After decades of prosperity, Sunset City had been booming.

Outside of everyone's expectations, they rose rapidly again despite millenniums of slow decline.

And due to its long history and being under the roof of an almost omnipotent defensive system, its entire populace felt safe.

And it had always been like that, even in their lows. This thin-looking glass surrounding the city couldn't feel more sturdy in the populace's heart.

Mundane.

That's what Ginn's legacy had become.

And due to its effectiveness, no one ever looked outside with fear. All the city's troubles were from inside conflicts.

It became common for power to pass from leadership to leadership, even within the same generation. And it also became normal to see the current administration trying to remain on top by going as far as throwing death sentences around.

The present understanding wasn't unique, as, over the years, they all understood that the only way to fall was from the inside.

So, seeing bodies pinned on the front gate wasn't bizarre. It wasn't even that gossip worth, but two friends were in the city center talking about those sentences.

"Bro, there were quite a few this week."

"Did you go to the main gate again? Why?"

"I heard that there had been a couple more sentences. But it was way more than I expected."

"Why do they bother with such terrible sight? They should instead burn them."

"An example?" The man was going to talk more, but he felt something pushing on his heart, so he looked around and then up.

"Are you okay? You don't look good."

"Something is off."

"Did you forget to pay someone again?"

Yet, his friend didn't joke around this time as he grew paler and paler, which made Josh finally stand up and come closer to aid his friend.

They both knew about Joe's uncanny instinct, so what sprouted into a joke soon turned into even more worry.

"Joey, you aren't dying on me, are you?"

Josh had developed, over the years, some low-level skills in healing and worked as a nurse, so he didn't just ask but also began supporting his friends as much as he could.

Yet, his friend showed no response. He only kept staring at the sky while holding his beer cup firmly.

A minute later, when Josh didn't know what to do, Joe groaned in pain and exercised so much force on the cup that it broke.

And the pain seemed to wake him up from the weird trance. But that didn't appease Josh's worry because as soon he woke up, Joe walked mindlessly out of the bar.

His friend's movements were slow, so after paying the bar owner, Josh was able to follow him.

Dozen minutes later, they arrived at the < Dragons > main gate.

As soon as they arrived, Joe began staring at the bodies pinned to the wall.

And if it was only that, perhaps Josh would be trying to get his friend's attention. However, they weren't alone, as a crowd of thousands surrounded this place.

The eerie view weighed on Josh, but that wasn't even the worst. In addition to the weirdness of it all, those people were emitting an insane amount of energy.

"We're screwed," Joe whispered.

"Dude, what's wrong? Are you back?"

"You followed? How long have we been here?"

"Almost an hour."

"The likelihood of the city failing is quite high."

"No way."

"And we might not even know why."

But as if breaking Joe's expectations, Ben Higgs suddenly materialized at the < Dragons > castle front gates.

Yet, despite the crowd surrounding him, Ben didn't react. He only carefully retrieved one of the bodies and began a rite that most of them have heard of at least once, an old legend describing the signs of a true < Dragons > descendant.

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As if that was the natural response, the thousands of people knelt and remained silent. Even Josh, who wasn't that interested in Sunset's past, knew enough to show respect.

"It's going to be a slow journey back," the weird elder in front of them whispered.

Looking around, Ben finally paid attention to the growing crowd.

"Free you are. Do not remain stuck in the past. The < Dragons have fell >. So, do not stay on those barren lands that will soon become those..." a glass needle aimed for his head, interrupting Ben.

However, the mechanism that built the coffin also stopped the attack and returned it.

Such action put a strain on the shield, so crackling could be heard around the city.

"It will become those apex idiots' sore spot."

"< Blessed be the Dragons >," thousands chanted in unison.

"Blessed?" Ben smiled, finding the surviving legends ironic. In his eyes, there was no blessing, only the corrosion of time.

While he thought about this lineage decline, he was waiting for another attack, but it didn't come.

The city's defensive mechanism also woke and began acting.

The shield began cracking, the buildings overtaken by runes and people affected by it. Many were overpowered by the underground layers of protection and rooted in place, but not everyone.

Josh and Joe were one of those who stayed free. And not only that, but they also felt an increase in their internal energy, the highest defensive measure known from the legends.

The city foundation judged its citizens accordingly.

