JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Neon Soul

CHAPTER 18: Painter's Turmoil

The dimly lit cocktail bar was empty despite it only being 10 pm. The bar itself was on the edge of downtown, near Northern Vetter. A single bartender, in addition to the two other guests, remained. He profusely wiped down glasses and bottles while never looking at the two patrons. According to the hours of the bar, it was supposed to be open until 2 am. But tonight, was different. Through the front door came an older-looking man. He had a scruffy, thick white beard, grey eyes, was broadly built, and wore a sea captain's hat. He looked around the bar, squinting his eyes until he found them.

"Percyyyyy!!!!" yelled a voice from one of the tables. He turned around and immediately noticed the large bottle of wine, in addition to the people.

"Come on! Come and sit down with us! B-Bianco misses youuuu!!!"

Percival walked over to the table with a calm smile, pulled up a chair, and sat down. He looked at Bianco and immediately understood the situation. Cyreen was drunk.

"I see she's uh, enjoying herself. I haven't seen her like this in years," said Percival as he picked up the brown bottle and began pouring himself a glass.

"Hey! That one is... that's - that's mine give it back," complained Cyreen as she sluggishly reached for the bottle.

"Milady, I'm sure you can share with him. He is your friend, after all," said Bianco as he undid Cyreen's grip.

"Heh heh, hahaha, that's right, we are friends! You know, you guys are so great. I'm not drunk talking, or maybe I am, but you guys, you guys are really my friends!"

"Haha, glad to see you're having a good time, C. So, Bianco, what is this meeting about? I'm guessing the brats, but it doesn't seem like much talking has been going on here," asked Percival.

"Yes, well... we have two things to discuss, but we can start with the better of the two news. Percival, do you remember the dig site at Delphi? That was where we all originally met," asked Bianco.

"Oooo, I love Delphi!" chimed Cyreen as she refilled her glass. Noticing that the last drops had been poured, she looked at the bottle, confused. Staring at the half-full glass in front of her, she frowned. She grabbed the handle and, with a swing, threw it at the bartender, narrowly missing his head. It violently collided with the other bottles with a loud crash as smaller pieces of destroyed glass and alcohol fell onto the floor. Even from a distance, it was easy to tell he was terrified.

"Hey! That one was... empty! Bring me more!"

A heart soon appeared around the bartender's eye. He put down the glasses he was polishing and grabbed an intact bottle from the shelf behind him. As the bartender approached them, Bianco spoke up.

"Milady, don't you think you've had enough tonight? A hangover is the last thing you need."

"W... What? No... I am f-fine. You know me. I... drink a lot at once to make up for all the... annoying stress... I must deal with. Let me... have fun, Bianco," answered Cyreen.

"It was only... one bottle anyway. I'm... not that... hammered... yet."

"More power to you, C!" proclaimed Percival as he started to laugh.

"Anyway, during one of the digs, we found an artifact that was vastly different from the other treasures we had uncovered. It looked like a crown that a member of a royal family would wear. And what was the most surprising was that it was completely intact, with no damage, as if it were in perfect condition and the dirt and stones around it looked like they were turned into ash or severely burned. Just being close to it, it was as if it had this energy about it. For safety, we asked another member of the dig to retrieve it for us. And when they picked it up, their eyes briefly emitted a strange bright light. It was blinding, and within seconds, he had been reduced to a pile of ash. Because of this incident, the site was cleared out almost immediately and was covered up to avoid bad press. But for the past year, she has been sending members of the court to the site to clear away the rocks and ruins. Unfortunately, the authorities in the area near Delphi have interrupted the process, causing delays. But after years of study, it will finally be arriving in Vetter-"