Chapter 8- Back To Reality

"Mmm…" Malice's eyes slowly parted open as he felt a shiver run down his spine. His eyes felt really heavy and his body was very sluggish. Even though the pain from yesterday's beating was long gone, the residue was still there.

Apparently the white chamber can heal the body, but it can't recover the body's energy with it. That was something Malice had to realize the hard way.

"Ugh… So tired…" He murmured as he cowered deeper into the cardboard box. A part of him wanted to continue sleeping for god knows how long. But, a bigger part was pushing for him to wake up and go get some food.

He hadn't had a proper meal in almost two days and so his body was very low on energy. 'Goddamit! Why did I ask for a cup of water when I could've asked for a hearty meal? I'm so stupid!' Cursing the living hell out of his brain and stomach, he finally gathered enough power to leave his not-so-comfortable bed.

The world outside was tainted with a heavy color of white. The streets were now akin to a beautiful snowy carpet, adding a particular contrast of colors to the grim, sickening neon lights of this city.

Yesterday's snow was really heavy, way heavier than usual. Even though it only lasted a few hours, Malice's legs were now buried up to the knees in snow. He didn't know how he was able to sleep through that.

"Oh well, my cardboard box wasn't buried at least." He murmured as he rubbed his messy hair.

After making sure that it was still intact, he finally turned around and started walking out of the small alley with tired steps. Since it was early in the morning, the slums were rather quiet. Probably because most slum dwellers sleep at this time after spending the entire night doing god knows what.

This time was, for better or worse, the most peaceful in Malice's entire day. The synthetic, industrial air mixed with the musky freshness of the morning. The cold wind, and the echoing noises of the cars in the distance, it was as calm as it gets in this district of the city.

'I can finally get some food. What should I buy?' He asked himself as he walked through the tight alleys until he emerged on the main street. People were already on their way to their long, underpaid shifts. Their looks were far from pleasant, but Malice could see that a part of them was glad they even had a job to feed themselves and their families.

The richer slum dwellers would commute to their work through the intricate subway system that was built underground. The Neo-Metros of the city were one of its highlights as they could bring you from one corner of the city to another corner in a few minutes. A feat that would take hours to achieve on foot.

Crossing the street, Malice headed straight to the first place that came to his mind. On the other corner of the block was a small restaurant. A neon, broken sign with a few letters missing was hanging over the two doors of the building. It said 'Cyberbite Bistro'.

Some customers could be seen walking in and out every now and then but generally, the place was empty around the early morning hours. People would rather preserve their money for lunch rather than breakfast. Only well-enough folks even think about breakfast. It was the meal of the fortunate.

Opening the door, Malice walked inside. The scene he was met with was very familiar. The cozy, albeit old place felt like home, as far as a diner could be considered a home. The walls, adorned with flickering neon signs and graffiti art, exude a vibrant yet weathered ambiance. Rustic metal tables and mismatched chairs were scattered across the linoleum floor, each bearing a scar of countless meals and conversations.

The ceiling was adorned with exposed pipes and hanging fluorescent lights, casting a dim but comforting glow over the entire place. Then, Malice's nose was hit with the aroma of the sizzling food mingled with the scent of synthetic coffee in the air.

Stopping there for a second, he looked around him. Some customers stopped to look at him curiously before they returned to their meals, unbothered by his presence. So, Malice walked inside and headed straight to the counter to order.

Behind it, an older woman was busy preparing all kinds of meals for the customers. She had a cigarette in her mouth that was puffing smoke every now and then.

At that point, the woman seemed to notice his presence as she turned around. "If it isn't Mal. Whatchu doin' here, huh?!" She asked as she pulled the cigarette out of her mouth.

"Breakfast…" He replied.

"Tsk, tsk, I don't have a charity here, kid. Since when do you come here for brea-"

"I have some money." He replied. Even though the woman's words were rude, he was already way too familiar with her antics to even care. After saying that, Malice pulled out two gold coins and put them on the table.

The woman stared at the two coins with a surprised look on her face before she picked them up and inspected them with her eyes. After that, she put one of the coins between her teeth and bit it once.

"You hit it big, huh…" She murmured to herself.

"..." Malice waited patiently for her to finish.

After that, the woman looked at him with a deadpan expression. "The usual?"

