The line moved slowly.
Painfully slowly.
Haruto had never thought entering a city could take this long.
Apparently, Ardent disagreed.
The guards checked everything.
Carts.
Animals.
Cargo.
Documents.
More documents.
Then documents proving the first documents were real.
Haruto watched a merchant produce an entire stack of papers.
The guard immediately asked for another one.
"...civilization was a mistake."
Lyra laughed.
"I'll remember you said that."
"Please don't."
Belial looked delighted.
"OH, NOW THAT'S A TITLE."
Haruto threw sand at him.
The goat dodged.
Unfortunately.
The line continued forward.
Eventually, they reached the gate.
Up close, the walls felt even larger.
Massive blocks of pale stone formed the foundation.
Newer layers had been added over centuries.
Different colors.
Different styles.
Different eras.
It looked less like a wall and more like history stacked on top of itself.
Two guards stood at the entrance.
One was older.
The other looked like he regretted every life choice that had brought him here.
The older guard glanced at Lyra.
Then nodded.
"Back already?"
"Unfortunately."
The guard smiled slightly.
His gaze shifted to Haruto.
Then Belial.
Then back to Haruto.
His smile disappeared.
"...what is that?"
Belial gasped.
"I AM DEEPLY OFFENDED."
The guard pointed.
"Why is it talking?"
"WHY IS HE TALKING?"
Haruto already had a headache.
Lyra sighed.
"It's a long story."
"I DON'T LIKE THIS STORY."
The younger guard stared at Belial for several seconds.
Then quietly muttered:
"...I'm not paid enough."
The older guard agreed.
Immediately.
Haruto liked him.
Unfortunately, liking someone didn't help.
The guard held out a hand.
"Identification."
Haruto blinked.
"...I don't have any."
The guard waited.
Haruto waited.
The guard waited harder.
Nothing changed.
Finally—
"...you don't have identification."
"No."
"Travel papers?"
"No."
"Citizenship records?"
"No."
"No."
The guard looked toward Lyra.
Lyra looked away.
A clear sign of betrayal.
Haruto made a note of that.
The guard sighed.
Then looked back.
"Name."
"Haruto."
The guard wrote something.
"Family name?"
Haruto hesitated.
Only briefly.
"Nishibi."
The guard continued writing.
"Place of birth?"
Haruto froze.
Belial immediately looked interested.
Very interested.
The traitor.
Haruto thought.
And thought.
And thought.
"...far away."
The guard slowly lowered his pen.
"No."
"No?"
"No."
The guard pointed at the paper.
"I need an actual location."
Haruto considered saying Earth.
Decided against it.
Mostly.
Lyra stepped in.
"Remote northern settlement."
The guard looked at her.
Then at Haruto.
Then at Lyra again.
The look said:
> You're helping him lie.
Lyra's look replied:
> Correct.
The guard sighed.
Again.
Apparently that happened often around Lyra.
Eventually, he wrote something.
Then slid the paper aside.
"Temporary visitor status."
Haruto blinked.
"...that's it?"
"That's it."
The guard pointed toward the city.
"Cause problems and it becomes not it."
Fair.
Very fair.
The younger guard suddenly pointed at Belial.
"What about the goat?"
Belial immediately stood taller.
"I HAVE A NAME."
The guard ignored him.
Haruto thought for a moment.
Then pointed.
"Emotional support goat."
Silence.
Complete silence.
Lyra looked away.
Her shoulders shook.
The older guard covered his face.
The younger guard looked offended on behalf of reality itself.
Belial stared.
"...what."
Haruto smiled.
The guard sighed for what felt like the hundredth time.
"Just go."
"Thank you."
"Before I change my mind."
Haruto needed no further encouragement.
He walked through the gate.
Then stopped.
Immediately.
The city opened before him.
Noise.
Movement.
Life.
Everywhere.
Stone streets stretched into the distance.
Market stalls lined the roads.
Colorful cloth fluttered overhead.
Voices echoed between buildings.
The smell hit next.
Food.
Spices.
Smoke.
Metal.
Thousands of people living their lives.
After weeks in the Sea of Glass, the sight felt overwhelming.
Haruto stood motionless.
A traveler bumped into him.
Then another.
Then a third.
Civilization showed no mercy.
"Move."
"Oh."
He moved.
Lyra appeared beside him.
Amused.
"First city?"
"...is it that obvious?"
"A little."
Belial looked around.
Then immediately pointed at a food stall.
"I WANT THAT."
Haruto followed the hoof.
A vendor was grilling skewers over an open flame.
The smell was incredible.
Unfortunately—
Haruto remembered something.
"...I still don't have money."
Belial looked devastated.
Lyra laughed.
Again.
Far too often.
Then began walking.
"Come on."
Haruto frowned.
"Where?"
"You need somewhere to stay."
Reasonable.
"Some work."
Also reasonable.
"Probably several explanations."
Less reasonable.
Belial nodded.
"DEFINITELY SEVERAL EXPLANATIONS."
Haruto glanced back one final time.
Toward the gate.
Toward the Sea of Glass beyond it.
The desert had felt endless.
Yet somehow—
it already seemed distant.
A different life.
A different person.
Ahead of him lay Ardent.
The city of those who remained.
And somewhere within its crowded streets—
a thread connected to Arthur's story was waiting to be found.
Haruto just didn't know it yet.