The night was quiet and peaceful just outside the guest room where Lucid found himself. It was a large room. The butler Gerald had led him here. It was large compared to the little inn he stayed at with Rebecca. But nonetheless, it did not feel like a home. He was not particularly tired as he sat on the edge of the grand bed, his legs crossed.
"Uhm, Lucid, don't you think it is appropriate to take off your shoes when you sit on a bed?" Alice questioned.
"I did not know you had such curfews before bed," he shot back.
"Aren't you supposed to be just a voice?"
"Well, I can't quite put it into words. It just feels, well, not right."
Of course it did not feel right to Lucid. He was someone who practiced basic hygiene and self care. Except, of course, when he was drenched in blood and trying to fight his way out of a Rift. Even for him, he did not usually act this way when he was a guest. But there was a slight frustration in him now, a simmering anger.
"Well, the governor provided me a room with unlimited sheets, right? I will make sure to use them," he muttered aloud.
He felt wronged, like he had just signed away his life to some greedy monster who did not care if he made it out alive or not. Karmen was well spoken and pretty charismatic despite his tired appearance. But something about the man rubbed Lucid the wrong way. It felt like every word was a calculation.
He reached over and tapped a small silver bell on the bedside table. The door opened with sophisticated grace. It was the butler Gerald, who had just accompanied him to the guest room not long ago. It was now past midnight.
"Can I get a fresh pair of sheets?" Lucid asked.
"With all due respect, sir, this is the third time you have asked this evening," Gerald replied. His voice was perfectly polite, but his eyes were flat. "May I inquire what... indecent acts you are performing so late at night that require such frequent linen changes? I will not judge."
'What did he just say?' Lucid thought, stunned.
He masked his shock with a half hearted cough. "Hey. I did not ask for a late night talk about my habits. I demand fresh sheets right now. And if you do not bring them, I will call Caramel. Or Karmen. Whatever his name is."
"Such rudeness!" Gerald hissed, his composure cracking for a second. "How dare you mock the young master's name with such a remark. I will inform him at once."
"Oh, will you?" Lucid shot back, leaning forward. "On what solid basis? That I asked for clean sheets? I may get thrown out, but you will risk losing your job. Your dignity here. I have nothing to lose. So go ahead. Run your mouth."
The middle aged butler with his partial grey hair was angry. He held himself back, but a frustrated look was etched on his face. "Very well, my honored guest," he said through gritted teeth.
"Oh, thank you!" Lucid said, his voice overly sweet. "Bring me a cup of warm milk as well. I fear I will need help sleeping after this last round."
"L-last round?!" Gerald sputtered. "Such insolence! What has the youth of this day and age devolved into?" He turned and angrily stumbled away, grumbling loudly under his breath about ungrateful vagrants.
"Uhm, Lucid, I have a question," Alice's voice sounded in his mind. She sounded unsure of herself.
"Is wearing shoes on a bed considered an indecent act? I fear I am not fully be accustomed to this world's social rules..."
'...' Lucid's mind went blank. The bluntness and seeming stupidity of that statement paused the moment in silence. It was almost comical.
A soft smack could be heard as Lucid slapped his own forehead. He did not know whether the voice was saying the truth or not. Someone as ancient as her probably should have had a slight idea of what the butler had implied. But no. He feared that she was as oblivious as a toddler in her current form, devoid of memories and a physical body.
"What, what are you doing, Lucid?" Alice's voice resounded, partially yelling out in a flustered tone.
He was taking off his shirt. He dropped to the floor and began doing push ups. Then he moved to sit ups. The tidy room was quickly becoming a mess. He was practicing kicks, jumps, and stretches. Things he normally was not able to do since Rebecca's room was too small and he did not want to worry her.
As he moved, he could feel a strange, buzzing presence at the back of his head. It was warm, and carried a slight blush and an intrigue of interest. These were not his feelings. They were Alice's. Her awareness was focused on his body, his movements, the shift of muscles under his skin.
"Lucid," her voice came, quieter now. "I did not know you were so... fit."
He ignored her, continuing with his sets. He rolled up a spare bedsheet and hung it over the top of a heavy wooden cupboard door. Using it as a makeshift bar, he began doing pull ups. His muscles burned, and sweat dripped onto the expensive rug below.
When he was done, he stood in the middle of the room, motionless. The pale light from the two moons outside reflected into the room. He closed his eyes and focused inward, on his own body. He was not just exercising. He was testing.
He tried to use his power, the trait, to draw on Alice's Fate Essence. He did not need her permission. It was not something he had ever tried to activate on purpose before. He had always just reacted. But now, he tried. He really focused.
First, he tried to summon the status screen, that rectangular white shadow with the black letters. He focused on the idea of it, on his need to see.
It came. It shimmered into existence before him, hovering in the air.
***
Enlightened Title: The divine maiden
Name: Alice
Rank: Primordial
Fate essence: ∞
Trait: [ The chain of heart ]██████▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒
Description: Lost in time and space... Error... Error... This message cannot be revealed further
***
"Looks like I can use it as much as I want," he murmured.
"Great job, Lucid," Alice sounded, and she sounded proud.
Now he tried another thing. He focused on the trait itself, The Chain of Heart. He willed it to activate, not for healing, and not for perception, but just to feel the flow of energy between them. To feel the trickle of power.
It was not really an offensive trait. It could only heal him, allow him to perceive things, and regenerate Fate Essence at a slow pace. However, the Fate Essence regeneration was the most intriguing part. If he could gather it at a quicker rate, or store it, or focus it... He focused and focused and focused. He imagined the trickle becoming a stream. He felt a warmth begin to pool in his chest, a faint, glowing ember of potential energy. It was weak, but it was there. It was something he had made happen.
The door flung open.
It was Gerald. The sound and sudden intrusion shattered Lucid's deep focus completely.
"Fresh sheets, my esteemed guest," Gerald announced, his voice dripping with false courtesy.
Lucid jolted, scared, and nearly tripped over his own feet. He stood there, sweaty and shirtless, his only clothing being his trousers and boots. The butler Gerald studied him, his eyes taking in the disheveled room, the sweaty young man, the makeshift pull up bar.
The butler's stern face broke all formality in that moment. A look of profound disappointment washed over his features. "I see," he said, his voice low and weary. "I guess you really do not have any dignity to lose, young man."
"Wait! I can explain!" Lucid said, his face flushing behind his mist. But the words sounded feeble even to him.
The door shut with a soft, definitive click. Lucid found himself standing alone, holding a stack of neatly folded fresh sheets, in the middle of the messy room.
A long moment of silence passed.
"I, I do not consider you indecent, Lucid," Alice's voice tried to comfort him. It was gentle and sincere.
He sighed, a long, heavy sound that came from the very bottom of his lungs. He dropped the sheets onto the messy bed. The frustration from earlier was gone, replaced by a dull exhaustion and the cold understanding of the butler's judgment. In Gerald's eyes, and probably in Karmen's, he was just a strange, crude tool to be used and discarded. A useful vagrant with no manners.
He sat down on the floor, his back against the bed. He looked at his hands. The faint, lingering warmth of the Fate Essence he had gathered was already fading.
'It doesn't matter what they think,' he thought, his resolve hardening again. 'I just need to be stronger. Strong enough to survive that Rift tomorrow. Strong enough that when Karmen thinks he's using me, he's actually handing me the key to my own cage.'
He would rest. But first, he would clean the room. Not for them. For himself.