The sun was beginning to dye the sky orange when Gaius finally reached a city that hadn’t been destroyed. He hadn’t seen a sunset for a long time, and definitely not from such an angle either. The setting sun looked particularly majestic, at a distance of around half a kilometre from the ground, and the clouds swimming through the sky looked almost solid, and a sense of surrealness flooded the boy’s brain.

“How pretty,” murmured Gaius. “How far is the sun away from Orb? The sunsets here look stunning compared to those of Earth’s…didn’t anyone bother to explore whatever’s outside Orb? Or land on the Moon?”

“Well,” said Nexus, “to my knowledge, no one has bothered to try something as insane as that. Only someone who can fly…and definitely not the harpy-type beastfolk, would have a chance of making it past fifty kilometres, since their wings probably won’t work at that height.”

“Which just leaves people with Engines, Paragons and Demigods.”

“The latter of which will never waste his or her energy in such a futile attempt,” said Nexus. “Paragons can try to get up there, but without any means to keep oneself warm without overspending on temperature regulation, seventy kilometres is their limit. As for people with Engines alone…”

“We’ll never get that high in a reasonable amount of time, right?”

“Yes,” said the artificial intelligence. “I’m glad you know your limits.”

The boy looked at the setting sun, and then started his descent. Instead of landing into the city itself, where guards and the local experts here would be alarmed immediately, the boy chose to land in the nearby forest. It was a sound decision, but Gaius had forgotten how it felt like to descend into a canopy of branches and leaves from up high.

Nexus hung on for dear life as the boy’s barrier smashed through hundreds of twigs and branches. The transparent layer that defended the boy shrugged off the greenery with ease, but shockwaves had to go somewhere.

It was, in other words, a bumpy ride down.

Gaius winced as he bounced off a large tree trunk and landed on his bottom solidly. The ground underneath his posterior caved inwards, creating a dent on both the land and the boy’s pride.

“N-never again.” Gaius rolled over on his side. “I’m never entering a forest from above ever again. My back…butt…it hurts.”

He was in the midst of patting his body back into a symmetry when the sounds of retching entered his ears. Gaius turned to the source, the wooden sculpture that the artificial intelligence Nexus inhabited, and raised an eyebrow.

“How can you be nauseous?” Gaius asked, his cheeks twitching. “Pray tell, what part of this sculpture is making you want to throw up? Go on, I’ll wait.”

The little boy didn’t know how to describe the next cough that came out of Nexus, but he joined the wooden sculpture in retching a second after it entered his ears. And unfortunately for the boy, he actually had something to throw up.

Drips of yellowish-green liquid were sparkling orange by the time the boy raised his head. He glared at the wooden sculpture, who was sitting miserably, before picking it up and stuffing it down his tunic. After a little sad sniff from Gaius himself, the boy stormed off to the city, his face now occupied with an expression that promised murder.

The city walls loomed before Gaius as he slipped through the shadows and the darkness in general. It was made out of something that reminded the boy of bronze, right down to its glossy sheen, and hundreds of lines were inscribed on it. It was an artefact, although the scale was somewhat hard to take in.

In contrast, the gates were a lot tamer. A passageway, large enough to fit two elephants walking side-by-side, had been carved into the wall, for the lack of a better word. In the middle, where the guards and sentries were shielded from the elements, were three booths that inspected travellers in and out of the city.

“Come to think of it,” said Gaius, “isn’t it a problem if I walk in without any luggage?”

“They’ll be suspicious, yes, but you’re a kid,” replied Nexus. “Just tell them that your parents would come later tomorrow. They’ll forget about you by then.”

“I guess that works.” Gaius looked at the lines, and walked towards the one in the middle. “Remember to stay quiet.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

After a few minutes of waiting and admiring the smooth bronze ceiling, it was Gaius’ turn. Putting on a little smile on his face, he said, “Mummy told me to go back first.”

“Your mum, eh?” The guard, who was dressed in a dark green outfit, scratched his nose. “What’s your name?”

“Gaius.”

“I see.” He flipped through some files. “Is this the first time you left Elinaris?”

The boy nodded, trying to keep his eyes as wide as possible, without breaking into laughter. “Yes.”

“Alright then.” The guard scribbled on a card, and then passed it over to him. “You’ll be able to leave and enter the city by yourself with this, so take good care of it, got it? Only the first time is free.”

“Okay. Thank you!” Gaius smiled brightly, and the guard let out a little chuckle, probably at the childlike façade the boy was putting on.

“Alright. You should get going before it’s too late.” The guard waved Gaius away, and as he walked through the gates, he heard the man murmur, “What were his parents thinking?”

“You got someone scolded, Master Gaius.” Nexus said, as the boy stepped into a patch of moonlight. Behind them was the wall that divided the inside from the outside, and as the boy stared at it, he was suddenly reminded of the Great Wall of China.

“My parents?” Gaius thought for a moment. “No, the original Gaius’ parents. They’re most likely to be gone though, seeing how the two of…us are orphans.”

“You still got them scolded though.”

Gaius smacked his chest, where Nexus was hiding at, and a satisfying ‘ow’ came from his tunic.

One minute later, the artificial intelligence asked, “What are your plans now?”

The boy, who was now walking aimlessly down a road that was flanked by neat rows of houses, looked upwards. “We’ll need more chaos. Let’s start by finding out about Elinaris and its crime scene.”

He looked at the night sky, where a bright moon hovered over them, and smiled grimly.