The mirrored doors to an establishment part automatically, either side retreating into the mechanical contraption as ‘Luschian’ applies pressure on a rectangular plate placed and built into the ground. Of course, ‘Luschian’ is merely Pomp in disguise.

The sounds of laughter and multiple voices immediately graced his ears, tables full of customers - beastfolk, terrarians, elves, dwarves, and even several entities from Equus - enjoying a good beer with finger food. This also includes other forms of beverages and sustenance, and the establishment itself is decorated with a fantasy-based aesthetic.

‘Luschian’ makes his way towards the bar, a beautiful elven woman tending to it - noticing his approach as she drapes her golden yellow hair with a hand, her ocean blue eyes lidding slightly.

“Hey there! Welcome to the Drink’n Bang!” She greets, her elven ears twitching. “We got food for the hungry and drink for the thirsty,” She leans into the counter as if to whisper something while ‘Luschian’ takes his seat, propping himself up on a tall red chair.

“And if you’ve got the cash, some nice fun in the backrooms with my girls~,” She whispers, wiggling her eyebrows and momentarily biting her lower lip, “Handsome man like you might even get a discount~.”

“Jen’fer, Jen’fer, Jen’fer,” ‘Luschian’ responds while shaking his head. “You’ve been trying to get into my pants for the last five months. But sorry, sweetie, I’ve got work to do. Plus, I like to think with the head on my shoulders, not the one between my legs.”

“Hah! And that’s why I like you,” Jen’fer claps her hands, “You’re not an easy simp to squeeze all your coin out of; I respect that. ‘Sides, this place certainly wasn’t made on winners - ‘cept for me, of course.” She finishes with a mischievous grin.

‘Luschian’ chuckles. “Alright, playtime’s over - give me the usual.”

The elf nods, turning to a passing terrarian waitress, their red hair swaying along with their well-toned body. “I’m taking him to the back, Rachael.”

“As in the ‘pleasure’ back, or…?” Rachael inquires with a raised eyebrow.

“By Cirrus, I wish.” Jen’fer giggles, shaking her head. “But today will be business, and I’ll have you take over while I’m gone.”

“Gotchya, boss,” Rachael responds with a wink.

‘Luschian’ is led down a hallway after making a bend at the bar with Jennifer in the lead. The duo passed by several red doors along the way, although the closed barricades had muffled moaning sounds. Then again, that explained the hearts with golden outlines on each door.

The ‘Drink’n Bang’ certainly earned its name…

Finally, the duo makes another bend and approaches two elven guards, noticeably females, donned in what Pomp immediately recognized as an Ancient variation of Hallowed Armor - plates of silver and gold mingling with an alluring light that travels up and down the apparel.

The guards stood before a large doorframe of twisting branches with an anomaly, a portal, acting as the door itself. Upon noticing Jen’fer, the two elves step sideways to let her pass. “He’s with me, girls,” She drops.

The elves nodded but gave ‘Luschian’ a particular look while biting their lower lips, which he immediately perceived, having dealt with those looks from these particular elves around these parts before.

-Ugh. These types of elves and fae are unbearable.- ‘Luschian’ dreads internally, following Jen’fer into the portal. -Bunch of perverts, all of ‘em. All thanks to you, Cirrus. Well… beggars can’t be choosers, I guess.-

The disguised terrarian enters the anomaly, and his sights become engulfed by light-blue light and energies. Both he and his elven escort began to float along a spectral pathway within a transparent blue realm. A sea of what looked like stars litters the dimension, windows of other places and breaches appearing all around them before closing up with another taking their place.

Then, what appears to be a doorway made entirely of light with various greenery escaping from whatever laid beyond comes into view, and the duo enters the breach.

Pomp and Jen’fer exit a doorway similar to the one they had entered at the ‘Drink’n Bang.’ The Guide’s eyes scan his new surroundings. A typical office is all around him with some advanced technologies, said tech blended marvelously with magic and a small touch of nature. The nearby windows allowed orange sunlight to creep through, and judging by the nearby clock’s 4 pm designation; this indicated the time difference to his former location. In addition, his ‘Luschian’ disguise had been shed, and his true self was on full display.

“Now that’s just sexy,” Jen’fer comments as she rests behind a desk, using her magic to float herself and the red furniture she sat on closer to the table. “Seriously, why hide such an-”

“You know why,” Pomp interjects.

“Yes. I know why, but you should really come out of hiding. Especially here of all places.”

“I’m just gonna make myself at home if you don’t mind.” The Guide responds and ignores his elven host’s words as he takes one of the two leather chairs on the opposite side of the desk to the fae.

He kicks his legs up and sets them on the table, his right foot resting over his left as he leans into his chair with his arms clasped behind his head.

“Ahhh~” He sighs in comfort. “It’s nice to be in the elven lands again. Specifically Cirrus’s domain - the sexual and drunk pervert that she is.”

“Hey,” Jen’fer scolds with narrowed eyes. “Watch it, pal. You’re cute, but say that about my Empress again, and I’ll tear your balls off.”

Pomp raises his hands. “Just stating the facts. Rest your elven tits, Jen.” He chuckles. “So, about my ‘usual.’”

Jen’fer nods but laughs lightly. “Whatever happened to the good old ‘recon at the bar’ shtick?” She inquires with a wink.

Pomp shrugs. “I was going to do that, but then I saw my good friend Jen and thought: ‘Why listen to the gospel when I can just talk to the owner?’ Spoiler alert: that’s you, babe. Thus, our ‘usual’ was made.”

