Two horses tugged a roofless carriage through the streets of Derbury, trotting towards the setting sun.
The coachman, garbed in a brown coat and a hat, had a smile on his face- a smile so bright as if he were the incarnation of happiness itself. "Is this your first time visiting Derbury, young sir?"
Xavier kept staring at the watch in his hand, the second hand ticking through. But his peripheral vision exceeded ordinary humans. Rows of one-storey brick houses of the same design flanked the road. The pavements were filled with people walking home after a day's work. An employee torched the street-lamps, racing against the approaching night.
The man continued nonetheless, "Though Derbury is still far from providing the same luxuries as the Capital, it's a serene city. Even the poor are not left hungry."
"Oh?" Xavier finally removed his gaze from the timepiece and fixed it on the man.
The smile on the coachman's face widened. He pointed at a yard. Five children were running around, playing tag. They wore shabby clothes and were covered in dirt. However, they had bright smiles on their faces, as if they were competing on who was having the most fun. "I bet you can't find such a sight at the capital," the coachman said.
"Agreed." Xavier's lips slightly curved up.
"It's all thanks to our Electoral Lord. Despite being a man of much higher status, he did not abandon us poor folks. He gave us rations, bettered working conditions, and most importantly- set up schools. You can see it from how I talk." The man laughed.
"Indeed."
"But who knows? Maybe he did it for the votes. It's hard to find good people nowadays, and who are we to peer into the minds of the upper echelon?" He shrugged.
"Does it matter?"
"Exactly!" The coachman chortled. "Who cares what he wants except for himself? We are getting what we need."
The carriage wheeled westwards.
After a couple of minutes, the coachman loosened the reins, slowing the vehicle down.
To their left, a dozen meters away, stood a tall building- towering at 50 meters. The architecture was intricate, magical even- giving off an illusion that the more one looked up, the more archaic it became. Near the top, a gigantic clock faced the North. The ticks of the colossal chronometer resonated with those of Xavier's timepiece's.
6:56
A crowd settled at its base, with people lining to take a photo from that one huge camera.
"Young sir." The coachman turned back. "This is Zeitmann's tower, the current top attraction spot in our small town. Would you like to take a look around?"
"No."
The coachman widened his eyes in realisation. "Ohho! How can I forget? You are from the capital. The one there is much taller and grander." He laughed and whipped the reins, accelerating the carriage forward. "It's a shame that the Gallery is shut down; else, I would have taken you there."
The sky became darker and darker as the sun dipped into the western horizon.
"Young sir, we are close to Derbury forest. Do you have a specific address with you?"
"Yes." Xavier shut the lid of his watch and tucked it into his pocket.
Sixty seconds remained.
Suddenly, rumbling sound scattered across the air. The coachman looked up. A ball of fire shot through the air heading for the west, just where they were going.
He froze in place, but the horses kept galloping onwards. The blazing mass dived into the forest, crashing hard onto the ground, quaking the entire town. The horses neighed to a stop, jerking the man awake from his stupor.
He stared at the rising smoke for a second before turning back. "Sir! Are you-"
The carriage- was empty. A silver coin lied on the seat, just where the gentleman sat.
Xavier zoomed through the plains, entering the forest which was half a kilometre away in a matter of moments. Just at the outskirts of the forest, he came to a stop and frowned.
What was that force?
His silver eyes tinted gold. His vision pierced through the trees all the way to the newly-formed crater.
There were hints of a clash between heavy forces a few dozen meters away. Even closer, a middle aged woman strode at him, panting. Other than that, there was nothing out of place, except maybe the weak hut that stood spotless amongst the destruction. He knitted his brows tighter.
The golden hue in his eyes spread across his entire body. He flashed towards the impact, covering a distance of three hundred meters in a second. Not a leaf, nor a dust particle moved in his way- as if they were too slow to react.
Xavier reached his destination and stood at the edge of the crater, which had a diameter of a hundred and fifty meters. At its epicentre lied a perfect sphere which was about fifty meters wide. One third of it was rooted under the ground. It was metallic black in colour and emitted an invisible force that pulled everything towards it.
The sun drowned all the way down. But it remained bright as the full moon did her job, stealing light from its golden counterpart and shining it upon the world.
The silver light glinted on his equally silver eyes.
Ding. Ding. Sound of bells came from the east, stopping at the seventh strike.
Confirming that there was no living beings in the range, he slid down the slope and ambled towards the sphere. His gentlemanly reflection appeared on the object's surface.
He looked down. His shadow accompanied him under the moonlight. But the fallen sphere- it was shadowless.
As expected of a meta-element. He sighed and touched the surface. It was hard and cold- chillingly so. Negativity invaded his mind. Fear, anxiety, anger, depression- everything charged to take over.
He frowned- not for the cold or the intruding emotions- but something else altogether.
Someone already entered?
He pushed his hand in. The more force he applied, the softer it became. Soon, it exited the realm of solid and became fluid, drowning the hand in.
The temperature dropped even lower. The coldness drilled into his bones. The negative emotions crazed in his mind, causing his lips to twitch. He took in a deep breath and knitted his brows further in determination.
His forearm plunged into the sea of blackness, followed by his shoulder. The more he dived in, the more the pressure pushed him back. He angled his feet forward. The earth below clumped up and pushed them forth.
With one almighty push, Xavier entered all the way in.
His hat plopped to the ground.