The warehouse was enormous.
Elias walked between towering shelves, rows upon rows of shelves stretched into the distance beneath a ceiling supported by iron beams thicker than tree trunks. Crates sat stacked upon one another in organized columns. Artifacts rested behind reinforced glass displays. Raw materials filled entire sections of the structure.
Every item carried a small metal tag—etched with symbols that told a story. Some identified the beast they originated from. Others listed places of discovery. Artifacts carried detailed descriptions of their functions, limitations, and known side effects. The Rustmarks were nothing if not organized.
To Elias, it felt less like a warehouse and more like a museum designed for people obsessed with useful things.
Which was to say—
He loved it.
Beside him Quinlan's voice droned on.
"—and this wing alone represents over three hundred thousand Crown Solars in annual revenue. The Rustmark family has maintained trade relations with Khemri for over a century—"
"How long are you going to take." Tamamo's voice stirred within him.
Elias ignored her, his Flow Perception stretched outward.
The world changed.
The shelves became translucent outlines. Materials revealed their internal structures. Threads of Flow moved through metal, crystal, bone, hide, and stone.
The warehouse transformed into a forest of information.
Tamamo huffed.
''You are ignoring me.''
'You've noticed.' Elias replied mentally.
"Stop what youre doing and go get me my damned tail!"
'Not yet.'
A pause. Then:
''Why not?''
'Be quiet.'
Tamamo gasped dramatically.
''Cruel.''
Elias picked up a small crystal vial filled with silver powder. The tag read: Kraken Bone Dust. Grade 4. Origin: Northern Sea.
'I'm not going now because I'm not stupid. Do you know the current state of events around your tail right now? How protected it is? Whos protecting it?'
Tamamo sounded genuinely confused.
''I don't see why any of that is a problem, you have me.''
'You're not enough.'
Silence. Then outrage.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
Elias set the vial down and moved to the next shelf. Bolts of enchanted silk. Threads woven from the whiskers of a Frost Wyrm.
'You are a Divine Beast,' he thought.
'And?'
'That means whatever is guarding your tail is also Divine Beast-level. Or worse.'
Tamamo sputtered.
"I am incredibly reliable."
'You are incredibly dangerous.'
''I saved your life."
'You nearly got me killed first.'
''Technicality.I am still magnificent."
'You are still weakened.' Elias picked up a curved fang, its edge still sharp enough to draw blood from his thumb.
'And I am an Acolyte.'
"You have infinite Flow."
'Infinite Flow doesn't matter if something kills me before I can use it.'
Tamamo was quiet for a moment.
Elias moved onward.
'Let's review.'
Tamamo groaned.
"Oh no."
'The tail is somewhere in the museum.'
"Correct."
'We don't know what is guarding it.'
"Probably something weak."
'Can you prove it?'
Silence. Elias stopped before a display case containing crystalline beast horns.
'We don't know who else is looking for the cube.'
"No one."
'We don't know whether the Oblivion Cube Fragment is nearby.'
Tamamo became suspiciously quiet.
'You know something.'
''I know many things.''
'Pertaining to the subject at hand.'
'I plead innocence.'
"You're a terrible liar."
'I'm a fantastic liar.'
Elias sighed.
'See? This is exactly why preparation matters.'
Tamamo clicked her tongue drifted through his Domain, floating upside down on her cloud.
''Preparation is overrated.''
'Says the immortal fox who prepared a rebellion against the gods.'
"Stop it, you're making me blush."
'Some of us die when stabbed.'
"You are insufferably cautious for someone who is also immortal."
Elias rubbed his forehead. At least Jamie wasn't here to add to his migraine. The thought brought unexpected memories.
Aina, his mother, his little sister Ellaine and Isra too. Of Blackwood Keep. For a moment the warehouse vanished.
He turned and walked down the aisle as more memories came.
He remembered sitting beside the fireplace one evening when the baby was dropped unceremoniously into his arms one evening. The little thing was frightened at first as she looked at him with her Arcane eye but Elias covered it with his finger and the girl smiled at him, a genuine laugh as she tried climbing him like a tree.
