The majestic beasts flapped their wings faster beholding Xaloc to a very large palace that sat perfectly in the midst of the clouds.
"Wow!" Came the cries of the children. They had been so excited throughout the trip as they stared at the window pointing to various things.
Bella and his son leapt down from the horse, taking the carriage away after a quick conversation with Nyx. From what Xaloc could hear, they were discussing the sum of payment and the price they came to seemed to be favourable to Nyx for her eyes sparkled the way they did whenever he was excited.
Xaloc yawned, it was early in the morning and he was already getting sleepy. He had dropped his headset at home because he doubted he would find charging areas in Shangri-la.
His action now led to a dilemma, without his headset and metal music, how was he supposed to stay awake. According to his grandmother, his grandfather was a descendant of Hypnos and he carried more of that trait. She talked about purification but she did not expand on it.
He needed to read up and gain knowledge.
She also claimed that, unlike the rumours, Hypnos is not her son. They merely shared a similar domain, Xaloc did not know whether to believe her or not. With how wild the stories of the gods were, anything was possible.
"So pretty." Mason said.
It was a very bright and beautiful place. It was roofed so he could not see the sun. there was no window either yet he did not feel suffocating, even with the number of people that moved around the hallway they stood.
The glossy mirrored floor reflected Xaloc's image. An attractive face and body decked in a simple blue hoodie and jeans. He looked unassuming in this mass of people.
"This place has many names so we just like to call it Crossroads. It is a port that leads to various places. Come with me." Nyx led them through the hallway.
"Like an airport?" Felix asked.
"Similar. The fabrics of space had stretched thin. Ripping it forcefully might damage it. That is why a control system was built here to control the number of people that go through every hour. Now gods, demigods and descendants all use transport tickets. We don't have to but we still do it." She seemed angry about something, "It also helps in population control."
"Oh!" Felix replied. He was too overwhelmed to begin a political debate with his mother.
They went to one of the booths. A woman in a black pixie haircut was wearing a large blue trench coat, large sweatpants and flip flops. She looked very shady.
"Maia!" Nyx called and the woman's brown eyes gleamed with joy.
"Nyx! I knew that you were coming today. I just knew it." She then paused, "You are very early. A batch of warriors from Valhalla would be fighting in the Arena at Shangri-la. Her face seemed filled with disgust as she spat the words out.
Arena. Xaloc noted the words. It would be among the first things that he would look into.
"So you will have to wait a few hours." She gazed at Nyx timidly. "You…Do not be angry. There are more than a thousand soldiers. I am not sure I can fit your entire family." She scratched her hair as she thought of something.
"You can go first. I would send the five of them later. She looked over the group. "Oh my! Seven. Congratulations, Karen." She said with a large smile.
Karen did not know what to say about this overfamiliarity. She just nodded numbly and said thank you.
Nyx chuckled. "How can I be angry." She patterned Maia's head. The girl had blossomed after Zeus had died in the Ragnarok. Perhaps for some the Ragaronk was a thing of blessing. "it has been years since I came here, I still have a lot of people to greet. Do not forget to call me when the line is freer."
Maia saluted with a large grin, "Will do, boss."
"Felix. I will be back." She then passed a large pouch to Felix. "Just in case something happens and I don't come back on time. Leave with Maia."
"What is this?" He opened the pouch to see sparkling gold coins. "Mom. How can I accept your money? Don't worry." Felix's filial piety did not let him fathom the idea of living off his money.
Newbies! Maia sighed in her heart. "These are called drachma or denarius, depending on where you are. Many just liked to call them gold. Felix, you are no longer in the mortal realm. Mortal money means nothing here."
Nyx nodded. "She is right. You don't need to worry about that. Shangri-la doesn't use money for transactions. Here, hold on to your tickets just in case." Nyx also gave Xaloc a pouch to spend. She gave the twins one too, giving them a forehead pat before heading off.
Before going back to Shangri-la, she first needed to speak with some people, in particular Nemesis.
Xaloc glanced at the ticket. It was a golden paper with the words Shangri-la written on it. The font was simple but the power he could feel radiating from it was immense.
"Hold on to the tickets. One ticket to Shangri-la is worth ten thousand gold and that is for the one year ticket. You are holding the permanent tickets. The cost is not something you can imagine." Felix froze, pausing in his action to stuff the tickets into his pocket.
"Then. Can you hold onto it for me?" Felix asked.
Maia accepted readily, "We will probably wait for hours. Do you want to take a look around or eat first?" She asked, closing the booth.
She liked and admired Nyx so she wanted to treat her family well. She could also educate them on the way so they would not embarrass Nyx when they get to Shangri-la.
Xaloc was not done processing everything he heard from the conversation, he needed a human free area. He reached for his neck but then realized that the headset was missing. A sense of loss filled his heart.
"Mom. Dash. Can I explore on my own?"
"No!" His mother immediately panicked and she held his hand tightly.
Her sudden shout made the twins who wanted to clam out to go with their big brother to shut up.
Felix patted Karen's back, "You are scaring the twins and you are holding him tightly. Xaloc, this is an unfamiliar place, it might be dangerous."
"Of course not. As long as he sticks to this floor, nothing will happen to him. He is an adult, it would not do for him to be seen suckling at his mother's breast."
Karen was flabbergasted, "He is not…" She could not even find it in herself to repeat the words.
Maia raised her eyes, then searched for a more modern word, "Coddle. It would not do to be seen coddling with his mother at his age." She repeated herself, advising with good intentions. "Just let the lad go. I have a lot of places to show the little ones."
"I do not coddle him." Karen finally squeezed her words out. She looked at her husband then her son before letting go of her hand that held right to Xaloc.
"One hour!"
Xaloc turned and left, not looking back even once.