The wind pushed against Atlas as he sprinted through the destroyed city he had never once seen, the slacking remnants of a civilization he had not experienced. His mind wondered for all but a second before it snapped back to attention, helping him duck under the clenching jaws of rabid dog, flying for his neck meat. He then slid under a half collapsed wall up ahead, as it covered the width of the road. Ru Shi did the same while Ru Feng vaulted himself over with but a simple pull, his muscles jiggled as he landed back on the ground and bulldozed through a thick chunk of bushes growing from the cracked asphalt. Roots torn with part of the ground chasing after him.
Carius blazed a zig zag path as he dodged new beasts popping up under buildings, form broken windows, store fronts, and overgrown porches. His frightened screams echoed in the city taken over by overgrown house pets.
Atlas run up a broken piece of wall slanting onto the ground, dodging a sea of rats moving in union from the shadowy parts of the broken city. The rest followed, hoping to fly over the river of squeaking beasts.
“There’s a god-DAMNED rat swarms as well!” Carius yelped in fright, missing a step, the ground left him and he dove straight to his death. Until Ru Feng stretched out his palm, grabbed onto his combat suit along with a hefty portion of his pony tail and tossed like a used rag over the gap. He himself simply jumping over the 12 meter distance with agility that did not match his frame. Atlas could tell through Ru Shi’s terse look and Ru Feng’s ragged breathing, even from the trembling he could feel at his leg joints at his every pause, this could not last much longer.
Suddenly- “YOU BUMBLING FOOLS! COME OVER HERE!”. A Gruff old man standing near the entrance of a half collapsed apartment building ordered. He waved them over, his cane raised high above his head. His grizzled shout loud as gunfire.
“Book it for the grumpy old man! Mirage or not, Here I come!” Carius abruptly spun on his heels and sped straight for the white haired shriveled prune that could very well be their only way out.
“I ain’t no mirage or nothing! Are you brain dead young man?” The old man stood aside as the party of four rushed into the doorway without looking back. He may have one foot in the grave, yet his ears heard all.
He shut a hefty door behind him, turned the locks one by one as beasts slammed on the thick metal, then turned a steering wheel with a pull, which tugged on heavy steel bars acting as weights, they lifted and held a taught an array of elastic bands and roped that covered the door diagonally from the ground up. With or without locks it would stay in place.
Then the old man turned around and smacked Carius in the head. “Hear that? Mirage…” He scoffed to himself. His voice barely reaching the party over the incessant head slams leaving dents on the door.
“Damn, old man. You got a heavy hand….” Carius whined as he held the bump on his head, looking around the hallway, just like the rest of them. An elevator dismounted from its shaft, stairs leading up crammed with debris, rubble, and bent, rusting nails pierced into the wall in a straight row, missing their post office boxes. Where they had gone they could only guess.
“Stop your whining. We have no time. They’ll cut through that door in no time. We run!” The man approached the elevator shaft, his hand trembled as he reached up and grabbed a bell mounted to the side of what once was the automated sliding door frame. A crisp sound echoed in the building. For but a moment the sound of wild barks and savage mewling subsided under the melodic ring of the bell.
From above came a responsive shout and a platform was dropped down at neck breaking speeds. It stopped right at the height of the floor as its ropes were drawn taught and, the little wheels on its sides screeched to a hold in their shafts. The old man stepped onto the elevator as if it was only routine and made space for the rest.
The party hesitated, it was the large booming sound of metal bending, and the sharp series of claw marks cutting open the thick metal of the door, the eyes of those beasts, red and manic, that without missing a bit that all four of them were on that platform, Carius swung his arm on the bell string as if he had Parkinson's.
It was with a massive sigh of relief that Carius stopped ringing the bell, for the rest of them. He yelped, even as the ground floor disappeared and the rattling of the door and its locks went near silent for the rest. He stood up from the floor of the open aired elevator and coughed as he dusted off his black and slick traveling clothes. Stylish black, form fitting yet loose and nimble. Intricately cut to make it airy and breathable without having it lose combat versatility. A Laertis trademark.
