"The Celestial Events shall now begin!"
As everyone looked, the Herald stretched his hand downward. Then, the city quaked and a different type of air flooded it.
Just below the Herald, a large rift tore open close to the ground.
'He has opened a gate' Icard thought, sensing something familiar.
The people around there scattered as a yellow rift opened, energy pouring from within.
Icard looked at the herald again, more closely. The brown livery and dark skin with a yellow circle he had appeared through.
"Thalrien" he muttered, recognizing the Herald. His elegant demeanor was light-hearted with a perpetual smile curving his lips.
"Now, I have just opened a gate within your vicinity. This is not for the faint of heart. Beyond this gate are foes you must vanquish, with your lives at stake. If you do not posses enough power to do so, you shall die inside the gate and never return"
Susurrations went about then.
"However, the rewards are also endearing. One of which is a pressing need for your vicinity at the moment - the core stones only gotten upon completing your task within the gates. These can be fed to your Maire to keep up his territory for your survival" he said as he began ascending back through the circle he came through.
"I will advise that you make haste as your vicinity is shrinking by the second. Good luck"
Then, he disappeared.
"Another one came"
"I think he said something about a gate"
"A gate?"
"That thing coming from there? Should we go check it out?"
Just like last time, most people were left in awe than in comprehension. However, this time around, the herald left something behind.
Everyone could feel it in the distance. For some, it gave them chills, while for others, it drew them in.
And as for Icard, he knew just what it was. And he was ready for it.
"What is that?" Reya asked, staring in the direction the gate was in. High-rise buildings and skyscrapers blocked it from view, yet its presence was unmistakable.
"Are...are they coming again?" Alia said, stepping back uneasily.
Icard took a slow breath in, then out.
"This is it" he said quietly. "That thing right there is the beginning"
They all turned to him in confusion.
"What do you mean?" Reya asked.
"Did your Keeper not tell you about the Celestial Event?" Icard replied.
"The Celestial Event?" Matt echoed. "Is that… it?"
"Yeah"
"My Keeper didn't tell me anything like that" Alia chipped in. "She just said a great threat was looming over my planet and that she'd give me the means to overcome it. That was all."
Icard pointed toward the gate.
"That's the threat"
Alia swallowed. "Does that mean… they're coming from there?"
"Not exactly" Icard said. "It's the opposite. Like he said, we're going into the gate"
"What?!" Matt nearly shouted. "What's inside it?"
"Spawns"
"And we're just supposed to walk in and face them?"
"Yeah" Icard answered flatly. Jack narrowed his expression watching Icard.
"Are you nuts? We've been training to be capable of defending ourselves. Not to go meet those things" Matt snapped.
"Ugh" Icard groaned quietly.
'How did it happen last time? Right. I kept seeing this thing right in front of my face'
Before Icard was a panel that had appeared the moment the rift opened.
[A Yellow Gate Has Appeared Within Your Vicinity]
[A Quest Has Been Issued]
[Quest: Enter Through The Yellow Gate And Eliminate All]
[Quest Level: Gloom]
[Maximum Threat Level: D]
Then, he couldn't trust his powers so just like rest, he never planned on going there.
But then, another panel appeared before him.
[Warning: You Will Be Punished On Refusal To Undertake This Quest]
[Punishment: You Shall Be Subjected To The Third Ring Of Madness For Three Days].
And after seeing that panel, he barely debated it.
'They tried to make me stay back but I refused and went ahead. I entered the gate alone but eventually met Reya and Jack inside' Icard recalled.
Then he looked at Alia, who was still fidgeting and sure she wasn't going anywhere.
'They all understood after we came back. Trying to convince all of them might not work now, so I'll just go ahead'.
"I get it. There's no problem with it, but still...I need to go"
Their expressions were all bewildered.
"Icard, what are you doing? No one in his right mind will try to go to those things" Reya said.
"Look, I get that you're already strong and your Keeper gave you a cool cheat but... you're still like us. You don't know these things or anything happening around us" Matt convinced.
"You can't go finding those things. We're supposed to wait and get stronger to defend ourselves when they come not to go to them!"
They all talked and talked, drawing closer to him who stood apart from them.
Icard sighed tiredly, looking for the right words to use before Jack suddenly spoke up.
"Maybe he's not like us after all" Jack said, interrupting everyone as they all glanced at him.
He walked toward Icard.
"I've been watching him for some time now. I can tell from the way he moves, the way he thinks and the way he handles all these things; it's almost like he has had some experience with them. Like he knows them already"
And those words left them in a different kind of calm.
"This is not the guy Mrs Reya put in that box. He was much of a rowdy guy and really noisy. And all the time we stayed at the camp, he remained the same idiot till the very end that Mrs Reya had to put him in a box"
Jack looked at Icard. His suspicions were written clearly on his face. The young man was average height, with a good build, long hair reaching his neck and shaved beards that had already begun growing again.
He normally dressed in unbuttoned shirts and white singlets. One that revealed his build quite well.
And his gait right now directed questions at Icard and so did everyone.
With all eyes on him, Icard gravely stared downwards. He could tell they all had the same questions but just accepted things that way, but not Jack.
In fact, he had expected this for a while now.
'Now just what do we say?' he thought to himself.