It was an eventful time for a scholar but a terrible torture for the chosen one but at the end of the day together shared a moment and the chance to see the capital in the distance and silently agree that it was so bright; it reflected in the starry sky, becoming a shining beacon in a sea of darkness. But soon their attention diverted to the enormous stone walls surrounding the city. It was hard to make a guess of the height from a distance. At that moment, their traveling speed drastically decreased, making them both curious of the change, but soon discovered the answer as other carriages and people carrying small lanterns walking in opposite directions appeared in their view.

The duo patiently waited for their carriage to pass and enter the city or at least the priest tried since his friend was uneasy trying to endure his hunger, and the ambulant merchants waving their products didn’t make it any easier for him as they were offering quite a diverse selection of food.

What made the situation worse was that one vendor somehow noticed Konnor’s interest despite being night and ran towards their slow-moving carriage waving large loaves of bread.

Mars was quick to reach and push his friend away from the window and silently reject the bald, bearded human vendor with his hands. The man dropped his shoulder in disappointment and stopped his futile chase.

From that point, they accommodated on their respective side and waited for the carriage to stop in silence, occasionally glancing at the outside world.

The people outside rarely approached to show something, but left as soon as they came since they paid no attention to them.

“Why is it taking so long?” Konnor was the first to break the silence.

The relaxed priest raised a single hand. “Patience, my friend. Raptors cannot go to normal stables for safety reasons.”

The impatient boy with the doubt resolved grumbled to himself.

When the carriage finally stopped, someone opened the door right soon after; revealing a man dressed just like Mars, with the exception he wore a wide circular hat. 

The older priest stepped aside, inviting them outside, which they took the offer and stepped outside the carriage.

Once outside, Konnor took the chance to check his new surroundings, but his eyes landed on the two monstrous raptors strapped to the carriage, eating and making loud crunch and squelching noises.

He quickly looked away as he didn’t want to discover the diet of those monsters, which resulted in noticing the rest of the place he was currently in. Multiple people of all races were dragging other raptors with a leather leash and large sticks, pushing them inside separate rooms and later bringing out another raptor, who was far more calm than the last one they stored.

However, his sightseeing ended when his friend grabbed his hand, pulling him away from the scene, causing him to shift attention back to the other priest who was ahead of them, leading them to an unfamiliar room through a hallway.

The unknown priest came to a stop in front of a door, which he opened for the duo and stepped aside with his head low in respect, resulting in Konnor feeling awkward about such gestures unlike his friend, who was accustomed to such practices.

When they passed through the door, the scenery changed. The new room had the floor made of red wood Konnor never saw before as he could see partially his reflection on them for some inexplicable reason. Then he looked at his surroundings and realized the walls were covered by large navy fabric, each side filled with the golden symbol of the trinity church and hanging on those walls were large portraits of people holding a golden staff, each one representing the face of an important figure dressed in white robes with gold lining yet Konnor couldn’t recognize a single one.

Everything he could see with clarity was thanks to a roof chandelier made of beautiful crystal. 

“It is a great honor to be received by the Arch-Bishop Milko.” Mars said out loud and bowed his head.

Konnor, upon hearing the title, hastily followed his friend’s lead.

However, the archbishop let out a laugh. “Please raise your heads. My little priest is the bearer of great news, correct?”

The duo lifted their gaze to meet the members of the church face to face. Mars remained unfazed, but his friend, on the other hand, unconsciously let his mouth hang open in awe when he looked at the middle-aged man for the first time. Or what he could assume being a middle-aged man as he barely revealed any of his features under all those clothes.

Unlike the priests who wore simple and even frugal attire, the archbishop wore multiple golden and silver robes hiding all his body but his hands which were covered by white gloves with silver lining, his right hand holding a golden staff which the top held what he assumed was an apple. A wide mitre and a white mask covered most of his head.

Konnor never in his life thought he would see so much gold on a single person. Despite being night, the archbishop shone like a powerful beacon in the middle of the darkness.

“Correct. The gods have blessed my friend Konnor.” Mars stepped back so his friend wouldn’t steal his friend’s moment to shine, but Konnor didn’t know how to react and gave a faint smile as he slowly waved his hand.

The archbishop stepped closer with a hand holding his chin. He carefully analyzed the chosen boy, making the poor boy’s stomach churn as the nerves kept growing. But from a close distance Konnor could see the green color of the archbishop’s eyes.

