53 The Cosmopolitan Club

Natasha drifted through the shadows as she slowly approached the safehouse in Staten Island. Once she entered the apartment building, she turned corporeal and stood in front of the door.

KNOCK! KNOCK!

She patiently waited for a few moments, then heard a calm voice from inside the apartment. "Come in."

Natasha was taken aback. For some reason, the voice seemed very different to her. But she didn't think much about it as she opened the door and walked in. When her eyes landed on the figure sitting cross-legged on the bed, she was astonished.

The figure seemed to have completely melded with the darkness; to be more precise, Natasha felt like it had become a shadow!

As she was looking at the shadow in disbelief, the shadow was also looking at her, but calmly. The shadow faintly smiled. "It's been a while, Natasha."

Natasha snapped out of her daze as she looked into the eyes of the teenager on the bed. "It's only been two days. Are you alright?" She felt like there was something really wrong with him; he seemed like a completely different person. When she looked into his eyes, she saw the vicissitudes of time. His eyes were as calm as a still lake, like nothing could phase him.

"Two days, huh?" The youth smiled. "I guess…." Although only two days had passed, he had lived an entire life in that time. He then asked, "Are we going to the Cosmopolitan?"

Natasha snapped out of her daze. "Yes, whenever you're ready."

The youth nodded and got up from the bed. He silently walked past Natasha and toward the bathroom to get dressed. But the moment he passed by her, she froze in utter disbelief.

She was completely speechless as she incredulously thought, 'His footsteps… I can't hear them!' And it wasn't just that, she couldn't even hear his breathing or heartbeat, either. And more importantly, she couldn't feel his presence at all!

If she closed her eyes, she would actually feel like there was no one in the room. She was completely stunned by that. After all, she was much stronger than the youth, and that naturally meant she had better senses than him. Yet she couldn't feel anything from him, not unless she used her spiritual sense, that is.

She involuntarily gulped. 'What the hell happened to him!?'

...

Inside the Cosmopolitan Club's lobby, the youth was wearing his usual black hoodie and blue jeans and curiously looking around at the place. Meanwhile, Natasha was speaking to the receptionist.

A few minutes later, she walked over to him and said, "The manager's currently on the mezzanine floor. Let's go."

"After you," the black-haired and black-eyed youth gestured.

The pair took the stairs up to the next floor. Natasha turned to look at the youth and advised, "The manager's a highly respected man. Be mindful of what you speak and how you act."

The youth simply nodded, then curiously asked, "So he's the leader of the Cosmopolitan?"

Natasha patiently explained, "The Cosmopolitan is more than meets the eye. The one in New York isn't the only one. It consists of a chain of clubs situated throughout the world. And each club has its own manager, who holds the greatest authority."

Hearing that, the youth was taken aback. He didn't think there would be more than one Cosmopolitan. It seemed like this organization was a really big deal.

As the two were walking through the mezzanine, in one corner of the floor, a middle-aged man with burgundy hair and brown eyes that was wearing a black suit suddenly turned his head toward the direction of the pair.

More precisely, he was looking at the youth. A few moments later, after observing him for a time, the man's pupils dilated. "This kid…."

He saw Natasha and the kid walking toward him, his eyes never leaving the youth. His presence and way of carrying himself thoroughly surprised the man.

Natasha stood in front of the man and respectfully greeted, "Good evening, Mr. Specter. This is the boy I told you about."

The man was none other than the manager of the New York Cosmopolitan, Daniel Specter!

Daniel completely ignored what Natasha said and continued intently staring at the youth beside her. The black-haired youth also gazed back into his eyes. As the two gazed into the darkness in each other's eyes, they each saw shadows swirling within.

A long time later, Daniel's lips curled up into a faint smile. "After Natasha informed me that a new member of the Clan des Dragons wanted to join the Cosmopolitan, I was skeptical. The Cosmopolitan is a sacred organization, and in order to join it, one must pass a test. Not just anyone can become a member."

The youth and Natasha solemnly listened to Daniel.

"But now that I've seen you in the flesh, I don't think a test is necessary at all," Daniel continued. He rose to his feet and then stood right in front of the youth. "I can feel in every fiber of my being that you… are loved by shadows."

The manager turned around and instructed, "Follow me." He then took out his phone and solemnly said, "Gather the elders. Prepare the ritual ceremony."

The youth deftly followed after Daniel, while Natasha stood frozen in her spot with her mouth agape. She was absolutely stunned, not because Daniel praised the kid, but because he was preparing the ritual ceremony.

Generally, when people applied for membership at the Cosmopolitan, they would have to pass a test given by the manager and sign their names on an ancient tome, which was actually a magical artifact. After that, they would become full-fledged members and be given access to all the services of the organization.

But there was another secret admission into the organization, the criteria for which was known only to the manager and elders of each Cosmopolitan. And that admission was marked by a ritual ceremony!

That was why Natasha was so shocked. She didn't know what the manager had seen in the youth to allow him to get the secret membership straight away.

The only difference between the normal membership and this secret one was that the latter allowed a person to move up in the ranks of the Cosmopolitan. And the reason that was so alluring in the first place was that the Cosmopolitan had a status and power that was much more than the Clan des Dragons!

...

Inside a large cavern in the lowest underground level of the Cosmopolitan, there was a large statue made completely of gray stone. The statue was of a lady wearing a gown. Her face couldn't be seen, however, as more than half of it was covered in a veil.

The black-haired youth looked at it and couldn't help but feel reverent for some reason. "Who's she?"

Daniel who was standing beside him, devoutly said, "She's the Mistress of the Night, the Lady of Secrecy and Concealment, the Goddess of Eternal Darkness."

The youth's eyes widened. "The gods… are real!?"

"Very much so," Daniel faintly smiled. "The supernatural exists, and so do gods."