Ascenders Rift

The day steadily moved towards its peak as Evan had now finished most of his shopping. At this time, he was standing before a large building with the title 'Dyothia' exquisitely written on its exterior. Occasionally, a few pristine cars would drive in and out of its compound as wealthy-looking individuals walked inside of the building.

"My remaining credits should be enough... I wonder if they have any of those in stock," Evan thought as he steps forward into the compound.

Not long after, Evan had arrived inside of the building, a room hardly filled with decoration as it had a more simplistic and professional design.

As Evan made his way towards a counter, he couldn't help but overhear a female employee speaking to some clients.

"Our company has the number one clinically proven product that is sure to satisfy all our client's needs, be it in treatment of the flesh, internal injuries, broken limbs, or even… innate defects. With the use of our classified pastes and liquids, you can be certain to be fulfilled." The female employee said with a professional smile on her face.

The listeners were a man and woman with a look of interest on their faces; it seemed that this was their first-time learning of these products.

Evan paid them no mind as he had now arrived at the counter, not even wasting a moment, the male receptionist spoke, "Welcome to the Dyothia Corporation, how may we be of service?"

"I would like to purchase 12 D Grade DH Tubes, how much would this cost?" Evan said directly.

The receptionist glanced at the projected screen before his eyes and replied, "Each Dyothia Healing Tubes are equivalent to 100 credits, factoring it all together we have a total of 1200 credits, are you okay with this purchase?"

Evan nodded and replied as he handed over the card, "That's perfect,"

Not long after, the purchase was complete, and the receptionist had given Evan a square-shaped metal canister.

Evan opened it and saw that there were 12 different test tubes that were firmly fastened into slots, they each had a diluted blue liquid inside of it. His lips curved into a smile as he thought, "Though they are only a bit better than those healing pastes, they can at lease provide higher quality restoration, and even poison relief, especially for those who've suffered internal wounds. There are no such things as potions in neither of these Lesser Spaces or the Ascenders Rift after all, with this, I can say that we are now ready, but first, I'll meet Alan and have him deal with a few things."

Having arranged his thoughts, Evan started to leave the building, but as he arrived at the entrance, he couldn't help but notice the guards at the sides. They were strong-looking men dressed in black uniforms, with an emblem of an eagle with wings on their chest.

"So, it also turns out that the Dyothia Company has ties with the MSS. How interesting..." Evan thought to himself as he left the building.

The time was now that of noon as the streets were crowded with people heading out to get lunch from work. Evan quickly made his way through this crowd and headed towards the Golden Palace's main branch. Soon, he had arrived outside of an even larger building compared to the Dyothia Corporation. It had a large golden mat that paved a path from the entrance to its interior, decorated by many pieces of jewelry and golden sculptures.

Currently, inside a private room at the top of the building. Alan was seated around a desk, fiddling with a stack of paper in his hands as his face had a dark look.

"It's even more troublesome than I've thought, so many spies, so many places which their hands have already extended. Shit! That darn crown prince and the king aren't making things any easier, since when did they become so susceptive to outsider influences?" Alan said as he recalled the details on the paper, as well as how Rick's expression turned sullen when he was moments ago called in by his father.

Alan threw the stack of paper onto the table before he closed his eyes to ease his mood, but it was at this time, he heard a knock from the door followed by a voice.

"Sir, someone is here to see you." The person said.

Alan frowned as he spoke, "Who is it?"

"A boy named Evan, sir." The person replied.

Alan's eyes widened at this; he remembered that earlier today, the prince had already told him of Evan's agreement. Now that Evan had come here, his mood felt even better as he rose to his feet and spoke, "Let him in."

"Right away," The person behind the door said.

Not long after, Evan had entered the room and saw the somewhat beaming Alan. Evan smiled and spoke, "Mr. Alan, it's a pleasure to meet you again,"

"Evan, you sure took your time in making your choice. It's good to see that you are willing to fight for the betterment of humanity." Alan said as he reached out his hand and shook Evan's arm.

