Beep!

The lens turns slowly scanning the surroundings,

The four of us lay down flat on the slope, there isn’t anywhere else we can hide,

We’re near the peak of the mountain the air feels thin and cold now as the sun begins to set,

But somehow, I’m still sweating like if it was midday

(What is this felling?)

Beep!

A red beam passes over our heads,

The others don’t quite understand what’s going on but they see my alarm and stay down as well,

…..

Karina motions to her earrings

(Ah, yes, we can still communicate though those)

I feel my ear,

(Yes, I’m still wearing it)

After all the commotion in Sweepstake I’d forgotten about these…

“We don’t need to do all this!” Lyra hisses

“Whatever that is, what makes you think it can hear us?”

“You can never be sure, Lyra

I don’t want you to die,”

“I understand the sentiment Kage, but if we’re going to hide around like this

We might as well go back, we knew the danger!”

……..

“The I’ll go first you three stay back in case anything happens,”

“No, you won’t!” Karina disputes

“Since when do you put yourself in potential danger for others?

You’re acting out of character Kage,”

….

(Yes Kage, since when do we do that?)

“I’ll use this fan, to conjure a sound blast and destroy whatever is making you alarmed, ok?” Karina proposes

……..

“Ok,” I nod

Beep!

“That sounds like a better plan,”

……

Karina opens the bladed hand fan, taking a deep breath she pull it back then swings it forward heavily,

The sound of the blades dragging across the wind amplifies into a high pitch frequency which permeates itself into a blast of sound mana,

Bee—

BASH!

The spectating device gets decimated by the blast,

…….

“See nothing to be afraid of up here,” Lyra assures semi-optimistically,

……

With the lens gone we now climb to the ‘peak’

Apart from the broken pieces scattered around it, nothing else is near the device,

Feeling around where it was, I don’t find anything either,

The ground feels cold and metallic however…

(Is someone watching us?

Why was this just here randomly?)

Rumble♪

………..

“Well, now this feels weird,

Is this natural?” Apollo looks around confusedly,

Finally reaching what we thought would be a regular mountain peak, is very much not so…

The slope levels itself the higher up we get eventually setting into a broad, mostly flat, surface, some areas are slightly higher than others, but it still looks evenly placed

Like a long wide plain of hard grey rock…

(Is this really a mountain?)

As far as our eyes can see the ground stretches out completely flat, almost like we are really atop a wall’s surface,

“How does it look like this here

But from afar you can see the clear mountain peaks?” Karina wonders

Rumble♪

“An illusion maybe?”

“Never mind that,

Look at the sky,” Lyra points dreamily

Maybe it’s because we’re this high up, but,

Has the sky always spun like this?

The supposedly evening sky looks midnight black swirling arounds smoothly

Beautiful sparkling stars wave at us playfully as they pass by.

(This is extraordinary)

It feels like we are watching the ring turn before our very eyes…

In that moment we forgot the uneasiness we felt when climbing the mountain…

Rumble♪

“In a way, you can call this a peak,” Karina stares enchantedly,

“The peak of the ring that is,”

Rumble♪

“You’re sounding like Darius,” Lyra smirks,

“That does sound like something he would say,” Karina agrees jokingly,

“I wonder what Pinoki would say,” Apollo brings up

“I think he’d be speechless,”

………

I can’t deny it, the sight of the dark night sky filled with dots of stars spinning gracefully is so,

So

Hypnotic,

I could stare at this forev—

“Alright that’s enough,” Apollo taps me on the back,

You have been watching that for minutes now,

There isn’t much of anything here to see we’re going to have to start preparing for our trip back down.”

“Wait, what about the other side?” I point to the side opposite in which we came, it is the length of a small field away,

“What is below on the other side?”

“Nothing I can see!” Lyra calls from up ahead near said edge,

……..

Rumble♪

Making my way to her side, I look over to see what she means….

(She’s right.)

Could it be due to the darkness of the night, or we are just too high up, but I can’t see anything,

It’s like peering into a pitch-black abyss,

Rumble♪

“Maybe if we walk across the top of here, we might find some kind of secret settlement,” I suggest

“I don’t think so Kage,” Apollo disputes

“If that was possible there is nowhere to produce food up here, no crops or animals, and on that topic, we also don’t want to run out of our supplies

Maybe we can come back and check when we’re more prepared,”

Rumble♪

(Is there really nothing here?

What about those cameras?

What are they for?)

……

{Rumble♪}

“Do guys feel that?” Apollo clutches his word alarmedly

“It just got into my hearing range,” Karina affirms,

“It is coming from beneath the ground, but it isn’t close”

{Rumble♪}

One of the higher areas a distance in front of us begins to move, breaking apart from the regular ground,

The platform then—

(Wait,

That isn’t a platform)

The layer rises up from its flat position slowly transforming into its true form,

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!

It activates now standing upright,

Red eye-like lenses beam their glance onto us,

It moves backwards causing the ground to tremble

{Rumble♪}

“What is the hell is that!?” Apollo exclaims

…….

Once again, I find myself looking at something I am certain I’ve never seen before,

But still.

My mind immediately identifies it:

“Is that a tank!?”

{Rumble♪}