve been selected because you¡¯ve met the required criteria necessary to qualify for this opportunity. We will soon transfer your consciousness back 419 years. Your mission is to solve the conflict before it ever happened. Failure of this task will result in death. Success in this mission means that you will save your family from death and the Elves and Humans can live peacefully. You only have one chance to solve the conflict so it¡¯s recommended to not mess this up. Due to the difficulty of the task we¡¯ve sent a total of 22 agents back in time to solve this conflict. You may contact them and cooperate to fulfill your mission successfully. We wish you the best of luck Maximus, Sincerely your boss Administrator Grishika¡± Maximus¡¯ vision was filled with perpetual darkness before he felt his body crashing onto the floor. Maximus couldn¡¯t feel his body, all that accompanied him was endless pure pitch black darkness. Dimension 6-?-15 Dimension 6-?-15 53.49 million lightyears away from Dimensional Tryphant Gate ¡°Messier 87¡± lies ¡°Escala-¦Â2 ¡±, the beta planet of Escala. The Ancient Tryphants studied the possible implications of the creation of intelligent life and the level of innovation that can come from a civilization without outside interference. The result of these tests indicates that intelligent life has the capacity to create technology at a sophisticated level and within a few millennials have the capability to colonize their solar system. These tests showed a promising future of Escala which started the terraforming and creation of Escala with proper contingency plans in place gained from the research done on ¡°Escala-¦Â2¡±. All was going according to plan for the Ancient Tryphants until they realized that Escala-¦Â2 never dealt with outside species and thus couldn¡¯t prepare for the conflict between the humans and the elves leading to the present day situation. The Ancient Tryphants noted that conflicts between two parties on Escala-¦Â2 often fade away within 3 generations as the new generation will forget the deeds of the old generation but unfortunately, the elves live far longer than any human do. They will remember the things that the humans have done in the past and retaliate with that grudge, for the new generation of humans it would seem like it was an unjust cause ages ago and retaliate back in anger thus causing the vicious cycle to continue. The easiest way to solve this conflict is let the Elves and Humans begin on friendly terms. The long lived Elves will remember the goodwill that the humans portrayed in first years of contact and thus will establish friendly relations. Maintaining this relationship will be a struggle for both Elves and Humans but undoubtedly it is a much better start than the current turmoil brewing between the Humans and the Elves. Now back to the humans of Escala-¦Â2, for the humans on Escala-¦Â2, they call their planet Earth and they were apparently in an ¡°Information Era¡±. This was especially fascinating for the Ancient Tryphants as their civilization was extremely powerful but few in number often scattered among the few dimensions that they have access to. Seeing the implications of the power of information to a civilization 7 billion minds strong was something that made the Ancient Tryphants feel something that they haven¡¯t felt in a long time. Excitement. To the ageless Ancient Tryphants time was but a mere concept for they have lived so long their sense of time has dulled. Some would take naps of centuries long and awaken to find that nothing much has changed. Their creations are generally the same, the planets are the same, space was the same and they¡¯ve created everything within their capability. The few dimensions that had the same physical constants were as Tamil were conquered and the only thing they found traversing space was the quiet loneliness of the void. With nothing ever changing millennials felt like seconds and eons felt like minutes. Ancient Tryphants would take naps for centuries to find that everything was the same as they left it. Therefore, the infinite stimulus generated from the information era excited the Ancient Tryphants for it seemed as though their civilization was advancing at an exponential rate. So in the search for excitement some Ancient Tryphants would transfer a part of their consciousness to the world of Escala-¦Â2, sentient creatures under the command of the Ancient Tryphants would also enjoy their life in disguise on Escala-¦Â2. In a country that the humans call China, in a hospital were two women. One looked like a patient on the hospital bed while the other was sitting beside her reading a book. The patient had pure black hair that were shoulder length and brown eyes that were almost black. She had a beautiful face and her body was skinnier than usual. Her eyes were currently closed listening to what the other woman was reading. The other women had long brown hair and a pair of glasses perched upon her nose. Her dark brown eyes were focused on the book in her hand and she was using a maroon blazer paired with a black top and denim pants. She had a strong jawline, fair skin and was a beauty that men would lust over. Listening closely one can hear the story that she was reading, ¡°Vessivan, the president of the northern elves finally declared a war on the humans. He impassionately spoke to his people, ¡°Shall we allow the vicious humans to continue corrupting our land? Do we turn a blind eye when they kidnap and sell our elven brethren? Will you let them escape unpunished despite the terror they¡¯ve caused for our race? You, will not. You will march to their doorsteps and when you meet them, you will tear away everything they¡¯ve taken from us. You will teach the world that such vile evil can never go unpunished. As we emerge victorious, the results of our efforts will be unclouded justice and imperishable peace¡±. As Vessivan finished his speech a fleet of Iagolos ascended and entered the Akashic Field preparing for the war with the humans¡± The women closed the book, pushed up her glasses and said, ¡°That¡¯s all the time we have for today Ashley¡± ¡°Vessivan that kniving fox! There are only a few slave traders in the early era and they¡¯ve all been dealt with. That was at least 100 years ago! The humans now have such strict policy on slave trading that not another slave trader has emerged for the past 100 years! The corruption of land is an overstatement of trash! The humans have clearly made major changes to have better Elven standards but they won¡¯t let go of a grudge. Clearly Vessivan is just using the humans as a scapegoat for the problems in the Ukia, the Northern Elf Country.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Yes but 100 years to an elf is akin to 10 years to a human. If the Elves enslaved your people 10 years ago that wouldn¡¯t seem like such a short time right.¡± ¡°Fair point. But it¡¯s still absurd to think that the next generation of humans have to bear the sins of their predecessors.¡± With a sigh Katarina agrees, ¡°Yeah I think so too, well that¡¯s all the time I¡¯ve got for today¡± ¡°Thanks You Sis! I always look forward to the days when you come to visit, no one really visits me anymore so when you come it¡¯s the brightest part of my day.¡± ¡°No worries Ashley, I¡¯ll always be here for you. Well I also need someone to test my writing material on so you¡¯re actually the one doing my a favour by listening to my stories everyday¡± ¡°Your stories are the best!¡± With a giggle Katarina reached into her backpack and pulled out a carton of pork chops ¡°I know you like these so I got some on the way here¡± Ashley¡¯s eyes glowed with joy, ¡°Thank you so much sis! You truly are the best!¡± Ashley grabbed the pork chops with unfiltered greed and started to chomp down on them. Katarina watched with a smile on her face as she started to pack up getting ready to leave. ¡°See you later Ashley¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be waiting for you sis!¡± With a goodbye Katarina left the room and exited the hospital. She got into her car and approached a very tall building with the labels of Katherine Revivo plastered on the side of the skyscraper. She parked within the basement of the building and after exiting her car she entered the building and went to the 50th floor where the meetings were taking place. As she entered the meeting room it seemed as though everyone was finishing their lunch and was about to get ready for the proceeding meeting. The meeting room had two layers of desks surrounding in a semicircle shape. The inner semicircle was for the executives who were making the decisions and the outer semicircle was for new leaders to observe executive meetings ensuring transparency in the company. Taking a seat in the inner semicircle Katarina took out a folder and started to prepare for the meeting. As everyone got seated the Katarina motioned for everyone to start their reports. ¡°Nathaniel, what¡¯s the status on the new clothing line?¡± ¡°The new clothing line is completed and ready to start manufacturing for the new fall season. We are ready to ship the new clothing line to 181 stores in 1 weeks, 329 in 2 weeks and 445 in 3 weeks. By August all 576 stores in China should have the new clothing line in their storage ready to be launched. The models have already finished shooting and are being edited and processed. Our controlled research showed a positive reception of 91% to the clothing line and over 70% of the sample size is willing to pay a premium cost for the clothes. I¡¯ve already forwarded the rest of the marketing research and clothing designs to the executives with new potential winter designs for the next season¡± Nathaniel placed the folder in his hand down as he waited for Katarina to respond. ¡°How would you define if your clothing line is successful?¡± Taken aback Nathaniel responded, ¡°By the amount of sales we are able to procure. If the people like our fashion then the amount that we sell will invariably rise proportionally.¡± ¡°It sounds like the revenue a company makes is how we define success¡± Nathaniel was about to answer before he thought for a moment. ¡°It¡¯s also to establish trust within the customer that we can give them premium quality clothes at a lower cost. By doing so we are able to secure a larger market share and further our mission statement which is to make everyone look and feel good.¡± With a smile Katarina spoke, ¡°Perfect, I¡¯ve seen the price on the new clothing brand and I think it¡¯s a bit too expensive for the average citizen. Find a way to lower the price to an affordable range. Once you do email the team about the new changes then we can be ready to start shipping¡± Nathaniel sighed and nodded. Katarina masterfully led the rest of the meeting to ensure that her clothing brand will achieve growth by the next quarter. After what seems like forever a tired Katarina headed back home, opened the door to her house and once she closed it thousands of spiders emerged from the cracks and crevices of the wall preparing a hot bath, a drink and a movie to watch. Katarina took off her pants and 6 extra legs emerged from her back. She took off her glasses, 6 extra eyes appeared on her face and two small fangs revealed themselves. ¡°Ahhhh It feels so good to be back to my original self. I just need to relax from today¡± As she entered the bathtub she commanded her spiders to set up a surveillance system to prevent anyone from looking inside the mansion. Katarina was not a human, she was a Xylian Arachne, a special breed of Arachne created from an Ancient Tryphant capable of commanding an army of spiders and using her webs to influence the minds of her opponents. Her most powerful weapon in her arsenal is a micro-bacteria sized spider that she can attach to a person. When it comes in contact with a creature such as a human it will travel through the bloodstream and into the brain. From there Katarina can alter the production of hormones, slightly altering memories and analyzing the neural network of the infected person. When she analyzes the neural networks in real time she¡¯s able to grasp what the person is feeling, thinking and seeing. This was how Katarina was able to build her brand Katarina Revivo and establish her brand in the Chinese clothing industry. By being able to silently gather the data of thousands of shoppers she was able to accurately determine the market demand, reduce wastage and identify the growing trends in fashion. When she analyzes a customer¡¯s thoughts as they shopped she can see which outfit they prefer and how they analyze a store. She¡¯s able to resolve conflicts easily within her department by nudging the employees emotions into a calmer state of mind before sorting the cause of the conflict. Negotiations were easier as she can essentially read the minds of her opponents and always be ahead of her competitors. In the fashion world she has a nickname, ¡°Soothsayer Katarina¡± due to her correct prediction about market trends, but behind closed doors she was the Xylian Arachne Katarina L. Revivo with her adopted human sister Ashley. Katarina found Ashley when she was a child within a car crash which killed both of Ashley¡¯s parents. Once the authorities claimed that Ashely was an orphan Katarina opted to adopt her out of curiosity and interest. Over time that curiosity turned into love and genuine affection which made Katarina see Ashley as her own sister. As she was about to enter the bathtub her phone rang, on it was the name Grishika. Scouting Potential Talent ¡°What do you want Grishika¡± Katarina lazily answered as she was resting inside the hot tub, ¡°I already did my work back on Dimension 5-?-B19. The Suitsu civilization should have prepared for the comet that¡¯s going to hit their surface in like a decade. I¡¯ve checked at least ten times before I left with my own eyes. ¡° A young male voice came from the other side of the phone, ¡°I¡¯m here because future you said you¡¯ve found a potential agent¡± ¡°Why can¡¯t you just use one voice? It¡¯s confusing as hell when I meet you as a female then meet you again as a male.¡± ¡°It¡¯s troublesome to get the same body when you travel between space and time. I just find it more convenient to plant a body to use in different dimensions. That¡¯s beside the point though, I¡¯m here because you said you found a potential agent.¡± ¡°Well first off, that¡¯s future me, also wouldn¡¯t future me tell you who you¡¯re looking for? Also as a former Category 4 agent shouldn¡¯t my past and future have some sense of privacy?¡± ¡°Future you told me that it¡¯ll be easier to just ask you. Also it was the future you who contacted me telling me that you know about an agent that I¡¯m looking for around this time period. As a Category 4 agent your words have some weight, so I hope you can remember who you could be referring to.¡± ¡°I have an inkling but I need to confirm it. What are the current crises you¡¯re preparing for?¡± ¡°Well we have a few crises on our hands lately. I¡¯ve left everything below tier 1 - 2 to my subconscious leaving me to handle matters tier 3 and 4. For Tier 3 we¡¯re currently selecting agents to prevent a global pandemic killing at least 500 million, and the war between the humans and elves. As for Tier 4 we¡¯re selecting agents to prevent mass starvation of over 1 Billion people and the demilitarisation of weapons of mass destruction in one of the underdeveloped dimensions. ¡° With a smile on Katarina¡¯s face she responded, ¡°I think I know who the future me is talking about. Meet with me tomorrow and I¡¯ll introduce you to her, her name¡¯s Ashley.¡± There was a long pause on the phone before Grishika¡¯s voice came back, ¡°I¡¯ve just searched about the history of Ashley and if I¡¯m not mistaken she doesn¡¯t seem like a person with the capability to solve a tier 3 problem. I hope you can convince me otherwise¡± Katarina responded with a laugh then asked, ¡°Let me ask you, what was the cause of the conflict between the humans and the elves?¡± Grishika¡¯s voice paused for a moment before answering, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken the direct cause were the Elven Slaves. The continuation of the conflict is a mix of factors such as different lifespans between both races and the political incentives for both leaders to have a war to stay in political power. Considering that a war on the moons of Tamil don¡¯t happen in reality and instead in the stimulated battlefield of the Akashic Field the leaders could pour in resources for a war without sacrificing their citizens which will gain the approval of their people and thus gaining even more political power and public support. The wars caused an increase in extremist racism, riots and the preferential treatment of a race leading to the indirect death of millions within a year and over 500 million in a century. If this problem were to keep progressing then we can see an indirect death of over 1 billion live in the next millennium¡± ¡°Brilliant Answer! Now what¡¯s the root cause of the conflict between the Elves and Humans?¡± Girishika paused in thought, ¡°The Elven Slaves¡± ¡°Correct, Now let¡¯s imagine a world where the agents removed the Elven Slaves, will the conflict between the Humans and Elves go away forever?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more probable that something else simply replaces the incident of the Elven Slaves¡± ¡°Indeed. So how can we prepare a long-term solution to the Humans and Elves so we don¡¯t send agents back every decade?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just ask my future self about where you¡¯re going with all these questions if you¡¯re not going to give me a definitive answer¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. A giggle followed by a playful sigh can be heard from Grishika¡¯s phone, ¡°Fine¡± Katarina said, ¡°The long-term solution to the problem is to establish the mindset necessary so that the Elves and Humans don¡¯t determine each other by race. It won¡¯t be ¡°Oh look a human¡±, instead the mindset should be ¡°Oh look it¡¯s Tommy¡± instead. Establishing this mindset has to start with the new generation of humans educating them without racial discrimination. As the humans grow up they¡¯ll treat each Elf and Human as a person, not by their race. This will establish a healthy culture between the Elves and Humans and as the Elves will keep this culture due to their long age the humans if they are wise will make this culture to be something which is common sense. Once this culture is established between the Humans and the Elves if ever a singular human kills an Elf the judgement will fall unto that single human and not the race. If an Elf ever kills a Human the judgement will fall unto that single Elf and not the entire race. This will be invariably hard to do, but we do things not because they are easy but because they are hard. The key part to reach this goal is to have someone who is patient and understanding enough of both sides, has the ability to not judge anyone, treat everyone as a person without prejudice and have a thorough understanding of life. I think Ashely fits the bill if we¡¯re looking at a long term plan to resolve the conflict between the Humans and the Elves, and as her sister I can vouch for her. She¡¯s been through a lot, but that¡¯s something that will help her build the bridge between the Humans and Elves much stronger. You should really come to China and meet her with me, I swear you¡¯ll love her¡± After a period of thought Grishika responded, ¡°I shall meet you tomorrow, tell me if you want anything from Europe ¡± ¡°Yeah, can you pick up some belgium chocolates while you¡¯re still in Europe? Actually, I¡¯ve always been curious, why don¡¯t you just teleport around?¡± ¡°Teleporting is a pain due to the number of calculations required. I would have to calculate with respect to how fast this galaxy is moving, the speed at which this solar system is moving, the orbital spin of this planet, the rotation of this planet and the rate of how fast this universe¡¯s space expands. Although teleportation sounds great on paper it¡¯s a big pain to deal with in reality.¡± ¡°Ah! Then how do you keep going from dimensions to dimensions?" ¡°That¡¯s a secret¡± With a pout Katarina hung up the phone and relaxed in her bathtub. ¡°What did my future self get me into¡± she thought to herself. She decided to let her present self enjoy her bath and let her future self deal with the problems of tomorrow. For now, she would enjoy her hot tub and let the spiders pour her a glass of Fine 1960 Decadence Wine as she enjoyed the ambiance of her house. The soft clicking of the feet of thousands of spiders across the ceiling, the sight of a collective hoard of spiders preparing a meal in the kitchen and the warm temperature of the water calmed Katarina¡¯s weary heart. There was a word from her home planet, ¡°Tsukia¡± which meant to enjoy the fleeting moment. To appreciate the beauty of a flower¡¯s bloom and death is the essence of Tsukia. To enjoy the moment instead of taking pictures was the type of happiness Tsukia embodied. Katarina right now was having the happiness of Tsukia as she enjoyed the moment within her abode and with her spiders. As she got out of her bathtub she dried herself then proceeded to wear an oversized shirt before heading to the dinner table. On the dinner table the smell of roast beef seasoned lightly with black pepper and salt permeated the entire room. On the side she saw an assortment of salads, soups and drinks prepared for her by her spiders. She laid her arachne body down and as she picked up a fork and knife before savouring the taste of the roast meat. The sweetness of the seasoning and the sauce accentuates the taste of the roasted meat. As she finished her salad, soup and drinks she headed back to her bedroom and rested on her giant web before going to sleep. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [The Void of Space - Between Dimension 6-?-15 and Dimension 1-?-01] At the edge of space where the darkness stretches beyond the horizon. The void suffocates anyone who dares approaches and loneliness kills any rational thought. The silence is deafening and torturous as if waiting for the heat death of the universe. Here though, one could sense some activity beyond the edge of space. A young childlike voice interrupted the deathly silence, ¡°What do you think of Miss Revivo¡¯s suggestion?¡± ¡°It¡¯s necessary to build a bridge between the Humans and the Elves but a bridge without a solid foundation is simply pointless. Simply understanding each other can¡¯t solve all of the problems. Some people will be greedier than others and they cannot be spoken with. Some will want a war and won¡¯t listen to any rational thought. Some are simply mad, craving the sense of a twisted justice and purpose.¡± A deep male voice responded through the void ¡°Increasing the cost of war is a necessity. Once the cost of war is too high no sane leader would want to go to war. Enforcing the law will stop the potential amount of madness that extremist may cause. It¡¯s impervinant to tie the humans and elves together economically, politically and socially thus they wouldn¡¯t destroy each other.¡± ¡°We already recruited the people who would eliminate any potential threats and those who would tie these races together. Thus what we need is something to tie them socially together.¡± ¡°Which is where I believe Ashley comes into play, she may not play a main role but I can see how she plays a supporting role in the grand scheme of things. If she is what Katarina says she is then she can start implanting that mindset into the leaders of the Humans and Elves. Organizational culture starts from the leader and then travels to the workers at the bottom of the hierarchy.¡± ¡°Thus we must send her into a family of someone in the top brass. The factor we must take into account is her attachment to Ms. Revivo. We may have to involve Ms. Revivo into another mission¡± ¡°She¡¯s already retired, we can¡¯t involve her again unless she wishes to be involved but I will set up alternatives if Ms. Revivo doesn¡¯t want to help us again. On the other hand I think you should scout possible families Ashley can go into.