“Then please, allow us to guide you to the inner sanctum for the unraveling of your gift.” He turned around and walked towards the door at the other side of the room.

Said door opened from the other side, revealing a small crowd waiting outside, but the two friends couldn’t see them properly unless they were to get closer, which they did as they couldn’t disobey such a high-ranking member of the church.

When they crossed the door, the identities of the people who were waiting for them became clearer. It was a group of five. Three of them were part of the renowned Trinity Order, instantly recognized by the fully plated silver armor and each one wearing the golden-winged crusader helmet. Each holy knight carrying a tower shield as big as their body on their back.

While the holy knights were as impressive as the tales, what caught Konnor’s attention were the beautiful women standing behind them. Even with the knights standing between them, he could see the appearance. They had wavy ankle-length grey hair that was braided back, a pale complexion that only gave contrast to their full pink lips and reddened nose.

They wore white robes with blue outlines and a golden decoration around their hips.

But that was where similarities ended as they also wore a large blindfold around their eyes, except one was black and the other was white. And only the twin with the black blindfold had a small silver staff on her hands.

The beauty was stunning, not even Irina could hope to compare in his eyes. Not like he would ever tell her that unless he wanted to get bitten.

He leaned closer to his friend, trying to be secretive. “Mars, who are the women?” 

Mars squinted his eyes, trying to recall all the archives he had read. The twins were part of a specific organization, but that was the limits of his knowledge.

Yet the archbishop heard perfectly his whispering, who sharply turned around with extended arms wearing a wide smile flashing his teeth.

“Young Konnor, do not be afraid to ask me!” 

The boy’s heart stopped, attacking his lungs, leaving him without breath as the shock slowly subsided. While the priest remained frozen in place, taking slow breaths.

The important man didn’t put further pressure on them and walked up to the mysterious women while the three knights stepped aside to give him passage. “These beautiful twins are the Maidens of balance, members of my entourage of Divine Shields.”

“Divine Shields?” The boy tilted his head to the side as he had never heard that name before, unlike his friend, whose eyes widened in realization of the identities of the two.

But that didn’t affect the archbishop, whose smile broadened even further before clearing his throat. “Well, of course, they are handpicked holy warriors from their exploits in battle and unwavering faith charged to protect us, high-ranking members of the Trinity Church.”

Carefully, he placed his hand on the shoulder of the girl with the white blindfold. “These two posses an unique magic that allows them to cast exceptional healing spells without the need of long rituals to please the holy trinity, it is truly marvelous that the gods know their devotion.”

The maiden simply nodded in agreement.

“Thank you…” The chosen boy rubbed the back of his neck, checking on his friend from the corner of his eyes, who remained calm.

“Knowledge is power. Always keep that in mind, my son.” Milko turned around and followed the hallway only direction with his entourage following closely, however the holy knights covered most of the space thanks to their massive shields.

But that claustrophobic feeling disappeared as soon as they reached the end of the hallway, passing the frame. They were in a different place. Much bigger than the raptor’s stables but it had fewer people inside.

The group kept walking forward, following the lead of his excellency.

He stood in with his mouth partially open as his eyes looked at what was in front of him and he could assume it was a tiny house made of metal but it had large windows where he could see the humble interiors through them thanks to the illumination inside it.

When he checked the surroundings, he noticed two women and one man behind the metal cabin wearing big triangular blue hats. Their hands glowed a strange greyish color, giving a dead giveaway of their magical talents.

“Your Excellency please, take a seat.” 

It broke his attention when a bald man wearing a brown tunic opened the door, inviting the group to get inside.

“Thank you, young man.” The high-ranking member of the church smiled at the servant and went inside, taking a seat at the front of the rows.

Only then the bodyguards entered and occupied their respective seats around the archbishop, and the two friends took a seat in the last row.

When everyone took a seat, it immediately moved by itself catching Konnor off guard causing him to stumble forward, just like what happened with the raptors however to avoid further embarrassment he picked up his body as soon as possible and returned to his seat and fixed his clothes.

However, that didn’t change his amazement as he never expected a metal hulk to move by itself without a creature pulling the reins. But that surprise didn’t compare when he saw the walls disappear from his surroundings, and he could see the half moon in the darkened skies.

