Ezekiel stood frozen where the Professor Lira had vanished, the echo of her words still ringing in his mind.
No masks. No chains. No need to hide what you are.
Those words landed on Zeke's chest, a profound weight. They were heavy with unspoken meaning, with the potential of a future he desperately craved, yet so fragile that he feared his next breath might shatter them into dust.
Was it true? Was this truly a place where he could be free? Or was it just another illusion dressed in light and magic?
His breath slowed as he tried to grasp the meaning behind the words, but the flood of new sights and sensations left him dizzy, his thoughts scattered like leaves in a restless wind.
A voice broke through his reverie.
"Hey, wasn't she supposed to take us on a tour or something?" Rian's brow furrowed, eyes scanning the quiet courtyard.
Tala shrugged. "Maybe she got called away. Who knows."
"Guess we're on our own," Kaito said, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.
The group fell into a loose line, moving forward with a mixture of curiosity and hesitation. The Academy path spread forward before them, lined with sparkling little stones that reflected the setting sun.
Walking further along the path, Zeke and the others slowed as the air grew stiller, the sounds of the nearby city softening until only the crunch of their footsteps remained.
They couldn't see what was in front of them only that the footpath suddenly changes a few metres ahead. once they crossed onto the new footpath the air shimmered and slowly melted away, revealing a grand plaza that stretched out before them, taking their breath away. It was an immense, circular space, so vast it seemed to hold the sky itself within its open embrace.
The entire surface of the plaza was paved with a pristine white stone that glowed under the daylight. Delicate veins of shimmering gold and deep, dark black snaked through stone, twisting and turning like rivers of precious metal and shadow. They flowed with purpose, as if an unseen artist had meticulously woven a colossal, beautiful image across the very ground beneath their feet. It was a mosaic of nature's design, each line and curve contributing to a silent, ancient story etched into the earth. The sheer scale and unexpected beauty of it caused them to pause, absorbing the silent grandeur of the space.
At the center of the plaza lay a tall majestic statue, the afternoon glow reflecting off it giving it are golden tint. Dark purple streaks flowed through the statue like rain trailing down a window, spreading from the cluster of light on its right hand, down the body of the statue and onto the base of the plaza. Light bent around the statue, leaving them wondering if theres an illusion at play trying to shield them from directly looking at it.
"Woah, check out its eyes" Kaito chimed in, voice brimming with excitement.
Zeke gave the figure a once-over.
The figure was dressed in somewhat old attire, as if he came straight out of a museum. Based on his physique alone, he seemed to be quite young, still overflowing with the vitality of youth though he wasn't sure how he knew that. looking to the head of the imposing statue zeke confirmed his guess, the figure looked to be in his early 20s.
Zeke then followed Kaito's suggestion and locked eyes with the figure.
The colour drained from his face almost the instant he did.
Zeke blurted "What the hell is that?"
Why do the eyes look so real?
Zeke wondered if he was imagining things, shaking his head he turned to the plaque on the base of the statue.
"Turns out this guy was the first powered person in the world, Orion," Zeke said, voice low but curiosity evident. Raising an eyebrow, he continued. "No last name? interesting..."
"Ahh, you mean this is the guy who founded this academy?" Rian replied, a shocked expression on his face.
"Mhmm, this statue was based on an image painted by someone who witnessed his last battle with the 'Hollow' before he went missing." Zeke continued.
The others went quiet and murmuring ceased, noticing the change in the atmosphere Zeke turned to look at the others.
Tala's eyes reddened slightly, she turned away as if to hide the tears threatening to break through her gaurd. Something that conflicted with the image Zeke had built of her, she was normally composed and graceful.
Zeke shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't used to people showing pain so openly, In his house, pain was swallowed, not shared.
With a confused expression, Zeke looked at Kaito, who stared at the ground, eyes flashing as he recalled a memory that left a deep scar, his hands clenching hard enough to turn his knuckles white.
Looking at Rian, hoping for an anwser, Zeke saw an akward smile on his face.
With a sigh, Rian began to talk, his voice low and solemn "Well, you see, thei-"
"Stop." Kaito's cold voice interrupts. "That's not your story to tell." The sound of something getting squeezed could be heard, a clear sign his clenched fists just got tighter.
"It's okay," Tala said, her voice trembling slightly.
Sensing the mood, Zeke gestured toward a bench at the edge of the plaza, facing a field.
The others nodded, then made their way over, the sound of laughing and chatter fading in the distance, as if failing to penetrate the heavy atmosphere surrounding the group.
Now seated, Tala took a deep breath, an attempt to compose herself. Putting a hand on Kaito's arm to stop him from clenching his fists, she started.
"Our city..." Her voice low, a whisper barely audible, yet heavy with sorrow. "Our family... Everyone we grew up with... had been killed by the Hollowed."
A look of realization made its way onto Zeke's face. "Idiot you barely know the girl and you've made her cry already. Damn I seriously need to learn how to make and keep friends."
Although they had just met, Zeke felt a connection with this group, one that didn't expect anything in return. To him, they had been through a lot together, regardless of it being less than a day since their meeting.
Zeke looked up at the two sibilings strangely, unsure of what to say.
"Don't look at us like that," Kaito said. "We don't want your pit-"
"Can you stop?" Tala flashed an indignant look at Kaito. "If you want to fight someone, go find someone else. Zeke is our friend."
Kaito's ears reddened as an embarrassed look crossed his face. Before he could refute her. Tala wiped her eye's quickly before she continued.
"We grew up in the Wild Lands, where, unlike the city, you can be truly free, free from the expectations of society, free from discrimination... It was our sanctuary."
Zeke's eyes flashed as he recalled what Ethan told him about the Wild Lands while teaching him about his powers.
"The people there live like beasts, day in day out nonstop fighting"
"The Wild lands was originally a continent abundant with people, cities spotted like stars throughout the land but then a hollowed outbreak razed everything to the ground."
"For normal people, the wild lands is a place of death, For us powered people? Its a land of opportunity and training. But dont underestimate the hollowed, every year the government has to cull the numbers, If not, a tide of hollowed would wipe out the rest of humanity."
"Some say there are cities still hidden by huge arrays but I don't know if thats true"
When Zeke asked if they had lived in one of those hidden cities, they nodded.
"Yeah, our city had a huge array spanning a length of more than 50km, but as time went on, people got too comfortable. Kids started moving further and further while playing and eventually, they attracted the Hollowed... not knowing what to do next, they ran back to the city, leading to its ruin."
"I'm sorry." Zeke let out a sigh. "I didn't mean to bring it up."
Kaito gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes but rather with a crazed look in his eyes as he said.
"It's okay, man, no need to look so depressed. If anything, it was a good thing. Look at us now; we joined a roaming mercenary group and got stronger, if we stayed in the city we would just be a couple of weak kids, so it was a good thing." He let out a broken laugh that echoed through the air, resembling a ghastly wail.
Zeke looked at the brother and sister.
The broken smile on Kaito's face.
The single tear breached the wall Tala tried so desperately to put up.
Zeke didn't know what lay ahead.
but for now, he chose to sit with them sharing their pain.
Even if he couldn't feel it the way they did.
He could still share the weight by being beside them.