The elf rolls her eyes. “You need to stop being stubborn and use your near god-like intellect.”

“I can’t. Or, more so, I can’t be careless with it and risk getting discovered by Silence. Luckily, I have a blade that helps with that. Although I have no freaking idea how I got this blade, so I’m not going to push my luck.

Also, if/when he finds me, he’ll just tell the others where I am, and that’ll escalate to other powerful beings trying to drag me away. Sure, I have contingency plans for such a scenario, but those are designed to give me an escape from those powerful types - for now, at least.”

Jen’fer nods. “I understand, hot-stuff. Have to say, you’re dangerously cautious, but that’s another trait I love most about you.” She claps her hands, her magic floating several items nearby, specifically papers and documents, onto the desk.

“Well, since I’m here in the Hallow Biome of sex and alcohol, just think of me as the living concept of a condom,” Pomp raises a finger, “I’d rather have one and not need it than need it and not have one.”

“Heh, that’s a clever way to put your 'planning.' But so very true.” The elf amused, licking the tip of her right index finger as she went through her files, noting:

“No…”

“No…”

“You already know about that…”

“Ah! Here we go.” She picks out three papers from the pile and offers them to Pomp, who takes them into his right hand’s grasp and reads their contents.

“That, right there, are witness reports of a strange creature my brethren have encountered while visiting Midgard. Or Terraria, if you will.”

A moment of silence takes hold as Pomp continues to read.

“A mysterious creature of purple darkness that can shift its form and uses never before seen magic?” Pomp inquires with a raised eyebrow. “Do… do they have any idea how little that narrows it down? That was rhetorical, by the way.”

“It’s a terrible description, to be sure. At least by Terraria’s standards. But that’s the best they could do. However, they did get a name, which you should see towards the bottom.”

Pomp continues on. Then, he spots the name that this entity had given the witnesses.

“Therase…”

Jen’fer nods. “Ring any bells?”

“No…” Pomp responds, a hand resting under his chin in thought while the other rests the papers on the desk. “Which means only one thing: this Therase isn’t from our universe.”

The elve’s eyes widen. “What…? B-but, maybe it’s from the GrimDark? Or the Underworld?”

“No,” Pomp answered assuredly. “Those realms are connected to Terraria, and, as such, I should know what this purple shadow thing is - but I don’t. Never forget: Guides know everything there is to know about Terraria and all realms and universes that extend from it, such as the two you mentioned.”

“So… if you don’t know anything about it…”

“Yup. That’s because there’s no way I COULD know since it’s an anomaly from outside, way beyond any other planet or galaxy in our current universe and any others directly connected to it. Thus, they’re from an ‘unconnected’ universe.”

“I see. That makes sense.” Jen’fer places a hand on her chin. “What shall we do if we ever encounter this being?”

“Smart thing to do is to make sure it isn’t a threat, and you beautiful ladies, in turn, shouldn’t try to harm it. It’s good to be cautious, but just don’t go overboard while doing so.”

“Hello, Pot. Meet, Kettle.”

“Fair, but I meant don’t be a dick while doing so. Based on those reports, this creature hasn’t antagonized anyone it’s encountered, and the fact it offered a name also bolsters the likeliness that it’s not hostile, assuming you don’t give it a reason to be.”

Jen’fer grabs the papers and joins them into a pile, going through them all again.

“I take it you know about what’s going on in Yharim’s Kingdom?” The elf inquires as she pulls a sheet of paper further up in her grasp.

“His main kingdom, I might add." Pomp corrected. "The last one he occupied was just a fluke, a front. But the ol’ big Tyrant’s got a meeting coming up, and all his generals will be present.”

“Of course you already knew.” Jen’fer laughs while setting down the papers.

“I have drones stationed in, well, let’s just say ‘places of interest,’ and leave it at that.”

“Feel free to place one in my bedroom~” The elf flirts. “I certainly wouldn’t mind.”

“Tempting, sweetie. But, oh dear, look at the time. I’ve got work to do, and after all,” Pomp suddenly jumps out of his seat, stands on the table, and manifests his hellish gun, Pheonix Blaster, before spinning in place and striking a dance pose.

“I’ve got some demons to take care of for ya!”

A sudden snapshot goes off, and Jen’fer lowers a camera she had brought forth during Pomp’s display, fanning herself with a hand.

“D-did you just take a picture of me?”

“Oh, yeah~” She sends the camera away. “For... personal use. Obviously~”

Pomp looks down at her, chuckling. “Consider that your payment. Au revoir!” He shoots the elf with a salute before bolting towards the nearby window, opening it, and crawling out and onto the windowframe.

“So much for keeping a low-profile, eh?” Jen’fer inquires with an amused expression.

“Eh, that’s back on Midgard,” Pomp responds casually, looking back at her over his left shoulder. “But this isn’t Midgard, or Terraria, anymore. Well, sort of.”

The guide looks forth and jumps off like an Olympic swimmer into a large pool, Jen’fer’s amazed face poking out of the window after him.

He then shouts gleefully, his voice echoing as he freefalls off of an enormous tree that overlooked a waterfall and towards a beautiful and fantasy-esque city down below.

“Hello, Alfheim! Woooo!”

My apologies for contradicting the last chapter. It was either I keep delaying the next one or edit one half and upload that one before the other half.

I went with the former option. As such, what was supposed to be a four chapter mini-arc will now be five.