First Night

"[Hex #94: Dreamweaver]... " Elish muttered.

The moment his whisper was concluded, thin purple smoke formed around the receptionist and slowly enveloped her face.

The mist subtly spread to the point that it was imperceptible to everyone else in the reception hall.

Until finally… it took root.

[Dreamweaver]'s ability involved affecting the target's mind, giving Elish complete control of their thought processes.

He could cause hallucinations, if he so desired, and induce total madness leading to raw insanity and depravity. However, this time he didn't need to go that far.

As such, he simply toned down its effects so she would be in a slight daze and not recollect their encounter, but have a different perception of him and Astra after they had left. 

'This saves the situation considerably…'

And so, once Elish had completed his Hex on the young lady before him, he determined that he was done with the Auction House—at least for the day.

"Let's go." He whispered to Astra, and she trailed behind him like a desperate puppy.

Thus, as honorably as they entered the building, they left.

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Once they were out of the Scylla Auction House, Elish and Astra walked down the streets in silence. 

He noticed Astra constantly looking at him, as though expecting him to say something. After observing this for a while, he finally spoke.

"What is on your mind?" He asked in a sigh.

"Oh, uhm… I was just wondering what you would do now," She said in a squeaky tone, almost as if she understood how annoying she was becoming..

'What a dense girl.' Elish fought the urge to shake his head and sigh even more.

She felt like a baby, and he had unknowingly taken on the role of a father by bringing her under his wings. It hadn't gotten to the point of regret yet, but Elish was beginning to rethink his approach to Astra.

'It is getting late already so finding accommodation has to come first, yet she can't figure out that much…'.

When Elish woke up from his 3,000-year-long slumber, it was still morning. He had spent hours roaming around the woods, and then he met Astra and the soldiers by afternoon. After saving her, he got her cleaned up, and they got to the city in the evening. 

Of course, they explored the city and even found the Auction House, which took some time too.

Needless to say, they had done enough for their first day.

"It's getting pretty late. We should find a place to rest," Elish told her.

"Oh yeah. I'm pretty tired myself," She said, suddenly yawning and smacking her lips.

Elish couldn't even tell if she was doing these things intentionally anymore.

"Could've fooled me," He responded in a low tone

"What was that?"

"Nothing," He quickly answered to shut her up.

It felt distasteful backing down from a conversation, but Elish had more important things on his mind than his pet Fairy.

For example, how to obtain funds.

And so the two ventured around the city to find a place to rest. Of course, not just any place would satisfy him, The Lord of Chaos and Ruler of Darkness. 

A place worthy of his tastes would be his choice.

That is… if he had more money.

However, with only 3,000 coins, they couldn't afford all the expensive hotels they found and had to settle for one of the moderately cheaper inns. 

'How can someone survive with so little money?' Elish asked himself, but he knew it was a foolish thing to think.

He also recognized the fact that he could use his power to obtain a much grander lodging than what he currently possessed, but that would be a waste.

'Using my finite essence to escape a minor inconvenience would be foolish. Plus, this won't last for long.'

They lodged into one of the average inns close to the outskirts of the City of Aria, and since they didn't have any real luggage, it was a fast and smooth process. 

The room was simple and clean, painted with a simple brown color, and had two beds side by side. It wasn't very large, or large at all, for his tastes, but at least it was bearable.

"Haaa! Finally!" Astra jumped on her bed, bouncing on it in excitement.

There was a blissful smile on her face, and she seemed to genuinely enjoy the comfort that the average bed provided.

'She probably hasn't had a proper be in a while…' Elish noted to himself.

Within a few moments, barely five minutes after they entered their room, Astra was already fast asleep.

"This girl... isn't she too carefree?" Elish murmured to himself.

Normally, wouldn't these sorts of people be recoiling from trauma and have trouble sleeping or even talking much? Instead, they would be reserved and keep to themselves, then after some time had passed, the ice around their hearts would melt, and they would find happiness. 

But not Astra.

She was a loudmouth during the day as well as a quick and deep sleeper at night.

"Good grief," He smiled at the sight of her sleeping, as though nothing had ever happened to her before.

The innocence she had was amusing. She was like a blank canvas he could dye in any color he so desired.

'I suppose that in itself is a good trait.'Malleable individuals were the best to manipulate.

Elish found himself looking forward to her future.

'Now, to think about what to do next.'

His best bet would be to recover one of his Special items, and he had the perfect one in mind already. 

Having it would take care of immediate problems, no doubt. 

With it, he could also put off finding the rest of his items, or rather he might not even need to, except for a few.

The tricky part was how to obtain it within the shortest amount of time. Astra's wings could be sold at any time from the present moment, and while he knew it'd take a while before the auction opened for the wings, time was still of the essence. 

… Or was it?

Elish smiled to himself almost instantly.

It was a good thing he had designed a Hex that affected space and time itself. Even without any Authority, if he manipulated the essence of the world as he desired, he had very little to worry about in terms of convenience.

"I guess I'll have to be done before she notices my absence," Elish turned in Astra's direction and chuckled to himself.

To Elish, this night was one worth celebrating.

His first night in a world that was now different from the one he remembered. It was the perfect time to obtain one of his best items, and take one step closer to the destruction of the world.

"I hope you're all doing well, siblings. In the fullness of time, I'll be coming to say hello."

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[A/N]

Thanks for reading. 

I appreciate all the support I've been recieving so far.

Cheers!