The entrance wasn't actually anywhere near the location where the actual lounge was.
In reality, it was a door far away in a random tailor shop that nobody would expect, a place that didn't have nearly enough business to stay open yet had been open for hundreds of years.
Finding it was difficult only in that it took a great deal of time.
The trio noticed that a lot of the influential people they followed wore clothes tailored at that shop, but to actually realize that it was the location they were looking for took some more time.
They had to actually visit the tailor shop before they confirmed anything.
But, the second they made that visit they no longer had to ask any questions.
The tailor glanced at them only for a second before returning to the book in his hand.
As they were left with free reign over their actions, they looked over the clothing selection and tried to find out what exactly they needed to do to get to the Shadow Lounge.
They found their way into one of the changing stalls, and as they fiddled with the many decorations on the walls…
Voom!
The back wall gave way to a swirling blue and purple portal.
Looking at each other with excitement in their eyes, they stepped through it without fear.
The trio arrived in a reception area. It was extremely classy, with mahogany-like wood everywhere and sleek yet stand-out pieces of art and decor lining the walls.
A woman stood at a desk adjacent to the back wall of the reception area. The wall was open to both of her sides, leading further into the space.
Large round sofas could be seen in the near distance. Many were occupied, and there were even a few people at the six seats in front of the quaint bar from which they were being serviced.
It was an area like none of them had ever seen before, so when they got to the receptionist, they didn't actually know what to say.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Hell, they barely even knew where they were. They had found out about this place through the words of others, so at most, they understood its purpose.
Luckily for them, the receptionist spoke first with a cordial smile on her face.
"Is there an August Void among you?"
"Um…that would be me," August replied, raising his hand.
"I understand. I will show you to your table."
She didn't say anything else, immediately walking through the door on the left and beckoning August and the rest to follow her.
They did, and they quite stood out compared to the people around them.
After all, they'd been adventuring around the city for a day now, and that happened immediately after the elimination round. They hadn't quite had the time to clean up yet.
Still, nobody paid them any mind. Since they'd come here, they would follow the rules of this place or be ejected. That assurance was enough to keep them unbothered.
August, Melania, and Valerie were led through the circular couches and towards the private rooms at the back of the space.
By the time they arrived at the door of the room they were meant to enter, August could already feel his father's aura.
If Damien had released it earlier, then August would have immediately found him. The boy was especially keen in the regard of sensing Damien.
However, now that he'd successfully reached this place, the game had already ended in his defeat.
Damien released his disguise, and as the door swung open, he was already back to his original appearance.
"Dad!"
August immediately ran over to him.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Damien grinned and ruffled his hair.
"You've gotten trickier, haven't you? Congratulations on making it here on your own for the first time," he said.
Damien was truly impressed by his son. He expected August to eventually learn to read his thoughts. Though, he never thought it would come so soon.
He intentionally telegraphed his thoughts a lot more so that August could learn how to read them before actually facing challenges beyond his current level.
But, that ended up biting him in the ass, because his son was more of a genius than he gave him credit for.
"Dad, I know it's only been a week, but so much crazy stuff happened!"
August's demeanor changed entirely. He looked like a teenager, but he was now properly acting his age, like someone who'd only recently turned ten.
Valerie smiled helplessly, since she was aware of that little fact.
Melania, on the other hand…
Well, it was strange for her to be seeing this side of August after getting to know him. He seemed like a completely different person.
Nevertheless, August was too busy telling Damien about the elimination round and his adventures before it to care.
He knew that Damien was there to watch, and he wanted to ask his dad about his performance, but that was a conversation for them to have when they were alone.
Currently, August had company, didn't he?
"You brought your friends over, right? Are you going to introduce me?"
Damien segued the conversation since August forgot that they were ever-present.
"Ah, right!" He exclaimed as he remembered.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Dad, this is Melania. I met her in Arragon when I went to the testing facility. And this is Valerie. Remember the green dragon senior who helped us when I was small? She's his granddaughter."
Well, as someone who, at this point, could know someone just by looking at their soul, Damien didn't need to be introduced to the two girls.
But, it was courteous for him to pretend, right? He couldn't embarrass his son at a time like this.
"Nice to meet you," Damien said, smiling at them.
"I'm Damien Void. Thank you for being friends with my son. He really needed some."
"Dad!" August shouted in embarrassment.
"Haha, I'm just kidding."
In his defense, every parent had to embarrass their kid at least a few times. What was the fun if they didn't?
Valerie and Melania respectfully returned his greeting, but their minds were in other places.
The main thing was…
The two of them didn't look alike?
Damien clearly wasn't August's biological father. Putting aside those striking purple eyes that couldn't be replicated anywhere else, just his age made things strange.
When August said that he and his dad played games like the one they'd just participated in all the time, the girls were able to get a feel of how powerful Damien was.
His external age said a lot. For him to maintain such an appearance meant he'd become powerful at an extremely young age.
Was he a talent from the previous generation? Or was he someone completely unknown?
They didn't think about it much as it was happening, but they were now wondering if he was some sort of Void Dragon variant, since only they could control space to such a high degree.
The man known as Damien Void was a curious case to them, and while they wanted to know many things about both him and August, they withheld that desire.
It was a bit awkward. The girls didn't know why they were here, since there wasn't much more to converse about with Damien after their introductions, but August knew exactly why he was here.
"Dad, since I won, I get a reward, right?" He said.
"That's usually how this works, yeah. Did you have something in mind?" Damien responded.
"Yup!" August replied.
He pulled out the emblem that had been sitting in his spatial ring since he got it. Valerie and Melania looked on curiously to see what he was going to do with it.
"There's something hidden within here and I feel like it's a big scheme. Can you tell me what it is?"
The strange expressions on the girls' faces became more pronounced.
How was Damien supposed to know that?
August didn't say anything that could give him clues. He didn't even hand over the emblem for Damien to inspect.
But, against their expectations, Damien nodded his head casually.
"Sure. If that's what you want."
That scheme was above August's weight class, but it wasn't too far out of range. Damien didn't mind letting his son set it as a goal to strive towards.
After all, that issue was related to the crux of the problem that he would also need to deal with. Splitting the work was never a bad thing, especially if it had a positive impact on those involved.
Since his son had chosen information as a reward over all else, despite there being better options, Damien would give him more than he hoped for.
Besides, he was curious.
If given all of the necessary information to understand the ins and outs of a certain situation…
What would August be able to accomplish?
