The Innkeeper

Lex had plans. He was going to return to the universe and find a way to face his stalker. He was beaten up pretty badly by the stalker, and so he planned to seek revenge, and was looking forward to sharing his own growth with him. Then he was going to go back to the Midnight Inn and thoroughly spoil Almira, and maybe take some time to relax.

Realistically speaking, he was aware that he might encounter some issues here and there, so he was ready to face some obstacles. He was ready for the universe to have descended into absolute chaos. He was... he was also ready for the fact that he may have been too late.

Hoping for the best was one thing, but he did not deny himself from considering that he had taken too long, and that his stalker had managed to get his hands on Lex’s system. He was ready to face a reality wherein the Midnight Inn was...

Thus when he returned, and one of the first things he sensed was the aura of Z’s blood, an overwhelming, all encompassing rage filled his very being, but he was no longer the inexperienced 25 year old that he used to be. Rage, no matter how severe, did not blind him, nor did it control him.

On the contrary, it provided him with a level of clarity that a calm mind just could not achieve. Everything of value became so much easier to distinguish from everything else that normally felt significant, but was merely a nice addon. Almost immediately, all of his priorities became clear.

From the moment he decided on the fake realm design inside his necklace, and the system that governed it, he had a very set and specific idea of how he wanted it to work. Now, that didn’t matter. It just needed to work, however that may be.

When he entered the Dream realm, the Dream tavern brought with it a tiny piece of space with it, forcefully attaching that to the laws of the realm while retaining its own set of rules. Why did Lex need to pull anyone inside his necklace, and increase the burden on the necklace itself, when he could just bring that fake realm outside and impose it upon wherever he was?

He traced the aura of Z’s blood and found the person carrying it. Without hesitation, he summoned the fake realm from within the necklace, and superimposed it upon the Joro realm. Instead of replacing the realm itself, it became like a filter upon that reality, turning that section of the Joro realm into his personal realm - where his whim and will were law!

Yet he did not attack just yet. He did not vent his anger, for the clarity brought about by his rage was so much more potent than even his Flow state. Instead, he investigated. He needed to know if the Midnight Inn still existed. He needed to know if his home had been destroyed. He needed to know... if this was his fault.

Thus, the moment he arrived, he asked a question. Of course, Lex was not really relying on their answer to learn the truth. Instead, as he stood there, his gaze looked not at the people in front of him, but at their karma, at their fortunes, and even through their spirits. Their cooperation was entirely unnecessary for his interrogation.

The group of Celestials looked up at Lex, unquestionable, unfathomable power radiating from his very being, and knew that they had run into trouble. So far, despite kidnapping Z from the Inn, the Humanoid Alliance hadn’t actually faced any fallout directly from the Inn. Yes, their cooperation had been temporarily disrupted, but that was all.

Who knew that the first to face some kind of repercussion would be them? Little did this group know the actions Velma had already taken.

"We are members of the Humanoid Alliance," the human spoke after gathering up his courage. "How dare you-"

The human did not get the opportunity to complete his words, for Lex had already seen through the truth. The Midnight Inn was fine. It had not been destroyed - the alliance had merely broken faith with the Inn.

With that weight off his shoulders, Lex gave himself a fraction of a moment to decide his next steps. He had to be careful not to offend anyone, for the Inn couldn’t afford any enemies. Or rather, the Inn had been thoroughly offended, and so he could not afford to take a step back, lest anyone assume the Inn was actually weak.

Thus, when he took a step forward to attack, Lex was not venting his anger. Not at all. It was a strategic move. This was completely... strategic!

The Celestial Immortal human could not complete his words because Lex appeared in front of him and clamped his mouth shut with a single hand, crushing not just his face, but his entire body as he did, leaving only the human’s soul trapped within Lex’s hand.

"How dare I?" Lex repeated slowly, calmly, without the slightest hint of any loss of control. "A mere Humanoid Alliance - not even your patron cares to look after you. I gave you a single opportunity to explain yourselves. How dare you waste it by trying to threaten me?"

Despite the calm tone, Lex’s words rang louder than thunder. The other human Celestial Immortals retreated, trying to build some distance between themselves and Lex, as futile as it seemed considering how slow they moved.

River and Pearl felt their comprehension of reality shatter as they could not wrap their heads around what they were witnessing.

Yet it was not them, but the member of the Celestial race who was most strongly affected by Lex’s words, and not just because his voice itself seemed to be a spiritual attack. What had he said about the patron of the alliance? Why had he treated the entire alliance as insignificant? Could he really know the truth behind certain matters?

None of that mattered at the moment, though. He needed to quickly decide - was he going to try to save those humans, or should he escape and save himself.

No sooner had he thought about saving the humans that Lex turned his gaze towards the Celestial, and he found himself frozen still.

"Now I will give you one opportunity. Convince me that the alliance has done everything in its power to right this wrong, or else you might discover that you all are just as disposable to the alliance as you think Z is to the Inn."

The rain was slowly turning into a storm, for with each passing moment, Lex was devouring the information inside the soul of the human in his hands, getting up to date with everything that had happened in his absence.

The other humans, finally freed from the devastating mental pressure they felt while Lex looked at them, regained enough of their mental faculties to call for help, entirely unaware that the only reason they were able to do that at all... was because Lex wanted them to bring his prey to him. It would be so much easier to deal with them if they came to him themselves.

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