Night was standing in the underground area beneath the bar again, waiting for the Dark Lord. He observed the dingy room for the first time, since almost every encounter he had here was brief. Glass bottles lined the wall and a square ring was placed in the middle of the room. Night took the time to look at the labels of the bottles, having drunk wine when he had to steal for food and drink. Night saw his favorite brand, Jaliso and reached for it, thinking “The Dark Lord won’t miss one bottle.”

When his hand reached the bottle, and attempted to pluck it from the shelf, the bottle stuck, bending a little, the sound of a latch opening could be heard, and the shelf suddenly turned. Night stared at amazement when he saw what was behind the shelf: Claws, swords, stars, wands, nearly every single weapon that had been created in the maple world.

Night helped himself, picking a simple Meba off the shelf along with two ilbi. He attempted to throw two of them at the same time, but found they would not hit the same target. He threw one, and found his accuracy stunning.

Hearing a noise, Night hurriedly replaced the objects he had taken out, and attempted to pull the shelf back to its proper place.

No avail, and Night started to search the shelf for a key, plucking objects out of their place and hastily push them back into place. Finally, at the edge of the shelf, Night found a plate, with a hand design carved into it. He pushed and the shelf turned, just as the Dark Lord popped from the entrance.

The Dark Lord jumped into the toilet, and heard clanging from below. “Night must already be here, and found my weapons closet. Oh, well.” he thought.

As he landed, he saw Night turning to face him. His breathing was slowing, and the Dark Lord just said “Time to begin our lesson.”

_______________________________________
“Focus harder.” Night heard the Dark Lord in his head. He was training to keep others out of head. So far, he had kept neither Stars nor the Dark Lord from his head.

Night was dripping with sweat, and fell to the ground as he felt both the Dark Lord and Stars’ intrusion fade from his head. He pulled a Blue Potion out of his pack and drank from it, draining its contents in record time.

He looked at the Dark Lord and Stars, expectant for them to begin their attempt to probe his mind again.

The Dark Lord stared back, and he finally said “I think we should st–“

“No! Begin again!”

“If you insist.”

Night felt the force from their willpower seeping into his head. His mental willpower began working furiously to drive them back.

As the Dark Lord pushed into Night’s head, he felt a presence inside the room, attempting to be hidden. “Not good enough.” he thought as he withdrew his probe from Night’s head and nimbly plucked a steely from his belt, chucking it at a corner.

Blood spilled, but the figure managed to remain hidden. A blood trail suddenly appeared, as the figure began to run for it. At the last second, his figure showed, but his face was covered by a cloth that masked all but his eyes. With a sudden noise, the figure was gone.

The Dark Lord didn’t follow, but he knew that the person would be back.

Night heard blood spill, but the sheer force he needed to repel Stars kept his eyes closed. He felt Stars push harder, and suddenly, Night was swimming in a world that seemed almost dream-like.

Night swam around, looking at the occasional bubbles that floated by. After seeing a few, he realized “These are my thoughts. I am inside my own head.“

He reached the end of the area deprived of gravity, and floated down to a platform. There was a door at the end, and Night ran to it.

“Wonder what this is…” Night thought as he opened the door. Bright light spilled from the doorway and he was gone from the world, conscious again.