A cool breeze flowed through her hair, as Shade leaped onto the roof of a building. The night was cloudy, with most of the stars blocked, though the moon was still prominent in the sky. It provided enough light for them to navigate the top of the buildings as they headed towards the center of the city.
Preparation for this moment took longer than expected. The city was different than any other she encountered, so it was necessary to take the necessary precautions. Gathering daily information was proceeding smoothly, and now the only place that they didn't have information was inside of the building in the center.
Considering this is where everyone of importance was located, they figured that special attention was needed to make sure there would be no issues.
"There must be records for how this city can perform the way it has." Shade grumbled to herself. If she were to return now to the capital with only the current information, she would likely be laughed out.
Though it went against her professional style, Shade did think that this city was several times better than any she had seen. Never before had she seen people so happy and walk around with purpose. Before becoming the leader of the Shadows, she lived a life of poverty. It was an environment where she needed to fear for her life. Her parents would sell her off to various people so that they could eat food.
But this place was different. Here people didn't need to worry about where they would get food from, or fear being molested by some stranger in the night. "I can not believe I am being so sentimental," Shade chuckled to herself.
Reaching the final building, before the entrance into the district, Shade gestured a signal to one of her men. He slowly maneuvered himself down the side of the building. If there was one nice thing about these buildings is all the footholds that are placed for anyone to use. "They are just begging for organizations like ours to infiltrate their peace loving city." Shade grinned.
She waited with her forces on top of the roof. Several minutes seemed to pass by slowly, and if this were anyplace else, she would have worried that the man scouting was killed. Slowly breathing in and out, she relaxed her body. The key when doing these types of operations was to make sure that your body was relaxed and your mind clear. A bird softly chirping could be heard off in the distance.
"Move," Shade ordered everyone. With a fluid grace from years of practice, they scaled down the side of the building and sprinted across the open area. There was a brief feeling of being exposed, but she was confident of the scout's ability to sense any traps or guards.
Directly in front of them was a large rectangular building that seemed to thrust itself out of the ground. There were no windows to enter through, with only a staircase leading towards the entrance. This entire location was completely covered in darkness with no lighting usually found inside of a city. Lighting only seemed to exist inside and at the entrance to the districts. Counting herself lucky, she proceeded up the stairway and through the opened doors.
Once they were inside of the structure and in some corridor, they hugged either side to limit their presence. "I can not believe they did not even lock the entrance." She softly laughed. "Are you sure that your information is correct?" Shade asked looking at one of her men.
"Yes, Mistress. All my sources were very open about the information, and there seemed to be no attempt at deception. This structure, called the Stronghold, is always open. No security checks are performed, so people are free to enter or leave as they choose. To not let our enemies know of our intentions, I decided not to enter this place." He assured her.
"This place's lack of security is very odd. I have heard of a police force, but we have yet to sense anyone on our way here. It is unlikely that they have someone better at stealth as us, but we should proceed with caution. Once we get the necessary information, we will be leaving this city." Letting her eyes fall on each one of them she said, "failure is not an option."
After a few minutes had passed, they proceeded down the long hallway. Looking around the area, Shade understood that the person of this city had an abundance of wealth. This corridor was lined with precious materials. Even the floor was some of the purest marble she had every seen. There was not even dirt on the floor, which allowed them to move faster but without the usual noise of dirt being ground down. Though a place may appear clean, there would usually be dirt or other materials which would make crunching noises as a person placed their full weight on top of it. The friction generated would make a scraping noise, which may not be noticeable during the day when there are many people it's different during the middle of the night. Such noises would echo and alert guards of intruders.
"I can see that they have sources for light, but none of them are on. For such a location where security should be tight, at a bare minimum the lights should be lit to be a hindrance to people, like us." Shade looked around them as they pushed forward.
In front of them was an elaborate staircase, leading up to another level. Instead of going up all at once, Shade had them move in groups to cover one another. "This is going to be a piece of cake," Shade thought to herself.
