Backlund, Land of Hope

Chapter 44: Backlund, Land of Hope

"Although it was only for a short time, I'm glad I had you both under my command." Dunn Smith blew his pipe smoke.

He was wearing his usual formal attire along with a top hat.

"We'll get sentimental if you treat this as parting forever." Leonard chuckled softly. "We will visit you again, you just have to wait without dying."

They all shook their heads at the sick joke, but there were no signs of tension.

"Thanks for taking care of me all this time, guys. I'm sure we'll see each other again." William adjusted his hat as he gave a little bow. He hadn't cut his hair since he came into this world and it was already long at first. This, together with his more robust appearance, made him look a bit unkempt and did not match his civilized attire.

"So be it. Until then, take care of yourselves. Backlund may be called the Land of Hope, but there is a reason so much of the Church's forces are stationed there." The Captain warned. "However, I'm sure you'll get used to it."

The conversation was cut short by an athletic-looking man who approached.

"We have to go now, the train will leave shortly." He said.

"Okay, see you next time then." Leonard and William finished saying goodbye to the Tingen Nighthawks and set out with Backlund's envoy for the station.

Already on the train, they began to chat. Both sides were interested in the other.

"You know, Deacon Cesimir seems really excited for you to join the Red Gloves." The envoy spoke in a rather friendly and informal tone. "I've never seen him like this, he won't stop talking about how he'll finally have a swordsman partner in the group."

William wasn't sure how to respond. Crestet Cesimir was someone highly respected within the Church of the Evernight Goddess, there were even those who called him Goddess's Sword, so it seemed strange to him that someone would talk about him so casually.

"Actually I'm excited too, I haven't had someone who could compete against me in hand-to-hand combat. I'm looking forward to learning as much as I can." He smiled slightly thinking about how he would change his life now that he would become a Red Glove.

"Come on, you don't have to be so uptight. You should learn from your friend Leonard." He turned to see how Leonard quickly ate the food that had been brought to him. "It's a shame you haven't digested your potion yet, though I don't think you'll need much longer."

The self-proclaimed poet looked up from his food to speak to him.

"Give me a break, we can't all be monsters like that guy." He heaved a sigh as he pointed at William. "I can't believe he's going to turn into Sequence 7 before me."

The Red Glove laughed.

"It is certainly unusual to see someone progress through so quickly. You must have a very strong affinity for your pathway, Mr. Hastur." He leaned back in the chair and they watched as the buildings began to appear. "By the way, I haven't introduced myself before, but my name is Alastor Brown, you can call me whatever you want."

William smiled.

"You can call me by my first name too if you want. Most of my acquaintances simply call me William."

"See? We've already started to break the ice between us." He looked out the window as he spoke. "Oh, and just in time. Looks like we've reached our destination."

Backlund was something beyond imagination. Dark buildings loomed as far as the eye could see. William had seen impressive cities in his past life, but this one had a feeling that he had not experienced until now.

The train whistle sounded and they got off.

"Welcome to Backlund, the capital of Loen Kingdom. Impressive, isn't it?" Alastor laughed at the surprise of both. "Follow me, we'll hire a public carriage to take us to Saint Samuel Cathedral. That's where the Nighthawks meet in Backlund, and it's also where you'll advance to Sequence 7."

For this last part, he looked at William, who nodded. They had already confirmed that they had the ingredients, and they didn't ask where he got the recipe. It was pretty obvious that the higher-ups of the Church were more concerned with getting all these formulas from an unknown pathway than where they came from.

It took them about half an hour to make their way around Backlund, but they finally made it to Saint Samuel Cathedral. It was a magnificent building, but William couldn't help noticing that it fell behind Adam's Corpse Cathedral.

A man with short golden-brown hair and dark green eyes was waiting for them at the very entrance.

"I have brought them, sir." Alastor gave a military salute which earned an amused look from the Deacon.

"Alright, good job, you can leave them to me now." Crestet Cesimir walked up to William and held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Hastur. I'm glad to know that he has finally decided to join the Red Gloves, I think both you and Leonard Mitchell will be of great help."

William accepted the greeting.

"That's right, sir. I'm happy with my progress so far, and I think I'm finally ready."

Cesimir also shook hands with Leonard.

"Let's go inside, we already have the potion ready. From what you say, I suppose you won't have a problem taking it now, right?" The Red Gloves Captain asked.

William smiled.

"Of course not, I'm ready." He affirmed himself confidently.

With this potion, he could already be considered a Mid-Sequence Beyonder. For better or for worse, it was clear that his life would change from this moment on.

—-------------

Lord of the Mysteries 2 has already been released! I can't wait to see what Cuttlefish will offer us this time. It will probably affect this story as I read the chapters. I hope you are as excited as I am and that we can enjoy this amazing world.

Also, I'll post an image of the current William here since he has changed due to him being a Beyonder of a physical pathway. Let me know your thoughts about it!