The Innkeeper

Some time later, Noman woke up in the Recovery room. He wasn't in the Recovery Pod for he hadn't actually suffered any grave injuries, just severe exhaustion. It was not something that would recover quickly, and he would be in a weakened state for weeks if not months to come. However, it did seem like the Recovery room had a positive effect on him, so maybe that time could be cut short.

He was in a private room, so he was alone, which allowed him to relax - a little. The letter he brought alongside him was on a table beside him, so he tore it open to read. The message it conveyed was short and simple:

Stay at the Inn as long as you can, it will be able to hide your trace. Adopt a false identity and only leave the Inn once you're able to block all forms of scrying or prophecy.

Your helper in the dark

Noman grimaced when he read the letter. His ability to detect truth was not as simple as it seemed. Regardless of the medium, his ability would stay active. This meant that, even just by reading this letter, he could tell whoever wrote this letter was telling the truth. Furthermore, it was not so easy-to-use technicalities to mislead him. If a person told a truth, but with the intention of providing a false perception, then Noman's ability would detect that as a lie as well.

This was an ability he had since birth, and though he did not understand it completely when he was a child, since the moment he realized what it was, he had kept this ability secret. He was not an heir, or some high-ranking member of the Butt family, but even just as a regular member, the exposure he had was beyond what others could comprehend.

As such, he never even told his parents, or the seniors in his family, about this ability, for more than once he heard the seniors lie. Of course, detecting a lie did not mean he would automatically learn the truth, but sometimes, just knowing falsehood was enough. After all, he had seen many speeches made by prominent politicians and nobles, some even from the royal family, and would immediately know when they were lying.

People would kill him to keep their secrets, and others would kill just to get their hands on his ability. All in all, he just wanted to pretend to be a regular boy from a big family. But it was not meant to be.

Some time ago, he received a letter from the mysterious 'helper in the dark' claiming that, using some kind of oracle, a certain organization had learnt the truth of his ability and was coming to kidnap him for their own purposes. Since then, his life had turned upside down.

Infiltrating his family's planet was already a big deal, but somehow isolating him from everyone, and blocking off anyone else from approaching, took power and influence he could not even imagine. At the very least, they hadn't been blatant about their motives, which meant they were still wary of his family.

He considered just informing his family of his secret as well, but he knew that would lead to a life of being a puppet, which was not something he wanted. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep. When he was feeling a little better, he would go investigate this Inn. At least they were nice enough to not ask him for money before treating him.

But how was he supposed to know that the Inn had directly sent the invoice to his family, who had paid without bothering to investigate what it was for?

*****

Lex stood calmly out in an open field, his mind wandering. He had already finished the array, and all that was needed now was to wait for the Bloody Jit to enter the trap so he could finally activate it. Until he did that, he could not move away.

Eventually, the beast was lured here. He heard it before he saw it, the sharp screeching of a furious bird accompanied by the dull sound of earth being ripped apart, like a massive till cutting through the land.

When it came into sight, to his surprise, Lex found that the bird simply looked like an eagle, just expanded to about fifty feet (15 meters). Its body was pressed directly against the ground, and Lex didn't blame it, for he doubted its leg would be able to carry the weight of its massive body. Instead, it was using its wings to pull itself forward, like a baby just learning to crawl.

Despite the odd nature in which it moved, it was not slow at all. It moved like a train, hurling anything in its path away. It was chasing after Bearin originally, but something about the way Lex stood in the open casually, looking at it as if watching a show, greatly antagonized it. Letting loose another deafening screech, it changed its target to Lex. Yet still, even as its hulking figure bore down towards Lex, he did not so much as flinch.

The calm in his eyes was more deafening than any screech, and his stationary figure more arrogant than any beast. The Bloody Jit was looking forward to crushing the puny human, but it was not meant to be.

Just as the Jit was a few feet away from bulldozing Lex into a bloody pulp, he snapped his fingers and a barrier of light and air erected itself in front of him. The Jit was too close to even comprehend slowing down and crashed into the barrier full force.

Within the barrier, the earth shattered as if struck by a missile, launching massive clumps of dirt and rocks into the air, yet the barrier itself did not even tremble. The Bloody Jit had turned bloody, with its beak caved in, its head disfigured and its body morphed into a ball. Many of its bones were likely broken if not entirely crushed, and Lex did not even want to imagine the condition its spine was in.

Yet the anger in the Jit's eyes did not diminish or weaken, and it glared at Lex like the very purpose of its existence was to murder him.

A whim struck Lex as he watched the unyielding beast and he asked, "Can you understand me? A beast at your level should have some basic intelligence, right? This is a fight you've already lost. Yield to me, and I'll stop them from killing you."

The Bloody Jits aura exploded as it screeched up into the sky, a declaration of its power and hatred.

"A pity," Lex said, feeling disappointed. But he no longer paid the bird any heed. Ness, Bearin and Tim had entered the barrier as well to deal with it, and he did not doubt their ability to slay it even when the Jit was in good health, let alone now.

With his hands in his pockets, Lex began to make his way towards the ruins. He strolled towards the nearest building, ignoring the sounds of combat behind him, and instead he was contemplating his own behavior. It occurred to him that as his cultivation, and along with it his various abilities, grew, his personality was also slowly changing.

This was his first outing since the expedition with Ptolemy, and already he could feel the difference. He was no longer wrecked with worry about his survival, and in fact tested the limits of ability and his control over it. Previously, he would have never waited until the bird almost reached the end of the barrier. As soon as it entered, he would have activated it. Now, though, he pushed it to the absolute last minute.

Maybe it was arrogance in his new found power. Maybe it was an inherent confidence in knowing his limits. Maybe it was just him experimenting with something new.

All he knew for certain, though, was that it felt good not to be worried about dying at the slightest incident. The calm, confident expression on his face finally broke, letting through a small smile. Now he finally felt like he was living. Now he could finally start actually enjoying all the blessings the Inn brought him. He had to be careful not to let his newfound power go to his head, but he could also let himself enjoy it a little.

He suddenly recalled a feeling he once got when he first started hosting the Midnight Games. When the strong and powerful deferred to him, and when he overcame fear to take control of the situation. It was feeling your heart beat in your chest, it was feeling the blood course through your veins.

He took in a deep breath, taking in all the smells of the forest, and as he let the air out of his lungs, he clenched his fists.

'Lex freaking Williams,' he said in his mind, his smile becoming even bigger. Then he stepped into the first ruins - and froze.