Chương 46: The Horizon of Colors

Three figures walked down a long hallway, as a distinctive chiming echoed. Victoria, the representative, took the lead. A thin, terracotta veil clung to her features, yet it couldn't mask the serene curve of her lips. She walked barefoot, revealing multiple ankle bracelets that let out a soft chime with each step. In her right hand, she carried a Banner: Royal red with a crown covering the rising sun. Behind her, the contrast was sharp. Bremin moved with the heavy, scarred grace of a veteran.

Lucien followed with a straighter spine, observing the lady at the lead. He couldn't help but feel a strong sense of determination. Regulus. The name alone carried more weight than the other 5 class A Banners combined. And he had gotten in. Banners didn't keep their recruits forever. They work them, train them, give them tasks, send them to the frontline, until eventually they die or they advance far enough.

After a certain stage, you're no longer a part of any Banner, but instead officially under the Emperor himself. The strongest man in the world. Despite having almost no members, Regulus on their own sent the same number of soldiers to the emperor as all the other class A Banners combined. Sure, Regulus always got first pick on the top talents, so that may be easier to achieve, but to Lucien, that didn't matter. Their end results spoke for themself.

After all, when Victoria claimed Bremin and Lucien, none of the other Banners even pretended to try to offer better deals. Lucien's hard-earned credits were no longer useful, but he didn't mind. Regulus took care of all expenses, and the only tasks he would have to do were those that were tailored to improve his strength, rather than a chore. I'm not just a number anymore, Lucien thought, his pulse quickening. I'm an investment. Lucien's jaw tightened. Don't fall too far behind, Igneos.

He glanced at Bremin, his future colleague. The sinister aura he constantly exuded put Lucien on edge. Of course, he didn't show it, constantly wearing a confident smile. Their previous exchange had been a clashing of steel, but Lucien didn't hold any animosity. Instead, he was deeply impressed. Out of himself, Diana, and Bremin, Bremin's technique had by far been the worst. He frequently wasted movement, his footwork was uneven, and even his swordplay was only just above average.

Whatever training he had received was clearly insufficient. Despite it all, Bremin was still by far the strongest individual he had ever fought. Diana had caused Lucien a lot of trouble, smoothing out Bremin's poor technique, but even then, they had been able to match his jackpot at the same tier. A feat he himself thought was impossible before they had gone and done it. Affinity of 96… He'd be an invaluable ally.

"Any big goals?" He asked softly, his eyes briefly darted to Victoria, confirming she didn't mind their discussion. Bremin's head slowly turned to Lucien. His face was blank and his expression unreadable.

"Yes." Ah, we're getting somewhere already. Stolen novel; please report.

"Oh yeah, like what?" Bremin didn't reply immediately, staring at Lucien for a while. Yet Lucien never felt that their eyes truly met. Finally, Bremin softly shook his head.

"Can't tell you." That's one dead end.

"Where'd you come from? Your birthplace, I mean."

"Almer." A slight twitch tugged at Lucien's eye.

"City saved by 'Tempor's Hope' huh? Were you there to see him in person?"

"Yes." Lucien took a deep breath. He needed to switch strategies.

"Anyways, Bremin, anything you'd like to know about me?" Lucien expectantly waited, observing every small detail of Bremin's face. Not much changed, so it wasn't difficult. For over a minute, the only sound was the soft chimes coming from just ahead. Then, Bremin's mouth slowly opened. Lucien leaned in. Then it abruptly closed. Lucien waited. Another minute. Bremin's mouth started moving again. Lucien leaned closer. Then, Bremin finally spoke.

"No." Veins bulged out of Lucien's forehead as he tried his best to maintain his smile. Control your emotions. Control your emotions. Control your emotions. Lucien left with a heavy sigh. He wondered how that clever man with an affinity of 60 managed to befriend him. Between his harrowing aura and lack of conversational skills, all that was left was his strength. Exasperated, Lucien shook his head. Just as he gave Bremin a final glance, the view confused him to no end. Bremin was… showing off his teeth?

Lucien couldn't tell what message Bremin was trying to send. His face was expressionless, and Bremin hadn't slowed down his pace at all. He was just… staring at Lucien, mid walk, while revealing his teeth. Lucien scratched his head. Is he… trying to intimidate me? Then it all became all too clear. So he's telling me that I shouldn't overstep my bounds, huh? He must have a keen sense of danger. Lucien smiled and matched Bremin's teeth with his own toothy grin.

He had always imagined Bremin to be a bit of a dullard, but not anymore. Bremin wasn't somebody he could underestimate, and it was a good thing he figured it out before anything poor came of it. He faced forward and focused on the path ahead, his ambition rekindled once more. Eventually, the chiming stopped.

"We're here," Victoria said, her voice matching her serene smile. Ahead of them, a hall of doors lined the wall. Lucien still couldn't see the end of the hallway. She lightly removed the veil from her face before opening the third door. Behind it was an empty void. She extended her right foot into the darkness. Then, she disappeared. Without skipping a beat, Bremin immediately followed. Tightening his fist, Lucien extended his right leg and braced his body. The moment his foot touched the void, the world warped.

Yet it wasn't similar to the warping he had experienced in the recruitment trials. Where previously, it had felt forceful and discontinuous, this time it felt natural. The world switched from the dark hallway to a blinding light. Lucien winced and blocked off the light with his hand. As his eyes adapted to the world, the new scenery revealed itself. The three stood on top of a hill, their clothes fluttering and accompanied only by the door behind them.

A knee-high grassland expanded deep into the horizon, shifting subtly by the heavy winds and stopping only around a city. It was split into two layers. Below was like any normal city. Old architecture, stone walls, paved roads. Above it, the world defied gravity. Held up by colossal pillars, ancient and scarred, thrust a second, gleaming metropolis into the clouds. A floor of glass acted as the sky for the commoners below, catching the sun and bleeding it into a thousand glittering rays below.

It was a city prominent in various paintings Lucien had seen. The city of glass, Vitrum.

"That's not quite what I wanted to show you. Turn around." Victoria spoke, as if giving a soft suggestion. Together, Lucien and Bremin turned behind them. His breath hitched, trapped in his chest by the sheer scale of what he saw. Colour. So much colour. So far, yet so overwhelming. Divine. That was the first word that came to mind. Ahead of them sat the end of the world. A never-ending wall of violent hue rose like a mountain range made of light.

It was as if an aurora borealis had been ripped out of the sky and stretched to infinity. He'd never seen anything like it, not even in paintings.

"What do you know of the frontline?" It took a while for Lucien to snap out of the spell that was the grand view ahead of him.

"Not much. I know Ultor's been advancing, slowly gaining land on some of Tempor's border cities. I hear they wipe out anybody from Tempor who's walking the Path in fear of retaliation. Based on what I can tell, Tempor is losing, and Ultor's advancement is speeding up, save a few heroes who are able to hold entire cities by themselves." Victoria smiled.

"And what of the actual battlefield, where the fighting actually happens?" Lucien tilted his head. Wasn't the entire border a battlefield, shifting with each victory?

"A massive wasteland?"

"Not quite." Victoria closed her eyes.

"In fact, the unique nature of that frontline is one of three reasons your recruitment trial was so violent. It's very rare for Core soldiers to conduct battle there; there simply aren't many opportunities. However, your new status as members of Regulus changes things. The two of you will be fighting on the frontline long before any of your peers." Her eyes opened, and she turned to face the distant wall of colours.

"And that," she said, reaching out her right arm as if trying to grasp the colours within her palm.

"Is the stage."