Chương 5: Sardes x Hotel (1)

From the murky depths of darkness, Conrad's world had unfolded before his eyes with startling clarity. All he could see were ruins stretched out beneath a blood red sky and flowing with thick air that had been tainted by the acrid scent of smoke and decay.

This made it difficult for him to breathe.

'What is this place? Did I die this time?'

Flames danced along the crumbling walls, casting flickering shadows like malevolent spirits. What looked to be once a great city, stood before him as rubble and ash.

'I remember being attacked by that girl and suddenly blacking out'

His eyes widened.

"Is this… The Afterlife?"

The Religious Teachings Sanctum his mother had always forced him to attend every week, had preached about what happens to people after they die. It went something like this.

—Those who lived fulfilling lives and did good by others were granted Eternal Rest, free from the cycle of suffering and rebirth. However, those who lived life with regret and sin were sent to the Afterlife. Forever bound by suffering. They would also be tormented by monsters referred to as "The Punishers".

His heart began to pound faster. Had the life he lived been truly that of sin and regret?

As Connie moved through the devasted landscape, he felt an odd sense of familiarity. Almost as if he has been to or has seen this place before. One was for certain though. The structure and design of these buildings and craftsmanship. He had never seen them before.

They looked different.

Probably from a different State. He had never travelled beyond his own State's borders after all. Never mind the Sect he spent his whole in.

"No, this can't be real. Religion is just the government's way of keeping people in line. It's not real, it can't be!"

His heart began to sink. As he looked around more, he saw flashes of figures roaming the area. Their enraged and anguished facial expressions prompted Connie to make a break for it without thinking of where he was running towards.

'The Punishers? Dammit it! It's happening again'

His fate was not set in stone, he was not going to allow himself to be captured so easily. It was either a high sense of freedom that drove him to run that fast or, it was the overwhelming fear of being tortured for all eternity that kept him going.

Suddenly, his vision shifted.

Or the world around him dissolved and reformed

"What the hell is going on?!"

Towering above him was a colossal statue. Its features were worn out, but it was still imposing. It appeared that it was also the victim of this place. At its base, was a pool of dark liquid which reflected the fiery sky above.

From it, he could see the liquid shaping itself into contorted blobs of what looked like human faces screaming out in agony. He heard sounds of battle ranging loudly in his head and the cries of the fallen growing louder and louder.

"Haaaaaahhhh! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Be quiet!!!!"

Connie felt as though he was losing his mind. Both his hands shielded his ears from the noise but that had no effect.

A chill ran down his spine when he felt a presence behind him. The noise was loud but when he turned to look, it immediately became the least of his problems.

A dark shadow creeped closer to him. It was a huge humanoid shadow with eyes burning with an unholy light.

⟨ ΞΡΦΘΖΠΣΨϣϠϡ ⟩

It spoke in a patched and inaudible voice. That is how he could imagine its voice. He could not hear it, how could he? His ears were ranging so loudly that he could not make out the sounds in his present environment. However, whether he could hear it or not did not matter.

Connie was flushed with fear.

He was frozen where he stood. He could not run or speak. All he could do was tremble and whimper. His brain had determined the best course of action was to stay frozen in place instead of fighting or running away.

The shadow lunged its claws and searing pain erupted from his chest.

"Wuahh!"

Connie's eyes flew open, and his breath came in ragged gasps.

He immediately touched his chest expecting to find a hole that the shadow had pierced, but it was not there. He even examined his body for good measure. However, it was unscathed.

And then he came to his present environment.

The burning city, blood red sky, forestry turned wasteland and all the horrors he witnessed were all replaced by a richly furnished room with elegant décor. The air smelled faintly of leather and paper. Across from himself, he saw a woman sitting on the couch, watching him with a mixture of concern and curiosity.

"Hi?"

"Eh?..."

When he looked around the room, He saw several people fixing their gazes at him. Adrenaline surged through Connie. His heartbeat quickened as he freakishly jumped from the couch and tried to run.

"Ah!!"

Connie had no sense of direction of where he was running towards to. His panicked state drove him near a wall and next to it was a polished vase. He quickly grabbed it and pinned himself against the wall. Then, he shakingly raised his makeshift weapon in front of him.

"Stay back!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs. His trembling voice went against him though.

"What do you people want from me?! Who are you anyways? I said don't move!!"

