"The Deathless Merchant: When Immortals Come Bargaining"

The First Eternal Customer

The bell above my shop door chimed at exactly 3:33 AM. Not unusual - my establishment catered to nocturnal clients. But this visitor made the preserved dragon hearts in their jars tremble.

She floated inches above the floorboards, her hanfu eternally burning at the hem yet never turning to ash. The ghostly fire cast shifting shadows that whispered in dead languages.

"I require a memory," she said, placing a jade comb on my counter. It pulsed with stolen dreams.

My [Soul Scale] ability activated automatically:

Composition: 47% sorrow, 32% regret, 21%... something older than time

Owner's Status: Celestial Empress (Banished)

Last Used: To murder her own heart

I reached below the counter for the black ledger. "Which memory do you wish to sell, Your Majesty?"

Her smile cracked her face like porcelain. "The one where I still loved him."

As I weighed the comb against a vial of liquid oblivion, the real horror became clear - this transaction wasn't for her. Through my grimy windows, I glimpsed the outline of something colossal moving among the stars, waiting for its queen to forget...

🗨️ Discussion Prompt:
What would you consider an "unfair trade" when dealing with supernatural entities? Is forgetting pain sometimes worth the cost?