Echoes of the Empire

"Let's go then." 

Alex took the lead as the other two followed. 

The streets were empty, but there were sounds of inaudible shouting coming from the distance. It wasn't clear what they were saying.

Observing the surroundings more, Alex took a look at one of the buildings.

It didn't look exactly ruined, but the drawings and boards hung up on the walls marred the beauty of the building.

'Cirolea will not wait…'

Alex narrowed his eyes. Even here, that name lingered like a threat. 

The Cirolean Empire was another country which bordered Aeloria. However, they were never in good relations. 

If civil war were to break out, Cirolea would not hesitate to also take advantage of the situation. More than that, there was also Albrac. 

A northern island nation, just as hostile. The rulers and high officials were nothing but war hungry people. 

There were even more of them, but Alex didn't bother recalling them again. 

Minutes passed as the party silently walked across the cold ground still touched by remnants of snow.

They hadn't realized how big Epilune truly was. Alos was small compared to Lunaria, but Epilune made them both look small. 

"This Empire is really in bad shape," said Alex. 

Alex's eyes slightly widened after he realized, 'How is it an Empire but there's a King?' 

Alex shifted his glance to Ros before asking in a low voice, "Do you know the reason for Aeloria being called an Empire?" he paused for a second before continuing, "I grew up without much education, haha." 

Ros stared at Alex for a few seconds, his brow raised. He shrugged before finally explaining. 

"Though Aeloria met every qualification to be called an Empire, its ruler still held the same name— a relic of the ancient royal line, and a name the past king refused to abandon." 

Alex nodded to what Ros had just said. "Is it the same with the current king?"

"Yes. Aelorian monarchs are strict when it comes to tradition. Or, perhaps they just wanted to stick out more, even when the country is widely regarded as 'The Land of Magic'."

"Hm… I guess it makes sense. Do the bordering countries also hold up to their traditions and cultures like this?" replied Alex. 

Ros thought for a few seconds, gathering his thoughts on the nearby countries. 

"Not really. Albrac is an actual Kingdom. But, Cirolea is an Empire with a true Emperor." He stopped for a second, then rubbed two fingers on his chin slowly, "I think his name was Emperor Conrad. I don't quite remember the King of Albrac." 

'Albrac definitely seems like the bigger threat to Aeloria.' Alex thought. 

He looked again at the posters and graffiti, but to his surprise there were none of them mentioning Albrac. 

His eyes narrowed, 'Strange.'

Back in Alos, he had heard that Albrac looked on expanding its land more, and Aeloria was the closest country to them. 

Even more than that, both countries held no diplomacy. They were probably both waiting for an opportunity to strike first. 

Just how devastating would wars be with Concepts involved?

Alex didn't want any kind of war to break out, as he worried for Lara and Ros and everyone he met in Alos. 

"We're here. This is Fifth Avenue." Ros snapped Alex out of his thoughts, pointing to a nearby sign. 

"Finally!" Lara exclaimed. 

The wide street looked no different from the other ones, and the same with the buildings. 

Only then, they saw a crowd standing right outside one of the buildings in the distance. 

They didn't want to involve themselves in it, so Ros and Lara looked away. However, Alex's eyes were wide open. 

"That's where I was told to go!" spoke Alex. 

Ros frowned slightly. The party stood in silence for a moment before Lara sighed. "What are we waiting for?"

Alex swallowed as he started walking down on the cold streets again. 

"Stay on your guard and don't tell anyone you're here for the Princess." Ros reminded Alex in a mutter. 

Alex nodded back in response before the party finally reached the mass crowd protesting next to the medium sized building. 

"Make way, please…" Alex talked as he pushed the people out of the way as politely as he could, Ros and Lara closely following. 

Finally getting past all of the people, there was a young man wearing a black and white suit outside calling the people for peace. 

It was the young recruiter that Alex met before. Seeing this, Alex's eyes opened in realization. 

But there were many guards, or perhaps police holding the people from going any further, making Alex unable to move freely. One of them was tightly gripping his spear, it seemed like he was ready for anything.

Alex waved his hands for a bit between the large crowd of people until the young man finally took notice of him. 

"I know this man. Just follow me." He reassured his party.

The young man stepped up to Alex and asked for the man in uniform to make way for him. 

Alex gestured for his party to come with him as the policeman made way. 

Suddenly, rocks came flying by from the protestors, which made the party and the recruiter hurry inside. 

They were shouting, "Bring down the Royal Family!"

They kept shouting the same words rhythmically as if this building in particular held any meaning, or at least that was what Alex thought. 

Stepping inside and closing the door hurriedly, the young man bowed instantly, "I apologize for the chaos outside." 

"It's fine," said Alex as he scratched his head with one finger. "But why are they here? I thought they were only protesting near the castle." 

The young man frowned, "The Princess wanted to come here and meet you and Zivko here, but word quickly got out and she couldn't do so." 

"Zivko?" asked Alex curiously. 

"Oh, sorry. I thought you already knew. He is the other contestant, he arrived weeks earlier." 

"I see. It's nice to see you again, uh.." 

"You can call me Henry. I am honored to meet you again as well." he continued for Alex before raising an arm and shaking hands with Alex. 

Alex looked around to inspect the place. It basically looked like a tavern. There was only one man sitting in the distance, by himself. 

"Can we get this over with already?" whispered Lara, "I wanna go see the Benevolent Statue…" she then muttered.

Alex glanced at her unamusingly, but he couldn't blame her. 

The Benevolent Statue was a statue of one of the old monarchs of Aeloria. Surprisingly, it represented something more than benevolence. 

It was built in an era of silence, after a war no one spoke of, and a reign no one remembered.

That's why the people call it by another name: The Statue of the Forgotten.

He looked back towards Henry and asked him to begin the introduction. 

Minutes passed as they found a small table to sit in, to begin the full introduction. Alex hoped it would go well. 

Lara and Ros sat by themselves at a different table. Alex didn't know why this was necessary, but he just thought better to not ask about it.

"First, I need you to confirm your identity," asked Henry.

Alex nodded. "My name is Alex. I am a Forsaken Blank from Alos, I am 19."

Henry wrote on his paper as it emitted a faint light, then asked, "What of your Concept?"

"Zero. My Core Mechanism is Seven Layers." answered Alex. 

Henry's brows were raised, but he chose to ignore it for now.

Once more, Henry continued writing on the paper as it still radiated a faint light. "More details on your Mechanism?" 

Alex thought for a few seconds, before answering him, "It depends on which Layer or Form I use. But, the higher the Form, the harder it gets to control myself. Truthfully, I don't know much either."

Henry looked at Alex, half-suspicious and half-curious, "If you say so. You could get it checked out with Mr. Erart in the Castle." 

Alex was confused on who Erart was. It was the first time he had heard of such a name, but he didn't ask Henry as he thought he already asked too many questions.

'I can't seem too suspicious.' thought Alex.

Henry then proceeded to write a bit more, before throwing the paper in the air as it vanished into particles. 

"Your introduction is done. However, Princess Aurora insists on seeing you in person. Please, wait a few more hours till Her Highness gets the chance." he then looked back towards the man sitting in the distance,

"In the meantime, introduce yourself to Zivko as well."