----
"Hmmm... What do we have here?" a lazy voice wondered as they looked at a screen hovering in front of them. Presented on the screen were several intruders attempting to keep themselves hidden as they made their way down the corridor.
A rustling noise could be heard as a soft woman's voice said, "they appear to be uninvited guests. I do not recognize them as being a resident of this city, which explains why they were not teleported to the dining and relaxation areas."
The owner of the lazy voice stroked the luscious hair of the woman, as they pondered over this development. Feeling the softness of the woman's hair, the voice complained, "It was so relaxing, just laying here all day with you and the others."
"I know, but you need to do your work properly, or Master would be upset." The woman smiled understandingly.
Hearing the mention of the Master, the voice got serious, "You are right! This is not the time to laze about. Tell your sisters that we will be having fun with our first hunt!"
Off in the distance, howls could be heard all throughout the area.
------
"What is that?!" One of the men cried out, after hearing the howling in the distance.
Shade stood still, trying to pinpoint where the howling was coming from. For some reason, the sound seemed to bounce off walls but looking up you could only see the night sky. There were three moons, of varying sizes, lighting up the area.
"Explain what that is!" She gestured at the sky. "Did we get teleported outside?!" Though she asked, the answer was already in front of her. Their world only had two moons.
"I do not know, either!" one of them answered, a feeling a panic rising out of his voice.
"Damn it!!" She cursed. "We have likely been discovered. Keeping our anonymity is paramount, so we can only try to escape and regroup." Shade ordered all of them.
Turning around, they ran towards the stairs only to quickly skid to a halt. "What is the meaning of this?!" Shade yelled. Where there should have been a stairway was now just more of the floor.
"How could it vanish?!!" She could hear some of them cry out.
"Get it together! We are the Shadow! There is not anyone that we can not defeat, even the Guild is powerless before us!" Shade attempted to boost the morale of her men. Being chastised by her, they began to look more like the professional organization they are.
Turning around, they could see a massive structure that seemed to emerge out of the darkness. Unlike what they have previously seen, this was just a giant wall. The only opening was practically a slit, and as they approached it, they realized that only a single person could enter at a time.
"It appears like the only way is to move forward." Shade remarked, not liking their current situation.
"Mistress, I volunteer to go first!" One of her underlings said, stepping forward.
Placing a hand on his shoulder, she smiled and said, "no, I got us into this mess, so I will move forward first. Make sure to keep an eye out for anything. I feel like they intentionally made it so only a single individual could pass in at a time."
Nodding to them, she walked towards the eerie entrance. The walls were not smooth, giving off an impression that this is a natural formation. Carefully, she reached out a touched the rough surface. Seeing that nothing had happened, she tested out its durability. Taking out a dagger, she placed the tip of the knife on the wall and exerted significant pressure on it. Her breathing quickened, as her arm continued to tense.
"Ting!!" The blade chipped, and the tiny point went flying. With disbelief, she turned to see the blade better. Unlike most daggers, this material was created using dragon fang. It was a unique metal that could only be found in the southern part of the continent. Dwarves were the only people known to be able to process the raw ore and turn it into something that could be forged.
"Damn it!" She cursed at damaging a precious tool. "At least I learned that this wall is stronger than anything I have seen before. Remember, knowledge is the first step in defeating your enemy." She talked to herself, trying to comfort the uneasy feeling she was experiencing.
When she walked through the entrance, she looked around and saw a series of corridors. Each one of them seemed to wind and turn in different direction. Making sure that there were no guards waiting for her, she turned around to make sure that her men were following behind her.
"No! This can not be!" She yelled out. Just like with the stairway, the entrance into this place was gone. Running towards the wall she slammed her fist against it, crying out, "DAMN YOU!!!"
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Even after her constant barrage, the wall stood there with no change. It seemed apathetic towards her situation, patiently waiting until she realized her folly.
