Alpha waves his hand calling for me. I quickly ran and catch up with the rest.
The Soldier looks at me suspiciously as Alpha hands out their token of access, and proceeds to open the gate.
The Soldiers stepped back and knocked on the wall behind them, signaling for the gate to be opened.
A loud 'click' and 'clack' can be heard as the gates slowly open, revealing houses and buildings that are made of concrete and bricks, and black obelisks that subtly ruin the beauty of the city.
As I stood before the opened gates, the soldiers asked for my Token. I told them that I don't have a Token yet, but they demanded I show it.
Alpha confronts the guard, saying that I'm an Escort. But of course, they won't buy it.
"I'm sorry sir, but I cannot let him in." The Soldier said to Alpha.
Alpha replied, "He's our escort. He doesn't have a Token because he has never been here."
"Well if it's about a Token, then you can go sign him up in here." The Soldier points at a dented gray wall and told Kash to come here.
"Push it." The Soldier said to me. I immediately complied and raised my palm to the dented gray wall and push it.
After I pushed it, the dented gray wall suddenly hovered and shrunk to the size of a marble, and the walls in its vicinity also shrunk, constantly spinning rapidly and sending waves of lines for each rotation.
It began to gradually speed up, and the lines began to fill the space, forming a square gate. The feeling that it gave off is relaxing and peaceful to the point where my knees would've dropped.
My thoughts of defending myself immediately shut down as I subconsciously walked toward the gate.
"Hey hold on-" Alpha calls out for me as I entered the Gate, reaching out his right hand.
Alpha sensed a sharp pain from his wounds and began to kneel on the floor but he insists and entered the Gate.
As I went through the Gate, the relaxing and peaceful vibe turned to nothing. I immediately woke up and saw myself near the edge of a cliff, almost falling.
I regained posture and took a step backward. There is a lot of stuff to take in. For example, a floating island is bonded by chains from other floating islands that are at different altitudes.
The sky is clear, no clouds at all. I can even see the reflected light of some planets.
Alpha grabbed me away from the cliff and said, "You almost fell man!" with terror in his voice.
"Hahaha! Welcome, visitors!" a loud voice emerged from one of the floating islands.
Out of all the different floating islands, the highest one was filled with giant swords made of dirt and stone that seemingly pierced the island.
"Oh, isn't that the guy that I met at the beginning!" She went down in a flash to greet Kash and Alpha. To her surprise, she immediately recognizes Kash.
She said, "Oh my! Funny seeing you here, Kash ♡"
"Ah, you're that girl from before!" Kash said after looking at her appearance.
She's just like before. Long hair, a small body, and a cute voice. I can see how she looks now.
Her hair is wavy and pure red, wearing an exorcist outfit with a beret on her head. She has amethyst-purple eyes that seem to resemble a crystal for her pupils, with a face of stunning beauty.
"Hey you've been staring at me for a while, perhaps are you into- Ugyah!" Someone immediately pulled her by the back of her collar. A man wearing a similar uniform.
His eyes are black sharper and his pupils are pitch-grey. Just like Eta, he's wearing glasses, except it's more rectangular.
His face is also sharp and a face mask covers his mouth. Even if he is wearing a beret, I can see his wavy bangs fluttering as the wind blows through them.
"Frey-Frey! You haven't memorized the 91st Psalm and you have the confidence to skip training?! I'm throwing you into the pit of vipers!" The Man annoyingly said to her.
Freya pleaded, "I'm just here to meet a good friend of mine! Also my name is Freya! Hey! Get your hands off me! Kash, help me!" as she tried to shake off him.
Of course, like any other normal person who encountered a scary-looking man and a cute girl, I clasped my hands, bowed down, and said,
"My Condolences"
"Eh." Freya astonishingly uttered.
"What a sincere gesture." Alpha chuckled.
The Man replied to Freya, "Since someone had bid their blessings, it's time to go." with a sinister face.
"Kash!! Help me!!" Freya shouted as she is being flown back into the islands.
