The Tour

"Mmm…"

Theo's eyes fluttered open, his body lazily rolling on the bed as he stirred from drowsiness. Slowly rising to sit upright, he yawned loudly, taking a good look at his surroundings.

A vast, spacious room. Sparsely furnished, with a small chandelier overhead that illuminated the entire space for him. His bed was big enough for him to roll around without falling off, and it was beyond comfortable to sleep on. For the first time in years, Theo had spent the entire night sleeping, dreaming pleasant dreams.

He jumped to his feet, stretching his stiff body while beaming with delight.

The sweet aroma in his room was the complete opposite of the acrid odor he had suffered in his cell at the Sarvos fortress, and the cool atmosphere contrasted the severe heat that the stuffy underground rooms offered.

"What a wonderful—" Theo heard a sudden knock on his door, and while it startled him at first, he found it to be room service.

They brought a luxurious meal to him, one which he enjoyed without wasting a single crumb. He was told to ring a certain bell in his room if he desired more food or any other kind of service, but Theo didn't want to bother anyone so he resolved not to do so.

He was already enjoying far more than he bargained for.

After a warm shower in the bathroom, with him using soap for the first time in his entire life, he went ahead to choose from his wardrobe of clean clothes… opting to wear a sleeveless black vest and ash-colored trousers, with dark brown slides that matched his eyes.

Afterward, he played around his room a little, bouncing on his bed, and enjoying the day with vigor and excitement. Once he began to get a little bored, he heard another knock on his door—this time from a Tour Staff.

"I have been assigned to give you a tour of the Ak'ashi Guild, Theo." The polished man, wearing a three-piece suit, having a refined tone and slick brown hair said. 

Theo was impressed by the man's posh accent and resolved within himself to imitate it.

"Lead the way!" He tried, but failed miserably.

Nevertheless, the tour began and Theo was taken around the Ak'ashi Guild using a transport-type Armament that had the shape of a giant floating disk. The disk had handles around it, so passengers could hold on and not fall off. There were also seats atop the disk, so Theo didn't have to stand throughout the journey.

"I have a psychic link with the vehicle, so there's no need for me to actively pilot it. Instead, I'll be showing you all the nice spots around as we advance to each important location." The refined man, whose name was Miller, smiled at Theo.

"Thanks for the info."

The start of the tour was a little rocky at first, especially since Theo felt awkward around the much older fellow. However, things eventually smoothened out and they ended up conversing quite a bit. As promised, he showed Theo all the interesting spots as they made their way to the landmarks of the Ak'ashi Guild.

From the farmers market, to the entertainment zones, residency areas, and so on.

As for their major destinations, Theo was taken to the Ak'ashi Academy, though since it was not in session he didn't see any students. Instead, he was shown around the facility—witnessing a marvel of technological and architectural wonder transcending what he considered possible. A trend he noticed since he arrived in the Guild was how advanced it was in those departments.

After leaving the Academy, they visited the port—which Theo had already seen when he disembarked from the 'Ambition' the previous night. However, he came to realize how different the place looked during the daytime.

After, they went to the major Trade Center, where all the main commercial activities took place. He was also taken to the industrial zone, the farmlands, the mines, and other places that made the Ak'ashi Guild appear even bigger than he expected.

"Everything I've shown you does not even occupy up to five percent of the entire island. Our more hidden structures and projects exist in secluded regions on the island, and even yet more than half of the island remains unexplored."

"Wow…" Theo could only offer this as a response before they proceeded to other relevant places requiring a tour. 

The tour lasted all day, since there were several breaks involved. Theo was allowed to eat the local foods, talk to some people, and ask questions. He couldn't believe just how much ground there was to cover, especially for a place that didn't proclaim itself as a Nation, but instead a Guild.

"Just how many people live here?" He had to ask at some point.

"No one really knows." The tour responded honestly. "But we estimate there are over a hundred thousand residents."

'Just a hundred thousand? Isn't that too small?' 

Theo was stunned, but chose to ask a different question. "And how large is this entire island?"

"It has a total size of seven-hundred and fifty thousand kilometers square."

