Chapter 59:Magical Laughter: Ignis, the Little Clown

Upon entering the store, my eyes were deeply surprised. It looked abandoned. There were no potions—only junk scattered around, old dusty shelves that looked like they might collapse at any moment.

— "What the...?" I muttered, scanning the place in disbelief.

— "Hello, customer. Need something?"

A hunched old man with fiery red hair appeared beside me, speaking slowly in a raspy voice. He wore a simple but strange robe—I couldn't even tell what it was made of, as if the fabric pulsed with some ancient energy. He walked with the help of a twisted staff that looked like the dried branches of an old tree.

Our eyes met. For a moment, it felt like I was staring into an infinite void. But the old man just ignored it and kept speaking as if nothing had happened.

— "Young one, in this store you'll find whatever your heart truly seeks. Just search… and you'll discover what draws your soul."

He finished with a vague, eerie tone, walking back to a counter where he probably handled payments—although, looking around, everything looked like trash or broken junk.

Still, something pulled me in. I started searching.

"Whatever your heart truly seeks…" How does he know I'm looking for something specific? Just some old prankster? — I wondered.

After a few minutes of rummaging, I found nothing of value. I waved my hand, giving up. Better to wait for Flávia and Selena.

— "You're just a blind brat, aren't you?" — the old man's voice echoed again.

He walked to a shelf and tossed a white sphere at me, lightly blue inside. I caught it instinctively.

— "Old man… what is this?" — I asked, examining it.

— "You'll find out soon. Use it along with this beast crystal, level 2, mid-grade," he said calmly, handing me a dark-toned artifact.

— "Wait… how do you know…?"

Before I could finish, a gust of wind threw me backward, launching me right back to the shop entrance where I had been with Flávia and Selena.

— What the hell...? — I thought, getting up, stunned. I immediately ran back to the store, with Ignis flying beside me.

Just then, a mysterious voice echoed slowly in my mind, reciting strange phrases:

> "The flame will not be confined, and the spear must press forward.

If you fall behind, it is a shame.

However, as long as you keep looking ahead, power will answer you.

The flame shall see your effort, and the spear shall answer your heart.

The chain must dance properly,

And the sound will join, as crackles echo through the skies."

When I reached the place again… the store was gone.

— "Still here, Bruno? I told you we didn't need you to wait..." — said Flávia, arriving with Selena, both carrying shopping bags.

In front of me, where the ruined shop once stood, now stood a luxurious potion store, with glowing signs and magical doors that opened smoothly.

The only thing that remained from the old store was the pearl-like sphere still in my hand.

— "Something wrong?" — Selena asked, noticing my confused face.

— "No… I was just impressed by how fancy this shop is," — I replied, choosing not to explain what just happened.

— "Shall we go in?" — I asked, pulling them gently by the arm.

— "Yes!" — "Of course!"

We stepped inside. As soon as we crossed the threshold, a strong, almost medicinal scent filled my nose. The interior was huge, with countless neatly arranged shelves, stacked with potions in every imaginable color and size.

Yellow, blue, red, black, purple… Potions to increase strength, restore vitae, heal wounds, improve vision, boost endurance, condense pure blood… and many I couldn't even identify.

— "Bruno, what kind of potion are you looking for?" — Selena asked with a gentle smile. — "I know a bit about this stuff, I can help."

— "I was looking for a potion to awaken my Gift. They say everyone has one, but mine still feels dormant. And also potions that help condense pure blood."

— "Gift-awakening potions don't exist," — she replied calmly. — "Only stimulants, and even those only work for younger people still developing. You'll probably have to find your Gift on your own."

— "Ah… got it." — I muttered, a bit disappointed.

— "But for condensing pure blood, there are two options: Sanguis Puri and Puríssimos Sanguis. The first helps with condensation; the second channels the blood better to your Blood Star, avoiding side effects."

— "Oooh, what a shame… I really wanted to discover my Gift soon," — I sighed. — "But for now, the priority is to condense the tenth drop of pure blood and expand my Blood Star."

No stalling, I bought ten potions — five of each — for 75 silver coins.

And then we continued shopping and exploring. As we walked, we bought all sorts of things, and tried tons of amazing magical foods.

Cloud cotton candy, infinite-flavor magic candy, snowman ice cream, castle pudding, talking chocolate… Every bite was a surprise. Naturally, this brought a lot of laughs—especially the magic jellybeans. We ate them randomly and tested our luck between delicious and disgusting flavors.

Ignis, practically a living meme at this point, accidentally ate a spicy pepper candy. His body turned bright red, and he began breathing fire uncontrollably.

