Midnight. Clouds had begun moving in, blown by the night wind. They covered the cold spring sky, hiding the moon behind their shadows. The cold western wind sent a shiver down Atilia’s spine, a feeling she never experienced back in heaven. She blew her hand, allowing the warmth of her breath to heat her body. Another gesture she never needed to do back when she lived in heaven.
“So, what do you think?” Kathy asked with a playful smile. So carefree, despite being a guardian angel. Atilia struggled to believe that they used to be technically the same beings. It wasn’t that much different from humans, though. Same species, but each and every one had vastly different personalities.
“A surprise, kind of.”
“Oh? Kind of? You don’t sound too surprised.” Kathy tilted her head.
“I’ve guided people who have those kinds of attachments in the past. I myself dealt with them.”
“Yeahhh but this is differennnttt…” Kathy looked exasperated for some reason. Atilia didn’t understand. She could understand her less and less with each passing day. Maybe it was because of her change, after she turned into a human? Did humans and angels have that much of a difference?
“So, you’re telling this to Mimiyat?”
“Why not?”
“Surprise?”
“Kathy, this is not a birthday party.”
“Who says surprises are exclusive to birthday parties?”
“That’s… whatever.”
Debating things with her wouldn’t amount to anything, thus Atilia decided to change the topic.
“Where’s Mimiyat?”
She immediately realized that saying it was the equivalent of, yet again, asking her for help. She would really prefer not to rely on Kathy for everything. There would be a time when Kathy couldn’t help. She didn’t want to get too comfortable, she always reminded herself that. Yet, here she was, asking her for help, again and again.
“Aww… you’re not going to ask about anything else to your best friend?”
“I don’t remember ever saying that.”
“You did, remember?”
“Probably centuries ago or something. Not important.”
“You care more about humans than your fellow angels?” Kathy pouted.
“I’m a human, now.”
“But you’re always an angel at heart.”
“You sound like an old man.”
“I do not!”
“Yes, you do.”
Kathy took her hair and flung it upward. “You still say this beautiful friend of yours is an old man?”
“I said you sound like an old man. And besides, who says an old man can’t wear makeup?”
“I won’t go that far.”
“So you are an old man.”
“I AM NOT!”
Kathy sighed, then pointed west, toward the tallest watchtower on the walls. The one that stood high above the city, on the west corner of the walls.
“... What?”
“That watchtower.”
“I know where you’re pointing at. What I meant is how did she get there?”
“You think I know?”
“Of course.”
“... Sneak past some guards.”
“If it’s that easy to sneak past them, wouldn’t we be in trouble?”
“Relax. She’s a skilled knight, after all. Well, she was. You’ll get to her, somehow. Count it as some training.”
“Just get me up there,” Atilia said, half joking. A smirk ran through Kathy’s lips. She shot forward, about to pick up Atilia when Atilia dodged to the side.
“Come on, I was joking. I can’t keep relying on you.”
“Just this one time?”
Atilia shook her head. “It’s going to be ‘just this one time’ then ‘just this one time’ then ‘just this one time’-”
“Yeah, yeah, I get your point. Just call me again if you need help, alright?”
“Nope.” Atilia let out her tongue. Kathy laughed and disappeared. Atilia then began her journey upward. Since Mimiyat was on the tallest watchtower in the entire city, Atilia’s first destination would be the fifth level. The fifth was the highest level that the public could access. Most of it consisted of government buildings. The fifth level for government, the fourth level for residential buildings, the third for businesses, the second for production and factories, with the first level for military and transport-oriented uses.
One of the neat parts about this world was the use of magic. Magic was a relatively clean energy source, far cleaner compared to coal and oil on Earth. Despite having factories below the residential era, there was no black smoke or annoying loud sounds that seeped upward.
Atilia had only visited the fourth level, where the privately owned inns were. They provide great views and better service compared to the inn owned by the guild. The walk up could take a while, though. For traveling merchants and outworlders like her, who only stayed in the city for a short while, they would take the guild's inn located on the first floor instead.
She stood on the third level, right next to the south fortress wall. She began moving, following the stone road upward. The fifth level, mostly used for government facilities, were all closed for the day. While there was no actual law, or at least none that she knew of, that prohibited people from visiting that level at night, it would make the guards suspicious if she appeared out of nowhere. To make matters worse, they wouldn’t appreciate hearing her reasoning for going up there.
