The remainder of Ray’s trip to the wall was uneventful.

While on the trail, she tried to see what was in the bag she had picked up, but it seemed to be empty. The rope that the dagger-user had pulled out of his bag was bigger than the bag itself, so there had to be some kind of trick to it, but she couldn’t figure it out. She decided to hold onto the bag a little longer, just in case.

As Ray neared the town, she slowed down to stop the cloak from billowing around her. She pulled on the hems and wrapped herself up tight. Observing her surroundings, she noticed details that had escaped her when she passed through from the other direction.

There were dozens of farms separated by fields. The outermost farms were dilapidated, surrounded by rotted and collapsed wooden fences. The fields were desolate and grey, and the houses looked like they fell apart a long time ago. One farm had a large hole in the wall as if something large had smashed through it, and another building looked to have been burned down by fire.

However, as she moved closer to the town, she noticed more signs of civilization. The fields were still devoid of life due to being covered in snow and ice, but the fences and houses were well kept. Smoke billowed from the chimneys of several homes, and she heard peals of laughter from a few human children who were running and playing in the fields. The occasional canine creature whimpered in fear as she passed by.

She stared at one cowering animal that was leashed to a fence post. The creature refused to meet her eyes, bowing its head down in acknowledgment of her regal presence. She turned her nose up and snorted, hiding a pleased smile as she continued on.

She walked past the farms and found herself approaching a large gate on the side of the wall. When she was here before, she hadn’t really taken the time to appreciate exactly how large these walls were. They were huge. Each side was approximately fifty feet high and twenty feet wide. The wall faces were perfectly smooth without a visible chip or crack.

Yet, more than wondering about how they had built such a big structure, Ray was more concerned about why.

What were they defending against that required walls this big?

Outside the gate was a small line of people waiting to talk to the couple of guards who controlled entry to the town.

She hesitated, the same nagging warning from before telling her to flee.

Was this really a good idea?

The man and the priestess in the white and gold building saw her red eye and they didn’t attack her on sight, but her experience with the four mean humans made her hesitate.

However, she had already resolved to confront this feeling. She didn’t have context to understand what was making her so nervous, so she decided to move forward and learn for herself.

Her pause had garnered some attention. A few of the guards were watching her now, but they were still too far away to have noticed anything about her.

The group at the very front started to move through the gate. They were dressed similarly to the four mean people, covered in armor and weapons with little bags hanging from their waists.

She got into the line and waited. There were only three groups of people ahead of her. One of them was a merchant that was guiding a cart covered in a white tarp while the other two looked like farmers carrying sacks. The merchant’s cart was being guarded by a group of burly, rugged-looking men with lots of weapons and scars.

While she was observing them curiously, the merchant started arguing with the guard. Ray took a step closer to listen in, curious about the contents.

“You have no right to steal my merchandise! I do not serve this kingdom and will not support you by paying your absurd ‘tolls’.”

“Sir, I will have to ask you to step away from the cart.”

“This is absurd! What are you, thieves and brigands?”

The guard motioned with his hand and two of the guards behind him leveled their spears at the complaining merchant. He stepped away from his cart with a grumble, motioning for the burly men to stand down as the first guard walked over to it. The guard pulled on the white tarp and revealed what was hidden underneath.

Ray gasped at the unexpected sight that was revealed. She noticed more than one pair of eyes turn in her direction. She quickly fixed her expression, donning one that she hoped looked uninterested. The soldiers’ attention returned to the cart.

The tarp had covered a large cage. Inside were several children that looked like they were in various stages of a cross between beast and human. One boy looked like a human, though he had wolf ears and a tail, while one of the girls looked more wolf-like, having brown fur all across her body and a canine nose. Those two were glaring at each other and didn’t even seem to notice the change in their surroundings.

There were five children in all - two wolf-human hybrids, a cat-human, and two fox kids. The cat-human had black ears and a long, black tail. Her claws were silver and reflected the light. The two fox kids looked terrified and were huddling together in the corner, making it difficult for Ray to make out any details.

She felt a surge of overwhelming rage and fury run through her. She struggled to push it down. She knew that the emotion was coming from inside of her, but they felt alien at the same time. What…?

“Hoh, what have we here?” the guard wondered aloud. “Smuggling, perhaps?”

