The main plaza of the city of Velers was quite wide. Paved with white stone, it was a somewhat dreamlike scenery when the sun shone over the ground, making everything almost too bright to look at. Having to squint his eyes a bit, to Amon everything seemed to be covered by a faint haze. The clear water in a fountain glistened like crystal, and the sound of laughter and the murmur of conversations of the people walking around only added to the dreamy feeling. A spirit vessel flew overhead, and the few trees planted in the plaza - the only ones Amon ever say in the city- rustled gently.
He walked over to one of the trees, and sat on its shade, leaning against it. A small patch of grass surrounded the tree, just big enough for the roots not to affect the placement of the white stones. He mindlessly ruffled the damp grass with his fingers. They were a tad too hard and thick, very unlike hair. Still, the feeling between his fingers was just nostalgic enough as he gazed upon the plaza.
It was a very scenic view, one that he would have appreciated for sure had he seen it under any other circumstances. It reminded him somewhat of the Northern Junction of the Outer Sect, where he usually would lay under a tree during the morning and do nothing at all, taking in the fresh air and have a chat with Daniel. Then, he would return home, make lunch for his mother and have a meal while he talked with her, a brief respite before he spent the afternoon doing odd jobs around the Outer Ring, be it plowing the fields, tending to cattle or helping load carriages with the harvest of the day.
I am sure they would like it, he couldn’t help but think. A small smile crept up his face as he pictured Daniel sprawled under the tree by his side, dozing off with his black hair dancing in the breeze like the leaves above him. He could see his mother looking through a window in one of the buildings, smiling gently as she gazed at the blue sky, like she always did. He extended his hand, waving gently in her direction…
Bzzt, Bzzt!
Amon blinked, and a cloud covered the sun. The strong light shining on the plaza subsided, and the feeling was gone. A bit confused, he looked around. There was no one with him. He stood alone in the plaza, far from any movement. No one looked through any of the windows of the buildings surrounding him too. The few people Amon could see in the buildings were busily moving around, carrying crates or bags, without sparing a glance to the outside.
Daniel and his mother were nowhere to be seen.
Of course they aren’t here. They are dead. A bitter taste spread through his mouth, and his smile faded. He must have been turning crazy.
He couldn’t help but feel angry. Even for just a moment, for just an ephemeral, unattainable moment that the illusion lasted longer would have been enough for him. Yet, like everything else, it was now gone.
With a worsening mood, Amon almost wished he hadn’t had that illusion in the first place. It would have been better than having it taken away. He furiously rubbed his eyes, wondering why the hell he suddenly felt so tired.
How long had it been since he had slept? He couldn’t remember. Maybe it was before the Hellblaze Trials. He couldn’t care.
Bzzt, Bzzt!
That same buzz interrupted his thoughts again, and he saw light coming out of his clothes.
That was fast, he thought, reaching for the shield-shaped token that was shining brightly and vibrating wildly. Gripping it tightly, Amon got up, returning to the golden building. Just showing the token at the entrance was enough for him to be directed to a flight of stairs on the side, that lead him straight to the third floor.
The view that greeted him was one of almost pure light. The entirety of the third floor of the building was empty, and every single inch of the glossy walls and floor was covered in golden runes of the divine language. The runes all seemed to form a strange spiral, converging to the center of the floor and dancing around a blank space where a handful of people stood, looking around anxiously.
A graceful woman wearing a yellow uniform, much like the clerks on the ground-floor, gave a polite smile when she saw Amon approaching.
“Well, looks like everyone is here,” she signaled him to join them in the center of the room as she sent a warning glance at every one of the people present. “The rift will open soon. Please, under no circumstances leave this exact spot, otherwise we most likely won’t be able to help you if something happens.”
Most gulped at her words, but Amon could see a couple of people that didn’t look disturbed at all. He too, gave a small, calculated gulp as he firmly planted his feet on the floor, as if he was worried any small step would be the end of his life.
“I recommend keeping your eyes closed during the crossing, or the nausea will for certain make a number on you afterward,” she gave a small laugh.
A low rumble echoed through the room, and the golden runes suddenly exploded with light, forcing everyone to close their eyes.
