The elebator would rumble once more. This whole time, ever since they began rising, the walls behind the glass had been nothing but solid marble.
Jin wondered what was the point of windows if there was nothing to be seen, but that thought perished at the next scenery.
As light then entered through the elevator, Jin could see the morning sun clearer than ever. The entirety of Osvain could be seen.
He would tell to his heart, So high, as he ascended further into the clouds.
Those buildings which towered over him before looked no different from ants. He couldn't even see any of the residents there. Even the outer walls seemed small.
And beyond those walls was an endless wasteland of broken spires.
Jin has never explored past those walls before. He was curious but he never found a reason to do so. Yet, seeing what lied ahead of them now, he could only gasp.
"Oh my god..."
"It's strange, right? With this kind of view, you'd think Osvain would be the only city left in the lower strata."
"There are. Other cities I mean... but, my mother told me that before the surge happened, Osvain was much more lively and people explored beyond the walls often."
"The surge? Ah, that major event. You know, it was the Vaen family that took interest in it first. It's why there's a mansion down there for members."
"Say, does the Vaen family have sole access to Osvain then?"
"That's a good question. The Vaen family don't have sole access to Osvain. That being said, they do own it as the whole territory. It's why you never see Vassari walking your streets—even if they did want to anyways."
That last part made Jin roll his eyes. Talk about unnecessary jabs.
Further silence intervened as the two stayed lost in thought. The soft rumbles which tickled Jin's ears grew louder. There wasn't much to talk about. Of course there wasn't. In this situation, talking about anything like they were close friends would be weird.
Not that Jin himself was much of a talker to begin with. He'd always relied on Tora or Isis when it came to driving the conversation. He could put an act—but it wouldn't feel as natural as the ever going Isis nor the steadfast Tora.
But, even for Jin, this was unbearable to even handle. He'd considered listening in on some music with his MP3 player, but he wasn't so sure that Kyle would be the type to let him do that.
Better safe than sorry, is what he'd convinced himself to do.
"We've been climbing higher and higher non-stop. Is the trip to Halcendre really that long?" Jin asked, feeling the length of the trip.
"There's actually more stations throughout the Bridge of Strata that people work and rest at. Though we're in a rush right now. We can't afford to delay things."
"Delay things?"
"I think I've answered more than enough questions for you; it's right to say that it's my turn, correct? That is what we agreed upon."
Jin couldn't exactly say no to that. "Go ahead."
"Those cracks on your arms. They happen to you usually?"
He could tell what Kyle was trying to refer to. It was obvious as he looked back at his on hand. There weren't cracks like earlier, but recently he's also started to notice some strange things.
"Not really," Jin answered plainly. "It's only til recently I've started noticing them. They started acting up when I tried using my warp. Though... it didn't work out that well."
He flexed his hands and loosened up again. There wasn't any sort of pain or backlash related to those cracks on the physical side. But, those headaches have grown impatient.
"Warp? So that's what you decided to dub it."
He couldn't help but frown. "What is that suppose to mean?"
"That ability you call... 'warp' is an existing one we Exceptions call Recall."
"So are what you're saying is that there are more people who could use it?"
"More or less every Exception can use it." Hearing that surprised Jin. He'd thought it would at least be rare. Though, shouldn't have kept his expectations high. They only lead to disappointment. "However, yours is acting rather different from how normal procedures usually go. And based on your account on those cracks on your arm being a recent state, I'm willing to guess this is related."
"Related? I don't understand. I didn't know this was a normal thing for Exceptions too."
Kyle briefly paused. His shoulders rose as a deep breath left through the tiny holes in his helmet. "Those violet cracks stems from overuse of your nexus. Usually, when someone uses Recall, a person is meant to have a series of prepared calculations before even trying to do it. It's one of the more advance phenomena's. Putting it frankly, it's meant to be impossible to do it at a moments notice. Especially so fast."
"Calculations? I think I do that. I have to consider the distance and everything before I start doing that war... or, well, Recall. Not to mentioned I have to think of the place."
"Yeah, but that's not how it works. Simply knowing where you point your anchors isn't enough. There's a whole process of calculations that are well beyond what the human mind can simply do in an instant," he continued. "You mentioned that your Recall failed to work, yes?"
"Uhh, yeah."
Thoughts of when Jin hung out with Isis played back. It did more than not work, it completely backfired on him. Which had never happened before.
"That's probably due to the amount of times you used it before when we first faced off. And judging by how you reacted so harshly to the null space earlier when you foolishly entered into the Liminal Space. You're definitely still under its effects."
All that new jargon left Jin puzzled for what to expect Kyle to say next.
"You definitely will need to see the doctor again. She should be still in the family estate about now. It'll be a perfect time."
Doctor?
"Hold on, what is that supposed to mean? None of what your saying makes any sense."
Kyle stood from his seat and looked out at the clouds below. Osvain was no longer a city that could be seen.