“Smuggling my arse! If I wanted to smuggle, I wouldn’t have used the main gate. These are legal goods! I showed you the papers!”

The guard smiled, but the smile never reached his greedy eyes.

“You know what happens when you break the law?”

The slave-trader merchant went still, an annoyed expression on his face. He turned to address the burly men that traveled with him and the guards took advantage of the gap in his attention. Two spear-wielding guards stepped forward, stabbing with their weapons.

The slave merchant belatedly realized what was going on and yelled.

“St..stop!”

One of the burly men lunged forward to intercept but he was a step too slow. The spears pierced the merchant simultaneously. One struck his heart and the other pierced his lung. The man crumpled to the ground and was still.

“You can respawn in New America, where you belong!” one guard declared as the remaining guards at the gate roared with laughter.

A few of them came over and began wheeling the cart into the town. One of the guards pushing the cart flipped off the burly men as they moved away. The men glared at the guards, but none of them moved to retaliate. They simply turned and started to walk away from the walls with slumped shoulders.

Ray struggled to deal with the unnatural rage building inside of her. When she saw the people in the cages, she just thought they were cute and a bit pitiful. She certainly hadn’t been even remotely angry, so why was she now almost overcome with fury?

She focused on the feeling and attempted to follow it to its source. She found something inside her mind that felt strange. It was dark and empty, like a void, and she could feel the rage coming from it. She reached out with her mind, attempting to stop it when a voice started to speak into her mind.

“-cruel and evil bastards! That’s a catgirl! How can you live with yourselves keeping a catgirl as a slave! Heresy! It’s the worst kind of heresy! You don’t have the right to call yourselves men!”

Ray immediately withdrew, the voice going quiet.

Okay then. There was a sentient, dark void in her mind that had a strong obsession with animal people. That was good to know.

Before she could let herself get too bothered by this new information, it was her turn to speak to the guard. Both of the farmers entered without encountering any issues and Ray stepped forward.

“Name, occupation, and reason for visit?” the guard asked.

“My name is Ray and I want to visit the white and gold building.”

“White and gold building? Probably the temple or the cathedral. That’s fine. What’s your occupation?”

“Uhhh, I can fight stuff.”

“Low-level adventurer then? Aren’t you a little on the small side for that?”

“Tell that to the stuff I killed. I don’t think they cared how big I was.”

“Ha!” The guard grinned widely. “I like your spirit. Finally, can I ask you to remove the hood of your cloak?”

Ray shook her head.

“I’d rather not.”

“It’s just a precaution. There are a few humanoid monsters and some of them even manage to learn our language. It’s not that I think you’re a monster, but I need to do my job.”

Ray felt a bead of sweat roll down her neck as she desperately searched for a way to avoid him seeing her red eye. Had she not encountered the four mean people, she would have lifted the hood without hesitation, but now she wasn’t sure whether he would also be a mean person. He did just kill a merchant in front of her, so he probably wasn’t very nice.

“Miss?” the guard asked with a hint of wariness. She noted that his hand was slowly inching towards the spear on his back.

She reached up and grabbed the edge of her hood when a voice called out from behind the guard.

“Hey, young miss! Where’ve ya been?”

Ray and the guard both turned to see a man approaching. Ray gasped as she recognized him by his short-cropped red hair, neatly trimmed beard, and eyepatch.

Max, the man from the white and gold building.

She felt a wave of relief as she recalled that he was one of the nicer people. He didn’t fly off the wall about the fact that she wasn’t a human.

Ray pointed at the guard.

“I’m trying to get back into the town, but this guy thinks I’m a monster.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Max muttered, raising an eyebrow.

Ray smiled internally as she noticed beads of sweat forming on the guard’s forehead. She pressed her attack.

“I just wanted to visit the white and gold building to see you again, but he doesn’t trust me!”

Max stared at the guard. The guard took a step back, looking down at the ground.

“Is this true, Jerrick?”

“N-no. I was just doing my job…” the guard stuttered.

“It’s good to be cautious, but I hope you can let this one through on my word? I’ll take personal responsibility for her while she stays here.”

“Y-y-yes… there’s n-n-no problem.” Jerrick stepped aside, motioning for Ray to enter.

Ray quickly stepped forward, ignoring the guard’s bow as she walked up to Max, with a bright smile.

Max winked at her as they started to walk inside.

