The towering trees easily block out almost all the sunlight, despite the fact that the sun has already risen hours ago.
"I'm so tired of walking..." Keziah whines as she drags herself behind the group, her figure slows down every single minute, until one point where she just stops completely, making the whole group has to stop as well.
"Kez, please." Suzie just sighs quietly at her best friend's behavior. "We've only walked for... uhm."
"One hour." Akira finishes Suzie's sentence, her face deadpan as always.
"One hour!" Keziah repeats in complete defeat. "It feels like a day to me..."
"Well," Marcello raises an eyebrow. "I do wonder how you passed the physical test."
"Says the guy who probably weights 130 pounds." Keziah tsks, her irritation as clear as day.
"I'm heavier than that, but thanks." Marcello shrugs nonchalantly.
"Okay, guys, guys." Viktor has to step in to stop a small disagreement from become a heated argument. "Don't argue now. We still has the long way to go. Don't waste your energy." He sighs. "Moreover, we are so far behind the others, we must hurry up now, and we will get lost."
"Awh, but I'm so tired." Keziah whines loudly. "Can somebody carry me?"
"Sure." Robin replies enthusiastically, then shrinks when Viktor shoots her a stern glance. "I mean– We're near the first camp, you can do it, Kez!"
The group continues to stand there for a few moments, just because Keziah simply doesn't want to walk herself, and everyone has to find a way to cheer her up... or force her to continue, somehow.
There is only one person who doesn't partake in the conversation. Lucius.
He leans by a nearby tree,arms crossed, eyes scanning the surroundings, as if looking for something... someone.
"Lucius." Robin's voice snaps him out of his thoughts. "Let's go."
Well, looks like they've finally dealt with Keziah's whining... somehow. He doesn't care actually.
"Alright." He responds, stepping closely behind the group, but his eyes occasionally glance behind his shoulders.
He feels being watched.
–––––––––––––––
"Young Master, are you still mad about what happened last night?" The elegant-looking, grey-haired man says with a concerned tone.
"Of course I am!" Aysen partially yell at him, his teeth gritting in anger.
He was supposed to be at The Oasis, where the main HQ of Tehranika Co. is located, not in this stupid– Harvick or whatever Town.
All because of that mysterious man, having bandages covering all over his face except for his right eyes and wearing Victorian clothes as if he was trying to attend a dress-up festival!
It was because of that stupid man, attacking his aeroplane and making it fall! Now he has to stay at this Harvick Town. Good thing it still has a nice and clean hotel to stay in.
Thinking about it makes Aysen's hand grip the armrest more tightly, his nails digging into it.
"Have you gotten any information yet, Accius?" Aysen looks at his butler, his eyes narrow with dissatisfaction.
"Sadly, no, Young Master." Accius shakes his head, then pauses for a moment, considering his next words. "I can't look for that man's identity anywhere. In fact, I think he might be an illegal immigrant."
"You meant he's not from Aetheria? Impossible! Such strong Life Force cannot be a human!" Aysen stands up from his armchair in frustration and confusion.
"I doubt he's an Aetherian, Young Master. I've been here for years and never ever seen him before." The old man says, shaking his head.
"Goddamit!" Aysen groans, eyebrows furrow. "How am I supposed to meet my father now? I know damn well that old man won't send another aeroplane just to pick me up!"
"Please calm down, Master Aysen." Accius reassures him, then suddenly hands him something – a poster.
"What is this?" He asks, slightly confused but takes the poster and reads it anyways.
Key Hunt: Special treasure hunt game started by Tehranika Co.
Challenge the Holders to get their keys.
Along your journey, you might meet people who want to steal your keys. Fight them to keep your keys!
Collect all the 10 keys to yourself and bring them to Tehranika Co. HQ to receive a big, secret prize!
"What the fuck?" Aysen raises an eyebrow in confusion and irritation. "That old man seriously still doesn't give up?! This is way too risky!"
"It's your father's decision, Young Master. You know well that you cannot change his mind." The butler shakes his head in defeat at his childish behavior.
"That stupid old man!" Aysen grits his teeth in anger, hand slamming against the armrest with a force that makes it let out a loud creak. "He knows how dangerous it is and he still does it! Has he truly lost his mind?!"
"Young Master, please calm down." The aged man quickly tries to reassure him. "Your father always has a plan for everything, surely he has one for this too."
"I don't care! That man always puts profits above everything, even people's lives!" Aysen snaps at him, but upon seeing his stern face, he inhales deeply and eventually calms down as he sits back down on the armchair. "Yeah, hopefully." He taunts under his breath.
"Young Master, I think there's another thing you should know as well." Accius's tone becomes serious, immediately catching Aysen's attention, since Accius is a calm but friendly man, he rarely gets serious unless things have become real serious.
"What happened?" Aysen asks with a cautious tone, his eyes narrow. He can feel his stomach churning with fear and anxiety.
Accius stays silent for a moment. "The portals... they have collapsed."
"WHAT?!" Aysen immediately gets up from his chair, eyes widened in awe.
"It's true, Young Master." The butler says, than starts tapping on his tablet before showing it to him.
Breaking News: The portals connected between Earth and Aetheria have collapsed! Many humans are trapped here. Engineers are still trying to find ways to fix this issue but they can't seem to name the problems.
