As Eeira took her precious time to change, the technorunner awaited outside. Despite resorting sometimes to somewhat unorthodox means to gain what he wanted, he was a man of his word. If the girl was to accompany him, then she was to accompany him. They made a deal, and he was going to uphold his part till the end — even if it meant potentially giving the stone to her for a while. Still, he hoped, begged, that by the time he would find the right buyer, the girl would forget about him completely. But that was something that was only up to God.

The sun was starting to set, which bothered the technorunner. He didn't fear the dark, but he always loved the day and hated it when it was gone. It was a feeling that naturally came to him since he was a child. Whenever it was dark, he was always in the desert, be it the normal one or the Outlands. There was not much to see but endless sand. However, things seemed different that day. Though a dark cave was just a mile away, Eeira's house and garden certainly were at an aesthetically pleasing spot. A garden in the twilight was a sight to be cherished, almost artistic. Oh… the garden. It was beautiful to the extent that the technorunner believed it was artificial. But no, it was all very real. Of course, a herbalist, or whatever that girl was would need a garden like this. A peculiar tree, that he had not seen before, lied in the middle of the garden. Its leaves were all coated in pink, a color that reminded him of the beauty of nature.

Between collecting scraps, and fighting off hunters, a moment like this was rare. It may be that one day he could abandon all this, and live a normal life. That was all a fever dream though — there were no normal lives in this world.

A door to the house was shut. The technorunner woke from his trance and looked back at the door. It was Eeira, she was done. In spite of being a girl that was still technically within the age range of teenagers, she looked more like a young woman than she did with her other gown. If there was one thing that wasn't weird about that girl, it was her sense of fashion, which was a thing to be praised about in this poor continent. There was no doubt that she wasn't from around here.

'Shall we get going?' she passed the technorunner, who was in awe by her appearance. It was working. Nothing was simply as it was for Eeira. She had a plan to grab the technorunner's attention — he was not that much older than her, and even if he was, it wouldn't matter. This was just the first step. 'Oh, I never asked for your name.'

'Fifth A-10!' He finally spoke his name, supposedly.

But that wasn't a name, it was far from it. To Eeira, it seemed to be some sort of serial or unit number. It wasn't anything a human should be called by.

'That's a name?' She lowered her eyebrows, and he just simply nodded, 'Are you certain that you are not some kind of freakish android? Or, wait! Are you a republican knight?'

'As if!'

'But… but… it would make sense,' she started her enormous thought train that would eventually spiral into a loop of overthought, 'Your foreign accent. Your mysterious behavior. You seem to know way too much than the average civilian. And honestly, what kind of scrap collector carries guns around and is interested in— No, wait, that part is actually pretty reasonable. Nevertheless, everything I just said makes me believe that you, sir, are a spy.'

'You really believe that?' He said with the most uninterested expression plastered on his face.

'Of course, I do, I made my calculations,' she was confident, 'So… are you here to thwart the great ever-so-lasting empire? Kill everyone and rule the land for yourself? After all, they still have a long way ahead of them before they take over this land so there are plenty of places to hide and strike from the shadows! That's quite a remarkable strategy, I am impressed.'

'Get help!' How did I get here? He thought.

His comment actually worked. Eeira may be smart, but when it comes to being social and normal, things tend to get shaky. It was already too late when she realized her question about the technorunner's name turned into a madwoman ranting about a secret conspiracy that may very well lead to global war. She was quite embarrassed, to say the least, and so, she closed her mouth shut.

However, what followed her silence was a long moment of awkwardness, the technorunner felt sorry.

'Just call me Fifth!'

'I… Why would I call out to you by a number?' Eeira wanted something more humane, 'How about Aten? You know, from your unit number…'

'It's my n— Ugh, whatever.'

She squealed with delight, 'Alrighty then, Aten!'

Right after leaving the house's vicinity, a large temple rested on their left. It wasn't of the average kind. The structure seemed a bit ancient. A string of lights spiraled around the soft edges of the building, giving it an almost picturesque modern look, like that of buildings in the republic and empire. This was the fabled temple of peace, who nobody ever heard of — at least the uneducated. But for the rest of the world, it went on by another, its ancient name.