She passed through the well-lit, seven-meter tunnel and emerged through the gate on the other side. The afternoon sun blinded her for a moment. As her eyes adjusted and took in the scene, she gasped. A swarm of people in dozens of varieties walked through the street: young, old, male, female, those who looked both male and female. Some had long or short hair in black, red, blonde, or brown tones. Some had dark-toned skin, while others had light tones.

All of them walked on cobblestone streets, moving between wooden stalls set up along the sides. Alongside the visual storm was a cacophony of noise, almost like a symphony gone wrong. Merchants shouted, advertising their wares while the buzz of side conversations covered the sound of hundreds of footsteps on stone.

The experience was rather different from when she had been looking down from above while moving through the air at a fast pace. This was much more splendid.

“Hey, young miss!” one merchant shouted, pointing at her.

Ray stared at the guy for a moment, unsure of whether she should respond.

“No need to be janglin’ yerself! I haven’t seen ya ‘round these parts. Ya new?”

“Yes,” she responded. “I came to visit the white and gold building.”

“Oh, a temple pilgrim, are we? Don’t see too many of them pious sorts this close to the border. Too many monsters, not enough devotees if ye catch me drift.”

Ray nodded slowly. She didn’t ‘catch his drift’, but whatever.

“But hey, if ye be needin’ anythin’ while yer in this here poor excuse fer a town just look fer good ol’ Max. He be the one who can get you pious folks squared away.”

“Oh, you mean him?” Ray asked as she turned to point at Max but then she stopped, confused.

He was gone.

“Huh?”

She hadn’t noticed when he left. Also, there was a note attached to the back of the hand she was using to point. She hadn’t noticed when it was placed there.

“The likes of Max wouldn’t bother comin’ down here!” the merchant chortled. “Imagine the High Templar himself walkin’ these here streets! Them people over there might hafta respawn just from the shock!”

“Looks like I met someone important…” Ray muttered to herself.

She picked up the note and quickly scanned the contents.

See ya at the temple. I’d love to hear your story.

- Max, High Templar of Cairel

Perfect. If he was someone important, he might have some answers for her about who and what she was.

Ray turned to walk away. Then she paused.

“Which way is it to the temple?” she asked.

The merchant looked at her appraisingly, a look of incredulous disbelief on his face.

“Are ye sure yer a pilgrim, miss? Ye never saw a temple a’fore?”

Ray shifted uncomfortably under his piercing gaze, but she held her ground. After another moment of silence, he pointed at the huge, white building visible in the distance.

“Ye see that there big building in the center of town?”

Ray nodded. It definitely looked like an expensive, important building. If she hadn’t been here before, she wouldn’t have been surprised if that were the place that she was looking for. But she distinctly remembered that the temple was on a floating rock in the sky, and she couldn’t see that.

“It’ll be right behind that. Ye can’t miss it.”

“Thank you, sir! I’ll be sure to visit again later,” Ray beamed.

The merchant feigned a cough, turning to look away with slightly flushed cheeks.

“Off with ya, I need to be findin’ payin’ customers.”

Ray turned and moved down the street. She was unfamiliar with the flow of traffic and kept bumping into people, but they seemed to not even notice. Gradually, she made her way through the town, her eyes greedily consuming every new sight she could find.

Past the merchant stalls, she found herself in a large open square ringed by buildings of various shapes and sizes. One had a sign with twin swords, another with a picture of armor. She was intrigued by the ‘Adventurer’s Guild’ and the ‘Inn’ on the corner. The word ‘adventurer’ still gave her a bad feeling. whereas she was merely curious about the purpose of the second building. The smells coming from the structure were somewhat appetizing, but nowhere near as savory as the scent of blood.

As she continued to look around, she started noticing other details. The alleys between buildings were dark and often seemed dirty or run down. More than once, she saw cloaked individuals moving through an alley before disappearing.

Additionally, there were people wearing collars. She identified three different ‘types’, grouped by race. There were the animal/human hybrids, some sort of tall, green-skinned humanoid with tusks, and ginormous, gray-skinned humanoid monsters with thick, craggy arms.

There were no humans in chains.

All the nonhumans wore rags of some sort and had collars attached to some part of their body. Strangely enough, the chains were never connected to anything else on the free end, they simply dragged across the ground behind the nonhumans.

