Chapter 180: Two Places At Once

Tyler and the ladies continued walking the streets of the outskirts and eventually came across a section of the slums.

"So this is what an apocalypse and poverty will do..." Tyler trailed off.

"These areas didn’t exist in Vespa...I’ve lived here my whole life. I’ve seen every part of this city. Even the outskirts weren’t as bad as they are now. To see it fall this far just tells me ability users aren’t immune to poverty and people make choices based on self-preservation," Sophie said with a frown.

"You’re definitely right about that. There are poor areas in the vampiric kingdom but they are tended to by the royal government. They might not have the best living conditions, but they have a home, blood and a place to live. These vampires typically lack an ability and have weak blood skills, so they do other things like work as runners to the hospitals for blood donations or to ability shops who do the same. They may be poor, but they aren’t suffering. It’s why our culture doesn’t fight," Nyxara said quietly. "Why were you so persecuted Amanda? Why do you think the Necrams went after the elves first?"

"Because I was the elf who couldn’t heal herself in a powerful family bloodline. Elven culture is much different than other races. Power dictates everything. The more powerful a person is, the more money and backing they have. I’m guessing the Necrams saw them as an easy, quick power grab and nothing more," Amanda sighed. "At least I hope it was nothing more than that. Werewolves, humans, demons and even vampires are very spread out. Elves lived in one giant kingdom."

"This is absurd. To think they targeted it for a simple quick kill suggests there is something more to them just hacking and using those rods for power," Tyler answered as they continued walking through the streets.

"Well, you’ve seen it yourself...clearly they are here to absorb power and lifeforces," Kass said bluntly. "What else do you think they want?"

Sophie interjected. "That’s what I can’t figure out. If they simply wanted power, they could have hit the elves, left and been more powerful. It seems they want to wipe out the entire planet and take all of it. The real question is why do they need it? Is it simply for immortality or is there a bigger threat to them?"

This question all made their heads hurt. There were so many variables they didn’t know despite Tyler fighting the enemy directly and picking up all that footage. They watched it countless times. It clearly revealed an organized humanoid structure with a lower class of AI bots. He remembered watching a movie on Earth where an AI became sentient, and it made him wonder how powerful the enemy truly was.

As they continued walking, they started spotting people wearing black and purple masks. They scattered as soon as they saw Tyler, which didn’t go unnoticed by the group.

What they didn’t realize was how fast Tyler could teleport and use Vox to phase through realms and back with them not noticing. He was able to track one of them running to a wall and using a magical orb to open a wall and run inside.

"Nice upgrades to your space. You and Alexandria did a nice job of making it look...more like a space someone could live and less like an area to jump to."

"Since when did you get so damn fast?" Ritsu asked, chuckling. "Seriously, the girls haven’t even picked up on it. Did you see the black mask guy? So apparently there are different levels to this organization."

"Yes, I did. This is getting complicated quickly. We can’t just throw money at these slums and make the problem go away.

"Who are they?" Amanda asked.

"Someone afraid to show their face and clearly afraid of Tyler. What does that mean?" Nyxara asked, confused.

"Perhaps they are running an underground organization to oppose me. The real question is what are their motivates and why?" Tyler sighed.

"Tyler’s here to save us all with his wives! Look at that weird white aura around him...what are you sir?" a young child wearing tattered clothes said with a large smile.

"I’m here to meet people and am following a lead." Tyler smiled.

Zed and Zinnia teleported back and were walking down the slum streets. Zed went back inside his new hideout but Zinnia continued walking.

Zed checked in with Dak and despite the warning from Z, he decided to share some information in the office. He didn’t give away all the details, but he wanted to try some of his new power out.

"You’re much faster with your teleportation. It’s harder to track you that you left and returned. How are you able to control it so well?" Dak asked, interested in this new found power Zed received.

"I feel like I could use any of my vampiric arts with ease, but I need blood, now," Zed said as he popped a blood bag open and consumed it rapidly.

"Still hungry. This isn’t good Dak. This new power is coming at a hefty price. If I have to consume this much blood after one power up, what happens if I get more? I can’t exactly just keep taking from the group’s supplies without returning any... we need to find a way."

"With great power comes great responsibility. There’s a lot going on. Tyler and his wives are in the area, I watched them walk by."

"What?! That’s not good." Zed almost spit out the second blood bag he was drinking.

********

’What’s with the lack of people and why aren’t there any of the illusionists out?’ Zinnia thought, scanning the usually hectic area.

Rather than returning to her hideout, she continued walking and overheard whispers about Tyler being in the area with her wives.

’Z said not to engage. I have to at least get a look and view at how strong they really are.’

She saw masked people hiding in alleys or tucked away in run down bars. Finally, she saw them.

’Is that an ethereal aura that an Eidolon would have? He did say he was one on that stupid livestream. I can’t take my mask off right now but–"

"Why hello there." Tyler said politely. "That’s a fancy mask, mind if we go somewhere to talk?"

Before Zinnia knew it, they were in Vox’s realm alone.

’I’m fucking dead.’ Zinnia thought, unable to maintain her normal, calm demeanor.