The party led by the old man eventually reached the end of the shaft. They went past it, through the roof of the last apartment and came to the rooftop under a makeshift metal crane, and to a man sweating, black curls stuck to his skin, his hooked nose and piercing eyes, pulling and pushing on a lever connected to a steel wire cable through a few gears. He had clearly grown tired as he pulled the group up.
“What?” Carius’ eye twitched as he stepped off. His eyes locked on something in the distance. Not paying attention to the man, who despite his lack of breath, had tried to introduce himself.
Ru Feng rushed to the lever, tapped the man on the shoulder. “Thanks for the ride.” He said not even looking at him. Instead he waited till everyone alighted the elevator before letting it drop down and pulling it in a rush. He smugly sniffed his nose once he repeated the process a few times.
“Ru Feng. Stop playing with the elevator!” Ru Shi scolded to which Ru Feng pouted in anger, he stepped aside and Ru Shi took his place and played with the elevator in his stead. “It is pretty interesting. Almost like a big yo-yo.” She chuckled through the effort.
“Sorry about them. Nice to meet you and thanks for the save. I’m Atlas Laertis. From the Clan up north.”
“I could guess” The helper said and motioned to Atlas’ attire. “Your thanks should go to my father, though. He’s the one that insists on going out of the safe zone on the daily. I’m Jonathan George Jr, glad you asked.”
“Didn’t ask, but happy to know, I didn’t really expect to meet any people in the city. You see I’ve never been forced to go outside the clan grounds.”
“Why were you forced now? Did those pillars of smoke come from your place? A few days ago.” Jonathan asked, his min creating the connection right away.
“Sure was. A spirit Beast attacked. Destroyed us, we are here in search of medical supplies.”
“A Spirit Beast?” Jonathan questioned. Atlas slapped his forehead. Of course Jonathan wouldn’t know of the proper terms.
“Yeah, A truck of a beast with control over fire. If you’ve met them, it was on the same level as that Cat Don and the Golden Retriever that leads the gang of dogs. At least in theory.”
“You defeated it? You have Integrated with Qi?!” Jonathan shouted, shocked. Barking echoed from the streets in response.
“Integrated?” Atlas asked, yet did not wait for an answer. “No, I haven’t. We killed it through team effort, luck, and 18 years of non-strop training. If we had been prepared it would have been much easier. Mortal weapons could still hurt it after all. But we’d not expected it. We had been arrogant, I must say.”
The old man limped with the help of his cane past Atlas and his son, tapping the both of them on the shoulders. He reached the edge of the roof, looking towards the central plaza of the city.
“We should get a move on. While those rabid pets don’t feel like a threat right now, that doesn’t mean they won’t be soon. We should get to the protected area, even better that we found you then, as it seems your mission relates very much to my profession. I’m a pharmacist.” Old man George said as he stared from above at the situation below devolving into a senseless bloodbath now that their target was gone.
Carius, paid no heed to the old man’s words despite their importance. “This can’t be serious, I’ve gone mad.” He questioned his sanity.
Atlas turned to his shell-shocked cousin, his eyes widened, his body froze, and the lights of the plaza glimmered in his silver irises. Ru Shi and Ru Feng noticed as well and stopped playing with the elevator, left it to Jonathan as they exclaimed in amazement.
A city still standing, hidden above the overgrown destruction. One rooftop after another connected by makeshift rope or metal bridges. Tens, hundreds of tents and other semi apartments set up and packed with people at still standing roofs. Families quietly and carefully spending their days on rooftop gardens hidden, shielded from the sun and weather in cheap huts, and under the canopies of titanic trees, grown full with the Qi of the World.
A wonder of human ingenuity despite circumstances, Atlas thought. And then was the center of this city on the grave of the old. An enormous building, foreign, not belonging. A glorious monument to the change that had come over the world. A human yet unfamiliar structure shining from the light of its own creation. A silent, ever present, chime echoed off its dangling chains of gold and platinum.
