Eternal Elysium

"...Why do you think a new division was suddenly established?"

Alos asked.

I stared at him for a moment, and then something clicked in my mind.

"To watch… to scout. That's why you have permitted us, right, Commander Alos?"

Alos smiled.

However, there was no warmth behind it. It was a simple smile that mocked someone, but was he mocking me? No, I don't think so. Transcendents were not so simple to hold petty emotions over a childish secret. The reasonable thought would be that he has an inkling of my presence, a small guess that could change the course of everything.

"Correct, you are here to scout." Alos nodded, his smile turned gentle, as the room became less tense.

"So, I assume you will do your job properly, Captain Asher… to scout, I mean."

"...That is my job after all."

He has been calling me captain, so I had guessed he already approves of me.

But maybe I was wrong, and all of it was just an act.

'Is he not aware that acting this way makes him look suspicious? Or maybe he wants to be suspected, to get involved…'

My brows furrowed up in confusion as I shook my head.

"At the office, please submit the rest of the documents before leaving, Captain Asher."

Alos stood up and raised his hand in my direction. I looked at his hand and firmly shook it.

"Alright."

I quickly left, still confused over what had just happened.

"Never mind… I can still start tomorrow." I muttered, knowing this would take time.

Leisurely, I walked toward the office, where the documents needed to be filled out. A small formality, I had avoided. In a way, I had avoided everything after coming here.

The first thing I was supposed to do was to report to the commander and then fill out the documents, and lastly meet my teammates. Instead of doing all that, I had climbed the walls and looked outside, and then at the sky.

"How do people even know it's night or morning?" I said, coming out of the building, and stared at the grey sky.

Even though no sun or stars were present, it was still not that dark; rather, it felt illusory and unreal.

The people here had adapted really well, if they had not gone mad by now, because I could feel my head hurt just by staring at the sky for too long.

"You shouldn't look up too much… It's not good for your mind."

I turned my head to look at the person who said that, and saw a woman walking toward me. She was tall, as tall as me, if I were to say, and with her blue hair waving at the back and her fair skin. Anyone who misses her sight would surely be blind.

"You sure seem to have a habit of staring too much." She said, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Ah…"

I realised I had been staring for too long and turned my gaze away from her hair.

"I apologise," I said, walking forward, as she looked at me before saying in a stoic voice.

"Are you the new captain? The one who was supposed to arrive today?"

I nodded.

"Yes, I am Asher, the newly appointed captain of the 11th division."

I said politely and kept my voice in check.

The woman nodded as she walked toward the building before saying in a small voice. "I am Maira, captain of the 3rd division." She paused, her eyes then moved back to look at me. "Captain Asher, did you see anyone on the walls? Some soldiers saw a man jump from the top."

My smile froze. I quickly turned to look at the walls and saw a bunch of soldiers checking the area.

"Um, Captain Maria… That man would be me. I have been checking the surroundings since it's my first time here."

"I see."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Maria said calmly and nodded her head once.

'Thank goddess she is not mad… I seemed to be making enemies left and right from the moment I arrived.'

"Ah, should we not inform them about it?" I said, pointing in the soldier's direction.

Maria shook her head, her face showing no change.

"Let's leave it as it is. There have been too many people dying these days; this way, at least they will be busy and aware of their surroundings."

She started to move forward, leaving me behind.

"What did you mean by not looking at the sky? Is there any problem with it? Well, aside from its unusual grey color."

She stopped and craned her head in my direction.

"The sky drives people mad… those who stare at it for too long forget what day or night it is. That should explain my warning, but it's really up to you. After all, you really stare too much, Captain Asher. Well, you do have pretty eyes, so I forgive you."

Maria said, smiling slightly and left.

I stood there, too dumbfounded to speak, and sighed. My eyes didn't look at her back anymore and moved up to see the clear grey sky.

"Can a madman even go crazy anymore?" I mumbled to myself for no reason and tied my cloak around my waist before moving toward my cabin.

Reaching the small wooden house assigned to me, I opened the cabin door.

It was a simple and modest place with nothing luxurious. Rather, even getting this much was better than anything I could have asked for. Being a captain seems to have its own privileges after all, huh?
The house has three rooms, a bedroom, a small meeting room and a bathroom.

Unlike other captains who get their own buildings and other equipment, one could say I was truly a captain in name only.

But I don't mind it, really.

Rather, it was a blessing not to get overcrowded for an unreasonable amount of time. I just wanted to complete my mission and get to work as quickly and efficiently as possible.

