COZMART: Corner Shop of Visiting Gods

The rooftop was quiet now. The spring air carried a low, whistling breeze, lifting Eathan's hair across his forehead.

He sat there, slumped against the railing like a discarded sock, still halfway processing the fact that he'd witnessed his first love try to kill him and get blown in front of him within the span of five minutes. The ache along his cheekbone throbbed faintly where her claws had raked him. His fingers absently grazed the spot, only to flinch away when pain bloomed fresh under the skin.

A small shadow fell across him.

"How long are you planning to act like this?"

The voice was light but tinged with clear annoyance.

Eathan blinked upward blearily. Chewie stood above him, school uniform jacket whipping lightly in the wind. Her black bob shifted with the breeze, and she looked about as unimpressed as a substitute math teacher called in only to realize they were supervising dogs.

"That rift will ding Area 003 by 0.05 points," she said, flipping a worn holopad from her jacket pocket and tapping rapidly. "I'll file it before Commander Li chews us out."

Beside her, the woman who had once been "Emily" had crumpled to the rooftop floor like a discarded marionette, her body—now seemingly ordinary again—slack and lifeless.

From her still chest, a soft trail of pink ash began to seep upward, spiralling faintly toward the sky.

Chewie didn't even blink. With a swift, practiced motion, she uncapped the jade vial again, scooping the ash neatly into containment. She slapped a strip of masking tape onto the vial, hastily inscribing a glyph pattern on it in ballpoint pen.

Eathan watched all this numbly. His brain had decided that if reality wanted to keep throwing nuclear curveballs at him, it might as well handle the consequences alone.

Somewhere inside his vision, a soft ping from the [SYSTEM] sounded.

[SYSTEM] NOTIFICATION

You have completed [Emergency Quest]:

Survive the unfair encounter!

You have been rewarded: +300 Karma, +30 Qi Tokens, 5% Integrity

[Integrity] has increased by 5% (10% → 15%)

Before Eathan could get a chance to process the messages, more flooded his way:

[SKILL ACQUIRED!]

▸ SKILL: Minor Constitution (Lv. 1)

▸ USE: Repair/heal objects or bodies up to 1m³ per activation.

▸ COST: 5 Qi Token or any scrap metal

▸ COOLDOWN: 30 seconds

Tutorial mode initializing...

No Qi Token required for first-time activation…

[Integrity] has increased by 1% (15% → 16%)

[Humanity] has decreased by 1% (96% → 95%)

Another skill?

Probably, Eathan thought vaguely, some kind of pity drop for surviving this long without fully falling apart.

He activated it half on instinct.

A warm, tingling sensation spread across his face, knitting the shallow claw marks on his cheek back into smooth skin. The blood crust flaked off like dry leaves. He stared at his reflection briefly in the glass panels lining the rooftop fence, wondering if he should feel proud or just deeply, deeply concerned.

[HP] has increased by 1%! (85% → 86%)

[HP] has increased by 1%! (86% → 87%)

As his [HP] bar climbed slowly, the rooftop door groaned open behind him.

Three blank-eyed students—familiar faces from Chinese Mythology—filed through with unnervingly synchronized movements. They wordlessly hoisted up the unconscious Emily, carrying her body like pallbearers in some eerie ritual.

Chewie straightened immediately, giving a short, respectful bow toward the doorway.

"Lord Qing Long."

The name snapped Eathan back to attention. His head jerked up and, sure enough, Professor Quine Long—the absurdly beautiful nightmare from his morning lectures—strode through the door. Except currently, he was minus the suit jacket, sleeves rolled up to reveal forearms pale and sharp as ivory blades. His black hair flowed behind him in a river of silk, stirring with each unhurried step.

He glanced at Chewie, the corner of his mouth lifting.

"Going by Quine Long here, little hawk. Try to keep up with mortal etiquette."

As he passed Eathan, the sleek fabric of his pants brushed his shoulder. Eathan caught a faint, crackling scent—like ozone after a lightning storm—and involuntarily flinched.

Chewie shifted, looking subtly away, as if embarrassed by both their reactions.

With a single flick of his hand, Quine signalled the hypnotised students. They shuffled in perfect silence, carrying Emily's unconscious form back toward the stairwell.

"She'll wake up in a few hours," he said airily, brushing invisible dust from his sleeves. "No memory of anything except maybe a slight headache and a vague distaste for rooftops."