A tall Asian pavilion, open at the core, supported by 8 thick wooden pillars of deep rose-red. With a curving roof made from emerald green tiles, sharp and perfect. At its top a drop of gold, like a mosquito to light, Atlas could barely look away. And at its very top the soft shine of a waning moon matching that in the sky just behind it to a tee.
On all eight corners of the roof, stood dazzling statues of different mythical beasts all magnificent, life-like, as if they would jump or fly away from their position at any moment. Yet they couldn’t as chains held them to the earth.
Golden chains wrapped around their paws and claws, wrapping around the pillars, entwined into the intricate designs carved into the wood. They stopped right above the soft cherry wood railing on the base of the Pavilion. It run delicately around the structure, except for its four cardinal sides, which featured steps of marble, with pink wisps and clouds.
The whole structure was clean, impossibly so. It looked almost like a computer graphic, too perfect, too far above human standards. Atlas hadn’t even seen a computer graphic and could make the comparison.
“Yeah. I get it kids, You’ve just seen evidence of alien sentience. I get it. But we really don’t have the time. So get that country bumpkin bewilderment out of your faces and get a move on or we’ll be jeopardizing the safety of the whole city at this rate.” Old man George grumbled.
Atlas along with the rest of the party moved quickly through the connected route of buildings, and communities, to the formerly empty plaza. They moved down a set of stairs, not clogged by debris, and were greeted with the slimy smile of a man dressed in garb not fitting with the situation, the weather, and the culture of the area. He stood out, waiting, hands clasped behind his back as he scanned every single person that exited from the building, from their shoes to their hair.
“I see you’ve decided to return alive once more, old man. And you’ve brought company!” He exclaimed as if happy. “How rare. How rewarding of efforts. I’d lost hope on your sanity for a while now, guess I was wrong.” The voice of the man was relaxed, demeaning, his arrogance could not be hidden even if he tried.
“It takes a long time to walk with this old cane at this old age, Foreman. And yet I still do this trip every night, without losing even my breath. I still have many years to live it seems.” Old Man George ignored the death wish, he spoke as if to explain. He walked up to the rotund, slimy foreigner and handed him a small length of paper from the pocket of his jacket.
“If you continue obeying Eternal City, I don’t see why not. It’s one of the more common rewards afforded to those that work well with our ways.”
“That a great deal. Obedience for life. I hope me and my son have been obedient enough to earn these pour travelers a night’s stay at my home.” Old Man George questioned with his best smile. He was close to the foreman, but not too close, as per the rules.
“Sure you can. It’s not gonna cost you a thing, if its only a one nights stay. All they have to do is give up their weapons, register with me, and leave from my entrance as well. Right?” The foreman hand grasped Old man George, held the weary man tight. At his nod he grinned, teeth bright yellow, and turned around to wave at his fellow foremen. They glowered with dark, unsatisfied looks. They knew he’d get a big bonus from the higher ups this time. Maybe even cultivation supplies, they thought as urgency fueled their jealousy.
The party was in a hubbub during this, leaving their weapons was not a wise choice. And not a choice the were going to have to make, half of them that is. The Laertis Clan had infinite ways to hide weapons on their bodies, and an infinite amount of hidden weapons to add, a combo that alleviated worries. Ru Feng and Ru Shi, on the other hand were forced reluctantly gave up their arms before providing some basic information to the foreman. Not of their own accord, only answering to his question with half lies and half truths. The basics of any clan’s teachings.
“Integration Percentage?” The Foreman asked, catching everyone off guard. The party looked at each other with blank looks. “You’re not integrated are you?” The Foreman lost some of his attitude. For the first time his smile crumbled, his one good hand moved into the folds of his oriental clothing. His eyes turned sharp, frigid.
“Yeah… That’s what we don’t get. What’s this integration you speak about?” Ru Shi asked. Atlas continued. “Don’t get us wrong mister foreman, we understand what you mean, but other than some vague feeling I can’t really tell you my progress. I know there has been progress though.” Atlas thought of the the feeling that had coursed through him the moment he had killed the King Boar.