¡± ¡°I have a few potential candidates but we¡¯ll have to see more about her¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get more info on her within 24 hours human time¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get the list of potential candidates sent to you within 24 hours human time too¡± Suddenly the void returned to its deathly stillness. Space continued to expand and the eerie silence permeated throughout the void as if it¡¯s the embodiment of death. Katarinas Vision of the Past The gentle rays of light shone upon Katarina¡¯s face as she exited her mansion. Today was a weekend and thus her schedule was lighter than usual. She was wearing a light summer dress layered with a turquoise flower pattern paired with sunglasses and a boutique hat. In her hand was a handbag which had the labels ¡°KR¡± on the side. As she opened her phone checking for any new messages she saw an address from a sender by the name of Grishika. Searching for the address on Google Maps she found that it led to an old coffee shop at the edge of town. As she got inside her car she drove to the outskirts of town looking for an aged coffee shop with the image of an owl perched upon a magnificent tree in front of it. Eventually within all the old houses and run-down apartments she located the coffee shop, parked, then entered. Looking around she noticed that the place was very small and could only fit a maximum of 15 people. There were 3 tables and a small counter by the back of the shop. The counter was filled with jars, pots and a mixture of herbs as if they were thrown together in a mangled pile. The smell of a mixture of herbs and old pine oak permeated the room making one feel as if they¡¯re inside an old forest. Taking a seat at one of the wooden tables she realized that there were engravings on the side of the table written in the ancient language of ¡°Nystardu¡±, a language created by the Ancient Tryphants, the same entity that created Katarina and her race. Nystardu was a language of the past because as one begins to read the engravings one would see visions of what the writing was about. Epics about wars would bring the reader right in the middle of the battle, writings about a snowy mountain would make the reader feel the harsh coldness that the mountain offers. Katarina tempted by curiosity touched the engravings and tried to decipher what little she knew. The language of the Ancient Tryphants were often lost in most civilizations as the language was incredibly difficult to learn. Even Katarina who has experienced over a thousand years of age only knew a few words from her memory which will create an incomplete past if she¡¯s lucky. As she tried to decipher the words on the table she saw that an endless expanse of darkness filled her vision. The deathly silence filled the void and her body felt the release of gravity. As she spun in what seemed like an infinite expanse of pure darkness a small point of light entered her vision. She felt her consciousness moving closer to that point of light which shone a solar system with a magnificent sin the center hundred times larger than the earth¡¯s sun, then the familiar sight of the old coffee shop filled her vision signifying that she couldn¡¯t understand the following words. As she kept tracing her hand deciphering the words her vision was once again filled with the sight of the majestic red giant but this time it was much further away. Looking down she saw an enormous gassy planet as large as earth¡¯s sun with multiple barren moons orbiting it. She noticed a single moon that was unlike the others with a luscious green surface. As she kept trying to decipher the meaning behind the words her consciousness suddenly faded away once more and the familiar coffee shop appeared in her. Katarina kept running her fingers through the wooden engraving attempting to decipher anything but she realized that the writing was becoming more complicated. She noticed that there were subtle nuances in the writing that weren¡¯t apparent in the writing before. She noticed that the writing started to detail sound, touch, taste, smell, time and space, then as she kept running her fingers she realized that the words were beyond mortal comprehension and understanding. Then, a pitch black void devoid of everything filled her vision once more followed by a point of light where she saw the red giant again. Realizing that she went back to the beginning she took her fingers off the table and took a deep breath relishing in the mixture of herbs permeating in the air. As she looked up she noticed that there was a European boy sitting across her. He was in his teens and he wore an ash grey business suit. Despite his childish looks he bore a serious experienced demeanor. His bright golden hair laid on his devilishly handsome face as his eyes were closed in deep thought. His fingers were passed through the ancient Nystardu texts that Katarina couldn¡¯t decipher, with a hint of nostalgia on his face. As Katarina observed his hand she noticed that he was using a pitch black watch with 12 different hands spinning at different speeds. Katarina waited patiently for the boy until suddenly he opened his eyes revealing pure black pupils and in the middle was an image of what seemed to be a galaxy. His eyes seemed to carry a hint of sadness and nostalgia. ¡°What did you see?¡± the Grishika asked Katarina tried to recall what she saw, ¡°I first saw pure darkness, then a point of light appeared. I felt my consciousness approach that point of light then I saw a large gas planet with 8 barren moons orbiting it but one of the moon¡¯s surfaces was a luscious green. What did I see?¡± ¡°History is written by the victors but the past is written by time. When you read Nystardu you will read time¡± Grishika closed his eyes once again gently caressing the engravings on the side of the table. After a while he opened his eyes once more and green pupils replaced his starry pupils, his face seemed to be more humane. He adjusted his clothing brushing out the wrinkles. As he got up he handed Katarina a white paper bag, ¡°I added a bit of my own personal gift in there, wine aged around a thousand years or so¡±. Looking inside she saw a bottle of italian grape wine branded with ¡°Sangiovese 2015¡± with the price tag still attached displaying [$59.99]. Beside it was a box of Belgium chocolates with an assortment of flavours. It seemed like Grishika picked it up from the airport gift shop but Katarina was happy with that because that meant Grishika cared for her. Actually Katarina knew Grishika for a while now but Grishika was always the boss while Katarina was the employee. Knowing that her former boss still cares for her after she retired put a smile on her face. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Shall we go meet this Ashley?¡± Grishika asked ¡°Of course. I already told her that I¡¯ll be bringing a friend¡± Katarina happily responded, ¡°By the way, do you eat? I really want to cook for you since we haven¡¯t seen each other in such a long time¡± ¡°That would be lovely, I can¡¯t wait to taste your culinary skills. But I can only stay for today as using this body for too long will cause irreversible harm in the future¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me!¡± With a nod Grishika entered Katarina¡¯s car and headed to the hospital. As they got out and entered the ward Katarina led Grishika into Ashley¡¯s room where they saw a girl in her mid-teens with black hair and black eyes reading a book. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Hospital Ward A-1, Room 15 - Leukemia Treatment] Ashley was absorbed into the novel she was reading, a novel about a fantasy world. A world where she wouldn¡¯t be confined to her hospital bed and the daily medication. Where her bones would stop hurting and she can put enough strength into her legs to walk. As she was being treated in the hospital reading became one of her greatest joys as it gave an escape from her current predicament. The other biggest thing that brought her joy was her loving and caring big sister. Ever since she was young she never met her parents but she grew up with big sis Katarina. In the eyes of many Katarina was a superstar owning an international fashion brand and an exquisite model. When an economic crisis hit, where other companies would fall hers would prevail. The name of Revivo was a label known to many millennials symbolizing luxury, fashion and style but in Ashley¡¯s eyes Katarina was just her big sis. She¡¯s seen all the sides that Katarina doesn¡¯t show the public. She took care of her big sis when she was drunk and wasted, she was there when her big sis came back from work all tired, she was there when her sister¡¯s project was successful and they partied together. In her times of need her big sis was also there for her, when she got bullied in school her sister taught her how to fight back, when she lost her parents and was shivering in the cold orphanage her big sister¡¯s warm hugs saved her from that desolate place, when her crush rejected her big sis Katarina was a shoulder to cry on. When she was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia her big sis came everyday to the hospital and read her stories or played games with her. Although Ashley called Katarina big sis in her heart, big sis Katarina was her mother. As the bright sun illuminated the room the creaking of the door opened revealing Katarina in a light summer dress wearing her own brand. Following her was a boy that looked around her age in an ash grey suit fitted to his size. His long golden locks covered parts of his face hiding his devilishly good looks. His green eyes surveyed around the room examining the room before looking straight at Ashley. As Katarina hugged Ashley, Ashley hugged back before asking, ¡°Sis, is that the friend you were talking about?¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s a really good friend of mine. His name is Grishika¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you! My name¡¯s Ashley and Katarina is my sis!¡± With a slight nod Grishika responded, ¡°Feeling¡¯s mutual here as well. I¡¯ve heard from Katarina that you¡¯ve been listening to her work. I¡¯m her editor Grishika and I¡¯m need your help to make this book better¡± ¡°How can I help?¡± asked a curious Ashley ¡°For starters what are your thoughts about the conflict between the Humans and the Elves?¡± Ashley¡¯s entire day was usually sitting so being able to help excited Ashley. After a considerable amount of thought Ashley started to form her thoughts into words, ¡°It¡¯s a complicated multifaceted problem that can¡¯t be solved through sheer power or a single political plan. It¡¯s an entirely unique problem that encompasses many fields of power. Overall I love it! It¡¯s complicated but once the author explains each field it becomes something that¡¯s incredibly interesting¡± Grishika nodded then pulled out a pencil and paper where he began to take notes. ¡°So I¡¯m getting that the conflict between the Humans and the Elves is something that is incredibly complicated on multiple levels. What¡¯s the most complicated factor in this conflict?¡± Grishika would listen to what Ashley said and asked follow-up questions. The questioning between Grishika and Ashley lasted until the sun was ready to set. Katarina had to leave early to attend a meeting leaving Grishika with Ashley alone together. The red orange rays of light shone through the windows illuminating painting the wall with the gentle glow of the sunset. The smell of alcohol and medicine reminded Ashley of her condition, but regardless she enjoyed the time she had with Grishika. Ashley¡¯s impression of Grishika was that he was a serious young adult with an emotionless mask, but behind that mask Ashley felt like there was something more complicated beyond her imagination. Ashley enjoyed the questions that Grishika brought, albeit some of them difficult to answer, nevertheless she wanted her sister¡¯s book to be the best so she answered to the best of her ability. Grishika finally closed his notebook, and stood up. ¡°Could you please help me with one more question?¡± He asked ¡°Sure. Hit me with it¡± ¡°What would you do if I was a devil?¡± Ashley paused in shock. She swore her ears were deceiving her, ¡°I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t catch that. Could you please repeat it once more?¡± Grishika closed his eyes, then once he opened them black eyes with a golden iris replaced his green eyes. Horns appeared out of his head and the sound of skin tearing filled the room as two large wings were exposed from the back. Ashley realized that she couldn¡¯t smell of alcohol and medicine anymore this time with sulfur replacing it. Looking outside she realized that the world has turned grey, the sun stopped and the world seemed to come to a pause. Colour was drained from the world she knew of leaving shades of black and white and in the middle of it were the golden pupils of Grishika. Ashley desperately looked outside for any signs of help and as she did she realized that buildings were being curved, space was being folded and cars were flying everywhere. It was as if someone took the city of Beijing and folded it like it was a piece of origami leaving buildings coming from above the hospital building, from the side and some even intersecting with other buildings. Then Ashley noticed a deathly stillness and silence like the entire world was muted. She began to hear the flow of her blood and the beating of her heart then suddenly the rustling of clothes interupted her focus. Ashley fearfully looked over to the source of the sound to see Grishika fixing the cuffs of his suit. She focused on the only source of colour within this monotone world then she saw his mouth move. ¡°What would you do if I was the devil?¡± A Date with the Devil [Hospital Ward A-1, Room 15 - Leukemia Treatment] There were supposed to be 20 top-tier agents for the mission in the Dimension 1-?-01 - Tier 3 - Category 4 - Human Elven Conflict - Year: 4023. Now it might be 21. It wasn¡¯t my style to go off my plan. It wasn¡¯t my style to consider a retired agent¡¯s offer. It wasn¡¯t my style to follow with what other say but Katarina is different. To me she is more than just an agent, she¡¯s also my friend and proved to be a very capable friend indeed. If my memory serves me correctly she was an agent who specialized in communicating effectively with other agents. Capable of gathering a team of talented individuals, maximize their strengths and covering their weaknesses. She was a key component in most missions because even if Grishika gathered the most talented individuals if they don¡¯t work together then it is rather pointless. Katarina was extremely helpful in most missions, even ones that weren¡¯t assigned to her, she helped quell quarrels and she was the one who taught Grishika how to communicate his thoughts to mortals and other agents without being so cold and indifferent. She taught him how to be human, and that¡¯s something that Grishika treasures. I wanted to make sure that this girl was what Katarina said she was. She has a sufficient understanding of the mission at hand, but my concern was that she was still too young. This girl, ''Ashley'' suffered a lot within the earlier parts of her life. Born in a small city both her parents were seriously poor. Her Mom worked really hard for the family but the father would beat up the mother and waste the money on alcohol. When the mom tried to run away Ashley would be used as a hostage to keep the mom from running and thus that was Ashley¡¯s lifestyle in the first few baby years. She learnt that love was caring for the person who beats you up by observing her parents and then her childhood became a mess. When playing with the other kids she would constantly come home bleeding from being beaten up by her peers and she considered that loving them despite getting beaten up was the epitome of love. Her mom couldn''t stand up to the other kids as her dad would punch her for putting out a bad image. This toxic life of hers continued until they decided that they would move into the bigger city for Ashley''s education at the age of 5. On the road to the city she encountered with a miracle disguised as an accident. As her parents were driving to the city they had an argument which led her dad to suddenly punch Ashley¡¯s mom while driving steering them into a tree. As if by fate Katarina was nearby when the crash happened which caused her to stop her car and treat Ashley¡¯s injuries calling for 119. By the time the ambulance arrived both of her parents were dead and she was promptly sent to a foster home under Katarina¡¯s recommendation. Within the foster home, when the caretakers and friends actually cared for her she felt uncomfortable and confused which made her even more out of place. She would often get into trouble intentionally to have someone scold her but instead all she got was a small warning. Soon after a month Katarina came and adopted her as her own sister. With Katarina¡¯s powers of the mind she slowly helped Ashley understand what love meant and taught her to deal with her past trauma showing her what true love looked like. Although her first 5 years were a disaster, the rest of her 13 years were a joy with Katarina. The first few were tough because she felt uncomfortable if Katarina didn¡¯t scold her or be mean to her but Katarina was patient with her in many ways. In a way Katarina became Ashley¡¯s Psychiatrist slowly working on her trauma and building new memories with her. Ashley was now 18 and diagnosed with Stage 2 Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and bed ridden in a premium hospital. She¡¯s been in the hospital for a year now but she has her sister taking care of her. With Katarina¡¯s high income she sent Ashley to a prestigious school where she became friends with a lot of people from the higher income bracket. In the beginning of summer most of her friends would come and hangout within her hospital room but as of lately most of her friends were overseas travelling or going to college in other parts of the world. Ashley often enjoyed reading autobiographies and interviewing people in her life before being hospitalized, using Katarina as a connection she would be able to talk with other high profile personal and ask them questions about their work and life. Grishika realized that Katarina was setting up Ashley as her successor to be the next in line, but directly sending a new agent with little to no experience into a Tier 3 Crisis is something even Grishika was skeptical about. A Tier 3 crisis described within the Tryphant Agent handbooks is an event so catastrophic that it will be recorded as a major event in history. These events can either strengthen a civilization or ruin one. If we used Earth as an example the black death is a tier 3 crisis where the immediate effects are the deaths of the european nation but it also brought the end to serfdom and the upheaval of the social structure. The Tier 3 crisis on Escala (Human planet) and Lyria (Elven Planet) is a threat to the coexistence between both of these races. The political, economical and social consequences of this crisis will bring the indirect death of hundreds of millions of Elves and Humans and the stagnation in technology for at least a few hundred years. But the classification of missions isn¡¯t important now, what¡¯s important is whether or not Ashley lived up to my expectations. By Lady Katarina¡¯s words Ashley was indeed an important asset in this following mission but each agent I recruit has to meet my standard. She was only 18 years old, such a young tender child shouldn¡¯t be in the field yet. Much less a tier 3 mission. Giving such a young child the responsibility of saving millions of people isn¡¯t something wise but if she somehow has at least a stable foundation we can start to build off that. A simple test is to test her worldviews and her reaction to extreme situation. For example, meeting a devil. Will she judge me as a person? So back we go into the distorted world of Ashley. She should be seeing the world in a distorted mess with me in the middle, with whatever image of a devil she had in her mind. I stared at her eyes which was coloured with an expression of fear, shock and fright. She was clearly scared even if she tried to hide it, it showed on her face. With a stutter she slowly appeared to say something, faintly I heard, Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°A-Are you the devil that they mention in history books?¡± ¡®Interesting¡¯ I thought to myself, ¡®She doesn¡¯t assume that I¡¯m the same devil in her mind, yet she¡¯s also subtly trying to gain control over the conversation by asking a question. I¡¯ll entertain her for a bit¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m far worse than the devils in your history books.¡± She stammered out another line, ¡°I-I never knew Devils read history books¡± ¡®HAHAHAHA, What an interesting lad!¡¯ I thought to myself ''Trying to diminsh that I''m far worse than the devil in the history book and divert the conversation elsewhere'' ¡°Knowledge is universal for all creatures, information is the most powerful tool in the universe¡± I snapped back, ¡°Of course an intellectual like me will know what mortals describe me as¡± ¡°Then as an intellectual can we talk about how I can help you?¡± she pleaded, there was less fear in her eyes now but still a sense of weariness. ¡®How amusing¡¯ I smirked in my head, ¡®She¡¯s behaving exactly how Katarina said she would¡¯ ¡°You can help by answering this question. What do devils do?¡± I taunted her, ¡°What do you think devils are known for?¡± Ashley thought for a while before her eyes were suddenly filled with terror, ¡°A-Are you going to steal my soul¡± Ashley stuttered, ¡°I know I might die, but can I see my sister first before you take me?¡± ¡°If I wanted to hurt you dear, .?????????????II???????????????????????????? ????????????????????w?????????????????o???????????u??????????????l???????????d???????????????¡¯???????????????????v??????????????e???????????????????????????????? ??????????????d????????????o???????????????n?????????????????e???????????????????????????????? ????????????????s?????????????????o??????????????????????????? ???????????????????a??????????????l?????????????????????r???????????????????e??????????????a???????????????????d?????????????y?????????????¡± I shrieked with a maniacal laughter twisting her world into an apocalyptic chaos. Ashley¡¯s eyes flashed in horror before turning into a calm peaceful look as if resigning herself to the inevitable. I bring her world back to a stable level of distortion before continuing, "I want to help you. Devils make contracts, and I¡¯m here to offer you a contract. I know what you want, and I can give it to you. I can make the bones stop hurting. I can make you diseaseless. I can even make your accomplished sister proud of you. I can even bring you to a fantasy world you¡¯ve always dreamt of. All of these things, I can fulfill for you and much more¡± I jeered before sarcastically bowing to her. A hint of greed flashed in her eyes before it turned into an incredulous wariness once more. She was definitely a warry girl cautious at every corner but is she willing to take the risk? This was something I wanted to find out, life isn¡¯t always about finding the perfect decisions. Just the ones you think are best. ¡°May I ask what do you get out of this deal?¡± she probed without restraint. ¡°Nothing much, all I need is your cooperation. I think what you should ask is what do you want my child¡± I jeered with a playful laugh. I clapped, distorting her consciousness into a dream. I showed her in a position over the Katarina Revivo skyscraper as the CEO with Katarina hugging her in pride. Her eyes shone with an emotion of fulfillment and satisfaction tears started forming on the corner of her eyes. I clapped once more, showing her living an extravagant life on a yacht with her friends around her. She was rich, famous and beautiful in this dream. I clapped once more, transporting her consciousness into the fantasy world of the book she was reading. Here adventure lied in every resting corner and magic filled the air. Her eyes now glowed with excitement and restlessness. I let her experience magic and erase all of the suffering she has gone through letting her roam free for a while before clapping once more bringing her back to the distorted world where the world wrapped upon itself and colours were faded painting the world in shades of white and black. She was frightened, but excited. She was profusely sweating, her hands were shaking, her heart was beating but her eyes were awfully clear. She was scared, but she wanted to take this opportunity to make a deal with the devil. I smirked in my mind thinking that she¡¯s like the seed to a great tree only needing enough time and resources before she blossomed into a magnificent tree. I only hope she doesn¡¯t get blinded by greed or else I¡¯ll have to wipe her memory. A minute passed. She stayed silent in deep thought. 3 minutes passed. She continued to stay in deep thought. 5 minutes passed. She appeared to want to say something, but went back into deep thought. 8 minutes passed. I¡¯m not impatient, I literally have all the time in the world to wait. I can wait as long as a year if I need to. 15 minutes passed. Ashley now had both of her eyes closed in deep thought contemplating all of the information she¡¯s received. 30 minutes passed before she finally stuttered a question, ¡°I-I want to consult with my sister first¡± Her eyes were filled with a mixture of unease and an unwavering resilliance. She pretended to sound unsure but I can sense a firm resolution in the back of her mind. ¡°You can have money, fame or power, you could even be cured of your disease, yet you choose to know about your sister? Won''t you regret this decision? I responded with obvious disgust disguising my glee. ¡°Yes. I want to know the truth behind my sister¡± She responded with an astute determination. The truth. I thought to myself. Maybe she really is smarter than she looks. I responded to her question with a bright devilish grin, ¡°Anything is possible through me" Her world started to fall, time began to stop and space started to rip apart. Devils in the Details [Distorted World - Ashley¡¯s Perspective - A 30 minutes before Ashley¡¯s Question] Grishika tried to entice me with money, fame, power, recognition; basically everything I desired but right now everything that he offered me was practically useless if I couldn¡¯t get out of here alive. That¡¯s the priority right now and just like the devil said, information is power. To escape this fucking crisis I would need to understand each of his actions. To begin with, the Devil¡¯s motives are unclear. He shows the capability to kill me and rob everything I have but refuses to do so, which means that he holds value in keeping me alive. That¡¯s good for now, but I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m disposable. To prevent myself from being ¡°disposed¡±, my priority is to be as amicable and easy to work with as possible which seems to be the right move. He has kept me in this silent and colourless world but has yet to kill me, threatening him would be an unwise idea. I wish to keep my life after this ordeal. Which brings me to another interesting data point, he is unlike any devil written in the history book, and that brings the question, ¡°Why aren¡¯t there any records of him?