Chapter 5

Nova looked around the barren lands. He wanted to see anything other than cracked dirt and rocks, but that didn't happen. As he saw the same barren land he had for the past few days. According to Bell, they should be seeing the Pyramid that same day, but it could be dangerous.

Nova took note that they walked for several days because they were moving at a considerably slower pace than normal and taking an alternate route. He was told that they were in Shadow Wolf territory - a name Nova commented was Edgy - so taking the same path they came from would kill them.

However, they were moving slower than usual. Nova was the reason why they were slow. He couldn't help but feel anxiety as they got closer to the Pyramid. In one case, he threw up when he over-thought it. Normally, that wouldn't happen, but now that he was in a new world with a completely different society. He made it known that he was going to hide himself until he felt comfortable.

"So… what does The Pyramid even look like?" Nova asked as they walked further to their destination.

"It's a Pyramid, what do you expect?" Bell responded, turning his attention to the human.

"Alright… That's fair." Nova wasn't anticipating that answer, but it did help him calm down. His smile showed that it was a little humorous. Rebecca rolled her eyes with a smile, it was similar to conversations in the past few days.

"We'll be there soon." Rebecca said as we could see a small dot off in the distance. It was barely noticeable to Nova, but he was willing to trust his guides.

As they got closer, Nova could feel a small wave or anxiety hit him. With little information on what to expect, he wasn't sure what to do if something went wrong. He just knew to hide himself from the others in the Pyramid.

Everyone was tired of seeing the same scenery for several days. The only thing that kept them from complaining about it was how alert they were from being in a predator's territory. It was mostly just Bell and Rebecca that kept an eye out for the beasts. Unlike Nova, they had abilities that would give them a higher chance of surviving an attack.

Of course, Nova was none the wiser of the monster and imagined something small. He also wondered who named the monster's Shadow Wolves. Nova had a morbid curiosity for seeing the monster just to see what earned its name.

"Hey, Bell." Nova called. The bear turned to look at him, momentarily taking his eyes off the dot. "Is there any water left?" He felt bad having to rely on them for practically everything, but becoming a liability because of dehydration would be worse.

"Sure, we have plenty." He said before pulling a bottle of water out of his bag. As his Drill Sergeants recommended, he took his body weight, divided it by two, and drank the number in ounces of water to stay hydrated… or he'd like to say that. He nursed a bottle of water once a day. Bell was slightly relieved that he asked for a second water since he could be suffering from dehydration to some degree. Nova was mostly curious how Bell was able to carry so many water bottles in a small bag.

Nova took the bottle and took a sip from it. He felt a little exhausted despite waking up a few hours prior. The feeling of the heat radiating from the sun, the occasional dull pain of rock poking his unprotected foot, and the sweat rolling down his back; he couldn't wait to get off his feet.

"Sorry to ask this, but how much longer will it take to get there?" Nova asked, not seeing the Pyramid change at all.

"If we traveled there in the usual way, about thirteen years." Rebecca answered, making Nova nearly spit out the water he drank.

"What!" He could ot believe that they would take even longer than she said previously.

"That's why we often use teleportation circles to travel in and out of the city. There are a few locations hidden and protected several miles out of the Pyramid to prevent monsters from getting in." She then pointed at a rock formation five miles away. "That's where we're going."

"That's a little more reasonable." He pulled the cloak's hood over his head and took another drink of water. "I'm guessing that the Pyramid is completely closed off to the outside… physically."

"Not really, the Barron Shard is expansive and probably the largest shard so we use teleportation circles as a way to travel to specific areas since it could take three or four years to travel to one area." Bell explained as they kept walking forward to the rock formation. "Most of the time, the teleportation is seamless so you'd never know you actually teleported."

"That's…" Nova began, he tilted his head down as he felt something in his body affect him. "SO COOL!!!" He had never thought he'd experience teleportation in his lifetime, but to hear that it was a common source of transport; he couldn't be happier. Both Bell and Rebecca jumped after hearing him yell.

"I didn't expect that." Bell admitted. He was still recovering from the unexpected scare, but he could understand. He could only imagine what a world without magic looked like. "Maybe when we find you a way home, we can get a quick look at your world."

"Sure, but we'll have to be careful."

"The same could be said to you, Nova." Rebecca commented. "Now that we're near the entrance of the city, you need to keep your face covered. The procedure for an undiscovered species is to isolate them before running a few experiments to see if you have any sickness. This can take up to three years since they'll have to study your DNA first. After that, they'll look for more of your species across the Barron Shard and probably find nothing. Then they'll keep you under constant watch after they learn that you're the only… Uhm… What are you?"

