They entered the vast land of Jozaic. Every city was beyond crowded. Oculus had heard that there was a special type of tea in Jozaic that's extremely tasty so he was looking forward in having that tea. Oculus remembered someone who he knew from Jozaic, and he was searching for that person. It was the person who accepted Oculus to the group of the Heroes, but the seniors declined Oculus' request. Then there were cars, in Jozaic, maneuvering around the roads. The three hopped into a taxi and rode off into the capital of Jozaic, Aeriken Suburb. It was a three hour journey. And they had to keep themselves entertained until then. And there was some marvellous scenery outside the window, they had crossed Selestchian Valley, the snow was thick, but the roads were kept clean. The sky was mesmerizing and the clouds were spectacular. The car started speeding, there was a thunderstorm report and the clouds had gathered. Everyone lived in small inns and no one owned full houses like in Nuvol. Oculus thought this was a sign of this nation being not as rich as Nuvol. Oculus looked at the taxi driver and paused, and then... "Ummm, I know it's wrong to ask questions like this, but is this country in a rough time or something similar? Most people only live in small inns, hotels, and don't have full houses..." Oculus said... The taxi driver smirked... "Let me tell ya something mate, things have been rough. Our king has went missing, he's likely kidnapped so the minister is ruling our nation, mate. And lemme tell ya more, that minister is rubbish." The taxi driver said. Oculus nodded, surprised. What happened to their king? Oculus kept thinking about the king... someone like the king himself to go missing? How did the taxi driver treat it soo... normally? Oculus couldn't get that out of his mind... it just refused to leave his head... Oh well. Forgetting about it was the best option because Oculus had more stuff to worry about... His brothers were addicted to looking outside the car window. And Oculus was addicted of the smell of the car fuel.
Oculus and the taxi driver got along pretty well, and they began talking to eachother repeatedly. The car zoomed past the trees, Auris heard strange vibrations as he leaned closer to the window... But he didn't inform Oculus... Something wasn't right... But Auris brushed it off... And the taxi stopped at the hotel where the brothers were meant to stay. It was evening and the fog engulfed half of the roads, the cars had maximum power headlights so the fog wasn't a big issue. The building was large, tall and simply huge. The brothers' rooms were in the top floor. "We're struck by luck." Oculus said as the other two followed him, looking at the canyons of Jozaic. Jozaic was their only last stay, so they had to rest as much as they could, because it'll be the last stop. They slowly climbed the stairs and saw the views of Jozaic. It was certainly marvellous. Each stair felt like a headache for Nasus, as he was already in a sleeping mood. They looked at their room and tried to open the door... but it didn't open... and someone else came outside... "Hello? Sir, what are you looking for?" A young woman asked... And then she took a close look at Oculus... "Have I seen you, elsewhere?" she asked. Oculus also found her familiar. And he told her that he was looking for his room. "Ohh... Give me your key, it has the number..." She said as Oculus handed her the room key, she pointed out the numbers 407... "See? This is your room. You came to 401. Wrong room!" she said. Oculus awkwardly nodded and walked to the other room which was truly theirs... And then opened the door... It was grand. Auris saw the humongous window first... Oculus looked at the three separate beds and grinned. The beds were bright white, and the room had an artificial Navitas powered cooling system. "Amazing." Nasus mumbled as Auris slammed his head on the pillow. "So, how much time will we stay here?" Auris asked. Oculus assured him that it was going to be atleast a week. Auris looked worried... "A week!?" he asked... Remembering the strange sounds he heard... He felt uneasy... Something didn't feel right... It was probably the impact of Cactus City... But it just didn't fit in... Oculus looked at Auris' unease... He tried to comfort him by pointing out to some of the features... There was a nice, cozy relaxation cottage that had a Navitas powered heater. And lights here in Jozaic were different, they weren't Navitas powered, but Electricity powered.
The fog was cold and the wind kept getting stronger as Jozaic was the only registered nation in the southernmost region. And Oculus felt the mysterious flow of Navitas from the southeast. The glimmering light from the southeast looked more intense and more brighter. And even the citizen saw the light. He asked one of them the source of the light, and he said: "The Eclipse Shepard, pal."
