A gate appeared on a small island with nothing around except some sand, trees, and a small mountain. From within the gate emerged Zero’s group. This being the first time Julius and Hammer experienced teleportation they were surprised to see the scenery change simply by walking through the gateway.
“Follow me it’s this way.” said Hel as she led them to the small mountain and walked through the mountain wall.
The group advanced forward through the fake wall and entered a long cave system. They spent 15 minutes walking until they were immediately met by an alarming world. Gravity was far stronger in this place compared to the outside world and could be felt with every step they took. Soon it became exhausting and Hammer and Hikaru had trouble walking anymore but they noticed a ruined city. A world of potential laid before their eyes and awaited them, but they proceeded with caution since it seemed like this place had a high potential for danger and death. They didn’t know what secrets this new hidden world held but this world was clearly treacherous. Fairly nearby they saw bits and pieces of beings that most humans would think only existed in their minds.
In the far-off distance, growls, and grunts of creatures, nobody could identify echoed throughout the entire cave. Looking around they finally manage to spot a few gliding creatures, hairy creatures, and what seemed might be aquatic creatures of some sort. These creatures would be dangerous for humans but Zero’s group would be able to easily handle them. Some of the creatures keep an eye on the group, possibly with the intent to either attack or simply respond to whatever you do. Zero thought it would be better to be safe than sorry, so he told everyone to keep a good distance from the creatures.
The ruined city was built atop a quiet and serene plateau and looked to have truly been an ancient wonder. Its beauty was matched by the backdrop of an overgrown lush forest which helped shape the city into what it was today. The climate of the forest was of great importance, but they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings have been built alongside the trees and often incorporate many different forest elements.
A massive undamaged skyscraper stood at the center of the ruin and it seemed to be made of a metal that continuously moved and changed as new exterior designs were added on and then removed.
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“This is the lost Meath Empire!” exclaimed Yoko in a surprised tone
“What is the Meath Empire?” asked Alucard
“The Meath Empire is a lost empire created by wizards and witches almost 3,000 years ago. I hear about it but I thought it was a myth. That spire there was said to be their crowning achievement holding all their knowledge of the world and magic. I searched for it in my human days but never found it.” answered Soma
“Oh, so this is a mystical lost city then it might be perfect for my plan. Let’s look around and make sure that it’s safe. Let’s also check to see if there’s anything worth salvaging.” said Zero
As the group walked around they noticed that the network of roads in Meath were barely detectable beneath layers of dust, sand, shrubs, and leaves. Dry grass, dying bushes, and withering flowers were all that's left of a well-kept underground herb garden.
As they walked past the overgrown garden they found many buildings with old decayed furniture and some doorways seemed in relatively decent condition while others were destroyed. Some of the buildings were in such bad shape that they were indistinguishable from other collapsed walls and piles of rubble. Many roofs had collapsed and, in some cases, had taken the entire building with it. Others looked in decent shape and were simply dirty and filled with nests.
Meath looked to have been a major festive town and home to an amazing nightlife from the many taverns and eateries scattered around the town. It was now a mere distant memory of those better times now that it was filled sounds of wild animals who'd made their home in this town are carried in the wind and give it a new sense of liveliness and vibrancy.
Many cultures seemed to have left their mark not just on this city's history, but also upon the city's identity. What historically was a city of monotony has grown into an amalgamation of differences and seemed to have the capability to hold over 300,000 people to this day. Street after street of abandoned homes made for a terrifying thought of what possibly occurred to this civilization. Each house was once a home, a home belonging to a family and now there was only emptiness and some even held the bones of the deceased. But with nothing else to lose this town had a strange sense of comfort about it. This was a world of opportunity, except there was nobody there to take it until now, and with a little creative thinking, a bit of tenacity, and some resourcefulness; Zero knew that this would work out even better than what he first planned. The future looked bright if they could repurpose this city into a city for vampires and possibly witches.
Since it was a massive city and they could get lost or separated Zero and the others created an easy-to-spot marking on building so they can find their way back more easily as you set upon a world beyond your imagination.
As they looked around Yoko said, “This is truly an incredible find. It truly has a marvelous multicultural identity that has been marked and influenced by many cultures throughout the ages. These buildings look to be a mixture of Minoan, Roman, and Egyptian. It's weird that Roman architecture could be found here since this city fell before the Roman empire rose I wonder if a few survivors made it to that region.”
Yoko seemed to be in her own world as she investigated the ruins. The others looked at her then at Zero but Soma answered by saying, “Mrs. Belnades is our teacher and she was always passionate about the subject of history so this is perfectly normal.”