CHAPTER 9: METROPOLIS

Three days had passed since Hermes' awakening. During that period, his soul felt more numb than his body. The completely white walls, the smell of freshly applied alcohol disinfectants, and the brightly lit LED directly situated atop his head bored him to death.

There were no magazines, books, or television to distract himself with. Viktor and Leonardo never showed up for a visit, either, which made him feel worried.

Fortunately for him, Angelica promised to take him out in a wheelchair in the evening to explore the city. This was the only thing that he could cling to for hope. Suddenly, the door began to open. Stepping out of the doorway was Angelica and a man he had never seen before.

His face was wrinkled, and he wore a trimmed white beard. His left eye had a large scar over it. His stern expression was overshadowed by the black windbreaker he was wearing, which was adorned with a metallic shoulder pad on his right. On his back, the hilt of a large sword could be seen. His shriveled, thick, gray hair was brushed back.

He exuded the aura of a seasoned warrior who had never let his guard down. Slowly, the pair walked beside the bed.

Angelica smiled and said proudly, "Let me introduce you to Old Man Arthur. He is the Commander of the Guardian Regiment Corps. I told him about how you wanted to join them after being discharged and he was interested in meeting you in person."

Arthur ignored her and went straight to the point.

"What is your goal in joining the corps? Depending on your answer, I may allow you in or kick you out of the city directly."

Hermes expected this. Angelica had already told him what kind of person the Regiment Corps Commander was like. Someone who was excessively stern and hated talking for longer than needed. Hermes did not see this as a bad thing, however. He favored these kinds of people who don't expect you to curry up to them for favors; he has had enough crappy bosses in the past to formulate this opinion on the subject.

He straightened his face and replied without hiding a thing,

"I want to join for two reasons. One, I want to become stronger. My earlier battle with that mutant made me aware of my weaknesses. Second, I want to prove myself to the people of this city so that their distrust can go away."

Arthur nodded while keeping his face stern, "Understandable, however, I am still unsure of your capabilities. Give me one reason I should let you join."

Hermes said without hesitation, "I have a special ability that lets me analyze any environment I am in, as well as being able to have thoughts in rapid succession. I can also easily grasp languages that I have never seen before. The one we are speaking in is an example of this."

Angelica and Arthur both looked at each other; this was an answer they had not expected! For them, usually, people would blabber on about their abilities when it comes to facing off against imminent threats or they may try to boast about their physical capabilities. Arthur looked back at Hermes and spoke with a suspicious expression marking his face.

"Have you always had these abilities, or did you only feel them after a certain point in time?"

"Before I landed on this planet, I had awoken on the Moon with no memory of how I got there. After stumbling out, the ancient palace I found myself in had an undead skeleton who was very strong."

"He attacked me and during that battle, I felt my brain could think a lot faster and more clearly. My eyes were also able to focus more and I could see farther than before without my glasses."

Arthur nodded his head and said,

"From the looks of it, you have already awoken as a Celestial, more specifically a Stage 1."

'I somewhat expected it, but it's still shocking to hear from someone else. When did I become a Celestial? Was it after I woke up or before my sleep?'

Hermes organized his thoughts and asked in a deep voice, "Celestials... How do they awaken, exactly? Is it normal for me to just awaken it on the spot?"

"Awakening usually happens when a person interacts with an Elysian Monolith. The Monolith will direct you to sleep and you will be tasked to complete a specific mission in the dream world. During that period, large amounts of Cosmic Force of a certain type will rush towards your body."

"If you succeed in the mission, your condition will stabilize and you will become a Celestial. If you fail... Your body will not be able to handle the Cosmic Force and mutate into a monster on the spot. We would need to put you down when that happens."

Hermes was shocked, but Arthur gave him no time to reply. "There are cases where individuals can stabilize their condition without the need of an Elysian Monolith. Those people are usually called The Gifted. But even they can suffer mutations if they continue down that path."

"So you are saying that I may be a Gifted?"

Arthur shook his head from side to side and replied in a deep voice, "It's hard to know. You could have already been awakened but not know of it since you lost your memories. From your description, you should be a Celestial of the Knowledge Domain."

Sensing his puzzlement, Arthur continued: "There are 6 possible domains for Celestials to specialize in. They are categorized as Knowledge, Stars, Death, Longevity, Dreams, and Technology. Out of the six, we only have Elysian Monoliths that correspond to Technology and Knowledge, respectively. The Xulu most likely has a stockpile in the Dreams domain.".

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Hermes nodded and smiled at the veteran in front of him.

"Understood. Does this mean Viktor corresponds to Technology? What does Leonardo correspond to?"

"He corresponds to Knowledge just like you. In the future, you may be able to learn a thing or two from him. Also, you have passed my interview. We will do another assessment of your abilities after you recover. The crown Stellar Artifact you had with you will also be returned to you then." He slowly turned around and walked towards the exit. Seeing this, Hermes decided to ask a question before the man completely left.

"Say, what happened to Viktor and Leonardo? Why have they not visited me yet? Did something happen?"

He slowly turned his head and spoke solemnly. "Viktor and Leonardo as well as a few others, are out on patrols to secure the area. The regiments have been extremely busy dealing with mutants who had mysteriously gotten stronger. The investigations are still being conducted." He gave no time for Hermes to reply and walked out of the room.

