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NINE YEARS (V)

Ty called them Port-rooms, Shane realized; they were small, usually, basement-dwellings, hidden beneath the most populous cities throughout the entire Continent, as though on purpose . Each sported an identical vortex spinning at the center, though faintly different from the ones Shane had seen before in his life – these ones had a faint yellowish tint to their edges . They also didn’t seem to exude even an iota of Qi, whereas, usually, the vortexes of such size would draw in Qi from at least a mile away .

It made sense, however; after all, they could have hardly remained hidden if they signaled their presence to all the curious eyes . Ty didn’t explain, and neither Shane nor Daniel probed – whatever the secret behind those vortexes was, it was not theirs to know . At least not just yet .

What shocked them far more than the vortexes, however, were their locations; from Q’sar, to D’or, to Villirum, to Fyorn... all cities swarming with the Holy Army, yet their greatest foe was right there, beneath their noses . The gall, brilliance, and stupidity were beyond Shane’s desire to comprehend . Perhaps it was part vanity and part expectation that nobody would ever even for a second muse the notion that they might actually do it . In a way, they were right .

They were currently taking a short break in a small tavern on the edge of Yummin, a mid-sized city built on the very edge of the Arid Expanse . To their east was one of the harshest landmasses known to the world, while to their left a sandy desert blended into green, humid forests and plains as though they belonged to two entirely separate worlds .

The tavern itself was decently populated, though both Shane and Daniel noticed that Ty wasn’t an unfamiliar face around here, several people even walking up to him and handing him parchments of paper that either made him frown or sigh . Empyrion, it seemed, was hardly relegated to the Forgotten Continent – it was everywhere .

"Let’s go," Ty suddenly called out to them after allowing them barely a ten-minute break, which wasn’t enough to even finish their meal . "We need to speed up . "

"Is everything alright?" Daniel asked as the two men quickly jostled to their feet and followed Ty outside .

"Another battle broke out," Ty replied in a somewhat angered tone . "Fuckin’ Devils . Tsk, I can’t wait to rip their treacherous throats right out, the fucking cunts . "

Realizing that Ty was fuming, Shane and Daniel didn’t probe any further, following Ty down the strangely-cascading stairs around the stone-built high rises . The entire city was seemingly built inside a massive crater, wards constructed in downward spirals, buildings etched into the earthly mounds . Though beautiful, it was also slightly harrowing, gazing from the top at the bottom that they couldn’t even perceive entirely .

Just like all other Port-rooms, this one was buried beneath one of the inconspicuous-looking buildings midway down . Without saying a word, Ty walked through with Daniel and Shane following . Immediately after the two realized that something was different; whereas other journeys largely lasted a few moments, this one stretched slightly – to full, ten seconds . When they were spat back out, they were unable to land themselves onto their feet properly, a wobbly sensation overcoming them .

The room they found themselves in danced and bent strangely, nauseating feeling overwhelming them briefly, nearly causing them to thrust their innards out . Ty waited patiently as the two recovered and got up on their feet before leading them outside .

Another world welcomed them the moment they stepped outside – not only was it dawn, whereas it was almost evening when they left, but everything, absolutely everything, had completely changed . They weren’t even allowed to properly process what they were seeing before Ty ripped them out of their thoughts .

"Comprehend later," he said . "I’ve to go now . Use this talisman to guide you to a nearby restaurant . Show the talisman, and you’ll be given full instructions . It was a pleasure, meeting both of you . Hopefully, we’ll see each other again . "

"Wait, what about—" it was too late, however . Ty had already vanished, leaving then stunned inside an unknown world of unknown shapes, objects, lights, and noises .

All buildings surrounding them were massive... so much so that the sun failed to illuminate the whole of the ground, the seemingly concrete-paved streets existing in perpetual shade . They could see thousands of souls streaming about the edges of the streets, the centers occupied by strange, box-shaped objects with wheels on the bottom ends .

Lampposts were the size of a giant, looming over the street wide enough to fit six-wheeled carts, their beams warmly white .

Noises were beyond description, at least to them; elongated sounds, occasional buzz of thunder, strange screeching... all blended with incessant chatter and noise .

The buildings themselves were strange, built out of steel and glass rather than stone . Ever so often, they’d spot one that was bent beyond strangely, causing them to ponder how they were standing tall .

Nothing made sense – not the clothes people wore, not the buildings, not the streets, absolutely nothing . They found themselves in a land so alien they were almost certain they’ve completely left Noterra .