— "Hahaha!" — "Kkkkkkk!" — "Hiiiiii!" — "Shaaaaa! Water! Water!" — the little one screamed, flying in circles while spewing flames.

Still young, his digestive resistance was developing—and ever since we met, he'd always hated spicy food.

Luckily, these candies were purely magical—safe for everyone. Even vampires loved them, as a break from the eternal taste of blood.

When it was my turn, I got unlucky: I picked a "moon coconut" flavor. It's a Vitae fruit… that tastes like raw onion. Which I hate.

The face I made triggered a wave of laughter—especially from Ignis, who opened his mouth so wide while laughing, he became funnier than the joke itself.

Flávia and Selena didn't get off easy either.

Flávia got a "flame-honey" candy and turned bright red, looking like she was being roasted. Selena, on the other hand, picked one with vanilla-lime. It caused endless hiccups… and turned her tongue neon green.

The laughs just kept going—and only grew louder when we got to the cloud cotton candy stand.

Ignis, excited as always, got tangled up while trying to eat, ending up stuck inside the fluffy mass. He looked like a floating pink dumpling.

The crowd around us burst into laughter. The little guy was a full-on magical comedian.

— "Hahaha! Help me!" — "Ignis!! Kkkkkkkk!"

He laughed with his mouth wide open, all while asking for help—which made everything even funnier.

Naturally, we didn't stop there.

We hit the next stop: The Magical Joke Hat.

This time, Selena went first.

— "Strong as heck, but scared of cockroaches? Oh no… and you believed in Santa Claus until you were 14? So cute! Maybe your Fairy Godmother will still come get you!"

— "Hahahaha!"

Next up was Flávia:

— "Nickname: Batty? So you wear bat slippers and sleep till noon? Haha! Grown-up and still think the Tooth Fairy comes if you don't sleep properly?"

— "Kkkkkkk!"

Then it was my turn:

— "Ooooh! Tough guy but scared of lizards? Hahaha! You believed until you were 14 that if your foot hangs off the bed, a monster grabs you? HOW??"

— "Hahaha!"

Ignis didn't hold back either:

— "He likes barbecue… but no spicy sauce! Hahaha! Who'd guess a wyvern lost a battle against flying cotton candy?"

— "Kkkk!"

Ignis cracked jokes about all of us. The little guy had real talent for magical stand-up.

Next, we went to a store with magical potions and trinkets. I thought it'd be normal—but no. These potions changed your voice!

It was amazing.

I drank one that made my voice super high-pitched—I started singing like a chipmunk while everyone laughed.

Ignis drank one that made him speak like a cat. Every time he tried to talk, a deep "MEEOOOOW!" came out, which confused him—and cracked us up even more.

Flávia and Selena took theirs at the same time. Selena's swapped her voice with Flávia's. Then Flávia's made her (now in Selena's voice) sound super deep… with a magical mustache to match.

They couldn't stop laughing as they heard their swapped, distorted voices.

And it didn't stop there.

I found a pair of enchanted boxing gloves. I put them on to mess around, but every punch I threw came right back at me!

— "Ouch! Kkkkkkkk!"

Ignis grabbed a staff to play with… and it took off flying! He held on as it zigzagged through the air like a wild Sun Wukong.

— "Hahaha!"

Flávia put on a magical hairpin. When she looked in the mirror, she saw herself dancing ballet—with duck slippers. She laughed so hard her eyes teared up.

Selena picked up a book… but when she opened it, snowballs flew everywhere! Mostly at her! She couldn't close it and kept trying to dodge—getting pelted nonstop by snow.

— "Hahahaha!"

The day was filled with laughter.

In the end, we bought what we actually needed and went home with bags full of potions, sweets… and unforgettable memories.

It was the best day of our lives—at least for me and Ignis.

The End.

Author's Note:

This was definitely the chapter I had the most fun writing. I laughed out loud so many times. I hope you guys laugh just as much reading it!

📜 Thank You for 20K Views! 🩸🔥

Today, on Sunday the 27th, the novel reached 20,000 views!

Honestly, I don't even know how to thank you all properly… but I truly want to give something back for this amazing support. ❤️

So let me ask you:

👉 Would you like something special?

A bonus chapter? An alternate scene? Or maybe extra chapters throughout the week? Let me know what you'd like in the comments!

🌑 I'm also planning something called the "Crimson Week", a special event that will be triggered if we hit two goals:

🎯 50 collections + 10 comments

If we reach that, I promise to:

📌 Release 3 chapters per day for an entire week

📌 And on one day of your choice, drop 5 chapters at once!

Let's keep building this dark, magical, and intense world together.

Thank you so much for every read, vote, comment, and for being here.

— With gratitude (and blood in my eyes),

Bruno_O_Opinador