The group marched into the camp just as the sun slipped below the horizon. The whole place was so densely packed, it caught Aris off guard after spending what felt like so much time alone. People came to watch as the soldiers weaved between tents, growing ever closer to the looming black tower. Aris was astounded at the sheer size of it. It wound ever-upwards into the sky; It put him on edge; the huge mass seemed to be present in the corner of his vision wherever he looked.
The outskirts of the encampment under the tower seemed poorly equipped, for the most part. The inhabitants' clothes were dirty, and only a few of them seemed to have any means to defend themselves, contrary to the soldiers that Aris had met. Though they regarded Aris with interest, their sooty faces seemed hopeless and defeated, watching him with dull eyes as he passed through their ranks. The pale woman, Kace, led the way through the ragged tents. She didn't seem to notice the condition of any of the people that surrounded them, keeping her face forward without sparing a single glance. They eventually came to a menacing wall that seemed to separate the outer encampment from a smaller inner sanctum, guarded by a group of similarly armoured soldiers to the ones Aris now stood amongst. The wall looked like something out of an apocalypse film, great jagged spikes of metal spewing forth from the ground to create some sort of overgrown thornbush of iron needles, clustered closely together.
Seeing the group approaching, one of the men in front of the wall barked an order behind him, and the hulking gates began to grind open. The gate opened up to reveal a series of far grander dwellings, with a seemingly better-off class of citizen to match.
"You're lucky that you get to go in here without fighting for it." Whispered Vinny, looking at the people left outside the gate, hungrily watching after them.
Aris was starting to gather an inkling of what situation he'd found himself in, but he had to ask Vinny another question to confirm it.
"Do people here have, you know, some kind of powers?" He asked, keeping his voice low so that only he could hear.
Vinny looked at him in surprise.
"How did you know?"
"Just a guess. Some kind of system spoke to me when I got here." Aris replied. He trusted this kid for some reason, but didn't want to reveal what he had gone through in the Helltrain. If that wasn't the norm around here, he'd have a lot to answer for if it was found out.
"What!?" Vinny exclaimed, his voice drawing more attention from those around than Aris would have liked.
"Is that not normal?" Asked Aris, afraid that he'd already ostracised himself with that detail. Getting on the good side of the group in charge seemed like a good idea as any until he could recuperate.
"Not at all. You can't contact the system until you find a Catalyst, which almost never happens here. That's why there's only four Renders on the first floor. Some people found another way without needing a Catalyst, but we're not supposed to talk about that…" Vinny trailed off. "Have you found one already?"
Aris didn't reply. He wasn't sure what the other method was that he was referring to, since the system had spoken to him out of the blue, but Catalysts sounded rarer than he had initially thought. If they found out that he possessed six of the suckers in his back pocket, he'd be in hot water for sure.
The group approached an enormous crimson tent, which seemed to be the main gathering place for the citizens occupying the inner circle. Two banners flew on either side of the entrance, depicting a golden phoenix with its wings spread. As they passed inside, Aris whistled in surprise. Thousands of people occupied the tent, bustling about the warm interior. There was an exterior ring that skirted the inside edge of the tent, where some carried weapons or other supplies, while others huddled together with pondering looks on their faces, positioned around tables with various hand-drawn maps and other trinkets. Others simply stood and watched the proceedings happening in the inner circle.
The outer ring surrounded a large flat area where two warriors were currently locked in an intense duel. One of the participants was a thin, pale boy, clothed in dirty garbs similar to the others who Aris had seen outside the wall, holding a long jagged blade as he circled his opponent. Even from this distance, Aris could see his hands shaking.
His opponent wore an armour unlike Aris had seen before, if it could even be called that. It seemed like a torrent of water had wrapped itself tightly around the figure's body, leaving nothing uncovered as it swirled violently. The armoured figure's movement was astonishing. As they lunged towards each other, the liquid seemed to ebb and flow with the fighters strikes, adding velocity and impact in spades. Aris wasn't sure how long the fight had been going on for, but he was certain that it would end soon from his brief look. Sure enough, the pale fighter tried to fake out his opponent with a sloppy uppercut, earning him a watery fist to the stomach. Doubling over in the dust, the victorious champion regarded their battered opponent briefly before stalking outside the arena, the water gradually dissipating from around the figure.
Aris was transfixed by the girl that was revealed. She was gorgeous, in every sense of the word; Her face was elegant, adorned with dark features on flawless skin. Her eyes were such a rich blue that even the bright crimson tent seemed dull in comparison. It was like a blue that one could see from a shoreline, at the furthest point just before the water tips into the horizon, where all green and foam dissipates and all that's left is a pure blue. She walked over to one of the tables, where a unique looking trio sat. They were the only individuals in the room with armour that didn't look like the standard issue. None of them carried any visible weapons.
