I looked up at the broken moon, admiring its surprising beauty. I think it was closer to the planet than I was used to, that or much larger than my own back home.
[You okay?]
"Yeah, yeah." I ran hand through my wet hair. "I'm good." I found a nice little pond to take a dip in. Put up a bounded field and just wanted to relax. "Just surprising. Like knowing people die, then see a dead body for the first time in person."
Worlds died. Just like every other living thing in existence, they eventually meet their end. Be it the heat death of the universe they exist in, or their natural time is over. Natural causes, or something kills them.
Worlds eventually die.
I've known about parallel worlds that get pruned every second of the day while new worlds are then created to fill their place.
But I've never walked on a planet that was on its last gasping breath.
[How much longer does this place have?]
I mulled the question over. "I'd be conservative and say a few thousand years."
[That's not too bad.]
"When a planet looks at billions of years as a blink of an eye, a couple thousand is absolutely miniscule" I shook my head.
[Shouldn't it be more noticeable?]
"It depends." I pursed my lips. "Don't know what happened here, but the 'dust' is basically like clotting blood. There is still enough mana in the air from the dust sprouting out of the ground everywhere that it's nearly impossible to tell on a first look that anything is wrong. Give it a few more centuries, I'm sure people will start to notice that crops are growing less, forests are starting to decline, deserts expanding, that sort of thing."
Then again, many people don't venture out of the Kingdoms much from what I've seen. Perhaps that's already happening and they're just oblivious. The population here is much lower than my home presumably, so it probably won't even be an issue for a very long time.
[It's sad, but it doesn't seem like anything worth dwelling on.]
While blunt, it's true. "Yeah, I'm just processing is all. Not like I'm going to sit here and mourn a world I never knew." I dipped my head under the water. Very clean and refreshing, I had made sure to check it before getting in. "And, well, Dust is quite the find. It should be sprouting for a few more centuries before it starts to show signs of diminishing in a noticeable capacity."
[Going to load up on it to bring back home?]
"That was the thought." I Stood up, grabbing a towel I had hanging on a tree nearby. "Should be good for Rin, and I think Zelretch would be excited for the find. Crystallized Mana is something findable back home, but it is EXTREMELY rare. Granted, the stuff back home would be much more potent than the stuff here due to the fact that our world is still going strong."
Quality vs quantity.
Putting my clothes back on, I laid out a bed roll. I didn't really feel like heading back to the city and finding a hotel or something. I would enjoy the clear sky and sleep under the stars tonight.
****
I yawned, opening my eyes up to the morning sun.
Still couldn't get over how stunning this area was. Definitely one of my favorite places I've discovered away from home. Going to show off so many pictures when I get back.
Oh, that reminds me.
I gathered all my stuff and went to check on my little jars of Sap. They were practically overflowing as I got to them.
Waiving my hand, I created a portal that brought me back to a little alley near Junior's club.
I know it was early, but I kind of wanted a drink.
"It's 6:00 PM in some world, right?"
[That's a healthy way to look at it.] Ddraig said dryly.
Not like I'm going to kill my liver or anything. Devil biology to the rescue.
Walking in the familiar door, some eyes shot towards me but they seemed slightly less intrusive than before. There were tons of people running around, setting up posters, redecorating, that sort of thing.
I sat down at Junior's bar, watching from the corner as he was directing people every which way before coming to me.
"Didn't think I'd see you for awhile, kid." He sat his hands on the counter. "Whatcha need?"
"Can I get a drink?" I asked. "Wouldn't mind another of those Strawberry Sunrises, maybe a hit of something stronger added?"
"Strawberry Sunset then." He nodded. "Little more oomph in it." He said idly, fetching all the stuff with practiced ease as I set some money on the counter. "Y'know, we don't usually have people coming in this early for drinks, even if we're open."
"Eh, just coincidence, I don't usually get started this early even when I do drink." I waived him off. "Just had a long day yesterday."
"Well, you made it back in one piece." He shrugged. "Grimm give you any trouble?"
"Asking if I saw any abnormal activity?" I raised an eyebrow.
He smirked slightly. "I wouldn't be remiss to hear something like that, but it's not like I got people coming to me for stuff like that."
"Sorry to disappoint, only saw a few Beowolfs here or there." My fingers wrapped around the glass he set infront of me. "Got some Sap though, pretty tasty stuff, thanks for the recommendation." I put a small jar on the counter, pushing it towards him. "A little thanks."
He blinked looking it over. "Hey, kid, I appreciate it." He seemed genuinely enthused.
"What's up with he redecorating?"
"Mistral Tournament is coming up, always draws a crowd."
"Mistral Tournament?" I asked. I'm pretty sure Mistral is the name of the 'kingdom' on a continent to the east.
He looked at me weirdly. "You haven't heard of the Mistral Tournament? It's probably the biggest event on Remnant next to the Vital Festival."
Ah, Remnant, that was the name of this world, I remember now. "From a small village, didn't really hear about the outside that much."
