Survival

George took the last step, setting foot on the last island that was at least 10 times bigger than the previous islands. He touched the smooth and cold surface from one of the two pillars at the end of the stairs. It was 5 meters tall and made from an unknown black material.

'What is this made off?' Wondered George while his fingers followed the path from one of the many yellow dots that were moving on the surface of the black pillar...

His gaze shifted away from the pillar towards the towering black wall in the distance...

Uriel and Hybris also looked at the black walls with serious expressions. George didn't know why but he felt a subtle pressure coming from the direction of the black wall...

"Let's go." Ordered George to Hybris.

He grew more impressed and at the same time restless as he approached the black wall on the wide path that seemed to straight towards it. The walls seemed to become taller and the pressure grew stronger...

It took him 20 minutes to get there, his forehead filled with sweat drops. He looked at the opened entrance with wariness. The black wall was made from the same material as the pillars, it had the same yellow dots moving through the surface just that the amount was many times higher.

The entrance was wide open as the two massive doors were open but a strange veil hindered him from looking at the other side...

'I climbed all those stairs without breaking sweating once but I'm sweating buckets from only standing in front of this city...And now there is this strange veil blocking my way inside...'

Both Uriel and Lewis turned their heads towards Hybris who took a step back while shaking its head.

"You only need to go inside and take a quick look if everything is fine." Said George while Uriel's gaze became sharp. The poor Plague Dragon shrank back, gritting its fangs as it did what it was told.

George was glad that Hybris managed to pass through the veil without anything happening.

One minute passed until he got the confirmation through his link that everything was fine on the other side.

George wiped away the sweat on his forehead, entering the strange city...

"Huh?" He couldn't help but exclaim when the pressure that was haunting him vanished right after he stepped through the veil...Uriel also sighed in relief because she too felt the pressure vanishing.

He was finally able to see what was on the other side of the gate and it made him speechless for a while.

What lied in front was the main road made of white tiles with many gigantic buildings at the side that were made of the black material. The countless yellow dots moving on the surface gave an illusion as if the buildings were...alive.

He felt like a dwarf looking at all the gigantic buildings in front of him.

"My god..." Muttered George who couldn't stop his mouth from staying open...

He began to wander around, entering and exploring all kinds of buildings. George was now pretty sure that he was the only living soul inside the strange city. Everything was clean and looked like was new but George decided to put it on the strange materials that everything in the city was made of. While the buildings had furniture inside, he didn't find even one item.

No plates or clutery, no clothes, no food, no books...nothing. It was as if the whole city had been plundered cleanly, not leaving behind anything aside the furniture that couldn't be taken away as it was part of the buildings itself.

George was back on the main road, heading towards the center of the city where he saw a grand palace. He instantly noticed that the palace should have been a very important place of this city by the way it was separated from the rest of the city. The splendor of the palace was undeniable. It was by far the tallest building inside the city and had the most amount of yellow dots moving through its surface.

George looked around, only greeted by the same silence that accompanied him since he arrived in Pangea.

'This city was probably built by giants. What happened to them? What made them all disappear?' Wondered George before entering the grand palace through its opened gates.

The inside of the palace was in the same state as the rest of the city. George walked through a grand hall that had rows of massive pillars on their sides. This was the biggest building he had ever entered. The skyscrapers from Earth couldn't compare to this masterpiece of architecture. The main hall led him directly to a room that could only be described as a throne room with three massive thrones placed higher at the end of the room.

George, Uriel and Hybris were forced to protect their eyes because of the thing floating above the three thrones.

"Is that...a sun?" Asked George himself.

He couldn't stare directly at it, it gave him the same feeling as the sun from Earth...

His body grew comfortable under the radiant rays the little sun floating above the three thrones emitted. He closed his eyes while bathing under rays of the little sun. All his thoughts were washed away at that moment.

His good time was cut short when a strange sound came from the little sun. An nearly invisible wave came out from the little sun that shook even the space itself.

He opened his eyes, noticing that Uriel and Hybris had been forced back into his Astral Space while he found himself standing in the middle of a desert before he had time to react.

George stood there like a frozen statue, trying to properly process what just happened.

He touched the white sand beneath him to make sure that he wasn't trapped in some kind of illusion. The thin sand slipped through his fingers, 'It's real...' Thought George who did everything to stay calm. Everywhere he looked was white sand.

'This is a desert...But why are there one, two, three...seven suns in the sky!' Noticed George.

There weren't any clouds in the sky but seven suns hung up in there. He noticed that it was hot but it wasn't unbearable.

'Shouldn't I be cooked with so many suns here...' He assured Uriel that he was through their link because she was worried about him.

His [Summon] skill was for an unknown reason being blocked by something, that caused his calm expression to crack...

His attention was drawn to his back because of the sounds coming from the sand behind him.

There had a head from a strange creature popped out from the sand and its completely red eyes were staring at him.

George tensed up, the creature roared savagely at him, revealing its rows of razor sharp fangs. It jumped out from the sand, showing its full appearance...