Chapter 10: The Change (4)

We returned to where the automobile is parked, with one of it's driver stood by waiting for us. He bowed down the moment he saw us and opened the door.

Levi shook his head at him. He then faced us. "Basically hyperloop drive theory makes an automotive ran without the wind resistance. We try to create an environment that will enable us to release the full speed of this machine. Once we do, we can boost the engine in full throttle. I will enable us to hover just enough that we can glide through the roads. And if fast enough, perhaps I can do something more. With this, we can cut our time travel by utmost 75% percent."

Do something more huh?

Like teleport? I wonder.

"So.... is this safe? You said it's still being studied back in Osteell." Eriol murmured, with one brow arched up.

"As you already know. Osteell is mostly ran by commoner blood. So we make sure everything we do enables us to do it without the need to use magic. However... if we do use magic, the missing link might enable it as plausible in an instant."

Levi really is smart. But no time to admire him now, "So what do want us to do?"

He nods, lips curling in one side.

What an eerie smile.

"Even though this automotive is made of iron. I assured with alchemy that it will act as a dielectric material. So, I will serve as the electric conductor and assure the stability of transmutation of your powers to the engine. Eriol, provide an airflow around the vehicle that will and must allow us to speed up without air resistance. Aeron, you will supply me with electrical charge we need to power up the entire transport. The important note here is that we need to keep doing it until we reach our destination, so if you plan to give up midway, just say so now."

Eriol and I exchanged glances.

Pretty sure we're both lost at what he meant at some point.

"Sure. Let's just do this." I murmured, shrugging.

Eriol just rubbed his nape. "Yeah. Let's just do whatever you say."

Levi nods.

"And me? What would you want me to do?" Aerra cuts in, stepping closer.

Levi steps in briefly inside his automobile and then stepped out with a piece of rolled paper. "You'll be the navigator. Just sit in front next to the driver and guide him where we will be heading. The guys and I will stay at the back seats and commence the plan."

Aerra smiled hearing this. I guess she want to take part. Although I'm quite sure the driver knows where to go without any navigator but I'm just glad Levi considers what Aerra would feel.

We all agreed and finally went inside the automobile.

The backseats are partitioned from the front, where the driver is. Only through a small window allowed Aerra to take a peek at us as we sat inside, while she sat at the passenger seat next to the driver.

"There might be a little bolt of energy that might escape. I'm sorry but we need to close all windows... including this one." Says Levi as he apologized to Aerra. He then closes the small window behind him as he sat down facing us, while Eriol sat beside me. We all closed the windows to our side.

"Eriol. Begin with the air flow plan." ordered Levi as Eriol nods and I can hear wind from the outside, building up like a sound of hurricane forming.

"Done!" Eriol says in a smug.

Levi just nodded and then closed his eyes shut.

The driver seemed to have started the engine as well and began to drive in a steady speed.

We just watch Levi as parallel and straight circuit lines of gold began to creep thoroughly his skin like veins, emanating in a soft pulsating glow. It went on until it covered his arms, neck and reaches his face and a runic emblem appeared on his forehead. He opens his eyes and his amber eyes glowed in gold as well. "Let's begin." His voice was ethereal when he spoke.

I can see how Eriol is as surprised as me.

Suddenly an energy surges beneath our feet and an odd looking circle emits with runic symbols hovering around us.

And then, just like before, circuit lines manifested apt to creeping veins, covering the entire walls and ceiling where we're in. More runic symbols hovered around us.

"Is that.... ancient inscriptions?" Eriol gasps. "How... how is this possible?"

Ignoring the question, Levi focused his eyes at me. "You will serve as a generator. Supply me with your electricity and I will transmute it for this machine. However, I believe you are more powerful if you're a Meister, correct?"

I tilted my head to a side. "You want me to combine with Eriol now?"

"We need as much energy as we can." he replied.

Eriol just nodded and transformed into the silver scythe. I took him with both my hands and balls of lightning appeared around me like before.

"Transfer your power to me, Aeron. Just let it all out and I will handle the rest. Do it now." he says in a calm voice but it somehow sounds really unsettling. Nevertheless, I did what he said.

I closed my eyes and focused my magic. I can feel the wind barrier Eriol had casted around us. I tried my best to maintain it just with my will.

Eriol is right, if I focus enough, it feels like I know how to use the wind element without any problems. And at the same time, my lightning feels uncontrollably powerful than before. I held on that and released it aimlessly out of my body.

Suddenly, after that. Everything went blank.

When I came to, I opened my eyes and realized everything was back to normal. Eriol returns to his human form and spoke, "What happened? Did we fail?"

Levi who sat in front of us, calmly shook his head. He looks normal again.

"On the contrary... we succeeded. We're here. But we stopped only about few meters away from the city. I don't want to cause too much ruckus by landing inside, so we need to walk to the main gates from here instead."

"Wait. We have arrived?!" Eriol quickly opens the door and true enough, we were on plains with different scenery from that of Greenrun's.

There were more bushes and unique looking trees and flowers around that I never seen before in real life, only in books.

