The Innkeeper - Chapter 2027

Chapter 2027: Hot Gossip
Two weeks later, Lex looked at himself in the mirror wearing a steel grey, double breasted suit. He had to admit, it was a nice look. The yellowish-golden pocket square and tie matched the golden key lapel pin, giving him a starkly different appearance from when he wore all black.

Compared to the more simplistic and regal black suit, the grey and gold combo made him appear more stylish. As if to further emphasise that stylishness, the suit came with more accessories than just the lapel pin. There was a gold pocket watch, with the chain hanging on the right side of the suit. As if to balance it out, on his left hand, he was wearing a rather elegant watch.

Lex’s suit was made out of a small planet, and each accessory came from a moon that orbited the planet, making a perfect set when together. Despite literally wearing a planet on his body, Lex didn’t feel the weight of it at all, mainly because the weight was being diffused through certain features of the suit itself. Of course, Lex provided the energy to run those features, but it was nothing to him.

The final accessory, of course, was a pair of pale-golden tinted aviators.

“You think it’s a bit much?” Lex asked Mary, who was sitting atop the mirror, looking at Lex.

“Not at all. It’s quite a shame you never pay attention to fashion, otherwise you’d truly learn the benefit of looking good. A suit is nice and all, but you should really shake things up now and then.”

Lex turned and looked at his side figure, still not sure. He was so used to black and white that the new color scheme threw him off a bit.

“Just get on with it, sheesh. You spend more time in front of the mirror than me,” said Mary as she jumped in front of him, taking up the spot in the mirror. Today she was dressed normally, opting for some jeans and a flannel shirt. Of course, even in such simple clothes, she still looked stunning – at least to her own eyes.

“Yeah, I guess I should stop delaying things,” said Lex as he grabbed the letter, and then teleported back to the Primordial Garden. Over the past few weeks, he had used almost all his time sitting and meditating upon the Gabana fruit, increasing his Primordial aura ever so slightly.

As such, the pressure he faced when he entered the Primordial Garden was not as devastating as he was expecting. Unfortunately, the garden also wasn’t as empty as he was used to.

The moment he returned, he stumbled onto a mongoose fighting a snake. Or, rather, a Primordial Grass Hegemon Mongoose fighting a Primordial Fancy-Name-Here Snake. Honestly, Lex had started to zone out the names of these ancient beings for they were all too long and sophisticated sounding for no reason. He felt like his own version of the race name was better.

Regardless, Lex instantly tapped into the few threads of karma he had and disappeared, flowing into the string and away from the devastating fight.

Yet even away from the fight, he noticed that the garden was teeming with life, entirely unlike his last few visits. It seemed like the realm was finally recovering from the aftereffects of fusing with the Crystal realm.

Speaking of which, Lex had not run into Vinei or the other Divine birds. He wondered how they were coping with this new environment, and new life in general. Lex noticed that monsters sometimes randomly appeared in the dark, though not always, so the Crystal must have had some influence on the realm.

Lex was just wondering how he would find Eclipse when he was forced out of his karmic form, appearing right in front of a small, black poodle. Or, well, in front of Harriot, the Dao Lord assistant of Eclipse.

“You have arrived with the Letter of Intent?” he asked, even as he held his hand out. Clearly, he already knew why Lex was there.

“Yes, the Innkeeper sent me to deliver the letter for Eclipse,” Lex said, holding out the letter.

Yet instead of grabbing the letter, Harriot grabbed Lex’s hand and teleported him over to Eclipse who was awkwardly squatting on top of an unusually shaped rock, doing something with her hand inside a small opening in the rock.

“Hey Lex!” Eclipse said excitedly. “You’re here. Look at this! I was thinking of releasing this during the Innkeeper’s tea party? What do you think?”

She pulled out her hand, and revealed a large… something that looked a lot like a fleshy worm.

“Uh… I’m not sure what that is,” said Lex awkwardly, considering how excited Eclipse seemed.

“This is a Primordial Bag-Worm,” Eclipse said. “Back in the Primordial Age, these things were a huge menace because of the nearly infinite space within their stomachs. They used to eat anything that came their way, ending a lot of powerful races. Later on, once new realms began to appear, Primordial Bag-Worms went nearly extinct because someone who shall not be named figured out that they can be used to fashion a spatial tool. In short, the Primordial Bag-Worms resulted in the first ever Space Bags, and they were used to carry newfound realms alongside the owner in the Void.”

Lex was stunned, and only barely managed to keep his jaw from dropping. Unfortunately for him, Eclipse was not done speaking.

“Of course, these ones that I’ve kept are already full. Don’t tell anyone, but inside this Bag-Worm is a realm I’ve been hiding since the Primordial age. Anyone who visits the realm can bypass the restrictions hiding the secrets of the first Age, and learn about what happened back then. Or, well, what happened back then in the realm hidden inside this worm at least.”

Lex’s jaw finally dropped as the shock of Eclipse’s secret nearly knocked him unconscious. Fortunately, he had been training rigorously, and so he was barely able to stay awake.

“How’s that for hot gossip, huh? I’ve been waiting for a good opportunity to whip this out,” Eclipse said, sounding incredibly pleased with herself.

Lex, on the other hand, felt slightly weak in his knees as he tried to think of how he would keep a handle on things during the tea party.