Elias Thorn, the youngest mercenary of the group that had been shipwrecked on the cursed island a few seasons ago, was breathing heavily as he sprinted across the first floor of the giant building along with Barret, Jesse, Wedge, and Biggs. Time was running out and although he wasn't sure what the danger was, he didn't question the others as he raised his giant sword to act as a shield. Guards in strange uniforms were holding something called 'guns', which were pointed in their direction and small deadly 'bullets' endangered his life.
Elias gritted his teeth as he felt the small metal projectiles bounce off his massive blade, and dove forward. With a few quick swipes, the blade carved through the guards before he changed his focus on the remaining guard standing farther away. He felt mysterious energy travel from himself into a small orb set in the blade, and a bolt of lightning struck the last guard who was standing in between him and the exit. The five of them didn't hesitate, and went through the door and ran down the street.
Barrett looked at his wrist before turning to the others, "There's not enough time, duck into this alley."
Elias looked in the direction Barret was pointing before both of them grabbed the others. Barret grabbed Biggs and Wedge as he grabbed Jesse as quickly as they could before an astonishing thing happened. Elias felt it first as the ground shook, followed by a rising heat and a loud sound that was replaced by a ringing in his ears. He was completely shocked by this moment. In the past when he played the demo, it would fade to black and then a different screen before the explosion happened. As he leaned against the wall holding Jesse, the lights in the area died for awhile before something happened and some of them lit up again. The ringing in his ears also finally stopped as the five of them got to their feet.
"Shen Lou's dogs will be here soon", Barret's words caused everyone to refocus, "Split up and meet up on the train."
Elias was confused for a moment until he remembered the strange thing he had hid on to attack the 'power plant' was also called a train. As he was taking his time to remember, the other four had already left, so he turned the same way as Barret and followed. By now the streets had turned chaotic as frightened citizens of the city were fleeing the area in a panic. Elias used this to slip away until he was nearly trampled, so he decided to stop following the crowd and left the road for a less crowded route.
As he strolled down the way, the results of the operation were laid out in front of him as some debris from the explosion had landed here resulting in severe damage to the buildings here. Elias didn't particularly feel guilty since it was just a fake scenario created by the cultivator's artifact, so he continued walking.
"Excuse me", a young woman's voice could be heard behind him, "What happened?"
Elias turned around to face the woman when he recognized her from the opening scene. He was stunned to see her, but the game continued on without him. He had already gotten used to this, he could run or fight but he was only allowed to occasionally respond to others. Luckily, this was one of the few times he had an option to speak.
"You'd better get out of here", he said.
"Really? I don't know what's going on, but alright", she replied.
Elias looked down to see this lovely young lady carrying a basket of flowers in her arms.
"Don't see many flowers around here", he mentioned in passing.
"Oh these? Do you like them? They are only a copper…?", she smiled.
"I'll take one", he responded.
"Oh, Thank you", she handed him a flower and then walked away.
Elias looked at the flower in his hand before putting it in his pocket, and restarting his journey. Once he got to the end of the street, he took a left turn.
Before he got any further, a man's shout reached him, "Hey! You with the sword, stop!"
Elias saw Shen Luo guards with guns and dogs running towards him, and his first reaction was to run. He began to weave through the few people walking around and the debris on the ground, but this had caused him to slow down. This gave the dogs the time to catch up, and a battle ensued with him both fighting the strange dogs and avoiding the gunfire from the guards. Unfortunately for him, the combination of the two slowed him enough that eventually he was surrounded with his back against an open tunnel. Looking over his shoulder, he realized this was the track the train ran on and a loud noise caught his attention.
Elias turned his attention back towards his pursuers before giving them a disdainful glance, and racing towards the train tunnel. Gunshots and dog barks immediately filled the air as he jumped down into the tunnel, and landing on train that was traveling through it. The guards held their fire as they watched Elias made a getaway on of the train car.
Elias finally let the tension in his chest relax as he sat there. When he had taken a detour during the escape and had been chased by security, it had caused him to be late and he had missed the train he was supposed to board. Luckily, whether it was luck or fate, the train he was sitting on was the one he was supposed to use to meet back with everyone so they should also be here.
With renewed purpose, Elias stood up and began to run on top of the train cars, checking each one until he found the one with four people inside. This was only a job to him (Cloud) so Elias was forced to sit and listen first.
