《The Elder Lich That Wanted Peace and Quiet》Chapter 11 The Price to Pay for Beauty
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Sin the beautiful or that is how he thought about himself, loved collecting art no matter the price. His new addition was rather, plain.
Sun: "Sir, if I may."
Sin: "Go ahead, talk about my most prized collection, praise it!"
Sun: "Uh, it is, a black circle on a plain white background."
Sin: "How can you not see this beauty, and here I thought the more defined Sun would get."
Sun: "Okay sir, then what do you think it means."
Sin: "The circle of life and how it is a forever rotation of life and death."
Sun: "How much did it cost."
Sin pretend to not hear her as he intensely stared at his painting that cost about two gold coins (about five weeks in a high-end inn). Sun's stare gave Sin a chuckle of fear for his life, luckily Moon arrived letting Sin off the hook.
Moon: "Sir there are travelers here."
Sin: "Good uh, I mean I will deal with them (My art has come, eeeeeee I can't wait)."
Moon: "They said they have a piece of art for you."
Sin: "(SHIT)!!!"
Sin opens a portal, quickly entering it before Sun explodes. The other side is a marvelous forest, that hasn't been defiled by the hands of humans. A small fairy lands on the shoulder of the hulking skeleton, he sits on his shoulder yawning.

Boy Fairy: "Who is it this time, it is so early in the morning and people are already trying to invade."
Sin: "No, it is just a couple of merchants who wish to make a deal with me."
Sin meets two individuals at the edge of the forest, the wagon behind them was moderate size being pulled by a spirit animal. A horse made out of the earth with roots as its veins going through it.
Sin: "Ah if it isn't Jack and Maddy, nice to see you two doing well."
Jack kneels, Maddy does the same after seeing his reaction, her frigid kneel informs Sin that they haven't really been a high-end bunch.
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Sin: "There is no need to do that, we both helped each other so we are even."
Jack: "We are even, how could you say that! You saved my sister's life! After doing that you ask the queen of the Thunderous kingdom to give us full permits as merchants before giving us enough gold to support generations upon generations of our kin! And what, all I did was spread the word which was void after stupid people tried stealing your treasure!"
Sin shrugged it off, Jack broke down on his knees while Maddy came to his aid. Jack spoke to himself, he couldn't believe how his life changed and the man who did it had no clue how much this means to them just for him to shrug it off.
Jack: "Did he just shrug, I can't believe he just shrugged like this happens every day. Like it is a common thing that happens every day."
Fairy boy yawning: "He is so noisy, do I warn the others for trouble."
Sin: "No need, you can go, I got it covered from here."
Fairy boy: "Okay, take care Sin."
The minuscule fairy flew off his shoulder slowly going up into the air finding the nearest branch to sleep on. Sin rolled his nonexistent eyes as Jack was still moping around on the floor.
Sin: "Enough, do you have what I want."
Jack sniffs, sucking it up, Maddy lifts him on his feet.
Jack: "Yes sniff*, yes we do."
Jack pulls off a sheet from the wagon, unveiling a painting of black and nothing else.
Sin: "Perfect, it's gorgeous!"
Jack doesn't question his tastes, on the other hand, Maddy is mildly curious about the reason this super powerful skeleton is fanboying over a painting of nothing but black.
Maddy: "Is something special about that painting?"
Sin: "Yes it is special, just no one can see it as I do."
She takes a good long hard look at it, a minute passes as she peers at it. Sin focuses on her to see if she got the gift, her eyes widen as Sin smiles with his heart.
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Maddy: "It moved, the painting is alive!"
Jack joins in on the staring contest seeing nothing after giving it a try.
Jack: "I think you are tired Maddy, we did travel a long way to get here."
Jack unloaded it off the back of the wagon but Sin couldn't help but tell Maddy about her gift.
Sin: "That wasn't your imagination, it is a gift, I was born with it and so were you."
Maddy: "What does that mean."
Sin: "You can look into another world filled with creatures that are unheard of, and these paintings were once mentioned as gateways to their homeworld."
Maddy: "Is that the reason it is special."
Sin: "To many, it is a horrible painting that anyone could have made, to us, it is the greatest treasure no common man can get to. Make sure you tell no one, or else they would want to do harm to you and the people you love okay."
She nodded as Jack laid down the painting softly on the ground.
Jack: "Do you need help with that."
Sin: "No thanks, I can take it from here, Gate."
He waves them goodbye as he picks up the mirror to the other side. Sun is waiting for him on the other side, her arm crossed, sitting on his throne with her legs crossed.
Sun: "Hmph, I thought you were better than this."
Sin overlooks her verbal attacks sauntering over to a vacant wall in his throne room. Hanging his glorious painting above his throne, of course, Sun wasn't thrilled to see another painting.
Sun: "I can't believe you got another one!"
Sin: "Oh quiet Sun, I swear you nag like your my wife."
Sun: "Well someone has to keep your spending habits in check!"
Sin: "Whatever, I already have to deal with one overly grabby person in my life, I don't need another."
Peering at it together, Sun looking at it to see what Sin sees, Sin staring at it to see what lives within it. He reaches for the center of the painting touching it, it jiggles.
Sin: "Maybe it is incomplete."
Sun: "What was that!"
Her elegant composure faded, she detest the gooey painting with every fiber of her being.
Sun: "Oh god kill it with fire!"
She hopped back ready to set ablaze to the living painting, Sin jumped in front of her.
Sin: "Wait!!"
Sun: "Why can't I kill it with fire!"
Sin: "Calm down, this is why I don't tell you about my experiments, you will just burn them to ash."
Sun took a deep breath, extinguishing her flame as she calmed down. She huddled behind Sin as they slowly crept on the painting, inching closer and closer. Sin poked it, it wobbled in its frame, grossing out Sun.
Sun: "I HATE it!"
Sin: "It seems to be missing pieces to it. I will leave it be for now, now that I know it is a piece to a greater portal that no magic spell can make."
An idea popped into Sin's mind, he picked up his painting of a circle and hung them up beside each other. The part of the frame that was touching each other dissolved away leaving a big painting. The circle glowed white as it flowed into the middle of the now big painting.
Sin: "Is it a symbol of some kind, maybe an intelligent race has its own kingdom and this is its banner."
The wheels were turning in Sin's head, planning and scheming followed right behind it; he speed-walked out of the room to one of the hundred rooms he has in his mansion. Sun had an itch to just burn the painting here and now but hold off for her master.
Sun: "I need to go relax or I might explode."
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