The carriage continued moving peacefully with no problems at all. Minutes passed slowly for the duo as they watched the outside world, growing darker and darker as the sun set in the distance and the moon rose in the sky, illuminating the dark sky.
The weather dropped a few degrees in temperature and the snow intensified considerably. But, it only added another layer of beauty to the magnificent city and its buildings and streets. The snow fall region was perhaps the most beautiful out of all the other regions because of this single detail.
But, soon enough, all of those thoughts vanished out of their heads and something else took the entire space. Slowly, a looming shadow appeared above their heads, catching their attention.
Arthur instinctively looked out of the window at the outside world and there he saw it. In the far distance, the divine tower gradually unraveled itself from behind the mist and darkness, revealing its true horrifyingly majestic appearance.
Arthur’s mouth dropped in pure shock, unable to contain his reaction at all. His eyes slowly widened as he felt something he had never felt before hit him like a train. Frozen in his place; all he could do was take all the details of the tower as they appeared piece by piece.
The structure was tall… Incomprehensibly so. Even as Arthur’s eyes looked up, he couldn’t see its peak. It was as if the tower pierced through the heavens and reached a level beyond.
Its base was built of polished, shiny black stone that seemed to almost glisten under the gaze of the moon. Ancient carvings and drawings spiraled up its colossal walls, giving it an ancient, fantastical appearance.
A structure that had been standing for thousands of years, unperturbed by the cruel passage of time, looking as powerful as ever. It was no man-made structure as no man can build such a world-defying tower.
‘The Divine Tower…’ Arthur thought to himself as he felt his heart rate increase tremendously. An extremely powerful rush of excitement took over his body as he felt his body starting to shake. Something weird was going on and he didn’t know what it was.
Looking down at his body, Arthur felt quite confused. ‘What is happening? This feeling…’
The tower had done something to him that he could not understand at all. He assumed that it was simply his sense of adventure being stimulated but this was far from that. He was feeling as if he had seen a lost piece of him… Something he had been seeking his entire life and now it was right in front of him.
Isla, completely occupied by the scenery, didn’t even notice Arthur’s weird behavior. She was also captivated by the tower and its appearance.
“Is this your first time seeing the tower?” The man asked.
“… Yeah…” Isla replied.
“Hahaha, I figured that much. Everyone has the same exact reaction seeing it the first time. It is truly beautiful.”
“I want to see what’s inside…” Arthur muttered without thinking twice.
“Hm? Hahahaha! There is no way you can do that, boy! Only a select few are allowed to enter the tower and that only happens once every year.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The tower opens its gates for the public every year at the same exact time and that is when all the people that want to enter it can enter. However, as you might know, going inside the tower when you’re not strong enough is suicide. Even the best of the best talents, kids your age, walked in and never came out again.”
In the end, the man’s voice turned a little grim. He lost count of the number of times people died inside the tower. It was not a place for weaklings or cowards.
“…” Arthur went completely silent, absorbing every piece of information the man said.
“How do you do that, uncle?” Arthur asked.
“Hmm, of course, you will have to apply for that through the Royal Mercenary Guild and then become an official mercenary, take the test, and then when you’re accepted, you will step into the tower.”
‘All of that? What the hell?!’ Arthur blinked. He didn’t think there were that many steps to entering the tower.
“Why all of that? Can’t we just walk in?”
“Hm? Of course not, the tower is a sacred place for us and one of our greatest achievements. We have conquered this tower against those monsters that tried to stop us. So, naturally, only those we deem worthy could be allowed to enter.”
“…”
“Besides… At the very top of that tower… is the Royal Palace where the Royal Family is situated.” The man added as he looked up at the sky.
‘The royal palace? At the top of the tower?’ Arthur raised an eyebrow. ‘Did they build it there so that nobody can reach it? Damn, talk about an overkill.’
“Although it is impossible for anyone to reach the highest floor on their own, it is still not good to let enemies give it a try and put the palace at risk. Oh well! All of this is just stories and legends, look at the Colosseum, lads! We’re here!”
Then, down at ground level, a good distance away from the divine tower was another large structure. The Colosseum stood menacingly tall, nothing in comparison to the tower, but still very massive in its own right.
The Seraphica Colosseum was built out of polished marble stones with large, decorated pillars holding their weight. Its floor was also out of polished stone. Around its perimeter, an insane number of people gathered as the sounds of fireworks, cheers, and the booming voice of some commentator in the distance mixed and merged together, giving it a very lively vibe.
“Wow…” Arthur’s eyes twinkled. ‘So this is the Colosseum! It looks amazing!’
The carriage slowly reached the massive gates of the Colosseum and stopped amongst the many other carriages lined up in the parking area.
“There we are!”
“Thank you for the trip, uncle.”
“No problem.”
“How much do you need?”
“5 silver coins.” The man said.
After paying the man, Arthur and Isla left the carriage and stepped through the gates still looking around them like children going to the amusement park for the first time in their lives. Everything looked magnificent and with the Divine Tower in the background, this was truly a sight of a lifetime.
“Don’t lose focus, Arthur.” Isla nudged her friend slightly. “We can’t let our guard down.”
“Hm? Oh right! Ehem, we need to focus!” Slapping his face a few times, Arthur tried to keep his focus. But, that didn’t last that long.
“Is that guy selling candy?!”
“Hey, wait!” Before she could even notice it, Isla turned around, only to realize that Arthur had walked to one of the many shops around the Colosseum selling snacks and merchandise.
“Sigh… What can I do with him?” She facepalmed before she walked after him.
Unbeknownst to her, far away, a few eyes were looking at the duo with sheer attentiveness.
“… Tell His Highness that they arrived… Only two of them. There is no sight of the rest.” One man said coldly as put his hand down, deactivating the spell he was casting. His eyes were as cold as ever. “The Gifted have arrived.”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3