Chapter 2529: You sensed it, didn’t you?

Nulli did not actually steal the letter, regardless of how much Harriot suspected her of it. By moving through time, she basically became untrackable, which made it extremely safe for her to come and go from Eclipse’s side.

Thus, she was one of the only three who could see Eclipse these days – the other two being Lunareth and Eclipse’s mysterious bodyguard.

"I have a letter for you," she said, waving the envelope around as she walked up to Eclipse who was seated in the middle of the room with her eyes closed. While Eclipse herself did not move, the clone she had been using inside the Primordial Garden showed and looked at it with interest.

"From the Innkeeper? That’s unexpected," she said as she took it. Nulli let go with great reluctance, but she did ultimately let go.

"Has anything major happened in the universe that I don’t know about? Have we detected any instabilities?"

Nulli shook her head.

"Nothing worthy of your attention so far. A lot of random things have been happening, but nothing that affects our plans. If it’s related to the Innkeeper, the only thing I can think of is that his realm vanished suspiciously soon after another Major realm was captured and disappeared – but I don’t see any correlation."

Eclipse didn’t bother guessing, and instead just opened the letter.

’Honorable Queen Eclipse,

I hope this letter finds you well. I have heard much praise regarding your actions lately, but hardly ever do those who spread rumors consider the cost incurred to make those feats come true.

I find that uncertainty is the only thing that is certain, and so I found myself compelled to write this letter. With my realm set to disappear, I am no longer concerned about the hidden danger in the Void targeting me, but the other Mature and Immature realms may not be so lucky should something unexpected happen…’

Eclipse paused, and marveled. So the Innkeeper even knows about that. Such news was truly unexpected. If he were an old friend from the Primordial Age, she may have understood. After all, the first and most important prerequisite to even sense that danger was to be a true and genuine Primordial – not a fake one.

Even that was merely the first prerequisite, and it was certainly not the easiest one either.

"Uncertainty is the only thing that is certain, eh?" she muttered with a soft hint of a smile on her lips. Lately, it was a little bit easier to make Eclipse smile than it used to be.

She continued reading.

’With the universe in transition, and many great tasks ahead of you, it is not an opportune time to celebrate. However, once things have settled, and all dangers have been dealt with, I hope to host another Tea Party and this time, hear the stories you were unable to share before.

Best Regards,

The Innkeeper of

The Midnight Inn.’

Eclipse nodded subtly. The Innkeeper was really someone who knew how to communicate many things with a few words. Without mentioning specifics, and attracting unwanted attention, he was able to elaborate on much and explain himself clearly. There were genuinely few who could communicate so clearly so effortlessly.

She handed the letter to Nulli to peruse, since she knew that she was interested.

"Is it just me, or is the Innkeeper saying he wants to hear all about you and Lunareth?" Nulli asked as she reached the last paragraph and looked up at Eclipse.

Eclipse chuckled.

"That, and probably everything it took to plan out the big Time reversal. You know, it’s quite stifling not being able to brag about your accomplishments. I don’t think the Innkeeper is personally curious, more like he wants to give me a platform to share and experience the joy of showing off."

Nulli snorted. As if Eclipse needed to show off. Any random thing she did turned into legend.

"And the warning about the thing in the Void… is he…"

Eclipse nodded.

"Yes, it seems so. I’m more concerned about the fact that he chose to hide his realm though. Was he able to sense something we missed?"

For a moment Nulli did not say anything else, as if she was pondering something, but Eclipse knew better.

"You sensed it too, didn’t you?" she finally asked, not specifying what she meant.

Nulli nodded solemnly, her skin tone growing deep blue at the seriousness of the matter.

"It’s the scent of the wrathful one. She may be… hiding inside the Midnight Inn. Sharing that news may be the real reason behind sending the letter," Nulli said.

Eclipse nodded, but said nothing else.

If that Wrathful Primal Queen was truly residing inside the Midnight Inn, Eclipse could truly only hope that fortune… favored the Innkeeper, because there was little else that could help him.

*****

Within the Midnight Inn, as Lex prepared to trigger the System Reboot, unbeknownst to him, there sat a lady inside his own mansion. In fact, she was sitting in his favorite lawn chair, looking out at the lake behind his mansion, playing with a coin in her fingers.

One one side of the coin was her own image, appearing regal and gracious, with the heart of a ruler. On the other side, there was another image of her yet again, but this time her appearance was intense, burdened by the duty of a ruler.

She was humming a tune to herself – one that no one could hear at all – while allowing herself to relax and enjoy the warmth of the Midnight Inn.

"Madam, dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes," said an Inn worker who was attending to her, though he himself seemed entirely unaware of where he was, or what he was doing. In his mind, he was just attending to a normal guest in a regular part of the Inn.

Elizabeth nodded absent mindedly as her gaze shifted from the lake and looked within the Inn itself. Her sight fell not on Lex, but on Mary.