The lanes were dark, dim tinted lights peeping through the darkness. On the old brown walls were spray-painted art and marker scribblings.
The air was thick with the smell of stale smoke, cheap perfume, and even cheaper liquor.
Her boots clicked against the ground with every step she took and none of the activities taking place around her caused her to bat an eyelid. This was the home she knew.
A handful of youngsters, both male and female rested their backs against the walls with cigarettes slanting across their chins. Some of the smokers stared at her as they released thick curls of smokes from their nostrils while a few waved in greetings.
In the open corners of the lobbies, a male and female could be seen aggressively bashing their lips against each other's as they gave in to the overwhelming lust that gripped them.
Things like these happened and she was used to seeing such.
Nothing but a scoff escaped her lips.
The many rooms connected to the lobby were equally hosts of savage display, from the hushed whispers of backroom dealings, to the cackling laughter of prostitutes, and the constant sexual intercourse of partners behind thin curtains.
Her boots continued clicking as she slipped past a group of gangsters huddled around a card game, their laughter coarse and their words laced with threats, and stark naked girls doing their best to entertain the drunkards at the bar section while swaying their bodies seductively to upbeat music.
This was her world, one of sin and crime.
Thieves were her family and she was one of them. She hung out well with gangsters and prostitutes. People society deemed as loose and wayward were the ones she lived with.
"The heat always goes up Friday nights in here," She muttered to herself.
"Annoyingly," The snake resting around her neck hissed.
After a few turns, she finally stopped in front of a room. It was the only room that had a thick curtain but no door just like the rest.
In front of this particular room, stood a man. He was dressed in a suit and dark shades rested over his eyes. His hair was neatly styled into cornrows. In the stead of his left arm, was a huge mechanical gauntlet.
"I'm here to see the chairwoman," The girl said and lifted the pouch in her right hand.
The man stepped aside and the girl was allowed to go past the curtains.
The room was simple and appeared in the light of the office meant for a chairwoman. Although the only furniture in the room were a desk, three wooden chairs to it, and a fairly long couch at the side.
Casually seated behind the desk, was a woman of great build. Littered across her desk were used cigarettes.
Thick smoke wafted across the air, blocking the woman's face from view for a brief moment.
"Ashley," The smoke slowly dispersed to reveal a smile curled up on her plump lips.
Ashley walked up to the desk and threw the pouch in her hand on it.
"Anything interesting?" The chairwoman asked and moved to place crossed legs on the desk.
"See for yourself," Ashley simply answered.
The cigarette in between the chairwoman's lips danced from side to side, her eyes not leaving the girl for once.
Ashley slightly grumbled after understanding the message from her eyes. She picked up the pouch and emptied its contents on the table.
"The same old stuff?" The woman did not look pleased at what she saw. There were a few golden jewelries while the others were of sapphire, accompanied by about 200 gold coins.
"That's all I could get," Ashley said, her face dead straight.
"Oh Ashley, Ashley," A light chuckle escaped the woman and she slowly shook her head. "Have you learnt nothing?"
Ashley kept silent.
The woman took her legs off the desk and stood up. The difference in height between she and Ashley was like that of a gigantic human and a petite being.
She placed her both hands on the table, the cigarette still playing in between her lips.
"Do you really think this is enough to make up for everything I did for you? Oh my goodness Ashley! I made you, darling. Those who have ever thought of leaving made sure to pay their respects handsomely but you choose to leave when you have made nothing."
"What do you want?" Ashley's brows furrowed.
The chairwoman, Akira sighed. She took her hands off the table and moved to cross them behind her before taking slow strides to one end of the room.
"It's a pretty long list, my child but mummy wouldn't like to burden her baby so much," Akira shook her head, feigning an expression of pity.
"But," She turned back in the direction of her desk. "There can always be a substitution."
"What do you mean?" Ashley squinted her eyes.
"Hand the shape-shifter over and you can leave," A smirk came to settle on her lips.
*.*.*.
It was another day and Emmet had hopes of greater sales.
It was pretty early when the door of the Archive opened and the red-skinned man was ready to welcome his customers.
"Hello there, good sir," The cloaked man bowed his head in greetings.
"It's nice to see you again, Gilbert," Emmet smiled.
His eyes, however, went past Gilbert's shoulders to acknowledge the presence of the five other cloaked people.
Gilbert was quick to notice this.
"Oh they're my friends. I recommended your place and I bet they'll love it just like I do," Gilbert smiled as he spoke.
"Ah I see," Emmet chuckled. "You all are welcome."
He immediately ushered them in. When the customers had all settled down comfortably, they took off their coats.
Gilbert's friends were like him in a way. They all had something weird about their appearance and it was predictable that they were all victims of stigma just like he was.
"Seems like I'm going to be hosting a library for stigmatized people," Emmet said to Liesl as soon as he had sort out books for each of the customers to read before returning to his desk.
"What was I to expect when the owner of this place is me," He added.
"It's all part of the beginning," Liesl simply replied.
Taking out six teacups, Emmet then proceeded to pour the Ethereal tea from the jug into each of them with a measurement of half cup.
Liesl reduced to smog and all the red man had to do was to arrange the six teacups onto the smog that had shaped into a smog tray.
The tray floated beside him as he walked up to the customers who seemed happy that they could finally do something in peace within being picked on for their appearance.
"Here is the Devil's Archive's special treat," Emmet announced and began to serve a teacup before each of them.
"What is this?" One of the men asked. Strangely, he had a face full of cracks as though it were soil.
"It's Ethereal tea. It will help you a lot and enable spiritual breathing in you for a period of one hour. During that time, you can easily cultivate as much spiritual energy as you wish," Emmet explained and the excited looks on their faces told of their interest.
"However, it will increase your session's fee by two extra coins. Trust me, it is worth it," Emmet assured them.
[The Devil's Archive has earned +10 points from Gilbert]
[The Devil's Archive has earned +15 points from Jordan]
[The Devil's Archive has earned +6 points from Craig]
[The Devil's Archive has earned +8 points from Michael]
[The Devil's Archive has earned +10 points from Cole]
[The Devil's Archive has earned +12 points from Cassius]
[To check points earned so far, use ' points ']
' Points,' Emmet thought.
[The Devil's Archive has earned 66/1000 customer points in total]
[You have received a new quest]
[Earn +934 more customer points to enter into the Emeria merchant ranking board]
' By the way, Liesl, how do customers give points?' Emmet inquired from curiosity.
"Customer boards. These are available to customers. They are to give points after every service ranging from 0 points to 1000 points per customer. Points are like coins in a way. Each customer is granted points based on buying experiences from several stores. Due to some customers having greater points than others, the points they give may vary."