Sendane District
Pele city Railroad station
Haumea
7th September 285 A.G.M
They decided to take the sea train all the way to Namer Island, as traveling by train would be cheaper than using airships. The last and only time Eren had been to the Island was also with the Seatrain, so he and Ash were familiar with how it worked. Fall had finally arrived, with the heatwave that came with the summer sun in Haumea finally transitioning to a cool, heavy cloudy sky. Luckily for them, there hadn't been that many heavy rain events but a dry and warm weather throughout the beginning of September. Eren couldn't believe that the day had finally come. He was going to become a Hunter. But before he could become one, he had to survive the Academy. Eren wasn't sure what to expect from the school, but he was excited to find out. Finding his way through the station took a lot of concentration as he had to push his way through the busy line of passengers. St.Iluydich Station was packed, so much so that they had to get up early just to get to their line on time or else they would have been smacked in the traffic that led to the station. Eren's little siblings had wanted to come with him and Ash to see them off, but Mother Ruth had insisted that they couldn't take everybody. So Eren had said his goodbyes to them on the doorsteps of the Orphanage, trying his best not to cry as they saw him off. Even now, as he stood in line to the ticket station, Eren couldn't help thinking of the tears in little Patry, Carla and Inca's face as they saw him and Ash off. He was going to miss them, miss his home but at the same time he was excited for what his future could yield.
"The Next train to arrive at Platform two is about to arrive. Passengers should please be ready to board the next train to Namer Island!"
"The gods be damned! That's you guys train," Mother Ruth swore. People close by stared wide eyed at Mother Ruth, shocked at a Lady of the cloth swearing. But Mother Ruth ignored them. "Could you hurry up, Please. What's taking so damn long," Eren felt the same way. What the hell was with this line. Ash said nothing. He had been quiet throughout their ride from Lakane district to Sendane district where the Rail Station that led to Namer Island was located. Eren assumed he was anxious about going back to Namer island. That was where he was from. Though he wasn't sure if his people's former reservation was close to the school. After waiting for another seconds, they were finally able to get their tickets, and Mother Ruth rushed them towards the platform where the train was already set to go off.
"Remember to keep in touch and say your prayers every night and morning you wake up," Mother Ruth said.
"You know I don't pray," Eren said. She smacked his shoulders gently, her eyes warming at both he and Ash.
"I can't believe you boys have actually grown," Mother Ruth said. She pulled out two cube objects from her handbag and handed it to them. "I packed some food for you guys, so make sure you eat when you're hungry." It was a one-time dimensional storage magic tool. Eren couldn't help the tears that were coming out, his love for Mother Ruth only increasing. He wanted to say something but then the train's warning bell cut him off. "Ok, you guys need to go. I'll see you during the Winter break,"
"Bye," Eren said. Ash nodded at Mother Ruth, then turned around and entered the train. Eren growled at him as he followed him inside. Finding their designated seat according to their tickets turned out to take a while, as the train took off while they were searching for it. In the end they had to move all the way down in the train in the economy section, which happened to be the cheapest sector of the train. Ash figured out which seat belonged to them, hitting Eren in the elbow to point it out to him. After dumping their luggage inside the luggage compartment, Eren and Ash finally sat down.'
"Wish we were in the first class section," Eren said. "Those seats looked fancy," Ash said nothing, his eyes closed like he was meditating. Was he going to be quiet throughout their trip? He pulled out the storage cube, and pulled out the lunch Mother Ruth had made for them. He unwrapped the bowl, sniffing the smell of chicken pot pie.
"That's supposed to be for lunch," Ash said.
"I'm hungry," Eren said.
"Don't complain to me later about starving," Ash said. Then he went back to being quiet. Eren ignored him as he hungrily shoved the pie down his throat while taking in the scenery outside the window of the train. The railroad from St.Iluydich station went through the eastern part of the nation of Haumea before finally taking on the searoad that was constructed on the Atlas sea that separated most of the countries in the Western continent. Eren still couldn't believe how mankind had managed to construct a railroad on something other than land. It was a marvelous feat, the searoad was. A great achievement that connected most of the nations within the Global Union. Before the formation of the Global Union, before the third World war, most of the nations in the Western, Southern and Eastern continent were separated by the great Atlas sea. With the help of the six Great families and their wealths, the technology to create such a feat was made possible. And now Eren was about to go to the place which made it all happen. After he was done with his food, Eren's eyes began to drop, his senses weakening from tiredness….
