Winding Back

The spaceport, as usual, was so densely packed that not even a needle would drop on the floor if someone were to drop it. Shoulder to shoulder, the flocks of people seemed to stream down the exits and entrances of facilities like a lake having multiple exits. The noise went up a notch as well as Lev and Titania ventured deeper into the spaceport.

"Where are we going?" Lev asked. This was his first time in a spaceport and he wasn't used to the usual traffic. As for Titania, well, she'd lived on a remote planet for the rest of her life; of course, the experience was new to her as well. Before she could get swept into another current of people going towards a famous family diner, she managed to grab Lev by the hand to which Lev reciprocated in an instant. "Whoa there," He lightly interjected.

"Just trust me and follow," Titania said. This time, she was the one who tugged at Lev while forcing her way into the crowd.

For a few minutes, the crowd started to get even denser and Lev was starting to feel uncomfortable. He could feel his blood boiling from within as if some sort of beast was trying to surface. Little did he know that his innate trait as someone of the Carnage Class was about to come out. Supposedly, people of the Carnage Class are a very impatient people, and turns out it was true. Lev's patience was running thinner and thinner as seconds passed.

"Calm down, Lev," Titania called out. "We're almost there."

Slowly, the congested hallways of the spaceport began to abate and Lev was able to breathe again. He was almost at the point of losing his vision and becoming berserk but Titania managed to pull him away from the crowd just at the right moment. He sighed in relief, he didn't want another banging-someone's-head incident to happen.

"Where are we going?" Lev once again asked with a curious look on his face. This time, he was able to take slow deep breaths while addressing Titania, who was in turn relieved as well since Lev finally regained his composure.

"Why are we heading by the fire exit?" Lev asked.

"Just follow," Titania tightened her grip on Lev's hand and reassured him that she was not taking him anywhere suspicious. Lev just let her drag him around though since he knows he could get away at any time if he wanted to.

Tip tap.

The slight sound of pitter-patter on the fire exit echoed as the two made their way up. There were only the two of them in the fire exit so it was eerily quiet, not taking into account Titania's somewhat ragged breathing since she was getting tired from all the walk they were doing.

"That was close, I thought you were going to lose it," Titania said with a sigh of relief as her pace slowed down. Now she was walking as slowly as Lev.

"What do you take me for," Lev smirked, trying to cover up the fact that he was about to lose his cool back then.

Just when Lev and Titania were getting accustomed to hearing their footsteps and breathing, they finally reached the last flight of stairs and Lev felt somewhat anxious. Of course, he half-expected the stairs to lead to the rooftop of the spaceport but this is the Main Earth we're talking about— this is the Earth thousands of years, probably, into the future. Who knows what kind of place he'd find at the top of the spaceport.

Creak! Somehow, even though the technological advancement of the Main Earth was leagues ahead compared to the past, the door to the rooftop was still a regular door with a wheel to open it. 'I guess they left it like this for aesthetics? Or maybe this is the peak existence of doors and no one can top it.' Lev sarcastically asked in his mind as Titania slowly pushed the door open, exerting more effort than he'd expected.

"Here we go,"

As Lev expected, the last flight of stairs in the fire exit actually led to the rooftop. 'Why am I more surprised that it led to the rooftop more than anything else?' He wondered, looking around. They weren't the only people idling around on the rooftop, in fact, there was quite a crowd. One won't notice it easily though since the rooftop was quite dark. It was already nighttime on the Main Earth after all.

"Look up," Titania said with a smile on her face. Just like Lev, she was unsure whether the fire exit leads all the way up to the rooftop of the spaceport. Fortunately, her hunch was correct and he managed to bring Lev there, albeit slightly forcefully. "Whenever I feel alone, I just look up at the skies and wonder what my purpose is in life. I mean, you've probably never done that because your class is quite the impatient class, but still, hopefully, this would help you get the breather before we plunge into our deaths."

"Oh, you mean our trip to that Tartarus place?" Lev didn't say anything in addition to that. By the name of the place, of course, he was fairly certain that there was no going back once they got there. Even if the captain told them that there's a huge chance they'll be able to get back, he could tell that the Tartarus isn't a forgiving place to venture in. And Titania was fully aware of that fact as well.

"Yeah, we can ditch that if you want, you know, get to another space cruise or just disappear into space."

"Why are you telling me all that when we just met. You should decide on that by yourself." Lev rubbed his nose in embarrassment. It had only been less than two days since he met Titania but even then, she trusted him a lot.

"Why, I thought you were going to take care of me?"

"And since when did I say that?" Lev asked, to which Titania responded by elbowing him on the hips.

"All right all right, I don't know what awaits us in Tartarus but if I foresee that we're going to die, then we'll just tuck our tail and run," Lev responded just to assure Titania. He had no plans of running away from the expedition though since he was quite curious about Tartarus itself.

'I guess I should just enjoy the starry skies for now.' Lev told himself, admiring the night sky that's filled with a myriad of colors and the usual meteor-like flashes which were actually space cruisers traveling nearby. It was a sight to behold, and Lev immediately found himself relaxing as his eyes got a bit teary. Nothing beats stargazing at the end of the day, after all.