The sheer casualness of it all hit Eathan like a hammer. He pressed the heels of his palms into his eyes, willing himself not to have a breakdown in front of a literal non-human and a demon-slaying eleven-year-old. He was almost successful.

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Almost.

Until his [SYSTEM] helpfully chose that moment to flash another status update across his blurred vision:

[SYSTEM] NOTIFICATION

Mortal Shock Detected!

[Humanity] has decreased by 1% (95% → 94%)

A subtle ripple passed through his chest, a tingling, electric pulse that made his skin crawl. From the corner of his eye, he caught Chewie stiffen slightly. Quine's head tilted with sudden, predatory interest.

For a brief second, Eathan thought he saw something—a glimmer of gold—hover around his own pupils.

But when he blinked, it was gone.

Quine Long, meanwhile, folded his arms loosely, sharp emerald gaze raking across him with the same fascination a biologist might show a rare, particularly lumpy frog. "You're slower than I expected," he remarked, tone almost regretful. "No backbone, no awareness, zero reaction speed. Congratulations, you're a failure."

Eathan opened his mouth to protest—

—and promptly closed it again, realising he had nothing remotely coherent to say.

Chewie, seeming accustomed to this pattern, cut cleanly between them.

"Let's go back to COZMART," she said, adjusting the sword strapped to her back like a violin case. "Mister White is waiting."

At the mention of his boss, something in Eathan steadied—a tether thrown into a sea of chaos. He stumbled after her, mind still a mess, but legs moving out of pure stubborn survival. He didn't know what kind of answers Mister White could possibly give him, but right now, he was willing to chase after any thread that hadn't tried to kill him in the past twenty-four hours.

And that thread, somehow, was a slightly sleep-deprived, chain-smoking corner shop owner with dangerous obsidian eyes.

***

The moment Eathan pushed open the glass door of COZMART, he realised something fundamental had changed.

The night-shift lights hummed softly overhead, casting a warm yellow sheen across the store. The same cheap racks; the same faded posters peeling in the corners. But scattered across the space were receipts—hundreds of them, floating midair like translucent ghosts. Some projected scrolling graphs. Others flickered between strange phrases:

[SIX REALMS]

[COUNCIL OF TEN]

[MORTAL SPIRITUAL REGISTRY]

The walls themselves vibrated faintly, like the shop was barely holding itself together under a thin mortal skin. The coffee machine hissed in the background.

At the register, Taeril White stood leaning casually against the counter, apron draped messily over a dark collared shirt and beige lounge pants. He was swirling an iced Americano with one hand in contemplation, as if deciding on what to eat for dinner.

Eathan gawked.

Receipts aren't just receipts.

Walls aren't just walls.

Coffee is… still coffee, probably.

Behind him, Quine Long swept into the shop like he owned the place, throwing himself onto the battered couch near the window. His long legs sprawled shamelessly across the cushions, utterly unbothered. Chewie hopped up onto the high stool near the counter, her feet swinging idly a good foot above the floor.

And Eathan?

He sat cross-legged on the ground, palms flat on the cool tile. The dazed look in his eyes practically screamed that if somebody didn't start explaining soon, he might just start screaming instead.

Taeril took his time stirring his drink, utterly at ease. Only after a long, indulgent sip did he finally glance their way. "You're back earlier than I thought."

Eathan didn't even know where to start. Luckily, Chewie steered the conversation for him.

"Where did that thing come from?" she asked, kicking her legs in rhythm with the soft hum of the lights. "It wasn't local."

Taeril clicked his tongue, setting his cup down with a soft clack. "Succubus-Fey," he said. "Spirit-Beast Realm lineage. Should've been managed under Peng or Foxfire's jurisdiction."

His tone grew subtly sharp toward the end, a discontent almost hidden under his usual lazy drawl. At his words, both Quine and Chewie exchanged a glance. The former smirked, the latter shifted awkwardly.

Eathan, of course, noticed none of this.

He sat up straighter, feeling a thread of hope that he was finally going to get some answers. "Then why..." he hesitated. "Why was it at my school?"

Quine laughed softly, like he was being personally entertained. He lounged deeper into the couch. "Because of you, of course."

Eathan's heart skipped.

"Because of the [SYSTEM] I received?" he asked, fingers twitching against the floor.

The second the word left his mouth, an uncomfortable silence slammed over the shop. Across from him, Taeril dragged a hand down his face, as if resisting the urge to sigh. Even Quine, normally the picture of casual menace, blinked once, looking—if not impressed—at least mildly speechless.

