Serif looked up at the moon, he lifted his hand as if measuring something, "right on time," he muttered.
Axel looked up at the moon as well, a crescent moon, isn't it usually supposed to be a full moon, he raised a brow confused.
Serif went closer to the fall, as his hand made contact with the water, a deep hum came from the waterfall, its thunderous splattering ceasing as it stopped flowing mid air.
Then the water started swirling, curving, moving upward, against gravity, making a circular shimmering swirly pattern, unnatural, mystical.
A blue glow spread from the center, infusing the entire swirling waterfall, it was like the moonlight was suddenly focused on the pattern.
Axel looked at Amy, her eyes sparkling as she focused on the view, her hands clasped together, a wide smile plastered on her lips. If only I had a camera, he thought.
He smiled and looked back at the swirling waterfall, I guess it's quite beautiful.
Serif finally walked towards it and stopped just short of the pattern, "Follow me" he said with a flat expression and stepped in.
His body passed through the swirl without resistance.
It is indeed a portal, Axel nodded his head.
Without muttering a word Amy jumped in next, she seemed really eager to do that.
That left Axel alone, he stopped in front of the portal, eyes narrowed, then out of curiosity he moved to the back, behind it was just a cave, the waterfall still forming a swirl.
"Nothing interesting," he muttered, then he froze as he heard a low, deep breath from behind him, mist rolling towards the entrance, a faint wind rustling his hair.
Axel carefully stepped back towards the portal as he saw a massive silhouette shift within the mist.
He hurriedly leapt into the portal.
The feeling was reminiscent of the portal at E town, except this felt like he was twirling around while being pulled, almost like a washing machine.
Axel came out of the portal disoriented. He staggered and got down on one knee, shaking his head trying to regain his balance. I feel like puking, he covered his mouth.
"You okay" Amy patted his back, Axel raised a finger, indicating one second.
He took deep breaths, finally suppressing the urge.
"I'm good now," he said, standing up.
Axel frowned as he got up, two men were pointing spears at them, looking at them warily with stern faces, their spears poised ready to attack any moment. He subconsciously tightened his grip on Gishiki, ready for anything.
"Identify yourselves," the men barked, their accents thick and hoarse, the consonants dragging on.
Serif raised his hand, showing it was empty, then he slowly removed something from his pocket, the men looking at him warily, tension thick in the air.
He pulled out a circular badge of some sort, a falling star engraved into it, similar to the currency.
One of the men slowly reached out and snatched it, he carefully scanned it, his expression slowly twisting, eyes wide.
"Relax," a voice came from behind as a man emerged from the jungle, a smile on his face.
"Don't you recognize the guardian of the Gishiki, or perhaps you prefer the cleaner," He addressed Serif.
The men quickly lowered their spears along with their gazes, their demeanor transforming to one of fear instantly, the one with the badge carefully returned it, his hand slightly trembling.
Serif collected the badge without paying attention to the man who quickly backed away.
"You've recovered the Gishiki then," the man asked as he approached the group, climbing a group of stairs.
Serif bowed slightly to him, "Yes sir," He pointed at Axel, no specifically the Gishiki.
The man turned to look at Axel and smiled.
As the man approached, Axel noted the unique outfit he was wearing, the guards also had the same type, it wasn't something you'd see in this age, the man wore a white shirt, embroidered at the collar, the sleeve tucked into a sort of bracelet like those used for war.
Then over the shirt he wore a red vest with golden threading, and dark pants, tucked into boots, he had a turban wrapped around his head.
Axel noted as the man passed Amy, completely ignoring her, attention entirely on him.
He stopped just in front of Axel, his towering form looming over Axel's much smaller one.
The man smiled, "You really are something special," the man said looking down on Axel who furrowed his brow in confusion.
The man chuckled, "to hold the Gishiki so casually is no easy feat, be proud boy." He patted Axel's shoulder.
Axel smiled back, I don't like him, he couldn't explain, but he felt this odd feeling from the man's presence, like he was prey.
"You've been through a lot I am sure, you'll be safe here," the man waved his hand.
Speaking of which, where are we? Axel wondered as he finally looked around, he hadn't observed the place considering when he got here were spears pointed at him.
The place was nothing like E town, or anything he had seen or even imagined.
Looking around he saw floating islands, linked by ropes or something, some of the islands were higher than others, some reaching into the clouds, but all were suspended in the air, an eerie mist covered their underside at least two third of it, no matter how elevated it was.
The portal was on an elevated platform, under an arched gateway, perhaps the entrance to somewhere, except the remaining part of the building was missing, as if cut off as the island came up.
But the part left was sort of like a balcony, looking like where someone would either be executed or where announcements would be given, it had long stairs leading down towards a jungle, massive pillars on the ground, moss growing over it.
It was definitely in ruins, but was this really the safest place to put a portal? he questioned the logic.
Axel carefully walked to the edge of the cliff, about to look down, when the man's voice rang out.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man cleared his throat.
Axel stopped, "why?" He asked.
"Just know nothing good is down there," he didn't explain further, "besides you must be exhausted, let's get you rested and fed, we can talk then." The man said as he descended the stairs.
What was the point of climbing up then, Axel wondered.
He looked around trying to see if he could spot a village from the platform but all he saw were trees, really tall trees, perhaps on the other islands then, he looked at the rope like things and shuddered. Don't tell me we are crossing that.
"Uhm sir, where exactly are we," Axel asked.
"It's Drazen, not sir," the man glanced back at Axel, "and we're in the continent of Zvezdan, now we head to Tihodol."
Based on the name, I guess this is where the asteroid struck, is all this an effect of it, he wondered.
"Drazen," Axel said, the guards gasping, eyes wide, Serif looked at him, Amy looking at him, a small smirk on her lips.
Axel looked at them then at Drazen, confused, did I say something wrong.
"It's Sir Drazen," the man said calmly, "and no questions remember." He continued walking down the stairs.
You should have made it clearer.
Axel nodded, about to follow Drazen when he froze, he couldn't move, a massive resistance locked him in place.
His eyes widened, above him a man calmly floated in the air, no he was slowly descending, his beard flowing in the wind, his aged face radiating wisdom, ropes flapping in the wind, a sort of suppressing pressure and at the same time a calming aura emanated from him.
"He can't step into Tihodol," The man's voice boomed, "he isn't pure."
Drazen, Serif, and the guards quickly got on one knee, Amy reluctantly following suit.
Should I kneel too, Axel contemplated, and decided to get down on one knee, but the man's voice stopped him, "Don't, don't do anything that you don't know the significance of."
The man landed gently, his eyes settling on the Gishiki, then he cupped his hand and bowed slightly.
"I appreciate you returning the Gishiki to us, but unfortunately young man you cannot be let into Thiodol, you have already seen enough, you can ask Drazen for any compensation as long as it is within his power he'll help, but you can't step foot beyond there." The man declared, his tone absolute and final.