'What's that?' Aten asked.

'Of course, you don't know it,' Eeira grit her teeth, 'It's the Temple of Anzai!'

'The temple of what now?' He was baffled, 'What does that mean?' There weren't that many languages in the world. He knew all of them, perhaps not fluently, but he knew them enough to be able to distinguish them all apart, even the Elvish with all of its various accents and dialects.

She chuckled, 'Try hard as you want, you won't know what it is.'

'Seriously? It's just a word.'

'It's an ancient language…'

'So… Eldrian?'

'No, think farther.'

Eldrian and Elvish were the only old languages that ever existed in this world, dating as far back as the Black Frost. The Black Frost… Could it be? If Eeira meant it to be an ancient language, then it may very well belong to the old world. To the world before the Black Frost, to the world before this eternal dystopia. Aten couldn't believe that. The language wasn't just a few millennia old, it was beyond that.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

'Yep, that's it,' Eeira read the shock in his eyes, 'It's from the old world — the world before the Black Frost. And believe it or not, this temple is just as old. They called it "Japanese," similar to the Elvish nowadays. It's all runes or symbols as the monks here call it.'

'Monks?!' Aten was on alert.

Roam this world long enough, and you would know that Monks are people not to be messed with — if they can be even called people. Unlike the arduous cults that smeared the meaning of religion, spreading false truths about peace and order, the Monks were of a special kind. They acknowledged the efforts made by the old world, the efforts that the empire and republic continue to advance to. But they also harnessed Hi-Magik, the strongest form of magik there is, which decimated after the cleansing. No single witch or necromancer was able to control it afterward — it required great masses of energy, after all, the kind that only a group can achieve. So not only were the Monks aided by technology, but they also practiced the strongest magik. Despite that, they worked in the shadows. They were the unseen threat, just like the dark riders (but not as dangerous.)

However, the monks Eeira spoke of were of a different kind. They were the ones who adhered to the old words and upheld the traditions of the old world. Just normal religious monks — a rare find in this abnormal world.

'No, it's not them,' Eeira tried to correct herself, 'These are—'

'How could you always tell what I'm thinking?' Aten forgot about the false monks and was annoyed by a completely different matter.

'Huh?!' She was taken for a moment but took it as a chance to divert the subject. It would be a hassle to explain the difference between these monks and the other ones to a simple-minded man like Aten, let alone convince him, 'Honestly, you're just easy to read,' she said in a sarcastic tone.

'Aha, so you are a witch!'

'Are you this ignorant—' Eeira contained herself and stopped. She took a deep breath, 'It's not my fault you don't know the difference between a witch and a smart person.'

'Which you are?' He wasn't backing out with the childish demeanor.

'Seriously!' She stopped in her place, 'Have you ever heard about something called "Psychology"?'

'A trickster, I see…'

Eeira was done with this useless banter. Tagging along with him wasn't going to be an easy task it seemed. Not only was he just a scrap collector who didn't understand the worth of the material he carried and just wanted to make a quick buck, but he was also an infuriating blockhead that was trying to get on her nerves.

But more pressing matters were on the horizon. Aten grabbed Eeira quickly to the side as they both hid behind a boulder. It was quite a surprise for her, she tried to question him for his sudden actions and awfully cautious behavior, but he was fixated on something else entirely. At the gate of the cave town were four large vehicles, similar to those that belonged to armies, that bore the sigil of the infamous empire. The soldiers, a bunch of them in every vehicle, emerged from the dark tunnel, and bid their farewells to the guards holding down the fort. Both sides seemed friendly to each other, which was a red flag, considering all those outside the cities were considered "enemies" to the empire. The vehicle took down the road east and disappeared.

Aten was puzzled, 'What's the empire doing here?'

Little did he know, the town of Phaesevell was unlike any other respectable town in the continent. Its mayor was known for his mischievous actions, and the fact that he was in bed with the empire, kissing their asses to fulfill his desires and be left in peace. However, it was quite odd that the empire would send this much troops to a just town. Perhaps there was a dispute, and the simpleton on the chair was hungry for more.