¡±. If any other human has gotten in contact with such a devil then there must be historical records of him. I doubt this was his first deal judging by his experienced tone, but in an age of information why hasn''t anyone heard of a devil which warped space and robbed the world of colour? Which brings three likely possibilities, he has a power to keep people from spreading about his existence, everyone that he meets dies or he rarely shows himself. If it¡¯s the first then there must be a reason why he doesn¡¯t want his existence to be spread, either it doesn¡¯t align with his real motivations or spreading proof of his existence is dangerous to him. If it¡¯s the second then all I could do was pray. To test my theory when the world started to turn into a grey distorted mess I stealthily took out my phone from my pocket and silently recorded the conversation under the hospital sheets. My phone seemed to work as it vibrated as I turned it on. I didn¡¯t want to turn the camera to his face in case it enraged him, instead I silently slid the camera so that it pointed to the window away from the devil to later confirm whether or not his powers interacted with actual space and time or if it was my senses. To my knowledge the bending of space like what I¡¯m seeing would cause catastrophic damage to the universe. Another hypothesis is that this is a separate space. If this was actually a separate space then that would mean bending space is a trivial matter for him or I am worth such an amount of resources. As of right now what mattered was whether or not I survived. If it was the second reason that begs the question, why did he keep me alive for so long? Before he revealed his true identity as the devil all we did was talk about my sister¡¯s book. If all he wanted was my opinion then, Why did he reveal himself to me? What made me so special that he would require my cooperation? I doubt I have anything that he couldn¡¯t simply rob from my corpse. By offering riches, fame and power by logic he should have an endless access to riches, fame and power. If he isn¡¯t here for any kind of material gain, then it¡¯s probably a service that I can offer. The problem here is that I have absolutely no idea what I could offer him. Another problem is that likely that once I finish my task I will be eliminated to tie up loose ends. To survive, I need to continuously stall and not do anything for him yet seem amiable and easy to work with. The only value I can have is when I¡¯m alive, so to survive I can¡¯t finish what he wants from me but directly threatening him with suicide is a no-brainer. Right now I need to stall for time, and slowly decrypt slight pieces of information that he reveals. What doesn¡¯t make sense though is that the devil also understands the value of information which means that those questions he asked before he revealed that he was a devil was key information that he needs. He would withhold the info that he¡¯s a devil to gain more information from me, but why go so far? What were in those questions from my sister¡¯s book that was important to him. My sisters¡­.book. My sister was also the one who introduced Grishika to me. My sister also trusted him enough to leave him with me. What doesn¡¯t add up though is that she introduced Grishika¡­.as a friend. I don¡¯t think sis was trying to kill me which either means that my sis was manipulated, didn¡¯t know that Grishika was the devil or the devil possessed Grishika¡¯s body in the middle of the interview. If it was either of the first two possibilities then it begs the question of why such a person of his caliber wanted to talk for so long about the book my sis was writing. I need to learn more about his relationship with my sister. If my sister did know that Grishika was the devil then it meant that Grishika wouldn¡¯t hurt me or that my sister didn¡¯t know Grishika would hurt me, my answers to his questions might prompt this course of actions. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. If my sister was manipulated or didn¡¯t know that Grishika was the devil then it meant that he had the ability to manipulate memories which was a big relief on my end as it meant I probably wouldn¡¯t die. If my sister was also a devil like Grishika, I really wouldn¡¯t mind it that much. I know she loves me and I love her too. It would just mean that Grishika would have to get through my sister before he can hurt me. If my value was as a hostage for my sister this question might give me that answer and I know where my value lies with Grishika, might not be that good but it¡¯s better to know. Best case scenario is that my sister is not involved in anything and it¡¯s a mere coincidence that a devil suddenly possessed Grishika in the middle of our conversation for a whimsical laugh. God I hope this is the case, that he¡¯ll just leave me after this is over and I can keep going on with my life. I¡¯m not too worried about the cancer since we found it during stage 2 which is highly treatable. If my sister isn¡¯t involved in this then I¡¯ll ask for world peace which would bore the devil before he leaves. That¡¯s, at least what I hope for. To summarize it, I knew that he wanted me to do something for him. I didn¡¯t know what it was but I also knew that if I did that thing I would probably die right afterwards. Thus to survive I needed to know what he wanted me to do and prove that I have the capability to do it. If it¡¯s something perpetual like a job then I would need to prove my capability but if it was a one-off thing like a single task then I needed to keep myself from completely finishing that task. ¡°I-I want to consult with my sister first¡± I acted weary so that the devil feels like he has control over the situation. ¡°You can have money, fame or power, you could even be cured of your disease, yet you choose to know about your sister? Are you really sure about that?¡± he replied in disgust If he responded in disgust then that meant that the money, fame and power was probably a trap. ¡°Yes. I want to know the truth about my sister¡± A bright smile appeared on his face. ¡°Of course that¡¯s possible¡± He then snapped his fingers in the silent world creating the first instant of noise. The noise rippled out from him like a wave before slowly collapsing the distorted world. Everything the wave passed was painted in colour and the world was slowly unwrapping itself. His devilish tail and horns retracted into his body and as he blinked his golden pupils were replaced with the European green colour instead. I looked down, I touched my arms, I touched my thighs, stomach and head as I realized that I survived the ordeal. I let out a sigh of relief knowing that I lived another day. I began to observe the world once more. I heard the rhythmic beeping sound of the heart rate monitor and the voices of the doctors in the hallway. Outside the window I heard the engines of the cars and people walking on the sidewalk. I knew I was home, I knew I was back on Earth. I turned and looked at Grishika, hoping that the devil would leave. Hoping that the devil was bored and left, but he kept his devilish smile. I stared, waiting, hoping that he would forget but the words that came out of his mouth betrayed my trust. ¡°Shall we meet your sister¡± he guffawed ¡°I can¡¯t move out of my bed¡± I protested as I pointed at my legs, ¡°If I try to walk my legs will break¡± ¡°Says who?¡± he teased with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s leave this place and meet your sister¡± He snapped his fingers and once more I felt strength return to my legs. I couldn¡¯t believe this. The pain in my bones finally stopped hurting! I slowly pressed down on my legs and holy fuck they don¡¯t hurt anymore! They really don¡¯t hurt anymore! I quickly forgot about this devil in my room and tried to put weight on my legs once again. Shifting my body to the side of the bed I took my left leg and slowly placed it on the cold concrete floor. I shifted part of my weight to my left foot and to my surprise there was no pain! Fuck yes! I said to myself I quickly placed my right foot on the cold concrete floor as well and I tried to stand up straight and to my gleaming joy my feet didn¡¯t break and my pain was gone. With my hands still holding the edge of the bed I place my right foot in front of my left foot, steadily trying to regain my balance. I let go of my bed and I used my hands to balance my body weight before falling straight into the cold floor. In the corner of my eye I saw him approaching me with a hand. ¡°Do you need help?¡± he asked with an outstretched hand ¡°No thanks, I¡¯m good,¡± I responded with my hand reaching for my wheelchair. It seems that after laying in a hospital bed for over a year I had forgotten how to walk. I plop myself in my wheelchair before wheeling myself to the exit. Right before I wheeled outside I paused and looked at the European boy standing in the middle of my room. ¡°How exactly will we meet my sister?¡± I asked. I realized that he came to the hospital with my sister¡¯s car, how are we going to get out of here? He chuckled then took a golden coin from his pocket and broke it then threw it on the ground. The coin soon dissipated and formed a golden haze right above the broken golden coin. ¡°Let¡¯s not keep her waiting now shall we¡± Grishika walked into the mist and suddenly disappeared. Shocked by what just happened I also began to roll my wheelchair into the golden mist. As I did I realized that I was in the Revivo skyscraper directly inside Katarina¡¯s office. The white walls decorated with pictures of her co-workers and of her family decorated her office. On the wall one can see the picture of the first office that they bought, in another picture frame was a number of pictures that Ashley and Katarina took together. There was her office desk which was filed with paperwork and diagrams. In front of the desk were two high back chairs and Grishika was inside one. ¡°Let¡¯s meet your sister shall we¡± Right after he said that I heard the door open and behind it was the face I was all too familiar with. My beautiful sister¡¯s face. Real Genies Dont Come From Lamps ¡°How did you get here?¡± Katarina asked looking at Ashley in her wheelchair and hospital attire. ¡°Golden Misty Coin?¡± Ashely responded with a puzzled look pointing to the place where the mist used to be. She realized that the mist was gone and with it the coin. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± Katarina asked with confusion, ¡°Do your bones hurt?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯m cured. Grishika cured me...I guess?¡± Ashley was still processing what just happened ¡°Ah! Grishika! How was he?¡± Katarina asked with a smile unaware of what just happened Ashley¡¯s eyes suddenly clouded with fear of what she just experienced and stayed silent shaking her head. She directed her eyes into the chair that Grishika was sitting in hoping that Katarina picked up her hint. Katarina eventually saw that Ashley was fearfully nudging her to look at the high back chair in front of her desk and as she approached a head full of blonde hair popped out. Katarina noticed that Ashley feared Grishika in a traumatized way. In rage Katarina instantly grabbed Grishika by the collar of his shirt and bellowed, ¡°What did you do Grishika¡± slowly tightening her grasp. Her other hand grabbed Grishika¡¯s wrist and dug deep until blood started to seep out. She sent out an army of nano-spiders to infiltrate Grishika¡¯s host brain to grasp what exactly happened. These were memory reading spiders able to decipher the recent neurological activity within the last 24 hours. Katarina had no qualms about the cost right now, all she knew was that Grishika might have caused irreversible trauma to Ashley and what she wanted was the pure truth. She read the memory and saw what had happened while she was gone. Katarina grasped harder causing more blood to seep out. Grishika let all of this happen with a wince on his face before saying calmly, ¡°I¡¯m sorry Ashley, I believe we got off on the wrong foot. I¡¯m not the devil, that was a lie. Let me re-introduce myself. I¡¯m Grishika, the administrator of the Tryphant Program. A program designed to gather capable individuals to stop crises from happening within the multiverse. Your sister used to work under me before she retired and came to live a life on Earth. As a compensation for my actions I completely cured you of your disease and am willing to do you a favour. I hope you can forgive my actions¡± At the same time Grishika mentioned his favour Katarina released her grip with a stunned emotion on her face. She immediately grabbed Grishika by the collar again and asked, ¡°Did you really mean what you say?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m not lying. A favour to compensate for my actions¡± he replied with a flat tone ¡°Are you serious¡± Katarina confirmed once again This time Grishika silently nodded in affirmation. Ashley suddenly interjected, ¡°Um..How significant is his favour?¡± Katarina let out a sigh and released her grip on Grishika¡¯s collar letting him fall into his seat. ¡°To receive a favour from Grishika I would be willing to throw away my entire company. Since you just met him so you don¡¯t understand his full capability but think of the genie from Aladdin who grants you 3 wishes. You can practically ask for anything but I recommend that you save it when you¡¯re in an emergency.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Ashley fell into deep thought as she was thinking of things she can wish for. ¡°What happens if I wish for something abstract like world peace?¡± she questioned Grishika ¡°That¡¯s too vague for a wish. If you were seriously adamant about it killing everyone would technically bring world peace¡± he teased with a smile, ¡°Of course I wouldn¡¯t do that. The favour needs to be clear and within my capabilities. My specialty is information, so if you were going to use that as a favour then I¡¯ll blackmail each country with their state secrets and family to ensure that the cost of war is far more than anything they hope to gain. I need to remind you that I¡¯m not omnipotent, just very close to being omniscient.¡± ¡°Then what do you not know?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a secret my child, but I know that you were secretly recording on your phone in the distorted world. If I were to disregard your privacy I would even know your thoughts and your future as well¡± Ah, Ashley opened her phone and clicked into the gallery and played the latest recording. There she saw that the world was bright and colourful, the sound of cars in traffic, the voices of the nurses in the hallway and the beeping of the heart rate monitor were present. Nothing was out of the ordinary, nothing was in a distorted mess which meant that Grishika could affect what information a person was getting. Ashley''s face filled with fear as she realized that Grishika could fabricate her entire life and reality and she wouldn¡¯t know it unless Grishika told her otherwise. The information on the phone was probably noticed by Grishika and that was his display of power. If this was the case then the world Ashley is experiencing right now could be a total lie and they could still be in the hospital bed. Pure dreaded fear emerged from her mind as she realized that everything she knows could be a lie. Looking up from her phone she looked around the room and her eyes landed on the European boy, ¡°How do I know that what I see right now is real?¡± she inquired with impatience. Katarina saw the panic that was plastered on Ashley¡¯s face and slowly approached her. With a hand on her shoulder she knelt down and met Ashley on her eye level and brought her into a hug. ¡°I also had the same reaction when I first knew someone like Grishika existed.¡± Katarina whispered into Ashelys¡¯ ear calming her down, ¡°But I can assure you that the world we¡¯re in is real. That¡¯s because I realized that Grishika has rules that he needs to follow as well.¡± ¡°Someone as powerful as him has rules to follow?!¡± Ashley responded in shock ¡°They¡¯re his personal rules and moral principles. He hasn¡¯t violated them for as long as I can remember and one of them is to respect the privacy of high-tier agents unless it¡¯s necessary. I¡¯m a high-tier agent so Grishika doesn¡¯t violate my privacy or anyone else close to me like you unless it¡¯s necessary and right now it isn¡¯t necessary.¡± Ashley hugged back to Katarina with a sigh of relief. Happy that she was lucky to find someone so kind and caring as her sister. ¡°Hey big sis¡± ¡°Yeah¡± ¡°Can you tell me what¡¯s going on?¡± Katarina nodded then called her secretary to cancel all of her meetings for that day on the basis that Ashley miraculously recovered from her cancer. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything about my past life, but right now we need to celebrate for your recovery! lI¡¯ll take you to the most expensive restaurant I know then we¡¯ll go to an exclusive fashion store where only the VIP¡¯s get access to. Then after that if you want to go do anything I¡¯ll clear my entire schedule for you! We¡¯re using my black credit card today! No holding back¡± she said with glee ¡°What about Grishika? What are we going to do about all of this?¡± Katarina responded with a smile, ¡°Just leave all the complicated matters to me. You¡¯ve done well to get this far, I¡¯m proud of you. I truly am. I¡¯ll talk with Grishika later about the details and fill you in once we¡¯re done. Today all that matters is that we¡¯re getting drunk!! You¡¯re 18 and recovered so we can finally drink together!¡± Ashley turned to find the European boy only to find him missing from his chair. Inside Katarina¡¯s office was just Ashley and Katarina alone as if he was never there. Katarina started to push Ashley¡¯s wheelchair into the elevator while saying goodbye to her co-workers. Ashley was still paranoid about Grishika worrying that everything could possibly be a lie. As they got into the car Katarina felt a tug on her shirt. ¡°Um..Sis, can we just go back home? I want to just sleep right now¡± ¡°Whatever you want¡± with a smile Katarina drove to her mansion where she helped carry a mentally and physically weak Ashley to her room. There Ashley felt the soft silky sheets of her bed, the scent of lavender flowers and the dolls stored in her room. As she realized that this was home, a truly safe place she immediately fell asleep tired from the mental and physical stress she had just gone through. Her heavy eyes closed to end the mentally tiring chapter in her life, happy to find a safe place to rest, a refuge from the chaos that was beginning to emerge from her life. Happy to have a home to return to. The Dark Side of Baking Cake [Dimension 1-?-01 - Planet: Escala - Continent: Tylion - Country: Iristia - City: Kiphis] [Maximus¡¯s Perspective 7:00am] At the corner of the port city of Kiphis lies a small two story house. This small house was home to a person and their pet belkip, a fluffy winged creature that was the size of a basketball and bore similarities to a parrot. It behaved like a domesticated flying dog always eager for headpats and belly rubs. Today this small house was particularly messy with noticeable beer bottles scattered across the ground and visible stains of alcohol in every corner of the room. Dishes piled up in the sink and a pile of used clothes stacked inside the corner of the master bedroom. Within the master bedroom was a bed, a bed with sheets decorated with alcohol stains all over and the smell of an intoxicated person permeated the room. Within the stillness of the morning and the rising sun the belkip named Ace greeted the sun with it¡¯s joyful cries. The tweeting of Ace, the perpetual smell of beer, the messiness of the place, this reminded Maximus of nostalgia as this was the home of the young Maximus. My head was still spinning from what just happened, the entire process happened so quickly. I could barely know what happened before I was thrown to a world was filled with a stillness of an everlasting darkness. It felt like an eternity of waiting before my hands felt something soft and with a hope of desperation to escape from this dark prison I clenched onto that soft touch pulling it closer to me and then I found myself in my old place. The old place where I used to throw drinking parties with strangers, when Ace was still alive, when I was still a messy bitch. ¡°C¡¯mere Ace¡± I yawned with an outstretched arm. The obedient belkip gently flew and landed onto my hand where I began to pet it¡¯s fluffy head. I miss Ace, I really do. When everything felt wrong she was the only reason I woke up everyday, to feed this cute little bird, play with it a little, because I knew if I was gone no one would take care of her. Looking back it sounded like a stupid reason to wake up but for this young version of me, I just needed a single reason to not sleep forever. Damn I miss you Ace. After setting my bird off to continue it¡¯s morning chorus I took the alcohol stained sheets off my bed to find myself in my pajamas, drenched with alcohol and smelling like beer. The blurred memories of last night filled my head, it was all a blur but I can vaguely make out that I invited some people to a drinking party last night. With all the alcohol I drank last night it was impossible for my body to not suffer from a hangover. Slowly making my way to the shower with a severe headache I looked into the mirror and then I saw me, the depressed 31 year old me who didn¡¯t want to die, but also didn¡¯t want to live. The me who didn¡¯t care, the me who didn¡¯t trust anyone anymore. This all happened because of the Taurus scandal. For those of you who don¡¯t know of the infamous Taurus scandal, I want you to imagine you¡¯re creating the most delicious cake ever. You start with the butter, milk, eggs, flour, water and sugar then you invite your friends over who have extra ingredients to help fill the cake with chocolate, tiramisu and all sorts of wonderful things. This cake is the most delicious cake ever but it takes 15 years of constant baking before it becomes a beautiful cake but you¡¯re willing to sacrifice anything to see this cake through. You coordinate the topping for the cake, you make sure it¡¯s the perfect mixture, you spend your own time and money to research on this perfect cake. You sacrifice your social life, sleep, food even your girlfriend to make sure that this cake is perfect. 100 hour work weeks become normal to see that this cake succeeds, sleeping in the kitchen became your lifestyle. Your friends never sacrifice as much as you do but you want to make sure that this cake will succeed and after 15 years you¡¯ve finally made sure that cake. All that blood sweat and tears finally paid off and you¡¯re just about to eat that cake when your friends pull you aside and say, ¡°It was in the best interest of the company that we have decided to kick you out.¡± They give you a little slice, then kick you out of the kitchen then eat the cake that you¡¯ve worked so damn hard for all to themselves. Do you have that sickening betrayal in your head? How they stole that 15 years of your life for themselves? The cake that couldn¡¯t have been baked without you? Good. Now imagine that instead of a cake that was a $1.5 billion dollars company you spent 15 years of your life on and you only got 5% of that cake because they kicked you out right before they sold it. Well that¡¯s the infamous Taurus scandal, and that person they kicked out? That was me. Maximus. The man who started the blockchain company Taurus, got backstabbed and later became the CEO of a shipping company between the human planet of Escala and the elven planet of Lyria but right now isn¡¯t the perfect time to talk about blockchain and trade logistics. Right now, I had to process where I am, my situation and what I¡¯m going to do. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Looking into the mirror I saw a man who was betrayed, the disheveled hair and tired face silently cried out for help. The torn rags he wore told the story of a dethroned king, a fallen prince, and a lonely man above all else. ¡°BLEHHH¡± I threw up in the toilet whatever concoction of drinks I drank last night. The headache didn¡¯t help what I was going through. My numbed brain and body hardly felt anything as I continued to vomit. After a painful hangover session I headed to the kitchen to get myself hydrated and in there I saw the maids I usually hire from a cleaning company begin to clean up my place. My mind¡¯s always been drunk but as it¡¯s more or less sober I started to realize the disdain that was secretly hidden on one of their faces. The blue haired maid probably hates how I can have drinking parties everyday but they have to work to clean my mess up everyday to send their kids to school. I didn¡¯t mind their disdain, who says the world has to be fair? What I minded though was the red haird maid that was awfully loyal to me, Martha. When I lived I didn¡¯t pay her for what she¡¯s worth. When Martha¡¯s son needed to go to college she asked for a loan and considering her loyalty I gave her one leading to her running away without paying it back. This reminded me of what my friends did to me and I took this as a serious offense of theft and hired a private detective to find her and force her to pay back the money making her beyond broke. Treating her like that was one of my greatest regrets, she served me well. She was loyal, she was kind, even to a drunkard like me. She saw that stealing money from me was the only way for her son to get a better life than her and now looking back I understand that. I should¡¯ve handled it better, I could¡¯ve sponsored him on the basis that he gets good grades and hired him once he finished. He wasn¡¯t even going to an expensive college either. Looking back it made so much sense why she decided to steal from me despite knowing the risks. I don¡¯t tolerate theft, but damn I could¡¯ve handled it so much better. As I saw the red haired maid cleaning up the mess I¡¯ve made, a gust of wind started to carry the plastic cups, tissues and trash into her trash bag before wrapping it up and beginning the same process again. The blue-haired maid opened her cleaning pouch and took out a green liquid before pouring it onto the floor. She closed her eyes and the liquid started to move cleaning the stains on the floor, chair, walls and couch. I¡¯ve seen this routine happen hundreds of times at this point basically being part of the morning routine and they usually finish within half an hour before moving to the next house. Everytime the red haired Martha would finish first she would try to strike up a conversation with me, drunk or not. ¡°How was your day sir!¡± the red haired maid shouted out. Looking at her again I noticed that she was in her late 40¡¯s, had short red hair and had subtle wrinkles on her face. When she smiled it pronounced the wrinkles on her face but her eyes were filled with hope. The company that they were working for had a standard uniform of a black skirt and a grey shirt accompanying it. She had a bit of fat on her skin but she had a very hopeful smile. Now that I remember it, seeing this hopeful smile everyday made me jealous and angry as I felt like I was hopeless and life lost its meaning. Other people who had less money than me could enjoy life so much more, perhaps that was why I was so harsh on her, but I won¡¯t do the same thing I would¡¯ve done. ¡°It¡¯s another day of drinking¡± I responded with the best smile that I could, ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ve asked for your name¡± ¡°Well it¡¯s Martha my dear!¡± she said while shaking my hand with a cheery smile. ¡°Call me if you have anything personal to clean! I¡¯ll always be available sir Maximus.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. Leave your phone number on the desk there. There¡¯s a pen and paper somewhere around here¡± I was still drunk so my thoughts weren¡¯t in focus. I¡¯ll deal with that later. Right now I took my car keys, paused, then put it back down. I was still drunk, I couldn''t drive. I took my left wrist out of my pocket and on it was an orange wristband with a white line in the middle. Turning my wrist upwards and holding it right in front of my face I unlock my device. As I did a light screen showed up right above the wristband displaying the multiple options to choose from. I dragged the light screen to my forearm, locking the screen to my forearm. Using this old tech made me realize that I really was 400 years back in the past. I clicked on the car app which would call a taxi to my front door and within 30 minutes a taxi arrived. I told him to go to the nearest Tryphant Church and as we arrived I saw a building that has the architectural design of a traditional church with arches and murals of magnificent trees and majestic beasts carved on the walls. I forgot how different the churches were between the Basilisk planet of Zaretta and the Human planet of Escala. If I remember correctly this was specifically the religious branch of the Tryphant Church handling matters concerning religion such as prayer and charity. Rows upon rows of benches lined the church and at the end of the hall lies a mural of a magnificent tree. There were a number of people praying to it and I was also one of them. I closed my eyes praying for more details of my mission. I waited for a response. A minute passed and nothing happened. Another minute passed and still nothing happened. In impatience I decided that I should try another day. As I opened my eyes I realized that there was a white parcel sitting beside me. On it was a picture of an owl resting upon a majestic tree and on the bottom it wrote ¡°To Maximus¡± The Gods Package is Kinda Gross [Planet: Escala - Country: Iristia - City: Kiphis - Tryphant Church] [Maximus¡¯s Perspective]
