"When fate is obscured, misfortune looms unnoticed, struts unheard, and strikes unseen. But those who gaze beyond the veil of fate may grasp the wheel of fortune and steer their destiny toward greatness. Come, and evade the misfortune that awaits before it finds you."
A pale-faced young man, dressed in a pristine white robe that made him look like a holy priest, was sitting at a conspicuous corner of a bustling street at night, where there were few cars and more pedestrians, yelling these peculiar words with a serene expression.
In front of him was a short stool, and on it was a thick, black, hard-covered book with dense, arcane, and ancient patterns engraved throughout the surface.
This made him look mysterious.
But not many stopped, assuming him to be a charlatan. And they were right. Elvis Veyne had graduated with a degree in psychology about two years ago, only to find himself unable to secure a decent job. So, three months ago, he had turned to conning people for a living.
Under the guise of reading the future to predict misfortune, he made some good money. That was how he has been surviving.
Elvis suddenly covered his mouth to cough. A patch of blood smeared across the hand covering his lips.
’This demonic cough.’
He stared at the reflection from the puddle of stagnant water beside him.
Elvis had short black hair framing his sharp face, along with clear, bottle-green eyes that concealed his slyness.
He wiped the blood off his lip.
Just as he was about to continue hollering with a serene expression to appear mysterious, a lady abruptly halted by his side, jolting him slightly.
He turned his head to see a young lady with unkempt hair glaring at him with bloodshot eyes as if he had stolen her most precious possession.
Elvis cleared his throat and asked quietly, "Ma’am, would you like to read your future to avoid your looming disaster? I can see the dark cloud descending upon you."
The haggard lady took a sharp breath, then exhaled with a soft growl, her glare never fading. This made Elvis fidget internally, though he maintained a serene expression.
"Ma’am?" Elvis called out softly.
"I am Caelithia. I don’t know if you can remember me, but I can’t forget you. I can smell you. You’re that charlatan who scammed me out of two hundred dollars to clear my misfortune." She finally spoke.
’Screw me! A former client.’
This was Elvis’s first time running into a former client, but he tried to maintain a composed expression despite the slight twitch in his cheeks.
’I’ll just run if I can’t talk my way out of it.’
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the girl suddenly pulled a pistol gun from her purse, covering it with her scarf, the muzzle aimed at Elvis.
Elvis shuddered instantly, looking left and right for help.
But Caelithia closed in.
"If you shout, I can’t guarantee you won’t be lying in the pool of your blood. This is a perfect corner chosen by you for your evil business. Don’t make it your execution ground. Now can we talk?" She threatened with a smile on her face and a sparkling gleam in her eyes as if she was relishing in his fear.
Elvis hastily and fearfully nodded, pressing his lips together.
’Dammit! A psychopath. Why did I choose this corner?’
Sweat was already seeping from the pores on his back. His robe didn’t help with the sudden spiking in the temperature of the cool night.
"Last time, after you did all the charlatanish rubbish... well, maybe not charlatanish if it works. But guess what? My misfortune worsened. It was so terrible that I noticed the sharp increase. So, how are you going to fix it?" She asked softly.
’Damn, girl! I did nothing. You might just be a nutcase daughter of misfortune! But if I say that, a bullet will be going through my stomach. Even if I tell her I’m fake, she wouldn’t believe me since she thinks the worsening is my doing. I need to meander my way out with my mouth.’ Elvis took a deep breath.
"Then there must be a fault from somewhere. We will do the Universe-Karmic reversal ritual. Inside the Arcanic Codex of Destiny on the stool is a golden wheel. Drip a drop of blood onto it and spin it counterclockwise. Then it is all done," Elvis explained with a measured voice, spewing rubbish like a professional charlatan.
Caelithia looked at him suspiciously for a second.
"Ma’am, killing me won’t solve your situation. It will only make things worse. Besides, your life will be over too. Ruining your soon-to-be beautiful life isn’t worth it. You might not know the beauty of life since you’ve been drowning in a sea of misfortune," Elvis persuaded.
"I never planned to live again after killing you. Let me warn you, if this is a lie just to buy your way out, I’ll kill myself and blame it on you for scamming me of my last cash," said Caelithia before taking a photo of Elvis with her phone, and putting her gun back into her purse.
Elvis couldn’t feel more miserable as he watched her pick up the book, knowing it was all a charade.
She flipped it open, revealing a palm-sized golden wheel densely engraved with bizarre symbols, embedded into the center of the book with black pages. Golden skull filigree adorned the four corners of the page.
It was the mysterious vibe of the book that compelled him to buy it.
Following Elvis’s instruction, she spun the wheel anti-clockwise.
The wheel spun for a short while before coming to a halt. Elvis just opened his mouth, ready to spew his prepared persuasive gibberish while planning to report to the appropriate authorities. But the book suddenly emitted a blinding golden light.
’Huh?’ Elvis squinted at the blinding light with a dumbfounded expression.
Without warning, the already blinding light flared to an unbearable brilliance, erupting outward in rippling waves like a supernova. Elvis instinctively shut his eyes and shielded his face from the rippling brilliance.
But the moment he shut his eyes, he felt something wasn’t right. He could hear soft chants rumbling in his ears.
[AWAKENING PROCEEDING...]
A translucent blue panel sprang into his vision—or perhaps his mind, since his eyes were shut.
Elvis snapped his eyes open. To his absolute shock, he found himself in darkness.
’That light blinded me?’ Elvis could feel despair and horror crawling through him. He even regretted becoming a con-man.
’Can life get any worse?’
His eyes were stinging in the encompassing darkness, with tears trickling from the corner.
Just as suicidal thoughts were about to creep into his head, two large, red, lantern-like slit eyes suddenly opened above his head.
Elvis reeled back in shock. His heart lurched in his throat.
"Sacrifice to the Demon Emperor; otherworldly meal of the Demon Emperor, welcome. It’s an honor to be a meal of the Demon Emperor," a thunderous, deep voice boomed in the darkness.
"Huh? Am I blind, or am I seeing things? Are those eyes? Or... is this the ninety-ninth stage of grief?" Elvis tilted his head and muttered in confusion.
"Don’t insult this Demon Emperor! I only eat a perfect and healthy meal. I never eat substandard, impaired meals," the voice of the unknown giant thundered in anger.
"That’s why I take my time breaking through the world barrier to summon a pure being from another world for breakfast."
Elvis could vaguely make out the maw of the gigantic figure, its colossal, conical teeth resembling an array of stalactites and stalagmites that undulated within the pitch-black darkness as the beast spoke.
’It wants to eat me! F**k! Life can get worse.’