The huge golden gates with carved dragons opened and what welcomed us was something bizarre and out of this world...there were countless red frames guiding us on a golden pathway that was floating in a deep dark abyss.
"Don't be frightened, these gates are called 'Torii' they guide us through this dimension your seeing right now."
"Wow..."
"This looks amazing!"
Everyone was in awe, the shogun herself took the first few steps on the golden pathway to reassure us that it was safe to walk on. It took some courage but I was surprised that Celene was the first among us to move forward. Skipping while humming some cheery sounds she stepped on the golden pathway without hesitation.
"Celene be careful!"
"That was risky!"
"It's all fine!"
"I wish I was carefree like you..."
"C'mon let's go! We can't make the shogun wait for us forever!"
Still hesitating, I stepped on the pathway and it was as solid as solid ground. This was an uncomfortable experience as surrounding us was nothingness, just a deep dark abyss that we would accidentally fall into.
"Scared?"
"N-not really..."
"It's always like that for first-timers...we use this pocket dimension in order to have more protection from any unwanted guest...and if you fall down, you'll suffer a painful death!"
"You don't have to be so cheery about the last part..."
"HAHAHA, I get that a lot!"
"Shogun, I've been meaning to ask, do you have any sort of relationship with Nanako?"
"Well I'm her aunt and I know her parents as her father was my brother they left the country a few years ago..."
"That's kind of sad to hear...for what reason did they leave then?"
"The shogun at the time was corrupt to the brim, he wanted everyone to submit to him...he thought of himself highly...then after getting tired of him leading the country, everyone rebelled against him...worried for the safety of their children, my brother, and his wife escaped the country and never to be seen again...I guess they passed..."
"That's unfortunate..."
"Yeah...and I heard that their first daughter got separated during the great separation of the two halves of this world...did they regret leaving?"
"About that...I met her from the other side before arriving here..."
"She's alive?!"
"Yeah, she's doing well..."
"That's good to hear...your sure a mysterious kid Tarus..."
"I get that a lot..."
"Then how did you get that white hair? And what's with those lifeless eyes? Kid's your age should be having fun...while you look like you've been through a lot..."
"Don't worry about it, it just suddenly happened...and can I ask the same thing about you?"
"I got cursed by a crown fragment...and I need to find Yggdrasil in order for the curse to be revoked..."
"So your situation right now has some similarities with the folk tale..."
"Yeah..."
"And your still governing your country while being under a curse...that's impressive...you've earned my respect!"
"You sure know how to make adults feel good..."
"That sure is a weird way to compliment me..."
"HAHA! You amuse me, kid!"
"You two focus!"
"C-Celene?!"
"Oh my, we're already here...May I welcome you formally to our humble secluded country, Azuma no taiyō..."
With the sun shining, I blocked some off it with my right arm...across the entryway, I could hear the chattering of people...and the sounds of blacksmiths forging something...it was a lively country...as we got out of the pocket dimension, the bustling streets of Azuma no taiyō came to silence...
"Shogun!" everyone shouted in unison
The shogun nodded her head and everyone went back to what they were doing previously...I guess they trust her so much that they wouldn't even be curious about us the outsiders...
"Let's talk in the palace, Lyaru, transport us please!"
"As you wish..."
A voice just came out of nowhere...was that just telepathy? This country sure is full of surprises...Blue light engulfed us and the next thing I knew we were in some sort of lobby...it was full of ornaments hanging from the wall and the main source of light was a lantern that produced an orange hue.
"Welcome to the Kyotomi palace!"
"This place looks magnificent..."
"Miss Shogun, I've been meaning to ask...where is the real location of Azuma no taiyō?"
"I can't really discuss that, it's not that I don't trust you but it's a taboo to reveal that..."
"I see..."
"Lyaru, please transport them to their respective rooms, thanks."
"As you wish!"
"Here we go agai-"
Before Nanako could finish talking, I landed on a soft fluffy bed...IT WAS THE SOFTEST THING EVER! BETTER THAN ANY BED I'VE EVER TRIED! Ok, enough about beds...the interior of the room also had one lantern acting as the main light source and producing the same orange hue...I guess I'm all alone now...It wouldn't hurt to explore the new city...I guess...there was a window left of the bed and I used corrosion to make an opening in it. Finally out, all's that left was to go down...as of now, the only thing I'm standing on is a ledge...and my feet surpass the ledge...crap I might lose balance! I looked once more at the broken hole I made, it concerned me so I used the Epoch to reverse the damage and fix it. Now...how the hell do I get down?! I'm so high up in the air...this is going to be tricky to traverse...these types of roofs that are curved upwards aren't helping...
"Are you in need of assistance?"
"Wha-?!"
I wobbled as the voice that I kept hearing surprised me...
"Oh no! I'm going to fall!"
"Esteemed guest please calm down..."
"How can I be calm as I'm falling! Screw this! Corrosion!"
Using corrosion in the air several times, I safely skipped through the space between me and the ground. The surrounding people passed by without a hint of awareness, for now, I'm just going to shrug it off.
"Esteemed guest, please return to your designated room."
"I just got out...at least let me explore a bit!"
"Her eminence commanded for you to stay in your designated room."
"Can't you have some fun in life? Oh yeah, where are you? Can't you at least show yourself?"
"Here I am esteemed guest."
A rift of some sort opened out of nowhere and out came a tall slim woman, blonde tied hair, and blue shiny eyes, and pointy ears! She was wearing unusual clothes...just like us...could it be that she's an outsider?
"Hi, I'm Tarus." I offered my hand
"Esteemed guest, I'm Lyaru, it's a pleasure to meet you."
She left my hand floating in the air as she bowed while greeting me...embarrassed I quickly hid away my hand.
"I sense something!"
"Esteemed guest!"
"I sense danger! Don't you have any sentinel patroling?!"
"Esteemed guest! It's dangerous there!"
I kept running while ignoring her warnings, through several alleyways I reached a bunch of hooded figures summoning something through a circle with a star in the middle...this doesn't look good...