The old city's shadow stretched out across the island's virgin meadowlands. A dark azure seeped into the sky as the sun sunk away into the horizon. He looked back at the fading sunset and saw that a miniature sea of stars had arisen from the earth. Night had arrived.
An endless amount of tiny, sparkling motes of brilliance floated up into the air when the sky had finally gone dark. Each was of a different size, shape, and color; no two were equal in form. At a distance, it appeared as if the stars in the firmament had descended upon the city itself. It was a majestic, awe-inspiring sight that left him speechless.
Reed silently gazed at the sea of stars atop a decrepit building near the edge of the city, an abandoned district that had become uninhabitable long ago. The ancient district had once been home to many people — a thriving place filled with life — but now, it was nothing more than a forsaken ruin.
It's abandoned for sure, but it'd be a bit of a stretch to call it a 'ruin', I guess.
Although the residential district had been abandoned, they had left its buildings and infrastructure completely intact. Vines climbed their way up the walls of the old buildings and strange moss that glowed covered dark alleyways and other small spaces across the district. Marigold, vanilla, and daisy flowers pressed themselves out of the neglected streets by the thousands. There were even a couple of tree seedlings amongst the flowers if one searched hard enough for them.
It had gotten somewhat cold outside, but he couldn't feel the chill in the slightest. A warm, comforting aura enveloped him from head to toe. His wonderful new cloak protected him from the unforgiving elements as he sat atop the tallest building in the district, a tall, spiraling skyscraper of glass and gold.
Reed took a sip of a hot chocolate beverage he'd bought not too long ago from a local cafe near the outskirts of the city on Bernard's recommendation. It tasted sweeter than love itself and had a subtle vanilla after note that Reed considered sublime.
He'd enjoyed the little date with Lu'um's mother and all but it had drained him mentally, hence his break of sorts in exile from civilization. Just him, his wonderful hot chocolate, and.... a sudden fluctuation in the surrounding Anima. Reed softly groaned.
"So this is where you were.... You really surprised me when I lost track of you."
And there she goes... my peace and quiet have disappeared into the void again. Sigh.....
"What are you talking about? It's not like I was actively hiding from you or anything..."
Lu'um giggled as she walked over to Reed and said, "Hmmm? Needed some alone time, Ka'an? I guess every young guy needs some private time for..." She'd gone quiet of all sudden.
Reed scoffed and said, "Ha ha, I've never heard that joke before. Hilarious, Lu'um. I bet you think that—" He choked on his words when he felt that the surrounding Anima had suddenly grown cold and turbulent. When he turned around, Reed screamed internally.
Blades of azure light dangerously hovered above her like marionettes on strings.
"...I see now. So that's why you were so hard to find; You were with that hag, weren't you? I can smell her disgusting stench on you." Lu'um had an expression that seemed colder than a blizzard. Her eyes radiated something so intense that it couldn't be completely expressed with mere words.
Reed was nervous, but he still felt that she had said something inexcusable. He coldly replied, "That was out of line, even if you're not on good terms with her, Lu'um. I know that I don't even have the slightest idea what caused the rift between the two of you, but she's still your mother."
Lu'um gently smiled in response, but Reed could not find even the slightest hint of warmth within her expression. Reed felt goosebumps form on his arms when he saw that desolate, hollow smile and said, "Y-You know what, let's just drop the subject altogether, okay?!" He immediately pulled back when he realized that he nearly dug his own grave.
A painful, awkward pause followed where the two did not speak. The dreadful silence felt like it'd last forever but Lu'um eventually calmed down and said, "...I'm sorry that I lashed out at you, Ka'an. I just... can't stand her and sometimes I get—"
Reed hurriedly interrupted her and said, "Hey, don't worry about it or anything, OK? I was in the wrong too; I shouldn't have said that. So let's call it square and leave it at that." He waved his hands jokingly and said, "You don't have to talk about it you don't want to, Lu'um. It's, um, cool..."
Another awkward pause followed after Reed interrupted her, but he quickly acted to salvage the conversation before it got worse than it already was. He gave her his hot chocolate as tribute and said, "Oh, by the way... what did you mean when you said that you couldn't find me?"
"My mother is one of the greatest Anima shapers of her generation and is especially proficient in Anima masking and subterfuge-related Anima skills." Lu'um raised her right hand over Reed's head, much to his confusion.
"She put one of her veils on you and it masked your unique aura away from prying eyes. I couldn't see you anymore after she did that," Lu'um said as she snatched something off Reed's head. A thin, almost invisibly transparent piece of cloth appeared in front of him like a magic trick.
Reed stared at the veil and said, "That's... genuinely impressive. And terrifying, too. I never even felt that I had it on me."
Lu'um conjured a soft flame from her hand and burnt the veil away until it was completely gone. "She's extremely talented, incredibly beautiful, and an heiress to the most powerful family in the world."
"Funnily enough, those same strengths mattered aught when you think about it. She, as incredible as she was, still lost in the end," said Lu'um with a complicated expression.
"..."
Lu'um looked somewhat apprehensive as she gripped the hot chocolate, but eventually gathered her courage and said, "If you don't mind me asking, can you tell me where you went with her?"