I picked up the white parcel and observed it. It was small, like the size of a large papaya and was in a white box. The box was very plain with no decorations except for the picture of the owl sitting upon a majestic tree and the words, ¡°To Maximus¡± written on it. The box seemed to be made out of heavy rigid paper, like cardboard and the surface was painted in the shade of a white without blemish. I tried to look for an opening, a crevice, a crack, anything to open the box but it seemed to be a solid parcel. Shaking it made a small rattle sound indicating that the thing inside barely had any room to move. I took the box with me and tried to look for who would have placed it next to me but everyone seems so far away. I ignored my doubts and exited the building with the parcel in my hand. I wanted to open it in a safe, secret place. A place where nobody would ever know of and one place does come to mind. Calling the taxi driver once more I asked him to deliver me to the port side of the Kiphis. Kiphis was inherently a port city with a large portion of it¡¯s trade coming from imports and exports of different countries. Kiphis is located in the northern part of Iristia and holds its position as one of the largest ports in Iristia alongside Sidhe, Vanir and Esane. Kiphis¡¯s ports handle a majority of the trade between the Archipelago which transfers goods from the continent of Lapis to the continent of Tylion. Escala¡¯s world map contains two main continents. One on the western hemisphere, Tylion and a continent on the Eastern hemisphere, Lapis with the Sicily Archipelago that connects these two continents figuratively. (Map is in post-chapter notes.). With connections to such large major trading ports it becomes inevitable that Kiphis would become a prosperous city. After waiting for a while I finally arrived at Kiphis port, the port where my entire career began, where I knew every shipping schedule in this place, every ship that was supposed to come and go, the workers and most importantly the secrets of this place. When I created Taurus it was created as a logistics device to accurately track parts of the supply chain in real time. This meant that companies could locate exactly where their containers are and know within the margin of an hour when the deliveries will arrive, where errors occurred within the supply chain and whether or not there is corruption within the business. In this line of business I had to connect with a lot of important personnel at the Kiphis Port figuring out where does the corruption happen the most, where do containers go missing and figuring out how my technology will affect the logistics of the port. As I was researching I discovered a large number of under the table deals happening on the port. Let me give you an example. A single container ship travelling from Lapis to Iristia can hold approximately 8,000 containers of finished goods or processed goods. In total a container ship can carry up to 25,000 tons, for reference that¡¯s approximately 12,500 cars on a single ship. It takes approximately a month to travel through the entire archipelago and 24 hours to unload all of the cargo before refueling and traveling back to Lapis, but the Kiphis port only has 83 cranes to work with which means some container ships have to wait over 2 weeks before their cargo can finally be unloaded. For most businesses this 2 week period is tolerable and they don¡¯t wish to risk being caught corrupting but some businesses require the corruption to work. Businesses such as agriculture, animals, dairy products can''t wait for this 2 week period which causes them to coerce the people in charge with a bit of cash to give them priority to unload their ship first. The government of Iristia usually turns a blind eye to a single instance during holidays since stalling the food supply could be dangerous to the economy of the country raising prices for staple goods like potatoes and rice. This causes an interesting port culture where companies who are delivering food, animal parts, and dairy get priority over the other shipping containers due to the nature of the product. The eventual consequence of this is that the agricultural companies would enter a bidding competition to gain priority to unload the cargo. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Learning about the tacit corruption happening at the Kiphis port I realized that although most companies want transparency within their supply chain some don¡¯t necessarily want that to be public. So we made it a policy to not have access to our user¡¯s data so we can¡¯t see or know whether or not they corrupt. They can see it, we can¡¯t. But in the process of finding this little secret of the Kiphis port I also found where they hold these underground auctions and the boss behind these auctions. On the surface the port manager was the boss behind the entire fiasco but in reality there were 4 main bosses behind this operation, Hearts, Spades, Clubs, and Diamond. Spades was my old friend and was also the one who helped me with getting the resources to create Taurus. I wanted to check up on him and see how he¡¯s doing, a typical status check right after you time travel. Spade¡¯s daytime job is a regional manager at an information company who provides market data and logistics data to businesses within Iristia. Spade¡¯s other job was to deal with safeguarding delicate information and preventing information leakages. Whenever a company accidentally leaks sensitive information such as a company¡¯s market strategy, Spade''s job is to locate who leaked it and prevent it from further spreading to their competitors or to gain intelligence about something or someone. He specializes in creating an information system that makes it hard for people to find information beyond the surface level and make it seemingly impossible to gain evidence. He¡¯s a retired hacker and fraud who now uses his skills to prevent hacking and fraud. Despite not hacking in a while he still has the connections within the hacking community which makes him a very capable information broker. Alex ¡°Spades¡± Tier is a person who is in his late 20¡¯s who lives with his girlfriend in a condo downtown Kiphis. He has short messy black hair and a handsome face which is oftentimes paired with large circular glasses. He likes to wear a nice white collared shirt paired with a tie and a black vest and his favorite black trenchcoat to top it all off. He often wears a serious expression on his face and is 5¡¯8. I walked into the ¡°Grand Marirosa¡± hotel located by the bay, an old and exquisite hotel founded when the port only took wooden ships hundreds of years ago. Entering the hotel I was met with the vintage decoration designs of using geometric shapes to decorate the wall. The chandeliers were squares and the desk was a semicircle. In contrast to the geometric style the location of the furniture was asymmetric with two chandeliers aligned to the left and a single one on the right. Heading to the receptionist I greeted her with a smile, ¡°Hello sir, How may I help you today?¡± she greeted with a smile ¡°I would like to use the eagles room¡± I responded ¡°The eagle¡¯s room, you said?¡± ¡°Yes, the eagle¡¯s room¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that that there¡¯s no eagles room at this hotel sir¡± ¡°Can you please check with your manager? I¡¯m sure there¡¯s an eagle¡¯s room here¡± She looked at my unkempt hair and messy shirt I randomly used as I got out of the house and began to hesitate. I saw her hesitation and took out my wallet displaying the random wads of cash inside usually meant for alcohol. ¡°You can be sure that I¡¯m a paying customer¡± She nodded before politely bowing, ¡°Please give me a moment sir¡± and headed to the back. She returned with a late 20¡¯s middle 30¡¯s lady who I assumed to be the manager. ¡°How may I help you sir?¡± she asked ¡°I¡¯m here to use the eagle¡¯s room¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that there¡¯s no eagle¡¯s room here¡± I pulled out a black card with an eagle on it from my wallet and handed it to her. She took it, observed then gave it back to me. It all happened like we were passing business cards. ¡°Would you like anything to eat sir?¡± ¡°I would like eggs and a side of steak and I want to borrow a knife.¡± ¡°We have fried eggs today. Would you be fine with that?¡± ¡°Sure¡± She took a piece of paper and wrote down 316 on it with a knife. ¡°This is your room number and that card is your key. Please enjoy your stay¡± ¡°Thank you¡± ¡°It¡¯s my pleasure¡± I walked to the elevator and headed to room 316. Using the card as a key I opened it and inside was a room with a single bed and no furniture. The walls were distinctly grey and covered with soundproof boards. The windows were tinted and the walls were layered with Celleon, a material that disrupts any kind of communicative wave from entering or exiting the room. Sitting on the bed I took out the knife she handed me and sliced open the white parcel revealing what was inside. Inside was a piece of paper and a container filled with green liquid and a brain was inside. An Inter-dimensional Being Gave me a Employment Contract [Planet: Escala - Country: Iristia - City: Kiphis - Grand Marirosa] [Maximus¡¯s Perspective]
¡°To Maximus As the administer of the Tryphant Agent Program I am proud to announce that you have the qualifications and skills to enter the Tryphant Agent Program. You are currently assigned on the classified mission, ¡®Dimension 1-?-01 - Tier 3 - Category 4 - Human Elven Conflict - Year: 4023.¡¯ Your main mission is to prevent this conflict from happening 400 years in the future. There are currently 22 other agents working on the same mission as you who can be contacted through the Ophelius brain that comes with the package. The guide on using it will be later mentioned. The Tryphant Agent Program was created to ensure the fundamental rights within different civilizations across the multiverse so that each civilization can grow healthily. We¡¯ve noticed that the conflict between the Elves and Humans impair the future relationships between these two civilizations and harm the future generations of said civilizations. This mission is located within the Dimension 1-?-01 and is focused on ensuring the right to live for the future generations. If these aforementioned values don¡¯t align with your interests feel free to mention it right now and we can send you back. If they do align with your interests and are interested in working with us we will provide you with an opportunity to amend these past crises from ever happening in the first place. Your specialty lies in the logistical trading between the elven planet Lyria and the human planet Escala. Your priority is to maintain a stable economic trade between the two races economically intertwining them together and making them dependent on each other. Your job is to economically tie both parties so that the financial cost of starting a conflict between these two races are so high that an outright war is nigh impossible. To do this you would need significant economic and business influence, something which you currently lack right now. As of now, focus on gaining more influence and power within the business world so that in the future you can create a world where your daughter can live in peace, proud to be a half-elf instead of being tortured for being one. Other agents will be dealing with their separate tasks along the same mission. This mission will have rules and responsibilities to follow. Breaching any of these main rules will result in different levels of punishment and the possibility of termination.
  1. Exposure of any content of the program to the third party will result in termination
  2. Sabotaging the main mission or any other missions will result in termination
  3. Exposing any agent¡¯s identity will lead to severe punishment.
  4. The attempt at harming the program will result in absolute death.
  5. Creating an entirely new crisis will result in termination
  6. Any signs of corruption or the abuse of this power out of the intentions of the mission will result in termination
  7. The misuse of the Tryphant Church¡¯s support will result in the loss of the Tryphant Church¡¯s support and may result in termination depending on the situation.
All misdemeanors and crimes will be trialed with due process under the watch of Grishika personally. At this time it¡¯s within the jurisdiction of the Tryphant Program to read your memory and go through history to gain concrete evidence. Being a part of the Tryphant Agent Program enlists you to a number of benefits. Due to your entry status position, your benefits will be limited to a few at the moment. Proving yourself capable of preventing crises and setting up other agents for success will raise your evaluation and give you access to more benefits. Your current limited benefits are listed with
  1. Access to knowledge about the future of a timeline
  2. Access to the basic multidimensional market
  3. Access to high support from the Tryphant Church
Further benefits can be negotiated at the end of the year agent review. As an initial salary you will be awarded 1,000 Tryphant Points and if you are capable at the end of the year you will be awarded another 1,000 Tryphant Points which can be used in the multidimensional market. Your salary will be 500 Tryphant Points every year excluding bonus and compensations. A standard bonus may entitle you to a 300 extra Tryphant Points but may be subjected to change based on your performance. The completion of the mission will entitle you to 500,000 Tryphant Points. In addition to your salary you will be provided an expense total of 1,000,000 IRD [Iristian Dollars] which you can receive from the Tryphant Church as the initial investment. You will be given access to a loan up to 50,000,000 IRD from the Tryphant Church with a 3% interest rate per year. Note: A person of your capability and knowledge could get their hands on most material wealth that they desired. The agreed payment for this mission is the safety of your wife and daughter as well as the peace between the Humans and the Elves. It¡¯s advised to use the Tryphant Points to help complete your mission where you can get access to a large number of resources. After the mission is completed you are free to choose where you want to go next.
Guidelines to using the Ophelius Brain: Introduction: The Ophelius Brain is extracted from a Delphinus class hivemind that can communicate through dimensions and across distances. As an agent you can have access to the multiplicity of uses of the Ophelius Brain, the main one which is the ability to anonymously communicate with the other agents on your mission. To properly implant the brain mix the Ophelius fluid to pure water with a 2:3 concentration and cover your body with the mixture. Let the fluid seep into your body until you have 20% of the mixture left. Take the brain and let it disintegrate with the fluid until the brain is no longer visible. Take a knife and carefully open up the skin from the C1 spine to the TH12 spine. Once completed pour the liquid with the brain mix into the exposed skin and rest for 12 hours. Once finished the wounds should close automatically and the Ophelius Brain will work. For this procedure it¡¯s advised to go to a medical expert to do the incisions and extra work.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Good luck, Maximus Grishika¡±
¡°What¡¯s this?¡± I thought to myself. Attached to the bottom of the message were two cards. ¡°It looks like one is pure black with the symbol of the Tryphant Church on it and the other is pure white with the symbol of the Tryphant Hospital attached to it¡± At the bottom of each cards were a line of texts I read out-loud, ¡°This Legionis Business Card from the Tryphant Bank will give you the financial support necessary. Inside is $1,000,000 IRD and the ability to take a loan up to $50,000,000 IRD with an interest rate of 3%. This Legionis Card is currently limited to these two features, once you pay the initiation fee of $7,500 IRD with a $2,500 annual fee after each year will unlock the remaining benefits of the card including unlimited spending, points for travel, cash-backs, points for hotel and market exchange rate.¡± I took the black credit card with the Tryphant Logo of a majestic tree etched onto it. It felt heavy like it was made out of pure metal and the design was sleek. I saw that etched on the bottom left of the card was the name, ¡°Maximus Z. Kitonia¡±. I placed the credit card into my wallet before reading the text underneath the white card. ¡°This Fidelis VIP Card from the Tryphant Church lets the Tryphant Church know that you are important personally. Using this Card will let you grant access to meet the top brass of the Tryphant Church and support you within their power. The misuse of this card and our favour will result in the immediate revocation of this benefit. The people at the Church have no idea that this program exists so come up with a creative excuse on the origins of this Card. Without a genuine excuse this card will often bring more trouble than good. History has proven that it''s beneficial to use this card to get out of troublesome situations. I picked up the white card that seemed to be made out of metallic wood. The white card had a wooden pattern on it with a metallic sheen covering both sides. At the bottom of the Card was a word written in cursive, ¡°Fidelis¡± which meant ¡°Loyal and True¡± in the ancient Escala language. I also placed this card into my wallet before observing the green canister with the brain inside. ¡°I really want to meet who else is on this mission but I can¡¯t do that operation hastily¡± I went to the painting on the wall and took it down revealing a small door with a fingerprint scanner and a small screen on top of the scanner. ¡°Seems like I haven¡¯t forgotten how this works¡± I placed my finger on the scanner which prompted the door to unlock and the screen showed, ¡°Welcome BX-352-932¡±. I took a pen out of my pocket and wrote down BX-352-932 on a receipt I had in my wallet before opening the door revealing an empty safe. This safe was where Spade¡¯s clients store their precious documents, goods, cash, whatever away for a period of time. The safe was a double layered safe where the people can take out the entire box out of the wall and place a new box in. After finishing using the room Spade¡¯s men would take the box and place it in a safe location where you can retrieve it with the number presented on the screen when you open the door. I took a piece of paper from the table by the bed and began to write down the prominent events that happened in the next 400 years. I began to regret drinking away in Donavan¡¯s bar for the last 5 years but I kept writing about everything I knew. From the first event, to the current event. My life story, and what I remembered. As I kept writing I had to call for more paper and ink from the front desk and change the eggs to poached. When the manager asked for eggs she asked if you wanted to deposit something. Saying yes meant you needed to store something and the type of egg identified how long you wanted to store it. Fried meant short-term (1-6 months), Scrambled meant medium term (6 - 24 months), Poached meant long term (2 years and above). The eagle room was meaningless, you only needed to speak nonsense to bring the manager out before giving her the card. Most of the new clients get a randomly generated phrase and if they give that phrase to another person Spades can track who leaked the phrase. Steaks represent a search service you can give to Spades. As the sun was going down and the blue sky turned dark the pages in my hand began to pile up and the writings were getting messier as time passed by. The aching in my hand continued for the night and the messy lines of the future were piled up inside the safe. ¡°Damn I miss auto-writing, manual writing hurts so damn much, but everything is done. Time to place this in the safe and get out of here¡± Piling the layers of paper within the safe I closed it and scanned my fingerprint once more. The fingerprint serves as a fail-safe in case a client loses the code and requires the content that they stored. All fingerprint scans are immediately transferred to Spade¡¯s database anonymously and can only be retrieved if the fingerprint holder comes to Spades personally and is automatically deleted once you retrieved your package. In the future Spades became an integral part of my success getting information ahead of everyone else on Escala and storing confidential information as well. After finishing that entire troublesome process I went to the phone in the room and called the number to the front desk. ¡°Hello, this is the front desk. How may I help you?¡± a voice came from the phone ¡°I want to give my compliments to your manager. Mind if I talk to her?¡± ¡°Absolutely, please give me a moment¡± a moment of silence was met before the manager from yesterday sounded through the phone. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you were pleased with our service sir¡± ¡°I am, it¡¯s as clean as always. Is the phone tapped?¡± ¡°Not at the moment¡± ¡°Alright, I need a medical expert and a gallon of pure water¡± ¡°Are there any requirements you need for the medical expert?¡± ¡°I need the medical records of my surgery to be erased and I need a custom request¡± ¡°We can set an appointment and send the pure water to you both in a week¡± ¡°Send it to this address and leave it on the front porch.¡± I opened up my bracelet phone and looked up for disposable emails before generating one. ¡°Send the appointment to this email, [email protected] and put everything on the bill¡± After paying the bill that totaled to $1,500 which included the surgery bill I left the hotel and stood observing the pier. The sky was now pitch black and the stars began to glimmer into the sky. The pier of Kiphis lit up and displayed the colourful integration of business and technology resulting in a combination of lights as beautiful as the stars. Covering the lights of the dock was the shimmering of ships, the glittering vests of the people and the sun-like flash of the lighthouse. Far into the sea was a line of lights leading the path for ships to and from the Kiphis port. The unseen beauty of the port and how a single place can have such economic power over a country still makes me feel so surreal to its immense presence and power. There I stood, outside the Grand Marirosa where the scent of the deep sea filled my lungs and the beautiful sights of the port covered my vision. The bright mixture of colourful lights covered the land and the glimmering starlight painted the stygian sky and here I realize, that I was back in time. I Hired a Desperate Professor to do a Dubious Operation [Continent Tylion - Country Iristia - City Kiphis - Outside Grand Marirosa] [Maximus POV]
I need short-term goals. The long-term goals are already determined but that¡¯s far off in the future. Thinking about it will only paralyze me from doing anything useful right now. To put it into perspective let¡¯s use an analogy. If I¡¯m playing a game and the only quest that¡¯s given to me was to [Defeat Sephiroth the Fallen Angel], I would personally be extremely lost and confused. Instead if the game began with [Kill 5 Rabbits], [Talk to the Manager], [Harvest 4 Fox Tails], or [Craft a Wooden Spear] I would know what to do. This concept also applies in real life, the long-term goal is to create a multi-billion dollar business but thinking about that makes me extremely lost and confused. Instead we need to begin creating sub-quests and beginner missions for ourselves. We can¡¯t plan for the entire journey to create a multi-billion dollar company but we can plan for the next step. In this case the next step is to contact the other agents in this mission. Breaking it down to simpler sub-quests we can use it to create a to-do list with the goal of contacting the other agents in this mission. It¡¯s best if I visualize my quests on my phone. [ ] Contact the other agent ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound too difficult¡± I thought to myself, ¡°We can determine the next step after meeting with the other agents¡± It was nighttime and I was feeling sleepy. Taking a taxi back to my house I laid in bed checking my disposable email account earnestly waiting.
