Alix had finally left the courtesy showers, and walked out to see Vaylor glowering at him. Alix was somehow getting used to his hardened gazes. His heart no longer dropped, and his throat didn't dry up every time his crimson eyes bored into him.
Strange…
"You look like a man now, Alix. But do tell me, what took you so long in there, huh?" Vaylor hissed.
"Sorry, I was speaking to someone."
Vaylor raised a brow. "Speaking to who?"
"A Mayfor Mulliven. Have you heard of him?" Alix frowned, knowing that he most definitely did.
Vaylor sighed and then turned away. He brushed aside a lock of his grey hair, and then spoke with a modicum of acceptance in his voice. ''He told you, didn't he? About my goals."
Alix nodded. ''He also told me to stay away from you.''
''What on earth is a Mulliven even doing in a courtesy shower? Sigh. Are you going to take his advice?'' Vaylor scoffed.
''No. But I at least want an explanation. Why would you—"
Vaylor waved him off, ''Not right now. Let's focus on shopping today. Come, we have much more to do.''
"Much more to do? We already got the clothes, though?"
"Aye, Claymore already paid for it by the counter. But there's still much we need to fix. Your hair, first of all, is a mess. It's like a black mop is sitting on your head. We also need to get you some jewelry, have you actually looking like you care about your appearance. Then hygiene products, skin products, and your own personal clothes."
Alix felt like Vaylor was just simply projecting his lifestyle onto him. The man was kempt and clean, and his hair was lightly tousled by some experienced hairdresser.
Yeah, he really does want to dress me
They had went to multiple different stores. By the time they were done, Alix was exhausted, and he looked like a completely different person. He had a clean haircut, two sparkling rings adorned his fingers, a single ear had been perforated to fit in an earring, and Claymore had taught Alix how to fix his tie and shoelaces.
The man was carrying all the shopping bags that they left with. Alix felt sorry for him, he kind of looked like a slave carrying an unnecessary amount of things, and he carried it the whole way to the car. Alix had almost fallen asleep along the way, and had to slap himself to stay awake.
The sky was a blazing orange. The sun was sinking back into the belly of the sky, and Alix watched with heavy-lidded eyes as Claymore stuffed every bag into the trunk of the car.
When he was done, he hopped into the car and sat in the backseat. Vaylor was already in the vehicle, sitting in silence, and Claymore got in after and turned on the engine.
The moving vehicle made him even more sleepy. He felt as though he was being rocked in his mothers arms, and the balmy air of the car only helped with finally putting him into a deep slumber.
There was nothing but darkness for a while, but in the void of sleep, a green light washed away the black world with a single wave. Where Alix once felt nothing, he could feel a cold surface biting into his skin.
He stood up quickly, blinked back the sleep from his eyes, and looked around at the world that surrounded him.
Where am I?
Green tendrils of smoke permeated through the air, a spiraling staircase accelerated into the green horizon, and upon closer inspection, Alix realised that the staircase and the throne on top of it were made out of corpses and worms.
Sitting silently on the throne was a man whose face was shrouded by smoke and darkness. Alix's heart thundered in his throat, the last time he felt such fear he was when he was weeping and kneeling before Lord Vaylor.
"Who are you!?" Alix called out, and as he did, the world became more…windy. He felt a breeze whipping against his face, and the green smoke began surrounding him as if he was prey. A tendril wrapped itself about him as if it were a lasso, and then pulled him towards the silent figure on the throne.
Alix thrashed and struggled, but his struggle was fruitless. There was simply nothing he could do.
The closer Alix got to the throne, the more perilous the world became. Thick black worms bloomed from the ground, the same ones he had seen in the mines, and there were even more that made others seem like harmless pets.
Another worm had sprouted out from the ground, this one was humongous and metallic, bearing razor-sharp teeth that danced all around its circular mouth.
Green mucus began oozing out of its mouth, and when they touched the ground, it sizzled and boiled until there was nothing but a black void where the ground was meant to be.
Various other worms bloomed, each one was more menacing than the last, and each one watched Alix with their non-existent eyes. Alix didn't even have the words to speak, his mind was an empty blank canvas overridden by fear and apprehension. All he could do was wait for the fate the silent figure had in store for him.
The green smoke lowered him onto the bloody platform where the throne was sitting. Alix's legs were wobbling, and he threw up with revulsion. The platform had been made with many different corpses, some of them were even human. A bleeding eyeball was glaring back at him, forcing Alix to quickly look away.
"It's been a while, Alix." The silent figure said.
Alix could recognise his voice from anywhere. The more he spoke, the more he thought back to the mines and the mysterious man he had met. "I-it's…it's you. The strange man."
"Yes, it's me. How have you been?" The man replied. Alix found it hard to focus on his face, it was already shrouded by smoke and darkness, and there were a bunch of diminutive worms that covered the man's entire body. He wore the little creatures like he would a robe, and his hair was filled with them too, damp and slick with mucus.
"I've—I've been well. Doing well, you know. W-what about you?"
"I've been watching you." He said, ominously.
"May I ask why?" Alix gulped.
"Various reasons. First, let me ask you, why are you wasting time?"
"Wasting time? What do you mean?"
"Alix, you have no idea of the danger you are in."
Alix felt like his head was spinning. There was so much he had taken in before, Mayfor, Vaylor, and the Great Reset. And now he was in danger?
"How am I in danger?"
"The silent fangs, Alix. They are watching you, and Vaylor knows. He's had their eyes watching him for years, but you cannot feel them as he does."
"The empire's agents?! Why are they watching me?"
"Suspicion blooms where things do not make sense, Alix. Suspicion blooms. They look at you and wonder why Vaylor cares so much about a child that tames worms. They ask questions in the shadows where nothing but schemes loom."
"What…what questions?"
"'Where did this boy come from.'" The man replied. "They're lining up the dots, and are actively trying to fit the pieces. Alix, you have no time. Get stronger, gain strength. Gain the power you need to fend against your future enemies."
"What's the point? I'm going to lose it all during the Great Reset. I'll have to work my way up again."
The man shook his head. "No. You aren't a natural born tamer. And you also gained your power after The Voice established the system. No such reset will affect you. Like Vaylor said, you are an anomaly."
Alix felt relief washing over him, but the man's words quickly pierced through it. "You have no time, Alix. Through rifts, many a beast will swoop back down into the world to devour the vulnerable tamers, and many men will be aiming for your life. Raina is not enough, she will not protect you against what is to come. The academy will teach you of the wilderness, the grassy plains, the forests, all of the territory belonging to the empire which will be rampant with creatures of your tamer type, and you could acquire many more that spiral into our world. The worms call to you, Alix. They call to you! Go to the rubble, go to the rubble, go to the rubble, GO TO THE RUBBLE! "
Alix was blown away by nothing but his words. The green tendrils vanished, and so did the bloody throne, the spiraling staircase, and the giant worms. Alix could no longer feel the fear clawing at his heart, nor could he feel the cold ground beneath his feet.
The stench of blood, death, and corruption had been swept away by the returning black void that also denuded the green light that had once illuminated the world.
There was nothing but darkness once again, and Alix felt his consciousness slipping away as he fell back into a deep slumber.