He lashed out at the woman who was about to get on her feet. It has been one thing after another ever since he bumped into that girl at the Talon Subway Train Station. The psycho and the freak. He was starting to think she had planned it all or something.

Probably payback for thinking she is an amateur.

"You people are with that psycho aren't you!? The, the, the monster—!"

"Woah, woah, calm down, buddy. It's ok, you're safe here"

The woman spoke in a soothing voice. She was a petite woman with messy hair styled in a ponytail. One notable thing she wore was a lab coat. She slowly stepped towards Connie, with her hands raised in a placating gesture. Connie had the eyes of a mad man, yet she still approached him.

"I'm warning you! Step back!"

"It's okay. My name is Mae Wren Henley. This place is the Sardes Hotel, you don't have to be afraid anymore."

She seemed to have been genuine. However, Connie was not convinced. He has been through hell and back because he followed some freak and a psycho. No way was he falling for it again. Even so, she was not slowing down.

He grinded his teeth because of it.

Once she got close enough, Connie tightened his grip on the vase handle so hard his knuckles turned white, and then he swung it towards her face.

In response, Mae immediately grabbed his wrist before the swing could make a full arc. Then she pulled him closer, effectively locking him into an embrace.

"Hey, what the! Let go of me dammit!!"

Connie struggled to no avail. His body could not move no matter how hard he tried to break out of Mae's hold.

"There, there. Just settle down for a bit. Ssshhh"

There was also something strange he felt in that instance. His rage, his confusion and fear. Had all been dwindling rapidly. It was almost as if some force was suppressing his emotions.

"Let, let me…go. Eh?"

Eventually he went back to his normal demeanor. After inspecting him, Mae had a look of satisfaction then released him.

"See, that's much better now. If you don't mind, can you put that vase back please? It's very expensive"

Connie hesitated but when he looked around, her face was more inviting than the people behind her. One could even assume they were plotting to attack and the vase he held was the one thing that held them back.

Even so, he lowered the vase, setting it back on the table with a shaky hand. Mae nodded with a small smile of relief across her face.

"You are also one of them, right? What's happening to me?"

"Uh—"

"—Take a seat"

Another woman's voice cut in.

When Connie turned to look, he saw a woman lounging on another couch. She had warm blonde hair reaching down the middle of her back. Her narrow silver eyes pierced through a pair of round framed glasses. She also had a burning cigarette in between her fingers.

The fact that she was the only one sitting down made Connie believe that she was in charge of everyone present here. He turned to look at Mae, who gave him a reassuring nod before turning his attention back to the woman

"Well?"

Connie slowly settled back onto the couch.

"Now then, I believe introductions are in order. My name is Lysandra Eve Sardes. The Head of the Sardes Hotel as well as its shadow organization. The people before you are the Operation Managers…."

Lysandra went on to introduce the names and professions of each person that was present. There were nine people in total.

***

Mae Wren Henley, the woman who comforted Connie during his freak out. She was the Hospitality Expert. Her main focus was enhancing guest experience, handling complaints and feedback to ensure satisfaction. She mostly worked on medical related issues though.

Followed, was a fair skinned man with messy black hair and striking yellow eyes with a mole on the right side of his face just below his right eye. Lucian Jude Fitzroy was the Culinary Maestro or Head Chef of the hotel's dining operations. He worked on creating unique culinary experiences to attract and delight guests.

Next to him stood a middle-aged man with close to shoulder length hair, he however -unlike most of the people present- had a relaxed expression on his face. Oswald Reid Galloway was known as the Maintenance Guru of the hotel. He ensured that all equipment and facilities are in good working order, conducting regular inspections, and managed the maintenance stuff.

Nelda Quinn Evelyn held an appearance of a young woman with neck length beige hair and orange eyes. Out of everyone here who either dressed in causal or unassuming professional clothes. She wore maid clothing and that made it easier to guess her profession. Nelda was the Head of the Housekeeping department, responsible for maintaining cleanliness and order throughout the hotel.

Leaning by a desk was Nicholas Lee Aisling. He was a young man of average height with large grey eyes, a light brown complexion and straight short black hair styled in a center parted undercut with a pair of earrings, his face had a grin onto it. He was the Administrative Ace, handling the hotel's administrative and clerical tasks.

