The plan was simple: Silently sneak through the window amongst the dead of the night, and carefully weave through the trees and covered areas of the farmlands until reaching the wall. Next, cautiously fly up the side of the wall while keeping a cool head.
Finally… Stare into the distance, directly at what the towering walls protected the kingdom from.
Elijah was focused on psyching himself into believing he could pull this off. Surprisingly, there were weeds of doubt that even when pulled, grew back without hesitation. Was it the feeble and youthful mind that could not hold the complexities of his past?
Or was it truly fear?
The wind softly rustled against the loose fitting clothes of Elijah. Many times over, he had to hold onto his pants to avoid an awkward situation if he were to be caught red-handed.
One aspect Elijah noticed about this kingdom was how every single person took care of their sleep whenever possible. It was hardwired into their brains through the passage of time to fall asleep in accordance with dusk, and wake up to the sight of the sun blasting across the sky in vivid orange hues. Seemingly so, Astraea possessed common sense allowing conclusions to be revealed purely by "feeling".
Did the body feel pleasant, or stripped of the desire to contribute to the kingdom?
Elijah focused on weaving through the small gaps of the forest. Small branches would accidentally scrape against his arms and calves, but paid it no mind with the amount of anticipation welling within his soul. Control was something Elijah had worked little on with the lack of privacy.
Yet, it came as natural as
As soon as the forest ended, Elijah prepared himself for the opening of the several homesteads, taverns, supply buildings, and the river that flowed through the southwest region.
His perfect eyes caught the sights of dim candles slowly burning through glass windows, and the few drunkards walking outside of the local tavern after a night of celebration.
"Hmm… Seems like there is wiggle room around the sleeping patterns…"
Several more glances brought about by Elijah's carefulness were taken, and soon said the words, "It's clear", to reaffirm his faith.
Elijah muttered to himself while quickly flying across the dirt path to the river. His hand beaded against the current while the front of his thin shirt barely became soaked from flying too close to the river.
Suddenly, his eyes caught a glimpse of a pile of bones drifting through the river. Its color was white, and easily visible within the ethereal clear water.
The dots were unable to connect in Elijah's mind, and eventually he began his traversal up the wall of hidden truth, which looked much taller when standing inches away.
Badum Badum
Badum Badum
The further he climbed, the louder and faster his heart thumped in his chest. Anticipation for what he would call "freedom", was just above the ridge.
Elements of extremely tall mountain ranges, flat grasslands, a curving river, and towering trees immediately entered his vision.
Elijah's breath refused to reclaim oxygen as its focus was fully spent on what lays in front of him.
In the far distance was the start of a curved mountain range that mirrored the suspected shape of the mountain a mile behind Elijah's humble home. To the right was the beginning of a towering forest full of trees that looked overgrown as their leaves and branches dropped to the ground. However, this was an observation from afar, more than likely tens of miles away from the wall. Further to the right was the continuation of the mountain range that continued with the curved shape.
"Hmm… This obviously looks like the aftermath of a crater. Likely, those mountains wind around the entire kingdom, and point to the center of Astraea as the cause." Elijah pointed as he lined his left eye up with his finger as a scope.
"AHHHHH! HELLPPP!"
A hoarse and violent scream suddenly occurred below him — outside the wall, and jolted every cell in his body from the magnificent view in front of his eyes.
Below Elijah, was a group of a dozen or so soldiers creating flashing lights of fire, rumbling the earth with their bare hands, and releasing violent gusts of winds alongside shields of ice.
Their attackers were monstrous orange lions adorned with a beard of fire. Even the tips of their tails were burning up in flames!
Visibly, Elijah watched as a wide breath of fire incinerated the last of the soldiers fighting for their lives. The culprit of this attack was none other than the obvious leader who had signs of abnormalities compared to the rest of its kin. Dark brown and orange striped body while retaining its fiery attributes. Also, it was a hell of a lot bigger than its kin.
Elijah's legs were frozen, chained to the ground by the stench of own weakness. Yet, he still yearned to help moments before their death.
How was it possible that a hunter squad with formidable magical prowess lost to a herd of blazing lions?! Either there was some surprise and ambush factor, which didn't make sense from the lack of anything inside the grassy wasteland, or there was a magical factor putting them all at a cruel disadvantage.
