Rome was a very beautiful city filled with many wonders that grabbed Cate's attention, but this was not enough to stop her from noticing the many eyes that fell on her the moment she stepped into the city. Cate had come as her real self. When she joined Avalon, she altered her appearance to match that of Catherine Staranse. She managed to fool Avalon with this spell only because Avalon did not care much about the person's identity as long as they carried out their jobs effectively. The only time Avalon looked closely at their people's identities was when the person was being promoted to a position of power and authority within Avalon. Cate was far from being promoted, and so the issue of identity had never been a problem.
To enter the Staranse mage clan and steal the key of destiny that they had would not be as simple. The mage clans were obsessed with bloodlines. Cate was sure that entering the Seamless Realm, where the Staranse kept the key, would require one to prove their identity as a true member of the Staranse clan. Since Cate was still too weak to use a spell powerful enough to fool these people obsessed with lineage, she decided to infiltrate the mage clan as her true self. She now appeared as her beautiful self.
Cate was not self-centered by any measure, or so she believed, but she believed that she was more beautiful than Catherine Staranse. As she walked down Via Giulia street, the many tourists and residents turned their heads to look at her. Cate just smiled at everyone as she continued down the street. The straight streets were filled with old buildings that gave off a haunted feeling.
Cate's eyes glowed, allowing her to see the flow of magic and all the hidden truths of this place. She had come to these streets using the information she got from Catherine. It was said that on this street was a hidden gathering place for supernatural beings. The mortals could not see this place, and for them to enter, they had to be servants and guests.
Cate saw many human souls moving about the streets, clinging to people's backs and sucking the life out of the air itself. She also saw many reapers moving about the place, trying to get the souls to move on to the otherworld. "I cannot believe their tactics are still this soft and ineffective," she said.
The reapers could eliminate all the souls in a matter of seconds, but they instead chose to speak to the souls of the dead, trying to resolve the grudges that were keeping these people in this world. Cate ignored all this and focused on a wall that was glowing. The wall was part of a very old building. Cate moved towards the wall and stepped into it. She was seen by many humans, but they quickly forgot what they saw before they could even let out a single gasp.
Cate appeared inside a kind of hotel. The reception hall was very large and beautifully decorated. Tens of people moved about in all directions. Some people were seated around, and their conversations filled the place. In this place, all the people she saw were supernaturals. Vampires, werewolves, witches, sorcerers, and all manner of beings were in this place. Many gave her a cursory glance before they went back to their conversations.
Cate still felt that she was being watched, but she did not pay much attention to this. She wanted the attention. This was the best way to get connections to her targets. Cate walked to the receptionist. A beautiful "young" ghost was the receptionist in this place. She wore clothes from the 1940s, but she wore them very well. She had big blue eyes and smiled brilliantly. One would never think that this person was already dead and rotten in the earth. Cate made out her true nature the moment she laid eyes on her.
"Welcome to Vesta Hotel. How may I help you?" the ghost asked. Cate nodded at her in acknowledgement. She looked around the place for a second. "I want your best room. I will be staying here for some time."
The receptionist was a little shaken by this. The rooms in this place were very expensive. Most supernaturals could not afford to stay in this place even for a single night, and so they ended up staying in mortal hotels. The ghost explained everything very clearly, including the expenses. When she was done, Cate brought out a single triangular token. It was as black as night and smelled of the end of time.
The moment she placed it on the table, the hall went silent as all eyes were drawn to the token. The token did not have even a single marking, and yet it was immediately recognized by all supernaturals. This was the Hades Token from Hyde Bank. This token was only given to the wealthiest supernaturals. Not all those who had accounts in Hyde Bank were given this token.
Hyde Bank had three tokens, with the black token being the one given to those whose wealth was enough to place them at the peak of the supernatural world. The tokens came in black, white, and grey. The white tokens were the ones given to most clients at this supernatural bank, with the grey ones going to the middle class and the black tokens being for the elite.
The ghost shuddered slightly when she saw this token. "I have been working at this hotel to pay off my debt for all these years, and I have only paid about ten percent of my debt. I started working here when I was alive, and even now that I am dead, I still have to pay off the debt. All because I made the mistake of staying here for a few nights without having the money to pay off the debt in full. How can these people have so much money?" the ghost lamented.
Cate was shocked by her words. The ghost worked on Cate as efficiently as she could. When Cate was being led to her room by another hotel worker, she handed the ghost lady a few magic coins. These were more than enough to pay off all her debt and allow her to finally rest in peace. The young woman was so stunned that by the time she came back to her senses, Cate was already gone.