Hermes was finally able to sigh in relief. He had been worried that they might have had to deal with a lot of difficulties due to them bringing him into the city. Time passed as Angelica would occasionally bring up embarrassing topics to tease him from time to time as she continued to treat patients in other wards.

From his inquiries, he was able to deduce that a practice spar at the regiments injured a few of the cadets. The clock hit 4:00 in Martian hours.

Timekeeping was similar to Earth, with only a slight difference. This was because a Martian day was one hour less than on Earth, but the years last twice as long.

To fix these discrepancies, the 'ancient' Mars Local Time timekeeping method was used. In this calendar, A Martian day becomes 24 hours regardless, with each hour being equivalent to 60 minutes.

The only difference is that a Martian second would be slightly longer to offset the changes. By doing this, Sanctuary City was able to keep its customs of timekeeping similar to Earth's. They continued to account for the seasons, but each season lasted longer due to the longer rotation of Mars around the Sun.

Angelica walked into the room with an empty wheelchair rolling in front of her. She smiled and spoke joyfully.

"My shift is finally over. I can bring you out now to breathe in some fresher air. I'm sure you hated how stale it is in here. Even I get sick of this place from time to time!"

"Thank you for your continued care. I hope I'm not being a bother to you at all."

"Don't mention it! I enjoy having conversations with you. Everyone else is too stiff or boring; the topics you bring up are very interesting. Now stop being wishy-washy and get into the seat before I change my mind!"

She slowly helped him into the wheelchair as they strolled out past the door of the ward. From the corridor, he could see many sleeping patients, some with broken bones, others hooked into breathing machines.

'What kind of monstrous training are they doing?! I am starting to regret wanting to join the Guarding Regiments...'

Slowly, they strolled out into the main lobby of the clinic and out the door. Light instantly met his eyes as he adjusted his vision. A breathtaking view was presented before him.

"... Wow."

All above him, bridges, windows, balconies, and small pockets of foliage could be seen. It was as if he was at the bottom of a large ravine.

In every corner, buildings seemed to be carved into the mountainous Martian stone walls, as pedestrians at every level of elevation were moving around. Some hung their laundries on the edges of their balconies, while others were moving across the bridges that connected one end of the ravine to the other.

Angelica sensed his shock and chuckled. She had specifically hidden any descriptions of the city from him to see how he would react. The view she had always been mesmerized by since she was young was able to awestruck someone else.

She slowly moved the wheelchair forward, past the lines of training dummies and barracks that were carved into the stone walls, and stepped out into the street with Hermes.

In front of him stood a large round tower that slowly became thinner the closer to the top you looked. It was tinted red and made from the same stone as the rest of the city. Surrounding it were the bridges with different levels of elevation. Some were connected towards a certain floor of the tower, while others simply went around it.

"This is called the Spire," Angelica explained in a soothing voice. "It is our main government building here at Sanctuary City. The Ten Elder Council holds their meetings at the top where the dome is. Lower floors are used for civilian staff and other officials."

"Interesting, so this is basically the White House of this city..."

Angelica looked down with a puzzled expression and asked: "White House?"

"Ah, it's what the government building is called where I came from!"

"What a weird name, haha!" She chuckled in bewilderment.

'Phew... What a close call. Me and my loud mouth...'

Although Hermes had told them that he came from somewhere else and had lost his memories, he never mentioned the time period or country he belonged to previously, afraid that it might spook them. Though, to keep up the act of being from somewhere completely different from them, he would casually mention small details of where he lived, as well as some descriptions of his culture.

After all, who would believe you if you told them you were frozen in time for 18,464 years? That would only cause them to distrust him even more.

Angelica continued to walk him past the Spire and into what looked to be a market. In his eyes, reflections of different colored tents with tables situated at the front could be seen.

They looked to be similar to street stalls you would see anywhere else on Earth. Some were selling different colored fabrics, others were offering desert ware of different shapes and sizes. There were also the occasional prosthetic limbs and other forms of scrap being showcased.

As they continued to walk down the main market street, the liveliness infected Hermes and rejuvenated him. He truly felt like he was back in society. These feelings didn't last long, however.

In the corners, children in rags less than 6 years of age were tinted in the color of bronze from long exposure to the sun. Many of them looked disheveled, beaten down, and depressed. Adults would occasionally pass by them without batting an eye. Hermes could see the greed in their eyes as they shifted their gazes at the street food being displayed in the stalls.

Much to their dismay, however, there was no one there willing to feed them for free. All they could do was feast on the food with their eyes. However, for a brave few, the lack of money would not deter them from trying to survive.

At the furthest stall, a large man could be seen kicking a child who was dropped to the floor in a fetal position. The child continued to ignore the kicks as his focus was completely placed on the piece of bread in his hands. He was munching on it as quickly as possible, fearing it may be taken away any second. The man, in his anger, continued to stomp on him as passersby feigned ignorance.

"..."

Angelica noticed his silent gaze as her lips curled up at the edges, showing a rueful smile.

"Welcome to Sanctuary City, The Last Bastion for Humanity."

End of Chapter