"Yeah…" Malice said before he turned around and walked to the nearest table and sat down.

Waiting, he casually listened to the conversations the other were having around him. Most of them were just pointless banter, bad jokes, and a lot of complaining. But, in rare cases, some conversations provide interesting information and some insight about what was happening in the world that Malice wasn't aware of.

It was his convenient way of receiving news without the need to buy holographic newspapers daily.

Some time passed while he casually fiddled with his fingers. That's when he heard the door to the restaurant open and a man walked inside. Looking up disinterestedly, Malice saw a hooded figure passing by him. The man was wearing an old cloak that covered his entire body.

Many stopped their food to look at the man. In an instant, the entire room became silent, and a solemn atmosphere loomed over.

Malice didn't seem perturbed as he continued fiddling with his fingers. 'He cannot be any more obvious, can he?' He asked himself. 'What is a Marked Noble doing here?' 

Even though there didn't seem to be any indication of the man's identity, everyone in that place already knew that he was a Marked Noble from a few simple details. The first thing was his smell, there was a subtle whiff of perfume on him which would stand out in the foul, stenchy atmosphere of the slums.

The second, arguably more important detail was the way he walked. His posture was upright, and he was walking with great confidence. A typical trait found in Marked Nobles since most of them were arrogant pieces of scum.

But, what weirded Malice out, was the fact that a noble had come to the slums. It was extremely rare to see one here. 

Sitting down, the man seemed unaware that he roused everyone's attention. The naked hostility in their eyes was as clear as day. A few seconds, later, another man stood up and casually left the diner.

The owner of the diner noticed that and stopped preparing food before she approached him. 

"How can we help you today?" She asked.

The man didn't look up as he said. "A cup of coffee, two and a half cubes of sugar." Saying that, the man pulled out a golden pouch from his pocket and slowly pulled out a gold coin.

"... Coming right up!"

After that, she walked away and left him alone. Malice's eyes followed the pouch with a sharp glint.

'That soul pouch is choke full… He is filthy rich!' He thought to himself as an idea started forming in his head. 'You should've never come here. You are somewhere where you don't belong.' He mused as if he was talking to the man.

It was indeed a dangerous place for a Marked Noble to be here since they could easily get robbed. Even with their superpowers, the people of the slums had a quick hand that could easily trick most of the nobles.

But, he wasn't going to tell him that. A mistake is a mistake, after all.

***

An hour or so passed, during which, Malice ate his food which consisted of some sweet bread and orange juice. But, he couldn't fully enjoy the well-earned meal as his focus was still on the Marked Noble.

It seemed that everyone else had the same thought as he did. But, he didn't care. He already knew what he was going to do. These people can't hold a candle against him when it comes to theft.

'Is he not going to leave? He already finished his coffee a while ago.' Malice mused. The man was simply sitting there, not moving at all. He didn't seem to have any intention of leaving. 'Calm down, Malice. Patience is key. He will leave at some point and when he does, I will move too.'

With that in mind, Malice continued waiting. Minutes passed and the clock hit two hours. The more he waited, the more he grew frustrated. Eventually, he started considering the idea of simply leaving.

It didn't seem worth it to wait many hours just to get a few gold coins and a rough beating. Especially when Malice didn't have to go through that ever again in the future. But, then again, he didn't know when his Soul Core would form so he needed money to maintain his body and also to save it for when he might need that money.

As he was thinking about his dilemma, the man suddenly stood up and started walking to the door.

'He's moving!' Looking up, Malice waited.

"Thanks for the coffee, ma'am." The man said as he finally left the bistro.

Malice waited a few moments after that before he also exited the diner. Looking around him, he saw the man walking a good distance away from him. 

So, he started following him. With years of experience under his sleeve, the boy had mastered the art of blending with his background. He could easily make it seem like he was just walking when in reality, he was following someone.

A few minutes passed just like that. The man went from one street to another and took turns which only made Malice even more confused.

'Where is he going? He isn't leaving the district. If anything, he's going deeper and deeper into the slums.'

At some point, the man took a turn into a small alley. That made Malice halt for a second before he slowly approached the turn and stopped before resting his back against the wall. Then, slowly, he took a peek. The man was standing there, deeper into the alley.

'What is he doing?' Malice squinted his eyes.

"I know you are there, show yourself." The man suddenly said.

'Oh no!'