A small crowd walked out of Lower Elysium. Now that the Dynamo was a staple household item, the city had become a no-fly zone without the correct permits, so people who wanted to go somewhere else by flying had to step out of the North’s capital to begin a journey. Green pastures and lush fields all around the Northern capital meant that this place was perfect for send offs, especially tear-jerking ones.

The stream of pedestrians gave way as the crowd, led by Gaius, walked through the gates. Dozens of curious gazes fell onto the small boy at the very front, but Gaius didn’t care too much about that. Most of these gazes were fleeting, directed at them out of curiosity, and to be honest…it did feel somewhat good to be the centre of attention.

They stopped at the gates. Gaius was carrying one bag and holding on to another with his left. It was probably an amusing sight, but no one following them probably thought that way.

“Good luck, the three of you.” Kusanagi Kenouji, family head of the Kusanagi family, extended a hand, and Gaius grasped it firmly. “May the winds blow from your back.”

“Likewise, Kenouji.” Gaius looked at the Kusanagis, who were all assembled there to send them off, and shook his head. “Still, you didn’t need to be this extravagant.”

“Without you,” said Kenouji, “I’m not sure if we could even make it to the North in the first place. Not to mention the time you spent at sea. This send-off was the least we could do for you and your companions.”

The boy rolled his eyes. “It’s not like we’re leaving permanently. We’ll be back before you know it. And then you’ll have to bring us around your new businesses and whatnot. Nakama here will want some sweets and ice-cream too, while I might need some new clothes. As for Isabelle, a rapier and something nice to move in.”

“I object to your implicit accusation of me being a bloodthirsty warrior,” said Isabelle, “but a rapier will be nice.”

Kenouji shifted his gaze back to Gaius, who shrugged airily. After a few moments of further small talk, Gaius waved goodbye to the Kusanagi family. Isabelle, who now had Nakama on her back, followed suit, and together, the two took to the skies. It was a very public departure — and for good reason too; Gaius wasn’t actually intending to spend a week or two flying back to the South. No, he had a better plan.

It didn’t take long for Elysium to become nothing but a blur of colour. After a few minutes of flying, the city itself was far enough that Gaius knew that no one could identify them anymore.

“This place looks good,” said Isabelle. “Might be a somewhat clumsy descent, though.”

Gaius looked down at a thicket of trees. “We’ll make do. Just some leaves and branches caught in our hair; nothing some basic defences can’t handle. Let’s go.”

Branches broke as the three touched down on some ground, sending some leaves falling around them. After one last visual scan for good measure, Gaius pulled out Nexus from his clothes and set the sculpture down on the floor. Tossing out a teleportation marker in the exact same location, the boy turned to Nexus and said, “Alright, let’s go.”

“The three of you, huddle up,” said Nexus. “Ready yourselves; we’re going in three, two and…”

Darkness fell all around them, as howling gales picked up. Like the previous time, when they travelled from the Library to the Eastern Territories, there wasn’t much turbulence…or any at all, for that matter. Now that the novelty had somewhat wore off, the three of them looked around interestedly. The smooth black pillar that had encased them wasn’t all that smooth after all; the texture reminded him of threads woven together. They were standing on a small illuminated patch of ground, but as to what it was made for, perhaps only Nexus knew.

“I wonder how this teleportation works,” said the boy. “It’s so smooth, like one of those rides on the Ferris wheel we went on. If only my own Blink has something like this.”

Gaius wasn’t sure if he could speak here, but as it turned out, conversation could carry on with no issue. Which made sense, in hindsight —if they could breathe in here, air couldn’t be an issue.

“We can speak here?” Isabelle asked.

“Huh?” Nexus, who was floating idly in the air, tilted its head. “What made you think you couldn’t speak here?”

Isabelle gestured at the darkness around them. “This?”

“And there was me wondering why you lot weren’t speaking the last time we used this function.” Nexus shook his head. “Well, since you’re able to breathe here, speaking wouldn’t be an issue. Think about it — air is a medium for sound. If you can’t speak here, you would have been dead by the time you reached your destination.”

Isabelle blinked, and Gaius stifled an urge to laugh. It seemed that Orb had probably placed less emphasis on science, but to be fair, when mystical things like qi and artefacts existed in this world, science didn’t seem all that important. In fact, the core mysteries behind artificing and its derivative skills still remained as opaque as ever — why did qi, when passed through certain channels and made to form shapes, yield so-and-so effects?

Everyone knew what, but no one knew why.

Gaius shelved this recurring thought as the pillar of black faded away. A chill descended upon the three of them, banishing the stifling heat of the North’s afternoon sun. Their surroundings had been replaced with a wooden-walled room, a giant, table-like artefact occupying the centre of it — the legendary Map of Stars.

“And we’re back, safe and sound,” said Nexus.

“Let’s dump our stuff here, and then we’ll head over to the Republic.” Gaius tilted his head. “Do you know where your family might be?”

Isabelle shook her head.

“No matter,” said the boy. “We’ll just make another trip to the Information Brokers, and see if we can get anything. In that case, we’ll head to Elinaris first…”

The boy paused. “Nexus, I think we might have a problem.”

“Yes.” The sculpture turned to Isabelle and Nakama. “You two need to wait here. The path to Elinaris cannot be travelled by anyone who isn’t touched by divinity.”

“It’s in darkness,” said the boy. “And you two know that stepping into the darkness of Heritage is…dangerous. Fatal, even. Isabelle, watch over Nakama, while I get you information about your family. Okay?”

She nodded.

Satisfied, Gaius stretched his neck. It had been some time since he had a proper fight, sea monsters notwithstanding, and he hadn’t had a chance to test out some of the new toys he’d gained from the East and from the Kusanagi tomb.

Placing Nexus on his shoulder, Gaius left the room.