“Here it comes. Keep calm and don’t move, it will be over before you know it,” the woman’s voice was almost inaudible as the rumble turned louder and the room started to shake.
Amon spread his divine sense, probing his surroundings. To his surprise, the source of the commotion was directly above of them. He watched speechlessly as the faint qi in the room turned into a whirlpool, spiraling following the golden runes’ pattern before colliding with itself right above their heads.
From there, a faint crack appeared. It was small at the start, no bigger than a pinhole, yet it grew at an alarming rate as more and more qi flowed in its direction. As if someone was throwing rocks at a sheet of glass, more and more holes appeared above them, eventually connecting and forming a strange, distorted gap in space itself, from which a mild heat exuded. He carefully opened his eyes, studying the rift with interest.
The edges of the cracks pulsated randomly with a faint, dark-blue light, while everything else was tainted with pitch-black darkness. The darkness didn’t last, however, as light started pouring from it, forming the scene of a room much like the one they were in. The rift, however, seemed to be facing a wall rather than the floor.
Amon raised a brow as the rift finally finished opening. The feeling it gave was not much different from the spatial gateway he used to enter the Hellblaze Secret World, but it felt much more unstable and wild.
He decided to experiment, unlike before. He wondered if he poured his divine sense into the rift it would be able to reach the other side. He could see their destination, after all. Other than pulsating edges of the rift that seemed to have the depth of a finger, it was almost as if he was looking through a common window or a hole in a wall.
Curious, he reached for the rift. His regret was immediate. As soon as his divine sense crossed the boundary, it was twisted out of shape. Amon felt as if he was being thrown around violently, yet he could still feel himself standing firmly on the floor. He couldn’t reach the other end of the rift with his divine sense, no matter how much he tried, and the twisted space was throwing his mind in disarray.
Dammit! His face paled and he almost cursed aloud as he retracted his divine sense, regaining a sense of stability and breathing roughly.
“Just because you can see it doesn’t mean you can reach it, mister,” the woman in yellow gave him an understanding smile, having guessed what happened. It certainly wasn’t the first time she saw something like that happening. She then gave a calculated step backwards and waved goodbye. “Have a nice trip”, her voice just reached them when, in a flash of light, they were all thrown into the air and into the rift.
The feeling is indeed the same as back then, Amon reminisced. This time, however, he closed his eyes, using his divine sense to keep aware of his surroundings. As space distorted all around him, or maybe he distorted all around space, he kept his calm. He could feel the people like him trying to scream and cry, but he could hear no sound but his own beating heart.
Soon enough, the qi around them thickened suddenly, and Amon spotted the other end of the rift. Just like that, they were suddenly thrown into the room he saw before, but just as they were about to hit the wall a mysterious force held them in place.
“Welcome to the city of Erlon.” A man wearing a grey uniform greeted them.
Regaining his composure, Amon calmly fixed his blue robe. As soon as the other rift crossers slowly recovered from the wild experience, the man guided them out of the room. This time, however, Amon realized they were underground, as they had to climb a flight of stairs to leave.
"The rifts aren't all placed at the same ground level. It is actually quite random," the attendant in grey chuckled when he saw Amon's confusion.
"How would they find an underground rift in the first place?" Someone else asked.
"Well, I'd say the disturbance in the area would have been enough to draw attention and give some clues. A sudden depression on the ground also isn't out of the question, as some of the earth in front of the rift would have been sucked in and the ground above could cave in, though that is all a theory. The twin cities of Erlon and Velers are almost a thousand years-old. We do have records of their founding after this rift was found, but the details of the discovery itself were lost to time," the attendant explained. "I would be glad to tell you all more over a cup of tea to calm down after the crossing, it is for free."
Most of the people around him looked inclined to accept, but Amon politely declined, intending to leave at once. They reached the ground floor and he started walking faster when a wooden board framed in gold next to the entrance of his building caught his attention. There, a lot of pamphlets, drawings, and notices could be seen. One in particular immediately caught his attention.
Staring at the boy with a shaved head and brown eyes, was a drawing of an ashen-haired boy with golden eyes.
Fuck.