Remembered his mother's smile as he stiffened, unsure of how to react.
Remembered Aina staring at him with the emotional warmth of a glacier.
Tamamo immediately noticed.
''Oho?''
Elias kept walking.
"Ohohoho? The suicidal boy misses his family."
Tamamo smiled viciously.
''You miss them.''
'I'm naturally curious about what they're doing now.'
''That is the worst excuse I've ever heard.''
Tamamo's grin widened.
Victory.
Eventually she relented for almost ten whole seconds. Then she spoke again.
''Speaking of things you are bad at. Your cloning technique.''
Elias paused.
His clone technique he had used. The construct he had used to evade Aina. It had worked.
Mostly.
Tamamo was amused.
''I still cannot believe your cousin fell for that.''
'I'm lucky she did.'
Elias continued examining shelves. The clone technique had potential, a lot of potential. The problem was complexity. The artificial body he had made could move and follow instructions. And that was about it. Looking back, did Aina actually fall for such a sloppy construct or did she just pretend to go along with it. She was too smart to actually have been fooled to be honest but he should be grateful that in either case she didn't press further.
Within his Domain, Tamamo tapped her chin.
"I can help."
Elias narrowed his eyes.
"Those are dangerous words."
"For the sake of my tail."
'Huh?'
'You created a body. Now create a *soul* to fill it.'
'...'
"Not a real soul."
Elias relaxed slightly.
"I other words...."
That made him pause.
'Interesting.'
Very interesting.
His eyes drifted toward a nearby display containing a set of four metal cartridges. Thin, silvery threads coiled inside each one, catching the light like liquid mercury. A metallic plaque identified the contents.
Name:Damascus Steel Threads.
Composition: Promethean Iron Derivative.
Origin: _
Type: Rare.
Description: Forged from diluted Promethean Iron and drawn into reinforced filament structures. Exceptional tensile strength.
Tamamo noticed.
'Oho?'
His Flow Perception deepened.
The metal changed and its layers revealed themselves. Each strand was a lattice of crystalline structures, folded thousands of times, reinforced with Flow that had been hammered into the steel during forging. The structure was vastly superior to ordinary steel. More flexible. And something else—something he couldn't quite identify.
A hand touched his shoulder and Elias nearly jumped. Maria stood beside him, her eyebrow raised. Quinlan stood beside her with a scowl.
Elias blinked.
"How long have you been following me?"
Quinlan looked offended.
"We've been walking together for twenty minutes."
"Oh."
Maria laughed softly.
"Quin asked if you were overwhelmed by the sheer scale of this one warehouse so your brain had ceased function."
Elias looked at Quinlan. The merchant's son grinned, his arms crossed, his spectacles catching the light.
"Indeed."
Elias chose not to explain that he'd forgotten they existed. His attention returned to the display. Maria followed his gaze.
"The Damascus Steel? are you interested in the threads Elias?"
"Yeah.''
Quinlan immediately straightened.
"I see. You wish to be enlightened. Very well then, I will do you the honor. Those are forged from diluted Promethean Iron."
"Naturally you've heard of it."
"No."
The boy looked horrified.
"What?"
"No."
"You've never heard of Promethean Iron?"
"No."
Quinlan looked physically pained but he adjusted his glasses.
"The original metal is practically impossible to acquire. Very rare. Very expensive I'll have you know—"
"How much?"
Quinlan blinked.
"What?"
"How much for the set?"
The merchant's son recovered quickly.
"Twenty thousand Crown Solars."
Maria frowned.
"Quin..."
"What? They're Grade Four—."
"You're inflating the price."
"I am not inflating anything. The market rate—"
Maria reached out and squeezed his shoulder.
Quinlan winced.
"Twelve thousand—"
Maria she simply picked up all four cartridges and handed them to Elias.
Quinlan's soul visibly left his body.
"Maria."
"Take them."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Quinlan inhaled sharply.
"Maria."
"What?"
"Those are expensive."
She smiled.
"Extremely expensive."
"I know. Put it on my tab."
