They were surrounded by a monochrome, silent landscape. Standing in an area of land similar to the island on Aurra, they looked around at the mysterious world they had just entered. Above, a dome of grays glanced off one another like a field of plasma. Across from them were the walls of a City. Frozen in time, the plaque on the gate read “City J”.

  “Is everything in black and white for you?” Garder wondered.

  “Yeah…” Simon replied. “How’s this possible?”

  “City J?” Milla questioned. “That can’t be right. This place doesn’t look a thing like J.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Jeryn said. “The building style is completely different, and older. And it looks even smaller than A.”

  “Wait—look.” Garder pointed out towards the small skyscrapers of the City. “Icicles and frost cover the buildings. But it’s not even cold here.”

  “Odd… I can’t make sense of any of this.”

  “Think there’s anyone in the City?”

  “Tanesh doesn’t like it here…” Lechi said, holding the whimpering animal. “This place isn’t… right.”

  “I could tell. But we’re here now. Might as well look around.”

  “Hope that pretorian can’t come through.”

  They took in a quick breath, then stepped off the dais and headed towards the City itself. They were walking on snow—they could hear the crunching, but they made no footprints. As they entered the City, they each felt a great ominous aura spread over them.

  Hundreds of people occupied various, seemingly random locations of the roads and sidewalks. Most of them stood completely still, their blinking, dazed eyes their only sign of life. Others walked around in confusion. Just a few of the people in the City seemed to be able to move fully and were aware of their surroundings.

  “What is this place?” Garder murmured.

  “It’s an Aurrian City, whatever it is. Kind of…” Shin said.

  Garder felt a tug on his leg. He looked down to see a small boy, almost solid gray, peering up at him. His eyes were dark and hollow, and he seemed pinned to the corner of the nearly empty street.

  “W-what is it?” Garder asked the child.

  The boy merely pointed up to the sky, as if trying to show Garder something. He looked at the odd child for a moment longer before gazing up at the dome. Suddenly, there was a loud crackling echo throughout the City’s atmosphere, and a giant band of energy streamed down from the top.

  It left behind a trail of shimmering imagery: tall buildings, mountains, famous Earth landmarks, forests, people, and oceans. All faded in and out of each other like a living painting. Once the wave fell below the horizon, Garder felt a tremendous sensation akin to the one the demirriage brought on. He was being taken somewhere. His vision blurred out for a second, and then refocused onto a completely changed landscape.

  He was standing on a hill, overlooking a suburban neighborhood at night. He could see a sprawling city in the distance. He recognized it by its glistening radio tower; he was just outside Tokyo. He remained there for nearly a minute, standing still and trying to comprehend what was going on. Everything was in color again except for his body.

  Then the world began to break apart and shift form. Within a few moments, he was back in his previous location. He looked down at the boy again, completely without explanation of what had just happened.

  “What was that just now?” Simon wondered. “I was taken somewhere… and I felt really light. I couldn’t see the rest of you.”

  “Me neither,” Garder replied. “I could see Tokyo in the distance. But I was still in black and white…”

  “Every… fifty-four minutes… and eleven seconds… we shift… we shift… Every time… All the time…” the child muttered to himself.

  “Should you be sitting on the street?” Garder was at a loss for words.

  He softly took the child’s arm and tried to pull him away, but he wouldn’t budge. He clearly made no effort to stay on the ground, but he didn’t move in the slightest.

  “Don’t try with him!” crackled an old woman, meandering across the road. “He’s new here! He’s not quite used to it yet!”

  “Used to what? What is this place?”

  “You’re new too, I see! But you’re lucky—you can move! Banished, I presume? Cracked a joke about the king, perhaps? Ho, ho…”

  “Banished?” Milla wondered.

  “That poor child is a haunting. Oh, he can’t move, I’m afraid… No, he’s stuck there. There’s three kinds of us, you’ll see.” She laughed crazily and turned her back on the group.

  ‘“W-what is this place?” Garder stuttered. “Is this supposed to be, like, hell or something?”

  “Oh no, dear!” the old lady continued. “Hell might be less dull, I think! Oh, ho, ho…”

  “Garder… these people. Look at them…” Milla nudged him.

  He looked around. They were young and old, sprawled throughout the City’s streets. A few occupied the towers, looking out of their windows longingly. Others walked along a path repeatedly as if they were machines, each stuck in their own world.

  “She said he was a haunting,” Simon mentioned. “I wonder what she meant by that?”

