This was a horrible idea.Once brimming with cocky bravado, Athena instantly regretted ever underestimating the weaponized wings of hell that they called food on her plate. While admittedly quite delicious, each savory bite was like subjecting her mouth to the blazing inferno of Helios himself, assaulting her taste buds with both flavor and pure unadulterated heat. And pain. Copious... Amounts... Of pain."AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!" Her eyes were already hurting before but now she could barely even see through the tears. How can anyone eat something so monumentally hot!? Sure, she can handle a bit more spice compared to the average girl, but this was too much! Told you so~It didn't help that they weren't even allowed so much as a single sip of cold water for the full duration of the challenge. Was it too hard for them to at least throw a bone to their costumers? Not to mention the ten-minute afterburn? Whatever that was...I'm sure that'll be fun~Fun her ass."N-Not so t-tough now,
"I'm first!""I won!"Did they finish at the same time!? No way. She's sure she had it in the bag!"I finished fir-" *Hic* "-first Eremes!" The confident author proclaimed. "I saw you still chewing before-" *Hic* "-you shouted!" *Hic* It was so painful even to speak, her lungs set on fire as the hiccups continued to come in full force."You lie!" *Hic* "You can barely see any-" *Hic* "-thing!" Her opponent retorted. "I refuse to-" *Hic* "-pay for your drinks!" Come now.. Just accept defeat already."Uhmm.. If I may?" The waitress on-demand meekly interjected, catching both competitors' attention. "Judging from both of your performances, you both finished at the same time, in my opinion." Really? "But enough about that! Kudos for beating the first half of the challenge!" Wait...First half!? It's not over?!Here it comes~"It's not-" *Hic* "Over?!" The flabbergasted author can only fan at her mouth as Eremes barked at the waitress in disbelief. "Haven't you-" *Hic* "Tortured us enough?!
That was so awkward! Him and Athena? A couple? Not in a million years!Dragging the stunned author by her feet, Eremes high tailed out of the offending stall, his bundled up t-shirt in tow as he beelined towards an empty bench to sit on. "...uple....h.t...feel.." Behind him, his charge was talking to herself, an indescribable aura emanating off of her as she mindlessly followed along. What was this menacing pressure he was feeling? Sitting her down on a well-lit bench, the repairman sat beside her, not knowing his next move for the unplanned night."Hey." He waved to a muttering Athena, her eyes as open as it would currently get as she mumbled to herself. That's not foreboding at all. "'Thena.""...el...wh....co..." Was she having... "Hey!""Yes?" The lucid author asked, turning to him as if nothing was ever wrong in the first place. "Is there something the matter?"Eremes let out an unconscious sigh as Athena was once more back to the world of the living, looking no worse for wear b
A small glimpse...⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛Deep beneath the ground floor of the Green Star Hotel, a beary, real estate tycoon sat comfortably in his upholstered seat, smoke-filled lungs exhaling with blissful satisfaction as he eyed his latest acquisition. It may have cost him a small fortune, but with the addition of the Macallan 64-Year-Old Scotch, his prized collection rare alcohols grew ever so closer to being complete. "So tantalizingly close..."The businessman will always remember the first-ever taste of alcohol he's ever had in his life. He was but a small child back then, merely at the tender age of ten when he first took a sip from the familiar green-tinged bottle that the young man always saw his father drink from. A curious child, he always wondered what his parents were always drinking whenever they looked sad or had what they called a 'rough day', so much as a sip being denied whenever he asked for a taste."I've come this far..." Tobacco smoke permeated the cool, musty air of the win
"This is the place." In front of the pair, a familiar building stood, its facade now emitting a cool neon glow as it beckoned for potential costumers. "Right on time too.""Here again? Seriously?" Eremes knew that there was a bar in there, but still.. "Aren't the drinks here just as expensive as the food?""Nonsense. It's reasonably priced for the quality." His imminent drinking partner rebuked as she pulled him into the establishment. "And the drinks here are really good."As its name implied, the Sun and Moon also had a bar at the backside of the establishment; a blue nondescript mahogany door being the divider between the warm, rustic cafe at the front, and the cool azure velveted room at the back. The reluctant repairman followed closely as she led him through the majority of the cafe, the front counter extending towards and seemingly past the wall as they approached their destination."May I see some I.D. miss?" Behind the counter, a heavily bearded man who looked to be in his thi
"I'm just excited to be back here." Athena retorted as she all but dragged him through the door and towards the main bar, her hooded figure leading him deeper into the room. "I haven't had alcohol in almost a year I think."The first thing that crossed Eremes's mind as they entered the bar was that the place looked too high brow for his simple tastes; the atmosphere feeling a tad bit more sophisticated than what the repairman was used to. The room sported ten open tables, a corner that looked like it was a lounge of some sort, and what seemed to be two private rooms hidden behind large blue curtains. At the center of it all hung a dazzling chandelier, giving the bar a mystical kind of feel to it. All in all, a very formidable establishment amidst the numerous bars scattered throughout Midas. And as the pair approached the main bar, there was just one thing that Eremes can comment about that he can maybe count as a negative.."This is a lot of blue in one place isn't it?" He joked as th
"One 'Death' please." Death?"Glad to see your tastes haven't changed."With practiced precision and flair, Zofia's hands blurred as she went on to prepare this 'Death' that Athena ordered. Taking what looked to be a martini glass from the shelf, the bartender then placed a small white fruit inside.. was that lychee? She then mixed together what looked like vodka, some syrup and another alcoholic beverage in the shaker; pouring the finished product over the lychee to make what looked like lychee martini. Zofia slid the glass over to the waiting novelist, not once breaking eye contact with her as she settled back behind the counter."One Death.." The bartender morosely recited. "For those who seek renewal.""Thanks."Athena lightly held the glass in front of her; delicate hands holding the glass with practiced finesse. "You don't have to say that line every time you know?""It's part of my gimmick, miss Athena, Can't stop me~"So that's what the Death drink had. Huh, if that's the case
The girl he was with.. Athena? Seriously? How did that even relate to stuff like Midasean politics?"I know very little about her circumstances, but I do know that she'll need all the help she can get." Huh?"I-I don't understand.." Wasn't he doing that already? "Why her?""I don't know everything, sir Eremes... I wish I did." The bartender's eyes softened as they gazed over the novelist's sleeping form, a faint smile adorning her face as Athena quietly dozed off in her alcohol-induced slumber. "I remember the first time she ever came here.. alone, shaking, red-eyed, still wearing her college uniform... Her face showing so much fear and paranoia it was heartbreaking." The bartender recounted, opening another bottle of vodka as she continued. "She kept going on about the 'infernal voices in her head'.. or at least that's what my husband told me she kept screaming in Greek about."Empty drink forgotten, Eremes let his curiosity lead him. "When was this?" All this time..."If I recall cor