"Finally, I don't have time to be entertaining these lost children," Ject rudely stated as she stood and headed toward the door. "If the All-Father has any mercy, he'll kill them all soon before their friends in the North West do so."

  "It's unfortunate that you feel that way because each of you are expected to be present as we go over your sectors," Fulvia declared to them.

  "...Yes, Sir," Ject said reluctantly, then blurred out of the room. Each general flew off in a different direction once we stepped out of the tower.

  "Here you are," Fulvia handed me a pamphlet of Forgeton. "It's getting late, and I'm sure you've had a busy day, so the tour won't take long, I promise."

  I looked over the pamphlet with intrigue. Looking at the map of Forgeton, there were 7 sectors in total. Each sector was designed circularly. In the center was a small circle labeled Sector Z, where we currently were; from each direction, a thick road extended to a larger circle representing one of six sectors.

  Tymon was right, Forgeton wasn't as big as Pneuma City. Its total civilian population was over 1.068 billion, and its cindarian (klevonian) population was only 15,000.

  It also had Golden Laws, though. They were as follows:

  1. Unless authorized, it is strictly prohibited for pneumarians to enter any sector of Forgeton. Pneumarians found breaking this will be viewed as an act of war.

  2. To maintain peace, klevonians and civilians are prohibited from engaging in battle unless authorized at tournaments or fight expeditions.

  3. In the event that a Celestial is present, ALL individuals are expected to show their utmost respect. Anyone found to be disrespectful will be sentenced to imprisonment, death, or expungement, without leniency.

  4. All Celestials are respectfully requested to refrain from unleashing their power within the limits of Forgeton.

  5. Klevonians with a resonant blade or higher are prohibited from releasing their spirit rings within a sector unless in times of war or extreme cases.

  6. By decree of Auryn, it is absolutely prohibited to take energy from the locals of Pneuma City or Forgeton. Those who do so will be judged and then sentenced to death or expungement.

  "Well then, before we leave here, allow me to tell you a little about Sector Z," Fulvia began. "This is where the Ryfa Pakt and the Klevonian Army's Generals live. And have our private discussions like earlier. It's the center of our nation..."

  After a moment of us waiting for her to share more, Za'Fia broke the silence.

  "That's it?"

  "Yep. Not much else goes on here," Fulvia said frankly. "Follow me."

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  We followed her to the station built outside the walls of the sector. There was a metal, pill-shaped vehicle already hovering there. As we approached, part of it deconstructed, allowing us to enter. Once everyone was inside, it enclosed us, and the walls changed from solid metal to transparent, revealing the outside.

  "This is a ferry bus. It will take us across Forgeton with ease and very little effort on our part. Operator?" Fulvia called out.

  "Sir!" someone responded as another part of the ferry revealed a klevonian driving up front.

  "Sector 2, please. You're permitted for supersonic speed. Mach 4 should suffice."

  "Affirmative," the klevonian smiled with anticipation of being permitted to drive that fast.

  Once the ferry left the station, it cruised through the sky with such ease that it didn't feel like we were moving at all. About 10 minutes later, we arrived at another sector, and it was... bleak.

  Sector 02 resembled a polluted industrial area you'd find on Earth. There was even a thick cloud over the city, but instead of smog, it was a noxious black fog that loomed overhead. Most of the buildings were all black and indistinguishable from one another. Some stood out, spewing purple exhaust into the air. Each of those buildings was built near the edge of the sector's green, acidic rivers that flowed through the area. This allowed some of their waste to flow into it. In the center of the sector was a tall, black tower with "S-02" and a book symbol engraved on it. At the base of that tower was some dispensary or store, it seemed.

  "You had to come to me first," we heard Ject's voice through hidden speakers. Looking up, we saw that she was standing on top of the ferry as it flew over the sector.

  "I figured you'd want to knock your tour out the way first. That way, you can go the remainder of your night unbothered," Fulvia responded with a commanding playfulness.

  "Hm...Welcome to my sector. Home to over 199 million insufferable people who, for whatever reason, chose to live here," Ject waved unenthusiastically at the scenery below. "Most jobs here deal with chemicals. My division's responsibility is manufacturing medicines and tonics for the entire nation using materials from sectors 01 and 03. Am I done now?"

  "See, that wasn't difficult," Fulvia nodded to her.

  Ject was about to take off when the ferry suddenly descended and stopped at one of the stations in the sector.

  An automated message played from the speakers, informing us that an appointed shift change was underway for the operator and that we were asked to wait patiently for 30 minutes for the turnover to be completed.

  When we looked up, Ject had already vanished.

  "Has it gotten this late already? The day just flew by," Fulvia remarked, standing. "I'm not one for sitting still, so I'm off. It's been a while since I've strolled through here. A surprise inspection on one of these dispensaries ought to help the time pass. You're all free to roam as you please. We can meet back here in a bit."

  Fulvia didn't wait for us to respond before she vanished in a blur.

  "I get the feeling she likes keeping her subordinates on their toes," I remarked as I turned to the others. "Well, no reason to just sit around. Let's go see what this place is like."

  "Did you see what I saw? An environment is supposed to represent its people, right? In which case, the people here are likely just as blasé as their chief and as unwelcome to visitors as their district. Why not just wait the 30 minutes?" Za'Fia pointed out.

  I looked outside and saw that she was right. The streets were busier than any human city I'd ever seen, but everyone was either heading to work, working, or heading home (I could tell since they still had on their filthy work overalls from whatever chemical plant they worked at)

  What struck me was that all of them externally looked lackluster and apathetic toward their lives, but none of their emotional auras were a depressive blue. Instead, most were either neutrally grey or a joyous green.

  "Yeah, you're right, with our personalities, we'd stick out like a sore thumb," I laughed lightly and turned back to notice that Avarice had already slipped away.

  "Or we can go look for that narcissistic jerk," Za'Fia commented, sighing with disinterest.

  "He knows I can see wherever he goes. I think he might've done this just to make me hunt him down," I stated as we stepped out of the ferry bus station.

  ****