The Innkeeper

'Of course there was going to be regret,' Lex thought to himself. 'How could there not be an immense amount of regret? In fact, it was surprising that the first thing she saw was regret, and not grave danger.'

Although Lex was joking, and even poking fun at the usual tarot card readers back in New York who pretended to predict one's future, he took Leslie's words very seriously and listened closely.

Leslie, who had not clarified if she identified as an oracle, or a diviner, or whatever else, seemed to tremble as she continued to stare at his shadow. Her otherwise rosy cheeks became incredibly pale, and her aura diminished noticeably.

"A grave danger is approaching, however the target is not you. Yet at the same time, the target is associated with you. The regret that will plague you is also connected to this approaching danger. There are very few chances to mitigate this danger, and one is already in your possession in the form of a formidable blade. You also…"

Leslie trembled before she could continue her sentence, and coughed out blood. Her knees had lost strength and she nearly fell to the ground, yet Lex was quick enough to capture her.

The woman, who had suddenly become frail, seemed to be in a trance. Her eyes had rolled up and she had lost control of all her body, though for some reason the technique she had been using was still being used. It was as if she was unable to quit, and forced to see things that were harming her.

The fatigue that had gripped her radiated from her body to Lex, trying to weaken him. It was also due to this radiation that Lex became aware that while all seemed normal otherwise, Leslie was actually in grave danger.

Clouds had formed above her, visible and detectable only to her, and they seemed to be threatening her to stop whatever she was doing. The sensation of being given a warning was very prominent, and seeped from her to even Lex.

Yet instead of being intimidated, Lex looked up at the clouds with disdain and anger of his own. He began using Domination and threatened the clouds back with a derisive glare. He did not know why these clouds had come, and why they were warning her, but they better not interfere in his matters.

Fortunately, before the confrontation could continue, Leslie awoke from her trance and ended the technique.

"What… who are you?" she managed to mumble weakly, her body trembling as if she had been caught in a blizzard.

"It does not matter. You do not need to worry about anything, if there are any repercussions from looking at my future, I'll help you avoid them. You've seen what I can do with the lightning, and that is not the limit of my abilities. If those clouds threaten you again, I can help you bear that danger as well."

"No… no need," she said as she stumbled out of his arms and straightened herself. "Those clouds were a warning that I was about to look at things I should not see. It is a form of protection for me, instead of a danger. Although, if I persist in viewing what I should not see, I will be struck by a lightning tribulation.

"Your future is too messy, and you are involved with too many great entities. Let alone me, or even Vera, even the best oracles will have a tough time accurately predicting your future. In fact, I can confidently say that any future that anyone predicts for you will most definitely be wrong. My prediction is the only exception, and that is because it only predicts opportunities and dangers. The final outcome, or even the sequence of events, is irrelevant.

"What I can tell you is that there is a danger that is imminent, and the opportunity to escape it is already with you. Besides that… you should try to lay low for a while. Too many great entities are watching you. But that's not a prediction, just my opinion."

"Alright then, I appreciate your help anyway. You seem to have suffered a bit while using your ability, so have this. It will help you out."

Lex took out a small box and handed it to her. The box contained a very small fruit that he had looted from Pel's kitchen, and was one of many he was keeping with himself. For him, due to his unusual physique, the fruit would serve as a source of energy and reinvigoration. For other, normal humans, it would instantly help them recover from weakness and minor injuries, help them improve their physique, remove simple deformities and filter out impurities.

Without waiting for Leslie's response, or giving her an opportunity to reject, Lex teleported away.

"Hey Pel, what do you think about Leslie's prediction?" Lex asked as he mused over her words. Although they were vague, he had a suspicion about what they could possibly mean.

"If I am not wrong, she should be a mixed race being, half human and half shadow beast. I do not know what is the origin of her technique, but it is true that shadow beasts are very sensitive to potential dangers and opportunities. In fact, they are so sensitive to it that they can even sense dangers that are thousands of years in the future, and even those that might not just affect them, but their future generations as well. 

"Most do not even know of the existence of shadow beasts, that is how secretive they are. For a mixed breed with shadow beast heritage to appear, her origin must not be simple. If I had to make a bet, I would trust any prediction she made, assuming she inherited that trait of the shadow beasts."

Lex nodded. He could not guess what the danger she was speaking off was, but it would either have something to do with the dwarf Barley, or the Inn workers at war. Those were the only two things that could possibly be a source of regret that he could think of at the moment.

As for the 'blade' that could help him resolve this threat, Lex also already had a suspicion. He was not prone to collecting or carrying weapons, so there was only one significant blade that he had. That was the single blade of grass he took from Zuri Adisa, which carried the laws of regrowth, refinement, healing and a few more minor supporting laws.

Since he had collected the various items containing laws, Lex had meant to slowly eat them over time and allow his body to absorb them. Not only would this heal his previously broken cultivation technique, but it would make his body stronger while giving him more affinities.

In fact, he really had nibbled on those items once or twice. But for the most part, he had not gotten around to consuming them on a whole. This was mainly because of how busy he was the past few months, and had nothing to do with the explosive diarrhea that accompanied eating such items.

But it seemed like he had put this matter off long enough. Even if he could ignore the others, he definitely needed to consume that blade of grass. The associated laws would help him speed up his recovery. Returning to his peak was most likely strongly associated with whatever problem was coming his way.

He teleported to his penthouse, and summoned the blade of grass. At its very tip there was a small mark where it was evident Lex had nibbled before. Taking in a deep breath, Lex began circulating his technique and took another tiny bite from the blade of grass before teleporting to the restroom.

As disgusting as it was, he also took a bottle of water with him. With what he was about to experience, the gravest danger for him was of becoming dehydrated extremely quickly!

Even with his new, nameless technique, Lex could not consume too much of such items at a time. After all, despite his many advantages, he was far too weak to handle anything related to laws.

*****

Deep in the cosmic cloud that had long become a battlefield, after a very long time, the ship carrying the Midnight battalion was approaching its next target.

Unlike previously, where they fought on rogue planets that contained Fuegan forces, this next area looked like a massive floating continent. It looked completely out of place, as if some supreme power had hidden it here where no one could find it.

In fact, that was also the opinion of the Henali forces. This time, the battalion was not tasked with an eradication mission, as no living beings had been detected on the continent by the Henali drones which had scanned this place earlier. Instead, they were being sent to thoroughly examine and investigate this space oddity.

They were not the only ones with this mission, as countless others were being sent as well. The only thing the battalion and the other forces had in common, however, was that they were all in the Foundation realm. This deep within the cloud, there were some unusual forces at work that made it almost impossible for stronger cultivators to approach without causing an adverse reaction.

Z, who was getting ready to land, had a frown on his face. For some reason, he could not use his spatial affinity at all.