He lost himself in his thought, and only noticed the end of the ascension when the elevator"s door opened up in front of him. The moment the door opened, he felt a brisk, windy current a.s.sault his body. The wind"s strength even forced him to splint his eyes in reflex, but after a few seconds, he was used to it.He stepped out of the elevator, and the door behind him smoothly closed with a sharp mechanical sound. He turned around and managed to see the moment when the elevator disappeared back inside the wall. "Hmm…", a grunt escaped his throat, and he stepped forward toward the other side of the wall.
His heart rate accelerated slightly; as the view of the wilderness outside the city appeared, in front of his eyes.
His footsteps accelerated, and he shortly arrived on the other side of the thick wall. A vast ma.s.s of green appeared in his vision; forests and landma.s.ses extended past his eyesight, a real picture of wilderness.
If it weren"t for the excessively long road that led to the city, he would have sworn that New Casablanca existed in the middle of the wilderness. That type of thinking wasn"t false, and Fell wasn"t aware that he wasn"t far from reality. Except that humankind had since long gained mastery over nature, and few things on Earth existed out of their realm of control.
In those days, only the depth of the planet and the dark oceanic floors weren"t fully grasped by humanity.
A sense of freedom a.s.saulted Fell"s mind, and a feeling of jumping out of the wall took his gut. His feet dangerously approached the border of the wall, and the strong wind pushed at his back. A soft usher reverberated in his mind, "Why don"t you run?".
"You can easily jump out of the wall and dash through this forest."
"Didn"t you want to explore the surface of Earth?"
The wind turned stronger, and a brusque windy current a.s.saulted his back. Part of his feet had only left the surface of the wall, and he only needed to tilt his body slightly, and his figure would free fall out of the city.
In the middle of his thoughts, filled with demonic temptation that whispered him to escape from the incoming trouble. He heard sounds of footsteps behind him; the young cultivator turned his neck and noticed an officer dressed in military clothing.
He calmly gazed at the man, his thought still filled with the sudden desire to flee away. His gaze pierced through the man and continued past him toward the city.
Thud! Fell"s heart skipped a beat, and a grandiose view of the city pierced through the darkness that a.s.saulted his mind.
He swallowed his saliva and clenched his fist with utmost strength. His hands trembled in a minute yet distinct manner, but the military officer didn"t notice any of that and seemed to have stopped breathing due to Fell"s gaze.
"What the h.e.l.l is wrong with this kid?", thought the man who didn"t dare to speak.
Jamie was an officer who had worked here, defending the walls of the city for the past few years. His chief officer had ordered him to attend to the need of the cultivator who was going to a.s.sist them.
But the moment he arrived, he saw the man standing at the border of the wall. A single shove to the back or one burst of wind could send him tumbling down a deadly one hundred meter fall.
The moment he was going to advise him to stand a few meters back, he met his gaze and forced himself to swallow his words.
He had faced many so-called powerful individuals before; One Man Army masters that could change the course of a battle by themselves. But, it was different from this black-haired youth, the sharpness hidden in his gaze made the back of his neck tingle, and he unintentionally moved, taking a step back.
Fell lost himself in the sight of his city. A cleansing happened in his thoughts, and the idea of leaving the city disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He spent a long minute silently gazing at the immaculate building of the central building, and his desire to protect consolidated even further.
"Would life truly be worth it if I knew that it could have served for a better purpose?"
"Would the so-called adventure be pleasurable if I knew that everything here would disappear?"
The answer appeared in his heart, as clear the soft light coming from the moon, and it was a determinate and unquestionable no. He would stay here and do his utmost in defending those walls.
Another silent vow branded itself on his soul. One that wouldn"t be easily swayed by his dreams in life and that would stay true till his last breath.
"I guess that"s what being a man is…", he thought before finally noticing the silent officer.
A self-deprecating flashed on his lips, and he took a steady step back from the border of the wall.
"h.e.l.lo, sorry for making you wait.". He said with a slight bow from his head.
The officer in front of him stood silently for a few seconds. He came back to his senses, and his body briskly moved as if hit by an electric shock. His hand snapped at his forehead, and his cloth produced an overpowering noise from his movement. Jamie executed a military salute before stepping forward.
"The name is Jamie, and I"ve been ordered to help sir in his duty here.", heavy determination was marked in his words. His thought were still in shamble, but he managed to recollect himself and expressed himself succinctly.
"Looks like my own thoughts and delusion can affect others…", he thought while looking at the officer in front of him. "He might have calmed down, but I can feel the distress his mind is going through."
A smile reappeared on Fell"s face, and this time it was a warm one that expressed his grat.i.tude. "Then, I"ll have to thank you for your future services, Jamie."
The officer couldn"t help but become absent-minded for a second when looking at Fell"s face. The friendliness showed in Fell"s smile wasn"t one he was used when serving higher-ups.