Breathing hard, Shade fell to her knees in exhaustion. The bottom of her fists was bleeding from the coarse surface of the wall. "Are you done feeling sorry for yourself." She mocked herself. Sitting down, trying to regain her composure, Shade looked around herself. "I seem to be in some kind of labyrinth..." The only difference is the way that it looks and how it could make things appear and disappear. "Usually, when you approach a labyrinth, you would do so in a large party, but this one separated us. I guess that is why only a single individual could pass through the entrance."
Feeling slightly better after objectively looking at her situation, Shade looked at the walls. Though they appeared high, they weren't that high. Grinning to herself, she willed her mana and converted it into a powerful gust of wind. She propelled herself towards the top of the wall and gently landed on top.
"Too bad they did not anticipate a wind mage." She sneered at the people that placed her into this predicament. On top of the wall, she had a clear view of her surroundings. "Where am I?" Her thought came out unintentionally, as she saw how large this labyrinth was. There didn't seem to be an end in sight as if this place was not inside a building.
While she was trying to figure out what to do, there was a vine that crept towards her. Shade didn't notice the vine until it had nearly wrapped around her leg. "What the hell is that thing?!" She shouted and jumped away. As she was in the air, escaping from the vine, another one shot out towards her. "Let us see how you enjoy this!" She flung several wind blades at the vine and sliced it into several smaller pieces. Seeing that she was successful, she landed away from where she was but still on top of the wall.
Basking in her lucky escape, she didn't see several vines heading towards her. Each one of the vines launched themselves towards one of her appendages, constricting her arm and legs. Sensing that she was about to get free, several more vines shot out and wrapped themselves around her torso and chest.
Blushing from the feel of the vines on her breasts, she continued to struggle. With the way the vines felt, she couldn't bear the humiliation any longer and shot bladed wind all around her. Released from that vile experience, she jumped back down onto the ground. "Now I should be able to see you pieces of shit better!" Shade snarled. She continuously turned her body and head, to see the vines before they latched onto her.
After a long period had passed, there didn't appear to be any vines attacking her anymore. Thinking that this was just a ploy, she continued to stay vigilant. The way the vines moved, it felt like they were able to anticipate her actions which made her even more hesitant to relax.
Constantly being on guard only helped to wear her down. Slowly, Shade relaxed her guard and let her arms fall to her sides. "This place is not a typical labyrinth. Not only does it tire you out physically, but also presses psychological pressure onto you. I hope the others are doing better than I am." Deep down, she knew that there was a high likelihood that they were already dead. Being in this scenario wasn't their forte, so expecting the others to survive was asking for too much. She still couldn't help to stay optimistic, to help her own morale stay high.
"Judging by how the vines acted, I think this means that going over the walls is dangerous." She strategized as she continued to walk down one of the paths. "The problem is that I do not have the supplies to handle a labyrinth, right now." Shade clenched her fist, frustrated that she placed herself into this position.
-------
"What I would not do for some water," Shade spoke through chapped lips. It felt like hours had passed by, and during this entire time, the sky never changed. The moons were still in the same place they were when she first saw them.
She looked at her dragon fang dagger and tossed it onto the ground. In an attempt at utilizing some kind of strategy, Shade tried to make which corridors she was going down so that she wouldn't start walking around in circles. The problem was the after a time, not only was she unable to make a mark on the wall, her daggers edge had been destroyed and made useless.
Even using her outfit as markers wasn't working considering she was close to being naked after making so many strips on leaving them on the walls. "At least it is not cold...," she grumbled at the silver lining.
Walking down the corridor, she placed her foot down and heard a click. Not bothering to stop, she dashed forward and heard the sliding of rocks she quickly leaped forward and successfully rolled just as a dozen arrows landed where she previously was. One of the arrows landed next to her face, cutting several strands of her hair. A warm sensation between her legs let her know how close she was to dying.
"Clap. Clap. Clap." Shade heard the sound but couldn't figure where it was coming from.
"That was pretty impressive. I do not know many of your kind who would have been able to escape that one. Following you was quite entertaining and made me forget how sleepy I was feeling. All your other comrades died within the first hour, but you were able to last for several days!" The voice congratulated her.
