I chatted with Lily for more than ten minutes over nothing, but how my main couple looked and matched. 

But our little chat ended when her mother called her back for talking too much nonsense.

Her face showed an awkward grin, as she turned around to move away, but I stopped her midway.

“Hey Lily, can I stay here for an hour?” I asked.

“You already ordered. So, enjoy your time here as long as you want.” She giggled and finally went towards the counter.

She seemed happy, getting to know more about the two heroes she deeply admired and shipped together. (Just like me, but I didn't admire them too much.)

For the record, I did not share anything major except how smart and capable Arthur was, followed by two lines about Anniliese’s character which included her aloofness and unfathomable will.

In short, I just increased their "stonks" in Lily’s market.

Anyway, let’s move on to the topic at hand. That was money, cash, dollars, euros, whatever that could feed me.

So, I pulled out my mobile, dialed a number and held it onto my ear.

The phone rang for quite some time but was eventually picked up.

“Hello!” said a man from the other side.

“Hello, this is Mario from L and T, calling you for your Car’s extended warranty.”  I switched to my too dramatic and professional tone.

“What?”

“Please meet our agent today, before 10:30 at Café Aroma or your car will be towed to the nearest mozzarella office and Kaiser will be informed.”

“Who the fuck is this? And how did you even get my number.”

“Thank you for being our valued customer, Mr. Blaze! We hope you find our service satisfying.”

“What the….”

Beep!

Ending the call, I placed my mobile on the table and leaned on the chair with a slight smirk on my face. 

Just imagining the dumbstruck face of that guy was more than enough to laugh my ass off but I did not do that because ‘I am a good guy.’

Like seriously it was funny but every word in that conversation carried some meaning only he and I could comprehend.

So, I was sure that this Mr. Blaze would not disappoint me.

—

My clock read 10:25 AM but till this moment there was no sign of Mr. Blaze.

Still, I waited, not losing hope.

“Hey, lily!” I called her and she arrived instantly.

“Yes!”

“One iced coffee, please.” I ordered another one here to not look weird or in other words I did not want to feel like I was doing some sort of crime.

“Sure!” 

“One medium caffechion please.” 

She wrote my order and moved to the next table to receive another customer.

The café was slowly getting crowded as many people were visiting and leaving at the same time.

‘I guess their business is doing well.’

And finally at the correct 10:30 PM a tall muscular man probably in his early forties entered the café. He wore a navy-blue t-shirt, some lousy trousers, and a cap to cover his non-existent hair.

Mr. Isaac Niles, also known as Mr. Blaze, the owner of Café Aroma.

I waved my hands and he nodded but first went to talk with Lily and her mother. Then made his way to my table.

“Tim Walker, I presume!” He extended his hands and I accepted with a pleasant smile on my face.

“Yes, Sir.” I was honestly impressed by how quickly this guy found my identity. Well, it was his café and there were cameras both inside and outside. He could get my info if wanted and judging from this recent name calling, he really did.

‘Nice! He is both smart and capable. Just like I wanted him to be.’

‘I made him both smart and capable, for this exact reason.’

Isaac took a seat Infront me and ordered another batch of coffee which I promptly denied because I already had enough.

“So, let’s stop beating around the bush and tell me are you from Kaiser?” His tone was heavy and eyes were hollow with dark circles underneath. His beardy face was devoid of any emotion and surely suggested that he had not properly slept for at least a week.

“What if I am?” I leaned forward, resting my hands on the table.

“But your record shows otherwise!” Isaac pulled out a small paper folded like a million times from his pocket and placed it on the table before pushing it towards me.

I unfolded and read the handwritten contents.

----------------

Name - Tim Walker

Age – 21

Origin- Dewdrop, Astrein

Parents – Philip Walker & Krystin Walker

Current Location – Orsier Academy, Oriser

Student Rank – 1920

Profession – Mage

Rank – E

Room - 237

Bank Balance – $13,792

----------------

I read each word a couple of times and folded the piece of paper again before putting it in my pocket.

Although I was screaming inside, I did not let it appear on my face.

‘So, this is what it feels like after getting reverse UNOed, huh.’  I was here to play with him not getting played.

