Chapter 2 – The Mortal Realm Has Better Coffee and Worse Luck
Lux stared at himself in the mirror wall of the elevator.
Wow. The System wasn't kidding.
His hair was officially frizzy. Not gently-messy sexy frizzy. More like electrocuted tax accountant mid-deadline panic frizzy. His under-eye circles were so deep they were probably applying for demonic citizenship.
He leaned in, narrowing his glowing red eyes at his reflection.
"Oh, for Hell's sake," he muttered. "I look like I just got denied a business loan by Heaven."
[Observation: You've achieved Peak Burnout Chic. Might I recommend… brushing?]
"I might recommend you shut up," he grumbled.
He tugged at his hair, then paused.
Oh. Oh no.
Horns. Tail. Glowing eyes.
Lux hissed and snapped his fingers. "Human Form, activate."
[You have activated your human form.]
A wave of shimmering light rippled across his skin. His tail fizzled into smoke. His horns shrunk down, disappearing beneath his hair. His skin lost its faint infernal glow and settled into the unfairly flawless features he'd genetically inherited from both his parents.
Still.
The red eyes stayed.
He blinked.
Nope. Still glowing.
[Incubus Lineage: Eye Color Locked. You're welcome.]
"Whatever," Lux muttered. "I'll just say I wear designer lenses."
He checked himself one last time.
Slim-fit black button-down—half-tucked like he gave up halfway through fixing it. Tailored slacks, a little scuffed at the hem. And a suit that definitely looked fancy from a boutique in Limbo—dramatic and overpriced. No horns. No tail. Just barely holding it together, but pretending he was fine.
He looked almost normal.
If normal meant "mortal billionaire who moonlights as a morally ambiguous CEO."
He reached for his wallet—and froze.
The color drained from his face.
His fingers curled around… nothing.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
[Status: Credit Cards & Cash — Left Behind in Hell.]
[Would you like to go back and retrieve them?]
[Y/N]
"Absolutely not," Lux snapped. "I am never going back into that office again. I'll commit interdimensional credit fraud first."
[Acknowledged.]
He rolled his eyes and leaned against the elevator wall. "It's fine. I've got my Greed skills. I'll figure it out."
The elevator dinged softly, lighting up as it reached the upper floor. The mirrored doors slid open with a gentle whoosh of processed air.
Mortal realm.
Capital District.
He stepped out onto polished tile in the towering lobby of one of the Big Six accounting firms—an unfortunate coincidence that the elevator from Hell connected to this building, but hey, hell recognized hell.
The lobby was sleek, cold, and entirely too white. Marble floors. Glass walls. Chrome trim everywhere. The kind of place where the coffee was always burned, and the workers were always slightly dead inside.
Right on cue, a dazed mortal in a wrinkled suit shuffled toward the elevator, bags under his eyes so dark they were practically voids.
Lux eyed him.
The guy looked seconds away from crying over his KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).
As the man reached out to press the button, Lux stepped in front of him and casually blocked the path.
"Nope."
The worker blinked slowly. "Huh?"
"You don't want that elevator," Lux said, gesturing to it. "It doesn't go up. It goes somewhere worse."
The guy stared. "But… I'm already on the ground floor."
Lux patted his shoulder. "Exactly."
The doors whooshed shut behind him. The elevator began descending anyway, lights dimming as it plunged into the infernal depths it came from.
The guy blinked at the now-empty shaft.
"...That's not normal," he muttered.
"Neither is what's waiting on that next floor," Lux said. "Just wait for the next elevator. Trust me."
The man stood frozen.
"You're welcome," Lux added over his shoulder as he crossed the lobby, heading toward the automatic glass doors.
Outside, the mortal world greeted him like an excited toddler with a sugar high. Noise. Traffic. Horns. Billboard screens flashing stock tickers and influencer ads. The sharp scent of car exhaust and synthetic perfume. The dull buzz of capitalism grinding gears in every direction.
He smiled.
"I missed this stupid chaos."
[Sovereign Grand Hotel Detected – 600 meters East]
[Highlighting Best Coffee Shop Within Radius…]
[Name: Velvet Brew at Sovereign Grand, Lobby Level.]
