Chapter 22- An Abrupt Meeting

-Week 5, Day 30/Monday, Mayort City-

-Time: 6:21 P.M.-

In the rather cramped dorm room he resided in, Nivril held onto the two intruders he found snooping around. This however was not enough to deal with the situation as he still had to find out who sent them there, though he already had a hunch, it was not enough, and he needed proper confirmation.

(So, what now?… I can't risk one of them escaping and reporting to their boss, but catching them both limited me on what I can do. I'm not sure if I should kill any of them since the information I could get from any of them is unknown. The main problem at hand is my mobility.

(I could try to knock them out, but how do I know I can do it before they off themselves?… Well, as an energy cultivator, and a body cultivator, I can send a charge of either pure energy or life energy through their bodies to disrupt their own flow of energy and incapacitate them… It can even kill if used appropriately…

(It's best if I do it using life energy though, as it seems they have defenses against pure energy if I can't detect them with my energy sense.) Nivril concluded after reflecting on the situation.

The woman dressed in black was the one struggling the most and seemed to be better at her function than the more reactive man, Nivril decided it would be best to knock her out first and start the interrogation with him.

Since he could restrain them this easily, he was not worried about dealing with them head-on, only cautious of their possible drastic measures.

Having that in mind, he focused the life energy on his body, and he could feel it's vibrant and wild strong nature, different from the more structured and calm pure energy.

That however didn't stop him from reigning it in, and with a command, he sent a pulse of his life energy through the female spy's body, causing her to pulsate and convulse before passing out.

(Gotcha!) Nivril smiled seeing it work, then after confirming for sure that she was out cold, he let go of her and turned to the male spy.

First, he reached out to the black mask to see who exactly was spying on him since it would be easier to read the spy, when he interrogated the man, without a mask covering his face.

Taking advantage of Nivril's underestimation of him, the masked man put him in an arm lock by utilizing his proper positioning for it.

The masked spy's agility surprised Nivril, who had just gotten ahold of the man's mask.

(Sh*t! I need to act quickly… how do you break an armlock again?) Nivril questioned as the masked man's legs pressed against his neck and chest.

Not having too much of a choice, Nivril decided to just brute force and pulled his locked arm in, while his free arm pulled the man's mask and some hair.

Using this moment, the masked man let one of his arms go off restraining Nivril's locked arm, which was freeing itself with pure brute force.

That hand went to get his hidden weapon and he pulled out a fully black dagger, which he immediately used to stab Nivril without a second thought, going in for the precise nerve that would loosen the young man's grip on him.

Despite Nivril's body cultivation and bloodline-reinforced body, the dagger went in like a hot knife on butter, taking rapid effect and allowing him to jump off to disengage.

As a result of Nivril's free hand still holding onto the spy's mask, it ripped off the black suit as the man jumped off, revealing his face, and for a second, both men just looked at each other.

"Raylid?… How?…" Nivril was left confused by this situation.

"F*ck!… I'm sorry… I'll come back for you. " Raylid turned to the unconscious woman on the ground next to Nivril and uttered these words with a low breath.

Then turned to face a Nivril before saying. "You're one hell of an unlucky bastard. Just know things won't stay so calm for you."

As he finished speaking and moved his hands to get something, Nivril snapped out of the daze. The first thing he did was to go in and bring his rear leg forward to feign a kick, then snapped his leg back while throwing a cross, resulting in a Superman punch right in Raylid's face, sending him flying and causing him to hit the wall with a bloody nose.

Raylid got up quickly and started reaching for his hidden weapons again.

Seeing this, Nivril grabbed the unconscious woman to use as a meat shield against any more black daggers Raylid might have.

Contrary to what Nivril thought, he instead pulled out some powder bag and slammed it on the ground, creating a smoke-dark violent cloud with a deep black aura that easily spread throughout the room.

The wary Nivril held onto the woman and readied himself for an attack paying attention to his surroundings as it seemed like the powder was affecting his extrasensory senses, making him unable to detect Raylid's energy signature even for life energy.

However, as the smoke cloud dissipated there was nobody there aside from him and the unconscious woman.

This confused Nivril, who started feeling tipsy and didn't let go of the woman then moved towards his quarterstaff, getting it to be armed just in case…

But it never came. Some minutes passed and nothing.

All that happened was this feeling of weight, dizziness, and tiredness started creeping in, and Nivril found himself falling into it.

(That smoke… did it have poison?!… damnit! Of course, I should not have inhaled that! But I let my panic of getting my senses dulled distract me and cloud my judgment!) Nivril concluded as he felt weaker and weaker by the second.

(Now's not the time to worry about that... I need to restrain this woman somehow… and I should call Sarah… no, her name is Sasha… my head!…) Nivril was trying his best to stay awake but whatever that smoke cloud was, it was very potent.