  “Ghosts…” Jeryn replied. “I think these people are all ghosts…”

  “This is the place the General was researching?” Xavier wondered. “What a desolate world.”

  “It is… Oh, Xavier, you’re still carrying all the bags?” Milla noticed.

  “Uh, right… Here, take them for me.”

  By the time they were each carrying their individual cases again, the crowds of quiet, brooding people had taken notice of them. They could each tell, to some degree, that the people who had just joined them were different. They were more alive than they could ever hope to be.

  “The claws don’t do anything here,” Milla explained as they walked the streets. “No reaction at all…”

  “And there are so many people here. Look at them all!” Lechi added.

  As they drew nearer to the center of the City to begin looking for whatever it was Rivia needed to show them, the inhabitants grew in number. Still, most of them paid no notice, instead transfixed on something beyond their world. Some moved around in a stupor. Only a few seemed fully aware. It was the same on every street and inside every building’s lobby or foyer. An entire City, trapped in time without color or joy.

  Eventually, another arc spread out across the dome. This time, the group was prepared for it, but still had little idea just what the phenomenon entailed exactly. Garder was taken to a Boston street at daytime. Cars passed straight through him without so much as moving a particle. He had been standing directly near Milla, but now he couldn’t see her anywhere. And he was back before even one person noticed him.

  “We were clear across the world that time,” Simon murmured.

  “Are we just being taken to random areas on Earth or something?” Garder questioned.

  “No… I don’t think so. This place has some connection with Earth… But I just can’t quite explain how.”

  “You’re the ones, aren’t you?”

  They turned to see a small Latina girl, younger than Lechi. She was already the liveliest thing encountered in the bizarre dimension.

  “You’re the ones Rivia has told us about? Oh, we’ve been hoping, but no one really believed him. You have to be them. I can tell.”

  “He sent us here, but we have no idea where we are,” Milla replied.

  “That isn’t surprising. Come on, follow me. Rivia is waiting for you.”

  “Where is he?” Xavier questioned.

  “Not far from here. Outside. Not many people go up in the buildings. Lifts don’t work. So, we mostly gather outside. No weather to worry about, anyway.”

  Without any further discussion, they followed the small girl across a few more roads and alleyways until they arrived at the exact center of the City; where the giant stone and metal pole that held the artificial sun rested.

  Almost directly under it, sitting on a large leather chair over a small rug, was Rivia himself. He hadn’t aged a day, it seemed, and around him were several curious people with whom he had been speaking to quietly.

  “Sir!” Xavier called out and ran up to him. “Oh, Sir! You’re safe!”

  “In a way, I suppose.” He smiled. “I’m glad to see that you’ve made it so soon, Milla and Garder. I haven’t been waiting long, fortunately.”

  “What do you mean? It’s been nearly a week, hasn’t it?” Milla asked.

  “Norria, thank you for leading these people here,” he said to the girl. “Everyone, I will gladly tell you more about Aurra and Earth when I am done with my meeting here. Thank you.”

  The small crowd quickly emptied out, leaving Rivia with the people he had gathered for the lengthy task and their additions to the group.

  “I see that you’ve increased your numbers,” he said.

  “Yes,” Shin replied. “I’m Shin Xin from Hold.”

  “Ah… Simon Thalst. From Earth…”

  Rivia raised his brows. “Earth? Hm, I didn’t expect that you’d make such an acquaintance. I’d venture a guess that you’ve already become knowledgeable of how Aurra functions.”

  “Yeah… pretty much,” Simon replied, feeling guilty about it.

  “He helped us get to C,” Garder explained. “He’s also a solar.”

  “I see… Your venture here must’ve been an interesting one that I’d like to hear some day. And Verim, glad to see you again.”

  “Hi, Rivia,” he replied. “I was a little rough on Garder, I’m afraid.”

  “About that… I do apologize, Garder—and Milla. But I needed you to see Escellé for reasons you should be aware of by now.”

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  Garder was about to ask why it had to be him, but decided to remain silent. He was already fairly sure of the answer he’d receive.

  “I assume that you encountered the demon, then?”

  “Yes,” Jeryn replied. “It’s still terrorizing C. We couldn’t kill it.”

  “What demon?” Shin wondered.

  “The one Milla took those claws from. A bioweapon, that wasn’t originally supposed to be one,” Rivia explained. “I believe C was merely trying to create a creature that could survive in the haze. But they stumbled upon something else… I would share my speculation, but perhaps now is not the time. Your current mission is about to take a different turn.”

