𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘. 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.
It's the beginning of a new age when Jaylah Imperatrix seemingly returns from the dead to reclaim her throne. And in perfect timing.
In her absence, evil has be...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Act 3 Chapter 59 JAYLAH
The City of Luck was not exactly what I expected. It was more.
It was colorful and flashy, but not in an innocuous manner. Its beauty felt more like the vibrant skin of a poisonous snake—created to draw prey in. Of course, knowing of its reputation hardly helped. Bounty hunters, street gangs, politicians with pockets heavy from fraudulent money, families built around crime, corrupt merchants—this city had it all hiding beneath its gilded exterior. Law enforcement was either too weak or too involved in underground activities themselves to do anything about it.
Being that the City of Luck was home to international ports, it was inevitable that it would be a mixture of different cultures. I simply did not know how this would play out in its own society, and as it turned out, it meant that this place was more extravagant and flamboyant than anything I had ever lain eyes on. The men wore stylishly long coats, eagle-topped canes and velvet-dark top hats even though the day was warm, while the women wore the slinkiest dresses I had seen our whole time in this country. They were not particularly frilly, or at least not more than usual, but the dress here was for more than utility. It was to introduce oneself to the world without talking. It was to flash one's money at everyone else.
Everything here was exaggerated. Even the number of gambling houses; I counted six on one street, and we had only just entered the city. At first, the culture seemed to be based around hedonistic values. But I knew all this surface-level flashiness was to hide the city's dark underbelly.
My point was proven when we strode past an alleyway, in which someone was being openly robbed. The woman was calling for the soldiers amongst the chaos, but help would never arrive. The loud city simply did not care.
Without thinking, I mentally reached out to reinforce that Alexander's presence was still there. I was ruthless and deadly. Yet I still was glad to not walk these streets alone.
The pandemonium of the city was also partially due to the fact that it was the first day of the holiday Chakranti, which originated from Fas Kaling, as the Gods did, but was celebrated around the world. Though it was only noon, people were already throwing flower petals in the streets and walking around with their faces adorned with cosmetics—even some of the men.
We paid the preparations no notice, however, because Alexander insisted he had a connection within the city. Apparently, this man owed Alexander a favor that would get us on a ship to Oceana in no time. His vagueness on the subject instilled deep worry in me, but not even he seemed to know of the person's exact whereabouts.
That was how we found ourselves in the back of a public lounge, sitting on red velvet seats across from a bounty hunter who held a glass of expensive wine that clashed with her long green fingernails. "If you want me to find him in the next few days, I will need a name," she said after downing the entire glass.
