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This was a place that I did not expect to see.
Looking around, it was a dense forest, but instead of the usual deep, verdant green of leaves and grass, it instead was flooded with bright sakura petals forming a canopy high above, with pillars of cinnamon bark that hinted a strong, yet gentle scent of sweetness.
Light blazed through the ceiling of petals. It was a beautiful scenery, indeed. It was reminiscent of those videos of famous Japan locations that I sometimes see on social media.
But now wasn't the time to be thinking of such things.
Instead, we should find out where we are right now, and how we can survive in this place.
If there is vegetation, there should be a source of food nearby, right?
I looked over my shoulder. Arthur huddled close to me, glancing at his surroundings with his mouth partially hanging open in awe.
Strange. There was no other humans except us. Weren't they also sent to this place?
Maybe it is because we were all sent to different locations of this Division, and if so, this Division must be a huge one in order to house this many people.
"Let's try to get out of this forest, Arthur." I mumbled, just loud enough for him to hear, but belatedly realised that I could no longer feel the tug at my hem and the echoing of my walking.
I turned around frantically. But lo and behold, that child was no longer by my side.
Did he perhaps wander off by himself?
"Arthur!"
No response, except from the susurration of leaves due to the passing wind.
I checked from all angles and the small areas behind the trees, in case he was playing a prank on me. After all, he was a child, and children tend to play pranks quite often when they are young. However, I had a strange feeling that this wasn't a prank.
I was right.
"Don't move. Or I will cut your child's throat and yours."
A rich accent with a feminine voice, but definitely one that I couldn't recognise, as it didn't seem to belong to any one culture.
A glint of steel flashed right at my chin, and I quickly flinched away at the sight of it. Before I could react, a small trail of blood leaked from a nick at my neck, staining the collar of my shirt.
"I told you not to move, and yet you didn't listen."
The voice had a tone with an edge. One wrong move and this person could very well end my life right here and now. I must try to choose my words carefully.
"We were simply passing through here. We weren't going to do anything else."
Cold steel caressed the delicate skin covering my cheekbone.
"Tell me, where did you come from? Are you one of the Empire's envoys? What's your purpose for stepping into the Castle's territory?"
Looks like she doesn't believe my words.
It was also obvious that she wasn't one of the "Survivors" from Earth, but perhaps a being living in the First Division of the Pillar.
If so, is her kind aware that they are living inside the Pillar?
"Hey, answer me."
I let out a deep breath. Best if I were to honestly answer her question.
"I know it's hard to believe, but we were forcibly sent here from another world. We were just trying to find our bearings by heading out of this forest, until you arrived."
Silence, except for the subtle breathing behind my neck and the rustling of the leaves.
"If so, how can you speak our language? Is it some skill you have, or…"
I nodded my head.
"If I find out you are lying, then…"
"Does it look like I'm lying?"
I stared straight over my shoulder, but saw nothing except the scenery behind me, and yet there was a cold blade hovering next to me with the feeling of someone looking straight at me.
Must be some sort of invisibility skill.
The atmosphere was tense, yet she didn't say a thing for a while, as if she was pondering on whether to believe me or not.
Hopefully we can get out of this situation as fast as possible.
"Even if you are telling the truth, I will have to detain you for trespassing on our property and place you and the child on trial. From there we can decide your fate."
Hesitantly, I nodded. This was the only solution without us getting killed. I sighed with relief as the blade was lowered.
But I still had too little information of this new world. Assuming that the twenty challenges of this division will arrive very soon, I needed to be prepared.
Firstly…
"May I know your name?"
A pause, followed by the sharp, sheathing sound of the blade.
"You can address me as Madam. There's no need for you to know my name. Now follow me."
She is choosing to stay mysterious? I mean, it's her choice, and I have no right to tell her otherwise.
I followed the trail of footsteps that she purposefully imprinted on the ground, swerving between the narrow gaps of the tree trunks and reaching to a small open area.
There laid a familiar, squirming child wrapped in bundles of rope.
With a quick swish of a knife that seemingly appeared out of nowhere, the ropes loosened, and Arthur tumbled out with a frightened and traumatised look on his face, letting out a squeal.
"B-big sis Eunari!"
His small hands quickly grasped my fingers tightly, not daring to let go.
"Hah, I told you just now, you can just call me Eunari."
The footsteps halted in its tracks for a moment's notice, before resuming the path out of the maze of trees.
Now, I made sure that I had a firm grip on Arthur's hand before following along.
Thinking back at the sight of Arthur being tied with the ropes, I asked a question to the invisible woman, purely out of curiosity.
"Since we are being detained, are you not going to restrain us with ropes or something?"
The footsteps continued.
"Do you want to be restrained?"
I hurriedly shook my head, feeling a slight shiver when the cold-feeling voice spoke. I wasn't sure whether it came from me or Arthur. Probably the latter.
"I just figured you would be more cooperative and obedient, unlike some people. But even so, don't take advantage of my mercifulness."
I get that a lot. Back at work in the tech company, as long as it didn't go against my beliefs, I would obediently do my job. Even if the work conditions were poor or there were colleagues that I found annoying, I still did my job without complaint. After all, what was the use of complaining about something you have no control over?
Speaking of work, I wonder if Arong was also a "Survivor" in the Pillar.
If so, it would be a great help if we were to form a team together.
"So, Madam, may I ask something?"
"Go on."
"What even is this place – no, this world we are living in right now? You mentioned something about a Castle and the Empire… do you mind telling me about them?"
A grunt of disbelief sounded out.
"You really don't know anything. Well, it doesn't hurt to tell you on our way."
The scenery changed. The trees parted way to reveal a huge grassland spanning a large distance and stretching to the horizon.
A crater of incredible size caved a huge, bottomless hole in the middle, blanketed with a shadow that seemed to be from an object floating in the sky.
I craned my neck to look up.
The view wasn't so great from where I was standing, as the light from the sun directly shone straight from above. But I could vaguely make out the architectural shape of a castle suspended above.
"That is the Empyrean Castle of Light, and the home to the honoured king of the world of Zion - the Great One."
My eyes started to hurt.
I quickly looked away, and noticed that the footprints were gone.
"Madam?"
"Walk up the stairway."
Vibrant, white energy swirled in front of me and morphed to form a wide, ascending stairway that reached to the castle.
I brought one foot forward, which landed solidly on the step.
Just as I was about to continue to climb up the set of stairs, something pulled my hand anxiously.
"Big sis Eunari… Eunari…"
"Arthur?"
I turned around to the direction he was looking at. Dark clouds crept up to cover the sky, and thunder boomed in the distance.
But I noticed something strange.
Similar to the white energy that the stairway was made up of, black energy twisted and spread chaotically in all directions near the forest in which we came out from, forming a typhoon of gales that tore and swept away the trees that dared stand in its way.
It was coming towards our direction in an unprecedented, abnormal speed.
There was no way we could reach the top of the stairway in time.
It wasn't humanly possible.
We have to go somewhere else, away from its direction.
Immediately, a force pulled me backwards, throwing me off my feet and landing higher up the stairway.
"Captives, get into the portal! It isn't the direct entrance to the Castle, but it is a shortcut to one of the side gates. Quickly!"
A white portal formed behind me, which I did not hesitate to throw myself and Arthur into.
Glancing back, I noticed a flash of silver before a familiar voice cried out.
"Password is 'the…'"
The voice was interrupted by the howling of the winds, which was silenced after light and warmth enveloped me once more.
Another notification flashed in front of me.
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