Generous was the smog's veil this dawn, allowing the neon circle to cast light across the dilapidated urban sprawl. However, the overlong morning shadows could not dim the hallow sahn within the mosque where veiled Alkrezian inquisitors stood like hooded angels. The grid porcelain floor beneath their sandals resembled a heavenly slab, like an unsettling gameboard timeless gods moved their human models on.
Today the Alkrezians with new identities were jaunting to Ember City, which was apparently approaching somewhere in the sky, and Joaquim observed the haunting gathering behind the threshold of the mosque's prayer hall. The three boys did not sleep at all, but Joaquim had the benefit of having a mask to hide his baggy eyes.
At least for now.
Joaquim did close the mask task while Camilo was asleep; there was not a day that he did not marvel at how well the mask could persist even within waning earthplexus leylines. Even in places where the Aulasy could not spawn as a hologram book, the mask mandated to be worn by girls and women was quite spammable. One day Joaquim tried to spam as many masks as he could to squander a leyline to vanishment, but all he was left with was a static cloud of neon masks stalking him like a beast from the book of revelations. It took him the same amount of time he stayed up with Gabe and Farouq to shut down each task individually with just his thoughts.
Indeed, the boys sneaked out while Camilo fell asleep on a prayer rug. Discovering a stronger leyline was not something the boys could pass up. Any day could be their last in No Man's Land, and they were not going to let a leyline go to waste, or let another group of nocturnal teenagers exhaust it. Joaquim did not know what Farouq and Gabe spent their hours doing summoning earthplexus holograms, because he had his own hobby to indulge in.
Joaquim binged space videos, and he did that until the neon circle peeked out of the horizon. He would carefully imagine what site he wanted to use, and in this case he used Memoryfeed, because frankly its recommendations were unmatched on any other earthplexus sites. Hesitation had caused him to freeze at first.
Joaquim what are you doing? Farouq had asked before Joaquim manifested anything. We'll use up this leyline before you even get a chance to watch anything!
After sensing a presence behind him, Joaquim did not even realize that Farouq and Gabe already joined the gathering at the sahn when he glanced behind. They were long gone from the prayer rugs they had laid on.
"Are you coming?" Camilo asked while standing behind Joaquim.
image [https://i.imgur.com/G3pGGLS.png]
Hereby Prophet Ameen declared this day as the beginning of Ember City's downfall. He spoke to the inquisitors and devotees of divine asteroids and brimstone that would rain on the flying city from the cosmos, using the metaphor of gated communities to describe the cities where descendants of the twenty-first century empire jaunted away to. And after that, especially during discussions of plans, Joaquim zoned out. The space videos were still so very fresh in his mind's eye. Esoteric planets were much more engaging than the revelation that he was flux sensitive like Camilo, Gabe, and Farouq.
If flux could help him reach the stars, then that would be fantastic. Was that all Joaquim was concerned about?
When he would interrogate himself on whether he wanted to be different than the way he felt or he wanted to be opportunistic, he would become too afraid to engage with the question for a long time. Fear would paralyze him from being sincere with himself.
"Joaquim, I am speaking to you."
He was staring past Prophet Ameen's shoulder when he captured Joaquim's attention again, and Gabe being his brother knew exactly what happened.
"Farouq was trying to watch... extracurricular activities online!" Gabe yelled. Everyone gathered turned their heads towards Farouq.
"Nice try, I was just watching soccer matches in New Brazil. And I have one better for you!" Farouq yelled back. "Joaquim told me he wanted to start a star federation!"
At first, deafening silence fell upon the courtyard. Apparently starting a star federation was a graver offense than whatever Farouq did last night. However, the mood instantly changed again.
Now everyone around Joaquim was laughing at him, but Gabe and Prophet Ameen were not amused.
"Silence!"
And all the ruckus ceased. Joaquim at first was tempted to lash out at those laughed at him, however a gut feeling told him to turn the other cheek. While he soothed his own temptation while staring at the porcelain floor, Prophet Ameen's sandals echoed throughout the courtyard. His feet appeared within Joaquim's field of vision.
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"Is that true?" Prophet Ameen asked.
There was no temptation to lie, but there was the desire to drift off again mentally. The sahn and the monolith had this air of surrealness; it all made this whole gathering not feel real.
"Yes," Joaquim replied. Prophet Ameen's feet walked out of Joaquim's field of vision. The taps from his sandals got quieter as he got closer to the front of the Alkrezian crowd. Amiss was Prophet Ameen's calmness at the boy's response. Joaquim even spotted a facial expression on Farouq that he had never seen before on his face.
"Gabe told me of why you two went to the funeral, and even who was the most... eager to start and finish the pilgrimage," Prophet Ameen said. "Tell me Joaquim, did you tell Farouq about this desire of yours before or after you devoted your life to God?"
"It was before," Farouq answered quickly. His sad frown became more pronounced.
