Chapter 63: Relics of Torment
Hearing Selene's possible symptoms, Gray came to learn about Genesis' immunity to the damage brought by Xanadu's instilling of real world predictions.
Instead of receiving the harrowing consequences, he would only retain an awful pain from his Mercurial Fragment that scaled the more revelations he got.
Franz even informed him how having a being like Xanadu would have warped his soul in a catastrophic manner, turning him into a mindless, abominable creature, a mindless husk who would only fulfill the malice he felt come through Xanadu.
…But again…
He was immune to this side effect.
Frankly, it made no sense.
How could he keep on being an impossibility?
Was Xanadu avoiding to hurt him to fulfill His plans?
Could the Council members have been alright all along?
Had the shaman also been correct?
Did he really need to die?
Gray clenched his fists.
He knew he needed to keep his sanity in check, as he could not let himself be lost to the darkness within Xanadu.
After glancing at Selene for the last time, he was led outside by Franz.
…
Gray grabbed the boxes, unpacked them and put them in their respective places under the supervision of Felix, who occasionally gave him advice.
After thirty minutes, he was showing Gray how to dust the articles of Mnemosyne's Antiques when he noticed another bizarre fact.
Now he had five fingers—just like everyone else!
'…?'
Despite trying his best to ignore this, he kept on listening to the more experienced colleague's explanations.
"Use brushes with soft bristles…Keep the strokes gentle…For wooden articles first use soft brushes to clean their dust…Then use a damp cloth to wipe it down…For porcelain, brush the dust and wipe it down with a gentle solution of soap and water…You already know about metal so I won't tell you again… Keep old books away from humidity and only dust them, be careful in treating them…Never use aggressive materials like alcohol and don't scrub the patina…"
"These are the only things you must pay attention for the materials not involved in Nephilim matters."
Gray nodded in acknowledgment.
The two returned to the main entrance, now free of most boxes.
Now, all they had to do for the day was restocking the jewelry inside the new square reinforced glass cases.
And since they were new articles, they did not need to be cleaned.
…
Gray wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.
He glanced at the floor.
The boxes had been emptied and their contents were put in their respective places.
Now that Mnemosyne's Antiques had been fully restored to its former state, they could properly reopen the shop.
Franz speed-walked inside the entrance as he held a notebook inside his hand. He looked at various clocks before frantically writing inside the notebook, muttering things like, "Slight damage on a few gears, will worsen in 9-15 years…"
He turned his head,
"Felix, repair this clock for me."
"Let's just replace it like everything else."
"No." Franz was firm in his decision.
"…Damn it."
Felix grabbed a screwdriver from the counter and went towards the clock.
After Franz inspected many other articles, mumbling many technical terms Gray was aware of, Felix got to work.
He opened the clock, using his screwdriver inside the internal gears, tapping his leg in a manner Gray figured to be annoyance.
Mnemosyne's Antiques was more chaotic than he had expected.
Gray stood motionless, looking at the bizarre scene.
As Franz noticed he had nothing to do, he assigned Gray to a quick task, enough to pass the time.
"Clean the counter."
Gray immediately went to work.
He grabbed a small feather duster and started cleaning the counter. Once most dust was gone, he sprayed the counter with a gentle solution, using a soft towel to wipe it down.
He cleaned and cleaned to pass the time until everything was spotless, almost blinding to his eyes.
…
Gray was bored.
Everyone had their tasks to perform—but him, the newbie, had basically none. It made sense since he had just joined, but it still felt slightly underwhelming.
After five minutes, Franz barged in.
"…All is ready!"
He jogged towards the door and flipped the sign.
Mnemosyne's Antiques—Open!
Gray gave a light smile.
And so his life as an official employee began.
Soon, an older gentleman entered inside the store.
Franz, who was conversing with Gray about unimportant matters, immediately went to the gentleman's side and helped him remove his coat.
"Good Evening, Sir Visconti."
The gentleman gave a dry cough and saluted as well,
"Haaa, Good evening, Franz."
He soon caught Gray's gaze.
"We got new faces around!" he laughed.
Gray laughed awkwardly back.
Franz then introduced the two.
"Gray, this is Sir Visconti—he's one of our long-time customers. Sir Visconti, this is Gray—he's the newest face of Mnemosyne's Antiques.
The gentleman shook Gray's hand.
"It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"…It's a pleasure for me too."
'Five fingers.' he noted in his mind.
After shaking Gray's hand, he looked around.
"And the young lady? Don't tell me you fired her…!"
"…Ah—Selene is sick. She caught a really nasty fever." Franz pointed out.
Hearing this blatant lie, Gray understood that the man in front of them was a normal human.
"What a pity…I send my best regards to the young lady."
Changing subject, Franz spoke.
"What could be the reason for your visit? Are you planning to broaden your collection?"
"Not today…Not today. I'm looking for a gift for my wife."
Franz thought for a brief moment.
"Since its your 60th anniversary, we must get the Madam something special."
He signaled Gray to follow, leaving Felix to fix some of the trinkets inside the store.
The three of them inspected the jewelry of Mnemosyne's Antiques.
"You see, Gray..." Franz told Gray. "The trick to be a proper antique dealer is found by knowing your customer."
