Chapter 10: Meeting [1]

A gentle night breeze blew through the gardens, causing the flowers to sway in place and the dandelion puffs to dance with the wind. The waves crashed against the shore, a soothing sound compared to the lively, bustling city nearby.

On the beach, a lone man sat on the sand, his knees pressed to his chest. The white cloak he wore fluttered at the ends, occasionally revealing the simple clothes he wore.

"…The moon is beautiful tonight," he said in a soft voice, to no one in particular.

But the waters… he thought to himself. They seem uneasy.

After a moment of contemplation, the man stood up, brushing the sand off his cloak and pants.

He was originally supposed to go to the city, but something was nagging at him restlessly, like the tendrils of a foreboding sensation blooming in his chest.

So he found himself sitting by the shore, watching the waters almost reach the tip of his shoes. Something was in the air, and it was making him feel troubled. Something was about to happen, and it was not a good sign at all.

With slow, unhurried steps, he started going towards the direction of the city. He needed to go to the Holy Church there and pay his respects.

Maybe the gods would give him the answers.

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***

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The banquet was about to start. Ardyn could tell.

The anticipation within the castle walls was palpable. There was an assembled crowd by the grand entrance, a hushed excitement coursing through them.

Ardyn watched all of this from the balcony of his room, feeling an emptiness in his heart.

Everyone looked so happy. The decorations for the festival all over town looked so beautiful even this far away. There were lanterns set up at every district, emitting bright orange glows. The moonlight shone upon the clear waters, making them seem to sparkle along with the stars.

Ardyn gazed up at the sky, silently marveling at its beauty. Instead of a small moon hanging in the dark expanse, it was much, much bigger. It was as though this planet and the moon were so close to each other in distance.

He hadn't noticed it earlier, but there were a few more moons in the sky as well. They weren't as large as the nearest one, but they decorated the sky like a fantasy painting, glowing with a luminescent hue.

It was mesmerizing to watch.

I wish I could take a photo of this, he thought. But I don't have my phone.

Damn. I'm probably gonna miss my game console someday.

He directed his gaze downwards, watching the beautiful garden below. The flowers were seemingly in full bloom, and to his surprise, there were green fireflies floating about, giving the surroundings an ethereal vibe.

Why does that scene look a little familiar? Ardyn wondered to himself, narrowing his eyes in concentration.

And the colors seem a little off…

Maybe if they were…

…blue?

Ardyn blinked, then shook his head in bemusement. Blue fireflies? I must be going crazy.

"Have you finished dressing yourself?"

Mathias' voice brought Ardyn out of his stupor, causing him to turn around.

The man was dressed in a tailored dark green suit, the fabric hugging his broad shoulders and strong frame. The jacket was decorated with gold embroidery in intricate patterns, and a gold medallion hung from a chain at his chest, giving him a gallant look. The pants were a deep shade of black, and he also wore black boots to complete the outfit.

"If you're ready, let's go ahead to the private room. Turns out that everyone's already there except for two. That'll do for now, because we don't have much time left before the banquet," Mathias told him.

"Everyone?" Ardyn questioned as he followed Mathias out of the room.

"Yes," Mathias answered. "The Prince's Guardians. Evan told them the gist of it using the commcrystal while they were on the way. He's still talking to them right now."

"Commcrystal?"

"They're typically called that. The full name is 'Communication Crystal'. Each Guardian has a unique crystal of their own."

"Communication? Oh. So it works like a phone then?"

"A phone? I don't know what that is," Mathias said, puzzled. "Is that something from your world?"

"Yeah… I can't believe you guys don't have a phone," Ardyn said, sighing. "It's a handy device. You can use it to communicate with each other, like send messages, leave voicemails, calls and stuff."

"Oh." Mathias looked thoughtful for a moment. "Come to think of it, the description sounds similar to the RuneCom."

"RuneCom?"

"It's the Emerald Kingdom's little invention. Apparently you can leave 'voice messages' and call each other using unique numbers and such."

"What?" Ardyn was surprised. It was probably because of Angelbay City's traditional appearance and customs, but he never expected there to be such technology in another kingdom. Maybe he needed to read up on this world's history. "Then why don't you guys use it here?"

Mathias's expression changed slightly. "It's complicated," he said.

Ardyn decided to leave it at that. There's probably some tension between the two kingdoms, he surmised in his head. I shouldn't get involved in any of their politics.

The two of them continued to walk in silence. Ardyn admired the castle's appearance once more. It was like one of his visits to the museum back in his world. Only this time, he didn't have a phone to take pictures of the scenery with. It was a shame, really.

"Can you tell me more about your world?"

Startled, Ardyn turned his head to meet Mathias' curious gaze. He hadn't expected the latter to ask him this particular question.

"My world?" Ardyn repeated dumbly. "Well... I don't know where to start."

"Tell me more about the 'phone', then," Mathias said. Frankly, Ardyn was surprised that he even remembered the term.

He must be really curious, he thought.

"Okay, so these phones... They're small, usually rectangular. They can do a lot of things. Communication, information, entertainment, things like that," Ardyn explained.

Mathias nodded, a silent gesture for him to continue.

"You can carry them anywhere. You can access the news with it using the internet, you can watch videos uploaded by other people, you can use social media..."

"Those are unfamiliar terms," Mathias remarked. But it seemed that the curiosity in his eyes grew even more.

"I wish I have mine with me right now," Ardyn said with a sigh. "It could've helped in explaining things."

Mathias nodded. "It's intriguing. Your world, I mean," he clarified. "It seems that we have much to learn from each other."