"Who was that girl?" Alpha asked.
I replied, "It's the girl that I met before I came into this world."
"Eden's Apple?" Alpha said.
"Hm, what's wrong?" I said to him.
Alpha replied, "...It's nothing."
'I never knew that Kash is an Incarnation. Ever since I met him in the forest, I felt like something is off. His presence, attitude, and demeanor are not from this world, and his dialect too.'
'I am certain ma'am had already known about this. But I'm constantly in fear every time I get near him. There are times when I patted him on the back and his presence took a complete turn.'
'Although my jokes and laughs are real, I can't shake off that eerie feeling every time I get close to Kash. It's like a thousand guns are aiming at my head.'
Alpha reorganized his thoughts while he kept his eye on Kash.
A few minutes later, an echoing voice can be heard, resounding through the sky like a wave.
"Ahh, ahh, can you hear me?" The announcer's voice is much more timid and high-pitched than usual, and I don't know where it is coming from.
It's my second time being here and I don't know much has changed over the decade.
...Am I scared? Me, Alpha? No, I shouldn't be scared.
I released some of my aurae and charged my crossbow in case of danger. My quiver is almost empty and I can only do 15 shots left
"Ah, there's no need t-to b-be on g-g-guard," the announcer said in a trembling tone.
Suddenly, numerous pillars of light began to shoot out from the sky. I can sense multiple aura and mana users immediately as the pillar shrinks.
I can see a lot of people. Different clothing, appearance, and overall vibe. I can see some people dressed formally and casually.
One team, in particular, is arguing and throwing a tantrum, more like a couple's quarrel. Most of the people are watching those two ever since they arrived here.
Before we could react, the announcer said something.
"Um... T-the exami-mination will begi-in!"
The sky immediately turned dark and all of our vision went pitch black. I told Kash to stick close to me.
Kash nodded in agreement.
'That's good.'
In a split second, the islands became a harrowing battlefield. Waves of mana and aura came in surging and clashing with each other.
The sound of weapons and chants are all we can hear, it's annoying but this is the battlefield after all, no need to be picky.
I can see Kash covering his ears while his eyes are squinting in terror. I told him to calm down and that this will all end while patting him on his shoulder.
I can feel myself shudder as I pat Kash. It's a terrible feeling, but all for the comfort of the weak I must do it.
Well, never mind those measly thoughts, and let's get to work.
"Kash! Take this." I handed him a sword from my inventory. It's all dented and old, but it's still sharp.
I remember that the soldier said that this is a sign-up for a Token. But, this is entirely different from my experience.
Normally when signing up a Token, they're gonna be inspected both in their history and combat prowess. But this is more like an examination for an academic reward.
Hell, I haven't even studied at an academy before yet so why were we dragged into this?
The fluctuations of mana and aura are getting denser and more intense, it's time to retreat to a safer place.
I immediately grab Kash and went in the opposite direction. My vision is so damn dark that I can't even see in front of me at least 20 meters.
Good thing I have a great innate sense of instinct, and I can feel that there are a lot of people fighting moderately far from us.
"Hey, Kash?" I said.
Kash replied, "Yeah?"
"I have a plan to get us out of here. But it will require some time. Can you defend me for a while?" I said to Kash.
Kash was reluctant and second-guessed my suggestion. Nonetheless, he agreed.
I sat down in a lotus position and took out my talismans and charms for protection. I gave Kash some of my talismans so he can last longer.
But before I started, I can sense a large fluctuation of aura coming right at me.
"2 people!" I shouted.
The sound of a bow can be heard amongst the clashing blades. Two arrows were shot and we're targeted at me.
Kash immediately came and blocked one of the arrows, however he couldn't block the other arrow but it missed me by an inch.
From the darkness, I can see the enemies slowly walking toward us.
I immediately placed a charm of longevity and protection on Kash and shot 10 of my arrows into the sky. It's gonna be Kash's first battle. I'm curious about what will he do.