"Human."

"Yeah, that. They'll keep you for as long as they can after all that. You'll be forced to live a certain way, eat food that you have no choice to eat, and have to live in paranoia from their constant observation." A shiver went down Nova's spine. Nova knew Rebecca was smart, so he could take her word on the possibility of how he'd end up. He couldn't fight it, she was completely right.

Living life without the freedom to make your own decisions didn't sound like a life he wanted to live. Not to mention that he would eventually start going stir crazy and freak out. He wasn't one for social interaction unless someone else started a conversation, but he still needed some interactions. Humans are social creatures and depriving them would be the cruelest thing anyone could do.

Nova pulled the oversized hood over his head, completely obscuring his face in a dark shadow. He knew he'd have to invest in a mask at some point so he wouldn't have to rely on cloth that could easily be blown down and expose his identity. That becomes even more necessary when he gets clothes that fit.

"We'll be at the teleporter soon. Keep that hood on." Bell ordered as Nova tugged on the hood. He was a little insecure about the hood or if he'll be stopped because of how suspicious he looks. He'd have to rely on people assuming his age from his height alone because, compared to Bell and Rebecca, he looked like a child.

Both Bell and Rebecca took the lead as they walked through the false rock. Nova took a deep breath(that didn't help) before following their example.

Nova felt nothing but relief as he felt no resistance when his foot phased through the rock. As his head crossed the threshold, he saw a tollbooth underneath a massive structure. He stared at the entrance in awe before Rebecca grabbed his hand.

"Come on, we already told the guards about your situation. They're willing to let you walk through if you work off the toll within the next month." Rebecca explained as she Pulled Nova through the entrance. "We'll have you register in The Guild in our group so it should be paid off in a matter of days; even with mundane requests."

"Isn't this a little fast?" Nova asked, confused by the speed Bell and Rebecca were able to negotiate his entrance. Rebecca leaned closer to Nova so no one would hear her.

"One of our friends is working on shift, so we were able to negotiate with him."

"Why are you trying to keep this secret?"

"People born under the Gemini don't have the best reputation. Me, Bell, and our other friend, Jessica, are the only ones on this or the other side of the Gate." That surprised Nova as he didn't expect Star Signs to be so important in this world.

"What happened?"

"Well, apparently-" Rebecca was cut off as another guard grabbed Nova's shoulder.

"You need to come with me." She ordered.

"W-why?" Nova asked.

"Really? You have a hood covering your face. How could anyone not look suspicious looking like that. I'm not an idiot." Nova sighed at the guard's explanation.

"Yup, that'll do it." Despite his initial surprise, he would have been considered if any guard let him through; even if one of the guards was a friend.

"Come on." She pulled him away, but Nova fought against her. "If you want to proceed, you have to prove your innocence."

Nova still fought against her. If they figured out what he looked like then he would be in a worse situation than he is now. He needed to get away from her as soon as possible. However, there was something preventing him from running; the guard's grip was enough to prevent him from running. She was so much stronger than him and it prevented him from leaving.

"We already got permission to go through with him. So let him go." Bell said as he tried to get the guard's hand off Nova.

"That doesn't matter. If we aren't certain, then we'll fail as guards. For all we know, he could be a terrorist. And seeing how adamant you are to get him through, we'll have to detain you as well." Bell backed away before he was surrounded by guards. "Detain her as well, she's working with him."

"Why am I getting accused?!" Rebecca yelled in confusion. She was then pushed into the circle with Bell. The guard holding Nova threw him into the group.

"Shit, they're trying to get rid of us." Bell said. Nova looked at the guards. They were all holding battens and handguns. He knew that they were in danger.

Jack walked into his booth and pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"This is The Guild Reception, how may I help you?" A receptionist asked. Her voice was monotone as if she was reading from a script.

"Tell Jacob that his guests are about to be killed at the southern gate." Jack said as he hung up before heading to the cameras to make sure the event was caught on tape.

Nova felt fear grip him as he pressed his back against Bell and Rebecca's larger bodies. He didn't know what to do. He wasn't taught hand to hand combat during boot camp.

One of the guards got over excited and attacked the trio. The attack didn't hit them. In an instant, the trio was just outside of the circle of guards. None of them knew the cause of the sudden shift, but Rebecca and Bell pulled Nova into the Pyramid before the guard could react.

The guards followed them after locking down the entrance. Jack hoped his friends would be okay. Bell and Rebecca knew if they wanted a chance to clear their names, they would have to get to The Guild.