"What do you mean several days?!" She quickly got to her feet and tried to pinpoint the source.
"What else could I possibly mean, other than you were in this place for several days. That landing must have been a lot harder than I thought it was." It sounded concerned for her health.
Getting fed up with this person's games, shade yelled, "ENOUGH! Get down here where I can see you!" She hoped that this individual would be over confident with her abilities, and not be able to react fast enough to her wind magic. Being devious was a skill that she was very confident in.
Behind her was a loud thudding noise, and the voice answered, "I am not sure if that is what you want, but I will play your game. Let us see how sneaky you can be."
Shade slowly turned around and realized what she was up against.
------
Han looked towards Selestra and Ha-Yoon, who he had different relationships with. Selestra's face was full of awe and wonder at seeing the beginning of the Overflow and finding out where it originated from, while Ha-Yoon looked at it in terror.
"Are you okay?" Han asked Ha-Yoon, who was covering her mouth with her hands as if to contain the scream which was bubbling out.
She jumped at hearing his voice and seeing that it was him, her body relaxed. Tears began forming in her eyes, and she rushed into Han's chest, burying her face and sobbing.
He didn't know how to respond to this situation and looked around in confusion.
"All those innocent people being eaten and slaughtered by those creatures." Ha-Yoon choked out. "M-my parents and all my siblings!" She screamed into his chest, letting out all her sorrow.
Hearing her words, Han understood what the Overflow meant to her. Seeing where such a horrible event occurred must have brought up painful memories. He looked back to the memory of when he watched his parents being buried. Though he never had a strong connection towards them and didn't show the same pain and suffering Ha-Yoon was showing, Han still felt like the world had dimmed a little bit than when they were alive. He would never be able to casually call them up and talk to them or enjoy the moments when they would offer to take him someplace so they could all enjoy each other's company. It may sound cold the way he viewed his relationship with his parents, but it wasn't something he could help.
Gently wrapping his arms around her, he tried to comfort her as he watched the mass off in the distance release another bubble that floated into the sky.
Looking towards Brittany and Selestra, he quietly said, "we are going to need to explore that area more. With people distracted with the Overflow happening, it will be a good opportunity to rummage around. I have a feeling that there is more there than what we first saw."
Both of them nodded their heads, as they went over to the others to fill them in on his plans.
When Ha-Yoon's emotions seemed to settle down, he gently pushed her away and lifted her face. Staring into her eyes, he said, "I have something you may be interested in. While everyone else is occupied with this, I think it may be a good idea to look at it."
Confusion passed over her face, as she tried to understand what Han was telling her. "Ok..." was all she could say, before being led away by him.
With Ha-Yoon in tow, he headed towards the hidden door which was still open. During the confusion, no one had noticed it. Going down the stairs again and reaching the door, Han saw that his creations and Selestra were waiting for him. They were slightly surprised at seeing Ha-Yoon but disregarded it as none of their business.
Using the same method he had, Han entered into the secret room. Now that he understood what this place was all about, it seemed to make more sense. The reason for the Varg being placed on the tables were to understand how to combat them. The Ones Before may have been weakened, but they probably could handle several hundred of the creatures with little problem.
"What is this place?" Ha-Yoon asked Han, as she walked into the room.
Turning towards her, he answered, "this is where a member of an ancient race, known as the Ones Before, created the mechanism called the Overflow. These monsters, the same one we have seen before, are known as the Varg and appeared on this place ages ago."
"W-wait! You are telling me that someone created the Overflow??" Ha-Yoon shook her head, trying to make the news disappear. "Someone made this thing that not only killed my family, but also millions of people?!" Her voice trembled from the fury she was trying to contain.
