The Innkeeper



The Midnight Inn was always busy, and the multitude of guests were all enjoying various experiences. Some were extremely significant, such as the agreement between Alexander and Lex. It was not easy for Alexander to trust someone, especially a person he knew for such a short time, but he had chosen to do so nonetheless. They shook hands.

Other experiences were mundane and ordinary, such as what Jill, the fox who participated in Lady Cosmos, was having. Since she had decided to live at the Inn in perpetuity, she had decided to take a nap under one of the purple crystal trees that filled the Inn. Due to the winter theme that the Inn was currently following, a thin blanket of snow covered the Inn's many hills, allowing her to nap comfortably. It was a good nap.

Some experiences were key moments in the guests lives, and would not only form their core memories but also shape their futures. Jimmy stood silently, his tiny fists clenched, as he watched Layla being taken away by her grandmother. She was a princess, and he was a nobody. She had been trained and nurtured since birth to be a leader, while he could not even speak to others due to shyness, until quite recently. Her disposition was perfect to cultivate, while he could not have been more average. Even if their 'engagement' had originally just been a joke during one of their games, the strong reaction it had elicited was enough to put him in his place. Unfortunately, Jimmy did not like the place he was being put.

Besides Jimmy, his mother Hera also looked ahead as she firmly held her son's hand with her right hand. She had been rising quickly on earth and their futures looked bright, right up until earth was invaded. She had played a significant role in allowing Will Bentham's Rose Society to expand, but now it was all worthless. Well, not quite.

She had gained significant experience through it, and that experience had been noticed and appreciated. In her left hand, she held a platinum key. Apparently, she had been noticed by the Inn's planning division, and they had recommended her for recruitment to the Inn. The Innkeeper had accepted, and she had just been delivered a key. She was a warrior in her own way, and she would fight to give her son a better life.

Other experiences still were intense and stressful, but were destined to be blurred in with the rest of the tough moments one had in their lives, such as with emperor Jotun, who was planning his future. It would be bloody.

Life was strange, in how one moment, experienced by different people in the same place, could hold so many different emotions and feelings. But every single one of those experiences was disturbed when a strange change occurred at the Inn.

Whether it was the two geniuses of earth who were shaking hands, whether it was the child lost in emotions he could ont understand, whether it was the emperor deciding the fate of entire galaxies, whether it was the fox that asleep, or anyone of the countless other guests at the Inn, they all looked up at the sky.

The rather calm and serene sky of the Inn changed, momentarily, to a starry night sky. But unlike the normal night sky, which was a beautiful tapestry of all that the universe had to offer, from moons to planets to stars and galaxies far off, this visage was that of its endless depth.

It evoked a feeling that all they saw was unfathomably less than all the universe truly held, and was a reminder that they were only looking at the very surface of the well of infinity.

They did not understand what was happening, but had the feeling that something significant was taking place.

In truth, the Inn was once again reacting to Lex's emotions. Usually, when the Inn reacted to Lex's emotions, it was because he was angry. It was because it would take significant enough emotions for Lex to subconsciously influence the Inn.

But currently, Lex was experiencing a subtle evolution in his mindset. It was unknown if it was because Lex had pretended to be the Innkeeper so long, or for other reasons, but more and more frequently Lex found himself unwilling to bend or give up. He was unwilling to be deterred, even by an entity so much stronger than himself, and he was unwilling to cower before the design of fate.

He was not stupid or arrogant, thinking he could resist the great powers of the universe simply because he decided not to. No, the difference between confidence and arrogance was ability. If he truly had the ability to resist, his desire to remain unyielding would become a result of his confidence, not mindless arrogance. He was fortunate enough to be given the tools to resist fate, he understood that. But using those tools effectively was also up to him.

He had been resisting the system for very long because he did not understand its purpose and what he stood to lose if it turned against him. While he still did not know the answer to that, he at least knew the answer to what he would lose if he didn't use the system to the best of his abilities.

If he had to send his workers outside the Inn, for whatever reason, he would make sure they upheld the dignity of the Inn, even on a battlefield. This was also a good reminder, not only for him but all the employees of the Inn. There wouldn't always be a convenient solution to problems, such as the Butter knife. Sometimes, they would have to get their own hands dirty.

With these subtle changes going through his head, Lex reached forward and put his hand on the rhinocentaur, reaching into its soul with his own soul sense.

He found a familiar shining golden speck and pulled it out.

System notification: New system detected! Analyzing the secondary system. Overnight Celebrity system grade D- detected. Begin assimilation? Y/N.