The rising sun's rays illuminated the tall towers of Crystalis and the people of the city woke up to a new day.
Eravon opened his eyes and rubbed the sleep from them. It looks like he had fallen asleep on the tavern counter.
Somebody was kind enough to cover him with a comfortable blanket. "How thoughtful.", he said and stretched. That was the best sleep he had ever had in millennia.
"Good morning mister.", a nice young woman greeted him with a bright smile.
He smiled back at her, "Thanks for putting up with me yesterday and I am sorry if I inconvenienced you."
She shook her head, "Oh not at all, dear sir. Your stories were very entertaining. You could be a Taler and be famous with your amazing stories."
He chuckled, "A Taler huh? What an interesting thought."
The girl suddenly stopped talking and Eravon saw the reason. She was frozen in place, her mouth open as she was halfway into a conversation.
He noticed that it was not only her but everything else around him that had stopped moving.
Time has stopped flowing and a deafening silence surrounded him.
The door to the tavern opened and a cloaked figure stepped in. Eravon looked sideways at the visitor and smiled. "Well well well. This is a rare visit."
The figure removed its hood revealing Eravon himself standing at the doorway, "We meet again, Immortal Warlock.", the doppelganger said with a smile.
The being carried no presence and no magia but there was something ancient and powerful about him.
The real Eravon walked to the counter, "Since everyone is currently immobilized, I will host you."
He looked and the person changed form again, now he has taken the form of the young waitress of the tavern.
Eravon placed a glass and a shaker on the counter, "Pick your poison. How long has it been since we had a drink together? Order?"
The person named Order, now in the form of a wolf demi beast with grey hair and red eyes, sat down and leaned in front of the Warlock, he changed form again, now a teenage girl with white hair, fair skin, and heterochromatic eyes.
She looked quite similar to Eravon, like a sibling. Her crimson and blue eyes sparkled as she spoke with a mischievous smile, "I'll have whatever you decide to make."
"Very well. But please refrain from taking that form in front of me, Order. I don't care that you are a Concept like Death that manages the workings of Creation, I will beat you up real hard.", Eravon said with a sweet smile.
Order chuckled, changing into Eravon's doppelganger but with raven black hair and crimson eyes, "Oh my. You are quite the scary one. It was a joke."
"And a bad one at that.", Eravon said and started mixing with the shaker. He took out a glass, held out his hand, and created a perfect and clear ice sphere.
He placed it in the glass and poured the drink into it. Order took a sip and let out a satisfied sigh, "Exquisite, as expected of you."
"Thanks.", Eravon put the shaker down and leaned forward, "So. How are things going for you?"
Order, now in the form of a man in his forties who looked identical to a certain Air Cardinal frowned, "Hectic. And I can't help but blame you."
The warlock raised an eyebrow, "Now. What did poor old me do?"
"You brought the android from your world to here without my knowledge. A huge feat in itself. It is not easy to hide from me. But things got tricky when he woke up. I was scrambling around to fix the ramifications."
"You know how hard it is to prevent reality from collapsing whenever an Immortal Warlock jumps from one universe to another like a traceur jumping from building to building?"
Eravon nodded with sympathy, fully aware that he was the one making life hard for the Concept.
"And that damned Chaos was laughing his socks off the whole time! He loves seeing me in distress.", Order sighed.
"Well. You are Order and Chaos. You are bound to be opposites."
"I know.", Order, now in the form of a blonde elven woman, finished her drink and looked at him.
"Even Death isn't happy at the thought of another undying being entering this universe."
"Ah yes.", Eravon recalled meeting that being. It was not a pleasant one, "I guess Death is still angry with me?"
"Oh definitely. After all, you escaped from the hands of Death through immortality. I still hear complaints about that.", Order replied, now in the form of a black-haired young man with purple eyes.
Eravon frowned, "I don't get why Death is angry with only me. The Crowns are immortal as well."
"There is a difference, Eravon. The Crowns have extended life spans. Sure, they can retain their youth but they will eventually die after a few thousand years.", Order replied.
"But you Eravon will live on forever. Even if the multiverse dies off, you will remain indefinitely."