It was at that time, that as if to respond to its master, the quarterstaff grew out of the coiling dragon adorning it like a snake rising.

(This! It better work!…) Without thinking too much about it, Nivril commanded the quarterstaff and made it coil around the unconscious female spy's body, like a snake or even rope.

Leaving that as is, since his mind was wavering, Nivril walked toward his phone, before falling to the ground, instead crawling there.

Reaching his phone, Nivril made a call, forcing his mind to stay conscious despite it being far from up to it.

[Hi! Hubby! I was just getting some juniors who tried to rob and assault me to work for me. It seems I could beat up some drug cartel kid and take his place! I was just about to call you, so would could bloodbath together.]

"Come… Now… Help…" Those were the last three words out of Nivril's mouth as his streak of going unconscious continued.

____________________________________________

-???-

In a dark place with not a sherd of light in sight, there was nothing but Nivril himself.

This decrepit lonely place, where only one with such a mind as his would be. This place, a reflection in the mirror. See? That's you at your weakest. It all screams to him.

"Me?… Where am I?… The violet smoke... Am I dead again?" Nivril asked himself as he got up only to once again creep in darkness.

"… It seems we meet again, old friend… hello darkness." Trying to calm himself by making light of the situation, he tried to find something anything in there, but there was nothing.

"A̶̛̫̣̮̖̝͙͇̯̲̞͈͇̹̬̠͇̼̥̹̩̬͍͈̯̩͇̫̹̎̏̄̀̍͝͠ͅr̸̨̡̛̼̭͍̯̯͈̘͇͙̟̼̟̼͍̥̫̠̘͙͓͓̠͋̓̓̈́̾̄̉̎͂̔̍̆̉̔̌̓͑̀͐͌̊̑̏̑̋̎̑̽͑̌̀͘̕͘͝͝͝͝ͅȩ̶̢̫̯͎͔̮̿̓͗̍̋̀̾̓͌̄̋̒̀̄̈́͑̐̄͌͒̊͗̕̚͠ ̸̡̢̛͚̺̬͎̮͍̯͉̯̺̯̖͎̱̝̪̘̞̱̞̺̜̿͒͆́͆̽̎͋̓̈́̉̉̾̅̓͂̆̐͗̒̿͑̏̌̅͂̂͌̔̽͌̑̃̕̚̕̚͜͝͝͝ͅÿ̴̨̧̝̺̠͚̣̯͇̝͇̺͈͔̪̳̩͎̟̦̞͍̦̟̺͗̌̓̈͐͆̀̈̓̆̈̍̏̈́̀̃̈̆̅͊͒͘̕͝͠͠͝ǫ̶̛͙͓̘̙̹͓͔̤̬̼̰̝̝͍̼͕̻̜̫̟̝͇͖̖͈͉͔̠͗̏̿͐͜ͅù̴̧̢̱̦̗̰̗̮̝͉̱̟̬̤͎͍͍͕͇̼̦̯̺̺͔̩̦̹̳̏̏̿̊̈͌̇̎̿̌̍̂͂͐̀͛̉̃̽̓̎͊͊̚͜͝͝͝ ̴̡̧̧̛̯̘̣̱̳̠̻̦̠͖̟̥͇̯̙̬͚̞̭̫̖̭̱͈͖̟̯̩͆̒̾̇̆̀̑̎͐͋͗͛́̀̓̾͌̀̇̐̈̍̚͜͝͝l̶̡̢͇̜̖̥̩͍̙͙̞̞͓̮̤͔̼̪̫̟̳̲̼̼͇̼͇̪̩̦̯͙̓̌͒͗͌̆̈́̆̎̋͊̋̔̒̽̆̃̅͛̇́̃̚͝͠͝͝͝ơ̶̧̡̨̨̫̺̬̰̞͔̩̹̣͉̗͙͓̗̖̤̤̈́̈̀͐̆͐̈̅̓̎̿̎͑̈̈́͂͑̎̑͂͌̀̓̇̑͐̇̍͂͋͐̀̚̕͘͜͝͝s̸̝͎̲̫̖̩̹͋̌̈́̏̉̊̈̅̀́͑͂̄̓̌̈́̔̍̽̈́̿̽͌̓͒̀̾̉̎̃͗̕͘̚͝ţ̸͑͋̈́́͒̍̍̂͋͂̋̒̄̌̐̃͑̈́͑̀̽̊̎̑̇̒̂̂͂͐͂̚̕͝͠?̵̧̨̨̛͖̹͉̩̰̪̣̮̪͎̮̹̲̼̻͕̳̼̥͇͇̦̂̓͗̔͒͆̐̉̌̍̅̋͋̃̈̂̓̏̏̈́̃̔̋̌͂̽͒̃̕͜͝"Blending into the seeming emptiness of the place, there was an entity with a rather unusual look.