[Continent: Sicily Archipelago - Country: Ayrum - City: Egestas - A Dark Alleyway] ¡°RUN, RUN BROTHER¡± I screamed in desperation I saw the auburn haired boy dashing towards the fence with 2 guys right on his tail. In the brown rags dashed with muddy water he ran like a gazelle hopping over the top of fences with a brown satchel on his back. A man with the frame of a bear shouted, ¡°ANYONE WHO GRABS THAT BOY GETS 100 TALONS¡± The looks of the 2 men became bloodshot and thirsty, the homeless beggars on the street woke up and greed filled their eyes. Their eyes desperately searched for the boy who was being chased, instinctively I reached towards the knives in my pocket and threw a knife beside their heads discouraging them from even trying. Running atop the buildings of Egestas I saw that the greed in the beggar¡¯s eyes began to disappear and the muscular bear-like man released a shout, ¡°200 TALONS FOR ANYONE WHO GRABS THE BAG¡±, I threw a knife again but this time the beggars didn¡¯t stop. They began to run towards the ragged boy with the bag with greed blinding their eyes. The boy turned his head and saw the horde of beggars chasing after him and immediately reached into his bag then tossed his brown bag to the crowd, ¡°THE MAN ONLY NEEDS THE BAG¡± The greedy crowd stopped, then stared at the bag on the ground in silence before a man with long gray hair dived in grabbing the bag, and another man followed suit. The greedy crowd began to fight over the empty bag with scratches, bruises and the sound of broken bones filled the lonely, dark, wet alleyway. By the time the 2 men and the bear-like muscular figure caught up to the crowd what greeted them was the smell of blood, urine, sweat and an empty brown bag. ¡°Fuck¡± the muscular bear-like man growled, ¡°The boss won¡¯t be happy about this¡± ¡°What was in the bag¡± one of the henchman asked, A piercing stare drilled into the henchman¡¯s eyes, ¡°In this business we don¡¯t ask questions, we only deliver what¡¯s needed to be delivered¡± ¡°What happens if we don¡¯t deliver the package boss?¡± the other henchman asked A vice grip clenched both of their throats, ¡°Then it is the fault of the bodyguards¡±, a soft crackling noise was heard and the stench of death soon followed through. The sound of two dead bodies dropping on the floor was heard before he looked up noting that the auburn haired girl was also missing from the rooftops along with the boy. -----------------[Continent: Sicily Archipelago - Country: Ayrum - City: Egestas - Location: Eustas Bar]---------------- In a desolate bar at the edge of Egestas where the dim candles lit up the lonely bar were two people sitting at a table. A man with short black hair and a pair of square glasses with a loosened tie wearing a white shirt sat on one side of the table. He looked like a desperate man, a drunk man who has lost everything. Sitting across him was a lady with ravishing auburn hair and an emotionless smile sitting on her face as she played with the wine in her hand. She did not wear makeup but her natural beauty could not be hidden. Staring into her eyes was an emotionless void masking her intentions, her face shone with indifference as if the man never existed. ¡°I am here to do business with you¡± she spoke with indifference ¡°W-What do you want from me¡± he spoke in a raspy tone ¡°You sound scared. What are you afraid of?¡± she responded, ¡°There is no need to fear, I won¡¯t hurt you. We are both reasonable people here¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Then as reasonable people you already know what I need, b-but first I need to see that you actually have it¡± he responded in haste. The auburn haired lady played with the wine in her glass entranced by how the wine swirls within the glass. ¡°I am afraid I cannot show it to you now, but once you accept my offer I will give you the first half of the vial¡± she responded slowly, ¡°But you can rest assured that I wouldn¡¯t stake my reputation on the line for such a simple deal. I never lie, rather I hope that we can both profit off this deal¡± ¡°Then what about money? I can give you money, 1000 Talons for the vial. 500 Talons right now and 500 when I receive the package¡± ¡°I appreciate your kindness but I think there is a misunderstanding between us. I am not interested in your money, you need it more than me. I simply hope that you can help me with a surgery¡± Panic and fear flashed on his face ¡°I-I can¡¯t extract the magical essence out of another person again¡± he trembled with fear ¡°It sounds like you think I¡¯m the kind of person to ask you to do something unreasonable. I told you in the beginning, there¡¯s nothing to be afraid of. I understand your limits and I won¡¯t ask you to do something out of your capability. Trust me, I will only ask you to do what is reasonable.¡± Relief filled his face, ¡°Then what do you want¡± ¡°Here are your instructions¡± she passed him a piece of white paper. ¡°I¡¯m the patient¡± ¡°....5mm incision from C1 to TH12¡­.mix the brain¡­..Ophelius Brain¡± Inaudible mumbling came out of the professor¡¯s mouth before he asked, ¡°Are you sure you want to do this operation?¡± ¡°If you are asking that question then I presume that you agree. Like I said, I don¡¯t make unreasonable requests.¡± ¡°This is a simple surgery madam¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about the rest if I were you, just drive to the college then we can get the surgery done and you can get your Y12-4 Project Elise vial and your daughter can live. Once we reach there I¡¯ll give you half of the vial and once we finish I¡¯ll give you the other half¡± ¡°Alright, would you like a ride madam Cecilia?¡± ¡°No. I have my own transportation, just go to the college and get the equipment ready. I¡¯ll be there¡± He desperately ran out of the bar and into his car promptly starting it and driving it to the college he worked at. After a moment the auburn haired lady tapped on the wood in a cryptic manner. *tap..tap..tap¡­.tap¡­¡­.tap..tap* then looked at the bartender patiently waiting. Her eyes started to display a soft gentle emotion. ¡°Are they gone?¡± the hairy bartender asked ¡°Yep, feel free to go back to your original self¡± the lady reciprocated The bartender¡¯s body transformed as the flesh began to intertwine and curl. His body began to shrink and his hair began to disappear. His black hair was replaced with an auburn colored hair and a cheerful bubbly personality replaced his tired demeanor. The lady named Cecilia had a more subtle transformation as if she was shaped by clay. Her 28 year old look was replaced with a young girl around 16 or 17 with lengthy auburn hair and a weary face. ¡°Um..sis, isn¡¯t 1000 talons better for the orphanage?¡± the boy asked as he cleaned the counter top, ¡°We could send 5 of the children to school with that kind of money¡± ¡°I guess, but if my calculations are correct this decision will bring us more money than 1000 talons.¡± she replied, taking a sip from the wine in her hands, ¡°Here¡¯s a little lesson from me to you. Today we saved that man¡¯s daughter but he¡¯s only doing a small surgery for us. Objectively speaking, this is a loss on our end, but today we¡¯ve gained something that money can¡¯t get. ¡± ¡°What would that be sis?¡± ¡°His gratitude and friendship¡± A puzzled look appeared on the boy¡¯s face ¡°Why is gratitude important?¡± ¡°A good reputation is built off gratitude.¡± ¡°What kind of reputation are you trying to build sis?¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­..tell me, Rufus what reputation do you think I¡¯m trying to build?¡± ¡°Reliable, strict, reasonable and ruthless¡± ¡°Not bad, but you missed one. Respected¡±. The boy fell into deep thought as he shelved the drinks away from the top shelf. ¡°Go back to the orphanage and put the profits into the donation box. Make sure that you¡¯re not seen¡± Nodding the boy took the wads of cash from the counter and ran away from the bar leaving the 17 year old Cecilia alone in the empty soulless bar. [Cecilia¡¯s Pov] ¡°Well I guess it¡¯s about time I meet my colleagues.¡± As I exited the bar the fluorescent shine of the countless stars illuminated this dark night. The street lamps that barely functioned paved the rocky pavement. At the edge of the horizon were the skyscrapers with extravagant flashing holograms displaying messages on each building. The steel forest of skyscrapers filled the night sky with it¡¯s luminescent glow showering the slums of Egestea with its extravagant lights. Looking the other way was the deathly desolate glow of the lanterns and the disgusting smell of sewage, urine and sweat. I scrunched up my nose in disgust and covered my nose with the sleeve of my shirt. As I calculated the distance to the college I leaped up onto a building silently. I closed my eyes and opened them to reveal a pair of pitch black eyes of an owl replacing the brown pupils I used to own. The night was as clear as day in my eyes and devoid of colour. Leaping from roof to roof I flew in the dark lifeless night of Egestas to the college of Egestas. I held the cold jar containing the Ophelius brain in my hand as I snuck inside the medical facility entering the only lit room. Inside was the professor who was sterilizing his equipment preparing for the surgery. I snuck into the room without a sound and began to observe the professor¡¯s work. ¡°Everything is finished I presume¡± I whispered, breaking the silence. The sound of a surprised man falling echoed the empty chamber followed by a soft giggle. ¡°There¡¯s no need to worry, if I want to hurt you I would¡¯ve done so already. Here¡¯s the Y12-4 Project Elise that you wanted, I¡¯ll tell you where you can find the other half if I¡¯m still alive after this operation so don¡¯t disappoint me¡± I reassured lightly placing a cyan vial onto the table. ¡°I¡¯ve already done the preparations so all you need to do is cut 5mm deep from my C1 spine to my TH12 spine and pour the fluid in. After that you don¡¯t need to restitch me and just make sure nobody comes in for the rest of the day. I have faith that you are at least that capable¡± ¡°Of course madam Cecilia¡± The professor nodded in assurance before handing me a hospital gown, ¡°I¡¯ll be wait in the other room while you change. Just knock the door once you¡¯re finished¡± I took the gown and waited for the man to leave the room before I began to change. I took a look at the silver knife on the table paired with a large number of other medical instruments. Inspecting I made sure that the knives were clean and the professor did his job properly, I let out a slight smile, disabled the security camera, set up my own camera in the corner of the room, and knocked on the door. ¡°I¡¯ve finished everything, I wish to proceed as soon as possible¡± I explained, ¡°Don¡¯t let me down¡± I expressed before laying on the operation table, my eyes slowly closed breathing in the anesthesia.
[Continent Tylion - Country Iristia - City Kiphis - Arthur Denyel Hospital¡¯s Lobby] [Maximus POV] ¡°Hello sir, do you have an appointment today?¡± the receptionist asked ¡°I booked a laparoscopy at this hospital for 3:00 pm¡± ¡°Mr. Ryan Berkley correct?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s me¡± I lied, Ryan Berkley was my alias. ¡°Alright your appointment is in room Floor 2 - Room 23. Once your name is called please enter the room¡± she told while handing a folder to me ¡°Thank you¡± I replied while taking the folder I went to the 2nd floor and took a seat outside the room. I sat there waiting until I heard, ¡°Ryan Berkley, Is there a Ryan Berkeley here?¡± ¡°Yes that¡¯s me¡± I picked up my folder and the bag I carried with me containing the Ophelius brain within it. As I entered the room an aged doctor called out to me, ¡°I heard you have a specific surgery you need?¡± ¡°Yes doctor. Here are the instructions¡± I passed him a written copy of the instructions ¡°Interesting, I¡¯m obliged to tell you that any accidents that happen in this office will not be recorded or insured.¡± ¡°I understand the risks that come with this operation¡± ¡°Very well, let¡¯s begin¡± I Realized that my Sister is Part of a Super Secret Organization [Continent Tylion - Country Iristia - City Kiphis - Arthur Denyel Hospital] [Maximus POV]
The cool refreshing feeling of the liquid simulated Maximus¡¯ back, like a line of ice was placed upon his spine. Maximus was lying on his belly wearing a hospital gown inside a room all alone comforted by the smell of medicine and alcohol with the busy sounds of doctors echoing behind the doors. Swish. The doctor that operated on Maximus came into the room holding a folder. He sat on the wooden stool beside the bed and opened his file reading it before placing it on the coffee table and asking, ¡°How are you feeling?¡± A grunt was heard as Maximus is still recovering as he responds,¡°Not bad, my back feels really cold though¡± ¡°Do you notice any pains, aches, or sores throughout your body?¡± ¡°None at all¡± ¡°Well it seems like everything is fine. Looking at your tests I¡¯ll discharge you in a few hours. The bill has been email to you, pay within 24 hours and I¡¯ll keep silent¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the money, How much time has passed since you poured the fluid in?¡± ¡°Around 8 hours¡± ¡°Let me rest for another 4¡± ¡°mhmm¡± the doctor nodded in affirmation before taking his leave. As the doctor took his leave I closed my eyes to feel any difference and I could feel a small spark of white light. I tried to focus on the white light before it suddenly disappeared. I sighed in disappointment before falling back to sleep in exhaustion as the focus onto the white light took mental drain.
[Continent: Sicily Archipelago - Country: Ayrum - City: Kiphis - University of Kiphis] [Cecilia¡¯s Perspective] Dark, humid, airy and dry. Those were the 4 words I would choose to describe my current predicament. After I breathed in the anesthesia the next thing I realized was that I was in a cold dark room with the professor sleeping in a corner. He clearly was tired from the operation as the sunlight shone in through the slits of the barely closed window. The windows were almost shut and the door was locked, I checked the clock on the wall to realize that 10 hours have passed since I fell asleep. ¡°That makes it 2 hours left¡± Closing my eyes I tried to notice any changes in my body only to find that there was a small white light and beyond that light felt like a vast wide swath of information. Ugh. A numbing headache striked my brain as I tried to reach closer to that city but it felt like there was a vast insurmountable gap that separated me and that point of light. Giving up that fleeting light I passed out in exhaustion because reaching that light was mentally tiring. I fell back asleep as the hot and humid room made my eyes drowsy and my body tired.