"I'm sure you have many more questions but they can be for later. You'll have a lot to learn in Halcendre." The enforcer looked back at Jin. Jin could see his own reflection in those pitch black visors as the air grew heavy. "And I don't have much time to work with you until the day of the entrance exam."
In that moment, the glass tube turned pitch black. There have been many other intervals where this happened. But, Jin noticed that this one in particular stretched out far longer than what it should. He could hear it. The sound of a bustling crowd.
He had only been in this elevator for what he could guess was about an hour. Maybe less. He didn't know. His sense of time was really screwed from boredom. The elevator came to a sudden stop as the A.I voice from before spoke.
Top floor. Halcendre.
Doors slide open like curtains, slowly unveiling and endless tunnel.
Kyle walked off the elevator tube and calmly looked back at the frozen Jin. "What are you standing around for? Are you scared? Lets go. We'll be late."
"Oh!" Jin snapped out of it as grabbed his bag and followed suit. "No, that's ridiculous. I was just... nevermind."
He noticed that there were other elevator tubes right next to the one he was at. People in suits or other strange outfits with long white coats also left from them.
One of them locked eyes with him. A women with long cascading orange hair, sharp azure eyes, and fair complexion. She was one of the groups who wore the white coat.
Jin was quick to tear himself away from her look. That's a Vassari.
"Is that... Ah, if it isn't Officer Kyle!"
That excited approach made Kyle turn around.
"Hera? You're.... here."
He sounded much more surprised than he took credit for in that cold exterior he held up.
"Of course I am. Did you think I had already gone? I had some more buisness in the middle levels. Some reports of... oh, who is this young man?"
Jin openly tensed when she laid her eyes on him once again—stooping forward. Curiosity wandered in her as she studied his features.
Her tone suddenly shifts. Almost like she recognised Jin. That's what made him panic. "Oh... are you perhaps...?"
She knows... she definitely...
A smile graced her features as she patted the shoulder of Kyle carelessly. "Kyle, I didn't take you as the kind of person to look after kids! Gees, you really are softy at heart, aren't you~"
"Hera, what are you talking about? You clearly—"
"Oh my, where are my manners?" The women stretched out a hand to Jin. She sure was tall. Taller than Jin, actually. "My name is Illaria Hera. A pleasure! Won't you be a dear and tell me your name?"
She spoke weirdly similar to Arael. Right, I guess she'd speak like that.
He hesitantly took her hand and gave it a small shake. "I'm Jin—"
"Amakusa Jin," Kyle intervened at the last second, looking around at the other passing Vassari for a moment.
"My, how rude of you to interrupt the boy, Kyle," Hera pouted. "And, Amakusa, is it? You don't appear to be from around these parts. First time ever in Halcendre? Oh, I know! You must be a visitor from Kelan. Or, Nivalis? Why else would you use the Bridge of Strata to come up here?"
"I, uhhh..."
Does she perhaps not know? Jin couldn't dicern it from her. But his instincts were telling him otherwise. He could be second guessing it. Lost and unable to answer that, Kyle took the liberty and stepped in.
"Forgive me, Hera. But we're in a hurry."
"Hmph... Oh well, are you perhaps going to the Vaen Family Estate now?"
"That's correct."
"Alright then~!"
Hera flicked her hair back over her shoulder before heading back to her group. She waved back with a certain excitement that left a major impression on Jin. "I'll see you later, Officer Kyle! Amakusa!"
"Honestly, that women is always so eccentric..." the man muttered. "Great, now we're getting behind schedule. Lets just carry on."
"Why'd you correct me?" Jin asked, still perplexed. "Actually, I've been wondering this for a while, but why do you and Arael call me by my last name first?"
"It's something you'll need to aclimate to here. Vassari's usually refer to others by family names with the only exceptions being people who are relatively familiar with one another. Only then, they are granted permission to use their given name."
That's why he did it then, Jin understood.
"So, when you're speaking to someone like her. Refer to her as Illaria rather than Hera. It'll be rude otherwise."
"I see then. You two must be close."
"That's none of your buisness."
The tunnel wasn't as long as Jin thought but it'd be. Though, he would certainly burn the next image into his mind as he reached the end of it.
That tunnel connected directly to an observational lounge that revealed the breathtaking sight. It wasn't the abundance of Vassari's. Neither was it the vibrant colours. Instead, the view of a city like no other left Jin glued to the windows.
All his life, he'd been so adjusted to Osvain's cold—almost vacant streets—nothing could've prepared him for the advanced nature of the city itself.
Bridges stretched across the sky, carrying trains that moved at hyper speeds.
Advertising lights, which Jin would usually find on broken billboards, were screened onto the balloons of airships.
Everything about this city was filled with technology. Hell, Jin couldn't even see the end of it. It was much larger than Osvain—he could say for sure.
The capital was truly something else.
"I suppose I should say, welcome to the higher strata; Halcendre."