Everything was breaking and from the nothing came something, something that Nivril could not understand, but there it was standing in front of him, despite not being there a second ago.

(Who or what is this?) Nivril narrowed his eyes becoming even more wary of his situation.

There it was, a being with a humanoid figure and a distorted look as if space was melding onto itself. Covered in odd clocks everywhere like some sort of spectacle of digital marvel, it was unreal. This being with white hairs and a black oily hat with clocks on it, had floating clocks around. The creature had one eye covered by hair and its hat, while the exposed eye reminded Nivril of the moon.

The clothes were oily and in a way seemed to be alive, full of holes reminiscent of cogs.

Finally, there was the face, one that could be seen as a cross between a mime and a clown, maybe only one, possibly neither. Whatever the case, this being had a certain charm just from this that could not be ignored. It would not be a surprise if one were to think this was a dream or a nightmare, even some sort of illusion, that was just the nature of such an entity.

(Image here)

"…" Nivril didn't answer simply slowly stepping back with his guard up.

"Ǫ̸̛͖̝̫̝̖̫̙̫̘͖̹̤̦̤̰̻̺̆͆̇̿̂̍̏͂͒̃̂́̀͘h̶̡̯̳̲̭͚̠̖̫͇̺̭̙̼̠̫̙̰̩̙͇̤̩͓̳̖̮̘̲̥̻͚͖̭̖̮̹͉͇̖̐̓̉͂̽͛̇͂̒̓̏́́̈́̈́̀͐̌̐͝ͅ,̸̧̧̩͍̖͚͇̺̣̮̙͖̤̱̠͛̋͝ͅ ̸̨̢̨̧̛̜̹̘͓͍̜̪̗̘͓̹̥̳̯̹̼̯̟̟͔̜̮͈͕̭͕̮͈̤͇̾́̄̒́̾̌͗̆͒̋̿̅̈́͒̌͂̆̑͂̓̍̚͘̚͜͝ͅͅa̵̢̡̛̯̯̺̪̭͓̘̟̰̫̞̺̹͎̺̥̓̀̾̎̌͌̽̂̈́̍̀̑̂̓͂͗̉̕͘͘̚͜͝͝p̷̢̧̡̧̨̨͍̥̻̗̹͙͉͈͇̥͍̥̜͉̤̲͎̞͇̞͕̮͈͍̳̥̦̫̻̞͖̣͂̐̾̇͌́͊ͅͅo̴̡͓̗͎͙͕̟̭̗̣̩̬͈͖̺̻̫͈̅͌̓̀̅͂̉̀̅̐̿̌͛̊͂̒̾̀͐̀̎̿̀̈́̕̕ͅͅl̶̡̙̗̲͔̻̭̮̼͙̣͈̹̹̻̬̼̈́̀̒̎̓͛͑́͆̅̊̈́̇̏̍͐̂̌̆̄̀̒̒͒͂̽̎͜͝͝͠o̷̢̨̨̱͙̙͚͙͉̘̺̦̹̟̻̳̳͕̞̭̩͖̩͕̥̳̪͉͚̤̤̍́̋̊̈́̑̓̋̓̀͜͝g̴̛͔̼͔̫͓̰͔̺̤̬͚̠̳̟̐̓̇͗̎̉͑̅͑̉̓͐̆͐͌̈̓͛͆̀̀͐̉́̏̔̅̔̈́̕͘̕͘̚͘͠͝͝į̷̧̨̭̺̱̪̥̗̳̭̜̫̮̪͉̞̥̻̬̭̮͙̗̗͓̹͔̹̗̬̰̞̿̀̌͂̓̿͛̎̓̈́͒́̂̃̈̑̏̕̚̕͜͜͝͠͠ͅe̵̡̢̛̺̱̫̬͙͇̤͖̟̲̰͓̣̹̥̟͕̖̞͉̥̫̳̰̻̊̌͒̀̏̀̈́̅͗̿̉̾̐̐̔̋̓͐̂̀̑̈́̆̄͌͘̕̚̕͜͜͜͝͠ͅs̸̛͚̀͛̓͂͐̉̔̎͌̂͌͌̆͛̾́́̑̈̓̓̌̐͛̎͘͝͝͝…̷̨̧͉̲̺̪̠̩͇̩̩̗̹̣̭̻͇͛̔̋̂̈́̇̌̃́̿̋͐̑͂̊́̾͌́̂̐͗͒̕ͅ ̸̢̡̺̤̹̙͔̻̫͔̪͎͓̮̘͎̩̣̌̈́̄̑̃̀̽̐̉̅̀͑̈́̃̔́̕͠͝" The creature said something else and every word carried some weight to it as if the words themselves wanted to drill into Nivril's mind and kill him or break him.

However, the being knocked on its own head and let out a giggle before speaking once more.

"My mistake, I forgot you were a human mortal for a second." The being looked at Nivril with a small smile, its voice echoing in a distorted manner.

