TM

  Lucious went still, the fork carrying crispy pork just a few inches away from his salivating mouth.

  Semi-transparent blue screens covered most of his vision. An influx of numbers, foreign words, and an odd body sensation overwhelmed his senses.

  The first thing his eyes observed was the title of the screen: Kayn R.

  Kayn R. was supposed to be long dead, killed in a battle against The Legion, five years ago. No one remembers that name, no one but Lucious. With a groan Lucious lowered his hands on the table, one holding a small steel knife, the other a fork. He closed his eyes, exhaling completely, inhaling deeply, and Willed his mind to return to sanity.

  He opened his eyes again, hoping the disillusions to disperse. This was very disheartening for Lucious, he truly thought he was better than this.

  His blood began to simmer. He’s seen what madness could do to people. Their whimpers were clear in his mind, the crazed look in their twitchy eyes was always present. Their bodies always moved erratically, their speech irregular and hectic. They were a pathetic bunch, mostly veterans without an arm or leg, usually with war trauma to haunt them at night. Lucious would rather kill himself before he would succumb to such vile state.

  While this wasn’t wholly unlivable, spending the rest of his life with blue screens covering most of his vision would eventually drive him to a great feat of insanity.

  Now they’re gone.

  They had vanished as soon as Lucious wished for them to be. Impressive! His insanity was quite accommodating.

  Lucious glanced at his surroundings, attempting to appraise just how fucked up he currently was. To his surprise, a mix of confusion and fear was apparent on Argento’s plump face, as well as every other person his eyes could peep at. Argento’s response was very clear, for his chair had tipped over and his clothes were ruffled. The poor man probably fell backward upon the screens’ abrupt awakening. Now he was standing up, his sweaty palms holding the tablecloth tightly while his eyes darted around on high alert.

  Chaos was already brewing around Lucious. Fear was a common emotion, as nothing could cause such mass hysteria but a very, very good Illusion related incantation. Lucious immediately dismissed that thought when his birth-given name showed. Control Magic had to be used with extremely specific instructions; for a group as large as 30 people to be under different spell effects? Unlikely.

  A dream then, Lucious thought.

  Since this is a dream, should I?... After glancing around all the women he could grope, Lucious promptly thought better of it. These dreams would usually end as soon as the tender sensation reached his fingers. Instead, he opted for finishing his long-awaited meal. Lucious nodded to himself when the slice of meat melted on his tongue. The cluster of flavors released further confirmed his correct choice. His body instincts took over from their, his facade dropping as he began to rip into the meat with his teeth. What point was there in keeping up appearances in dreams?

  I would kill for this meat. I mean I have, but I would kill even more. Finding a way into the Second district was no easy task. This meal, however, made all the time he had spent to smuggle himself inside the district worth it--even if it was all but a long and quite sophisticated dream.

  This being a dream did not mean he could not handsomely reward himself.

  And so, while impeding chaos threatened the Profectus Empire, Lucious fed on an exquisite chunk of pork, a few baked potatoes, fresh tomatoes, lettuce, and onions. Inevitably, that apple tart would soon follow after.

  The few prompts that did foolishly attempt to distract Lucious from his deeds were ruthlessly put down, allowing the vibrant spectrum of spices to fill up all his valuable senses.

  A rotting hand stuck out through the marble flooring, right below Lucious. He watched it as it attempted to crawl it's way out, low growls echoing its frustration. Ts, not very creative, are we? The undead raising? really? that's the best I can come up with? With a tired grunt, Lucious returned to his meal, doing his best to ignore the screams around him. Lucious might be homeless, poor, and filthy, but he was not, under any circumstances, despicable enough to leave a plate half-eaten.

  He kicked the beast back into the ground.