A man stepped into view, and approached the group. He wore a futuristic set of armor: a helmet with a tinted visor to hide his face and body armor that looked straight out of a sci-fi movie. On his hip looked to be a stun baton.
"State your name, your god and business being in the territory of the Tidecaller."
Sachi couldn't tell how many others were around them, but he knew for sure they were outnumbered, especially with Lyra unable to move.
"Sachihiro Takahashi, Goddess of luck and fortune. We're here to meet with the Tidecaller."
The man threw his hand up, as if it was a signal. Right after, more men in identical gear appeared, surrounding Dion and Lyra.
"You'll see the Lady. You're coming with us as prisoners on account of trespassing."
Even with the abundance of men that appeared to escort them, he could still feel the presence of more soldiers just outside his few.
'How many people does the Tidecaller have to spend on us..?'
Even if he were to retaliate, he was unlikely to escape with his life.
"Fine. Take us there."
The man placed a hand on the baton to his side.
"Woah, hey, take it easy there! She a fragile young woman, be gentle!" Zephyr was pestering two of the soldiers that had come to carry Lyra.
"Mind if I do the honors, Zeph?"
Dion scooped up Lyra's unconscious body and tossed her over his shoulder. Shockingly, for such a frail figure he seemed to have no trouble at all carrying her.
"Hey! I said 'gentle' you brute!"
They bickered back and forth for a moment. Sachi looked the man in charge, unable to see any expression beyond the tinted mask he wore.
"This way. You try anything, you get killed on the spot. No exceptions."
It's not like Sachi had much of a choice. He just had to hope Dion was smart enough not to try anything either.
As they began to move forwards, the downpour didn't seem to let up at all. They crossed mushy green plains, only to approach a shockingly familiar sight.
What looked like a modern day city came into view. Especially for Sachi who grew up in a city, it was like being right back at home, minus the bustling streets.
The city itself was almost deserted. There were clearly stores and businesses that were open, but hardly anyone walking the streets.
"I can see that look in your face. This place look familiar? Lady April built it after her own home, maybe you got snatched from the same place."
'How many different realms are caught up in this game? It doesn't sound like Earth is a very common place to come from.'
It was refreshing to see something so similar to home, but it was also made him feel uneasy. Seeing his home in such a distorted setting was uncanny.
Eventually, they were led to a skyscraper. The interior was about what Sachi expected; a fancy lobby and a receptionist's desk.
The man behind the counter nodded to their group and pressed a button. A click could be heard and an elevator opened behind him.
"You've got working elevators here?"
The man nodded. "You'd be surprised what a Major God can do."
The entire group couldn't fit onto the elevator, just Dion, the unconscious Lyra, Sachi, the birds, and a few of the armored men.
The elevator bounced as a ding blared with each floor.
"What do you want with the Tidecaller?"
Another ding.
"We want to kill the Eternal Flame."
A final ding sounded. The man didn't respond to Sachi's answer, he had no reaction at all.
The doors opened at the top of the building revealing a penthouse floor. The opposite wall of the room was made entirely of windows, not that it mattered since most of the visibility was blocked by an unfitting throne at the back of the room.
"Lady April, we brought you the trespassers as requested."
A woman sat on the throne, a pile of books at her side with one in hand. Her skin was a beautiful shade of brown, covered by a thin blue dress. Her hair was lustrous, covered with black curls.
"Thank you, Vergo. Bring them here."
A hand shoved Sachi forward, pushing him through the luxurious room towards the esteemed woman.
She looked down on them just by moving her eyes.
"You're a lesser champion. You were able to evade the Eternal Flames men and come here? You must be very lucky."
She closed the book in her hands and stood up.
"Your friends here… a man in denial of himself and a fragile woman. Truly a strange group."
She began to circle the three of them. Sachi rested his hand on the blade on his hip to ease its shaking.
"We didn't evade them. We've killed several of his men, and we aim for the Eternal Flame himself next."
Zephyr jumped off Dion's head - startling him in the process - and landing on the ground in his true form.
"Miss April, was it? I-"
The man who had led them up, Vergo, cut him off. "It's Lady April."
"Er, right. My apologies, Lady April. This is a badge of a captain from the Eternal Flame that we slew naught but yesterday."
In the palm of his translucent hand, he held the badge the assassin wore.
The woman approached Zepyhr slowly. Sachi never thought he'd see a god so nervous.
The woman looked over to Sachi, and snapped.
"You too, off his shoulder."
"Y-yes, Lady April."
Serendelle hopped off of Sachi shoulder and onto the ground, transforming along the way.
Sachi noticed as she left, no one who was outside just a few minutes ago was wet with rain anymore, like they had never trudged through the weather in the first place.
Lady April took the badge out of Zephyr's hand, and examined it.
"It's true… this is a genuine badge of a captain. And which one of you was it?"
Zephyr looked over to Sachi.
"Well… it was-"
Zephyr was cut off by Sachi.
"It was the 'fragile woman'."
Sachi expression became hardened.
"She was the one who killed him."
Sachi knew Zephyr wanted to give him the credit. Truthfully, he did the most in that fight to weaken the assassin, it was just Lyra who dealt the final blow.
Major God or not, Sachi couldn't stand how much she looked down on them. If Lyra wasn't there in that cave, that fight could have ended much differently.
"Is that so? Most interesting indeed… still, a captain isn't much compared to the Eternal Flame himself. So tell me, why do you wish to slay him?"
She held a fixated gaze on Sachi. He curled his hand up into a fist, hiding his shaking as it slowly disappeared.
'Home…'
"I want to go home. There are people who need me."
She smiled, and began to approach him.
"You and every other Champion who shows up. And why have you come to seek me for this?"
Sachi squeezed his fist harder. He couldn't tell because of the gloves, but he was sure the palm of his hand was bleeding now.
"Because I know of your past."