《The Bartender at the End of the Universe》Ch 231: Taking a Break from the Revolution
Advertisement
"Well now, that was quite the show." The smiling man nodded appreciatively as he put a hand on the hollow king's shoulder.
The shriveled-up man was lying up against a wall. He looked more like a corpse than anything else. Even in his slightly disheveled suit.
The hollow king had no answer for the strange man who always seemed to be obscured by shadows. He just lied completely still with his mouth agape and eyeless face staring off towards nothing in particular.
Up on the karaoke stage, people were shifting around. It seemed a small group of monsters wanted to make some sort of pseudo band and all sing together. The crowd was full of excitement as they jumped up and down. Even without music to guide them, they seemed to be bursting with energy.
"Phew." Abraham wiped sweat off if his forehead as he forced his way to a seat next to the hollow king.
He slammed down into the ground with a grunt. Slowly, a contented sigh poured from his lips as he kept his eyes affixed on the mass of beings that made up the crowd.
The smiling man leaned down and looked over at Abraham. His smile was broad as he tilted his head to the side. "Interesting choice of outfits."
Abraham didn't look down at his outfit. In fact, he seemed to be trying to ignore the smiling man, as he was acting almost as if he wasn't there at all.
The smiling man reached down and traced a finger over Abraham's stomach. Shreds of fabric parted ways as his finger traveled up. His finger's twirled around and found their way to a long chunk of cloth that hung loosely from his collar.
Abraham's clothes were in absolute tatters. Every slice, scratch, stab, explosion, and everything else thrown his way had been easily shrugged off by his body, but his clothes weren't able to recover the same way. So, bit by bit his outfit was made more and more immodest.
Advertisement
Now, Abraham's clothes looked more like the end of an exploding cigar than anything resembling a real outfit. It certainly didn't do anything to protect his modesty.
Still, as the shadowy man touched Abraham, the aggressive man ignored him. His eyes were affixed loosely in the distance, and he seemed determined not to interact.
Finally, the smiling man withdrew his finger and shrugged. "My my, you really are irritable, aren't you? I'm gracing you with my time, and you can't even seem to muster up the respect to speak to me?"
The smiling man leaned in closer, until his face was mere inches from Abraham's. "Or maybe you're just afraid? Too petrified to even muster up the courage to turn and face me. What? Can you actually tell just how further up the food chain I am compared to you?"
Abraham's reply was just more silence.
"Now now, no need to tease him so much." Gzemnid chuckled as she floated over towards the three of them.
"Looks like you've been having fun," the smiling man chuckled. "I thought the fighting was over?"
The portly woman ran her tongue over her blood-stained teeth. Her mouth looked like it had a fresh coat of red painted around it. "Well, someone had to clean up from that whole mess."
The eyes held by her hands darted around. They were soon followed by the large eyes that made up her chest while the massive eye that was her stomach stayed focused on the smiling man.
"Seems we have company." she cooed with a vicious smile.
"Hey guys!" Will called out as he walked up to them. "How have you been enjoying the party so far?"
The smiling man nodded at the human. "It's been interesting. I definitely feel extra drained though."
Advertisement
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Will sighed. "They're fun, but a party really saps your energy after a certain point."
"Must by why you're locked away in this corner then," Gzemnid giggled. "Instead of showing the crowd what a mosh pit really means."
"I don't think they do mosh pits for karaoke Gzemnid," Will said.
"Of course, they do." She countered. "It's not about where the music is coming from, it's about the kind of music. The energy from it."
Abraham's eye started to twitch.
"I mean, maybe. But I've certainly never seen anything like that." Will shrugged. "Still doesn't seem very likely. That'd be like starting a mosh pit over someone playing a CD."
"It's a little different," The smiling man interjected. "After all, there is still the thinking body leading the way up on stage. In their position of power, they direct the crowd. Like a military leader, or a king."
"Do you mind?" Abraham interrupted angrily. He looked up at the three people that kept talking. "Maybe there's a reason some of us came to a more isolated corner away from the other babbling idiots..."
Gzemnid's eyes all tilted down to look Abraham over. She smiled hungry as she took in his form. "Very bold of you to jump in like that."
Will looked down and then let out a loud laugh. "Wow, and I thought I was letting loose." He started to unbutton his shirt. "Here, let me help you with that."
Will took off his buttoned shirt. Underneath was a white tank top that covered him surprisingly well. He draped the button up shirt over Abraham's waist and then gave him a thumbs up.
"I don't know Will," the smiling man teased. "Perhaps he would prefer to rut around without any clothes like a wild pig?"
Abraham put his hand up onto his forehead and slowly brought it down over his face as he let out a sigh. He turned to the hollow king and said, "Seems things are a little too social here now. Afraid I'm gonna have to leave you alone with this crowd so I can have some peace and quiet for a bit."
