Layla was a long way from the academy when she dropped onto a metal wall in the narrow alley where she had been taken, it was an alley in a curved street with tall, semi-detached buildings that completely covered her, panting with the effort she had made with the attempts to break the supports that held her in place. She sat very still, still frothing with rage while listening to the unrestrained gallop of her own heart.
But after about ten minutes alone in that dark alley, a new wave of emotions took over the girl: panic and fear. Whichever way she considered the case, she had never found herself in a worse situation than this. She was lost, alone and in the complete darkness in the lower city, with absolutely nowhere to go. And the worst thing was that despite being in a critical and serious situation, Layla had no idea where she was or who were these people who kidnapped her, leaving her even more desperate and scared than usual.
The girl felt cold and heard strange sounds all the time, Layla shivered as she looked up and down the narrow street. What was going to happen to him? Would she be trapped there forever or would she simply be killed and discarded?
She thought of her sister Olivia and the Landra guy Quagmire, making her heart feel even tighter and more alert than before. Layla was sure that no matter what the situation, her sister would want to help her now, but Olivia was busy and not aware of her younger sister's situation and, with the absence of any means of communication (whatever it was), she didn't had a way of getting in touch with anyone at the academy, putting her in an extreme awkward situation.
Nor was she aware of her own situation. There were a few tears in the girl's clothes that were covered in soot from the dirty street floor, and beside her a change of clothes that a local maid had given her some time ago.
Layla looked at the clothes that tempted her more and more, holding a small blue button that Quagmire had given her during their conversation at the academy. The button was the only thing she could secure after the countless inspections she'd been through to before being locked away in that putrid and abandoned place.
The girl stopped wasting time, taking small looks around to see if anyone was surrounding her, and removing the tattered clothes she had been wearing for more than a day in that desolate place. She had finally put on the change of clothes that had been given to her.
When she finished changing, Layla found herself dressed in a huge frilly white dress with some pink embellishments here and there. The girl wasn't too interested in this type of outfit, but at that moment, she was more than comfortable with that soft dress that warmed her.
As if by magic, a few minutes after she changed, Layla felt a strange tingling in the back of her neck that made her feel like she was being watched, but the street seemed deserted and there was no light in the big square buildings that surrounded her.
She stood up again with her eyes wide open, almost immediately straightening up, her hand pressing the button. She didn't feel or see anything in front of her, she just heard it: someone or something was standing in the narrow passage between the entrance to the alley and the cage she was trapped by. Layla squinted her eyes to better see the dark passage. If only what was watching her moved, she would know if it was just a stray cat or…well…something else.
''Hi, Is anyone there?'' The girl muttered, and a door opened, letting out a light shine through a huge flashlight, which nearly blinded her. She raised her hands above her head and the stone-encrusted walls suddenly glowed; the door finally opened completely and Layla saw, very clearly, the outline of the left arm of someone very large with huge, beautiful eyes.
Layla backed away from the cage she was in, almost tripping on the uneven floor. And the unknown person was getting closer and closer to where she was, making her even more apprehensive than usual.
''Uh? Um, is it you again, Joshua? " She asked, trembling a little.
"No, the big guy couldn't come." A tall, brunette woman replied, her voice much more subtle than her appearance.
The woman was tall and definitely muscular, dressing in a way that in the upper city would easily be considered vulgar but that made her even prettier than usual. The woman had medium black hair that flowed over her strong shoulders, in a black top accompanied by a long black vest and black pants that covered her pretty legs, she definitely didn't look much older than Layla.
''The others are busy and so am I. Unfortunately, I was tasked with taking care of the 'High Chosen One', that it's you." The woman said, giving a smile that made Layla shiver.
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Layla said, as she approached the entrance of the cage she was in and reached for the woman.
The woman just stood there, staring at the girl's hand for a while and then grabbing and shaking Layla's hand violently suddenly.
"It's my pleasure too." The woman said, letting go of Layla's hand at once, "It would be disrespectful for me not to introduce myself. My name is Jin Mina, Miss Chosen.''
Mina said as she took keys from her pocket and opened the cage, gesturing for Layla to leave.
"Can you make my life easier, and get out of there without me having to force you?" Asked Mina, putting aside her professional pose seen just a while ago.
The girl hurried toward Mina, a little annoyed. One of her legs had a scratch from the iron bars of the cage and the hand she used to try to make the bars give way to pass was bleeding slightly.
"What were you doing there?" Asked Mina, as she pushed Layla toward the door she'd exited.
''Nothing much, I was just a little scared. There was something in there." Layla replied, hesitantly pointing to the cage and the openings in the alley. "And I have no idea what it was. Of course, considering if that thing even existed."
"I see, you already met Ville." Mina replied with the first name that came to her mind.
