Epilune, City of Kings

The carriage rattled as Alex stared outside at the plain lands,—snow covering them— thinking about the first time he had entered this world. 

It was all mysterious to him, but now after he tried to gather information for months, this strange land's mystery only deepened.

He'd learned more on his own ability, the Concept of Zero. After he asked about it in the Guild it was explained that this Concept in particular meant 'Nothing and Everything'. 

Its definition? Still unclear. Not even the Guild knew much about it. Between the 11 Concepts, Zero was the one that had the least amount of people.

Not to mention, he still hadn't undergone even a single Revelation. Even after all of this work, he barely got through the 9th tier. And yet, it never felt like enough.

In the whole town of Alos, barely anyone had ever reached the 9th tier. And that town alone held twenty to thirty thousand people. 

That made Alex only wonder how those High-Revealed Generals or the Sovereigns managed to go through so many Revelations…

Was it a lie to make Aeloria look strong? Or was it the truth? Alex didn't know. 

Even when he asked around, the answers he got were all different.

"It's confidential."

"Who knows? Not like you'd see any of them in your whole life."

"I am sure they're truly powerful and undefeatable!" 

Alex sighed disappointedly as he recalled their answers. 

And… despite how different everything else was, time in this world flowed as it did on Earth. 

A day is 24 hours, split into the same cycle of day and night. Thirty days was also a month, or Luna as it was called. 

Not only that, the names and languages all sounded similar to the ones on Earth. The architecture, even the cultures. 

"You're quiet." Ros spoke from nearby, snapping Alex out of his thoughts.

Alex glanced back at him. "You're one to talk."

Ros chuckled. "We should be able to see Epilune soon." 

Alex nodded as he turned back toward the small carriage window. 

He kept thinking about the mysteries of this world, and also about the Princess as the rumors only expanded and got to basically every village or town they stopped at.

He'd even heard about the Massacre of Elanor, and how the Princess allegedly instigated it. 

'How would a Princess do something so brutal? And if what Ros said was true..' he slightly moved his head to look at Ros, 'Then it's clear it's no more than a lie.' 

As he thought more about it, Epilune finally came into sight.

The City of Kings, Epilune, was now in front of the party. It took them a month of enduring and adventure to get here. 

"Alde would've loved to see this city again." Ros said wistfully. 

Alex said nothing in response, but the name still stung. Alde had been with them since the beginning.

Lara ignored Ros, refusing to be reminded of bad memories. 

She took a look outside the window, pushing Alex aside as she gasped in surprise. "Whoa!" 

The city was built similarly to Lunaria, but there were different banners with different symbols hanging on the walls protecting Aeloria. 

It was clear the wall wasn't built with just concrete. It radiated with mana, clearly more than just stone.

And the banners were to represent different parties or clans inside Aeloria. One of the banners had the twin crescent emblem of House Velstair—Aeloria's most vocal opposition to the Princess.

But what stood out the most… There was a large castle that was built on top of a hill, towering over the entire city, even the walls. 

The carriage reached the gates as the old aged driver stopped and hopped off slowly.

He opened the door, and politely gestured for the party to also leave. 

"My job here is now done. Identify yourself near the gates, then do as you must. I shall take my leave." 

The party exited, not taking much time. 

The old man reminded, "As for the payment..?" 

"Ah.. Right." Alex remembered. He put his hand into one of his pockets and took out one gold coin, which was given to him by The Silver Knight. He had kept it with him in the case of an emergency.

"You don't need to give change. Take it." Alex stretched his hand with the gold coin. 

The old man took the coin before talking again, "I appreciate your kindness, but the payment is two gold coins." The old man spoke, scratching his head with one finger. 

"Oh." Alex answered, embarrassed.

Ros stepped up from behind as he gave the old man another gold coin. Then he turned back to Alex and said, "This is from me and Lara. Now we're even."

Alex smiled and nodded in response. 

Now.. They headed towards the gates of Epilune.

There weren't many civilians or traders, but there were five guards standing next to the large door.

'So many.. Is it because of the recent unrest?' Alex curiously thought. 

"Identify yourselves." 

"We are an adventurer party from Alos here on a commission." Alex answered. 

He didn't say it's for the tournament as he didn't know whether the guards were agreeing to go against the Princess. 

'Not worth the risk.' 

"Show your licenses." The guard demanded again.

Ros was the first to take his license out, "Ros Salyra." 

The guard nodded. Salyra wasn't exactly famous or influential, but it was widely recognized for its business with other Houses, and their Unique Spell, the Mana Rings.

Lara followed as she held her license, "Lara Ari." 

"Ari?" The guard asked, curious. House of Ari wasn't very known to the people outside Southern Aeloria. It was barely known even there. 

Lara silently clicked her tongue in annoyance before she replied, "I'm not from the city." 

The guard nodded again. He noticed Lara's annoyance, but chose to not say anything about it. He shifted his gaze to Alex. 

"My name is Alex, from Alos." He lied as he showed the guard his license, confirming his identity. 

"You're a Forsaken?" 

Alex nodded without a word. Forsaken were meant for people which their parents abandoned. In reality, Alex was indeed a Forsaken. 

"You're good to go." The guard confirmed, before adding, "Though, you've come at a bad time."

"We tend to do that." Alex replied. 

The guard didn't understand it, but he just let the party of three go inside. 

The inside of Epilune was truly a sight to behold. Of course, it was filled with litter, drawings on the buildings, and much more that ruined the beauty of the limestone, creamy colored buildings.

"I expected it to be bad, just not to this point." Ros spoke, also surprised. 

Alex frowned as he started walking ahead, his party silently followed as they observed. 

On one of the buildings, there were writings on it which Alex read internally, 'Elanor lives in our hearts!' 

Another one said, 'Bring down the Princess!' 

'How did the King and Council let it escalate to this point…' Alex thought worriedly. 

There were also sounds of shouting that kept coming from the distance. 

The rest of them were basically only dehumanizing the Princess, calling out the King and reminders of the tragedy that befell Elanor. 

"This is truly disappointing. There's barely even anyone strolling on the streets." said Lara. 

She was the most excited to see Epilune, but with the littered ground and the brutal writings and reminders, she was genuinely disappointed.

"Well, we came here for Alex, anyway. Let's not get involved in this." Ros replied back to Lara.

"We're supposed to head to the Clovis Section. I heard it's somewhere near Fifth Avenue, near a clothing store." 

"Heh. What a selfish king, naming parts of the city after himself—" Lara tried to joke at the King before Ros shushed her quickly.

Then, Ros and Lara nodded, Lara pushed her disappointment back for Alex. 

"Let's go then." Ros reaffirmed.