"A-ah…!"

Theo had taught himself math, so he could understand just how impressive that figure was. His eyes widened to the point of nearly popping out of their sockets, causing the tour guide to smile in pride of his home.

The Ak'ashi Guild was not a Nation only because it chose not to be.

"It's time for our final stop before the tour is over." Miller said. "I will show you the Grand Palace."

"Really? I'll finally get to meet Lord Shen?"

"Meet Lord Shen?!" Miller was nearly choked the moment Theo casually said those words. It took him a few seconds to regain his composure, shaking his head as he stared at Theo, admiring his ambition while pitying his naiveté.

"No one simply gets to 'meet' the Supreme Lord of Tyranny."

'I met him before, though.' Theo wanted to say this, but decided against it as he nodded at Miller's words.

"We also aren't entering the inner court of the Palace. I'll just show you the outer area, and we'll circle around so you can witness the architecture. Though, if you pay enough attention, you can see enough of the middle court from our position in the air."

"Okay."

Miller sighed in relief, glad to see the boy was sensible enough to understand things quickly.

And so, they proceeded to the Grand Palace—a majestic structure that stood at the center of the entire Ak'ashi Guild. It was divided into three sections—outer, middle, and inner courts. The Outer Court was the place accessible to the Guild Staff who had to make reports, receive assignments, or were summoned for whatever reason.

The Middle Court was only accessible to members of the Zenith and a few trusted non-combat staff of the Ak'ashi Guild. This was where the treasury, among other important things dwelled. It had intense security, and was treated like an unbreachable vault.

As for the Inner Court… that was the residence of the Supreme Lord himself.

It was a sacred ground that could only be entered by an order of summons by the Guildmaster of the Ak'ashi Guild—no other exceptions. Even members of the Zenith could not encroach unless they were invited inside.

"Combat Staff receive their assignments from the Registrar Building over there, and upon completion, they go to the Personnel Record office to submit their reports, proceeding to the Award Station to get their rewards. Complaints can be made to the Staff Affairs Division right there, and…"

Theo partially paid attention to the words that Miller spewed, but the rest of his focus was on an immensely colossal statue of Shen Ak'ashi that stood at the very entrance of the Grand Palace. The 50 meter sculpture displayed him wearing a ceremonial robe, with a golden crown floating on his head like a halo, with both hands raised as though he was blessing the land itself.

Seeing this reminded Theo of the description of Divine Ancestor Great Sun.

'He even has the scepter of glory on his hand…' His thoughts trailed, seeing one of its hands holding a long staff while the other had a ball of light atop it.

The entire statue shone bright golden, like the sun itself, and Theo had to squint his eyes just to make out some of its details. The whole thing felt a little too extravagant, but considering the kind of existence Shen Ak'ashi was, even this could be considered insufficient.

'He is one of the 7 Supreme Lords of Trae'h… an existence that stands above all Mortals.'

Many even considered him to be the strongest of the Supreme Lords.

"So… what do you think, Theo?" Miller broke through Theo's thoughts and asked him the golden question. Theo remained silent for a little while, taking in all of the information he had been fed all through the day, and smiled to himself.

"The golden tint of the statue is a bit too much, to be honest."

"A-ahh…"

***********

Theo was returned to his room after they left the Grand Palace, and Miller wished him a great evening before zooming off on his floating disk. They didn't talk very much on their way back, and the reason why escaped the boy.

Regardless, he wasn't very bothered about it.

Instead, he treated himself to a warm shower and enjoyed the exceptional room service that provided him with even more food and drinks to enjoy. Once the sun began to set, giving way for the moon to reveal its brilliance, Theo heard another knock on his door.

'Is it room service? Should I be expecting someone else?'

The answer to both those questions was "No."

'So who is it?'

Theo proceeded to the door, carefully opening it until he could see the tall man who stood opposite him. The man had long brown hair, wearing a black and white outfit that keenly resembled an overall or pajamas.

Narrowing his eyes, Theo spoke with a deep voice.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Kaycee." The young man responded. "And I'm an Arcane Vessel."