Jin hopped off the carriage and onto the street. Hmm . . . what should I do now? He thought, confused before deciding to browse the various shops while he waited. Jin walked around for a while until he came to an interesting shop. He walked in and looked at the various strange items for sale, but after realizing he had no money, he walked back to the street.
Jin walked back toward the main gate to see if Khronus had returned yet. On his way he saw a young man walking towards him. He had dark red hair and green eyes. He appeared to be a year or two older then Jin, and he was wearing a black robe with a strange symbol on the back.
“Can I help you?” Jin asked.
“Yes, were you on the caravan that just arrived?” the young man asked.
“Yes, I did. Why do you ask?” Jin responded.
“Did you encounter any strange creatures on the road here?”
A hand was placed on Jin’s shoulder and he heard a familiar voice. “Yes,” the voice said. Jin turned to see Khronus. “And who might you be, young man?”
“My name is Nikolai Zar; I am an ayos from the Eastern Academy. And who are you?” Nikolai asked.
“My name is Khronus and my companion here is Jin. I am a master at the Western Academy and he is one of our newest apprentices. I am escorting him back to the academy,”
“Wait you’re the Khronus? So why are you escorting a student in the east?” Nikolai questioned.
“Yes well, Jin here belongs to one of the western clans so has chosen to learn at the Western Academy.” Khronus responded vaguely. “And what business do you have here, Nikolai?” He asked changing the subject.
“I’m here to take care of the kami that has been plaguing the road east of here,” Nikolai responded.
Khronus sighed as his eyes veered off. “Ohh . . . I took care of it,” Khronus responded.
Nikolai’s eyes widened. “What!? So I came all this way for nothing?” he said with an annoyed undertone.
“I’m sorry, I had no idea the job had been commissioned by the east. But I had to get through the road and we were attacked so . . .” Khronus explained.
Nikolai raised his hand to silence him. Now that the shock had worn off, he had calmed down. “No it was my error for not arriving sooner,” he explained.
“Well, we are in the Eastern Academy’s territory. I should have known. You’re more than welcome to take credit for the assignment,” Khronus responded.
“No, I am an honorable man. I will see that you are credited and the payment will be transferred to the Western Academy as well,” Nikolai responded. “Well, I must be on my way,” he said as he turned and walked away.
“That was interesting,” Khronus said, breaking the tension.
“Wow, I have so many questions about what just happened,” Jin responded.
“Yeah, it’s best not to try to learn everything at once. Try to take in too much and you’ll end up losing most of it. Just give it time,” Khronus explained. “But anyway, I’m hungry. How about you?”
Jin shrugged. “Eh, I could eat,” he responded.
The two wondered around until they finally found a restaurant. It was a nice place with wooden tables, a bar in the front, and a large stone fireplace in the back. A waitress came and took their order and later brought out their food. “So how much farther do we have to go?” Jin asked
“If we took a carriage, it’d probably take another two months give or take.” Khronus responded.
Jin’s mouth dropped. “What!?” he said, shocked. “Seriously, it’s going to take that long?”
“Well . . .” Khronus said, with a slight chuckle, “actually, there’s an atlas gate just outside of town that can get us there in a few hours.”
“What’s an atlas gate?” Jin asked.
“Atlas gates are set up all over Eden. They are essentially portals that link two faraway places. They make long distance travel much easier,” Khronus explained. “But before we leave we need to do something about you wardrobe.”
Says the guy dressed like a mobster, Jin thought. “What’s wrong with my cloths?” he asked.
“They’re fine, but you need to dress like you’re actually from this world.” Khronus explained. They went to one of the local shops and Khronus bought Jin some new cloths, shoes and a new pack to carry them in. Khrouns also changed back into his academy cloths. The two walked over in an alley way. “Ok now we’ve got to get rid of your old things. If there’s anything you want to keep take it out now.”
Jin rummaged around in his pack. There was nothing really important inside. He pulled out his phone. Guess there’s no going back now. He thought as he stuck it back in the bag. “There’s nothing I need in here. Here you go,” He said handing the bag to Khronus. The bag froze in his hand. Then he dropped it and it shattered on the ground.
The two went to find a carriage driver and get a ride out of town. After a while of searching, they found someone to take them. They jumped on the carriage and began their journey out of town.
The carriage made its way down the road until it came upon a large arch. The arch appeared to be made of a dark stone with a symbol etched in the top center. Inside the gate was a strange layer. It looked almost like water. You could see through it, but the image was murky and warped. The carriage continued through the gate and Jin watched carefully. As he passed through the gate, he closed his eyes but didn’t feel anything. He peeked out of the carriage to see that the scenery had changed. “Wow, so where are we now?” Jin asked.
The carriage continued along up a new road. “You should be able to see where we are right about . . . now,” Khronus answered. Jin stuck his head out, looking behind the carriage. There was a large cluster of atlas gates at the end of the road behind him. Then he turned and looked at the trail ahead. He gasped to see a large building just in the distance. It was a large grey brick building. It looked almost like a castle with a large crystal obelisk in the very center.
“Impressed?” Khronus asked.
“Yes, very,” Jin responded.
“Well, this is your new home,” Khronus said.
Jin looked on in amazement as the carriage made its way up to the gates that led into the academy. A large man stood in front of the gate. He was a tall muscular man. He wore a black robe with armor strapping around his chest, covering his right shoulder and his entire right arm. The man walked into the path of the carriage and held out his right hand revealing a core. “Who goes there?” the man asked in a loud intimidating voice.