[Rating: 4.9 Stars, 3 Verified Heiress Sightings This Week]
Lux tilted his head.
"…Yeah. That'll do."
He walked.
The street buzzed with life—workers rushing, horns honking, neon flickering. It was chaotic, alive, unfiltered. Way more fun than soul paperwork.
He was halfway through admiring a dog in a baby stroller when something caught his ear.
Music.
Live.
And not trashy mall music either—real music. Someone playing acoustic guitar with actual soul.
Lux turned toward the sound and followed it to the side of a closed corner shop—a dusty, abandoned lot with a cracked window and a cursed "For Rent" sign that had definitely been there for decades.
There, sitting on a milk crate, was a young man. Maybe mid-twenties. Worn hoodie, beat-up jeans. Guitar in hand. Fingers moving across the strings like he'd been born doing it.
His eyes were closed as he played, head tilted slightly back.
The music was… good. Surprisingly good. Clean chords. Natural rhythm. The kind of song that could make a crowd go quiet, if this city had time for that.
Lux slowed, gaze drifting to the open cup on the ground. A few crumpled bills sat inside.
He stepped closer.
Paused.
Then, without saying anything, he reached down and plucked one of the bills out.
"Hey—!" the musician blinked, snapping out of his zone. "What are you doing, man?!"
Lux raised a brow. "Relax. I'm not stealing. I'm demonstrating."
The musician narrowed his eyes. "Demonstrating what?"
Lux held the bill between his fingers like a magician prepping for a card trick.
"This," he said.
And then he flicked his wrist.
Golden energy shimmered around the dollar bill.
[Skill Activated: Money Multiply]
[$1 -> $100]
The crumpled dollar burst into crisp 100$, clean and fresh, fluttering between Lux's fingers like confetti.
The musician's jaw dropped. "What—how?!"
Lux smiled. "I'm not done."
He twirled the $100, then snapped again. Energy pulsed.
[Skill Activated: Money Multiply]
[$100 -> $10,000]
A stack of $100 bills appeared in his palm with a satisfying fwump.
The musician's eyes went huge. He lurched forward, hands out.
"Oh my god—can I—?!"
Lux casually sidestepped.
"Nope."
He peeled off two $100 bills and handed them over.
"That's for the music. Buy a real dinner. Something with butter in it."
The guy blinked, dumbfounded. "Thanks. Seriously. I… I haven't eaten properly in three days."
"I can tell. Your aura's dry."
Lux slipped the rest of the money into his suit. The stack vanished in a glint of gold.
The musician still looked stunned. "You just… made money?"
Lux shrugged. "Magic, baby. Also demonic tax fraud, but mostly magic."
The guy blinked again. "I don't get it, but thanks. I mean it."
Lux tilted his head slightly.
[Scanning Subject…]
[Name: Miles Carter]
[Net Worth: $64.17]
[Fortune: 21% – Actively Draining]
[Status: "Talented, Broke, But Believes in Love"]
[Fortune Drain Detected: Source – Nearby Location – Cursed Commercial Lot]
[Investment Field: Music, Digital Stocks, Tech-Based Royalties]
Lux glanced at the boarded-up shop behind them. Faint traces of curse sigils still clung to the edges of the bricks. The kind of place that had eaten twelve businesses in a row. He wrinkled his nose.
"You need to stop playing here," he said.
Miles looked confused. "Huh?"
"This place reeks of bad luck. Like—generational curse, credit score dropping just by standing near it—bad."
The musician frowned. "It's rent-free sidewalk space."
"Yeah, well," Lux sniffed. "So is a haunted graveyard. Doesn't mean you should set up shop there."
"…Why though?"
Lux tapped his temple, trying to get a make-sense explanation. "Feng Shui," he shot.
"Feng Shui?"
"Yeah. But make it demonic. Just trust me."
Miles looked over at the shop again, suddenly uncomfortable. "Okay, now that you mention it, I have seen a raccoon cry in front of it once."
"Exactly."
Lux turned and began walking away. He paused, looked over his shoulder, and said, "You should invest in digital music distribution. Maybe startup shares in indie labels. You've got decent Fortune resonance with those fields."
Miles blinked. "Wait—how do you even—"
Lux just winked.
And disappeared into the crowd.