Eternal Elysium

As the moon shone brightly at the top of the night sky along with several stars surrounding it.

The smell of steam and the sound of machinery in the background filled the ears of nearby walkers at the railway station.

At the end of the platform stood several figures clad in armor and waiting in silence.

Hester gazed at the rail that led further ahead at the distant horizon.

He pressed his lips shut, then sighed.

"There used to be a time when adventurers like us had to travel through forests and provide protection to merchants and their cargo. But now the trains have made it so easy, we can't even make proper money with this."

Lath looked at him and scoffed.

"Old man, if you want adventure go to the dead zones like others. Why live in the middle of a bustling city?"

"Pfft— Only a madman would live in that place. And who are you calling an old man you bastard! You are older than me!"

Staring at the bickering duo in silence Arnus frowned, his brows twitching as he shouted.

"Shut up! How much will you two talk? It's the middle of the night for god sake, let me sleep!"

Tak!

Lath stepped forward and kicked at the bench where Arnus was lying down, making him lose balance and fall.

Thud!

"You—!"

"Shut up! We are here to work, not sleep."

Before Arnus could have shouted, Lath's stern gaze made him fall silent.

Lath's eyes narrowed dangerously as he saw rage flicker in Arnus' gaze. Before he could have acted up a loud clap took their attention. As they both turned to look for the source of the sudden sound.

Their gaze locked with Hester's.

"Are you two done with your games?" He asked calmly, but they both could see the annoyance on his face.

Lath shrugged, he was not in the wrong so why should he care? He casually raised his finger and pointed back.

"Yeah, sure. Also, Arnus go outside and bring the laborers here."

Arnus saw the open path leading outside the station and nodded.

"Sure." He spoke and left without care in the world.

As they both saw his figure leaving, Lath turned his head to look at Hester and muttered in a daze.

"His anger comes and goes away like bugs. They both appear and disappear out of nowhere."

Hester sighed and shook his head being dumbfounded and unable to refute his words.

"Yes, I agree… Lath you also should not tease him so much."

As Hester words left his mouth, they both felt the platform tremble for a split second.

"It has arrived," Lath said.

"Hm, the train sure is early today."

Following that the cargo coach stopped right at the end, from the exit five workers came behind Arnus' lead.

As they took out several boxes one by one, Hester came forward and touched one of the boxes.

"Open it." He said.

"O-Okay."

The man carrying the box hesitated as he placed it on the floor.

His hand shook, as he hit the lock placed over it and opened the cover.

Inside several packages were kept neatly and tightly sealed.

Hester stared at it in silence, then softly nodded.

"Go put it in the wagon."

As all the boxes were finally loaded safely inside, Hester gestured to his two companions as he took the front seat.

"Let's leave… we need to deliver this before morning," Lath mumbled to the driver as he took a seat in the second wagon.

At the top of which Arnus sat quietly with his leg folded and a bored expression.

"All clear." He whispered.

It was the middle of the night, and the road was empty. The distance they needed to travel wouldn't take more than thirty minutes. What could go wrong?

As the two wagons moved in deep silence they entered the main road.

Then as time passed they stopped, in front of them barricades were placed stopping anything or anyone from going ahead.

Lath frowned but didn't panic, he got up from his seat and walked toward the guard at the corner wearing the Temple holy emblem.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Stop, entry is not allowed here for tonight." The young Temple knight said as he took a step forward.

"But sir what happened? We came from this way not long ago."

"Mathew, you can change shifts now, I will take it from here." A voice called out stopping the young knight from speaking.

Lath turned his gaze to see who it was.

Not far away a man with frenzy green hair came walking in his direction, his eyes reddened and tired as he gave them a lazy look.

"Yes, Sir." Saluting in the man's direction. Mathew, the young knight nodded and left at a moment's notice

"Wait–!" Before Lath could stop him, the man with frenzy green hair stepped in front of him.

"What's the problem here?" He asked.

"Ah. Sir, we need to go this way. We have a shipment to deliver. It's urgent."

Taking out the documents from his pouch, Lath flipped them in the man's face showing the guild permission.

But he didn't move an inch and shook his head before speaking with a stren gaze.

"Sorry, it is still not possible. This road has been blocked due to safety reasons and a curfew has been imposed here."

"But—"

"You can go from the factory area. The road from there is still open." The green-haired man pointed to the other side making Lath grit his teeth.

"...Okay." Lath nodded softly, not wishing to antagonize the Temple any further.

As Franz watched Lath walk away and talk with the person behind his wagon he sighed deeply before muttering out under his breath.

"What are you planning Asher…?"

Just as he said that a thought crossed his mind making him shudder.

"He surely isn't using me for something like robbery, right?"

"No,no Asher won't do something like that…" Franz shook his head with a wry smile. As he saw the wagons turn to leave.

"Right…?"

Left alone he once again asked himself…

*****

"The road looks empty…" Hester muttered as the area was clear.

No, signs of danger could be seen around.

Even though he was sometimes rash or over-excited. Hester always took his job seriously.

And now with the main road blocked, he needed to be even more serious than before!

At the empty road surrounded by several buildings, at the corner, another wagon was standing still.

