Chapter 327
The next morning, Gale proudly walked out of the hotel alongside Rachel, Kyle, Clyde, Lily, and Erin. They made their way toward the rocky cliffs where the coliseum should be, even though it was invisible to his eye, nor could his Presence Between's tendrils pierce through it.
Other than that, last night was really fun. The black box that Kyle and Clyde called 'steam box' was actually something that had many worlds inside of it. It connected to the hotel's TV, and they played games on it until they fell asleep. Erin joined them for a bit, then somehow modified the controller midway and just dominated them throughout all of the fighting games until they finally decided on a game called 'Pummel Party'.
"I can't believe she broke my controller," Clyde muttered, kicking a pebble down the path.
"It's not broken," Kyle said. "It's just... modified."
"The buttons don't even click anymore!"
"It is infinitely more efficient than what you call a 'controller'. My modifications allow neural interfacing with the machine, allowing maximum synchronization between my brain and the character shown on the screen."
"That's a whole lot of words for saying you broke it!"
"I have fixed it."
Clyde turned to Rachel. "You're paying for the replacement."
Rachel shrugged. "Not my fault."
"She's your responsibility!"
"Since when?"
"Since she started living with you!"
Kyle patted his brother on the shoulder. "Let it go, man. Let it go."
"What did you guys even play last night?" Lily asked from the rear of the group.
"Last game we played was Pummel Party," Kyle said.
"Did Erin win?"
"She won seven rounds in a row."
Gale smiled, looking at Rachel and Lily. "It was fun. But it would be funner with more people."
"Don't look at me like that," Rachel said.
"You wanna play tonight?"
Rachel didn't say anything, avoiding his eyes.
"I'll join," Lily said with a chuckle.
"Lily!" Rachel said.
"What? It sounds fun."
"Don't feed into the twins' bullshit!"
"But it's fun. Just relax, Rach."
"Ugh!" Rachel turned towards Gale's puppy dog eyes. "Fine..."
Kyle grinned. "Sweet. Full party tonight."
"I'll load up the snacks," Clyde said.
"Fuck yeah."
Reaching the rocky cliffs, they stood in front of the place where Erin caused a commotion. There were two large rocks that stood side by side, at least 10 metres apart, making it seem like the rocks were a gateway to an unseen world.
Witch Ashen stood by the rock on the right, where the authorization array should be. She wasn't on the ground. Her feet looked like they were standing on air a couple of metres back from the cliff.
"Morning," Ashley said as they approached.
"Morning," Rachel replied. "You're here early."
"Bad draw this year." Ashley sighed. "Fucking Arcanes."
"Want anything from the food court?" Lily asked.
"Nah, it's fine," Ashley said. "Anyway, the opening ceremony this year is planned to be fifty minutes."
Kyle groaned loudly. "Is it always that long?"
"It's usually longer, actually," Rachel said. "How come it's short this year?"
"The Jiuling complained," Ashley said. "Apparently, the United Knights made last year's ceremony too long. Lots of speeches about honour and tradition and the importance of international cooperation. Went on for almost two hours."
"Two hours?!" Kyle looked horrified.
"The Jiuling threatened to boycott this year's summit if the ceremony exceeded 60 minutes. Neutral Grounds decided to put it at 50 minutes just so that the Jiuling won't complain about being 'perfunctory'."
"Bless the Jiuling," Clyde said. "First time I've ever been grateful for their complaints."
Lily stepped forward. "Are you joining us later? In our viewing area?"
"Probably," Ashley said. "Depends on how many fires I have to put out. Metaphorical ones, hopefully. Last year, Witch Ember set an actual fire during the opening speech."
"That was an accident!" a voice called from somewhere behind them.
Gale turned. Witch Ember was walking up the path, her orange hair bright against the grey morning. She wore a dress made of fire that tapered tightly through her legs and spread out as it reached the bottom. There was only one strap on her dress with what looked like it's covred in flowing flames. Her body was covered in changing shades of red while still managing to show her cleavage through a window.
"Idiot, it wasn't an accident. You were laughing like a maniac!" Ashley said.
"Oh shit, now that I think about it, was I drunk?" Amber asked.
"Awakened do not get drunk," Erin said.
Kyle raised his hand. "Wait, viewing area? Aren't we going to the regular seats?"
Rachel shook her head. "We're going to the private area. Ann family section."
"Sweet," Clyde said. "VIP fire princess treatment."
"Is there food there?" Gale asked. That was the most important thing. As long as there was food, he'd be happy to sit and relax all day. Now there was a bit of regret at having to accept that challenge...
Rachel smiled. "All you can eat."
Gale grabbed her hand. "Let's go. Hurry. Now."
"The ceremony hasn't started yet."
"But the food is already there, right?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"Then let's go!"
Rachel laughed. "Fine, fine. Follow me."
She walked toward the edge of the cliff. As she stepped off the cliff, right off the edge, Gale's heart jumped. His hand reached for her, but her form disappeared once her foot stepped on solid matter.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
"Rachel!" he shouted.
"Relax," Ashley said calmly. "Just take a step forward. You'll see her."
