Never give up. No matter how many times he fell, groveled in the sand, cried till his eyes bled, there had to be a way. Except that deep down, he wondered if there wasn’t.
“Suruj, you okay?” Lanu had asked him. “You took a crash and passed out. Would water improve your condition?”
Suruj woke up covered in sweat due to the heat of the desert. The sun already set, the ocean night sky glimmering with stars. Calming his breath, he wiped the sweat from his forehead. They should be arriving at the city sooner or later, Suruj thought.
“I’m fine. How about Kwazhak?”
“Well…” Lanu looked forward, then back at him. “I think it’s best we leave him alone for a while.”
There were guards assigned to each and every fighter. They were all confined in one convoy, as the Representative planned to teleport directly to the entrance of the city once they were close enough. Suruj still never knew what the KWKK was. Translating the full Khoit abbreviation back into his native language, Galag, spelt ‘Chamber of Commerce for Tournament Affairs’.
“Alright you muqatil,” Nyebvůkshå exclaimed, “We will be teleporting to Kapori, the north entrance to the city.”
He kneeled down on the floor, and pressed his hand against it. Closing his eyes, the saharic particles nearby all drew to the man. A white glyph surfaced.
“Mahou Shunkaidou.”
Suruj didn’t even notice they had been teleported across the entire desert until he looked outside the window. The large buggy was driving on a clearly defined asphalt road, decked with sand. Then it came to a heavy stop. The guards quickly ordered them to file out of the vehicle, with no excessive hostility. When Suruj stepped out of the buggy for the first time, he took a large glimpse of the biggest city he had ever seen in his life.
“Welcome to Dineh Kazaàd ‘Autónoma,” The Al-Wa representative threw up his hands, “The oasis of the Dine al-Othoj, the Dineh’s Rümqî!”
Hundreds of thousands of skyscrapers scaled the dark sky, filled with colorful flashing lights and humongous minarets that were the size of entire stadiums. Various billboards flashed their hologram screens, full of advertisements and flashy images. A syncretism of Azu and Khoitan architecture drew the attention of even the most novel urban architects, Azu arched roofs being merged with Khoitan domes and iwans, large rectangular walls with pishtaq gates covered top to bottom with Khoit calligraphy. At night, the city was a light show with endless amounts of buildings competing to show off their glamor.
A large turbine ran through the background of the metropolis, bigger than Dyak-ar-salaam’s Negosyo, Juancito, and Kalykeño Wards combined, with a height towering above even the tallest skyscrapers of Rümqî. The outer rim of the turbine was even more breathtaking than the fan itself; a gigantic arch-like behemoth stretching from one side of the city to the other. Constructing such a feat would have taken many lives and eras to be fully completed.
Suruj saw it all from the front gates of Kapori, too stunned to say a word. The rest were the same, all looking up at the architectural marvel of Dineh Kazaàd ‘Autónoma.
The north entrance to the city was a large Torii gate. Layered in Khoitan patterns and designs, it was still distinguishable to be of Azu origin. The city consisted of three major districts; Kapori-ku of the north, Taikai-ku of the south, and Pupunru-ku of the central business district, as told by Nyebvůkshå.
After being verified at the checkpoint, no one gave suspicion to the fighters that were being escorted by armed soldiers. Suruj still had to find a way for them to escape.
“Back then, this place was home to the local Dineh Khanate,” Nyebvůkshå narrated, “But after the Dineh tribes were occupied by Azutami in 1947, Dineh and Azu engineers sought to build a perfect paradise, for both Azu and Dineh alike.”
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The main roads of the city were large, with many smaller streets all converging into one main road they were walking on. Loads of people decked the sidewalks, with rave-like music shaking the ground. Even the markets bore fluorescent lights and décor, blinking lights and colorful shows about. In contrast, there was a mozkara every two or three blocks, a place for religious worship of the Yyvubia Oomikami. There were very few mozkaras left in the three nations, and the only one Suruj ever saw was the Kalyk mozkara, burnt to a crisp. In certain sections of the streets were special praying areas, where dozens of people laid on their knees on plaid carpets, prostrating. From those sites Khoit throat singing could be heard, but it was almost impossible to decipher for Suruj. The residents spoke a vernacular Khoit dialect, for he could barely pick out words from nearby conversations. Signs were written in both Khoit and Azu, making everything readable to both nationalities.