"Cloud never came", Wedge fretted.
"Cloud…Wonder if he was killed?", Biggs suggested.
"No way!!", Barret rebuked them, "That bastard wouldn't die without getting his money."
"Cloud…", Jesse looked distracted.
Everyone grew quiet, but they understood he had rescued her inside the reactor which is why she was like this.
"Say, do you think Cloud's…going to fight for Avalanche?", Biggs tried to change the topic.
"How the hell would I know!?", Barret's fist smashed a nearby wooden crate, "Do I look like a mind reader? If y'all weren't such screw ups…"
"Hey Barret, what about our money?", Wedge asked.
Barret gave Wedge a cold look and punched the same wooden crate again.
"Uh, nothin'…sorry", Wedge apologized.
Elias had been enjoying the drama but once again he lost control of his body as his hand reached down, slid the door open, and he flipped inside. His entrance had surprised the four of them yet his face was still as arrogant as ever, even with Barret's special arm mounted gun in his face. He relished the current situation as Barret had to continue to establish himself as the leader, yet his followers obviously admired Cloud.
With the group reunited, Barret led them from cargo car they were in to a passenger car, and then he proceeded to chase the few remaining passengers out before sitting down.
"Hey Cloud, you want to look at this with me?", Jesse invited Elias to look at a small square on the wall next to the door.
Elias had no reason to refuse so he move closer to Jesse to see what she wanted to show him. The dull square lit up, and what he saw next left him speechless. On the 'monitor' that he was looking at, an image appeared that he didn't recognize.
"This is a map of the whole city", Jesse said when she saw his confusion.
Elias was dumbfounded, yet he kept watching as the image in the screen kept moving. He saw large walls, and seven other buildings like the one they just attacked before noticing that the city had many levels. Jesse continued her explanation as she told him how the rich and powerful lived on the upper level while everyone else did their best on the lower level. She also pointed out that even though they attacked the number 1 reactor, seven others still stood.
"There are eight sectors altogether", Jesse said, "Unfortunately for those of us who live in the lower levels, the walls haven't been maintained well enough and monster come in."
Before Elias could ask anything, the train cars lights shut off and a red light swept through the train car.
"That's the ID security sensor", Jesse answered in a whispering tone before he could ask, "All residents of the city have an ID, but I think it's obvious ours is fake."
After the security check finished, the lights turned back on and Elias could see Wedge shivering. Cloud walked back over to where Barret was sitting, and looked out the window.
"A floating city…very unsettling scenery", Cloud mentioned offhandedly.
Barret gave Cloud a suspicious glance, "Never expected you to say that. The upper level…it's because of them that we suffer. Their space is peaceful and untainted, while our air is polluted and we have defend ourselves from monsters. Also, those reactors drain the land of energy which harm our future."
"Shouldn't people from the lower level move to the upper level then?", Cloud inquired.
"Probably", Barret admitted, "But they don't have enough money, so they can only take care of the land they can get."
"That's true", Cloud agreed, "No one would choose to live in the slums voluntarily. It's a lot of this train, it can only go where the tracks lead it."
Then the scene changed, and Elias was floating outside the train where he could see Cloud standing. He started to move farther away, and the train became smaller as it continued its journey on the tracks, circling the main pillar holding up the top level until everything fades to black.
Elias became startled for a moment, and then the train car came back into view. He realized he was back in Cloud's body when an announcement came over the speakers.
"Next stop, Sector 7 lower level."
Elias and the other four made their way to the doors, and waited behind several other passengers that were ready to disembark.
The doors opened, and soon Elias followed behind the other four as they left the train. As expected of a slum, the area was run down with shady characters seen waiting at certain locations.
Elias listened to the discussions of the strangers, and heard several stories. 'Number 1 reactor bombed', 'Avalanche', and 'Train Graveyard', were a few of the different discussions being held, with the third topic causing him to furrow his brows. As he walked forward, he noticed Barret charge into a small building with the sign 'Seventh Heaven' before gunfire rang out, and several people fleeing the building as quickly as possible.
Barret walked back out through the front door with a little girl on his shoulder, but then Elias noticed a young woman standing next to him and his mind froze.