"Hm? She mostly took me around the city and showed me the sights. After that, she took me to this little restaurant called The Little House and we ate there before we separated."
Lu'um eyes narrowed when she heard that and said, "So that's what she did. She actually took you to see Uncle Bernard, huh? I haven't seen him in the longest... how was he?" Her interest in Reed's story suddenly skyrocketed compared to before.
Reed nodded and said, "Hm? He was healthy if that's what you're asking about. I won't lie; he was a little weird, but he wasn't a bad guy, I think. He even gifted me this awesome cloak, too. It was apparently part of an inheritance of mine, or so he said..." He twirled around and dramatically made a cool-looking pose like an action hero. Lu'um rolled her eyes at first but eventually tilted her head, deep in thought.
"A cloak? An inheritance left for you? Oh, for the love of...." Lu'um let out a miserable groan and softly muttered, "So he was the one who stole the accursed thing during the chaos..."
She immediately reached out for the cloak and said, "Take it off, Ka'an! What you're wearing is something you are not yet ready to accept! It is burdened with karma so heavy, even I fear it, do you understand? I do not know why Uncle Bernard and Mother allowed you to get it, but it is far too soon for you to possess it!"
Lu'um moved in a flash and grabbed the hem of the cloak to remove it off Reed faster than he could react, but something unexpected happened instead. A fearsome bolt of lightning shot out of the cloak and blasted Lu'um backward with enough momentum that she was thrown off of the building like a rag doll.
It was so unexpected and instantaneous that Reed even found it a bit comical despite the concern he had over her wellbeing. All he saw was her touching his cloak for but an instant before her shocking departure, so to speak. He even heard a cute yelp escape her lips when she was struck by the cloak.
Reed walked over the other end of the skyscraper and looked down at the edge of the building. A furious azure streak bolted up the side of the building and landed back atop the roof with a threatening boom.
When Reed noticed that Lu'um's frigid expression he hurriedly said, "Hey, I didn't do that, alright? That was all on you, not me. In any case, it's my cloak, sweet-cheeks. Go find your own cloak because this one isn't for sale, even for you."
Something odd happened after that; He noticed that the cloak had grown a little warmer after he had chastised Lu'um, of all things. An unexpected boon had been given to him.
"Listen, Ka'an, that isn't a simple cloak; I'm sure it now — Uncle Bernard gave you the Mantle of the Sky, the personal raiment of the previous Emperor! It is a tool of immense power created and enchanted by the Last Emperor during his prime! Lesser beings cannot control the dormant energies contained within it, much less the Muse that lives inside of it!"
Reed chortled and said, "I seem to be doing just fine, though. I don't doubt you, but this cloak's been in a dusty room for an eternity from what I've seen. It might have even turned defective given how long it's been neglected." He lazily inspected the cloak and said, "Don't see any world-shattering powers coming from it. It is nice and warm, though. That's good enough in my book."
The cloak weakly shone a for a second, as if in appreciation and another small tide of warmth enveloped Reed again. It felt like he was wrapped up in the warmest, comfiest blanket in the universe. He gently patted his cloak and said, "Come on now, Lu'um. Jealousy's an ugly thing; there's no need for you to feel threatened by my cloak, okay?"
Lu'um disappointedly groaned and said, "It's already begun manipulating you against me, you fool! Even in a half-dormant state, it's still capable of influencing your mental state. Take. It. Off. Ka'an. Before you end up doing something stupid because of its machinations." She slowly inched closer to Reed with her guard up, having learned her lesson.
Eventually, after a lot of back and forth between the pair, Lu'um gave up trying to separate him from the cloak, at least for the meantime. She swore to herself that she'd steal the accursed thing as soon as he fell asleep or let his guard down, though.
She remembered the bedtime stories her mother used to tell her about the Last Emperor's adventures and of his beloved magical cloak of wonders that served him dutifully on his quests. She knew that of the cloak's true nature and not of the fairytale description of it that had been relayed to the common folk.
Reed warily kept his distance away from Lu'um and said, "...Hey, there was something I wanted to ask you about... Do you know anything about Talfano City?"
Lu'um's thoughts crashed to a halt when she heard his question and her expression darkened in response. Her gaze seemed distant. Her voice rang low and sounded hollow.
"What did Uncle Bernard tell you, my Ka'an? It seems that his age might've finally caught up to him, for him to have told you about Talfano City.... I might even have to talk to mother about this..."
Alarm bells madly rang in his head. He instantly realized that he should not have asked. He recognized that he had messed up.
"He told me that it was where he... and my father were born. I was just curious was all, honest. Who wouldn't be, right?" Reed awkwardly laughed as he scratched his head. He had to divulge a piece of truth in order to make the lie sound believable; it was a necessary concession he immediately made to hide the greater truth. The knowledge about the key had to hidden. Even from her.
"I don't know what kind of ideas he's put in your head, Ka'an, but I advise you to discard them. Talfano City's located deep in the Shadowlands, the domain of the Infestation, and is nothing more than an empty remnant of what it once was. There is nothing waiting for you there, except a terrible end..."
