The rainy season was near Navaka, so all the people were busy buying umbrellas near Viktor's neighbour. The sky was becoming dark and the clouds were becoming heavier. The rain was about to fall.
Viktor looked far away from his balcony and saw a heavy cloud make thunder that landed on a tall building. The sky began to rumble after that.
At that time, Adonis came with a cup of hot coffee and said,
"Master, a storm is coming."
"Hm. It's coming."
The cold wind of the stormy weather blew the curtains and made its way to the opposite side of the apartment.
"Master, are you going to stay outside at this hour? The rain is coming fast."
Viktor opened his eyes and saw the heavy rainfall coming towards him. So, he took the empty notebook and went inside with Adonis to enjoy his hot cup of coffee.
"Master, my test subject is ready."
"Already? I gave you some books only a few months ago. Did you already make those machines and apply them?"
"Yes. They were easy to build with magic spells. But master, I'm curious about one thing."
Viktor took a sip from his coffee mug and asked, "What?"
"The machine called Robot. What exactly is that?"
"Oh, it's the same thing as a clone but made with metal and operated by machine. It's also called Artificial intelligence or simply called AI."
Adonis was stunned to think that humans made such machines without any magic. So he made puppy eyes to beg without saying a thing.
"Why are you looking at me like that-_-?"
"Master, I want to learn about AI."
I knew this would happen. But how can I say no with those eyes? He knows what he is doing. Hah! I think I hate to make some more books for him now.
"Okay, but later. I'll teach you but we need to clear our first mission. Let's go."
"But it's raining outside master."
"That's why it's a perfect time. Get your raincoat. We're going out for a hunt."
There are only 3 guardians who left the guardian realm on their own. They weren't listed as criminals but after seeing the war, they decided to leave.
But they weren't able to go back because of the lack of strength. That's why one of them decided to eat powerful intelligent beings to gain power.
One of them made his way through the gates but he was kicked out and now he's in deep sleep on a different planet.
And the last one stays closer to the dragon guardian but he stays hidden by mimicking humans but changes his appearance once a month. But most of the time, he uses invisibility to walk around and to isolate himself from mortals.
His invisibility and the skill to hide his identity is so great that even the dragon guardian isn't aware of his existence.
One of the powerful 8th-generation guardians is the guardian of the dark. He's basically the lord of the dark who controls shadows and can walk through any dark place. He has no physical shape but can mimic any kind of living beings or non-living things as he wishes.
But the creator didn't think of him as a bad person so he passed the criminal list. But after the war broke out, he left the guardian realm in frustration and decided to live beside the dragon guardian in secret. But little did he know that his identity was going to be uncovered by a person who was supposed to be dead.
He lives near this narrow street neighbour right beside the temple as a shopkeeper. But why did he keep his shop open on this stormy evening? Nobody is going to come and buy things from him now.
Viktor folded his umbrella and hung it on a hanger. The shop was empty so the shopkeeper was somewhere else. So, he went inside after taking off his overcoat and took a seat.
"Master, it seems like the shopkeeper isn't here."
Suddenly, a man appeared from behind and asked, "Welcome customers. What brings you here in this stormy weather?"
The shopkeeper smiled elegantly and went in front of them to ask them what they wanted.
"Mr shopkeeper is really good at keeping his shop clean."
"Thank you, dear customer. Shall I serve you two cups of tea? Then we can talk about business."
"Sure. That will be great."
He didn't notice my presence yet, but he's worried about Adonis's presence. I'm sure he's super curious. But it's not the time yet.
The shopkeeper came and served them two cups of tea with the item menu. It was a jewellery shop where men's accessories were sold.
"You have good designs," Viktor said.
"Yes. They are the new collection for this month."
They are good. But it's too fancy. But where is the earring section? Don't men wear earrings in this world? How long do I have to make my own thing in this world?
The shopkeeper saw the disappointment on Viktor's face and asked, "Dear customer. Is there something wrong?"
"Is earring only for women here? Do you take special orders for male earrings?"
Viktor took out a silver earring and showed It to the shopkeeper. "This is what I'm talking about."
