In a place immersed in the darkness where nothing can be seen except for tenebrosity, a dark cubic-shaped mass abruptly reacts to something, giving off a faint dark purple glow. The smaller cubic pieces in the surfaces of the cube are stirring up by themselves and releasing a somewhat odd and evil aura.
That very aura has been noticed by a shady individual who was observing the huge beam of lightning in the middle of the vast forest from afar wearing black ninja clothing that was designed to hide one's presence. Sensing that odd aura, he froze for a sec. He gets overwhelmed by fear and excitement at the same time. However, he didn't lose his calmness. In a moment, the lightning beam disappears along with the evil aura and so does the shady individual.
. . .
In the middle of the night, in his deep sleep, a string of lightning crosses Mr. Roshida's mind as he senses the familiar(Zack's) aura mixed with faint oddness that suddenly went rocket high for a moment then dropped down to zero the next. He wakes up in his residence. A worryful expression is portrayed on his face.
"What kind of trouble did this kid get himself into again?" he says in a disappointed tone.
He hurries to Zack's room to see if he left any clues regarding the place he was heading for.
As expected, Mr. Roshida doesn't find him there; instead, he finds the note Zack left.
"Hey Gramps! How are you doing? You probably know about the tournament in Kaizen city. And I know that you don't want me to participate in it. But screw that, Old Geezer! I m gonna participate anyway. Hahaha, it feels great to ditch you as always."
Mr. Roshida's veins in the forehead started being more visible but he gradually calms down as he continues reading the letter.
"Sorry for not informing you about it though. I'll return in a couple of days. Hope you won't die in the meantime. And don't worry about me. Just take care of yourself until I return, Old man."
"That Idiot!" murmurs Mr. Roshida.
Although he decided not to take any action, he couldn't help worrying about his idiot grandson.
. . .
"Crackle! Crackle!"
Fragments of lightning are still crackling in the ground near Zack. The huge Lightning bolt ripped through the ground he was in, creating a hole full of cracks. The trees around him caught into fire being hit by lightning. The burning trees, muddy soil, wreckages caused by the 'Water Disaster'; the whole place is in a total mess.
Zack is lying unconscious on the ground hole that the lightning made. There are no signs of the 'Black Spiders' or their boss 'Bunta Kikuchi'.
At a time like this, a merchant is traveling by the forest in his luxury wagon pulled by a couple of Night Rovers.
Night Rovers are a rare species of spirit beasts. They are well known for their fast and aggressive nature. Their body shape resembles that of a horse but is thinner in comparison and Prussian blue in color. Their entire body is armored by their extremely hard skin. The harder part of the skin is segmented in the body joints for their swift movements and some of these segments have pointy edges. The head that looks like a skull has its jaws' spiky edges extended to the back and triangular-shaped teeth that are a part of the armor, directly attached to the hard jaw skin. The dark blue pupils that they have, are gifted with better night vision than almost all of the other spirit beasts. These characteristics made them more than suitable for both a carrier and a guard.
The driver is running the carriage at a smooth and steady pace while the merchant is sitting comfortably on the back.
"The closest city to this point is Kaizen city. I'll have to rest there a bit to replenish my supplies and then head to the capital," he thinks.
The merchant is pretty handsome considering his age. His formal dress, the golden pointy badge on the chest along with his monocle, all of it are illustrating his high status in society. Yet, the tone in his voice is indiscriminating with no pride whatsoever.
"How do you think is the weather, Hitori (the driver)?" he asks.
"It's quite nice, sir. And Judging from the wind, there should be hardly any problems up ahead," replies the driver.
"Aahaha, I see. I'm expecting a smooth ride then."
"Of course, sir. You're too generous."
As they were talking, the sight of a quiet unusual view catches their attention. They could not but wonder in a gaze about what might have happened in there. A little far from the road, the aftermath of Zack's battle is clearly visible in their eyes. As surprised they are, they could still get an unclear guess of Majutsu Vessels battling over there.
The wagon is still running. They are gradually passing the site. At that moment, just across the tree line that separates the road and the wasteland that got wasted by the water disaster, the merchant notices a young fellow lying unconscious on the ground. The injuries in his body are notable enough to be caught in the eye.