“Mars, we are flying!” He shouted, pointing his finger at the celestial object.

Milko slowly turned to look at the excited boy with a faint smile.

The young priest stood up and walked up to the window, with one hand reaching for the glass, allowing it to rest.

“Partial levitation Konnor, but that’s not the best part.” The priest stepped aside and extended a hand in invitation. “Take a look.”

An invitation, which the curious boy took without hesitation and approached the window. Both hands touched the glass as someone practically glued his face in admiration at what was below them. 

His eyes quickly caught sight of the perfect illumination of the streets and buildings, said buildings reaching heights unprecedentedly made of some strange material, as he never saw it before. He always considered brick houses a luxury few could afford, yet they filled the city below them with houses of all sizes which looked like they were made from a single block. 

Konnor was thankful that they weren’t that far in the sky as he could still see the small frame of the people below moving as if it was a normal day and not nighttime, in a large open space there was a large crowd gathered around a square like object. “You weren’t lying that the capital was another world. I never would have imagined any of this to be possible.”

The fascinated youngster kept looking for abnormalities to his world views and wasn’t disappointed as he caught sight of flying objects at the distance, later revealing themselves as a flying creature he never saw before, thanks to the city illumination he could see the strange creature was a combination between an eagle and the body of a cat as it was the only thing came to mind.

However, those creatures weren’t alone as he quickly noticed armored people riding on their back who waved their hands and grabbed the reins of the creature, pulling them down with them, disappearing from his sight.

Konnor immediately ran towards the other side hoping to catch sight of the mysterious riders but didn’t see those riders again. But his attention shifted as he saw a large silhouette in the distance. He could even compare it to a mountain but the light showed it to be a single building but with a different design as it exuded power of wealth, even if it was far off the distance, he could see wide towers making him wonder how big they actually were if he were to be next to them.

The archbishop cleared his throat, catching the attention of the chosen one. “This city is the royal family’s work for generations, the shining jewel of the Vanomor Empire. What you are currently seeing is the Emperor fortress. Now if you please turn your attention to the other side.” He pointed with his golden staff.

Konnor obediently turned his attention and approached the other window once again.

“Is that..a floating island?!” He exclaimed the second he saw another tower with the exception the land they built it was in the sky with nothing below. Strange green clouds rotating around it surrounded the white tower made of stone, while occasionally flashing a red light at the very top.

“That is the institution of Arcane arts. Mages all over the Empire will come to seek knowledge from the other planes of existence and unravel the mysteries of magic. They handled the construction of this vehicle.” He used his staff to tap the floor three times.

“That’s amazing.” Konnor didn’t know other words to describe his awe, it was eyeopener to him. For years they accustomed him to a boot on the ground life, occasionally struggling to make ends meet. 

Being blessed by the gods gave him an opportunity that some would kill to have.

“Praise the kindness to our lords lest we forget the truth, as falsehood is the path to damnation.” The archbishop recited.

Konnor turned to look at his friend who nodded in agreement with a smile on his face but he didn’t know what message he was trying to convey yet to not make a fool of himself. He merely nodded as well.

The blessed boy kept watching the city full of life below him, his desire to go down and walk through the busy streets increased as he wanted to experience everything first hand and specially try the food as he was sure the capital would offer dishes from all over the Empire.

“We have arrived.” The voice of the archbishop broke him from his daydreaming and made him realize they weren’t above the city anymore but in a closed room filled with people waiting for them.

One of the crowd stepped forward and opened the doors of their vehicle and stepped aside with their head held low in respect.

The first to step outside the magic vehicle were the bodyguards creating a passage for the archbishop, who soon followed suit, leaving the two friends the last to step out.

No sooner had they left the transport empty, the crowd waiting outside rushed to the vehicle and began their work. However, with the little knowledge and visibility Konnor assumed they were only cleaning it.

The duo simply followed the high-ranking member of the church in silence until they reached the door, which was instantly opened by the same servant from before revealing a pair of wrinkled men standing on the other side. They had the same attire as his friend, except for the long circular hats that covered most of their head except their face.

“Now, would you kindly follow the deacons?” The holy man turned to Konnor wearing a calm smile as his staff pointed at the deacons. 

The farm boy gulped his nerves and too complied with the instructions.

