The Stranger In The Attic

Skycloud City, Washington Street

Davis had stayed an entire night outside about 3 days ago as though mourning Olivia's absence. During the following 3 days he numbly went about his life and he didn't have the energy to do anything.

When the sun rose on the fourth day he let out a sigh and went inside to prepare for his workout session. She was gone and there was nothing he could do about it except get stronger maybe if he were strong enough in the first place she wouldn't have to leave at all.

After the strenuous exercise he took another glass of the strange nutrition drink and then went inside to freshen up. He thought about his options for breakfast and then decided he wasn't in the mood to cook so he decided to eat out today.

He picked out a nice looking pair of black trousers and wore a white cotton shirt with black leather shoes to match. He didn't want to go overboard with his dressing today so he simply threw on a brown long coat. He stood before the mirror and seeing the impressive figure in the mirror gave him a feeling of satisfaction.

He was no longer lanky but had filled in quite nicely despite not working out for long. The effects of opening the 1st Gate were quite apparent, his skin was as white as snow and his red lips looked like they were stained with blood. He kept his black hair short and it looked a bit ruffled but he liked the wild vibe it gave.

He picked a pair of gold rimmed glasses he got later and slipped on a nice looking leather watch to complete his get up and he made for the gate while going through the different places he could eat at and which was cheaper.

His spendings had left him with 2 Gold Coins and some change so he was becoming thrifty but that didn't mean he wasn't going to eat good food. He finalized his choice on the last place he ate with Olivia, the Violet Cuisine. Good food, fine ambience and all at a relatively cheap price, what more could a poor gentleman ask for?

The waiter recognized him and tried to lead him to a center table as he was a spending customer but Davis smiled and declined opting for a table that was out of the way and closer to the window.

He ordered for some bacon and fried eggs with some cream coffee. The waiter went right away with his order assuring him that he would have it in the next 5 minutes. He felt a chill breeze come in through the window so he shut it and drew his coat together.

This world shared a lot of similarities with his world including the time and weather cycle. It was currently the middle of september and the leaves were already showing signs of fading while the winds were getting chillier. Autumn was fast approaching and the price of fur coats and heating appliances were sure to see a rise in price in the nearing future.

His house had a fireplace so he made up his mind to buy some firewood later and maybe some stoves to keep in the rooms. He was staring out the window when he saw a young lad in suspenders and a flat cap hawking newspapers. He called an attendant and gave him a pretty bronze coin as a tip before giving him 3 more coins to get him a newspaper.

His breakfast arrived before the attendant came back so he indulged himself in the delightful meal. The attendant finally returned and rushed to his table, newspaper in hand and handed it to him. He gave a nod of thanks but kept it aside while he focused on his meal.

His meal was eventually dealt with and while the waiter cleared his table he picked up the newspaper to read. The first page had a black and white picture on it's cover that showed a scene so bloody that even the monochromatic setting of the picture couldn't reduce it.

Limbs and body entrails were flayed about carelessly on the ground and vultures could be spotted feasting on the remains of the dead. An article on the next page detailed the story surrounding the bloody scene. Apparently it was Gabriel's handiwork, the once celebrated genius of Olympus had turned to a bloody butcher over night leaving many shocked.

Davis remembered the white haired figure from that battle and couldn't help but wonder if the people going after him were stupid or dumb or both. Someone that could go toe to toe with that old monster without taking too much of a loss was not someone this lackeys could kill off so easily. They were simply seeking death and Gabriel was apparently happy to oblige.

He skipped over the remaining article that would, most likely under the will of the Pope's faction, continue to embellish Gabriel in a dark light so as to lessen his influence and turned over to another page that had a picture of a familiar scholarly looking man without any facial hair shaking the Governor of Skycloud in the City Hall.

The article stated that the Governor and Williams had come to an agreement on the particulars required to establish a branch of the Literary Union here in Skycloud. The Opening Ceremony was to be held at the end of the month which was currently 2 weeks away.

The Governor expressed his joy at this and praised Williams for his drive to make sure that everyone would be given the chance to embrace the ways of a scholar. Williams stated that the ceremony would be open to all but a private gala would be held later at the mayor's house.

Davis remembered he was given an invitation to the private gala by Williams and he knew that he not only needed to be there but he needed to gain enough attention there so that he can have the Literary Union and maybe it's allies support his currency but there was this nagging feeling from heaven knows where he had been having that told him he needed to be stronger before going there or he may risk his life.

He wasn't one for superstition but in a world where a random brawl could result in the destruction of what was equivalent to a full blown city and 10 million lives in casualties he felt there was a need to pay heed to this feeling of his.

