After a few hours, Xavier and Aria had finally been through all of the stores and attractions that they had planned on going to. They had spent quite a lot of money shopping—303 Veylars for Aria and 98 for Xavier.
Aria had spent money on a phone, clothes, plushies, items and collectibles from different cultures, movies, books and video games, along with the jewelry she bought before.
Xavier had only spent money on a phone, some books and some video games. He had also spent some money on some materials that can help with his engineering goals. This was quite a shopping spree, even for their standards; and despite Xavier intentionally putting himself on a budget.
This entire experience had caused them to carry two leather bags each—with Aria's bags being slightly fuller.
Of course, they didn't have to use bags to carry their things given the technology in this world. But it was most comfortable for them for now.
Since they were now feeling hungry after the spree, they wanted to go to a nearby restaurant.
Because they weren't feeling dishes that were native to this world, they chose the restaurant that served food most familiar to them by checking the digital menus on their bands.
The restaurant was called the Lilac Bloom. Apparently, it claimed to have many Morphean cuisines but such dishes were coincidentally similar to that of the previous Earth.
For a few examples, you can order a coffee before your meal, the appetizers ranged from chicken wings to salads, and the dinners contained things like burgers and fries.
The two former coworkers went up an elevator that led to the entrance of the restaurant. They were later greeted by a holographic AI assistant in an ambient violet, dreamy space that served as a short waiting room.
"Good afternoon!" The hovering humanoid hologram said with a preprogrammed excited tone. "What would you like for today?"
"I'd like chicken tenders and fries as my appetizer," Xavier ordered first. "Any sauce is fine."
"For the dinner, I'd like a simple chicken fettuccine Alfredo. No dessert. I'd take water as the drink."
"Fascinating order." Aria said immediately with an apathetic tone.
"It's a classic. They have it on the menu, so why would I not get it?" Xavier asked, his emotionless tone reflecting Aria's.
"I never said that you couldn't get it." Aria replied.
"Is that not what you implied…?" Xavier looked at Aria, his manner of speaking unchanging.
Aria chuckled.
"I don't want to leave the AI waiting." As she said this, the assistant nodded its head as if it was sentient.
Xavier squinted his eyes in disbelief. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to find the words to say.
"So, I would like a salad as my appetizer. Ranch sauce would be fine. As for the main course, I'd take the honey garlic chicken and fried rice topped with cilantro. Of course, I need a cheesecake as a dessert."
"Oh, and I'd like an apple cider as my drink."
The assistant nodded its head.
"Okay," Its robotic voice resonated throughout the space. "Thank you! Before I lead you to your tables, is that all?"
"No. There's a chance that a woman will come inside here who is dressed in all black wearing black lipstick. She has black hair and black eyes. Her hair is also in a bun." Aria informed.
"Her name is Emilia Rose. I want to make a reservation in advance in case she comes, so she knows what table to go to."
"Great," The assistant replied. "What are your names?"
"I'm Xavier Hale." Xavier responded.
"Aria Brown." Aria replied.
"Thanks! Make sure to enjoy your meal!" The assistant's excited voice rung out as the space unveiled itself to show the restaurant.
The restaurant had a fancy air to it, and it almost felt like an eatery one would usually find on Earth.
There were faint violet stars floating around like fireflies, while the floor was covered in a calm, dreamy fog. The utensils, tables, chairs, etc. were coated in a deep black and were streaked by violet LED lights. Ambient music played in the background, making one feel like they could fall asleep in the restaurant. Along with the music, the sounds of dozens upon dozens of people in the restaurant complimented the sizzling and frying sounds of the cooks in the background.
This made the restaurant feel lively, yet dreamy.
As for the assigned table, it was already designated and located by the AI, so all they had to do was follow the projection.
"It's so different from the rest of the mall…" Xavier muttered as he followed the AI.
"Yeah. I can see why it's a restaurant that's styled by the Third Dimension…" Aria added.
As they sat down on the cold, yet comfortable leather seats, they noticed that Emilia was heading in their direction.
"Ah, Emilia is actually coming to us. I wonder what she was doing during that time…" Aria mentioned as she placed two of her leather bags next to her. She shifted over since she was planning on giving space for Emilia.
Xavier did the same, resting his bags containing his stuff on the ground.
A few minutes later, Emilia arrived, her all black outfit fitting with the dreamy ambiance. She approached the table with one leather bag being held by her right shoulder. Along with her was a robot that brought some extra utensils. It later placed the utensils on the table.