"You don't have a tab!''
Elias accepted the cartridges.
"Thank you."
Quinlan looked like he might cry. Unfortunately for him, things became worse. Elias glanced around. "I'll also take these."
"And these."
"And those."
He pointed at the Kraken Bone Dust. The Frost Wyrm thread. A small box of Flow-infused pigments. A set of etching tools. Quinlan froze as elias took several expensive components.
"Do you have any idea how much that costs?"
"No."
"Then why are you choosing them?"
"Because I need them."
The merchant's son laughed.
"Being nobility aside, can you even afford this right now?"
Elias blinked.
Then slowly turned.
"Quin."
The boy twitched.
"Don't call me that."
"..."
"..."
Elias reached into his storage bracelet and produced a leather pouch. It landed on a nearby table with a heavy thunk. The table groaned under the weight.
Quinlan's face went pale.
Inside were Flowstones—dozens of them, of various sizes, each one pulsing with captured energy. And beneath them, stacks of Crown Solars, bound in neat bundles.
Complete silence.
Elias tilted his head.
"Is that enough?"
Quinlan's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.
Maria laughed.
"I think you broke him."
Quinlan's voice emerged as a squeak.
"Where did you get this?"
"The Iron Forest." Elias paused. "Jamie and I sold some of the materials we gathered. And my father gives me an allowance. I've never had a reason to spend it so..." he shrugged.
"Your allowance is this large?"
"You're forgetting that my father is a Lord."
Quinlan looked like he had swallowed a lemon.
Maria patted his cheek.
"Let it go Quin."
Elias enjoyed himself far more than he should have. He walked away and Quinlan sputtered while Maria laughed, following. Hours later their purchases were finalized.
They emerged from the warehouse into the evening light.
The sun was low, casting long shadows across the cobblestones. Quinlan checked his pocket watch and frowned.
"I need to return to Fazhan. My exeat ends at sundown."
"Quin."
"Don't 'Quin' me."
"Quin."
"You're insufferable."
Maria smiled.
"Safe travels."
Quinlan hesitated, the tips of his ears burning red. Then reached into his coat and handed Elias a small leather box.
"A gift."
Elias blinked.
"For me?"
"Don't make this weird."
"What is it?"
"A prototype."
Naturally that explained nothing.
Quinlan rolled his eyes as elias opened it to see a butterfly brooch.
"It's an artifact that that can teleport you to a preset location once. I already have enough protective artifacts as is and this one looks too feminine so you have it."
Elias immediately pocketed it.
"Thank you Quin."
The boy looked away.
"Don't mention it."
Then he pointed.
"And stop calling me Quin."
Maria smiled.
"Goodbye, Quin."
Elias nodded.
"Goodbye, Quin."
The merchant boy's jaw tightened. He muttered something, probably profanity directed at Elias and boarded a prepared carriage. A few moments later he was gone.
The streets became quieter.
Maria and Elias walked away together.
The city glowed beneath the evening sun.
Shops illuminated lanterns. Music drifted from distant taverns. The atmosphere softened.
Maria glanced sideways.
"You know."
"What?"
"Despite how he acts, Quin is actually a good person."
Elias considered.
"Debatable."
Maria laughed.
"It is not."
They turned down a different road. Then another.
Eventually the city changed. Narrow streets gave way to gardens. Stone bridges crossed narrow canals. Lanterns reflected in flowing water. Flowering vines climbed balconies. The entire district felt strangely peaceful.
Elias looked around.
"This seems different."
"It is."
Maria smiled.
"One of the more romantic areas."
Elias stared.
"Eh?"
They continued in silence for a moment, then she spoke again.
"You're probably wondering why I'm getting so close to you and Jamie."
"Well."
He shrugged.
"A little."
"Only a little?"
"Most people would dance around the question."
"Most people aren't me."
"No," she agreed. "They aren't."
"Besides, I happen to have met Jamie first."
"..."
"After that my standards for unusual people are significantly higher."
Maria burst out laughing.
The sound echoed through the evening air.
"You have a very strange sense of humor."
"So I've been told."