"Forgive me," She whispered to his ear. But before he could do anything, she shoved her hand through his chest, cutting off any response from him. Eren fell on the ground, bleeding as the Hunter tried to take the ring from him. His sight was blurry, he was losing hold of his hearing, the darkness surrounding his peripheral vision. He couldn't even sense his weapon, instead what he felt was a hollowing pit of pure darkness that laid bare within his soul. And from that hole in his chest, the darkness poured out. The Hunter, Rey Greyron, jumped away, leaving a huge space between her and the boy. She felt a stinging sensation in her palm, blood dripping out of it. It was the exact spot where her hand had touched the ring. The entire cave was shaking from the pressure of the darkness that was pouring out of the boy. Eren's consciousness was gone, replaced by something that Rey could not discern. What the hell was happening? Was the question that plagued the Hunter. And just then, the ground shook as the head of a Basilisk, a Mythical grade Mana beast, broke out of it. Eren's immense Mana had drawn the creature out of its nest, and the beast roared at the source of its disturbance. But Eren didn't blink or say anything. The Black mass of energy that was pouring out of the hole in his chest instead moved according to whatever will that was behind its existence. The Black mass shot out in the form of sharp tendrils that looked like a set of fangs, cutting through the hardened armor of the Mana beast, decapitating it in one shot, like it was nothing. And then the Black mass moved to then….
Master! Master! Master! Wake up! Wake up… Eren was jolted off from his sleep, anxiously looking around the booth, his heart beating fast. His head was pounding, his body felt uneasy from the nightmare he had. Should he even call it a nightmare? It felt more like a dream that he had forgotten about. He still wasn't sure of what had happened to him after Rey had stabbed him with her Magic. But somehow he was lucky to be alive…Wait ... .Didn't she say she was the one who killed the Basilisk? Then what was that he saw… Could she have lied to him? No…It was impossible for Eren to kill a Basilisk like it was nothing. That was surely just some naive desire of his plus the shame of not doing anything in the exam. After taking a deep breath, Eren finally noticed the look Ash was giving him. His friend was quietly eating his lunch, though from the sky outside, it looked like the afternoon sun had passed, and multiple clouds had gathered. It was evening already, and they still hadn't reached Namer Island yet. The ride to the Island was a whole day ride, and they would only reach the Island by morning of the next day. If they had traveled by air, they would have reached there probably in the night. Eren breathed in the salty smell of the sea, taking it in as he looked at the clear blue sea that was glowing underneath the purple clouds. Eren wondered what it would be like deep within the sea, in that unknown darkness. He felt a familiar pull towards it, the thought of the unknown. It felt like his future, what was in store for him when he reached the school. For most of his life, Eren had only one thought of what his future would be, and now he was heading towards it. If he could do it, then what about all those other desires that laid deep within Eren's heart that he had abandoned. There were so many things that Eren had craved, but because of his status in life, he had always thought it impossible. And yet, there was a chance that it wasn't. Across the Atlas sea, in the Eastern Gondwana ocean, was a country that Eren had dreamt of going to. A kingdom named after the goddess of the sea, Yemaja kingdom. There were so many places that Eren had dreamt of going, and as a Hunter, he would have the opportunity to visit those places. He would have the opportunity to act on his-
"Hungry," Ash asked him. Eren shook his head. He didn't feel the urge to eat, not after waking up from the little bits of memories he could remember about his near death. It was interesting to say the least that after his encounter with Alastor Kinsway, Eren had been close to death two times. He was lucky to be able to survive those encounters. Which made him feel all the more worse for it. Luck was not always going to be on his side. He had to grow strong. Stronger than anyone that would be in his class. Stronger than even Ash. If he wanted to get to where his destiny lay waiting for him, Eren had no choice but to become strong. Not just strong but the strongest.
~
They arrived on Namer Island by the first break of the sun, though they weren't at their right destination, which was Academia city. The city was at the center of the Island, and it was where Namer Academy was located. Namer Island looked the same as it did the last time Eren had visited it, an absurd place filled with lots of bustling residents, large square buildings of business that contributed to the city's growing economy. Most industries in the Global Union had their headquarters stationed on the island, which contributed to the booming economy of the island. When the train finally reached their destination, Eren was glad for the chance to get his butt off from sitting. And glad to be out of the damn train and on fresh ground. So happy was he that he nearly bumped into those that were leaving the train too.
"You should pay attention to your environment," Ash said as Eren bumped into one of the passengers. A man wearing a trench coat with a hat and suitcase.
"Sorry about that," Eren said. He helped the man pick up his suitcase, handing it over to him.
"Thanks for the help kid," He said, flicking the tip of his hat to me. And he was gone within the crowd of people within the train station.
"This way," Ash said. Eren followed Ash out of the station and into the outside. Eren's mouth came apart at the sight of the scenery that laid before him. Bright flashy buildings laid across the space, with flying crafts. But what drew Eren's attention were the transparent tubes that were flashing with Magic.
"Those are Warptubes," Ash said. "It's one of the Magical inventions that rely on the Magic of my people…" Ash shut down. He was quiet for a moment then he pointed towards a bus that was parked in the parking lots with other vehicles.
"I believe that's the bus taking us to the school," He pointed out. They walked to the same bus which had other kids that were also from the same train they had boarded. After they got a seat for themselves, the bus took them on the road that would take them to the university.
