The Innkeeper

"Getting directly into the thick of things, I like it," said the doppelganger-Lex with a nod. "Although, I suppose it’s completely natural to be curious about the latest death threat on one’s life. You sir, are behaving completely as one normally should."

Real-Lex stared at his doppelganger, unsure of how to respond to that statement.

"Uh, thank... you?" he said awkwardly, to which his doppelganger simply nodded.

"Excuse me if my conversational etiquette isn’t what it used to be," said the doppelganger as he began leading Lex deeper into the library. "I’ve been quite alone for many years now, and the only conversations I’ve encountered are the ones from my books. But I have no way of gauging whether those are even coherent, or appropriate talking patterns in this day and age."

Made sense, at least to real-Lex.

They walked into an open area of the library with a large table and a coffee bar. Doppelganger-Lex slipped behind a coffee machine and began to brew some locally grown galactic super coffee - or at least that’s what Lex decided to call it after smelling it.

"Due to the extensive rules you laid down, I’ve been careful to avoid watching you during your specifically decided private moments. But, as it turned out, meeting your parents didn’t count as one of those according to the guidelines, as well as the spirit of the agreement.

"Regardless, I remember you had a small conversation with your mother about Dao Bodies - do you remember? I am talking about the conversation where she told you that a Dao Body’s tribulation happens once every thousand years. You remember it now?"

Real-Lex nodded, showing no expression about whether the conversation bothered him or not.

"Are you saying I’m about to face a Dao Body tribulation? It’s not been anywhere close to a thousand years since I started," said Lex dismissively.

The doppelganger-Lex nodded to agree, but with an incredibly exasperated expression on his face.

"Do you know that I am exceptionally adept at the laws of time, but the law of time in this universe is exceedingly irritating at times. The ruling law of this universe is Chronos - meaning linear time. That in itself is quite irritating for me, but what’s happened with you is yet another reason I don’t like it.

"A common belief dictates that if a person has a clone, and they both experience the same amount of time, that should not double their age. Technically, they have been alive the same amount of time, even if the clone means they experience that same time twice. The name linear time also insinuates such a thing.

"Unfortunately, the reality of the situation is quite different. A clone means that the amount of time you’re being exposed to, for a set unit of time, is actually doubled since both clones are independently experiencing linear time. Now, since my book is sealed inside your forehead, and your body is actually your soul, my book is present in everyone of your clones.

"That means you, Jack, and the necklace are all experiencing time individually, but according to the universe the amount of time you’re experiencing has tripled. By my estimate, the time you’ve endured is nowhere near a thousand years even when tripled.

"Although we have to take note that due to various different flows of time, the accumulated amount of time experienced in a set unit of time according to a Mature realm is not always tripled, but may in fact be more! Anyway, at some point, you crossed a threshold to experience a Dao Body tribulation.

"I don’t know why the time period you have between Dao body tribulations is shorter than regular, but that’s the case. However, since a part of you was inside the Gilded Hollow, the Dao Body tribulation was being blocked from happening. Unfortunately, now that you’re out, that’s no longer the case.

"Thus, the moment you leave this place, you will trigger the Dao Body tribulation. As for what will happen when that occurs, I cannot say. However, this Dao Body tribulation... is a problem."

Lex heard everything, but at the same time he blanked out, unable to process what the doppelganger was saying. He almost developed a heart demon!

He was experiencing time at a tripled rate? But... he was only 26. No, how could this happen? He was... just turned 26. He couldn’t be older. The doppelganger must be mistaken. No wait, the universe was the one that decided he was ready for the test. The universe must be mistaken! These kinds of things can only be expected from an immature, incomplete universe. Yes, that’s it.

The build up to the Heart Demon disappeared.

Now that he finally recovered from the mental shock of what he heard, he could focus on the rest of what the doppelganger said.

"A Dao Body tribulation? You think that thing will kill me?" Lex asked, looking at his doppelganger.

The other Lex puffed his pipe a bit before answering, as if to calm his nerves.

"Honestly, I don’t know. It should, at the very least, put you out of commission for a while even if it doesn’t kill you. But even that’s not the point. A normal Dao Body tribulation can last for years, and you don’t have that kind of time. You see, the time for you to keep your end of your bargain is coming up."

Lex raised an eyebrow, as if that in itself was enough to express his question.

"Don’t worry about it - the task is something you’re completely capable of doing, otherwise you would not have agreed to it. The problem is, if the tribulation begins, you’ll be occupied for months, and you’ll miss the build up to the Nexus event. I’m sure you have your own plans for that as well. So it’s in our best interest to do something about it."

Lex furrowed his brows, considering everything his doppelganger told him. To be honest, he wasn’t sure how much he trusted this handsome fellow, but he was used to it.

Lex had an uncanny habit of getting involved with people far beyond his level. Whether it was Ballom, Nuwa, Eclipse, Romulus, Wu Kong or any of the other Dao Lords he encountered regularly, any one of them held his entire fate in their hands. He could not resist at all, so he didn’t bother with it either.

Instead, he just chose to believe whatever the doppelganger told him, regardless of how likely he thought it actually was.

"I take it that you have some kind of plan for this," said real-Lex as he waited for the doppelganger to respond. This was a very serious matter, for he really did have plans leading up to the Nexus event.

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