The sound reverberated through the castle and I waited for a moment while watching the people inside all look flabbergasted in my haki. It wasn't many people really. Just five and the service members. Specifically maids and cooks. The ones who weren't part of the service staff I only recognized three of. The wanted Criminal Tyrian Callows who was a scorpion faunus with a penchant for murder and other unsavory things. Salem herself who looked more confused than annoyed by the sound that was obviously a knock on the doors and Hazel Rainart who was a strangely conflicting character as he was both ruthless and empathetic at the same time.-
It was Hazel who came to answer the door in the end after Salem used her projection Grimm to scry me standing patiently at the door. I even waved at her since I was seeing what she saw as well and knew what POV she was staring at me from. What really seemed to interest her was that the Grimm that patrolled near the castle in an endless swarm were constantly dying as they tried to approach.-
"Good evening. I am here to see the mistress of this estate." I say politely as the giant of a man that was Hazel opened the huge door and stared down at me in confusion.
"What do you know of her?" he probed.
"Grimm queen, immortal ex wife of Ozma, currently watching this conversation from that projection Grimm of hers. Need I go on?" I asked after rattling off a few facts.
He stared at me for a moment before pulling the door wider to let me in.
"Mind your manners child, Lady Salem deserves respect." he says warning me as he turns to lean the way.
"Not to worry, I am a professional." I said calmly.
"You look like a normal kid to me." he said.
"Yes, I am rather young. That is rather irrelevant to my success however." I point out and he hums thoughtfully.
Soon enough we reached the grand dinning room that was just as dark and "evil" themed as the rest of the castle. It was a cold well made but dark place with a long table that sat surrounded by windows that let in the eerie red light from outside. On the stone throne at the head of the table sat Salem herself while Tyrian sat in one of the chairs at the right side of the room.-
Salem herself was deceptively small woman with long silver hair that she styled like a spider and white skin with black veins. Her eyes were the black with red iris of a Grimm and she wore a form fitting black dress with red accents and Grimm bone shoulder stylings. Compared to Ozpin she had FAR more presence as her power sat there simmering just under the surface always in her control but colossal all the same.-
I bow grandly "I am Alexander Drake, the multiversal merchant. I have come to make a deal with you." I say confidently.
"Multiversal merchant you say? I am... unfamiliar with the term." she said with a look as if she were tasting a dish and uncertain how she thought of it yet.
"Ugh, a salesman. How did a tiny little morsel like you even manage to reach here?" Tyrian asked with a barely conceal murderous expression.
"I flew here of course. Wasn't terribly difficult to find this grim but clearly well made building in a land without any others." I replied calmly which seemed to annoy him even further.
"And why shouldn't we just kill you?" he asked aggressively and I laughed.
"You'll find that rather difficult. She might have a chance but you? You're just a particularly noisy bug." I said unbothered.
"Tyrian, enough." Salem said before the scorpion man could reply. "What exactly is it you expect to obtain here?" she asked evenly.
"A copy of your magic at the least. Your immortality at the most." I said frankly.
She raised an eyebrow at this "And what exactly makes you think you can take either of those things?" she asked amused.
"I took them from Ozma so why can't I take them from you?" I asked with a smirk.
"Ridiculous! Ozma can't be killed, not permanently at least." she said as the air shuddered as her magic roiled.
"That was indeed true before today. Unlike you and him however I play by a very different set of rules so taking his immortality was no harder than plucking a juicy berry off a bush. I imagine he's still in Vale at the moment trying figure out what to do now that he's mortal again." I said calmly.
"Let's assume you aren't lying for now. What makes you think I will trade away my immortality and magic?" she asked with a sharp stare.
"Your immortality is honestly just a bonus for me, not a necessity. As for your magic, i offer you what you have always wanted. A chance to leave the reach of the twin gods. An all expense paid trip to an entirely different universe. One that exists outside of this one and entirely absent of them. Taking your immortality would also allow you to finally end, something I know for a fact you have tried every conceivable method to achieve. Even going so far as to take a dip in the pools of annihilation. The source of your current state." I say calmly.
"Who are you? How do you know this?" she asked no longer amused at all.
"I am the multiversal merchant. I know your ENTIRE story. How your father locked you in a tower as he became obsessed with his possessions and the memory of a dead woman. How you tricked him into giving you paper and pen to write an abridged version of your story to draw brave knights to free yourself. How Ozma slew your father and married you. How deeply you loved him. How he got ill and died and you defied the gods to try and get him back only for them to curse you to live without him forever. I know EVERYTHING." I say staring her right in the eyes.
"If, and I mean this. If you are telling the truth why would you make such an offer, knowing you'd offend the gods?" she asked with a tone that said she was clearly shaken.
"Because I am a merchant and there's profit to be made here." I say with a grin.