Chapter 14.5: Getting Ready

POV: Zac

“Zac, are you ready to go yet?” Quinn’s voice resounded in my mind.

“Give me a minute.”

“You said that a minute ago.”

“Shut up!”

I blocked Quinn out of my head as I stared at myself in the mirror. Juniper really did have an eye for fashion. At least her fashion sense seemed to suit my style perfectly. Maybe it was because she was human, and I grew up in a world filled with them. The fashion trends in this place were just different enough from earth to throw me off my usual game. I preferred a simple style that could still stand out. Just simple slim-fit beige dress pants and a matching low-cut suit vest. A burgundy button-down that didn’t have the first 3 top buttons. Needed to show off that man-cleavage, I guess. I liked this.

I folded up the cuff and brought the sleeve halfway up my forearm. I wanted to show off the burgundy and beige pattern under the cuff. This was one of the things that threw me off from this world. The graphics on their clothing. I was never a big fan of graphics on formal clothing, but that seemed to be the style. There were graphics on everything, and those graphics moved like they were alive; the more life-like the graphics were, the more high quality the clothing was perceived. The only difference was that formal attire seemed to have more subtle graphics. The graphics on the cuff were beige hills of sand with the wind gently blowing the sand over a burgundy background; it was kinda cool. Juniper seemed to agree with Brick that the Sandman moniker suited me well. Looks like that nickname is gonna stick.

“I’ve been called the worst,” I mumbled under my breath with a chuckle.

“Devin, give me a haircut. Fade the side and back; keep the top messy.”

“Right away, Zac.”

I stared at the black rope bracelet and the Book that oozes the same dark energy that I did,

“Devin, have you made any progress on that book?”

“Not yet! It’s quite fascinating; the book itself seems to be alive in some capacity. When I come close to decrypting some of the contents, it changes its patterns. I’m learning quite a bit from it, and I'm very excited.”

“Ah, well… have fun, I guess. Let me know when you get something.”

“Of course, Zac. Your hair is finished.”

I gave a smile to myself and asked,

“How do I look, Devin?”

“Objectively, very handsome Zac.”

“Damn right,” I said as I walked over to the bracelet within its container next to the Book. I had been drawn to it for a while now but never had the guts to take it out. However, I kept getting the feeling that I would need it soon. I was about to go to a party filled with assassins and basically mob bosses. Maybe now would be the time? I opened the container and held the bracelet in my hand. If anyone else did this, their fingers would have corroded away into nothingness. Still, for me… it was just a slight tingle. There was dark smoke that seeped out of the bracelet at all times, but the moment I took it into my hand, that smoke subsided.

I rubbed the bracelet on the wall expecting it to eat a chunk of it, but nothing happened. However, I could still feel that dark energy inside of the bracelet.

“Interesting. Yeah, I’ll take it.” I quickly placed the rope bracelet on my left wrist, and the small tassels that hang from it were long enough to reach my fingers.

“Zac, that bracelet is made of a flexible Soul Source rich material. It seems to be incredibly rare, as I have no data of it. However, it is giving off the same readings that one would get from a Living Weapon.”

I raised an eyebrow and stared even close at the bracelet now on my wrist. With all that dark energy around it, the people before me couldn’t properly study it. Even if they could, I doubt many people would be able to use it. From what I heard from Winnie, living weapons were things that were drenched in Soul Source to the point they got a mind of their own. Making them is grossly expensive and time-consuming.

They were almost valued as highly as Quqe. They could be made or happen naturally. There were trees, rocks, and even some comets classified as Living Weapons. If they were somehow lucky enough to be bombarded with an abundant amount of Soul-source for an unimaginable amount of time, then there was a slight chance of them becoming one. The Living Weapons that formed naturally were more potent than manufactured ones, which was a big part of why there wasn’t a big market for Living Weapon Creation. Even if you create a Living Weapon, there’s no telling what it would be able to do or if it would even respond to the user.

“Are you natural or manufactured? Most likely natural if you came from the Floor of Naught. What is this dark energy, then? I’ll probably have to go there to really find out what it is, right?” I had plenty of questions for the little bracelet, but I was sure it couldn’t respond.

“It won’t be able to tell you, Zac. While they have a consciousness, none have been documented to have actually communicated with their users.”

