Two brick walls and a smoothly paved ground greeted Gemini on the other side. Ahead of him people were scurrying to and fro. Even in the busiest regions of Veith, this sort of traffic was almost unheard of. Throughout any region, the pace was rather moderate. When people took light strolls or occasionally jogged, the space between them was much wider. In contrast, the people here were huddled like ants and moved as if time was mercilessly against them.

He walked out of the brick hallway and rapidly faded into the crowd. Each person varied in shape and size. Some were as short as him wearing bags on their back, some were taller in clean formal-looking attire, and some were practically human stilts. Their skin tones varied from the darkest chestnut to the lightest snowflake. Though they moved at a quicker pace, they were not that different from the people from his world. However, as he traversed among them, he remained undetected. He was but a spirit among the living of this world.

He walked in front of a few people and stopped. The people continued walking and phased through him. And yet, an even bigger phenomenon occurred each time this phasing happened. The two people that passed through him triggered several visions. They triggered a vision about several doctors that had helped him treat patients within Kindrala. And when jolted back to the present reality, he noticed the people did not look like what he envisioned.

Neither the triggers nor his invisible state were easy to comprehend. He walked forward, yearning for the answer, and not caring about the countless individuals that phased through him. They all triggered visions of people he knew and others he didn't. These thoughts clearly meant this world was connected to Veith.

Despite the connection, he admired that this was indeed another world. It was breathing and thriving all on its own. The people, the buildings, and the atmosphere each had a radiance that couldn't be placed in mere words.

He was able to taste the wonder of discovery again, but this included understanding the citizens without the means of conversing. His own silence amongst the noise clawed at him with every passing second. He wanted to be part of that noise, badly.

"Mommy, mommy! Look!" a voice echoed from several feet away. It was a little red-headed girl and what appeared to be her mother. They were standing by a pole that emanated some red light from its peak. The girl pointed at a distant figure.

Gemini looked behind him in the direction of the girl's finger. A few feet away, there stood a giant light green fabric monster with long pointy ears. It looked harmless enough considering it was made of fabric and it didn't blink or growl. It was playing with some other children, though its friendly mannerisms betrayed its sharply pointed face.

"Now, that's disturbing..." Gemini said quietly.

The girl ran from her mother's side and aimed straight towards it. She then stopped right before Gemini and grabbed his hand. "Hey, let's go talk to Garble! The best rabbit in all the world!"

Gemini's jaw dropped. This girl shouldn't be able to see him! And it seems she's the only one that could. Gemini snatched his arm from her grasp and ran in the opposite direction.

"Hey! Don't run!" the girl shouted.

Gemini ran through the crowds. Being discovered didn't occur the last time and he wanted to believe that it didn't happened now. But, of course, there's no denying it. And as the thought of his new-found appearance wrestled in his mind, he wondered if this encounter was good fortune, or if it was truly dangerous.

Between the two options, danger stood out. This detoured him from his original plan: finding Barum. And as more time died away, so faded Gemini's chances to getting them both home safely.

He came to another pole with a red light illuminating from its peak. Behind him, he could hear a woman yelling, "Cassie, stop running! Come back here!" Gemini could only wonder if this 'Cassie' was the girl that was chasing him.

He ran across the street as several vehicles sifted through him. He turned around and noticed the kid running in the street and the mother screaming. Just then, a vehicle came zooming down and was heading for the child! She, noticing the vehicle, stopped and stared with the widest eyes imaginable.

Stolen novel; please report.

Gemini ran back to where the girl stood and jumped with his arms extended toward her before the resounding crash echoed through the streets. He landed on the ground, his eyes closed, hoping the girl was pushed out of harm's way.

As he opened his eyes, the child was laid out before him. Gemini got to his feet and eyed the child from head to toe. To his surprise, her body bared no scrapes or bruises. He placed two fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. Good, she's alive. And apparently, no vision came when he touched her, like the other people that he encountered today.

He then turned to notice the front of vehicle was crushed in with steam rising from it. A rod was planted in front of the vehicle causing the front to be impaled. Soon after, a person slowly exited the side of the vehicle. Blood trickled down his face as he rushed to the girl.