Oculus knew nothing about what the Eclipse Shepard was, he asked him again, but he didn't answer and walked away... Oculus felt something was wrong... And he understood Auris' unease, even if he didn't express it, as he looked at the sky, he forgot about the tea, he kept thinking about the Eclipse Shepard... His gaze shifted to the hotel... And he suddenly remembered the tea... But he knew he could've came later... possibly at the night and he wanted more information on this... and he thought the library was the best spot. he left his brothers in the hotel's food station and went to the nearest state library to get more hints. There he sat on one of the chairs, grabbing stacks of newspapers, each of them were older versions than the previous one. And all of them together would show him a clear picture of Jozaic's history from 1611 C.E to 1896 C.E, which was present time. The first few details weren't appealing to Oculus, but as he continued, he noticed something... Oculus noticed the the so called "King" of Jozaic had been living for atleast 156 years old and looked forever young. Like... A child. Oculus' heart skipped a beat, he thought about the Eclipse Shepard... He thought about how the Eclipse Shepard was described to have never aged in his 3,400 years and he still lives to this day. The people of Jozaic looked at Oculus like a celebrity and questioned his vibrant, gradient eyes, he thought it wasn't a big deal as his brothers had those eyes as well, which was either from their father or mother. The librarian came upto Oculus and told him that the library was closing, Oculus looked at his watch and saw it was dinnertime. Shocked, he made a run for it to the hotel to have some of the special... Jozaic's tea. He wouldn't want to miss out on that! His hands were already hurting because of the newspaper he held for hours. He ran through the sidewalk as he remembered the Eclipse Shepard again, and then he stumbled on a filthy pebble and scratched himself on his arm, but he didn't give up, he was so in need of that tea. He finally reached, he barged into the door, the waiter looked strangely at him, the other people who came to feast on dinner were amused and confused at the same time... Oculus kept searching the entire hotel and came across one of the tables and saw his brothers who looked at Oculus, Nasus chuckled, "What's so funny? I... Want that tea!" Oculus said, panting. Auris shrugged... Oculus got annoyed... He looked into the void.
His brothers looked at him once again, and he focused towards them, "Where were you, Oculus? The tea is finished, it'll be back tomorrow." Auris said. Oculus fell down to his knees. "DANGIT" he thought in full despair. He felt like his life was meaningless without that... tea. And then Nasus slid a cup into Oculus' side of the table. "Since it was almost done, we've ordered an extra cup for you." Nasus said. Oculus sighed in relief. He felt as if his life was complete... He took a sip, which was already hot, the foam dissolved against his mouth. "This isn't just tea, it's... ART." Oculus thought. The tea itself was sweet and had a slightly bitter aftertaste which made it more perfect. Oculus thought it was definitely better than Eison's tea. Far away, in Nuvol, Eison sneezed, "Someone must be thinking about me I assume." he jokingly said.
Auris looked at the tea Oculus was drinking and told he didn't like it because of the bitter aftertaste... But it's his opinion. As they walked from the sidewalk to the entrance of the hotel, Auris stopped for a second... he panicked... but he acted normal infront of Nasus and Oculus... they kept climbing the stairs... Auris looked out of the window nearby again... "So, Oculus... haven't you sensed anything?" Auris said. Oculus didn't know what to say, he remembered how casual the taxi driver acted whilst speaking about the King's absence. Oculus remembered how the citizen started avoiding Oculus as he began questioning more... "Don't worry Auris. Nothing will go wrong, I promise." Oculus said, as he himself felt uneasy. Auris felt cold... The environment itself felt somewhat cold...
They returned to their room. And it felt like home. Nasus took a warm bath, Auris was near the heater because he was freezing and Oculus was near the cooler because he was burning. Minutes later, Oculus was reading a book to uncover more of the history of Jozaic, as his brothers fell asleep. And somewhere in the shadows, the light grew brighter.