The golden door swung open easily as Archie's mana successfully surged to power it open, revealing an opulent conference room known as the Astral Hall.
The building was at the heart of the oasis, and the hall itself was decorated in elegant gold and bronze.
The air bore the scent of the dishes that were laid out on the polished mahogany rectangular table.
Sunlight streamed through the glass-stained windows, casting kaleidoscopic patterns on the marble floor.
The walls were adorned with sculptures of the three races: elves, phoenixes, and dwarves. The founder of this place, which serves as a sanctuary for these races away from evil and traitors, was displayed all over the conference hall.
Around the table sat twelve figures, their presence both formidable and enigmatic. There were 4 representatives of each race, including Athanasius Blaise, who stood up and walked over as he saw his grandnephew staring at them in disbelief.
The councilmen's attire spoke power—the rustle of silk, the glint of gemstones. Their gaze, however, held stories—some veiled and others laid bare.
As Athan Blaise was greeting the young Archie Rivers, he said, "You passed the test! Your mana is not of the netherworld. Come with me and take a seat."
Archie walked towards the table and sat at the other end of the table, directly facing the head of the Council of Astral. Her robe, cascading in bright blue, bore the sigil of the elves. Her silver hair flowed like a river. When she spoke, the room silenced with every other councilman's anticipation.
"Archie Rivers," Luthien's voice resonated, a blend of both regal and gentle auras fit for an empress. "Welcome to Astral."
Archie stood at his seat, where everyone was seated down, looking at his reaction. His heart beat and his forehead trickled with cold sweat, his expression clueless, uncertain of how to respond to the group of councilmen seated before him.
Archie reminisces about his days, cramping medical books, and memorizing diagnoses. All his studies did not prepare him for this realm and what he has encountered so far in Elysium.
He experienced the gore of being hunted twice, and now there will be politics at play in this room. Luthien's eyes held an intense gaze, waiting for his response.
"It is an honor to meet the council of Astral. I am Archie Rivers, from Middle Earth."
Silence broke as the revelation of his origin was confirmed. "We know who you are, Archie Rivers, for you may come from Middle Earth, but you were born here in Elysium." This time, Athan Blaise was the one who answered.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I was not aware of the existence of Elysium until I was, I think, teleported into the skies of Elysium and fell. I do not have any idea why I am here or what I need to do."
"Yet, you managed to achieve an incredible feat in less than a week upon your arrival in Elysium." The dwarf, seated on the right of his grandfather, said.
First, you killed a harpy with its flight of chicks in the Black Forest, saving Aurelia, one of the guards of Astral. Then, you fended for yourself against the black fox and phantom. Both were formidable foes that could corrupt your soul if you did not defeat them in the nick of time."
"You may not have activated your magical powers, but you seemed to be able to wield them during critical moments." A female with dark golden brown hair and golden eyes commented. Archie presumed that she was another phoenix.
"My fellow councilmen, I am grateful that all of you recognized my innate talent for magic and achieved remarkable results before any professional training, but my purpose here is to seek answers about my past and present circumstances. So, I could move forward to the future."
"Very well, Councilman Blaise will stay back and explain everything to you. The rest of us have adjourned the meeting."
Luthien stood up and left along with the other elves. Next, the three phoenixes, and finally the dwarves.
One of the dwarfs stopped in his tracks and walked towards Archie, holding his wrist where his watch was strapped on, and said, "I am Oin Edda; come and see me after your meeting with Councilman Blaise."
Archie was taken aback. It took a while for him to realize that Councilman Edda was referring to the ancient watch that he had on his wrist.
The councilman left the room with only Archie and his grand-uncle facing each other. Athan made a light waving gesture, and the dishes for dinner floated out one by one and were gently placed on the polished mahogany table.
The food looks splendid, and Archie was extremely famished and parched. The last time he had a proper meal was the day before he arrived in Elysium.
That was almost a week ago. The wonderful spread of minced pies and cheese, a full breakfast spread, scotch egg, kimchi, pork pie, raspberry jam, and pineapple tart.
Archie sat closer to the front of the table, where the dishes were laid. "You must be hungry; get stuck in then."
Archie did not need his grand-uncle to tell him twice. He quickly took the knife and fork that were on the table and started to pile food after food on his plate. Then he devoured them in haste.
"Aren't you going to eat?" Archie said it with his mouth full. He was so hungry that he forgot to offer food to the elderly man first.
"No, I had my share with the councilmen earlier. We were discussing you and your circumstances. Just eat slowly, and I will explain as much as I can." Athan Blaise replied with a warm, gentle smile on his face."
"Your arrival here was an accident," Athan continued. "Your mother gave you that watch, and your grandfather had been keeping it. It teleported you here to Elysium, but it was broken, so it unexpectedly teleported you here without your grandfather's knowledge."
"So it was an accident. I happened to activate the watch somehow."
"Perhaps you did, since you enjoyed parkour activities so much, you might damage the watch to a certain extent. So, that was how you arrived here."
"Then, what about those dreams and flashbacks that I have had all this time?"
"I know that you have flashbacks; since I touched you earlier today, I triggered memories of your past that had been sealed. But what do you mean by dreams?"
"Well, I always had dreams about this mysterious realm way before I stepped foot in this place. The latest dreams I had before I came here were of the people who once lived at ANU."
Athan's eyes widened at the information. He had initially thought that Archie only had raw power; he didn't think that he would potentially be a seer.
"I used to think that those dreams were my imagination, but when I first stepped foot in this place, it felt eerily familiar." Archie explained while stuffing an apple tart into his mouth, munching it in delight.
Athan's arched brow was deep in thought. Although he wasn't in touch with his brother ever since they parted ways, he would hope that Amos would at least try to train the boy if he knew that his powers were resurfacing.
"Did you ever share your dreams with Amos?"
"No, I thought those dreams were useless because I was focusing on pre-med. So, I did not think much about it. Until the day I was about to take my exam."
Archie replied truthfully, since he did not believe in superstition in the first place. Even before he lost his memories, he always believed in logic rather than magic.
"I see, I do not know why you have those dreams. Say, Aurelia did mention that you have a wind deity following you around, but I don't see him here."
Athan remarked, suddenly remembering the wind deity who was floating around Archie while he was unconscious.
"How do you see him? Aurelia mentioned something about seeing mana flow."
"Yes, when you enroll in the academy, seeing and detecting mana flow will be part of your curriculum. So, do not worry if you can't now. You will learn soon enough."
"Grand uncle, can I go back to earth?"
"You don't want to pursue your journey in Elysium?"
"Honestly, I don't know. I was very angry at first, with my memories being sealed and forgotten. But I think pursuing a career as a doctor is my lifelong dream."
Athan was surprised to see Archie's sudden desire to go home, because earlier this morning, he saw Archie eager to figure things out and rectify them immediately."
"I am afraid that it is impossible, because I do not have the means to transport you." Athan answered.
"You have done it once before, with your grandfather." Archie rebutted, as he remembered clearly in one of his flashbacks that Athan and his grandfather appeared after the desolation.
"That was different; we did not open the portal to enter Middle Earth; the phantoms did, and we followed them here to track them down."
Archie stopped eating when he heard that the phantoms had deliberately opened a portal to Earth and killed his parents. They were targeted.
"Grand uncle, please tell me what happened that day."