'The intention is giving me a choice? But that doesn't seem like something Ginn would do. Who is it, then? Well, this choice isn't that difficult.'

Ben raised his walking stick and yelled.

"< Blessed be those clearheaded >."

Those who stared at Ben looked up in unison.

The shield that protected them for millions of years broke and fell from the sky as if raining on them.

Yet, there was no damage. The rain instead flew towards those who remained free and sunk into those people's bodies.

By the time the rain ended, Ben was already walking toward the main hall while the coffin slid behind him.

After the crowd exited their stupor, they also followed Ben inside.

As the procession went through the dreary and silent city, more and more people joined them.

When Ben walked into the main hall, he could see the bodies of the people the intent had killed.

But he didn't give it much attention and walked to the center of the room. And when he finally stood there, he looked back toward the door. There he saw some people staring at him, as they couldn't enter since the place wasn't big enough for everyone and some protective mechanisms were still in place.

Ben knew if not for the effect of the formation below his feet, such a sequence of events wouldn't have been this peaceful. And he could guess how chaotic the city would be once he left.

But he still did it without looking troubled.

He ordered the floor to act, so it slowly moved as it brought him underground.

Ben lost sight of the small part of the crowd, but while he was curious, he still had his mission to complete.

The descent took a while, so Ben used that time to complete the funeral ceremony. By the time he returned to the room with the people he had saved, Ben only had a vase with ashes in hand.

The small group had been waiting, but it had been so long that they sat around and chitchatted.

Without talking, Ben walked to the kid and gave him the vase. Even if he didn't understand fully now, perhaps someday he would, Ben thought.

Soon after, without explaining anything anymore, Ben raised his walking stick again and ordered the room to initiate the process for transportation.

Bubbles of Spirit raised from the floor and enveloped everyone in the room. The energy inside the bubble soon became so dense that people floated on it.

Yet, no one was surprised.

Earlier details of such a process had appeared inside their mind, so they were prepared for it.

'No one is against it,' Ben noted as those bubbles acted on the < Dragons > descendants.

Body and memory reshaping happened first. Then, their bloodlines got carved into a new system. Every small change strived so that others couldn't easily recognize them.

At the side, Ben sat down and rested until the long-range teleportation was ready.

...

Lucia Aravyz had the most magical affinity within the group, so she was the first to wake up.

She felt groggy, but she knew where she was exactly, despite never coming here. She also knew why she was here and that she had forgotten many details of her past.

Looking around, she saw many small animals surrounding them curiously. Everyone else rested on the floor, sleeping peacefully.

She could feel defensive measures in place and see a small village surrounding the tree as her bloodline had informed her.

She also saw the elder staring at her while sitting under this ancient tree.

"You hid well from them. But for a moment, I thought you would pursue something higher, as you have the talent needed for such hope to sprout."

"My mom and brothers need me."

"They do indeed. And while this place isn't your home, you can make it so. And you can also always leave later if you want to aim higher, although I wouldn't if I was you since this was also a place prepared for you.

Well, I'll leave you on the watch since you woke up. The others might take up to two weeks to recover, but that's a protective measure to help them deal with the side effects of long-range teleportation. They don't need help, only rest."

"I must thank you for fulfilling my brother's wish. I won't ever forget it, either."

"You're welcome. Fortunately, everything aligned to allow me to do at least that much. That wasn't my main intent, though. My main intent was to bring you here. So, I hope you feel at home as much as I did back then. Anyway, I'll be back much later when my presence doesn't put this place in danger."

As the ancient figure disappeared before her eyes, the pressure over her shoulder evaporated, and Lucia sat down as she cried for the first time in years.

When she noticed her talents, fear was rooted in her heart because she knew if the current Sunset leadership discovered her, her whole family would suffer. She hid it all so well that even her parents didn't know.

And in the end, it didn't matter if she was a genius or not since the danger surrounding her didn't allow her to grow. Instead, she could only hide away while feeling powerless.

Her father also held taboo knowledge, so her fear doubled back then.

But now, she felt free, finally.

She was heartbroken due to losing her father, but she ended with this messy breakdown as the happiness from the reality of finally being allowed to live their life set in.

Mixed conflicting tears flowed down her face.

After the main shock, she crawled toward her brother and embraced the vase with her father's ashes.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She repeatedly whispered as if seeking forgiveness.