亚洲综合中美

A journey of a lifetime, like the circle of birth and death, returned to the start. Here, with a twirling wind about the Rosespian Castle, Staxius made his way down the alchemic tower. The desk and apparatuses remained still, frozen in a layer of dust and filled with cobwebs. ‘-No one’s been here,’ he observed, ‘-no one’s touched my items, and no one’s cared to clean the dust.’ He pushed the arched door, the latter creaked, and the whole tower shirked under the pressure. The nightscape changed. He glanced at the sky, the city lights were ambiguous, rendering the stars into nothing more than fireflies lost by a campfire. Clouds and vague outlines were visible. Advertisements swapped from airships to holographic displays. Models walked in three-dimension; the whole aura changed.

‘This place’s evolved quite a bit,’ the earrings paired, a twitch and the interface accidentally toggled. From there, a perplexed voice said, “-master?”

“Is that you, éclair?”

“MASTER, IT IS YOU!”

“No, not exactly,” he went to the front of the castle, “-the various ministries sure look nice.”

“Master, are you at the castle?”

“I suppose I am.”

“I’ll be there in a moment,” static filled the channel, he tapped and switched the interface off, ‘-I returned for a simple reason,’ the regard turned towards the distant city skyline, taller buildings, brighter decorations, and the underlying taunt or flex, how one perceived the abundant economy.

.....

“Master, master,” a smartly dressed prime minister ran out of the castle, “-you’re back,” he gasped, the surrounding bodyguards were confused at why.

“Shouldn’t have bothered coming,” Staxius lowered his glasses, “-not nice making trouble for your employees.”

éclair snapped his head back and gestured, “-leave us alone.”

“My lord, we’re duty-bound to be your protectors.”

“Will you go against my orders?”

“Such is the will of the secret service, my lord. We’re tasked with your protection, lord éclair. We won’t allow the leader of the Federation to be left alone with an unknown associate. You can either return to your quarters or allow us to follow your steps.”

Staxius rose his hand, “-prime minister, you have much to attend to. Please pay this old acquaintance no mind. I’ll be damned to be the one who troubles the secret service,” he propped the glasses and stared at the stars, “-I’m here to see her.”

“I understand,” éclair apologetically nodded, “-I thought we could go over politics and how the world-”

“-No,” he interjected, “-this realm is no longer my concern. It has become what it should, and I’m certain it’s being led by intelligent individuals. Besides,” he threw up his hand as a goodbye, “-talking won’t do much good, especially to the dead,” and so, as mysteriously as the entity appeared, he vanished in the night sky.

“My lord éclair, who was that man?”

“No one special,” he smiled, ‘-just the man who made all of our reality possible.’

“My lord, you look a little lost for words.”

“Don’t worry about me,” he waved his arm, “-there much we must do.”

Staxius found himself atop one of the three highest peaks within Rosespire, set in the media district, or as it had come to be known – the Commercial Hub.

‘Fast cars,’ he watched from high up, ‘-my previous lifestyle sure was something to behold. I had everything and could get whatever I want. Even now, anything I wish is within my grasp – though the influence stretches far beyond the confines of a single universe.’

A golden steed neighed, “-oh you,” the rider leaped and stormed into Staxius’s personal space with a lance drawn at her side, “-how dare you!”

“No need to burst a blood vessel,” he confidently tapped the rider’s forehead, “-Minerva.”

“Igna, you were so wrong to leave this dimension without warning. How dare you!”

“Igna is no more…” the pause dropped like an anvil, “-I no longer bear his name or his ideals. I come as one who’s gone beyond the limitations of the human experience.”

“My intel was right,” she took a step back, “-you chose the path King Alfred walked.”

“No, but I am following the cursed king’s footsteps.”

“What’s the difference?”

“…”

“No matter,” she shook her head, “-did you know Eira was worried beyond belief?”

“Was she now?”

“Yes, her and her majesty, Queen Courtney. We nearly had a war against Arda, she was under the assumption that we had gotten rid of her precious son. Let me tell you, it was the scariest month Hidros had ever experienced. We were forced to call in reinforcement from the emperor, that’s how large her threats and actions were. If not for Shanna and Synthia, the battle would have destroyed half of the continent.”

“Can’t blame a mother for caring about her offspring.” Just as he spoke, a holographic display advertising the release of the much-anticipated Jin the Ripper, starring Synthia from Apexi and Romeo from Leina. The latter’s headquarters, one of the taller skyscrapers, rose in the way distance. A cluster of similarly styled buildings sat at its side – most of the noise and advertisements pulsed in said direction, “-I wonder what event’s happening over there.”

“Honestly,” Minerva exhaled, “-Staxius, yes?”

He rose one eyebrow.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she smiled, “-I have contacts too, you know? The presence you bear isn’t the one Igna had. It’s stronger, filled with purpose, and more charming if I’d say so myself. Staxius Haggard, did you take over Igna’s personality and memory?”

“It’s a complicated explanation that would bring little to why I’ve come. No matter the name or persona I use, I’m still who I am. No one can’t say otherwise.”