They walked more than seven blocks, before entering Pupunru. The restaurants and shops started to appeal with traditional ramyen stalls and cloth tailors. The number of mozkaras decreased, and more pedestrians were of Azu descent.
“I don’t know what y’all thinkin’, but this city looks like a good place to live in,” Hyun-woo commented, looking all around.
“It is but, it’s more like they divided the place to separate the Khoitan and Azu,” Suruj pointed out, “When we passed from Kapori-ku into Pupunru-ku, there was a concrete wall that separated the two districts. Near it the contents of the buildings immediately change from Khoitan to Azu commodities. If we were to-”
“Go from here to Taikai it’ll be nice to get some souvenirs from both sides, heh.”
Mouka blinked twice and warned Suruj, where the guards were watching their every word. They couldn’t talk about it in the open.
Their destination was an Al-Bashwa Hôtel, the entrance stairs made of light-blue granite, doors and windows of glass. White pillars held verandas up above, Suruj had never been to any more fancy. The interior was no different. Light colored walls and floors, the ground covered in red carpet. Spiral chandeliers and furniture with swirling patterns, as if they were following the wind. Entering the establishment, Nyebvůkshå stopped the group.
“This will be your residence for the next two days until the tournament begins. Since we arrived earlier than expected, we will have you pick your formal clothes for the opening ceremony at the Yeii no Matsuri,” He announced, “You will be granted autonomy for the time being. However we will give you this,” The guards attached to each fighter a black bracelet. It projected a small blue hologram stating the fighter’s information. “This is to make sure you don’t do anything rash. Dineh Kazaàd ‘Autónoma has set up a signal field. Any of your crossings between Taikai, Kapori, and Pupunru will be notified to us and the KWKK. This device will constantly deprive your body of saharic particles, and any that you try to manipulate. By the way, this thing’s also sahar resistant. As for the Laoyuang,” He took out a hand brace, and locked it over Kwazhak’s hand. His fingers were covered with the brace, so he couldn’t hold anything. “In order to prevent you from using that Guizu Arcana your lineage has, this will stop it.”
All the fighters looked at him in disgust. Seeing their reactions, the man had a nervous sweat.
“Listen, you guys. I don’t want to do this, but because of your several escape attempts I’m following the policies of the KWKK by the book, in exception to the Laoyuang Prince.”
“Mr. Tsich- Tsuchi- Suchiri…” Saya butchered the representative’s surname. Suruj couldn’t tell if it was intentional, but she was trying.
“Ah, if my name troubles you, then you can call me by my Azu name, Tsuchiya.”
“Okay, Mr. Tsuchiya,” She said without hesitation, “Where is the venue for the Yeii no Matsuri held?”
“The atrium near the annex of the Tengerleg Stadium. We will go there tonight three hours from now,” He answered clearly. “Now, time’s a wasting. Your bracelets will help with the purchases.”
Given the freedom, the fighters decided that they would travel together. They were permitted to go anywhere in the city, but their movement was monitored, and they didn’t know what would happen if they tried to leave the metropolis altogether. As Suruj was heading out the glass doors, he overheard Kwazhak and Tsuchiya. From that point on, he kept a tab on them.
“Kwazhak Laoyuang. We’ve got Yeow Khouw’s body secured in the buggy we left outside the city gates. Would you like to have his body sent back to your residence in Lāoyuàng ‘Aimag?”
“...” The prince paused for a moment, “Yes… I would like that very much.”
“As you wish,” Tsuchiya bowed with respect. Suruj didn’t know that some Al-Wa employees such as that existed. “One more thing. After Prince Tayang departed, he left Corporal Ungchi Conghuong’s corpse, so we decided to take it as well. His file shows that he is an only father with one son. Shall we send his body-”
“Why art thou asking of me?” Kwazhak responded in the same tone. “The son will know of his father’s death. His death will mature him.”