HORIZON 1.1

Part- 2

In a split second, a transportation pod situated at the corner of Bar materialized Shiva's body.

"You're late," Bob replied from behind the counter.
His stomach, squeezed under a brown t-shirt, was shaking as he moved toward the counter.

"Have you ever been flagged as a potentially unstable man? If so, then you will understand my point," Shiva said as he walked up to the counter. I may have arrived earlier if Mia hadn't changed the date of my monthly check-up.

"What can I do for you?" Bob said as they both shook hands.

Putting his briefcase on the counter, Shiva said, "Jules; I need Jules; lots and lots of Jules."

"Unfortunately, that deal expired last night. Her manager cancelled it," Bob said, pouring Shiva a drink.

"Why this drink? Then," Shiva asked incredulously while carefully looking over his briefcase.

"Because you never come empty-handed. Hey, this was a customer-side contact. There is nothing I can do. But I can at least offer you a drink," Bob said, extolling as he gazed longingly at the briefcase. "It might have been a win-win situation."

"Why can't we speak with her? After all, we're talking about her soul."

"That's meaningless; I've already spoken to her manager. She recently bought a new, personalized soul. Don't you know? It's popular on social."

When Bob tapped the counter, multiple images of a woman holding a customized llama appeared.
It was widely trending on social.

Shiva's expression grew disappointed. Whatever he did didn't matter anymore.

As he turned off the screen, Shiva said, "These superstars would do anything to stay on top of social."
After finishing his drink, Shiva got up to leave.

"Hey, hold on. Have I not told you? I talked to her manager." Bob said, blocking Shiva.

"She'll take this then," Shiva said, sitting back in his chair.

"No, but this thing is still valuable. People are going crazy to purchase this on the dark web," said Bob.

Shiva drew the briefcase closer to him and said, "We are not allowed to sell souls. It is wrong and against the law."

"Look, the owner of this soul doesn't want it back. We're not selling it; rather, we're transferring it. This soul is already popular on the dark web. People are paying a lot of Jules for fake copies. And we're talking about authentic ones here."

When Bob tapped the counter, numerous dark web pages began to appear on the display.

"Dark web is full of rumours. Some claim on the dark web that people eat the souls of others in order to resemble them. And you're talking about Jellenia's soul. To obtain this, people will do anything," said Shiva.

"I'm surprised you believe this myth. It's not true," Bob stated with a sly grin.

"It doesn't matter; we're not going to sell this. This soul will be with me until I can speak directly with Jellenia," Shiva said gruffly as he stood up to go.

"Come on, man, you don't have to get up again and again." Bon tugged him back. "Can I at least have a look at this soul?"

Bob offered Shiva another drink while slyly pulling the briefcase from his grasp: "Just a quick look, nothing more."

Bob opened the case cautiously.
A visually appealing, wonderful bird came out of it. This bird had been mutated with other species to give her vibrant colours and a gorgeous appearance.