  “First, General, where are we?” Garder demanded.

  “And the difference in time here—can you explain it?” Milla added.

  “Yes. But withhold any questions for now. I’ll explain this place as clearly as I possibly can. Please, simply listen to me for a few moments.”

  “No objections,” Shin replied and took a seat on a low mortar wall.

  Everyone settled in. Garder and Lechi used their suitcases as seats and relaxed a bit, though Tanesh was still anxious about the strange world’s atmosphere. They had gone through much to get to this point, but there was likely much more to come once the sought-out meeting was concluded.

  “I’m sure that you’ve read the journal in my office. I was a Japanese sailor two Earth lifetimes ago, and the part where my crew disappeared is completely true. I tried to avoid thinking about that horrible night until I was in Aurra again, at which point I began my research on a possible additional dimension, hidden away from most.

  “And upon reaching this place, my research came full circle. I have reunited with the majority of my crew from so long ago—the ones that were not lucky enough to simply die in that storm, or survive. This place exists in a very weakened state. Time and space barely exist here, and only in a compacted, minimal way. It flows in the fabric that binds the two major worlds, as if squeezed in between two massive objects.

  “For a reason I cannot quite explain, some of this dimension has leaked into Earth’s. It constantly fades in and out of its frequency, like a tenuous, constant radio wave. The living people here sometimes appear on Earth as ghosts, specters, spirits—or as even less tangible entities.”

  Eyes widened. These people were ghosts, just as Jeryn theorized. But did that alone explain the reason for every alleged spectral encounter? Before anyone could ponder further, Rivia continued.

  “The translation of this weakened state is truly… odd. With time compacted, it decelerates in this realm. Once about an hour passes, local reality fades almost out of existence completely, and we briefly merge with Earth’s space. An hour here seems to equate to about half a day on Earth. And as for space… Well, we all become ghosts to some degree on Earth. Some of us are visible in the dark for a brief time. Others only exist as a faint whisper. After a minute, we come back here, and the cycle continues.”

  “Then we’ve already been here for a day…” Garder thought aloud.

  “Yes. That’s why I’ve only been waiting for hours. But I have learned so much from the inhabitants here since. They’re very communal. Even the ones who never move have names and sometimes speak with us directly.

  “And because of the weakened space, inches here become miles on Earth. Walk a few feet, and you’ll go from London to Paris. You wouldn’t be able to find someone during the dimensional transition if they were standing right near you. But, ghosts do not see each other at all, so you wouldn’t see others on Earth even if you were shoulder to shoulder.

  “There are three kinds of people here. Those who haunt, those who were here in the City’s original state, and those who have been banished… And to complete my research, I had to put myself into that third group.”

  “Banished?” Milla gasped lightly. “The Guard banishes people here?”

  “For some time now, starting after your rule, Milla. You would’ve never known about this place. I’m not sure when the Guard discovered it, or how they send most people here. I was under suspision for my research for years, and I finally turned myself in under the pretense that I was leading a rebellion. That, as you should know, is the ultimate offense. The Guard usually calls this an ‘attempt to subvert the circle.’ They fear much, even though they’ve been in control since the beginning, and every movement against them has failed without so much as a minor success.

  “This is where they’ve been sending upstarts recently. I remember a pretorian shrouded in the room’s darkness, and he tore open… some way into this place… I was fearless, as I wanted to come here, but had to appear afraid, or the Guard might’ve seen through me. Next thing I know, I was in this place, around me the kind and sympathetic eyes you see upon you.”

  “Have they been here since these banishings began?” Jeryn asked.

  “No. Most, far longer. You saw the plaque, did you not? This was the original City J. Over three thousand years ago, it existed on Aurra.”

  Xavier replied, “Three thousand… No wonder it looks early Greek.”

  “Aurra was a different place then. At that point, there were only twelve Cities, much smaller than they are now, mainland Mightoria had yet to be discovered, and the traditional tier system wasn’t in use yet. J resided where I does now—Aurra’s northernmost City. It was also a technologically advanced place. I, as in me, myself, wasn’t around that long ago. And recollection begins to turn into a murky mess over such a period of time, so few would be able to remember clearly what happened back then.

  “But there are a few who can. Much of what I have learned has been passed down from… these people. I am sure you will meet them, but now is not the time. The more I spend in this place speaking with you, the more precious time you lose for your mission on Aurra. I will hurry and finish.