Han placed a hand on her shoulder, but she brushed it off. "No! I had to watch as a monster got over the wall and snuck into our house, and ended up eating my mother as she was tucking me into bed!" Her eyes dulled as she remembered the event. "I still remember all the blood that covered my face, it was so warm and sticky... My father and brothers heard the noise and came to see the monster gnawing on my mother. Her bones were crunching between those horrid jaws." A single tear went down the side of her face. "They tried to attack it, but we had no weapons. I remember hearing them call out to me, telling me to run out of the house. I ran as fast as I could trying to find anyone that could help. By the time I found people and the monster was killed, my entire family was torn apart."
He tried giving her a hug, but she wouldn't have any of it. She looked him in the eye, tears streaming down, "I tried!! I really tried to get help as fast as possible!!"
"It was not your fault. You were only a kid." Han tried to tell her.
"It may not have been my fault, but now you are telling me that someone had orchestrated this?! Someone allowed these creatures to come and ravage everything?! Let those monsters to go around and kill children and people? How many babies were eaten by these Vargs?!" She spat out the name of the creatures with disgust.
Instead of answering her, he stayed silent. Though there was a reason for why the Overflow had to occur, Han didn't know if Ha-Yoon would be interested in hearing about it. Listening to the voice explain the situation, Han knew that the Overflow was the logical option but something being logical was sometimes not a reasonable answer for someone who had witnessed the things Ha-Yoon had seen.
"If the Overflow never existed, then my parents would be still alive, and I would not have had to..." She gritted her teeth, before saying the last part. It was like there was a flood of emotions coming out of her mouth and only the strength of her jaw could hold it back. High pitched noises could be heard escaping between her teeth, sounding as if they would all come bursting out and finish what she started.
As Ha-Yoon stood there crying, Han looked up at the ceiling and asked, "Was there a method created to get back onto the created planet?" He didn't know if he would get a response but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.
"Yes. A transporter was created as a backup in case certain events took place. Based on calculations made, it will send the user to the designated location." The voice replied to his inquiry.
"Where is it located?" Han asked looking around at the closed off room.
The voice remained silent, but a door opened off to the side. "I guess that answers my question." He rolled his eyes at the voice.
Going over to the newly revealed area, Han noticed something which appeared to be a magical circle on top of a metallic platform. "Looks like something out of a science fiction novel..." He muttered. Tapping towards the platform, he tried to learn what it was.
Transportation device
Upon stepping on the device and inserting the required mana amount, the user will be transported to the designated location. The user is cautioned with making sure that the designated location is in line with what is set into the device.
"Master, this looks to be the device the voice was speaking of," Brittany told him.
"Yes. It appears to be the case." He agreed with her. Han admitted to himself that he was slightly disappointed by the look of the device. He was expecting something amazing, especially from beings that could create an entire planet.
Leaving the area, he walked over to Ha-Yoon. "Are you okay now?" He gently asked her.
"Yes. I am sorry for lashing out towards you. Dealing with all of this was a little too much for me." Ha-Yoon apologized, as she began wiping away the tears.
"I think I may have learned of a way to get us out of this place." He told her once she seemed ready, pointing back at the room he came out of.
"Really?!" She was surprised and happy to hear this. Immediately, her face dropped once she realized something. "What about the Overflow? If we leave this place, we will be jumping from a semi-dangerous place to a perilous place."
"We can not think about that right now. Staying in this place is not an option, considering how we have no supplies." He pointed out to her.
"But can you not just make more supplied appear?" She asked a little confused.
"How long could that possibly last?" He asked her, insinuating he could run out of mana. It wasn't a direct lie, but he didn't want to reveal the entirety of his abilities. Han was also curious about what was happening on Eletran. From all the stories he had heard, the Overflow was a very intense experience.
"We should probably gather everyone down here," Han suggested to Ha-Yoon, trying to brush aside the topic they were talking about. Though he may be okay with lying to her, he didn't enjoy doing it.
--------
After everyone had gathered inside of the room, many of them complaining about the size of the room, Han nudged Ha-Yoon to get her to say something.
"After being sucked into that mana crystal, we were transported to this place where it appears the Overflow originates from." Looking around the room, she continued, "getting out of this place is the obvious priority. With some help, we have found a possible solution to our problem. Behind me is a transportation device that will be able to take us to where we belong."
