The Innkeeper

Chapter 2372: The beginning of the end times III

"What just happened?" Tiny-Sparkles asked, alarmed by the sudden change. The others were just as shocked since they weren’t able to adapt to the changes quick enough. Jack himself did not know the answer, but he had a few suspicions.

On the surface it seemed like a fight between Dao Lords had been triggered because of the figure that was being smuggled through Pebbles’ cheeks, however Jack found that hard to believe. If he was really smuggling an item which could attract the attention of Dao Lords, the protection he should have had should have been at an entirely different level.

No matter how well hidden or camouflaged those Celestials were, it still wasn’t at the level where it could fool actual Dao Lords, nor did Lex think that Pebbles’ cheeks could isolate items from detection by Dao Lords.

If he had to guess, this was either a journey that had been designed to fail from the beginning, acting as the first falling domino. Or it could be that while the figurine itself was not so significant, it ended up being a crucial key or hint in revealing a much larger plan.

"I don’t know, but if we get out of this I swear I’m going to barbecue that hamster," said Longbeard as he glared at Pebbles who hid behind Jack.

Jack himself wasn’t too pleased with the mischievous hamster, but now wasn’t the time.

"Do not be alarmed," a voice said to the group, before a figure of panther with white wings appeared in front of them. "You have been recognized as trusted subordinates of the Dwarf Dragons, and your role in exposing this injustice has been recognized. No matter what happens outside, you will be kept safe, and duly rewarded after the event is over."

The panther was a peak Celestial, and even felt like a Celestial Apex, easily able to subdue the entire crew if he wanted. Then again, inside a Mirage, it wasn’t like there was much they could do.

"What exactly is happening outside? Will we be targeted because of it? One of my crewmates was being used against his will to smuggle that figurine," said Jack, explaining the situation clearly lest they be blamed for something later.

"It’s nothing too serious as of now. It’s just that outsiders don’t understand the private details of the culture of the upper echelon of the Folklore realm, and so they misjudged the situation. You can understand it as someone was setting up a situation that could lead to a possible invasion of the Folklore realm far in the future.

"But the Dao Lords of the Folklore realm hardly ever leave the realm, and don’t fight each other often, so the slightest possibility of a fight has them all excited and competing for a fight. Outside, currently, about nine Dao Lords are fighting each other all for the opportunity to fight against an image of a Dao Lord from outside the realm."

The crew was stunned, and quite frankly, not sure how to respond without accidentally offending someone, thus they wisely chose not to speak at all.

"An attempt at setting up for an invasion... isn’t a big deal?" asked Jack, confused. "Even I know the state of the universe as it is right now. How can a possible invasion be taken lightly?"

The panther chuckled at the question, as if it was a joke.

"Are any of the Sages troubled by the situation? Or any of the really big names? It would be easier for them to target the Dream realm than it would be for anyone to take over the Folklore realm. Rest assured, it is impossible to threaten the Folklore realm in the current state of the universe."

Jack and the rest were relieved... if only because the panther paused before continuing.

"Of course, it is worth noting that the one attempting this invasion is a member of a Sage race. The fact that they’re even trying such a thing right now means that other realms in the universe are basically open game right now.

"Unless someone can prove their strength, I guess every realm in the universe is open game right now. The structure of the universe will change forever after this. I guess they’ve found a way to reliably and easily hide news from everyone across the universe, so whatever we think is happening is likely far from the truth.

"Then again, the Sage races have been hiding their cards closely, so it’s no surprise that they can do something like this. I guess it’s true what they’re saying - this is officially the end of this Age, and maybe even this Era."

Jack paused, unsure about how to respond to this information. In truth, he didn’t know much about what was happening in the universe anyway, and all he’d heard was that it was a mess. If things were even worse than people were being led to believe then... he genuinely didn’t know how to feel.

What was even safe? Should he just stay inside the Gilded Hollow? But then what about his body? And what was happening in the Dream realm. It had felt this way for a long time already, but now more than ever, it was beginning to feel like this was the beginning of the end.

Or maybe the beginning had already passed, and they were now in the thick of things.

While Jack was worried about what was happening in the universe, Daekol smiled softly. After many years of careful work, he had finally broken through the barrier surrounding the human’s body.

Now it was time to start working on his system, and make it his own!

Slowly and carefully, almost as if he expected Lex to have hidden more traps within his body, Daekol reached forward to touch him, but stopped the moment he made contact with his chest, and his smile changed into a frown.

This human... his body was riddled with invisible curses, leeching off his destiny and karma. What kind of mess was he involved in? How many forces had he crossed to accumulate so many subtle curses?

If he wanted to get at his system, or make use of the human’s soul to manipulate the system, he would first need to cleanse these out. Daekol couldn’t risk getting these on himself.