[Planet: Earth - Continent: Asia - Country: China - City: Beijing - Katarina¡¯s Mansion] [Katarina¡¯s POV] The summer heat warmed the house up to a humid temperate and laser like rays of sunshine shone through the large windows of the mansion into the living room. Katarina was sitting on her couch with a glass of coffee in her hand slowly sipping from the cup to savour the taste of her favorite coffee. A Starbucks Frappe Caramel Macchiato with Extra Whip and an extra cup of vanilla, the coffee was cold which was a perfect compliment to the warm weather of the summer heat. In front of her was an expensive oak coffee table. It was carved from a single piece of oak and shipped as a custom order for Katarina as she loved nature and art with an obvious bias towards spiders. Lining up behind Katarina was her spider collection which displayed dead specimens of spiders gathered across the globe beautifully displayed behind a glass wall with their names, descriptions and lethality labeled on the bottom of each one. She was wearing a gray bathrobe and her hair was slightly wet as she just came out of the showers drying her hair. Her long brown hair glistened in the sunshine as it was tied up in a bun, her focus was on the laptop in front of her as she was currently facetiming someone. A European boy who had the eyes that made it feel like he was an existence beyond the imaginations of mortals. He was Grishika, the Administrator, the controller of timelines and distroter of dimensions, one who wasn¡¯t bound to the limits of time. ¡°She¡¯ll be the arbiter of the mission and the meetings. She will only be directly involved under the pretense of helping another agent in low-priority tasks such as delivering packages, messages, and aligning events. Once she has proven capable I will trust her with more responsibilities, she will start at an entry position and will be rewarded accordingly. If she refuses then you can erase her memory. That¡¯s all.¡± The boy was emotionless and stated everything as a matter of fact. ¡°I¡¯ll tell her once she wakes up¡± The boy suddenly passed out as Grishika stopped using the boy as a temporary host. Katarina looked at the boy in pity because he¡¯ll probably lose part of his memory and suffer from mild paranoia as a result. A mild side effect of being Grishika¡¯s host. Katarina hung up the call and went into deep thought about how she¡¯ll tell Ashley about everything. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Looking up at her spider collection she was stuck deliberating her choices, she was going to tell Ashley about her true form as a Xylian Arachne but she struggled to find the right words to explain everything to her. Personally Katarina wished that Ashley could live a normal, healthy life but she was worried that she might have to drag her own adopted daughter into this mess. She had her doubts about whether or not this was the right choice but if her future self was telling her present self that Ashley needed to go on this mission then there¡¯s probably a strong reason why. Creak. The door from Ashley¡¯s room opened up and a tired, disheveled Ashley came out of the door. Her hair was as messy as a bird¡¯s nest and her eyes had heavy bags because Ashley woke up many times during the night in fear. The fear that there exists a being who was more powerful than anything she ever knew made her anxious and uneasy. ¡°Heyy Ash¡± Katarina tried to cheer Ashley up, ¡°I¡¯ve got you your favorite starbucks coffee! A Hazelnut Frappuccino with extra caramel and less sugar and less ice just how you like it¡±. Ashley ignored the coffee and hugged Katarina before falling back asleep in the arms of someone who she trusts and is comfortable with. In the arms of Katarina Ashley didn¡¯t have to fear the monster she met because she knew that Katarina would protect her. Katarina smiled knowing that Ashley loved her, and in a similar fashion she loved her back. Katarina grew deeply affectionate for Ashley because she¡¯s the closest thing Katarina had to a family. In the Xylian language her affection meant, ¡°Dystere¡± a loving companionship worthy of sacrifice. She didn¡¯t plan on losing her Dystere, but she knew that if the future version of her wanted Ashley to know the hidden parts of her life there was probably a really solid reason why. Future Katarina knew her better than herself, so she decided to trust in future Katarina rather than her present self. She wanted to spoil herself a bit though and let Ashley rest on her chest before she told her about everything. Knowing her responsibilities she took out her phone and called her secretary, ¡°I have familial business to take care of, I¡¯ll send you my input on today¡¯s meeting and email that to everyone present in each meeting. Tell my vice-president to take over the lead today, I¡¯ll come in tomorrow¡± before she hung up her phone and sent her files. Afternoon came and the sun was directly above the house. Ashley felt the sun rays directly hit her face before she started to wake up. ¡°Ughh, ahh!!¡± She shrieked in embarrassment as she accidentally drooled on her sister¡¯s bathrobe out of carelessness. ¡°..mmm¡± Katarina began to wake up in response to the shriek, and to her surprise her eyes met with an embarrassed Ashley who was still figuring out how she would explain herself. Katarina could feel the anxiety from her and she slowly pulled her closer giggle, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t know you drooled on me, hehe. There¡¯s no need to worry¡± Ashley promptly wiped her drool wishing that Katarina wouldn¡¯t see the embarrassing deed that just happened ¡°I-I¡¯m not worried about anything. Rather don¡¯t you have work?¡± ¡°Well I¡¯m worried about you so I took a day off. It¡¯s my company anyways¡± she responded with a smirk ¡°Grrr¡­ Fair enough, but at least wear something¡± Katarina noticed that she was still in her bathrobe wearing her underwear underneath. ¡°Hehe, You still can¡¯t get used to my work attire?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not your work attire!!¡± ¡°It¡¯s the attire I use when I work from home, therefore, work attire¡± Katarina responded with a smirk Dumbfounded Ashley failed to find the proper response before simply giving up and marching to the kitchen for brunch as her stomach began to protest for food. ¡°Do you want anything for brunch?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m good with anything¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll cook scrambled eggs¡± ¡°Wait not scrambled, I had that yesterday¡± ¡°But you just said anything!¡± ¡°Yeah anything except scrambled eggs¡± ¡°Then Fried Rice?¡± ¡°That does sound good¡± ¡°Give me a moment, I haven¡¯t cooked in a really long time so if it¡¯s bad don¡¯t blame me¡± ¡°Sure, if it¡¯s bad we can just order food¡± ¡°Wait, did you already order the food?¡± Ashley noticed that Katarina had her phone out ¡°Nah that¡¯s a waste of money. Your food is always the most delicious¡± Katarina responded with a bright cheery smile slowly hiding her phone. Katarina began to change into another bathrobe as the smell of the delicious fried rice cooked in the kitchen. The house began to smell like Ashley¡¯s homemade fried rice, with the chopping of vegetables echoing inside the house and the sizzling of rice that came along with it. As Katarina came out of her room as she finished changing her bathrobes she was greeted to the sight of two steaming plates of fried rice. Ashley called out of the kitchen, ¡°I¡¯m going to go take a shower really quickly so help yourself first¡± Ashley took the towel from her room and started to enter the bathroom. ¡°I¡¯ll add a bit of seasoning to the food while you¡¯re gone¡± ¡°Sure¡± Of course this wasn¡¯t going to be any normal seasoning, this was a relaxing type of agent I¡¯ve had to cultivate from the venom from precious spiders I raised. This venom was from an Iotriopa Spider from my home planet I had to secretly raise, their venom was known to be one called the ¡°Sleeping Beauty¡± because it put people to a relaxed, non-guarded state. It was the Suitsu civilization¡¯s equivalent to alcohol but it made people more relaxed instead of the agitated state that alcohol could put people in. Ashley soon came out of the bathroom with a towel wrapping her black hair and a towel to cover the rest. ¡°What? You haven¡¯t eaten yet?¡± she asked curiously ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you, duh¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come down in a moment¡± ¡°The food is getting cold¡± Ashley changed into her typical t-shirt and short pants. Ashley came downstairs to the dinner table and met Katarina who was waiting by the fried rice. ¡°Thanks for cooking the food Ash!¡± ¡°My pleasure Kat¡± They both ate the food and as Katarina began to pick up the cleaned plates she asked a question, ¡°Remember how you said you wanted to know everything about my past?¡± ¡°Well, what is it?¡± ¡°If you choose to know there¡¯s no going back, this is the only place where you can decide to choose to back out. I won¡¯t force you to make any decision but once you know about my past you can¡¯t turn back.¡± Ashley¡¯s face was in a state of shock as if everything suddenly fit together. Clink. The fork she was holding dropped in shock as she slowly asked, ¡°Are you a drug dealer?¡± ¡°PFTTT. No, I am not a drug dealer honey. How did you even come up with that idea?¡± ¡°Well the only way for everything to make sense yesterday was the use of psychedelics.¡± ¡°No, yesterday was as real as it can get.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re actually a part of a secret organization with super powerful beings?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a secret¡± Katarina teased with a finger on her lips ¡°So you are part of a secret organization!!¡± Ashley responded in excitement ¡°Tell me all about it¡± ¡°Once you know about it, there¡¯s no going back...and I¡¯m serious about this. Knowing this information will take away the chance of living a normal life. I love you, and I care for you, so I want you to make this decision. Your life will change once I tell you everything, but I¡¯m giving you a chance to live a normal life. Your memory will be erased and you¡¯ll live a normal life. But if you choose to know about my past your life will be irrevocably different from any other person and you are bound by the code of secrecy. It¡¯s exciting and fun, but incredibly dangerous as well. The risk of death is real and the closest I can get to resurrection is uploading your memories and I don¡¯t want that.¡± Ashley was brought back to reality once she realizes the impact that her action can have for the rest of her life. This wasn¡¯t a dream where you can become a member and become a hero, heck, Ashley barely knew anything about this organization. ¡°Can I ask questions about it?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee that I¡¯ll answer all your questions honey, but I¡¯ll try my best. I want the best for you but sometimes it¡¯s best to not know certain things¡± An Army of Spiders is Stationed at my House [Planet: Earth - Continent: Asia - Country: China - City: Beijing - Katarina¡¯s Mansion] [Ashley¡¯s POV]
¡°Is there anything that I should know?¡± Ashley probed with carelessness Katarina thought for a while before bluntly stating, ¡°Currently your body is being borrowed from an alternate timeline and once the connection between the two timelines weaken your body will revert to its original form¡± ¡°Which means I get cancer again¡­¡± A depressing look filled Ashley¡¯s face like she just ate a raisin muffin thinking it was a chocolate muffin. A silence filled the room before Ashley asked another question and Katarina responded curtly. As the sun descended from it¡¯s high position like a king stepping down from a throne and the moon began to rise like a queen usurping the throne the moonlight shone upon the dinning table where two ladies sat asking questions to each other. By the time night fell Ashley¡¯s face was laced with seriousness and fatigue like someone who stayed up an entire night to study for exams. Opposite to her sat a lady who bore no fatigue at all and on her face with a playful smile on her face, like someone who just won a small cash prize in the lottery. Ashley took a deep breath before stating, ¡°I want in.¡± The black haired girl demanded with a bitter expression on her face ¡°Which reason persuaded you to opt with that decision?¡± Katarina jested with a hint of playfulness. ¡°Future you want me to go into the program, so it has got to be something important and somewhat safe.¡± She expressed bluntly ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡®I want to make you proud. I want to know everything about my sister¡¯ But she didn¡¯t say this out loud out of embarrassment. ¡°Nothing important¡± she opted A smile gently crawled onto Katarina¡¯s face as she felt like a large burden was relieved from her back. Like a person who finally got out of prison a relieved expression flooded her face as she said, ¡°I¡¯m glad you chose this option because I can stop hiding¡± She slowly began to stand up and snapped her fingers a flash flood of darkness roared throughout the house as the lights were turned off and the curtains were shut leaving Katarina and Ashley alone within the darkness. Crack. The sound of skin crackling echoed in the dark mansion. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. The sound of what seemed to be a metallic rod stabbing into the ground reverbed throughout the mansion as the small sound of a million toothpicks falling echoed the house creating a cocophy of little spider legs fluttering throughout the mansion. Ashley looked up following the direction of the sound before a sudden. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. Echoed once more in the mansion filling it with a fleeting atmosphere of a horror movie and Ashely was the only audience. The skittering steps stopped atop the ceiling and the faint sound of spinning silk entranced the amazed and frightened Ashely. Katarina¡¯s hand gently caressed Ashley¡¯s cheek in the darkness and the little tippy tappy noises stopped. ¡°Ash, Do you know what is an arachne?¡± ¡°!!!!!¡± Excitement filled Ashley¡¯s face as she began to figure out what was Katarina¡¯s true identity ¡°Are you an Arachne!!¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. The curtains were pulled back slightly creating an illusion of a spotlight only focusing on Katarina¡¯s face. Ashley stared into Katarina¡¯s face which was like the visual representation of a piece of art, perfectly symmetrical with 8 small beautiful eyes staring right back into Ashley¡¯s face. Ashley blinked in shock and awe like she just saw a piano fall down from the sky and someone began to play it. Noticing the change in expression Katarina¡¯s face began to become flustered with embarrassment and promptly looked away in shame. Noticing the change in her sister¡¯s emotion Ashley spoke out her truest feelings, ¡°Sis I think you look beautiful¡± A pause and confusion struck Katarina¡¯s face like a bolt of lightning. ¡°You¡¯re not scared of me?¡± Katarina asked in confusion Ashley pouted and took Katarina¡¯s hand and placed them on her chest, ¡°These hands have brought me out of a dark era of my life. These hands rescued me from a past I never want to remember¡± then Ashley caressed her hand on Katarina¡¯s cheeks ¡°These ears have heard everytime I shouted at you and you¡¯ve never left me, this mouth comforted me whenever I cried on your shoulder and these eyes have watched me grow up from when I was a toddler. Most importantly these eyes have taught me to see the good in people, and you¡¯ve taught me well. Katarina, how can I ever hate you. I love you for who you are, Arachne or not. You¡¯ll always be Katarina to me¡± Tears began to well up in Katarina¡¯s eyes as she heard the words of Ashley. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re my sister¡± Katarina squeaked out, ¡°I love you, I truly do¡± as she planted a kiss on Ashley¡¯s forehead. ¡°I¡¯m a Xylian Arachne, a commander of spiders and nano-spiders.¡± The lights gradually turned on in suspense slowly revealing the sight of an entire dining room with spiders lying on every surface curiously observing Ashley. To Ashley it looked like the room was layered with black grains of rice on every surface, with 8 small legs accompanying each grain of rice. Taking a deep breath of shock and awe Ashley looked towards Katarina once again in an entirely new light. Katarina feeling the proud look in Ashley¡¯s eyes giggled before pointing up, ¡°They have something to say to you¡± Ashley, still in excitement and awe immediately shot her head up seeing the message printed in the cobweb displaying at large, ¡°HELLO ASHLEY! ©d(¡Ð?¡Ð*)¡± Ashley let out a fleeting giggle before she tried to grab her sister¡¯s arm, yet failed to do. She looked up to realize that Katarina was much much taller than usual and noticed the spider body that she had on the bottom. Ashley didn¡¯t notice the body because it was pure pitch black with silver lines drawn across the forming a linear pattern. It looked like the veins of the spider with how it started thin at the edge of her legs and proceeded to become thicker as it connected to the abdomen which was concentrated to the body portion of Katarina. They resembled large steel rods and had a metallic sheen to it making Ashley imagine an elephant¡¯s tusk. They betrayed the expectations of large furry legs and instead were sleek hairless matte black legs. The abdomen stayed true to spider expectations and looked exactly like a normal abdomen with silver lines patterning the fine exo-skeleton. It resembled a sculpture made out of black marble carved into the shape of Katarina¡¯s abdomen. ¡°The spiders are cute¡± Ashley commented with a playful smile, ¡°So do you control all of these spiders?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all under my absolute control. They¡¯ve been living under the cracks of our house managing the chores whenever we forget and cleaning the house whenever we¡¯re out. Haven¡¯t you always wondered how the house was always clean¡± Katarina teased with a giggle ¡°I thought you were a responsible sister!¡± ¡°I am!!! That¡¯s why I tell them to do all the work! That¡¯s called efficiency¡± Katarina pouted, ¡°We can go through my spider collection at a later date but for today I¡¯ll tell you my story since you wanted to know everything about your sister¡± Excited Ashley patiently sat by the table as dinner was promptly delivered to their table. Wine was served and Ashley was surprised by the efficiency of the spiders. ¡°Well where do I start this story¡­.probably with my home civilization Suitsu. So I want you to imagine a civilization where there were hyper-intelligent spiders that ruled the world instead of humans. They were the Suitsu civilizations and they were an ingenious civilization just like the humans. Our civilization prospered and grew, but a tragedy struck turning the world into chaos. A meteor struck our home planet and the world was turned into a post-apocalyptic mess. I was born in that post-apocalyptic world and the God of Tranquillity above gave me a chance to save the world from it¡¯s horrible end which I did successfully. Now I¡¯m retired and wanted to start a clothing business back on earth, then I met you. So that¡¯s the short version of my life.¡± ¡°What about the long version?¡± Katarina¡¯s mouth twitched, ¡°I¡¯ve lived for over a thousand years collectively, I¡¯ll take forever to tell you but don¡¯t you dare call me grandma. My soul is still young¡± Katarina harrumphed in displeasure. The spiders poured Katarina a glass of wine as silk gently dropped down from the ceiling like honey. ¡°Close your eyes and rest, I¡¯ll give you access to the interdimensional hub¡±. The honey like silk curved and wrapped Ashley up. The cold sensation of the pure silk made Ashley feel like she¡¯s in an ice cube as she slowly began to lose consciousness. As the silk continued to wrap her up the last thing she saw was her sister once again but this time in another light. She saw her exposed nature of horror and beauty like the siren¡¯s song full of beauty yet hidden beneath is the scent of death. Like a beautiful rose, where one can only relish in it¡¯s sight without touching it unless you wished to be pricked by it¡¯s thorns. Beautiful, yet dangerous. Those were the words that Ashley would describe Katarina¡¯s current demeanor, and behind all of that was the loving caring eyes of her sister. As the final string of silk wrapped around Ashley she was proud to have such a sister. Side Story: Rufus Diary Dear Diary, Today my twin sister taught me about the origins of magic!! But I kind of wished she didn¡¯t because magic doesn¡¯t feel as cool anymore, like when you learn about how a magician does a magic trick it doesn¡¯t feel like magic anymore. Not knowing is part of the fun! Also she jammed a ton of history too T_T For anyone who is reading this and wishes for magic to keep being mysterious and magical then stop reading my diary!!! I¡¯m serious!! This is my personal stuff!! Don¡¯t keep going, this is really bad, you¡¯ll lose your love for magic! Did you stop reading? No? Ok I¡¯m giving you time to stop reading. Ok now put this book back underneath the floorboard where you found it. Yes, the floorboard by the bed, this is where I keep all of the very not secrets! There¡¯s nothing in there :) Yes just like that, perfect. ¡­.. If you keep invading my privacy and reading you¡¯ll know the secrets of magic my sister told me. Wait, you want to know? Fine. I¡¯ll ruin the magical and mysterious aspect of magic for you and make it as boring as possible!! I¡¯ll feed you everything boring about the history of Ayrum that my sister smashed into my head today! I¡¯ll tell you so much that you¡¯ll get bored!! Muahahahah!!!! I¡¯ll start telling the story then, During the periods of history where magic was only something people considered as an effective tool to rule and suppress the people, those with lethal magical powers were the most advantageous in their life. They received their powers as they learnt how to hunt and kill and therefore their magic powers developed in that direction. The hunters will gain magic power in hunting and the farmers will gain magic powers through farming continuously. Cecilia said that this was the original way of learning magic and those who figured this method hid it from the public eye, but they couldn¡¯t hide it for long. The people began to train and acquired new styles of magic. The rule of the tyrant king made the people angry which brought a revolution to these kingdoms, but when the tyrant king was killed a new tyrant was born. This long cycle of tyrannical king to another tyrannical king made the people frustrated that they can¡¯t earn a peaceful life and thus they ran away to find a land of peace which they found under the sacred care of the Gods. Determined to live a better life they took the risk of entering the holy land of the Gods where they earnestly hoped for a life where their children, wife, husband and siblings wouldn¡¯t be subjected to the whims of a tyrant. They wished for the wars between these small pieces of land to stop because they wanted to live a peaceful life. A life where they can stop worrying. For in the holy land of the Gods, they realized that humans strayed too far and wished for the long wars to stop. They decreed that humans are not created for constant war and thus the origin of the holy crusades began. The Gods in a single night killed all of the tyrant kings and that year the church of the Ancient Tryphants reigned over the entire island of Ayrum and decreed that magic powers beyond a lethality level of 2 was prohibited.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Over 3000 years have passed since that happened and the main Ancient Tryphants which protected us were Zeisen, the Ancient Tryphant of Darkness, Kalathos, the Ancient Tryphant of Erosion, and Aristia, the Ancient Tryphant of Balance. The nation of Ayrum began to be built and restored from the former chaos created by the holy crusades. Living under the protection of the almighty Ancient Tryphants the wars on Ayrum became a part of history and people pursued their passions such as researching magic. The research of magic led to the discovery that inside our bodies was the key to magic because our body adapted, which created magic originated from the DNA of various other creatures. For simple magic such as enhanced nocturnal vision, the gene strands of a raccoon were observed in those humans. This hypothesis of magic started to gain more credibility as scientists began to dissect humans, eventually they noticed that there was a particular system similar to the nerves which handled systemic changes caused by magic. The layers of potential that this system brings is unprecedented and it caused a new surge of research to find how beast genes mutate with this operating system, which we now call the Tryphant¡¯s Blessing or Blessing for short. Under the protection of the Ancient Tryphant the research behind magic led to a market where buyers would purchase magical skills and companies would create them which created the renown trade of synthetic magical skills. The most common ones would begin as a seed before acquiring their powers depending on how one nurtured it and raised it, but it faced the problem of limits of its potential. A synthetic skill would have a low potential compared to natural skills. One of the dangers that my sister told me was that the blackmarket sells fake skills and wariness was priority when buying skills and their seeds. Fake skills can give you claws like a leopard but will rob you of your sanity slowly making your mind closer to a leopard as well. Regular abilities come in two forms, seeds and blossoms. Seeds take time to grow but can occasionally be very strong in the long run with much lower costs to use. The cost of using satisfactory magic below tier 3 is determined by how well the user nurtured the seed and exceptionally raised ones can have little to no cost. The appeal of the seed is their low cost. Harder to find but much more effective is the blossoms which are expensive but extremely effective. A well-known example of a blossom is the Icethaw which is capable of accelerating time for the user and increasing their reaction speed. Blossoms often need to be recharged after every use and they¡¯re regulated by the Ancient Tryphant churches. The tremendous power of certain blossoms comes at an enormous risk according to Cecilia but she never tells me them. She says that it¡¯s better for me to focus on my current seed and nurture it rather than focusing towards blossoms or other things. She said that I had one of the most powerful seed which is an Anthorious Land Strider, a mythical beast that she got her hands on. Ceci said that its body was gigantic and when it sits people often mistake it for a mountain but I¡¯ve never seen one and everyone I¡¯ve asked said that they¡¯ve never heard of it either. I think it¡¯s actually just a savage gazelle seed which gives you augmented strength. I think Ceci is being kind and she¡¯s trying to encourage me but I¡¯m smarter than she thinks. I can notice that inside me, the seed has barely grown and it keeps sucking out all of the energy from my body. I very likely doubt that she gave me a fake seed but I¡¯ve made contingencies just in case. It¡¯s fun having our small adventures with my Ceci and supporting the orphanage but she kept talking about these big things which I don¡¯t really understand. She often mentioned about the future and how we can live better lives. Ever since my sister started to do business the orphanage can now eat a meal a day and the shower once a week!!! It¡¯s a lot better than what it used to be and I¡¯m happy being with my friends and family even if it¡¯s dangerous. I need to support my family at the orphanage, even if it means risking my li- H-Hey! Ceci!! Give me my diary back!!! What do you mean I can¡¯t risk my life? Life requires one to take risks!!! What? Taking reckless risks is what a fool would do? That¡¯s ridiculous! Wait at least let me end it!! -ok I¡¯m not risking my life. I¡¯m risking my freedo- ¡°Wait I can¡¯t risk my freedom too!!! What do you mean if you don¡¯t have freedom is life even worth living?!!!¡± -fine, I won¡¯t risk anythi- ¡°hold up, now you¡¯re saying I need to risk things. Ceci sometimes you¡¯re really annoying, wait don¡¯t hit me!! Ahrghhhghhrh, argpghhdahs, ok so don¡¯t take uncalculated risks¡± -I will only take calculated risks to achieve our goals. Sincerely, Rufus I became a Dragon at the Interdimensional Hub [???] [Maximus POV]
