Zenon woke up feeling a sense of dread he hasn't felt since he was living on the outskirts.
The same feeling as when he was about to open the door to the Fire Keepers. For once, he wished for everything to be a dream and avoid going to that death sentence.
The bedsheets wrapped around his body tightly, refusing to let go of his body and luring Zenon to get some more sleep. He stayed in bed for a while, looking at the ceiling.
It felt like he was once again overthinking simple matters. He knew that the chances of being sent somewhere outrageous were beyond null, but still, his body refused to move.
"To all Unseens inside the shelter. Sadly, the day has arrived. Every student must gather in the main garden in less than an hour. There's no way out of this now, so I suggest you mentally prepare yourselves."
Zenon sighed and - literally - launched his bedsheets toward the wall. Not beating around the bush any longer, he took a cold shower to wake up his senses and left his dorm.
He came across some people while arriving at the garden. The Unseens had crestfallen expressions as they looked at the ground and some of them were even having panic attacks.
The atmosphere inside the shelter was worse than he expected.
Before going to the garden, however, he decided to go to the canteen to enjoy one last breakfast before going back to eat whatever he could find.
Inside, he found some people who were chatting among themselves, yet most of the Unseens were eating in silence - not even enjoying their food.
Zenon made sure to find that pleasure in eating decent food one last time. After finishing it, he left the utensils on the table when his eyes slightly widened.
He walked outside the canteen and went to exit the shelter. Zenon increased his pace. Just after climbing the last flight of stairs leading to the surface, at the top of a mountain, Zenon got startled by Harbor sitting on a rock while looking at the horizon.
He also got surprised when Zenon suddenly appeared yet continued smoking his cigarette.
"You still have half an hour before we get going. Are you sure you want to stay here?"
"It's not like I have anything else to do. I believe you know about my reputation inside this dammed place."
Harbor laughed, the first time Zenon has hear him, "Yeah, you didn't miss a single chance to send someone complaining to either that girl or Dan."
Zenon looked at him with dead eyes, bringing even more chuckles from the Visionary. After a while, he sighed and asked,
"Did you help Aurea with the rescue mission?"
Harbor stopped the cigarette mid-way and looked at Zenon with cold eyes for a moment. He then put the cigarette out with his hand and said,
"Indeed. That girl would have done nothing against two Enlightened Fire Keepers, what gave me away?"
"I thought the blue hair meant you had a Lighting Element and just vibed around it." Zenon said.
"You aren't wrong, but not exactly right. Hair color doesn't always mean one's Element, so don't get confused when you see a Fire Keeper with pink hair. Give me your hand."
Zenon got startled by Harbor's sudden movement. He went from explaining something to an order in less than an instant, catching him off guard.
"Reason?"
"Dan's got a gift for you."
Not beating around the bush for any longer, Zenon clutched Harbor's hand firmly and he could feel something tingling around his fingers. Out of nowhere…
[You have received a Carapace.]
[You have received a Carapace.]
Zenon's eyes widened when he read the two sets of Runes in front of him and was about to ask Harbor, but he was faster,
"Even if he said the lesson was optional, he was worried about you not going to any of them and decided to pay your room a visit. After he found all the books and notes you've been leaving everywhere, let's say he was moved by it."
"Huh? Why moved?"
"He always complains about Unseens only wanting to fight something without learning anything else. When he found all the Runes exercises, which were correct by the way, the survival books, the Layer Beasts books…
Let's say he wanted to give you a gift. It's armor and a way to store liquids, it'll be useful."
After saying those words, Harbor went to the rock he was sitting on and lit another cigarette. Zenon though…
[Carapace: Ignited Recipient.
Rank: Tier-I Mindless.
Description: The flames of Fire burn inside, and with each hour the flames grow stronger.
Attributes: Purified.
Purified Description: The flames of Fire will cleanse of any infection whatever liquid shall feel the heat.]
Zenon read the Carapace description, not understanding shit about what it meant, and decided to ask Harbor to which he replied,
"Oh... right, the recipient description is dogshit. The recipient can store up to a hundred liters of any liquid and creates a new liter each hour. I suggest you go down and fill it with water."
"Wait really? Isn't that just an infinite water supply?"
"Well, you can make an infinite water supply or an infinite blood supply or an infinite lava supply… I suggest being careful about what you put inside."
Zenon shivered at the thought of this small recipient containing a hundred liquids of molten rock. Imagine you accidentally drink it thinking it's water… scary.
'What about the armor?'
[Carapace: Solis Vines
Rank: Tier-II Instinctual
Description: A precious tree once bloomed from within the stars. Slowly, she grew until touching the sky, bringing light and salvation to those needed inside the Hallowed Forest.
Attributes: Regenerative
Regenerative Description: Under the sunlight, the vines will grow back to their healthy state.]
Zenon read the description, and since the important part about this Carapace was the Attribute, he paid no mind to the Carapace description. When he understood what this Regenerative Attribute meant, he formed a slim smile.
'So you can automatically regenerate? That's going to come in handy.'
Zenon wanted to summon it, but Harbor stopped him by saying,
"I suggest you don't summon the armor. You don't want anyone complaining about favoritism this day in specific. So go fill that canteen you have before we get moving."
—
Zenon put his back against the tree while peeking to the right side. In midst of a forest, there was an enormous Rift. Next to it, an uncountable number of people were standing.
There seemed to be an Enlightened in the front, saying some words to them but intelligible to all the Unseens hiding behind the trees.
Zenon shifted his eyes a little bit to the left, where Harbor was. He was calmly leaning on a tree, wearing a black hoodie like everyone else with the hood covering part of his face.
'I didn't realize this was how Lineage Unseens was supposed to go inside a Rift.'
Zenon looked at all the Unseens hiding behind trees. Some of them carefully watched the situation, some others anxiously looked at their friends. A wide range of emotions was taking over their bodies.
Looking back at Harbor, he noticed the majestic bird standing on his shoulder. It was a beautiful blue eagle, with tiny arcs of lighting coming from his feathers.
Then, Harbor looked at the front and lifted his arm.
'Alright… it's happening.'
Most Unseens were already warning their companions, and in less than five seconds every Unseen was ready for a sprint. After checking, Harbor brought his arm down…
Zenon took a step, another, and before he realized he was running with all of his might behind the blue eagle.
"Wh-What?! What's going on?!" The Enlightened shouted.
It took him some peeks to realize the amount of Unseen running toward the open Rift. Just as he wanted to give an order, the blue eagle forcefully landed on his face and…
*ZAP!*
A surge of electricity arcs traveled around all the Enlightened guarding the place, stunning them.
Zenon didn't stop running, surpassing most of Unseens and arriving beside the fastest one. Both Unseens peeked at each other and one of them said,
"You are faster than I thought!"
The boy smiled at the girl wearing the white neck warmer, "I hope we don't land next to each other, perhaps I'll fight you there!"
Aurea laughed and quickened her speed, transforming the run that was determining their lives into a casual race. Just as they both reached the edge, they dived head-on inside the cold void of the Rift.
After some seconds, he heard a familiar voice…
[Void Bringer, I welcome you to the First Layer.]