'Don't you know…,' Eeira finally came with answers, 'Cornus is just a few miles away.'

Cornus was one of the smallest cities inhabiting Tenebrae, the great capital of the empire. It wasn't much in size compared to the bigger cities — or even the slums there. That small city, or town, was better known for providing proper accommodations for special officers and soldiers under a direct command from the great emperor. After all, most soldiers were controlled by other directors who did whatever they wanted, as long as it was within the boundaries set by the emperor — which were quite a few.

'You don't seem too fond of them!' Eeira noticed Aten's tension.

'Is anybody…,' he answered.

'No, I despise them all,' she said, 'But you don't see me hiding from them.'

'Oh well, I'm kinda in hot water with them.'

'Stolen from them? That's going to leave quite a mark on your—'

'I did nothing of the sort…,' he took a deep breath, 'We just don't see eye to eye anymore.'

'Any more?' She was shocked, 'My God, you were with the empire? But… that doesn't make any sense at all. You don't seem like their typical soldier.'

'Yeah, thanks! Moving on…,' he took some time to think, 'Wait! Wasn't I—'

'You still want to hit the town?' She interrupted.

Of course, knowing that the empire had this territory marked for itself meant danger for Aten, he still needed to move forward with his plan. There was a small possibility he was going to encounter anyone, considering his troublesome affairs were with the high-ranking elites. Normal soldiers, if there were any of them in the town, had nothing to do with him.

Aten ignored Eeira, who immediately followed behind him, and pushed forward to the gates. He was going to sell that elastinum, one way or another.

The two made their way to the town proper and stood in front of the gates. Behind those gates was a large dark tunnel that — unless you knew there was a town after that — would be mistaken for an abandoned mine. Eeira was nervous about the fact that she was actually going forward with the plan that she never intended to complete. Unbeknownst to Aten, Eeira never had a citizen's pass to the town (it was merely a visitor's pass), but it was the only thing she thought of to draw his attention. She was still able to enter the town with the useless visitor's pass, but it was out of nepotism, nothing more, nothing less. The guards always allowed her in with displeasure, so letting a foreigner in with her would be really pushing the line.

'Who the hell is he?' One of the guards, familiar with Eeira, asked.

'He… is a friend,' Eeira reluctantly replied.

The guard sighed, 'You are really pushing your luck, young lady. We only let you in for free, because of the mayor. He, on the other hand, needs a pass like everyone else.'

'Just this once.' For a moment there, it looked like Eeira was genuinely trying to get Aten in rather than being desperate to please him in order to gain the material.

'Nuh-uh, I don't need another merchant setting up shop with a legal permit.'

'Does he seriously look like a merchant to you?' Eeira backed up a bit to stand right beside Aten, who was already tired of this situation, and raised both her arms at him as if presenting a model.

'I suppose not. Still…'

'If anything happens, it's on me. Please, Najie!' She stepped closer to the guard, trying every technique to get him to approve.

'Good Grief!' The guard pulled a paper from the small booth beside him, 'Name?'

'He's—'

'He can speak for himself, can he not?' The guard pursed his lips.

Aten was about to speak of his complete name, but Eeira eyed him with denial, he sighed, 'It's Aten,' and before the guard can ask for more, 'Aten the Fifth! Satisfied? Why don't you take my measurements while you're at it?'

'Cocky, ain'tcha?'

Aten gave a forced smile. Just one look at the guards and atmosphere from the outside and he already knew what kind of shithole to expect beyond those gates.

The guard stamped the paper and handed it to Eeira instead of Aten, 'Welcome to Phaesevell! Open the gates!'

The gates opened and Eeira quickly stepped through, but the guard was going to let Aten off that easily. Not after he purposely tried to get on his nerves.

He stepped on Aten's feet, 'We'll make sure that you will enjoy your time here while you can.'

'Oh, I'll be gone before you know it, don't worry,' Aten wasn't backing out.

Eeira couldn't bear to see a dispute between Aten and the guard, she grabbed Aten from the arm and pulled him to the tunnel with her.

The town of Phaesevell awaited them.