I was about to step down the automobile as well when I noticed Levi was holding on to something glowing.

"I hope you don't mind. I charged one of my spheres from the energy you gave me." he says, but his eyes are fixated on a spherical glass that is as big as a fist. It glows in a soft blue light. "You really are interesting, Aeron. Powerful to a fault. This little sphere can help me with my projects later on."

"What exactly is that?" I murmured at him.

"What do you think it is?" He switches his focus and eyed me tentatively. As if waiting cautiously for my answer.

"To my understanding, it's a glass ball that can collect electrical energy which you can use later on?" I stated, sounding more like a question.

Levi nods, "I call it a Cell. A kind of container that stores in electric energy from magic. But this is special since a pureblood such as yourself charged it."

He then pushes a button somewhere near his seat and an air pressurised compartment opens like a drawer. He places the glass ball inside it carefully where a cushion that fits the ball perfectly is seen and then he closed it. I just watched in silence as finally our eyes met. Levi's eyes were somehow hollow yet sinister-looking amidst his usual blank facial expression but I felt no malice directed at me in them somehow. But it was a bit odd.

I can't really read this guy.

But... the existence of that compartment alone makes me suspect he had been planning for something like this to happen and collect my magic from me. As if he had calculated this all along. Is that why he was so interested in coming along? I wonder.

Wait. No.

I feel bad for growing suspicions on Levi. He is my friend after all. I need to stop this overthinking nonsense.

"Let's just go" I said, to cut the silence between us. He just nods and followed me as I stepped out.

We saw Eriol opening the front doors as Aerra wobbly steps out, looking a bit wan.

"Are you okay?" I asked, walking to her as she just held on to my arm as she tries to balance herself.

"Ughh... I felt like I was just catapulted to the moon in the speed of light." she groaned.

"You what?" I murmured, trying to catch her bleary eyes.

"We went ultra fast than I expected. We went zooming in such a speed for few minutes and then everything went white! The next thing I knew, we're already here! I... I think my soul even parted from my body at some point." She whimpers as she pressed to her stomach. She doesn't look good. She gags but manages to stop it.

"Excuse me!" she says all of a sudden, bolting across the road and towards a bush where she sat there and started throwing up.

I sighed.

That just now sounds more like we teleported.

So my hunch is right.

"We didn't just cut the time to 75%, we actually reached up to 98%." Levi stated, as he reached to opens one compartment inside again that had familiar canisters of potable water.

"What do you mean?" Eriol asks

"I mean... it took us less than half an hour to arrive here. Very remarkable result, don't you think so too? But it still needs improvement." He replied as he opens the canister and went walking his way towards Aerra as she was about to walk back towards us. He then offered the water to her.

I shrugged. "As long as we arrived in one piece." I murmured but he was no longer paying attention.

Eriol just eyed me.

And then he walked closer to me. "Do you really and completely trust this brat?" His tone is as good as a whisper.

"Of course. Why ask?"

"He literally just controlled and summoned ancient inscriptions like some kind of a —human weapon. I mean... the bodies of commonfolks aren't suppose to handle large amount of energy like that, especially not that kind of magic. We don't even control that kind of thing even as nobles with innate powers nor as purebloods. It's for ancient machina for pete sake. They build an entire structure just to control such technology long long ago and yet he's..." Eriol shook his head and just crossed his arms. "My point is—! There's a reason why they are called ancient. We shouldn't meddle with them.... just saying."

"So you don't trust him?"

"I do and I don't. Depends on the situation. But right now, he seems harmless to us... at least for now."

"Should we just go ahead and ask directly?"

Eriol shook his head. "I doubt he'll spill it out if I ask. But you go ahead and try."

"Maybe... I will." I replied.

I get what Eriol is trying to say. The entire Ouboros base was sucked in a vortex two years ago just because of a defective portal that was run by ancient technology.

And quite frankly, I'm still confused about what the ancients really are. I know they used to live with the gods and goddesses and had been living in an era of prosperity and powerful advanced technologies, but something happened that made it all changed. That part is a blur and there after. There is literally no book that tells us what happened.

Or at least.... no book that exist about that in this continent.

Ancients machina, huh. I wonder what is that?

And a human weapon...?

I turned to Eriol and realized he's just calmly watching Levi and Aerra.

Eriol is from another continent.

I wonder if—

"I'm alright now. Sorry about that!" Says Aerra as she walks up to us with Levi following a little behind him.

I shook my head to dispel all the scattered thoughts and doubts inside my head.

"If you're feeling better then let's get going, shall we?" I said, as we all began to march towards the main gates of the Ak'hilheim.

••▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅••

We soon reached a point in the pathway where several lamp post on the sides of the road are seen standing in a row with strings attached above them in a crisscrossed pattern with multi-colored triangular flags hanged from

We soon reached a point in the pathway where several lamp post on the sides of the road are seen standing in a row with strings attached above them in a crisscrossed pattern with multi-colored triangular flags hanged from. And from up ahead we can see the open gates of the kingdom.