I entered the bedroom and silently lay on the small bed.

My body quickly relaxed as I shifted for a few moments, rolling on the bed before closing my eyes.

'Just a small nap… I still have some time before they come.'

Feeling my mind slowly drift away, I sighed and fell asleep.

Time passed, and even a small dream seemed to have made its way inside me. In which I saw Grandpa Will in the kitchen as he brought food, a little later, Kit and Meli entered our house, joining us.

But then the vision turned blurry, and I was not aware of the surroundings, but a small lucidity remained even in the dream.

Slowly, I opened my eyes and shifted uncomfortably in the bed.

It was almost rock hard, feeling familiar to the roads I slept on while reaching for Kalista.

Maybe because I was tired, even the bed had felt soft before falling asleep. I sat up and rubbed my eyes before turning to look outside the window. I stared at the grey sky, it was the same, nothing had changed about it. There were no clouds, the sky was clear, and... grey.

'How depressing to look outside.'

I thought and stood up, leaving the bed and stretched my limbs.

"One hour has passed, huh."

Calculating the time in my mind, I realised how good the power to tell the time truly was. In a way, I was sensing time. But now that I think of it, what was the basis of the time I felt? What was the standard point? Was I recording my time? Or the world surrounding me?

Coming out of the room, I saw the exact time on the clock, precisely the same as I had thought.

I sighed and put my cloak back before getting my face hit by a small splash of water.

As some minutes passed, I finally heard a knocking sound on my door and closed the book I had been reading.

"Come inside," I said, and leaned back on my chair.

The door opened, and I saw Enzo and his two companions enter the house.

They stood side by side before bowing their heads once.

"Please take your seats. I will give a small briefing on why you all have been gathered here."

"Yes, sir."

They said in a military-like demeanour and sat down.

I raised my hand and summoned a crystal shard, and then crushed it in my hand.

"Silence," I said in runic language as the crystal particles dissolved in the air, spreading through the room.

The trio didn't react at first, but I could see Summer's brows twitch for a split second.

This was more than enough to confirm they knew what this charm did. After all, they had used something of a similar nature in Ains' mansion.

"This way, no one will hear our talk from outside. I assume you all know about charms." I smirked, seeing them actually confused.

"What is a charm, sir?" Chris asked, only to get hit by Summer's foot.

"Shh, shut up!" She whispered.

Enzo closed his eyes. I could see his veins pop in his head.

With a forced smile, he looked in my direction before speaking in a small voice, trying to hide his frustration.

"Yes, Sir… We know what charms are. Only a little. Please don't mind them… they both are a little dumb."

"Hey!"

"Who are you calling dumb?!"

Chris and Summer didn't stop; they both turned their heads toward Enzo with a furious look.

'Where did that composed team vanish? Are they someone else?' I stared at them, too dumbfounded to speak, but as their argument didn't end, I raised my hand and slammed the desk.

Thud!

They all fell silent.

Summer flinched, and Chris turned his head to look at me. He was about to open his mouth, but closed it after seeing my face.

I was probably smiling, but my eyes surely weren't. They had wasted so much time that the charm might have already been halfway through its effect.

"Now, anybody who makes a single sound… I swear I will throw them inside that goddamn volcano."

I stared at them.

"Am I clear or not?"

"Yes, Sir… We, we understand." Enzo said, unsure. He was probably thinking I was bluffing.

"The role officially we have been given as the 11th division is of scouts… to gather intel of monsters, clear paths for other teams and divisions to venture out safely and efficiently. That's why only our team is made purely of awakends and this is small."

Chris raised his brows, his face clearly showing confusion.

"Sir… Um, before you arrived. We have been given the task to open paths for other teams. Will we be doing something of a similar nature even now?"

I could see Chris was not keen on doing that. And I would be the same, knowing they were being used as traps for monsters. A very dangerous task, with more risk than rewards, especially in such a dead place.

"No, we won't be doing that now," I said, shaking my head.

"Is that why you said it's the official work? Not the real work?" Summer asked, her voice coming a little later than others.

Her black eyes stared at me with chilling coldness.

I thought for a while and nodded.

"Yes… Our real mission is different, if not more risky."

They didn't interrupt and listened in silence.

I continued keeping my eyes on them.

"Soldiers have been going missing in Kalista. And no one seems to even know about it. As if they forgot about them and only remembered them after months had passed… We are here to secretly investigate it. That's our mission."