From this point on, the feelings and mentality in Elijah had completely shifted. In fact, memories of his past floated to the top of his mind as if they were memories he had completely forgotten about.
Hours spent in the gym honing his body during the moments of being dirt poor, and the freedom that came with money, slowly turning him into everything he used to be: a demotivated wretch.
Over the past two years, Elijah had slowly been turning into a child again — as were the harsh consequences of a more than a century old man inhabiting the body of an infant.
However, he had also been feeling the chains of weakness around his neck tighten as he watched the people around him perform unimaginable feats.
This occurrence with the barren wasteland was nothing more than a wake up call.
What seemed like rainbows and sunshine was a flashlight shining through stained glass…
This wall was here to protect the people from these magical beasts, but for how long?
How long has the Kingdom of Astraea been veiled in the confines of what they view as an indestructible wall?
Unfortunately for Elijah, he was utterly weak and defenseless. His only advantage is being able to run away, maybe even forever…
Freedom was an ideology that was endlessly chased in his past life. There was nowhere he was not able to reach, no individual that would not have a simple conversation with him, and nothing that he would stop himself from accomplishing.
In this kingdom, he was trapped. There was no sense of freedom, but only a lingering fear of the idea that one day, these walls would be no more and result in the end of his life.
Elijah did not have a single fear besides lack of freedom. Some would call him a perfectionist, but Elijah would simply call himself a normalcy breaker.
"If this world has what I think it has, then I must grow stronger… I must not become more what I have witnessed just now if I want a chance at survival… Outside of these walls…"
A single tear of determination slipped down Elijah's cheek. One that would brandish his goal to not just become stronger, but also explore the mysteries of why the world is the way it is.
Elijah tried his best to put together what he already knew, but was drained of energy by the time he returned to his mossy rock.
…
Knock Knock
"Elijah?" Are you awake yet? It's time to go!"
Don was slowly opening the door to not disturb his child. If the boy did not wake, he would be venturing to the wall himself.
Funny enough, Elijah had fallen asleep amongst the silence of the night sky. The cold stone reminded him of the need for discomfort — a catalyst for doing difficult shit. Also, the world he so desperately wanted to explore was right in front of his face. It brought an immense amount of comfort to his soul knowing that there was an entire world out there, albeit, overrun by hungry magical beasts.
Don found Elijah walking to his window from inside his bedroom after noticing his child was not in bed. "Elijah! Were you already awake?"
"Yea. I was just excited to go to the wall so I went to the forest to stretch and wake up." Elijah was lying through his teeth, but with a child's body, it was as easy as squeezing lemons.
Don took notice of Elijah's effort and led him to an open wooden carriage. This carriage reminded him deeply of the renaissance period. Tall wheels that kept a square box meant for sitting intact. However, this carriage had four wheels and was pulled by a single horse as there was not a single ounce of cargo.
Conversations were exchanged, and it eventually led to Elijah asking about the kingdom.
Specifically the layout considering Elijah's talents and passion related to architecture.
"That is a good question, son. Pretty soon you will find all this stuff out anyways with the books that you will be introduced to, so I might as well tell you now."
Don adjusted himself in the carriage, wrapping the thick leather harness around his wrist one more time. There were quite a lot of carriages passing by, so Don had to be on his a-game to avoid making contact with another carriage.
"To start, The Kingdom of Astraea has 10 zones. Four in the outer region, four in the inner region, 1 underneath the inner region, and lastly, Centerpool. We live in the Outer West. To reach the Inner city, you have to travel through one of the 4 tunnel gates. The Inner city has its own 4 zones that wrap around the center of the whirlpool that sits underneath Centerpool. The King's castle is in the very center of Centerpool. Just make sure to not jump in the whirlpool as there is no saving you. The Catacombs are the cave systems that we have partly inhabited due to not having enough space."
Don suddenly scrunched his face, and raised a hand in the shape of a claw. "The Catacombs are extremely dangerous in places without people… Home to the uncountable number of terrifying beasts that will eat you alive!"
'Seriously?' Elijah rapidly blinked.
Don turned around and touched his finger against the side of Elijah's head. "And to help you picture all of this in that smart little head of yours, there are two sets of walls that give us safety. The outer wall that we see everyday, and the inner wall that is made from the mountains behind us. Some people believe in a rock falling from the sky, and some people say the hole has always existed…"
A whirlpool, underground caverns, and more evidence pointing to a meteor creating the geographical layout! Elijah had many questions that had just entered his mind, which was his goal. The only task now was to answer them.