She looked at Reed right in his eyes and said, "Forget whatever Uncle Bernard has told you, Ka'an, or else you might regret it. Last warning."
Reed raised his hands up and said, "R-Relax, sweet-cheeks! I was just a little curious; can you blame me? It wasn't as if I was planning on venturing out into some wild-goose chase just because someone told me something..."
"I'm sure you'd stop me if I tried to anyway, right? So, it'd be impossible for me to do it in the first place. Hell, I wouldn't even know where I'd start looking for Talfano City, too..."
He cozied up to Lu'um and whispered, "....…You spilled my hot chocolate, by the way. I never got an apology for that."
Lu'um appeared astonished for a moment when Reed had snuggled up to her, but his nonsense blew the wind out of her sails instantly. For a second, she thought...
"There's also something else I've been meaning to ask you: Is everyone on the outside safe? It's been days now since we've come here, Lu'um. I need to go back and at least tell Axtorius that we're still alive."
Reed had been mulling over this since he'd arrived but never got a straight answer from Lu'um. When he thought about the old goat's worried face, he knew that he couldn't stay here any longer. His people were waiting for him outside; he needed to be there yesterday.
Lu'um summoned a small crystal and said, "Not a single second has passed on the outside since you've arrived, Ka'an. Citlai exists outside of the river of time, and is, therefore, entirely cut off from the universe." She channeled a sliver of Anima into the crystal and said, "Look within the crystal, Ka'an."
A frozen image appeared within the crystal. It was Sotephor City, albeit frozen in time through some unknown means. The dark and cloudy sky looked fantastical inside of the crystal as frozen lightning bolts hung in the air in mid-descent. It looked like a snapshot of the ruined city's history.
"You already understand that the entire continent of Mulia is underneath the Heavenly Aegis's protection, yes? That was something we created but never completed because of time and resource restrictions because of our war with the Infestation. Its functionality is limited because of this, resulting in the time dilation phenomenon the people inside experience."
She put the crystal away and said, "But Citlai is not Mulia; after we saw that we would not be able to finish the continental aegis in time, we diverted our resources into making a smaller-scale version of the Heavenly Aegis — one large enough to hold our capital for safekeeping with the last of our people. We succeeded, just barely before they breached our final line of defense."
Reed felt confused; Axtorius had told them that they were the ones who pieced together the Heavenly Aegis themselves, but here Lu'um was telling him otherwise. How was that possible? He scratched his head and said, "Wait... Axtorius told us that they were the ones who built the dome, not you guys, so someone must be lying about this..."
Lu'um indifferently said, "Picking up our discarded project and half-assedly completing it does not count as them building it themselves, as much as he would like to tell you. Why would you trust them when they barely understand how our technology works? I mean, for the love of Mu, they venture out into the Shadowlands to pick up our ruined scraps- oh, I mean artifacts, right?" She opened up a rift and gestured for him to follow. She had something to do.
It led back to the crystal palace, specifically Lu'um room. When they passed over, Lu'um walked over to an old desk and pulled out a tiny steel box. It had a miniature crystal embedded on it and a fancy-looking seal engraved upon it.
"The original plan was to seal the entire continent with a completed Heavenly Aegis and bolster our forces within it since we would've had all the time in the world. We'd borrow lesser beings from lower planes of existence and train them into warrior-servants for our final battle against the enemy, but something else happened instead...."
"In the end, we ended up losing the continent in the chaos and lost control of the people there, for the most part. Lo-and-behold, a couple thousand years pass and now they think they're something when they're still nothing. Mulia is nothing more than an abandoned plan, Ka'an, and the people there are nothing more than descendants of our servants."
"I know you think of them as your precious friends, but I can only see them as less than common folk — blind sheep in a large cage." She took the gem box and handed it to Reed.
"This is....?"
"I'd ask you to stay here where it is safe, but I know you'd never be able to settle down with your friends in danger, right? If you want to go, then we'll go. But before we leave, I was asked to give you this by someone very important. He said that you would need it. "
Reed opened the gem box and found a dirty, rusted ring with a golden head that swirled elegantly. Atop the head lay a raw, unpolished sapphire as the centerpiece. A simple string had been used to form a necklace with it. The sorry thing looked like it'd been put through the wringer. It looked like it might break if one held it roughly.
This thing's going to need a lot of maintenance. Hell, even the ring's jewel hasn't been cut and polished yet. It's just a raw chunk of sapphire. This poor ring isn't even finished from the look of it... He carefully inspected the ring and said, "So, what does this trinket do?"
Lu'um stared at the ring and said, "I don't know... I didn't even know what was inside of the box until now. He said that he'd leave an explanation for you if I remember correctly..."
Reed inspected the gem box again and noticed a thin piece of parchment that had been taped onto the roof of the inner case. He plucked it off and turned it around. It read:
I couldn't finish it in time, so I'll leave the finer details to you. You'll naturally understand what it's for when the time is ripe. Don't tell her anything about this note.
From yours truly,
Reed
There no denying it. That was his handwriting, albeit greatly faded because of the note's age. It was even in his world's native language, Vighmor. Reed wondered if he'd suddenly gone senile at the ripe old age of seventeen. He considered it a distinct possibility now.