???: How many years have it been?

Arc: I'm not quite sure anymore. But I don't think my body is going to last any longer.

???: You can keep going. I believe in you! The arc family symbol is easy. Just channel everything in your being into the first shape you can think of.

Arc: But what if I can't see the shape?

???: You will. I know you can.

Arc: I'll keep trying!

???: Good boy. Be sure to have fun in the academy okay?

Arc: I will! But will I see you again?

???: Maybe. Just try your best not to forget, okay [????]?

...

Arc: I'll never forget.

Nitra: Forget what Arc?

Arc: Hm?! Nothing.

Nitra: Were you having a bad dream?

Arc: I don't think so. I could barely remember anything from dreams.

Nitra: You look so gloomy though. Nightmares can be scary.

Arc: It really isn't anything. Has Terra made any progress finding this so-called "mother".

Nitra: Nothing yet. Though I'm not worried about her. I'm a bit worried for the Ev3 unit at the entrance. Did you really mean what you said back there?

Arc: Kind of wished you would forget that.

Nitra: Well I think it was sweet of you to try anyway.

Arc: Nitra, it's been three days and we still haven't found a hint of where it could be. We've searched the western side and the center side. But with the rate of construction in Talos, it'll just keep growing.

Nitra: I know. Hey, why don't we have some fun tonight? Just something to help blow off some steam.

Arc: What could possibly help blow off steam in this place? This place place feels like a giant tool box.

Nitra: I saw there was a bathhouse around the area! We haven't taken a shower since we've arrived in Talos. Wouldn't it be great to take one! All squeaky clean and oil free!

Arc: I hate to break it to you but a golem bath house would mean something completely different.

Nitra: No! It's completely fine! I checked it out. It actually had water that was filtered from the mountain. That's where some golems get their gunks cleaned out.

Arc: Sounds disgusting. But it does sound like fun. Maybe it was time to blow a bit off steam.

Nitra: Great!

Her face light up for the first time in a long time. Nitra and I stood up to see the great metal city of Talos below us. The mechanical winds pumping out more smoke and more gas. It was a steampunk wonderland that would've been much more interesting if it were an exhibit. We were at the top of the highest skyscraper of the city looking down but I wasn't afraid. Nitra held out here her arm, I accepted it then jumped. This free fall was something like a symbol of trust between teammates during the training. Those who usually had arial magic capabilities would have to do this with everyone in the academy. However, this one felt a bit special as Nitra kept staring into my eyes while we dropped. The buildings were much strange from upside down. After a quick second, her eyes glowed a bright blue pushing us into an air current allowing us to glide around the city. We could spot Talos' golem citizens working effortlessly in every job they were given. It was like some kind of fast paced story with each passing moment. Everything felt strange, Talos was programmed to be like a perfect city. A city where it's citizens were always following orders without a thought. No fighting, no contradictory thoughts, and breakouts. These were the perfect citizens that any city could ask for. Maybe even the perfect soldiers. Following orders… Wait a minute. Nitra had deactivated the air tunnel then dropped us slowly to the ground. She let go of my hand and placed hers on my shoulders. As we landed, she still didn't want to let go. Her eyes still shining but not glowing. However, there was something pressing on my mind. A perfect city? A being that gives these golems life and purposes? This thing also calls itself mother. Don't these things sound like something like a child playing house? Mindless drones but only one thing that stands out and it was that original Ev3 unit. Was it rejected?

Arc: You can let go now.

Nitra: Why? Does it bother you?

Arc: No, because we're here.

Nitra: I know.

Arc: Then let's go.

Nitra: Geez, you don't get it do you?

Arc; What are you talking about?

Nitra: Hmph! Nothing!

She let go in a sour mood but I think she was just having an airhead moment. If I can place one and two together then I should have a good guess on where the main source is coming from. These golems come from factories obviously but they're programmed elsewhere. Usually prime directives come from one master control.

Nitra: Well shall we get in? From what I know there's only one mixed bath since there's no genders for golems. I don't mind getting into the mix shower with -

Arc: I know where mother is. We need to leave.

