Chapter 6 The Floating City-Viridis

Waking up in her bed, Miya's eyes slowly opened as the sunlight greeted her face.

"Aaa..."

And as she yawned, she sluggishly got out of bed and walked toward the door. And without paying much attention to her surroundings, she entered the bathroom and did her business.

And a bit later, she got out while still rubbing her eyes. But a moment later, her sleepiness got replaced by confusion and curiosity.

As she stared at the stone walls of her house, Miya called out. "Ma, I just had the strangest of dreams."

"..."

After receiving no reply, Miya began walking through the familiar halls.

Walking past a window showing the lush greenery outside, walking past a few beast trophies, each varying in size, and finally, she walked through an open doorway.

As she entered the room, Miya asked. "Ma, did you hear what I said or are you having one of those days?"

"..."

Surrounding her was a neat kitchen with orderly utensils and a set-up table, filled to the brim with food.

Seeing this laid out in front of her, Miya's stomach grumbled, but she decided to ignore the piping-hot food and walk towards another doorway to the side.

And after crossing the threshold, she asked again. "Pa, I think Mother is messing with me."

"..."

"Pa?"

"..."

"Father?"

"..."

After receiving no reply from the empty room devoid of any furniture, Miya walked past it as her heart began beating faster.

"Mother? Father? Stop messing around." She said as she walked the lonely halls, decorated only by the occasional window.

"..."

"Mother, you have already done this, right? And I already told you, it's not funnier the second time."

"..."

"When was it again? Can you tell me? Come on, just a whisper?"

"..."

As she continued to walk the endless and monotonous halls, Miya suddenly came to a stop as she pondered to herself. "I think it was from..."

But then, a lightning bolt struck just on the other side of the window next to Miya. And what came next was the thunder.

With cold sweat rolling down her face, Miya woke up in a bed. As her eyes shot open, she began frantically searching the room she was in.

It was a run downed room, but with decent furniture and decoration. And by the drenched window, sat a young man, eating some bread as he stared at the storm outside.

Noticing her ragged breathing, the young man turned to face Miya with his golden eyes, asking. "Nightmare?"

To which Miya replied with a bitter expression. "Yes... A nightmare."

After receiving her reply, the young man with the golden eyes said as he got up from his seat. "Eat your fill, we are leaving as soon as you finish."

"..."

"Miya."

Hearing her name get spoken, Miya snapped out of her silence and replied simply. "Yes."

And like he said, after Miya finished eating, they left the run downed building, not even waving goodbye to the owner behind the counter.

As they stood at the doorway separating them from the downpour outside, the young man gazed to his side, looking at Miya.

"It's not that far. Cover yourself with your coat."

And after saying that, the young man left the confines of the building, braving the rain without anything to protect him other than his aura, which showed a vague outline around him, protecting him from the rain.

"..."

After being left behind, Miya just stood there for a couple of moments before finally understanding what he meant.

Aside from the new set of clothes and boots, she was now also wearing a thin, grey, furry coat with a hood.

And after putting on the hood, Miya rushed to follow the young man, who led her to the truck she was very familiar with.

And after the young man got in the front seat, Miya got herself a seat from the back.

And as she sat down, the young man suddenly said. "Take off your coat and let it dry beside you."

"...Ah! Yes."

And as Miya set her coat on the seat next to her, the young man drove them out of town. And as he did, Miya watched the run-down city from the safety of the window.

"..."

"..."

Apart from the raindrops hitting their roof, the two of them drove in complete silence for a couple of hours, but then, Miya spoke up, asking. "Are we going to save my family now?"

"...Not yet."

"...I see."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...What are we waiting for?"

After taking a glance at the blank-faced Miya, the young man with the golden eyes replied. "For the enemy to make their move."

"...Who are... The enemies?"

"My enemies are the same as yours."

"The ones who took us from our home?"

"Yes."

After receiving his confirmation, Miya stared down at her hands, gripping them very tightly. Then, she continued. "Are you really going to help me?"

"Yes. The answer will remain the same no matter how much you ask."

"..."

"..."

"...Thank you again... Chrys?"

"Yes, that is my name."

"Thank you again, Chrys."

Then, after a bit of a pause, Chrys stated. "Okay, let me make this clear. Do not call me Chrys when we are with other people, got it?"

"W-why?"

"Because it will get you killed. Call me Ajax instead."

"But... Why would it get me killed?"

"Because I am not a good guy, Miya."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"... But... You are helping me."

"I never said I was a bad guy. Is that a good enough reason?"

"Yes."

And as Chrys focused his attention on the front, Miya muttered to herself. "Chrys if you want to get killed. So, use Ajax, you dummy."

And so, they drove for a couple of more hours, which gave the clouds enough time to clear up.

And as the wet, green lands before them glow in a rainbow hue, something began poking out of the horizon in front of them.

"Is that where we are going?" Asked Miya, pointing at the top silhouettes of the buildings on the horizon.

"Yes, now sit back down."

"Okay," Miya said as she sat back down.

But then, a mere couple of moments later, Miya asked once more. "They are quite tall, aren't they?"

"Yes."

But then, after a couple of minutes in silence, Miya shot up from her seat and squinted at the horizon as she asked. "Are they floating?"

"Yes, now, sit back down." Said Chrys as he avoid Miya's arm.

Now pointing at the space between the ground and the buildings, Miya asked with visible excitement and curiosity. "How is it floating?"

"Because people wanted it to."

"Umm, why is it floating?"

"Because people wanted it to."

"..."

"..."

"Can you please answer my questions properly?"

With a sigh, Chrys said. "Because what you are looking at right now is The City Amongst the Clouds - Viridis Island."

And as Miya's eyes caught the shine of the wet grasslands, she also caught the full might of the wonder in front of her.