The room erupted as everyone asked questions all at once. They were the type of questions that would be expected after people learned about a questionable method to get back home.
Waving her hands to get their attention, Ha-Yoon yelled out, "without any supplies, staying here is not an option especially with the number of monsters that are here. Though many of you are concerned about using this method, it may be our best chance. For those who are worrying about the Overflow, there may be a chance that we will appear in one of the cities."
There were more shouts and questions thrown out at Ha-Yoon, who tried to answer each one in a patient manner. Eventually, everyone understood that this was their only chance and the room quieted down.
"Okay! The device is not big enough for everyone to go at once, so you will need to go in groups. Each group will step onto the device and will be transported back." Han instructed the group.
When the first group was ready, they stepped onto the device looking a little frightened. Han tried to be reassuring before he inserted mana into the device. As the mana was put into the unit, Han could feel it suck in massive amounts of power. He had never felt this kind of thing before and was like fighting a giant vacuum cleaner.
"I did not expect it to take that much energy." Han huffed, wiping sweat from his forehead. It was the first time he really had to exert effort into something since the time he arrived.
When the next group stepped on, Han knew what to expect and managed to control the rate of mana that was being used up. This time he didn't feel as tired. It felt like he had taken a light jog down the street.
"Master, are you alright?" Aracia asked slightly concerned.
Nodding his head to get rid of her fears, he motioned for the next group to approach.
----
Once all the groups had gone through, the only people remaining were his creations, Selestra, and Ha-Yoon. "Well, it looks like it is just us now." He commented to everyone. "We should get onto the device quickly, just in case something is happening on the other side."
They stepped onto the platform and Han repeated the same step.
As Han used his ability, the world seemed to twist away, and they were sucked into some kind of tube. It was like some sort of strange tube slide he had played on when he was a kid. Looking at each of them, Han saw that they were all stretched out. In front of them was some kind of starry road that appeared and they were sliding on it.
Before he could wonder when it was going to end, all of them landed on the ground. A part of him wanted to hurl, as waves of dizziness passed. Looking around, Han saw that they were in some kind of giant city. It was completely different from anything he had seen before.
"Where are we?" some of the students asked amongst themselves.
Looking at Ha-Yoon, Han realized that she didn't even recognize this place. This fact was really troubling considering she was a former adventurer.
"Han, where are we," she asked him.
"Who are you, people!!" A man in a thick suit of armor demanded.
"Sir, they just appeared out of nowhere! Do you think they belong to the gods?" Another man asked the man in the suit.
"Hurry and contact the Priestess! I will hold them here until we find out what happens. There are several days until she predicted that start of the Overflow, we can not afford spies to infiltrate this city. Order the Priestess's personal guards to be on alert for any assassins!!" He ordered the man, who ended up running towards where the Priestess was likely located.
"Who are you, people?" Han asked them.
"Be silent!" The man yelled at him, pulling out a massive sword and pointing it at them. Behind him were a group of soldiers, who began to surround the students and adventurers. Some of the adventurers began to pull out their weapons, in anticipation of a battle.
"Wait for a second!" Han yelled at the adventurers.
Picturing the system in his mind, Han made the description appear.
Prelantia
A mighty city that resides in the Kingdom of the Sun. With advances in technology, this city has grown to a degree where it is considered an independent nation. Along with its sister city, Ulitantia, it can be considered strong enough to withstand the affects of the Overflow. This has allowed the city to prosper and grow in size.
"This place is called Prelantia?" Han asked confused; he didn't remember hearing about a city call that.
"What did you say?" Ha-Yoon asked him, urgency in her voice.
"Prelantia, why?" He asked her.
"Prelantia was the name of the ruined city outside of the Academy." Her eyes were wide open.
Looking around the city, some of the structures began to look familiar, though they weren't covered in vines and trees from hundreds of years of ruin.
"Fuck!" Han said to himself.