The merchant instantly orders Hitori to stop the cart. Hitori immediately pulls the lead line of the Night Rovers and stops the carriage. Being smart enough to grasp the situation at a glance, Hitori gets off his driver's seat and brings the young man to the merchant.
The merchant stares at Zack for a moment without even blinking as if he's found something important.
"Get him on the wagon, Hitori," He orders in a soft tone after returning to his usual self. "Poor child, we need to treat his wounds as soon as we can."
"Yes, sir. You are so kind as ever." Hitori replies with a smile as he is getting Zack on the cart.
"Hahaha, enough with the praising," he says in a nice tone. "Let's hurry to the city for this child's treatment."
Hitori speeds up the carriage.
***
Zack regains his consciousness. He opens his eyes slowly.
"Ah! My head still hurts."
"Where am I? What is this place? The last thing I remember was…."
As soon as his mind regained his thoughts, the memory of his battle with Bunta kicks in and he remembers everything. However, his mind is still full of confusion because of the unfamiliar environment he's currently in.
"Don't tell me… aa…!(panics) Am I really dead?" he is about to go bananas.
"This can't be heaven, right? This can't be… Heaven is supposed to be more beautiful. Or.. or.. am I in hell? Wait, wait, wait, let's calm down and figure this out."
He tries pinching himself to conclude this matter and he actually felt the pain which is good news to him.
"What a relief! I didn't die after all. But then, what is this place?"
He gets his guard up again. He couldn't determine yet whether this place is safe or not.
Looking at his clothing, he finds himself wearing a Grey kimono. Sitting in the bed with his banded head, Zack looks around the room to see if he could find any clues about the place.
The room can be considered pretty big and standard compared to his room. The floor, walls, and roof is made of top-notch wooden platforms. All the necessary furniture is there. A single bed, a nightstand beside the bed, a small round wooden table with four chairs in the middle of the room, an almirah, and a bookshelf on the other side, all are assembled accordingly. All the furniture's designs are as simple as they could be. The curtains of both of the windows in the side walls are waving in the fresh wind that is entering through the window. Despite the arranged environment, the possibility of this being the enemy territory doesn't go away.
Just as Zack decides to go down for a quick checkout, a beautiful woman wearing a brown apron over her deep brown dress enters the room with a tray in her hand containing a pair of scissors and a glass of water in it. Her black long hair, black pupils, and the kind gentle smile on her face resembled something total opposite of evil that stops Zack from taking any rash actions.
Seeing Zack awake, she smiled.
"Ah, you're awake? How're you feeling now?" she asks in a kind tone while putting the tray on the top of the nightstand.
Zack's just staring at her like a senseless person, blinking and confused.
"I'm Kishoyi, a maid working in the inn. Nice to finally meet the conscious you," she continues.
Zack finally gets out of his non-moving state.
"An inn, you say? What is this place? Who brought me here?" he directly asks the questions he had in his mind ignoring everything else.
"This is Kaizen city, and this inn is called 'Washiwara inn'. As for who brought you here, I don't really know. You may ask the manager for that information," she replies in her usual gentle tone.
"Ah, I see." Zack could finally ease up now.
"All the injuries from before seem to have healed already. Just how long have I been unconscious?" in the middle of his thoughts, his eyes fall on Ms. Kishoyi who was standing just beside the bed.
"Ah, my bad! I forgot to introduce myself. Sorry about that, ahahaha," he apologizes.
"Nice to meet you as well. I am Zack. And about my body, it's healed to its peak. I am finer than I could ever be. Thanks for taking care of me."
Ms. Kishoyi smiles gently. "It's alright, don't worry about it. It was my pleasure to do so. Besides, it's our duty to satisfy our customers." "Oh, and another thing, your clothes are arranged in the almirah over there."
Seeing her smile, Zack flustered a bit. "She's kawaii!" he thinks in his mind.
"So, Kishoyi san, where can I find the manager?"
"You can find him downstairs. But let me take off your bandages first. Here, take these pills."
After a moment, he's on his way downstairs to find the manager. The clothes he is wearing –a white shirt and black pants– aren't originally his but they were there in the almirah in his name. He was wondering who did all this for him.
