166 Yildraza (2/2)

I shook my head, ”What the fuck?”

Kessiah nodded, ”Yeah, it has something to do with being one with nature. Gialgathens try to be one with nature. They think the eldritch are nature.”

Althea shook her head, ”Wow...That's soooo dumb.”

I nodded, ”Yeah, that's full-on suicidal.”

Kessiah shrugged, ”At least it makes sense why Schema doesn't help them out if they're like that.”

I scratched the side of my head, ”Surely not all gialgathens are like that.”

Caprika shook her head, ”You'd be surprised. There are quite a few gialgathens that help espens and respect us as equals. There's far fewer that believe the eldritch is a threat. Even less are willing to fight them.”

I frowned, ”They've never seen an Endless Flesh or an intelligent hivemind then. They're both terrifying.”

Althea nodded, ”Back when I was a mercenary for Yawm, he told me that an Endless Flesh was destroying my homeworld. It was fighting another collection of eldritch lead by a hivemind. Crazy stuff. ”

Caprika cringed, ”By Schema...I'm sorry to hear that.”

Althea shrugged, ”Eh, I didn't even know my home world. You can't lose what you never had, right?”

Caprika glanced out one of the cracked windows, ”Ah yes...It does take away the sting, doesn't it...”

Althea frowned, ”Oh, I forgot you aren't home either. I'm sorry-”

Caprika waved her hand, ”It only motivates me to get back. Think nothing of it.”

Kessiah looked out the window too. She pointed, ”Ayeeee, look at that. It's Yildraza.”

We huddled around the window, staring at the horizon. Out in the distance, skyscrapers towered over the skyline. They shot up in different points, giving the city a sprawled out feel. Between the sleek, ultra-modern skyscrapers, stone buildings stood out.

These historical buildings clashed with the new designs, but I liked it. It was like the ancient world was fighting the modern invasion, breathing life into the city. In this case, the old world was the espens and gialgathens. The new world was Schema, coming in to change everything.

My chest filled with excitement, a grin growing on my face. Althea dragged a hand down the glass,

”It looks like so much fun.”

I wrapped an arm over her shoulder, ”Only if I'm with you.”

Caprika and Kessiah gagged again. Torix stepped out of the back, cracking his bony fingers. He wore a new robe, the fabric silky and luxurious. With silver trim flashing, he strode up,

”Ah, we've reached our next destination then. Excellent. I just passed out my finals for this semester.”

I grimaced, ”How did you even have 18,000 tests? You only have like...3,000 students.”

His blue, fiery eyes flared an evil red, ”Perhaps I let them pile up for just such an occasion.”

My face went deadpan, ”Thanks a lot.”

He joined us, staring outside, ”It's never a problem, disciple.”

We got into Yildraza over the next hour. A wall towered around the city, keeping magical beasts out. When the guards saw how tore up our vehicle was, we got more than a few funny looks. They let us through once Caprika showed them our tournament pass.

As drove through the streets, it was utter chaos. Most of the vehicles here lacked self-driving. They rode through sidewalks, destroyed stalls, and forced people to jump out of the way. The self-driving cars went through the madness like clockwork, finding the inches needed to progress.

My heart seized in my chest a few times, old memories of my dad's driving coming back. I ended up closing my eyes and saying fuck it. It wasn't like a crash was going to hurt me either way.

After passing a few dozen blocks, stalls, and stores, we reached the heart of the city. One of the skyscrapers towered over the rest, full of flashing lights and office space. Caprika stood, ”This is our stop.”

Althea clapped her hands, ”I can't believe it. We're staying up there?”

Caprika nodded, ”Naturally. Several albony own positions of power in Yildraza. I used a few connections to give us a condo to stay at.”

She turned to me, ”Consider it a bonus for proving so worthy.”

I picked Althea up, ”Hell yeah. Let's go.”

Althea giggled while I walked up to the doors. Torix snapped his fingers. A portal popped up in front of me, dropping another gray square. My shoulders drooped, ”This again?”

Torix rolled his fire eyes, ”Of course. We're trying to maintain secrecy for as long as we are able. Wearing a set of armor over yourself is a part of that.”

I sighed, setting Althea down. After the armor formed back over me, I walked down the steps and out onto the streets.

A blast of noise assaulted my senses. Rumbling cars, sharp cussing, skidding tires, acrid smog, rancid breath, cinnamon rolls, and thousand other scents poured onto me. Beneath my feet, cool concrete keeping me off the soft ground.

I looked around, finding dirt alleyways leading between skyscrapers. Innumerable people walked around me, dozens of species. Every shape, color, and size of species maneuvered around the madness. Yildraza was a cacophony of sound and a blitz of movement.

It was like the city was alive.

We stepped through the sea of people, my stature and size helping us out. I didn't even have to duck under the skyscraper's doors as walked in. With the others following behind us, I marveled at the craftsmanship.

Granite lined the walls, white streaks flowing across charcoal colored rock. The chandeliers, door handles, even the paperweights were made of gold. The ludicrous display of wealth almost made me laugh. It was extravagant, to say the least.

Once the others arrived, Caprika checked us into the hotel. As she did, the receptionist smiled at us,

”We've been awaiting your arrival. One of the tournament sponsors is waiting in your rooms to settle you all in and speak with Daniel.”

I frowned, ”What for?”

”Oh, I'm just a receptionist. Mr. Thorn wouldn't tell me something like that. I'm sure he'll discuss it in detail. Have a good day. Next.”

We walked off, getting into an elevator. As we did, Torix looked at Caprika. His face was hidden under pure darkness, some magic stopping light from entering his hood. Torix said,

”Who's Mr. Thorn?”

Caprika sighed, ”An annoying fellow to say the least.”

As we went up the many floors, I turned towards Caprika,

”Hey, where did the car go to park?”

Caprika hissed, ”A trash compactor.”

”Oh, alright then.”

We reached the 2,000th floor before walking out. After walking down a few hallways, we reached our room. Caprika handed us each a keycard before using hers to enter the doorway. As we stepped inside, a view of the city revealed itself.

It was breathtaking.

We saw for miles and miles, all the way to mountains off in the distance. A few high-rises rose up to the sides of our building, but they only enhanced the overall look. After I soaked in the view, I surveyed the apartment.

The entire wall of the expanse was glass, two staircases leading up to floors above. There were four private rooms, each covered in mahogany shaded wood. Off to my right, a kitchen with modern appliances and marble counter tops shined. Off to my left, an entertainment center with screens, games, and holographic projectors glistened.

I whistled, ”Damn this is nice.”

We took a few steps forward, reaching a set of stairs wide as the room. They wrapped around in a semi-circle, leading down to an expanse with lounging chairs. The stairs acted as bookcases, a library's worth of material hidden in them.

The wall of glass sat at the bottom of this expanse. Looking out at the city, an espen man stood with his hands locked behind his back. He wore a fitted, leather suit colored deep brown. I took a breath. My eyes widened in surprise.

It was tanned gialgathen skin.

Two tails trailed down from the back of his head to his waist. He kept silver collars around them, a classy wealth about them. The silver and brown matched the dull gray color of his skin. He turned, the white spots down the sides of his face sleek.

He turned towards us, a toothy grin aimed at us. With an accent and oozing charisma, he spread out his arms,

”Why hello there. I'm Thisbey Thorn, but you all can just call me Thisbey.”