Taking over the Abyss

57- Deal With the Devil

You soon found yourself back at the gate of Sumeru City. It was particularly humid today, making you thank your lucky stars that you insisted on dressing lightly. Hopefully Kaeya or Kaveh wouldn't send you a cease and desist letter for stealing their sense of fashion. You had Leiptr hiding in your shadow, both to keep him out of the sunlight and heat he hated, and to prevent him from being pressured into taking an Akasha Terminal. You had the hairpin that Ei gave you in your pocket, now you just had to get an Akasha Terminal.

Standing at the front of the city gates was the man you'd met when you first tried to enter the city, along with the bored looking guard next to him. As you approached, the man's eyebrows furrowed before his eyes widened in recognition. He debated stopping to ask you for an Akasha Terminal, quickly looking around to see if Alice would pop up out of nowhere.

When she didn't, he perked up slightly and flashed a perfect customer service smile, "Wonderful to see you again, miss! Are you back visiting the city?"

"For a little while, yes," you answered with a nod. The man clasped his hands together pleasantly.

"Then, how about an Akasha Terminal? It'd make getting around the city much easier- and it'd be a sure-fire way to prevent getting scammed by any merchants! Seeing that it'd let you look at the proper prices for goods, that is," he really did his best trying to sell you on the idea of using the Akasha Terminal.

Luckily for him, you sort of needed one if you wanted to progress any further, "I'll take one."

"Are you su- oh, you will?" He paused for a moment, unsure if he'd heard you correctly. When you nodded in confirmation, he grinned victoriously and handed one of the slender, silver little pods to you, "Well, here you are! Just place it on one of your ears. To activate it, just say 'May the Mighty God bless us with their voice of wisdom'."

You held the Akasha Terminal in your hand for a moment before placing it on your ear. You winced at the mildly annoying feeling that came with it. You'd get used to it by the end of the day for sure, but people really slept with these things on...? You'd just have to get used to it. All you needed to do was sleep, and hope that Nahida could reach you in your dreams.

Gripping the hairpin in your pocket comfortingly, you repeated the phrase, "... 'May the Mighty God bless us with their voice of wisdom'."

Green oblong hexagons filled your vision for a moment, as you rapidly blinked in an effort to get them to go away faster. You could feel the Akasha Terminal's effect, dark green lingering in the corners of your peripheral vision. The man must have thought your reaction was amusing, but went on the same spiel he always did for newcomers to the city.

"It'll take a moment to get used to, but you can ask the Akasha any question at all, and it'll provide an answer," he explained. You knew, of course, that this was an absolute lie.

"So, can I ask it to predict the stock market for me?" You asked, wondering just how far it went.

"W- well... maybe not that. The Akasha can only provide answers for things that are more solid than mere predictions. Though, it provide information necessary to help you try and make your own predictions," the man managed to answer your question with patience you knew came from being asked extremely stupid questions.

"I see..." you trailed off wistfully before walking on, once again leaving the man confused. Once he was out of sight, you pulled out the hairpin from Ei and placed it just over the Akasha Terminal. If anybody asked, you could say it was fashion and call them a loser if they tried to argue. As soon as one of the Electro-charged beads made contact with the Akasha Terminal, you felt a small jolt of static electricity.

The green at the edge of your vision fizzled for a moment, before ending up slanted. Great. Wonderful, even. Oh well, you'd deal with it if it meant nobody could spy on you. You'd probably get used to it within a few minutes and forget the mild annoyance you felt now, anyhow.