The last glow of the holographic briefing faded from the living room, leaving Daniel sitting back against the couch, stunned but deeply satisfied.
Astrael stood up, brushing off imaginary dust from her leather jacket.
"Alright," she said briskly, "before your first official job rolls in, we need to do something important."
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "What?
Another briefing?"
"No," Astrael smirked. "Shopping."
Daniel blinked again. "Shopping?"
"For clothes," Malik added, straightening his gloves. "Specifically ones woven with protective sigils and enchantments. Trust me—you don't want to be walking into some vampire den wearing jeans from a mortal mall."
Daniel groaned slightly, but Lina, standing near the kitchen counter, perked up at the idea.
"With your new salary," Astrael added with a slight glint of amusement, "we can actually afford quality now."
---
The trio left the manor not long after, blending into the busy streets of Manhattan.
Cars honked, people bustled, the scent of roasted chestnuts and pretzels filled the air. It looked like any normal, chaotic human day.
But as they walked further downtown, they veered off the crowded sidewalks into a narrow, grimy alleyway wedged between two skyscrapers.
Daniel wrinkled his nose.
"...Are you sure this is the right way? Feels like we're about to get mugged."
Astrael chuckled.
"Exactly what they'd want you to think."
At the very end of the alley was a massive iron door, rusted yet somehow... imposing.
A small, round peephole slammed open, revealing a pair of gleaming golden eyes.
The bouncer—a hulking creature whose features flickered between human and something else—grunted.
"Password?"
Without missing a beat, Astrael stepped forward and spoke—
a phrase that rolled off her tongue in a haunting, angelic Enochian dialect.
It wasn't a human language—each syllable seemed to twist the air, resonating with something deep inside Daniel's bones.
The bouncer blinked once, nodded respectfully, and swung the door inward.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the world shifted.
It was like walking through a waterfall made of light.
For a brief moment, everything warped—color, sound, even gravity seemed to twist—
—and then they were somewhere completely different.
---
Before them stretched the Midnight Bazaar.
A sprawling, vibrant market built under a massive cathedral-like roof of swirling night sky.
Floating lanterns lit the cobblestone streets, casting soft glows on the sprawling labyrinth of shops, tents, and food stalls.
The air smelled of incense, ancient paper, spices from other worlds.
Creatures of every kind bustled around them—
hooded figures, beautiful beings with horns or wings tucked discreetly behind cloaks, mechanical constructs clicking softly as they moved, spirits shimmering between the crowds.
It was alive, vibrant, and absolutely forbidden to the normal human world.
Lina gasped audibly, her eyes wide.
Even Daniel, who had seen his fair share of weirdness by now, could only stare.
Astrael smiled slightly, seeing their reactions.
"A long time ago," she explained, leading them through the crowd, "the Old Gods of commerce and wealth—beings like Hermes, Mammon, and some you don't even have names forgotten —
came together to create these hidden marketplaces."
She gestured to the colorful chaos around them.
"Secret doors were scattered across the mortal world.
Shanghai, Paris and even in Denmark,
Manhattan alone has seven entrances.
They designed them to be perfectly hidden in plain sight."
Daniel nodded slowly, taking it all in.
"And the rule here," Malik added seriously, "is simple but absolute: No fighting inside.
No matter who you are, how angry you get, or what vendetta you carry—you start a fight in here, the entire Bazaar will turn on you."
Daniel swallowed as he noticed some of the market guards—silent figures in black robes, each radiating terrifying auras of hunter ready to kill it's prey.
"Good to know," Daniel muttered.
---
They passed by shops selling enchanted weapons that whispered to passersby,
booths where potions fizzed in vials of impossible colors,
and stalls offering contracts written in blood and stardust.
The currency was equally varied—some booths took human cash, others required gold, rare stones, or supernatural favors.
Their first stop was a tailor shop with a storefront of moving cloth, shimmering as if alive as he looked at the sign of the store the word's seemed unreadable but as he focused on it the devils perk started to work changing the word's which spelt, "Madame Greens tailor's" Daniel said.
Inside, rolls of enchanted fabric floated midair, measuring and cutting themselves as well photos of different customers who have appeared in myth seeing Hermes among the photo's with lucifer in a suit made in this store.
A small woman—short with green skin, with needle-sharp eyes—greeted them with a bow the owner of the store madame green a goblin know for making the finest clothes in the supernatural world.
"We're here for protective gear," Astrael said smoothly.
"Something stylish for the girl," she nodded at Lina, "and something durable for the new Specter."
Daniel blinked.
"Specter?"
Astrael smirked. "Your official title."
The Ms.Green nodded briskly and immediately set to work.
For Lina, they chose long, elegant sleeves that covered her blackened arms, woven with concealment spells and protective runes disguised as embroidery.
For Daniel, they picked a heavy leather black charcoal trench coat lined with sigils of warding, resistance to elemental attacks, and spirit protection.
Stylish enough for a New Yorker, durable enough to fight an angry werewolf.
Malik handed over a shimmering heaven-hell credit to pay.
---
As the group continued through the Bazaar, Daniel began to feel it:
the weight of the supernatural world.
The hidden economy.
The webs of favors and deals that kept it spinning.
And somewhere deep inside, he realized something:
He wasn't an outsider anymore.
He was part of it now.