"… where am I and who are you?" Nivril questioned.

"… most beings tend to introduce themselves before asking about others… Oh well, that won't matter anyway. I'm best known as the mad hatter, and you are in a nightmare. You're actually quite lucky I answered your call before something else did." The being touched its cheek and responded looking quite aloof, as it leaned toward Nivril.

"… nightmare?… but this feels real…" Nivril felt weird as he was conscious of himself and the things around him, but it still came across as real, so he turned around to try and find something once again being met with nothing except the being.

"It isn't... Well… that depends on how you define reality and unreality. To you, what separates these two?" The being was always in front of Nivril as it spoke with him.

"Not now… is there a way I can leave this place and go back to where I was?!" Nivril ignored the being's question and asked one of his own grabbing the being by its shoulders, the urgency of his return overturning all else.

"There is. I've answered 4 of your questions, and you've answered none of mine. I consider this an unfair exchange, so do refrain from asking me anymore. Now, would you like to go for some tea?" The being expressed unfazed by Nivril's worries and hurry.

"… I need to leave as fast as possible. What is the price of your help?" Nivril asked.

"No more questions until you have answered mine, you're rude." The being crossed its arms looking at Nivril with its eye narrowed.

"… that… I'm Nivril. There is nothing aside from perception separating the real from the unreal. Unfortunately right now is not a good time to go for some tea, as you put it." Nivril quickly answered the questions he had chosen to ignore before.

"How odd. I thought most mortals… especially humans perceived the unreal as nothing more than an elaborate lie." The being began looking Nivril up and down all around leaving his vision for the first time since it appeared.

"Maybe, but right now I'm more worried about getting out of here. So, what do you want in exchange for helping me escape?" Nivril rolled his eyes and sighed trying to ignore the unnecessary antics of this strange creature he just met.

(I would rather not have to deal with such an unknown and most likely dangerous creature, but right now, I have no choice. All I can do is be ready for betrayal and pay attention to its movements.) Nivril concluded as he tried to track the creature's movements as discretely as possible.

"A tea party! You're going to be my first guest in a long time. So even though you're a rude uneducated savage, it's fine, I'll make an exception for the sake of my business." The being said with a small smile.

At that time part of Nivril wanted to attack the creature right in front of him, but that was something he could not allow himself to do, after all, he needed this being.

"Business?… forget that, just do it, I'll partake in your tea party." Nivril responded after the insult thrown at him made him wince, so he forced a smile as he did.

"Yeah, I run a tea shop, but business has been a little weak in this adjacent reality. Not much could be expected of nightmares anyway. Now, let us go along with the tea party." The being looked at him with expectant eyes and then they were both sitting at a round table with only two seats and a whole tea pink and white set on it.

"…" Nivril narrowed his eyes looking at the creature before him, not sure of what to say, and even though some of its words intrigued him, he couldn't dwell on it and decided to just get through this.

"So… Mister, Nivril… how have things been since you regressed?" The being calmly asked as it began to pour tea into his cup.

"What?" Nivril reflexively let out as he didn't expect anyone to ever bring that up.

"Your voyage through time was quite troublesome for everyone else, and I was just wondering if it was at least worth it for you… so far that is." Having served Nivril, the being moved to itself, and poured tea on its own cup.

"Who are you!?" Nivril repeated this question but much more warry this time.

"As I told you before, I'm most well known as the Mad Hatter. Now unless we're going back to your impoliteness, I would rather you answered me. Also, are you not drinking your tea? You can tell me if not to your liking, I've got quite the selection of tea." The Mad Hatter pressed with a forced smile as it began calmly sipping on the tea.

"…" Nivril couldn't put himself to answer and instead he sipped on his tea.

It was hot and it lightly burned his tongue despite his strong body, after all, it was not there. The taste was another surprise, not only was it heavy to drink like strong alcohol, but it was sweet with a tinge of salty with an oily texture to it, and the main flavor of peach, coffee and chocolate. Something so unusual almost made Nivril spit it all on the creature's face, but he bared with it and swallowed.

"This tea is… different… quite unique. It's a peach chocolate coffee tea if I'm not mistaken. Never could I have imagined such a mix…" Nivril contained his thoughts with a small smile and then moved on, as he forced himself to take another sip.

"No, this one is made with my bodily oil. I'm glad you liked it." The Mad Hatter expressed with a wide smile and a mischievous look.

*Spit!*

Letting all the tea in his mouth out on the Mad Hatter's face, Nivril just looked at this being with narrowed eyes as if to ask "Why?!".

"Hehehehe, that's quite the reaction, but don't worry it's good for you. If I were you, I would drink as much of it as I can. Anyway, I'm still waiting for your answer before we can address a few more serious matters regarding the judgment of your transgression." The Mad Hatter explained after giggling at his reaction.