“Hmm…” Atilia hid behind one of the lamp posts, observing the empty streets beyond her. Right in front of her was a gate that, during the day, welcomed people to the fifth level. Behind that gate, security guards stood in front of the entrance to the buildings. Atilia thought about how boring it must be, keeping watch in such a desolate space,. She decided to spice it up for them.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
The guard closest to the gate stood in front of one of the buildings, conversing with another guard.
She extended her hand. “Create, ice wind.”
She used ice magic to manipulate the surrounding temperature. The temperature drop turned the air into water particles, creating a light fog, before pushing them away with wind magic. It wasn’t enough, however.
“Generate, water. Generate, heat. Generate, frost. Generate, wind,” she barked out her spells, already quite accustomed to how magic works. It was the result of all the hard work she put into magic after arriving in this world.
She turned the water particles to gas, before cooling them down, turning them into fog. It all required precise calculation, making sure she got the temperature right. Within seconds, the fog intensified, covering the area close to the gate. The guards looked around, surprised at this little bit of fun Atilia gave them.
“Now, to sneak in.” She began moving, staying close to the southern wall, hiding beneath its shadow and away from the light poles. The guards moved toward where she used to stand, using magic to light the way and wind magic to push the fog away. But, by the time they arrived at her previous position, Atilia was already on the top of the buildings. She headed further west, toward the watchtower. It would be a tall climb, so she prepared herself. She needed to first get on top of the walls, before traveling farther up. Unfortunately, her magic wasn’t strong enough to push herself straight to the top of the watchtower. At least not yet.
If I have sails, can I go up there?
She thought, before quickly returning her mind to the challenge at hand. The mist began fading away behind her. Once it cleared, the guards would see her on top of the roofs. She could already imagine Mimiyat’s anger for dragging the guards her way.
Atilia watched the walls. A pair of soldiers walked past, traveling in a clockwise rotation. Once they were far enough, she pushed herself up with wind magic, leaping up into the sky. She managed to arrive at the top of the walls unspotted. She then looked to the top of the watchtower. Two knights guard on the top, blissfully unaware of the person sitting above them. Mimiyat.
Mimiyat stared at her from her spot above the watchtower, sitting next to the ballista. She read about those ballistas before, back when she was scouring for knowledge in Purwa’s library. They were pretty common in this world. Remote-controlled, magic-based defensive weapons that could be operated manually if needed.
Mimiyat continued staring at Atilia, before finally disappearing behind the watchtower roof. The next second, a streak of light traveled across the sky, heading north, painting the darkness with its bright pale white color. Its light caught the attention of the guards, and Atilia used that as a chance to dodge their watchful gazes.
“Generate, Wind!” she whispered, before leaping up. Controlling the wind behind her while heading up took a lot of work, and a lot of concentration, but she managed to continue moving. She ran upward, her feet stepping on the watchtower’s wall, before jumping up high right before the end. She then adjusted her magic, throwing her horizontally toward the watchtower’s roof, landing right next to Mimiyat.
“What now?” Mimiyat asked after she arrived.
“Thanks for the help.”
“I’m not helping you.” She looked away with a huff.
Such a tsundere.
“Just playing with a bit of fireworks, then?”
“A bit of revenge for this terrible home of mine.” Mimiyat let her feet dangle from the side of the watchtower roof. Below the watchtower’s top was some space for the internal structures of the ballista. This meant the knights below couldn’t see them, even if they let their legs dangle. Assuming they didn’t lean out of their posts, of course.
“These ballistas, have they ever fired them?”
“Certainly not to help us.”
“Yearly festival?”
“One of their few uses.”
Mimiyat gazed at the sea. Even at night, many vessels sailed to and from the port, little points of light scattered above the waters
“What are you doing here? Trying to waste my time?”
“Said the one doing absolutely nothing.”
“I’m preparing myself, mentally.”
“You want a hint?”
Mimiyat glanced at her. “Him?”
Atilia nodded.
“What is it?”
“Barett is in your hometown.”
“... What?”
Atilia had learned, from none other than Kathy, that Mimiyat came from a region far up north, past the Marzendi Mountains. A small peaceful village, from before the war, at least.
“Barett is in Lorto.”
“... What?” Mimiyat stared at her, dumbfounded. Atilia nodded again. It took a while before everything finally clicked.