"It was probably the same person who saved me. He left these for me because he found out that most of my clothes became unusable after the battle. That's the most rational explanation I can think of. But why would he do all these for me? Good thing that the mask and cloak are in one piece though."
This (bottom) floor is the dining hall of the inn. The two columns of the tables are sided with the walls leaving an empty space in-between for movement. Everything except the utensils here is made of wood.
Zack directly walks to the reception where the manager is. He seems to be a man of 40-45 wearing a green t-shirt with collars. His brown beard and shaved head along with his dark brown pupils might not stand out in the crowd that much, but his personality has the ability to do so very well.
"Hoho, young man you seem all well now. You were a total mess a day ago when he brought you here."
"Who is the 'he' though? Who brought me here, Mr. Manager?"
"Hmmm, He was a merchant and a quite high-class one I'd say. He left you here a day ago; his driver carried you into the inn. According to him, he found you injured somewhere near the road he was traveling by. Also, he paid for your treatment, food, and the room in advance. You still have reservations for a couple of days more due to the advance payment, hahaha. Such a nice person he is. It's hard to find someone like him these days."
"Do you know where he is now, manager sama?"
"As far as I know, he should be on his way to the capital by now, and call me Mr. Ajima by the way"
"All right, hahaha," Zack chuckles while scratching the back of his head. But then, all of a sudden he remembers something.
"Shit!! I totally forgot about the tournament. Is it today, Ajima sama? Do you know when it will begin?! Which way is it?" he is on the verge of freaking out again.
"You are yet to be fully healed. I'd suggest you take some rest for now," Mr. Ajima replies.
"Heh, I m a-okay. So don't worry about it. Now, can you answer my questions?
Mr. Ajima sighs.
"The registration will begin in an hour; you might wanna hurry up if you wanna register, young man. Go straight to the left from the inn, the arena is that way."
"Thank you Ajima sama," Zack bows in appreciation of their service.
Then he makes a run for the arena.
"Kids these days! They don't care about their elders' opinions anymore."
Zack is currently on the streets of the Kaizen city that he's never been to. The city's overall architectural structure designs are similar to Romanesque(*) and Tudor(*) styles. The majority of the houses, shops, and inns have similarities to the Tudor style while the other architectures including the important and high-class ones are those of the Romanesque. The entire city has been surrounded by a high defensive wall. Each faction in the city has its own designated lands, all under the Mayor. There is another faction in the city responsible for its security, sent directly by the Royal Family from the capital, The Royal Nights. They look after the City as well as the villages under it.
Zack is observing the surroundings on his way. People are walking on the streets as usual, doing their normal interactions, buying various things that he'd never seen before. But what attracted Zack's attention is the Rhino-like mystical animal on the road that is pulling a cart full of goods. Seeing that one, he is pondering about how many mystical spirit beasts like these he has yet to see. And there are also those tall structures, especially "The Central Tower" which is the tallest human-made structure in the neighborhood. It is the first time for Zack to see such a tall formation of stone blocks. The more he sees, the more amusing it gets. However, Because of the urgency he is in, he couldn't clench his curiosity even in the slightest.
He runs off the streets in a hustle and then uses a pile of wine drums that he sees at the corner as a foothold to jump off to the roof.
He keeps rushing over the rooftops without a care of the world. "I gotta hurry up and reach there in time" is all that is going on in his mind.
Just across this block of houses he was running over, there is a vast open space that has an artificial lake in there, The Lake of beauty, a popular tourist spot in the city. It has water fountains in each of its corners. The depth is not too deep except in the center, the water stays fresh and looks similar to seawater, and it is decorated with many other features as well. The Lake attracts a huge number of people, especially couples and families causing the wide space(road) surrounding it to stay full almost all the time. But because of the tournament, its tourist number has decreased considerably today. The arena is just a few blocks away across the lake.
With Zack's fast movements on the rooftops, as he leaps down to the wide road, a strange phenomenon takes place that he wasn't ready for.
*Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches.
*Tudor architecture refers to the period between 1485 to 1558 when craftsmen built sophisticated two-toned manor homes with a combination of Renaissance and Gothic design elements.