The Innkeeper

"Wait, let me add a few things too!" Cindy exclaimed, before throwing in some things. Despite her nonchalance, she truly seemed excited about this. Lex briefly wondered about devil dating culture.

Even though he had read up about them, this was a topic he didn't particularly know much about. They were surprisingly relaxed about seeing a human, even though humans were considered to have lower potential than devils, because of the Cosmic Ascendance Spectrum.

But maybe Lilith and CIndy in particular didn't care about it - not that he was on a real date with Cindy. They had agreed, they were just watching the other two.

After Cindy moved away, Lex threw in the hook and let the line loosen. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to do anything else, so he waited for a few moments. It seemed that he didn't have to do anything else, because after a moment the line tightened, and he quickly fished out whatever he had hooked.

Lex had to admit, there was a tinge of excitement and anticipation that filled him as he wondered what he caught. Wait, was that the appeal of fishing? Was he on the path to becoming a fisherman?

Before he could find an answer, he managed to pull out the item. Hanging there tantalizingly was a pint of chocolate fudge brownie ice cream.

"Not bad at all," said Lex as he gave the pint to Cindy. It had been a while since he had ice cream.

"Isn't this break up food? I've seen the TV shows..." Cindy said as she grabbed the pint, unsure of what to feel. It seemed that fate was sending clear hints. But that was fine - they weren't on a date anyway! They were just having fun and passing the time. That was it!

Cindy grabbed the fishing rod from Lex and repeated the process a little forcefully. It seemed that maybe she wasn't too satisfied with the gift she got.

A few moments later, she caught something, and pulled out a nondescript rectangle wooden box. At a glance, neither of them could tell what it was, so Cindy grabbed it to take a closer look.

"Oh hey, it opens up," she said, as she lifted the top. Revealed within was the figure of a petite ballerina that began dancing once the lid was opened, with gentle music playing in the background.

"It looks like a children's toy," she said, but Lex did not comment because he was suddenly reminded of Giselle. She was the only cultivator ballerina he knew, and her skill in both dance and combat were remarkable. He could not help but wonder what she was doing right at that time.

"Lex?" Cindy probed when she noticed his silence.

"Sorry, I got distracted. This is called a musical box. You could call it a childs toy I suppose."

"Well, don't take this as a comment on your size when I give it to you," she said, suppressing a chuckle. Lex snorted. This was definitely not a date.

*****

Blood. There was blood everywhere, and at this point, Giselle didn't know if it was hers of her enemies. She had suffered wounds, she knew that much, she didn't have the time to stop and consider how serious they were. Being surrounded by hundreds of Magoran flies did not give her the time.

It didn't help that every time she killed one, it would explode, sendings its blood and guts everywhere. No matter how nimble she was, it was hard to dodge an explosion.

But, finally, after hours and hours, she did it. For a while, but when she saw that there were no more enemies anywhere, she fell to her knees. Finally, she had done it.

"Congratulations, you have passed the test. When the Champions tourney begins, someone will come and get you," said a deep voice, even though there was no one around her.

Giselle grit her teeth and stabbed her sword in the ground, pushing herself to stand. Her wounds began to heal at a visible rate. She had only just procured the attendance qualifications. Now she had to make sure she was strong enough to pass.

*****

Six hiltless swords hovered around Alexander, drawing in spiritual energy, and converting into something else, before depositing it in his body. Now that he had finally reached the Nascent realm, he could finally begin to show the real effects of his cultivation technique.

His grandparents, before disappearing on their thirty-ninth honeymoon, had sent him a ticket that said Champions tourney. He wasn't sure what it was, but he knew they wouldn't have sent it if it wasn't important.

*****

Rafael Carter Bravi, son of King Marlo, opened his eyes with a stunned daze. It took him a few hours to regain awareness, and when he did, the first thing he did was check the date.

"I went back in time again," he muttered. "No, wait. I probably… I probably saw the future again. Damn, I don't know how accurate this is, but I need to enter the Champions tourney!"

*****

Larry opened his eyes and found himself in a spaceship scrapyard. Countless metal rods were cutting through his body, though that was just his way of cultivating. It pained him to leave the Midnight Inn behind, but he had to take the chance.

A bunch of oracles were visiting the Midnight Inn, and one of them predicted that his family was still actually alive, and the only way he could get them back was if he gained the attention of some important people in the Champions tourney. He had no idea what that was, but he couldn't afford getting locked in the Inn, so he left.

Larry clenched his fists and recalled Jeffery, the twisted freak who had his family kidnapped for no reason than to see him suffer. He'd spent a long time thinking about revenge. He would get it, one way or another.

*****

In an unmapped part of the Origin realm, the being that had taken to calling itself Jeffery formed a new body that looked a lot like an angel. In his hand was a ticket, covered in blood. At his feet was a shriveled up body that could no longer be identified.