Nitra: Huh?! What?! But we just got here!

Arc: Mission comes first. Let's alert the rest of the team.

Nitra: Boys are the worst hmph!

We've alerted the other two on the scouting missions then regrouped at the skyscraper. Nex looked exhausted while Terra was still in fine condition as always. Even with a bad leg she was still pressing on with the mission. Her face still beaming with determination. Nitra was still in a bad mood, it was probably about not taking a bath. She'll be fine though. I dropped a holo schematic of the surveyed area of Talos on the platform.

Terra: What was it that you needed to report?

Arc: This here. The center part of the map is a bit strange don't you think? Usually when it comes to living cities, they'd normally want the center to be the main axis of construction. Build around like a circle enclosing it's layers. But Talos is much different, it's building it's sides. It's expanding horizontally.

Nex: I don't get it.

Arc: The central hub is hiding itself. It's making it harder to find by constructing it sideways so the center can't be found.

Terra: Now that you've mentioned it. It would be much harder to find a place of origin that way. But me and Nex have found something distressing to report too.

Nitra: What?

Terra: These golems are much more aware than we thought. They've just been programmed to ignore our movements but they've kept surveillance. They let us in. We thought we were sneaky but that wasn't the case. I knew it was getting too easy.

Arc: What confirmed your suspicions?

Terra: The security outpost. I went on a recon mission there to check if there were any clues to where this mother would be. As I went through the tapes, they documented our every moment. From the moment we stepped through the teleporter, till our mindless search through the city.

Arc: Clever plan.

Nitra: Quite the smart one too. They intentionally left our guard down slowing our attempts to find her.

Arc: Well it was only a matter of time that we would find out. Seems like mother isn't a stranger to visitors. Does she know where we are?

Terra: I don't think so. She only has eyes where there are golems.

Arc: I think I've also found out where she might be hiding.

Terra: Interesting. Where?

Arc: A school building.

Terra: That's a bit anticlimactic. Are you sure she'd hide in a school?

Arc: From what I've understood, it would make sense that she would be hiding in a school. Golems don't need to go to school, yet this place has almost everything correct to a normal city including a school. I think this might be where we need to find her.

Terra: You better be right about this. This search is getting us nowhere. I've never thought I'd miss the sun. These artificial lights aren't cutting it.

Arc: Try to make your distance subtle too. We wouldn't want the guardians to start being active.

However, as soon as I said that a giant came out of the side of the skyscraper! Looks like she did keep her ears up! The giant mechanical guardian smacked it's giant mechanical hand on the platform, crushing the entire thing we were just standing on like some kind of piece of paper. Luckily, we managed to disperse right at the last second. These guardians were much different than the one in the graveyard. This model wasn't running on remote motion sense. It had a prime directive. Kill! A massive crash could be heard from the skyscraper as rubble and metals were falling from the structure. Golems on the ground were being hit by the debris. Though that didn't stop any of the mindless ones from continuing their day. None of its citizens even cared to look at what was happening above or around. The guardians on the city walls started to slowly crawl towards our location. Their eyes moving like geckos looking down on the area below. We were now in free fall. The guardian didn't seem to notice that it had missed us by a few seconds. Just like in classes before these, we triangulated back to each other to hold a formation then air tunneled out. Terra had an expression of anger when she saw the guardian. She wanted a rematch with one of those things. Nitra kept her face forward to focus on our way out.

Terra: We should split up. Make it harder for them to trace us down. Regroup when possible.

Arc: Are you sure? You're still injured.

Terra: I'm feeling better. Besides, the only thing we actually have to worry about are the guardians. Avoid them at all costs. I'll send the coordinates if my side finds the school. Nitra you're with me.

Nitra: We'll see you two later then.

Arc: Adam be with you.

Nitra: Adam be with us.

