The city of the Red Brick Road, or known colloquially as the R.B.R., was naturally the very one the group had just entered, who's very red road they were treading upon. Of course, this was also Queenie's birthplace.
As if to attest to that, the guards at the gate immediately recognized her as the so-called princess, or daughter of the city's Lord.
They immediately went up to her and kneeled:
"Mistress, welcome back."
Their human faces were solemn as they voiced their agitation of both excitement and anxiety.
"Mistress, the Lord has dictated your immediate attendance upon arrival."
Upon hearing their words that were directly addressed to her, Queenie's mind instantly cooled as her gaze turned colder and colder.
As calm as ice, she merely replied "alright," before directly walking into the city and leaving the guards behind kneeling on the red gravel-like ground.
In fact, not only were the guards shocked by this power play, but so were the rest of the group! This… this was simply too powerful!
Even someone like Ran was amazed by this show of authority, and as he walked past the guards with the rest he couldn't help but pat their backs in consolation; secretly, he was imagining himself doing the same thing however.
The guards, however, were completely stunned. Originally, they had even wanted to inquire about the group following behind the "Mistress", but this one word write-off followed by the nonchalant walking away of Queenie completely robbed them of the necessary power and right to ask.
And yet, to this, they both shedded a single tear, half a tear each. This was because it was too superb! With this, the guards knew the city would be in good hands in the future. Thus, they saluted the "Mistress" and watched as the group entered the city before closing the gate behind them and heading back to their positions.
While walking on the red bricked road through the city, their initial excitement was very quickly crushed, leaving each of them with a frown on their face.
They looked around, but found no one.
Even these stone bricked buildings that lined the streets remained silent.
Beyond that, it was only the morning!
This was simply a ghost town!
Normally, this was some of the busiest hours of the day for the city, but very quickly, they realized that surely this was due to the looming threat of the spirit weather that was only getting closer with each passing minute. Yet, despite this, Queenie frowned even harder. She did not want to witness this scene, but it only got more and more real as they approached the dazzling red palace.
Indeed, in fact, the R.B.R was usually a very lively place, with all kinds of races coexisting. But… Well, we know what it looks like now, but it was only logical right? When such an event is imminent, who wouldn't want to seek safety in their own homes?
After all, practically all of these buildings and establishments were created through and with soul juice, so it was all within the purview of the ranking system. As such, with the rank of the creators in mind, most of these buildings were at least as strong as some of the lower quality steel alloys. None of this even includes any possible preservatives (runes) they might have added to empower certain aspects of a building.
However, in reality, this city would probably be in complete ruins if the weather was allowed to roam freely.
But, moving past that, at least from Queenie's expression, even if it was dangerous, she wasn't worried that the city would be destroyed or anything. So, while the mood was heavy, the sight of the red palace at the end of the red brick road made them subconsciously relax.
While on their way over, they passed by some farm and it was also emptier than one's bowels after eating some taco bell… Well, the animals all just went into hiding. Even they could feel something was off, leaving the sides of the red trail empty and white, like unmarked graves. And by the time they ran to the red gates of the palace, over an hour passed, showing the foundation and sheer size of the city.
With the palace in full view, everyone but Queenie gawked at the sight.
Rather than a palace, it presented itself closer to a castle. Holding off on some of the more intricate design and extravagance, the palace just oozed with a simple robustness that showed it's willingness to stand firm in the face of all out war.
Its walls were red and thick, as if made with the very blood and flesh of those that fell at its feet, and its structures were supremely tall, like the back of a noble that disdains all but the dirty peasants who serve them.
That was the impression they had gotten from the palace; clearly, there was history behind it. This was even more so as flames were propped up on tall pillars surrounding the palace itself, such that the dynamic lighting made it appear as if it was alive.
Even after they entered through the gates, once again leaving the guards out to dry, the sense of power and awe never left their bodies. This was especially so for Bob and Fluffy who just… weren't 'bout that life.
At least Ran and Ann grew up in a similar environment, with an iridescent glass palace they once called home, but the rest couldn't say the same.
