"Human and draconian listen well." Leo and the draconian, who didn't attack, paid attention to the guardian. "In this first domain, no fighting is authorized. If you break this rule, you will be punished. The only way to leave this domain is to pass the test of the pillars at the palace. Once you pass, you will be transported to the 2nd domain. Best of luck to you."
Once the guardian finished speaking, he ascended back into the sky and disappeared. Leo gave the draconians a nasty look and picked up Lucy and walked to the village carrying her.
Several humans saw him walking over, and they went to meet them. Several men in dhotis and women in saris came over to help. The oldest looking male with a braided beard and a pure white dhoti said, "welcome young one to Brahma's Palace. Please hand your friend to the ladies to your right. They will mend her wounds."
The man looked honest and pure. Leo smiled at him and nodded. He handed Lucy to the women who came over, and they took her into a shack close by. Once they left the older gentlemen addressed Leo again.
"So, I am called Goutheesh. What is your name young man?"
"I am called Leonardo. My comrades call me Leo." The men around Leo smiled when they saw the two draconians walk up.
"You two are not welcomed in this part of town," Goutheesh said with an angry voice.
The draconian holding the other one up frowned and headed in another direction. He knew that draconians have hunted and killed many humans and there was no reason for them to treat them well.
Goutheesh knew he shouldn't be unkind to any race it was not the Hindu way, but he couldn't forgive these demons who killed his mother and father. The old man then looked at Leo and motioned him to follow him.
Leo introduced himself to many people. Even with his good memory, he couldn't remember half of their names. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man in his late twenties running through the crowd.
A dark-skinned man like Leo looked at him. He had a thin beard and short black hair. "Hey there, I'm Aarav Kumar. Are you with the Renegades?" The man was so happy new humans arrived. Aarav learned that it had been almost ten years since the last humans entered this domain. Most humans here were born here and never moved on.
"Yeah, my name is Leo. I'm apart of Team Thunder. Lucy and I were trapped in here when draconians attacked us. We were here to try and get you out."
"Well, the only way out of here is to pass the pillar trials." Leo gave Aarav a worried look. "Don't worry Leo. I'll show you to them later. Where is Lucy? Is she alright?" Aarav asked. He heard a lot about Blood Knight's warrior niece.
"The women took her way to tend to her. I'm gonna go to that shack until she recovers."
Oh, it seemed this fellow cared a lot about Lucy, Aarav thought to himself. "Leo mind if I keep you company until she awakes."
"Not at all."
The domain started to darken signaling the approach of night. Leo and Aarav sat outside of Lucy's new hut and talked. They first talked about each other's level.
Aarav was surprisingly a Mana Fighter. A rogue mermanian saved him and two years ago and trained him. He was a natural at cultivation and water arts. It surprised her that he was so good. They fell in love, and she became pregnant a year ago.
The mermanians, she fled from, finally tracked them down and killed her and almost killed Aarav too. Aarav lost the love of his life and his unborn child. Wondering here and there, Reiner found him near the palace when he was out on patrol. He took the man in and accepted him as part of Team Blood.
Leo felt sad for Aarav if anyone understood loss it was Leo. He placed his hand on Aarav's shoulder and told him, "sometimes we must survive for those that don't get to live."
Aarav was happy to have a kindred soul finally. No one in this place really understood loss except the elders who entered running from war or the other races. Leo and Aarav talked until they fell asleep against the shack.
The next morning Leo awoke to someone pinching his cheek really hard. He opened his eyes to see Lucy grinning at him. It looked like she made a full recovery overnight.
"Morning, Lucy," Leo said while rubbing his cheek.
She smiled and said, "Morning Leo, who is this friend sleeping so soundly next to you."
Leo looked to his right, and Aarav was out cold. He was sleeping on the ground and drooling a lot. Leo chuckled and said, "this is Aarav the person your uncle accepted into his team."
"Oh, this is the water martial art prodigy. Reiner was going to make him his disciple. A first for our family."
"He is truly that powerful. He said he has only been training for two years."
"That means he was born to be a water manipulator. Someone like him will be able to level and train way faster than me or you, Leo."
Leo looked down at the man soundly asleep. The world seemed unfair. He wasn't born blessed or anything. He only had Sprite, and now he didn't even have him. The world was truly unfair to him he felt.
"Oh man, that was a good sleep." Aarav woke up with a yawn and looked at Leo and Lucy. "This must be the beautiful lady, Lucy. Nice to finally see you up and healthy." Aarav gave Lucy his most charming smile.
Lucy blushed a bit, but then kicked Leo foot for no reason. "What was that for?" Leo retorted.
"Don't just sit there all day. Let us go check out these pillars everyone is talking about." Lucy turned around and walked towards the palace. Leo was so confused why he got kicked. He looked at Aarav, and he just shrugged his shoulder.
The two of them got up and followed after Lucy. Many people greeted the newcomers as they made their way to the Palace. Several ladies handed Lucy fruits and vegetables, blessing her for her beauty.
When the three of them arrived, the palace looked just like the palace on the outside, but this one had different engraving on the pillars. Leo felt that each post was giving off different elemental laws. Leo was subconsciously drawn to the support on end.
Pictures of rocks and the earth were engraved into the pillars. Mysterious symbols also covered the post too. The more Leo looked at the pillar, the more he felt he was staring into a bottomless abyss.
Aarav looked at Leo and understood exactly how he felt. "These pillars are of the elements. If you can become one with the pillar, you will ascend to the next domain."