"Huh." He commented. "Well, basically it's –"
"Junior." Roman burst out the back room. "My boys managed to snag the preliminary odds for the –" He paused staring at both me and Junior. "Oh, hey kid."
Junior took of his glasses, rubbing his eyes. "Roman, why don't you just broadcast to the entire kingdom."
"Oh, quit your whining, Kid won't spill the beans, right kid?" Roman pulled up a stool next to me.
"Betting pool?" I asked.
"Ha, quick on the uptake." Roman smirked. "Keep this under wraps and I'll give you some good betting advice." He tipped his hat.
"Pfft, who am I gonna tell?" I rolled my eyes. "Besides, everyone knows Roman Torchwick is a law abiding citizen, there's no way he would engage in some illegal betting."
Roman let out a small laugh, gesturing for Junior to get him a drink. "Well, cats out of the bag now." He took a sip of his own drink and spun around in his stool, putting his elbows on the counter as he stared at the club. "One of my favorite times of the year, so many suckers wanting to get separated from their hard earned Lien."
"Is this tournament every year?"
Roman turned to look at me, then at Junior who just shrugged. "I was telling the kid about the tournament when you came over. Village boy over here never heard of it before."
"Well well." Roman took his hat off, setting it on the counter. "Let Uncle Roman tell you all about this beautiful time of the year."
"By all means." I gestured for him to continue.
"Alright, so you got this world-wide tournament hosted in Mistral, and it's got these brackets for age groups, but no one gives a crap about most of them. Most eyes are on the Youth division ages 16 to 20. It's considered the place to look for the up and comers, where the young huntsman in training can prove their worth. Where the less…..'connected' may get an invitation to attend one of the 'prestigious' Academies around the world."
"Ah, poor kids and those with hopes of grandeur go to compete to maybe grab a higher-ups attention?" I hazarded a guess.
"Got it in one." He nodded. "The Academies aren't exactly cheap. Most can't afford them if they don't' get scholarships or what-not." Roman added. "Anyways, we get the kids in those age groups go and beat the crap out of each other for entertainment."
"Why that Age group though?"
"16 is generally the earliest one can get accepted into an Academy with 17 being the norm. And the schools don't really take in students past 20 years old, considering it not worth teaching them that late since most graduate by the time they're 20 or 21 anyways."
That made sense, they're looking for the best age to teach kids how to fight.
"The prize money is pretty nice too." Roman added.
"Prize money?" I perked up.
"30,000 Lien." Roman nodded. "Nice and tidy little bit there, could set someone up for a decade if they were conservative."
"How's the competition look?" I rubbed my chin.
"There's a favorite, one Pyrrha Nikos the – " He Waived his hands flippantly. "—Invincible Girl." With an eye roll he took another drink. "Well, she's decent for her age, but as green as the grass in the emerald forest."
"Does she attend an Academy?"
Roman blinked for a moment. "Oh right, keep forgetting you're a bumpkin." He laughed. "It's 'frowned upon' for kids already in academies to compete." There was a bit of contempt in his words. "Miss Invincible Girl already racked up three consecutive wins, one more and she sets the new record, one of the reasons this tournament is so popular this year."
"Huh." I had some thoughts. "What are the requirements to enter this tournament?"
"Open to any challengers." Roman eyed me. "What? Want to try your luck?" He laughed.
"Hey, I could win." I huffed, taking a drink.
"Sure, kid." Roman laughed.
"Do you need some kind of identification to participate?" I asked.
"Just standard stuff, why?" Roman asked.
"I may or may not have entered the Kingdom illegally?"
"Well, I never!" Roman dramatically placed his hand over his heart. "Who would have thought I was consorting with such unsavory elements?"
Junior just shook his head. "Listen, kid, you don't seem like the bad sort so I'll give you some advice." He leaned forward. "The mistral tournament isn't the place for our kind. It's where the future huntsman go, those who are paraded around the Kingdom as their 'heroes'." He turned around and walked away.
I feel like there's a story there. "Did I say something wrong?"
Roman just snorted. "Not everyone wakes up one day and wants this life, kid." He lit a cigar, taking a long drag before letting it out. "Junior isn't any different." He Leaned back in his seat. "Most of us had the same dreams these kids did. Seeing these fights broadcast all over the world, all wide-eyed before reality hit us in the face."
"Us?" I eyed him.
Roman's light smile faded into something resembling melancholy. "Everyone's got a story, kid. Don't go around prying in this place." He pulled over an ashtray, stamping out his cigar. "But if you need papers, I'm your guy."
Well, regardless, it would be nice to have some kind of identification.
"What're you charging?" I raised an eyebrow, earning a smirk from him.
***
So, uh, i'm not making Remnant a sort of 'Land of Steel'. Yeah the planet is pretty borked, all things considered, but Land of Steel was much worse than that. Just wanted a way from MC's perspective to explain what's going on with Remnant.
Anyways, if you want to read 5 chapters ahead or support me, visit my pat.reon.com/astoryforone.