A large mass of pure metal and steel, floating high above the green plains below it, potentially matching the mountains in the distance.

And atop this floating island, is a city, filled with buildings reaching for the skies, shining with a plethora of colors.

With a small, uncontrollable smile, Miya asked Chrys once more. "Are we really going up there?"

To which Chrys replied with a sigh. "Yes, sit back, or we will not go there, Miya."

To which Miya replied. "I got it. I got it."

And after a short ride, Chrys and Miya found themselves at a building below the island.

After getting out of the truck, Chrys went over to a man overseeing the crowded building while Miya stayed by the truck, staring at the island looming over her.

And after a bit, Chrys walked over to Miya as he said. "Follow me, I got us a way up."

Then, with excitement-filled eyes, Miya eagerly nodded as she did as she was told.

And after Chrys threw the keys to the truck over to a woman assisting the building, they entered what looks to be a very luxurious sitting room.

"Umm..."

After receiving Miya's unsure gaze, Chrys said. "Take a seat beside me and don't get lost."

And so, they then found themselves a seat, but before they could sit down, another employee approached them, asking. "Sir. Ma'am. Weapons please."

And as they said that, they offered a tray filled with boxes of differing sizes.

"Please pick a box with the appropriate size, but don't place anything valuable inside since you won't be able to open it before you come back down to us."

Without a word, Chrys pulled out a weapon, very reminiscent of the weapons used by the people on the train, to which Miya took notice.

And after placing it in a box of his choosing, Chrys said to Miya. "Your claws."

"Ah! Yes!"

And so, Miya grabbed herself a box and placed her claws inside. And after that, the employee said with a smile. "Thank you for your cooperation. Now please, enjoy your stay at the greatest place in the world, the city of peace and trade, Viridis Island."

To which Chrys replied with silence, while Miya replied with a clap before her box fell out of her hands.

And after the employee left them, they walked over to their seat, but not before Chrys took his weapon out of its box and put it back onto his person.

And after throwing the empty, unlocked box to the seat on the opposite side of Miya's, Chrys gave the confused Miya's box a little tap, causing it to suddenly unlock.

"Place it back under your sleeves," Chrys said as he took a seat.

With a bit of hesitation, Miya took a glance at her left and right, only to see multiple people trying to open their boxes despite there still employees walking around.

Seeing her hesitation, Chrys added. "Only if you want to, of course."

And after a bit of thought, Miya decided to put her claws back on under her right sleeve. And after that, she was instructed by Chrys to put on a seat belt.

And after a couple of moments of waiting, Miya suddenly felt the entire floor moving, and after that, her body suddenly felt significantly heavier.

And after a couple of minutes of this, Miya, with her eyes closed, tried to cling to Chrys, but his aura protected him from her.

He did take notice of her behavior, but in the end, he didn't do anything about it.

And just as Miya gained the bravery to open her eyes, the floor slowly came to a stop as her body began feeling normal again.

Then, with a confused look on her face, Chrys said to her. "We are here. Get off or you will be left behind."

Then, with a bit of a surprised expression, Miya hastily failed to get her seat belt off for a couple of moments before freeing herself and rushing towards Chrys, who was leaving with the rest of the passengers.

But then, just as she was about to grab onto him, she caught sight at the corner of her eyes. It was the sky, and it was on the same level as her.

Then, with a curious look, Miya walked over to the edge and looked down as the other passengers continued to depart.

And when she looked off of the edge, she saw the building she was in a couple of minutes ago, looking incredibly small while the gap between herself and the ground looked extremely large.

Then suddenly, her legs started feeling wobbly, causing her to cling to the railing as if her life depended on it.

But then, she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder, causing her to scream. "Aaah!"

Then, Chrys, who was behind her, said. "Are you done?"

Seeing his unimpressed expression, Miya looked down after giving an embarrassed nod.

Then, Chrys said. "I know it's a lot to take in since your houses were still made out of stone and wood, but do keep up."

Hearing this, the shakiness of her legs suddenly disappeared as Miya looked up before going to ask. "How do you... Know that?"

But when she looked for Chrys, he was in the middle of a crowd, slowly disappearing from sight.

"Wai-wait up!" She yelled as she tried to get past the crowd of people.

"Sorry. Excuse me. Coming through. Wait! Hold up! Chr- Erm, Ajax!"

But after a bit, Miya found herself atop a set of stairs, looking completely lost and alone.

"Umm... Uh... What..."

As she muttered to herself while looking around, a group of respectable-looking people walked up to her and asked. "Are you lost, little girl?"

This caught Miya by complete surprise, who then stumbled on her words. "I- Yeah- No! I was with... Umm..."

And despite her stumbling, the respectable set of people remained with her, amused at her self-induced embarrassment.

"No, thank you. She is with me." A familiar voice suddenly said.

Hearing this, everyone and Miya turned their attention to the bottom of the stairs, where Chrys is looking up from.

As Miya smiled after seeing him, a woman from the respectable-looking group of people then said. "Ah, that's good to know~."

Then, with a snap of her fingers, her group suddenly restrained Miya, who was too slow to react.

"Wow there! Keep that away." One of the respectable-looking people said after noticing Miya's claws and pointing them away.

Then, as the rest of the group went to surround Chrys, the woman leader of the group said. "This is a hostage situation, blah, blah, blah, you know the rest. Give us your valuables."

To which Chrys replied by, pulling his weapon out and pointing it directly at the woman, all while saying completely nothing.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Mister." The woman mocked as her group also drew out their weapons, eyeing up the lone Chrys.

"Okay, let's break this down. You are alone, and we have a hostage. You will-"

But before the woman could finish her sentence, another voice suddenly shouted. "What do you think you guys are doing?!"