"Renders!" Greeted Kace, marching along the empty arena towards the same table where the blue-eyed girl had sat. All eyes in the room swung to her. "We've got news. Someone came through the portal."
Conversation buzzed immediately around the room. Vinny had been right when he'd said that everyone had been concerned about the portal. As quickly as it had started, everyone hushed as a young man that Kace had addressed rose in place. He wore a long crimson cloak, the same shade as the banners that hung outside. His dark hair wisped around as it pleased, paired with fiery, almost-black eyes that gave him a dangerous look.
"Welcome back, Kace." He nodded at her, scanning the group. "Did you bring the Tender with you?"
"Of course." She said, looking back at Aris with an accusing glare. "He says that his name is Aris."
After getting nudged by one of the soldiers, Aris lurched forward.
"Uh… Hi?" Aris said diplomatically, unsure of what to say now that he was put on the spot.
The corner of the leader's mouth twitched, though Aris wasn't sure whether it was out of amusement or pity.
"So, a single person seeps through the cracks of the portal after a full day of not a single soul coming through." The cloaked figure stated. "Tell me, how did you come to be here?"
"EVA sent me." Aris replied plainly. "They've created a machine that can send people into the Split."
That caused an even bigger outburst among the crowd, whispering to each other in hopeful tones about being rescued.
"Who are you?" Asked Aris.
The leader narrowed his eyes. He was clearly used to being the one asking the questions.
"My name is Phoenix. You may address me as Render, or Lord."
Aris snorted at that, which he immediately regretted as Kace moved to rap him over the head for his insolence. But in comparison to the Grimm that he had fought, her movement was more like a sloth trying to catch a butterfly, even with his injuries slowing him down. Stepping backwards under her swing, he gave a light nudge, tipping her sense of balance just enough for her to end up nose-down in the dirt. Jumping up with fury in her eyes, she made a start for him.
"Enough." Said Phoenix. Glaring at Aris, Kace backed off slightly. "I'm sure you'll get your chance to fight him soon enough." He turned his attention back to Aris. "Go on. Is EVA going to send more people here?"
"I doubt it. In fact, when I got sent here, the system told me that there wouldn't be anyone else coming. And before you ask, no, EVA can't bring people back." Said Aris. "And damn them even if they could." He muttered under his breath.
"You said that the system told you that?" Queried Phoenix, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Yeah. It contacted me as soon as I got here." Replied Aris.
If the first two reactions from the crowd had been lively, this one was an outroar.
"They really can't save us? Are we going to be trapped here forever?"
"The system? Doesn't that mean he's a Render!?"
"Another Render, great. Just another person to bark orders at us."
Raising his hand, Phoenix quietened the onlookers.
"So you claim that you're a Render, and yet you haven't gotten a Catalyst. You show up out of the blue, alone, after half of the world has been sent to this hellscape against their will, and claim that no one else is coming? Given the circumstances, I'm not sure that we can take you at your word." He thought for a second. "Why don't we have a bit of friendly competition?" He asked, smiling slyly.
Aris already felt in his gut that this guy was a bad apple. Whatever he was going to propose would probably not work out well for him.
"As we all know, to be allowed to live under the protection of the Renders, you must prove yourself in combat," Phoenix announced, addressing the crowd with a grin. "Why not prove that you are who you say, and earn your right to stay in a single fight?"
The surrounding throng of people cheered. They seemed to have gained a significant number since Aris had walked in, piling in from outside to see what all the fuss was about until there was barely space between them.
Turning to the blue-eyed girl, Phoenix whispered something. Without replying, she stood, walking out into the arena, eye's entirely focused on Aris. He felt like squirming under her unrelenting gaze, but remained unflinching. Fighting in this condition hadn't been part of the plan, and he had already seen what this girl could do. He hadn't even had time to interrogate the system about his new powers. Regardless, he'd have to keep the breadth of his powers a secret for now. He couldn't afford to be seen as too strong, or conversely too weak, if he was to gain their trust.
Looking behind him, he saw that the soldiers who had escorted him had already left the arena, leaving only him and the girl. Watching her, the torrent of water began to swirl around her until every last part of her body was covered. Readying himself, Aris took a defensive stance. He'd decided not to make use of Lightning Dance, since he wasn't quite in the mood to start slaughtering humans, so he'd have to fight unarmed.
"After all, how bad could this be?" Aris thought.
That was the last thing he thought before the blue-eyed girl's fist connected with his head, leaving him in darkness once again.