The Innkeeper

A dozen seconds was an inconsequential amount of time for most mortals. Unless one was performing some excruciatingly difficult task, such as performing a plank or counting down the timer on a microwaves for food when starving, it would pass without even giving enough time for significant thought. A good stretch early in the morning would easily surpass such a time limit, and there was certainly almost no task that required less time.

Yet for immortals, 12 seconds was an eternity. With minds fast and powerful enough to work through countless scenarios and resolve an untold number of issues, each second was enough to determine life and death. It was ironic, really, considering that the greater their cultivation level became, the longer their fights took.

So for 12 seconds, the guards who stood outside the sealed prison lived through 12 lifetimes as they waited for an opening. Meanwhile, sounds of a bitter struggle could be heard from within. More and more guards also trickled into the outer room, joining the queue of those ready to face any threat.

Finally, when they were able to puncture a hole into the perimeter of the cell, dozens of spirit senses flooded in to investigate. The sight that awaited them was both extremely shocking, but also blatantly predictable. Ezio and Belmont were fighting!

But, with all his powers and cultivation sealed, Ezio was not fighting so much as he was struggling to survive. His entire body was covered in cracks, both big and small, indicating the bitter beating he had just suffered. Yet he was not dead yet. The crystals that made up his body were stronger than Belmont expected, and even with such an overwhelming advantage, he was not able to kill him.

Belmont, on the other hand, did not look so great either. He was not harmed, but the crystals that made up his body were all tinted with a deep, flowing red, hinting at his mania. As a Crystal who had constantly faced scrutiny and had to live with judgment and condescension from his peers, he was extremely sensitive to any negative news relating to him being spread.

Although not a shred of him believed Lex's claims, facing the possibility where it might be even 1% true and he had driven Lex away, he could not imagine the reproach he would face. But now, it was all for naught. Ezio had survived, and so he could not spin his own tale.

Before he could consider anything even more drastic, the guards streamed in and suppressed him as well. Things were out of his hands now, and his mania finally subsided. All that remained was regret - regret that he had not directly killed that stupid human the moment he saw him. Hatred flashed in his eyes.

Ezio, on the other hand, looked quite happy and even content. Soon he would be treated, and then he could investigate the matter that they had been informed of by Lex. Moreover, he still needed to pay Lex back for sharing a secret. While he himself was stuck in prison, for now, his clone was not. Fortunately, Lex had already shared the location of his tavern. The clone would head there directly.

*****

While Aegis waited for the Kraven army to pass so he could return to the Crystal realm, Lex teleported away. In a distant corner of the Inn sat Zagan, currently in a human form. He looked incredibly pale, almost as if he was sick, and had straight black hair. At a glance, he looked like a highschool kid from Japan.

But of course he was not. He was an immortal monster which had gained sufficient sentience, and a lazy loafer besides. He had spent a ridiculously long time to pass the test, and since passing he had only been cultivating. He had been no help at all.

Though, to be fair, from Zagan's point of view, he was the pinnacle of haste! The monster had lived for millions of years, so its concept of time was very different. Any ordinary task it performed would be stretched over a few years at least. In contrast, it did not even take a single year to finish the test. Moreover, it was currently undergoing a tribulation. If it succeeded, then it would undergo a period of rapid growth during which time it could only cultivate.

In his modest expectations, it would be another 6 or 7,000 years before his current cultivation cycle ended. It did not know much about the Midnight Inn, to be honest, but when it became a worker, it felt the bond created within its soul, linking it to the Inn. To be able to do that, the owner of the Inn definitely had to be much more powerful than it. In that case, he had probably lived much longer than Zagan, right? If that was the case, a few thousand years to get accustomed to its current level should be completely understandable.

In fact, he would not be surprised if he was commended for his speedy resolution of his personal affairs to show up to work. As his first ever job, he was looking forward to seeing what it would entail.

These were only some of the passing thoughts Zagan had while it underwent its latest tribulation. After the more commonly known tribulations, such as fire and lightning, ones it had already experienced before, it was now undergoing an entirely new form of tribulation.

An entity presented itself to Zagan in his mind in the form of an ancient, extinct race known as Farham. The Farham, for crimes unknown, were excluded from the cycle of life and death, and were sentenced to the bidding of 'Heaven' or the universe until they can atone for their sins.

In this case, that atonement was in the form of testing Zagan's mentality through a series of illusions it suffered in its mind. But as a monster that had lived for millions of years, this was perhaps the easiest tribulation it had ever faced. It was others, with far less life experience than it, who would really struggle with this tribulation.

Just as it was focused on its illusion, it felt a physical stimulus attracting its attention. Was this also a part of the tribulation? He felt the stimulus again, and opened its eyes to find a human standing in front of it, poking him.

Zagan immediately shut his eyes again! Although the tribulation it was suffering was easy, it could not afford to be distracted! Opening his eyes activated all kinds of techniques and abilities which subtracted from his main energy reserve. Too much of such stimulation would be dangerous for he currently did not have the ability to control his cultivation.

"What do you want, human?" he asked, his tone filled with arrogance and condescension. Excluding Alyssa, who had treated his wounds continuously, Zagan still saw humans as inferior beings. It was too used to it, after living an entire lifetime of only seeing them cower and fear before they died.

Unfortunately, Lex could not care less about his superiority complex.

"You're from the Crystal realm, right? You've lived there a long time? You probably have a lot of contacts and know a lot of secrets. I need your help."

"Now is not the time, human! Come back in 10 thousand years and I will consider sparing you for your transgression!"

Uncaring, Lex poked him in the face again.

"Listen here buddy, you've been freeloading off the Inn from the moment you came. I don't really mind, since the Innkeeper doesn't mind, but you better pay your dues. Are you going to help me, or should I have you sent back to the Crystal realm? I'm sure absolutely no one will come and bother you once they find out you're undergoing a tribulation."

Zagan panicked. What was going on? It had not even been a century yet and people were complaining that he wasn't working? What kind of job was this? He should have at least a 100,000 year notice before he is required to do any task so that he could rouse himself and adjust his mentality!

This… this… this was employee suppression! This was slavery! This… this was animal cruelty! Wait. Did it count as an animal?

"Wait till I am done cultivating. It will only take a few years."

"It's now or never buddy. You don't need to do much. Since you can talk, then just talk. I need to deliver a letter to the sacred lands of the Trelops and need to reach the Poloids' new country. I don't have a lot of time either, maybe a few days to a couple of weeks maximum."

"I cannot be distracted," Zagan said in a weak, pleading voice. But little did he know, his boss had his work ethics trained in the capitalistic center of the world. Humanity? Workers rights? Decent working hours? Such concepts were for hippies. Here, they got the job done.