The fire cackled softly, its soft glow illuminating the old thing seated to Argento’s front. Its skin lay haggard, folding upon itself excessively. Argento could only see one light-blue eye peeking at him, the other too thin and obstructed by the hunch of its eyebrows.

“Drink, Argento, drink! It shall soothe your soul, this Tieguanyin tea would. Harvested from the loftiest mountains of the Nrial Kingdoms. Worth its price in gold, or would you prefer silver, Argento?”

The lady laughed, her rusty throat sounding much like the crackling fire. Argento did not like what he saw. There were barely any teeth left, and the only one he could see was missing its other half.

Argento’s hand fidgeted as he lifted the tea to his lips. His was a cold no fire could soothe. Still, if anything would calm his nerves down, it would be this.

The aroma tickled Argento’s nose. From a cup that was also worth it’s worth in gold, he sipped the light green tea. Unsurprisingly, It flowed richly down his throat. He felt its relaxing potency glide upon his wretched nerves, his tense muscles finally succumbing to a moment of repose.

He sighed deeply, sinking into the softness of his chair.

“It is true, I feel my soul mellowing in its warmth.” Argento laid his eyes closed, immersing himself in its sensation.

“It’s the least I could to reply you, my boy. You did, against all peril and hazardous streets, did you carry this old lady to safety,” Ovalia said.

That was not how he remembered it. Argento opened his eyes to her sly figure, the sturdy cane lying beside her chair handle.

He felt his bruises itch. Ovalia had used it sparingly against him, when he was in a daze, and had commanded him to carry her to her estate-- in the Third District. Argento was, in a way, quite fortunate to meet such a powerful person, yet her obvious bitterness with how her life has been proceeding lessened the prospects of their meeting.

For a second, Argento had pitied the Ghouls that had been battered into mush by her.

“Not at all, my lady, it was the ordinary thing to do.”

“Saving this ancient, dying hag? I think not, young man.”

“Any passersby would have done the same, lady.”

“Such modesty, young man, such modesty! There were many passersby, yet none moved an inch to our needy assistance”

Please don’t count the dead.

“They were indisposed, lady, I could hardly blame them at all.”

She clicked her tongue, which Argento found odd, considering she had no teeth. Can you click your tongue without any teeth?

“Too indisposed to help a lady with a sprained ankle? Such kindness, young man!” She said, lowering her voice, “..ill-considered, even. Do not excuse the fool for his foolishness! ”

They were dead!

“I owe you a great favor for saving this old lady, that I do. Such bravery should be rewarded!”

“You flatter me, ma'am. I feel honored by your gratitude.”

“Mention it not, young sir, for this humble abode shall serve as your home.”

Suddenly, the leather seats Argento was seated upon were no longer as comfortable as they had been. He felt the sweat accumulate upon his brows.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“T-thank you for hospitality, ma’am, but I am afraid I will have to return to my household, as I am certain my kin are in dire need of me.”

Until this moment, Argento realized, Ovalia had been smiling. Only now did her flatter to a hold a grief-stricken face.

“Oh Argento, you poor thing. Have you not heard already? Your family...were not as fortunate. I am afraid that...they have passed, my dear boy.”

A small lump grew within Argento’s throat. For the first few moments, Argento stared dumbly at the lady, unable to comprehend the significance of her words. Gradually, then, as his nerves were tightening, the world around him gradually succumbed to chaos.

Dizziness overwhelmed him. He drank down the last drops of the tea, setting his cup on the table to his front. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again “A-re you certain, ma’am? The Danario family is quite a clev-”

“Their bodies were found, dear boy. All of them. You have my condolences, Argento.”

Argento sunk his head into the seat. His face had turned a bright pink, his eyes had closed to prevent any tears from seeping out.

A heavy moment passed, his head swirling in volatile emotion.

“Tea, sir?”

Just as the downpour of tears threatened to break through, Argento opened his eyes to the handsome face of the maid bending towards him, teapot in hand. The concern on her soft face was comforting.

He nodded at her, extending his teacup towards her.

For the next few minutes, Argento drank in silence.

“This...tea is quite good.”

“That it is, Argento.”

Argento nodded, standing up. He bowed towards the lady. “Thank you for your hospitality, lady. If I may turn in for tonight?”

The lady nodded, extending her hand towards the maid. “This young lady will guide you to your chambers. Sleep well, young man.”

Argento took a couple steps towards the door, his unsteadiness beckoning the maid to lead him with his elbows.

He stopped abruptly, nodding at the lady one last time, before exiting through the doors.

Two violet eyes peeked out of the darkness “Ghouls?...Do you never grow old of manipulating young, lusty, naive men, Ovalia?”

