It was a tale of two nights.
On the top floor of the inn, Jax stepped into his suite and stopped.
The room was massive.
Soft carpet. Walls draped in embroidered cloth. A king-sized bed buried beneath quilts, layered blankets, and pillows so plush they looked like clouds.
A silver tray waited on the table — fresh fruit, soap, towels, even a toothbrush.
"Huh," Jax murmured. "So this is what a suite is."
He tested the mattress.
It nearly swallowed him.
He laughed.
He set his things aside, walked out to the balcony, and leaned against the railing.
Solmere spread beneath him — crooked rooftops, lanterns flickering, streets worn thin by struggle and time.
And yet…
There was life.
Commerce.
Possibility.
There's potential here, he thought. I can feel it.
The breeze cooled his face.
He exhaled, at peace.
Then crawled into bed — disappearing beneath a mountain of blankets.
He stretched out.
He didn't even reach the edges.
Sleep came easily.
The system quietly purged toxins from his body while he slept.
His breathing steadied.
His mind cleared.
He rested.
Across the building, on the 2nd floor, in the smallest room the inn had ever dared to rent —
Chaos.
Four women. One tiny bed.
One very thin blanket.
And something in the wall that clanked every forty seconds.
Bunny tugged the blanket.
Nyxian tugged back.
Zee tried to curl along the edge with dignity.
Llandra pressed a pillow over her ear.
The generator room next door roared like an angry machine beast.
Metal clattered.
Pipes rattled.
Nyxian groaned. "If this thing explodes, I'm haunting the innkeeper."
Bunny attempted optimism.
"At least we're warm?"
Llandra muttered into her pillow.
"Someone's foot is in my face."
It was Nyxian's.
They rotated.
Badly.
The blanket migrated.
Even in sleep they fought for territory.
Outside, the town grew quiet.
Inside, the Vixens did not.
At some point Zee managed to rest her head.
At some point Bunny snored.
At some point Nyxian swore softly into the night.
And at some point Llandra lay awake staring at the ceiling — thinking about a man who punched dragons and negotiated like a king.
Morning came.
Jax blinked awake beneath clean sheets.
Refreshed.
Clear-headed.
Alert.
The system had filtered every last drop of mead from his blood while he slept.
He stretched lazily.
"That," he said, "was fantastic."
Across the hall, the Vixens awoke in a tangle of arms, hair, regret, and the faint scent of hangover.
Bunny groaned.
Nyxian shielded her eyes.
Zee sat very still, processing existence.
Llandra swallowed and closed her eyes again.
Foot.
Still in her face.
She sighed.
It was absolutely not a fair world.
And yet —
The day was already waiting.