****
Khan Volcano
Kazhan Wasteland
Eastern continent
7th September 285 A.G.M
A naked figure was in the smoldering heat of a vast volcano, emerging from the thick intense flowing lava. He was fair skin, with long black hair flowing behind his back, his vermillion eyes scanning the ash-colored sky. His Internal sense picked up on the presence of other presences in the area before his eyes landed on her. His aide was a couple of meters away from the lava dome volcano. Dressed in her Bushido armor, Avita's head was lowered before her master. The naked master walked out of the mouth of the volcano, flicking his wrist where an onyx band rested. The band began to expand, and a cloth of black underwear and a shirt formed around him, followed by a black tunic and pants. After that, he was covered by his own Bushido armor, a set of vermillion-colored armor jacket. Appearing at his waist were two swords, a longsword and a shortsword, the Divine grade Enchanted blade fitting perfectly on his figure. Approaching his aide, Avita raised her head, noticing how her master's Cultivation had risen further along the tier of King rank. Now he had left the lower tier and was in the Mid-tier. This land was the perfect environment to aid in his cultivation due to the excessive fire elemental energy that was contained within the world energy. With his affinity for the fire element, only someone like him could survive bathing in the lava dome.
"It seems like the forces of Aran have made it this far into the wasteland," The Blaze King said. His Internal sense could pick up on the Mana signatures that were approaching the Khan region of the Kazhan wasteland. "What in Tartarus are those old folks in the security council thinking,"
"The army of Aran seems to have pushed through the forces garrisoned at the border," Avita said. "We've requested for reinforcement, but by the time Global Union sends more Hunters, they will have reached the Capital city," The Kazhan wasteland was like its name a complete wasteland filled with nothing but volcano eruptions, a desolate barren land with few cities that occupied it. These cities were far away from one another due to the volcano that separated them. And the Capital city was in the middle of such a place surrounded by hundreds of volcanoes. Thanks to the Kazhanian's occupation of this land for thousands of years, they had evolved to grow an affinity towards the fire element, as such only a native or a fire affinity cultivator would see the land as precious to them. So why were these mid-easterners so focused on invading the land?
"And why hasn't any King class Hunter been sent to deal with the situation," Aguero Kazhan asked.
"The Council believes sending anyone at the King class and rank would automatically make it seem like we are at war," Avita said as both she and her master rose through the air, and began to fly towards the approaching squads of Aran soldiers.
"Are the council stupid or what," The Blaze King said. "If they reach the capital and attack it, that sparks the damn war they're trying to avoid. If any city is attacked, the Khan Empire won't let it stand," The Khan Empire was the ruling nation that ruled the entire eastern continent which also included the nation of Kazhan.
"The council is insistent on negotiating with the nation of Aran," Avita said. "They would like to prevent catching the ire of the Demon Dragon goddess," The Blaze King could not help but grunt at the mention of the monster that stood as the guardian of the Middle East, the reason why the Global Union could never bring the middle east to their side. As long as the Demon Dragon goddess existed, the Mid-east alliance had the power to contend with the Global Union, making the dream of creating a foothold to the Northern continent impossible. "Also, the rulers of Aran have disavowed any involvement with the forces that broke through the border. They seem to impile that the forces contain rebels that have been driven out of their nation."
"What a convenient excuse," Aguero said. He was frustrated as he still had matters to deal with in Namer Island and dealing with a bunch of rebels from another nation in his homeland was not something he had expected to deal with after cultivating. He had only returned to this part of the continent because this place was the ideal place to improve himself.
"While Reinforcement from the Hunter Association is on the way, your mother already sent a force of warriors to deal with them," Avita said. " I thought to inform you of the situation so you won't need to get involve-"
"Doesn't matter," Aguero said. He increased his pace and soon enough, he could see the squad of soldiers dressed in green armor, riding on their steed, galloping through the rocky formations. The size of the squad was enough to be considered an army, with around five hundred soldiers marching to their deaths. Aguero allowed his mana flow within his circuit to go wild, releasing his spiritual pressure upon them. The sudden pressure of a King rank cultivator was like a raging tsunami that drowned the soldiers, paralyzing them with a great sense of dread. Even their steed was forced to a halt so suddenly that some of them fell off it. Aguero pulled out his shortsword, the silver single-edge blade glowed bright red as the blade began to pull the runes in the air into a spell formula.
[Vulcan Blade Pillar]
Aguero, the Blaze King cast his Blade spell, unleashing eight pillars of molten lava from the ground, surrounding the Aran soldiers. The pillars of lava were shaped like huge blades, releasing heat so intense that the few who were unfortunately close to it got burned up, their body unable to handle the temperature. The remaining four hundred and ninety-four all pulled themselves to the middle, staying away from the pillars that had surrounded them, making it impossible for them to continue their journey to the capital.
"There, now they won't be able to move till the force Mother sent to deal with them arrives," Aguero said. He passed along to Avita a rune mark that would allow passage through the pillar and protect them from the heat. "Give this to them so they can pass through and finish these foreigners off,"
"Are you on your way back to the kid," Avita said.
"It seems my pupil is dedicated to learning from the esteemed Namer University," Aguero said. "I shouldn't keep him waiting for long,"