“Hey!” Lifting his hand, Arthur stopped a random carriage on his path. Getting inside, he looked at the driver and he was quite surprised. “I’m heading to the Co- It’s you!”
“Hm?” The old man looked over his shoulder and instantly recognized Arthur. “Wait, aren’t you the kid from yesterday?”
“Yeah, that’s me! This is quite a nice coincidence to meet you here!” Arthur smiled. ‘What are the chances I would come across the same man from yesterday? This world is truly small haha.’
“Hahaha! I remember you! Nice seeing you again, lad! So, are you going to the Colosseum again?” He asked.
“Yes.” He nodded his head. “Near the Colosseum to be precise.” He added with an excited tone.
“Near, huh? Got it. We’re moving!” With that, the man pushed the carriage and they started moving quickly, cutting through the street. The snow was descending slowly on the carriage, resting on top of it.
Arthur watched the scenery in silence as the carriage dragged him toward his destination. His mind was wandering to the tower as he contemplated what he might witness there.
“It’s a nice evening, isn’t it?”
“Hm?” Arthur hummed. “Yes, very nice.”
“People always say that the snowfall region is the best region in the entire capital. We have beautiful cold nights, the Colosseum, and even the Divine Tower. We have it all, unlike the other regions, haha!”
“… The other regions are considered inferior?” Arthur raised an eyebrow, a little taken aback by the old man’s comment.
“Of course! There isn’t a better place than this place. We are the best region of the capital. Even the Royal Family lives here.” The man’s tone was filled with mockery and even loathing. He didn’t seem like he liked the other regions for some reason.
“Isn’t that because the tower is here?” He asked.
“Of course, and the tower is here because it is the reason this region exists.”
“Oh?”
‘This is news to me.’
“Of course, when the shard first appeared, it is said to have created an extremely cold region of snow and ice around it hence why the Snowfall region exists.” The man explained. “Aaah, we have been truly chosen to live next to the Divine Shard. It is an honor we carry on our shoulders.”
“…”
Arthur didn’t know how to react to what he heard. One the one hand, he could clearly see that this matter of ‘pride’ wasn’t just as simple as it seemed. He could almost feel the pure mockery and loathing he had toward people of other regions of the capital. On the other hand, the fact the people of this region felt that much pride in being that close to the Divine Shard and the Royal Family was that much more interesting.
‘It’s almost like they’re considering it an object of worship.’ He thought to himself. ‘But, why does it feel like this man doesn’t stand the other regions of the capital? It can’t be just because he had something they didn’t ha-‘
Then, it hit Arthur. It was precisely because this man had something the other people of the capital didn’t have. That was more than enough of a reason to create a clear superiority complex for the people of the Snowfall region.
‘… This is very interesting. No, this is actually more important than interesting. It seems the ‘Capital of Glory’ isn’t as much of a utopia as I expected. There is something ominous going on here and these normal-looking people are already nose-deep into it.’
As the man whistled and hummed excitedly, Arthur looked at him silently, his mind wandering away as usual. Time passed slowly for him until, the Tower appeared in the distance, as menacing and as majestic as ever.
In fact, Arthur could swear it looked even more jaw-droppingly stunning than the first time he saw it.
“Here we are!”
By the time Arthur snapped out of it, he realized that the carriage had stopped. Taking out his pouch of coins, Arthur paid the man and hopped off. However, before leaving, he asked him.
“By the way, where do you access the Divine Tower from?”
“Hm? Why do you want to know that? Don’t tell me you’re trying to illegally enter the Tower? Don’t even think about it. That is a death sentence.” The man raised an eyebrow.
“No, of course not. I’m… just curious.” Arthur coughed slightly. He didn’t to reveal to the man that he had access to the tower so that he doesn’t bring unnecessary attention to himself.
“Hmm, the gates are right behind the Colosseum. They will lead you to the Shard Plaza and from there to the Tower itself.” The man explained.
“… Got it.” Arthur nodded his head faintly as he memorized everything the man said before he tapped the carriage. “Thank you for the trip and have a nice evening. Hopefully, we meet again, old man.”
“Hahaha! Take care, lad! If fate had brought us together once, it would do it twice!”
With that, the carriage left as Arthur watched it silently. After that, he turned around and started strolling through the street, keeping an eye on his surroundings. The place was naturally bustling with people since he was very close to the Colosseum but he still didn’t feel completely safe.
Moving past the area of the Colosseum, he took the main road that headed straight toward the cyclopean structure. At this point, all Arthur could see of it was its horrifying walls and some of its length. The rest was hidden in the darkness above, completely shrouded from his eyes. Arthur could only stare up in awe at how insanely large this thing was. It simply was something he couldn’t comprehend even as he was looking at it.
“Stop right there.”
At that moment, Arthur heard a cold voice speaking to him. Looking down, he noticed that a large man had stopped in front of him. The boy frowned at first, then realized that he was standing right in front of two large gates, presumably the ones he needed to enter to access the Shard Plaza.
“What purpose did you come here for? This is a restricted area. Please head back from where you came.” The man said in a respectful yet also threatening tone. Arthur could feel the man’s powerful aura and strong presence. He wasn’t a nobody.
But, he still calmly put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a small scroll. “I have been granted permission to access the Shard Tower by his highness, Prince Vincent. I assume he told you about me.” He said.
For a second, the man was confused, then, as if it clicked in his head, he froze. “Prince Vincent?… Are you perhaps… one of the gifted people?” He asked.
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“In the flesh,” Arthur replied. “Here, take a look at the scroll.” Tossing it to the man, the latter scrambled to grab it before he opened it quickly and read the content. Almost immediately, his eyes widened in shock before he looked up at Arthur.
“M-My deepest apologies!” He bowed his head quickly, almost in fear. “We have indeed received instructions that you gifted people are going to enter the Shard Tower. It’s our honor to receive you here!”
“Sure. I appreciate the hospitality. Now, can I go in?”
“… Yes, of course.” The man then quickly turned around and signaled for the door with his hand. A second later, it opened on its own, allowing Arthur to take a look inside.
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3