“Not you Mars. This is something your friend must do alone.” He heard the archbishop and spun to see him grabbing Mars’ shoulder, stopping him from keeping him company.

Konnor wanted to object, but the words stayed inside his mouth as he didn’t want to offend such an important person, even less a citizen of the capital and a member of the trinity church to boot.

Like before, he gulped down and steeled his nerves before taking the first steps towards whatever they had planned to take him alone.

“I will be fine!” He could say right before one of the church deacons closed the door while the other grabbed his hand, leading him through the hallway illuminated with crystal hanged on the wall. If it wasn’t for the blind trust, he was putting on the deacons. He would have assumed they were lost as they had been turning left and right multiple times and the hallways looked identical to each other.

The small group took one last turn to the right and arrived at another wooden door which the deacon that had been leading him quickly released his hand and opened the door for Konnor while other pushed him to enter as soon as possible.

It confused him about how impatient they were, as he would have entered either way.

When he stepped inside the new room, it revealed to be an almost empty but large room except for the few metal racks filled with common weapons and strange weapons, that were too shiny to be common iron, he had never seen before in his life along with large objects scattered around the floor.

“What’s this place?” He turned to the expressionless deacons who didn’t respond but walked towards the biggest object in the room, which had a cubic shape.

“Please lift the box.” One of them finally spoke, revealing his raspy voice.

The nervous boy made his way to the shown spot and grabbed the handles of the box before using all the strength he could muster to his legs and back muscles so he could lift the box yet no matter how much energy he directed to his muscles, he could only feel his head wanting to explode a vein.

The box didn’t even move from the spot, yet all his body felt exhausted and his muscles aching on specific spots from the pointless effort.

The deacons raised their hands, revealing a small bell on each hand which rang twice, and they lowered their hand below their waist line where they rang the bell again.

Focused on the strange display, Konnor failed to notice the golden dust forming around him until it was too late, yet before he could do something about it, the golden dust disappeared along with any discomfort he felt before.

His hands explored his legs, then his back and finally each arm separately, trying to find the aching muscles yet he failed to find any and only felt refreshed, as if he just woke up from a long night’s sleep.

“Touch the crystal ball.”

Konnor felt his heart jump to his throat the moment he heard a voice behind him, making him to immediately turn around but he only saw the old man suddenly appear next to him holding a crystal on a purple pillow.

He never saw him or heard him coming. His mind quickly demanded for a quick check of his surroundings for anything out of the ordinary, but nothing special came out of it.

The old deacon only stepped closer, urging him to touch the crystal, which he complied.

His hand touched the ball for what he felt an eternity and slowly removed it, only to discover that the crystal remained the same.

The deacon sighed at the display. “Please select a weapon.”

The second old man was quick to grab his hand and drag him towards the metal racks, presenting a wide display of the weaponry.

Konnor didn’t hesitate in his choice and grabbed a short silver sword and swung at the air a couple of times. It surprised him, it weighed so little.

“Select another.” However, his doubts came to a halt when the wrinkled old man gave a new order.

He felt hesitant to part away from the most famous weapons of the tales, but he returned the sword to its place and grabbed the next weapon, a stick with a spiky ball at the end.

“Another.” But the deacon stopped him again from examining it further.

Konnor then tried to pick the great-sword but soon found out that the weight comparison between the short sword and the great sword was abysmal. He could barely keep it above ground.

“Another.”

He only dropped the great-sword, letting it fall on the floor with a loud clunking noise, and grabbed the spear.

Whoever the second his hand fully took hold of the shaft, surface became alight revealing long lines and engraved words.

The sudden development forced him to release the weapon in fright and step back, trying to process the information, allowing the gravity to claim the weapon, but one deacon was already on the scene, preventing it from crashing on the floor like the great-sword.

Konnor turned to the wrinkled man. “What was that?”

But he didn’t reply.

The second deacon examined the spear closely before placing it back in the metal rack. “So you have received mastery of the spear.”

The announcement confused the boy, as he lived a calm life as a farmer. “Mastery of the spear? But I’ve only used scythes and wooden hoes!”

He knew nothing else besides thrusting said weapon.

 “Do not question the will of the gods!” The deacon at his side chastised him.

“We must go to the arena.” The other said.

They didn’t give him time to process the information before being dragged off once again.