The guard, yet another kind of beast Lex had never seen before, looked at Les sceptically.

"Look man, it's none of my business," he said. "I was just giving you some advice. What you do is ultimately up to you - I won't stop you. I was just letting you know what you should know."

"Yes, and I assure you that I won't cause any trouble," Lex said sincerely. "Just so that I'm extra sure, why don't you tell me all the rules of this place so that I don't accidentally break some."

The guard took a step back.

"Look man, I'm just doing my job here. Why don't you go ask someone else - they'll be sure to tell you exactly what you want to know."

The more that the guard wanted to avoid Lex, the more Lex became interested in him. Lex had genuinely come here without any intention of causing problems. He honestly didn't know how he was going to handle Diyor yet, and there was the possibility that he might not do anything at all.

So when this guard, who by all means should have been the one doing the intimidating, was intimidated by Lex, it aroused Lex's curiosity. What did he sense, or what did he know that made him so hesitant to interact with Lex?

"Come now, brother, there is no harm in helping me out a little," said Lex as he jumped off the ferry and onto the base of the mountain.

The guard looked up at the sky with tears in his eyes, as if cursing his luck. He was just a regular guard. He only had a power percentage of 4%. What could he even do to this walking calamity with 11% in front of him?

"Yes, there's no harm at all," the beast said with a waterfall of tears streaming down his face. "No harm at all."

Seeing the guard like this, Lex almost felt bad for him. Yet more than guilt, he felt intrigued.

"My name is Lex. What do I call you?"

"My name is James," the beast said. "I am a Destiny Devourer,"

James' self introduction seemed to carry a certain hidden meaning, almost as if to warn Lex to stay away, yet Lex was not familiar with Destiny Devourers, so he couldn't understand what exactly the warning was supposed to be.

"Nice to meet you James. Like I said, I'm new here, so you mind telling me the rules of this place?" Lex asked as he wrapped his hand around James' neck. The Destiny Devourer was like a blend of an ostrich and a weasel, so there was more than enough neck for Lex to hang onto.

"Basically, this is a bazaar," James said reluctantly as he wiped the tears from his face. "A lot of things are absolutely necessary to survive for most here, but there's more to life than just survival. This is a place where the residents of Arch-Heaven sell their skills and creations, all hoping to enrich themselves, and each other's lives. As long as you can prove that you have a genuine interest in selling something, you can get a storefront for free here."

"That sounds... well I was going to say it sounds dumb, but considering the number of people here, clearly it seems to be working," commented Lex.

"Yes, this is a very popular palace, with lots of bigshots who would be very angry if you caused trouble here. Maybe you should go elsewhere," James suggested, almost pleading.

"I'm quite curious why you're so certain I'm here to cause trouble, James?" Lex asked, wearing a polite smile. Yet for all his politeness, his hand was firmly wrapped around his neck.

"My friend, no my brother, no, my lord, please listen to me. I'm just a small nobody. I don't want to get caught in any mess. I'm a Destiny Devourer so I can see destinies very clearly, and you, my lord, are about to commit a bloodbath in precisely four hours. Please, just let me go. I have kids at home."

Lex looked at James oddly.

"A bloodbath? How can that be possible? I've hardly ever conducted bloodbaths, and I didn't even come here for that. Why would I just randomly start a bloodbath?" Lex asked, but James had no answer.

'Hardly ever' was not the same as never. That meant that he had committed such crimes before and possibly more than once!

"If you fight in public here, the lord of the bazaar will be very angry," James said, changing his tactic now that it didn't seem to be working. "To have bazaar endorsed fights, there are two requirements. First, both parties must agree, and second, both parties must submit all their valuables before the fight. Once the fight is over, 80% of the loser's belongings go to the bazaar, and 20% go to the winner."

"Damn, that's steep," Lex said, whistling.

"Yes, yes, very steep, very bad. You should go do bloodbaths somewhere else," James pleaded, but it was of no use. How could Lex leave without even seeing Diyor.

"Good to know. I'll keep that in mind," Lex said as he began to walk, bringing James along. "So what else can you tell me about this place? Or yourself? I've never seen a Destiny Devourer before. That's a pretty scary name, do you devour souls? Or are you more on brand and just devour destinies?"

James looked up one more, trying to stop his tears. It was too late. Now he could see it - his destiny had been tainted by Lex's. One way or another, he was going to get caught up in this coming fight.

Dammit, guard duty was supposed to be an easy job!

"No, no, we're just a minor race. Not very important. Barely an Elder race at all,

not really worth mentioning. Someone of your status should hang out with the

important races."

"Do not feel pity for yourself," Mango interrupted. "Not all races can be as fabulous as the goldfish. For a minor Elder race, you have done well for yourself. No need to be ashamed."