Towering above the Star Seekers by over ten metres, carved with intricate patterns depicting the stories of a time long gone, the gateway that stood in front of the Star Seekers was more like a work of art, than a gate separating the inner city from the buffer zone they were standing in. Mostly because it did not have any gates. All that lay between the Star Seekers and the goal that they had risked their lives for, was a giant, monolithic archway.

  Yet, instead of hurrying towards the inner city with excitement, the moment that the Star Seekers saw the arch, they felt a strange force descending upon their mind, freezing their bodies. And though Alnea quickly got rid of the illusion, he could still feel the thick, viscous air, emanating from the bloody arch, trying to strangle his breath. No, not just his breath. Even his Spirit was being suppressed. It was as if—

  “This,” Tia said, glancing at the solemn faces of the Star Seekers with a smile, “is the Lost Arch. Or the Gateway of Blood. Though some prefer to call it the Gateway of the Inner City. Because that is what it literally is.”

  Pausing for a moment, Tia let her words sink in, as she turned back towards the arch.

  “The gateway of the inner city. Or at least, one of the four gateways. The other three Districts also have similar gateways. All acting as the last barrier between the inner and outer cities.”

  “…Barrier?”

  “Not a literal barrier, but you should be able to feel it,” Nubia said, glancing at the pale faces of the Star Seekers, before turning back to the gateway. “The suffocating presence in the air…”

  “…Like the killing instincts of beasts.”

  “Not quite, but it is similar,” Nubia said. “What you are feeling is not the killing instincts of beasts, but their Resentment.”

  “…Resentment? From the Mysteries of Death?”

  “Not just the Mysteries of Death,” Tia said, glancing back at the Star Seekers. “This arch also combines the Mysteries of Night, Trickeries, and Decay.”

  “…Death and Decay?” Ralph said, with his face turning a little pale. “Is the city trying to kill us?”

  “You have nothing to worry about,” Nubia said. “It is only because this is your first time seeing the gateway that your reaction is so exaggerated. Usually, the Resentment acts only on those who try to trespass into the inner city without proper authorisation.”

  “…Even if they come here by mistake?”

  “…Now you know another reason for the existence of the buffer zone.”

  “…I wish I did not,” Ralph mumbled, only to be jolted out of his daze by a slap on his shoulders.

  “What are you mumbling about?” Alnea said, with a wide grin on his face, before glancing at his teammates. “Are you just going to stand there in a daze, or are you going to come in with me?”

  Saying so, Alnea turned around, and walked straight towards the Lost Arch, not caring about how his teammates were reacting. Or at least, that was what he showed on the surface. A trick he had learned in the past year. If his teammates were being hesitant, he just had to show them his confidence. Even if they did not believe in themselves, they would still follow through because of their belief in him. Just as he continued walking because of his believe in his teammates.

  “…Wait up, Captain!”

  “I am coming too!”

  “You bastards! We discussed that I would go first!”

  “…We never agreed to such a ridiculous request.”

  “And how is it our fault that you are so slow?”

  “I will be going ahead!”

  “…Take your time to catch up.”

  “You traitors! Wait for me…”

  Tia and Nubia glanced at each other, and shook their heads, before following behind the Star Seekers. Right next to the three girls. Though they had already expected as much. Unlike men, girls often tended to be calmer—

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  “Wait for me!” Cecilia said, rushing after the boys. She even urged her Aspects, easily overtaking most of them, reaching the arch just after Alnea and Norren. But she did not cross the gateway. And neither did anyone else, until all the Star Seekers had gathered together, and stood side by side, with the two older Wanderers standing just behind them, watching them with a warm smile.

  “On the count of three,” Alnea said, and all the Star Seekers nodded in unison, with their excitement overflowing from their eager grins.

  “One.”

  “Two.”

  “Three.”

  All the Star Seekers, including Foren, stepped past the gateway, entering the inner city at the same time.