We came in as ordinary travellers and the guards let us through just like that.

The moment we got in, I felt like I stepped into another dimension.

The place is jam packed with crowds of people, both with human race and the demi's. The entire streets were plain soil, no bricks, no pavements, not really the tidiest place around but...

Amidst the chaos— no, not chaos, just really crowded and busy streets... there's this sense of vibrance everywhere. A sense of vigor and cheer.

There were street vendors on a mat sitting at some corners of the streets. Overhead, rolls of colorful fabrics covered the streets from the blasting sunlight— canopies, providing enough shade against the lingering heat. There's this trail of music that can also be heard coming from a huge stage where musicians with lyre, drums, flutes and rattles played in a clearing, where people idly passed throwing coins by their feet. Also lots and lots of varying patterns and designs of apparels and armors. Everyone are wearing unique varying garbs of their own; Some were revealing too much skin and some covered almost everything entirely but their eyes. Some walked around with sceptres, halberd, poleaxes, scimitars, ginormous bagpacks, belt of daggers around their body, uhh.. is that a frying pan... and plenty of other stuff I never normally seen people walking around on the streets with.

It's like a street full of mercenaries and traveling merchants combined. Now this is what blooming tourism seems like.

There were people with long pointy ears, and some with odd looking features that I reckon as Demi's, a hybrid race of humans and bestiaras. I never really saw other races besides our own, until now that is. I thought they only live up to the farthest eastern continents across the seas.

"Careful on the gaping there. Your jaws might drop!" Eriol snickered, nudging me by the shoulder.

Was I being too obvious?

I braced myself and cleared my throat. "Ahem! Well, anyway! Let's just go to the bazaar and finish what we came here for!" I stated as I took a few steps forward.

"It's okay to be amazed, kiddo." Eriol says, ruffling my hair, striding beside me.

"Don't we need some kind of cloak?" Aerra asked, obviously pertaining with the rest of people around us that wore cloaks.

"Ak'hilheim is a city of diversity. So it's okay. Many different kinds of people really visit this place for its trade!" Eriol answered and then he points at the horizon which has the vast view of the ocean and where several foreign ships are seen and up above hovering idly are several airships of obvious merchant from various guilds, "You'll be surprised to find more unique characters out in the streets more than you consider yourself as one." Eriol added in a wink, wearing his trademark smile that looks like a sneer.

"So it's safe here?"

"Not entirely. There's no such place as safe when you're outside the walls of Greenrun, princess!" Eriol says in a chuckle.

"I know as much! I was just referring to safety as in exposing our hair and eyes." Aerra grumbled.

Ah, now I get it. My twin is worried about presence of 'Collectors' that usually hunts for purebreeds like us.

"Don't worry. If something bad happens, your prince and knight is right beside you. Nothing to worry about at all!" Eriol grins, gesturing at me and at Levi, consecutively.

Irony how he excluded himself when he's the primary one who usually rushes to save Aerra head-on several times before.

"No, it's not that I'm worried. I just don't want trouble. And for your information... I don't need saving. I can handle myself!" Aerra marches towards and pass me, pouting. We just watch her as she stops midway and turned about to look at us. "I don't want anyone to risk it just to save me. Let's just get that one cleared."

Where is she getting that confidence from? I wonder.

"You speak as if you can fight. You barely trained for these past two years!" I grumbled, furrowing my brows at her. She just kept meditating as far as I know.

But I do recognize her astonishing capability to evade and parry. Although, that won't be enough if a real fight comes up.

"That doesn't mean I can't fight. Just trust me." She says in a grin. Her crystalline blue eyes watches me steadily, as if I'm looking at a mirror.

And then she blinks away and I caught her eyes side-glancing Eriol, who just crossed his arms behind his head while standing in a very lax stance, looking around nonchalantly.

I suddenly felt annoyed. Aerra says that with confidence but now I know she rather means that she has Eriol by her side. After all, if she needs to fight, she can just summon him because she trust he will come to her aid no matter what.

Well I'm his Meister too but I don't pull my confidence out about fighting just from that!

And here I try to make Aerra depend on me. But there she goes trusting another guy to help her. Worse part is that Eriol's not even asking her to... Yet she just genuinely plaster that as if it's an innate thing to do.

My eyes sweeps to look at Eriol.

Our eyes met briefly, I looked away in a haste even before he notice I'm scowling.

"Whatever you say, Aerra! Let's just go!" I groaned and strode off.

They all followed me from behind but Aerra hurried to match my pace.

"Why are you being so cranky again?"

Again?

I glared at her. "I am not!"

"That right there is being cranky." she chuckled in a laugh.

I just clicked my tongue in response and walked faster. I turned to look for street signs and easy enough, I found the ones that points to where the bazaar are at. I followed it with my eyes and realized they're everywhere. There are some that seems to be pointing in a reverse direction.

"Seems like if we follow the signs, we might end up lost." I said, halting on my tracks and turning to face my friends.

"Let's go ask around then." says Eriol.