Next to Nicholas was Gareth Bram Wulfstan. He was a tall and muscular man with slicked blonde hair and a short beard. His profession was the Guest Experience Specialist dedicated to ensuring that each guest's stay was memorable and enjoyable. His role involved personalizing guest experience and handling any issues or complaints to ensure guest satisfaction.

There were two men who stood behind Lysandra, the first wore what appeared to a butler's uniform and the next was…

To the left was Klein. A short man with scraggly black hair. On his back he carried two bladed weapons. He was the Security Chief in charge of the hotel's safety and security operations.

And the last Operations Manager was Zora. A tanned woman of above average height and a medium build. She had short hair and a small scar running across her left cheek. She was the Marketing Maven, leading the hotel's marketing and promotional efforts. She worked to highlight the unique aspects of the hotel and drive occupancy rates.

The butler was not introduced.

***

".. That should be everyone"

"What does that have to do with me exactly, I'm still waiting to hear why I'm here"

Connie leaned himself back onto the couch. That was a lot of information to take it, he might remember their names and professions to a certain degree. But what did that have anything to do with him?

'Sardes? Was he referring to her?'

He distinctly remembered the name. So, this is the person who has Fern beneath her thumb. Then she is most likely to be the one after those cards. Connie swallowed hard as his heartbeat began to beat faster.

"Let's cut to the chase then…"

She replied, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"Starting from today onwards. Conrad Adre Thorne, you belong to Sardes…"

"What—"

"You will serve as a waiter in Lucian's restaurant, as well as an assassin of its shadow. Necessary training will be provided on both ends. Everything you do now will be in service to—"

"Hold on, wait a minute here. What makes you think I'll agree to any of that?"

Upon cutting in on her words, there were slight twitches from all around the room. But they settled down once Lysandra raised a hand. She took another drag from her cigarette.

"The Arcana Cards you lost set us back by 3 years. Normally you would have been executed on the spot. However, Fern informed us that you have been Marked by Fate and is also semi-immortal. Although that has still to be proven. If Mae didn't restore your body, you would have been long dead by now. However, you can still be of use to us"

Connie frowned, the firmness in her voice left no room for hesitation. But wait hold up…

"Why? Why did you throw away three years' worth of work to a high schooler?"

After that question, the whole room was blunged into a deep silence, it felt was though they were emitting intense pressure that consumed the sounds in the room. Perhaps he should not have asked that. He started to regret that question.

'Did I cross the line with that one?'

What seemed to be like forever. Lysandra finally spoke up.

"The initial plan was to lure out as many of Diviners as we could. The best way was to use Meliora, an innocent schoolgirl and the residue the Arcana emit, as a lure. However, we could not account of someone like…you getting in the way of that. She is well versed in close courters combat and was constantly watched in the shadows. Somehow, you managed to get past that without aid from an Arcana"

That was pretty dangerous. Or they were on the lookout for dangerous looking people instead of ordinary ones. Out of all the time his skill to blend in has been useful. This time, it betrayed him.

"So that's it. I've got one more question for you. If I worked for you, will you release my parents?"

"In due time. For now, they will be kept as collateral, just until your debt is paid off. Should you defect, they'll be the one to pay it off. Think of it as motivation to work harder"

Conrad ran a hand through his hair trying to gather his thoughts. He looked around the room, and all he could see was a mixture of anger and suspicion in their eyes. With the lives of his parents on the line. There was no room for hesitation.

Connie took a deep breath then exhaled.

"Fine, I'll do as you say"

Lysandra nodded in satisfaction and the tension in the room seemed to have dispersed. That brought a little bit of relief to him, but this was far from over. She took the final drag of her cigarette before extinguishing it in a nearby ashtray.

"Klein, inform Meliora of her new duties and take him with you"

"Yes, my lady"

"Conrad. Once you are ready. I will explain everything"

Connie nodded and they left the room

***

Conrad and Klein walked through the brightly lit hallways of the hotel. As they passed by a window, he could see the outside and the rising sun.

'I didn't realize it's this early in the morning'

He looked at the back of Klein, who was walking from the front of him with a composed and focused demeanor.

Also, the name the boss lady mentioned sounded familiar, as if he had heard someone say it before.

'Meliora? Meliora? Mel…iora? Mel!'

bình luận bình luận của 3

Bình chọn