The Innkeeper

The end of the Midnight games could not have been called a grand finale. It was not a tense moment, with a lot of unpredictability. Instead, it was something everyone saw coming. Even so, that did not mean it was any less entertaining, or significant.

A few years ago, these insects had wrought untold havoc across the Origin realm. They were being altered so that their blood was corrosive to space, destroying large segments of the Origin realm and causing the growth of the realm to become unstable.

For a realm that had the potential to become a Major realm, such instability was unacceptable, so the Henali had gone on a great hunt for them, and the organization that nurtured them.

Of course, the backstory of the games was something all the viewers were familiar with. While that was interesting, it was the setting of the actual games that everyone enjoyed far more. By pitting the insects against armies from countless worlds – armies of a similar level, so that neither side had an advantage over the other – the games created the perfect spectacle.

Some might say that it was kind of cruel – making armies fight in battles, risking their lives for enemies who weren’t their real enemies. Of course, the majority of viewers didn’t care about such a thing, but some might say such things. The Inn, to a degree, even had an answer prepared for them.

First off, not a single one of the armies were forced to fight. All of them signed up for the fights themselves.

Secondly, for many of them, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to not only train, but to achieve tangible growth in their powers and cultivation. So many of them were stuck in bottlenecks in their cultivation, or lacked the resources to grow, or maybe they lacked cultivation techniques. Maybe their cultivation talent itself was lacking.

By entering the Midnight games, they could, through their own efforts, attract gifts and donations from viewers, and overcome whatever barriers were blocking their paths. In a universe where the nature of existence was inherently unfair, providing such an opportunity was not only an immense mercy, it was almost saint-like.

Of course, there were still many who did not necessarily agree with such sentiments. But since that was the view of the Inn, they could only accept it.

Once the final battle concluded, there was a moment of peace and odd reluctance. So many, participants and viewers alike, who did not wish for the event to be over so soon. Yet it could not be helped.

The army that had been fighting the final battle was teleported to the Midnight Inn. All other armies who had concluded their fights earlier on were already there, waiting, recovering, resting.

As soon as the final army arrived, a large colosseum appeared in the sky, lined with statues of warriors from every race that had taken part in the games. Yet the odd thing was, the colosseum was out of reach. No one could go to it, nor could anyone even fly close to it.

It was as if it existed only to be seen and admired, not entered. But that didn’t necessarily make sense…

There was no time to think, however, as projections of the stage in the center of the colosseum appeared in front of all to see.

The sight was breathtaking, and not just because of how finely crafted the stage was, or its elaborate architecture, or the suggestive murals painted in the background, depicting scenes from the cultural show of the first Midnight Games.

No, what took everyone’s breath away was the sight of the Innkeeper, sitting cross legged on stage, with his eyes closed.

It had been so long since the Innkeeper made a public appearance, that seeing him now so suddenly surprised many. But for most, this was the first time they were seeing the Innkeeper, so the real reason they gasped was because… it was clear that this was merely a projection of the real Innkeeper who was cultivating somewhere.

A thin mist was almost visible, running over his skin before fusing into his body synchronously with his breathing.

The sight alone shocked almost all viewers, because the sight of the mist gave them goosebumps, as if they had seen something they should not have. As if to emphasize exactly that point, the aura that the mist gave off was unlike anything that most in the Inn had ever felt.

There were only two in the Inn who recognized that mist – the same mist that was nourishing Lex’s body and healing him.

When Lex had decided to act desperately, it was a mix of his inability to think too deeply in his given state, and his awareness that everything in and about the jungle was exceptionally rare or powerful.

He intended to use items from his surroundings as rewards, use the aura from the jungle to raise his prestige, and also add further mystery to the background of the Innkeeper.

Though he was desperate, and such a risky act could have ended horribly, in this situation it ended up working exactly as he hoped – much better than he could have ever imagined.

Wu Kong looked at the image of the Innkeeper in complete silence, not a single emotion present in his expression. His thoughts, for once, were completely hidden. He didn’t even crack a joke about it or anything.

Elsewhere in the Inn, a Devil looked up at the projection and started to sweat heavily, fear and panic evident on his face. The Devil did not hesitate at all before leaving the Inn. He couldn’t afford to delay in delivering his message.

As soon as he returned to Garvitz, the Devil immediately used a treasure to request an emergency meeting with his lord Ballom.

“What is it?” The Dao Lord asked, appearing in front of the Devil immediately. “Were you finally able to make contact with the monkey?”

“No, my lord,” the Devil said. “It’s the Innkeeper. He appeared in front of everyone… he appeared… he…”

Ballom frowned, and put a hand on the Devils shoulder, forcibly calming him down.

“Speak. What happened?”

“The Innkeeper appeared in front of everyone, cultivating in Dao Mist,” the Devil said, his body trembling despite Ballom calming him down.

“The aura is unmistakable. It’s real, genuine Dao Mist, and there’s way too much of it. It’s like he’s declaring to the universe that he just killed more than one Dao Lord. No wonder his real body has been missing from…”

Ballom immediately poked the Devil, and froze his body and soul, lest he complete his thoughts.

Ballom yearned to enter the Inn himself, to see the visage of the Innkeeper. Unfortunately, as long as that crazy monkey was inside the Inn, no other Dao Lord would be crazy enough to enter.

He could not help but wonder who had made a move on the Innkeeper. Weren’t they a little too impatient? It hadn’t even been a million years since the Innkeeper appeared. What was all the rush?

Whoever it was… they had clearly paid a great price.

Within the Midnight Inn, the Innkeeper opened his eyes, and a sudden weight blanketed the entire Inn.

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