Emilia immediately sat on the seat next to Aria and placed her bags next to hers.
"Where did you go?" Aria didn't hesitate to pursue a conversation with Emilia.
"I was mainly just playing some horror games in the arcades. They were very realistic, I actually thought I was gonna die at some point." Emilia pointed her head downwards as she closed her eyes with a smile.
"I see. You're stronger than me, because I can't stand horror…" Aria shook her head.
"Well, I've always liked horror movies and played horror games." Emilia giggled afterwards.
She then held her black hair that was rolled up into a bun and continued, "Aside from that, which took like a couple hours I think, I just went shopping for some black gothic clothes and lipstick."
"Oh really? I didn't know you were into that type of stuff." Aria said with a smile.
"I mean, I've never been into it like that but I always wanted to try it. I actually can't wait till I try my clothes on," Emilia responded, her countenance slowly glowing.
"Man, I can't wait to see how it'll look. My sister always wanted me to try them out…"
Aria's smile widened.
"Well, I know you'd look so cute in those outfits! I mean, I haven't seen them yet but I just know."
"You think so?" Emilia asked as she watched a table that was in front of her. She still had a smile on her face talking to Aria, but her eyes seemed to gravitate toward another area.
"Yeah! You're like one of the cutest girls I've ever seen!" Aria said as she patted Emilia's back.
"Plus, you already wear dark clothes, so I have an excellent idea of how you'd look like in those fits."
"Nah, you're lying…" Emilia said with a soft voice as she tried to deny Aria's claim.
However, her black eyes stayed locked on that table.
The table had two identical women on opposite ends. They were smiling and laughing, they were talking to each other and enjoying one's company. They appeared to be sisters, hanging out and appreciating each other as family.
By this time, Aria had noticed that Emilia kept staring in that direction. She removed her hand and asked:
"What's wrong? Are you alright?"
Aria asking this question even got the attention of Xavier, who was previously playing around with the utensils, waiting for the appetizer.
Emilia curled her lips up faintly. After a second, she chuckled.
"Nothing's wrong." Emilia looked at Aria, her smile never leaving her. "You just made me feel a little nostalgic, that's all."
Aria's mouth opened, as if she never expected that answer.
"Is that bad? If it is, I'm sorry." Feeling guilty, she apologized.
"Nope. Don't apologize!" Emilia patted Aria's back.
Aria raised her eyebrows in surprise. She never expected Emilia to return the favor by teasing her in the same way!
Not letting Aria process this move, Emilia continued, "I see that you also got some cute stuff. Where did those earrings come from?"
Aria felt a peculiar sense of relief and happiness as she heard those words from Emilia. Clearing her throat, she smiled as she said, "Ahem. Well, I got them from a jewelry store that's just past the arctic zoo. Xavier and I was there like an hour ago."
"Ohhhh." Emilia's eyebrows raised as she gave an extended sound that signaled her realization. "I actually visited that zoo a few hours back. I think I saw the craziest thing that happened there!"
"Oh really?" Aria asked curiously.
"Yeah! I saw like a polar bear and a medium-sized ice dragon looking thing playing with each other…"
As Emilia and Aria talked to each other, Xavier went back to playing with his utensils as his mind flashed back to the scene just a few hours ago.
"Assistant of Space-Time…"
"Assistant of Space-Time…"
"Assistant of Space-Time…"
This 'fate' kept replaying in his head, especially since it came from an enigmatic and apparently reliable Seer. A part of him didn't want to believe that such a thing actually had any weight, and a next part of him was confused on what this 'title' even meant.
"Assistant? How is it possible to assist space-time?"
"Or rather, am I am assistant of someone or something that represents space-time? Like a physicist of that new dimension?"
"Now that I think about it, it could be possible that this could help me understand the reason behind us mysteriously being transported here…"
"On that note, I wouldn't be surprised if Dr. Sera was connected to it in some way, especially with her desire to understand and reach the 'heavens'. Not to mention the fact that she turned pale. I still can't get over that."
"Sigh. Another mystery that I have to solve. I can't figure this out, I don't have enough information."
He gave a silent sigh as he dismissed these thoughts.
But, certain, lingering thoughts weren't dismissed. It was more like they couldn't be dismissed, since Xavier didn't properly understand the feeling that caused them.
These lingering, peculiar thoughts were memories of the moment where Ren psychologically profiled him. Interestingly, this psychoanalysis stuck with him just as much as the divination she performed.
