*Two hours before Bubba's kidnapping - Mr. Narrator's perspective*
I watch Bubba stumble away into the depth of the casino like a newborn baby. Farewell Bubba, try not to be an idiot.
Anywho, I am beginning to understand Bubba's connection with the Hayermanns. The amount of glory that he can exert is phenomenal and his ability has great potential. He is a promising prospect for the Hayermanns to consider.
But still, I cannot let my guard down. This regression has been my best one so far. If the Hayermanns capture Bubba again, it will all be over.
I see the man wearing the fedora signal with his hands to come.
"C'mon boy! It's time for your debut!"
How exhausting. I must satisfy anything Bubba wishes, so he can strengthen his resolve for greatness and further develop his glory. Yes, even if that means working as a stripper.
I walk onto the stage with blaring disco lights and shiny poles that are a bit oily.
I look around the other strippers and copy their rhythm, thrusting my hips and bumping my shoulders like the fire on a matchstick.
As I dance, I notice a shift in glory within the room. There is a glory user who is no amateur. Their presence is masterfully concealed, almost resembling the aura of a regular person.
The music comes to a halt and my employer applauds me for my performance.
He hands me my earnings early as a token of appreciation, but there are more important matters to focus on.
My eyes scan the room, searching for the faint glory.
It is no use. The whirring particles and obnoxious noises are clouding my senses. I must move closer in.
Within the dense crowd, I land a bullseye on the glory's aura.
It is a woman with blonde hair and an athletic frame. Unlike the others, she is wearing appropriate clothing that covers her womanhood. Underneath her clothes, there seems to be some sort of armor.
Her glory is refined and fresh like the cold spice of a mint. Whereas Bubba's glory is fleeting like grains of sand escaping through the mesh of a sieve.
She looks over at me and she immediately recognizes my glory.
I approach her. "Hello there. Excuse me if I've interrupted you, but I felt your presence from the stage. May I ask for your name and title?"
She analyzes my body from head to toe and calculates her response.
"I am Anna Hayermann, daughter of Johan Hayermann, heir to the throne. Who are you?"
A Hayermann…? Why now? Why here?
I can feel my heart racing, thumping in my chest as if it's going to burst. My brain is trembling, my fingers shivering, yet I must contain myself! I cannot give in to my bloodlust!
If I lose my calm, I'll endanger this run and force another regression to occur. I need to gather information first, but my thirst to strangle her is uncontrollable.
I swallow hard. "I do not have a given name, but most refer to me as Mr. Narrator. I am a hired narrator and am currently working as a stripper."
"I see," Anna Hayermann collects her thoughts, "I have one question."
I feel my rage unleashing a fiery wrath down my spine. My focus is tapering, and saliva is flooding in my mouth at the thought of murdering her.
Anna Hayermann wonders, "Are you a slave to lust?"
For a moment, my anger faded. Lust? What does that have to do with anything?
I respond, "No, I believe that I am free."
In fact, I possess the power to liberate everyone. Especially from the likes of your kind.
"I understand now. Even though you work as a stripper, you are not entertained by its lustful correlation. Interesting."
Anna Hayermann's expression begins to light up.
"I apologize for my rashness. As a gift for my twentieth birthday, my father has allowed me to explore the world outside of our kingdom. I am still adapting to its foreign customs. I thank you for providing me with this knowledge."
I suppose that I could relate to her. I am also still settling into this timeline. It is quite the change from my previous life.
Wait, why am I conversing with a Hayermann? Focus on the mission. Gather information on Bubba.
I clear my throat, "No worries, I too am foreign to these parts. However, I must ask. What led you to visit Wet Dreams? Especially as your first destination into the real world?"
Anna taps her fingers onto the side of a chair, almost as if she was typing a concise answer.
"Well you see, the Hayermann kingdom is something that I am not fond of. I believe that my people are corrupted, inhumane. They fuck and reproduce like rabbits and murder without an ounce of remorse. I chose to visit Wet Dreams to study human nature outside of the Hayermann kingdom. As you have shown me, humanity does not fall victim to sin like my brethren."
What is this? A Hayermann that despises their own ideology? For such a naive girl, she is able to recognize her own kingdom's flaws. I commend her for that, but that doesn't change the fact that Hayermann blood runs through her.
I remark, "I must say, your assessment on human nature is incorrect. While all humans have the ability to not sin, many still choose to in varying degrees. My virtue does not accurately represent humanity's morality. No human can be based on another."
Once again, Anna sifts through my words like a scientist analyzing a lab's data.
"Perhaps you are correct Mr. Narrator. I will take that into account. But I must say, I recognize that you carry the same phenomenon that us Hayermann are born with. The glory. If what you said is true, then not all humans have the glory. Is this correct?"
"Yes, precisely. However, the glory resides in all living beings. It is up to the individual and their environmental factors to activate the need for glory. Unlike your kind, most humans do not have any need for glory because of their comfortable lives. Only those that are born or participate in drastic conditions can activate their dormant glory."
Anna takes a moment to absorb the information I gave her and then pulls out a pen and small notebook from her pocket. Anna's pen swiftly glides through the paper as she writes her findings.
"One final question," Anna declares.
She begins fidgeting with her pen.
"Do you believe that sinning is bad?"
I pause. What a foolish question.
"Of course, no one should aim to sin in their lives. Sinning is corrosion, what strips a man from their greatness"
Anna scribbles one last thought onto her notebook and returns it to her pocket.
The rate of her fidgeting begins to slow down like the engine of a machine cooling down.
"I believe that I have grasped the human understanding of glory now. Your species has much more to learn about the secrets of glory. I pray that this knowledge does not fall in the wrong hands."
What secrets? I'm sure that I know much more about glory than any other person on Earth.
It doesn't matter though. Perhaps she could be bluffing, it is a casino after all. What matters most is that she is a Hayermann and that I should keep a watchful eye on her.
However, I must say that she is very different from the other Hayermann I have encountered. In my past regressions, the Hayermanns would slaughter me as soon as I stepped foot on their kingdom.
But it appears that Anna does not share this bloodlust. Anna is curious about mankind and seems to acknowledge the value of my life.
So for the meantime, I will accompany her to figure out her people's intention with Bubba.
"Very well, Anna. If you wish, I could join you–"
"Do you feel that?" Anna interrupts.
I close my eyes and feel the warm embrace of someone's glory. It feels humid and wet like the jungles of a tropical forest.
There's only one person in this entire casino who has a wet glory: Bubba.
This is bad. Bubba's glory is already evolving. He must be in dire conditions to have evolved that quickly. If his evolution is not controlled, it could destroy everyone in this casino. But more importantly, it would kill me, which would erase all of my progress.
I look over at Anna and she has a curious look on her face.
Asking for her help is a last resort, but there are no other glory users that could help maintain Bubba's glory.
"Quick, Hayermann, follow me. I can trace the path to his glory. He is an interesting one. I'm sure that he will contribute to your data."
I feel Anna's glory sharpen to a finer point, to a hot spice rather than a minty one.
"Let's go."