While Elijah had just been atop the towering wall, he had never traveled by carriage to what Don described as the western gate. Even Elijah's midday walks didn't take him that far.
While staring into the lush pastures and newly planted farmlands, Elijah took a moment to stare down the long and straight road that led to the tunnel gate: the entrance to the inner city.
'That is my goal. I need to see inside there next!'
"Alright! This is Richter's outpost. He is not someone who mans the gate, but acts as support for any hunter squads going outside the walls." Don said while unlooping the reins around his hand, later staking the rein into the ground.
Before they had even stepped foot on the porch of the a-frame outpost, the wooden door slid open with an "oomph" that signified heavy emotions.
"R-richter. What happened?" Don questioned while staring into the teary eyes of a clean-shaven and black haired man stumbling out of the outpost.
This man's blue eyes were soiled by the glossy finish of tears, and possessed several wet spots on his navy blue garments.
Don himself felt his own heartbeat palpitate as he knew Richter was a tough man known to never shed a tear.
"Please… Come inside."
Don grabbed the hand of Elijah and hurriedly walked inside. Strapped to his chest was a bag of glass vials that rattled with every step. As soon as Elijah entered, he noticed a railing that looked over into the small area where they were standing — a second story built in the confines of a steep-sloped roof.
Richter walked to a wooden cabinet behind what looked like a counter meant for storage and weaponry. "Thank you for bringing the potions, but I have some bad news to share… Xander, well… died last night."
"What are you talking about?!" Tears began forming inside the corners of Don's eyes.
Just from Elijah looking into the eyes of his father, he knew this man Xander was someone important to them. Also, Elijah himself had seen the massacre. The breath of death that likely incinerated even the bones of the poor souls that ventured outside the walls.
Richter dove into his feelings. "You know what I am talking about Don! He is dead! And for the love of the kingdom I can't even fathom the reason why we are being sent outside these walls even if it means magitech production stops! DAMMIT! Things outside the wall randomly seemed to get so much worse almost four years ago. It makes no sense!!"
Slash!!
Richter threw his wooden mug of wince to the floor, soiling the carpet with a deep red tint.
In this instance, nothing bothered Don as he leaned his back against the front door. "I… I can't believe this. Why does this have to happen… After all he went through, he gets shoved to his death outside the wall! Was my sacrifice worth nothing…"
"Sorry that you have to hear this kid…" Richter clearly had a lot to drink even during the morning, likely a coping mechanism with the first thing that came to mind. "Hopefully… bleh! if you decide to follow the path of magic, you won't be forced outside the wall for the benefit of whoever makes the most damn coin…"
"Elijah. Can you please wait outside? I'll just be a few minutes." Don calmed his emotions and kneeled down to ask his son a question. His voice began to show signs of shattering.
Too much was happening for Elijah to say anything as he resorted to a simple nod of the head. The door was softly closed, and as Elijah sat down on an uncomfortable wooden chair, his head began to ache with not just pain, but memories.
Death was a phenomenon difficult to process, and this instance had brought back memories of his parents, grandparents, and even siblings. Lukas had lived until the age of 122, breaking many records in the process. He even outlived two children of his, which was with a body full of disadvantages that he spent decades trying to reverse.
Even the nondescript voice of a woman asking to be saved entered his mind, which he now remembers was heard when he levitated for the first time. So many questions that had absolutely nothing to do with each other.
Is the entire world covered in beasts while Astraea stands as the only civilization left?
What are the extents of Magitech?
Who was the distant voice asking to be saved?
What caused the hole in the center of the kingdom to form?
Biggest of all… Was reincarnation the natural course of life, or a one of one phenomenon created by something unknown?
"Elijah?" Don had been asking for Elijah while waiting inside the carriage as if he almost forgot his child.
"Oh. Sorry… I am coming." Elijah grabbed his fathers hand and was helped into the wooden storage carriage.
The ride back was bumpy and filled with silence besides the clattering gold and silver in a cloth pouch. When they arrived in front of the humble home, Don made a statement that filled him with joy and sadness.
"Gather a couple pairs of nice clothes, blankets, and dried fruit for all of us. We are going to Centerpool tomorrow to visit an old friend for a week. We leave in the morning…"