"Is this part of the array too?!"
"Trust me."
Gale stared at the edge of the cliff, looking at the ocean slamming against the rocks below. He probably wouldn't die, sure, but those looked like they'd sting.
"Come on, Gale. You'll be fine," Ashley gestured for him to move.
Taking one step forward, into the great unknown of maybe falling to big hurt, Gale closed his eyes. When his foot met solid ground, he opened his eyes, taking in the view of the new world that stretched before him.
The grey sky and grey sea changed into a colourful prismatic kind of bloom. Towering over him was a stadium in the form of a coliseum. It had dark and weathered stones mixed in with modern architecture where the broken parts were. It floated on massive rocks above the water, suspended by forces unknown that maybe someday he'd learn how it works. Ethereal light pulsed through the structure, moving along patterns curved into every inch of the floating rock and coliseum.
The bridge beneath his feet was made of glass or something that resembled glass. Completely transparent, etched with hundreds of lines that looked like circuitry. Shifting his weight, it didn't flex nor creak. The pulsing lights that ran along the circuits pulsed whenever he took a step.
Around the coliseum were more rocks formed into 3 dimensional rhombus shapes. Each one was covered in billions of patterns, intricate etchings that glowed with a soft teal heartbeat pulsation.
And the signatures.
Gale's senses were immediately overwhelmed.
There were so many of them. Hundreds. Thousands. Signatures pressing against his awareness from every direction. Awakened. Attuned. Resonant. Harmonic. The whole spectrum of power levels, all gathered in one place.
There were at least a dozen mystics, and beyond them were heavier mountains lurking, similar to the signature he felt from Erin when she fixed her core. Those were the Arcanes that were talked about in hushed voices.
Three of them.
Gale had to completely reel in his Presence Between's tendrils to stop himself from spiking in adrenaline.
"Gale?"
Rachel snapped him out of his sensory overload. She stood there a few feet ahead of the glass-but-not-glass bridge, looking at him. "You ok?"
Closing his eyes as he shook his head, he took a breath. After opening his eyes back, he took a step forward. "Yeah, I'm ok."
The others arrived on the glass bridge behind them, none of them looking around as if they'd seen this before. Or, they could just be uninterested like the twins.
"What you think, Gale?" Kyle asked.
"I think I'm not even on Earth anymore... is this all the transcendent's legacy?" Gale asked.
"Other than the stadium being constantly under construction, pretty much," Lily said. "All those floating rocks keep this whole place up from the waters below."
"There's no way someone like her died from a caffeine heart attack," Clyde said.
"There's no way someone like her could get summoned forcefully!" Rachel shouted.
"It's the only logical reason she'd disappear," Kyle said.
"Both of you, shut up. Don't ruin Gale's mind," Lily elbowed Kyle and Clyde, who then rubbed their flanks.
"Let's go," Rachel said, walking ahead of everyone, side by side with Gale. The glass circuit bridge stretched before them, connecting the cliffs to the massive rock that floated above the ground, held by clouds of a blue haze.
Beneath their feet, each step caused a soft teal light to pulse. Erin stopped floating, taking a step on the bridge. Taking a couple more steps forward, she sped up slightly, then slowed down in a seemingly random pattern.
"The bridge acts as a data point for the data centre of the floating rock," Erin said. "I require access to the centre."
"NO!" Rachel shouted.
"Woman of fire, I came here for science."
"I said no!"
"So be it. I shall search for the entryway by my own effort," Erin said.
Upon entering the coliseum, the interior looked nothing like the suggested exterior that mixed ancient and modern. Inside was literally just a sports stadium. Shiny concrete floors and dark blue railings that directed the flow of crowds. To their right were the food stalls, many of them. So many that Gale felt the pleasure hitting his nostrils. Grease and sugar all mixed into one amazing medley of I want to eat them all.
Hotdogs. Pasta. Japanese. Chinese. Carribean. Russian. Siberian. Indian. All kinds of foods that he remembered the scent of.
His eyes locked onto one stall in particular.
"Rachel, Rachel. I want the turkey leg," Gale pointed at the stall.
The stall had massive turkey legs rotating on a spit, glistening with artery clogging grease. The sign above said 'GIANT TURKEY LEGS' at the cost of 129£.
"You can order food without paying once we're in the viewing area," Rachel said.
"Without paying?" Gale said in awe. The food was free. An eating bonanza was about to take place in this place called 'viewing area'.
"Yup. So don't worry."
Kyle and Clyde immediately clapped their hands together.
"One of each," Kyle said.
"Of everything," Clyde finished.
Before they could move further into the lobby, Rachel reached out and grabbed Erin's hand.
Erin immediately tried to pull away, shaking her hand off of the woman of fire's grip. Her body jerked backward, but Rachel's grip held firm.
"Woman of fire," Erin said. "Release me. You are incurring debt for every second you hold me in captivity."
"I don't care. Stop making trouble."
"Researchers shan't be bound by prisons. Release me at once."
"NO!"