It's not as though he didn't want to grow stronger though it was just that he couldn't use the powers of Mystics under the eyes of the church and his Qi Cultivation had not even broken into STAGE 1. He felt frustrated about this and was no longer in the mood to continue lounging so he walked out and hailed a carriage back home.

The streets of Washington were filled with customized carriages going along them so it was quite obvious when a commercial carriage rode into the street. Noticing this Davis made up his mind to get himself his own carriage with a coachman to boot as soon as possible.

He opened the gate and walked past the long empty yard before reaching into his pockets for his keys.

*BADUMP* *BADUMP*

All of a sudden he could hear a vigourous drum beat sounding out from the house. As he heard the powerful beat he felt his heart shake before suddenly synchronizing with it's tempo.

*BADUMP* *BADUMP* *BADUMP*

The tempo sped up and so did his heart beat and he felt an aching pain in his chest. He quickly ran the Qi energy through his chest and managed to reduce the effect of the drum beat before hurriedly opening the door and dashing in while trying to locate where the sound was coming from.

'Is this the reason why everybody avoids this house? I have to get to the bottom of this, the agent said no refunds'

Davis eventually traced the sound to be coming from the attic. He walked up the stairs with a solemn look on his face. He already had his spell ready to fire at whatever was behind that door but he couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu.

As he neared the door he felt a wave of heat leaking out of the cracks between the door and the walls. He quickly took in a deep breath to focus before breaking down the door and dashing in only to witness one of the most mythical things he had encountered since he came to this world.

In the middle of the empty attic was a bird made of fire. It's flaming wings setting off heat waves with each movement and the only reason the house wasn't burned to the ground was because of a bunch of glowing blue symbols that were seemingly scribbled on the walls and giving off a cool air to counter the heat.

He heard the drum beat again but he realized that it wasn't a drum but a person's heart. Such a powerful heart that it sounded out like a drum everytime it beat.

He activated Sage Pupils and his pupils took a golden color as he tried to look through the bird of fire. He spotted a female figure with what seemed like Velvet hair in a natal position within the abdomen of the bird and just when he was contemplating if he should attack the bird, her eyes snapped open and she then stared at him with a confused look in her eyes.

She tried to say something but before she could the bird let out a wild screech and bursted out in flames. Davis quickly ducked down while he cursed out at the thought of the flames bursting through the door and setting the house ablaze.

The flames however didn't and after bursting out came back towards the female figure engulfing her within it but Davis didn't hear her screams so he dashed closer wanting to get a better look.

The flames died off soon enough and all that was left behind was a short Loli girl with long waist-reaching Velvet hair, sleeping deeply on the floor with her eyes closed and without any clothes.

"Am I destined to be with a Loli in this life?" Thinking of his cute sister that just left a few days ago he chuckled and draped his coat over her before princess carrying her towards Olivia's room.

.

.

.

I opened my eyes and the first thing that came into my view was a room that although quite childish and feminine was quite pleasing to my eye. I noticed I had a blanket draped over me and there was a pretty dress hung over a chair in the room.

I picked up the dress and wore while praying my fears were unfounded but I wouldn't have time to think too much as a captivating aroma came up from downstairs and I felt my stomach rumbling.

I quickly dressed up and rushed downstairs to meet a table filled with mouth watering dishes. I was already drooling just by looking at it and I couldn't help myself and dashed towards the table.

I grabbed a grilled chicken leg with my hands, forsaking any form of table manners and bit deeply into it. It was a thousand times more delicious than anything I ate at those flashy restaurants. I picked a spoon and scooped up some weird soup and ate it.

The flavor on my tongue was spicy but I couldn't stop taking more as though I were a masochist that enjoyed the pain. My only regret at this moment was that I only had two hands and one mouth but I made up for it with my speed.

My lunch however would be rudely interpreted by a very good looking man. His blood red lips and that shaggy black hair made me have a feeling that was very hard for me to come by these days. His well defined figure peeked out his half buttoned top and I felt the temperature in the room rise a bit.

"If you like the gravy so much, you should try it with the rice. That's how it's eaten."

I looked at the figure before me and remembered I saw him when I was awakening. I was at my weakest point at this moment and I wondered who he was. He couldn't be an ordinary person as the horror sigils I planted here would scare them away or kill the stubborn ones.

He should definitely be someone who is trained but I don't know what system he practices. I ruled the Church out because if they saw what happened, at best I would be waking up in chains and at worst I would be having tea with Mountain Crushing Immortal and Owen Storm but he doesn't have any negative intentions.

So is he a cultivator or is he....a mystic like me. I really hope he's a cultivator, I'm not in any position to start scheming with one of my kind. I had been quiet for a while but he didn't seem to mind so I decided to just ask him bluntly.

