Less than a week later, authorities from the capital arrived with grim faces. All three were dressed in black, and each had a lustrous coat. This was the first time a humanoid creature had appeared, thus the authorities wanted to bury the information to avoid mass panic in other cities and settlements. They asked the villagers to leave Linkwood and go to the city of Lars. Of course, the tone they asked the villagers implied that it was not voluntary.
"How are we to live if we leave our homes? And why should we leave?" asked a middle-aged woman.
"Don't worry about that. All of you will be sufficiently compensated. We will provide all with free lounging and opportunities to find jobs once you reach Lars. In addition, all those currently under the age of 13 will be eligible to join the city Academy," replied one of authorities with a smile.
With that, there was no good reason not to accept the offer, so everyone readily agreed. Although they led relatively peaceful lives the past 10 years, they couldn't say they were prospering. Indeed, the harsh environment still made life hard for them. Thus, when presented the opportunity to live in a city with more opportunities and a better future for their children, or to stay behind, the choice was obvious for them. Of course, no one except Larson and the old man knew exactly what had happened a week ago. Warren was there too, but it's not likely a 5-year-old would retain such a horrible memory.
Meanwhile in the cottage:
"Master Reed, as the true owner of Linkwood, we will need your consent before we can transport the settlers in your village to the city."
The old man looked up from his seat.
"Very well, since the Capital sent such generous terms, I'll accept it for our village," replied Reed. "Just make sure you don't go back on your offer Juggler Thytus."
"Don't worry, it is directly approved by the Capital so we will make sure it goes through smoothly."
Thytus turned to leave.
"I would tell them to start packing now if I were you," he said with a smirk.
With that he left, and to ordinary observers, it would seem as if he had vanished into thin air.
Reed frowned. Who would have thought they would send such a powerful figure for such a trivial matter?
"Larson!"
"Yes?"
"Inform everyone to pack everything they need before they leave for Lars."
"Got it. And what should we do with the kid?"
The old man sighed.
"We will need to bring him with us. I'm honestly surprised his mental state is still stable after all that."
"Very well."
When Larson left, Reed glanced at the two rings on his left hand. One was of course, a cosmic ring which he kept with him since his youth. Even after so decades, its surface was still untainted, as if it was new. In contrast, the other ring looked like it was about to fall apart any moment. Yet, despite being covered in rust, this ring gave off a strange and ancient aura. The authorities had confiscated it and attempted to see if the ring had any special function, but they found nothing of value. Reed was only able to keep this ring because it was supposedly useless. He took off the ancient ring and closely examined it.
The ring….it felt, different? It seems to be pulled towards something, he thought. What could be causing such a reaction from my ring?
He looked around but couldn't figure out what was happening. He sighed and put the ring back on his finger.
Once a great figure in the past, Reed was severely injured while protecting one of the royal ambassadors from the Capital during an assassination attempt. The officials in the Capital felt indebted to him so granted him early retirement from the Guard and gave him the small settlement now known as Linkwood. Only a few knew his true age; even those in the Capital do not know exactly how old he is. If they knew, their jaws would likely drop to the ground.
Meanwhile in the corner of the cottage, Warren was fast asleep without a care in the world. Neither Larson nor the old man could bear to tell him what really happened to his parents because they thought the truth would be too much for him to handle. And like most 5-year-olds, he believed whatever they told him. Neither did he know
The next day, two giant cubes arrived in the vicinity of Linkwood. Each cube was about 200 meters long.
"What is that!?" Larson asked the old man with a surprised look on his face.
"Never been in one before? That's our ride to the city."
"Looks more like a giant cage if you ask me."
By this time, everyone had finished packing their belongings and gathered around those strange floating cubes. Suddenly a giant hatch appeared on the bottom of the cube, causing those standing directly underneath to scramble away in fear. The hatch opened and a smiling young man dropped down with the elevator.
The villagers stared at him in shock. Most had spent their entire lives in Linkwood, so none of them had ever seen an elevator before, let alone know what it was. In fact, they were already unsettled by the floating cubes. They seemed to defy gravity and covered such a large area that it looked like the cubes were going to crush the entire village. Many trembled in fear when they imagined what it'll feel like to be crushed by those cubes.
"Eh? What are you all staring at? Oh that. That's your ride to the city. Now hurry up and get on the elevator, we can't wait for you all day you know!"
Those words brought everyone back to their senses and everyone moved towards the elevator.
Once everyone got onto the elevator, the lift rose and carried them into the shuttle.
"Welcome to the CTS Cliffwall, special transport shuttle for the Capital! I am captain Kayplso Yin pleased to make your acquaintance," said the young man grinning at the pale faces of the villagers, who just about decided they've had enough surprises for one day.