Maximus began to wake up from the nap in the hospital like he woke up from a hot nap in the afternoon. A white glow entered his vision like the shining star of Eos was right above him and he soon covered his eyes with his hand before realizing that he was wearing heavy clothes, unlike the one he went to sleep with. As he brought up his hand towards his eyes he realized that something was different about his hand. His hand was covered in a metallic sheet like a high-tech android¡¯s hand and he was wearing a long trench coat. In between his mechanical parts he noticed a moving line of code like ants marching along his parts instead each ant was a rune like word. Maximus touched his chest and felt that his body lacked any heat and instead it was cold. It was cold¡­.wait...machines should not be able to feel. How could he feel his cold body? Maximus noticed that the runes which were running up and down between his mechanical body parts resembled his blood. He started to breath really fast, forcefully pumping his heart and the runes began to move at a faster rate. It seemed like he was using a biomechanical body of sorts. What mattered now was, Where exactly was he? Maximus looked around to find himself in a small park where a galactic pavement stretched through the middle of the park. The width of the park was around the size of a soccer field and it seemed to stretch forever like a bridge with no end or beginning. From Maximus¡¯ point of view he was lying on the pavement that stretched across the long side. Beside him were a neat column of trees methodically planted and looking around he noticed that there was no one else. There were a number of bushes which lined up with the path as if they were filling in the space between the trees creating an artificial wall of greenery alongside the pavement. At the edge of the pavement was a large door decorated in white marble statues which made Maximus feel like he¡¯s looking at the gate of heaven. Maximus slowly got up and found that his new body was fresh and young. He remembered the feeling of moving in his younger body but he truly felt alive in this body. Like he had full control and he wasn¡¯t bound to the physical limits of flesh, he began to feel like a superhero. He noticed that everything about the tree was white from the leaves to the bark and branches. Taking a closer look he realized that between the bark the same line of runes ran up and down the bark and the ceramic like leaves were still as though it was in a picture. The bushes were also white like they were made from dried white paint and shaped into the form of a bush. The pavement was like the starry night with numerous stars scattered like sand on the void of space. Maximus stared back opposite from the heavenly door and he saw that the path stretched to the horizon, almost into an endless abyss. The same layout of the trees, bushes and pavement kept repeating systematically as if someone copied and pasted a single section multiple times, as he began to wonder what kind of being could make this type of architecture before something mysterious and powerful caught his attention. A voice boomed inside Maximus¡¯ head, ¡°Welcome to the interdimensional hub¡± It was an andryogenous voice which was very soft and relaxing like it was welcoming you back home from a long day of work. The voice continued to speak, ¡°You must be new here, let me show you the ropes around this place.¡± Light began to form in front of Maximus and they combined to form an andregenyous being which resembled a faceless porcelain statue with very long strands of what seemed to be hair. As the statue began to form Maximus realized that the hairs were actually hundreds of thousands of really small tentacles that were attached to the back of his head. He was a head taller than Maximus and a dark black line formed on the bottom of his head like someone cracked open a rock. Creak. The cracked line opened revealing a mouth which began to speak, ¡°Hello newcomer, my name is Dux and today I will be your guide¡± Snap. He snapped his fingers and a small black portal appeared right above his hand. Out came a small ball which looked like it was a steel ball with layers of runes covering it. It looked like the ball was covered in rune like snakes which kept moving like tangled strings. Dux pushed the orb to Maximus as it slowly levitated towards Maximus. ¡°This is the Aydron, a tool which will help you navigate the interdimensional hub. Touch it to link it to your mind and you can begin to use it¡± Maximus reached out and gently tapped the orb and the runes rippled like water. Silence filled the park as the runes kept rippling before they suddenly flew out like snakes biting for the kill straight at Maximus¡¯s finger and integrated itself with the runes on his body that were moving. They began to coil from his arm and the runes approached his heart like lightning. As it connected with Maximus he felt like he could control the orb as if it was his finger. A single command of moving up or down made the orb move whatever direction he wanted to. The orb felt like it was part of Maximus¡¯ body, as if it has always been there. Dux began to speak again. ¡°The interdimensional hub is a place where people across dimensions can meet with each other and communicate. The Aydron can answer all of your questions about this place, open portals, disguise yourself and more. I suggest you go through the gate once you¡¯ve figured everything out.¡±Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Dux¡¯s statue-like body began to crumble into dust like a mummy was dropped from a high building and the wind suddenly came and brought the crumbles of what Dux¡¯s body used to be away. Maximus stared at the Aydron that was floating and realized that there was a translucent line of rune connecting both of them. A mechanical voice entered into his mind and in a monotone voice stated, ¡°Please give me a name and select the voice that you want to hear¡± the layers of runes unfolded from the ball and displayed a grid of voices that Maximus can pick from. Scrolling through the samples of audios Maximus heard a very nostalgic voice. A voice which reminded him of the smell of alcohol and the large tree city on the planet of Zaretta. It resembled the loyal voice of Donavan L. Cantarito, the Basilisk who served him drinks and comforted him during his hardest time. The gentle, deep and heavy voice of Donavan resounded through the white park. ¡°Hello, sir¡± The voice was filled with a rich tone that was filled with life and age old wisdom, camaraderie and friendship. It was the sound of intelligence and brotherhood. It was a voice, to Maximus was someone he could trust. ¡°I want this voice¡± ¡°Do you wish to confirm?¡± The rich voice of Donavan resounded once more from the orb. ¡°Yes¡± ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you sir¡± Donavan¡¯s voice resounded in the park once more before it fell into silence. ¡°Please give me a name and tell me how I should address you¡± ¡°Donavan, Maximus formally, address me as Max in most occasions¡± ¡°Yes Sir Max, I am Donavan. Your personal Aydron which will help you navigate the interdimensional hub¡± The voice replied while the runes on the ball began to dance excitedly to show that it was glad for being given a name. ¡°Tell me everything that I should know¡± ¡°Yes sir. The interdimensional hub isn¡¯t exclusive to Tryphant Agents, although Tryphant Agents often have the ability to go to places and have more freedom without restriction. Most of the civilizations and people who are in the interdimensional hub are often from other civilizations who are technologically on the edge of interdimensional travel. Although we call this a hub it¡¯s more accurate to describe it as a sub-universe by itself. The interdimensional hub is a place where hundreds of thousands of miniature worlds exist and people would create portals to go from world to world where miniature worlds are created and destroyed everyday As you enter the gate you¡¯ll be greeted by the largest world, the hub. You can use me to open portals as long as you have the correct coordinates and the proper permissions I can transfer you to that world. Typically the rules lie within the boundaries of using common sense. Don¡¯t kill, steal, commit fraud, assault another person, etc. If you are about to do a crime I will tell you that it¡¯s a crime and the corresponding punishment as well. When you pass through those doors a fellow Agent will meet with you.¡± Hmmmm ¡°I heard that you could also disguise yourself?¡± ¡°What would you like to be disguised into?¡± ¡°What are the options?¡± ¡°Anything you can imagine¡± ¡°Like a really large dragon?¡± ¡°Transforming into, a very large dragon¡± Maximus¡¯s skin began to crack and crumble and underneath came out the same biomechanical skin but this time it was in scales. Maximus¡¯ entire skin crumbled and cracked as a new layer of white scales grew out of the broken skin. The scales began to expand like they were filled with air before they solidified into titanium like plating. Maximus could feel that Donavan was getting smaller and smaller until it was nothing more than a single dot in his vision, like a single dot by a pen the orb floated silently before asking, ¡°Was this to your liking?¡± The runes continued to flow between his scaly body in between the scales like flowing water and he could feel the three dragonhearts in his chest beating fast. Maximus spoke but this time his voice echoed from the bellows of his belly as it rang out in a might, rich and commandeering voice, ¡°Tell me the average size of lifeforms in the international hub Donavan¡± he roared in a deep voice ¡°Most lifeforms are roughly 2 meters tall in the hub¡± ¡°Transform me BACK this INSTANT¡± a voice rumbled throughout the white park ruffling the ceramic like leaves. The scales began to fall and as they hit the ground the crumbled into dust and the layers of runes fell and wrapped themselves around Donavan leaving a dust cloud of scales and a Maximus in a trench coat sitting on the starry ground. ¡°Can you see what I¡¯m imagining right now?¡± Maximus inquired ¡°Only if you give me permission¡± ¡°I allow it¡± ¡°I see a man with black hair and black eyes with a strong jawline and a pair of glasses with short hair. He¡¯s wearing a white hoodie and jeans with it. He looks very common. Do you wish to transform into this form Max? ¡°Yes match his physique with mine¡± ¡°Very well¡± The changes this time were very subtle like Maximus was a clay statue that was gently being molded into his shape. Like an invisible hand was kneading a strong jawline, a muscular body and the right kind of hair. His hair turned into black like a painter came and stroked his brush across Maximus¡¯ head and his trenchcoat became a white hoodie. He retained his biomechanical looks with runes flowing across his entire body like runic ants marching up and down in a single file but it was now covered with a white hoodie. Maximus commanded the orb to create a mirror and was satisfied with his current looks. ¡°What¡¯s the currency in this place?¡± ¡°The largest currency are Tryphant Points which can be used to directly buy the services from the Ancient Tryphants. A Tryphant Point can be transferred into 1000 Selics which are the common currency used. 1 Selics can be divided into 100 Pectus which are the smallest currency inside the hub. You currently have 1,000 Tryphant Points inside your account.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the basic price for food?¡± ¡°Loaf of Bread - 1.47 Selics, Apple - 2.10 Selics, Kilogram of Rice - 1.49 Selics, Kilogram of Potatoes - 2.12 Selics¡± ¡°Examples of services that a Tryphant Point can give¡± ¡°Indestructible heart - 10 Tryphant Points, Ancient Tryphant¡¯s Consulting - 100 Tryphant Points, Eternal Rosewood Tomb - 3 Tryphant Points, Dragon Egg - 70 Tryphant Points, Lotus Blossom of Truth - 4 Tryphant Points¡± ¡°This should be interesting, say Donavan are we ready to go through?¡± ¡°Ready whenever you are sir¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± The sound of two objects coming through the portals echoed in the empty park and silence filled the entire sub-world. Soon the still white park was empty with no trace left behind of Maximus or Donavan, it was like you were staring at a picture and someone just photoshopped them out. The peace returned to the world before the starry pavement began to crack the same way glass would crack if you smashed a hammer onto it. The epicenter of the cracks begin to expand as the lines of destruction spread out onto the entire sub-world before a final crack brought the world into destruction, leaving nothing behind. Entering an Interdimensional Society [Inter-dimensional Hub] [Cecilia¡¯s POV]
As Cecilia entered the heaven¡¯s gate with her Aydron ¡°Lumen¡± a grand sight entered her vision. In front of her was a large city with skyscrapers that seemed like they stretched far into space taller than anything she has ever seen. Cecilia felt like she was a small ant and these skyscrapers were large gigantic redwood trees which stretched farther than her eyes can see. To her left was what seemed to be a gigantic wall stretching for miles upon miles on end, but as she looked up she noticed that it was just another skyscraper that stretched into the sky and the wall slowly became as thin as Cecilia¡¯s forearm. They kept expanding into space before they disappeared into a crack in space. A severe crack was stationed in space and bright purple light was coming out of the crevices. It resembles a crack you would see in a rock and numerous cracks were in the sky forming what seemed to be a gigantic spider web of cracks with purple light illuminating out of it. In the distance Cecilia can see multiple skyscrapers as big as the one in front of her stretching all the way into the spiderweb of cracks and long bridges connecting the space touching skyscrapers. It looked like the cracks stretched into the horizon with no end in sight. As she looked to the ground away from the sky of cracked space she observed and noticed that there were numerous other lifeforms around her as well. Some of them were familiar such as a dragon while others were alien and mysterious to her like a yellow walking octopus family. The bizzare number of creatures that gathered across dimensions and galaxy stunned Cecilia and made her realize how small she once imagined the world to be. As she noticed the great number of unique creatures in this sub-universe she noticed that the feathered body she was using wasn¡¯t as unique as she thought. Cecilia¡¯s current form is a long red haired lady who looked to be in her mid 20¡¯s who is using a robe made out of navy blue feathers and feet that resembles a hawk. Underneath her arms were a line of bright red feathers that began from her shoulders to her wrists that were currently retracted. When fully exposed she displays her bright red wings which can be sharpened into tools of assassinations or for flight. Cecilia found that this form was the most optimal form to move around and protect herself as well. Her wings can help her travel fast as she hopped around and the sharp feathers can protect her but above all she thought that this form was beautiful. ¡°Hey Lumen, explain to me what are these wall like skyscrapers¡± ¡°They are officially called the Seliopos which means ¡°Bridge or Connector¡± created by the Ancient Tryphant of Wisdom, Acies. The Seliopos are used as the main connection between separate sub-dimensions and also serve as the anchor between them keeping them stable. Due to their sheer size they are often used as a highway between two dimensions.¡± ¡°Lumen, get me pictures inside the Seliopos¡± Beep. The runes unraveled from the orb and transformed into particles which reshaped into pictures of a vast city that looked no different from a regular city. A picture of a plain appeared which stretched as far as the horizon with a large mountain range in the background, another picture appeared which depicted a beach with the sea extending out into the horizon with no end in sight. If Cecilia never told Lumen to take pictures inside the Seliopos then she would¡¯ve mistaken this to be random pictures of the world. As she visualized the sheer sizes of these galactic skyscrapers she took in a deep breath and stared at the curved wall in awe and amazements. Tap. A large hand patted Cecilia¡¯s shoulder activating her survival instincts as she immediately grabbed the mysterious hand and sharpened her winged feathers into steel like knives which were aimed straight for the person¡¯s neck stopping right at the neck of the person. Cecilia immediately found that another hand was holding her wrist that was aiming for the person¡¯s neck. Observing the assaliant once more she noticed that he also had runes running through his neck, the same one that Cecilia has right now. He was a head taller than Cecilia, attractive and has a well-built frame. He had bold eyebrows, strong jawline, green eyes and a hat that covered his black hair. He was wearing a modified black trench coat with a tall stiff collar with a thin gold chain by his neck. He¡¯s wearing a fitted sleeveless black shirt and a pair of slim fitting jeans. His bold eyes stared down on Cecilia as he loosened his grip. ¡°Dux should¡¯ve told you that we were coming to get you¡± His deep masculine voice said in a slow manner ¡°Are you a Tryphant Agent?¡± Cecilia asked curiously ¡°Used to be, I¡¯m now retired. You can call me Vextus¡± He stretched out his arm offering a handshake. ¡°By the way, I suggest you use a fake name and disguise yourself if you haven¡¯t already¡± ¡°I¡¯m Ce- I mean, I¡¯m Cassieopeia. You can just call me Cassie¡± Cecilia returned the handshake. ¡°This here is Sumixam¡± he pointed to a handsome man with short black hair, glasses, a strong jawline and a hoodie that gave him early 20¡¯s vibes behind him. ¡°You can just call me Sumi¡± he responded with a business like smile while offering a handshake. ¡°Nice to meet you Sumi¡± Cecilia reciprocated the handshake ¡°And this is Iris¡± Vextus stepped aside to show the shy girl behind him. She was so short that her head met the chest area of Vextus and held a shy demeanor. She looked like she just jumped out of an avante garde painting and was entirely new to the world with curiosity filling her eyes and a colourful head of hair to compliment it. Her hair was a bluish shade of purple and the texture seemed fluffy and aloof. A pink lotus flower was placed on top of her fluffy hair and large golden pupils filled with curiosity sat right above her small nose in between her blushing cheeks. Her petite figure made her look like she was in her late teens or early twenties but she had the curiosity of an early teen. Her limbs were smooth, hairless and slender like a newborn. Her smooth skin was decorated with simplistic green tattoos that were in the shade of light forest green running across her body. They ran across her back and wrapped around to the front so that most people can only see the green shades on her shoulders, hands, ankles and neck and the runes that ran through the tatoos. If you kept following the lines of the tattoos you would be met with a long chameleon like tail right above her waist with runes decorating the tail. Iris was cutely hugging her tail as she wore her brown crop top paired with her simple brown skirt. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°H-hello, I¡¯m Iris¡± a cute squeaking like voice entered Cecilia¡¯s ears. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you¡± Cecilia said as she offered a handshake Iris cautiously let go of her tail and shook the outstretched hand. As Cecilia shook the hand she felt as though she was touching the finest silk ever. Her hands were incredibly smooth and small in comparison to Vextus¡¯. Sumi and Iris seemed like they already greeted each other beforehand meaning Cecilia was the last one through the portal. Vextus fake coughed and cleared the air, ¡°Well let me start by showing you around¡± Snap. A crisp snap filled the air and a cloud of runes appeared by his side. The runes untangled and formed an oval the size of Vextus then more runes unraveled from the cloud which formed a pattern within the oval. When the pattern finished the runes looked like they swallowed themsleves and a rainbow mix of blue, white and orange filled the portal. ¡°Come on in, the first order of business is getting you guys a home world¡± Vextus stepped inside the portal without any hesitation and Sumi, Iris and Cassie followed through. As they stepped through what greeted them was the majestic sky. The mix between orange, blue and red as the sun was setting filled their entire horizon as they realized that they were thousands of meters in the air on a floating island. The ground was solid, like earth but they saw that they were in the air all alone. The floating island was around the size of a park and on it was a small mansion that was 3 stories tall and had a large flower garden at the front. Cecilia and her new-found friends were on the pathway to the front door with Vextus leading the way. Vextus spoke as he walked, ¡°This here is my home world, a personal place where you can keep your storage, items, have friends over and where you would normally log in when you enter the Tryphant Hub. From here you can access the other various channels that are valuable to you.¡± Vextus¡¯ cloud of runes began to flash between the colours of red, white and pink as the mansion seemed to come to life. A butler opened the door and bowed, ¡°Welcome home master¡± Vextus nodded and kept walking, ¡°Don¡¯t touch anything in here¡± Iris stopped by the person and looked towards Vextus before whispering in his ear, ¡°Are these real people?¡± Vextus shook his head and snapped his fingers. Crack. The butler¡¯s body began to dissolve into various flying parts before they reassembled, turning into a tiger that was as obedient as a puppet. Iris'' eyes sparkled with amazement as she began to observe the tiger without touching it. Sumi was also fascinated by the tiger butler machine and asked his Aydron, ¡°Hey Donavan, What exactly is this thing?¡± ¡°A model 7 servant from the Relyks civilization¡± ¡°Price?¡± ¡°700 Selics¡± ¡°Lifetime?¡± ¡°50 years¡± Sumi continued to follow Vextus as if the conversation never happened. Cecilia followed along and made a mental note that this Sumi guy was probably very wealthy in real life and held the capability of making decisions in accordance to their cost and benefits. If Cecilia had to guess then this Sumi guy was probably middle high income or higher, but knowing the type of profiles these Tryphant Agents can have she decided to categorize Sumi as someone who was very wealthy. They continued to walk before they entered the living room where an entire wall was replaced by a floor to ceiling window with a tv, on one wall and a set of couches shaped in an L formation directly opposite to the tv. In the middle of the L formation was a glass coffee table. Outside the glass window was a small garden with a singular tree in the middle and various other bushes and shrubs surrounding it. The tree had fiery red leaves and a small stone wall surrounded the garden. Vextus walked towards the window and the glass disappeared letting him through into his garden. He kept walking until he was at the border of his small stone wall. He stood there, chest up and proud. ¡°When you create your homeworld, you only have one home world. Homeworlds come in many shapes and forms. Some of my colleagues have a homeworld where mountains stretch far into the horizon and others have homeworlds where they rest upon a spaceship cruising through the abyssal space. Before we create your homeworld you must know what it means to have a homeworld and at the core of it, is a place where you can return to. Create it well and cherish it. That is all I have to say.