"Who are you?"

.

.

.

'She's been staring into space for minutes now but she is kinda cute with those grease stains on her face. I wonder what she's thinking about?'

"Who are you?"

'Who am I she asks. Haha'

Davis let out a stunning smile and stepped towards her. She raised her guard up but he simply dabbed a towel in some water and used it to wipe the grease on her face before looking her in the eyes.

"The name is Newman, Green Newman and I believe you must be one of the unfortunate heretics that fell at the hand of the Church. If not for that nifty Natal Relic of yours, you'd be well on your way to your next life."

With a face full of shock the Velvet haired Loli sprung up from her seat and pointed a finger at Davis

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT? WAIT THAT'S RIGHT, WHERE IS MY NATAL RELIC?"

" Oh you mean this? " In Davis opened palm laid a red Phoenix carved bracelet made of some unknown metal.

"But how? It's impossible for you to seize my Natal Relic that's something only those beings that have taken the next step could possibly do."

"I don't need to explain myself to you but what I can explain to you is that it doesn't stop simply at me being able to hold this tool. I can erase your life print from here and although that won't kill you, you won't be able to recover your powers. Furthermore, unless I allow you to use this tool to recover your previous self you would also be stuck like this forever. "

A grim look showed on the Loli's face as she tried to comprehend how he could seize control of her Natal Tool. Even if she was currently weak, only someone at STAGE 7 or above would be capable of such a feat and even among them it would be rare to find one yet this lad who barely had an aura about him could do that which those great figures couldn't.

Meanwhile Davis was ecstatic within him. He didn't know who this girl was but he knew she was a powerful figure from the energy contained within her Life Print and as to why he was able to seize control of her Natal Relic that was simply the work of the book.

It seemed to be able to seize control of her Natal Relic mainly because she was unconscious and was not able to resist. There was another Natal Relic within her but it already took a lot out of him to seize this one and he figured he wouldn't be able to draw out the second one before she woke up and besides this one was more important.

Normally Cursed Tools don't have a definite holder and as long as they changed hands usually the person wielding it, controlled it. With Natal Relics though it was different. Even if you seized it, it could be easily reclaimed back to their consciousness and even if you could stop them from reclaiming it, it was still out of the question to use it.

Yet with his book, even though it out quite a strain on his body, he was able to seize her Natal Relic. He attributed that he could do it only due to the fact she was in a weakened state while he was more powerful than she and also if she were awake, it would have been many times harder but still he did it and with this he believed he could get quite a bit out of the cute Loli who most likely was a powerhouse in her heyday.

She also seemed to realize the situation she was in and so she got straight to the point.

"What do you want kid?"

"Firstly, I'm currently older than you so you should tone down on the attitude. Secondly, from what I understand from your Natal Relic you need resources to speed up your power restoration. I want those resources."

"What would you do with resources meant for a practitioner like me unless you want to become one. If you do I could help you become a Mystic. "

" And give you something to hold over me? No thanks. As for what I'll do with the resources just leave that to me. Besides why would I become one of the people that assisted Gabriel and his people in destroying my family If not for you lot, I'd be living a life far away from all this mess."

"You think we're behind what happened to your family's empire? You look smart but you really are an idiot. If Gabriel was the one behind what happened to your family why would he make it known and attract the enmity of all the powerful families that survived?"

Davis froze as he thought it through before shaking his head in denial.

" What are you trying to say? "

" It was the Pope's People. They sacrificed you lot in order to pin it on Gabriel's master, Arch Bishop Daniel. If those powerful families felt that he could be a threat to them, they would never support his rise. "

Davis felt there was some sense in what she was saying and if it were true it would mean that they were played by that old man and they were played hard but on the other hand it could be a scheme of this little devil to cause enmity between them. He smiled and looked at the Loli with renewed interest

" Just give me the resources as to whether the Pope was behind my family's destruction that's not important right now"

" Are you that cold blooded? I thought I'm the heretic. This is your family we're talking about and you would simply let them and their glorious name be besmirched?"

Velvet was quite shocked at this point but Davis simply ignored her expression and took a seat before taking a bite from his well prepared breakfast and relishing the flavor. He faced the food as he replied her.

" Even if it is indeed the Pope there is nothing I can do about it until I become strong enough so why bother. When I become strong enough I will find out the truth for myself but for now.... "

He took another bite and let a hum of satisfaction before taking a beverage to wash it down. He cleaned his face with a napkin as he wasn't that hungry and was more expectant towards his potential gains. He looked at her and said

".....why don't we go have a look at my bounty hm? " The Loli gritted her teeth and let out a snort before leading him towards what would be the much needed boost to his Qi Cultivation.