"Ville?" Layla asked, curious about the name Mina had said.
''It's our pet, he may look aggressive but you don't need to worry. I mean, as long as you're not an enemy, of course."
Layla again fidgeted with the edges of her dress, her fist still tightening her grip on the button. She and Mina passed through a huge building filled with people who looked at Layla and sighed in surprise and amazement as they suddenly prostrated themselves towards the girl, leaving her even more scared than before.
They stopped walking after a few minutes of it, when they climbed a ladder and passed through a huge door that was surrounded by guards with weapons and special red costumes. There were no places for people to sit in the vast room, and there were 5 people who were staring at Layla, almost as if they were going to suck the poor girl's soul out at any moment.
''Welcome to the kingdom of the setting sun, the place of emergency for those who have been excluded and abandoned by society, in short, lost people. Just listen to what we have to say, follow our orders and we can certainly take you wherever you want.'' A blond man of medium height and beautiful deep eyes said, he was surrounded by the other 4 people who nodded as if everything that he said made the greatest sense in the world.
For a split second, Layla wondered if her time in the cage had made her stupid. But soon she erased the futile thoughts from her mind and concentrated on what was happening in front of her, asking a very direct question to the man who had said those nonsense things to her.
''Sorry sir, but could I ask your name?''
''I am the original, the one who was blessed and brought the truth to those who seek it.'' The man spoke with conviction, and everyone around them nodded with a smile on their face, ''My current name is Salazar, gifted by the Great Lord. But if you want to know the identity I long ago disowned, well, my name was Arthur Caram Votariam. I'm the current King of the Setting Sun and the one who governs and leads people to a better way."
"I see, so I'm in front of your majesty…" Layla stopped abruptly when she saw Mina lying completely on the ground, along with the others around her and Salazar.
Layla quickly regained her composure and stood up straighter than before, holding herself together as best she could. As she steadied her gaze a little more, she saw that Salazar and the others were only a few years older than she was, probably twenty-two or twenty-four at the most.
"If it's not too much of a bother, can I ask what was the purpose behind my hmm…" Layla couldn't finish her sentence, afraid of offending those people who could kill her whenever they wanted.
"Your summoning." Said another woman who was on Salazar's right side.
''Exactly, that's the term. May I ask what was the purpose behind my 'summoning' and who is this 'Great Lord' that your majesty and the others cite so often?'' Layla asked, bent over with her knee flexed and her hands holding the ruffles of her dress up, making a position that honored the 'royal position' of the man in front of her.
''I do not know? That's why I asked." Layla replied, confused and a little annoyed.
''The chosen ones are caught and brought here to discover the truth. Those who receive the revelation of how our world really works, always find the true path to enlightenment, the Great Lord guides us on that path and gives us the true blessing, HE take us to another level.''
"This sounds like one of those weird speeches from the members of the Church of the God of Hope, are you sure you guys aren't just religious fanatics?" Layla responded to the man without fear, giving her honest opinion of his previous response.
''Many people confuse our ideals. Of course, we are somewhat similar to those religious believers of the nobility, who claim to be blessed by a great being, but we are better, stronger, and certainly completely more acceptable than those madmen.'' Salazar patted the swords strapped to his waist, breathing deeply to catch his breath.
''Our greatest similarity is that we serve the same God, however, unlike them, we are really connected to the Great Lord. He wants to save us, to empower us, so we protect the weak from the danger that war and society pose.''
"And what do you mean by he giving us power?" Layla asked, showing a strange interest in the man's idealistic conversation.
"I mean a true power, capable of making you overcome the limits your humanity imposes on you." Salazar said, moving closer to Layla and placing his hand on the girl's soft cheek.
''We are not different Layla, we are the same, we were chosen, we were made for this. We were born with a goal, a mission imposed on our destiny and we must fulfill it.'' Said the man, as he let Layla's strands of hair run through his fingers.
"Yes, I get it," Layla replied dryly. ''But that implies that we are special in relation to common people, right? So what the hell sets us apart from others?''
"Our blood, since we were born, is different from Pyropes, those who are considered normal humans, those who were born before the war." Salazar answered her. ''Each of us has a special gene mixed in with a random human gene if it's a Landra, or handpicked if it's a child that will be adopted by nobles after the artificial gestation. Making the genetically bred humans emerge and fight the battle against the Litoryn, but obviously there's a lot more stuff hidden there, stuff that the organization and the noble council wouldn't want you to find out about at all."
"So our blood and our cells are special?" Layla asked, while the people around her began to rise one after another.
"Yes, that's exactly it, and the Great Lord is able to awaken our hidden abilities. He brings the true evolution of human beings to the forefront, making us more powerful than anyone else." Salazar said as he headed for the door along with the others.