Rachel led the group to the left side of the lobby, Erin floating horizontally behind her like a balloon on a string. They reached an elevator bank of sleek steel doors that looked just like the ones from Ollie's office. Inside was a big 'OTIS' logo just above the LED number that informed them of the current floor.
Taking the elevator to the 6th floor, it opened to a long wide hallway, completely devoid of people. On the walls were the same shin looking concrete, some parts held the ancient looking coliseum walls that were more like weathered carved stone.
Kyle looked around. "This is the rich people corridor."
"What?" Lily asked.
"No one's here because rich people don't like people."
"Shut up, Kyle."
Clyde nodded. "He's not wrong, though."
Lily elbowed him in the ribs.
Gale looked at Rachel. "Do you not like people?"
Rachel's head whipped toward him. "What? No! Don't listen to those two idiots. I love people. I love people a lot."
"How come I don't see you around other people?" The only one he's seen her around was Isla. What about other people that's not her? That was the biggest question he had.
"I just like... not dealing with people, but that doesn't mean I don't like people," Rachel said, turning her head to the others. "I'm nice, right?"
"Your kindness is a resource allocated solely to those you designate as 'friends'. Do not mistake it for liking people," Erin said.
"Stupid floating bluey!" Rachel said.
"It's ok, Rachel. We know you're nice. To us, anyway," Lily laughed.
Rachel sighed. "You too, Lily?"
"I'm just joking! You love people. I know so."
"Thank you."
Gale nodded. Of course the light of the city would love people. She was always helping everyone, always making sure everyone was fed and safe and rewarded with lots of treats. Someone like that couldn't possibly dislike people. Most definitely not.
Walking down the corridor, they reached a set of double doors at the end. On the door was a piece of paper, slightly crooked, held in place by a single strip of tape.
'Ann Family'.
Kyle snorted. "That's some serious cost cutting right there."
"That's Witch Ashen for you," Lily said.
Rachel pulled open the double doors, revealing the private viewing area. A large sofa sat in front of the floor to ceiling windows that looked out over the coliseum's interior. On either side of the room, mounted on the walls, were large flat screen TV's showing zoomed-in looks of the field below.
Entering the room, Gale flattened his face against the glass that could see the whole stadium.
It was a massive sports stadium, far larger than it had looked from the outside. Seats stretched up in tiers, already filling with Aurians from every faction and many vagrants, as well as major and minor families.
Floating rhombus rocks hovered at even intervals along the edge of the field. Each one pulsed with the same teal light as the bridge, patterns carved into their surfaces glowing steadily. More rhombuses were positioned around the perimeter, forming a ring of floating stones that surrounded the entire arena.
And at the centre of the field, dominating the space, was a giant rhombus rock. This one was different from the others. It was made of metal instead of stone, its surface covered in a much simpler pattern of geometric lines that intersected at precise angles, but still covered in rhomboid patterns.
Erin immediately shook off Rachel's hand and floated toward the glass.
"Fascinating," Erin said, pressing her palm against the window. Her control module extended to one of the etched circles on the floor. "The floating rhombuses access multiple resources at once. All linked together in a distributed network to spread any damage that may occur to the viewers."
"What does that mean?" Gale asked.
"The cost is less than 150 ethers per second to maintain," Erin continued. "This geographical area called 'Wales' has an ambient ether density of approximately 230 ether units per cubic inch. The array is essentially self-sustaining. Crude construction, but highly efficient resource management."
Gale pointed to the biggest rhombus metal thing. "What's that one?"
"An illusory constructor. It creates physical illusions for the field, allowing the environment to change based on user input. The combatants can traverse any terrain the operator selects," Erin said.
"Oh shit, is that what it does?" Kyle asked.
"Didn't I tell you that before?" Lily asked.
"Don't remember," Clyde said.
"The design is elegant, but lacking finesse. It uses illusions to mimic physical reality rather than actually manipulating matter," Erin said. "Though an acceptable one given the technological limitations of this world."
Down on the field, a figure walked towards the centre.
From this distance, Gale could barely make out any details, but the signature was unmistakable. Witch Ashen. Her voice suddenly filled the viewing room. The TVs turned on and her face shone in such high detail that he could see a cookie crumb on her lips.
Where did she get that cookie?!
"Welcome to the Global Youth Triangle Summit," Ashley's voice announced. "This year's agenda is as follows: Opening Ceremony, followed by exhibition matches, then the Tri-school tournament bracket. After the tournament concludes, we will proceed with ranking updates for all registered participants. Finally, the closing ceremony."
She continued speaking, but Gale's attention was drawn away by a knock on the door.
Everyone turned.
Rachel walked over and opened it.
A woman stood in the doorway with a slight bow. She wore a red blazer over a black dress skirt, her hair pulled back in a tight bun. A clipboard was tucked under her arm, and she had a tired expression along with dark circles that made her look like she hadn't slept in a couple of days.
"Is Gale Hathie in this room?" she asked.
Gale raised his hand. "I'm here."
The woman checked something on her clipboard, then nodded. "Mr. Hathie, you need to come with me to the exhibition match lobby. Now."