The tunnel had split it two different directions. Ours would lead to the right and the girl's would the other way. I let go of Nitra's hand then we got shot to the opposite tunnel. Nex held on tight because this tunnel would be much stronger without Nitra's control. It shot us towards the giant clock tower that was supposedly the library that our Ev3 unit said. As it got closer, we prepared for landing. With a strong crash, our bodies broke through the window of the top most floor. Nex managed to do a good roll lessening the impact but I had hit the wall trying to roll. My back was in some serious pain. However, there was no time to feel weak. I just needed to keep going. This was some next level stuff. I could tell that my back throbbing was a bad thing. The room we were in was completely empty! Every portion of the floor was so dusty that it looked as if the floor had a new layer on it. Nex patted the dust off of him while I tried to get my footing. Strange to see a room completely empty. Buildings we would survey on earlier days of Talos indicated a disturbing amount of efficiency of their room usage. This was an odd one out.

Nex: Hey, let's get going.

My body was aching but Nex was completely right. There were some stairs by the left of the room that we motioned towards. I kept my steps quiet because the whole city was now on high alert. Hopefully Nitra and Terra found a safe place to land on. Though I wouldn't be so worried about Terra if she didn't have that injury. All I can do is just trust Nitra's support. Nex lead the way downstairs as I kept my hands on the pained area. Upon heading down, the entire lower floor was completely dark. There were no lights or golem citizens. The place was completely empty. We've had our contact on to make sure that there weren't anything suspicious lingering in the dark. Nex looked around a bit confused.

Nex: This place… is it a library?

I adjusted the darkness settings once more of my contacts and it was a library! There were bookshelves that were covered in dust. This place wasn't just any other library but the library of the old world! This was before the arcane magicians discovered digital magic. Now everything we can want to read would be inscribed through eye modifications like contacts or on tablets. These things were made with paper! Quite the rare sight for something to be written on paper, these have to be some kind of artifacts. Nex was also quite amazed seeing physical books with actual pages. His eyes glued to every shelf. There's definitely some kind of appeal to these kinds of books. Coming closer to these shelves, there were some interesting titles written on their spines. Though some of the volumes were missing. Some books even skipped volumes. "History of Plaux", "Politics of Polarity", "Exodus of Eden" and "Earth". What was this one? A new planet perhaps? I don't recall this planet being part of my information banks back at the platform. What system does it belong to? Earth...

Nex: Did you see something interesting?

Arc: Have you ever heard of a planet called Earth?

Nex: Why would there be a planet just named after dirt? It's probably some kind of construction planet that some private company uses.

Arc: Then why would it be on the history section of the library?

Nex: It could've just been a mistake.

Arc: That would be strange. Golems don't make mistakes when it comes to sorting things. It doesn't appear to have any volumes either.

All Nex could do was shrug and walk away. I guess it isn't something that would naturally interest someone like Nex. From what I remember, he was more of a fantasy person. Stories that have something to do with like the creatures of Eden or legends. Quite fitting for someone so young. There wasn't a way for me to take the book without having to carry it with me. Maybe I can come back for it some other time. I made my way towards the desk of where a librarian would be. As I stepped over, there was a card that had some kind of writing on it. I recovered it then blew the dust off. It was a verification card that had a name. "Able", Ev3 unit, Librarian. I knew that this was the same one because unlike the other verification cards we've seen, this one had an Ev3 unit waving to the camera. So this was where it misplaced it's card. So it's name was Able. Maybe I should keep this just in case. Strange that Able would work as a librarian. I thought for sure that it would've been something else that required less processing.

Nex: Did you find something else?

Arc: Well I found that Ev3 unit's verification card. It even had a name. Able.

Nex: A golem with a name?! This city just surprises me with how thorough it can be. Hey! Look there are books about the origins of Adam!

Arc: You're always so keen to learn about the history of magic but nothing else.

Nex: That's cause it's so interesting!

Arc: Cosmic geography, herbology, and magic theory. Those books are pretty interesting.

Nex: Ew! That's all the stuff the academy gives us. I can't believe you actually thought those were interesting.

Arc: That's because they are. It also helps in classes.

Nex: I'm talking about stuff that's actually cool. Magic theory is fun to read, I admit but what about other famous magicians. Ones that fought armies, or that tamed magical beasts. The heroes that the platform always talks about.

