"Arata, are you ready? We're nearing the barrier." Felicia's voice echoed in my head.
"I'm ready." I answered.
"Do it, Ritty." Velti stated.
"I, the Guardian Dragon now order thee, reveal the hidden path and open the bridge between worlds!" I can hear Ritty chant and then I see a purple like wall wrapping around the ship.
A path begins to open and Ritty enters from there. Above the city, I can see the entire ship in it's whole. There's a giant tower at the very center, surrounding it are three large rings. Four bridges connect the three rings to the center.
"This is Sidus Pontem, the bridge of worlds. Ay the center is the Graveyard of the Ancients. The three outlying rings are cities that have various functions. This was originally a city." Felicia stated. "A large city created from the remains of Fatum, the mother of Ancients. She created this ship as an inheritance for me."
"We used this ship to traverse the vast cosmos and distant worlds. When Felicia fled our world, she used this ship to travel to this realm of yours." Velti stated. "Some of us were able to flee the Catastrophe that followed and consumed eighty-eight of one hundred ancients."
"How many Ancients were there originally?" I asked.
"There were a total of a hundred Ancients. The eighty-eight were consumed by the Catastrophe and turned into Chimeras. Felicia and the four of us were together when we fled so we escaped the Catastrophe's affliction." Siel stated. "The others like Sidwell and Gunilla were visiting different worlds so they weren't affected. There are still five more Ancients out there who were affected by the Catastrophe."
"So you know who they are?" I asked as Ritty flew towards the outlying ring.
"I've already shared who two of the three are. The Ancient of Nightmares and the Ancient of the Mind." Sidwell stated. "Nimaria and Minia."
"What about the others?" I asked.
"We have no idea. We have no idea of who were turned to Chimeras." Sebastian stated. "For all we know it could've been any of our siblings."
"Masters, we're descending." With Ritty's words we braced ourselves for the landing.
We've landed on the third ring from the center. It's the farthest but it's perfect, if we entered to close to the center Karin might notice us. From here we go in a circle and map out the entire city then head to the center. I'm not sure how many days we'll be up here but at least we'll have more than enough time to prepare.
"Judging by the structure of the buildings or what remain, we're likely at the Northern Section, at the Boreas Area." Felicia stated. "If we move inland we'll find Boreas Gate which connects the North and East islands."
"Then let's head there." I stated.
We began marching, it was very strange to be in the city. The entire place seemed so deserted by according to Felicia it was once a great and bountiful city teeming with life. I see that the once glorious city has not withstood the passing of time. Some parts are in complete and utter ruins and it seems that many of the buildings have begun to crumble.
"I wonder if there's a way to restore the city." I muttered.
"There is. If you head to the center island there's a special room called the Keystone Chamber. If you enter that chamber and pour Vi into the core you'll be able to restore the city." Velti stated. "There's even a way to restore the Ley Lines from here."
"There is?! Then if we go there we can restore the Ley Lines?" I asked in surprise.
"Of course, but that is a very risky task to undertake at the moment. For now, I recommend you focus on the task at hand." Siel states and I nodded. "After everything is over you can restore the Ley Lines."
We move further in land and eventually arrive at a large building before nightfall. We've travelled far but this is only the outlying island, there are still more islands inland and we've only covered a small portion of the entire island.
"Let's make camp inside for tonight." Ritty stated as we entered the building. "Let's head to the lower floor, that way even if we start a fire the enemy won't notice us."
In the basement of the building we make camp, Ritty creates a small fire and I take out the food from Creation. As I'm about to eat the rice balls Will packed me I can hear a voice calling out to me.
"Will? Is something wrong?" I asked him.
"No, I'm just checking up on." He answered.
"I'm fine. We've made camp for the night, how's everyone?" I asked.
"We're fine. So stay safe." Andrew's voice answered.
"Don't worry, we'll finish this and return home as soon as we can." I answered. "Please stay safe until then."
"You should say that to yourself." Alex stated.
"Well we won't bother you any more, go ahead and get some rest." Al says.
"Bye, take care." Liam bids me farewell.
I take a bite of the rice ball and feel the love Will put into making it. I need to finish this fast so I can go back to where everyone is.
-----
"He sounded fine." Liam said as he relaxed on the sofa.
"How long do you think Arata will be up there?" Zhen asked as he tucked his feet up. "I don't like being away from him."
"I don't think any of us do." Alistar says.
"As much as we dislike it, Arata is up there somewhere we can't reach him." I stated. "It's just his usual habbit of running ahead and leaving us to chase after him."
"We've chased him over and over again." Andrew stated. "It's the usual so let's go with our lives as usual. Chasing after Arata till we can catch him."
"Will we be able to catch him I wonder..." Ethan said as he looked down to the ground. "I feel like ever since he changed his appearance, Arata has begun to grow distant."
"Me too. I feel like he's getting farther and farther." Alexis said. "I'm scared. Scared that Arata will go somewhere we won't be able to follow him."
Alexis words are exactly the same thoughts that have been lurking at the back of my head. I'm starting to feel that Arata is really going to go somewhere we won't be able to follow him at this rate.
As we sat there in the silence, the coldness and emptiness of our living room grew stronger. Without Arata here there's no one to bring warmth or sound to our world. Fearing what will happen in the future, none of us can do anything except wallow in the darkness of the moment.