The Innkeeper



A highly customized golf cart hovered over the field of grass as it arrived at a cabin flowing by a small stream. There were no other buildings nearby, no rooms or tents. In fact, there weren't even any roads leading to this cabin. Yet somehow, it had turned into one of most beloved places in the Inn amongst a small, niche group of Inn guests.

To be specific, this cabin was a cafe built by one of the countless employees that Lex had. A part of his efforts to provide a working environment entailed that once one of his workers was eligible for a promotion, as decided by their direct supervisor, they would first be asked what they wanted to do.

As it turned out, one of his workers was extremely introverted, and he had the bright idea of building a cafe no one would find. When the idea was run by Lex, he thought that the idea would be interesting so it would be approved. Unfortunately for the introvert, not only was the cabin discovered immediately, it instantly became a hit spot amongst those who liked to be away from the city life.

After establishing such a successful cafe, the introvert asked if he could hand this one over to another worker, and make another one. Thinking that his idea of creating a cafe camouflaged as snow, with only its windows able to look out at the horizon, was an incredible one, Lex approved it once again. As with the cabin, the Snow cafe that only sold hot chocolate was an instant hit.

Afterwards, the introvert wanted to create a cafe hidden underwater that exclusively sold bubble tea. Having noticed a trend, Lex approved. Suffice to say, the trend was still going on. In fact, the Inn had developed a reputation for hidden cafes by now. If Lex recalled correctly, the latest cafe was a floating one, hidden amongst the clouds.

Within 14 minutes of building it, the well hidden cafe was discovered by some kids using Icarus' wings. Lex couldn't wait to see what the introvert came up with next.

But that was not relevant to Lex right now. No, right now, Lex was here at the cabin to meet Alexander. In the distance, lightning strikes were still visible as more people continued to undergo their tribulations and it made for a pleasant sight.

Through the cabin window, Lex could see that Alexander was looking directly at the lightning, his gaze clouded.

"What're you looking at?" Lex asked when he entered. He did not believe that Alexander would call him when he was feeling melancholic, so there must be something else going through his mind.

"The consequence of success," Alexander replied, his sight still fixed on the horizon. "Every single person who goes through the tribulation is someone who has achieved great success in their life, one way or another. Yet a majority of those who undergo the tribulation don't end up surviving it. In a way, their deaths are a direct result of their success."

His words were… they sounded like someone stupid trying to sound smart and philosophical.

"Mr. Best-at-his-age don't tell me you're intimidated? Those who fail the tribulations aren't successful, they're merely suffering from the illusion of success. I've been studying the tribulations happening here at the Inn. Usually, for a realm, the strength of a tribulation is more or less constant. That means, whoever is crossing the tribulation has an established baseline which they have to be capable of surviving. If they decide to cross the tribulation without at least achieving that, then they're just stupid."

Alexander finally turned and looked at Lex. But instead of being amazed, he looked like he was the one looking at someone stupid.

"You really must have followed a very unorthodox path so far if you don't even understand such basics. Tribulations are anything but simple, predictable or constant. Perhaps you think the lightning tribulation is the most dangerous one, due to its spectacle, but the fire tribulation is no less dangerous. The most important, however, is the state of mind. But I guess you're also right in a way. The best way to overcome a tribulation is by making sure you're strong enough."

Lex shrugged and took a seat.

"You seem pretty relaxed. Do you know about the situation on earth?"

"I heard. My family is on Mars, and should be fine. But it's unlikely they'll be able to send help. A 'diplomatic envoy' of the invaders came to Mars to ensure we understand the seriousness of interfering. I don't know what exactly happened, but since then my family has shut down all space-based missions. My grandfather won't even talk about it."

"What about the empire? They at least know who is invading?"

Alexander turned to look at Lex finally and took a seat opposite to him.

"Do you know how many wars the empire is fighting? Concurrently? The war with demons is never ending, and so is the war with the Fuegan. Other than that, the empire is being invaded by neighbors in three galaxies and facing at least 4 potentially galaxy-threatening new races that have popped up within their territory. Those are just some of the things I've heard of during my short stay with the empire, so I can't even account for all the classified threats they're facing. I don't think the empire has the time or energy to focus on an unaffiliated planet."

Lex made a mental note that Alexander didn't know about earth and the empire. Come to think of it, since he already knew that earth was a part of the empire, that probably also meant the empire was in, or had control of the milky way. If that were the case, shouldn't he have already tried to get the empire to find earth? That would have revealed to him that they were actually connected.

Instead of wondering about it, Lex asked, if somewhat indirectly.

"Even if they're not helping, they should at least be able to identify who is invading, right? But then again, what are the chances that the empire is in the Milky way galaxy, and knows about the local powers there?"

At that point, Alexander couldn't help but sigh.

"Actually, the Milky way is part of the empire, its neighboring galaxies such as Andromeda and even some of the dwarf galaxies nearby. But that's not the issue. When I originally teleported to the planet called Vegus Minima, I discovered that it was only a few galaxies away from the Milky way. When I discovered the empire had influence over the Milky way, I immediately tried to get the empire fully interested in earth. Yet for a long time, there were no results to my attempts.

"It was only when I joined the empire that I learned how backwards earth really is, and I really wanted to get earth to benefit from it. That was, until one day, someone shared an open secret with me."

Alexander looked at Lex with a trace of pity in his eyes, as if he was about to shatter his world.

"Originally, when the empire learned about earth, through some indirect measures, they were able to learn that the earth was in the Milky way as well. In situations when the empire discovers a new planet with a fully developed and educated human civilization, it is their protocol to integrate them into the empire's society. But after a short while, they stopped showing interest in earth. Do you know why? They determined that earth is in a part of space called the Dead zone.

"Dead zones are specific regions of space where, for some unknown reason, there is a severe shortage of spiritual energy. The simple, but unfortunate truth is, with vast regions of unexplored space available in each galaxy outside of dead zones, there is no real incentive for the empire to go explore the dead zones. The returns are not worth their efforts. The returns I'm talking about are in terms of spiritual and cultivation resources - not regular raw materials such as iron and gold. There's too much of that stuff floating everywhere in space. To an entity as powerful as the empire, it's virtually worthless.

"As for the invaders… I don't have the clearance to find out. This may demoralize you to learn, but if you stay on earth, your future will be extremely limited. I've already laid the groundwork for my family as well on Vegus Minima. Slowly but surely, they will immigrate from Mars to it. All I can suggest is for you to do the same."

Lex paused for a moment as he said a prayer for the fine people of Vehus Minima. They survived zombies, but it has yet to be seen if they can survive the Morrisons.

Lex summoned his personal hologram, and asked him to surround the two in a protective bubble so that their conversation would remain private.

"Since you've been so kind as to share so much information with me, let me share a little something with you as well. Earth is already a part of the empire. Also, I have inside news about some offers the Inn will make to the Earths refugees. I'm sure a family like yours… can capitalize on such opportunities."

Inside his mind, Lex began to lay the groundwork for a very long term project. If the Morrisons were looking to move, why send them over to the empire, when they can immigrate to a Minor realm instead?