Still, gathering some wits about themselves, they remembered the talisman and lit it up . They were told to saunter over to the restaurant, and that everything would be explained . Would it, however, they wondered? Can something of such sheer difference ever be put into words properly? Or would it have to be lived for a while?

**

Ty sped past the glassed rises like a shadow, invisible to the naked eyes surrounding them . After all, this was one of the smaller cities resting near the coastal ridge, largely populated by non-cultivators . For all intents and purposes, he was invisible to them .

During the battles, because of the emergency protocol, all Port-rooms would be temporarily closed; one had to make their way over on foot, which Ty usually wouldn’t mind, but the battle was happening on the far southern side, beyond the Passing, just beyond the mountain range . It will take even him at least a few hours to reach it, but, by then, it might all be over . Battles rarely lasted past a couple of hours as the numbers never went beyond a couple of thousand at most . Still, as he’d spent a considerable amount of time recently going about and trying to poach some people over, he missed the action .

His void treasure suddenly shuddered as he groaned, taking a look inside and whipping out a talisman, burning it . A screen lit up as he came to a stop on top of a glassed building overlooking the blocked city . Shards soon formulated an outline that was rapidly filled in until the shape of a familiar face that caused him to smile came to .

"Ah, Master," he chuckled . "You missed me?"

"Where are you?" Lucky asked, ignoring his playful tone .

"Hawtone," Ty replied . "I’m on my way . "

"There’s no need," Lucky shook her head . "It’s a minor conflict . Lyn’s taken a small group of trainees over . "

"—Master... you’ve been giving Lyn all the best missions recently and sending me to these pointless poaching expeditions..." Ty pouted . "Are you still angry I proposed to you in front of your wife?"

"I am . " Lucky nodded . "You’re lucky I haven’t ripped your scrotum out and shoved it through your eyes . "

"Miss Alison had a laugh, though..." Ty sighed innocently .

"Of course she did," Lucky said, smiling coldly . "Because she’s precious . "

"... though I know it will cost me," he said, sighing once more . "You are too possessive and obsessed . It may cost you, eventually . "

"I’d rather not take love advice from a pipsqueak yet to bed a woman at the age of twenty-seven . "

"OI!!! LOW BLOW!"

"You need to go to the Enclave," Lucky said, the tone of her voice turning serious . "I’ve received a strange report . "

"... a strange report?" Ty quizzed, frowning .

"An attempt at a rebellion . "

"..."

"..."

"What?!" Ty exclaimed, shock permeating both his eyes and face . A rebellion? In the Empyrion? "Could... could it be someone’s just making a joke or something?"

"I thought so too," Lucky sighed, rubbing her temples . "But, four people died, and one of the minor warehouses was burned down . Apparently, citizens killed the instigator before he could do more damage . "

"Who was it?"

"—nobody," Lucky shrugged . "Some guy called Antoan Fork . He’s been with us for ten years now . Worked as a stone-cutter for most of his stay, nothing out of the ordinary . It’s as though he’d gone up and insane at random one morning . "

"... waking up and going mad is the penchant of our Lord," Ty said . "Not just any random nobody . I’ll go and investigate . "

"Be careful," Lucky added . "This could either be just a random wrinkle that doesn’t matter, or something much deeper . If it’s latter, withdraw and wait for a backup . "

"—aww, so you really are worried..."

"... haah," Lucky sighed, shaking her head . "You seriously need to get laid..."

"HEY!!"

The screen slowly shattered, the shards of his dreams vanishing into the wind . Sighing faintly, his eyes dulled for a moment as he entered deep thought . Though there were attempts at insurgence previously, largely by a few outsiders who managed to sneak in, they never amounted to anything but quick and clean deaths . If L’ says it’s a rebellion, Ty thought, there must be something more to it . Especially considering who instigated it... I need to investigate this thoroughly .

They couldn’t afford any distractions, especially now that they were at the cusp of completely open conflict . Whatever little scuffles they had until now were nothing compared to the looming threat ahead . When armies of tens of millions clash, deaths of a few dozen every other month almost seems irrelevant . If there’s truly a wrinkle that could ripple out from the inside, they needed to put it out immediately . Not necessarily due to the innate instability of the system, but the fact that even the faintest of variables can cause an empire-wide echo if utilized at the right time .

Shaking his head as though to dispel the stray thoughts, he rapidly spun around and began darting toward the Enclave, a port city that’s somewhat isolated from the rest of the Empire since it was stationed along the Central Coastline of the Western Continent . Though nothing should change in the five-six hours it will take him to get there, he still felt a sense of urgency which caused him to speed up unconsciously . There was no room for error, after all . Not at his level, anyway .