At dawn, Gilly found out she had fallen asleep in that hall, but she was covered with a blanket. She sat up and scanned her surroundings. Mizin was nowhere to be seen but she noticed a new pair of clothes was neatly laid beside her with a white cape. Her sword of Dragon Bone was laid on top of it. She was getting up cleaning her sleepy eyes when Ariel walked in with a bowl of warm water. As usual Zin-Li was close to her, but this time, she ran up to Gilly patting her on the head.

“You need to hurry up and get ready or you’d incur Lord Mizin’s wrath.”

She nodded and proceeded to wash her face. After that, she put on the new cloth. It was a dress similar to that of Hilary’s except it had an elaborate design, being green in colour, it consisted of a top and a bottom accompanied by a pair of silver boot. The cloth had a silver lining and a white cape. The cape had a hood which was good for hot days.

When she was fully dressed, she strapped Dragon’s Bone to her waist. Taking a quick glance in the mirror, she looked like a female Knight. Proceeding outside, she saw Mizin standing not far off talking to Aroelan. She noticed the green color from the corner of her eyes.

“Hmph. Ephini’s taste is not bad”.

Knowing how she dresses she put a lot of thought into Gilly’s outfit.

“Now you look like an Elven princess.

“Let’s get going then,” she led the way but before they got to the stairs Ariel called out from behind. She was carrying a bag.

“These are medicines and other items. I have written detailed prescriptions inside”.

Zin-Li stretched a pendant carved from wood shaped like a shield. Gilly bent down as she put it around her neck, touching Gilly’s head she smiled then went back behind Ariel.

They proceeded to the town, stopping by the chief office. There was a carriage that stood in front mounted by a knight clad in black amour. There was a sharp contrast however, as the chariot was white. Ephini stood beside it talking to the man in black amour. Gilly waved at her who turned and smiled.

“Gilly it’s been a while.”

The last time they had seen was when they returned from the council meeting.

They chatted for a while when Mizin threw Gilly a metal badge. It had gold inscriptions and was the shape of two fairies at the bottom of the tree. The fairies and tree were shaped using crystals which emitted a faint green aura. She was confused looking at the badge and back at her.

“Each council member has a badge, so do each royal family of each country and head family of each region. If someone pours magic into it, they will be able to know which region your form.

“It was your mother’s”.

She nodded and put it into her pocket. Aroelan bowed to Mizin and entered the chariot. Gilly waved back at Mizin,

“Keep in mind what I told you, experience this world first hand”. She smiled at Mizin. Before she could enter, Ephini jumped on her hugging her tightly. She patted her on the head then released her, Gilly entered the chariot and they were on their way.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

At the shore where the ship yard was being constructed, the process was going smoothly under Scarlet’s guidance and Festa’s advice. Kasim was nowhere to be seen. He had been there at first but after two day,s he disappeared. Scarlet was not worried about him; instead she was angry that he had barely assisted in the work.

...

Somewhere far from the ship yard.

In front of a cave stood a very big circular stone. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary stone. But on closer inspection looking underneath the moss covering the stone, they were still visible markings on the stone. Kasim stood in front of it observing the stone. He walked forward and went through the stone completely disappearing.

At the edge from where he stood, a chasm, spanning about four hundred meters in diameter and going down several hundred meters, could be seen. Sticking out from the walls of the hole were several building and walkways. There seemed to be an entire civilization down there; the buildings were numerous, assuming a downward spiral as one got deeper in the chasm. The bottom was hard to see as it was enshrouded in fog.

A large portion of the chasm’s top was sealed in earth with large crystals spanning the entire covering. These crystals changed color as the day progressed. He followed the pathway going downward. On a closer look, the city was filled with many races, some of which had gone extinct on the surface. There were some humans too and no one paid him mind.

Following the spiral, he explored the city, going from one store to the next. To facilitate his exploration, Kasim exchanged some valuables he had for their currency as the surface’s currency wasn’t of value here.

Some of the species moving around had metallic structures with gear like structures in them which produced clanging sounds as they moved about.

“Automatons!

“I didn’t think I’d see any of them here. Could this be where they emerged from?”

They were engaged in various menial tasks like farming, foraging and guarding the bottom half of the entire chasm.

“I guess that must be where all the resources obtained in this realm are gotten from.”

He sneaked pass a few automaton guards guards and passed the layer of mist. Below it was a different world comprised of towering metal building that shot up from the bottom of the hole, which was now visible. Many things stood out like the farms and other factories. There were less of other species and more of automatons.

He walked around, eavesdropping on conversations, trying to gather information about this city. This was the city of Eternal Dreams, its origin had been a mystery but it is ruled by some entity called the Death Lord. He resided at the western edge of the city which was not visible since his castle was built in the wall of the hole.

Kasim spent a few days spending valuable items in exchange for the currency used there. On the seventh day, a group of automatons with swords approached him.

“We need some identity”.

Their voices were distorted, with a static manner, their eyes with glowing embers in them. He brought out his country’s naval seal, the automaton in front retrieved it. After scanning it, they all looked at him,

“The record of this country cannot be found.

“You will have to come with us”.

Kasim’s instincts told him something was off. He had passed by the same automaton guards several times, they did not act and now they wanted take him somewhere he knew nothing about. He stood up and smiled, before dashing over them and out of the restaurant.

Stepping out, he was shocked; the streets were cleared and he was surrounded by automaton guards. Sensing imminent danger, he jumped up, opening a jar that was strapped to his waist midair. A gust of wind flew out and he flew off heading towards the platform he appeared from with the automatons following him closely behind.

They shot at him, different types of weapons which were not really common on the surface. They seemed to emit bursts of mana in compressed forms. Just like bullets!

Managing to eventually gain some considerable distance, he soon reached the stone platform he had originally appeared on. He immediately jumped towards and appeared to meld through it.

Soon after, the automatons reached the platform. Using a system on their arms, they recreated the last event that happened there. They then tried the same but failed, crashing back onto the ground.

...

Outside, Kasim hurried off into the distance running. When he noticed that he was no longer being pursued, he took a break under a tree.

“City of Eternal dreams. Seem like once your registered you can’t leave. Guess it was right sneaking around”.

After he had caught his breath and recovered his energy, he went back to the beach.