"But that will be a topic for our next conversation, you should know that your accommodation will soon be ready and your room will be this one for now." The man gestured with open arms, pointing in Layla's direction.
''Have fun, I hope you understand everything at our next meeting. The Great Lord expect great things from you!''
"Hum-Hum." Layla replied, greeting Salazar and Mina with a nod.
They all passed the place where Layla was situated and disappeared through the door, down a narrow wooden staircase. The guards outside the room soon closed the door and left Layla alone in a place as big as the academy halls.
A half-broken wooden bed could be seen in the corner of the room, and a marble table that had some books stacked on top was beside the bed with a chair. The girl sat alone in the chair, leaning her head back on the table as she stared up at the ceiling.
Some time passed like this and night finally arrived, being identified by Layla through the moonlight that shyly penetrated the room through the slits in the curtains that covered the huge windows.
However, at the same moment that Layla finally decided to sleep and stopped thinking about what would happen to her while in that place. The button she was holding so tightly began to make strange noises that wouldn't stop as it grew wider and wider in the girl's hand.
"What the fuck is going on?" Layla asked nervously.
At first, Layla wouldn't have been able to sleep even if she'd been in a place that didn't have so many loud bangs and creaks. Her stomach lurched as she thought again about what was going to happen to her, about the man's words and the blessing they had promised her.
All her desperate thoughts were instantly cut off as the button's mechanical creaks faded and light began to project from the device, forming a small humanoid shape the size of the girl's hand.
Quagmire's face suddenly appeared from the button she was holding, startling the girl who put her hand over her mouth to keep from screaming. Quagmire, no, the quagmire hologram of a slightly greenish color began to straighten his hair as he rubbed his watery left eye lightly.
''Hello Hello? Are you listening?'' The boy hissed, tapping the air as the button grew wider and the gears of the device continued to turn non-stop.
Layla had no idea how it worked, or how the person who created the device had done it, leaving her completely impressed as she was considered one of the people to succeed researcher Mir, the great hope of the Republic's scientific and technological institute.
Ignoring all thoughts of the girl, Quagmire finished scratching his eye, taking small glances around as if he really were in that room with Layla.
''Huge place you have here, huh? It's just a little shabby.''
Layla glared at the boy who had grown to match her size, dressed in an oversized lab coat over formal attire likely worn during the mirian competition. The girl wasn't a fool or anything, so she wasted no time, starting to talk to Quagmire immediately.
''How are you here? No, the most important thing is how the hell did you foresee all of this?''
"Oops, oops, calm down girl, let's take it easy." Quagmire replied, as some inscriptions and drawings appeared beside him, following the boy's speech and floating in the air.
''One question at a time. First, since you're so interested in it, the device you're holding generates a kind of hologram and also interferes with your brain waves so that your perceptual system becomes more consistent with what I do."
"So basically you've created a futuristic communication device that relies on the target's brain?" Layla asked, interested.
''Exactly. Wave process of light, visual indication and a mix of neuro eletrical stimulation, basically brain science.''
The two were silent for a moment as Layla processed the information she had gathered about that intriguing device created by Quagmire. Her opinion of the boy was becoming more and more favorable, but her curiosity grew in proportion to her interest in him.
''As for your second question, I just know. I can't explain how, at least not now.'' Said Quagmire, as the inscriptions demonstrating the holographic transmitter's design faded so that its humanoid projection became clearer.
''You just need to know that everything is going to be alright, things are going well. ''
''What do you mean with that?'' Layla raised her head once more, looking at the boy who was watching her with his greenish eyes.
"My plan, of course." A slight touch of superiority could be felt by Layla, coming from Quagmire's phrase.
"We don't have a lot of time so our conversation will have to end here."
"No, calm down, I still have some questions to ask!" The girl screamed desperately, which made the sound reverberate through the vast room that was completely empty.
"You're going to have to put up with all this shit to come, but I'll always be watching you. Don't worry." The projection voice became less clear as the image began to fade more and more.
The Quagmire had finally disappeared and the device had returned to its coin shape, more like returning to its original botton shape while the gears had stopped creaking. Layla looked at the botton hopefully, thinking about Quagmire's lines so far, from the day he warned her to the moment she was in now.
For the first time in a while, Layla was able to truly smile in that situation, tightening her grip on the button she held in her left hand.
"He and my sister are coming." The girl muttered to herself, she felt her chest get hot and her mind completely emptied, making her calmer.
''I just have to hold out until then. I'll make it."
Layla remained in that huge, dark room for the rest of the day, saying things to herself to try to convince herself of Quagmire's lines. She was sure, he would come to the rescue, no matter when or how, he would save her.
It was just a matter of time now, the war was about to start...