Gemini came closer to the guy. Besides the blood on his face, he seemed stable. But the damage to the vehicle bothered him most of all. In middle of all the traffic, the rod didn't just appear. Someone caused this. And this clearly wasn't his nor the girl's doing.

"Oh, you're admiring my handiwork I see," a calm, steely voice said in the distance.

Gemini turned behind him to notice a man with an outstretched hand glowing with purple light. He was covered in black clothing. His short, pointed blue hair and blond eyes brought back countless memories. This man was not the one he hoped to find. This man was the Integra he loathed to find.

"Drexel," Gemini said with a low growl, "what are you doing here?"

"I'm just browsing the world on this side of the tear," Drexel replied, lowering his hand. "Fascinating, isn't it? I have never, in a thousand years, known that such a glorious display of technology and culture existed. Of course, it's not as grand as say our land of Bulai but close enough."

"This world is none of your business. Did you follow Barum here?"

"Oh, Barum? I had no idea. So, I'd say no." Drexel then scowled looking at the mother cradling the child. She spoke to the unconscious child with tears in her eyes. The child's name was ringing in their ears repeatedly from her constant cries. "But, that child, Cassie as that woman puts it, became of great interest as of late."

Gemini turned and saw Cassie's mother and the driver huddled around the girl. "You know why she can see me, don't you?"

As the vehicles were still dashing through the streets, the two of them stared each other down. Unfazed, they stood as ghosts in this foreign land.

Drexel closed his eyes and let out a small laugh. "I have a hunch. I was in search for the Tolvian pieces. You know those pesky books and keys? Why else would I venture here? And inside that child, you could say, I've seen some things."

Gemini shook his fist, feeling the nails dig deep within his skin. "I swear, if you even lay a finger on this child!"

"Relax, relax," Drexel said, waving him off. "I haven't touched her in the slightest. But I found out that one of the Tolvian Keys you're looking for is an integral part of her."

Gemini's fist fell to his side. "You don't really mean...that's impossible." Gemini then looked back at the child. But how? She could be a Veithan that lived in this world. No, she must be part Veithan and part of this world since she can touch him and be seen by the people of this world. When he scattered Tolvia, he did remember that he had no clue where the keys landed. And a key possibly landed in this child. Still, it made no sense as to how Drexel knew unless he could see inside her. Possibly similar to his own phenomena with people from this world. Maybe he did touch her and receive a glimpse of the key.

But, for now, a more pressing matter needed to be addressed.

"Is Barum still alive?" Gemini asked. "Knowing you, you would've killed him on the spot and lied about not following him here."

"I'm flattered," Drexel laughed and gave a bow as if his sickening performance was actually entertaining. "But, unfortunately, I haven't seen my fellow Integra. Honest. But, I will say this..." He looked behind him before turning back towards Gemini. "I didn't come alone."

Gemini hissed. Of course, he wouldn't be here without back up. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, just that a little surprise came to this world with me. If it's anything like you and I, it won't cause any harm whatsoever. But, I just wanted to test the waters a bit. See if it would cause any havoc."

Gemini's eyes widened. "You didn't! There's a Nocturn here?" Knowing the madman, Drexel probably would do such a thing. Gemini gritted his teeth. The terror of his world brought here could have many disastrous results.

Drexel shrugged. "Maybe. Or, you know, I wondered what it could be like throwing one of our own out into this world just to see how they would fend for themselves. Veithans are truly an interesting lot."

Gemini heard enough. His people, his Veithans, and the people of this world were not to be toyed with. Either a lost Veithan or a vicious Nocturn was the case and neither situation sat well with him. No time to wait for Drexel to spill the details. He needed answers now. Gemini pulled his fist as he ran towards Drexel.

"No, no, no," Drexel said with a wry smile. "Why go after me? Aren't you worried about your little friend?"

Gemini stopped and turned around. A spear hovered above the mother, the child, and the several men in white. The spear launched towards the duo, but Gemini leaped and grabbed the spear from striking. He landed then turned back around to face Drexel only to realize he disappeared.

So, now a former Integra, a current Integra, and either a Veithan or Nocturn resided in this world. He did not want to play scavenger hunt today.