The higher floors of Blue Ember were dedicated to suites rather than singular rooms. Dante couldn’t remember the last time he had been in one of those so the layout felt a bit disorienting to him.
His guide led the way to a wide living room that opened up to a balcony. There was a bar in one corner, a classic piano on a nearby podium, a TV screen that took over an entire wall, and several sofas arranged around it in a circle.
The decorations were sparse but well coordinated, enhancing the relaxing atmosphere of the area. Every piece of furniture was made with luxury in mind and so one couldn’t help but want to sit down and relax. That was the likely reason why a group of men wearing similar suits to his guide were just chilling on the sofas, while another one sat near the bar drinking while one of them played the role of a bartender.
They all stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes in the direction of the entrance, which gave Dante the shivers. Forcing himself to remain calm, he swept the area with his eyes and counted twelve men in black suits, making him wonder if it was a uniform of some kind. Only another two seemed to have their origin in the east, but that didn’t say a lot.
Volcan didn’t rush to make a threat evaluation, still unsure if that might expose them. Despite that, Dante couldn’t help but feel like each and every man in that group was dangerous in their own way, even if they didn’t have magic powers.
According to the 3D model, they were currently inside one of the black areas. Volcan had alerted him when they crossed its boundary, having sensed a barrier of some kind, but Dante didn’t notice any change. At the very least, nothing seemed to be different from the rest of the hotel.
The guide motioned for a small set of stairs on the other side of the wide room and began making his way toward it. Surprisingly, none of the other men in black said anything or tried to interact with them. They didn’t even whisper among themselves, instead following him with their eyes until he disappeared into the higher level of the living space.
Dante was on edge, to say the least. He prepared to summon his Blue Berry at a moment’s notice, and he asked his resident AI to ready Type 8-3 in case they needed to make a quick escape.
When his guide stopped at one of the doors and turned to face him, the two exchanged a look before the suited man raised a hand and knocked. The door slid open right away, and a moment later, a firm voice resounded from within.
The suited man didn’t respond, only staring at him with his sharp eyes. Dante swallowed his hesitation then walked in, soon finding himself inside a small office. The walls had no windows, with one of them housing a massive aquarium. Its interior was the only source of light in the room, illuminating the various creatures swimming behind the clear glass and leaving everything else shrouded in a weak glow.
Right in front of it was a wide desk decorated with a number of items, including a few books and a number of framed photos. Dante noticed that the chair behind it had its back turned to him, blocking him from seeing whoever was sitting on it. The theatrics helped calm him down, even if a little. Because of that, he didn’t react to the door closing behind him at all.
The same voice that invited him inside spoke again. There were two chairs in front of the long desk, as well as a sofa facing it. Choosing the latter, Dante made his nervousness visible and did as he was told.
The silence filling the dark office became even more unnerving with each passing second. Whoever was sitting behind that desk seemed intent on having him wait, likely to add on to the stress pressing him down and make him easier to break.
’Something... feels off...’
The silence of the room caused a strange ringing to fill his ears. There should have been nothing strange about it, but it kept getting louder and louder to the point that it was starting to cause a light headache.
"Dante Sokolov." The deep, raspy voice spoke again after a couple of minutes, tearing Dante’s line of thought. "This is the fifth day since your employment at the second restaurant on the twenty-fifth floor. Is that correct?"
The ache suddenly grew sharper, causing Dante to wince and hold a hand to his head.
He hadn’t intended to respond right away, but the answer slipped from between his gritted teeth. The silence returned, and the ringing continued to get louder.
"Why did you seek employment in this establishment?"
Another question came soon after, but as he moved to answer it, Volcan’s voice resounded in his head.
[Threat Evaluation: Level 3 Aetherion. Dante, I believe you are currently under the influence of an Aether-induced mental attack. I suggest deploying Type 9-4 to counter its effects.]
’A mental... attack?’
As he lingered on the thought, the pain only grew stronger. Dante gritted his teeth and gazed at the chair behind the desk, his vision losing its sharpness as cold sweat slowly seeped from his skin. His mind raised to choose an answer, but he was unable to resist for long.
As soon as he gave the answer, the pain began to subside, but it didn’t disappear entirely. That gave him a hint on the nature of the phenomenon he was experiencing, and he quickly adjusted his mentality to face it. When he heard the next question, Dante felt glad that he had made an effort to choose the previous answer.
"Did you have any ulterior motives for choosing to work at this establishment?"
Lingering for a few moments, he gave a concise reply.
The pain weakened as soon as he said the word. When the following silence stretched, he took that as confirmation that his guess had struck true, and the nature of the mental attack unfolded before him right away.
=================================
For the months of May, June and July 2025, the first and only Privilege tier will cost only 1 Coin! Please read the latest Chapters as they come out!