  “J had unlocked technologies only a few still know about in this place. But what did this—the big event that made this world, is lost to history. Whatever happened, the entire City was blown out of Aurra’s existence. Somehow, eons later, the Guard must’ve discovered this dimension themselves, and found a way to send undesirables here.

  “When someone dies in powerful rage, sadness, or pure hatred, their emotions and desire to remain attached to Earth may cause a transfer error en route to Hold. This dimension seems to be an absolute fail safe for these souls. Even if they let go of, or are forced to let go of Earth, they remain—but awaken and are at least free to move around. And those who haunt are tethered to a single location. That is why they don’t move an inch.

  “As for the rest of us, we were banished to or originated from this City. Those who are the oldest eventually lose their minds and drift about warily. Those who maintain some degree of sanity… can ‘live’ in this place as they would anywhere else.”

  “And these claws…” Milla took the pair out. “They’re the answer the people here are looking for? A way out?”

  Rivia looked them over and smiled, “Yes. We could leave, I am sure. But… only some of us would. It would be a miserable solution to form a single line and slowly exit this accursed realm, leaving so many behind. The claws are not the answer, but they are the tools to one.”

  “You set all of this up…” Garder began, “City C, the dimension-traveling demon’s claws, Hold, your journal… To free these people?”

  “Put simply, yes.”

  “Of course we’re going to help,” Shin said. “This world is horrible. These people need to be freed no matter what the cost.”

  “Yes,” Simon added. “I would never want to end up in such a place.”

  “What do we have to do now?” Verim asked.

  “There is a device maintaining this City’s form. It’s likely what caused it to come here in the first place. Now that we have the claws, we can toss it out, or destroy it, and everything should revert to its prior state…”

  “… But?” Garder continued after a silence.

  “Unlike the majority of the Guard, I still have a conscience…”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If we were to reverse this, we would likely appear where City I is now. What this means for sure, I don’t wish to find out. I may be destroyed completely. It may be replaced, its people sent here, solving nothing. Either way, our desire to escape does not bode well for the people of City I.”

  “For now, this must be kept a secret. I don’t think there are many people here so desperate to leave this place… that they would be willing to sacrifice so many others to do so.

  “So, before we do anything else, you should hurry to the next part of your mission. It will be unlike anything you’ve done for me thus far, but it has to be accomplished.”

  “You want us to evacuate City I?” Jeryn understood instantly.

  “Yes. Exactly. Get everyone out.”

  “But Sir, City I is so small…” Xavier replied. “Have any of us even been there before?”

  The group looked at one another and shook their heads.

  “If only I could go with you. But I feared as much…” Rivia sighed. “Luckily, I thought up a backup plan if this were the case. You’re going to have to take a slight detour first to use Jeryn’s demirriage.”

  “What do you mean?” he questioned.

  “There is a boy, a mind paradigm, imprisoned in City N.”

  “A paradigm…” Garder replied. “I was beginning to feel like they were only legends. I’ve never seen one.”

  “A paradigm?” Simon wondered.

  “Yes,” Rivia began. “A paradigm is born when there is a coming together of the alignments of alchemagi. One alignment is infused with the newborn. It makes them so powerful in that alignment, that their ability to perform other alignments’ techniques is nullified. So, a paradigm in mind can only practice mind… but to such an incredible degree.

  “There is no proven way to detect a paradigm early, and with there only being one alive at a single time—across both Earth and Aurra no less, it becomes almost impossible to spot one out until their alchemagi develops. The Guard now considers them dangerous and either employs them themselves, or locks them away for later use.”

  “And this mind paradigm is important to us, why?” Garder asked.

  “Not only would his power benefit you, but he is from City I itself. He can pilot the demirriage straight there. With no time to waste, he is your only way of getting there. I fear for this child and what the Guard plans to do with him. Getting him to safety was always on my… to-do list.”

  “The problem is that the entire Guard is after us. Even a pretorian. Getting back into N is not going to be easy.”

  “Ah, but do you not know why I formed your team as I did? Milla, once a queen, who has intimate knowledge of the Guard and City A. Jeryn, who has one of the few working demirriages still in existence. Lechi, who I thought just might be able to talk the demon and try to learn from it…”

  “Didn’t work,” she said. “Didn’t even understand me.”

  “Ah… I see. That is unfortunate, but vital information. And there’s also Verim, who can break providence. That alone is very powerful.”

  He folded his arms. “Doesn’t mean I’ll fight a war for you, General.”

  “And me… because I’m Milla’s brother, huh?” Garder grumbled a bit. “Oh, and to have someone to bring to Hold, I suppose.”