"Impossible. The portals worked fine for years." Aysen's eyebrows furrow as he takes the device and retreads it over and over.
"I suppose some problems had occurred, but I think someone might have caused it." Accius says, his tone more serious than ever.
"What do you mean?" Aysen looks up at him, eyes still full of shock and nervousness at this sudden development.
"When something is wrong with the portals, Tehranika engineers will be alerted to fix it immediately, but this time, it happens too suddenly, too... calculated." Accius states his suspicions. "As if someone was waiting for this specific moment to destroy them. Moreover, there has never been any incidents this serious, not when engineers know absolutely nothing."
Aysen's eyes narrow again, as if calculating in his head. "I cannot say you're wrong... but this theory is still too wild to believe. These portals are one of the most world-changing invention ever, they're safeguarded very carefull, there's no way somebody could just obliterate them without leaving a single trace."
"I'm afraid that's the most believable theory at the moment." The man shakes his head. "Otherwise, engineers would have noticed the bugs."
Aysen is silent for a moment, then he looks at Accius again. "That old man will probably not send another aeroplane here, right?"
"I'm afraid that's true, Young Master." Accius sighs.
'In that case,' Aysen though to himself, his mind calculating. 'I might have to wait for those idiots before going. Too dangerous to go alone, Accius is strong but he cannot protect me forever.'
Then he sighs and sits back down, leaning against the chair. "I guess we'll have to wait for my team then, it's too dangerous to go alone."
Accius takes a bow. "Of course Young Master."
–––––––––––––––
"So you're telling us there might be someone planning this whole thing?" Marcello is truly in disbelief.
"I'm afraid there's no way else to explain this." Viktor sighs quietly.
Then the group erupts into silence, with the only sounds being the sounds of the firecamp as the fire roars higher, the shadows dancing across their shocked and awed faces.
The night has suddenly become quieter... and colder.
"So uh." Robin decides to be the first one to speak up, her mouth opens and closes for a few moments, then finally the words come out. "How many kilometers have we walked?"
"About 50. We still have more than 200 kilometers to walk." Akira replies, sipping her hot tea.
"Oh man!" Keziah whines again. "Can we just- stay at Silviar Town until the portals are fixed?"
"I don't think that's practical." Akira responds. "We don't know when the portals will open again, staying isn't an option when the town's supplies are running low even before we arrived."
"So we set off at about 8 a.m., walked for about 12 hours with occasional 15-minute breaks between the period." Suzie starts calculating. "That's certainly impressive, but I'm afraid with this speed we won't arrive at the mountain in less than 3 days."
Lucius just hums softly. "I think we should go to sleep now. It's getting late and we have to wake up early tomorrow."
"I totally agree." Akira responds again. Quite surprising, to be honest, she doesn't look like she talks much at first glance.
"Alright then, let's me talk to Miss Emily about the night shifts first, there must be somebody awake to safeguard us all." Viktor stands up, and walks towards a middle-aged woman.
Robin recognizes that woman. It was the woman who greeted them when they first entered Aetheria.
If she isn't wrong, Emily is a Tier V. The strongest out of everyone here.
The two guides talk for a few moments, before Viktor heads straight back to the group.
"Alright, we have decided who will guard tonight." Then he looks at Lucius. "Miss Emily will guard first, then she will wake you up later when her shift is over. You'll be the one continue until morning."
Lucius raises an eyebrow. "Taking advantage of me already?"
"Don't worry, I'll guard the next night." Viktor puts hands on his hips. "Moreover, you're the fourth strongest here just after me, Miss Emily and Mister Ron, the other guide. Obviously you'll be selected to guard the night."
"...Alright then. Fair." Lucius nods in agreement, even though with a little reluctance.
"You guys can go back to your set-up tents now." He turns to the others.
"Yessir!" Keziah says with the most enthusiastic tone ever and quickly grabs Suzie's hand. "Let's share a tent!"
"Wait, Kez, slow down!" Suzie gets dragged by her anyways, Keziah was too worn out to stay awake for any more moments.
"In that case, I'll share with Marcello." Akira says.
"...Me? I thought you'll share with Robin." Marcello raises an eyebrow in slight surprise.
"As if you're going to do anything to me." Akira looks at him with that "Seriously?" face, what she meant was clear. "Moreover, Robin moves and squirms a lot back at the medical tent, and I'm a light sleeper, I don't want to be disrupted."
Marcello shrugs. "Your choice."
"Oh..." Robin looks as both of them walk away, heading towards another tent. Then she looks at Lucius. "So uh, share a tent, I guess?"
"..." Lucius's eyes narrow, but it wasn't clear whether he was against this. Eventually, he nods. "Alright."
"Good, see you all tomorrow." Viktor nods and heads to his own tent.
Robin waves at him before looking at Lucius again. "Let's go."
However, Lucius seems... distracted. In fact, he was always distracted this whole track.
"Lucius?" Robin raises an eyebrow, slightly concerned.
"Yeah, just go. I'll follow you right after." He states blankly.
"...Alright, I guess." She eventually gives up and walks away because she knows damn well Lucius isn't gonna tell her anyways.
Lucius continues standing there for a few more moments, eyes string into the shadows of the forest. His eyes narrow in cautiousness.
But eventually, he exhales sharply and walks towards his shared tent.
But he doesn't give up. Not yet. Not ever.
He knows they're gonna show up eventually.