That is for you to unravel… Adam repeated inwardly, slightly annoyed. What would it cost to simply explain? He kept his thoughts to himself and asked instead, "Do you have a way for us to return to the time we came from?"
"If the Lord wills it." The elderly man smiled warmly.
Oh, please no… stop with the whole 'Lord' thing. Adam pinched his nose-bridge and sighed, feeling increasingly annoyed and frustrated at the man's words. He glanced at the girls and muttered if they had any questions. For now, he needed to think and carefully analyse the situation.
His head still throbbed painfully. Whatever he had been dreaming about seemed to affect him mentally and emotionally, for he felt his heart ache with pain.
His eyes darted to the side and he gazed upon the tall, soft grass once more. It was calming, and it made his heart bleed with want and longing. If only their world was like this.
Next to him, Nana asked the elderly man, "How might we address you?"
"Who I am is unimportant, only my task here is. But if you must know, many have called me 'The man who split the sea'" He responded in a lofty, profound tone. He had finally adjusted to the language and had no need to repeatedly rub the staff. He glanced at Adam, giving the boy a somewhat pitiful look.
"You seem troubled, dear child."
"Oh, I don't know, maybe it has something to do with being in an unfamiliar place with no definite way to head back home." Adam desperately struggled to maintain a low tone and not raise his voice.
He swore if the man made one more annoying remark, he would lose it.
Nana bit her lower lip and muttered, "We shouldn't have gone down to that lab. I said we shouldn't."
Nina immediately gave her a cold stare. "He never asked you to follow him in the first place. You did that of your own volition."
"Because you followed him!"
At that moment, amidst the bickering, the air trembled and an unsettling feeling descended upon them. The elder recognised the feeling and rose slowly. He said with a smile, "Be not afraid, for the opportunity to return is nigh."
As he spoke, space split once more and birthed another wormhole that seemed to be a gateway into the unknown. Adam and the girls spun around to glimpse the bizarre sight, relief washing over the former. This was the same wormhole that had brought them to this time in the past.
The man walked towards Adam and placed the wooden staff in his hands. He stared deeply at the boy and whispered, "You are burdened."
"You are the light in the darkness, a single star in the vast night sky. Be careful and be on guard against the darkness, for it will try to tempt and consume you. Your path is riddled with trials and adversities, young servant of God. It pains me to tell you, but you will encounter great suffering."
"What?" Adam was genuinely puzzled, and the more the man spoke, the more his head throbbed. He glanced at the staff placed in his arms and watched as it rapidly dissolved into bright starlight, before reconstructing to form three distinct rune stones.
"Uh, I think we need to go now!" Nana, who had been watching the expanding vortex, announced. It had begun to shrink!
The elderly man nodded and took a step back. "You must return now. I shall pray over you." Then, he turned to look at the girls. "He is unstable. Take care of him."
"I'm not unstable…" Adam muttered, but his voice gradually faded, his thoughts scattering into the wind. He rapidly descended into a state of fugue and fell backwards, unconscious.
…
Marshall Mathew Bates alighted from a transport pod and adjusted the badge by his left breast. He stared at the Stellar Transport Bureau up ahead and grumbled to himself, "Now I have to go through that again."
He had never been a fan of travelling to the other Rings. The Stellar Bureau utilised super trains that moved at a fraction of the speed of light, so as to break the atmospheric dome and reach the desired Ring in minutes. However, this usually came with a slight discomfort and disorientation after alighting, due to inertia and various vibrational sensations.
Mathew remembered the last time he had travelled to the Upper Ring. He had let out putrid vomit upon stepping out of the train, in the presence of the other Marshalls.
"For someone of my cool persona, it's simply unbefitting." He clicked his tongue and stepped into the building.
With both hands in his coat pockets–an action that allegedly made him look cool–he walked into the lobby and familiarly completed the registration process and ticket booking. During this time, he sat in the waiting section and eyed various women that fit his standard of beauty.
He had always considered himself good looking, so it made him wonder why he was without a woman.
Soon, a female attendant walked over and bowed slightly. "Your train is ready for departure," She informed him with a sweet voice and graceful smile. Marshalls, identified by their crisp badge, were high-ranking individuals and they were treated with favour and respect wherever they went.
Mathew Bates glanced up, stared at her glowing blue eyes for a brief moment and simply nodded, "Hm."
When she left, he adjusted his half top hat, rose and exclaimed quietly, "Holy nebula! She's pretty!"
"Those eyes were captivating. She had them made? Damn it, if it wasn't for the stupid meeting I have to attend, I'd have asked her out." He deluded himself with thoughts as he proceeded to the transport zone.
…
The journey to the Upper Ring–which was more like a space leap–concluded, and Marshall Mathew Bates alighted. He desperately struggled to maintain composure, but eventually crouched by a waste bin.
"Dammit!" He cursed and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief. At that moment, a small, marshmallow-like robot stopped before the trash can and dutifully wheeled it away.
"But it's not even full…" Bates muttered, before realisation dawned on him. "Man, these bastards. Today is just not my day." He shook his head painfully and exited the Upper Ring's stellar bureau.
The Upper Ring was vastly different in terms of beauty comparison. Instead of transport tubes and pods, there were bridges that reached high into the sky. The streets were spectacularly beautiful and specially made vehicles hovered about. Basically cars without wheels.
The higher the Ring, the closer it felt to Old Earth. Since this region was inhabited by the super wealthy, they naturally constructed it in a way that gave them a sense of comfort.
"Pretentious bastards," Mathew clicked his tongue and tapped on his wristband. He said, when the holographic screen popped up, "I'm here. I'll arrive at Headquarters in a while."
"Alright. You should hurry, one of the Paragon council heads is present."
"Yeah, yeah…" Mathew ended the call and tucked his hands back into his pockets.