"It is most certainly so!" Sir Visconti followed.
"You were one yourself?" Gray asked to the older gentleman.
"…Years ago I was something similar. That's how I first met my wife!" he laughed out loud as he reminisced. "…I first met her as she shopped for a ring with her friends. Her smile was magnetic, and the way she laughed around with her friends made me smile back."
"Hah, I must have looked like a creep back then!"
"You fell in love instantly?" Gray asked.
"Hmmm. I can say I got the gist of it in that moment. But…since we were young and immature we took different roads after s rough patch."
"The first time I can say I truly, truly loved my wife was when I met her again. Ironically, it happened inside of a hospital."
He explained further.
"A bunch of thugs had come to my boss' firm, stirring up some trouble. Still being that immature chap, I stirred things back."
He gave a hearty laugh.
"I ended up in the hospital! But don't make the mistake of thinking I went out without a fight."
He exhaled.
"She was one of the nurses working there. I can truly say fate was unwilling to let our stories drift."
"Ahhh…she was so beautiful back then. To see her care for me in such a manner made my heart flutter. Inside that hospital room, our love blossomed for a second time."
"…What a beautiful story." Gray remarked.
…
The man still had not found what he was looking for.
Naturally, since sixty years were a long time, he wanted it to be the perfect present.
Franz turned to Sir Visconti and said,
"I may possess what you're currently looking for."
Franz led Gray and Sir Visconti towards a hidden compartment of Mnemosyne's Antiques.
Inside it there was a vault.
Franz inputted the password before coming out, holding a small box in his hand.
He swiftly opened it, exposing a ring.
To say that ring was incredibly beautiful was an extreme understatement.
It was masterfully crafted. It had slight written engravings on its band—the gem was slightly propped up and its color was a shimmering, rich blue.
Franz then spoke charmingly,
"A ring made of Egyptian sapphire from the Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqaf—personally found by the archeological partners of Mnemosyne's Antiques. Restored, cleaned and prepped up for sale."
"…"
'Did he say just catacombs?'
This was the type of ring that would bring waves of misfortune!
Gray shot a glance at Franz.
Seemingly aware of the young Nephilim's thoughts, he gave a strange smile.
The gentleman did not retain Gray's worries.
His hands started trembling.
"…This is…this is perfect…"
Franz handed him the ring.
The man observed it carefully, tracing its details with his worn finger.
"How much is it…?" he demanded to know.
Franz raised a finger as his smile raised slightly.
"Since this is a special occasion and you're one of our most honorable guests, we can shave the price down."
"Considering those two factors, the final price amounts 31,000 Euros."
"…"
'31,000?!'
Gray was astonished.
This was more money than he and Kathy had ever seen in their lives!
"I shall write a chèque!"
The man grabbed a pen from his chest-pocket and frantically wrote inside the chèque, his hands trembling with excitement.
"I'll handle the paperwork." he signaled to the dazed Gray. "Gray, lead him to the counter."
"Y-Yes."
…
Felix now stood at the counter.
Seeing the man's intrepid eyes, he quickly tensed up.
Mnemosyne's Antiques had made a big sale!
"Have you found what you were looking for?"
"…We most certainly did so!"
"What a great pleasure." Felix remarked.
With a swift glance, he then motioned to Gray to come to the counter.
The gentleman handed Felix the chèque as he processed the sale with the cash register.
As he put it inside the counter's drawer, he pressed the buttons with a formidable speed, the classic sound of money soon ringing out.
Ding!
A few moments later, Franz came with a few stacks of paper. He walked to the counter and placed them on it.
After the gentleman wrote his signature on them, he handed him the ornamental box with the ring.
"She's going to love this—I'm willing to bet my soul on this…!"
After giving his thanks to Franz and the staff of Mnemosyne's Antiques, he left the shop.
"31,000…" the insane amount of money lingered in Gray's mind. "31,000…" he repeated, his mouth almost drooling.
Imagine how many things he and Kathy could get with them!
"31—"
"Have you gotten the hang of how to use the counter?" Felix questioned.
"…"
"…Barely" Gray said.
Felix gave a thumbs up.
"Better than nothing."
Franz gave a deep sigh.
"I can't believe finally had a big customer after this drought…"
Gray raised an eyebrow.
"Is it this uncommon to have them?"
Franz then explained,
"It's really uncommon to even have people spending more than 30 euros. Customers like Sir Visconti appear once every blue moon."
"It makes sense…"
"Speaking of the ring Sir Visconti acquired…I wasn't aware that Mnemosyne's Antiques had an archeological team…"
Franz's lips curved upwards.
"That's mainly how artifacts imbued with Nephilim properties are found."
'Nephilim properties…'
He could not help but wonder of what these objects specifically.
And so he asked.
Franz then explained,
Artifacts with Nephilim characteristics—otherwise knows as Relics of Torment—were objects that had been fused with their Owner's last Emanation of Power.
The inhumane resentment towards their inevitable demise oozed inside their Emanation of Power, allowing their personal quintessence to unite with their most precious object.
It was not a true resurrection, for the Owner still perished in the end…
…But it is a way one could impart their legacy.