Ray wasn’t an expert at reading expressions, but she could see from the drooping shoulders, empty eyes, and soulless shuffling of these individuals that they were not having a good time.

The sight filled her with a strange emotion that she hadn’t experienced yet. Her heart ached and she felt like something was caught in her throat. Thinking back to what had happened with the four mean people, she suspected that this might have been her fate if she hadn’t escaped. Luckily, she had the presence of mind and the mental fortitude to break out of her bindings.

She continued moving through the town until she reached the tall cathedral. It towered over all the other buildings and was a testament to the wealth and power of humans. Three large panes of colored glass depicted a young, blonde-haired child with blue eyes accomplishing various heroics. Each pane had a description engraved beneath it.

In the left pane, he fought off an army of the green-skinned humanoids. It was titled ‘Douglas subdues the Green Tide’.

In the right pane, the child faced off against a group of gray-skinned giants. ‘Douglas topples the Trolls’.

However, the center pane was the most interesting to Ray and made a nervous chill run through her. It had an image of a divine light settling on the boy as he posed in victory. Countless bodies surrounded him.

‘Douglas, Tether of the Strong One.’

This cathedral seemed to be a building dedicated to this ‘Douglas’ figure. He looked extremely familiar to her and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had met him before. Her senses were telling her that she should stay away from him.

Judging from the images, he was clearly a dangerous individual despite his young appearance. Ray silently prayed that she wouldn’t have to encounter Douglas as she skirted around the building and moved behind it.

The merchant had been right, there was no way for her to miss it.

Directly behind the cathedral was a set of stairs. The bottom step floated almost a foot above the ground. The stairs were pearly white and had four intricate patterns that lined the sides, alternating on each step: lilies, mastiffs, mermaids, and keys.

Her eyes followed the several dozen steps up, landing on a small island floating in the sky. The sheer size of Douglas’ cathedral had blocked it from sight. Atop the island sat a modest, white building. A single spire jutted from the center, ending in a sharp edge pointed towards the slightly cloudy, blue sky. White-robed individuals moved in and out of the structure and a couple of them traversed the stairs between the town and the floating island.

Ray approached the stairs and carefully tested her weight as she stepped up onto them. They held so she continued moving upward. As she ascended, she glanced nervously at the increasing height. There was no railing on the stairs so one wrong step was all it would take to go splat. She’d already experienced a fatal fall once and, despite her unique ability to recover, she was not eager to repeat the experience.

She reached the top of the stairs without incident, passing a few white-robed individuals as she did so. They nodded to her in greeting, continuing on their way without sparing her a second thought. She did the same.

At the top of the stairs, she gazed across the temple courtyard in awe. Dozens of people moved back and forth, moving in and out of archways on all sides. Through the archway on the opposite side of the courtyard, another set of stairs led up into what Ray presumed was the main structure.

“Can I help you?” a familiar, pleasant voice inquired from beside Ray.

Ray turned, finding the young, blonde-haired, bright-faced girl from before standing next to her. The girl beamed and Ray couldn’t resist returning the smile.

“Kelsey, right?”

The girl’s smile dropped slightly.

“Do I know you?”.

Ray shook her head, lifting the hood of her cloak back to reveal her face.

“We met briefly yesterday when I woke up on the altar.”

Kelsey’s eyes lit up in recognition.

“Ahh, the crazy one, right? Welcome back! Congratulations!”

“Right…”

“So, what brings you to the temple today?” Kelsey asked, returning to her original question.

Ray held up the letter and showed it to the priestess.

“I’m here to see Max.”

Kelsey stared at the note for a long moment, her face draining of any emotion.

Ray felt her stomach sink.

“That’s not a bad thing, right?”

The girl examined her for a moment as if she were contemplating something. Finally, she replied in a perfectly neutral tone.

“No, I don’t suppose it’s a bad thing. Are you sure though?”

The nagging feeling to run flared up stronger than ever before, but she ignored it.

“Yeah, I’d say I’m pretty sure,” she responded.

The girl shrugged indifferently, yet she looked around, clearly checking to see if anybody else had heard their conversation.

“If you’ll follow me, then. Lord Maxwell should be with the High Priestess. I’ll take you to see them.”

Ray nodded, feeling her stomach twist. She didn’t know if this was good or not, but it seemed to be going alright so far.

“Lead on.”