“And what about you, Naxia? Will you never grow out of those magic tricks?”

Naxia clicked her tongue, fully emerging from the darkness. It slipped off her limbs with obvious relent, releasing an alluring woman in her twenties.

She wore a complete black attire, the leathers sticking tightly to her skin. Her face was a pale white, as was her hair. She threw herself upon the seat, her boots slipping off cleanly.

“And just who benefits the most, out of these childish tricks, Ovalia?”

“The one who is a century age old with breasts that is yet to caress the ground she walks upon, that is who Naxia, that is who.”

A shiver sled down Naxia’s spine. “Agh! Why do you have to be like that!” Naxia cried, disgust clear on her face. She held her shoulders together, banishing the unpleasant thoughts.

“Why are you messing with the boy, anyway? He doesn’t seem like he’ll amount to much.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Ovalia shrugged, sipping her tea.

Naxia’s eyes narrowed “Come on, out with!”

“You would not like it, Ovalia, the possibility is better off unheard.”

“Try me.”

Ovalia sighed, setting the cup down. She straightened out her hunched back, laying her head on the chair. She rested her eyes as she did so.

“The Gods have begun another one of their power games.”

Naxila nodded “I’ve felt the powers move, with great effort, but what does that have to do with this little guy? He has no attribute which the Gods might seek in deriving their forces through”

Ovalia went silent. Naxia’s perplexed face turned into irritation upon she hearing her snoring. “Ovalia! Wake up you old hound!”

Ovalia stopped her snoring abruptly, lifting one eye-lit open, “Oh, I’m sorry dear, I thought you were going to answer the question you asked me to answer. ” Ovalia closed her eyes once again, her snoring beginning anew.

Naxia lifted her hands in resignation “Fine, fine you disgruntled fussy ball! Please do go on!”

Ovalia cleared her throat “...As I was previously saying. Another power game begins, though that is by itself does not warrant any more attention than it already receives.”

Leaning forward, she lifted one finger up “...the issue begins with how they are playing their games now. Nearly the entire populace has gained a Gift. A cumulative Gift, but the mos-”

“I haven’t gained any-” Naxia said, stopping her tongue halfway through. She coughed and turned her sight away.

“Yes, not everyone gained the Gift. It was mostly the younglings, probably the Seeds Of Influence, combined with a population which was just seeped off the leakage of power. Sata Nocte has already claimed us, so we’re largely immune to it, but as I was saying, the issue does not lay in the Gift itself,” Ovalia coughed lightly. She poured herself another cup leaned back in her chair, slowly sipping on it.

Naxia fidgeted in her seat. That old hound was doing this on purpose, and pushing her would only worsen the situation--thus Naxia bid her time, her muscles quivering in anticipation.

Surprise grew on Ovalia’s face. Had she, after a few hundred years, finally learned the value of patience?

Satisfied, Ovalia set the now-empty cup down, continuing. “Nearly every power game for the past few centuries has been the Gods bidding their Influence of the world against each other, yes?”

Naxia nodded, and, while her face stayed blank, her ankle twitched every so lightly in response to her mistake.

Hehe, Naxia, you idiot, you’re not supposed to be more than a hundred years old, remember dear?

Ovalia went on, not reacting towards Naxia’s slip up, “When was the last time that the Gods did not bid their influence directly on each other?”

Naxia thought for a moment, then replied in a slightly lower voice than her typical one “From what I remember from the history bo-” That, was actually quite humorous “-oks, is that it would go about three centuries ago…Oh Dylon’s tities this is going to be a fucking headache.”

Ovalia agreed wholly, “Yes, the less they bicker among each other, the more change that will come to our world. The Gifts that were granted in the process during that time…” among them, I believe, you, dear Naxia, “...hailed a couple centuries of fraught with them.”

Naxia groaned “I’m so tired of this! I just narrowly avoided Telum Dominus’s stupid plot to steal Notcis away from me! If it wasn’t for Sata Nocte stepping in…” another disgusting shiver slithered through “...and that was just a few years ago!”

“Oh, there is more.”

Naxia held her face in her hands “What could possibly be worse than this?” Naxia said, flinching. “I shouldn’t have said that, should I? That’s the part where it gets worse…”

Ovalia shook her head “Of course it could get worse!”

Pausing, Ovalia fully opened both of eyes “...A Siren...might have been born...”

Naxia leaped up, becoming still as a stick and gasped“W-w-wha--yeah sorry I have nooo idea what you’re talking about.” She then fell to seat, boredom seeping back into her.

Idiots, idiots everywhere I go, Ovalia thought, resigning herself to the comfort of her chair. She surrendered to sleep's embrace moments after.