Arc: There's only one that I actually care about.

Nex: I know. Adam this and Adam that. Actually speaking of which, how come you never use air elements like in our other classes? Are you afraid that you're going to be one upped by Nitra?

Arc: It's not like that. Nitra just has a better affinity for them. Besides, her mastery is much higher than mine. She only uses one element after all. It's only natural she's better at it than me. I only use air mods if we need it but it's definitely not like hers. I'd have to attach my symbols everywhere to do same stuff as her. There are things that I can't do too like her passive air filtration or her multi direction air tunnels.

Nex: Sometimes, you're such a nerd.

Arc: Well it's true. I can only make tunnels that go upwards and modifications. Everything else I'm sure you know.

Nex: Honestly, this is the laxest I've seen you've been over the other classes we've been on. You scared to fight like a real second in command?

Arc: It's best that this mission is stealth based. We don't need to fight.

Nex: We're going to have to fight eventually.

Arc: That's what I'm afraid of.

Nex: But you're so cool when you and Terra fight! It's like some kind of dance sometimes. When you used that lighter to become a flamethrower then Terra pushed it forward with a force push to become even bigger. Those hunters were instantly fried into a crisp! Or maybe that time when you created that tsunami trap to drown that entire locust rebellion army! They didn't even stand a chance. You just stood there looking cool while they rushed into their deaths. I wished I had cooler powers like you two.

Arc: I kind of wished I could forget about those to be honest.

Nex: They were just bugs. Plus it was our part of our prime directive.

Arc: Just bugs huh…

Nex: Sometimes I feel like a deadweight sometimes. I'm not a front liner like you two. I can tell even Nitra has fighting capabilities far superior than mine. So it's just me for backup again…

Arc: Hey! Don't say that. You're probably the most important part of this team. Without you, we would've died a hundred times over.

Nex: I know! But it just feels different when you're in a fight and the only thing you can do is just watch your friends getting hurt!

Arc: Nex, let's take a rest. This place should be safe for now. The area is too hot to move right now. Guardians could be staking places out.

Nex: Alright…

Nex went to a corner to sit on while I planted some hexes to filter the air better. The morale in this team had just dropped back to it's usual state. This amount of Foxphite in the air would normally suffocate someone if Nitra hadn't been around. However, there was just more than Foxphite in the air. It would make sense that Golems didn't have to care about air conditions. As I looked through the window, I could see the skyscraper being rebuilt already at an alarming rate. It almost looked completely fine despite the guardian fist almost crushing the entire roof just moments ago. All we could hear now were the security Golems searching for us. Our watches still didn't have any locations so that meant Terra and Nitra haven't found any place to land safely. I walked back to Nex in the corner, he was taking a look at the books nearby. Some of them, he could barely reach. His mood still hadn't improved.

Arc: Anything interesting?

Nex: They all look interesting but I don't think I'll be able to read the old language.

Arc: I can read old language.

Nex: How?

Arc: I can't… recall? But I know, I can read the language of Eden.

Nex: Tell me a story from the Eden language then!

Arc: Do you know the story of "Adam through the eyes of the people of Eden"?

Nex: No, the platform said that it's not something we should know about. All we know is that he was the great saviour of our race.

Arc: That's no surprise. They're always so adamant in keeping the history of Eden tucked away. Even Polarity was heavily censored.

Nex: You sure love your history. You big nerd.

Arc: It's best that we learn from it hahaha.

Nex: Do tell the story of Adam please.