A giant flying ship was cruising through the sky, leading several other smaller flying ships. The lead ship carried the insignia of True Martial hall on its sail while the others also carried familiar crests as well: Profound Sword sect, Azure River Sect, and the Rui family among them. All the ships looked grand, but True Martial hall's ship was most impressive. It was obvious to anyone it was made with the rarest and highest quality materials.
On the highest deck of the ship, there was a magnificent room that was currently occupied by ten people. Eight men and two women sat around a table with two of the men sharing the head of the table.
Elder Zhao finished the tea in his cup before placing it on a saucer, "Elder Sun, it appears that we will reach Blue Moon city. I think I'll move to the deck to observe our arrival. Would you like to join me?"
Elder Sun simply nodded in agreement, and the other six men and two women stood to join them. Once they were outside, they all sat in the chairs prepared for them and Zhao Kuang opened his senses to investigate the current situation. As a Nascent soul, the range of his divine senses was hundred of kilometers, but not in all directions. Trying to send his senses into the deepest earth or highest skies was possible but very taxing on his mental strength. Also, when a cultivator had certain spiritual roots, it was easier to sense elements they had affinity with and very difficult to perceive elements they didn't have roots for.
Elder Zhao immediately noticed something as he began his scan of the area. There a multitude of mortal cities and several cultivator villages in range of his investigation, yet nearly all of them had the presence of array formations. It wasn't strange that villages where cultivators live would have an array formation, but the villages he saw had more than what could be supported by the ambient Qi. And mortal cities would never have an array formation, those areas lacked the Qi to support arrays. As Elder Zhao tried to rationalize how this was possible, something else grabbed his attention. As the ship approached Blue Moon city, he began to notice the air around the city was cluttered with people and beasts.
"Elder Sun, have you noticed that Blue Moon city has grown recently?", he tried to see if Elder Sun had also noticed the same thing as himself.
There was silence for a few moments before he received an answer, "It seems this trip will be most enlightening."
Zhao Kuang looked at the man, who currently had a small smile on his face and his eyes resembled half moons, and slightly snorted before returning his attention to the skies. He could 'see' puppets riding various birds, and cultivators riding all manner of items (weapons, furnaces, etc), and strange artifacts in the air, as well as on the ground. He had a feeling that if he waited for the Mayor to act as a guide, they would try to direct his attention one way to hide potential trouble. To counter this, Zhao Kuang begin hone in on people leaving or traveling towards the city and began to listen in on there conversations.
"We are nearly out of fertilizer…", "I found the storage bag of a mid level Qi gathering realm cultivator, I think I can sell this technique scroll for a good price…", "I heard that the Heaven & Earth pavilion now offers new meals that can help spiritual roots grow if you're under eighteen years of age…"
As Zhao Kuang listened to more conversations, the more unbelievable things become. Customized artifact refining, cultivation method and technique adaptation, spiritual herb gardens that mortals could easily set up, meals that strengthened spiritual roots, special baths that could open cleanse bloodlines, massages that opened acupuncture points, and more. He wanted to deny that these things were impossible but as his senses swept through the city, he could tell it had greatly changed.
To his knowledge, Blue Moon city wasn't a particular large cultivator city that should have mostly been inhabited by mortals and low level cultivators but Zhao Kuang could tell this was no longer the case. Even with the recent changes that saw the quality of Qi increase, it should still be impossible for a city like this to support the number of cultivators he could sense were present. As he continued his investigation, his senses identified some familiar presences that seemed to be waiting for him: the mayor Chen Wei, the sect leader of the Profound Sword sect Liang Tian, and the sect leader of the Azure River sect Yun Qian.
"Let's see what else this pavilion has that caused potential disciples to reject our invitation", Zhao Kuang quietly grumbled as Blue Moon city came into view.
Kadeem Arashi sat in his seat at the table in the private room of the restaurant with twelve other people. Behind each of the thirteen people sitting down were various servants and advisors, either serving food or listening and whispering advice to the one sitting down.
Kadeem could only sign though the meal in front of him gave him some comfort. Ever since his first stay on the island, he had found the food back home lacking somewhat.
Looking back, the ups and downs from his initial departure to now were amazing once everything was listed. Initially, there goal was to intercept and kidnap Liang Renwei. The battle had been in their favor until a mythical Kun showed up out of nowhere, smashing the ships of both fleets. Surviving that event only to find an immortal cultivator living on the cursed island made him believe he had used all the luck of this lifetime.