“And like him,” she dangled a pair of keys and a card, “-you came for her. Go, master, go to her side and support her endeavors.”

“What’s this?”

“I wouldn’t know,” she shrugged, “-éclair asked me to deliver it. Anyway, I will meet you at the premiere, see you in a bit,” she leaped off the building to be caught by the horse, and off she sped with a trail of golden.

‘There’s a location,’ he quickly scanned the area and horned onto a warehouse placed on the outskirts of Lai, more specifically, the airstrip turned airport. The streets were empty and relatively quiet for what the Commercial Hub represented nowadays. Well, that’s not talking about the in-and-out flights.

Lights refracted against the asphalted plot where many warehouses called their homes. ‘-Rain must have fallen,’ he walked, a frosty gust whispered. The keys matched one of the hangars, ‘-I expected a warehouse, not this,’ the sheer scale went over his head as it swallowed most of the field of view. ‘-For big, this place is big,’ he tapped the keycard, “-identification confirmed, welcome Young Master,” the bolts shifted and a hiss unlocked the pressured door, ‘-fancy,’ he entered, the light automatically toggled respectively. ‘-This is,’ he blinked, the arms dropped, ‘- a collection of all my purchases… my cars and bikes,’ he looked around, ‘-everything’s here, this brings back so many memories. Who did this?’

“Probably wondering who went through the effort of collecting the items?”

“Serene?”

She dove from two containers high, “-the one and only,” she winked, her outfit was as skimpy as always, though it looked more formal today, “-and yes, it was me who did all this.”

“Why?”

“A memento,” she tapped, “-or mementos?” she crossed her arms with a pause and signaled Staxius, “-I was throughout in collecting all the stuff you ever made. We have the paintings, the scrolls to even the first iteration of the crafting table used to make God’s ale and Angel’s dust. It’s your items and God forbid they fall into the wrong hands. We’ve also got staff and spells you cast during your battles, blades used and tossed. I was going to get people who were involved mummified, Julius said I was a bit too over to the top. I stopped at the non-living stuff, boring as it is.”

“You collected all these items, why?’

“For transportation. Master, I know you can cross-dimension, you were never really dead, just changed the plane to someplace more fitting of your powers. Still, doesn’t feel right to just leave this stuff around here to rot. The warehouse was built using Maicite, it should be able to handle the process of changing dimensions. Store it in the Shadow Realm – like a garage, you know.”

“Sure are thoughtful,” he glanced, “-I can’t help but notice there are fighter jets and tanks, I never made these.”

“Oh, there’s plenty of weapon in the back – many of which go against the war treaties. Biological weapons, nukes, you name it, and it’s there for your usage.”

“Pretty bold to store such items in such a place?”

“The place’s under the Nightwalker’s watch. Ain’t no way anyone’s going to make a move, no way in hell,” she tapped her wrist, a small hologram flicked up, “-I’m needed at headquarters. See you in a bit, master, the premier starts in a few hours,” she disappeared leaving a bat-shaped mist.

‘Original,’ he stepped forward to a line of expensive-looking cars, ‘-man this is amazing,’ he instantly locked on one, ‘-Void,’ he tapped and opened the door, ‘-Xerxes series, one of six,’ the engine roared with the influx of mana. The hangar opened and closed, ‘-drive safely,’ said a soft-toned voice, ‘-Yui,’ he grinned and sent it down the street.

‘A lovely drive around the city,’ he sped through traffic, premonition and heightened reflexed – godly abilities to the mind of the common folk, guided the haphazard rush. ‘-the highway is a pleasure to surf, this feels amazing,’ he shifted and blasted forth. Reports of a high-speed offender reached public safety, “-we have reports of a speeding car down the highway. We’re sending the high-speed unit.”

“No need,” orders came from above, “-we’re to leave that vehicle alone. It’s owned by the monarchy, and thus, can’t be touched due to their immunity. Leave the man be, if he crashes, he crashes. They’ll handle it.”

Time showed 19:43 – the premier was set for 22:00. ‘-Rosespire’s nightlife is renowned the world over,’ he browsed the Arcanum, ‘-most of the videos I uploaded, even the ones where I played guitar has been taken down. Looks like they were immaculate in taking down anything related to the king. éclair or Elixia must have gone in and set the record straight with my story. It’s glorified to some extent… they’re even teaching my story in history classes. Who would have known,’ he sped past the sunset boulevard and headed to the Musical Academy, ‘-passing through I get memories of Celina, Syndra Lordon, Lizzie Haggard, and Ulgra Essin, all perished in the explosion so many years ago. Young talent lost to the world’s folly. I almost forgot about them,’ he pulled into a parking spot and conjured a teleportation symbol, ‘-I better pay my respects now,’ he reappeared in Dorchester, beside the Castle Garsley church. The memorial is dedicated to the Silver Guardian and those who died during the wedding.

‘May you keep your peace,’ he folded his arms in respect before their gravestones, ‘-tonight may be the last time I bid you respect, my friends. The world’s a better place. I don’t know if the dreams have come, however, I can assure you this – what we fought for has become true. Peace is finally upon the land. Farewell.’