But how did he even do that? Like even to my fucking back account? They were the most secure, right?

But those things were miniscule compared to what this guy wrote about my parent’s name.

Their names were the same as my real parents. But I never mentioned them anywhere in my novel. 

Then how did he know them? Were they even real? 

And what the hell was wrong with this Dewdrop? This town too never existed in this story. It was just a fragment of my childish imagination. 

‘But what this guy said is true, then... How? Why?’

Millions of questions were begging for answers but I had none. I was utterly dumbfounded here. What the hell was going on?

“So, what do you say Tim? Do you work for Kaiser or Not?” Isaac asked again, observing my poker face.

“I don’t. But I know them.” I answered, maintaining my expression and cold tone. Whatever this guy had extracted needed more digging and my next goal was to figure out just that. Things could not go like this.

I was God, I needed to know everything. I could not stay in the dark about my own history.

“Very well!” He smiled, leaning on his chair, cross legged. “Now, tell me, what about my Car’s extended warranty?”

“Of course.” I too fell back on the chair. “Water please.”

‘I must clear my head before proceeding with whatever I am going to do. Or I would just mess everything up.’

‘Focus Tim, focus!’

The glass of water arrived along with my iced coffee, but I drank only the water and finally prepared myself for the show.

“I have a suggestion for your car’s warranty.” I said calmly with a slight smile on my face.

“Just so you know… you must not play with me. I know anything and everything about you and your family. I can do really scary things.” He spoke in an eerie tone trying to put some pressure on me which definitely was not going to happen.

I shook my head agreeing to his words, but that was a little too provoking. 

I needed a comeback.

“Isaac Niles aka Mr. Blaze.” Lowering my head, I focused on the clean cloth over the table. And the game of throwing info at each other was on.

“Joined the Market in 2400 as a wannabe broker but failed 3 times. Got the first customer, lost all his money, killed him to clear your record. Got second customer, made your first thousand dollar, wasted everything on drinking and prostitution.

In five years, you dealt with close to a billion-dollar, laundered over ten million dollars to your pocket. Became a drug and alcohol addict. Went to rehab and came back well.”

Isaac's eyes widened with each and every word I said but I was in no mood to stop. It was my time to play the reverse UNO.

“Everything was fine until 2407. But then you fell in love with a nurse named Sharon from the rehab center. You married her in 2409, had Lily and opened this café after leaving your job.

But after some years, your addiction came back with a little bonus. Apart from drinking, you started gambling in stocks. You lost all your money in the following years. Went to three million in debt during a failed attempt to sort Lockwood.”

Isaac opened and closed his mouth like a fish but no words came out. His confident expression was nowhere to be seen but was replaced with a sweaty forehead and a pale face.

He was repeatedly swallowing his saliva and wiping the beads of water on his face.

‘You don’t aggravate your creator.’ I sneered inwardly, continuing my obligatory speech.

“To save yourself from this situation you took a loan from Kaiser at a hefty interest rate which you failed to pay back. You owe them a total of five million dollars, combining all unpaid interests. Aroma will be gone in the next six months if you don’t pay them. In desperation you gambled again and now owe Robinhood seven hundred thousand dollars in collateral debts. If you don’t pay that in the next three months then you will be behind bars.”

“Stop!” Isaac mumbled slowly, breathing heavily. It seemed my words were having too much effect on him.

“Still, your addiction did not go away but increased. You took all the profits from your café and wasted it on cocaine and heroin. Your wife did not like it, so she took control of everything including your daughter. And now deprive of everything you wanted to kill your family to end the whole thing once and for all.”

“Stop!” He covered his face with both hands, leaning on the table.

“Tell me Blaze, am I wrong? Did not you try to kill yourself? Did you not try to run away from everything? Did you not try to kill your own wife and child? Are not you the source of your every fucking problem?” I raised my tone and in return he exploded.

“Just stop!” Isaac shouted on top of his lungs and instantly everyone’s attention was on us.

The café fell silent within seconds as he looked at everyone with wide eyes. He wanted to say something but failed yet again.

And soon, Isaac ran out of the café, dashing with the pedestrians along the way.

Seeing his disappearing back through the glass panel I snorted.

“This is the real game, Isaac.”