Hester frowned and raised his hand stopping the wagon.

"Arnus check it out," Hester whispered.

Just as Arnus jumped from the wagon's top and landed on the ground. Something jumped from the dark inside of the wagon making him step back.

"Nya…"

A black cat had jumped as Arnus walked further, taking everyone by surprise.

"Pfft— Ahaha did you get scared by cat Arnus." Lath laughed, almost rolling out of his seat.

"You F—!"

As Arnus' face turned red and was about to curse out loud he froze.

Not just him, no one moved or showed any change in expression.

Their time had been stopped!

"I see… So, this was your true ability." A man spoke as he gazed at the back of the wagon, where a silhouette appeared in the dark.

A white faceless mask was wrapped around his face and body hidden below the black cloak showing no skin. If not focused enough someone might not see him, no matter how ridiculously he was dressed.

"Not all powers can remain hidden forever… and it's not like someone will understand what they are seeing. Right, Castor?" I said and walked in his direction while maintaining the effect of [Static] on everyone present inside the wagons.

"How long can you maintain this?" Castor asked, his own face hidden behind a weird-shaped mask.

"I had thought ten minutes would be easy but six minutes is all I can give… it seems like there is more than one awakened inside the wagon." I paused as I felt my essence deplete at a fast pace, but recovery was also good enough to not leave me powerless.

"Someone is hiding inside." I continued.

'Maybe it's that old man… can he not only shapeshift but also change his appearance?'

I frowned as Castor nodded immediately.

"This is going to be troublesome…" I whispered as six men all with their faces covered came out from a nearby building.

"We will be fast, don't worry," Castor replied, seeing Asher tense.

His gaze watched the men take out the boxes from inside the wagon and replace them with the fake ones he himself had arranged.

Then he asked.

"How did you convince the Temple to lend you this place?"

I watched him point at the old building, my gaze remained fixed on its flashy sign which had not been taken down yet.

'Cozzy Inn'

I smiled and sighed softly before saying.

"I told them I was robbing a merchant. So, they gladly helped me with this once."

"Oh, I see.." Castor nodded and continued to watch the workers.

Swish!

His head turned at an astonishing speed.

"Wait, what did you say?!"

I chuckled hearing this and calmly repeated.

"You didn't hear it the first time? Well, I just told Lady Morgana, I was going to rob–"

"I heard you the first time! Why did you do that?"

I fell silent as his gaze kept poking at the back of my head.

"How else was I supposed to get to this place and change the route for their destination?" I said, then walked toward the Cozzy Inn.

"Only by doing this can no one find us and to be exact me… Well, good thing you bought that wagon just in case Castor, that made them stop on their tracks. Otherwise, I would have needed to stop both wagons as well." I praised him sincerely as Castor followed me.

From the moment my soul healed, I felt several changes inside me.

One was the feeling of being complete… As if a big hole has been filled in my heart. And the other was a slight boost in my essence reserves. It wasn't much but it still made a slight difference in everyday life.

"I, I see. But how did you convince them to block the road?" Castor asked as he saw Asher's hand brush a wooden rocking chair, and his gaze lingered on it for a few seconds.

I sighed and sat on the rocking chair feeling mixed emotions over such a simple thing.

"A guy there owed me quite a big favor. I just used that."

Castor nodded albeit hesitantly and turned to see the men bringing the cargo inside.

"Tell them to hurry…"

'Shouldn't have come inside now my focus is wavering.'

Not showing any worries I casually walked outside.

The toll of using [Static] was still high on my mind. And the gradual pressure it built was more than enough for its effects to go out.

If I had stayed inside forget about six minutes, not even four minutes would have been possible!

******

As Hester watched nothing happen the journey continued in silence and the shipment was delivered to the given address.

Seeing the large warehouse Hester felt the need to ask for extra money but kept his mouth shut.

A man with wiggly hair and wearing a brown shirt came out from the inside. His fingers were adorned in several rings and his face held a small grin.

His steps were heavy and his height was less.

Just as he came near the trio he raised his hand and patted Hester's shoulders.

"Good work! Good work! But what happened today? You all sure took your sweet time to come?"

Hester's lips twitched at the sudden touch, but keeping his calm he answered.

"The road was blocked so we ended up taking another route to come here."

"Ahaha it happens the best thing is all of you are alright." The merchant replied with a small smile.

"It was our pleasure working with you Sir Palto if you can sign this our work will be completed," Hester said and moved his gaze to look at the workers who were bringing the cargo down under the gaze of his companions.

"Let's just see how the goods are and call it a night."

Not signing the papers, Palto calmly walked through the crowd and touched the wooden box.

His fingers brushed through it as his hand gripped the handle and pulled it open.

"....."

Hester seeing the merchant silence calmly moved towards him.

And then.

"You fuckers! Where is the good!!"

Hearing the merchant shout, they all froze.

Hester's face went pale as his gaze was locked on the box with bricks filled inside.

"... Goddess."

He couldn't help but remember the god he hadn't prayed to in years….

As all the boxes opened one by one he felt the world shake under his feet.

They all were empty and filled with bricks.

Their night will be long and behind the bars of prison, it seems.