No, it was more like it stuck with him more!
"I'm going to guess you guys just came here?" A deep, male voice sounded a few meters away from the table the trio were at. It completely broke Xavier's thought process, and interrupted Aria and Emilia's conversation.
Because of this, they all looked in the direction of the voice, and saw that it belonged to the now clean-shaven, pink haired Vael. He still wore a leather jacket and blue navy jeans that showed off his well-built figure.
They were a little shocked at his sudden arrival, but they realized it was only because they were caught up in their own things that they didn't notice that he was heading his way over.
It was like a teenager getting startled at their parents suddenly coming inside of their room while they were playing games!
"Yeah we just came here. How was worship?" Aria composed herself as she was the first to ask.
"It was great. I'd like for you all to experience it one of these days, it'll deepen your relationship with God." Vael said with a soft smile.
"Yeah, you're right." Emilia was the only person to give a verbal response, while Aria and Xavier simply nodded.
"Haha…"
"How interesting." Not even a second later, a teasing, female voice rung throughout Vael's head. It both did and did not pierce through the atmosphere; it was a strange contradiction!
This was because only Vael had heard this voice!
"Deepen your relationship with God, was it?" It spoke out again, as if the person saying it was mocking Vael.
Instantly, his ethereal intuition spiked. Like illusory arrows, it pointed towards a specific direction, showing signs of imminent danger.
He slowly looked toward the direction of the voice as he composed his emotions perfectly. This gave a completely unfazed outward appearance.
However, he was inwardly baffled to how his senses couldn't pick up such a threat.
Calmly looking at the direction of his ethereal intuition, he found that the voice was from a table that was a few seats diagonally from where the trio sat.
At the table were two women.
One of the women looked like a young adult, like she was still in her teenage years. She was staring at the utensils with her vibrant blue eyes, her brown hair parted and fresh. She wore a sleeved shirt with baggy pants, and her skin looked fair despite it having scars.
It didn't take long for the trio to notice Vael's sudden shift in expression. It was once a gentle expression, but it had turned into a blank stare that was pointed at a table diagonally from them.
Emilia and Aria turned their heads—trying to be subtle, while Xavier calmly observed in the direction that Vael was looking at.
"Wait," Xavier almost gasped as he casted his gaze to the general direction of Vael's stare.
"That's the same girl from earlier!" Xavier immediately recognized the girl that had stood out from the line!
"But who's that other lady? And why is Vael just looking at them…" Xavier squinted his eyes, trying to solve the mystery.
"I doubt that Vael is staring at that young girl…Is that older lady dangerous? Actually, are they both are old friends?" Aria came up with her own theories as to who the two ladies were, her expression visibly showing her confusion.
"Okay, so why is he just looking at a random table? Aren't they just mother and daughter?" Emilia however, wasn't as inquisitive, her face not showing much emotion.
As for the other lady…
She looked mature and elegant. She had tanned skin and bright blue hooded eyes. Her chestnut hair that had reddish streaks was slightly curled, with some strands rolling over her shoulders.
She had worn a white shirt with symbols on it that read: Space-Time. She had worn a dark blue pants that showed off her well built figure.
To the trio, her eyes were closed as her head pointed toward the table. Strangely, she looked as if she was in a deep sleep.
Suddenly, as they kept looking at her, they had felt a strange dizziness!
Their thoughts were getting sluggish as their visual senses became warped. Their surroundings appeared to be distorted like water.
"What…is…going on…" Xavier thought in his head, but he felt like he had to solve a complex math equation to think a next word.
"They're…danger…ous…" Aria felt the same way as Xavier, her body trembling due to the slowness of her brain.
Emilia tried to think as well, but her mind had hit a roadblock on the first word she even wanted to say.
They were all confused as their auditory senses also turned to mush, their ears feeling like plugs were jammed inside of them.
And unfortunately, their thoughts were too slow to come up with a proper conclusion as to why this was happening, and why this was happening to them!
However, their brains had subconsciously and instinctually given off all sorts of danger signs. In their hearts, they had known one thing:
This woman that Vael was staring at was dangerous!
"You…" Vael scoffed in his head as he kept looking at the woman. In his head, he continued to have a baffled expression.
And unlike the trio's vision, she was always staring at Vael!
Yes, she was always staring at him, and her lips were curled up as she did so. Her eyes were half closed, as if her smile was genuine.
Indeed, it was a beautiful, teasing smile.