“What!? So when you mentioned my hometown before, you didn’t mean Juskon!?” Mimiyat grabbed Atilia’s shoulders, almost throwing her off the watchtower.
“How come!? What the heck is he doing there?”
“Hey! I’m going to fall!”
“Come on! Tell me!” Mimiyat began shaking Atilia harder, getting her awfully close to the watchtower’s edge, the desperation clear in her voice. Atilia prepared herself, in case she pushed her off and Atilia fell, but Mimiyat stopped just before Atilia went over.
“Who’s there!?” Guards looked out from their post, looking up at the back of Atilia’s head that dangled off the side.
“Whoopsie,” Atilia murmured, realizing that it was time for them to run off. She then pushed Mimiyat and forced herself to stand up. She grabbed Mimiyat's collar and jumped off the wall, heading west to the mountains. The walls that surrounded Forfoza were seventy meters tall with a smooth outer edge. Only the very best of magic users could fly that high. Even then, by the time they reached the top, they would be too tired to run.
Atilia, meanwhile, was heading down. Atilia let gravity do most of the work, before slowing themselves down and landing safely on the rocky bottom.
“What the heck do you think you’re doing!?”
“Getting us out of trouble. That’s what.”
Mimiyat remained silent, not saying anything more. Spotlights lit up the mountainside, searching for them. Atilia purposely let one of them hit her, to tell them that they weren’t demons. She did that while covering her face. Mimiyat did the same.
“After them!” one of the knights yelled. Atilia sped up and ran, dragging Mimiyat with her. They slipped beneath the spotlights, dodged the ice magic attacks hurling their way, and hid underneath the shadow of the walls. The two followed the walls’ outer edges, hiding from the sight of the guards. The existence of magic made their escape tougher.
Atilia lost count of the times a light spell brushed their cheeks, just barely revealing their position. Mimiyat used some kind of difficult spell, evident from the long chant, to distort the light around them, hiding them from the knight's magic. It was a complicated spell. The fact that she could chant it in such a tiny voice while keeping her concentration and dodging the lights was impressive. They took a long, circular trip south.
“Look at what you did!” Mimiyat said in exasperation as they crouched near the walls, trying their best to weave through the bright lights. They had gotten far enough from where they landed, and the intensity of both magic and spotlights lessened. If this was Earth, the guards wouldn’t bat an eye after they jumped. They would be dead had they fallen without magic. The guards would assume the same, or at the very least, assume that they at least broke something.
“This is fun.”
“I would like to know what made you think this is fun! Do you not have a childhood!?
“Well… no?”
Despite being the one who asked that question, Mimiyat looked completely puzzled. Atilia had been a guide angel ever since she first existed. She wouldn’t even know about the concept of childhood had she not read about it when she guided people to the afterlife.
“You know what? I’m not interested in your childhood stories.”
“That’s rude.”
"Should have known about it by now."
“Then don’t ask about it in the first place!”
“They’re definitely still down there!” Atilia heard the sounds of the guards echoing from above.
“Shut your mouth and run!” Mimiyat grabbed her hand and pulled Atilia down the rough mountainside. They leaped above rocks, flying down the slope at lightning speed. It was exhilarating. Mimiyat was much more maneuverable compared to Atilia. She didn’t struggle the slightest as she sprinted through the air.
Despite that, Mimiyat still stepped carefully, making sure that they didn’t fall and waste time. Atilia followed her movements, not wanting to slow her down. Like a pair of tigers in the wilderness, they ran as fast as they could. Atilia thought about Remy’s reaction had he been here with them. She kind of wanted to see it, but knowing Remy, he would probably be the one left far behind.
After a while of hiding and sprinting, they managed to reach the south gate. They moved farther down south before pretending to be travelers just arriving in Forfoza. The guards didn’t bother them, letting them through without any questions.
“That was fun.” Atilia brought her hands behind her head, enjoying the late-night breeze.
“Fun? FUN? I would like to know what you thought of fun. Getting eaten by wild beasts probably counts.”
Wild beasts, huh?
“As in having a chance to fight wild beasts, or just getting eaten by them?”
“... Don’t speak to me.”
“Hey!” Mimiyat ignored Atilia’s words and quickened her pace, Atilia following behind her. Hearing her grumble, though, made Atilia realize just how colorful this world is.
I do not regret coming here.