“You… You all don’t see the Screen? The Cultivation status?” Jonathan interjected. He pointed with his finger in front of his face at empty air, tapping away as if there was something there to see.
“Cultivation Status? Screen? Have we all gone crazy? Or is it just me?” Ru Feng asked, finger dug into his ear, just in case.
“This is peculiar.” The foreman relaxed, hands returned to their neutral position. “The higher ups, over in Eternal City, were already by the existence of the screens. And now… Selective showing? Something, deemed you four different enough, that a screen of your progress towards integration was not required… Very peculiar indeed. I will allow you to enter into Borsi’s safe zone without any further questions. Be glad. It’s not every day that I am so kind. But there are pressing matters to deal with.” The foreman glowered at his competitors, his most genuine smile yet hanging on his sweaty face.
“Of course. Thank you very much for the service. We shall disturb you no longer.” Atlas nodded his head as he walked past, he grabbed a hold of the red paper ticket the foreman now held in his palms.
After they were all through, Atlas could finally release his breath. This was a new experience for him. He almost felt more at home being chased by a mob of angry beasts.
“Worried?” Carius asked, he threw a side-ways look at Atlas.
“You’re? We’ve been having one revelation after another.”
“It’ll settle in our stomach eventually, we can talk with the old man for more clarification soon enough…“ Carius stopped as awe overtook him, up close to the Pavilion and it polished steps without a hint of dirt. It smelled of ancient wood, of humidity and stone, of reservation oils and cleaning regents. Golden fuzz seemingly fell down like snow from its polished chains chiming softly with the wind.
“It’s the Eternal Pavilion, as they call it. Not very original, but they were sticking to a theme it seems.”
“It’s… a very magical building none the less. Is it the thing keeping this part of town safe from all the… beasts?” Atlas asked, and Carius bobbed his head next to him. The rhythm of the chimes sending shivers through his brain.
“Though I don’t get it much, it exudes an aura that drives away beasts and animals starving and not. A transparent wall that keeps us safe.” Old Man George explained, to the best of his understanding, his face covered in thick shadows as the golden light of the Pavilion and the silver of the moon rising warmed his back.
“It’s cool, and beautiful. But it raises more questions than I can possibly think about right now. Question whose answers I doubt I want to know.” Atlas sobered up at the possibilities the Pavilion brought to mind. ‘If it was so Eternal as it suggests, shouldn’t there be records of this Pavilion in the Ancient Texts? Was it built by the People of the Eternal City? Where even was that city, and if its people had powers that breached upon infinity, then what business did they have placing their creations on earth?’
Thoughts like that, without answers, floated in his mind and made a mess of its content. Peace came to him when finally Old man George stopped at the glass doors of a well maintained fours story building, welcomed them as he took out his keys and fiddled till he found the right one.
“We’ve arrived at my home. As well as that pharmacy you all wanted. Let’s get you settled in for the night and we can deal with the specific supplies you need on the more.” The Old man said and walked in followed by Ru Shi, who sniffed the stale air, her eyebrows peaked.
“Honestly old man George. Good job. I thought your wife would have left you by now.” He turned to her in both shock and confusion. “My wife? How did she come to mind?”
Ru Shi turned towards Jonathan, not answering. “Or maybe it’s a bunch of your friends? Now that I got a better smell they do stink of cheese.”
Atlas saw as Jonathan’s face turned whit as marble, sick and slimy. He turned to the Old man whose face had been overtaken surprise. A deep frown, gray and old, formed on his face, growing with panic that sent Atlas’ hands straight to his hidden weapons. His feet spread, his heart pumped.
“They found him! Jean’s in Danger!” The Old man shouted, before he could finish Atlas saw Ru Feng’s form blur. He bolted up the stairs, four at a time. The wind of the teens passing slammed into Atlas and sent his thoughts straight. He rushed after him.
“Wait! Ru Feng, It’s dangerous!” He shouted as he rushed. Hot on their heels followed Ru Shi with a bright smile formed on her face at the distraction. Carius meanwhile pulled on a tufts of hair to get some sense into his brain before rushing after them with trepidation flooding his thoughts.