Eventually, the visage of Grandheart's colossal walls grew bigger until they were towering above us, watching our every move as the two grew closer to its entrance. The ride had been anything but safe and stable, almost being thrown to my death countless times, only surviving due to luck.
I knew better than anyone that three colossal spears of light wouldn't board well with the leadership of Grandheart, most definitely seeing my spears as a threat to Grandheart's security.
But unfortunately, I had yet to learn to put them away, no matter how many times I concentrated on their forms, trying to reduce their size, they just wouldn't budge. I couldn't shrink them down to the size of a normal spear, completely unable to recreate the process when I touched the first spear.
"You know that if you continue towards the walls with these spears, they'll shoot you down. And dispatch a divine string to deal with you. Your spears are threats to the order of Grandheart. Put them away, or you'll be slain."
Lilia's voice was stern and authoritative, warning me of the consequences of posing a threat to Grandheart. This was not a request but a direct order from the jailor to the prisoner, but I had no way to actually comply.
"You think I haven't been trying to do that all this time? I can't get them to shrink down like this one."
Lilia was now sitting on the pommel of the spear with me, speaking directly into my ear; her position was almost threatening. Slightly unnerved by her behaviour, I held up the smaller spear that fit perfectly in between my hands, showing her the process I was trying to replicate to no avail.
"Hmm, this is troublesome. Land outside the gates, and try to make yourself small. Once a divine string arrives, just surrender and tell them everything about your power."
"What is a divine string?"
"Ugh, what have I been reduced to, some teacher? Your lack of mental facilities is frankly annoying. But I suppose I have no other choice, you are going to face one after all."
"Can you stop whining and just tell me? You're the annoying one; you never stop running your mouth."
Lilia's attitude was quickly growing boring, doing nothing good for my continued sanity. My words were met with a sharp pain in my side, knocking the wind out of my lungs, also causing me to lose my grip on the spear.
"I'll ignore that for now. Divine Strings are the highest rank in the Servants of Order, selected by Ickni personally for their power in combat or their intelligence. All Divine Strings have at least four wings, making them formidable opponents in battle. Don't even try to fight them, you'll just die. I'll repeat that again, do not fight them."
Lilia's expression was turning cold and indifferent, trying to hold her emotions in check, but I could still see the traces of fear in her eyes. Her experience with the Divine Strings must have terrified her into submission from the slight shake. I could tell she didn't admire them, but harbored deep-rooted terror of resolving them.
"Couldn't you become a Divine String? You have four wings; couldn't you make a formidable Divine String?"
I wanted to cheer Lilia up, but it did the opposite; her eyes sank more into fear.
"No. I'm still weak, nothing compared to the Divine Strings. It would be an insult if a weakling like me aspired to join their ranks. A Second String isn't allowed to dream of being Divine."
"You're not allowed to dream? But how can you grow into a better warrior if you don't have something motivating you to push forward?"
"I don't want to speak any more about this. Stop."
"Okay…"
The rest of the way to Grandheart was shrouded in silence. Lilia's earlier happiness was completely wiped away at the mention of her dreams. A sorrowful atmosphere loomed over us. No matter how many times I tried to spark a conversation about this world, she wouldn't respond, just gazing into the clouds absentmindedly. No trace of her earlier light.
I tried to slow the spear down, aiming to command it to hover over the ground outside the gates of Grandheart, but my efforts weren't very effective. While I managed to land outside the gates and not collide with the walls. The landing was anything but soft, impacting with the ground, throwing me off the spear, free-falling in the air.
Lilia offered no help, just hovering in the air until gazing at the clouds, completely oblivious to my thunderous landing. I was returned to the ground, falling dramatically for a couple of seconds, but I was luckily unharmed. It would have been much worse if those anti-air machines on the walls locked their sight onto me.
A part of me was peeved that Lilia offered me no aid, but I didn't voice my opinions. I was just relieved that I wasn't dead. The gates of Grandheart were completely devoid of any life; no people were to be seen. For a capital city, this wasn't normal, even for a poorer country; there were always people trying to get into the city.
I had expected a long line of people and a plethora of security guards guarding the gate, ensuring that no criminals or unwanted angels got into the city. This should have been especially true for a Dominion of Order. But there was nothing. Not a single soul guarded the open gates.
Many different possibilities ran through my mind; perhaps they used the sacred bands to regulate the undesirables of Grandheart, but that made zero sense to me. If an outsider like me had no sacred band, then they could run amok throughout the city with no penalties.
I doubt that Ickni would allow such chaos to run free throughout her glorious city of Order. It contradicted every idea I had revolving around the Dominion.
Something wasn't right; fear and caution replaced my previous awe of the towering city. My grip on my spear tightened, seeking comfort in its cold steel, hoping it would protect me from what was to come.
"Lilia!"
Lila eventually snapped out of her daze, coming to my side, walking towards the gate with me. Her eyes were still detached, but she still looked around the gate searching for any signs of life. Despite her earlier warning of the Divine Strings, our path wasn't impeded. There was no sign of any winged beings, not even a single feather.
My fear only increased with each step, steadily closing in on the open gates, revealing an expansive network of houses and markets. But still, there was no indication of any life.
"This isn't right. Something is wrong; this entrance is always bustling with people. Have they enacted a lockdown?" said Lilia, her expression tight and laced with worry.
"This isn't normal, right?"
"No. Someone is coming in response to your light spears; nothing good will come from this. Don't move, don't even take another step towards the gate, it could mean the difference between life and death," stated Lilia, physically halting my movement, her shaking hand gripping the end of my shirt, pulling backwards.
I did as she asked, staying put, awaiting whatever was coming, although I couldn't sense anything in the vicinity. Every second that passed was only increasing the terror swirling within my heart; the unsettling atmosphere was doing nothing good to my sanity.
"It's too silent. Is this the normal response to threats?"
"No. Even if civilians are in the area, they won't interfere with their activities, forcefully leading the threat to an empty part of the surrounding meadows. To infer would only incite rebellion in the minds of the people; the people's happiness is the most important thing in Grandheart. That's why this makes no sense. I've never seen this in the centuries I've lived in Grandheart."
"Centuries? How old are you?"
Lilia's words shocked me slightly, uplifting a portion of my terror from my heart, replacing it with confusion. She looked nothing like some old crone, supporting a beautiful, milky complexion and young, charming features. I was baffled by her words.
"It isn't nice to ask a lady her age, but if you must know, I'm 301 years old."
So that existed in this world too, how annoying.
"Wow, you look young for your age. What's your secret?"
I wasn't being serious at all. I couldn't care less about her secrets to her youthful complexion. I just wanted to distract myself from the unsettling atmosphere hanging heavy in the air. Each minute we stood still, the air grew more oppressive. Almost as if someone's hands were around my neck and increasing the pressure slowly.
"Shut up. Angels don't age fast; we have more pressing matters than my age."
Just like that, my terror returned in full. Lilia was in no mood to engage with my conversation.
A hideous fit of screams escaped Lilia's mouth as she collapsed to the ground, panting desperately, using all her strength to stay awake, clawing her fingernails into the dirt, trying to pick herself up, but to no avail. A crushing pressure was bearing down on her, eliminating any chances of movement; the slightest defiance would most definitely be followed up with extreme pain.