Chewie was the first to recover. She leaned over the counter and stage-whispered, "Good job self-detonating."

"Teach the vessel to use his brain, White." Quine clicked his tongue. "He's one loose neuron away from announcing his bank passwords next."

Eathan's face burned as he turned to Taeril.

"…Was I supposed to keep it a secret?"

He trusted Mister White with his life—had since day one when the man found him and pulled him out of a hell he barely remembered. He thought it'd be better if they knew. That way, maybe they could help him navigate this insanity.

At his earnest expression, Taeril let out a small sigh, rubbing his temples like a long-suffering teacher faced with a particularly enthusiastic but catastrophically dumb student.

"Not exactly, but…" he muttered, releasing another sigh.

Eathan stared at him. "Wait, so you did know about the [SYSTEM]?"

Taeril, sipping his iced coffee again, nodded.

"Then why did you play dumb when I was swiping left and right on it the other day?"

"Swiping? I thought you were just spasming then," he said, before adding, "Also, I knew of its existence. Not its contents. It's... exclusive. Yours only."

There was a weight in those words that Eathan didn't dare poke at. He slumped back onto the ground, feeling very much like a kid who had turned in an exam early with an 800-word essay, only to realise the questions were multiple choice.

"...Is it at least useful?" he asked after a beat. "Is there anything I can do to help? With whatever you're writing here, I mean."

Another beat of silence.

This time, Quine didn't even bother hiding his grin. "So this is what altruism looks like," he mused aloud. "What a rare species."

Eathan blinked, while Taeril set his cup down properly and faced the dark-haired man fully for the first time today.

"Mister Long," he said, voice slicing through the room. "Why are you here?"

Quine smiled lazily, crossing one leg over the other. His long hair spilled down like dark silk against the battered leather couch.

"Why can't I be?"

The air tightened fractionally.

Chewie coughed lightly into her fist. "We should… probably report the rift," she said. "It's already registered on the Cloud-Jade Ledger, but… hopefully the equilibrium point drop is not enough for Area 003 to enter the audit surveillance range."

Audit.

Eathan caught that word instantly.

Low equilibrium points = audit.

Eathan secretly made a mental note. He didn't know what to do with this note, but it was better than no note at all.

Taeril merely shrugged, an easy smile curling his mouth. "Commander Li will be relieved."

Eathan tucked another note into the frantic archive of his mind:

Commander Li = Leader of Area 003.

Perhaps noticing the slightly lost look on his face, Taeril slid something across the counter. It took Eathan a second to recognise that it was a steaming paper cup.

"Milk tea," the man said casually. "130% sugar. You'll need it."

Eathan clutched the cup like a lifeline, obediently taking a gulp even though he barely tasted the sweetness. The warmth settled into his bones, steadying him somewhat. Still, he couldn't stop the question from slipping out.

"So… what's the plan now?"

He sounded desperate even to himself. His worldview had been flattened, rebuilt, and folded into origami over the course of three hours. He didn't know who he was anymore, or what he was supposed to do next.

Taeril gave a short laugh, flicking a piece of receipt paper into the trash bin with surgical precision. "Do what you always do," he said. "Go to school. Work your shift. Find another crush if you want."

He gestured lazily to the shop around them.

"This place doesn't run itself."

"…Speaking of the shop." Eathan staggered to his feet, gesturing all around him. "Did it really explode last night?"

Taeril blinked at him, like he had just asked whether the sky was blue.

"Mm-hm."

"And you're just—" Eathan spluttered, "—you're just standing here like this?"

Taeril tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled. "You're also still standing here, aren't you?"

Eathan opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again.

By normal standards, none of this should be possible.

But normal left the building a long time ago.

He exhaled slowly, feeling another question bubble up from the depths of his battered soul.

"So is it really that nobody here is… human?" he asked hoarsely. "I'm the only one?"

So far, there was a crazy long-haired dude who turned lecture halls into mass hypnosis fields, a corner shop owner who treated explosions like coffee breaks, and a preteen girl who could headshot demons without blinking.

Taeril raised a pale eyebrow, sipping from his black coffee. "You must be mistaken."

Eathan almost wept in relief. But just as he exhaled, Taeril set his drink down with a soft thud, meeting his gaze directly.

"What," he said with a faint smile, "makes you think you're human?"

Eathan: "..."

Eathan: "??????"