From Forge to Fortune
The forge was quiet.For the first time in weeks, no hammer rang, no Red Code shimmered against metal.
Lumiel sat at a marble table inside his newly purchased nightclub, The Nihilium Lounge — a place of mirrors, jazz, and glowing sigils etched into the floor.Kuroha lounged across a sofa made of dream-silk, tails flicking lazily.Daniel counted coins that kept turning themselves into gold bars.
"Brother," Daniel said, grinning, "you've turned alchemy into accounting.""Same principle," Lumiel replied. "Transmute lead into profit."
Above them, runes danced across the ceiling like constellations.Each flicker was a live stock price.
Synthrael 2.0
Lumiel lifted his glass of Whiskey of Elation Deluxe and whispered,"Deploy Market Interface."
From the ceiling descended a spiral of crimson light.SYNTHRAEL, the Reality Serpent, materialized — smaller than before, sleek, draconic, eyes burning with binary fire.
Upgrade complete. Red Code Core integrated with financial matrices.Awaiting parameters.
Daniel whistled. "You turned the god-eating dragon into a trading algorithm."
"Correction," Lumiel said, smirking. "An autonomous astral hedge fund."
Kuroha blinked. "So the dragon buys low and smites high?"
"Exactly. Every stock is a battlefield. Every share a soul."
The Red Code pulsed through SYNTHRAEL's wings as market symbols appeared mid-air — celestial tickers spinning with names of guilds, houses, and corporations.
Executing portfolio: 43 positions across Celestara and Outer Isles Economy. Predicted return: +870 %.
Daniel spat out his drink. "It's predicting the future."
Lumiel leaned back. "No. It's rewriting it."
The Nightclub Empire
By dusk, the Nihilium Lounge was packed.Merchants, nobles, and black-market investors drank side by side under mirrors that projected rising numbers in red light.
Ayaka managed the bar with frightening efficiency, serving glowing cocktails brewed from Lumiel's elixirs.Liora played the piano — the keys trailing faint illusions of dancing constellations.Daniel handled trades, shouting prices like a priest reciting prayers.
Kuroha prowled the VIP tables, tail wrapped around a bag of tips.
"If capitalism ever needed a face," he muttered, "it would look suspiciously like you, Lumiel."
"And talk with better hair," Lumiel replied.
The Princess of Contradictions
Near midnight, the crowd parted.
A hush fell as a new presence entered — tall, elegant, dressed in black velvet threaded with silver veins.Her hair was pure white, cascading like moonlight; her eyes mismatched — one crimson, one blue.When she smiled, sharp fangs glinted beneath her lips.
"Lumiel Valentine," she said softly, voice melodic yet cold."You've built an empire of mirrors and numbers. My father calls you the Red Alchemist of Economy."
Lumiel rose slowly. "And you would be…?"
"Princess Luminous Dravania — of the Vampire Dynasty."
The room seemed to breathe with her words.Every candle flickered red-blue, as if mimicking her gaze.
A Dance of Deals
The band began playing a slow, haunting rhythm.She extended a hand — graceful, commanding.
"Dance with me, Alchemist. Let me see how you handle negotiation without numbers."
He hesitated — then smiled faintly and took her hand.They moved across the dance floor, mirrors reflecting endless copies of them — each slightly different, each whispering futures that hadn't happened yet.
"Your dragon trades stocks for the Empire," she said. "Do you know who benefits most from its success?""You tell me.""My father."
Lumiel almost stumbled. "The Emperor?"
"He owns half the companies your dragon buys," she whispered near his ear."And when he noticed you making him richer than he ever dreamed, he decided to make you family."
He froze. "Meaning?"
She smiled — fangs glinting again.
"Meaning you're to marry me. By Imperial Decree."
The Toast of Fate
The music stopped.Daniel choked on his drink. Kuroha fell off the sofa. Ayaka whispered, "Oh, that's gonna be fun."
Lumiel sighed, raising his glass toward the Emperor's messenger who had just arrived with a sealed scroll.
"I suppose saying no would be bad for business."
Luminous laughed softly — a sound like crystal chiming.
"You may not love me yet, but I admire men who try to negotiate with fate."
He smiled back, half resigned, half curious.
"Then let's at least profit from it."
They clinked glasses. The runes around the ceiling shifted again, rewriting stock values as if the market itself celebrated the engagement.
SYNTHRAEL's voice rumbled through the room:
Transaction complete. Merging assets: Valentine–Dravania Alliance.Projected stability: uncertain. Projected profit: astronomical.
Everyone cheered as light and music filled the Lounge.But inside, Lumiel whispered to himself:
"Sometimes, the real trade is between freedom and destiny."