Part 6: Obscure Guild

Ejiro Sani walked with his greatsword sheathed on his back, Seth Rayn strode behind him in a black robe, hitting the ground with his staff, and Gabriella Rivampe followed while keeping her distance.

A sudden sunray glistened Seth’s staff and Ejiro’s sword, causing them to look towards the origin of the light and sigh with relief. They had travelled a long way and finally arrived at the southern edge of the Obscure Guild.

They walked a bit more before finding a table to rest by the seaside. They were on top of a cliff, the ground beneath them dropping off sharply to reveal a gigantic port below, the calm waters stretching out as far as the eye could see.

"This is the port of the Obscure Guild," Gabriella explained. "Boats come in and out of here, and it's also a popular vacation spot. But we're not here for a vacation."

To the southwest, multiple resorts lined up next to each other, each with its beach and attractions. The commercial zone wasn’t far from there.

However, what interested them was a sewage outfall in the shape of a dam to the southeast, where a massive sewer poured dirty, putrid water into the sea. The pipe was big enough for a human to walk in.

“Let’s find a place to eat. We’ll go there later.” Ejiro smiled as he showed Seth and Gabriella the paper money he had stolen from Shroud City’s governor.

…

After a short break, they arrived at the sewage outfall and walked on top of the structure’s crest. Seth leaned on the edge and looked at the long, narrow slope to spot the pipe.

“This looks promising. Let’s go down.”

In his vampiric form, Ejiro put his arm around Seth and flew down with him. Gabriella also activated her vampiric form and jumped down, her wings spread wide as she descended.

They flew towards the sewer. Once inside, Ejiro dropped off Seth. It was dark and damp inside the pipe. Thankfully, Ejiro was a light magician. He lit up the path with a glowing orb of light

"Well, let's see where this leads us."

The farther in they went, the more profuse the stench became. Gabriella pinched her nose in disgust, “Won't this water get us sick?”

Seth walked in front, his staff tapping against the slimy ground. “It's the safest route. Once we get in the second layer, you’ll be the guide, Gabriella."

…

Northeast Gate, Obscure Guild.

The droid, DP20-X, stopped the floating vehicle and asked the guards to be let through. Luo sat next to him. Jenna, Aaron and Isaac were in the back.

After driving through the night, they had arrived at one of the big gates leading into Obscure Guild’s outer ring. The guild’s wall seemed even taller from the outside.

Unsurprisingly, since the Obscure Guild was isolated from the rest of the world, they were the only ones waiting for the guards to let them pass. There were no other vehicles, and a path strictly determined where to and not to go. If someone ventured too far offroad, they’d risk getting blown up by people or machinery.

The immense metallic door finally opened, and the android safely drove through.

When Luo asked where they were going, the robot hesitantly responded that they would meet his creator in the outer ring, the first layer.

…

After another hour passed by, they finally arrived at their destination.

Isaac was the first one to get out of the vehicle. They hadn’t seen the Northeast City clearly because of the vehicle’s tinted glass. He was stunned by its original appearance.

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Although the sight was new for someone who lived outside of the Obscure Guild, this city was almost an exact replica of Shroud City with all its overground pipes, its roads, its mix of tall and small buildings and its absence of sunlight. Most of the cities in the Obscure Guild had no originality, each evenly separated along the rings.

The four mages followed the robot into a moderately sized building but couldn’t get a clear view of its outer appearance.

Aaron Amon was the only one unfazed by the luxurious interior. The lobby displayed an abundance of dark leather and wood furniture adorned with goldware and other premium accessories.

Two human guards with snake eyes followed them down an elevator.

The elevator’s doors slid. They entered a wide, circular room. In the center was a glowing blue ring on the floor in a radius of three meters.

To the other side of the ring, a man with the same eyes as the two guards greeted them. He was the droid’s creator.

He flicked his forked tongue and beckoned. "Come here. I want to show you something."

Isaac, Aaron, Luo, and Jenna each stepped into the ring, feeling a sense of unease wash over them. The four were immediately overwhelmed by a strange sensation as their bodies began to feel heavy and numb. Almost instantly, their bodies dropped to the floor, falling asleep.

A sharp, piercing pain surged in their heart for only a second, then disappeared.

They opened their eyes to see a pure white room. It was empty and clean.

“What is this?” Luo looked at his hands in confusion. He confirmed he wasn’t dreaming, but something about the situation was off. How did they get here?

Aaron stood up and looked around, scanning the tall ceiling above. "Hello? What is this place?!" he called out.

A sly voice responded, “You are in my soul transportation machine or STM. I am Snoid, one of the Five Seats.”

Isaac and Jenna got up last. Everyone instinctively stood back-to-back with each other, on edge because of the unpredictability of the situation.

With his red magic, Isaac could feel three distinct souls near him. He quickly noticed they were Aaron, Luo, and Jenna’s souls. A soul transportation machine was a virtual reality machine that had the property of pulling someone’s soul into a virtual atmosphere.

Snoid sneered. “Relax, I’m a good person. I want to help you grow stronger. In exchange, I’ll only ask for help in taking down the other rulers of this guild. I'll even help you with your goals and give you information.”

Aaron narrowed his eyes. “Hold on! Are you saying you want to train us here? STMs are illegal!”

Snoid chuckled, sending shivers down their spines. "The Obscure Guild doesn't follow the rules of the Democratic Alliance. I plan to train you in secret with this machine, away from the Dark Faction and the other Seats’ eyes."

Suddenly, a countdown appeared in Aaron and the others' vision, starting at five and counting down rapidly.

“It’s starting soon. Enjoy your training!” Snoid’s voice disappeared.

…

DP20-X approached his creator and asked him with the curiosity of a human as he gestured towards the unconscious bodies of Isaac, Aaron, Luo, and Jenna, "May I ask, what will you do with them?"

His creator, Snoid, walked around the ring with his hands clasped behind his back, a sly smile on his face. "As the Seat in charge of reconnaissance, I know many things. I intend to train them behind the other Seats' backs and become the sole ruler of the Obscure Guild."

He stopped in front of Isaac's body and examined it closely.

“Isaac Tremblay has become a powerful dual mage thanks to an experiment from the Dark Faction. I'll turn him into a weapon.

"Jenna also has something hidden within her that I'll help her uncover.

“As for the others, they’re very talented. Once their training ends, they’ll feel indebted to me and become my pawns.”

DP20-X couldn't contain his excitement at the thought of being part of his creator’s cunning ploy. He let out a robotic chuckle and smiled at his creator's words.

…

Ejiro, Gabriella and Seth looked out a grid from one of the countless pipes crisscrossing Etheria City, a city rich with technology located in the Obscure Guild’s second layer.

"Hold on to this," Seth said, handing his staff to Gabriella as he tried to push open the lid above them.

Ejiro’s clothes were covered in grime. He complained, “You better be right, Gabriella. I don’t want to have passed through these disgusting sewers for nothing!”

His master got the grid open and climbed out of the pipe. “Relax, Ejiro. Just come up and look at this city. It's beautiful."

Etheria was a place of technological advancement, filled with towering roofscrapers (buildings that touched the Obscure Guild’s roof), flashing neon lights, and countless pipes that crept between buildings and hovered above streets.

Gabriella pointed to the Tech-Think Tower, a building at the heart of the city. "That's the place."

From the top floor of this building, one could see the entire city spread out below, a maze of gleaming metal and glass, complemented with a touch of concrete.

“Tech-Think is a reconnaissance and tech company owned by one of the Five Seats, Snoid,” Gabriella explained.

The trio jumped down the pipes and made their way to the building. “Master, what’s the plan?” Ejiro asked.