And with that, he stood up and started to walk away. However, he kept ahold of the shirt, and as he left, he tied it around his waist sort of like a chef's apron.
"Come on man, what if he doesn't know you're teasing?" Will sighed as he shook his head and looked at the smiling man.
The smiling man's smile spread especially wide as he simply replied, "What makes you think I was only teasing?"
Will looked at him dumbfounded for a second. Then, he and Gzemnid burst out laughing.
"Ahaha, good one." Will nodded.
The smiling man started to laugh as well, but he didn't say anything else. And his laugh almost seemed to have an undertone of a threat mixed into it somehow.
Meanwhile, the hollow king hadn't moved an inch. He just lied there completely still as they all interacted around him.
Advertisement
- In Serial110 Chapters
Fox’s Tongue and Kirin’s Bone
Humanity is dying, hunted to extinction by creatures of legend. One boy was born to save them all. That boy just got knifed in the back. He looked a bit too much like Aaron, you see. Now it’s Aaron’s job to step up, lest his Death correct that little mix-up. But Aaron’s skills as a street rat run more towards stealing and stabbing than towards saving. And the more he learns of what brought dear dead Markus to that fatal alleyway, the more he has to wonder just what the world’s savior was really up to the night the wrong boy died. Cover art by the incredible Lakatos Csenge (@art-emisz)
8 1192 - In Serial93 Chapters
Coeus?
Author's Comment: I was asked about reading my work on other sites. The answer is simple: Currently I am not active in any other networks than royalroadl.com. Only here, I correct mistakes and errors. If you read it anywhere else and have to pay for it, or have to deal with an annoying amount of advertisement, You Are Being Betrayed. You would do good if you make other people in that network aware of it. This is a free project of mine for the purpose of having fun. And if people try to make money with it you shouldn't bother visiting their website. The only one whom I actually allowed to have my work on his website is Armaell who invested the time to compile them into pdf. (http://armaell-library.net/author/andur) ——————————————————————————————— Reading Order of the Multiverse-Books ——————————————————————————————— About a boy who isn’t quite normal and doesn’t see himself as a human being, but is taught differently as he finds out about the world's secrets. Though not everyone is happy about his existence. This is inteded to evolve into a full blown space opera with elements of magic thrown into it. ——————————————————————————————— The OneShot goes FullStory. Trying to go a little more SciFi and alternate reality this time. I am not entirely sure how this fiction will turn out. And I am not sure on the tags either. They may change. Bear with it. As always, how chapters turn out is up to my mood.
8 256 - In Serial13 Chapters
Dopamine
The meaning of life is to protect the ego, because it makes the dopamine. Horm is worried that the future is happening too slow. He's afraid he might miss it. So he makes a plan to speed things up using dopamine - the brain chemical that drives motivation. It could work. Disclaimer - This book is weird.
8 566 - In Serial8 Chapters
The Mountains of Mourning
After his rebellion failed, Patrick and his team escaped to another world, thinking to be safe there, and live out what remained of their broken lives in whatever peace they might find. But the world he found wasn't the one he expected, and that remainder of his life threatened to become very short, unless he found a way to survive in this monster-ridden hostile environment. To make matters worse, more refugees started to come in, falling through portals, disturbing the balance. With them they brought tales of war and chaos, the horrors of those who were left behind, and the ravenous hunger for blood of the Tyrant they thought they left behind. Unable to leave the new settlers to their fate, Patrick and his team take on the roles that are pushed onto them, some with enthusiasm, some with reluctance, all striving to build a better world than the one they left behind. They should have realized that portals that open once, can be opened again, and that what they thought they left behind, might one day catch up.
8 90 - In Serial15 Chapters
A League Apart - Journeys to the Beacons
The only way from a Golden Age is down, and the planet of Anteia decended to the bottom. A 4000 year dark age of petty wars, and magical and technical stagnation left the continents in a state of decline. A prime situation for an ancient evil to reveal itself yet again. To hold back the eventual tide of death and ruin, an enigmatic being calling itself the 'Cartographer' calls upon a man worlds apart as the vanguard that would usher in the heroes of legends to fight back against desolation itself. Only, the man in question isn't a hero. No powers, no allies, and a defeatist attitude leaves Cameron Walker in a foreign land with people who can summon the elements, manipulate minds and bodies, and fly or turn invisible at will. Cameron has no apocalyptic magic, nor a body that can crush mountains. He just has whatever willpower he has left. Oh, and an arsenal of Earth's finest firearms and munitions.
8 324 - In Serial21 Chapters
Maria's Adventure
During the last moment of the Universe, Maria's father infused her with the last dose of material that he had been giving her since the moment she was born. Then with a makeshift goodbye party, she was forcefully bid farewell to her father and start her own journey.Join Maria on a journey throughout multiple worlds as she stumbled upon many "Unusual" scenarios in order to fulfill her need for survival and "having fun".
8 696