After pleasantries, both had sat down on the two-opposing seats around the table. An attendant came and placed down two cups of steaming hot tea before they left, leaving the two who silently sat while talking.

Evan looked at Alan and asked, "Hmm, where's Rick? I thought he was going to be here with you?"

Alan shook his head and replied, "He was called back to the palace; it seems that His Majesty the King has something to discuss with him."

Evan showed an in-depth look as he recalled some old memories, "That king, he died pretty early if I were to remember correctly, one week after the 1st Calamity. I believe it was said that he had some illness, but I never paid close enough attention, maybe this call-back has something to do with it."

After pondering here, Evan cleared his thoughts and spoke on a different topic, "Hmm, I see. Well, let's get the show on the road shall we; I can agree that we will be working together, but it must only be on a partnership basis and not as subordinate and boss. I will share whatever knowledge I have with you, and you will similarly share your discoveries with me. If one of us falls into trouble, the other must also use whatever means necessary to come to their aid. Are these terms acceptable?"

Alan frowned at these words; he pondered for a bit before a firm look came on his face as he replied, "Fine, since it's for a greater cause, then I can accept it."

Evan saw the somewhat struggling look on Alan's face and smirked before he spoke, "Ha, you look like you've just sold your soul to the devil, no need to be so cramped I am not going to ask that you travel to hell with me."

Alan, hearing Evan's joke lightened up a bit as he spoke with a laugh, "Haha! You say so, but with your strength, I doubt you'll ever need my help at all. I'll probably be the one who's counting on you for the most part."

"Every man has his forte; yours is both your strength and influence. Mine is purely reliant on personal power. Speaking of which, I may need your help to clarify a few puzzles," Evan said while sipping tea.

"Hmm, I wonder just what these puzzles of his are?" Alan thought to himself as stared at Evan deeply before he asked, "And what might those be?"

Evan placed the cup down and spoke, "I want you to look into a matter regarding my father's and mother's passing, and then look into two person's details. They are Milano and Leah Lewis, look up their accounts, and see if you can pull up any strange activities."

Alan thought nothing of this; he calmly sipped tea and replied, "This can be easily done."

Evan smiled and then spoke once more, "The next thing I want to find out is information on the Val Corps; anything you have would be more than enough."

Alan looked at Evan with a bit of surprise as he spoke: "Hmm, so you've come to find out about their strangeness I take it? You're lucky, I just recently got that brat from the MSS to squeeze out some details."

Evan couldn't help but show a look of shock on his face when he heard those words. He calmed his mood and spoke, "Well, this is a surprise, can I see those details?"contemporary romance

Alan's eyes flashed as he thought to himself, "Well-well, it looks like I'm the one who's still in control. Brat, I won't be giving you these details for free..."

Alan then made a sly grin and pointed at a few papers on the table and spoke, "You can, but they won't come cheap, you'll have to give me something of equivalent value kid."

Evan didn't try to argue with the middle age fox; he knew he would get nowhere. He thought to for a bit before he tossed one of the Black Crystal Pendants towards him. As he did this, he then took up the paper and rose to his feet as he spoke, "That pendant can prevent any of your stats from properly showing to the eyes of an Ascender. So long as you give it a strand of your Battle Energy, it will allow for you to block which you don't wish to be seen... take care now, Alan."

As he said this, Evan prepared to leave the area as the time for their departure was already nearing, he also needed to head their first to greet everyone. However, at this time, Alan's face was one of immense shock; he got up and looked at Evan as he asked, "You... is that even possible?"

"Nothing is impossible," Evan replied nonchalantly.

Alan looked at Evan deeply before he sighed and replied, "I know how valuable this pendant is, thanks. I'll make sure to look into that matter of yours properly."

"That's all I needed to hear. See you in more than a week, Manager Lawson." As Evan said this, he then opened the door and left, leaving behind the silent Alan, who looked at the pendant with keen eyes.

Alan then shifted his eyes to the door and spoke in a voice only he could hear, "This brat is even more mysterious than I'd thought..."

done.co