The shunned shopkeeper took the earring and said, "I can't believe someone actually made these. Isn't it shameless to wear earrings when you are a man?"
"Hahahaha! What are you talking about? In the northern kingdoms, earrings are the symbol of beauty and fashion. But they use monsters' bones or teeth."
The shopkeeper went blank.
"Anyway, I will give you 10 gold for 5 new designs. It's a good deal, right? Welis?"
All the windows and the door to the shop suddenly closed and the lights went out. The shop became jet black but Viktor wasn't bothered by it. He was staring at the dark guardian's soul.
"I can't believe someone from the dragon guardian base will figure out my identity which I never told anyone in my whole life. Perhaps, you're also a guardian who left the realm on his own?"
"You're mistaken. I'm not from the dragon guardian or the guardian realm directly. I'm just a passerby who wants to invite you to travel with me."
"And why would I do that? Based on that man's smell and senses, I'm sure he is a high-class demon with a small unstable guardian fragment in his soul. So, you must be a demon guardian who's a criminal."
Viktor put his teacup on the table and said,
"Are you going to report it to the heaven guardians?"
"Nah, too much pain. Moreover, they are blind creatures who's following some stupid orderd for over a million years. And I don't follow their judgement."
"So, do you want to come with me?"
The shopkeeper took the cups and said, "Get to the point. What do you want from me? I can guess you are planning something really bad."
Viktor smiled in the dark and said, "I want that dragon's head."
The aura around them changed. It became so cold and misty that Adonis started to feel uncomfortable. So he moved away from them and took a seat far away from them.
"To think you knew that lizard's identity as well. Tell me who you are before I squish your organs out of your body."
"Okay then."
The shopkeeper became dumbfounded by his answer and said, "Eh? You're going to tell me your identity that easily?"
"Yes. Sit down and put that huge sword away. I can clearly see those tentacles webbing around in this dark very well."
"Oh…"
The shopkeeper took a seat and turned on the lights to interact with him clearly. He was curious about his identity.
"I am Viktor North. A human who's born on this planet. Graduated from Lyfrone Academy 14 years ago. And a person who's going through his 2nd reincarnation."
"Wait a second. You remember your past life? That's not spiritually possible. And if you are an ordinary person, how did you know about me?"
Viktor gently smiled and said, "I'm the reincarnation of the guardian of records, known as Elerous."
It was the first time the guardian of darkness felt pressured and scared. He felt his sweat drop from his forehead that reacted to his knee. He was scared to death.
"Don't be scared. I'm not going to hurt you or something."
The shopkeeper looked at his face with some bravery and asked, " I thought your soul was purified. How is your brother? Is he dead too?"
"No, he is alive somewhere in this universe. And my soul passed the reincarnation stage before the purification. So yes, I'm alive."
"I can't believe I'm talking with the greatest criminal who was on his way to becoming a god. But what do you want from his weakling guardian who can just walk through the shadow?"
"You will be the last guardian staying on this planet if I kill the dragon. That's why I'm telling you to come with me."
The shopkeeper stayed silent for some moment and said, "I get it. God has really given up on this universe, right?"
"Sadly, it's the truth. And I don't think he's coming back with mercy."
The shopkeeper looked at the floor with his jet-black eyes in frustration and said, "I'm sorry but I have to decline your offer. I can't leave before I see the ending of this world."
He bowed his head and again said, "I will stay here even if I'm regretting my life but it's my final decision. Please accept my opinion."
"Then, I'll have to erase this day's moment from your head. I'll be your regular customer, so don't worry."
"Please do as you wish. I won't regret it since I'm going to forget it anyway."
Viktor took out his black record book and said," It was nice to meet you."
Some paragraphs from the page became blank on the book he was holding so he smiled a little after seeing a small part of the future.
I see. You are going to follow Adonis from now on and you're going to end up in my house countless times. How funny!
It's so funny that I'll have to introduce myself to you again in just 2 days.
But this*** You're still going to reject my offer.
Viktor's soul wanted to rest after seeing his future struggles on the dark guardian's record.