“--The new Axiom Pro 15, available worldwide on the 12th day of the 10th month, twelve-five. Be the trailblazer.”

The giant billboard curved around the round edge of a building -- an Axiom store -- blared a series of advertisements on repeat, their multitude of videos intriguing Ayn. He had seen some of these films before, though with no sound and without colour. In his era, the hero was one of the fortunate few to receive a demonstration during a fair in the western city of Sin-Tador, an economic and innovative powerhouse during his time. However, this billboard -- one of hundreds just in Cadra, surpassed the simple films far above and beyond.

“I think you should get a phone. It’s basically impossible to live without in the modern age anyways,” said Sivrit.

“Huh? You don’t have a phone? I thought you were from Ala-Moss!” exclaimed Attila.

“It’s… complicated.”

“Hm…”

“Anyways, we should head in,” interjected Sivrit.

Ayn was soon faced with a glass wall, splitting in its center. He was confused about the intended method of entrance and was surprised by the automatic nature of the sliding door.

“Woah…”

“Don’t tell me this is your first time seeing a sliding door too…”

“I-I’ve seen it before! They’re like… sliding doors.”

“Come on Attila, and Ayn too!”

The large area was filled to the brim with strange electronics. Of course, he knew what electricity was -- exposed to a myriad of electric spells -- and he even knew of those engines and motors that created and used electricity as an energy source. However, the complexity of the operations was far beyond the hero’s comprehension, who could not even wrap his head around how the steam engine worked.

He carefully made his way through the moderately crowded stores, receiving some strange looks along the way. He was simply a man out of time, faced with strange people, a strange world and strange situations. However, he was glad that there were still good people, people like Sivrit and Attila.

“...Siv, did you hear about the incident near the Revel Church today?”

“Yeah…”

“It’s getting pretty dangerous out here, even with the Endlegion around.” said Attila, “I think you should hold back on venturing outside of the city from now on, I have a feeling that this is just a beginning.”

“A beginning of what?”

“Well… I heard that it might be an attack by the anti-demon terrorist groups. I know the Endlegion and the Royals say that they’re all gone now, but I mean, only demons were targetted in this attack -- isn’t that a bit strange?”

“Hm… You might be right… In that case, shouldn’t you be more careful around? Maybe you should get a disguise charm.”

“No way! I’ll be fine, I’m the prodigal daughter, remember? If anyone tries to hurt me -- bam! They’ll be gone in no time.”

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“...Is it hard being a demon in Avangarden?” asked Ayn.

“Hm… I suppose it is, a bit. It’s a lot better than the olden days I heard, but it’s pretty clear that a lot of people still try to hide their demonic heritage. You do sometimes get strange looks, especially from the older folks, but I’ve personally never had any problem.”

“Really?”

“But maybe I’m just a special case. I mean, there aren’t many demons in the capital in the first place and the reason I’m here is thanks to the full-ride scholarship!”

“...I suppose times have really changed.”

“Hm? I suppose it did.”

“Attila, I understand your position, but this is serious! You could get hurt! I mean, this could be a real terrorist group…”

While Sivrit sincerely wondered the question, unsure what might have been the cause of the attack, Ayn uncomfortably pondered the truth -- that Reginn was the one who began the spell. Of course, he knew not of the stranger who led Reginn away, but from his days of working with criminals, thieves, politicians and psychopaths, he could tell when someone was in that true, evil focus only achievable with a strong sense of self-righteousness, faith and confidence.

However, he kept silence. What was he to do with this information? It wasn’t as if telling Sivrit would change much, and Ayn still trusted that Reginn could change -- he was but a caveman after all to the rest of the world. Though from the time he observed Reginn, he saw a vulnerable child, not fully matured -- a bit like himself. However, this combination of immaturity and power was the most dangerous.

“What do you think about this, Ayn?”

“Hm?”

“It’s not much, but this one should do the job,” said Sivrit as she handed the hero the Axiom 15.

“Siv… Man, I suppose the rich and the poor people’s brains just work differently…”

“Come on Attila, my parents always told me to treat guests with utmost respect, so I’m sure they wouldn’t mind.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about, they never mind anyways!”

“What, do you want a new phone or something?”

“Thanks, but no thanks. For some reason, it just feels wrong…”

“Well, you do you.”

After checkout, Attila stared at the letters “2371.87F” with disgust, though to Ayn the word meant a wildly different value than he once knew and he simply wondered why Attila was reacting this way,

“I’ll help you figure everything out later, let’s go buy some clothes for you first.”

“Ugh… Before that, can we have lunch?” asked Attila while clutching her grumbling stomach.

The group dropped by the cafeteria for some grub, another foreign experience for Ayn.

“This is… a ‘burger?’”

Within the noisy cafeteria, the floor greasy with oil and the bright collage of colours decorating the walls and stores in every direction, Ayn was faced with a fantastic new invention -- its odour equally as fantastic. Not curiosity, not wonder, not unfamiliarity, the hero only felt confusion on why someone hadn’t invented this culinary revolution earlier in history for him and his friends to enjoy.

“W-wow… You’re really digging into it, huh?”

However, the leisurely times were soon interrupted by the sound of a falling object shattering through the glass rooftop of the mall, landing squarely in the center of the floor.

Sivrit and the others moved to the ledge of the second floor and looked down at the ground floor now covered in glass and a massive cross -- though thankfully no one was injured.

“What is that…?”

The crimson cross was veiny and covered in blood, pulsing as if it were a living organism. It had six eyes on each side, the long slits forming stars on the faces of the metal. Even it seemed to be confused about how and why it was here.