Luckily, the immortal took an interest in the worthless rocks that Kadeem and the others wore as decorations allowing them to eat the most delicious food, sleep in amazing accommodations, and experience a different live using a powerful artifact. He had wished he could have kept this island a secret between the three of them, but that was rendered impossible once the Free Island compact's ships arrived. Even the ships belonged to certain nations of the Compact, he knew there were spies on board from all thirteen island nations.
As expected when Kadeem and the other two returned, they were separated and questioned. He knew what was at stake so he chose the best option. In his testimony to the council , he told them of the products and services the immortal claimed he would sell and how those would increase the military capability of those who could afford it. The members of the committee looked skeptical when they heard about it, they didn't doubt the presence of an immortal, only that they didn't believe the immortal would offer anything of value to mortals. So he was forced to say what was necessary, that the empire also knew of the island and if we didn't act quickly, the compact would no longer be able to resist the invasion.
The days after tested Kadeem's patience as faction leaders wasted time questioning all the crews of the rescue ship. This continued until one day when a report was delivered from spies that reside in the empire. This report confirmed Kadeem's words, the empire was preparing to return to the cursed island. This caused the compact to become chaotic as all thirteen island nations began preparations.
The Free Island compact was located closer to the cursed island than the empire, but due to internal conflicts between factions it wasn't able to leverage this advantage.
Kadeem shook his head as he sat there, the compact was necessary to resist the empire but the comparison between the two was becoming more transparent. Although the empire had problems with the royal family and court officials causing internal strife, they still followed the orders of the emperor. On the other hand, the compact didn't have this figurehead and this had cost them time.
"Envoy Arashi", a voice interrupted him as he remembered events.
"Envoy Pell", he shifted his attention to the other man, "Is something the matter?"
"We were just wondering what your opinion of Envoy Aurelia's suggestion is?", Rowan Pell said.
"My apologies Envoy Aurelia", Kadeem knew he had made a mistake, "I was reminiscing how the island has changed since my last visit. Could I hear what you suggested to the others?"
The beautiful woman gave him a smile and Kadeem knew he had messed up. Rowan Pell was a prominent merchant and Celeste Aurelia belong to the financial institution the compact supported, and he left his guard down around both these foxes.
"I was just mentioning that we should arrange a private dinner with the honorable immortal and suggest that we can provide him the materials he seeks for exclusive access to the island", Celeste innocently stated.
"I won't stop Envoy Aurelia or anyone else if you wish to pursue this course of action", Kadeem shook his head in amusement, "But I'll have nothing to do with it."
"I can't believe Envoy Arashi would pass on an opportunity such as this", another man's cut in.
Kadeem knew who this was. Although everyone here was part of the alliance didn't mean they got along. Such was the case of the envoy from Whitesail Protectorate, Alistar Wren.
"I would like to remind Envoy Wren that I have witnessed the strength of the young man you wish to scheme against", he admonished the one provoking him, "'In the face of strength, all schemes fail' is all I will say. I wouldn't be surprised if he could hear everything we are saying now. Immortal cultivators have senses vastly more powerful than our own after all."
The room grew quiet with Kadeem's words, and he verified they had underestimated Fang Shi since the island's owner had such a young appearance.
"Then what do you suggest we do?", a woman named Marisela Thorne of the Jade isles broke the silence.
"I hope that you did the same as the Verdant Cross kingdom and brought your best scholars", he replied, "I've already seen who the empire brought, and it's some of their brightest minds."
"What?", someone else replied, "How could they do such a thing?"
"Envoy Ruyin", Kadeem didn't reprimand the man's rude behavior, "As you saw during our trip here, the immortal master is serious in protecting this area and the empire took advantage of that."
The look on all their faces told Kadeem they were remembering that awe inspiring experience. He could even guess what they were thinking, how could they persuade such a power to join their side?
"I believe everyone here is scheduled to experience Zuizhong Huanxiang soon", Kadeem told the other officials, "Let's discuss things again tomorrow morning after you have used the immortal master's artifact for the first time."
Kadeem didn't say anything else. He finished the last bite of the wonderful meal before standing up, and leaving the room.