“I know Devin, I'm just talking to myself.”

“Ah, I see. My apologies.”

“Zac, are you ready yet?” This time it was Lynoe’s voice going off in my head. If it was Lynoe, then I knew I was taking a bit too long.

“Yeah, I’m coming.” I snatched my necklace that housed Devin and quickly put it around my neck as I headed downstairs. I looked behind me to glance at the Book for a moment. The Book could be a Living Weapon as well, from the way Devin described it. However, he didn't seem to think so; he would have said so otherwise.

I saw my 3 “sisters” waiting at the door for me; this was the first time I saw them in formal wear. As expected from Quinn, she wore a simple, elegant dress, everything perfectly in place. From her up due to her jewelry, everything was unnervingly pristine in its presentation. On the other hand, Winnie wore a very whimsical pants suit, and still, she wore no shoes. However, she had a rather elaborate flower-designed anklet that covered most of the top of her foot.

“God damn Lynoe….” That is all I could muster as I saw my 3rd “sister.” She wore an open-front jumpsuit that was split almost to her hips. Lynoe had plenty of… assets, and she was never afraid to show them off.

“What?” She asked me curiously.

“They say thick thighs save saves. You can save a whole ass galaxy with those bad boys. But, if curves could kill, we’d all be dead.”

“Damn right!” She said back to me with a smile on her face. As Lynoe and I discussed how damn good-looking we were, I could see Quinn rolling her eyes and caught a bit of Winnie chuckling to herself.

“Yes, you all look presentable, for once. Now let’s go. Our craft should be here shortly. Wait a minute, Zac. That’s not what I think it is on your wrist, is it?” Quinn said as she caught sight of the bracelet. I quickly explained to her what I experienced with Devin upstairs.

“So that’s what was taking you so long?” Winnie asked.

“Ah… yeah…” I lied. I heard Lynoe holding back laughter behind me.

“A living weapon, huh? It must be naturally formed on the Floor of Naught. It seems your mystery Bent is related to the energy that fills that place. Interesting.” Quinn said with a smile on her face. She had much of the same train of thought I had. After the three of them looked over the Living Weapon for a moment, Quinn nodded her head,

“I agree; bringing it with you may be useful. We don’t know what will happen up there.”

“Up there? Where is this party exactly?” I asked.

I followed Quin and the others outside and Quin pointed up into the sky at a moon faintly visible in the afternoon sky.

“No fuck’in way!!!! The Moon?! I’m going to a party on the Moon?!”

“A moon, not the moon. And really? That’s what you get excited about? You come to a whole new planet in a whole new universe, and you get excited about a moon party?” Quinn said with a curious look on her face.

“Ok, ok… look ok? One, I didn’t actually get to see much on the way here, did I? It was darkness then blinding white light and a big ass castle in the distance. Then I grabbed a mask, passed out, and woke up in bed. I couldn’t be in awe of dimensional travel, could I?” Quinn opened her mouth to say something but had nothing to say.

“Second, going to the moon was a rich white person thing back on earth, and all they did was jump around and take pictures. Now you’re telling me I’m going to a party… on the moon? Hell yeah, I’m excited!!”

“Alright, fair enough. BUT it’s a moon. Not THE MOON. This planet has 4; the one we're going to is named Nyuqe, it’s owned by the Black Market. Saying ‘The Moon’ makes you look like a bumpkin.” Quinn corrected my speech.

As we talked, a Luxurious Craft, as they called them here, floated out of the sky and landed in front of us. It looked like the cross of a tesla, and a stealth bomber had a child with a luxury limousine. It was about as large as a small house.

“So you like?” Winnie asked with a smile on her face. She must have been the one to pick it.

“Yes! It’s the second most exciting thing that’s happened to me today.”

“Ah yes, it’s hard to compete with the discovery of a living weapon,” Winnie said with a knowing smile on her face.

“The discovery of what? Oh no, not that… The party on the MOON!!!!”

“Zac!!! It's called Nyuqe; please don’t embarrass me.”

“Right, right… Party on Nyuqe, party on Nyuqe. Let’s go pick up Aonani.”

Quinn looked at me with doubt in her eyes.

“Fine, let’s go get the girl.”

Party on the Moon! Party on the Moon!! Party on the Moon!!!

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