"I see now why these two have remained friends with you, but I asked Joaquim and not you," Prophet Ameen said. "There is no need to try to save them. I have no intention of hurting them."
Farouq gulped and turned his head to face away from the messiah.
"The path towards faith is not a straight line. I do not have any doubts you will have faith in this cause when you start your mission in Ember City," Prophet Ameen said. "You must always remember who were the ones who left Earth in destitution, and who ran away to the sky to avoid judgment. Do not let it fester to anger, but do let it transform into righteousness. Let it transform into the faith needed to summon me in Ember City when the right time comes."
Everything before the funeral was fuzzy in Joaquim's mind, except for the days and nights they scavenged through Fornian waste that fell from the sky. Days and nights spent trudging with utter hunger when there was nothing left in the mosque. Indeed, somedays resentment was stronger than a farfetched dream. The only failed star federations were started by narcissistic robber barons that were happy to let people succumb in space, and they repressed the voices of those who spoke of their crimes against humanity.
Prophet Ameen must have known what was going through Joaquim's mind, because he did not wait for Joaquim to respond.
"Yes exactly. I know why you are truly here," Prophet Ameen said to Joaquim. "Before our jaunter Feechi jaunts us, I do need to give you all a blessing."
The black robe on Prophet Ameen began to dance as if gust was within the spaces of his limbs, and he raised his glowing palms for them to be open towards the gray sky. Flecks manifested, their hops within Prophet Ameen's hands forming an outline of some interdimensional dome until the flecks separated again to grow into glimmering seeds. Across all the foreheads of the Alkrezians portals grew, expanding into a perfect circle. After a twisting motion with his hands all the seeds flew into the forehead portals, and all the lights and flickers around the crowd vanished when he thrusted his arms down.
The only Alkrezian not affected at all by Prophet Ameen's blessing, a woman wearing an Alkrezian mask and inquisitor robe of her own walked away from the crowd to join Prophet Ameen.
"It might be more accurate to call me a portalist now," Feechi stuttered. If Joaquim had to guess, she was nervous about correcting him.
"Ah, you are correct," Prophet Ameen said. "I am sorry for not acknowledging how much you advanced with your abilities inquisitor. Please go ahead with the next steps."
Once Prophet Ameen and Feechi split off from each other, he took a few steps towards Joaquim again. "If you have any doubts or questions, or anything that troubles you, we will be able to speak to each other no matter the distance."
"Did Gabe tell you everything?" Joaquim asked. To his horror, Gabe did not even stick around or look at him after Prophet Ameen said that Gabe spoke to him. If anything, Gabe was long gone from the crowd. He was with Feechi who was against the wall using chalk to draw circles. Joaquim looked back to the messiah and he noticed that he followed Joaquim's gaze, observing Gabe too. He then turned his head towards Joaquim and nodded.
"Pray and everything will be alright."
The circles Feechi drew became portals themselves. However, Gabe hesitated to step through as if he realized something. With a fearful gaze he glanced back towards his little brother, and he ran back towards him.
"What's wrong? Did you realize something?" Joaquim asked with anger.
Gabe's red sneakers dug into the white floor, stopping himself before meeting his eyes again. "Yea... you weren't paying attention during the planning right?"
Joaquim nodded. "You should have asked me fi—"
"We can't talk about that now," Gabe said. "You have to decide now if you are coming. The portals are time sensitive."
Joaquim stood still for a moment, then he gave in and followed his brother. While they walked towards the portals Feechi manifested, he counted eight portals against the wall. The brothers were walking to the second one.
"Will I get uhm... portalsick if I step through it?" Gabe asked Feechi.
"If you do just don't throw up on me," Joaquim said.
image [https://i.imgur.com/G3pGGLS.png]
The trip was instantaneous. Before they could analyze their new surroundings Joaquim had to glance back at the strange magic behind him. Within the portal he could see the rest of the Alkrezians at the mosque forming lines to step through the portals. Then the portal vanished.
"Joaquim?"
Since he tried to ignore Joaquim earlier, he was happy to ignore Gabe as the space they were in was clearly inside the Ember City military base. He knew of it because of the lambda spaceships that were housed within it, and the fluorescent ceilings were exactly like the ones in the hangar.
Joaquim had to run to see Earth below the flying city. The thousands and thousands of trippy platforms Ember was known for would have to wait. And he ran from Gabe.
"Stop! You're going to get us in trouble!"
Joaquim ran past supersoldiers marching in single file and a cluster of cleaning robots close to a war diorama. He blasted past a fire exit and caused alarms to blare without a care. The air was so clean compared to the air in No Man's Land; how alive his lungs felt could make his eyes well up. And speaking of air, the bluest skies he had ever seen was right within eyesight.
He stood at the edge of the flying platform where Ember's military base was housed on, and cloud waves broke between the platform and his open toes.
Despite of what was said and believed, Joaquim was atmospheres closer to his dream.