18 City of the Sun

I find myself endlessly amazed at how easily we get caught up in the pull of fate.

Wait, I might have gotten a bit mixed up there. Let me clarify.

What I wanted to discuss was something much more fundamental than the concept of fate; the force that fate was shaped by.

'The call for a journey' is what I originally wanted to speak about tonight. I shouldn't have to explain myself when it comes to this topic, right? We're all too familiar with it at this point. It's the root of every legend, epic, fairy tale, and bedtime story you've heard.

These stories served as a mirror, reflecting the hearts of the people who created them. A crystallization of their emotions, struggles, and the experiences that defined them when they lived.

Wisdom of life that can only be put into words in a certain way.

In essence, it's them transmitting the truths they found. About the suffering of their mortality and the joy of life.

Back in the slums, all I would ever do was read whenever I wasn't working for scraps to eat. I'd bury my head into these stories and escape into the worlds that they created. It was better living in those worlds than being in reality, or so I thought.

I enjoyed the pull of an adventure that did not belong to me.

But then the unthinkable happened; I was summoned for a journey. Never thought I'd get to play the role of the hero one day. I thought it was a role reserved for those who sought something...more than themselves; beyond their selfish interests, so to speak.

So I find myself burdened with a difficult question: If men embark on a journey to connect their tiny, transient lives with the world, what are gods supposed to do?

For what reason would an immortal god need to journey out into the world for? What is there to be found? What is the essence of a god's journey?

There are many more questions I could also bring up, but then we'd be here all night long, haha...

But I'm probably boring you with all this nonsense, eh? Sorry about that.

Now, where were we? Ah, the night we snuck out to Raku, right? Well, about that...

It was currently a little past midnight. Reed, Astor, Horatio, and Sebastian nervously stood in front of the maintenance altar. Tensions ran high as they watched the reconfiguration process silently.

Reed inwardly mocked himself for his cowardice; the longer he thought about it, the sadder he became. He, a mighty contender and chosen being, was afraid of the consequences for playing hooky.

A demigod who was afraid of being punished because of a bit of horseplay. If people heard of this, wouldn't the four of them become the biggest losers in all the land? They'd never live it down for the rest of their lives.

Suddenly, a massive boom echoed across the island when the altar completed its preparations. As soon as the group heard that noise, they knew that everything had gone south.

How could they have known that the altar would make such a loud noise when it finished starting up!? The group had no choice now that they had alerted that woman. There was no doubt in their minds that she had heard the racket. She would be coming any second now. They had to move or die.

"And just what are you four doing out here, hm?" Immediately the four of them rushed towards the altar at maximum speed but were dragged back by a powerful force in the air.

As Reed's survival instincts kicked into overdrive and he did something he had never done before. He desperately gathered Anima and compressed it until it became a brilliant mote of light. It was the same move he had performed during his last match with Violett, but this time he took a step further.

"...You wouldn't dare," Violett growled when she saw what Reed had created.

This was the only way they'd have a chance at escape; hit her with something that'd overwhelm her. Even just a second was enough to make out of this mess.

Reed recklessly created compressed Anima-motes as if they were going out of style. In a couple of seconds, he had already created a dozen motes of light that hovered ominously around him.

"See ya later, sweet cheeks. I'll bring you back a souvenir." He fearlessly grinned at Violett and waved his hand as his Anima motes rushed towards her at blinding speeds.

RUUUUUUUMBLE!

The resulting explosion knocked everyone backward like rag dolls towards the altar, which they took naturally took advantage of. They immediately rushed onto the platform and vanished in seconds, before Violett could intercept them.

As soon as they arrived on the other side, Astor furiously threw out a bolt of lightning at the altar's control panel and destroyed it. Reed, Horatio, and Sebastian looked at Astor as if he'd lost his marbles.

"What's wrong with you idiots? The last thing we need is for her to follow us through the altar. We'll need to use a different altar when we go back."

"Ah, I guess that makes some sense. What's done is done. But man...you made my heart jump when you pulled that stunt, man." said Sebastian as he clapped on the shoulder.

"You're a madman, aren't you? That move you used was wild, I've never seen someone do that before. Hell, the explosion would've hit me if Horatio hadn't saved me. God knows what she's feeling right now..."

"It's fine, she's built like a mountain; at best, she only received a couple of scratches from that attack. Not like it means anything because of her outrageous regenerative abilities. But you're right about one thing -- you wouldn't have survived that attack if I hadn't pulled you out of the way."

"That sort of firepower isn't normal in the slightest, Reed. Inner Eye practitioners aren't supposed to be able to do what you did. But then again, you aren't very normal in the first place."

"Sorry about that, guys. I got a bit panicky when she appeared, so I flew off the handle. I recognize that friendly fire isn't tolerated. I'll try harder next time, so don't get too mad..." said Reed embarrassedly as he tried his best to explain that his attack was reflexive.

"Ahh, enough. It was an honest mistake, so don't get your panties in a bunch, Sebastian. This is exactly why Astrid always walks over you every day." said Astor. "I've called my cousin, so he should be picking us up soon enough. For now, why don't we leave the area and look outside?"

They had been teleported not too far away from their destination. A gleaming city could be seen in the distance that pulled in everyone's attention. Tall spires pierced the sky and cast an aurora over the city itself, which gave it an otherworldly appearance. Beneath them, a vibrant city could be seen bustling at the seams with a multitude of moving lights and distant noises.