  “We did it!” Norren said, letting out a laugh, before summoning his twin swords, and raising them in the air. “We reached the inner city!”

  “That’s right!” Ralph said, and mimicking Norren’s action, summoned his spear before raising it above his head. “We reached the inner city!”

  “…Cretes’ beard. You stole my line once again!” Zain cursed, but followed along anyway, summoning his staff and raising it above his head. “Inner city!”

  Even Karl and Aren could not get rid of the infectious energy spreading in the air, and quickly summoned their weapons, before following the actions of their teammates. Or at least Aren did. Karl rarely ever used any weapons. So, he just raised his fist, shouting, “Inner city!”

  “…Inner city!”

  In the end, embarrassed as the girls were, they too followed along with the rest of their teammates. Though, just like Karl, they too only raised their fists. But that was enough for Alnea.

  “That’s the way it should be,” Alnea said, laughing along with his rowdy teammates, as he too followed along with their actions, raising his sword above his head. “Inner city!”

  “Inner city!”

  “Inner city!”

  “We finally did it!”

  “We finally caught our ‘Star’!”

  “That’s right,” Alnea said, glancing at his teammates. “We caught our Star. But this is not the end. This is just a beginning.”

  “We have just begun our journey.”

  “There are many more Stars to come.”

  “Many more Stars to chase.”

  “And as long as we keep chasing after our Stars…”

  “We will always be Star Seekers!”

  “Star Seekers!”

  “We are Star Seekers!”

  …A few minutes later, when the rush of emotions finally faded away from everyone’s Heart, returning them to their senses, the Star Seekers were faced with another wave of emotions. This time, one that turned them silent. Especially when they saw the two Wanderers standing behind them. Or the other Wanderers around them, whispering to each other, as they stared at the Star Seekers with weird expressions on their faces.

  “…It is all your fault,” Zain said, kicking Norren’s shin. “Look at what you made us do.”

  “…I wonder who it was, shouting that we had stolen his lines.”

  “…As if you are the one to talk. If you had not followed behind him, we would not have followed behind you to embarrass ourselves.”

  “…And if you had not followed me, none of them would have followed you.”

  “…Anyways, I was not the one who shouted at first.”

  “Neither was I.”

  “So, it is Norren’s fault.”

  “He was the one who began everything.”

  “…Slander! Absolute slander!”

  “Give u—

  “Alright, that’s enough fooling around for the day,” Alnea said, trying his best not to let his embarrassment show on his face, as he stepped in between the three troublemakers. “Let’s save the rest for when we are alone. Right now, we have other things to do. Am I right, Wanderers?”

  “…Well, you do need to register in the inner city’s Blood Hall,” Tia said, glancing at the Star Seekers, all standing with flushed cheeks. “But we would not mind waiting until—

  “No need,” Alnea said before the Wanderer could finish her words. “Let’s go to the Blood Hall.”

  “…Are you sure?”

  “I am.”

  “Very well then,” Tia said, and glanced at Nubia with a nod, who, in turn, nodded back at her. Moments later, the two Wanderers walked past the Star Seekers, asking them to follow along. This time though, they kept their pace slow, allowing the Star Seekers enough time and leisure to satiate their curiosity. The results, however, were not exactly what they had expected.

  For instance, though the residential buildings in the inner city were not as generic as those in the outer city, they were not much different. At best, they were just a little shorter, with slightly different aesthetics from each other, and had rooms that seemed to be a little larger than usual. Or at least, that was why Alnea assumed the space between the windows was a little larger. But that was not enough to make them any more comfortable.

  In contrast, there seemed to be no difference between the mansions of the outer and inner city. Except for their numbers. Unlike the outer city, where each street had only a couple of mansions, in the inner city, there were two mansions for every metal can that towered above them by three to four floors. And that was just near the inner city’s edge. As the Star Seekers walked deeper into the inner city, the number of mansions they came across kept increasing, until they crossed a point, whereafter, mansions were the only types of buildings they came across. Except for the Blood Hall, of course.