¡± Silence filled the lonely island with only the fluttering wind which seemed to come and go. Vextus cherished and enjoyed the sunset within his garden. Cecilia began to notice that within the silence the sound of small animals surrounded her in the garden and she began to see mythical bug creatures flying around. The beatles were silver in colour but when they clicked their wings together small sparks of blue fire sparked out. Plants that looked like a trumpet had fluorescent glass like grasshoppers coming out of their holes while what seemed to be a combination between a mole and an elephant was lazing underneath the solid ground. Vextus snapped his fingers and his cloud of runes unfurled revealing a display screen. ¡°Nothing in the interdimensional hub is truly real, everything is a blur between fiction and reality. Your mind is present in the hub, you can control your body but that body isn¡¯t your real body. That goes the same way for our homeworlds. Our homeworlds are a blur between fiction and reality as well. This island is fictional, a construct created to stimulate the sense of a floating island.¡± Vextus breathed before pointing at the flame coloured tree, ¡°This Acrylas-Phoenix tree is real, I brought it from my planet into my homeworld, but you may ask the question if this Acrylas-Phoenix tree is not just another construct. Fortunately whenever you bring something or buy something from the market the item is given a secret variable key which can determine the authenticity of your item. The item will be reconstructed inside the interdimensional hub and the one you''re holding right now will be kept in storage until you choose to take it out of the interdimensional hub. If you have tried to disguise yourself as a dragon before you will take the form of a basic common dragon, not unique to anyone or anything. Constructing these basic forms have zero value, when you bring something unique that cannot be constructed that is when something begins to become valuable. To design your island, make it your own and a place where you can call home try to furnish it with things which are unique and valuable to you.¡± Vextus turned around and threw a necklace at each individual in the group. The necklace looked like it was purely made out of the runes present in their body but they seemed at least 10 levels more complicated that the ones that were flowing through Cecilia¡¯s body. There was more detail between each rune and no rune ever repeated within the chain link yet they seemed so connected to one another. ¡°These are the keys to an empty homeworld as a celebratory gift from the Ancient Tryphants. When you take these keys they will grant you ownership to your personal homeworld where you can gain access to it through you Aydron.¡± The chain of runes flew into Cecilia¡¯s hand and she began to feel an empty void of space that she had full control over, then she saw a number of sceneries in front of her from the large grass plains of Revanda to the volcanoes she saw in the alpines of Montsrangos. Some had common animals like the forests of Aclytha which had deers as well or the futuristic concept which didn¡¯t resemble anything Cecilia has ever seen before! She scrolled through them until she was lost in thought and only woke up by the sound of Vextus speaking once more, ¡°You can stay at my homeworld for today but create your own by tomorrow¡± Snap. He snapped his fingers and a small green maiden appeared right in front of Cecilia¡¯s eyes. They could easily fit in the palm of her hand and were clothed with a light green dress accompanied with a crown of flowers. She giggled and smiled showing her mischievous nature as she flew in circles in front of Cecilias¡¯ face. Looking to her side she saw that there was a small fairy beside each of her new friends. Snap. Vextus snapped again and three smaller islands rose up from the clouds as if they were suddenly pulled from a fishing line. Each house had the same identical house as grand as the mansion Vextus owned in his main island but without any of the details making it almost seem like it was suddenly 3D printed. These houses seemed emotionless and lifeless and yet so grand at the same time. Vextus pointed to each mansion, ¡°Pick one for tonight, I¡¯ll show you around more tomorrow¡± Snap. Bridges of rocks appeared from the clouds beneath them and glued together to form a single rock bridge. Iris got up from the tiger and looked at Vextus, ¡°How do we go back to our normal body?¡± ¡°In your Aydron you can log out and go back to your original body, time will continue in both worlds. Your bodies will be stored within the Aydron which will be stored within your home world. I¡¯ll give you these watches which will tell you the time in the interdimensional hub world.¡± Vextus threw a black box to each of the individuals. ¡°Once you leave this realm you will find that these are in your hand as well. Inside contains a watch that will tell the universal Interdimensional hub time¡± Cecilia nodded and approached one of the floating islands crossing the steady rock bridge. The pixie flew with Cecilia to her island and began to give her a tour about the entire mansion. As they finished the pixie whistled and connected each of the islands to one another before waving goodbye and disappearing. The Art of Baby Throwing [Vextus'' Dimension]
Maximus found that inside the mansion was almost empty. The number of dull wooden furniture was the only thing keeping the place from being called an abandoned mansion other than the unnatural cleanliness of the place. The atmosphere between fanciness and etiquette made it feel like Maximus was stepping inside a house made of plastic, so beautiful yet so fake. Touring around the entire building he found that it was a 3 story building that was as wide as a football field. The mansion opened up with a large hall with curving stairs that led to the second floor which was layered with red velvet carpets. There were numerous statue stands without a single statue on them. Painting frames that were empty and walls decorated with a dull red making the room feel like it¡¯s a solid block of paint. Maximus was too busy to delve deeper into the mansion and asked the pixie to lead him to the closest bedroom. ¡°Come with me¡± The pixie cried cheerfully Maximus gave a steady nod and followed the pixie up the curving stairs and into the room directly in front of the stairs. Once inside he saw a large bed which looked like it was covered in silk. Two tables were besides the white bed and a french window was placed right above the bed frame letting the orange sunset illuminate the room. ¡°If you need anything just call out my name, ¡°Mezetul¡± and I¡¯ll be right there.¡± the pixie cheered before disappearing into the wall. *sigh*. Maximus released a heavy sigh he was holding in before flopping onto the bed. Everything he saw today made him realize that he truly knew nothing about the universe, from the walls that stretched into the horizon which grew towards the cracked sky to the numerous other alien lifeforms he witnessed to the incredible technology of becoming a dragon. None of it made sense to him, and a part of him wish that it stayed that way for it was magical. ¡°Donavan, tell me about the recreational sites in the interdimensional hub¡± The rune filled ball lit up and unfurled it¡¯s runes to which broke down and reformed displaying a screen in front of Maximus. On it was the everlasting list of recreation available to any known creature in the interdimensional hub. From the most mundane activities of ¡°Watching movies¡± to the seemingly impossible to imagine, ¡°Cravgure baby throwing¡± activities were listed onto the display. ¡°Uh, Donavan. What the hell is Cavgure baby throwing¡± Donavan¡¯s runes blinked once more and the runes of words broke down and instead displayed a holographic scene of a mountain with 8 creatures on the peak. They looked like the ancient sea gods of the old each incredible muscular and some with tentacles replacing their beads while others had blue flame lighting up their hair. Each of them was holding a ball of flesh which looked like it was a lizard scrunched up into a ball with the scales popping out and bits of claws and nails showing. The 8 creatures attached a line of runes to this ball of flesh until it was fully covered in runes and as they stood above the clouds and stared into the distance each of them began to real back their hands holding the reptilian flesh ball when a new creature came into the frame and waved his hand down signaling these ancient gods to unleashing their monstrous throwing strength. CRACK. The voice of the sound barrier breaking rung Maximus¡¯ ears as he saw each of the balls of flesh instantly crack the sound barrier in unison and they disappeared into the distance. The camera followed the balls and Maximus saw that they were beginning to unfurl revealing mini baby dragons in each one. They were all coloured different with some wearing matte black scales while others were wearing blood red strikes alongside their back. They revealed their long sharp teeth and at a speed surpassing sound the black one rotated his body intending to crash right into the blood red one which looked like a black brick was being thrown towards the red one. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The red one skilfully opened his wings to dive down avoiding the black Cravgure and as he did a suprising forest green dragon dived from above intercepting the black one with his long green tendrils. The black one dissolved into mist and appeared behind the green one and suddenly bit down on his wings causing the green dragon to release a silent shriek only heard moments later and wooden tendrils begun to fix the green dragon¡¯s wings as he started to lag behind the pack. This infighting between the dragons continued and the only contenders in the lead of the pack was the blood red dragon, the black dragon and a metallic dragon that looked like a fighter jet with teeth and wings. They were each fighting to reach the mountain first breathing elemental breaths and clawing each other viciously and barbarously. As the mountain was as large as a thumb all three dragons dived into a passing air current in the winds hoping that it could bring them an inch closer to victory. As the mountain became larger and larger the letters FINISH began to flash overhead in a holographic manner and all three dragons glowed in their respective colour before turning into a semi large dragon the size of a bed and dived straight to the finish line. The black dragon turned into mist overtaking the metallic dragon giving him the lead just before the metallic dragon opened his mouth and missiles came straight out chasing the black dragon ahead of him. The red dragon¡¯s back had a nasty claw mark on it and blood began to spurt out from earlier in the race. He closed his eyes while diving for the finish goal and his blood turned into knives which stabbed right at the metallic dragon¡¯s wings with the sole intent to impair. Each knife caused sparks to fly in the air before a single blood knife stabbed deep into his wing causing an imbalance between the wings making the metallic dragon be forced to close his wings and release an engine making him look like a bullet. As the mountain seemed no farther away than a single second to decide the winner the black dragon unleashed his trump card and released a physical mist of black ink in the sky which blinded everyone that¡¯s about to finish in a final desperate hope but at the same time covering the finish line. The crowd was wild and as soon as the sound signalling the winner rose everyone had the same question, Who will win? The black dragon, the metallic dragon or the blood red dragon. Everyone on the mountain was waiting impatiently for the black mist to disappear revealing the winner. As the mist began to disappear a glow was shone through the smoke marking the winner of the race. Each of the audience members started with anticipation as the glow began to shine a blood red misty glow marking the blood red dragon as the winner. Out of breath and crashed into a mountain the dragon was exhausted, bruised and hurt, but above all else he was proud. On the replay screen which filtered out the black mist it showed how the blood red dragon also unleashed his trump card and tied both of the dragon¡¯s blood to his own creating a slingshot effect furthering him forward and pulling the two dragons back. Replacing the word Finish it began to repeat two words. ¡°WINNER, ICHOR¡± Maximus rested from the adrenaline pumping through his rune veins and gave a hearty sigh and a good chuckle. ¡°Hahahah, I never imagined baby throwing to be so exciting¡± Maximus chuckled to himself, ¡°The Interdimensional hub surely is a place of dreams¡± Maximus stretched out his arm and did a grabbing motion which prompted the Aydron to break apart the screen of broken runes back into the long lines of runic texts tangling around Donavan. ¡°Hey Don, I saw that Vextus had his Aydron in a cloud form. Could you do something like that too?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°Can you transform yourself into a watch with the design I have in my mind?¡± Sizzling sounds filled the room as the runes surrounding Donavan began to compress and solidify before it almost seemed like a piece of metal and the golden runic words began to turn a darker and darker shade before becoming pitch black. The floating metallic material twisted and turned like string being woven together as it slowly formed a strap of black leather with intricate designs decorated along the middle. The rest of the floating metallic material contracted even tighter to form a near solid and the colour changed from black to silver as the watch was slowly being formed. The black leathery strap and the silver frame fit together making the outline of the watch. 12 small diamond gems were formed which represented all 12 hours and then the clear white jade like material was used to become the hour hand, minute hand and second hand. The navy blue base of the watch complimented the silver frame with a line of words arching right above the center of the watch writing, ¡°Donavan¡± giving it a professional, clean and expensive look. ¡°It¡¯s just like my old watch¡± Maximus smiled in joy. Brandishing his new watch he got up from the bed and said, "Meztul connect me with the other islands, I''m ready to meet his new neighbors and colleagues." The pixie came out from the roof and nodded flying off outside where rock bridges were being formed to create a pathway between Maximus'' island with Cassie''s island and Rafflesia''s Island. The Art of the Smile [Vextus¡¯ World - Island 1 - Maximus¡¯ Island] [Maximus POV]
In the sky base where it felt like falling would meet with an endless abyss Maximus looked down at the edge of his island staring at the rocky bridge connecting his island with Iris¡¯ island. ¡°You sure this safe right¡± Maximus inquired to the pixie ¡°Of course, nothing can go wrong here. Even if you fall I¡¯ll catch you anyways¡± Meztul 1 the pixie reinforced Maximus with a hint of pride in his voice. Maximus gave a grunt and put a single foot onto the rocky bridge and once he saw that it was stable he put another. The chasm between Maximus¡¯ island and Iris¡¯ island felt like the chasm between two mountains. A single step of courage brought Maximus¡¯ feet forward, then another.. The rock didn¡¯t bounce or float, rather it stood still like an immovable mountain. Another step was taken, and then Maximus¡¯ entire body was halfway on the rocky bridge, with all the weight on the rocky bridge it stood as immovable as ever. Maximus kept walking while the ¡®click clack¡¯ noise of the steady bridge echoed in Maximus¡¯ ears. Without another thought and doubt in his mind he rushed over to Iris¡¯ island with a quick but steady pace and arrived at the front door. The same large wooden doors. The house was obscenely similar, as if Maximus was just at his house-mansion moments before and he never left. Knock. Knock. Knock. Three crisp sounds were heard in the empty mansion. The sound echoed giving resemblance to a deathly still island. The sound of footsteps were nowhere to be heard and the house silent as if it was devoid of any human life. Knock. Knock. Knock. Three more knocks rang throughout the mansion, and once again silence greeted Maximus¡¯s company. ¡°Donavan, Can you buy something on the market for me?¡± ¡°What are you looking for sir?¡± ¡°Iris flowers¡± A flash appeared from Maximus¡¯s wrist and the hour hand dissolved into golden runes breaking apart and reforming to show a screen of Iris¡¯ with price tags attached by the side of them. The minute hand dissolved on the watch and then it turned into multiple shades of colours beyond what Maximus cna imagine bringing life into the screen of runes. Maximus scrolled, before picking a bouquet of White Iris Flowers with dark purple streaks that ran alongside their petals.
[White Iris Flowers - Tumitula Variant - 15 Selics]
¡°Confirm the deal¡± ¡°Affirmative¡± The bright screen transformed back into a floating set of runes, then it turned into a complex sphere which rotated at such speeds that Maximus felt like he was eyeing a shining golden ball. The bright light stopped blinding Maximus, revealing a floating bouquet of Iris flowers with purple streaks running alongside the petals. Dots of pink, lime and green were lightly dotted in the base of the petals which resembled the pattern on Iris¡¯ skin. They were bright, quirky and a bit beautiful resembling the traits that stood out most to Maximus. ¡°Donavan, conjure a card and a pen¡± A piece of paper dropped from the heavens alongside a pen, Maximus caught both and began to write, ¡°Dear Iris, I got you these Iris¡¯ because their beauty reminded me of you. I tried knocking on your door today but there was no reply so I presume you must be busy. Once your time is free I hope we can get to know each other better through a coffee at my place. If you¡¯re up for dinner at my place I left my Aydron¡¯s signature on the end of this card. Tap it and I¡¯ll know. Sincerely, Sumixam¡± ¡°Donavan, I need your signature at the bottom of the card¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The watch glowed and then the runes flew onto the paper reforming and rearranging until it became an entirely unique shape in the form of a circle. The patterns inside looked like the machinations of a clock yet they were so intricately beautiful and runic that only Donavan¡¯s signature could look like this. Each Aydron had their own signature that the owner could put on various places. This signature is akin to a phone number and at the same time infinitely more efficient than one. Maximus took the floating bouquet and attached it to the card he just wrote on letting them float in front of Iris¡¯ house. Maximus took a step back and looked towards the other island where Cassiopia was staying at. Maximus snapped his fingers and bellowed, ¡°Meztul 1, I need a bridge between Iris¡¯ island and Cassiepoia¡¯s island¡± The pixie appeared out of thin air and nodded happily whistling into his mouth prompting a bunch of rocks to float above the clouds. They formed a bridge, a pathway straight to Cassie¡¯s island. Maximus stepped on the rocky bridge more confident this time and walked across the bridge Knock. Knock. Knock. Three sounds rang throughout the mansion once again. The door was as bland as the other two mansions. The same wooden door resounded through the hallways then suddenly a high pitched noise came through. ¡°Excuse me¡± The door opened and a small green pixie flew out, ¡°I¡¯m Meztul 3 and I wish to be of service, How may I help you today sir?¡± ¡°Yes, I wish to see the lady of this house¡± ¡°What may I refer to you as sir?¡± ¡°Sumixam¡± ¡°Please wait a moment sir¡± The pixie flew away back inside the house leaving the door open ever so slightly just enough for a pixie to fit through the crack. Maximus waited until he heard the littl sound of click clack, click clack, like claws on the stone floor. The door fully opened and the red bird lady girl ¡®Cassiopeia¡¯ was in the front door. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, please come in¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be delighted to be your guest¡± Cassiepea giggled, ¡°You¡¯re always welcome, make yourself at home. It¡¯s a bit empty but we can work with it¡± Maximus entered the room and saw the same empty painting frames hung and the statue stands stood empty. He walked through the exact same hallway of red carpeted floor and the solid wall of paint. This time, instead of going up the spiraling stairs he followed Cassie into a side room where there was a low-height couchin the european style with a glass pastry table in front of it. On the other side of the pastry table is the same couch facing the other one. Cassie walked over to the couch farthest away and called for meztul 3 whispering something in his ear before motioning for Maximus to take a seat. Maximus decided to be polite and simply comply with her gesture and took a seat on the couch. Cassieopea snapped and a soft hymn of the harp and lyre echoed in the hall giving a celestial feel. The winged beauty crossed her legs, leaned forward and put her fingers on her lips slightly biting them making her look sexier than usual. She suddenly tilted her head in confusion and acted like she was an innocent pure white daffodil with gleaming curiosity in her eyes like she was a small puppy. ¡°How can I help you today Sumi?¡± she inquired with a cheerful smile, a kind of smile that all young boys and girls love to see on their friend. The kind of smile that reminded one of the days that once were, a kind of smile you can only see in a childhood friend. A pure, genuine, hopeful smile. Maximus greeted back with his own kind of smile, a smile he has practiced for years doing trade on the archipelago. A kind of smile unique to himself, a smile which made one think about a joyful boy¡¯s speedy adventures out into the woods. The kind of smile you would see from a young child when they show you a snail that they caught, with dirt on their fingernails and their shirt all muddy. A bright smile shines through it all, excited and expecting the joys in life. His smile was precious and pure, an innocent smile with no trace of ill malice. The smile in the culture of the northern archipelagos was something that transcended simple emotions on the face. It became something that was integrated into the everyday lives of people, the art of the smile was something that was written about and lectured. The culture behind the smile in the northern archipelago of Sicily shows the intent behind a person¡¯s face. When you smile, you are exposing yourself, you are showing what is deep down at the bottom of your heart and it is a greeting as well as a statement. When you see a person smile on the street you can tell just how good their day is, or how bad it went. The smile, in the purest and most genuine form can translate a thousand emotions captured into a single expression. The complexity behind each smile is one that can¡¯t simply be put into words, the expression of the smile is an artform to itself. In the Northern Archipelago of Sicily, there is an art behind the smile. That was at least what Maximus was thinking about at that moment because he practiced the art of every smile when he did business there. A pure, innocent, gentle smile deep from the heart, a genuine one was something that meant that they came with good intentions, as a friend. An equal smile back is a gesture to mean that you¡¯re here for a simple meeting of friends. In Cecilia¡¯s mind though, she used this way of greeting to know if Sumi was someone who knew the culture of the Northern Archipelago. Cecilia had to confirm if Sumi was from the same world as her, as well as the same place as well. She placed all her chips on finding someone who can help her with funds and money right now in the real world as well as future assistance. Sumixam¡¯s smile was perfect, a Xeluthian smile from the island of Xeluth. It was the island to the left of Ayrum, Cecilia¡¯s country and had a variation of the same culture. If someone had to describe the difference between the Ayrum smile and the Xeluth smile, the one can say that the Ayrum smile is filled with hope while the Xeluth smile is filled with a cheerful and bubbly smile. The implicit core differences were hard to notice, but for someone experienced with people like Cecilia she could tell the difference very quickly and began to assume that Sumi was either from Xeluth or a person who has done contact with the western part of the archipelago. Inside, Cecilia was beaming and smiling with joy. She finally got a hit and found someone who can be friends with her in this new, absurd and intimidating world and she hoped to become real genuine friends with Sumi. ¡°I¡¯m wondering if you can help me with some information¡±, Maximus said calmly, but secretly in Maximus¡¯ mind was the most confused and shocked expression he could have. He always knew about the culture of smiling in the northern Sicily archipelago and he learnt about the perfect Xeluthian smile from his previous life but he would have never expected to be using it in another freakin dimension. ¡®I guess she¡¯s from the Siclian Archipelago¡¯ Maximus surmised. ¡°What would you need help in?¡± Cecilia asked, mildly confused. ¡°There¡¯s a friend on the Sicily Archipelago I¡¯m interested in meeting with¡± Cecilia raised her eyebrow in curiosity and her eyes shone a tint of intrigue. ¡°How many friends do you want to meet?¡±