The warlock smiled bitterly, "Gee. Thanks for reminding me of my curse."
Order shrugged, "We all have to live with our curses, Eravon."
"I know. I have already accepted my fate."
"Perhaps that is why your dear friend created those machines, to make sure you are not alone.", the Concept said, now in the form of a blue-haired elf with eyes like the ocean.
"Perhaps.", Eravon trailed off before snapping back to reality, "Alright. So what are you here for? Surely it wasn't just to have a drink from me."
Order smiled, "I just wanted to see you, young warlock. Inferno has awoken in the young child. There will be huge changes and things will get loopier for me now."
She stood up, now in the form of a female demon with dark green hair and emerald eyes, "Please inform me when you will be jumping universes next time or doing any stunt like bringing an otherworldly artificial being with you."
Eravon nodded, "Sure. Say hi to Chaos and Death for me."
"I will. Until we meet again. Goodbye.", Order put on her hood and exited the door, whistling an otherwordly tune that sent chills down the Immortal Warlock's spine.
Time started to flow like normal.
"I bet you will make a killing with your stories.", the waitress spoke and looked surprised.
"Mister? How did you reach behind the counter?", she asked in confusion. Just a moment ago the man was talking with her.
Eravon smiled, "Oops. I may have accidentally teleported. You see, I have the Space attribute and it becomes wacky after I have a few drinks."
"Ah. So you're a warlock?" He nodded, "Yep. Now can I have a cup of black coffee? I'm feeling kinda stressed right now."
The waitress nodded and went to the kitchen.
"That was nerve-wracking.", saying these words, Eravon exited the counter and collapsed on one of the many dining chairs in the tavern.
He sighed, "Even a Concept is starting to make moves. You are making big waves, Seventeen."
He looked outside the window and saw people walking by on the street, starting a new day in their lives. He thought for a moment and stretched his arms. "Howe about I go say hi to him?"
*******
Two days later...
Seventeen waited in the lobby of the dorm.
He was dressed casually in a grey shirt and black pants, brown boots, and his weapon gloves. Selene was comfortably perched on his shoulder.
He looked up the stairs, 'Should I go up and check on her?'
(Do you want to repeat history, Seventeen?)
Memories of the incident flashed across his mind.
'I guess I'll keep waiting here.'
But Seventeen found it hard to stay completely still. He tapped the floor with his boots and he couldn't stop stroking Selene's smooth silver feathers.
Every minute he checked himself to see if he looked good enough. This is the first time he is like this.
(Nervous?)
'I would be lying if I said no. This is my first date after all.'
(Hey. Don't worry. It's just lunch and some sightseeing.)
'I hope so.'
It has been two days since they returned. They spent one more day on the island to relax after the fiasco with Inferno.
Things were quite tricky after Inferno gave back Arthur. There was a lot of explaining to do and so Zephyrus declared one more day off.
The students were quite glad that they had another day off. They didn't get the chance to properly enjoy their barbeque due to, well, circumstances.
As for Arthur? He was immediately taken to the infirmary of the academy after slipping into unconsciousness.
'I am glad he is fine now.', Seventeen thought.
Nothing major had affected his body and he is resting right now.
'Perhaps we should meet him on the way?'
(Good idea.)
"Good Morning, Sir. Going somewhere?", Minerva asked as she came down the stairs. Seventeen had allowed everyone to sleep in late today.
The Battle Festival is fast approaching and the students, probably fired up by the awesome battle between the instructors and Cardinal Knight captains, were training hard since returning from the island.
Seventeen had hoped to leave with Ruth before they woke up.
(Time to put that silver tongue to work.)
"Morning, Minerva.", he greeted her, "I and the Popsicle were going to visit Arthur today."
"Oh, then can I come too?"
He smiled, "Don't you have training today?"
She frowned, "You know. You are dressed rather nicely for a hospital visit.", she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
(Wow. She is sharp.)
"Um. Isn't it good manners to dress nicely when meeting a patient?/"
"Not necessarily so."
"I'm ready!", Ruth said as she climbed down the stairs.
Seventeen was taken aback.
"Whoa."