18 City of the Sun (2/2)
”'Anything you can think of' is a bit of a stretch, don't you think?”
”It's the truth -- this city has everything for sale; whether or not it's legal is another matter altogether. Even though it's widely known, no one can do anything about it. The city holds too much power, even for the royal family to act. At best, we can only politely 'ask' the underground side to behave themselves in public. Give a bit of face to us and not break the laws in plain sight,” said Astor as he helplessly shrugged his shoulders.
”There's nothing that can be done about it; for it is a part of the city's innermost nature,” said Horatio as he stared at the glimmering gem in the distance.
”The brighter the flame, the darker the shadow it will cast upon the earth...”
Time passed. Eventually, their ride arrived after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. A flying car sped across the sky as it flew towards the group. It seemed that Astor's cousin finally decided to show up.
My first impression of his cousin was completely off point. He looked like a rich fool who only enjoyed the pleasures that the city afforded him.
His name was Julian Kingscrown and he looked nothing like royalty. His long, blonde hair was rolled up into a messy ponytail and he wore clothing that looked foreign, the type that probably belonged to another culture.
Was this what was in style in this world? An outsider like myself had no right to criticize another culture's customs, so I simply kept my mouth shut.
Julian had noticed my fixation on his clothing and said, ”Ooh, you've got a keen eye, Lil' bud. You interested in the robe I'm wearing? Let's get you a couple of them so you have something nice to wear when you meet up with the ladies, heh heh.”
Astor who loved watching Reed in uncomfortable situations did nothing to help him and let Julian do as he wished. The entire night was simply an extension of this situation.
Throughout the long night, Reed had been taken shopping, sightseeing, and finally drinking. Julian and Astor personally made it their goal to get Reed hammered by sunrise.
Under the effects of the many drinks, Reed eventually lost himself and finally let go of his worries, if not for a single night. The events that followed after would never be spoken about for fear of the consequences that would befall the four of them.
But of all the nonsense that happened throughout the night, one event stood out in Reed's mind even after they had left the city.
They had returned to Julian's home, tired after all their merrymaking. Reed honestly expected that Julian's house would be gaudy and extravagant, given his nature but what he found was completely different.
His residence was more a museum than a home. The place was decorated with numerous artifacts everywhere he looked; textbooks stacked up until the reached the ceiling. For a moment, he thought that they had broken into some scholar's home until Julian said, ”Make yourselves at home, guys! You might have to move a couple of books to find a place to sit though, haha.”
Reed's curiosity got the best of him and he asked, ”You're a scholar, Julian!? I... would have never guessed that in a million years, if I had to honest. Wow.”
”But of course, Lil' bud. I never had very talented when it came to fighting, so I ended up pursuing education rather than becoming a contender.”
”What do you research? You've got all kinds of artifacts around here.”
”I specialize in Mulian history above all else, as in the first civilization that lived here before 'we' came. The original inhabitants of this world.”
”I thought that everyone born here was Mulian? Did I misunderstand that or are you talking about something else?” Reed was beginning to get confused.
”Mm, you're right. People born here are called Mulians, but what I'm talking about are the ancient Mulians, not the modern ones.”
”There was a time before the Will of World started summoning people from across the universe. Back then, a race of people lived on this world -- the original Mulians. They're the ones I'm studying,” said Julian as pointed at the artifacts around the room.
Elaborate clay tablets, pieces of stone, and various trinkets were sealed in airtight cases, displayed across the room.
”This is all that's left of them; fragments of their civilization. We don't know what happened to them and by the time the first races had been summoned by the Will of the World, they had all disappeared.”
”Do we know still not know anything about their disappearance? They must have left something behind, right?”
Julian's face hardened and said, ”I wish I could tell you, but we don't know the full truth. The records they left behind speak of a great calamity of some kind; a disaster they knew was coming. Why they did not survive? What was the calamity that struck them? These are some of the most important questions for us.”
”We need these answers because they might hold the key to our survival one day.”
”...Did you know that all of our current Anima technology is based on artifacts we've discovered from their ruins? That's why we're concerned.”
”The original Mulians were an advanced race that controlled Anima as they wished, far better than us, but even they fell to whatever struck them. When we discovered this it begged the question: If they were destroyed at their peak, what would happen to us if such an event occurred?”
”Even this Reef is a product of their civilization... we simply lied and called it our creation. Heh, pretty pathetic, don't you think?”
He walked towards a locked trunk and said, ”Let me show you something really special. This is something I found recently in the inner core ruins of the Reef.”
It was a beautiful clay tablet that was covered in gold and silver. It had no writing on it but was instead a painting of a woman.
A woman that stared off into the stars as she stood atop of a great stairway. No one could see her face as she gazed into the firmament.
Reed knew this painting. He knew.
”This clay tablet is a first for us because it's the first complete artifact we've recovered from this dig site. Amazing, right?”
”Yeah, it's amaz-”
A sudden jolt of pain struck Reed and fell to the floor in agony. He felt like his skull was being crushed into pieces as he clutched his head. Eventually, the pain grew too intense and he fainted as Julian rushed to call for assistance.
The last thing Reed heard before he fainted was a young girl singing. It was a familiar song, almost as if he had heard it before some time ago...