The inside was even more interesting. It was mostly the same kinda layout you would see normally with this kind of structure, but there was a point of interest. In a way, it could be said that the inner sanctum, or core, of the palace was completely hollow. Or rather, this was where the master bedroom and several other rooms would be. As for the throne room, that was just before this place.
As they walked through the hall leading into the cavity, various paintings were hung in frames, depicting various figures. It wasn't very certain, but they seemed to be portraits of those succeeding the throne down through the generations as they all shared some resemblance to one another.
Yet, only one seemed to have a special significance—it being the first of course. The first portrait was of a man around his fifties, and he seemed a bit special among the rest. Both his hair and eyes were blood red, and even the clothing on his chest seemed stained with literal blood. He wasn't smiling, but an air of arrogance and victory soared from his body, at least that was the impression. Yet, the man's body was paler than snow and even a few beads of sweat were present on his face.
The other paintings were much more classical and boring in their depictions and none stood out as much as the first.
They continued through the hallway before the walls expanded outward, forming a dome-like shape. Inside of this cavity was but a slightly rundown house with roughly over a hundred meters of verdant grass surrounding it.
The wooden house itself was actually quite rundown, but had regular maintenance to retain its normal appearance.
The walls of the palace surrounded the house except for a reddish-tinted window at the top of the ceiling, allowing light to fill this place and brighten it up, making the green grass appear almost bloody. Even the red brick road, which they had still been following up to this moment, appeared redder than usual in this place, leading all the way into the house.
However, before they reached the house, a servant rushed out. Upon exiting, they breathed a sigh of relief, and wiped the sweat off their forehead. When they saw Queenie, elation coursed through them as they ran up to her and knelt.
"Young Mistress, the Lord has been anxiously awaiting your return. He has been especially nervous these few weeks."
Hearing the servants words, Queenie nodded as if it was a matter of course that her father would be concerned considering the current circumstances.
"Okay, you can head back now," she said before walking into the house with everyone close behind.
"Young Mistress, the Lord is… quite different than usual."
The servant tip-toed over their words as they tried to surmise their experience. Queenie frowned for a second before simply walking into the house. Nothing was better than going in and seeing for herself right?
Of course, the servant was once again left kneeling, only to get a pat on their back for their hard work.
…
The door of the house made a creaking noise as everyone walked in, causing a small shiver to crawl through everyone's skin. They didn't know why they were nervous enough for a rusty door hinge to spook them, but they thought that maybe it has something to do with the solemn atmosphere.
The house was mostly pitch black, except for the kitchen room's old, flickering light orb that emanated a warm orange light. The only sound after the door was shut was merely just the sound of cutlery scraping and tapping against ceramic, which only served to creep everyone out even more. It was as if someone was just eating, but it just felt sort of different this time.
As such, seeing the tension rise inexplicably, Queenie decided to take the lead and told everyone to remain at the entrance until she signaled to them. Even Queenie was unsure of what was going to happen, but she walked into the lit room nonetheless.
The room was fairly small, only being about two hundred square feet (about nineteen square meters), with a small orange light orb floating around the center of the ceiling. It was cracked, covered in dust, and continuously flickered in random intervals.
Its wooden floors and walls were beginning to splinter and even grow mold in some places, despite having preservation runes inscribed into them. There was a small dining table that took center of the room and a few chairs sat within the gaps between its legs.
Despite being the kitchen, there were no appliances and the only thing left besides the light orb and the table was an empty dusty counter where the appliances would have been.
On the round table were two plates of cold food, however, they were a bit different from each other. Unfortunately, one could be said to have been left there for quite some time as the food had gone rotten. It decomposed to the point of not even being able to emit a foul stench—it was just a husk.
The other was just normal food that had not been finished before it turned cold.
And currently, Queenie's father can be seen slowly eating what was left of the cold plate of food. Piece by piece, he chewed on it to the point of it becoming a paste until he eventually swallowed and began anew. He wore no expression and merely ate with an empty gaze looking forward. In fact, he didn't even realize that his daughter was right in front of his eyes.
After a few seconds, seeing the state he was in and his lack of awareness, Queenie could no longer hold back and went up to him.
Standing next to him, she gently shook his shoulder.