Arc: Alright, so a long time ago, there were the ancient magicians. These magicians were the first magic born. Made by the creator himself. Everyone else on the planet of Eden were normal beings, born without a single ounce of magic in them. But that was because that was their punishment. A punishment that their creator placed on them because of their progress. Scared of what they could be, their creator set a trap for them to consume a food that would hinder their power from moving forward. That's how non magics were born. However, those who were denied the food kept the power. Those were the magic born. Though this isn't where the story of Eden ends. A long time into the future, after there were years of prosecution that magic borns weren't human. Then even more years into their future, eventually it became wide spread to use magic or at least to those who kept their lineage safe. It were strange eras filled with regrets. Some even best should never be recorded. Then came Adam, a bright young magician. He was an explorer that had a dream. A dream to release this punishment from humans. So with the help of his companions he went out on his mission, to find the source of the punishment. He rode for many years searching for the answer with his companions but the more they searched the deadlier it became. But that only made Adam even more powerful. The creator had noticed this and wanted to stop him. It came to the point where even the humans turned against Adam. The same humans that he wanted to help. They said that he had brought down the creator's wrath because of his self righteous dreams. Everything would've been fine without Adam's pesterance. But Adam knew better, he knew that humans were so much more than just sheep in a pen. Humans were capable of reaching the stars and beyond! To heights that even the creator would never reach! Eventually time would come when the creator himself would come to intervene personally to Adam's actions. A mighty battle soon came against a man versus his creator. This would've sounded like an instant loss for man if it wasn't for something that Adam had found out. The creator had actually created us in his perfect image. So whatever he could do, Adam could do the same! Their magics clashed! Their fight was so intense that it broke the cycle itself. Adam's companions did their best to help evacuate the remaining humans out of the world that their creator was willing to destroy. Right as the battle was shifting towards creator's favor, Adam found the source of the punishment. He released the chains of the humans. Humans were able to use magic once again! When the non magics were reborn they felt Adam's strength in them. A new resolve was given to the humans. Magic was our right that they took away. The humans combined their strength in a last ditch effort to help Adam overpower their creator. But it wasn't enough. Adam at his last breath, decided that he would use his magic to save the humans that have condemned him many times before. When his last moments came, he created a teleportation portal for his companions that allowed the people to escape. He wanted us to live to continue on his legacy. There were those who stayed perished while those who had escaped lived on to create Polarity. Adam's sacrifice is a reminder to everyone in the human race that we're destined for great things. Things that could even rival a creator's might. Even if he had died for rotations, we still use his name to help give us strength into the new world. That's why we continue on to say "Adam be with us".

Nex: Adam be with us…

Arc: Was that interesting enough for you?

Nex: It definitely made me appreciate the saying more. But who knew, you could tell a great story Arc!

Arc: Wish I could tell you more but there's only so much they tell us about Eden or Polarity.

Nex: Have you ever thought if Adam actually died?

Arc: What do you mean?

Nex: I mean that the story was clearly written by the people who survived. But have you wondered if Adam had actually survived instead? The people never actually saw what happened after all.

Arc: Even if he did then what would be the point? He would've died rotations ago by old age anyway.

Nex: Strange to think that even after all that. Humans are almost extinct now.

Arc: It's definitely not something I'd want to think about.

Nex: All those years being hunted. Maybe the creator did have a reason to keep us where we were.

Arc: But we'd end up just like cattle then. The only difference now is that we're wild game. Those with only truly strong magic can join the academy and protect humanity. It's funny how we call our own siblings non magic borns now because of it.

Nex: Just the sad world we live in huh. Thanks for the story. It was interesting though! I'm sorry if I killed the atmosphere.

Arc: It's alright. I'll take the first watch. Just get some rest.

Another thing that bothered me about this story was what was the source of the punishment? What did keep us from using magic in the first place? And how did Adam find it? Actually, I shouldn't be even thinking about these kinds of stuff. Focus on the class at hand. There's no time for fairy tales. Nex tucked himself by a pile of books while I made my way back The only thing I should be thinking about right now is humanity. I went over to the desk once more to take a seat on the chair. This makes me curious on how much Able had in his memory banks. He should have knowledge on some stuff here. More importantly he could tell us about mother. The pain from earlier was finally subsiding as I leaned back on the dusty chair. My eyes were about drop but I knew better. Someone had to keep watch of the area. I shot back up to my feet to where that book about Earth was. If I was going to stay up then I was going to make sure I did something. Removing it from it's shelf kicked out a lot of dust that made me think that Able didn't do his job at all. Getting back on the chair, I opened up the book. However, there was another problem… It was in another language.