  “Garder, you’re very good with a sword,” Verim replied. “You might’ve actually beaten me had you not been so wounded.”

  “Also, Garder, do you know why a watairre paradigm hasn’t been discovered for close to four hundred years?” Rivia added.

  “No. I don’t really pay attention to paradigm lore.”

  “Escellé is the current holder of that title. With her immortality, she has kept that honor from all others for a lengthy period of time. In the future, she may be able to pass down her techniques to you. But that possibility is merely a small aside. You’re still quite talented.”

  “Then I suppose everything has worked fairly according to plan.”

  “There’s a lot more you have to tell us, isn’t there?” Jeryn mentioned.

  “Yes. Much—but I cannot spend the time now. The Guard is aware of our plan and is mobilizing against my aspirations. The mind paradigm is a young boy named Temki, held within N’s most secure prison compound. He has with him a staff that I can only hope the Guard hasn’t discovered yet—its true ability, rather. The staff he holds is very important. It regulates his thought patterns, which would otherwise overwhelm him and afflict all those near him. It also helps him synthesize to a small degree.”

  “So…” Milla stood up again, “rescue this boy, let him pilot us to I, evacuate the City, and return here. That’s our goal.”

  “With a paradigm who can synthesize, a providence breaker, two animalects, an alchemagist and his demirriage, all along with claws that can grant you total access to both dimensions, you are a very formidable force.”

  “And we also have a solar, with me as a lightning,” Shin added, glancing at Simon.

  “Good. You have coverage of all alignments with the exception of earth. Do you have any further questions?”

  They looked at one another. Anxious to continue the mission, pressed for time, and overwhelmed by all of the information they had received, they shook their heads.

  “Excellent. One last thing—we have several alchemagist scholars here who still have the ability and tools to train and raise any of you a level. But it takes time, so perhaps there will come a moment in the future. For now, continue with your task, knowing you have my gratitude.”

  “Sir… I’d like to stay with you,” Xavier replied. “Being your bodyguard, I feel it necessary to remain by your side.”

  “You are perhaps too professional, Xavier. But I thought you might feel that way. Yes, if you’d like to stay, I am sure that our friends here can complete these next steps on their own.”

  “Is Xavier really a good bodyguard?” Garder asked passively.

  “Well, he protected Queen Seriph.”

  “M-me?” Milla stuttered and turned to him. “All this time, and you never told me you were a royal guard?”

  “Well, I… didn’t want to come off as a narcissist or something… And I only operated in City E for your visits—I wasn’t high up enough to protect you in A. I didn’t think you’d even remember me. My name in that life was Elgis Nemiere. I was… taller.”

  “Now that I know, I’ll try to recall you. At least, when I’m in Aurra again. Looks like it doesn’t exist here, either.”

  “No,” Rivia replied. “As you can see, this dimension is very… limited. It doesn’t even support a full color spectrum.”

  “General, I’m glad to have met you again. Even in such a place… I suppose we’ll be going now.”

  “Good luck, the seven of you. And… don’t forget your bags,” he finished with a smile.

  They gave their farewells and headed back to the portal, taking a look around at the people again, now with the knowledge of just who they were. The Fragmented City was a place much worse than Hold; one of no hope, where forgotten and undesirable souls lingered in purposeless existence.

  “Darn,” Garder muttered as Milla prepared to open the portal again.

  “What is it?”

  “We forgot to ask him how he cloaked himself. He never even mentioned that part of his story.”

  “Maybe he was just a solar once,” Shin stated.

  “I’m intrigued about what else Rivia has yet to tell us,” Milla replied.

  “Crap—we also forgot to tell him that the Guard has a pair of the claws, too!” Garder added angrily.

  “Do you think we should’ve?”

  “… It doesn’t matter right now. We’ll tell him when we return. He’s the one that was trying to rush us along.”

  “I think Simon should undergo alchemagi training while we’re here,” Milla added. “It’s the only place he could. A strong solar would benefit us.”

  “Yeah…” Simon agreed. “But helping these people is our priority. If we can bring them back, I’m sure they’d still be grateful enough to train me in the new… I mean old City I. With the benefit of actual, normal time.”

  “You’re really getting the hang of all this,” Garder commented. “Heck, you may even understand it all better than I do soon.”

  Simon smiled and grabbed his suitcase as the portal reopened. They looked around one last time at the place they had stumbled upon, and went through the tear before the next dimensional wave hit the lost City.