"That's Raku -- the City of the Sun. The beating heart of the North and our destination. Amazing isn't it? This city is the North's technological hub; most of the empire's technology is produced here. All sorts of rare materials are sent here for processing from across the lands. As a result, it's often said that you can buy whatever you can think of in this city..."

"'Anything you can think of' is a bit of a stretch, don't you think?"

"It's the truth -- this city has everything for sale; whether or not it's legal is another matter altogether. Even though it's widely known, no one can do anything about it. The city holds too much power, even for the royal family to act. At best, we can only politely 'ask' the underground side to behave themselves in public. Give a bit of face to us and not break the laws in plain sight," said Astor as he helplessly shrugged his shoulders.

"There's nothing that can be done about it; for it is a part of the city's innermost nature," said Horatio as he stared at the glimmering gem in the distance.

"The brighter the flame, the darker the shadow it will cast upon the earth..."

Time passed. Eventually, their ride arrived after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. A flying car sped across the sky as it flew towards the group. It seemed that Astor's cousin finally decided to show up.

My first impression of his cousin was completely off point. He looked like a rich fool who only enjoyed the pleasures that the city afforded him.

His name was Julian Kingscrown and he looked nothing like royalty. His long, blonde hair was rolled up into a messy ponytail and he wore clothing that looked foreign, the type that probably belonged to another culture.

Was this what was in style in this world? An outsider like myself had no right to criticize another culture's customs, so I simply kept my mouth shut.

Julian had noticed my fixation on his clothing and said, "Ooh, you've got a keen eye, Lil' bud. You interested in the robe I'm wearing? Let's get you a couple of them so you have something nice to wear when you meet up with the ladies, heh heh."

Astor who loved watching Reed in uncomfortable situations did nothing to help him and let Julian do as he wished. The entire night was simply an extension of this situation.

Throughout the long night, Reed had been taken shopping, sightseeing, and finally drinking. Julian and Astor personally made it their goal to get Reed hammered by sunrise.

Under the effects of the many drinks, Reed eventually lost himself and finally let go of his worries, if not for a single night. The events that followed after would never be spoken about for fear of the consequences that would befall the four of them.

But of all the nonsense that happened throughout the night, one event stood out in Reed's mind even after they had left the city.

They had returned to Julian's home, tired after all their merrymaking. Reed honestly expected that Julian's house would be gaudy and extravagant, given his nature but what he found was completely different.

His residence was more a museum than a home. The place was decorated with numerous artifacts everywhere he looked; textbooks stacked up until the reached the ceiling. For a moment, he thought that they had broken into some scholar's home until Julian said, "Make yourselves at home, guys! You might have to move a couple of books to find a place to sit though, haha."

Reed's curiosity got the best of him and he asked, "You're a scholar, Julian!? I... would have never guessed that in a million years, if I had to honest. Wow."

"But of course, Lil' bud. I never had very talented when it came to fighting, so I ended up pursuing education rather than becoming a contender."

"What do you research? You've got all kinds of artifacts around here."

"I specialize in Mulian history above all else, as in the first civilization that lived here before 'we' came. The original inhabitants of this world."

"I thought that everyone born here was Mulian? Did I misunderstand that or are you talking about something else?" Reed was beginning to get confused.

"Mm, you're right. People born here are called Mulians, but what I'm talking about are the ancient Mulians, not the modern ones."

"There was a time before the Will of World started summoning people from across the universe. Back then, a race of people lived on this world -- the original Mulians. They're the ones I'm studying," said Julian as pointed at the artifacts around the room.

Elaborate clay tablets, pieces of stone, and various trinkets were sealed in airtight cases, displayed across the room.

"This is all that's left of them; fragments of their civilization. We don't know what happened to them and by the time the first races had been summoned by the Will of the World, they had all disappeared."

"Do we know still not know anything about their disappearance? They must have left something behind, right?"

Julian's face hardened and said, "I wish I could tell you, but we don't know the full truth. The records they left behind speak of a great calamity of some kind; a disaster they knew was coming. Why they did not survive? What was the calamity that struck them? These are some of the most important questions for us."

"We need these answers because they might hold the key to our survival one day."

"...Did you know that all of our current Anima technology is based on artifacts we've discovered from their ruins? That's why we're concerned."

"The original Mulians were an advanced race that controlled Anima as they wished, far better than us, but even they fell to whatever struck them. When we discovered this it begged the question: If they were destroyed at their peak, what would happen to us if such an event occurred?"

"Even this Reef is a product of their civilization... we simply lied and called it our creation. Heh, pretty pathetic, don't you think?"

He walked towards a locked trunk and said, "Let me show you something really special. This is something I found recently in the inner core ruins of the Reef."

It was a beautiful clay tablet that was covered in gold and silver. It had no writing on it but was instead a painting of a woman.

A woman that stared off into the stars as she stood atop of a great stairway. No one could see her face as she gazed into the firmament.

Reed knew this painting. He knew.

"This clay tablet is a first for us because it's the first complete artifact we've recovered from this dig site. Amazing, right?"

"Yeah, it's amaz-"

A sudden jolt of pain struck Reed and fell to the floor in agony. He felt like his skull was being crushed into pieces as he clutched his head. Eventually, the pain grew too intense and he fainted as Julian rushed to call for assistance.

The last thing Reed heard before he fainted was a young girl singing. It was a familiar song, almost as if he had heard it before some time ago...